A Barbaric Act
Your story on the execution of Brian Pennel (Sunday Sun, March 15) left me with a troubled view of today's society. In my opinion, capital punishment is a cosmetic attempt to sweep aside our fears and to act upon a desire for veageance.
This is not to say that i am in favor of coddling convicted murderers. Of course, the families of victims of these reprehensible crimes deserve justice. Capital punishment, however, is not justice.
The objective of justice is to provide a solution to the ills of society, and the execution of a murderer, no matter how senseless his or her crime may be, does nothing to this end. When a murderer is executed the pain of the victim's family is not allayed. And we as a people are left with nothing but false sense of satisfaction, as if by washing our hands the ugly stains will dissappear.
With crime advancing rapidly across our city and our state, it is time to proactively confront the foundation of crime rather than to react, however urgent the need for this may feel.
Christian Schlekat
Baltimore
House Cleaning
Is it any wonder that this country is so far in debt and that economically we are a basket case? The goings-on concerning the House banking scandal in Washington indicate that many of our congressmen don't know how to add and suibtract.
Once the scandal broke, there was a rush to blame the problem on everything and everybody but the individual who was writing the checks in question. The bank itself seems to have caused part of the problem but certainly not all of it.
Didn't any of these people keep track of their own money? Most of us keep a bankbook and know within a few dollars how much money we have. Apparently, our elected officials don't. The worst part of this is these are the same people that control the purse strings for the country. Is it any wonder that we are in such a mess?
Many representatives hace just been there too ong and their arrogance knows no bounds. A good example is Congressman Steny Hoyer, who at first denied any bad checks and then admitted to the bad checks but said it was none of our business. If we are ever to get our financial house in order, we may have to get a whole new crew down in Washington to do it.
Allan F. Grant
Pasdena
A Centuries-old Conflict
The essence of The Sun's March 17 editorial on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is in total contradiction to its title. However,the tenor of the writing is fairly consistant with your newspaper's anti-Armenian stand.
To the perceptive reader this editorial is but a thinly disguised call to arms against the Armenian diaspora will support armed conflict with troops and supplies is highly speculative and flagrantly preposterous; traditionally (unlike their age-old foes) Armenians have placed greater reliance on negotiation than on warfare to resolve their border disputes.
Even though isolated by geography from the rest of Christendom, Armenia has for centuries stood up to its Moslem neighbors with little help from the Western world. Although numerically outnumbered by the Azeris, Armenians could again weather this crisis -- albeit at a great cost of lives.
The last thing the region needs is meddling into centuries-old conflict by ill-informed Western nations. Let the leaders of the two countries continue negotiating for peace. It is too early for The Sun to incite "neighboring Islamic countries to join the fray."
Eddie Bilezikian
Towson
Quack Quack
An old adage says, "If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and sounds like a duck, chances are it's a duck." Bill Clinton doesn't look, act or sound like a president, but the melange that gave us Mondale and Dukakis is close to selecting him as the Democratic nominee.
In the past, many of us who would like to have had a better choice merely voted against the Democrat. This year it is entirely possible that many Americans will simply stay away from the polls. This would work almost as well for George Bush as a vote against Bill Clinton, assuring Bush that he, like Saddam Hussein, will continue to have a job.
William K. Lester
Round Bay
Empty Headline
From your headline of March 20, "It's now Clinton's race to lose," I can't decide if you are being pessimistic, realistic or prejudiced.
I think it's the latter. Couldn't you have said, "It's now Clinton's race to win"? I guess your glass is half empty!
Jane E. Johnson
Baltimore
Bush the Hero
It has been obvious that the long-term strategy of the Democratic Party has been, by any means possible, to force President Bush to break his no-tax pledge which Congress forced on him or close down the government because of no budget.
To admit an error takes courage. He explained that he should have resisted them instead of trying to negotiate in a civil manner. (That was his mistake. But can this go on forever?) With Mr. Bush his country comes first. His sincerity shows through, even to admitting that he did "not like the political flap."
He had to fight Congress and won his point in the civil rights quota bill, which they had to adjust before he would sign. Reporter Karen Hosler quotes a poll in which respondents were asked what one thing they would say to politicians. It was, "Tell the truth!" Which he does. The recession is worldwide and certainly cannot be put on Mr. Bush's shoulders. Besides it is a needed lesson for a "throw-away" society.
Not the least of his heroic qualities is the fact that not many men or women running for president of the United States have the courage (like St. Thomas More, who lost his head for it) to stick to principle, the sanctity of human life, against the abortionists who are so heavily backed by the media and under-culture, as has President Bush. It may not have been the politically correct thing but that is another sign of a hero.
Mary P. W. Kendall
Baltimore
Passing Blame
In response to the column, "Dump The Dromedary," by Ellen Goodman (March 13) regarding the use of a cartoon to advertise cigarettes, I am personally sick of hearing whiney parents complain how "society" has made it impossible to raise their children with decent values.
It's always someone else. You never hear, "I can't control my children because I am personally unable to teach anyone anything." No, it's far easier to blame your failures on someone else.
If Ms. Goodman does such a poor job of raising her children that their lives are dictated by a cartoon character, maybe the problem is with her skills as a parent.
If she is unable to give her children the intelligence to distinguish reality from some pathetic advertising campaign, then perhaps she isn't cut out to raise anything -- except maybe a goldfish. I understand it's very difficult for them to smoke under water.
William Smith
Baltimore
Ballpark 1, Academia 0
Recent stories and letters in The Sun about the closing of the University of Maryland at Baltimore for the opening of Baltimore's new baseball stadium give the impression that baseball is more important at UMAB than education and research. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, the decision of the UMAB administration to close the university came as a complete surprise to faculty, staff and students. When it became known to us through the article in The Sun, we vigorously opposed it.
We have made it clear that this decision should be reversed, at least as it applies to our official duties as teachers, physicians and scientists.
The accommodation of a sporting event should not take precedence over the professional education and research that occurs on our campus.
If there were a valid reason for canceling university programs on opening day, some solution surely could have been sought through timely consultation with the faculty. This could have avoided closing the university and the disruption of classes, examinations and research activities.
The School of Medicine of the University of Maryland at Baltimore has made great strides over the past decade toward becoming a premier research and teaching institution. We are now ranked 13th nationally among public medical schools receiving federal grant funds.
Despite the ridicule engendered by the current situation, we take our responsibilities very seriously indeed. We are appalled at decisions, such as the one concerning opening day, that are counter to the goals we have long striven to achieve.
Bradley E. Alger
Baltimore
K? The letter was co-signed by eight other professors at UMAB.