Author Archives: Timothy Burke

Burning Down the House

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Why ask for William Cronon’s email? Certainly it’s to intimidate him, and indirectly, his colleagues. I think that’s only the beginning. In the end, it’s a declaration by the organizations filing the requests in Wisconsin, Michigan and wherever else they … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 6 Comments

Lose the Future

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Timothy Burke

It sometimes seems like historians should be the first to provide some perspective when something in our lives seems to be going downhill. Like many readers, I felt that sense when reading a recent New York Times article about changes … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Production of History | 8 Comments

Today’s Captain Renault Moment

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Timothy Burke

London School of Economics faculty: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was such a nice young man, we never knew he would have anything to do with the mass killing of the people of Libya. But we see now that he’s made a … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 5 Comments

History Swallowed Whole

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Last week was a busy time, so I got behind in my blogging. As is often the case, by the time I can get around to finishing a piece, the point I intended to make has been made. As is … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Intellectual Property | 4 Comments

Real and Fake Realism

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I think “realism” has to be reclaimed from the people who get called realists. Realists in policy circles flatter themselves relentlessly, saying that only they really know the way the world actually is, only they are prepared to accept and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 2 Comments

Dear JF

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Dear J.F.: I’m really getting frustrated by the constant nit-picking and whining about my undemocratic regime by the United States. Every time I go to an international meeting not only do I have to worry about my security forces staging … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 4 Comments

I Would Have Had My Great Books, Too, If It Weren’t For Those Meddling Hippies

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Mark Edmundson complains, again, that the dirty hippies screwed up the world and killed literature in the process. Rather than a dreary point-by-point response to everything objectionable in the essay, I want to focus on one issue in it that … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Books, Cleaning Out the Augean Stables, Popular Culture | 22 Comments

The Real Jean Valjean

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Look, it’s not like you can’t find a heaping load of unjust judicial decisions in any decade of American life you care to name, and like as not, it’s an African-American at the receiving end. Still, the conviction and sentencing … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 6 Comments

Wait, Who Has Sinister Connections to Insiders That Influence Their Reporting?

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Timothy Burke

There’s a second story buried inside the story of events in Egypt and Tunisia. It’s the story of how mainstream American journalists find themselves perpetually staring at a magic mirror, telling themselves that they are the fairest of them all. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Information Technology and Information Literacy, Politics | Comments Off on Wait, Who Has Sinister Connections to Insiders That Influence Their Reporting?

Bang for the Buck

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Timothy Burke

One of the most aggravating things about many self-proclaimed Tea Partiers both in and out of political office at the moment is their braying about their budgetary parsimony, their claim of superior attention to keeping the federal budget small and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Comments Off on Bang for the Buck