Zohran!

24 June 2025: Holy cow! Not sure how it will all shake out in the end, but it's hard not to be very excited about the first round of votes in the NYC mayoral race. There isn't a lot to be excited about, politics-wise, these days. And the establishment Democrats continue to shoot themselves in the foot. 

But this guy? These results? 

Gives me hope!

Election Day

8 November 2022: When will Election Day not fill me with existential dread? Anyway, here's a poem that helped me today even as it makes me sob.

Watch this...

I don't care where your political beliefs lie. Watch this clip. It's long, but worth it.

I don't consider myself particularly drawn to Dianne Feinstein or her views of what government should or shouldn't do. But I am sure with her in this debate with Cruz. And guess what, Cruz? The first amendment doesn't protect all books (child pornography, for instance). What a smug idiot he seems to be. But anyway, watch the clip.

Aside from the heartbreaking narrative of Adam Lanza's rampage, Maddow reminds us another depressing reality: "Let the record show that you can be a United States Senator for 21 years, you can be 79-years-old, you can be the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and one of the most recognizable and widely respected veteran public servants in your nation, but if you are female while all of other those things, men who you defeat in arguments will still respond to you by calling you hysterical and telling you to calm down."

Two quick thoughts...

1) I know I should probably think this product is a bad idea, but all I can think is that it would be lovely to have some for my hot cocoa. Especially if we have another winter like last one. (Seriously--I think I have post-traumatic stress disorder from last winter...)

2) At the risk of being political in this space, I can't stop myself here. Remember when John McCain seemed to have integrity? What happened to this guy? This is as good an excuse as any to link to one of the most brilliant things the Daily Show has done lately: the "It's Gets Worse" video they made for McCain. 

Wow...

Check out this guy. I'd trust him with a county treasury. Totally.

A bit of hope...

[Sticking my head out of the general "no politics on the blog" fox hole...]

Did anyone catch Meghan McCain on Rachel Maddow's show last night? I hope so. If not, take a look: Part I and Part II. Politics lately has depressed me so much that I try not to think/talk about it too much. But when I saw this interview, I felt a bit of hope for the Republican party. If young people like Meghan are the future of the party, then we should be okay.

Poor Meghan. She gets eviscerated by the right and the left, but to me, she is smart, articulate, and reasonable. Sure, she grew up entitled and wealthy, but that doesn't make someone a bad person. (This seems to be the charge from some vocal factions on the left...) The attacks from the right write themselves--the same old depressing, divisive, and hateful rhetoric that basically translates into: "If you don't believe EVERYTHING the radical right believes, then go to hell. If you say ANYTHING reasonable, rational, or charitable about the left or even the mainstream, then you are a traitor."

Maybe Meghan falls into the "woe is me"/martyr role a bit too easily, but take a look at what people are saying about her in comments on blogs, etc. and you'll see where she's coming from. (Let's not even get into the attacks on her physical appearance.)

Anyway, I found myself so encouraged by listening to her. Then Rachel Maddow had to end with the (sadly accurate) statement that moderate Republicans like Meghan are getting voted out everywhere. Way to dump some water on that spark of hope, Rachel!

Mood lifters...

So if, like me, you find yourself feeling frustrated or even slightly, to quote my nephew, "yucky" today, try one of these to lift your mood:

1) Rep. Mike Weinstein's awesome campaign ad. This catchy little tune was stuck in my head for a hour or so yesterday.

2) Six thing from history that everyone pictures incorrectly. My favorite line (about what Greek statues really looked like): "Ancient Greece looked more like someone crashed their LGBT pride parade into a Mardi Gras Festival."

Maybe my mom is right...

...and academia is turning me into a crazy liberal, because (with the possible exception of the first play), I don't see anything inherently left-wing about these plays. Simply talking about race, the wars, etc. is not partisan. (You'll notice, I hope, that they are being hosted at Shepherd.) Anyway, check out this little blurb at the Corner...

The Corner - National Review Online

(I hardly ever visit the Corner anymore--I just went there today to see what folks were saying about the Byrd vacancy. Imagine my surprise at seeing SU front-and-center on the first post!)

Here's the NPR story...

And yeah, my mom isn't right on this one. Sorry, Mom.

RIP, Senator Byrd

One of the most interesting figures in the Senate has died and I could write (a lot) about his complicated legacy ("Senator Pork," the whole KKK past, his opposition to the Iraq War, real questions about just how long he should have served once his health declined), but what's struck me most today is how many of my WV-based Facebook friends are commenting on his death. And they are sad. ("West Virginia's Angel," "We'll never have a better senator," etc.) Simply put, this guy did a LOT for this state. This campus, for instance, features no less than three buildings bearing his family name. And right outside of town is the NCTC, a beautiful facility he brought here. I mention all of this quite objectively--no commenting on the appropriateness of it. It's just clear to me that this man really mattered to West Virginians, a state that has been so poor and so neglected for its entire history. Again--I'm not endorsing these appropriations or earmarks--just pointing out how much they affected people.

