The Choice  —  In 1782 an expatriate French aristocrat named J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur who lived in New York's Hudson Valley published a book in London called Letters from an American Farmer.  The third letter was titled “What Is an American?”

Kagan on the Second  —  There have been so many irresponsible statements by those seeking to exploit the tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut, that it's hard to keep up with them, but for the combination of arrogance and inaccuracy one can't beat the editorial the New York Times ran out this week under …

Judge Robert H. Bork, conservative icon, dies at 85  —  Alex Wong/GETTY IMAGES - Former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork listens during a panel discussion about the U.S. Senate's role on the judicial nomination process Sept. 1, 2005 in Washington.  Bork died Wednesday at the age of 85.

Neocons push against Chuck Hagel  —  After word leaked from the White House late last week that Chuck Hagel was in line to become the next secretary of defense, Bill Kristol's Weekly Standard manned the Patriot missile batteries to shoot down that trial balloon.