BELLESILES UPDATE: Eugene Volokh has some comments about Bellesiles’ claims that he’s being subjected to a form of McCarthyism. Excerpt:

Refresh my recollection, please: Did Joe McCarthy really limit himself to (1) publicizing substantial charges of academic misconduct, charges that are backed by the views of many reputable scholars, and (2) asking that his name be withdrawn from fellowships awarded to people who engaged in such misconduct? Somehow I think that if this were so, the term “McCarthyism” would have a very different connotation than it does today.

Indeed.