First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.

The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that just as repeatedly merit and receive punishment.

America was not founded to improve health care or housing; it was founded for freedom.

It’s unlikely to change – there’s nothing in King Salman’s past as governor of Riyadh for about forty years that suggests that he was particularly a reformer, not on the role of women, not on democratic development. There’s been a rumor in the last couple of days that he said to someone in an e-mail that he’s in favor of a constitutional monarchy, but I would be surprised if the level of repression started to go down … I think the kind of thing that we would view as significant reforms is unlikely.

There are examples of fraternal dictatorships, or one, anyway: the passing of power from Fidel to Raul Castro.

Iran exports about 2.2 million barrels a day.

First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.