No postcards
Under the headline “Bygones,” we'd written earlier that Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), which oversees “the Wall” in Washington, was on hand this week at the Hanoi Press Club in Vietnam to accept the Medal for Peace and Friendship Among Nations.
Now we're told that Mr. Scruggs and his former platoon sergeant, Jimmy Mosconis, will be taking a side trip tomorrow with enormous personal significance: the pair will be visiting the Vietnamese village of Xuan Loc, where each was wounded while serving with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade.
Healing Rudy
If there's anything amusing about the popular website “Catholics Against Rudy,” it's the fact that it was designed by Patrick Carver, “a staunch, pro-life Southern Baptist” -- albeit one who believes “in the cause.”
The creator of the site is Steve Dillard, a lawyer and former judicial clerk who readers might recall once ran the Southern Appeal weblog.
“The purpose of this website is to empower faithful Catholics at the local level to educate their fellow parishoners about Rudy Giuliani's abysmal record on non-negotiable 'culture of life' issues (e.g., abortion, embryonic stem cell research) and traditional marriage,” says Mr. Dillard, who points out that the former New York mayor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate's “policy positions are in direct contravention to fundamental Church teachings.”
Mr. Giuliani, for his part, has ducked most questions pertaining to whether he is a “practicing Catholic.”
“My religious affiliation, my religious practices and the degree to which I am a good or not-so-good Catholic, I prefer to leave to the priests,” he replied recently when stumping for votes in Iowa. He added rather flippantly: “I believe in God . . . I pray and ask him for help. I pray like a lawyer. I try to make a deal [-] get me out of this jam, and I'll start going back to church.”
Truth be told, Mr. Giuliani came close to entering the priesthood after graduating from Catholic high school in 1961, but he confessed that “girls” had caught his eye. One was his own second cousin, Regina Peruggi, who he married and ultimately divorced.
As far as Mr. Dillard is concerned, it's not too late Mr. Giuliani to repent.
“Indeed, we would encourage all Catholics to pray for Mayor Giuliani on a daily basis; specifically, that he will confess the error of his ways, fully embrace the teachings of the Catholic Church, and return to full communion with the Church,” he writes on his website, www.CatholicsAgainstRudy.com
Sweet Emotion?
That's Washington best-selling author Ronald Kessler interviewing New York best-selling author [-] former New York Times Magazine editor-in-chief Edward Klein [-] about his new biography, “Katie: The Real Story.”
As in network news anchor Katie Couric, who may not be “America's sweetheart” after all.
“[S]urprising revelations about the one-time 'perky' morning host,” Mr. Kessler says in his book review, which is posted on NewsMax.com.
Mr. Klein paints a woman “that is far from the sympathetic character many Americans see her as [-] a complex and ambitious Jekyll and Hyde figure. On the one hand, Klein's book says she projects an image of the high school cheerleader she once was. But that masks her out-of-control ambition, her narcissism, and her inherent nastiness [-] qualities that have contributed to her downfall as the anchor of CBS Evening News.”
According to Mr. Klein, one of Miss Couric's shortcomings, and a reason CBS remains low in the ratings category, is because of her “unabashed liberal agenda.”
“She hangs out with Steve Tyler of Aerosmith in Nantucket,” Mr. Klein said in the interview. “That says everything. It's the old Chablis-and-cheese liberalism. People don't want to get their news from somebody who wears open-toed shoes, wears purple eye shadow, and who hangs out with Steve Tyler of Aerosmith at night. They want somebody more serious, more trained, more culturally attuned to what's going on in the world.”
Pat and Rhett?
Guys, we're not sure about Vanna White, but we can confirm that Pat Sajak, longtime host of “Wheel of Fortune,” is coming to town to be master of ceremonies at the USO of Metropolitan Washington's Annual Stars & Stripes, Diamonds & Clubs Casino Night.
We're talking craps, roulette, blackjack and Texas hold 'em; along with dinner and dessert, open bar, and a galaxy of stars to meet and greet: 2006 World Series of Poker finalist Rhett Butler; Miss District of Columbia, Miss Maryland, and Miss Virginia; and last but not least the patriotic singing and dancing troupe “American Belles.”
The casino night is September 21, 8 p.m. to midnight, at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington.
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