Obviously, people who commit crimes should be punished. Even people who steal socks and 'Snow White' videos should probably do time if they have priors, especially serious priors. But the punishment has to fit the crime, and the standard has to be the same for everyone.

I was a bit of a troubled kid growing up, let's put it that way. I didn't take pleasure in hard work.

The individual incentive not to commit crime on Wall Street now is almost zero.

In the years just after 9/11, even being breathed on by a suspected terrorist could land you in extralegal detention for the rest of your life.

Like wars, forest fires and bad marriages, really stupid laws are much easier to begin than they are to end.

The joy of being a consumer is that it doesnt require thought, responsibility, self-awareness or shame: All you have to do is obey the first urge that gurgles up from your stomach. And then obey the next. And the next. And the next.

America's always had a real passion for lunatic movements. That's one of the things we're probably known for around the world, I would imagine.