Peer pressure is a huge part of youth behavior, whether one grows up in Washington, D.C., or Cody, Wyo.

As a lifelong Republican who served in the Army in Germany, I believe it is critical that we review - and overturn - the ban on gay service in the military. I voted for 'don't ask, don't tell.' But much has changed since 1993. My thinking shifted when I read that the military was firing translators because they are gay.

Since 1993, I have had the rich satisfaction of knowing and working with many openly gay and lesbian Americans, and I have come to realize that 'gay' is an artificial category when it comes to measuring a man or woman's on-the-job performance or commitment to shared goals. It says little about the person.

The person you are at 13 or 17 is not the person you are at 30, 40, or 50. Everyone old enough to look back on his or her teenage years knows this.

Nations with a common currency never went to war against each other. A common currency is more than the money you pay with.

There are good reasons why we don't want everyone to learn nuclear physics, medicine or how financial markets work. Our entire modern project has been about delegating power over us to skilled people who want to do the work and be rewarded accordingly.

I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.

If someone paid me a million dollars to drink a glass of milk, I wouldn't do it; maybe that's because I don't need the money.