Dan Rodricks

Hiring practices allow new chances Sunday's column by Dan Rodricks unfairly criticizes the Archdiocese of Baltimore's actions and responses on the termination of a parish employee with a criminal record ("Church's `scandal' is others' kindness," Nov. 18). Mr. Rodricks paints a picture of inconsistent responses by the archdiocese to media questions about this employee. But he fails to mention that he named the employee in question when asking about his offenses. Because of privacy concerns, the church, like other employers, generally does not disclose such information about specific employees.

County is losing affordable housing Kudos to Josh Mitchell ("More seeking U.S. rent subsidy," Dec. 17) and to Dan Rodricks ("County AWOL on affordable housing," Dec. 20) for shedding light on the growing affordable-housing crisis in Baltimore County. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that between 2000 and 2006, the percentage of people living below the poverty line in Baltimore County rose from 6.5 percent to 8.4 percent. Yet during this same period, Baltimore County has continued a trend of demolishing low-income rental housing.

Improving salaries and training will help serve abused 0) childrenThe numerous articles, editorials and letters to the editor on the murder of Rita Fisher published in The Sun in recent weeks give ample testimony the reality and the tragedy of child abuse and the consequences of our failure to stop it.In his May 1, "We can't get off cheaply in protecting our children," Dan Rodricks emphasizes the folly of trying to protect children with an underpaid and...

Congress must help MARC in CSX disputeI am a regular commuter on the Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) train from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Union Station in Washington. I recently learned that CSX Transportation is attempting to raise the Mass Transit Administration's cost of operation to such a high level that MARC fares would be doubled, making commuting by train completely unfeasible for me and, I believe, for most customers, or drive MARC off the tracks entirely.At present, the MTA is negotiating an operating agreement with CSX Transportation, which owns and maintains the track on which the Camden and Brunswick MARC trains run. It is clear the MTA needs the same right that Congress has given AMTRAK to operate over any track it requires to provide efficient service.

Here's something to chew on today: Gene Michaels, a Republican candidate for Baltimore City Council, is offering an ancient solution to crime. (Ah, the old ones -- caning, electrocution -- are the best ones, no?) This solution is kinder and gentler than most. Ready?Banishment.Michaels wants to banish Maryland's nonviolent repeat offenders. He wants to give them a one-way ticket to Somewhere Else, U.S.A.Michaels' "Rules of Banishment," presented at a candidates forum in Northeast Baltimore the other night, are as follows: "(1)

Havre de Grace. -- The Baltimore-based police drama ''Homicide'' is back on network television for a four-episode run, and not everyone seems happy about that.Locally, there's unease in the image-polishing community. In Maryland, we all know that Baltimore has become one of the murder capitals of the nation, if not the world. In 1993 it had a homicide every 24 hours and 47 minutes. But those concerned with attracting tourists, conventions and corporations to the neighborhood would just as soon not have the entire nation reminded of this civic achievement for four Thursdays in a row at prime time.

In an age in which, if we trust Time magazine, most Americans believe in angels and The Sun has carried news of people who've had sex with extraterrestrials, there remains a need for the powerful antidote to quackery offered by H. L. Mencken.But the City That Reads doesn't read "the Attila of critics," and so the publication of the first biography of the great iconoclast in a quarter of a century -- Fred Hobson's comprehensive "Mencken" -- is less of an event than a new John Waters movie or the resuscitation of TV's "Homicide," which brings so much honor to Charm City.

Dan Rodricks is on vacation. His column will resume when he returns.April Fool!Man goes to the automatic teller machine in a Giant. He asks for $60 from his checking account. Eighty dollars drops out of the machine. The printed receipt indicates the man's account has been debited only the $60 he requested. He reports this at the courtesy booth. He's told to "Check with your bank."Right. The bank. The bank that charges $25 each time the man's checking account is overdrawn by a buck-fifty. The bank that charges 50 cents for a telephone transfer from savings to checking.

The pending switch of "The Rush Limbaugh Show" from WCBM-AM (680) to local talk leader WBAL-AM (1090) was still a matter of hearsay yesterday to officials at the station losing the provocative talk-show host next year."

Legalize drugs and use the death penaltyYes, I believe in rehabilitation of criminals, but some criminals cannot be rehabilitated. Those are the born criminals. Psychologists and psychiatrists know this.As a former teacher, I saw many young students who developed a continuous pattern of resisting authority, leading to a potential criminal life. I and many of my colleagues have seen in the media criminals who once were authority-resisting students.The justice system in this country is too lenient.

