After endless days of commuting on the freeway to an antiseptic, sealed-window office, there is a great urge to backpack in the woods and build a fire.

The joy of losing consists in this: Where there are no expectations, there is no disappointment.

Science has everything to say about what is possible. Science has nothing to say about what is permissible.

In the Middle Ages people took potions for their ailments. In the 19th century they took snake oil. Citizens of today's shiny, technological age are too modern for that. They take antioxidants and extract of cactus instead.

There's a reason why in New York Harbor we have the Statue of Liberty, not the Statue of Equality.

When under attack, no country is obligated to collect permission slips from allies to strike back.

[Barack Obama failed to sell a health care reform plan to American voters] because the utter implausibility of its central promise - expanded coverage at lower cost - led voters to conclude that it would lead ultimately to more government, more taxes and more debt.