Also, here's a sweet little story I heard from a colleague at Shepherd: our most recent Shepherd Byrd-named building is the Erma Ora Byrd Nursing Building, named after the Senator's wife. who died in 2006. Anyway, Byrd showed up for the 2007 dedication. This colleague says that after the ceremony was over, she saw him sitting in his car, just staring at the building, a bit overcome with emotion. This image of an old, tired man, sitting in his car, missing his wife and proud of the building that bears her name, is a powerful one for me. So RIP, Senator Byrd.

UPDATE: Here's Shepherd's statement on Byrd's death, complete with lots of pictures of his legacy here.

Spring Break Link Dumping...

Five good ones:

1) 15 minutes of genius from John Stewart. Those of you who know me know I like to label myself a sort of libertarian, but these days, I really do feel label-less. I mean, who wants to call themselves a conservative or a libertarian if Glenn Beck is claiming to be one? I could go on about this, but it makes me agitated...and I don't want to be agitated on the last weekday of Spring Break. Anyway, watch the clip. At first, towards the end, I thought "well, it's getting a bit silly and over the top," but then I realized that makes it a perfect response to the craziness of the Glenn Beck universe. And the thing is, when Beck does it, it isn't just silly--it's scary.

2) An wonderful column about the virtues of the small academic conference, via insidehighered.com. I've said for a long time that PAC is one of my favorite conferences to go to, for many of the reasons Kevin Brown lists here. I wasn't able to go this year, but hope to next year.

3) For my friends who are still dissertating, insidehighered.com also offered some advice for finishing up: forget perfectionism. Seriously.

4) Maryland, a state I could swim to if I wanted to (it's just across the river from campus), isn't part of the South anymore. Good to know. (Tell me there aren't at least 10 academic articles lurking in the language of this story...on regionalism, politics, state identity, tourism, etc.)

5) Jesse James, the most hated man in America. True story. Team Sandra all the way for me. Honestly, have you ever heard a bad thing about this woman?

Thank you, Lego!

I've spent the past few days trying to figure out just what the heck Rod Blogojevich's hair reminded me of...now, thanks to these guys, I know!



I don't know much about Chicago politics, but this quotation from the late Studs Terkel seems to sum things up pretty well: "Chicago is not the most corrupt American city, it’s the most theatrically corrupt." (I had heard it before, but the Daily Dish reminded me of it.)

And if you need a little bit of help pronouncing this idiot's name, Slate has you covered.

Challenged ballots...

What a mess out in Minnesota, where they are recounting all the ballots in the Senate race. Check out this kind of fun site where you can cast your own vote on the contested ballots. For the record, I found myself marking "throw it out" for a whole lot of them. If you can't mark the darn thing correctly, that's your own problem, you know?

And "Lizard People"? Scary.

About last night...

No matter your party affiliation, you can't deny that a bit of history was made last night (despite Senator Clinton's destructive delusions that this thing isn't over yet). Over at Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, readers have been sending in their responses. Here are two that I found particularly moving:

1) "Tomorrow I will go to the African American cemetery outside of Chicago where my great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, and my mother and father are buried. And I will tell them that they were right -- that if we studied hard, worked hard, kept the faith, fought for justice, prayed, that this day would come.

And it has."

2) "My grandfather, 86 years old and a veteran of WWII, just gave me a call. He was calling all of his grandchildren to let them know what an important night this was in the history of our country.

Grandpa drove a truck for over 50 years, and he told the story of how he drove with a team of drivers, 2 white (including him), and 4 black. When they stopped at the truck stops, the black drivers had to use separate restrooms and showers, and had to eat in a small room in the back of the kitchen. Grandpa and his co-driver would eat in the back with the rest of the team, and while they didn't speak of it at the time, they knew it was wrong yet felt powerless to change it, and believed that it would never change.

Tonight, he told me, we have come full-circle. Many people, especially the younger generation who supported Obama, will never fully realize the historical import of what happened tonight. But he wanted his grandchildren to know this story that he had never told us, and it was the second time in my 33 years that I have heard my grandpa cry."

