This country is so urbanized we think low-fat milk comes from cows on Nutri/System weight-loss plans.

In theory, taxes should be like shopping. What I buy is government services. What I pay are my taxes.

I'm a rather decisive type.

All lies are told with a straight face. It is truth that's said with a dismissive giggle.

Zero-sum thinking is an obsession of mine, but mostly in economics.

People are all exactly alike. There's no such thing as a race and barely such a thing as an ethnic group. If we were dogs, we'd be the same breed. George Bush and an Australian Aborigine have fewer differences than a Lhasa apso and a toy fox terrier. A Japanese raised in Riyadh would be an Arab. A Zulu raised in New Rochelle would be an orthodontist. People are all the same, though their circumstances differ terribly.

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.