"She's more likely than not to win confirmation to the Supreme Court. Thus, the really big question about Elena Kagan is blunter: How and when does the United States as a whole get out from under the sway of an alien enterprise such as her university, Harvard?

"That the Kagan nomination positions one more Harvard graduate to tighten the Harvard-Yale vise on the court no more than reintroduces the consideration that Harvard isn't notably fond of the American Main Street. Out of Harvard, on a nonstop basis, pour some of America's worst ideas, such as that government has all the answers, old moralities have to go, and racism and sexism infest America -- though not Harvard, you better believe it! -- from top to bottom."

"What we're seeing in Greece is the death spiral of the welfare state. This isn't Greece's problem alone, and that's why its crisis has rattled global stock markets and threatens economic recovery. Virtually every advanced nation, including the United States, faces the same prospect. Aging populations have been promised huge health and retirement benefits, which countries haven't fully covered with taxes. The reckoning has arrived in Greece, but it awaits most wealthy societies.

"Americans dislike the term 'welfare state' and substitute the bland word 'entitlements.' The vocabulary doesn't alter the reality. Countries cannot overspend and overborrow forever. By delaying hard decisions about spending and taxes, governments maneuver themselves into a cul de sac..."

"So Greece has cultural problems that contributed to its economic implosion. But there are similarities to the U.S. as well — and because we have elected Democrats, they are growing. By the end of 2011, Greece’s debt will be 150 percent of its GDP. According to a March report by the Congressional Budget Office, President Obama’s 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next ten years — $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected — which will increase our debt-to-GDP ratio to 90 percent by 2020...

"Greece is in flames, but if you look around, you can smell the smoke here as well."

"Last Saturday, Americans were again instructed on their political manners by their Moralizer in Chief... 

"'We cannot expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down,' Mr. Obama said. He spoke against 'demonizing' political opponents or 'questioning their motives or their patriotism.'... 

"A lot is right with those words. But there's a lot wrong with them coming from Mr. Obama, who is contributing to the 'slash and burn politics' he preaches against...

"If Mr. Obama wants his Ann Arbor words to be taken seriously, then he needs to rein in his party, his staff and himself. Presidential leadership matters as much as presidential words, perhaps more. Mr. Obama should back up his inspiring call to civility with action."

"The Washington think tank industry has launched a thousand blue-ribbon commissions and furrowed-brow panels to brood over the public’s loss of trust in government and its leaders. Why are people so cynical?

"Last week, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist raised his hand with the answer.

"It turns out that one big reason people assume that politicians are slippery opportunists whose words can’t be trusted is that many of them are slippery opportunists whose words can’t be trusted."

"President Reagan had a sign on his desk that said, 'It's amazing how much you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit.' If President Obama had a sign, it would say, 'It's amazing how much you can accomplish if you don't care what the public thinks.'

"Washington has never been held in lower esteem by Americans than it is today. Yet those in control of Washington -- President Obama and congressional Democrats -- are bent on enacting a series of sweeping domestic policy changes this year that have one thing in common: They are unpopular, in whole or in part.

"This is unprecedented and a bit weird too. A revival of civility and an end to the ugly political polarization in Washington -- goals stressed by Mr. Obama in his presidential campaign and again last Saturday in a speech at the University of Michigan -- won't be furthered by passage of an unpopular agenda. A more likely result is years of partisan resentment and bitter fighting over efforts by Republicans to repeal the unwanted policies."

"That was a close one.

"Police and federal agents were still searching last night for suspects in Saturday night's attempted car bombing in the heart of Times Square -- averted when an alert street vendor notified police.

"But whether the culprit was an agent of Islamist terrorism or domestic nihilism -- or a deranged lone wolf -- the events on West 45th Street were a frightening reminder that New York City remains smack in the crosshairs of a whole lot of people nursing murderous grudges."

"We are at a remarkable moment. We have an open, 2,000-mile border to our south, and the entity with the power to enforce the law and impose safety and order will not do it. Wall Street collapsed, taking Main Street's money with it, and the government can't really figure out what to do about it because the government itself was deeply implicated in the crash, and both political parties are full of people whose political careers have been made possible by Wall Street contributions. Meanwhile we pass huge laws, bills so comprehensive, omnibus and transformative that no one knows what's in them and no one — literally, no one — knows how exactly they will be executed or interpreted. Citizens search for new laws online, pore over them at night, and come away knowing no more than they did before they typed 'dot-gov.'

"It is not that no one's in control. Washington is full of people who insist they're in control and who go to great lengths to display their power. It's that no one takes responsibility and authority. Washington daily delivers to the people two stark and utterly conflicting messages: 'We control everything' and 'You're on your own.'

"All this contributes to a deep and growing alienation between the people of America and the government of America in Washington."

"Ready to show your papers? Mexico's National Catalog of Foreigners tracks all outside tourists and foreign nationals. A National Population Registry tracks and verifies the identity of every member of the population, who must carry a citizens' identity card. Visitors who do not possess proper documents and identification are subject to arrest as illegal aliens."

"The President says the Arizona law is 'misguided.' His attorney general says it's 'unfortunate.'  In San Francisco, they're talking about boycotting the state. Al Sharpton is on the way to lead marches and Linda Greenhouse, the esteemed legal affairs commentator of The New York Times, says she will boycott Arizona because, she says, it is now a police state where 'breathing while undocumented' is a crime...

"But it's already a federal crime to enter the U.S. illegally. The new law just makes it a state crime, too...

"In fact, once you actually read this law, it becomes clear the fuss over it has little to do with breathing in Arizona and a lot to do with hyperventilating in Washington."