Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence.

Baseball exemplifies a tension in the American mind, the constant pull between our atomistic individualism and our yearning for community.

I've lived in Washington now for 44 years, and that's a lot of folly to witness up close. Whatever confidence and optimism I felt towards the central government when I got here on January 1, 1970 has pretty much dissipated at the hands of the government.

The English language is not always the President's friend.

As society becomes more complex and opaque, as social processes seem more impersonal and autonomous, and as elites of 'experts' become more annoying, more people are tempted to think that some 'they' is manipulating 'us', using, among other dark arts, advertising.

Since 1946, the Cubs have had two problems: They put too few runs on the scoreboard and the other guys put too many. So what is the new management improving? The scoreboard.

When a politician says the debate is over, you can be sure of two things; the debate is raging; and he's losing it.