History lesson

Rep. James Moran (D-Va.), recently: “We have the ability to be the Athens of the modern world, but we’re perceived as Sparta.”

Let's use the appearance of this unfortunate statement as an opportunity for everyone to brush up on his classical history.

In fact, it was Athens that was the imperial menace of the Aegean world, and people from the tip of the Peloponnese to the Ionian Coast and beyond loathed the city-state for its dominance. Only after its defeat at the hands of Sparta did Athens bloom as a center of philosophy.

Perhaps Moran secretly wishes us to lose the war on Terror!