Syndicated columns

In keeping with our era of ideological boycotts, I will no longer be purchasing Kind bars. Or Barilla pasta. Or Triscuit crackers. Or Del Monte diced tomatoes. Or Nutro dog food. A one-person boycott, of course, is really just a change in your shopping list. But the companies that produce these brands are guilty of crimes against rationality. All advertise on their packaging, in one way or another, that they don’t contain GMOs – genetically modified ingredients. Walking down the aisle of my supermarket, I could have picked many other examples. Some food companies seem to be saying that GMO ingredients are not even fit for your dog.

When we’re having dinner as a family, we’ll talk about almost everything, from serious things to news of the weird. One of our twin sons wants to teach and coach soccer, the other plans to go into accounting.

Before meeting with North Korea’s “very honorable” (Donald Trump’s words) dictator, Kim Jong Un, the president should bone up on the history of that country’s duplicity and deception, including ways it has used the wishful thinking of some past U.S. presidents to achieve its objectives. A good place to start is an essay written by Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute for the March 2003 issue of Commentary magazine.

Praying for the poor is now apparently a firing offense in the corridors of power. House Speaker Paul Ryan did not give a reason when his chief of staff this month told the Rev. Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest and House chaplain, to resign or face dismissal.

Dear Sen. Marco Rubio: So I see where you came after me on Twitter. I’m flattered. Never knew you cared.

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. – Courage isn’t required to condemn the Syracuse University chapter of the Theta Tau fraternity for simulating a sexual assault on a disabled student. Video of this apish display, now in wide circulation, should horrify anyone with an ounce of decency. That is, assuming people still recall what decency is.

Looking back, it’s ironic to remember how the charges against Bill Cosby were not taken seriously until after they became a joke. The joke was told on a stage in Philadelphia four years ago by rising Chicago-based actor-comedian Hannibal Buress.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – The four-story building at 55 Savushkina St. that housed the infamous Russian internet “troll factory” that meddled in America’s 2016 election now appears empty. I saw a huge “For Rent” sign in one of its large windows facing the street. The main trolling operation has moved to an impersonal seven-story glass office building in the distant Lakhta business district. I couldn’t enter the building due to tight security. (Journalists seen taking pictures have been grabbed and harassed.) The city’s leading business daily, Delovoy Peterburg, reported late last year that the operation’s workspace has tripled.

Emmanuel Macron and President Trump don’t agree on much. Macron is a globalist; Trump is a nationalist. Macron is a free-trader; Trump just imposed protectionist tariffs on steel and aluminum. Macron wants the United States to remain in Syria; Trump wants to get out. Macron wants to preserve the Iran nuclear deal; Trump wants to scrap it. Macron wants the United States to rejoin the Paris climate deal; Trump withdrew from the accord. And yet there they were, the French and American presidents air-kissing on the White House portico, clasping hands at the lectern of a joint news conference, clutching arms as they walked down the colonnade and clinked glasses at the first state dinner of the Trump presidency. “He is perfect,” Trump declared of Macron (after brushing what he said was dandruff off of the French leader’s suit). The displays of amity have left Washington and Paris agog at le bromance.

The attitude of President Trump toward federal law enforcement is, to put it mildly, mixed. The FBI refused to bend to his will. So it is comprised of “hardened Democrats” engaged in a “WITCH HUNT.” The FBI was, according to Trump, too preoccupied with the Russia investigation to prevent the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. Its reputation “is in Tatters – worst in History!” But Immigration and Customs Enforcement has passed the loyalty test. ICE’s enforcement surge “is merely the keeping of my campaign promise,” explained the president. Referring to ICE acting Director Thomas Homan, Trump said, “Somebody said the other day, they saw him on television. ... ‘He looks very nasty, he looks very mean.’ I said, ‘That’s what I’m looking for!’ ”

Racism is a white problem. I know that many white people will instinctively and emphatically resist that observation. They’ll note the self-evident truth that prejudice is confined to no one culture or color. Having known more than a few African-American bigots, homophobes and anti-Semites, I’ll be happy to concede the point.

If only Nixon could go to China, as the saying goes, then maybe only Republicans can legalize weed. Marijuana has now been legalized for medical use in many states – only Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota still prohibit use in any form. Nine states allow recreational marijuana use, and 13 others have decriminalized recreational use to some extent. Meanwhile, public support for legalizing the drug continues to grow and is now firmly in majority territory.

For the first time in the history of the republic, it appears increasingly likely that a majority of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will vote against the president’s nominee for secretary of state. If this happens, it would be a black mark not on Mike Pompeo’s record, but on the reputation of this once-storied committee. There are no instances of a secretary of state nominee ever receiving an unfavorable committee vote since such votes were first publicly recorded in 1925 (before that, the committee voted in closed session). Democrat John Kerry was approved in a unanimous voice vote, including from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who opposes Pompeo. Democrat Hillary Clinton was approved 16 to 1, despite concerns about foreign donors to the Clinton Foundation. Madeleine Albright was approved unanimously, with the strong support of my former boss, the committee’s conservative then-chairman, Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., who called Albright “a tough and courageous lady” and voted for her despite saying that she was “sincerely wrong” in some of her foreign policy views.

Democrats scouring their ranks for a 2020 presidential candidate should put Andrew Cuomo high on their list. The New York governor is already on the case, giving speeches tailored for the Iowa caucuses. Assuming Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination for a second term, Cuomo would be an especially strong combatant. Five reasons:

With much justification, Americans bemoan the state of our political discourse and the poor character of many our politicians. With the election of President Donald Trump came the depressing realization that decency, kindness and humility weren’t needed to reach the highest political office; these qualities might even be a hindrance. But we should not leap to the conclusion that we lack virtuous role models in public life; we’re just not looking in the right places. This week we learned about a trio of them, all women. First, the pilot. The Post reports:

Last week, the world commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Much of the news this year focused on a new national survey, conducted by Schoen Consulting for the Claims Conference, to assess just how much Americans, especially young Americans, know about the Holocaust today. The results were disheartening and disturbing. People are beginning to forget.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ guest opinion “Out with the old, in with the new (tax code)” on April 17, 2018 (tax day), concerning the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, focused on “celebrating” how this new law will help middle-class families. While there will be some temporary benefits to the middle class in this new law, the congresswoman doesn’t provide critical additional facts. I believe our congresswoman has failed to identify who is actually “celebrating” this new tax law. It’s not the middle class.

After the United States last week accused the Russian-backed Assad regime in Syria of a chemical-weapons attack, Russia had a ready rejoinder: Fake News. A Kremlin statement dismissed “the latest fake news about a chemical attack on Douma,” calling the charges “absolutely unsubstantiated lies.”

I recently returned from a trip to Japan. I’ve been going there for many years, so I can confirm that traveling in that country – especially for longer periods of time – is infinitely easier than it was just a decade ago. One of the main reasons is Airbnb. Ten years ago, lodging in Japan was limited to overpriced hotels or unreliable Craigslist sublets. Now, with a few button clicks on a smartphone or laptop, you can book a reasonably priced, centrally located private apartment with all the furnishings of a well-kept Japanese home. A portable Wi-Fi unit is often included, allowing you to dispense with the need to pay for an international cellphone data plan. Airbnb’s success in Japan is due in large part to the government’s far-sighted embrace of the room-rental service. In mid-2017 the government passed a law legalizing Airbnb, subject to the approval of local authorities. Japanese apartment owners can rent out their rooms for up to 180 days out of the year – much more than in many other cities. This leniency is just one factor powering a record boom in tourism to the Land of the Rising Sun: