By this Author

Rosemary Roberts: Not all seniors need a $250 bonus now

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:00:00 -0400

When Social Security was enacted in 1935, conservatives were outraged. They called it socialism and accused President Franklin D. Roosevelt of bankrupting the nation with his "financial hocus-pocus," as an editorial in The New York Times said.

Rosemary Roberts: Breast cancer survivor keeps the faith

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:00:00 -0400

When I made the appointment for my annual mammogram, it happened to coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I didn't expect anything to be wrong, but life can change in an instant. The American Cancer Society says one out of eight women develop breast cancer. Not the best of odds.

Rosemary Roberts: Time for Polanski to face the music

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Roman Polanski, the Academy Award-winning director who's been on the lam for 31 years for raping a child, was arrested in Switzerland last Saturday.

Should U.S. courts let bygones be bygones for the brilliant filmmaker, or should Polanski, now 76, be extradited to the United States to stand trial in California?

Rosemary Roberts: Obama needs to turn up the volume

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400

The bad news about President Obama is that he got off his game this summer. He sat on the sidelines and let the screamers and fist shakers dominate the debate about health care and turn it into a firestorm.

The good news about Obama is that he admits he blew it.

In a recent interview with ABC News' "Good Morning America," he said his lack of clarity about which health care plan he favors probably backfired. He laid out principles but failed to spell out specifics.

Rosemary Roberts: Kennedy and the sanctity of redemption

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's funeral was as close as it gets to a state funeral without being one. The great cathedral, the statesmen, the honor guard. All of the trappings were on display.

Yet hovering in the shadows of the funeral Mass was the darker side of the man they'd come to honor. In his younger years, he'd lived a messy life of personal failures. Millions loved him in spite of them; others loathed him because of them.

Rosemary Roberts: An American admires Britain's NHS

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0400

I was glad when Tiger Woods lost the PGA tournament to the South Korean, when the hurricane season cranked up in the Caribbean, when the Obama family went out West to visit national parks.

Why? Because these stories momentarily diverted our attention from the ranting, sobbing and sheer craziness that has infected the debate about health care reform.

Rosemary Roberts: Nightmare at LaGuardia Airport

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0400

I write this on behalf of the thousands -- maybe tens of thousands -- of Americans who've had what I shall call "a bad airport experience" this summer. I had one last Friday at New York's LaGuardia Airport, one of the nation's busiest.

Rosemary Roberts: A reunion on Whidbey Island

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0400

When my sons suggested we have our family reunion on the West Coast and much of it on Whidbey Island, I reached for a map.

Whidbey Island? I'd never heard of the place. I'm an East Coaster who's fairly familiar with barrier islands off the Atlantic coast, but I know little about islands off the Pacific coast.

So here's a brief geography lesson before we move on to the story's plot: namely, my family reunion and its cast of characters.

Rosemary Roberts: Saddam, Bush misjudged each other

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Saddam Hussein made news the other day despite the 24-hour media saturation focused on Michael Jackson's death, Sarah Palin's bizarre resignation and Gov. Mark Sanford's philandering in Argentina.

The Saddam story illustrates how a nation's leaders -- both America's and the enemy's -- make gross miscalculations that lead to horrifying consequences.

Shortly before Saddam was executed, FBI agents interrogated him off and on for four months (the CIA had already done so). Summaries of more than 20 FBI sessions were released a few days ago under the Freedom of Information Act.

Rosemary Roberts: Sex and smoking in high places

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Like Bill Clinton before him, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina has "a zipper problem."

You've heard the riveting details. On Father's Day weekend, Sanford, 49, mysteriously disappeared. It's one thing for a private citizen to go missing but front-page stuff when a prominent Republican governor -- who aspired to run for the White House -- suddenly vanishes.

His wife, Jenny, 46, the mother of his four sons, didn't know his whereabouts. Then his equally mystified staff said he'd mentioned hiking on the Appalachian Trail to escape the stress of governing.

Rosemary Roberts: Aycock teacher was a hit

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Think back for a minute to your own school days. Do you remember that special teacher who exposed you to bold ideas and a bigger world? Somebody whose standards were exceedingly high and expected nothing less from your own?

Meet Johnson Harriss, a beloved teacher at Aycock Junior High School (now Aycock Middle School), who later taught at Page High School until he retired in 2002.

Rosemary Roberts on Elizabeth Edwards' dirty laundry

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:00:00 -0400

I was in Washington last weekend and happened to drive through Georgetown, that posh neighborhood of elegant houses inhabited by senators, cabinet members and the well-heeled.

Among Georgetown's former residents were John and Elizabeth Edwards of North Carolina, who lived there in happier times before his sex scandal scorched their marriage.

Rosemary Roberts: Cheney and pals drag GOP off course

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:00:00 -0400

The topic today is: How to kill the Republican Party. I'm not referring to the GOP's perennial foes, the Democrats. I'm talking about Republican leaders who are spouting off stuff that's a recipe for political disaster.

Let's start with Dick Cheney, our former super-secretive vice president. Cheney used to think that everything was off limits for the American people to know about. He even hid in "an undisclosed location" for large swaths of time.

Rosemary Roberts: Seattle, Gates and grandchildren

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:00:00 -0400

As readers of this column know, I occasionally visit Seattle, that city of stunning beauty in the Pacific Northwest. I don't travel across America for the scenery but to visit Clara, Louisa and Jack Dee.

