New Politics

The pundits don't get it, do they? They would, if they read their own newspapers.

Traditional labels of conservative and liberal don't work for the so-called baby boomers. The group is a large lump passing through the alimentary of America's body politic. It is politically active. And it is fiscally cautious, while being socially progressive. Besides, this unusual position seems to cross lines of social and economic class.

That has been the finding of pollsters and social scientists. It means the boomers are neither typically Republican nor Democratic.

Only one politician seems to share that novel pairing of positions, Paul Tsongas. Like him or not, it should not surprise anyone that he is getting lots of votes from the suburbs, where the boomers live. Thus, Tsongas stands a good chance of beating Bill Clinton for the nomination.

What does that say about November?

It's clear that Pat Buchanan is going to force President Bush toward the traditional right wing. That means a harder economic line and a wink toward divisive politics. (We've already seen a repudiation of Bush's budget deal with the Democrats.)

Besides the boomers there is one other age group that is politically active, the seniors. As far as I know -- and I am closer to a boomer than a senior -- their politics are standard forms of right- and left-wing.

I think these folks will be governed by a second rule the pundits and politicians seem unaware of: Americans are always in the end centrists. They may come out to cheer the likes of David Duke, George Wallace and their left-wing counterparts. But they mostly vote the middle of the road.

With George Bush driven to right-wing positions by Buchanan, Paul Tsongas could look like a centrist.

Philip L. Marcus Ellicott City

City Losses

I hope it's either naivete or stupidity and not political corruption, but something is definitely wrong with the way Baltimore City handles taxpayers' assets. A few examples:

1. The most current, Harrison's Wharf. City backed. City guaranteed loan default. Taxes delinquent. Taxpayer loss.

2. Cars and money confiscated from drug dealers, supposed to be used in "the war on drugs," utilized without accountability.

3. Ethel's Place. How much taxpayer money was lost on this city venture? How about investors? Loss or profit?

4. Shake and Bake. Another misguided taxpayer venture, another mismanaged use of scarce city funds.

5. Perhaps the best example of all, the Belvedere. How may millions were lost in this city venture (misadventure)?

6. Harborplace? The last Sun report showed that the city had received no direct benefit, share of profit or taxes from the owners.

7. The city incinerator?

How many other incidents of mismanagement or misappropriation are there in city closets?

# Charles D. Connelly.Baltimore.

Drilling For Oil

Lloyd L. Unsell's allegation that no environmental damage can be attributed to Pennsylvania's oil wells is false. His letter to the editor (Feb. 11) denounced the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's opposition to oil drilling adjacent to the bay. To make his case, the author offered statistics on Pennsylvania's experience with oil wells as a reason to "remain calm" while exploratory drilling is carried out in Charles County.

Contrary to Mr. Unsell's blanket assertion, Pennsylvania has a well-documented history of confronting the harmful consequences of oil and gas drilling. In April 1981, the Citizens Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Resources concluded that many of the hundreds of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells in the state were unplugged and leaking oil, brine, other chemicals and acid. The council's report also stated that, "over 15 exceptional value and high quality watersheds have been or are presently being seriously degraded by discharges of oil and brines." As a result of this study, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed the Oil and Gas Act, which was designed to correct these problems and provide funding to plug abandoned wells.

In 1990, the oil industry attempted to amend the Oil and Gas Act by endorsing a bill that would have weakened the new program before it had a chance to get off the ground. Governor Robert Casey vetoed the bill.

Just last September, the Pennsylvania Fish Commission testified the impact of oil and gas development in the Allegheny National Forest before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. Among the problems cited by the Fish Commission were the improper disposal of 7 million gallons of wastewater brine generated each year by oil and gas production, accelerated erosion and stream sedimentation, and changes in stream temperatures which left the water unfit for cold water fish species such as trout.

Clearly, Pennsylvania's experience supports the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's position that oil and gas drilling will be detrimental to the bay. I thought your readers would like to hear about Pennsylvania's experience from a Pennsylvanian.

& Maurice Kimball Goddard.

Camp Hill, Pa.

The writer is a former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, and of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources.

The Ozone Hole Scare

In a spate of recent articles and editorials, The Sun has aligned itself with that political faction promoting a ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by 1995 (now moved up from the year 2000) based on the results of a recent NASA study of the so-called ozone hole. But is the sky really falling?

First, what was discovered above the Arctic was a higher-than-normal concentration of the chemical chlorine monoxide (C10). The danger, according to the ozone depletion theory, is that this will break down ozone molecules, creating a hole. But note that NASA scientists also said that there had been no ozone depletion or hole so far, raising the question of whether the theory is even correct.

