"No Discourse whatsoever, can End in absolute Knowledge of Fact."

~Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1651

It doesn't give one much hope for places like TPMCafe. Besides, some of the recent hijinks make this suit my pessimistic mood.

Why is the 1812 Overture considered a canonical part of Fourth of July celebrations? I mean, it's about the Napoleonic Wars. France? Russia? At one point, I wondered if it might be reflecting the sentimentality of the Marseillaise in Casablanca. But France loses in the song, so that makes no sense.

Maybe it's just the cannons... (Yep, pun intended.)