False Accusations

"Would you like to come back to my place for a drink? I'd love to show you my etchings and introduce you to my attorney."If Mel Feit had his way, such would be the come-on line of the '90s. The National Center for Men, a New York-based men's rights organization of which Mr. Feit is executive director, is distributing a "Consensual Sex Contract" for couples to sign before becoming intimate.The contract outlines the parties' specific intentions in the relationship: "We want to have a relationship that may lead to sexual intercourse."

The recent deluge of children from Central America entering the country illegally is not President Barack Obama's fault alone ( "America's refugee crisis," July 9). We sell chicken to Central America cheaper than farmers there can raise their own, causing them to look for other ways to feed their families. We import billions of dollars worth of drugs from the region, creating conditions that make normal life there impossible, then we complain when people try to flee. Our problem is that the difficulties we have created are so complex that no politician wants to try to solve them alone, nor would anyone be able to succeed alone.

A shabby episode in the Clinton administration appears on its way to conclusion. Five employees summarily fired amid false accusations of mishandling travel office funds have now been cleared by the Justice Department. Two supervisors are still under investigation. However that probe turns out, the conclusion is inescapable that senior White House officials violated laws or long-standing and well-founded regulations and procedures.Thomas F. McLarty III, the White House chief of staff, has already said his mea culpas over the abrupt and groundless discharge of the travel office employees amid broad insinuations of corruption.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. What are your thoughts on Maryland's just-released basketball schedule ? Jeff Barker: A few thoughts: ** True to his word, Mark Turgeon is slowly starting to elevate the nonconference schedule. There's a balance to be struck. You want to play some (but not too many) early home games that boost your victory total and your bottom line, and get you accustomed to playing together under game conditions.

The recent deluge of children from Central America entering the country illegally is not President Barack Obama's fault alone ( "America's refugee crisis," July 9). We sell chicken to Central America cheaper than farmers there can raise their own, causing them to look for other ways to feed their families. We import billions of dollars worth of drugs from the region, creating conditions that make normal life there impossible, then we complain when people try to flee. Our problem is that the difficulties we have created are so complex that no politician wants to try to solve them alone, nor would anyone be able to succeed alone.

Teachers frustrated by the length of the investigation process Frustrated by assault allegations that can take months to investigate, union leaders and teachers at a western Baltimore County elementary school are demanding that schools officials speed up the process to return innocent educators more quickly to their classrooms. Teachers also are increasingly troubled that some students are making false accusations because they have learned that the school system's policy is to immediately remove accused teachers from the schools while an investigation is conducted, Teachers Association of Baltimore County President Cheryl Bost said yesterday.

Unleashing your sociological imagination is a must! In the days of social media, consumers are bombarded by media images and sound bites that become the "reality" of those who relish in having others think for them. The recent announcement by Johns Hopkins Medical System that a former employee was found dead the result of an apparent suicide made its way through the news feeds as top-of-the-hour headlines ("Doctor is found dead amid taping inquiry," Feb. 19). At face value, it appears that Dr. Nikita A. Levy, an obstetrician and gynecologist, took unauthorized photos and videos of his patients.

Nobody's glasses are rose-colored enough to make 2007 look like anything but a horrific year in sports. It would be tough, in fact, to find a year in anybody's memory that was worse than this one. Apologies to fans of the Red Sox, the Spurs, the Colts, Florida, Appalachian State, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. If only those successes could blot out the failures - not just on the field, but in basic integrity and decency. This year goes into history as one of dishonesty, deceit and despair.

Clothesline Project gives victims a voice Glenn Sacks' column "`UM right to deny protesters a forum to publicly name alleged rapists" (Opinion * Commentary, Oct. 15) contained misinformation about the Clothesline Project and failed to accurately portray the reality of sexual assault survivors who report the crimes against them. The Clothesline Project is not, as Mr. Sacks suggests, a project that encourages women "to rage at the patriarchy" and therefore unintentionally encourages "young women to make spurious accusations."

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. What are your thoughts on Maryland's just-released basketball schedule ? Jeff Barker: A few thoughts: ** True to his word, Mark Turgeon is slowly starting to elevate the nonconference schedule. There's a balance to be struck. You want to play some (but not too many) early home games that boost your victory total and your bottom line, and get you accustomed to playing together under game conditions.

