I teach chemistry in a SC public high school. It's my second career, after 24 years as a Marine officer. I have no problem working with struggling students, but we have a lot of students in this school - 18 and 19 year old freshmen - who absolutely do not give a rip about learning anything. They certainly don't care about the statewide end of course tests they are required to take. We had a kid get a zero on a physical science end-of-course test this year. The only way you can do that is to not answer a single question. If you just bubble in all "A" answers, the law of averages says you'll get a few correct! I would hate to have my pay tied to that knucklehead's performance. And what am I supposed to do to motivate that kid? On...

Can you buy home insurance when your house is on fire? Isn't that a pre-existing condition?

"Activist" judge? What article of the constitution allows Congress to mandate that I purchase something?

"Hello, Allstate? I'd like to buy home insurance." "Yes,sir. How may I help you?" "Can we make this quick? My house is on fire." "Sir, I'm afraid we can't sell you home insurance if your house is on fire." "What? You'd deny me coverage because of a pre-existing condition?" "Insuring" a pre-existing condition is not insurance.

How can he be "leaning toward the center" when he has avowed to repeal his little compromise in 2012? By the way, the compromise has been loaded up like a Christmas tree with so much junk that the Republicans should just walk away from it.

When someone turns and attacks you - or your national interests - that usually qualifies them as an enemy.

I, too, am sick of hearing these phony inflated numbers of "innocent" Iraqi civilians killed. We were so careful to avoid civilian casualties in Iraq that we frequently put our own troops at risk. Would Patton have allowed Fallujah to stand if he had been in charge of the post-war occupation of Iraq? During When civilians know that combat isabout to come to their village, they have two options: leave, or stay. Those who stay know the risks. "Civilians" who hang around Al Quida fighters are not innocent.

In reality, Operation Iraqi Freedom (the operation that deposed Saddam) was a continuation of the Gulf War of 1991. Hussein never surrendered following that conflict. He agreed to a cease fire, then violated the terms of the cease fire countless times. Finally, he violated the terms of the cease fire once too often and we revoked it. I was with 1st Marine Division in 1990-91. We all certainly believed he had WMD - primarily chemical weapons- and that he had the will to use them. He had plenty of time from 1991 to 2003 to disperse his stockpiles, but he had every intent of re-starting his weapons program as soon as the "heat" (from sanctions, etc.) died down a little - and just prior to OIF, it looked like the sanctions regime was...

I agree with Berkeley. Manning should be given a 21-gun salute. And I hope nobody misses.

I am a retired Marine officer, teaching chemistry in a public school. I think a big problem in US education is that we have fallen for too many fads. The big buzz word in science these days is "inquiry". The students should explore, and learn by questioning. I have used inquiry in my classroom, and most students hate it - they want me to give them the answers. High school kids don't behave like the adults who develop these neat theories. My students need practice, practice, practice solving problems. There are times that I don't care if they know why a method works - use the method I taught you to solve the problem. You will understand why after you have successfully done a few hundred of them. There was one very important...