Oops! I just heard you yawn. As a friend once said after I returned from Seattle: "Well, I guess we're in for another grandmother column!"

Well, yes and no. This column is also about billionaire Bill Gates and his family, but first let's talk about Clara, 10, Louisa, 8, and Jack Dee, 6, my three grandchildren who live with their parents in Seattle.

Rosemary Roberts: Free speech takes a hit at UNC

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:03 -0400

At Chapel Hill, the glow of winning the 2009 NCAA basketball championship still radiates, and the university can understandably puff with pride. Until Tuesday, that is, when UNC’s reputation was badly tarnished.

That’s when a bunch of student rabble-rousers muzzled a controversial speaker and thus trampled the principle of free speech.

Here’s what happened: Tom Tancredo, a former Republican presidential candidate and former congressman from Colorado, was scheduled to speak at UNC’s Bingham Hall.

Rosemary Roberts: At Nancy's, folks know your name

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0400

At a time of global economic crisis, deadly wars and other grim topics, let's change the subject. Let's talk about a cheerful, folksy restaurant where the food is down-home, the prices can't be beat, and everybody seemingly knows your name.

Yes, I stole that line from "Cheers," the TV sitcom about a tavern in Boston where everybody knows everybody's name.

Nancy's Restaurant -- known to the regulars as Nancy's -- is not a tavern. It's a mom-and-pop eatery whose owners, Henry and Nancy Wicker, treat customers like old friends.

Rosemary Roberts: Talking hoops, etc., with the president

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Dear Mr. President,

I recently read that you receive about 5,000 letters a day at the White House. I read that most of the letter-writers give you a big earful of advice about how to run the country. I've got some good ideas on that subject myself, but first let's talk basketball.

I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations on your splendid taste in basketball teams. This week you showed up on ESPN, the TV Mecca of all sports fans, and you confidently predicted that UNC -- my beloved alma mater -- will win the NCAA. Way to go!

Rosemary Roberts: Cell phones, driving and a ‘godless’ ad

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:03 -0500

A few months ago, I made a small wager with a friend: North Carolina, within three years, will ban drivers from using hand-held cell phones.

My friend vigorously disagreed. Politicians will never forbid it, she said, because cell phones and driving are ingrained in our state and national culture. “Turn on the ignition, flip on your cell phone,” she added.

Rosemary Roberts: Newspapers, readers need each other

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:00:00 -0500

On the day after Barack Obama was elected president, people stood in line outside The Washington Post to buy copies of the election edition, both to read it and to keep as souvenirs. That same thirst for newspapers occurred at the News & Record, The New York Times, USA Today and across America.

Rosemary Roberts: Octuplets! A miracle or a mistake?

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:00:00 -0500

What on earth was the woman thinking? And what, pray tell, was the doctor at the fertility clinic thinking?

I'm referring to the case of Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth last week to octuplets -- six boys and two girls.

Her feat was initially proclaimed "a medical miracle," but then the gritty facts surfaced. The "miracle" soon morphed into a raging ethical debate about medical science that had gone off the rails and a woman who may have gone off, too.

Rosemary Roberts: Week offers great events, small details

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

His inaugural address has been delivered and parsed; the 10 inaugural balls have finally ended; the chief justice has redone the flubbed oath of office; the cleaning crew has swept up 130 tons of garbage on the Mall and parade route; the 1.8 million Americans who went to Washington are heading home.

Before this historic week draws to a close, I would like to add some thoughts before the glow wears off and the nitty-gritty sets in:

Rosemary Roberts: See you in Havana (soon, maybe)

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution and Fidel Castro's seizure of power on Jan. 1, 1959. Castro has outlasted every American president beginning with Dwight Eisenhower, but I'm going to make a bold prediction:

Before Barack Obama's first term ends, the United States will abolish its trade embargo against Cuba (imposed in 1960) and re-establish diplomatic relations (broken off in 1961). For decades our government has barred Americans from traveling to Cuba except under restricted conditions. I predict that policy will be abolished.

Rosemary Roberts: Moral courage in Nazi Germany

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:00:17 -0500

During World War II, Berlin was heavily bombed by Allied planes, yet remnants of Nazi architecture still stand as a menacing reminder that Hitler and his jack-booted Nazis once presided over these fortress-like buildings.

One afternoon a few years ago I was walking beside a Nazi-era building in Berlin. I noticed a plaque near its entrance and bouquet of flowers beneath the plaque. My German is poor, but I managed to make out the inscription. The plaque honored Claus von Stauffenberg, the army colonel who led the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944.

Rosemary Roberts: How to escape holiday hassles -- flee!

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

Last weekend I discovered what every mortal should do if the run-up to Christmas gets overwhelming. You simply pack your suitcase and flee.

You escape Christmas shopping, gift-wrapping, house-decorating, card-writing and all the burdens and responsibilities involved with yuletide preparation. Lots of people, I've now learned, make a run for it. Some head for the beach, others flee to the mountains, still others travel to faraway parts of the nation.

Rosemary Roberts: It's best that Obama not check in early

"Rosemary Roberts ()" — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500

Like most parents, Barack and Michelle Obama must arrange their lives around their children's school schedule. So they've got a problem.

Their daughters are supposed to begin classes at Washington's Sidwell Friends School on Jan. 5, but Barack's new job doesn't start until Jan. 20. So the Obamas asked George and Laura Bush if they could move into Blair House in early January so the girls could start school on time. Blair House is located across the street from the White House and is used to house visiting dignitaries.