I was out for a walk in Oxford this morning before the busloads of tourists arrive. It was cool and drizzly, as usual. A few people were out: for strolls, with their dogs, on the way to church, fetching a newspaper.
On Banbury Road at a crosswalk ahead I saw a woman sitting on a doorstep with a dog, a stack of newspapers, and some blankets. Panhandling is strictly forbidden here; the desperate can register and obtain newspapers to sell (basically, what-to-do-in-Oxford sheets that will appeal mainly to nonresidents), thereby avoiding …

I’ll be posting some comments and observations occasionally while teaching in the GT Oxford program.  I’m in England with 160 Tech students (including Ian Yamomoto and Graham Goldberg from PUBP), teaching “Government of the US” (and UK) and “Science, Technology, and Human Values,” enjoying the cool English summer, and not enjoying the hordes of tourists that coach over from London for a day-trip escape.
After a few days of settling in and beginning courses, it’s time to reconnect to the world at home.  Watching American politics from England is like looking …