> I do not seek out association with people I view
> as demented.
There's a lot to be said for the renunication of experience. It simplifies your life considerably, and conduces to a worldview which is admirably clean-cut, if perhaps a bit lacking in nuance.
> Yes, I read a bio of Sherman, and he struck me as a dangerous lunatic. ...
> He also oversaw military action against Native Americans,
> including -- replicating his destruction of civilian food supplies during
> the Civil War -- slaughtering buffalos to deprive the Plains Indians of
> their primary food. Nifty guy.
All quite true, but I think the original question was whether military officers were stupid, not whether they were nice.
--
Michael J. "Nuancy-boy" Smith mjs at smithbowen.net