A conservative praises a new book by Alan Dershowitz, ahihc reframes some of the debate about civil liberties in an age of terrorism.

"Jurisprudence to prevent terrorism"

I see that the embattled president of Harvard has resigned. Chicago is looking for a new president. the Harvard students loved this guy and he was critical of grade inflation. Also he is an economist (something dear to Chicago's heart). Maybe chicago should consider this guy--although he might be too ambitious for other things to consider the job.

We are working our way through the maze in Lovers Key just south of Estero Beach. Saw many birds (ibis, osprey, blue heron, ducks) and jumping fishes.

February 20, 2006
Ochlockonee State Park, Sopchoppy, Florida

Arrived here last evening. Lovely park in pine flatwoods on the shore of a river of the same name “Ok-LOK-nee”. It is situate between the large St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to the east and the Appalachicola National Forest to the West. The Gulf of Mexico is nearby to the south and Tallahassee is 25 miles north. We are in that part of Florida where the state runs east and west. We are about 35 miles from the Central Time Zone which crosses Florida (really).

As with Cedar Key, the coast line here is a bit indefinite. The land is largely swamp and marsh with pine islands and oak hammocks. The rivers wind and branch as they approach the Gulf and make all of the coastal area islands. Eventually ponds are scattered across the land and finally the land is scattered across the bays and Gulf waters. Beaches are rare and much of the “coastline” submerges at low tide. There is no shortage of wetlands here, it is the drylands that are precious and being lost to development!

Bela Fleck releases "The Hidden Land". From the Gazette: The music of banjo player Bela Fleck has always been about so muchmore than just the banjo. With his group, the Flecktones, Fleck has pushed musical boundaries and expectations for 15 years, and that continues with a vengenance on the group's latest release...Musically complex, the Flecktones--featuring a banjo, percussion, horns and a bass guitar--continue to mix bluegrass, jazz, pop, country and even classical music into a gumbo utterly beyond definition but captivating. The Hidden Lake starts off with a Bach fugue. The Flecktones start from a recognizable home base with the song,then take it to the extreme of improvisation and back, but it all makes sense within the framework they have created over the years that pulls listeners in with an endearing unpredictability.

Schenectady placed sixth in the team standings---beatings its previous high of 1th--and got third place efforts from its 200 free relay group (citing David and his team members)...Schenectady set nine school records over the three-day competition.