Even The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg refers to the Verizon and Cingular networks as "Soviet Ministries." They decide what online services users will be able to access, and at what price. They also take money from both sides of every information transaction.

Under Carly Fiorina, H-P tried to change itself into General Motors. Under Dunn, it was becoming Tyco.

So long as the pessmism doesn't turn into panic, so long as everyone stays focused on the goal -- getting back the subpoena power -- then I'm not telling anyone different. So be a gloomy gus, Kos. Ignore any history older than you are. Fine by me.

If you hire evil, aren't you evil yourself?

North Carolinians may like a King Pope, but if they're to select one they need to do it with their eyes wide open.

The purpose of the campaign laws was to reduce the corrosive impact of money on our political campaigns, but if the candidates Klein is supporting with this effort win through -- despite enormous financial disadvantages -- what does that say about campaign finance reform? And is there any way to regulate it?

With Dunn now out, Hurd has the tough job of replacing Perkins and Keyworth. Who can he get? Who will he get? What will they bring to the board? From where will Hurd – whose forte is operations – get his strategic sense? Change comes ever-faster in the tech business, and Hurd 's strategic acumen is unproven.

We do have an immigration problem. We do need to solve it. And there are solutions available:

Now you can get the proof. Now you can do your own investigations. Now you can pass this information on to others. Now you can be empowered, if you choose to be. Everyone is on the same level information playing field.

Now it may be true that Americans are ready to give in to full-on fear, when faced with the choice of fearlessness. It may be we have grown fat, and lazy, that we're addicted to sensation and insensitive to one another, that we're as easily manipulated as, well, Arabs. I don't think so, myself.