Latest news with #Virginian
Observer
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
Donald Trump, our foundering father
I called my brother, Kevin, to ask if he would spend Independence Day with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and me. Monticello has a new tour focusing on the relationship of Jefferson and Adams, which culminated in an exchange of 158 letters in their last 14 years of life. Historian David McCullough deemed this attempt of the fiery Bostonian and reticent Virginian to overcome their political feuds and understand each other 'one of the most extraordinary correspondences in American history.' My favourite anecdote about Adams and Jefferson, who both loved Shakespeare and used the Bard's psychological insights as inspiration when they conjured the country, concerned their visit to Shakespeare's house in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Our family trip to Monticello on Wednesday was suggested by Jane Kamensky, a very cool historian of the American Revolution and the president and CEO of Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. She thought that my Trump-supporting brother and I might appreciate the new tour, 'Founding Friends, Founding Foes,' as inspiration for 'a thoughtful dialogue across the divide.' Kevin laughed when I told him about the invitation. 'I'm amused,' he said, 'that we are the example of modern-day comity and civility.' Americans are at one another's throats, living in a world of insults, coarseness and cruelty — a world where Donald Trump and JD Vance excel. At Monticello, we talked to Ken Burns, who was giving a preview of his upcoming PBS documentary on the American Revolution. He is finishing it in the nick of time, given Trump's attempts to slash PBS' federal funding. 'The Revolution — no pictures, no newsreels, and more violent than we could possibly imagine,' the film-maker told us. 'The Revolution was not just a quarrel between Englishmen over Indian land and taxes and representation, but a struggle that would involve more than two dozen nations, Europeans as well as Native Americans, that also somehow came to be about the noblest aspirations of humankind.' A year from now is the 250th birthday party for the country. In retrospect, the odds seem impossible. When the patriot militias engaged at sunrise at Lexington Green in April 1775, Burns noted, 'the chances of the success of the operation were zero.' Then, somehow, eight years later, 'we created something new in the world. We were the original anticolonial movement. We turned the world upside down.' Adams and Jefferson constantly talked about virtue and what virtues would help mold our anti-monarchical society. Trump, who plays at being a king, is not interested in virtue; only in humiliation, conflict, enrichment and revenge. (The popular president of the University of Virginia, the school here founded by Jefferson, just announced that he would resign because of Trump's anti-diversity, equity and inclusion pressure campaign.) As Trump rammed through his horrible bill, a humongous wealth transfer, he scoffed at those who suggested there was no virtue in hurting the most vulnerable to make the obscenely rich richer. He keeps insisting that no one will lose Medicaid benefits, but Republicans are cutting more than $1 trillion from the programme, so a lot of people are going to suffer. The Declaration of Independence aspired to equality, while Trump's bill deepens our inequality. I asked Burns if it was possible now to persuade anyone across the aisle of anything, or is everyone just howling into the storm? 'The best arguments in the world won't change a single person's point of view,' he said. 'The only thing that can do that is a good story. Good stories are a kind of benevolent Trojan horse. You let them in, and they add complication, allowing you to understand that sometimes a thing and its opposite are true at the same time.' Reading the Adams-Jefferson letters, I felt that these founders were able to resurrect their relationship the same way I'm able to preserve mine with my siblings. We approach politics carefully, without venom or overblown expectations of changing one another's minds. We look for slivers of common ground: None of us thought Joe Biden should cling to office when he was clearly declining. 'Lord! Lord!' Adams exclaimed with exasperation. 'What can I do, with So much Greek?' Burns said that his half-century of making documentaries about America's wars and pastimes has taught him to embrace contradictions. 'The binaries that we set up are the biggest trap, whether they come from the left or the right,' he said. 'When you see somebody making a 'them', you have to be careful. That's antithetical to what the Declaration is saying. I hope that what we do on the Fourth of July is try to put the 'us' into the US.' Maureen Dowd The writer is an American columnist for The New York Times and an author
The Age
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
My close encounter with our founding fathers exposed Trump, our foundering father
