Fools Errand?Once more it appears that the United States, Israel, Palestine and their Arab neighbors might have a chance to make progress, if not toward peace, then at least toward alleviating the oppressive effects of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The parties seriousness of commitment ab

Americans have finally accepted the need for "greener" living.

The Pope and the PresidentThe first meeting between President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI on June 9 in Vatican City was one of many photo opportunities on the presidents quick trip to Europe on the occasion of the G-8 meeting in Germany. Predictably, the president sought to highlight the is

July 4, 2007 should be an occasion for citizens to reclaim government from the forces that threaten to capture and corrupt it.

As Hispanics in the United States increase in number, they will likely exert more influence on the nation as a whole, and especially on the U.S. Catholic Church. For while Hispanics make up 14.2 percent of the populace, they make up more than a third of its Catholics, a percentage expected to increa

NEGOTIATING WITH IRAN The meeting of the U.S. ambassador to Iraq with the Iranian ambassador to Iraq in Baghdad on May 28, under the auspices of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, was an encouraging step in the direction urged by the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group. The meetings agenda

ISLAMIC REFORM Skeptics often ask whether Muslims are capable of democratic self-government. Most often the implied supposition is that they could not possibly be. But two current political struggles suggest that Muslims, like any people, are capable of standing up for democracy. Pakistan has been r

Raids by federal agents on five Swift meatpacking plants last December around the country, as well as raids in New Bedford, Mass., in March, called public attention to the fear haunting the lives of undocumented immigrants. As the raids demonstrated, fear of family breakup runs high among the undocumented, with the specter of breadwinners deported and U.S. citizen children left behind in the United States.

Big Deal for Big PharmaBy a vote of 49 to 40, the Senate approved an amendment that effectively excludes U.S. citizens from importing prescription drugs from abroad. The amendment requires prior F.D.A. certification of imported medicines, certification the administration says the agency is not equip

Memorial Day dates to 1868 and General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, who called for a day to honor fallen Union and Confederate soldiers. As on that occasion, this Memorial Day we pause to give thanks, grieve and consider the sacrifices that American soldiers have made for this country.