It's hard to pick a "winner" in the greatest "despot/mass murder-of-all-time awards", but Joe Stalin had to be close to the top. Andrew Jackson was also an inspired choice, I'd have to say. Columbus did pretty well in his time, though not so well as some of those who followed him. Pol Pot probably managed to kill a higher percentage of his own citizenry than anyone else on record. How about Cortez and Pizzaro? Mass murderers par excellence. The Aztecs were pretty good at it too, by the way. That's why the other Mexican tribes helped the Spanish fight them (poor suckers! They had no idea who they were assisting or what would happen after the Spanish won...).

It goes on and on. It baffles me how anyone could think that I would find the activities of such genocidal despots unobjectionable...but that's what happens when people generalize a specific statement, I suppose...or take it out of context.

- LH