21st Century

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

In response to the letter from Fred D. Murray of Pikesville ("God will punish President Obama for endorsing same-sex marriage," May 12): No Fred, President Barack Obama will not go to hell for accepting same-sex marriage, because there is no hell. Actually, there is no heaven or a god to run the place! Gods were created by the human mind to placate the fears of the cave dwellers who were scared to death about lightning, thunder and floods. The idea of controlling groups of people caught on and continues today for the convenience of folks in high places.

NOW WE CAN read 19th-century schoolbooks on the Internet on the eve of the 21st century. The University of Pittsburgh academic library slowly is putting its 16,000-volume Nietz Old Textbook Collection online. The books are for the use of scholars, but anyone can click onto Pitt's Web site and get a glimpse of life and learning in a century without CD-ROMs, the Internet or MTV. In a few hours' perusal of the 30 books so far digitized, I found formal phonics lessons and a good deal of instruction in grammar and rhetoric, both lost arts as we enter the 21st century.

Howard County is looking at a too-expensive, overbuilt transit bus bridge over U.S. 29 between Oakland Mills and Columbia Town Center ("In Columbia, bridge is sought to unify towns," April 24). A too-occasional bus won't help the main problem - pedestrians who feel unsafe trapped on the bridge. The U.S. 29 bridge, if not already adequate, should be built to carry an electric minibus on one alternating direction lane between Town Center and Oakland Mills' village center, schools, and library, tying-in with existing transit stops and schedules.

If the House votes to end affirmative action in broadcast licensing, "Republican fingerprints [would be] on the racist card," says an accusing Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel. That kind of rhetoric is not going to make it any easier for Americans of all races and both parties to work out an affirmative action program for the 21st century.Nor is Sen. Phil Gramm's statement to the effect that if elected president his first act will be to end every racial preference he can.Changes in affirmative action are needed.

The pace of Maryland's growth will slow in the early 21st century as its population ages, according to new long-term projections by the Maryland Office of Planning.The state's population is forecast to increase from 5 million in mid-1995 to 6 million in 2018. Montgomery County is projected to reach a population of 1 million in 2020, the first Maryland jurisdiction to do so.The projections are based on fresh population estimates for mid-1995, which show that Montgomery (810,000) is the state's most populous county.

THROUGHOUT THE 20th century, as the weapons we used to fight our wars became increasingly lethal, news coverage of the effects of combat took on an increasingly disjointed and euphemistic quality. In the early days of World War II, CBS radio correspondent Edward R. Murrow reported that the distant explosions from a British bombing raid over Germany resembled "rice on black velvet." In reaction to the more graphic coverage of Vietnam, the Pentagon during Gulf War I restricted access and provided film that made the conflict seem like a video game.

Neatness hardly rates as an emphasis for Robert E. Slavin, one of the country's leading education reformers, in his incredibly cluttered office across from the Johns Hopkins University Homewood tennis courts."

IT'S fitting that America Online's merger with Time Warner Inc. took place a little over a week into the 21st century. The union of two companies that represent new and old information technologies is a harbinger of what's to come. Their merger symbolizes not only the rapid reshaping of the world's communications industries that is under way but also the transformation of world business practices. This is the beginning of a wave of mergers between Internet and media companies. What happened to railroads in the 19th century is probably most analogous to the enormous changes that would flow from the AOL-Time Warner merger.

HAVING SEIZED enough of "the vital center" to win a second term, President Clinton in his first post-election policy speech, has cast himself as chief proprietor of that crucial political turf.Balancing the budget is his first priority, he says, thus reiterating his claim to a high-profile issue Republicans once monopolized. His will be a government, he says, that is hard to pigeonhole as right or left, and as such will be a frustration for those who try to communicate or describe or (implicitly)

Scott Evans remembers the soft glow of the small television set, and the way his stepfather tried to calm him and his sister for the benefit of the neighbors in the apartment below. But who, on this night, was not celebrating? It was 1983 and the Baltimore Orioles had won the World Series. Evans, now 34 and a plumber living in Essex, has "always been an Orioles fan. " "I cried the day Cal Ripken retired," he said. "I remember the smell of Memorial Stadium. " But two years ago, Evans grew so frustrated with his favorite team that he logged onto Facebook to start a group he called "O's fans Peter Angelos has to GO. " The Orioles will begin a new season Friday, taking the field at Camden Yards to inaugurate what would become - barring some diversion from a streak that has persisted throughout the 21st century - a 15th straight losing season.

