Argument

The woman who says she represents North American Power is not telling the truth about the benefits of buying electricity from her company. "You can save up to 10, 15, 20 percent of your bill, depending on your usage," she says in a telemarketing call to my house. But the rate she eventually quotes is only about 7 percent less than the standard price offered by Baltimore Gas & Electric — something the average customer would have no way of knowing. And of course the percentage savings won't vary even if my "usage" goes up to that of a steel mill.

Columnist Thomas Schaller makes a very solid argument about the relative ability of the government and free markets to get things done ("Government is flawed, but markets are too," May 15). His critics' arguments, however, fall flat. One reader wrote that competition in the private sector this leads to greater efficiency and better outcomes. But this argument fails to take into account the effect of monopolies and oligopolies on the supposed free market. Many industries are so expensive to get into that only a few players run the show (think of cable TV and energy)

The merriment of holiday shopping was jarred last night by violence on the parking lot of Owings Mills mall, as a young man was shot to death after an argument, Baltimore County police said. The victim, identified as Kevin Mehdi Garmzaban, 18, of the 6700 block of Sunset Drive in Eldersburg, was shot in the upper body at 6:30 p.m. several hundred feet from the nearest store - Macy's - in a killing that a police spokeswoman emphasized was not a random act of violence. Cpl. Vickie Warehime, the spokeswoman, said Garmzaban was with two male friends when two others approached them near the department store and asked for a ride.

A teenager was shot in the left buttock late Saturday night after an argument between two groups of men escalated in East Baltimore, police said Sunday. The 19-year-old victim was sent to Johns Hopkins Hospital with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening, said Det. Donny Moses, a police spokesman. The teenager and his friends were walking home from a party when they were approached by other men and the two groups began arguing, Moses said. The second group ran off, then returned, and one of the men in that group fired a handgun at the 19-year-old and his friends, the detective said.

More venom dripping from the fangs of many of the usual suspects today in the reader comments attached to the story of the midday armed robbery of a jewelry store in the Columbia mall. Much of the banter centers on the idea that bringing mass transit into Columbia from Baltimore and Washington will make such incidents more frequent. One commenter got blasted by others for suggesting that this premise constitutes thinly veiled racism. OK, for the sake of civility, I’ll take that protestation at face value.

So now the Republicans want to turn the debate over requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives into a debate about religious freedom? They argue no one should be forced to support (with their tax dollars) activities that conflict with their religious views. I'll set aside for the moment the argument that insurers covering free contraceptives actually save money in the long run due to reduced health-care costs. I'll also set aside the fact that most Catholic women don't agree with the all-male bishopric that is setting the rules for them.

A 68-year-old Baltimore man was in custody Friday, accused of killing his brother in a Thanksgiving Day argument. Harry Patterson Jr., who turns 69 Saturday, has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, two assault counts and a weapons charge after the stabbing death of his younger sibling, Robin Patterson, 51. Police said the incident occurred Thursday in the 4400 block of Belvieu Ave., and stemmed from an argument between...

AUSTIN, Texas - Congratulations to the Supreme Court on its 6-3 decision in the Texas sodomy law case and to all those, including the gay rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union, who have fought so long and hard to rid the legal system of this manifest injustice. The Sunday chat shows featured a number of curious contentions over this legal decision: It was interesting to see rank bigotry against gays trying to disguise itself as a legal argument. Justice Antonin Scalia was foremost in this camp, throwing a public tantrum devoid of legal reasoning over the decision.

Police released have released new details about a double shooting that occurred early Monday in the Cedmont neighborhood in northeast Baltimore. The two men were shot around 1:35 a.m. police said, after getting into an argument with a third man who then pulled a gun on them. Police responded to a report of a shooting in the 4200 block of Belmar Ave. at 1:37 a.m., and found the makings of a crime scene, including blood, said Det. Kevin Brown, a police spokesman. Police were then called to a local hospital, where they found the two shooting victims, one with gunshot wounds in the leg and arm, and the other with a gunshot wound to the hip. A police investigation found that the two men got into a verbal dispute with another man after leaving a bar. The man pulled out a handgun and shot the two men as they tried to flee on foot.

Friday marks 75 years since repeal of the Volstead Act, which made the manufacture, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. As the anniversary of the end of Prohibition approaches, modern advocates of a similar repeal are calling again for the decriminalization of heroin, cocaine and marijuana - and this time they've come packing a money argument by a Harvard economist. I like money arguments. They are usually a lot more effective than emotional ones or those that exploit stubborn prejudices with the intent of maintaining the status quo. As the American economy recedes, state and local tax revenues fall and government budgets are cut, the money argument for changing the way we do things - from enforcing the laws to educating children - makes the most sense and has the strongest appeal.

