* A book recommendation: The Brothers by Stephen Kinzer. Chronicles the impact of the Cold War Dulles Brothers–Allen, the former CIA director, and John Foster, the secretary of state. It helps explain how we got where we are in the world.
A captivating and quick read–unless, not unlike me, you incessantly underline and write in the margins.
* A must-rent movie: The Lunchbox. Made in India, on location in Mumbai. Some fantasy, some work-a-day, cultural insights, some universal themes. Character-driven. Clever. Empathetic. No plot spoilers here.
* A recent Tampa Tribune headline: “Poll: Future Will Mark Iran, Afghan Wars as Failures.” Huh? Indeed, that should have been “Iraq”–not “Iran.” Yes, stuff happens–increasingly in the major daily print biz for an eminently obvious reason: not enough experienced eyes on the product. But this is bad.
* So Jim Greer, the former state GOP chairman who was recently released from prison, is declining interviews. About stealing from the state party. About prison. About Charlie Crist. “Trying to put this nightmare behind me,” he explains.
Also quite the ironic priority for someone who just wrote a tell-all book, The Chairman: The Rise and Betrayal of Jim Greer.
* An HBO movie-in-the-making update: The bizarre federal corruption trial of former Virginia Gov. Bob McConnell–and his wife Maureen. A couple of years ago McConnell was on Mitt Romney’s short list of vice presidential candidates. Now the fast-tracking, fast-talking Notre Dame grad and former Army lieutenant colonel and Virginia attorney general could be the first governor of Virginia to be indicted for actions committed during his tenure. Plus, the businessman he’s accused of accepting gifts from–Jonnie Williams–has been characterized as Maureen’s “playmate.”