Mortgage settlement: A good deal for Maryland

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is right to sign on to the multi-state settlement with the nation's five largest banks over some aspects of the faulty procedures they used to foreclose on...

The mayor and her Ravens tickets

If Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's decision to strip City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young of his tickets to a Ravens playoff game didn't make it clear enough, the list of those who have...

O'Brien's quixotic fight

Recently, Cardinal-designateEdwin F. O'Brienwrote a stirring letter to all those who worship in the Baltimore Archdiocese, calling on their help to "regain our religious freedom." The impassioned call...

Proposition 8 ruling: A limited win for equality

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding a lower court's ruling that California's Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage, was unconstitutional is surely a good outcome and an...

Religious bigotry in Ocean City?

For 20 years, the annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast in Ocean City has been a generally quiet affair. But this year the event's sponsors...

Arundel English-only bill: A hostile, empty gesture

County Councilman Jerry Walker wants to make English the official language of Anne Arundel County. That would make perfect sense if English weren't already, for all practical purposes, the county's...

What's in a name?

Stray Camel Way. Sealed Message Road. Misty Rise. Fragile Sail Way.

Payroll tax deadline approaches — again

The latest news in Washington on the payroll tax cut is that there's not much news. To the surprise of no one, negotiators in Congress are exactly where they were last December when the tax break...

Stretching downtown

According to Google Maps, it's about nine-tenths of a mile from Constellation Energy's current headquarters near the intersection of Pratt and President streets to the site company officials have...

When politicians go bad

Maryland's constitution calls for the removal from office of any elected official, state or local, who is convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors. That would seem simple enough, but we have,...

Teacher evaluations a step toward excellence

I strongly agree with Erica Green's article regarding city teachers ("Many city teachers ranked unsatisfactory," Feb. 8). If teachers aren't giving...

Keeping Israel-Iran threat in perspective

When gauging Iran's threat to Israel, its important to remember that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's proclamations about "wiping Israel off the map" have been rebutted by Ayatollah Khamenei, who as...

Israel's future hinges on compromise, not attacks

As we are faced with the imminent threat of Israel'sattacking Iran, pro-Israeli lobbying groups are putting pressure on President Barack Obama and the Congress to support such an attack.

Even if you don't approve of gay marriage, don't denigrate gay parents

Even though I am not a proponent or advocate of same-sex marriages, I totally disagree with the negative views as expressed by Benedict Frederick Jr. in his letter to The Sun ("Same-sex marriage:...

Whose rights are being denied in birth control debate?

I just don't get it! I certainly understand the viewpoint of the Catholic Church regarding birth control and abortion, and it is their right to religious freedom to believe as they wish. However, just...

The good, the bad and the ugly of Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl ad

I didn't see Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl commercial for Chrysler — after Madonna's grotesque halftime performance, I turned the game off. Yet I couldn't miss the Monday morning fallout ("Critics...

Maryland needs to put teeth into its child abuse reporting law

Children need protection from adults who sexually abuse them, and adults should report abuse when they suspect it ("A better way to help kids," Feb. 6). It should be as simple as that. But although...

The rise of the little brown jug

The Sun's recent article about growlers exposed more of Maryland's regulatory absurdities ("A growing movement to widen growler sales," Feb. 5).

Children flourish under good parents — period

In response to the letter from Benedict Frederick Jr. against same-sex marriage ("Same-sex marriage won't help children," Feb. 6), I can say with conviction only one thing in response: You are wrong....

New beginning for Women's Exchange

I recently completed 18 months of service as the treasurer for the Woman's Industrial Exchange. The organization includes a shop, the historical building and three retail spaces, one of which is the...

Barack Obama is no disciple

Last election, Barack Obama presented himself to the people as the reincarnation ofMartin Luther King Jr.. This election, he seems to have re-invented himself as an apostle of Christ, claiming at...

Mother + father = biological fact

In a recent column, Dan Rodricks ("The absurd arguments against same-sex marriage," Feb. 2) failed to interact with the actual points I made in my...

Bible unambiguous on topic of marriage

In response to R. Smith's recent letter ("The flawed arguments against same-sex marriage," Feb. 6), it is quite clear to me that the writer has never read the Bible. God made it quite clear that a...

Op-ed gets it wrong on former Balto. Co. superintendent

In his article, "School choice is a fact, but who chooses?" Robert Maranto grossly misinterpreted the educational philosophy and performance of Joshua Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler was superintendent of...

Legislature, governor make Free State more and more expensive

Year after year this "Free State" becomes more and more excessive in what it takes from the working citizens. Each year the state legislature and governor conjure up new ways to wear away the patience...

Do we need a fresh strategy to combat Baltimore violence?

