I disagree that the debt is not the problem. It is essentially just another aspect of the problem. Too much spending creates debt. Eliminating the deficits would require stopping all the spending and promising. A large part of the problem is that too many Democrats and Republicans don't realize that we could dramatically downsize government, eliminating whole departments, and the country would do very fine without them. The promising too much problem can only be solved by putting pensions of all kinds on a pay as you go plan. In other words pensions must be financed out of current year spending within a balanced budget, with individual accounts that are owned by the employee, or the current social security payers.

Adams does more than that. He says Aiken is unfit for office. According to the new Aiken standard, most conservatives should resign. And due to Adams angry offenses, he ought to live up to the new standard and resign himself.

Normally I like what you write, but this was very unfair to Aiken. A much wiser piece was written by Rachel Alexander. Aiken is a very decent man. Decent enough to try to understand before you distort him. Are you half as big a man as Aiken, and willing to apologize for going way too far in mischaracterizing Aikens "error". My esteem for a lot of "conservative pundits has really been lowered by their ganging up on one of the best people in congress, even to the point of demanding that he resign. With this new Aiken standard that you pundits have created, there won't be very many people left to run for office. Both Romney and Ryan supported the terribly misguided "Keynesian" bailouts. Shouldn't they have resigned a long time ago?

Very well said Rachel. The mean treatment of a very good man should reawaken us to the meanness and disloyalty among many of the "conservative" Republican establishment. The treatment of Ron Paul is also very unwise. If they simply let him speak his mind without their controls over him, they would generate a lot of good will. If they really were smart they would have all of the groups come out of the convention united ready to fight side by side. But the Romney control group is not wise enough or decent enough to do that. My money that was reluctantly going to Romney, is now going to Aiken.

Well said Diana. When a decent person said something out of line, he should be challenged, allowed to correct his statement or apologize. The hateful campaign against Akin was much worse than anything that he did. Coulter, Malkin, and even Limbaugh turned in shameful performances. Romney and Ryan have not only said dumb things. They have done dumb things, like supporting the financial bailouts. The smart thing for them to do was keep their mouth shut. But they aren't smart enough. This will be another hold your nose and vote election.

We see dozens of poorly chosen words like this every day, on all sides. Many of the comments, threats, and meanness on the part of conservative pundits is much worse than Aikens flub. In fact downright mean and shameful. Using their own standard, they should all resign!

I certainly don't advocate laws against suicide, simply that we have a right to help them avoid it. The argument is to dispute the notion that there is no room in our moral code to protect people from themselves, as Stossel often advocates. The simple experiences of decent people (like parents) can see the danger and inhumanity of that philosophy.

Basically we should be free to do what we want until we violate the moral order that is necessary to keep us free and safe from harm. It is not legitimate to separate "economic" and personal liberty. True economic(praxiological) conepts concern human action of all sorts. And the moral code applies to humans acting. Once the Christian world view that created this free society is finally destroyed, there will no longer be any room for libertarians either.

The "libertarian" notion that we can't legislate morality is nonsensical. That is the only legitimate purpose of government!! We need to enforce a moral code that prevents thievery, fraud, slavery, violence, endangerment, abuse, etc. Libertarians will use force to protect their children from sexual abuse just as quickly as a "conservative". So libertarian opposition to the moral code is reduced to exposing their children to predators, prostitution, and drugs at 18. I am sure glad that my parents loved me more than that.

Stossel has some good insights. But his agnosticism makes him blind to the role that agape love plays in making human society and freedom work. It comes out in a world view that is often uncaring and unloving, going so far as to advocate that people should be allowed the "freedom" to sell their body parts. An ordinary person rejects the notion that people should be "allowed" to do whatever they want with their own body the first time they have to restrain their todler from running into the street. We reject the notion that people should be "allowed" to commit suicide the first time we have to rescue our teenager from depression from a momentary let-down.