TO THE CLASS OF 2011: a hearty hail and hello to you and to those others from the town and from your families who have been able to make it here today. I greet you and I thank you for inviting me to this ceremony. It is a date which must have seemed so significant when you began the academic year nine months ago, but which could easily have been overshadowed by the current crisis. After all, faced with what we are facing, why should this day be different from any other day? What meaning could it possibly hold placed against the grim import of that ultimate hour, rushing [...]

Ah, in this modern self-editing age, who says editors aren't useful?

"People cannot understand why in a million years, with a $13.7 trillion national debt, and a $1.4 trillion yearly deficit, we would be thinking for one second, for one second, about giving tax breaks to the richest people in this country who are already doing fabulously well." —Here is a download link to the 124-page document that contains the entirety of Senator Bernie Sanders speech on December 10, 2010.

Former President George W. Bush made his debut as a motivational speaker last night in Fort Worth, and the reception was friendly and welcoming. Appearing onstage alongside Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani and others, the 43rd President of the United States gave what is being reviewed as a largely unstructured speech in which he spoke about his faith, his term in office, and the illusory nature of popularity. But here's one telling anecdote from the end of the Washington Post's coverage.