"He instinctively can find the shining greatness of our American culture and does a good job of highlighting it (although he also does have those rare lapses when he writes about hockey, but that is something caused by impurities in the Eastern waters or something)." Erik Keilholtz
Under the patronage of St. Tammany
Mark C. N. Sullivan is an editor at a Massachusetts university. He is married and the father of three children. Email
Several political consultants have suggested to me today that this is the most difficult period for Israel in a long time because Olmert is now facing a two-front war with both Hamas and Hezbollah. They could be right about this being a crucial juncture, but because it is actually one common enemy, not two distinct ones. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are funded by Iran, leaders for both receive sanctuary in Syria, and both have a common goal: elimination of the Jews and establishment of an Islamic state.
Beneath the renewed swirl of political discussion and armchair analysis is the harsh reality that three young children are being held hostage. In a country that prides itself on being able to persevere and continue with everyday life, today's news was a cutting reminder that this tiny nation never really will achieve the "normalcy" it so desperately desires.
Here in New England, hewing to the singular moral compass of the Episcopalian Church USA, Bishop Thomas Shaw and assorted Episcopal clergy picketed the Israeli Consulate in Boston on behalf of the Hamas-Hezbollah cause.
What explains the fondness of our leaders -- and, it must be admitted, many followers as well -- for anti-Semitic terrorists, the very people who have kept the Arab-Israeli conflict going long after more reasonable and humane leaders could have resolved it? #
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