Sherry Chandler

The Anger and Shock of a City’s Slave Past by Felicia R. Lee in the NYTimes:

One commonality that emerges from viewing five hours of the visitor videotapes is how much people do not know. Many were unaware of the existence or extent of slavery in New York, which lasted until 1827, longer than in any other Northern state except New Jersey.

Mardi Gras to the Rescue? Doubts Grow by Jere Longman in the NYTimes:

Among other possible casualties are the Mardi Gras Indians, African-Americans who dress in elaborately feathered costumes in honor of Indians who helped runaway slaves. The Mardi Gras Indians celebrate with theatrical confrontations among “tribes,” but some find themselves short of the material and thousands of dollars needed to make their costumes, said Alfred Doucette, big chief of the Flaming Arrows tribe.

“I don’t have no more supplies,” Mr. Doucette said. “I need feathers and stuff.”

His costumes require 10 pounds of ostrich feathers that cost about $5 apiece, Mr. Doucette, a singer, said, explaining that it had been difficult to find work as a musician since Hurricane Katrina struck in August.

Speaking of other chieftains, he said, “They would like to come, but they’re short on money this year.”

If African-American participation is severely curtailed, Mardi Gras may run the risk of further delineating the class and racial divide exposed after the hurricane

Shift on Suspect Is Linked to Role of Qaeda Figures by Douglas Jehl and Eric Lightblau in the NYTimes

The decision not to charge [Jose Padilla] criminally in connection with the more far-ranging bomb plots was prompted by the conclusion that Mr. Mohammed and Mr. Zubaydah could almost certainly not be used as witnesses, because that could expose classified information and could open up charges from defense lawyers that their earlier statements were a result of torture, officials said.

Public Enemy No. 43,527 The government throws back another small fish By Dahlia Lithwick at Slate

Sometimes, a Tax Cut for the Wealthy Can Hurt the Wealthy by Robert H. Frank in the NYTimes

In Defense of John Kerry by David Gopoian at DonkeyRising

Vatican Starman slams ID! at Heraclitean Fire

Yes, Virginia (review of Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life) by Curtis Sittenfeld in the NYTimes

To endure their ache, a review of Max Egremont’s Sigfried Sassoon: A Life by Dominic Hibbard, originally from the Times Literary Supplement

Clooney and a Maze of Collusion, a reveiw of “Syriana” by A. O. Scott in the NYTimes

Rock and a Hard Place, editorial by Harlan Coban in the NYTimes (Bruce Springsteen is denied recognition by the U.S. Senate.)

AND

A Book for All Seasons in which one writer’s marketing strategy is unmasked

AND AGAIN

If you don’t want to face those holiday shopping crowds, why not mail-order the “George W. Bush Turkey Dinner Doll,” a limited-edition collector’s item that you can call your own for a mere $29.95. (I picked this up at Rising Hegemon.)