You are absolutely correct and Mr. Tatro is completely mistaken. He has fallen for the Keynesian fallacy that the economy is all about supply- meaning that if the government will only apply enough stimulus, everything will be fine. And that brings us to the one thing Mr. Tatro is correct about, everything is not fine.

The Democrat party is the party of the ends justify the means. This is what you get when you put people with that philosophy in power. It is what you will always get without exception. As bad as Holder is, if Obama were to to replace him, it would only be with someone just as corrupt. Until voters understand this fact and stop electing "the ends justify the means" candidates (meaning progressives or liberals or whatever else they might call themselves), there will be no end to the scandals.

What planet do I need to visit to see the solidly conservative Republican party you write about?

We already live in a police state, but it's not Al Qaeda that put us there, but our own government. With all of the myriad laws on the books today, it is impossible to not be in violation of some law or other on a regular basis. As a result, the government can target anyone they choose and find a reason to put them behind bars. And it is only getting worse.

Obama "willfully ignores the notion of tyrannical government" because he doesn't want the people to understand that he is at heart a dictator. He wants to dictate how we should live our lives. The only freedom he believes in is the freedom for everyone to do everything his way.

I am involved in recruitment for my employer. I can assure you that a college degree is no assurance that an applicant has learned much at all. In fact, we have resorted to giving applicants a short high-school level exam before making anyone a job offer. It is astounding how many college graduates do terribly on a high-school level exam. There is a reason even many college graduates are waiting tables or parking cars. Their college degree prepared them for nothing better. Anyone considering going to college needs to be very careful to be sure that the degree they are considering is really worth the cost, because many are not.

I can't call myself a conservative. A better word would be restorative. I want to restore our government to the sort of limited government our founders envisioned. I certainly do not want to conserve the despicable monstrosity we have now, as seems to be the goal of most Republicans, which is why I can't call myself a Republican either.

You wrote, "The American nation might be quite a large family, but it is a family nonetheless. As Americans we are bound by shared traditions, shared citizenship, and a collective embrace of the values that guided our founding." No, we are not a large family and, judging from the results of the last election, over half of us have no use for the values that guided our founding.

You wrote. "Repealing legislation which violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution is a matter of justice. And more importantly do such laws actually raise the standard of living of the targeted minority groups?" I didn't know you were a liberal, but giving the Constitution such a low status certainly proves you are.

You forgot to mention the millions of people who would never think of stealing from their fellow citizens but who don't hesitate to elect a government that will steal on their behalf.