Political consultant Julius Henson's attorney used a stack of fake oversized money, invoked slavery and called prosecutors' election fraud case against his client a "bunch of bull-honky" during his closing argument Wednesday afternoon. Using props, charts and a blend of humor and outrage, Edward Smith Jr. talked to the jury for an hour, shifting his style between folksy and erudite. He quoted lyrics from the song "Backstabbers" by the O'Jays, showed jurors a photo of what he called a "twisted" man meant to represent the prosecution, and recommended that the deputy state prosecutor "just walk out the door right now" rather than present his arguments.

The judge presiding over the trial of two brothers accused of assaulting a teen in Northwest Baltimore plans to give her ruling in the case Thursday afternoon. Baltimore Circuit Judge Pamela J. White has heard a week of arguments in the bench trial of Eliyahu Werdesheim, 24, and his brother, Avi Werdesheim, 22. After the prosecutor and defense attorneys completed their closing statements Wednesday afternoon, White told them that she expects to issue her verdict at 3 p.m. Thursday.

A 39-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the arm and back in an 11:15 p.m. shooting Friday in the Park Heights area, police said. Officers responded to the 5000 block of Palmer Avenue where they found the victim, who was listed in good condition at an area hospital Saturday, police spokesman Donny Moses said. Witnesses said they saw the victim arguing with a second man, who pulled a gun and opened fire, Moses said. No further information was available on the suspect or a motive.

Baltimore County police are investigating a stabbing early Wednesday in Dundalk. An unidentified man was found with a knife wound at 12:50 a.m. near the intersection of Dunmanway and Liberty Parkway. The victim was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital with injuries that are not life threatening, police said. Investigators said they have no suspect at this point and have yet to determine whether the assault was random or connected to a robbery or an argument. Mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Two Brooklyn Park men were stabbed early Thursday at their home during an argument that involved several family members. Anne Arundel County Police responded at 2:37 a.m. to a report of domestic violence in the 5300 block of Fourth Street. Two victims, men aged 19 and 48, were suffering from stab wounds. Officers learned that, prior to calling police, several family members were involved in an argument and had ordered one male relative to leave the residence. The man left, but returned a short time later and forcibly entered the home, police said.

Anne Arundel County police have charged a 44-year-old Glen Burnie man with attempted second-degree murder and assault in connection with a domestic violence incident Thursday night in Linthicum. David William Wright of the 100 block of Linwood Ave. was located on Andover Road, after police said he fled the home of the woman he is accused of shooting. Police were called at 11:23 p.m. to the woman's home in the 800 block of White Ave. in Linthicum. They found the 59-year-old woman suffering from a gunshot wound to her lower chest.

I briefly abandoned Baltimore in favor of Philadelphia last weekend to celebrate the only international holiday I know of that is devoted to a single work of art. It was a powerful argument for the joys to be found in immediacy.The celebrated work was James Joyce's novel "Ulysses," the greatest of literature's Great Unread Books. The holiday is "Bloomsday," June 16, anniversary of the day in 1904 in which the book's principal events fictionally took place.There is sound argument that "Ulysses" is the most influential novel written in English in the 20th century.

A 45-year-old man was stabbed in the neck and killed Thursday afternoon after getting into an argument at a busy bus stop at North and Greenmount avenues. The victim, who has not been identified, was waiting for the bus before 1 p.m. when he got into an argument with a young woman, said Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman. The argument escalated, and a male companion of the woman began fighting with the victim, he said. He was stabbed in the neck and ended up across the street at a Rite Aid drugstore.

Lawyers on both sides of the legal fight over a vacant Anne Arundel County Council seat argued Wednesday in county Circuit Court about whether the council had the authority to remove a member who was sentenced to prison. Former Councilman Daryl D. Jones, a Democrat from Severn, has sued the county in an attempt to hold onto his seat representing District 1. The County Council in January unanimously voted to vacate Jones' seat when he began serving a five-month federal prison sentence.

The killing of an American-born al-Qaida leader by a drone strike in Yemen last year raised troubling questions about whether the government can legally target U.S. citizens abroad against whom it has presented no evidence and who have never been charged with a crime. This week, Attorney General Eric H. Holder appeared before Congress to assure members that such targeted killings are lawful, but it can't be said his arguments were entirely convincing. Mr. Holder claimed the Constitution gives the president authority to strike suspected terrorists anywhere in the world — including U.S. citizens — if he believes they represent an "imminent threat" to the nation's security.