Happily, there is one man in America whose unique credentials allow him to address the matter objectively: James Schlesinger, a former head of the intelligence community and past Secretary of Defense.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: 'First, do no harm'

Admittedly, I am not entirely impartial in the matter, having worked on a weekly basis with Mary Lou for the past 21 years as one of the columnists for her Commentary pages at the Times.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: In Honor of Mary Lou Forbes

The types of disruptions that used to occur once in an era or generation in the past are now happening in a matter of years or months.

FORBES: Tarun Wadhwa - Disruption and Democracy - Archive

In the past, that too would have been a matter of course.

ECONOMIST: Mexico

Past governments have regarded the issue as a matter of conscience, one on which MPs and peers should have a free vote, and the Ministry of Justice said it would only comment on any proposed legislation when it was published.

BBC: Lord Falconer to press on assisted dying law

It's also a matter of students not needing to use cursive as much as they had in the past.

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Scotland suffered a blow as Cusiter was forced off with a head injury, and it looked as though it was only a matter of time before the Wallabies opened their try account, but as the game went past the 20-minute mark Scotland finally began to secure some possession.

BBC: Scotland 9-8 Australia

However, past history clearly signals to investors that it is only a matter of time before economic conditions deteriorate to the point where governments return to their inexorable pursuit of inflation.

FORBES: Deflation Isn't The Enemy

At the conclusion of the debate on his amendment, Mr Chope, a supporter of the current first-past-the-post system, did not force a vote on the matter, but gave notice that he might re-visit it during later stages of the bill.

BBC: MP calls for limit on voter choice if AV is adopted