It has a chance of shifting slightly the agenda-setting decisions made by the media in New York, London and Atlanta.

I don't want to unduly downplay money, but New York is also the media capital. That matters. You can get a degree of media attention at the Monday Meeting that you can't get anywhere else.

When you're arrested in New York City, there's a good chance you'll do the time without being convicted of doing the crime. It's a perversion of justice.

A strong argument can be made that if you remove these people with emotional baggage that they carry for the other side, the chances of a resolution becomes easier.

They act as salespeople of the regimes. When it comes to reform, some of these liberals say, 'Let's first solve the Palestinian issue.' For me, that's a sell-out.

Legislative leaders are passing up a chance to reduce New York State's excessive debt burden - already one of the highest in the nation - and to achieve structural balance between revenues and spending.