GEITNER SIMMONS OBSERVES that “We’re merely living in a lull between the future terrorist earthquakes.” This is probably right. He goes on to analyze Angelo Codevilla’s “we’re not doing enough” critique of the Bush Administration.

And scroll down for Geitner’s take on a bizarre outbreak of neo-confederatism.

I don’t get this. Oh, anyone who reads Confederates in the Attic (and everyone should) can grasp the way in which the Civil War can capture people’s imagination. But wishing the South had won? Ridiculous. Anyone who wishes that should read Harry Turtledove’s all-too-plausible alternate history novels (here’s the first in the series) in which the South did win the Civil War, leaving the United States looking, well, like Europe. Ugh.