Quotation of the Year

On Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief:

Another distinguished aspect of Tecumseh's moral fiber was his aversion to the mistreatment of prisoners of war. In a culture that regularly practiced the torture and burning alive of captives as a religious rite, he was outspoken in his opposition to such barbarity. According to [Stephen] Ruddell [a white captive who had been Tecumseh's close friend as a child and young warrior], 'when prisoners fell into his hands he always treated them with as much humanity as if they had been in the hands of civilized people. No burning--no torturing.'"

from Jay Feldman's When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes (2005)--another fine book from the sales tables of BookPeople in Austin, Texas.

Ummmm..... George Bush et alia--and all such so-called civilized people--, please take note.