A couple weeks back, Asa and I wondered how libertarian blogger (and Southerner) Glenn Reynolds sees Confederate flag-flying and the Civil War in general. Well, he must read our blog, because Mr. Instapundit himself has posted two (here's the first one) interesting little pieces (and the second) on the Civil War and the loony pro-confederates found in the dark reaches of the far-right.

I've never understood the romanticization of the Confederacy. It didn't last very long, it was horribly run and governed, it accomplished nothing but disaster and defeat, and it existed in the service of a horrible cause. I once angered an alumnus of Washington & Lee by suggesting that Robert E. Lee, however personally admirable he might have been in some ways, bore huge responsibility -- if he had honored his oath to the Union, the war probably would have been over in six months, leaving everyone (and especially the South) better off.