If there is no hustle and bustle, a body and mind will atrophy. So the majority of our life is made for doing, creating, thinking, building, and moving in general. Energy begets energy! The calm is for those moments to soothe the soul and be thankful.

We are all ultimately responsible for our own decisions and actions. It's called free will. Thus, let your conscience be your guide.

There are some that only learn the hard way, which is personal experience.

Warren, Clinton moved to the center when he realized his leftist ideas would lose him the second term, but that was only political expediency. He was and still is a true Progressive as well as Hillary. The republican controlled congress proposed and pushed through the Welfare to Work legislation and Clinton signed it. In my mind, Clinton is a worm anyway for his personal conduct while in the White House. He demeaned the office and made the country a worldwide laughing stock. Back to the Welfare to Work bill, even if the reform came from Congress he could have, but did not veto it. He is a far more clever politician than BHO ever will be. I think BHO could be hit on the head with an anvil and he would not "get it." The American people are not going to put up with the destruction of the America the Founders gave us. There will be many years of reconstruction to return us to our original intent as a nation, but it will happen. Here is a recommendation for anyone interested, read the book by David Barton, "Original Intent" and understand what the Founders gave us.

A in Reston. Benjamin Franklin said the only way to reduce poverty is to make the poor uncomfortable in their poverty. The theory being if someone is uncomfortable they will do something to change their lot. The present problem is that government handouts have been going on for so long, people have lost their incentive to do for themselves and work their way through their problems. Before anyone thinks that is a cold-hearted approach, realize that I'm not insinuating that no one should be helped. The children, the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled should always be cared for, but it is not the role of the government. Even though Clinton is a Progressive, he had the right idea about welfare to work. It should be a hand up, not a hand out. Get educated and get a job. Any other help should come from charity, either from philanthropic organizations, volunteerism and religious organizations. In closing, Sir Charles Barkley said, " Poor people have been voting for democrats for 40 years and they are still poor." Does that sound like real help? Is that productive?

Cal, you hit the nail on the head! Jamie, Liddy already paid his dues and he is right on this point. The left invariably throws the taxpayers money around like so much confetti at the Mardi Gras parade. What do you think has happened in the last two years? BHO has incurred more debt for this country than all previous presidents combined. I am not saying the republicans are blameless, but what BHO has done is unconscienable. Your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will not be able to pay this debt. As Margaret Thatcher said, "the problem with Socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money." Read the Constitution and you will find we are guaranteed life, liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness. That means we make our own lives, the government should not be trying to put everyone on the same level, i.e., redistribution of wealth. And in the Bible, "We reap what we sow." It's called personal responsibility, which is very different from social responsibility.

Mike, I concur on your reply to A in Reston, but your comment on fear being the opposite of love does not ring true for me. I have found from personal experience that the opposite of love is indifference. I feel the progression is love, hurt, anger, and then indifference. At least I find this to be so in personal relationships, for once a person becomes indifferent, no amount of reconciliation will mend the break. Anger means there is still a vested interest of emotion or passion in the relationship. In reference to the above quote, most people are willing to give up some of their freedoms for the convenience of whatever they receive in return, not realizing that it is a slippery slope which will continue to erode other more dear freedoms. I don't agree with Freud on people being frightened of responsibility. I think it is a matter of laziness. But by the time realization sets in, they are feeling the pinch of restrictions and nothing can be done about it. Modern man has become too soft. Wonder where Waffler is tonight?

Waffler, you have even outdone yourself with such a ridiculous statement. We (the USA) are a sovereign entity, not beholden to any international law-- not the League of Nations created in the the early 1900's, not the UN, a total waste of taxpayer money or anyone else. We are the only nation based on an idea and that idea is freedom! The other countries can keep their monarchs, emperors, dictators, calphates, that rule by edict and punish those not agreeing or following the tyrants that rule in varying degrees up to and including torture and beheading without due process. However, as is true throughout history, our freedom and sovereignty are again being challenged. We as a people have been asleep at the switch for too long, but have finally realized (none too soon) that our Constitution has been severely subverted and we must defend it at all costs and do whatever it takes to return our country to what our Founders gave us. You would do well to study the book "Original Intent" by David Barton. You may not agree, but it would inform you.

We have the means to keep our government from falling into error, however the electorate has been asleep at the switch. The public has not fulfilled their responsibility to educate themselves so as to elect those that will not commit the errors that would, as Waffler put it, cause those in government to be arrested and incarcerated for their errors. Voting is a right, but it incurs serious responsibility on our part to know the candidates. Knowing their history, their associates, their past and present voting record (if they've been in other service in the government) as well as their faith affiliation, is essential. I do not mean to imply the faith affiliation would enter into eligibility. But our recent experience over the faith controversy and the lack of transparency and even untruths leads me to feel the necessity for the life of anyone aspiring to be a candidate for the most powerful position in the world to be laid bare and in truth. If there is nothing to hide, there should be nothing to fear.

