The odyssey of the reform movement is as familiar as it is tragic, as President Mohammad Khatami and his allies ultimately failed to adjust the parameters of Iran's Islamist rule.
Oscar Wilde brought his case against the Marquis of Queensberry with results that are as familiar as they are tragic.
His final words, "I meant that thing about stitching a vagina onto my leg, you know" are as touching as they are tragic.
For those who back democracy and human rights, the wall of silence from the international community was as predictable as it was tragic.
The attack on the Bardo museum in the Tunisian capital was as unexpected as it was tragic.
Given what we know about overdose, these omissions are as unjustifiable as they are tragic.
Mass shootings and assassinations are shocking, and the sad truth is that America's history of gun murders is as repetitive as it is tragic.
This philosophy says that violence is as inevitable as it is tragic, and no action need be taken except offers of thoughts and prayers.
In America today where virtually anyone with a credit card and a grudge can outfit their own personal army mass shootings are as predictable as they are tragic.