Even if it were, the question is whether these C10 molecules come from man's activities or from nature.

What the proponents of ozone hysteria consistently fail to mention is that chlorine is one of nature's most abundant trace chemicals. The increased concentrations of C10 above the Northern Hemisphere can be easily explained. Last June, the Philippine volcano Mt. Pinatubo underwent a series of very violent eruptions, among the greatest of the century. Tens of millions of tons of volcanic gases and debris penetrated the stratosphere, distributed globally in an enormous ash cloud -- most of which is still circling the world. It is estimated the volcano outgassed somewhere between 30 and 50 million tons of chlorine.

In comparison, the amount of chlorine released by the supposed breakup of CFCs in the stratosphere is less than 7,500 tons. (There is no observational evidence that CFCs do in fact break up in the stratosphere, so the amount could be zero.) In other words, the amount of CFCs contributed to the stratosphere from man's activities is less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the amount of chlorine ejected by one volcanic eruption.

Why is the public not told the truth? Because a small clique of scientists and environmentalists has achieved enormous power by fabricating unscientific scare stories. The news media prints only their side of the story. Hundreds of scientists have debunked these scientific frauds, but their corrections are ignored.

The consequences of accepting these unfounded scare stories will be very real indeed. On Feb. 6, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution sponsored by Sen. Albert Gore, D-Tenn., calling for CFCs to be banned by 1995 and for the U.S. government to help force other countries to accept the ban. This is a critical issue.

According to experts in the refrigeration industry, the ban on CFCs will increase the death toll from hunger and food-borne disease. The estimate is that between 20 and 40 million people will die every year because of the ban on CFCs. It is a very high price to pay for scientific quackery.

! Robert C. Arnold.

Baltimore.

Jeffrey Wilson and Harford teachers

In response to your Feb. 29 editorial, "Teachers' Pet in Harford," I offer the following comments.

1. My primary interest is children. Teachers spend more active time with our children than do any other group of persons (sadly, this includes parents). It is for this reason that I support teachers.

2. The question is not whether we can give raises to our employees (teachers and everybody else). The question is how can we claim that we cannot afford to pay our employees better and at the same time embark on the most extensive capital program in Harford County's history? Why are we proposing to build new schools when we have approximately seven schools, worth of excess capacity in our existing buildings? My priority is for the essential human infrastructure over unneeded bricks and mortar.

3. You ask if I want to run the school board "too?" What is that I am running now? I shall be interested to find out. I am not interested in running the school board, but every other politician seems to want to do so -- by changing the selection process or twisting arms in back rooms. I do my talking in public. Is that a mistake?

4. The "10 percent hikes," as The Sun called them, equal two years of 3 percent across the board improvements plus the merit and longevity steps. Had the county and state funded the Board of Education's contracts for the current year, the school employees would have gotten more this year than the new contract would give them over three years (this fiscal year plus the next two).

5. If salary improvements are not funded, will the school boar rescind the schedule of professional improvements tied to remuneration? Or is this just an expression of the current trend of demanding more and paying less for it?

6. With respect to ambition: If I am so almighty ambitious, how is it that I haven't done anything popular in a year? It is a question I ask myself frequently.

Jeffrey D. Wilson.

The writer is president of the Harford County Council.

____________

As a Harford County teacher, I read with great interest your comments.

Even you seem to recognize that Harford's hard-working teachers deserve a pay raise, especially the senior teachers. Under the recently ratified contract those senior teachers would receive only a 3 percent pay raise.

But now is not the time, you say.

I ask you, "When is the time?"

During the booming '80s, Habern Freeman, then the county executive, reduced the per-pupil spending in Harford from 14th in the state to 22nd of 24 subdivisions. Currently, only Allegany and Caroline counties spend less.

All during that time you approved of Freeman's fiscal conservatism and called Harford's teachers greedy because we wanted appropriate salaries for ourselves and lower class sizes, adequate materials, supplies and equipment; in short, good teaching-learning conditions for our students.

If the '80s were not the time "to make amends" and now is not the time, when?

This is not a facetious question. We Harford teachers would like an answer.

Jean R. Thomas.

Joppatowne.

____________

Your recent editorial criticizing Harford County teachers for being irresponsible completely missed the point.

The protest against the school board's rejection of a budget with pay raises was brought on by one fact only. For the first time, the Harford County Board of Education had rejected a contract and budget that it had negotiated.

