Obama's plan simply will not work because he plans to mix freight and passenger rail routes. I would not call the examples in Japan and France a _financial_ success, but they are indeed impressive technologically. However, neither of those systems would work if they did not dedicate their tracks to passenger transportation. Freight would slow everything down dramatically.

I suppose Obama is starting to realize this. You can speak passionately on just about anything, but when the ball lands in your lap and you are the one who is resposible for making the decision, perhaps what was once so black and white is now not as easily labeled as such.

I was very disappointed with Bush, but I am becoming quite frightened by Obama's lack of real experience. By the time the next Presidential election rolls around, Obama will have held that job longer than any other job he has had.

And enough with the serial apologizing about America...virtually every world leader sees that not as a sign of America's evolution into a better citizen of the world, they see it as a weakness to be exploited.

The overwhelming majority of judges, like the majority of jurors, are savvy enough to understand and deal properly with the ramifications of the information age and how it can impact legal proceedings. But, like some jurors, there are some judges who have not adapted to the information age and fail to control the juries or the attorneys in the cases they hear. Judge Ito was completely ill-equipped to handle the television and celebrity angle of the O.J. criminal trial, so it is no surprise that some judges today are struggling to comprehend and deal with Twitter, Facebook, Google, iPhones, Blackberries, and so forth.

I am not so sure that all of this is a bad thing. I now perceive, for good or for bad, that criminal defense lawyers often have no trouble crossing the line from "guarantee this defendant a fair trial" to "set this defendant free no matter the cost". Yes, I want an aggressive lawyer defending me if I go to trial, but I also want ethical lawyers debating the case before an ethical and informed judge. And if those parties can't be ethical, then I surely hope the jury is smart enough to see the truth and decide accordingly.

NASCAR!!!

I am hoping they can apply the results of this research to finding brains in Senators and Congressmen

What legitimate benefit do these machines provide? Voting is such an incredible privilege. When will people wake up and realize that these ridiculous machines, motor voter registration, same-day registration, and similar garbage do nothing but dilute the power of the legitimate vote?