Quote of the Day

An intriguing comparison of Civil War generals Joseph E. Johnston and John Bell Hood with today's presidential candidates includes the following quote, from famous boxer Billy Conn:

What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?

Thick, of course, is British slang for stupid or dim-witted. Yep, that's me to a T.

Read the post linked above. Ever since the run-up to the Second Iraq War, I've been endlessly struck by the many parallels between the Civil War era and today, especially politically, and all the lessons we've already learned and forgotten.

The most striking parallel: Both the elections of 1864 and 2004 had unpopular wartime presidents running for re-election against former soldiers who ran as anti-war Democrats.