The Romans understood nation building, an art we and the British have forgotten.

Everybody ignores the only health care question that matters - how do we limit demand for it?

"It is the duty of every officer of His Majesty's Navy, to discharge powder and shot in the general direction of the enemy."

The trouble is, the system was designed to keep a record of who was where, when.

Americans can show good judgment, and do have a conscience, and are willing to be reasonable - if the other side is being reasonable too.

It is better not to have a rule at all, than to have one which is not taken seriously, because disregarding the rules grows habitual.

Brazil serves as an object lesson in how government incompetence - not greed, not really bribery even, certainly not totalitarianism, just simple incompetence - can make life difficult on an otherwise free and vibrant economy.