Crackpots are thick on the ground and we can't fund them all. How do we decide which upcoming genius/crackpot to fund? Einstein didn't have any peers; he would never have passed "peer review."

It's possible that nobody will ever be able to build anything of significance again.

Government ought to be able to help the economy - assuming that politicians want the economy to grow and assuming that the government is able to do what the politicians promise.

We don't disparage the motives of politicians, they have the same motives we do. We don't distrust the motives of bureaucrats, we trust them all too well.

Why can't we Americans buy cheap cars? The cheapest car in the US costs about $20,000, about 8 times the cost of Tata's offering.

Reuters reports trouble at the North Pole.

What are we to make of the news that career State Department staffers are refusing to go to Iraq?

It's a far better thing, as well as much easier, for government to act to prevent a disaster, or at least to warn residents loudly and clearly of the potential consequences of their foolish choices.

Why such a difference between the handling of the California fires, vs Katrina in New Orleans?

These bridges have needed fixing for 25 years and they're still operating?