In the New York Times this morning, a story about the Tour de France mentions a statue to Tom Simpson, a rider who in the 1960s cycled himself to death. Like the Vasa entry below, it struck me as another example of a European country praising a somewhat disturbing failure. I wonder if Amercans are just not honest enough about our failures to publically acknowledge them. Perhaps we need a big memorial to Richard Nixon outside the Capital in Washington D.C. as a constant reminder to our representatives.