Keep Loch Hill in Towson

The environment is a good thing

Usually I recycle Marta Mossburg's ultra-conservative rants without reading them. But her column "Kids' TV: last bastion of liberal utopia," Aug. 17, was so outrageous, I had to respond. Let me start with this sentence: "Individualism is bad, the collective — and especially the environment...

Baltimore Grand Prix: We can do something about it

Dan Rodricks thinks we should simply accept the city's upcoming IndyCar race as inevitable ("Grand Prix's coming, so quit the bellyaching," Aug. 18). He is half right.

Obama's vacation

Republicans complain that President Obama is taking a vacation, yet they seem unconcerned by the fact that Congress is scheduled to be in session only 137 days this year

City police misconduct

Does Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein think that a 15-year sentence with perhaps the possibility of parole in five years is a tough enough sentence for a policeman who shot an unarmed man to death?

Local officials should quit whining about PlanMaryland

I'm disappointed by the whining of certain county officials during PlanMaryland discussions at the Maryland Association of Counties conference ("State land-use plan prompts objections," Aug. 20).

Is now the right time to build the Tubman center?

At a time when governments are looking for ways to finance the urgent needs of communities, I question why money is being spent for projects like the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center ("Tubman center: a good first step," Aug. 19).

Baltimore doesn't need a costly new juvenile detention facility

Regarding your editorial about the potential cost savings from reducing the size of Maryland's prison population ("Downsizing Md.'s prisons," Aug. 14), there is a simple, concrete step that the governor could take now to achieve that goal: Scrap plans to build a new jail in Baltimore City to house...

Officer Tshamba's behavior not surprising

Why should any of us be surprised that Officer Gahiji Tshamba got angry and shot a man 12 times ("City officer gets 15-year term," Aug. 17). A few years ago, this police officer, while off duty and intoxicated, fired a gun at a car. Incredibly, he was allowed to continue serving as a police...

Too many junkets to Israel

It is reported that 81 Congress members, and their spouses, are being given an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel. This trip is afforded to most (all?) newly elected politicians in order to indoctrinate them into the Israeli viewpoint.

Too many in Baltimore don't care about their neighborhoods

Re: Your article in Friday's Sun paper outlining a new vision for North Avenue, a place of dereliction since the '70s ("A vision for North Avenue"). I am heartened to see and hear that there are still people in Baltimore that care about their neighborhoods, even though one would feel extremely...

Common sense about crabs

Thank you for your editorial "Bay crabs: protect the females," (Aug. 16). I have been crabbing in Maryland since 1967 and have never kept a female crab. Once I found out how to tell males from females, it was a "no brainer" to release any females that I caught.

Health exchange math doesn't add up

Regarding your editorial "Expanding access to care" (Aug. 16), I will be anxiously watching for your future editorials giving us some of the details of how 350,000 Maryland residents will be added to the roles of the medically insured, at apparently little or no cost to them, while the state...

Rick Perry is no Ron Paul

Thrilled as I was with Texas Rep. Ron Paul's good showing as a truly constitutional candidate in the Iowa straw poll, I am concerned that Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be seen in the same light.

Think big, Baltimore

The pros of Baltimore's visionary Gran Prix IndyCar race are plentiful, while the cons are petty and inconsequential.

Constellation job cuts

Regarding Hanah Cho's daily brief "Exelon: Baltimore will see 'most impactful' job cuts in Constellation merger" (Aug. 16), I'm a mother of two young children and a student at Coppin State University who has been unemployed and looking for work for six...

Warren Buffett was right to call for higher taxes

Warren Buffett was right for his call for higher taxes/debunking the "lost jobs" claim of the ideologues ("Buffett wants wealthier Americans taxed more," Aug. 16).

Columnists Mossburg and Zurawik should swap duties

Maybe you should let Marta Mossburg and David Zurawik

Carbon fees are a payback to Mother Nature

Mr. Piette's letter on carbon tax ("Carbon fee is a tax to redistribute wealth," Aug. 15), demonstrates how far we have to go in environmental education. The carbon fee is not for the government, it is a payback to Mother Nature herself for the rape, burning and slow destruction of our environment...

Obama should get off the bus and work on improving the economy

President Obama has embarked on a bus tour. ("President promises jobs plan: On bus tour, he calls on Congress to act, says government isn't 'holding us back,'" Aug. 16). The White House says "Obama is on a listening tour to hear from Americans about the economy and talk about how to boost jobs and...

