The Wednesday Curator – 3/5/14

March 4, 2014

A few tidbits to keep you sustained:

Philip Longman wrote Oops:  The Texas Miracle That Isn’t, published in the new issue of Washington Monthly. Long and loaded with information, it explains well just what Texas brags about and why there’s not a lot of there there!

For satire about a nothing funny subject, read When May I Shoot a Student?, written for the New York Times op-ed page by Greg Hampikian, biology and criminal justice professor at Boise State University.

David Schleicher wrote States’ Wrongs—a play on state’s rights—for Slate.com. The headline? Conservatives’ Illogical, Inconsistent Effort to Repeal the 17th Amendment. Especially noteworthy is the lack of evident appreciation for how state legislature’s existed when they selected U.S. Senators. (The 17th Amendment provided for direct election of senators.)  George Santayana famously said:  “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

A Sandwich a Day at SeriousEats.com reports on the Fancy Delancey from Russ & Daughters on the Lower East Side. (Lower East Side of where, you say. Skip this piece, says I!) For more on Russ & Daughters, a living shrine to the concept of appetizing, read Russ & Daughters:  Reflections and Recipes from the House that Herring Built, by Mark Russ Federman.

Finally, here’s some extended material from a dialogue between screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and National Public Radio host Michele Norris. I have not listened to everything, but what caught me was this cut that was broadcast on Morning Edition on Monday, March 3. I was especially taken with Mr. Ridley’s vignette at about 7:00 through the end of the almost 9:00 piece. My, but we have come a long way … although we’ve got miles to go, too!

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