Sauerbrey not sour, just wanted to ensure election was proper

I am a lifelong registered Democrat and have rarely supported a Republican candidate in an election. I did vote for a Republican, Edward W. Brooke, who became a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. He was the first African American elected to the Senate by popular vote.

In that controversial and historic election I was never concerned that my vote might be nullified by fraud and irregularities. Had there been any such question, voters of both parties would have demanded an investigation. If the election result had been close, officials would have willingly done a recount. Had Mr. Brooke failed as narrowly in his bid for the U.S. Senate and done the same thing as Ellen Sauerbrey did after the 1994 Maryland gubernatorial election, there would have been no Democratic "sour grapes" in Massachussetts.

I find it difficult to understand the need for a newspaper of The Sun's prestige and influence to stoop to sneering at Ms. Sauerbrey. Obviously, she had enough evidence to go forward with an inquiry on behalf of the citizens who voted for her. It was found necessary to purge the Baltimore City voter lists afterward. Mrs. Sauerbrey was not a sore loser to exercise this prerogative.

Ms. Sauerbrey deserves laurels and plaudits. She has defended the precious right to an honest election.

Kathleen Swords

Baltimore

Md. senators should back measure for crime victims

On July 7, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a constitutional amendment for crime victims' rights by a vote of 11-6. Both the ranking majority and minority members, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Joseph Biden, voted in favor of the amendment.

It is time for our Maryland senators, Barbara Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes, to tell the voters their position on this issue. Their constituents in Maryland voted over 92 percent in favor of a similar amendment for the state constitution in 1994.

The amendment was endorsed by President Clinton and Bob Dole and was part of both parties' convention platforms. It is co-sponsored by 41 U.S. senators from both parties. Maryland supporters include the governor, the president of the Maryland Senate, the attorney general, the speaker of the House of Delegates, Parents of Murdered Children, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Maryland State Troopers Association.

We are hearing the same arguments against this amendment that we heard against the Maryland amendment. However, the state amendment has proven invaluable in protecting the rights of victims of crime to address and remedy the injustices suffered victims of crime. It has done this while preserving the rights of the accused, which are protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Jim Donnelly

Pasadena

Cannot tolerate the belief that homosexuality is sin

I write in response to Linda Chavez' Opinion Commentary "Gays must be tolerant of conservatives' views" (July 22). As a Pentecostal, born-again, saved, sanctified, Holy Ghost-filled, tongue-talking Christian who happens to be gay, I will never be "tolerant" of the misconceptions and misinformation spread by the religious right and the ex-gay movement, especially their classification of homosexuality as sin.

Sexual identity and desire are a gift from God. Being able to function as a heterosexual does not make one a heterosexual. Ms. Chavez too eagerly accepts this movement's claim that thousands have been changed through their ministry. Exodus, and groups like it, have never been willing or able to provide statistics regarding their successes.

Many of the movement's leaders have subsequently admitted to their unchanged sexual identity, and the falsehoods promoted under the guise of treatment. Lives are damaged through so-called reparative therapy, a treatment the American Psychological Association has deemed unacceptable.

I thank God that the Pentecostals taught me to recognize and honor the presence of God, and through the ministry of the Metropolitan Community Churches I was able to reconcile my sexuality with my spirituality and find wholeness.

Michael Barnard

Baltimore

I must agree with Rowland Nethaway's Opinion Commentary "The gospel and the GOP" (July 27) when he writes about not condemning Ronald Reagan for coming down with Alzheimer's disease. Christian fundamentalists do not condemn gays, either.

Science is trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's. Christians already have found a cure for gays. So what is wrong with promoting the cure?

William H. Hinzman

Baltimore

Several national scribes have weighed in with their opinions relative to the brouhaha raised by Sen. Trent Lott's comments about homosexuals. One opined that the senator was simply inveighing against sexual sin. It seems to me that adultery would be a more prominent target for the senator's anger.

It is more prevalent and has apparently achieved great social acceptance in spite of a specific rebuke dealt to it (unlike homosexuality) according to the stories reported about the Jesus in whose perceptible mien the senator was speaking.

One scribe implied that homosexuals would be more acceptable if they simply adopted a Christian demeanor, even though they may not be able to expunge their authentic desires. In other words, become more like contemporary Christians. If none of this sounds like Jesus to you, it is probably why you are not a Christian.

Russ Seese

Aberdeen

Not all symphony lovers were David Zinman fans

At the risk of being stoned by those eager to erect a statue to David Zinman, here's an alternative opinion of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's former music director.

First, it's true that the orchestra is a tight ensemble and that Mr. Zinman was a cheerleader for the city. But critical opinion of his conducting hardly suggests genius at work. Singled out particularly is Mr. Zinman's tiresome promotion of correct tempos for Beethoven's symphonies, an approach bettered by conductors Roger Norrington and Christopher Hogwood.

Mr. Zinman's clinical interpretations, especially of Romantic repertoire, sound as if they had been e-mailed from the podium, or from the podiatrist's office, considering the pedestrian nature of the readings.

I welcome the man designated to assume the vacated post. Yuri Temirkanov, a conductor with a lower profile than Zinman's but one who brings true stature to the podium.

Lastly, let us say good-bye to the patronizing drivel offered by Mr. Zinman, together with the insufferable Lisa Simeone during the intermissions of BSO radio broadcasts. Bring on Maestro Temirkanov!

Mark O'Connor

Baltimore

Pit bulls are not born bad, some are made that way

I have tried for five years to talk about the "other pit bulls," not those you read about in the paper or hear on the 11 o'clock news, but those that are raised in a docile manner as family pets. My son has had his pit for five years, and this dog has one of the mildest personalities I have seen in a dog.

The only time she barks is when you have her leash in hand to go for her walk. She sits near the dinner table each evening waiting for her bagel, and when she sees her toothbrush, she shows her teeth in order to have them brushed.

The grandchildren play ball with her and chase her. Don't let her hear you rattle keys, or she thinks it is time to go for a ride in the car. She is like a young child who goes wherever we go. Shame on owners who have given these wonderful family pets a vicious name.

Marilyn Z. Galinn

Pikesville

Teaching children to fish is not an anti-drug line

Must everything be billed as a drug-prevention strategy ("150 youth to go fishing in anti-drug initiative," July 28)?

So teaching city kids to fish is now a drug prevention effort. I will look forward to the follow-up research to see how many of these kids eschew drugs to drop a line in the Patapsco. I've known alcoholics who use fishing expeditions as opportunities for binging. Will this drug-prevention technique work in the winter, when children have to cut a hole in the ice?

Isn't just teaching kids to fish (no strings attached) alone a worthy endeavor without calling it something it is not?

Thomas Dolan

Baltimore

To our readers

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Pub Date: 8/03/98