On the death penalty:

Have you noticed that those nations that are squeamish about putting to sleep vicious killers have no qualms about "physician-assisted suicide" or killing severely disabled toddlers, or putting down or letting die inconvenient old people?

I've also noticed that eliminating the death penalty is not accompanied by a desire to get tougher on hardened, violent, repeat-offending criminals, but quite the opposite. Having the death penalty is not a deterrent in and of itself, but a signal that a society is willing to do the necessary hard things to protect the general public, and especially the most innocent among us from the depraved among us.

Was it really "all about the oil?"

Let me see, we're a superpower (still, somehow, by the grace of God and the efforts of those who still care), and we have national interests that transcend our borders, and Americans are pissing and moaning like they have a Constitutional right to cheap gasoline. All things considered, I'm fine with us getting our hands on more oil.

What a pity that Bush Sr. didn't practice abstinence - permanently. Or his father, for that matter.

It cost us less than four hundred dollars in lumber and hardware to construct a joist system and floor to get rid of the "split level" part of our living room.

They got us on the paint,carpet and pad, though.