Marxism at UMBC
I am astonished that The Baltimore Sun would print such a piece of garbage as Peter A. Jay's "Cold War Echoes in Catonsville."
In his article, Mr. Jay clearly believes that Dr. Dibble's lawsuit against UMBC has merit,and he accuses the school of being controlled by "Marxists." How a "writer and farmer" living in Havre de Grace could make such a determination is beyond me.
Did Mr. Jay ever visit UMBC? Does he know the individuals involved? Could Dr. Dibble's assertions be the false accusations of a disgruntled employee?
Of course, Mr. Jay never even considers these options. Otherwise, he could not attack UMBC and the "academic establishment" with the zeal of a Joe McCarthy.
I won't even begin to address Mr. Jay's obvious ignorance concerning Marxist thought and theory. Suffice it to say that he should confine his writing and his thoughts to farming. Shame on The Baltimore Sun for printing an article more befitting of a supermarket tabloid.
Don Himes
Baltimore
Stamp's Price
I would like to respond to Matthew Aiken's "Price of a Stamp" letter (Dec. 20). I would propose that Mr. Aiken is misinformed and flat out wrong.
First of all, the Postal Service receives no taxpayer money whatsoever.
I feel that I should stress this point because Mr. Aiken connotes that somehow "our money" is the same money that we submit as taxes. This is not the case.
The Postal Service is a business to the extent that it provides a service for a fee. And it is with the income it derives that it is able to stay in business.
And one very important ingredient to staying in business is advertisement and marketing. The service is not alone in the world of parcel delivery and has to do what it can to maintain its competitive edge.
But to suggest that the rate increase is due to the increase in advertising is absurd. The main reason the Postal Service is experiencing difficult financial times is the federal government.
The service is required by law to contribute hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce the deficit. This is where the service incurs budget shortfalls.
So if anyone is really angry about the rate hike, I would suggest that you lay the blame on the representatives in Congress who continue to find ways to waste "our money."
The Postal Service is just doing what it has to do to survive while its pocket is being picked by the federal government.
Robert J. Lake
Baltimore
Feeding Frenzy
I am sorry that it was so tedious for the press corps to have to sit through Dee Dee Myers Top 10 list of President Clinton's accomplishments, mentioned in a Dec. 23 story in The Sun.
Perhaps if members of the press corps had been more diligent in reporting Mr. Clinton's accomplishments, they would not have had tobe "forced to sit through" this ordeal.
I personally was frustrated to have the list mentioned and not know what the claimed accomplishments were.
I am one of the very few people on the planet who feel that Mr. Clinton has been doing, against incredible odds, a good job.
However, all too soon after his inauguration, the blood was in the water, and it was much more fun to focus on the scandals and rumors of scandals around Mr. Clinton than to report what was actually being done, and to reflect seriously on how it might be an honest attempt to do what is right for America.
There is a hint of blood around Newt Gingrich now. He must be beginning to feel the circling in the water.
Before another feeding frenzy begins, could we call a truce and make a New Year's resolution to try to learn what is being done in the government of our country, so that we could analyze dispassionately what the long-term advantages and disadvantages may be?
Shirley Cammack
Baltimore
Discretion
Connie Chung coerced Catherine Gingrich into saying that her son called Hillary Clinton a "bitch"? Please.
What did Mrs. Gingrich expect when she followed up Ms. Chung's questions with more information that wasn't asked for?
Mrs. Gingrich could simply have said "nothing" and kept her mouth shut after that.
When she followed up by adding "and I won't tell you what he said about Hillary", neither Connie Chung nor any competent journalist could be faulted for just letting the statement hang there in the air.
Even ordinary folks like you and me would have said "Why? What did she say?"
And, as a parent of a political figure, Mrs. Gingrich certainly has had enough opportunity to observe journalists in action.
She can't possibly be so naive as to trust the concept of "off the record." Even employees at my workplace (University of Maryland University College) are counseled to assume when speaking with a reporter that there is no such thing as "off the record."
As long as Rep. Newt Gingrich is a figure of news interest, Mrs. Gingrich is going to have to learn how to handle the media better. Unless of course, she secretly wanted to let all of us know what her son thinks of the First Lady.
Beth Woodell
Baltimore
Gun Violence
Sun television critic David Zurawik panned the Bill Moyers MPT special, "What Can We Do About Violence?" for being all talk and no action (Jan. 9).
To the contrary, Mr. Moyer's show highlighted the successful work of many grassroot efforts throughout the country.
