All of us know of the visiting Frenchman who was taken by his New York host to the top of the Empire State Building. "Ah!" said the visitor luxuriating in the four-state panoramic view, "It reminds me of sex."

"How in the world does it remind you of sex?" asked the American friend. "Everything reminds me of sex!" explained the Frenchman.

It was James Carville, wasn't it, who achieved iconic status in Bill Clinton's first campaign by posting a sign in headquarters that said, "It's the economy, stupid"?

That was OK for then. For now, any such sign in any headquarters should be removed and burned and replaced with one that says, "It's America's survival, stupid!" That is the one overriding issue of the day.

Allow me, please, two short sports stories to tee-up a topic as far from sports as it's possible to get; namely, the survival of the United States. The theme of these two stories is identical: miraculous, unexpected opportunity.

Sometimes the only way to capture the essence, the beauty and the power of a work of art is to steal it. I've therefore decided to steal my daughter Celia's article on the hacking of Sarah Palin's e-mail and make it a guest-column at this time.

— Barry Farber