My Impromptus today is the usual mélange, beginning with items related to China. These items touch on Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. I then get into U.S. politics and much else.
At this point in a Corner post, I would usually publish reader mail. And I have an interesting little sack of it. But maybe I could dip into it later. I would like, instead, to point to the retirement of a columnist — Steve Chapman. He ends his latest column matter-of-factly, and gracefully:
An announcement: Forty-one years ago, I began writing a regular column for the Chicago Tribune, which has been distributed by Creators Syndicate. Today, I’m retiring as a columnist. Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way, and thanks most of all to my readers.
Steve was born in Brady, Texas, and grew up elsewhere in that state: Midland and Austin. He went to Harvard and worked on the Crimson. He tells me that his career in journalism was inspired by George F. Will. He also tells me that it was William F. Buckley Jr. who first published him. Or rather, it was WFB who first paid him for an article — “$60, in 1976,” says Steve.
Happy trails, my friend.