According to the US Census rules, I can declare myself any ethnic or racial group I want. I'm for that -- if everyone in the US said they were Native American, what would that do to all the affirmative action programs? GOOD! I'm all for that too!

My dad's side goes back to 1630 and mother's to 1737. Probably some interaction with the natives, but nothing documented that I can find. I, while I find Warren's actions deplorable and typical of those who really don't much care about how they get where they're going just that they get there, proudly categorize myself as a Native American every chance I get. I was born in the US (my birth city has a Mohican name; does that count for anything?) and I am a proud American, ergo I AM a Native American -- just not of Amerind descent.

Alas, Dr. Sowell, you forget that, just as all the children in Lake Woebegone are above average, so are all those in the US, or for that matter the world.

Big advantage of using the horizontal drilling (which is really the technological step forward as we've been fracking for more than 50 years) is that a single 10 acre drill site could easily draw oil (and NG) from several square miles of the oil field. Less impact on the environment and easier collection of the oil and NG.

I have many times proposed what I think is a reasonable, workable solution to the tort suit situation in the US. Simply require that the plaintif receive a minimum of one half the amount he claims as damages if the suit actually gets into the court system. If he wins, he gets it from the defendent. If he loses, he gets it from his attorney whose right to practice law is suspended until the money is paid. Anyone with a real case will be able to find an attorney on a contingency basis; claims will be much more reasonable in size; the incentive to settle prior to trial will be on both sides; and the court dockets will be much smaller.

But FICA isn't a tax! It is an insurance premium. How do I know? Well, I've been told that since they first took it out of my check more than 60 years ago. It goes into a trust fund and is used to pay my benefits when I get old enough. So, it can't be a TAX. Or have I been lied to for so many years? Gosh, if you can't trust the government, who is there left to trust?

Rachel, so if I understand you correctly, you wouldn't have a problem with a restaurant which allowed smoking provided you were warned that was the case and the smoke wasn’t pumped to the sidewalk in front of the restaurant? What if that restaurant was the only one within 50 miles that made your favorite restaurant meal? Which of your two “personal freedoms” would rule? The one where you didn’t want to be bothered by cigarette smoke or the one where you can eat at any public restaurant you want?

Only one question for you. If the Castro Brothers and Che were so good for the Cuban people why do so many still try to paddle across to the US every year? I mean, after 50 years, all the Batista supporter should have been eliminated, shouldn't they?

My son has two minor children. He attends college full-time and works full-time as well. His income is right on the cusp of qualifying for CHIP and Medicare. Depending on hours worked, his eligibility changes virtually monthly. So, once a month he is required to fill out eligibility papers and if he is "lucky" enough to qualify for CHIP, he will be removed from form filing for six months while he pays the required CHIP premium every month. But, if the form goes in when he's had a slow month, he suddenly is NOT ELIGIBLE for CHIP and must be registered under Medicaid. The government is doing him an enormous favor by saving him the premium which is prefectly willing to pay. And then, it takes six weeks to get Medicare coverage

2023 to 2035: They meet the payments by either raising taxes or borrowing money or reducing the payments. Or the Fed can buy Treasuries with fiat money. Hope we have enough trees!