Censure

It was refreshing to see The Sun come down on the right side of the Harry Reid and Mitt Romney tax disclosure issue ("Reid goes too far," Aug. 6). What a dishonor that the Senate's majority leader, of all people, misused his position to spread phony accusations backed up by not a sliver of evidence. The only people who could have revealed anything about Mr. Romney's personal tax returns are the Romneys, their accountant and the IRS. Could there be any more reason for Senator Reid's censure than lying on the Senate floor?

It was refreshing to see The Sun come down on the right side of the Harry Reid and Mitt Romney tax disclosure issue ("Reid goes too far," Aug. 6). What a dishonor that the Senate's majority leader, of all people, misused his position to spread phony accusations backed up by not a sliver of evidence. The only people who could have revealed anything about Mr. Romney's personal tax returns are the Romneys, their accountant and the IRS. Could there be any more reason for Senator Reid's censure than lying on the Senate floor?

I am appalled that two of Maryland's congressional delegation chose to vote against the censure of Charles Rangel for numerous well established ethics violations. By voting against this censure, Reps. Elijah Cummings and Donna Edwards show disrespect for the offices they hold and apparent acceptance of Mr. Rangel's conduct. These two representatives lack credibility and show their obvious racial bias by overlooking these serious violations. I am sure had the vote been toward a white representative (especially a Republican)

Each week The Sun's  John McIntyre  presents a moderately obscure but evocative word with which you may not be familiar - another brick to add to the wall of your working vocabulary. This week's word: ANIMADVERSION Brace yourself if something you have written prompts animadversions. Animadversion (pronounced an-uh-mad-VER-zhun) is formal criticism or censure; animadversions are critical comments or remarks. To animadvert is to produce such criticism.

Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is a thoughtful senator, and in many ways quite admirable. But his proposal to censure President Bush as a means of holding him accountable for secretly approving warrantless wiretaps of Americans on American soil looks too much like a political ploy, and it threatens to taint further debate on this vital constitutional issue. Not even Mr. Feingold's fellow Democrats are joining him in a crusade they fear will only build sympathy for an embattled president.

The Maryland Senate voted unanimously Friday to censure Sen. Ulysses Currie for numerous violations of ethics laws stemming from his failure to disclose that he was being paid by a grocery chain when he sought help for the company from state agencies. Currie, once a powerful committee chairman, apologized to the Senate for his conduct — then voted along with his 46 colleagues for the resolution of censure. "I'm a person with flaws, and I do have weaknesses," he said. Choking up toward the end of his statement, the Prince George's Democrat thanked senators for their support over the past five years, during which he was the subject of a federal investigation, an indictment and a trial in which he was acquitted of bribery and extortion charges.

The General Assembly's joint ethics committee has recommended unanimously that the Senate censure Sen. Ulysses Currie, once a powerful committee chairman, for failing to disclose that he was being paid to represent a grocery chain before state agencies. In what would be the harshest action taken against a legislator since 1998, the ethics panel also urged senators to strip Currie "immediately and permanently" of all but one committee assignment and to bar him from any role in House-Senate negotiations to resolve differences over bills.

A leading government watchdog organization has called on the Maryland Senate to censure state Sen. Ulysses Currie, the once-powerful budget committee chairman who was acquitted of political corruption charges this week. Susan Wichmann, executive director of Maryland Common Cause, said Wednesday that the Prince George's County Democrat deserves punishment for his failure to disclose his employment by Shoppers Food Warehouse at a time when he was intervening with state officials on the grocery chain's behalf.

A nationwide organization of college professors has censured Essex Community College officials for firing four professors from tenured positions two years ago.The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) acted a committee finding that the school had violated principles governing academic freedom and the traditional job security of tenure, associate secretary Robert Kreiser said yesterday."Censure is a statement to the academic community that conditions for academic freedom and tenure are not sound," he said of Saturday's censure vote.

The worst congressional condemnation ever suffered by one of the nation's strongest presidents, Andrew Jackson, may now be the best that Bill Clinton can hope for: censure.Yet in vehemently contesting Congress' right to censure him, Jackson and his close adviser, Maryland's Roger B. Taney, forcefully argued on behalf of a principle now firmly established in our system of government -- the role of the president as a representative of all the people and responsible to them, not to the Congress.

