Since it’s the Sunday of a long holiday weekend (though fewer and fewer Americans have jobs that a) pay anything as “fluffy” as holiday pay, b) where just one paycheck gets them by, so even if their other three jobs recognize Monday as a holiday, their fourth likely does not, and c) sadly, fewer know what Memorial Day is to remember), I figure I can get a few literary refs by.

First, Deborah Howell in The Washington Post reminds us of a truth that is sadly too self evident: almost all the voices on OpEd pages are white and male in a society one would expect would be less patriarchal by now.

Second, this piece in Slate discusses why Frank Rich is being “penned in” on what his Times column can cover now that he’s inked a deal as a creative consultant to HBO. I have to say my sentiment runs much toward Jack Schafer’s on this score.

Rich has been a national treasure, as much because he’s willing to tell us truths we don’t care to hear as for anything else. It reminds me of the old saying, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is crucified.” As much as I think Rich could make a hell of an addition to HBO, I don’t particularly desire to see him limited.