Michelle Williams inhabits her role as Marilyn Monroe in the film "My Week With Marilyn," which chronicles the making of the Monroe/Laurence Olivier comedy "The Prince and the Showgirl." Also pictured is Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller.
November 28, 2011
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard a case brought by Albert Snyder, the father of a young Marine killed in Iraq in 2006, whose funeral was picketed in a despicable display of insensitivity by members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. Members of this church say they believe that God has ordered the deaths of American soldiers as punishment for the country's tolerance…
October 7, 2010
Supporters of President Obama's strategy in Afghanistan can only be disheartened by the portrait of his administration provided in Bob Woodward's new book, Obama's Wars. By Woodward's account, many of the president's senior White House advisers believe that the modified counterinsurgency strategy he adopted last year is doomed to fail - and some suspect the president shares their…
October 1, 2010
J.P. Morgan Chase issued a freeze on 56,000 foreclosures yesterday, acknowledging that some employees may have signed off on documents submitted in support of them without proper review. Chase spokesman Tom Kelly said the company has requested that the courts not enter judgments in pending matters until the company has had time to re-examine the filings "to verify that the affidavits…
September 30, 2010
If Republicans are serious about governing responsibly, they have an odd way of showing it. And for politicians who purport to hate the deficit - odder still. The House Republicans' "Pledge to America," unveiled with fanfare this week at a Sterling, Va., hardware store, mixes irresponsible tax cuts with implausible spending caps and unspecified actions to control entitlement spending.…
September 25, 2010
As Republican leaders assess a Tea Party movement that has both energized and polarized their ranks, John McCain takes a generally benign view of the political landscape - but clearly comes down on the side of the traditional establishment rather than with the young rebels. I was eager to catch up with McCain after his searing summer experience of having to fight for renomination…
September 20, 2010
The Senate will have a historic and long overdue opportunity next week to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. This should not be difficult. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have called for repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," as has President Obama. Recent polls show that nearly 80 percent of the American…
September 19, 2010
The prospects are dim, but the process is right. The Obama administration is to be commended for structuring the latest rounds of Middle East talks correctly. Finally, we're leaving behind interim agreements, of which the most lamentable were the Oslo accords of 1993. The logic then was that issues so complicated could only be addressed step by step in the expectation that things…
September 11, 2010
Tour boats meander through the Thousand Islands, including Heart Island and its famous Boldt Castle. Illustrates NY ISLANDS (category t), by Andrea Sachs (c) 2010, The Washington Post. Moved Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010. (MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Andrea Sachs.)
September 10, 2010
By definition, each of the Thousand Islands must remain above water year-round and be sturdy enough to support at least two trees. The islands are bounded by the banks of the St. Lawrence River along the New York and Canadian border. Illustrates NY ISLANDS (category t), by Andrea Sachs (c) 2010, The Washington Post.…
September 10, 2010
Two photographs adorn the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Together they illuminate a portentous fact: No two leaders of democracies are less alike - in life experiences, temperaments and political philosophies - than Netanyahu, the former commando and fierce nationalist, and Barack Obama, the former professor and post-nationalist. One photograph is of Theodor Herzl,…
August 13, 2010
A place is made sacred by a widespread belief that it was visited by the miraculous or the transcendent (Lourdes, the Temple Mount), by the presence there once of great nobility and sacrifice (Gettysburg), or by the blood of martyrs and the indescribable suffering of the innocent (Auschwitz). When we speak of Ground Zero as hallowed ground, what we mean is that it belongs to those…
August 13, 2010
Elena Kagan, no surprise, did not live up to the Kagan standard of openness in answering questions during her confirmation hearing. Mitch McConnell did not live up to the McConnell standard of deference in voting against her. The McConnell standard? I'd never heard of it, either, but in a recent session with reporters, the Senate minority leader mentioned that he had once written…
August 11, 2010
Observing the Michelle Obama vacation controversy unfold, one is of multiple minds. First thought: Give the lady a break. She deserves a vacation. Who cares that she missed her husband's birthday? We're not children, and sometimes the greatest gift is solitude. Here, Mr. President, you get to enjoy your own space for a few days. Happy birthday. Of such are lasting marriages made.
August 11, 2010