The Maryland Senate voted unanimously Friday to censure Sen. Ulysses Currie for numerous violations of ethics laws stemming from his failure to disclose that he was being paid by a grocery chain when he sought help for the company from state agencies. Currie, once a powerful committee chairman, apologized to the Senate for his conduct — then voted along with his 46 colleagues for the resolution of censure. "I'm a person with flaws, and I do have weaknesses," he said. Choking up toward the end of his statement, the Prince George's Democrat thanked senators for their support over the past five years, during which he was the subject of a federal investigation, an indictment and a trial in which he was acquitted of bribery and extortion charges.

The General Assembly's joint ethics committee has recommended unanimously that the Senate censure Sen. Ulysses Currie, once a powerful committee chairman, for failing to disclose that he was being paid to represent a grocery chain before state agencies. In what would be the harshest action taken against a legislator since 1998, the ethics panel also urged senators to strip Currie "immediately and permanently" of all but one committee assignment and to bar him from any role in House-Senate negotiations to resolve differences over bills.

A leading government watchdog organization has called on the Maryland Senate to censure state Sen. Ulysses Currie, the once-powerful budget committee chairman who was acquitted of political corruption charges this week. Susan Wichmann, executive director of Maryland Common Cause, said Wednesday that the Prince George's County Democrat deserves punishment for his failure to disclose his employment by Shoppers Food Warehouse at a time when he was intervening with state officials on the grocery chain's behalf.

I was quite surprised to read in The Sun that the Howard County Board of Education had voted to ask the State Board Education to remove Allen Dyer ("Howard Board of Education votes to request removal of member Dyer," June 10). But not really. It may be that the "old guard" on the BOE has been out to hinder any initiatives proposed by Mr. Dyer since he was elected, by the people of Howard County. He has always advocated for open meetings and transparency in the workings of the BOE within the constraints of state law. Rather than meet Mr. Dyer half-way, the old guard would not give him the courtesy of a second to most of his motions.

Anyone who intentionally withholds food from an elderly or disabled person in their care, or leaves them unprotected from the elements, can be prosecuted under Maryland law for neglect of a vulnerable adult. A pet owner who shirks responsibility for feeding and caring for an animal can likewise be hauled into court on criminal charges. But a parent who deliberately and repeatedly neglects the basic physical needs of his or her child faces no such threat of penalty — because Maryland is the only state in the union in which child neglect is not a crime.

I am appalled that two of Maryland's congressional delegation chose to vote against the censure of Charles Rangel for numerous well established ethics violations. By voting against this censure, Reps. Elijah Cummings and Donna Edwards show disrespect for the offices they hold and apparent acceptance of Mr. Rangel's conduct. These two representatives lack credibility and show their obvious racial bias by overlooking these serious violations. I am sure had the vote been toward a white representative (especially a Republican)

ON ALL SIDES, appeals grow for the Senate to censure President Clinton rather than remove him from office. More than lTC a century has elapsed since the Senate's only presidential impeachment trial, and few people in or out of that body know how it will go.Senators of both parties are leaning on the expertise of Sen. Robert Byrd, the 81-year-old former majority leader from West Virginia who is respected with a bipartisan collegiality.The growing national consensus is that the accusations against President Clinton are not what the Constitution means by "other high crimes or misdemeanors."

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Peter T. King of New York became the first Republican to propose that the House censure President Clinton, making a last-ditch effort yesterday to drum up Republican support for a punishment that falls short of impeachment.But King's claim that at least 20 other moderate Republicans had helped draft his resolution could not be verified. Even the half-dozen Republicans who have declared their opposition to impeachment say they have not signed on to King's proposal.The House seems likely to approve this month one article of impeachment on perjury, a vote that would make Clinton the second president to face trial in the Senate.

It's perfectly reasonable that officials at the Community College of Baltimore County were concerned when they read Iraq War veteran Charles Whittington's essay in the school newspaper. What Mr. Whittington wrote, including an admission that he had become addicted to the violence of war, is truly disturbing. And ultimately, what the college is asking of him — a psychological evaluation to make sure the zeal for killing he describes acquiring in combat doesn't translate to civilian life — is not so onerous.

Three of Charlotte's finest came rushing down the slope with all the urgency that might accompany a hazardous materials leak. Within moments, one male spectator found himself being led away swiftly from the Quail Hollow Championship's 17th green. When the man's buddy stood up to complain, the other officers descended for a round of sharp conversation. "Do you want to give Charlotte a bad reputation?" one officer asked, cutting off the man's response to ask the question again.