No environmental problem is more important than that posed by the degradation of our cities, and we must reflect on the factors that might prevent or reverse the decay that we are witnessing. In urban planning, civic leaders should think in terms of fostering beauty through the use of aesthetic constraints.

The best European tourist sights are those where you can see the present layered upon the past.

Ronald Reagan would probably recognize, and approve of, aspects of Sarah Palin's political persona, especially since virtually all the criticisms of Palin were lobbed at Ronald Reagan before and during his time in the White House.

Beauty, history, and a shelf of murder mysteries.

The United States must rebuild and restructure to meet the challenges of a changing Middle East and a rising China.

If the Bush administration wantsa "forward strategy of freedom" for the Muslim world, it cannot turn a blind eye to Libyan president Gaddafi's internal repression and international adventurism.