Columnist.
The soap opera that played out in Richmond these last weeks and ended with the convictions of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy charges is a tragedy for them, their children and the voters of Virginia. By most objective standards, McDonnell did a good job as governor. He took a deficit left by his predecessor and turned it into a surplus without raising taxes or cutting essential services. But a jury found that he and his wife also served themselves, using his office to get sweetheart loans and other favors in exchange for access and the promotion of a commercial product by their benefactor, Jonnie Williams, who avoided indictment by testifying for the prosecution.
We met by accident. How else could it have been with two people who are so different? Or are we? It was the early 1980s when a tabloid called me. They were doing a story on Joan Rivers and thought I, a conservative, would give them a quote critical of her. I said, "I won't speak to you and I don't want to be quoted as saying I won't speak to you." They made up a quote, claiming I thought she was a terrible person.
The promise the Chinese government made to Britain and to the world as Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control at midnight on June 30, 1997, that China would abide by the "one country, two systems" plan, which would afford Hong Kong greater autonomy, except in matters of foreign relations and defense, was to last 50 years. That promise is falling 33 years short of fulfillment. The communist government in Beijing has been nipping at the edges of Hong Kong's freedoms for some time, but last Sunday it decided to take a bigger bite. Writes The New York Times, "China's legislature laid down strict limits ... to proposed voting reforms in Hong Kong, pushing back against months of rallies calling for free, democratic elections." The "strict limits" include new guidelines for nominating candidates, which means Beijing would choose who runs the city's government.
From 1948 to 1961, there was a show called "This Is Your Life," hosted by Ralph Edwards. In it, an unsuspecting celebrity was lured to a place by a friend or family member where Edwards would surprise them. People from the celebrity's past would then come out one by one and tell stories of the celebrity's early life. A modern-day version of that program is "Finding Your Roots," the latest in a brilliant series about race, identity and heritage hosted by Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Scheduled to air September 23 through November 25 on PBS. Check your local listings.) In the aftermath of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and renewed calls for a serious "conversation" about race, which always seems to end up with the races talking over one another, Gates' program travels a different road. It is exceptional television and again demonstrates what can be when the medium lives up to its full potential.
For Americans whose knowledge of this beautiful land is limited to kilts, whiskey, bagpipes and the film "Braveheart," the forthcoming referendum on whether Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom or become an independent nation will come as a curiosity at best. The primary objection of those favoring separation is the lack of self-determination granted to Scots by the British government. Though Westminster in recent months has devolved more powers to Edinburgh, those favoring separation say it is not enough. In the final debate Monday night before the September 18 vote (a turnout of 80 percent is predicted), the chairman of the "Better Together" campaign, Alistair Darling, engaged in the rhetorical equivalent of a heavyweight prizefight with Alex Salmond, first minister of Scotland.
The Obama administration is reportedly considering airstrikes in Syria against the terrorist group ISIS. The New York Times quotes "a top national security adviser" to the president as saying the U.S. is "'not going to be restricted by borders' to protect its interests..." What about American cities? If ISIS attacks one or more U.S. cities, as it has threatened to do, what then? We can't bomb ourselves. How would we counter a nosedive in the stock market or the ensuing chaos and fear? The U.S. and Europe are vulnerable because of a false belief that we can somehow "convert" ideological and religious fundamentalists into pluralistic, tolerant people by exposing them to our way of life. So we let them into our nations. They build mosques, often with funding from Saudi Arabia, which practices and teaches a radical brand of Islam known as Wahhabism, and allow them to set up Islamic schools, at least some of which teach hatred of Jews, Christians and Western values.
U.S. airstrikes that have helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces recapture a strategic dam and halt, at least temporarily, the advance of ISIS terrorists on the Kurdish capital of Erbil are a welcome pushback against a relentless enemy that for a time seemed invincible. But it may be of no more strategic significance than Jimmy Doolittle's bombing run against Japan in World War II. Doolittle's raid gave a psychological boost to the United States, but it had to be followed by much sterner stuff before victory was achieved. Just as Japan and Germany were once threats to free people, so are Islamic fanatics by whatever label they wear. The beheading of James Foley, an American photojournalist, and a threat to behead a second American kidnapped by ISIS fighters is only the latest of numerous atrocities perpetrated by these fanatics.
It was in a college theater class that I learned about a genre called "Theater of the Absurd." These were plays written mostly by European playwrights between the 1940s and 1960s, as well as a certain style that flowed from their work. What reminded me of this is now "playing" in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was -- select one -- a) innocently walking down the street when a police officer shot him to death without provocation, or, b) walking with a friend in the street and told by a police officer to get on the sidewalk, whereupon a physical confrontation occurred and Brown allegedly tried to grab the officer's gun and was shot by the cop, now identified as Darren Wilson. This after Brown allegedly robbed a convenience store of some cigars and was seen on a store camera intimidating the clerk as he walked out, which may, or may not, have been related to the shooting.
Robin Williams made me cry. Like his mentor, the late Jonathan Winters, Williams, who committed suicide Monday, made me laugh so intensely tears would come to my eyes. Williams' death made headlines and led TV newscasts. His comedic genius diverted us from stories about terrorism and other sadness in the world. That's what comedy does. It makes us forget our troubles -- national, international and personal -- and for a moment, embrace happiness. Williams, who seemed full of joy on the outside, was apparently tormented on the inside. He suffered from clinical depression. An estimated 19 million Americans suffer from depression, according to the Mayo Clinic website. He may have tried to conquer it in the '70s and '80s by self-medicating with cocaine, but the drug, while creating an intense high, is often followed quickly by "intense depression," according to the Foundation for a Drug-Free World.
