Ann called me a Democrat!?! Fighting words! While I disagree wih Ann about Romney and have been angered by her repeating of left-wing lies about Gingrich, I have to admit that Romney would seem to have the best chance of beating Obama. For Ann, defeating Obama is of the upmost importance, and she makes some good arguments in support of that desire. I place a little less importance on that goal so I fail to see how supporting Romney, who to me seems more feckless than McCain, is in my interest. Despite this disagreement, Ann and I still share the same goals so I can easily forgive her for this one flaw.

Criminals do make lawyers rich. When the criminal cannot afford a lawyer, the taxpayer pays.

You may have forgotten that Bush was a little busy with other matters in his first term. Visiting Israel would not have been high on his priorty list.

I was going to address some of your comments but they all appear to be made by crazy people so I will just say, "look, a bird!" and Mr. Sowell, as usual, see things more clearly than most.

The rewriting of history astounds me. The ethics charges leveled against Gingrich (all of which were eventually found to be baseless) were clearly motivated by revenge for Gingrich's role in forcing Speaker Jim Wright to resign a few years earlier. I have never been a fan of the politics of personal destruction that Gingrich used to force Wright's resignation or which was later used to force Gingrich's resignation, but I am even less of a fan of those who seek to distort history. Gingrich didn't resign because of the ethic charges. He resigned because he had lost the confidence of those he led. Sowell is correct that Gingrich has a long history of accomplishment.

It seems to me that no one ever asks why we have a legal system in the first place. I believe the primary reason civilizations felt it necessary to create the concept of a legal system was because, in its absence, individuals were required to seek their own justice--a justice that was inherently unequal. Civilizations sought to eliminate this inequity by codifying crimes and punishments. The individual is asked to forgo his desire for justice and enters into a compact with the State. A large portion of the American public (probably a majority) feels that death is the only just punishment for murder. When the State fails to seek this only remedy, what is the individual to do? I feel I would be required to seek my own justice.

I have been an atheist most of my life. I have read nearly everything Rand has written on morality. I have read and listened to Prager for over 20 years. I have tried for many of those 20 years to find an answer to Prager's challenge to atheists: If there is no God, why is murder wrong? Nothing in Rand's philosophy provides me with an answer. Nothing I can conceive answers the question. I have heard no one else provide an answer that wasn't circular. I have been forced to admit that Prager is correct. I remain an atheist because I honestly believe there is no God. I recognize the consequences of a world without absolute morality and it does not make me happy. If you think that is sad, provide an answer I have not heard before.

I don't think Cons object to learning about sex. What they object to is the debasement of human sexuality that this "demonstration" advanced. Do students learn more about human sexuality by watching a woman manipulate herself or do they learn more by reading the poetry written by Dead White European Men? If you believe you learn more through the former, then you are the culmination of the nihilist Left: an animal.

I agree with Medved that such rhetoric is unhelpful but think he should be directing his criticism toward liberals for whom this rhetoric often seems to be the entirety of their arguments.

Newt Well, I thank you for your respectful reply even though I implied you were verbose :-) I couldn't possibly prove my conclusion in this forum any more than Prager could prove his in his column. My conclusion was based only on my experience in observing our political and social discourse over many years. The discussion following the Arizona shootings simply caused me to have an epiphany. I did not follow a line of reasoning to reach my conclusion--I just thought it and said to myself: wow, why didn't I ever see that before? If I had the time and the talent, I feel I could prove it--I am that certain it is true. My explanation for the success of the tactic (its causing introspection and immobility) is less than perfect I...