Commentary

Conventional wisdom suggests Americans know little about foreign policy and care about it even less. Opinion polls regularly show that international issues take a back seat to topics more prosaic (economics, education) or provocative (culture wars, gun control). Next year’s presidential election, however, might be a bit different. Continued international crises could focus attention on the benefits and burdens of American global leadership, and our polarized politics may turn on battles and events far from home. We might experience the rare phenomenon: a foreign policy election.

Coach probably won’t make it to Foxborough on Saturday. That’s a shame, because U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville would learn something important by attending the 124th Army-Navy game. He could have learned the same lesson at Pearl Harbor remembrances in Annapolis and Baltimore on Thursday, but he’s a former football coach who brandishes his old job title as a sign of wisdom.

Since 2012, the requirements for being appointed to serve on Frederick County’s boards and commissions have included residency in the county and being registered to vote. The requirements were repealed in September because they had been enacted during the time when the county was governed by a Board of County Commissioners.

As a child raised in the video-on-demand era who also spent the first half of his life as a Walt Disney World pass holder, my 10-year-old Brooks was pretty clear on the specifics of the “Cinderella” story before we saw ArtCentric’s live version at Baltimore Center Stage last week. When it was over, I asked for a recap. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was coming for my job as a cultural critic.

In March, the Maryland Senate approved legislation to give Maryland’s state and federal judges — along with the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, prosecutors and their “immediate family members” — the right to keep their home addresses and phone numbers out of public records. It would have applied to both current and former public officials.

I was saddened to hear of the loss of retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. I was a first year Afro-Filipino law student when she was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s quite a vivid memory, because so many people were talking about how the appointment of the first woman would change the Supreme Court — and change it, she did. It might seem startling now, but at that time, there were still people around who thought women should not even enter the legal profession, let alone sit on the highest court in the land.