Just a quick note on three outstanding pieces, two re the war on terror and one on the state of conservatism.

First, Krauthammer, again, this time holding forth on the administration’s very poor conduct of the war on terror. War, what war? Whatever one may think of waterboarding, giving terrorists Miranda rights is not the way to win a war; it is the way to put our civilization and its most innocent members in deep jeopardy. Obama’s leadership in the war-that-is-no-longer-a-war has been worse than non-existent, and Krauthammer does a marvelous job explicating that. Our “Charles Martel” has always been exceptional, but over the past several months he has been outdoing himself consistently.

Then, on the philosophical side, here’s an article – an excellent one, in my estimation – on Evangelical Pacifism in the War on Terror, by Mark D. Tooley. Sadly, the Left-Right divide also affects the Body of Christ. It’s not supposed to be so according to Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer of John 17, but when innocent people are in danger of heinous terrorism, isn’t that an important enough subject to have an opinion on? Shouldn’t being a Christian not only make us more tuned into what is going on, but also an effective change agent?

Are our differences because we are not concentrating on the fundamentals that unite us? Or is it because one side or both are off on those very fundamentals? It’s nothing new that the Body is at loggerheads on serious issues, to be sure, and 2Ti 3.1-6 and other verses warn us of big problems that were to come in the church, but it’s nonetheless lamentable.

Finally, there’s a very-well-written piece on Sarah Palin being “Man of the Year” (the author’s term, not mine). At this point, Sarah is divisive, though her numbers have been changing dramatically. But no matter what you think of her, you have to admit that she’s been subjected to an amazing level of personal attack, and just keeps ticking. This is more than an article on her, however, it’s on the state of conservatism at this crucial juncture, and it’s an interesting read.

UPDATE: While I’m on this subject, I can’t resist adding this Mark Steyn piece to Krauthammer’s on the subject of our national defense being in utter disarray. Amazingly good writing. It’s surreal to be able to appreciate writing, when the subject is so dreadfully serious. But that’s the way it is sometimes. The clarity here will hopefully change minds about the direction in which we’re going.