Cutting Pentagon budget weakens our national security

Dan Rodricks proposes to cut defense spending almost by half, but says he also wants our troops to have the technology they need. ("Austerity measures must apply to the Pentagon, too" Aug. 11). Like so many advocates of reckless defense cuts, he...

Police misconduct: Signs of a breakdown of civil society

A plainclothes officer is pummeled with 42 bullets by fellow officers outside a Baltimore nightclub. An off-duty police officer puts over a dozen bullets into a former Marine, who is unarmed and pleads for his life before the officer riddles him with gunfire. His body drops to the asphalt, lifeless....

Michele Bachmann believes she is divinely ordained to transform government

A Christian dominionist won the Republican straw poll in Iowa this weekend ("Bachmann wins; Perry's in," Aug. 14) Michele Bachmann believes that as an elected leader she has a divinely ordained duty to transform American government to the dictates of her Christianity, the separation clause of the...

O'Malley has correct view of the separation of church and state

Here is a perfect example of an elected official allowing his religious beliefs to influence his responsibility as a legislator. Del. Bob Marshall of Virginia ("On marriage, O'Malley should heed O'Brien," Aug 16) obviously does not grasp the concept of separation of church and state. Nowhere in...

Thomson's column will be missed

Although I look forward to the upcoming calendar of outdoors and recreation events, I will miss Candus Thomson's "Outdoors Girl" column, whose final publish date was Sunday, Aug. 14.

Men are victims of domestic violence, too

Susan Reimer highlights several positive steps that insurance companies are taking (with a nudge from the federal government) to enhance the physical and emotional well-being of women in this country ("Big step forward for women's health," Aug. 15)....

Why this time isn't different

In your article "Big banks vow no repeat of '08" (Aug. 11), bank CEOs insist they have fundamental strengths so that a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis is not about to happen. Their overwhelming message in the article: This time is different.

Smart growth doesn't mean no growth

I agree with the conclusion of your editorial "Drawing the line on development" (Aug. 10): Smart growth is not no growth. It is growth that maximizes the public investment in existing infrastructure and minimizes costly environmental impact.

A (drastic) solution to prison overcrowding

Regarding your editorial "Downsizing Md.'s prisons" (Aug. 14), I certainly agree that Maryland should not need the prisons that it has, and I shouldn't have to pay the tremendous cost of providing free room, board, medical care, entertainment, etc. to people who are not fit to mingle with the law-...

Save it for Virginia, Mr. Marshall

I take issue with Virginia Del. Bob Marshall's commentary on Gov. Martin O'Malley's support for same-sex marriage ("On marriage, O'Malley should heed O'Brien," Aug. 16).

Time for a statistic to keep track of the city's economic development subsidies

While I am sure that the vast majority of Baltimore residents will be happy with a Grand Prix result of $2 million a year in direct tax benefits to the city or a full $70 million in economic impact ("The Road to a...

"Jeopardy" champ moving to Delaware is bad sign for Maryland

I found your article and interview with Justin Sausville ("'Jeopardy!' champ Justin Sausville, the only question is how long he will have to keep his results a secret," Aug. 15) to be both entertaining as well as enlightening.

Virginia politicians should not be lecturing Maryland's governor

There is a very good reason why a Virginia delegate should not be lecturing Gov. Martin O'Malley on his support for same-sex marriage ("On marriage, O'Malley should heed O'Brien," Aug 16). His appeal to lofty ideals such as natural law and even Thomas Jefferson ring hollow when one considers that it...

Arborist says Baltimore tree canopy will improve after Grand Prix

I am extremely happy about the attention the press and citizens of Baltimore are devoting to the city's trees. The Sun's editorial ("Standing up for city trees" Aug 15) accurately highlights the crisis we face in increasing Baltimore's tree canopy while at the same time reconciling large budget cuts...

Conaway and speed cameras

I'm confused by the rationale behind Councilwoman Belinda Conaway's recent comments advocating the removal of speed cameras in Baltimore City.

Bicycle deaths not related to age

The recent death of Johns Hopkins student Nathan Krasnopoler after being struck by a car in February is a tragedy. But The Sun has given the impression his death was entirely due to the age of the 83-year-old driver of the car he collided with, allowing younger drivers to conclude this is not a...

Blaming economic woes solely on Democrats is partisan nonsense

J. Shawn Alcarese blames Standard & Poor's downgrade, along with all of our economic mess, on "[t]he unchecked government borrowing and spending since 2009, when Mr. Obama became president and the Democrats took control of both houses of Congress" ("U.S. was warned of a possible credit...

Politicians: Vague promises and double-talk

Here's a request from a frustrated voter to all public servants: Will you please be specific?

