*Two great articles to be read in tandem: David Isenberg on the militarization of civil society, and historian Edmund Morgan on Gore Vidal’s America. Includes this definition of “democracy” from Vidal:
[A] word that appears nowhere in the American Constitution, or, indeed in our lives except as an occasional rhetorical flourish when we are up to mischief in foreign lands.
*The Cato Institute makes itself useful for a change: Jim Powell rebuts neocon plutocrat Conrad Black’s coddling of FDR.
*Justin has more on the Neal Boortz/Libertarian convention fiasco. It’s not too late to write Nancy Neale at convention@hq.LP.org or torchess@austin.rr.com and protest, even if you’re not a Libertarian. In fact, since Boortz’s inclusion seems to be based entirely upon his perceived ability to reach a wider audience, a backlash by non-Libertarians might do some good.