'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America

John F. Kennedy in his younger years thought fascism was good for Germany and that the world hated Nazis more out of jealousy, a new book recounts.

The news that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has targeted Tea Party and conservative groups has come as a huge shock to Republicans. "How could this happen," Republican lawmakers have wailed. Democrats, however, are only upset that Tea Party groups fought back and that the IRS' actions were exposed.

Billie Sol Estes, a flamboyant Texas huckster who became one of the most notorious men in America in 1962 when he was accused of looting a federal crop subsidy program, has died. He was 88.

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy and niece of Robert F. Kennedy, was selected to serve as a juror on a crack-cocaine-dealing case in New York City, lending high-profile and star status to what normally would move through court as a routine hearing.

Britain's Prince Harry saluted America's war dead in somber remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, pausing, too, to place flowers on the tombstone of John F. Kennedy and visit the grave of a British World War II hero buried far from home.

America is awash in doublespeak.

It has happened again. Our gaffe-prone president has filed another blunder on his presidential record. At the dedication of George W. Bush's presidential library, he invoked history with his usual mastery of detail. He placed President John F. Kennedy in Air Force One, "on the flight back from Russia, after negotiating with Nikita Khrushchev at the height of the Cold War."

Prudence and common sense appear to be absent in the Obama administration and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who during the current crisis with North Korea, falsely reassure the American people that Pyongyang cannot deliver on its threats to make a nuclear attack on the U.S. mainland.

On Saturday morning, the National Cherry Blossom Festival will culminate with the annual parade along Constitution Avenue, featuring blossom-inspired floats and costumes, marching bands and performers, including Grammy-winning pop singer Mya and "American Idol" runner-up Elliott Yamin. After the parade, head to the U.S. Navy Memorial for the 22nd annual Blessing of the Fleets, a traditional ceremony to guard the crews and ships from the dangers of the high seas.

Representing the United States abroad is a privilege and honor. Appointments should be chosen carefully; the billets can be challenging, if not perilous. The White House discovered this in Libya, when Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was killed last Sept. 11 by terrorists in Benghazi.

Caroline Kennedy has been tapped to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to Japan, according to The Washington Post.

"Song of Bernadette," "The Passion of Joan of Arc" and "Passion of The Christ" are just a few of the films worth watching during the Easter season.

Some politicians in Maryland's Montgomery County are afflicted with playground scoreboard envy. They think a little redistribution could equalize their field of dreams.
A popular tune by Simon and Garfunkel written after John F. Kennedy's assassination and Chubby Checker's 1960s dance hit "The Twist" will be among 25 recordings selected for preservation at the Library of Congress.

Simon and Garfunkel's song "The Sound of Silence," which was written amid the turmoil following President John F. Kennedy's assassination, will join Chubby Checker's 1960s dance hit "The Twist" as two of 25 recordings selected for preservation at the Library of Congress.
Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this Chamber that “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress…It is my task,” he said, “to report the State of the Union – to improve it is the task of us all.”
DALLAS (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is convinced that a lone gunman wasn't solely responsible for the assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and said his father believed the Warren Commission report was a "shoddy piece of craftsmanship."