O'Malley held firm in face of religious bullying by Catholic Church

I applaud Gov. Martin O'Malley for holding firm in the face of religious bullying ("Archbishop's letter on gay marriage," Aug. 9). When it comes to matters of public policy, the Catholic Church's opinion should remain, well, just that — an opinion. Of course, the church does not see it that...

Same-sex marriage takes away children's right to a mother and a father

You write that same-sex couples "ought to be extended the same basic human rights that heterosexual couples enjoy, not only to encourage loving, committed and financially stable relationships that are the backbone of any community but particularly for the sake of their children" ("The rise of same...

Covering gay couples

How does the subject of your article on gay couples rise to the status of front-page news ("Same-sex couples rise 51% in Maryland," Aug. 11)?

Crowded Hippodrome seating

Hooray for reader Linda Hark's letter complaining about the uncomfortable seating at the Hippodrome

London looters are following the example of British bankers and members of Parliament

We should learn the lessons of the London riots, as the root causes can also be found in Baltimore. The real reason why British youth loots is simply because they are following the example shown to them by the establishment. Young Brits are immersed in a culture where looting has become a way of...

Leonard Pitts punches back at dirty dogs

It is 5 a.m. and I can't sleep because of the rage I felt at the letter written mostly consisting of name calling diatribes against columnist Leonard Pitts and President Obama for purportedly playing the racism card ("No racism here, Mr. Pitts," Aug. 11). Rest assured, Mr. Pitts and Mr. Obama...

Conflicting government agency opinions on shingles vaccine

Susan Reimer wrote a column ("Costly vaccine for painful illness in short supply," Aug. 11), about the medical ailment called shingles.

Tea party antics: Where are the grown-ups?

Despite the tea party's childish antics, there are reasonable Republicans out there; When will the party's adults call the children to order for the sake of our country?

How are women who need help going to take care of the rest of us?

In her column ("Big step forward for women's health" Aug 15) essentially advocating universal, free health care-on-demand for women, Susan Reimer sums up by stating, "It is about keeping the wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters of this country on...

Beating shows the need for more education on transgender hardships

Over the past three months, there have been countless retellings of the unfortunate incident in which two young women, Teonna Monae Brown and an unnamed girl, severely assaulted Chrissy Lee Polis, a transgender woman, because of her gender identity ("Woman, 19, pleads guilty in transgender beating...

Street lights burning during the day: government waste

When we lived off Lake Avenue, I noticed the lights on the Falls Road bridge over the railroad tracks were often on in the day. I have also noticed that typically some of the west side Beltway lights are on. Wednesday, for example, a long string of these lights were on as we traveled the Westside at...

A downtown Preakness near Camden Yards?

There needs to be a wider vision for the proposed slots parlor on Russell Street. Moving the Preakness to a new world-class facility in the Camden-Carroll industrial park would reinforce the slots parlor opposite Russell Street and feed off the success of Camden Yards.

Maryland's small towns: worth visiting

My congratulations on your Sunday article ("Small towns, big love") about some of Maryland's small towns. It was a great article! I would hope you would follow it up with a whole series of articles about Maryland towns. The series could contain a brief summary about the town, followed by a minimum...

Tax cuts have hollowed out the middle class

Jack Neu, in his letter of Aug. 11. "Credit downgrade reflects realism," is only the latest supply side apologist to unwittingly make the case for higher taxes on the wealthy. More than a few letter writers complain about "the 5 percent of taxpayers who already pay 59 percent of the taxes. " Putting...

News of cyber attack should be prominently displayed

As all Americans mourn the 30 brave warriors who died recently in Afghanistan defending America against new terrorist attacks, it is indeed unfortunate that you relegated to a tiny section of Page A10 an important story about another attack — a cyber-attack — against America that has...

Obama a Marxist? Hardly

I saw the point of the writer who complained about Leonard Pitts' rather frequent accusations of "racism," but to say that President Obama's policies are "socialistic, Marxist" ("No racism here Mr. Pitts " Readers Respond, Aug 11)? Give me a break. This is not Fidel Castro, people! Obama is so...

The media's double standard for rioters

I have noticed a strange difference in how the media (including the FOX propaganda channel) cover similar events — and no, I'm not talking about the budget nonsense or any other Washington stupidity.

Meat: Look past the flavor

How sad that Ellen Cutler can't look past the taste of a meal when examining her beliefs about food ("Food for thought," Commentary, Aug. 14).

Pension pitfalls

Readers of Richard J. Magid's article on retirement ("A plan that helps retirees – and Maryland." Aug. 12) should be aware of the income-tax consequences.

