It's the proverbial slippery slope, when personal choice is eroded in everything from health care to what is stocked on the store shelves. The encroachment of left-wing central planning degrades every culture where it becomes entrenched, bringing with it corruption and misery well hidden from public consumption by an increasingly arrogant government/party elite. The Democratic Party is to America now what the Communist Party is to mainland China. Rachel's article here is brilliant and important, unfortunately its only readership is the "choir".

If I had children on that flight, especially if they were anywhere near that character, I would have become borderline, combatively irate enough to probably have been ejected from that flight.

Everyone, including the Democrats, agreed for ten years prior to the removal of Saddam, that in addition to his being a genocidal monster, there was potentially wider and long-term catastrophic risk in leaving him in power, by simply maintaining the no-fly zone, etc. on a permanent (indeterminate) basis. Muslim culture has left no good solutions for the free-world as they pursue their violently self-centered, erratic and zenophobic totalitarian ambitions. At the time, the Iraq expedition was certainly the right thing to do, while Bush took a year to orchestrate it and develop a reasonable coalition, last minute doubts notwithstanding; it was clearly supported by the Democrats until the very last moment when it was convenient for them to...

Italian!

Thank-you sir, from my point of view your perspective is virtually always enlightening and in concert w/ my own viewpoint, the ability to change one's mind about controversial issues, is the mark of a mature person; now if we could just get the Obama crowd to grow up. I wonder what is the threshold in numbers of casualties and deaths from some single or string of man caused disasters, emanating from a certain group in diversities cause it isn't fair for us to name even tactfully, before the public finally becomes incensed.

Almost always find your comments relevant Mr. Phillips, and this article is particularly relevant, actually compelling. I've long thought there was an unfortunate complex of interior cultural problems associated with most of the educational failures of America's minorities, but especially for the youth of our "black" culture of post 1950's urbanization. Tie it to some process of self destructive self-concept, the result of racism, perhaps, but some people still manage to find the where-with-all to prevail in spite of the difficulties, both real and imagined. To cut to the quick, however, when "black" kids finally figure out that they can compete intellectually just like they remarkably excel on the basketball court, there will be...

"His implication that millions of citizens were rioting in the streets of France is sheer nonsense." A nuance of accuracy perhaps; what is true is that millions of disaffected "asian" ghetto immigrants in France are feeding the now frequent riots of almost exclusively muslim "youth", with literally thousands of cars burned annually, and includes their successful establishment of no-go areas for police and emergency personnel. However, back to topic, and Mr. Phillips very relevant clarification concerning the social security controversy; like their (now) first cousins the communists, we can count on the Democrats and their central planners engaging in endless bait and switch strategies, gaming the electoral and legislative system...

Just a nice heart warming post Ann...