"No wealthy person can afford to be without connections in government when the government has the power to take everything he has." . . . Richard J. Maybury - Whatever Happened to Justice . . .

I don’t hear the author saying what you allege. I think he’s saying “if we can smuggle arms to the Mexican drug cartels, maybe we can smuggles arms to Syrian Christians and other friends so they can at least protect themselves.”

What is “liberal” an what is “conservative” anymore? “Capitalism” – what does that mean? What does “gay” have to do with homosexuality? “The battle for the world is the battle for definitions” . . . Thomas Szasz

My guess: most politicians understand the inconceivable complexity of the economy as well as they understand the ignorance of the voting majority, which they seize as an opportunity to acquire control and power. Bad economic outcomes, to them, are more or less irrelevant since every crises is deemed another political opportunity.

Mr. Connerly: Good column. How about the next one being about our, soon to be, one-size-fits-all medical care scheme?

If “ignorance of the law is no excuse” how can Congress exempt themselves from “Obamacare” now that they have passed it and found out what is in it?

"The bureaucrat's first objective, of course, is preservation of his job – provided by the big-government system, at taxpayer's expense. ... Whether real-world problems get solved or not is of secondary importance. It doesn't take much cynicism, in fact, to see that the bureaucrats have a vested interest in not having problems solved. If the problems did not exist (or had not been invented), there would be no reason for the bureaucrat to have a job." . . . former Treasury Secretary William Simon (1927-2000) . . . We could substitute “politician” for “bureaucrat” in the above quote and it would fit 95% of Congress .

"When no good military options exist none should be taken." . . . defense analyst and author Ivan Eland - on Syria (5/1/13) . . . Pulling back from his “red line” promise is the first smart policy decision Obama has made.

This about “Doing Bad by Doing Good” – title of a book just out by Christopher Coyne, an Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University.

What is the UN but a government of governments. Is anyone surprised that it’s screwed up?

I don’t care who’s President, the sweetest sound that can ever come out of Washington is “legislative roadblock.”