I'd actually love to think that I could trust Kerry on national security. But the only way I could do that, at this point, would be via self-delusion.

The nannyism is partly to distract from the corruption — and partly just another opportunity to leverage it. A good general rule is that the more a government wants to run its citizens’ lives, the worse job it will do at the most basic tasks of government.

It's not so much about the cause, it's about feeling superior to political opponents.

Where the U.N. is concerned, accountability is very thin on the ground in general.

What's wrong with "the new elite?" Forget cultural insularity or smugness. The main problem with the "new elite" is that they're not an elite at all. That is, they aren't particularly smart, or competent.

If you only stand up for speech you approve of, you're a hack. If you only stand up for speech that everyone approves of, you're a coward.

You can't be halfhearted in a revolution. Values that serve well in a civil society don't work in a state of nature.