Who would have thought in a few short years 'We tbe People' could have been turned upside down? We now have a 'decoder' and to hell with the people.

I guess the terrorists won. They lost their lives, but they won what they sought. We were tbe losers.

What the court says about the Constitution IS the law, like it or not. Personally, I may not like it, but it IS the supreme law of the land

A constitution, at least the U.S. Constitution, defines the limits of the government and the rights of the people it guarantees to protect ...not, as some would have it, limits on the people, as was done in the 18th Amendment, or the everpresent attempts to add prohibitions against abortion, or same-sex marriage, or flag burning, etc. These are matters for the states and by statutes to regulate society - not bya constitution.

Cynical is the right word, Reston. The statement is too general. But just as trust is earned, so can mistrust be earned, as our present leaders have done by never having told the complete truth about anything in all their years of authority. They have earned their mistrust

I have always tried to be a law abiding citizen, but when a handgun is required of all adults I will become a lawbreaker. I have not needed one since WWII as a soldier.

Reston is right Clinton is a better politician than that. It makes no sense. No rating on this quote as it stands

Then, if the lawyer doesn't have his briefcase he's harmless? Does he need that, as a robber needs a weapon, or can't steal? It means nothing ...like the quote itself. A poorly constructed satire

Stupid analogy. Does he really mean it can happen, or is he suggesting it always happens? Of course, it's possible but means nothing -- and what does a briefcase have to do with it?.

Nothing buys votes like promising to cut taxes, as Republicans and their Heritage Foundation have done so well. How does that apply to me, not a Republican, Ken? I don't get your point. I have always been fortunate enough to pay more in taxes than I receive from my government and I'm thankful for that. Many people are not so lucky. I accept my social security, but of course I pay taxes on that too.

Typical Heritage Foundation rationale. Sounds good, but is just idle rhetoric. Dick and Reston have it right. It appeals to a certain greedy class.

The quote is true, even if not very practical. It may be utopian, but it's the ideal way. If only people had more humane instincts instead of just plain human ones..

Coming from someone of considerable wealth, as FDR was, it has more meaning than from someone not so well off. He felt it was an obligation for those in his position to help others. It's easy for someone with nothing to suggest sharing the wealth, but altruistic for those who already have it to do so.

Morley says military personnel, certain clerics, and others who operate under orders cannot live successfully. Rubbish! It depends on how far out of step one wishes to march. It is seldom very practical to form one's own parade. Very risky and definitely not required for success.

Was it any less difficult for our originial colonies, competitive as they were, to form the United States, or the rival European countries to think bigger than their individual boundaries to form a European Union? Excess nationalism is what causes wars. It takes some people a long time to understand that and many never do. The world does not end at the shores of America. It's one thing to be patriotic, but not with a to-hell-with-everyone-else attitude. Many of those earlier people thought they were selling out too

Something is wrong with your descriiption of Berrigan as a liberal, Egon, in the argumant betweeen pro-life vs. pro-choice. Sounds pretty conservative to me. Or does simply being anti-war make him a liberal and to be a conservative is to be pro-war?

Right on, Reston! It isn't children he's talking about. It's fetuses. No dispute about children. There are many of us who can't see fetuses as children. Incidentally, I am as opposed to abortion as anyone and I also had to admire the Berrigan brothers in their anti-war activism (sometimes a little too active) during our last major military fiasco in Vietnam. But respect for individuals' freedom of choice, to me, comes first, sort of like some folks' second amendment rights

Like it or not, the world is getting smaller as nations become more interdependent. Extreme nationalism is what stands in the way of world peace. It is not unlike our own founding of a federation of sovereign states to form one nation, or the European Union replacing the individual countries of Europe. Who can say both America and Europe are not better off as unions than independent states? We have to think bigger, as our forefathers did when they conceived the novel idea of one nation in place of separate proud states,

The more one knows the less he thinks he knows, as my mother told me so often.

What do we need another demonstration of a nuclear bomb for? Didn't we do that twice in 1945 at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Haig was never looking to win the Peace Prize

Obviously, JT shoulc not be allowed to carry a gun

You got it right, Dick. Typical Heston pompous bluster.

Nor do I expect black media to create positive images of whites. It's up to the black males to create positive images of themselves. Nobody else can or should ...just don't create false negative images.

Annoying as advertisements can be, their absence would be worse. The economy would soon come to a screeching halt and many things we enjoy would cease to exist or cost a lot more, as they are supported by advertisers. The products we have do not sell themselves -- media has to promote them. Like them or not, advertising is a very necessary part of our economy. It is a credit to the CEO of Gannett to be honest about it. Most people do not know it