At bottom, the 9/11 conspiracy theories are profoundly irrational and unscientific. It is more than passing strange that progressives, who so revere science on such issues as tobacco, stem cells, evolution, and global warming, are so willing to abandon science and give in to fantasy on the subject of 9/11.

The 9/11 conspiracy theories are a cul-de-sac. They lead nowhere. And they aren’t necessary to prove the venality of the Bush Administration. There’s plenty of that proof lying around. We don’t need to make it up.

Some of the nation’s top economists warned that America’s long-term spending trends present a far larger financial crisis. Much of the reluctance to act is political, for few lawmakers want to be remembered for raising taxes or cutting benefits for constituents. This is especially true in a contentious election year.

Richard Kogan, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said there would be no sweeping changes to federal spending patterns until the crisis grows more tangible—- and voters are willing to sacrifice in response. "You can’t do the right thing," Kogan said, "until you’ve got candidates who can win by doing the right thing. I think you have to wait for a new electorate."

Who would ever have guessed you could feel sorry for Microsoft, that you could root for it as the underdog and only backstop to Google's complete takeover of all digits everywhere? -- there seems little cause for happiness here.

Google's eating everyone's lunch simply because it makes things faster, better and more useful than anyone else -- and Microhoo will have no better way than Yahoo and Microsoft did to replicate that engineering feat.

Even the most ardent Microsoft fan wouldn't accuse the firm of doing well by creating great things. Microsoft's biggest successes -- Windows, Office -- have been the product not of revolutionary code but of brilliant marketing and, more important, savvy business tactics.