I called my brother, Kevin, to ask if he would spend Independence Day with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and me. Jefferson's home (now museum) in Charlottesville, Monticello, has a new tour focusing on his fond and fractious relationship with Adams, which culminated in an exchange of 158 letters in their last 14 years of life. Historian David McCullough deemed this attempt of the fiery Bostonian and reticent Virginian to overcome their political feuds and understand each other 'one of the most extraordinary correspondences in American history.' My favourite anecdote about Adams and Jefferson, who both loved Shakespeare and used the Bard's psychological insights as inspiration when they conjured the country, concerned their visit to Shakespeare's house in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. As Abigail Adams recalled, her husband cut a relic from Shakespeare's chair, while Jefferson 'fell upon the ground and kissed it'. Our family trip to Monticello on Wednesday was suggested by Jane Kamensky, a very cool historian of the American Revolution and the president and CEO of Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. She thought that my Trump-supporting brother and I might appreciate the new tour, 'Founding Friends, Founding Foes,' as inspiration for 'a thoughtful dialogue across the divide'. Kevin laughed when I told him about the invitation. 'I'm amused,' he said, 'that we are the example of modern-day comity and civility.' Americans are at one another's throats, living in a world of insults, coarseness and cruelty – a world where Donald Trump and JD Vance excel. Loading At Monticello, we talked to Ken Burns, who was giving a preview of his upcoming PBS documentary on the American Revolution. He is finishing it in the nick of time, given Trump's attempts to slash PBS' federal funding. 'The Revolution – no pictures, no newsreels, and more violent than we could possibly imagine,' the filmmaker told us. 'The Revolution was not just a quarrel between Englishmen over Indian land and taxes and representation, but a bloody struggle that would involve more than two dozen nations, Europeans as well as Native Americans, that also somehow came to be about the noblest aspirations of humankind.' A year from now is the 250th birthday party for the country. In retrospect, the odds seem impossible. When the patriot militias engaged at sunrise at Lexington Green in April 1775, Burns noted, 'the chances of the success of the operation were zero'. Then, somehow, eight years later, 'we created something new in the world. We were the original anti-colonial movement. We turned the world upside down.'
Sydney Morning Herald
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
My close encounter with our founding fathers exposed Trump, our foundering father
I called my brother, Kevin, to ask if he would spend Independence Day with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and me. Jefferson's home (now museum) in Charlottesville, Monticello, has a new tour focusing on his fond and fractious relationship with Adams, which culminated in an exchange of 158 letters in their last 14 years of life. Historian David McCullough deemed this attempt of the fiery Bostonian and reticent Virginian to overcome their political feuds and understand each other 'one of the most extraordinary correspondences in American history.' My favourite anecdote about Adams and Jefferson, who both loved Shakespeare and used the Bard's psychological insights as inspiration when they conjured the country, concerned their visit to Shakespeare's house in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. As Abigail Adams recalled, her husband cut a relic from Shakespeare's chair, while Jefferson 'fell upon the ground and kissed it'. Our family trip to Monticello on Wednesday was suggested by Jane Kamensky, a very cool historian of the American Revolution and the president and CEO of Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. She thought that my Trump-supporting brother and I might appreciate the new tour, 'Founding Friends, Founding Foes,' as inspiration for 'a thoughtful dialogue across the divide'. Kevin laughed when I told him about the invitation. 'I'm amused,' he said, 'that we are the example of modern-day comity and civility.' Americans are at one another's throats, living in a world of insults, coarseness and cruelty – a world where Donald Trump and JD Vance excel. Loading At Monticello, we talked to Ken Burns, who was giving a preview of his upcoming PBS documentary on the American Revolution. He is finishing it in the nick of time, given Trump's attempts to slash PBS' federal funding. 'The Revolution – no pictures, no newsreels, and more violent than we could possibly imagine,' the filmmaker told us. 'The Revolution was not just a quarrel between Englishmen over Indian land and taxes and representation, but a bloody struggle that would involve more than two dozen nations, Europeans as well as Native Americans, that also somehow came to be about the noblest aspirations of humankind.' A year from now is the 250th birthday party for the country. In retrospect, the odds seem impossible. When the patriot militias engaged at sunrise at Lexington Green in April 1775, Burns noted, 'the chances of the success of the operation were zero'. Then, somehow, eight years later, 'we created something new in the world. We were the original anti-colonial movement. We turned the world upside down.'
