Joe "The Smirker" Biden's off-the-wall non-stop rudeness to Paul Ryan in their debate last week was repulsive to all Americans who value plain decency and courtesy.

His boss, Mr. Obama, by contrast announced that he "could not be prouder" of his vice-president, deeming his debate performance and his treatment of Mr. Ryan as "terrific."

This presents Mitt Romney with a marvelous opportunity, in the second presidential debate tonight (10/16), to ask his opponent if he really is proud of his El Segundo interrupting Mr. Ryan 85 times and laughing about the prospect of Iran nuking Israel.

Mr. Romney has an even greater opportunity, however, to ask his opponent if he agrees with Mr. Biden's incredible lies and distortions during his "terrific" debate.

Ever dream of going on a classic private-tented safari in Africa, to witness the world's greatest wildlife spectacle - the Great Migration of over a million animals across the Serengeti Plains - by day, and enjoy fine wines and gourmet food by a campfire at night with lions coughing in the distance?

Ever dream of standing on the sea-ice of the frozen Arctic Ocean right at the North Pole, the very axis of the earth, while the entire planet revolves underneath you and the sun circles around you in constant daylight - and celebrating the moment with Dom Perignon champagne and beluga caviar?

Ever dream of going to a place so remote and mysterious that few people have ever heard of it, a place that has been closed to outsiders for years and still needs a special permit to visit, a place tucked into a hidden corner of Asia with Tibetan monasteries, incredibly colorful primitive tribes who have never seen a Westerner, and white-water rafting through jungles full of tigers and cloudy leopards?

Ever dream of standing on a glacier at the most scenic spot on planet earth surrounded by mountains over 26,000 feet high including K2 (28,250'), helicoptering to a tiny kingdom inhabited by the world's longest-lived people, driving by jeep track to villages peopled by descendants of the troops of Alexander the Great, then reaching the fabled Khyber Pass securely protected by Afridi tribesmen who have pledged their lives to you?

Each one of these dreams can come true for you next year, 2007.

When I was an undergraduate at UCLA, my favorite professor was Dr. H. L. Kostanick.  He taught political geography.  He never used a lectern or notes.  Always dressed impeccably in a coat, tie, and sweater vest, he would stand before us, hands in his pockets, and explain the world to us.

Every lecture, no matter about what part of the world, was fascinating.  But most memorable of all was his lecture on the Middle East.  "Ladies and gentlemen, the most critical thing to understand about conflict in the Middle East," he told us, "is that it is not a conflict between Arab and Jew.  It is a conflict between the 10^th century and the 20^th."

It is my great pleasure to announce our First Annual To The Point Members' Conference, to be held in Washington DC from April 21-23.

I'll be your host and master of ceremonies.  It's a marvelous opportunity for folks in our To The Point family to get to know each other.

Friday evening, April 21, we'll assemble at the Doubletree Inn in Pentagon City overlooking the Potomac River for a reception and dinner in the revolving restaurant with an extraordinary view of Washington.  Yep, I'll give a speech.

Saturday morning, April 22, is devoted to panels and speeches by our To The Point writers - with lots of Q&A.  You'll meet Dr. Joel Wade, Neal Asbury, Jack Kelly, Michael Ledeen, Ariel Cohen of the Heritage Foundation, Enders Wimbush of the Hudson Institute, and Alex Alexiev, one of the world's grandmasters of geopolitics.

Your mind will be stretched wide and crammed full of insights about what's really going on in the world.