“For many years after 2001, the New York City skyline was an affront to me.” That is the opening sentence of my Impromptus today. I discuss a war that seems almost antique: the War on Terror. Also in that column I have an item on Jimmy Lai, that heroic political prisoner in Hong Kong. And an item on Judge William Webster versus Kash Patel. (They could not be more different as FBI directors, or men.)

What else? Patriotism versus jingoism, a perennial subject. The English language, another perennial — you could spend centuries on it. And music. Classical music, sure, but also Roberta Flack, who passed away at 88 the other week. Is she not part of “the soundtrack of our lives”?

Anyway, that column, my Impromptus, is here. Let’s look at some mail.

On Wednesday, I had a post concerning the red and the black — no, not the Stendhal novel, but communists and fascists. Fidel Castro started out as a fascist (and probably remained one, in his heart, such as it was). His heroes were Primo de Rivera, Mussolini, and Hitler. But after 1945, it paid to go kind of quiet on all that. I also made mention of Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador (who has billed himself as “the coolest dictator in the world”). He started out in the FMLN. Indeed, he was elected mayor of San Salvador as an FMLN-er. But he lost a power struggle or two within the party, and founded his own . . .

A reader writes,

Is there a difference, fundamentally, between blackshirts and redshirts? Did not black and red unite to crush Poland and other European states?

They did, in living memory.

Another reader has been brushing up on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. He points me to some key provisions, in response to a column of mine titled “Hinge Point.” Here is Article I of the Secret Protocol:

In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement in the areas belonging to the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the northern boundary of Lithuania shall represent the boundary of the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R.

At the end of that protocol we read,

The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish state and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments.

In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement.

An interesting document, the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Brush up on it here.

A friend of mine sends me an artwork by someone he knows: Kelly Halpin. She made it in February 2022, immediately after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine:

In a Mexico City journal, I made an observation I have often made: In my own country, I complain of the “nanny state” and a “bubble-wrapped society.” They don’t let you do anything, lest you slip and fall and sue. But abroad? Often, I think, “Where the hell is OSHA? They let you do this?”

Previously, I published a letter from a reader who had climbed a pagoda in France, erected in 1775. Another reader says,

Hi, Jay,

The pagoda-climber reminded me of my trip to Prague a few years ago. I climbed to the top of the astronomical tower at the Clementinum. You walk up the extremely steep 18th-century steps (172) and can go out onto a tiny stone balcony, with a laughable iron railing. I am 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds. I didn’t stay on the balcony long. My wife couldn’t do the steps — she has some issues with heights — but the view made it almost worth it.

(I like that “almost.”)

Finally, a note from a literary reader:

Jay, I know you have greater concerns, but maybe you will find a minute to remind people that the word “that” can often avoid momentary confusion. Here is a sentence from the Wall Street Journal: “Companies and economists in Texas fear blanket tariffs on components, which have largely crossed the border duty-free for decades under free-trade deals, will put border manufacturers out of business.”

Do the companies and economists fear tariffs? Well, yes, but the meaning is that they are afraid the tariffs will put manufacturers out of business. A reader has to backtrack and reconsider what the sentence means.

True. And I thank you, one and all.