Truth is, I don't much care for the conventions. I paid zero attention to the Democrats' convention (other than to check how it affected traffic patterns around Logan Airport as I was flying out of Boston on their last night). And, I'm paying nearly the same attention to the Republicans' convention.
However, I felt a little satisfaction when I saw a report that Arnold Schwarzenegger mentioned Soviet rule in Austria in his speech last night. When I was in college, I took a history course* called European Diplomatic History 1914-Present. Anyway, as part of that course I did a major project on the Austrian State Treaty of 1955 and the post-war reunification of Austria as a neutral nation. Since the day I finished that project, I've felt a little like that treaty and the period leading up to it were in some way 'mine'.
* Anyone who says Irish education is better than American education cannot mean third level - too specialized here. I got courses in history, religion, English, etc. as part of my math degree. Here a math major studies math, and math only.
