January 15, 2012, a date soon to be upon us is actually a very important date. It is the 150th anniversary of the date that President Abraham Lincoln appointed Edwin McMasters Stanton to be his Secretary of war. Stanton replaced Simon Cameron who was dismissed by Lincoln for including in his yearly report the call of freed slaves to be armed and used against the Confederate Army. Stanton was Lincoln's closest adviser during the Civil War. Lincoln described Stanton as “the rock on the beach of our national ocean against which the breakers dash and roar, dash and roar without ceasing.

Just as Scott Lindquist disclaims creative writing cred, I am no blogger. But like Tina Turner’s famous ex once said, “I’ll try anything…one time.” Shawn Hewitt, the patient, resolute slave-driver behind getting this wonderful new site up and at ‘em for the benefit of our members, seems to think that I as President need to say something in blog form. As if anybody really cares what I have to say. And if you do, you can wait a month and a half and read it in Paper Money! As if! Shawn is, of course, right.