People, I ask you whether all this absurd noise over contraceptives is worth our time and attention ("O'Brien's quixotic fight," Feb. 9)? This is the 21st century, for heaven's - or any other entity's - sake. What hypocrisy! What demagoguery! Enough! Mary Beacom Bowers, Baltimore

John Houser III has a fun piece on burgers in Wednesday's Taste section. You can see a photo-gallery version of the story here . The focus, with one exception, is on places that specialize on burgers rather than places that have an exceptional burger on their menu. So, missing are some of Baltimore's more notable hamburgers.  Among the missing is the Crosstown Burger from Hamilton Tavern, to my mind Baltimore's most influential hamburger of the 21st century so far. So enjoy the look at the burger gallery, but just know that it's not our final word on Baltimore's best burgers.

Rabbi Arthur Green, an authority on Jewish thought and spirituality, will speak Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at Oseh Shalom congregation, 7515 Olive Branch Way. His topic is "Jewish Faith, Thought and Spirituality in the 21st Century. " Green has lectured widely throughout the United States and the world.

In 2008, I wrote a book called "Liberal Fascism. " That title came from H.G. Wells, one of the most important socialist writers in the English language. He believed, as did his fellow Fabian socialists, that Western democratic capitalism had outlived its usefulness. What was needed was a new, bold, forward-thinking system run by experts with access to the most modern techniques. For Wells, the label for such a system mattered less than the imperative that we implement a revolution-from-above.

For the better part of a decade, Sister Nancy Murray has been performing onstage throughout the world in a one-woman play that tells the story of St. Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century Italian teenager who was instrumental in restoring the papacy to Rome and who remains, more than half a millennium after her death, one of her country's most prolific authors. And yet, it's hardly a role as a saint that piques people's curiosity most about Sister Nancy, at least at first blush. Saints are one thing, but what people really want to hear about is her brother Bill - Bill Murray, "Saturday Night Live" alumnus, Oscar-nominated actor, the guy who whispered something into Scarlett Johansson's ear in the movie "Lost in Translation" that people are still trying to figure out. Sister Nancy, speaking over the phone from her order's headquarters in southern Michigan, offers an easy laugh and a welcoming conversational style.

People, I ask you whether all this absurd noise over contraceptives is worth our time and attention ("O'Brien's quixotic fight," Feb. 9)? This is the 21st century, for heaven's - or any other entity's - sake. What hypocrisy! What demagoguery! Enough! Mary Beacom Bowers, Baltimore

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy revives big-band music from the '40s and '50s for the 21st century. Join the band for a "Swingin' Holiday Party" at Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, on Sunday. Tickets are $25-$31 and can be ordered by calling 410-244-1131 or visiting ramsheadlive.com.

I read your editorial, "Kimco might learn a thing or two from Long Reach center," about the development in the Long Reach Village Center compared to the problems of the Wilde Lake Village Center. As a property owner in Wilde Lake, I have attended many meetings only to leave in great frustration. Kimco Realty proposed many attractive redevelopment programs only to be rejected. Many people want "things the way they were," with an anchor supermarket where the Giant used to be. A common objection to the development plans was traffic.

"Houston, we have a problem. " In reading The Sun's recent editorial on transportation funding, ("Congress creates a transportation time bomb," Sept. 6), I was reminded of Astronaut Jim Lovell's famous words during the ill-fated Apollo 13 space mission of 1970. At that time, a team of men and women from Mission Control worked under tight deadlines to undertake a historic rescue. Members of Congress need to take similar action today by approving a transportation funding package to keep our economy and infrastructure from further decay.