And that, I suppose, is what I'd been trying to tell my mother that day: that her faith in justice and rationality was misplaced, that we couldn't overcome after all, that all the education and good intentions in the world couldn't help you plug up the holes in the universe or give you the power to change its blind, mindless course.

Contrary to the claims of some of my critics and some of the editorial pages, I am an ardent believer in the free market.

I think we all know that world owes an enormous debt to Greece and the Greek people.

Torture is how you create enemies, not how you defeat them... Torture is how you get bad information, not good intelligence. Torture is how you set back America's standing in the world, not how you strengthen it.

The Muslim call to prayer is one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.

This is about respect for women, the judgments that women make and their doctors about their reproductive health. It's an important part of who women are, their reproductive health.

People are less certain of their national identities or their place in the world. It starts looking different and disorienting. And there is no doubt that that has produced populist movements both from the left and from the right in many countries in Europe.