Interesting that Sowell doesn't name Newt. But at this point, who else? Of course, things could change. Seems that the candidates get their 15 minutes and flame out. Meanwhile, Romney steadily plods along. A couple months ago I would have laughed at the notion of taking Newt seriously. And now the idea isn't so far-fetched. I'd certainly love to see Newt debate Obama. What a crazy world. Washington leads the nation deeper and deeper into the wilderness, and we all know it, and we can't come up with a candidate that's not damaged goods. Seems that the world of politics has little tolerance for wisdom and decency. God help us.

There's certainly a problem when half the country works for a living and the other half votes for a living.

As a side issue, I'm remembering the recent event where Obama supported James Hoffa after Hoffa said the Tea Party had declared war on American workers, and in consequences he urged American workers to fight back and kill Tea Party supporters. Aside from being vile and divisive, the irony is that I think a lot of us go the extra mile to support the American worker through our discretionary purchases. I look at that "Made in ..." label for everything I buy, and choose American if I've got a choice. What I object to, of course, is the excessive political power of public sector unions, resulting in cronyism and sweetheart deals for the connected few, leaving the people to foot the bill.

Stossel makes a technical point that is too valid to ignore. But he doesn't capture the entirety of the problem. America is consuming more than it produces. This should be a self-correcting situation, in that we simply wouldn't have the money to run an endless accounts deficit. But due to the dollars status as a reserve currency, and Fed policy, it's possible for us to build up an unhealthy debt bubble. At this point, we'll probably never pay off our debts; rather we'll depreciate our currency. This is a dirty way to run an economy. Maybe I'm being childish, but I want the nation to live within its means. Produce more, consume less. Maybe it's a point of vanity, but I'll go out of my way to buy American.

I don’t blame this stupid, selfish kid as much as I blame the system that enables him. We’re all born stupid and selfish. It’s the responsibility of adults to teach us to grow up, rather than enabling us to remain eternal infants.

We pass a lot of laws to "protect" children. The police will come after you if they're not wearing a seat belt, or in some cases if you light up a cigarette. There are movements to ban male circumcision. We have laws for education (the new California law emphasizes homosexuals in history), laws for nutrition. But we ignore the most basic, the most important rule that's so much more important than everything else combined: A child should have a mother and a father who are committed to stick with that child through his or her formative years. An intact family is the thing that carries a child to maturity. Give him that and he'll survive the other stuff that goes wrong. Deny him that, and all the regulations in the world don't mean a thing.

Maybe it doesn't matter. Since our schools can't teach kids to read or write, they'll probably likewise fail in conveying vital lessons like Jefferson's interior decorator was gay. The only annoying thing is that these lunatic mandates cost money, since there will be a lot of expenses involved in writing and procuring the revised history books. Fortunately the state has lots and lots of money to spend on such essential endeavors.

It's hard to imagine that anyone who actually read the Old Testament would describe the Jews as having the "starring role", as if that were a glorious thing. The Bible is full of stories of Jews going astray, forgetting their God, transgressing, slipping and falling, and paying the price. It's a harsh reminder of our burden and of the work to be done, not a pat on the back. The bearing on reality is obvious enough, for anyone with open eyes. The tale of the Jews, in hard historical facts, defies any rational explanation. It compels any intellectually honest atheist to concede that there *might* be something to this.

This event reinforces what I'd already been thinking; that Trump wasn't a serious candidate, but a pundit and entertainer who makes the motion of jumping into the ring as a statement about the dearth of satisfying candidates, not to mention a means of self-promotion. I agree that Trump's words are inappropriate for a president; yet he gave voice to a sentiment of disgust I feel for the suicidal dysfunction that rules the day in Washington. There's no word other than "F---!" to express the spirit of watching your own government put your kids hopelessly in debt to pay off its cronies while it curses you for being a racist and a fascist. Seems to me we're long past the point to hit the panic button, because when the dollar crashes, there...

The Christian is charitable with the fruits of his labor. The Leftist is charitable with the fruits of the other guy's labor. Catch the difference? The one is a hero; the other is a thief. Prager didn't cite Ayn Rand here, with whom he would have serious arguments. You brought Rand into the discussion. But both Rand and Prager condemn the sort of crony capitalism that seems to have become the norm for both Democrats and Republicans. The politicians play us against each other, knowing we'll take our discord to Washington like children pleading for daddy to settle an argument. And we fall for it every time. We voluntarily deliver ourselves into the hands of stupid, evil men and women. The nation will continue to decline until we realize...