A Nation of Cowards Jeffrey Snyder suggests that carrying a handgun is both a right and a duty of every law-abiding citizen. This is hard for me to relate to; as, for all practical purposes, no such people exist in my world. Gun lovers’ slogans include, “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” Forget laws; in my world, only outlaws have guns now. I have no impulse to join them. Snyder offers a fair assessment of the failure of gun control laws to keep guns out o

George F. Will’s 12/21/13 column, “A dazzling bright future dawns in New Jersey,” is an infomercial for a fusion energy project. Two points: “Because of its large scale and long time horizon, the fusion project is a perfect example of a public good the private sector cannot pursue and the public sector should not slight.” Whatever became of the concept of venture capital? “Most government revenues now feed the public’s unslakable appetite for transfer payments.” Substantiatio