Market Power

The History of Dogfighting

Historian Edmund Russell nicely describes the history of dogfighting from its roots in Britain to the dogfighting that got Michael Vick into trouble.

HT Skip

What Did Charlie Know?

Stefan Fatsis argues in this Wall Street Journal article that Charlie Comiskey possibly knew about the Black Sox Scandal, where 8 members of the Chicago White Sox took bribes to throw the 1919 World Series, before the series began.

HT to Mark Stratton.

The Edmund Fitzgerald

30 years ago today, the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk in the waters of Lake Superior.  Here's a Detroit News article - undated, but definitely written well after the shipwreck - on the events.   Here's a website the describes the storm that brought the "gales of november" early that year and the sinking of the ship.  Here is a little more on the ship and the wreck. 

If you are like me, you learned about the wreck and remember what happened through the lyrcis of Gordon Lightfoot.

Update 1:  Kip Esquire has more here.

7 Score Years Ago

140 years ago this month, the Army of Northern Virginia of the Confederate States of America surrendered to the Army of the Potomac, all but ending the American Civil War.  Here is a link to New York Times articles on the surrender.

Grafitti

Several years ago, while watching Ken Burns' Civil War, my mother remarked "People wrote and spoke so much better during the Civil War."  She was referring to the quality of writing in letters read by the various speakers during Burns' excellent documentary.

These days, imagine what sort of grafitti we'd read at the home of a traitor.  It might read "Die, you $%&*(^$ $&&@^&*%,  Rot in *&$$ you *(^ &* ! ^&%#$). 

Some grafitti was found during the resoration of former president Andrew Johnson's house.  It's message was clear and to the point:

"You best skedaddle."