It's a far better thing, as well as much easier, for government to act to prevent a disaster, or at least to warn residents loudly and clearly of the potential consequences of their foolish choices.

Why such a difference between the handling of the California fires, vs Katrina in New Orleans?

These bridges have needed fixing for 25 years and they're still operating?

Somewhere in the Great Beyond, Hermann Goering is laughing.

What does Mr. Gates plan to do with all the extra people that won't die from malaria now that his foundation has found a cure?

In recent years, the dream of home ownership has gotten farther and farther out of reach, as house prices have escalated. According to a recent study, the primary cause is excessive zoning laws - that is, government over-regulation.

Inspecting IDs is a waste of time and money, but it's ideal from the bureaucratic point of view because it doesn't solve the problem.

Virtually everyone who is anyone in American politics and media has roundly condemned any thought that Iran's President Ahmadinejad should be allowed to desecrate Ground Zero with his noisome presence. They are making a mistake.

Bureaucracies never die, and India's still uses genuine red tape.

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