Unleashing your sociological imagination is a must! In the days of social media, consumers are bombarded by media images and sound bites that become the "reality" of those who relish in having others think for them. The recent announcement by Johns Hopkins Medical System that a former employee was found dead the result of an apparent suicide made its way through the news feeds as top-of-the-hour headlines ("Doctor is found dead amid taping inquiry," Feb. 19). At face value, it appears that Dr. Nikita A. Levy, an obstetrician and gynecologist, took unauthorized photos and videos of his patients.

I agree that the General Assembly should pass the bill to protect those falsely accused of domestic violence ("Bill would shield those falsely accused of domestic violence," April 7). First of all, it allows the wrongly accused to go on with their lives and not live in shame when they didn't do anything wrong in the first place. Second of all, the wrongly accused don't always want everything that happens to them to be open for the world to see. Finally, those who were wrongly accused can move on with their lives, but the true victims of domestic violence can get the help that they need from others.

Marylanders might soon be able to erase from the public record any evidence that they were falsely accused of domestic violence. A bill moving rapidly through the General Assembly would still allow victims' rights groups to view such information, a nuance that allowed the measure to pass without opposition in the House of Delegates. It is set for a Senate hearing today. "The bill allows us to continue to help victims," said Lisae C. Jordan of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Even victims advocates acknowledged, by the end of a Senate hearing yesterday, that people falsely accused of domestic violence should be able to erase their public court records. "Everyone's agreeing this is a problem," said Lisae C. Jordan of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. The question is what to do about it, they said. Senators took up the contentious issue of how to expunge the records of protective orders that are denied for lack of evidence or because the accuser fails to come to court.

Nobody's glasses are rose-colored enough to make 2007 look like anything but a horrific year in sports. It would be tough, in fact, to find a year in anybody's memory that was worse than this one. Apologies to fans of the Red Sox, the Spurs, the Colts, Florida, Appalachian State, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. If only those successes could blot out the failures - not just on the field, but in basic integrity and decency. This year goes into history as one of dishonesty, deceit and despair.

Clothesline Project gives victims a voice Glenn Sacks' column "`UM right to deny protesters a forum to publicly name alleged rapists" (Opinion * Commentary, Oct. 15) contained misinformation about the Clothesline Project and failed to accurately portray the reality of sexual assault survivors who report the crimes against them. The Clothesline Project is not, as Mr. Sacks suggests, a project that encourages women "to rage at the patriarchy" and therefore unintentionally encourages "young women to make spurious accusations."

This is how a father and a son come full circle. This is how a father and a son part ways when it's time, only to have a nightmare pull them back together for one special year, before life inevitably will split them up again. After all these months of playing mentor and counselor to a program in need of a healing hand and a rock-solid teacher, Duke lacrosse coach John Danowski appreciates the surreal nature of it all. It was only about five years ago, while he was working on a two-decade run as one of the game's more successful, respected coaches at Hofstra, that Danowski was telling his teenage son, Matt - destined to become an elite, Division I attackman - to get out of Long Island.

I agree that the General Assembly should pass the bill to protect those falsely accused of domestic violence ("Bill would shield those falsely accused of domestic violence," April 7). First of all, it allows the wrongly accused to go on with their lives and not live in shame when they didn't do anything wrong in the first place. Second of all, the wrongly accused don't always want everything that happens to them to be open for the world to see. Finally, those who were wrongly accused can move on with their lives, but the true victims of domestic violence can get the help that they need from others.

For months, members of Duke's men's 2006 lacrosse team and their families quietly seethed at university administrators and faculty members who they believed abandoned them when three players were falsely accused of rape. Yesterday, the three men who were accused - they were declared innocent by the North Carolina attorney general in April - reached financial settlements that will eliminate the possibility of lawsuits by the former players against Duke. Neither Duke nor former teammates David Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty would disclose details of the settlements, but a Duke official said there was "a financial component."

Teachers frustrated by the length of the investigation process Frustrated by assault allegations that can take months to investigate, union leaders and teachers at a western Baltimore County elementary school are demanding that schools officials speed up the process to return innocent educators more quickly to their classrooms. Teachers also are increasingly troubled that some students are making false accusations because they have learned that the school system's policy is to immediately remove accused teachers from the schools while an investigation is conducted, Teachers Association of Baltimore County President Cheryl Bost said yesterday.