Closing Block could push smut into other areas
The Sun's article about The Block left out one important fact the city has to consider when it regulates adult entertainment ("The Block shows no signs of change," Nov. 16). The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that adult entertainment is free speech protected under the First Amendment. The federal courts have allowed cities to regulate adult entertainment, but have clearly said they cannot ban it completely.
If Baltimore used its zoning and condemnation powers to close down the Block, lawsuits would follow and the courts probably would require us to allow strip bars to open in other areas.
What other neighborhood wants them?
Would the people of Highlandtown, Homeland and Federal Hill want strip bars to move into their neighborhood business districts?
As a City Council member, I get very few complaints about the Block. But if the bars on the Block moved into neighborhoods, we would never hear the end of it.
The current plan was designed by city lawyers to restrict adult entertainment to one area and permit a handful of businesses to be "grandfathered" in.
It is not perfect, but it does prevent strip bars from opening in neighborhoods.
Baltimore
The writer is a member of the Baltimore City Council.
Legalizing sex trade could control Block
Reading "The Block shows no signs of change," (Nov. 16) it struck me that the only way to clean up The Block might be to legalize prostitution.
No one has ever eradicated prostitution and no one ever will. Decriminalizing the profession would make things safer for both the workers and the clients. It would also benefit law enforcement by freeing up personnel and resources to deal with real crime.
And with legal status would come taxes on prostitution that would benefit the rest of us.
Joyce Fletcher
Baltimore
Simon's new drama needs a rewrite
I am a struggling screenwriter. I very much admire David Simon's talent as a writer and as a producer. I think he deserves thanks for producing Homicide, The Corner and The Wire in Baltimore and for all the production money he has brought to the city ("Who has the corner on Baltimore's image?" Nov. 20).
That said, he does seem to focus on the cesspool aspects of Charm City. As an artist, he has every right to do as he wishes -- and more power to him. But Councilwoman Catherine E. Pugh wasn't trying to censor him by considering a public relations campaign to make the city look good.
It seems Mr. Simon has danced into melodrama by screaming censorship and threatening to shoot in another city. But Mr. Simon's latest drama needs a rewrite.
Cary Anderson
Towson
Will Nigerian rioters also face stoning?
The enlightened sharia-based courts in northern Nigeria have sentenced women to death by stoning for out-of-wedlock births.
I hope they put as much effort into prosecuting and punishing the rioting Muslim youths who murdered dozens while protesting a beauty pageant ("Pageant pulls out of Nigeria amid rioting," Nov. 23).
But I won't hold my breath.
John Irvine
Baltimore
Bible tells us what Jesus will drive
"'What would Jesus drive?' religious leaders ask" (Nov. 21) -- as riddles go, this one is easy.
The Bible specifically describes the conveyance of Jesus at his next appearance: "And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."
Gregory Lewis
Baltimore
Pay our veterans all they're owed
Thank you so much for printing "Pay our debt to disabled vets" (Opinion Commentary, Nov. 19).
A non-career military person with a service-connected disability receives his or her Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation without forfeiting anything. But as a retired career military member, I forfeit one dollar of retirement pay for each dollar I receive in VA compensation.
These two payments have different purposes, and should not offset one another.
Military retirement pay is earned compensation for accepting the extraordinary demands and sacrifices of a career in uniform. VA disability compensation is for pain, suffering and, sometimes, future earnings limitations caused by a service-connected disability.
John W. Ross Jr.
Timonium
Aggressive U.S. acts imperil homeland
I am struck by the irony in the name of the new Department of Homeland Security. One would think that protecting the nation would be the job of the Department of Defense. But now the "Defense" Department is concerned with policing the rest of the world, protecting what some people call the nation's "vital interests."
But these vital interests usually amount to the interests of transnational corporations, and their defense is increasingly offensive to people around the world.
And it's because of such offensive policies that some people retaliate against our homeland.
Isn't it about time that we begin to question the misleadership of our political elite who have made our lives less secure and less free, too?
Cliff DuRand
Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
The writer is professor emeritus of philosophy at Morgan State University.
Words still unspoken on Kennedy's killing?
Thanks to The Sun for publishing excerpts from President John F. Kennedy's speech that was to be given in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 ("Unspoken words apply today," Nov. 22).
Perhaps someday our government will have the guts to speak its unspoken words, and tell the American people the truth about President Kennedy's assassination.
Ed Doheny
Bel Air
St. Petersburg is worth celebrating
I hope everyone in Baltimore was as excited as I was to learn about the Vivat! St. Petersburg festival ("Homage on grand scale by city's arts, business," Nov. 15).
I visited Leningrad -- or, as it's now called, St. Petersburg -- 11 years ago. The fabulous city was rich with culture and heritage.
I toured the Hermitage and was awestruck after visiting other fabulous palaces that once belonged to the Czars.
This festival will be a great opportunity for everyone to experience some of St. Petersburg's culture right here in Baltimore.
Eric Houston
Baltimore