In short, the board violated the spirit of collective bargaining. This is what your editorial never mentioned. To imply that teachers should not seek pay raises in a recession is unfair. In Harford County, education has never been funded adequately, even in good economic times. Harford teachers will never accept the premise that we bear the burden alone.

We lost our negotiated pay raise last year, but nothing else was cut from our offerings to students. The Board of Education tried to do this again. Now it looks like the county government will try this route.

How come there is only a recession for teachers, but no recession when it comes to all the programs and extra-curricular activities that are not mandated by any law? This is unfair, not equitable and something teachers in Harford County will always and continuously oppose.

Anthony F. Sarcone. Bel Air.

Orioles and the Community

Regarding your article, "Rawlings Says Orioles Slow to Woo Black Fans," which appeared in The Sun on March 3, I want to advise you of the Orioles' role in helping the Choice program.

Choice is a community-based supervision program headquartered in the Cherry Hill neighborhood which serves all of Baltimore City south of North Avenue. Almost 75 percent of Choice clients are black.

Since its inception of 1986, Choice has benefited greatly from the generosity of the Orioles. The Orioles' grounds crew literally rebuilt the baseball field adjacent to the Choice office. This week-long effort has enabled the Choice staff to hold baseball games for the kids in the program and the neighborhood kids now have access to a ball field.

Orioles players Dave Johnson, Sam Horn and Jeff Ballard all spent time speaking with Choice clients. Roland Hemond attended the openings of both Choice offices as well as the first Choice fund-raiser.

The Orioles have also been very generous with tickets. Over the last three seasons, hundreds of youngsters in the Choice program have been able to see a professional baseball game courtesy of the team.

The Orioles donated the resources and staff of their public relations department to produce a videotape for Choice to attract full-time caseworkers, community volunteers and other business supporters to participate in the Choice program.

In 1991, the Orioles received Mayor Schmoke's Business Recognition Award for their contributions to the community.

at the Choice program and Choice Jobs Programs hereby nominate the Orioles for the same award for 1992.

eslie S. Ries. Baltimore.

Howard "Pete" Rawlings' approach to the Baltimore Orioles baseball club demonstrates his reflection of a total lack of awareness to the city's 60 percent African-American identity and his constituency.

We in the black community do not need free tickets or singing opportunities at the opening ceremonies. Delegate Rawlings in his position of power could present to Orioles President Larry Lucchino an opportunity for the creation and development of intern positions for young black males and females in sports administration at the entry, mid-level and summer work program positions.

These opportunities of employment and training could go far to enhance the Baltimore Orioles' commitment to the black community. Further, Delegate Rawlings, at first networking with

Frank Robinson and Calvin Hill, would have begun a great dialogue toward a "new boy system."

!Edward R. Colbert. Baltimore.

Regressive Heaven

In his letter Feb. 28, Robert L. Hanley says, "A national financial magazine recently named Maryland the third worst 'tax hell' in the U.S."

The chart on which the article is based indicates that the reason is that Maryland has the most regressive income tax structure in the U.S.

According to the chart, no state has as high a top tax rate as Maryland's 7.5 percent (including piggyback surtax) for taxable income over $3,000.

Twenty-nine other states with income taxes do not apply their top tax rates until taxable income reaches $10,000 or (usually) higher.

James E. Werner

Laurel

@

Critics Scored

What right do the editors and Peter Baker have to criticize the America's Cup. After all is said and done, they feel that it is money that runs the sport. If you are going to criticize the Cup races for costing so much, what about all the other sports? How about the obscene salaries that baseball, basketball, golf, and football players get just to play games? What about an Indy race car, big bucks? When you get down to the nitty-gritty, if you want to win, you got to pay. Little league right through college and on to the professionals. No matter which sport it is.

You at The Sun have devoted more space criticizing the Cup races than actually reporting the races.

Edward Berge

Cockeysville

To Our Readers

Because we value readers' expressions of opinion on public issues, The Sun is expanding the space available for letters. This page will be devoted each Saturday to a selection of letters, some of them longer than usual and others expressing a variety of views on the same subject. Their form and approach may be more flexibile than is possible the rest of the week. Our aim will be to provide as wide a range of reader opinion as possible. We will continue to publish letters as usual on the editorial page on other days.

We publish only original mail, not copies of letters to others. Letters should be signed and we need a printed name, address and daytime telephone number for verification purposes. Since The Sun receives about five times as many letters as we can publish, we cannot contact each writer about the disposition of his or her letter. It is our aim, though, to give priority to letters from writers whose work has not appeared recently. Where necessary, we will condense and edit letters.

Correspondence should be sent to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore, Md. 21278-0001.