Make Wall St. repay those big bonuses I read with interest Dan Rodricks' commentary on the corporate greed of Wall Street, and I agree with the outrage he expressed ("A new low for corporate greed," Commentary, Feb. 1). In recent weeks, we have heard countless people - from the president to elected representatives on down to the person on the street - decrying the outrageous bonuses handed out by the very Wall Street financial institutions we taxpayers have bailed out. When will we stop making our outrage known and start taking legal action to regain the money they have taken and used in such a greedy and selfish way?

I would make two points in response to Dan Rodricks' thoughtful endorsement of expanding national service programs and opportunities ("Americans poised to heed Obama's call to service," Commentary, Jan. 25). Mr. Rodricks writes that President Barack Obama should include increased funds for national service programs such as AmeriCorps in the economy recovery plan. The House of Representatives has anticipated Mr. Rodricks' idea and included $200 million for 16,000 additional AmeriCorps members to meet the needs of vulnerable populations during the recession in the stimulus bill it passed.

Crab boycott ignores complexity of issue Dan Rodricks recently reminded readers of his boycott of crabs - while imploring others to join him ("Love crabs? Don't eat them," Commentary, Jan. 4). Mr. Rodricks also suggests that a moratorium on the crab harvest is the answer to the faltering crab population, as it was for the rockfish dilemma. But I beg to differ. For one thing, because of the rockfish moratorium and extreme regulations on the rockfish catch (commercial and recreational), there are now too many rockfish.

Beginning today,The Baltimore Sun introduces several changes in its pages. * Money & Life moves inside the front news section. Features such as Eileen Ambrose's personal finance column and various articles and features on consumer and financial news will remain part of our Sunday coverage in this space. Mutual fund information is available online at baltimoresun.com/business. * TV Week and the comics will be combined into one section. The new TV & Comics section will feature color-coded grids for movies, sports and news programming, and we have brought back the old crossword puzzle that readers said they preferred.

Wealthy don't pay fair share of taxes Kudos to Dan Rodricks for raising the subject of tax fairness ("Well-to-do go to war over the U.S. income gap," Oct. 21). The fact is that the rich have not been paying their fair share for many years. Warren E. Buffett pointed out recently that he pays a lower total tax rate than his secretary does. This is not a unique case, considering reductions in tax rates for the wealthy under President Bush as well as the many tax loopholes and evasions available to them.

Wealthy already pay lion's share of taxes In his column "It's a 30-year sneak attack in America's class war" (Oct. 19), Dan Rodricks continues the propaganda of misinformation by the media and Democrats that suggests the wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes. According to the Tax Foundation, in 2006, taxpayers with incomes of $153,000 and greater (the top 5 percent of earners) paid 60 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent (with incomes greater than $388,000)

Better mobility boosts economy In "ICC? It's time to see to more urgent needs instead" (Sept. 21), Dan Rodricks seems to have forgotten that the Intercounty Connector - which will be the most environmentally sensitive road ever built in Maryland - will support regional jobs and statewide mobility that will help Montgomery County and its neighbors continue to deliver the significant tax revenue that helps fund everything else in the state. So the ICC will, in the long run, be just as useful to Baltimore's success as the current $1.1 billion Interstate 95 toll road project north of Baltimore, or the state's payment of a huge percentage of the city's transportation costs.

WYPR's firing of Marc Steiner generated much gnashing of teeth and bemoaning of the state of public radio. I don't have an opinion on Marc Steiner one way or the other; I don't listen to WYPR because its progressive tilt does not appeal to me. However, in nearly all press and opinion accounts, the comparisons of Mr. Steiner's show with conservative talk radio were vapid at best, and at worst a slur upon conservative talk-radio listeners. Baltimore Examiner columnist Michael Olesker described Mr. Steiner's show as a format where "smart, informed people shared the news and the cultural trends of the day. ... It wasn't a chorus line of ditto-heads echoing each other's cheap shots; it was a true marketplace exchange of ideas."

County is losing affordable housing Kudos to Josh Mitchell ("More seeking U.S. rent subsidy," Dec. 17) and to Dan Rodricks ("County AWOL on affordable housing," Dec. 20) for shedding light on the growing affordable-housing crisis in Baltimore County. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that between 2000 and 2006, the percentage of people living below the poverty line in Baltimore County rose from 6.5 percent to 8.4 percent. Yet during this same period, Baltimore County has continued a trend of demolishing low-income rental housing.

Hiring practices allow new chances Sunday's column by Dan Rodricks unfairly criticizes the Archdiocese of Baltimore's actions and responses on the termination of a parish employee with a criminal record ("Church's `scandal' is others' kindness," Nov. 18). Mr. Rodricks paints a picture of inconsistent responses by the archdiocese to media questions about this employee. But he fails to mention that he named the employee in question when asking about his offenses. Because of privacy concerns, the church, like other employers, generally does not disclose such information about specific employees.