If there is a mystical chord in democracy, it probably revolves around the notion that unexpected music can resonate from politics when people are pursuing questions larger than self... I have seen that ennobling effect in people many, many times- expressed by those who found themselves engaged in genuine acts of democratic expression, who claimed their right to define the larger destiny of their community, their nations.

Leaks and whispers are a daily routine of news-gathering in Washington.

The quest for homeland security is heading ... toward the quasi-militarization of everyday life ... If danger might lurk anywhere, maybe everything must be protected and policed.

Obviously, people with low or even moderate incomes could not afford such savings rates, and even diligent savings from their low wages would not be enough to pay for either retirement or healthcare.

The present struggle seems less about abolishing big government than about who gets to use it.

The burnt odor in Washington is from the disintegrating authority of the governing classes.

Democracy is held captive, not just by money, but by ideas - the ideas that money buys.