A second American Civil War…

… is not going to be the response to these lovely online petitions. Legally, the White House has to respond if there are 25,000 signatures, and Texas is already over the limit. Texas may be viable economically if it were to secede, but I honestly think Obama’s response will be along the lines of “lol Texas.”

There is no legal right to secede in the Constitution. None. Want to argue it’s implied? It isn’t: the Civil War handled that. Louisiana’s pretty close too, although Texas may be economically viable as independent (whereas Louisiana is not).

Look, I’m not delighted Obama won, but revisiting the worst crisis in American history is probably not the best way to register your opposition.

A pretty slick museum

The wife and I went to the WWI Museum in KC on Sunday for Veteran’s Day. I’ll have some pictures up on Facebook soon, but it’s a pretty nifty museum, given that 1) the US’s role in the Entente Victory was fairly small and b) admission was free. It is definitely worth a look — you can see most everything in an hour or two, depending on how quickly you read — if you’re in the area. The current rotating exhibit is on Sports in World War I, which shows how much manlier baseball players were in those days. None of this fake “Yes, I was in World War II, but all I did was play baseball” crap. We do need more Ted Williamses (test pilot) and Bob Fellers (served as a Gun Captain), but look at Christy Mathewson, who actually got gassed during WWI.

Why don’t athletes today have so much patriotism?

The Benefits Of English Imperialism

A recent article in the Daily Telegraph on England (though they’re being generous and saying Britain) being world invasion champs.

Bonus curmudgeonly point of the day:  a nation’s present-day success has an almost-linear relationship with its acceptance of 19th century British mores and customs, even if it was not a 19th century British colony (e.g., the United States).  That should hopefully rile up our resident historian…