Ignorance

On Facebook, Paul Lagasse posed this question: " Okay, my editorial friends, please help me settle a bar bet. Is using the wrong spelling of a word (e.g., 'principle' instead of 'principal') considered a typo? Or does the term 'typo' not include such errors? " As is my custom, I gave him an "it depends" answer (Not a good idea to ask me to settle bar bets): " If the person doesn't know the distinction, it's an error of ignorance. If the person does know the distinction, it's a typo.

Baltimore County Councilman John A. Olszewski Sr. claims his failure to disclose his outside employment was an oversight, but that does not pass the smell test ("County councilman hasn't disclosed outside jobs for years," May 19). Disclosure forms are very clear and do not require a college degree to fill out. The questions are quite clear and specifically ask about outside employment. Being on the council and having privileged information could give council people an advantage in the bidding process for their employer.

A couple of years ago at Slate , Farhad Manjoo posted a little rant about people who insist on typing two spaces after a period, even though in our age of computerized proportional type it is not only unnecessary but contraindicated. The article proved to be so successful at what H.L. Mencken liked to call "stirring up the animals" that Slate republished it last month . The recent results were equally gratifying. Though somewhat more literate than the "your a moron" comments one commonly encounters on the Internet, the responses nicely match intemperance with ignorance.

Fox News is not backing off on the Baltimore prison story scandal despite a bunch of big national stories that have conservatives salivating over the damage they see the Obama administration suffering. Take a look at this video (below) from Bill O'Reilly that features Jesse Watters bird-dogging Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Gary Maynard, the chief of Maryland prisons. Check out O'Reilly saying that Maynard "sounds like a moron. " I asked O'Malley about it Tuesday morning in Joppa during a set visit he paid to the soundstages where "House of Cards" is filmed.

Baltimore County Councilman John A. Olszewski Sr. claims his failure to disclose his outside employment was an oversight, but that does not pass the smell test ("County councilman hasn't disclosed outside jobs for years," May 19). Disclosure forms are very clear and do not require a college degree to fill out. The questions are quite clear and specifically ask about outside employment. Being on the council and having privileged information could give council people an advantage in the bidding process for their employer.

The race, gender, or age of the attackers are largely irrelevant to the vicious and senseless beating of Chrissy Lee Polis ("18-year-old charged in McDonald's beating," April 25). This was an act of cowardice, hatred and bullying — pure and simple — and is not peculiar to any particular group. It is the personal responsibility of the attackers and the bystanders who apparently encouraged them. Ignorance, the arrogant self-righteousness to which it often leads, and a lack of empathy are at the root of such incidents.

The CEO of Chick-fil-A did more than express a view denigrating gay relationships ("Fast food activism," Aug. 1). The company spends millions to attack the very lives and security of people in same-sex relationships. As a result of anti-gay legislation like the Defense of Marriage Act, insurance companies do not offer private annuity contracts to same-sex couples who want to provide for their retirement. Social Security benefits do not extend to survivor relationships in same-sex unions.

Was I the only one to take offense at the disgraceful rendition of The Star Spangled Banner at the Superbowl? Above and beyond the fact that Christina Aguilera flubbed the lyrics was her embarrassingly tasteless presentation of our national anthem to millions of people around the world. If we are determined to come across as a country of loud, ignorant barbarians, she does the job. Mary Lou Wickham, Glen Arm

WASHINGTON -- Ignorance is far from bliss. In fact, ignorance is quite dangerous and has been the root of unnecessary death and destruction since recorded history. Of late, ignorance fueled the blind and twisted hate that emboldened 19 hijackers to kill 3,000 innocent men, women and children. Ignorance next picked up the baton of hate and passed it off to an uncounted number of people around the world who unfairly channeled their anger, pain, blame and frustration against one religion.

What an ignorant, dishonest and pathetic response to Sandy Hook today from the National Rifle Association. As a media critic, I will limit myself to the disingenuous attack on the media from Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the organization. Of course, it's a shameless attempt to avoid accepting any responsibility by his organization. But in the interest of a sane discussion about media violence -- rather than the demagogued, crazy-right-wing-paranoid speechifying of LaPierre -- some social science research, facts and context need to be presented.

