Inside a fabulous library of 65 years ago.

Be still my heart. A librarian's stroll down memory lane, a bibliophile's paradise, a film made in 1956 of la Bibliothèque nationale de France (the National Library of France) in Paris. Much of it looks like the inside of the library at the University of Illinois where I worked as an undergrad, graduate student and a professional librarian (in Slavic studies). I can almost hear the creak of the elevator, smell the dust and mold, and feel my shoulders ache from lifting heavy volumes. And yes, librarians did wear high heels and dresses in those days. We wore lab coats to go into the bowels of the beast to look at the latest arrivals from Russia and Europe. If you've ever worked in a large, magnificent library you must see this film.

https://aeon.co/videos/a-bibliophiles-paradise-the-national-library-of-france-in-a-classic-documentary-from-1956  (21 minutes)

Guns and Butter

This chart always amazes me--particularly reflecting on the outrage during the Bush years about the paltry spending on social programs. One of the reasons Bush had so much tax money to direct to two wars and all sorts of little social wars at home was his tax cuts. It's unfortunate that he didn't decrease government spending, but like the rest of us, it's easy to spend when the wallet is fat. Obama is doing just the opposite, and business investment has been dropping and unemployment rising since the summer of 2008 when he became the heir and parent. Capitalists aren't stupid--they can go elsewhere to invest. He's raising taxes and creating more social wars at home as well as increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan. But instead of corraling terrorists, he plans to loose and lose them in Europe and America--and why not--they certainly aren't wanted back home where they are tainted!