Tidbits and pieces on a Sunday....

Sunday bits and pieces.... In addition to the nice piece (with great photos) in the New York Times Travel section about Northern Ireland (see yesterday's blog post), the paper has at least two items worthy of note. The front page features a write up by Tamar Lewin about how women are "Leaving Men in the Dust" when it comes to educaitonal achievement. This is clearly the case given my limited experience.... An interesting OpEd by Tony Horwitz takes note of the tendency for advocates of US immigration reform -- past and present -- to ignore the historical facts about "Hispanic" America.... Also the magazine has a piece on the debate over immigration among economists.... And finally, a non-NYT bit. Each morning I download and listen to Garrison Keillor's 5-minute "The Writer's Almanac". Besides the interesting literary tidbits and daily dose of poetry, he often elaborates on the background of some writer whose birthdate or death is on the particular day. The politics, when it enters into the Almanac at all, is subtle to say the least. For Sunday, July 9th, Keillor takes note of Donald Rumsfeld's birthday, and his inclusion is based on publication of a book titled "Rumsfeld's Rules". The rationale for including Rumsfeld (Keillor did not even take note of Dubya's 60th this past week) was one particular line from the DoD chief's book: In 2003, he published Rumsfeld's Rules: Wisdom for the Good Life, a list of guidelines for his colleagues that he'd gathered over the years. It includes advice such as, "It is easier to get into something than to get out of it." Enough said.... For a less subtle political piece by Keillor, click here. Tags: Northern Ireland, New York Times, Donald Rumsfeld, Garrison Keillor, The Writer's Almanac, immigration policy, Tony Horwitz, higher education, Tamar Lewin, accountabilitybloke, Mel Dubnick