This was an out of left field story and I wasn't sure it was deserving of a write-up. Sure the new york times dedicated 11 pages to it but I couldn't even get through the whole article. It just seemed link wank material in so many ways.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

... Cavett used to be called "Little Dickie Cavett."  Now the world can find out how close to the truth that was.  We could also determine who had the biggest set of nuts between Bush and Gore (well you could, I'll take a pass).

From what I remember about the pictures of Hillary from back in the day, she looked like an over earnest bookworm and not someone I would rate as hawt.  This raises the question of whether nude shots of her would work against her or in her favor now.  Hey, it's a relevant political question.  After all, look at how much newsprint that glimpse of cleavage got recently.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

for my default assumption that life is, and always has been, a lot weirder than folks like to admit-- either then or later. Any more, the most delusional assertion I can think of is the notion that there's somehow a vast majority of "reasonable" Americans who are being led astray by minority factions (whether through the courts, deception, or public policy depends on the speaker), when in fact, it looks from this keyboard as if everybody has an irrational streak that helps determine their actions. That this irrationality extends to the very top of the government and higher learning should come as a shock to nobody who's delved into the non-canonical history at all. (Jon Ronson's The Men Who Stare At Goats may not be the best place to start, but it's current, and an interesting read. Them has a wider scope, and benefits from not being about Top Secret subject matter.)
    Should the "ivory tower" establishment be embarrassed? Sure, but I can't heap too much derision on them. Sheldon was apparently very dedicated to his task, and he even had the benefit of pop culture for a while to add pressure to deans and presidents who might have said no. Hard work and perseverance can get you very, very far in life, and I have a good deal of sympathy for those who finally succumb to the pressure of the zealous. If you want to mock anyone, do so for those who roll over without a fight for absurd claims (like the Washington press corps), or those who knowingly present shitty information for narrow (and/or partisan) advantage.

Ex ignorantia ad sapientiam; e luce ad tenebras