Miscellany

1)A new study indicates that women with masculine first names do better in law than those with conventional first names. I wonder if the cause isn't gender discrimination, but rather that women with masculine sounding first names are more likely to come from a certain type of family background. When I was in college, I had a few female acquaintances with first names like Crosby or Marston. Girls with such names were usually from uber-WASPy backgrounds and had all the privileges -- expensive prep school educations, fancy golf and tennis lessons, excellent connections, etc. -- that come with that kind of upbringing. It's not really surprising that these women do better than other lawyers from less exalted backgrounds.

2)A great column from Gene Healy on the 9/12 protests.

3)Another great essay on "Taking the Right Seriously."