Columns

Had Freddie Gray been robbed, beaten and left to die in the streets of his Baltimore neighborhood, no one would be mourning him today.

Next week, Britain votes in its first general election in five years. Some aspects of its politics will be familiar to Americans. Polls show voters are dissatisfied with politicians of both parties, cynical about whether they will keep their promises and closely divided between two major parties, which have been in existence for more than 100 years.

Nothing like that has happened to President Obama at these dinners. At this late date in Obama's tenure, the process seems entrenched: They giddily await his performance and when it's over, salivate over it. It's rather embarrassing, actually.

We all make mistakes and some of us learn from them. What is even better is to learn from other people's mistakes, where they pay for those mistakes while we learn free of charge.

In her classic The March of Folly," the great historian Barbara Tuchman wrote, Mankind, it seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity.

In January, Robert F. McDonnell, 71st governor of Virginia, was sentenced to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release after his conviction on 11 counts of public corruption. He, and especially his wife, behaved badly. But it's worth taking a closer look at what was considered criminal in McDonnell's case, because, at least so far, some in the press are suggesting that Hillary Clinton's conduct must meet a much higher threshold to be considered problematic.

California's mismanagement of its water -- and government in general -- is benefiting Florida, but the Sunshine State needs to make sure it doesn't begin making the same errors.

The North Korean email hack of Sony continues to haunt Hollywood. The leftist group WikiLeaks recently posted a searchable set of the documents and the London Daily Mail found a new scandal subject: Ben Affleck ... and PBS.

WASHINGTON -- In December, President Obama said that he wished to see Iran ultimately become a "very successful regional power." His wish -- a nightmare for the Western-oriented Arab states -- is becoming a reality. Consider:

Its no secret that April is Financial Literacy Month. Becoming financially literate begins with basic skills and sets the course for the financial decisions you will make at every stage throughout your life.Smart financial decisions open the door to new financial opportunities.

We learned this week that the Secret Service dawdled for an entire year before fixing a broken security system at the home of former President George H.W. Bush.

"This is Hillary Clinton," said Todd. "This is you quoting her in your book. 'They had bankrupted us totally. We owned nothing. We didn't own a car. We didn't own a house. Here we were, 50 years old and we owned nothing. No-thing! All the money we had, which we had brought into the White House, was gone. I hadn't made any money for eight years, so it was really horrible.'"

The state of California is known for many things, including red carpets, wine country, and high taxes. But recently, the Golden State has also become known for its struggle with a crisis other states like Florida are working to avoid: a severe water shortage that threatens its economy, its environment, and the livelihood of millions of families.

Painful as it is to realize that both the Democrats and the Republicans will still be holding their primaries a year from now, that is one of the high prices we pay for democracy.

Two relatively recent photos of Barack Obama with foreign leaders reveal much about his deep-dyed leftism. The first features President Obama and democratically elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of one of America's most loyal friends. Obama looks strained. His face is stiff, and his eyes are veiled. The second is a snap of Obama at the recent Summit of the Americas in Panama. He's seated with "President" Raul Castro, leader of a bitter enemy, who has never received a single free vote. Obama is grinning, his eyes dancing with pleasure.