Critics of the United States and Israel often attack these two countries for their political inconsistencies and international mistakes. Mistakes do abound and can be rather easily cited by foes of all sorts. After all a democracy allows such open criticism, which is one of its truest marks. But those in our countries who seem to hate the U.S. and Israel ought to at least concede more than they are generally willing to do. It is one thing to play the prophet’s role, and thus point out the mistakes of these great nations. It is another to tell the world that these democracies still beat all the alternatives. I wish the "Hate America First" crowd would acknowledge, at least now and then, that this is still a great nation even with its numerous faults.

Consider the fact that yesterday Israel’s highest court ruled that Palestinians can sue in Israeli courts over damages done by the Israeli army in the territories. Where else could such a ruling happen in the Middle East? And at the same time Iran’s Ahmadinejab once again denounced the […]

Jeanne Kirkpatrick will be missed. Many of my generation will remember her as both a public intellectual and a figure of great courage. She will best be remembered as Ronald Reagan’s first appointment to be ambassador to the United Nations in 1981. She was a breath of fresh air after the dark days of the Carter years.

It was Jeanne Kirkpatrick who coined the phrase "Blame America First." She understood, as a Democrat at the time, that something had shifted radically in her party since World War II. She became one of a number of intellectuals who understood this shift and spoke openly against it. This is why she, and others, helped to form the anti-Soviet Committee for the Present Danger. She said that she was concerned about "the weakening of Western will." This became the track upon which the rising neo-conservative movement developed.

Kirkpatrick was committed to speaking truth to power. Soviet dissidents loved her. She spent her last ten years on the board of the Center for a Free Cuba. As the Wall Street Journal noted over the weekend, […]

I watched a DVD of a PBS one-hour special called “The Road to 9/11” a few weeks ago. (This is a film by Kunhardt Productions). This documentary is not the more controversial story of 9/11 that the Clintons opposed so strongly, which aired several months ago. (That one was produced by the Disney Company, so I believe.) This “Road to 9/11” film was produced in 2005 for PBS Home Video. It is a documentary that features the sane and clear voices of Bernard Lewis, Fareed Zakaria, and Thomas Friedman. Quite frankly Bernard Lewis is worth the whole hour I invested. This man is balanced, fair-minded, and in no way anti-Muslim. He was a professor at Princeton University for many years and is the author of a dozen or more books on the Middle East and Islam. Anyone who purports to seriously deal with Islam in the modern world must read Lewis!

Whenever I am pulled toward strong feelings against Islam it is Bernard Lewis who helps me to remain calm and reasoned. He clearly underscores the very real dangers of radical Islam, dangers […]

Denver Bishop Charles Chaput, whom I had the personal joy of meeting and hearing speak a few years ago, gave an address at a mass for Catholic public officials in Harrisburg, Pensylvania, just before the November elections. Chaput , who is one of my favorite bishops, makes profound and clear moral sense of chaotic sub-Christian thinking on a regular basis.

“The world does need to change, and in your vocation as public leaders, God is calling you to pursue that task with justice and charity with a love for the common good and a reverence for human life. The world needs committed Catholic laypeople like you to lead with humility, courage and love," said Bishop Chaput.

Chaput further argued that we often treat important things as a “gloss” so as to soften the meaning of the offensive passage thus making it much easier for us to live. St. Francis wanted to live sine glossa, said Chaput, that is without alibis or excuses.

Chaput right argues that modern liberalism has created a kingdom of “the imperial autonomous self” and calls […]

Some people simply do not do nuance. Everything is black and white, plain and simple, clear cut. There is nothing to be read between the lines, the substance of an argument or the context of an answer. They seem to hear what they want to hear, or what they don’t want to hear, regardless of the varying shades in expression.

I was reminded of this today by the senate committee’s meeting with Secretary of Defense designate Robert Gates. When Sen. Carl Levin asked Gates if we were winning the war in Iraq he answered, “No, sir.” When this answer was spun out by the critics of the president by 5 p.m. today it sounded as if Gates was an avowed enemy of Bush’s recent policies and positive comments on Iraq. If you think about this it is pretty stupid to make such an assumption since Bush put Gates forward for confirmation and clearly trusts him. What followed Levin’s question, and Gates’ response, was a whole series of other issues and comments that quite clearly reflected more deeply upon the way to rightly […]