Are we raising a generation of nincompoops, or is it simply a matter of us old farts lamenting the fact that young people don't know how to do things we take for granted, but are useless skills in the modern world?

Heather MacDonald says Chicago, and the rest of America, won't get a handle on inner city violence unless they recognize the true origin of the problem.

Arthur Herman has some thoughts on Obama's failures concerning his policy toward Pakistan.

Tom Friedman says a third party may be on the way. Of course, Friedman gets it wrong, because he expects such a party to rise from what he calls "the radical center". There is no such thing as a "radical center". To be in the center is to be far removed from anything anywhere near 'radical'. Friedman is simply disappointed that the Democrats have failed to enact their left-wing agenda, and is unhappy with our messy political system that has obstructed them in their efforts. He would rather we find a way to do things the Chinese way, without the secret police, the gulags, and the executions, of course. Silly man. How can someone so well educated not understand that you can't have one without the other?

Paul Krugman lets it be known that the Republican Party is now owned, lock, stock and barrel, by a cabal of billionaire families, including Rupert Murdoch.

It is because they are so blinded by their prejudices concerning the conservative movement that liberal intellectuals like Krugman are unable to see the truth about the Tea Party movement. Glenn Reynolds, on the other hand, was one of the first to see what was really happening, and he now feels comfortable enough to say, "I told you so."

Jay Cost manipulates the numbers and comes up with several possible scenarios for the mid-term election coming up in just one month. Essentially, it is all a matter of the enthusiasm, or lack thereof, of each party's base. If polling data is to be believed, independents are very much leaning toward the GOP. Using that as a benchmark, Cost calculates what the vote might look like by varying the degree of voter enthusiasm for each party. An interesting read.