http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31483449/ns/us_news-life/

an excerpt -

The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by descendants of Apache leader Geronimo, whose remains were purported to be stolen long ago by members of a secret society at Yale University.

and

Both Presidents Bush, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and many others in powerful government and industry positions are members of the society, which is not affiliated with the university.

We went to Logansport for the weekend, and as it happens, Pam’s uncle (only 56!) suddenly died Friday (another story), so that lead to a fairly somber Father’s Day weekend.

And, coincidentally, I noticed a newly-added sign on US-24 near where one turns to head to Pam’s folks’ place. It said “Potawatomi Trail of Death” in large letters, with “Regional Historic Trail” beneath a silhouette of a (presumeably) Potawatomi dad and a mom with a baby on her back, and with a bird wheeling above them (one supposes it’s a noble eagle and not a hungry vulture).

I was so taken with that, that the girls and I headed back to snap a photo – but the sign on US-24 is in a place where no sane person would stop; so we proceeded about 10 miles down the Trail of Death to another marker, in a spot further from the road, and got our photo.

It did cause me to google, and I came up with this

http://www.potawatomi-tda.org/

Anyway – it sparked discussion amongst Grant and Shelby and I, about cruelty and racism and America and Andy Jackson…Shelby asked what would have happened if a Barack Obama could have been president back then – and (after discussing the impossibility of anyone but a white male gaining the office 170 years ago) that lead the discussion to President Lincoln – and the cataclysmic upheaval that followed his election.

Anyway, I had heard of “Trail or Tears”, but come to think of it, “Trail of Death” sounds infinitely more honest

(if Pam posts the photo, I’ll link to it)

My apologies to any dad who got a tie; i’ll loan you my dvd when we’ve watched it. Unfortunately, the way this summer is going, that will be Labor Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW7OPByRGDY

There’s been so little comprehension of the actual polis of Arab nationhood, the practical side of Islamic theology(ies), the demographics of Moslem regions vis a vis Persian and Turkish, and an utter, willful denial of the economics of oil *within* the Middle East, let alone between that region and the rest of the world — but in sum, i agree (tho’ i don’t often with Larison, who is Rod Dreher on a full bottle of brandy) that Obama has so few options today because of the hand the last few decades have dealt him.

Only an idiot could say he’s been “silent.” He’s clearly being guarded, in such a way that at each juncture, players all around the table are listening closely to what he will or won’t say next. He’s in the game, which is where he ought to be, but not pushing the bidding, which he shouldn’t.