Endorsement

State lawmakers appeared to warm Thursday to the Baltimore school system's $2.4 billion building modernization plan that received a chilly reception last year, but the blueprint fell short of garnering the endorsement of the state's public school construction agency. Baltimore City schools CEO Andrés Alonso and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake presented a united front before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, where the two leaders urged members to support a plan that relies on borrowing billions of dollars and a $32 million annual commitment from the state for the next several decades.

Of this, there is not much debate: no one in sports has mastered the pregame speech like Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. And his gift for hyper intense gab - the way he builds to furious crescendo, cajoling those listening to rise up against an enemy that has always committed the ultimate sin of underestimating him and his brethren - will continue to make him money. Whether or not he opts to take on a broadcast role - which can be time consuming - Lewis will spend part of his future getting paid to talk.

Forty-three years of letters, photographs, campaign buttons, itineraries and the occasional miniature flag are crammed into 2,000 fat binders lining three walls - floor to ceiling - of a storage room in the University of Maryland School of Law. They amount to a meticulous chronicle of Larry S. Gibson's professional life from 1965, when he was still a law student, to 2008, when he was active in a presidential election in Ghana. And that doesn't include 160 binders worth of material that's still in boxes, plus 200 more at Gibson's home and his law school office.

It has become obvious that early voting has become a hit in Maryland. Over 430,000 residents - 11.7 percent of eligible voters - chose to exercise their right to participate is this very important component of the American election process ("Voting resumes at record pace," Nov. 1). Hopefully, more Marylanders will be encouraged to participate as the kinks in the system are worked out, particularly the need for more early voting centers. I also found it somewhat irksome that The Sun waited until early voting was completed to publish its presidential endorsement.

The Sun's editorial board apparently does not read its own reporting ("Obama for president," Nov. 4). Investigations and conclusions of the various reporters and responders have written dissertations that are the polar opposites with the campaign sound bites displayed in "The Record. " Moreover, the board is ignorant of the Constitution and just how it is supposed to work. Any president can push, prod, cajole, and even legislatively bribe to get what he wants but he can not command it to be done and have it done only his way. One would think that with majorities in the House and Senate for President Barack Obama's first two years that crafting and passing a budget would be a first base kind of project.

// Obama for president //   Four years ago, President Barack Obama took office as the economy was in steep decline with millions in the process of losing their jobs, the nation was locked in seemingly endless military conflicts, Wall Street firms were getting bailed out but not held accountable and a growing number of Americans were unable to afford health insurance. Today, the economy is growing, albeit modestly, the U.S. military has largely withdrawn from Iraq and will do so in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden is dead, the federal government has begun more closely regulating the kind of large banks and finance companies that contributed to the mortgage crisis and health care reform is gradually making sure working Americans can get affordable insurance for themselves and their families -- including those with pre-existing conditions.

Will the negative media coverage created by Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's incendiary remark, "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, it is something that God intended to happen," be drowned in Hurricane Sandy's floodwaters? That would be convenient for Mitt Romney. The GOP presidential nominee offered a brief statement condemning Mr. Mourdock's outrageous view of this important women's health issue, but he made little effort to distance himself from Mr. Mourdock politically.

In a recent letter, the Rev. Tom Harris wrote that "the God of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures is a God of justice and a God of equality for all people" ("Bible, marriage, and the Lord's Prayer," Oct. 25). This statement is so utterly absurd and ridiculous as to compel a response. First of all, what Bible is he reading? I didn't see any citations of passages that support his assertions. There are several passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testaments that clearly condemn homosexuality: Leviticus 20:13, Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 1:27-32, and First Corinthians 6:9-10.

Running Showalters, KidsPeace to host 5K/walk Sat. in Canton Orioles manager Buck Showalter and his wife, Angela , have teamed up with KidsPeace to host the third annual KidsPeace Trick-or-Trot 5K run/one-mile walk Saturday in Canton. The event is open to all ages and features Halloween activities in addition to the race. The entry fee for the run is $35, which includes an Under Armour T-shirt for the first 400 registered runners. Families who plan to do the mile walk will pay $20 and are encouraged to dress in their favorite Halloween costumes.

Just as the sun will rise in the morning, The Sun's readers can expect another pro-Barack Obama or anti-Mitt Romney editorial. Case in point is "Romney the doomsayer," (Oct. 15) which was proceeded the day before by the editorial, "Biden connects" (Oct. 14). While the editorial page is yours to publish as you wish, please stop hiding your outright bias against conservatives and attempting to prejudice current issues for independents. Your masthead that reads, "Light For All," would be more appropriately headed, "Light For Liberals.