Free Republic

King Pyrrhus is one of my favorite historic figures. An orphan of sorts who lost his father and uncle to failed wars, Pyrrhus was raised outside the Greek city-state of Epirus where he was supposed to inherit rule. He became an amazing warrior and was eventually put back into power by Ptolemy with whom he became friends after being sent to his service in Egypt. His ambitions knew no bounds, and soon he was conquering other city-states on his way to briefly become king of Macedon. His adventures and work on behalf of Greek city-states took him to Italy where...

Pyrrhus was king of the Hellenistic kingdom of Epirus whose costly military successes against Macedonia and Rome gave rise to the phrase' Pyrrhic victory'. In 281 BC Tarentum, a Greek colony in southern Italy, asked his assisstance against Rome. Pyrrhus crossed to Italy with 25,000 men and 20 elephants. He won a complete, but costly, victory over a Roman army at Heraclea. In 279 Pyrrhus, again suffering heavy casualties, defeated the Romans at Asculum. His remark 'Another such victory and I shall be ruined' gave name to the term 'Pyrrhic victory' for a victory obtained at to great a...

GOP goon squad can’t rattle McCain DL-Online Published Saturday, February 09, 2008 It’s been a kind of perverse pleasure to watch Sen. John McCain overcome the vitriol of talk radio’s conservative goon squad. Despite vicious daily broadsides from Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham (and their sycophants on regional and local talk radio), McCain emerged Tuesday as the front-runner among Republican candidates for president. On Thursday, the senator’s only credible competition, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, suspended his campaign, effectively handing the nomination to McCain. So much for the influence of the talkers with the base of...