Dan Rodricks ' advice that "complaining CEOs need to take a hike" (May 9) comes a bit late. For the first time anyone can recall, this year's Fortune 500 includes zero Baltimore-based companies. We are now the largest U.S. city without a single corporate headquarters, and there are only four left in the state - down from 11 as recently as 2007. Clearly, those who decide where to create local job opportunities (and, let's not forget, lead many philanthropic efforts) have been taking a hike for many years, just as over 300,000 Baltimore residents voted with their feet over the decades and fled the city's high property taxes, incredible shrinking economy and dismal provision of public services.

My business is located at 309 Main St., in Laurel. Outback Leather is a one-stop leather shop. We do everything from custom fitting boots and saddles, to the horse and rider, to while-you-wait shoe repair. Outback Leather has been on Main St. for over 20 years, 15 years in the formally Gayer's Saddlery Building. I just wanted to thank the Laurel Leader for its article, "20th century marathons found a starting line in Laurel" (April 4). It was very generous of the Leader to put a big picture of my building that covers almost half the page, and then give credit to another business, instead of a business that has been running for 20 years, as the building in the background.

The article by Zainab Choudry and Saqib Ali on Israel's supposed discrimination against Arab-American and Muslim citizens is missing a big part of the story in the Arab and Muslim world ("Don't let Israel discriminate," April 30). Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had to personally intervene to allow Jewish reporters on his plane to enter Saudi Arabia, since Jews weren't allowed. Christians in Arab lands are harassed and persecuted on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Muslim women are considered property upon marriage, and the Arab Spring in Egypt has replaced one dictator with another.

It should've been the shot heard around the world. Chances are, you didn't hear it. An ominous sort of history was made last week near Austin, Texas, but it seems to have largely escaped notice. There was some media coverage, yes, but less than, say, Lindsay Lohan's latest stint in rehab, certainly less than you'd think for something whose ramifications will likely shadow us for years. On May 2, you see, a group called Defense Distributed, led by law student and self-described anarchist Cody Wilson, accomplished what was apparently the first successful firing of a gun "printed" entirely by a 3-D printer.

It was very nice of Bob Leffler to paint his big picture of what many of us call the mistake in progress at Towson University regarding eliminating the 91-year soccer program ("The big picture for TU," April 16). As an alumnus who has a consecutive giving record since graduation in 1957, as a player on the soccer team for four years, as a member and former officer of the Towson University Hall of Fame, and as an activist on behalf of the institution through the years, I still very much care about my school.

There has been much hue and cry in recent days about the General Assembly approving a "rain tax" this year that is punitive, anti-commerce and unnecessary. What's truly remarkable about these protestations is how none of the underlying claims are true. Rather, this may be a lesson in the perils of approving a policy at the state level but leaving the business of carrying it out to local government. It's far easier for county elected leaders to point a finger at Annapolis than to actually educate themselves on an issue - let alone try to explain why a tax is so clearly in their constituents' self-interest.

WASHINGTON -- It was inevitable, once former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara not simply wrote his confessional Vietnam memoir but then started "promoting" it on television, that the call would come for him, if he was so contrite, to contribute its royalties to Vietnam veterans' causes.William M. Detweiler, commander of the American Legion, now says, "If Secretary McNamara is sincere about atoning for sending Americans into a war he knew they couldn't win, then he shouldn't profit financially from this sad, tragic, late confession."

WASHINGTON -- A divided Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a taxpayer who believes sincerely that a federal tax was not due cannot be convicted as a criminal for failing to pay it, even if that belief was plainly wrong or irrational.A taxpayer's ignorance of the law, if a jury believes it was genuine, deprives federal prosecutors of a chance to prove that a tax was evaded "willfully," the court declared by a 6-2 vote. Evidence of willfulness is a necessary part of a criminal tax-evasion charge.

There are many things to say about Brad Paisley's new song. The country music giant is under fire for "Accidental Racist," about a Starbucks employee who objects to Mr. Paisley's Confederate battle flag shirt. The song, Mr. Paisley's attempt to metabolize his conflicted feelings as "a white man comin' to you from the southland" trying to pick his way through the minefield of race, has generated, well ... feedback. Rolling Stone dubbed it "questionable. " Gawker called it "horrible.

The Baltimore County police union says county officials have ignored a ruling by the state's highest court to reimburse some 400 retired Police Department employees for overpaid insurance premiums. A Maryland Court of Appeals decision in November required the county to reimburse the employees for wrongful deductions, but in a motion filed Friday in county Circuit Court, the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 4, says it hasn't happened. The union estimates the county owes retirees $572,887.10 through May 2011.