Newmark's Door

I hadn't heard of Captain Henry Every before. His PR agent must not have been as good as Blackbeard's.

More: Henry Every on Wikipedia.

Before very recent times there were a whole lot of ways to die early. So I'll second this.

This country would be in better shape if economists did a better job of explaining to citizens why crony capitalism is not "the market" and is not actually capitalism.

Really difficult to believe but, hey, it's known as Baghdad by the Bay.

Dang. Yet another time the historians lied to us.

Put this in the "there isn't anything new under the sun" file.

Review of two books. One explores this question: "How spiritually bereft, how morally twisted, does a person have to be to boo the moon landing?" And it includes this bit:

Throughout the history of the environmental movement, Greens have often provoked their critics to wonder whether they are motivated more by love of nature or hatred of humanity. When the environment they purport to care about is as blank and empty as outer space, there is not much room for doubt.

The other, less interesting review is of a book that traces the history of the commune movement in the US, especially the Eastern variety.

UPDATE: link fixed now.

"One of history’s recurring ironies is the spectacle of figures who die in defeat or disgrace, but emerge in future generations as heroes while the people who defeated them are downgraded to villains."

The review was interesting to me because of some of the nuggets from the book that were cited. Examples:

The average family size in Waltham, Massachusetts in the 1730s was 9.7 children.

Wasting time in Massachusetts was literally a criminal offense, listed in the law code, and several people were in fact prosecuted for it.

Three-quarters of 17th-century Virginian children lost at least one parent before turning 18.

Virginia governor William Berkeley probably would not be described by moderns as ‘strong on education’. He said in a speech that “I thank God there are no free schools nor printing [in Virginia], and I hope we shall not have these for a hundred years, for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divuldged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both!”

Fischer argues that the Quaker ban on military activity within their territory would have doomed them in most other American regions, but by extreme good luck the Indians in the Delaware Valley were almost as peaceful as the Quakers. As usual, at least some credit goes to William Penn, who taught himself Algonquin so he could negotiate with the Indians in their own language.

Colonial opinion on the Borderers [aka the Scots-Irish] differed within a very narrow range: one Pennsylvanian writer called them “the scum of two nations”, another Anglican clergyman called them “the scum of the universe”.

Traditional Borderer prayer: “Lord, grant that I may always be right, for thou knowest I am hard to turn.”

40 terrific minutes with the tragically departed Justice.