Ender's Game, and other items

First, a moment to note the passing of two of the "leading lights" of the segregationists, Strom Thurmond and Lester Maddox. I would be hard-pressed to think of something that either man contributed to this nation, and Thurmond, through the luck of living to be 100, certainly did not deserve the label of "elder statesman" he got in his final years in the Senate. Nonetheless, the passing even of such venal men requires a moment to ponder their roles in history. There is something strange about the notion that a man who ran against Truman for thw White House was still in the Senate on New Year's Day of 2003. A lot of history was in that man, and even if the lessons we learn are all negative, they tell us much about this nation as it was before civil rights, and after.

Now on to the book of the day, "Ender's Game." I've tried to leave any spoilers or details out, but just in case...( Read more... )