Again?: Ron Kovic, the war hero whose...

Again?: Ron Kovic, the war hero whose story inspired the movie “Born on the Fourth of July,” wants the United States out of the Middle East. Kovic, who turned against the Vietnam War after coming home in a wheelchair, has given copies of a 30-second TV commercial to members of Congress. He says in the ad that U.S. troops are in the Persian Gulf “not to defend democracy but to protect the big oil companies . . . . We don’t want another Vietnam . . . . Didn’t we promise ourselves that we would never let this happen again?”

Trump Card: Donald Trump took in the opening of Jackie Mason’s new one-man Broadway show last week and had to endure a few jokes about his friend Marla Maples. “Women call Marla cheap,” Mason said. “Men say, ‘Really? How cheap? Where is she?’ ” Maples was not in the audience, but others in the crowd included Alan Alda, Michael Douglas, Joan Rivers and Mike Wallace.

Wallflower: Dancing with new Supreme Court Justice David Souter may be cruel and unusual punishment. The quiet bachelor attended a White House dinner, but did not take a date. When journalist Naomi Nover asked him to dance, Souter politely declined. She persisted, prompting him to say, “I wouldn’t put anyone through the torture.”

Close to the Chest: Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, 58, who failed in his bid to become the first black governor of Georgia in the summer’s primary elections, says he will “continue to be involved in the political and economic development of Georgia . . . . Whether that leads to another bid for governor would probably be determined way down the road.” Young was a top aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a United Nations ambassador.