Doesn't politics make for interesting "partners". Unions overwhelmingly support Democrats. Black support for Democrats is even higher. Yet, unions have worked against Blacks. Why in the Hell would Blacks ever vote for Democrats? Don't Black people, and poor Whites and Hispanics, see that these Great Society social and giveaway programs have robbed people of their dignity and created a permanent class of people on the dole? These people have been enslaved to government handout programs.

This is outrageous. White students are getting the shaft. Where's Chuck Schumer and why isn't he speaking out against this injustice? Instead of blathering on unceasingly about gun control, he should be addressing the headmaster at Stuyvesant HS and correcting this horrific problem. Where's Mayor Doomberg? He needs to stop counting calories and straighten out this high school's admissions policies. A demographic breakdown of NYC shows: 44.4% White, 26.6% Black, 9.8% Asian, 13.4% Some Other Race (Martian?). Senator and Mayor, DO YOUR JOB! Another brilliantly written column by Dr. Sowell. I never miss his thoughtful writings. His musings should be mandatory reading for all people in this country.

"But if laws alone were effective in regulating criminal behavior, prisons would be empty." No truer words were ever spoken. These efforts to pass "stronger" gun control laws are an emotional reaction to the Sandy Hook slaughter AND the stimulus, to some politicos, to take a step toward an overall gun ban. If people can detach themselves emotionally from he situation for a moment, and ask, "what would have prevented Sandy Hook"?; they'll come up with only a few answers: Adam Lanza should have been locked away long ago; Nancy Lanza should have NEVER been allowed to legally own a gun; an armed guard at Sandy Hook may have stopped Adam Lanza soon after he arrived at the school.

Rick - This makes too much sense. As in the rush to enact Obamacare, would all of the supporters who voted to enact this mammoth law have voted for it IF we had waited 5-10 years to see how things turned out in Massachusetts? The evidence in Massachusetts suggests that the healthcare laws enacted there have NOT reduced costs. Your approach to seeing how things turn out in Colorado and Washington seems sound.

What I never see in any of these studies is an answer to the question of why so many people in this country use illegal drugs or alcohol to excess. I completely understand if you are living in squalor in some third world country as to why you might "medicate" yourself with booze and drugs. But in a nation of such abundance, opportunity and things to do, drug and alcohol use/abuse have never made sense to me. What causes millions of people to want to escape from everyday life?

Politicians continue to put off the hard decisions hoping for some sort of miracle that WILL NOT COME. It's similar to a life-long smoker, diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, who finally decides to quit, hoping that he/she will be saved. The lack of guts, displayed by politicians across the globe, to make drastic spending cuts, take the heat from the citizenry, and be tossed out of office in the next election because they did the right and only reasonable thing in this crisis, is appalling. For crying out loud, you cannot spend your way out of a recession. You cannot "fix" a real estate bubble by lending more money to bad risks.

John McCain's time is past. Why the good people of Arizona continue to elect him to the Senate is a real mystery. What are the "gun control" proposals put forth by any of these elected officials really supposed to do? There is no way in Hell that you are going to prevent criminals from obtaining and using guns. Crazy people? Well, is there a background check for "crazy"? Who is to define "crazy"? Nancy Lanza certainly wasn't crazy. She did have a mentally disturbed son. Should that have disqualified Nancy Lanza from legally purchasing and possessing firearms? How about the Colorado shooter? Was he crazy? Is everyone under the care of a mental health professional "crazy"? Aren't we all a little bit crazy?

A certain nationally-known radio talk show host has been saying for years that Obama is working to destroy the country. Obama has stated over and over about how he wants to transform the nation and, as a model, he looks to the failed states of Western Europe. Making more of the citizenry dependent upon government will certainly transform the nation, but in no way that is positive. It is absolutely galling to read and listen to the tripe that comes out of POTUS and the WH each day. It is as though we're in a Banana Republic, where the dictatorial leader tells us each day that things have never been better when all around people are filled with despair.

John, it doesn't matter what the facts are. Collectively, people in this country are just plain stupid. How anyone in their right mind could think that you would add 30-40million more people to some healthcare coverage plan AND lower everyone's costs is beyond me. It defies all the laws of reason. Unfortunately, for more than 50% of the nation, as long as the politicians are providing bread and circuses, these dimwits are quite content, believing that someone else is actually paying for the "goodies" that arrive in my mailbox or magically appear on my government-issued debit card each month.

How many of you men out there have given your wives, girlfriends, etc. a "garden-variety" slap across the face? Come on, be honest. I'll bet the vast majority (95+%) have NEVER done such a thing. And, I'll bet that most of the small percentage that may have done so have never done it again. I don't think I know a single woman who would tolerate such behavior from a spouse or boyfriend. It would be "one and done".

What sort of elected or appointed officials would be so negligent as to allow nearly 50% of the taxes due to the city to go uncollected? As for the people of Detroit, there's an old adage that goes something like this; people get the government they deserve. Detroiters are getting just what they deserve, delivered to them on a broken ceramic platter by the very officials they elected.