That Was One Long, Unexplained Hiatus

The best explanation I can give is that in late May things just got a little too busy (grading, student meetings, thesis stuff, mostly) really to formulate coherent things to say. So no, the Froome Watch did not wear me out. Right around the time I stopped posting the Floyd Landis accusations came out, and that story continues to be covered by many (see, for example, Joe Papp's blog). As a historian, I'd be very interested in seeing the detailed diaries Landis reportedly has kept, but I guess Jeff Novitzky gets to read them first. As I watched him ride in this year's Tour de France, especially during the final week, I had to think that Armstrong may have relished those final hours in the peloton, knowing, as I'm sure he does, that with the Federal probe life after the cycling career is not going to be a lot of fun. Not at all the way he imagined it only a couple of months ago. (By the way, I think he rode more than a little courageously during that death march to Pau). What else was happening two months ago? There was a new U.S. National Security Strategy, which I discussed in an op-ed for the GPD papers here in the Netherlands, arguing that given the emphasis on national renewal as a basis for U.S. foreign policy, this document truly is a product of its time. This is not your Cold War U.S. of A. anymore, although in its aspirations, the Obama administration still bears a strong resemblance (for which we should be grateful). Obama was also trying to get his financial sector reforms through Congress, and I wrote about that in June. I compared the president to both Reagan and Roosevelt, reformers both who inherited a tough economic situation and whose stature as influential leaders only began to take hold later in their presidencies, in part because economically things began to pick up then. In spite of his legislative successes, Obama will probably have to wait for such an economic upswing. There is more to look back on, and there are issues in the news today (really!). Eventually, there may also be something worthy of note in my own riding. In fact, I'll start looking for that right after I click "publish post."