The winner: By the hour

The American Civil War began on this day in 1861.

"There they are cutting each other's throats, because one half of them prefer having their servants for life, and the other by the hour." -- Thomas Carlyle.

Bah!

Novelist Victor Hugo (Les Miserables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame) was born on this day in 1802.

"A glittering humbug," was what fellow author Thomas Carlyle called him.

But ours is the best, right?

The first session of the United Nations General Assembly was held on this day in 1946.

"The world is a republic of mediocrities, and always was." -- Thomas Carlyle.

"(The U. N. Charter) derives a little from the Ten Commandments, a little from the Covenant of the League of Nations, and a little from the fine print on a bill of lading," the humorist E. B. White wrote. "It is high in purpose, low in calories. Portions of it are sheer double-talk and, as a result, support double-dealing...The words of the Charter are soft and punky. The Charter makes 'agression' synonymous with 'wrongdoing', but drops the matter there, as though everyone understood the nature of sin. Yet...the users of force rarely think they are aggressing, and never admit they are. To simplify an idea this way is bad writing."

Holiday of the Month: Christmas

"If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. They would ask him to dinner, hear what he had to say, and make fun of him." -- Thomas Carlyle.