Stay tuned to the MPT series. The only way we are going to end gun violence is through greater public awareness of the issue and a willingness to take action against this national tragedy.
Nancy Fenton
Baltimore
The writer is administrative director of Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse.
Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich
I am writing in response to the letter (Jan. 4) by Carleton W. Brown about Rush Limbaugh.
My first reaction after reading this letter was to ask Mr. Brown if he has ever listened to or watched Mr. Limbaugh's radio or television program. If he had, he would know that his statements are not entirely true.
Let me start with his first point, where he basically says that Mr. Limbaugh makes fun of the president and his wife.
Well, this is harmless political satire. Nobody has a problem with political satire when it appears on shows such as "Saturday Night Live." Lighten up, for everyone's sake.
In his second point, he falsely accuses Mr. Limbaugh of thinking that "all persons who are concerned about human activities that harm the environment are 'wackos' who try to frighten people into sending them money."
Where is he getting this stuff? Mr. Limbaugh defines environmentalist wackos as people who "are not to be confused with serious and responsible ecology-minded people.
"Environmentalist wackos believe that mankind is the greatest threat to nature as opposed to being a part of nature."
This is a direct quote from Mr. Limbaugh's book, "The Way Things Ought To Be", and it has been stated many times on his radio program.
His third point says, "Anybody who speaks about equality or the status of women is a 'Feminazi,' somebody to be feared and ridiculed."
Again, he doesn't know what he's saying. Mr. Limbaugh defines a Feminazi as "a feminist to whom the most important thing in life is ensuring that as many abortions as possible occur. There are fewer than 25 Feminazis in the United States."
He mentions the fact that Mr. Limbaugh says that "you must distrust all information provided by radio and television, or printed in the newspaper. They are all liberals."
Again, this is not so. Think about it, Mr. Limbaugh has both a radio and television show, as well as the "Limbaugh Letter," his own newsletter.
Why would he tell people to distrust himself? He doesn't. He does, however, say that people should not automatically accept everything that the media, which is largely liberal, says to be true.
Mr. Brown appears to have accepted the liberal portrayal of Mr. Limbaugh as a hate monger, which is farthest from the truth.
Mr. Limbaugh does not refer to anyone who is not a liberal as a liberal; he uses the term where it applies.
He does not consider the word "liberal" to be a dirty word; if that is the feeling one gets, ask yourself why.
Mr. Limbaugh has never used the words "liberal" and "Democrat" interchangeably. I'm not sure where Mr. Brown got that from.
All elected Republicans are not embodiments of virtue and wisdom, as he would like everyone to think Mr. Limbaugh thinks. Of course there are bad Republicans. No group of people is perfect.
Zebulan P. Snyder
Timonium
We do not have to wonder, as Carleton Brown does, if the Republicans are as bad as Rush Limbaugh makes them appear.
Just read the remarks attributed to Rep. Newt Gingrich in regard to our country's first lady; and a few of the epithets for some Democrats: "cheap, nasty, fairly stupid," "a pathetically narrow partisan gimmick" (The Sun, Jan. 5).
All through the last legislative session, the Newtniks practiced obstructionism to perfection and followed it by cynical mislabeling and vilification of bills introduced by the Democrats.
A less than enlightened electorate, taken in by their specious arguments and "conservative" talk, has rewarded them with more seats of power and responsibility.
The country can now watch C-Span and see Limbaugh's act performed on Capitol Hill.
R. V. Subramanian
Arnold
Bottle Tax Folly
Baltimore City with its bottle tax is a microcosm of the business problems facing Maryland.
Revenue was based on the presumption that purchasers would continue to purchase beverages in the city at the same rate as before the tax.
The tax revenue peaked in 1991, the first full year after tax was implemented, and has since declined every year.
Since surrounding counties do not have the tax, purchasers go elsewhere for the beverages.
In turn, jobs and investment follow the purchases away from the city.
In turn, the economy in this industry is sluggish and falters. And Baltimore takes a step backward.
When this simple example is expanded to the Maryland economy, with its reputation as being unfriendly to business due to high taxes, it is not surprising that Maryland's economy has not recovered from the past recession and that little change is foreseen in the future.
The current taxes cause a continual erosion of the industrial base, as over time jobs go to other states, and in turn of the tax base.
A simple defense, as espoused by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, is that the city needs the tax revenue. But where will the revenue and jobs come in the future?
For Maryland -- the legislature and the new governor -- has a challenge on its hands of reducing taxes to bring expanded growth and jobs while curbing expenditures.
Fred Derrick
Baltimore
The writer is professor of economics at Loyola College.