Don Wood Files

A tragedy of errors and stubbornness.

2004-09-11T00:54:00.001-07:00

Dec 12-13, 1862. Waves upon waves of Union soldiers facing a firing squad of Lee's troops. Burnside couldn't stop himself from perpetuating the slaughter. The Angel of Fredericksburg helped the dying, risking death himself. Then, a rare display of Northern Lights cast their magic over the fallen troops. The only maneuver that worked for the Federals was their retreat. 6,000 dead in a day. And every night I sleep in this house from which Confederate sharpshooters tried to stop their tragic advance. If only they had stopped the Feds, or the Feds had stopped themselves....

The Daily Howler

2004-09-11T00:54:00.000-07:00

Let’s repeat what we’ve told you for years. If we couldn’t observe such inane conversations, it would be hard to believe they were humanly possible. When you were an idealistic kid in high school, had it ever so much as crossed your mind that humans engaged in conversations like this? Had it ever crossed your mind that adult humans could be half this stupid?

The Pope's Alarm Clock

2004-09-06T00:53:00.000-07:00

Pope Paul VI was presented with an alarm clock in 1923. It served him faithfully for 55 years, waking him promptly at 6 o?ck every morning. On Sunday 6th August 1978, the alarm clock rang, apparently of its own accord; at 9:40 p.m.-it was the very moment that the Pope died.