Boston Globe
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
In 1775 and today, an elusive American unity
'It is hoped,' Washington continued, 'that all distinctions of colonies will be laid aside, so that one and the same spirit may animate the whole, and the only contest be who shall render, on this great and trying occasion, the most essential service to the great and common cause in which we are all engaged.' Those orders — a plea, really — still resonate 250 years later as American politics have become fractured and polarized. The country is split along regional, racial, and cultural lines; divided by President Trump's aggressive policies; and at odds over what the nation is, was, and should be. Advertisement 'I find it horrifying to hear people talk about having blue states secede, red states secede,' said Robert Allison, a Suffolk University history professor and chair of Revolution 250, a Massachusetts nonprofit group. Advertisement 'This is something that Washington understood, that Lincoln understood, that the liberties we have are something that we need to be unified for. Otherwise, the states will be at war with each other.' In July 1775, many soldiers and their families hoped that peace would prevail, and that Britain would once again permit the extraordinary level of self-government that many American Colonists, particularly in New England, had enjoyed for well over a century. Major General Artemas Ward's orderly book for July 2 to 4, 1775, which contains General George Washington's call for Colonial unity. Massachusetts Historical Society In camp, regional tensions would flare among the troops, few of whom had ever traveled far from their homes. And as the war progressed, they would encounter different religious beliefs, differing tastes, and different ideas about class and society. Still, with his orders, 'It's getting the important thing right from the beginning: This effort won't survive without everyone pulling in the same direction,' said Peter Drummey, chief historian at the Massachusetts Historical Society, founded in 1791. 'Washington understood that, at least in part, his appointment is the representation of that.' As the war progressed, the notion of a common 'American' purpose began to take hold: a revolutionary democracy built on the rule of law; a great nation bound by principles of fairness and equality, although not for the enslaved; and a government of public service elected by and accountable to its citizens. That Washington was a Virginian was a demonstration by the Continental Congress that beleaguered Boston was not alone, and that fighting for self-determination resonated beyond New England. Advertisement The George Washington statue in the Boston Public Garden in April. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff 'The separateness of the different Colonies is what they're trying to overcome' with Washington's appointment, Drummey said. 'I think almost everyone in the army thought of themselves as a Virginian or Bay Stater or wherever else they were from.' 'It's almost like they were fighting a war as if they were NATO countries under a NATO commander,' he added. And what the new commander saw in Cambridge 'horrified' him, Allison said. To his genteel Virginian eyes, New England troops were dirty, undisciplined, and averse to taking orders from someone they didn't know. There also were far fewer of them than he had expected. 'Saying Washington was not particularly impressed is putting it mildly,' Allison said. But for the rank-and-file troops, the arrival of an upper-class, well-dressed, slave-holding Southerner to lead them must have been startling. 'They've had other generals, other officers, and who's this new guy?' Allison said of Washington. 'But this call for unity, it's almost the first thing he says.' The war dragged on for eight more years, shifting to New York after the British evacuated Boston in March 1776, to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and finally to the Carolinas and Virginia before a peace treaty was signed in 1783. But what Washington understood at the very beginning, Allison said, was a far-sighted foreshadowing of the need for national cohesion. What Washington managed to do in 'an extraordinary couple of sentences' in his orders, Allison added, was lay the framework for an epic fight that would prove longer and larger than most of his soldiers must have imagined. Mark DiSalvo, the North Andover town moderator and president of the Massachusetts Moderators Association, said that broadening one's allegiances beyond community or county boundaries would have been remarkable in Revolutionary times. Advertisement 'It was really hard to communicate, and you were narrow in your view,' DiSalvo said. 'You knew your neighbors, and you came to church, which became the town meetinghouse.' Town Meeting helped provide the spark for Revolution, DiSalvo said, as the defense of a free, local government became part of the provincial response, which also became absorbed in the broader Colonial debate. 'At first, it was what many people are fighting for today — in effect, due process,' added DiSalvo, who has encouraged moderators across the state this year to note the role of Town Meeting in the rebellion. But unity could be fleeting, even in the newly victorious nation. Massachusetts, the birthplace of the Revolution, summoned barely enough votes to ratify the Constitution. Local and state governments were deemed by many to be the best, most relevant means of legislating for one's neighbors. Federal law that benefited Georgia, say, might not necessarily be good for Massachusetts. And the contentious question of slavery, a subject of fierce debate at the Constitutional Convention, threatened ratification in an ominous taste of the great conflict that lay ahead. 'Even patriotic people who fought in the Revolution were not convinced that a federal government at a distance was the way forward,' Drummey said. For Washington, the concept of national unity remained important long after he issued his general orders in Cambridge, Allison said. Before his two terms were completed, bitter partisan battles over the scope and power of the federal government had crept into American politics. 'Washington will continue talking about this. It's a constant theme through his life and US history,' he added. Advertisement After 250 years, its relevance persists, and today's notion of what 'American' means has continued to evolve, just as it did at the dawn of the Revolution. 'How we define that is not as clear-cut as it seemed to be a relatively short time ago,' Drummey said. 'To some extent, the idea of what it means to be American is still being contested.' Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Miyares leans in on law-and-order message ahead of 2025 election
