Today's News Scan includes a quote from the U.S. Attorney General saying something that has become common but which does not become any more correct with repetition. Mr. Holder is quoted as saying, "We don't want to get tough on crime, we want to get smart on crime...."

But tough is smart. Back in the Great Society, people we thought were experts told us that softer sentencing combined with social programs to address the "root causes" would bring down crime rates. Instead, they went through the roof. When we tightened up, crime came down. These changes were not entirely the result of sentencing policy; other factors were also at work. But sentencing was a big part of it.

Swallowing the Great Society nonsense was one of the stupidest things America has done in modern history. To forget that experience and condemn ourselves to repeat it would be beyond stupid.  And yet we still have people in high positions telling us it would be "smart."