Quotes of the day

They say the Romans allowed their civilization to collapse because they made decisions founded on a worldview that simply could not imagine a world without Rome. They had a failure of imagination. We too, cannot imagine a world without the U.S. at its center, and are acting equally irresponsibly.--Tim Kane

Americans genuinely, desperately, need to pay down debt, which means buying fewer goods and services that other Americans make their living off of. And I think that Arnold Kling is right when he identifies a massive structural unemployment problem. The financial and housing sectors were grossly bloated, and being a mortgage broker or a structured finance associate does not actually prepare you for much in the fields that are still growing, like health care and bankruptcy law.--Megan McArdle

Congratulations to Jimmy on his election to the Hall of Fame. It was long overdue. He was a great teammate and a friend. I'm looking forward to his induction in July. I can only hope the day will come when Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant will also join us in Cooperstown.--Carl Yazstremski

... Rice led all AL in homers and RBIs during his 16-year career, and that the only retired players with both a career average and a home run total as high as Rice's were Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, and Williams -- all baseball legends, all of whom are in Cooperstown.--Chad Finn on Dick Bresciani's report

I’m envious that [John Smoltz will] be playing in Boston and I never got to play in Boston.--Tom Glavine