'I wish more commonwealth's attorneys would heed my call to listen to victims. Too many haven't,' Attorney General Jason Miyares said in an interview with The Mercury this week. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) As protests erupt again in Los Angeles over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and President Donald Trump's deployment of U.S. Marines to back up the National Guard, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares isn't blinking. 'It's not unprecedented,' Miyares, who is seeking a second term as Virginia's top law enforcement official, said of Trump's decision to send troops to the streets. 'President George H.W. Bush did it in 1992 during the L.A. riots. Twice the number of Marines were deployed then.' In a wide-ranging interview at his office in Richmond earlier this week, Miyares, the son of a Cuban refugee and the first Hispanic Virginian elected statewide, insisted that what's happening in California is the result of leadership failure. 'This is about protecting facilities and backing up law enforcement — not policing,' he said, emphasizing that peaceful protest is a hallmark of democracy, but violence is not. 'When you cross the line … that is not protest, that is violence.' In the interview, Miyares defended the use of force in Los Angeles, spoke at length about his office's crime-fighting initiatives and touted settlements with corporate polluters and opioid makers. He also fielded questions on civil rights enforcement, voting access, utility regulation and his complex views on criminal justice reform. Democrats, not surprisingly, remain deeply skeptical of Miyares' record. Carolyn Fiddler, spokeswoman for the Democratic Attorneys General Association, dismissed his claims of prioritizing public safety. 'Throughout his time as AG, MAGA Miyares continuously put politics before people,' Fiddler said in an email. 'While he touts his 'tough on crime' stance, he's failed to call out Donald Trump and Elon Musk for blatant violations of the law — including those actions with devastating impacts on the commonwealth. Virginians deserve better than Miyares, and we will take back the seat this year.' And while critics accuse him of being more focused on punishment than reform, Miyares says his approach is guided by listening, law enforcement feedback, and a 'victim-first' mindset. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina and raised in Virginia Beach, Miyares, 49, earned his law degree from the College of William & Mary and worked as a prosecutor before running for office. In 2015, he became the first Cuban American elected to Virginia's General Assembly. Six years later, he unseated Democratic incumbent Mark Herring to become attorney general, winning on a platform centered around public safety. Now, as he runs for reelection, Miyares is highlighting what he calls some of the biggest public safety and civil litigation wins in Virginia history. But he's also navigating internal GOP rifts, pressure from both the right and the center, and a polarized electorate that's increasingly skeptical of tough-on-crime rhetoric. 'I think one of the most important things for a leader to do is just listen,' Miyares said. Since taking office in 2022, Miyares has zeroed in on violent crime. He calls Operation Ceasefire, a grant-driven program launched in 13 Virginia cities, one of his proudest achievements. The initiative funds a mix of prevention, intervention, and prosecution strategies aimed at repeat violent offenders. 'We saw a 66% drop in the murder rate across the 13 cities,' Miyares said. 'Virginia's statewide murder rate fell by a third. We also saw a decline in overdose deaths — because we're getting fentanyl dealers off the street.' The program, he insists, is based on listening tours he conducted with police and community leaders around the state. 'Roughly 5% of felons commit over 50% of violent crimes. If you want to lower crime, you go after that small subset.' Still, sustaining the initiative may prove difficult amid budget fights. 'I wish we could expand Operation Ceasefire to more cities,' Miyares acknowledged, hinting that local buy-in has been mixed. 'I wish more commonwealth's attorneys would heed my call to listen to victims. Too many haven't.' When asked whether his office has done enough to address police misconduct, Miyares pointed to his 2023 settlement with the Town of Windsor, where officers had unlawfully stopped and threatened a Black Army lieutenant. 'You can be pro-law enforcement and still demand accountability,' he said. 'They're the only ones with a monopoly on violence in our society — they should be held to a higher standard.' He added that oversight takes time. 'We want to be thorough and systematic. And yes, if any other department crosses that boundary, we'll get involved.' That approach hasn't stopped critics from accusing Miyares of being too soft on departments that violate civil rights — an accusation he flatly rejects. 'The facts don't support that claim,' he said. Still, Miyares makes clear that his office prioritizes public safety above political fashion. 