For the moment, what substitutes for certainty is the anger of Vladimir Putin.
In Shakespeare, argument — the ever-changing play of contradictions — is what substitutes for character (a word that for the Elizabethans meant only a letter in the alphabet).
What substitutes for psychology in Tolkien and his followers, and keeps the stories from seeming barrenly external, is what preceded psychology in epic literature: an overwhelming sense of history and, with it, a sense of loss.
For the moment, what substitutes for certainty is the anger of Vladimir Putin, who said that "the loss we suffered today came from a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists".
The configuration and tight fit of these bones is what substitutes for the ligaments in providing stability, thereby preventing side-to-side movement or dislocation of the bones in this region.
Predictably, this would come to an accusation -- what substitutes for serious debate these days -- that Senator Barack Obama was not wearing a flag pin and therefore, ipso facto, was no patriot.
