I know what I'd say, but others have said it better. "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies; The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis, In Freedom "The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may...

A controlled economy needs a thug corps. Here they are - what color shirts you think they'll wear?

I'll see you that politically incorrect Benjamin, and raise you one politically incorrect. Female teachers getting Bibilical with their male students have different consequences than males predating on underage girls, because boys and girls are DIFFERENT! Wow, what a concept! What could be serious psychic trauma for a young girl could be a heck of an experience for a boy that makes him the envy of other boys. I've had three male friends who lost their virginity at age eleven or younger, one of them "molested" by a babysitter. None of them viewed the experience as traumatizing, and yes, I have to say I felt a twinge of envy for the lucky stiffs. And yes, I'd kill the son-of-a... who did that to my daughter. Because boys and girls...

There is indeed a lot of bad writing out there, and I'm collecting some of the more egregious examples that occur in journalism for a book that will sadly, be longer than Strunk and White. However please, "pidgin" does not mean bad English (or any other language.) A pidgin is a combined language formed when two linguistic groups meet and for convenience of communication arrive at a common vocabulary and very simple grammar. It's like an Esperanto, only evolved rather than designed. When human nature follows its course and members of the groups raise children speaking the pidgin as their first langauge, it becomes a creole. It's worth remembering English originated as a pidgin that became a creole. I have often wondered if that makes...

When I was teaching English in Bulgaria in 1997, I had an advanced class of 18 young women. One day I brought up the controversy in the US over "partial-birth abortion." One student said, "A woman has a right to an abortion five minutes before she goes into the delivery room." I started describing the "partial-birth abortion" process. Within one minute the entire class was literally begging me to stop.

When Jessie Jackson made those remarks about how he feels on the street, I was living in Poland. I found the ensuing controversy ironic. Because what occurred to me was if I'm on the street late at night in Warsaw, and I hear someone behind me, if I see he's black - I'm relieved. I know a black man is probably an African student. A white man late at night might have been a local out to mug someone for beer money.

In a perfect world - John Bolton for president with either Jindal or Rubio as his running mate. Sarah Palin for RNC chairman, doing what she does brilliantly, supporting candidates.

Citing the diferences between Reagan and Goldwater on gay marriage is misleading. My first political experience in junior high was working at the local Goldwater campaign HQ. The issue of gay marriage didn't exist at that time. I don't believe anyone even imagined such a thing back then.

I think there is some misapprehension here, though steming from noble motives and a desire not to believe the worst about people. These people are not ignorant of Castro's crimes against humanity - they're awed and envious of his power. Cowards and weaklings admire strength, but have no idea what real strength is. They think it's brutality.

I like "step on you" better.