Campaign

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

A group of journalists and freedom of information campaigners are suing in federal court in Baltimore to get greater access to proceedings in the military trial of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning who is accused of leaking thousands of classified documents. The suit was brought by Julian Assange, the organizer behind WikiLeaks, Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald, The Nation opinion journal and other organizations. It asks for access to filings in the case, orders of the court and transcripts or audio recordings of the proceedings.

Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a method that seems to address the major hurdles — a website that supplies free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Michael Dresser 's recent article, "Brown to launch run for governor" (May 10), was very troubling. For example, an implication is made that the only credible candidates in the election are those who have big, fat finance accounts. In addition, Mr. Dresser goes into speculative mode whereby he makes an assessment regarding who Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown's competitors might be. He suggests names of rivals that typify the aspirations of people who hold political office today - that is to say, career politicians who want to expand their personal power and fame.

Why does The Sun allow Dan Rodricks to have a column on the front page with his idiotic views ("Drawing the line in cutthroat business of politics," Dec. 7)? In his column, he points out the use of fraud to get people to go to the polls is illegal in Maryland and wants to bash Paul Schurick for doing so. He fails to allude to all the signs for President Barack Obama that appeared during the 2010 election in African American communities in an attempt to get blacks to believe they needed to go to the polls to vote for Mr. Obama.

So much for the mother's milk of American politics. In Baltimore, it's orange juice. Del. Keiffer Mitchell endorsed Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's re-election campaign in a video released Monday -- one day she drew crowds to his OJ stand at the farmers' market. Coincidence? Mitchell copped to the quid pro quo when I spoke with him just now. He said Mayor SRB came by his stand Sunday. She wasn't buying, but her photographer took a glass of juice. Soon a crowd gathered to see the mayor, and suddenly Mitchell was squeezing up a storm.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be campaigning in Western Maryland ahead of Tuesday's primary. Gingrich is scheduled to hold a rally at the Frederick Motor Company at 11 a.m. Monday and to speak at Hood College at 2 p.m. Hood spokesman Dave Diehl tells The Frederick News-Post that Gingrich's campaign called the college's director of student activities to schedule the visit. Gingrich will meet with student Republicans after his speech. Gingrich has conceded that Mitt Romney is the likely Republican nominee, and his campaign laid off one-third of its staff last week to save money.

The article entitled "Outside money cements place on Capitol Hill" (Oct. 21) really disgusted me. I realize that the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for corporations supporting candidates and that is a separate issue, but the net concept is the same. Why would corporations and individuals blow so much money on campaigns if they truly got nothing in return? In an economy where thousands are barely surviving and corporations have cut jobs, why is dumping millions of dollars to support a candidate a good idea?

Once again, The Sun urges the institution of public campaign financing, implying that if such a plan were instituted, private campaign contributions would disappear and we'd all live happily ever after ("Appearance of conflict," Nov. 29). Nothing could be further from the truth. For one thing, there is that pesky First Amendment. For another, as our president demonstrated in his 2008 campaign, if you have enough private contributions, you can finance a campaign very nicely without utilizing public financing.

The United Way's 28th annual Haverst for the Hungry campaign is underway. The food-collection drive continues through Saturday. It's simple. You just leave non-perishable goods by your own mailbox and your letter carrier will pick up your donation and get it to the right folks. For more information and guidelines about what to donate, go to Harvest for the Hungry website . You can also donate money through Give Corps , and if you do you'll be eligible for a $20-off deal from Tapas Teatro . Other partners for the Harvest for the Hungry include Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the United States Postal Service, WBAL-TV 11, The Baltimore Sun Media Group, Safeway and Girl Scouts of Central Maryland.

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice will be the first player featured during the upcoming season in USA's "NFL Characters Unite" campaign, the cable channel will announce later today. Rice will also announce an expanded relationship between the NFL and USA at the upfront TV presentations in New York City later today. Here's the release from USA: NEW YORK - May 16, 2012 - USA Network announced today that it is expanding its Characters Unite collaboration with the National Football League.

The fight over the federal minimum wage is coming to Baltimore. The head of the U.S. Department of Labor plans to swing into town Tuesday to talk to low-wage workers about how they make — or don't make — ends meet. Seth D. Harris, the agency's acting secretary, has crisscrossed the country for such events since President Barack Obama proposed in February that the minimum be raised from $7.25 an hour to $9. "The president during the State of the Union said that it's an outrage that in the richest country on earth that people are working full time and still living in poverty," Harris said in a telephone interview Monday.

Seeking to emerge from the long shadow of Gov. Martin O'Malley, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown will make official Friday what everyone in Maryland politics has known for a long time: He's running for governor. Brown, 51, will announce his candidacy in his home county of Prince George's, where he started his political career. He enters the race with polls showing him as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in a state where his party enjoys a 2-to-1 advantage in voter registration.

In its first 15 months, the United Way of Central Maryland's Access to Healthy Food Initiative distributed more than 3.4 million pounds of groceries to low-income individuals and families, the organization said. But because spring and summer are slow times for food donations, the UWCM is holding its first Families Living United Healthy Food Week campaign , which continues through Saturday. Businesses, schools and organizations are being encouraged to conduct their own drives.

Richard E. "Dick" Hug, a prominent businessman and prolific fundraiser for Republican candidates, died Saturday. He was 78. Mr. Hug was the finance chairman for three Maryland gubernatorial campaigns - Ellen R. Sauerbrey in 1998 and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in 2002 and 2006 - becoming known as the $6 million man after he raised that amount for Mrs. Sauerbrey's unsuccessful attempt to unseat Gov. Parris N. Glendening. He belonged to numerous civic boards and associations, including the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, and he served a stint as chairman of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman said she's taken steps toward running in 2014 for a full term. While the Republican hasn't declared her candidacy officially, Neuman said in an interview Thursday she's filed the paperwork to form a campaign committee. The only office she's considering is county executive. "I've had a tremendous amount of support from the community," she said. "I wanted to at least explore the idea. " The County Council selected Neuman as county executive on Feb. 21 after the resignation of John R. Leopold, who was found guilty of misconduct in office.

State Sen. Rob Garagiola will report raising $330,000 for his Democratic bid for Congress, a campaign official said Tuesday -- a haul that is twice as large as what Republican incumbent Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett is expected to report bringing in over the same period. Garagiola, who is running in Maryland's newly redrawn 6th Congressional District, formally entered the race in November and has been working aggressively behind the scenes to line up political and financial support.

Gov. Martin O'Malley will spend Martin Luther King Day on the hustings in South Carolina trying to convince GOP primary voters not to support Republican Mitt Romney for president. Maryland's governor will appear with a South Carolina state representative at a Myrtle Beach news conference where he will will accuse Romney of "job destruction," according to a news release. O'Malley, a Democrat, is scheduled to be back in Annapolis by Tuesday, when he's set to brief fiscal leaders and some county executives on his budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. O'Malley's role as a surrogate on the presidential campaign trail is the latest way in which he is using his chairmanship of  the Democratic Governors Association to burnish his national profile.

More than a year after a Howard County teen committed suicide following months of online harassment, county officials unveiled a program Wednesday meant to discourage bullying via computer and in person. "We know we need bold steps to really, truly take on this issue," Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said. "We need a full community solution. " The effort — which could start in the fall if the County Council approves a funding request of $250,000 —would use a mobile application called Sprigeo, an online reporting system that's already in use in about 20 school systems around the country, as a way to make it easier for witnesses to report bullying.

Editor: My name is Joe Fleckenstein, and I'm a Steering Committee Member with the Harford County Campaign for Liberty.  This Saturday, May 4 from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Havre de Grace, the Harford County Campaign for Liberty (www.harfordliberty.org) and Maryland Liberty Political Action Committee (www.marylandliberty.org) will be leading a Pro Second Amendment Protest against Gov. Martin O'Malley, who will be speaking at Havre de Grace's 200-year Commemoration of Maryland's role in the War of 1812.