You think Vietnam was bad? Vietnam is nothing next to Kosovo.

Government never falls lower than when decent people dutifully excuse their leaders' sins.

The business of peace requires more than showing up with paint brushes, foodstuffs and an oil pipeline or two.

Yet, it ought to be obvious that good music generally occupies a higher plane that mere politics. Great writers can express moods through melody and capture experiences we share most powerfully - love, lust, longing; joy, rage, fear; triumph, yearning and confusion.

President Bush has committed billions to the fight against AIDS, thus making retroviral drugs available to millions of HIV-positive Africans.

Sure, science involves trial and error. Scientists refine theories each day. But as they do, they help us grasp more clearly the wonders of the world and the universe.

Somewhere near you, somebody right now is trying to help the indigent and poor - providing food, shelter, clothing or simple kindness.