High cost of pretrial jailing

Pelosi and Reid's health-care monsters

Just before Halloween, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled her latest Obamacare proposal: H.R. 3962, a 2,000-page legislative monster. On Nov. 7, the bill narrowly passed in the House by a vote of 220 to 215. If enacted into law, Ms. Pelosi's creation would do...

Opportunities abound in Indian prime minister's visit to U.S.

Next week, India's prime minister will be the first international leader to make an official state visit to the United States since President Barack Obama's inauguration. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit affirms that, while Washington is preoccupied with other...

Look homeward, NASA

The agency's Earth-science budget has been slashed at a time when it is most needed

Dan Rodricks: Mayor's defense hopes silence is golden

When he instructs the jurors in the Dixon theft case, Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney will tell them not to infer anything from the defendant's silence during trial - and they certainly should not interpret it as a sign of guilt. The judge will do this, of course,...

In debate over mammograms, consensus amid the confusion

Calm.

Dan Rodricks: The defense rests, and Dixon is silent

When he instructs the jurors in the Dixon case, Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney will likely tell them not to construe or infer anything from the defendant's silence. Mayor Sheila Dixon did not testify in her own defense against charges that she's a thief. This might have been the plan all along;...

Democracy's war problem

What has happened to democracies at war?

The naked truth about men and art

I was in Chicago with time on my hands, and the sweet woman murmured to me - you know how this goes - "Would you like to see the Art Institute?" and I was thinking No No No God No, and I said, "Sure. Fine." "You wouldn't rather do something else?" she said. "No," I...

Should a 55-year-old be a 'girlfriend'?

The big story in Baltimore lately has been about a situation between a former boyfriend and girlfriend. But the story's not about teenagers. The "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are in their 50s. She's the mayor; he's a big-time developer.

Dan Rodricks: The Dixon case turns into an episode of CSI-Target

The last time I visited the Baltimore courtroom where Mayor Sheila Dixon is on trial, it was for a homicide case, and a medical examiner was among the many witnesses. This time, the alleged crime is theft and, instead of a medical examiner, the state calls to the witness chair the "asset...

Speaking of human rights

While President Barack Obama is in Beijing this week, he has an opportunity to address two key issues, climate change and human rights concerns, simultaneously. Here's the kind of speech the president should give:

Democrats need to focus on jobs

For the first time in more than a quarter-century, unemployment in the United States has reached double digits - bad economic news for America, now having shed jobs for 22 consecutive months. And bad social news for the Americans who are out of work, for their...

Dan Rodricks: Is taking some gift cards a big deal? Ask Lindbergh Carpenter — he lost his job for it

In the buildup to the trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon on theft charges, we did not hear much about Lindbergh Carpenter Jr. He was not billed as the leading man or even a star witness. He is not, as far as anyone knows, a former boyfriend of the mayor. He's not a current boyfriend, either. He's not a...

Crisis pregnancy centers operate on moral precepts, not science

A debate is raging as to whether there is sinister intent in proposed Baltimore City legislation requiring crisis pregnancy centers to be clear on the services they provide prospective clients. As physicians and public health professionals who live and work in...

Focusing on bay's small ecosystems makes conservation more manageable

The question is often asked: "Can individuals and companies be counted on to voluntarily act in the best interest of our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, or do we need a stricter set of regulations that force certain behaviors?"

New partnership dawns

In the 1970s, Henry Kissinger famously asked, "who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?" After more than three decades, he may finally get his answer. Last week, the European parliament began debating the powers and responsibilities of a new president of Europe,...

Dan Rodricks: A-rabbers as solution to 'food deserts'

Progressive, health-conscious people up in Michigan launched an effort to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to Detroit's "food deserts" - large sections of town with plenty of liquor stores and fast-food places but few or no supermarkets or farmers' markets. A...

Building a bigger House

Will a recent lawsuit result in Congress' biggest upheaval in almost 100 years? Probably not, but that's the hope of the parties who brought the case. They think that the House of Representatives is unconstitutional in its current form and that the only solution...

Don't let ACORN scandal taint Catholic outreach

As Catholic bishops prepare to gather in Baltimore for a national meeting, their most effective anti-poverty initiative is under attack. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which funds community organizations advocating for affordable housing, fair wages, job training and other programs...

U.S. needs to rethink homeownership

Here's a radical notion: Let's rethink the cult of homeownership in America.

No more half-measures

It may not exactly be Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, but the nation's closest thing to a political "Odd Couple" rolls into Baltimore today when the Rev. Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich visit Kipp Ujima Village Academy and Hampstead Hill Academy charter schools as...

Dan Rodricks: Defense message: Dixon cares

The lawyers defending Mayor Sheila Dixon in her trial on theft charges will attempt to convince the jury -- the one in the courtroom and the much bigger one out here in the rain -- that that the only pattern of behavior in the case was a pattern of caring for the poor, of generosity and charity. You...

Plug the state's revenue leak

Maryland's ability to provide education, health services, community safety and help for the most vulnerable is in danger.

We can't avert our eyes from China's forced abortions

One of the few incontrovertible assertions one can reasonably make is that no one supports forced abortion.

Dan Rodricks: How to save a-rabs in 10 easy steps

Last week in Ocean City, professional promoters from all over the state gathered for the 29th Annual Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit, a schmoozefest and series of seminars on marketing and networking for those in one of the state's most important business...