The Feb. 3 Baltimore Sun once again reported unsettling and saddening news: "Six shootings, two dead in spate of city violence." One must ask, why does such violence continue when the mayor, police...

Must there be a feminist frenzy at Super Bowl time every year?

I'm beginning to wonder if there is a connection between the Super Bowl and heightened feminist frenzy. Last year, it was the Tebows' commercial celebrating life and the gift of children that had...

Many lawyers willing and able to help Public Defender's Office

Maryland Public Defender Paul De Wolfe stated he considered using panel attorneys to represent indigent defendants to staff commissioner bail hearings, but he concluded there are not enough panel...

City red light cameras are a form of highway robbery

I read with interest the letter detailing abuses of the speed camera system in Maryland ("Speed cameras nail the innocent, too," Feb. 4).

Komen deserves its comeuppance

My sister died of breast cancer. Nevertheless, I find the pink ribbon mania of the Susan G. Komen organization repugnant. Trying to put a "happy face" on a...

Nuclear saber-rattling

The threat of an Israeli strike against Iran'snuclear facilities ratcheted up a notch last week when Israel'sdefense minister, Ehud Barak, issued new warnings that time was running out to stop Tehran'...

Making college affordable

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced a number of new proposals aimed at making college more affordable. Most people agree that expanding access to higher education is...

Meet the governor

Gov. Martin O'Malley has certainly given Marylanders a lot to talk about: gas taxes, gay marriage, income tax hikes for top earners, wind power, septic restrictions, taxes on apps and online purchases...

O'Malley and McDonnell: Battle of the Potomac

In his State of the State speech this week, Gov.Martin O'Malleymade a provocative boast: "Because of your wise and balanced decisions about where to cut, and your smart decisions about where to...

Caught on tape

How often does the suspect in a crime go free because the arresting officer ends up being charged with the crime instead? Not often, we'd wager. Yet that's what happened to a Baltimore man accused...

The income classes according to Mr. Romney

Mitt Romney's ill-considered remark about the destitute, "I'm not concerned about the very poor," and his subsequent awkward explanation of it represented something more noteworthy than a rich man's...

State of the State: O'Malley makes half his case

Shortly before Gov.Martin O'Malleytook the rostrum in the House of Delegates for his State of the State address today, his office issued a preview of the speech in the form of a word cloud — a...

Komen's attack on abortion rights

Few organizations have done more for women's healththan both Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leading supporter of breast-cancer treatment and research, and Planned Parenthood, the country's top...

The cost of transportation

When Gov. Martin O'Malley gives his annual State of the State address Wednesday, he will officially unveil his plan to apply a 6 percent sales tax to gasoline. The public's mood about gas prices being...

City justified in gambling raid

If city workers and union officials think busting up a party in which municipal employees were drinking and gambling on the job is overzealous, then Baltimore could use a lot more zeal. The fact...

A vote of conscience

With a Senate committee hearing tomorrow, the General Assembly begins its debate over same-sex marriage, an issue that has closely divided the state. Polls suggest that Maryland residents support...

Md. needs an assessments assessment

To our knowledge, The Sun's newsroom staff has received no special training in tax assessment and record keeping, yet reporters armed with no more than foot leather and personal computers seem to have...

For city schools, a promising vision

The proposal to rapidly overhaul Baltimore's aging school facilities that district CEO Andrés Alonso presented to a state Senate committee last week represents one of the most important and...

Setting a minimum standard

Last Tuesday, a Delaware state senate committee approved legislation to raise that state's minimum wage to $8.25 by 2014, making it $1 above the federal government's (and Maryland's) current standard....

The feds investigate the mortgage mess: What took so long?

In this week's State of the Union address, President Obama announced to cheers the formation of a new Justice Department unit tasked with going after the big banks and mortgage companies whose...

The flush tax blues

There's an old joke about "denial" being more than a river in Egypt. Far less amusing is the denial some in Annapolis seem to have about pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and what's required to bring...

Is the GOP handing the election to Obama?

The last time a Republican candidate for president defeated an incumbent Democrat running for reelection, the primary returns were a lopsided affair. Ronald Reagan won convincingly in New Hampshire...

Big Brother on your bumper

In George Orwell's novel "1984," the unblinking eye of government surveillance is omnipresent and inescapable. Orwell could not have known what technology would one day make his nightmare scenario...

State of the Union, or State of the Campaign?

Was that a State of the Union address or was it President Barack Obama's first big campaign speech of 2012? It certainly sounded like the latter, but given the state of Washington, what else could...

Playing games with Baltimore voting

As elected officials in Baltimore and Annapolis seek to address the debacle that was the city's voter turnout during the mayoral primary and general election last year, it's clear that the thing...