I’m finishing a wonderful book called “A Short History of the World,” by Christopher Richard Lascelles (a real mouthful of a name). The book takes a whirlwind tour through history starting with the Big Bang. I wish I had read it when I was young, to give me a foundational overview of world history. It’s just 165 pages long, and imminently readable.

History is mostly the story of the rise and fall of civilizations. One thing that struck me was the number of great empires that began declining when they divided. After Alexander the Great died, the Greek empire was divided among five generals. The Mongol Empire was divided among Genghis Kahn’s four sons. The Roman empire divided in half. Charlemagne’s Frankish empire was divided among several descendants.

It made me think of the current secessionist movements in the United States, with various states wanting to withdraw and become their own country. If Texas pulled out of the US, or the northwest states, or other regions, would that begin the decline of the US as a world superpower? Probably. We could get along without the Dakotas, but if one state withdrew, other dominos would fall. And I seriously doubt we would go to war (as Lincoln did) against fellow citizens. Not today, with our emphasis on self-determination.

I remember hearing Sean Hannity talking to someone who wanted Texas to secede. Hannity concluded the interview by saying, “I support what you’re doing.” And I wondered if Hannity really understood the consequences for America. It disturbed me that this one opinionated guy with a popular TV and radio show favored the disintegration of my country, and was probably convincing millions of listeners that this was a good thing.

Then you can consider: What if the South had won the Civil War? America as we know it would not exist. Instead, we would have had two countries–significant countries, but probably not superpowers–on a continual war footing with each other. The two countries probably would have had border clashes, if not all-out wars, various times over the years–perpetual enemies. They might have become friendly, but never friends. And the world would be lesser for it.

So thank you, President Lincoln, for preserving the union. And woe to the clownish Sean Hannity and all the other people who now want to divide our country into geographical pieces.

Good piece on Politico by Gaspar Perricone, head of Bull Moose Sportsmen, an organization of hunters. He wrote in favor of universal background checks. Some points:

• A poll of their organization showed 72% support universal background checks, with exemptions for some sales between private individuals.
• 84% of their members oppose an assault weapons ban.
• “We believe background checks fall within an ethic of responsible gun ownership sportsmen have been living and teaching for generations.”
• “Aside from reasonable exceptions, like giving a gun to a family member or sharing a gun on a hunting trip, every person buying a gun in America should go through a background check. Private sellers and buyers can go to a gun dealer to process the checks and an online site to process checks should be explored.”
• “For all checks, licensed dealers should keep a record of the sale. This is merely an extension of the existing system that has been in place and has worked well for the last twenty years….Dealer record-keeping ensures checks are being done and aids law enforcement in tracking guns used in crimes.”
• “Felons, domestic abusers, and the seriously mentally ill should not have access to guns.”
• “Three out of four hunters we surveyed believe we can protect our Second Amendment rights while making it more difficult for criminals to get guns. A background check is the best method to prevent dangerous people from getting them, and a licensed dealer record is how we prosecute those that commit crimes with guns.”
• “Our support for a background check for all gun sales does not mean we support a government firearm registry of any type. We do not. The gun checks bill proposed in Congress does not and will not create a registry. The law already ensures that only dealers keep a record – and that all federal records for background checks are destroyed within 24 hours.”

This newly released photo from North Korea shows Kim Jong Un inspecting some “new” military technology. Now, doesn’t that look like one advanced piece of equipment? Note the state-of-the-art trackball. I would love to see the monitor. I’m guessing amber. And is that a North Korean wifi antenna in the background? They all seem very proud.

Tom Gara of the Wall Street Journal tweeted, “North Korea appears to have crossed a dangerous threshold and developed a fully-functioning calculator.”

The Catholic Cardinals begin meeting on Tuesday, March 11, to select a new Pope. Only those age 80 or under can vote, and news reports say there will be 115 such cardinals.

I’m very interested in all of this. There is speculation about the cardinals, for the first time, electing a Pope from outside of Europe–perhaps Africa. Curious, I went to Wikipedia for a list of cardinals, wanting to see how they broke down by region of the world.

Number of voting Cardinals from Europe: 64
Number of voting Cardinals from the rest of the world: 63

Those are just the cardinals eliglble to vote. My own numbers from Wikipedia aren’t definitive, obviously, since they add up to a dozen more cardinals than the 115 expected to attend the conclave. But it’s at least in the ballpark.

Italy alone has 49 cardinals, of whom 28 are eliglble to vote. You can hardly walk down the street without bumping into a cardinal. The US has the second-largest contingent, with 13 voting cardinals.

Here’s an extended list of the total number of cardinals in various countries. The number of cardinals obviously isn’t based on the number of Catholics in the country.

• Brazil: 9 cardinals (123 million Catholics)
• Mexico: 4 cardinals (96 million Catholics)
• Philippines: 3 cardinals (75 million Catholics)
• USA: 19 cardinals (74 million Catholics)
• France: 8 cardinals (54 million Catholics)
• Italy: 49 cardinals (53 million Catholics)
• Nigeria: 3 cardinals (37 million Catholics)
• Spain: 10 cardinals (36 million Catholics)
• Colombia: 3 cardinals (39 million Catholics)
• Congo: 1 cardinals (36 million Catholics)
• Argentina: 4 cardinals (36 million Catholics)
• Poland: 7 cardinals (35 million Catholics)
• Germany: 9 cardinals (26 million Catholics)

The selection process is somewhat secretive. How political is it? I have no idea. But I’m fascinated.

Here’s a fascinating graphic about how Iran conducts stonings. The executions are quite regulated…and still quite barbaric. But hey, the mullahs are trying hard to give a patina of civilization to their 14th Century ways. (You can also view this PDF file.)

One rule says, “The size of the stone used in stoning shall not be too large to kill the convict by one or two throws, and at the same time shall not be too small to be called a stone.”

Another rule says that adulterers can go free if they manage to wriggle out of the hole in which they are buried. Men are buried up to their waist, women up to their chest. Advantage (no surprise, this being Iran): men.

Stonings typically take 30 minutes to 2 hours for the person to die. A doctor periodically checks to see if the person is dead yet.