My criteria is hardly scientific. I looked at the list and asked my self: Which of these names make me me think "Of course he should be in the Hall of Fame!" the most?

1. Don Mattingly

2. Dave Parker

3. Jack Morris

If I'm not mistaken...on page 214,193 they also leak the contents of Al Capone's vault.

Alas Sergei, I think the demographic I mentioned is about as likely to read Bernard Lewis as they are to wear an "I heart Palin" t-shirt.

I originally was going to end my above question with "or am I just crazy?" But allow me to elaborate a bit on my "theory":

There is a huge percentage of the population (and virtually all of California) who have never heard or read the musings on Islam by the likes of Steyn, Hitchens, Hirsi Ali, Wilders, Geller, Spencer, etc...and never will. People who only watch Fox when Married With Children is on. People who think the NY Times practices unbiased journalism.

These people live in that PC-insulated world that doesn't generally allow for much in the way of critical analysis of cultures...other than our own.

Call me crazy but THIS could signify a major shift no?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhvhNZC51gY

Do you think that the mostly lefty Bill Maher recently sounding more like Mark Steyn when it comes to Islam and the superiority of Western Culture is a sign of a significant shift in the zeitgeist?

And good call on the Man of the 20th Century :)

Peter,

Just want to say how much I enjoy Uncommon Knowledge! My only issue with it is I hate watching a Part 1 that is so interesting and then having to wait for the rest.

On the plus side, I was able to scroll down and watch 10 consecutive A+ sections with VDH and the gorgeous and talented Claire Berlinski. And did I mention that Claire is gorgeous...man I was completely captivated. Almost made me want to move to Instanbul.

Yes keep in mind Rob that being disappointed with Mad Men is often the result of it being a show that set a very high bar. There were packs of Sopranos episodes toward the end that disappointed me in a big way (coma-dream sequences galore)...but it was still better than watching anything else on offer.

Alright then I withdraw my suspicion. I thought maybe you preferred your world leaders to be effete academics with Mom jeans.

Kenneth,

Your suspicious mocking of the man most responsible for the fact that we are not conversing in German would be well received in the White House. I do, however, thank you greatly for that last piece of advice.

Rob, how can you not like that fact that Don Draper is sitting there, struggling to write down his thoughts, and one of them is: "look at me, writing down what happened today like a little girl."

That's awesome.

Kenneth, while I truly appreciate the concern, I have made it a policy to avoid taking advice from people who use any of the following three words:

-Tweet

-Newbie

-Avatar

Which I guess is a roundabout way of saying that I agree with James' post...and sadly, the days of world leaders who can write like Churchill are gone forever. But Mad Men still PWNES...oh wait...that's the 4th word on my list!

How can you guys (Rob, Andrew et al) be so right about everything else but so wrong about Mad Men. OK, granted it is subjective. But the last two episodes have been two of my all-time favorites. To me this show keeps getting better and better, but maybe it's just because I've been out of sorts lately.

Although that song pales in comparison to the timeless 'Malignant Narcissist's Blues'

Ah yes, 'A Certain Man from Tennessee' is such a great song. I like the verse:

A certain Man from Honolulu*,

A certain Man from Germantown,

A not-so certain Man from Scranton,

Thought the Alaskan was a clown.

Then the man from Honolulu*,

Threw the man from Germantown,

beneath that rolling bus of Hope

where he never would be found...

[*citation needed]

At least I think that's how it goes. Good Times.

You might actually be able to add a bunch of land (and oil) to that northern tip of Santa Fe county...or perhaps add a new one called Alberta County. I know the idea would make many Albertans quite happy.

James, that is some SERIOUSLY well written and fascinating philosophy (man I love this Ricochet thing). It sounds like you have really immersed yourself in the writings of Tocqueville, to the point of almost channelling him, if I may be so metaphysical.

This whole internet thing ain't so bad after all.