Is racism a factor in the political opposition to President Obama?

I agree with letter writer Gail Householder about the intensity of opposition to the president, but unlike her and her friends, most of my white friends do believe there has been remarkable evidence of racism in the vitriolic attacks against President Obama ("No racism here, Mr. Pitts," Aug. 11).

Northwestern principal's resignation a great loss

I was disappointed to read that Jason Hartling, the principal at Northwestern High School, resigned recently after just a few years at the helm ("City school system grapples with turnover of principals," Aug. 11).

Thomson a voice for natural resources in Md.

I feel that you are making a grave error with your decision to cut the Outdoors Girl column from The Baltimore Sun. In an outdoor state such as Maryland, letting go of a community and statewide resource such as Candus Thomson is akin to...

Thomson's column offered unique perspective

Candy Thomson's Outdoors column is one of the best features of the Sun. I look forward to reading it, and find it to be a valuable, educational resource for the community. There are plenty of news sources for national, state, and "sports news," but I subscribe to the Sun for the local news coverage....

Thomson's Outdoors column held both lawbreakers and elected officials to account

Re: Ending Candy Thomson's outdoor column. I cannot believe how shortsighted the Baltimore Sun is to end Candy's column and blog. Her column was essential reading for those who care about our incredible natural resources. She shined light on those who broke the law and abused the bay's bounty, and...

Mitt Romney on corporate profits

At the Republican debate in Iowa, presidential contender Mitt Romney answered a question from the audience about corporate profits by saying: "Corporations are people, my friend. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes?"

City trees and the Grand Prix

London rioters and Mideast demonstrators have a lot in common

In the hand-wringing commentary that has characterized the recent rioting in London and other English cities, I have heard only one news pundit suggest a direct parallel between the "uprisings" in Britain and the popular demonstrations in Egypt, Tunisia and other African and Mideast nations. As is...

Settlement policy makes Israel a troublesome ally

Your article "Israel approves new east Jerusalem housing" (Aug.12) shows once again that Israel is more interested in stealing Palestinian land than in a peace settlement with the Palestinians.

Women's health care

At a time of shrinking paychecks and an organized assault from the right on women's health issues, the Affordable Care Act has come through for our daughters, mothers and sisters by requiring insurance plans to cover women's preventive health-care.

Verizon: The schoolyard bully

Do you remember the schoolyard bully? That is what is happening in the case of Verizon's contractual dispute with its union workers ("Howard senior citizen facility feels effects of Verizon strike," Aug. 12).

Catonsville family worthy of recognition

I enjoyed reading the article ("All in the family now" Aug. 7) about the first Baltimore family to verify, through DNA testing, its descent from two famous 17th and 18th century settlers of Virginia and thereby becoming members of the Page-Nelson Historical Society. Although the focus of the article...

Carbon fee is nothing more than a tax to redistribute wealth

In her recent op-ed piece on climate change ("Cool solution for a warming planet," Aug. 9), writer Dana Knighten exposes herself as a liberal or "progressive," by first parsing the language of revenue. She proposes putting a price or fee on carbon, but never uses the word tax. But...

Getting at the roots of our immigration problem

The recent lawsuit to thwart Marylanders' right to petition the immigrant tuition bill seems inconsistent. On one hand, proponents of the suit argue their position adheres to the law. On the other, they condone violating the law by illegal immigrants.

U.S. shouldn't meddle in Syria

I have a great suggestion about what to do with Syria: Let's mind our own business ("A despot lashes out," Aug. 11).

Downgrade shows D.C. at its most childish

Why is anyone surprised by Standard and Poor's downgrading U.S. debt? I'm surprised it took this long. President Barack Obama and the members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have been behaving like little kids, pushing their own agendas to the detriment of our country.

Remembering a beloved rabbi

It is sad that The Sun chose to announce the death of Rabbi Jacob A. Max with a very small article that dwelled primarily on a negative aspect of his life. Rabbi Max was so much more to generations of Jewish families.

Make health insurance affordable by choice, not mandate

Do you need a mandate to force you to buy something you want or need? This question isn't asked by those who support a health insurance mandate, such as Dr. Edward Miller and Scott A. Berkowitz of Johns Hopkins ("Hopkins leaders support health insurance mandate," Aug. 9). The reason we have so...

Cartoon included anti-Semitic slur

I am disgusted by the anti-Semitism exhibited in the Aug. 8 "Get Fuzzy" comic strip in which the character Rob says, "Bucky ... that's the dumbest thing you've said since you told Satchel that 'Religious fighting' means 'Jew jitsu.'"