Everybody knows some things about sprawl: It's a recent, and largely American, phenomenon; it encourages wasteful use of resources; it's aesthetically unpleasant; and it benefits the rich at the expense of the poor. We also know that it could be conquered if Americans just gave up their "love affair with the automobile" and favored mass transit.

Stung by criticism over the unpreparedness of government at all levels to address Hurricane Katrina, President Bush has been taking steps to make sure another disaster doesn't embarrass his administration.

Harriet is a 73-year-old retiree who lost her husband last year. Her grandson, Danny, is a 27-year-old who expects to change jobs several times before he retires. Harriet wants to make sure that the government follows through on delivering her promised benefits.

When it comes to medicines, Americans historically have been attracted to offers of quick, easy cures. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, those offers were the core of the so-called "patent medicine" industry, with innumerable shysters peddling panaceas.

If you think the lines for flu shots are long now, imagine what would happen in the event of a global pandemic. Most people who needed flu shots wouldn't get them. The immunization system would collapse.

A lawsuit charging that fast-food chains are responsible for making people obese popped up in court, but is common sense actually on trial?

There is enough CT and MRI equipment in the U.S. to assure access when a stroke occurs. Would we trade with a Canadian system where lack of this availability is cause of death or serious brain damage?