Newsday

The Grand Globalist surveyed the panoramic vista from his lofty office suite. He could see all the places in the world in a moment’s time. And yet the Grand Globalist was not pleased with what he saw.

As he looked down, the Globalist could see people far below, scurrying around like ants, not realizing how tiny and pathetic their little lives were.

Indeed, that was the problem: The ants were all different. They were diverse. Each bunch of ants lived in its… more

Remember "The Lord of the Rings"? Sure you do. So now let’s play Republican Lord of the Rings. As in, who’s going to win the GOP presidential nomination?

The rings of political power tell the tale. Four rings, outermost to innermost, can give us clues. But it’s that innermost ring -- the ring of buzz and momentum -- that reveals the most.

The outer Republican ring -- that is, the ring farthest from the minds of core activists -- is the November… more

Are we focused on Iran, or not? The Bush administration says that Iran is the greatest threat to our effort in Iraq, to the security of Israel and to the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Indeed, the White House says that Iran is the principal supporter of terrorism around the world. And, oh yes, Tehran is working to get a nuke.

So if all that’s true, why are we antagonizing the key countries we’d need to help us against Iran? Why drive away… more

The 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal once observed that mankind is suspended between two infinities -- the infinitely large and the infinitely small. And so it is with two figures in the news: Al Gore wishes to speak for the planet, while Bill Cosby wishes to speak to the human heart.

And it’s revealing, given the liberal biases of our culture, that one man gets so much attention and the other man, so little.

Gore, former vice president-turned-pundit-movie star, has chosen, as… more

So what’s good to be said about Blackwater, the private security contractor -- critics say "rogue mercenary force" -- that has been operating in Iraq? You know, the company involved in the Sept. 16 lethal shooting incident in Baghdad, whose founder, Erik Prince, was kicked around at a Capitol Hill hearing last week?

Only this: Blackwater is what America wanted. Even if few Americans had ever heard of the company until recently, most voters have generally supported the decades-long bipartisan trend… more

Are you outraged by Rush Limbaugh’s characterizing some Iraq War critics as "phony soldiers"? How do you feel about Joy Behar’s suggesting, on The View, that Republican presidential candidates are Klansmen?

There’s a lot of hot talk going around, for two reasons. But there’s also a cooling counter-trend.

The first reason for heated rhetoric is the fragmentation of the media, which encourages talking heads to turn up the burners. In the 500-channel universe -- not to mention blogs and Web sites --… more

Fifty years ago today, the Soviet Union stunned the world by orbiting a space satellite, Sputnik.

In 1957, Americans felt that we might lose the Cold War if the Russians could gain the "high frontier" of outer space. Fortunately, our political system rose to the challenge, providing the world with a lesson in the power of good leadership and mobilization in a free society.

Unfortunately, we are seeing little of that "can do" spirit today. And these techno-failures are hurting us here… more

Maybe America just isn’t ready for a president named "Newt."

But by any name, we still need reform, and so there’ll be a valuable place for Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who announced Saturday that he’s not running for president next year, concentrating instead on his "American Solutions" program of education and activism. And though many have criticized Gingrich the politician, nobody disputes that he is smart, even visionary.

For a quarter-century, in and out of office, Gingrich has been animated… more

Do you ever find yourself in a scary situation where you start spontaneously reciting the 23rd Psalm? You know, "The Lord is my shepherd ... "? Well, a new movie, Trade, gave me the shuddering feeling that I needed protection from wickedness -- that we all do, that America does.

Trade, starring Kevin Kline, opening Friday, is a fictionalized look -- sometimes lurid, always harrowing, and by the end, profoundly spiritual -- at the sex-trafficking industry, demonstrating clear and present danger… more

So Hillary Rodham Clinton had a pretty good week. But so did the Republicans.

How can that be? Answer: As the junior senator from New York closes in on the Democratic nomination, Republican prospects for the general election are improving -- because concern for national honor eclipses enthusiasm for national health insurance.

As Clinton demonstrated during her pentathlon of Sunday talk shows, she is an effective Q-and-A advocate for her new health care plan. And that probably guarantees her the Democratic nomination.

But… more