'I will not support a criminal-first, victim-last mindset,' he said. 'We've heard a lot about reform, but rarely do you hear the word 'victim' in those debates. That ends with me.' Miyares has also overseen a wave of settlements that he says bring real change to communities. 'We've secured over $1.3 billion from opioid manufacturers and distributors,' he said. Some of that money, he said, helped open a 75-bed inpatient treatment center in Galax — 'the first of its kind within a 100-mile radius.' He emphasized that the money is managed by Virginia's Opioid Abatement Authority, not his office, to ensure transparency and local tailoring. 'What works in Fairfax may not work in Galax. But this is the largest influx of treatment funding in state history.' On environmental enforcement, Miyares points to an $80 million settlement with Monsanto over PCB pollution and multiple other actions, including prosecuting illegal landfills and forcing remediation of oil spills and raw sewage discharges. 'Our environmental law section has been incredibly active,' he said. 'We're thorough, we're relentless, and we're the people's protector.' That populist posture extends to corporations. Miyares boasts of taking on utility giants and the Washington Commanders alike. 'We got a bigger settlement from the Commanders than D.C. and Maryland combined,' he said, referring to the $1.3 million paid over unlawfully withheld ticket deposits. And in 2023, his office negotiated changes to Dominion Energy's offshore wind plan. 'We got them to share $3 billion of the risk, instead of placing it all on the ratepayers,' he said. 'Before us, Virginians were on the hook for 100% of that cost.' But his critics say his record on housing and regulation is mixed. Miyares counters that protecting property rights doesn't preclude enforcing civil rights. 'I don't think those are mutually exclusive,' he said. 'We secured the largest housing discrimination verdict in Virginia's history — $750,000 to two families evicted because one member was Black. And we're making sure bad actors are held accountable, without choking off affordable housing through overregulation.' Early into his tenure, Miyares established an Election Integrity Unit, which he said ensures voter rolls are accurate. Launched in September 2022 with no new funding, the unit is tasked with investigating election-law violations and safeguarding voting integrity. It successfully issued a cease‑and‑desist against misleading mailers sent by Look Ahead America — an action upheld by a federal appeals court. But its only notable prosecution —a misdemeanor and felony case against former Prince William County registrar Michele White — collapsed after prosecutors dropped all charges due to inconsistent witness testimony. While Miyares touts the unit as crucial to preventing fraud, no actual voter fraud has been identified, leading watchdogs like the NAACP to criticize the unit as more reflective of political signaling than prosecutorial gain. 'I can cite several Virginia elections decided by a handful of votes. It should be easy to vote, hard to cheat,' he said, rejecting the notion that voter ID laws are a means of suppression. 'I cannot get a library card without an ID. Voter ID is not controversial.' In the interview, Miyares wouldn't commit to refraining from prosecuting voters accidentally registered in error, noting that knowingly voting as a non-citizen could still result in legal action. 'They'd have to fear prosecution if they go knowing they're a non-citizen,' he said. Miyares, along with Youngkin, has repeatedly challenged Virginia's ties to California's environmental standards, particularly on electric vehicles. 'Tying ourselves to California is a fool's errand,' he said. 'Their regulations are being dictated by an unelected air board. The average EV costs $68,000. That's a tax on working-class Virginians.' He said Virginia needs to expand its baseload energy capacity, not rely on intermittent sources like wind and solar. 'I want electric bills to go down. Tying ourselves to California ensures they go up.' Despite this skepticism, Miyares defended his record on climate enforcement, including recent court victories over solar and wind energy permits. 'We are enforcing the law — just not surrendering to mandates that hurt working people.' Miyares has also made 'second chances' a talking point, holding job fairs for formerly incarcerated Virginians. But he remains skeptical of broader criminal justice reforms, including eliminating mandatory minimums. 'They're an effective tool,' he said. 'They help us go after repeat violent offenders and keep them off the streets.' He argued that justice reform must be victim-centered. 'Too many of these conversations leave out the victims entirely. They've been through trauma, they've testified under oath in a courtroom full of strangers, and they deserve to know the system protects them.' When asked if he supports GOP lieutenant governor nominee John Reid, whose campaign was embroiled in scandal earlier this spring, Miyares replied simply, 'I support Republicans.' Despite Youngkin's attempts to nudge Reid from the race, Miyares said he respects the governor's judgment — but 'John Reid is our nominee.' Looking to the 2025 election, Miyares said he's proudest of the state's drop in fentanyl death — 46%, more than double the national average. 'There are Virginians alive today because of our work,' he said. If reelected, he said, he'd expand Operation Ceasefire and continue pressing commonwealth's attorneys to prioritize victims. 'I have said before, I will not support a criminal first, victim last mindset. And I find it amazing that whenever we have these great discussions about criminal justice reform, the one word that you never hear is victims,' Miyares said. 'Denying the voice of victims is not something I'll ever find acceptable.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