The longer they are there, the more corrupted they become. Elections are supposed to fix that. Waffler thinks we have honest elections. NOT!!! The caucuses are seriously dishonest. Google the following: wewillnotbesilenced2008 or enter it in the subject line on You Tube. I guarantee it will open your eyes. And that is only one state. That, plus the questionable contributions rampant in the last election cycle indicate anything but an honest election.

Waffler, THINK! The reason we have so many different approaches in politics is because everyone wants their own will to prevail. Some want social programs that will care for everyone from cradle to grave, others want the freedom to take care of themselves, their families and their businesses without interference. One side caters to those that wish to remain children all their life and the other believes in personal responsibility. The later takes effort and education. The former is a thumb sucking leech on society.

Cicero, the Statesman and Philosopher, towers over Plato and Aristotle. Go to the "More Marcus Tullius Cicero quotes" below. We could use a Cicero right about now. Our country is in real danger at this point, but I am convinced "Freedom" will prevail.

To Anonymous. With a statement like that, no wonder you do not sign your name. If drugs are legalized you could never be sure your pilot could fly his plane or your doctor was not under the influence when he opened your body for heart surgery! Drugs should never be legal. Drug addicts think they are not hurting anyone but themselves, but it affects society as a whole and costs every tax payer dearly. You can bet those addicts that overdose are not gainfully employed with excellent health care to pay for their expensive ER visit. The quote referenced in the "Fifty Year Decline of Hollywood" can also be applied to the censoring of movies. If the makers of movies would discipline themselves America would be much better off. The filth and violence that Hollywood continues to foist on the public is disgusting. The public slowly becomes inured to the content and then Hollywood ramps up a little more. Over time, no matter what is on the screen, the public is desensitized to this type of so called entertainment. It spills over into real life and there we have it. The degrading of America, one bad influence at a time. And they have the gall to call it "art."

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms," Thomas Jefferson. If we preserve nothing else, we must never allow the government to confiscate our personal arms. Armed, Americans are citizens; unarmed, Americans become subjects, i.e., under a police state.

Now if we could just get the Founding Fathers back into the history books, so our young people can understand and if we could follow the Constitution the Founders so laboriously constructed, we could have the small government they espoused. We the People would again be a free people. As for me, I want my freedom of religious expression back, be it a creche at Christmas, a display of the Ten Commandments, or a cross in the desert. I'm tired of hearing this isn't a Christian nation. Jefferson was a genius as well as the other Founders.

Wow! And I was thinking how easy it would be to make decisions in the cereal aisle. However, No opinions means there is nothing,zip, zero going on at the top floor, you know, between the ears.

Krugman actually made some sense here. He speaks of the formative stages when the opposing doctrines are virtually ignored until too late to be corrected. The complacency, the apathy and the general reluctance of the vast majority to turn the ship of state when it is on the wrong course is what has brought us to this point. The changes have been gradual enough that they went almost unnoticed. And now those fully invested in these opposing doctrines that have skewed the country's bedrock will fight tooth and nail to maintain their flawed positions and continue their way to eventual destruction. I give Krugman three stars since this quote is more an aberration than his generally held beliefs.

Anon. You really need to identify yourself. Or do you not because your comments are so far fetched and inaccurate that you don't want to own up to them.

Jim, I concur with your comment on the welfare trap, but I don't get what Buffet means about Cinderella at the ball.

Another good example is the insistence by Al Gore and others that climate change is something humans can change. True, we must do what we can to reduce pollution and be good stewards of the world in which we live. But to redistribute this nations wealth to other nations in the name of climate change and punish the citizens of America by artificially making energy prices skyrocket is a self serving tool to line their own pockets. It has been proven some scientists manipulated data to support their theory, which in essence renders the entire theory utterly worthless. The danger is that many will continue to press ahead with this insanity. This self imposed intellectual slavery has already caused political slavery with social slavery not far behind if the powers that be have their way.

The bait is just too enticing. It lulls those unaware into a trap from which there is no escape. The trap was set many years ago and the bait has become more enticing while the one being baited has less and less ability to resist. LBJs bait has caused a domino effect. Clinton tried to curb the deterioration by initiating "Welfare to Work," but after generations in the trap, families know nothing else, and accept the lot they find themselves in as normal. Very few even remember what real normal is anymore. Ronald Reagan said it would only take a generation for freedom to be lost. The tragedy is this might be the one.

Only through the crucible of mastering oneself can man achieve mastery of anything else in life.

It has been going on for over 100 years, a little bit at a time, a nibble here a nibble there, making us feel uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough. It took a blatant marxist to wake us up. The American patriot in all of us that care about liberty will take back this country. Remember in November!

These are some of the most beautiful words ever written for and about a country. Are we up to the task of preserving the unalienable rights from God that are enumerated in the law of our land, our Constitution? When asked what the Founders had given us, Benjamin Franklin said, "A Republic, if you can keep it." That is the only way that Freedom will continue to ring throughout this land. My family's heritage is German and Welsh, but I AM an American!

And how did Patrick Henry know so well then and of what we are enduring now? He and all the Founders braved this new land to ensure they would never again live under the oppressive government from which they came. They knew freedom is only preserved with enduring vigilance and a sure purpose to secure by writ the rights given by God to all men.