Ever since the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush and others in his administration have drawn chortles for their predilection for punctuating every mention of Islam with the phrase reminding us that it is a "religion of peace." This is intended to disabuse those who wrongly think America's war on Islamist terrorists is aimed at all Muslims. It also seeks to...
Every now and then, a passion to reform the way Congress does business sweeps the land. Fueling this is usually a particular scandal and hunger on the part of the opposition party to embarrass the corruption of the majority. It's been 12 years since the Savonarolas of the House Republican caucus roasted the Democratic leadership over their peccadillos (does anyone...
News reports the day after President Bush unveiled his $2.77 trillion proposed federal budget last week centered on the fact that it called for more spending on security and less on domestic programs. The plan’s emphasis on preserving tax cuts and devoting more money to defense while limiting the growth in Medicare spending set off the usual partisan sparring between...
The other day while driving to my office, I passed by The Philadelphia Inquirer and viewed a familiar sight: demonstrators protesting the publication of what they saw as an offensive cartoon in the newspaper. Many groups in this city have taken their turn waving signs in front of the Knight-Ridder bastion on North Broad Street. In the not-so-distant-past, some of...
Dr. Khalil Shikaki It was bound to happen. As soon as Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections last week, “moderates” were discovered in their midst. With the last shred of hope for a viable peace process with the Palestinians tossed into the trash can by a landslide election victory for Hamas, some true believers in the inevitability of peace are...
Sivan 13, 5773