When liberal Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and the conservative former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich agree on something, attention should be paid. Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last Friday that the U.S. must confront the jihadists who call themselves the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL). "It takes an army to defeat an army," she said, adding, "I believe that we either confront ISIL now or we will be forced to deal with an even stronger enemy in the future." In an article first published on CNN.com, Gingrich noted there is now "an arc of terror from Boko Haram in Nigeria through Hamas in Gaza to ISIS in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, there is a clear wave of vicious religious warfare being waged against civilization by fanatics who openly promise and engage in genocidal killing." Gingrich added that since Americans were seized as hostages in Iran in 1979, "the United States has been at war with radical Islamists. They knew it. We hid from it."
On the occasion of this week's 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation from the presidency, The Washington Post sponsored a reunion featuring Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Watergate reporters who "brought down" the 37th president. In fact, Nixon committed political suicide. He thought he could get away with what other politicians had done, but forgot the rules are different for Republicans.
William Shakespeare is not known for his economic expertise, but the advice he gives through Polonius in "Hamlet" may be the best counsel ever offered for individuals and governments. After years of debt (90.6 percent of GDP in 2013) and deficit spending, Britain's ruling Conservative Party is crowing about the latest economic figures that show the country has outpaced the developed world in its economic recovery. Reuters reports that the International Monetary Fund recently upgraded Britain's projected economic growth this year to 3.2 percent, leading "the world's big rich economies." According to UK's Office for National Statistics, Britain has recovered all of the ground lost during the recession.
World War I began as most wars do with patriotic fervor and predictions of a quick end. It lasted four years. While the match igniting the "war to end all wars" was lit by the assassination of Austria's Archduke Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, formal declarations of war occurred 100 years ago on July 28 (Austria declares war on Serbia) and Aug. 1 (Germany declares war on Russia, and Russia on Germany). Aug. 1, 1914 will be commemorated Sunday at a charity event to benefit current British war veterans at Highclere Castle, the site of the PBS series "Downton Abbey." The observance will begin with a worship service led by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, followed by period music, games, speeches, and other events one might find at an American state fair.
With his approval numbers sinking to 39 percent a week ago, according to the Gallup tracking poll, President Obama isn't alone in having a bad summer. So is Hollywood. Entertainment Weekly calls gross receipts for what should have been a blockbuster July 4-6 weekend "downright terrifying." Writes EW, "Not only were grosses down 45 percent from last year's holiday, according to Boxofficemojo.com, but it was Hollywood's worst July 4 weekend since 1999. (And that's not taking into account inflation. In fact, this was the worst July-holiday weekend for ticket sales since the summer of 'Dragnet' in 1987.)"
The anti-Semitic "tradition" of blaming Jews for the world's problems mostly took a temporary back seat in light of the indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas.
It may be too soon to label it a trend and there is insufficient data to confirm it, but President Obama and his party may be losing their iron grip on their most loyal and enthusiastic voting bloc: African-Americans. Last Friday in Chicago, a group of black residents of the city's South Side, staged a protest against the violent shootings that are becoming as commonplace as White Sox games at Cellular Field. It wasn't just the protest that should concern the administration and Democrats; it was the language used by some of the protesters, many of whom at the time of the president's 2009 inauguration likely joined other African-Americans in worshipping at the Obama shrine.
At last, an Obama administration official has come out in favor of a fence. He promises it will bring security to people on both sides of the border. Unfortunately, Philip Gordon, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, was not speaking of a border fence between the United States and Mexico, but a fence between the West Bank and the 1967 Israeli border. That fence, he said, would be built after Israel relinquishes the territory in exchange for an empty promise of "peace" with the Palestinians. Apparently Gordon hasn't noticed that missiles fly over fences. If anyone needs more proof that the land-for-peace formula was stillborn when first proposed, Gaza is the latest example. Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 ensured Hamas would establish a terrorist base from which it now fires missiles indiscriminately at Israeli cities.
Frank Sinatra's song about Chicago, "My Kind of Town," "a the town that won't let you down," seems dated in light of last weekend's shooting spree that left 16 dead and dozens wounded in 53 separate incidents. According to the Chicago Tribune, "The victims were among 82 people shot between Thursday afternoon and early Monday." Chicago wasn't alone in the Independence Day violence. New York City and Detroit combined for 10 dead in 46 shootings, but let's stick with Chicago where violence in mainly poor African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods has become a way of death.
The cab driver taking me to the Washington Nationals baseball game on July 4 is from Bangladesh. I ask him how he got here. He said his father "won the immigration lottery" some years back, was admitted under U.S. immigration law and eventually became a citizen, as did his son. He is proud to be an American and said after he dropped me off he was going to a traditional Fourth of July party to celebrate America's independence. Those are the kinds of immigrants America should welcome. My driver -- I will call him "Yusef" (not his real name) says he works hard, supports his family and is outraged by those who break the law to cross the border and immediately begin getting free stuff that he, now a taxpayer, must subsidize.
