Something I didn't even know was on my bucket list has been achieved. I have cooked Thanksgiving dinner with Martha Stewart. I vow to follow the gospel of her teachings and do my very best in the remarkably less glamorous kitchen of my own home... without the luxury of magically appearing prep bowls filled by a staff of sous chefs.

Air travel is the safest form of travel aside from walking even then the chances of being hit by a public bus at 30 000 feet are remarkably slim. I also have no problem with confined spaces. Or heights. What I am afraid of is speed.

Politics and war are remarkably similar situations.

President Bush offers the American people an optimistic vision and a clear choice in November. The President has provided steady leadership in remarkably changing times. He knows exactly where he wants to lead this country and he has complete confidence in the American people.

The belief that recipients of government aid are better off the more we spend on them is remarkably persistent. No matter how many times this central tenet of liberalism gets debunked like Brett Favre it just keeps coming back.

There are two types of courage involved with what I did. When it comes to picking up a rifle millions of people are capable of doing that as we see in Iraq or Vietnam. But when it comes to risking their careers or risking being invited to lunch by the establishment it turns out that's remarkably rare.

Abstract Expressionism - the first American movement to have a worldwide influence - was remarkably short-lived: It heated up after World War II and was all but done for by 1960 (although visit any art school today and you'll find a would-be Willem de Kooning).