Yesterday, I taught The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and selections from Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in English 204. What would they--especially Douglass--have to say about how far we've come in American politics? Today in class, we discussed that great American poet, Walt Whitman. How perfect, right? Consider what Whitman writes in the Preface to Leaves of Grass:

"The Americans of all nations at any time upon the earth have probably the fullest poetical nature. The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem. In the history of the earth hitherto the largest and most stirring appear tame and orderly to their ampler largeness and stir. Here at last is something in the doings of man that corresponds with the broadcast doings of the day and night. Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations. Here is action untied from strings necessarily blind to particulars and details magnificently moving in vast masses. Here is the hospitality which forever indicates heroes . . ."

Again, Republican, Democrat, whatever you are--you have reason to smile today and be extra proud to be an American.

Bob Geldof on George W. Bush

A really interesting essay at Time.com. I like Geldof's tone here--he is clearly not a supporter of Bush's Iraq policy, but manages to engage with him respectfully and productively on the issues where they do agree. A key passage from the end:

"He is also, I feel, an emotional man. But sometimes he's a sentimentalist, and that's different. He is in love with America. Not the idea of America, but rather an inchoate notion of a space — a glorious metaphysical entity. But it is clear that since its mendacious beginnings, this war has thrown up a series of abuses that disgrace the U.S.'s central proposition. In the need to find morally neutralizing euphemisms to describe torture and abuse, the language itself became tortured and abused. Rendition, waterboarding, Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib — all are codes for what America is not. America has mortally compromised its own essential values of civil liberty while imposing its own idea of freedom on others who may not want it. The Bush regime has been divisive — but not in Africa. I read it has been incompetent — but not in Africa. It has created bitterness — but not here in Africa. Here, his administration has saved millions of lives."

"Yes We Can" Video

Again, I am staying as apolitical as possible on this blog, but this video some Obama supporters put together is pretty amazing. With rhetoric like this--messages of unity, hope, a promise for the future--it's hard to resist this candidate's appeal. And while celebrity endorsements usually leave me cold, the famous folks in this video somehow don't bother me.



As everyone else has been noting, this candidate is a force to be reckoned with--and if he's who the Republicans end up facing in November, they will have their work cut out for them.

"Advice To College Students: Don't Major in English"

From seemingly out of nowhere comes this attack on English departments across the nation. Now it's nothing to get too worked up about on the surface--seems to me that Schlafly is going for shock value here and little more, but it is hard to let a comment like this pass without notice: " That's why it was no surprise that Cho Seung-Hui, the murderer of 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech, was an English major." What a ridiculous assertion--one that the author doesn't even attempt to support in her column. This kind of discourse--where the barbed attack, the killer soundbite becomes the whole story--makes me genuinely sad. And it comes from both sides of the political spectrum.

Beyond that, though, she is simply wrong. When I heard that Cho Seung-Hui was an English major, I was more surprised than anything else. Yes, maybe that says something about how proud I am of my discipline, but I stand by that assertion. Let me take this point a bit further: to imply that English courses made this kid a murderer is so crazy and anti-intellectual that the author should be ashamed. In addition, as we look back on this tragic event and wonder what could have been done to prevent it, please note that it was his English teachers who made the most attempts to help him--to do something to stop him. See here and here for articles discussing their attempts. An English class, where students are free to discuss their ideas and their interpretations of texts and writings, is one of the few spaces where this kind of realization can happen. Yes, in this case, their efforts didn't work, but not for lack of trying.

And here's where I get really idealistic, I suppose: Schlafly implies that an English major that asks students to read newer additions to the curriculum (including, horror of horrors--works by women and minorities!) is a waste of time and money. She couldn't be more wrong. An English major that continues to embrace both the classics (however you want to define them) but also pays attention to shifting critical and cultural debates--that isn't afraid to adjust as attitudes change--is precisely the kind of degree that can change the world. Those who know me well know that I am far from a left-wing radical--about as far away as you can be and still be in a humanities branch of academia. But you cannot tell me that classes I've taught with titles like "Creepy Literature" and "Shocking and Scandalous Nineteenth-Century Literature" aren't worth teaching--that they don't teach students about what makes a text worth reading and how we can use literature to understand ourselves, our history, our world, and the people around us. To me, there's nothing inherently political about that--nothing left-wing or liberal about it.

Furthermore, it's equally ridiculous to act as if the traditional canon isn't also full of violence, alienation, and questions about race, sex, sexuality, and class. Ever really read Shakespeare, Phyllis? Chaucer's "Wife of Bath"? Isn't she a model of good family values! How about Whitman? Or Thoreau? And how about those ancient Greeks?

Okay--I could go on and on, but I'll stop for now. In a little while, I have to go teach my English 204 class. On the agenda for today, Henry Louis Gates' Colored People, a fascinating memoir about growing up black in West Virginia in the 1950s, written by one of the leading academics in the world today. Wonder how Schlafly would feel about that...