Ooops, my bad..There are now reports that the latest code orange alert will be downgraded in the coming days. It turns out that the threats were unsubstantiated after all. While the Bush Administration deserves some blame, so does the press. Where were they in finding out if this was true or not? Don't they have a public responsibility to make sure we aren't falling for a case of crying wolf?


In Case of Emergency.....While I do not support this upcoming war with Iraq (see my editorial), I also have problems with some peace activists, especially religious peace activists. They seem to have an ideological pacifism that is against any type of war however justified it may be. These were the types that were against boming Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11 attacks. As unseemly as it was to do that, it was necessary to disrupt Al Queda and prevent future attacks. Nonviolence is an honorable tactic and has been sucessful. Witness the Civil Rights movement of the peaceful protests of 1989 that brought an end to the Iron Curtain. However, there are times when force is necessary, even if it is still sinful. Theologian Dietrich Bonehoeffer was a committed pacifist that joined in assisnation plot to kill Hitler. He thought the action was sinful, but knew the alternative was a man bent on killing an entire peop! le. Some peace activists think that any conflict can be dealt with by talking to the other. That can work on some occasions, but not others. We do not live in a black and white world, but a world where the choices are sometimes grey. War now, is a bad option when there are many others. But that is not always the case.

As a Christian, I believe taking a life is wrong. But so is genocide. In a world where you might have to be faced with the choice of killing someone or allowing that person to harm others, I'd ask God to forgive me and regretfully draw the sword.

For a better America...The Atlantic Monthly has a great series of articles by fellows from the New America foundation about how to solve some of the nation's pressing problems. Entitled the "Real State of the Union," the February issue explores ideas such as health care, education and race realtions outside of the typical and sterile left-right debate. What these articles show is how deviod of ideas that the Democrats and Republicans parties are. Both sides are more interested in obstructing the other than trying to come together for the good of the country.