Few people argue that it's OK for a woman, even an abused woman, to shoot a man in cold blood when she's not in danger at the time. There are shelters for battered women, and the staff know not to tell who's there. So why can't women just leave?

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?

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.