Mad

Here we go again, observing our government changing laws to suit the business owners at the expense of the poor schmucks who are just trying to buy a little entertainment ("City politicians rush to save Ticketmaster's user fees," Feb. 24). Shame on Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and shame on the Ravens, the Orioles and all the smaller outfits that support Ticketmaster's stupendous rip-off of the American public. How could they stomp on the very folks who support their businesses?

Don's now a dom. And, no, it's not as sexy as it seems. In 'Man with a Plan,' our antihero has one plan: To gain some semblance of balance by controlling everyone's lives around him. In doing so he lays down a path of destruction. He more or less imprisons Sylvia in a swanky hotel, and mortifies Ted by getting him rip-roaring drunk. This episode, the halfway mark of season six (yes, already), has two or so other subplots with Pete and Joan. But what's really prominent is Don's overwhelming lack of control in his own life, and how that intertwines with the RFK assassination.

You ask the question in your editorial "Muddled tea leaves" (May 20): "Voters are mad at incumbents, but how will it translate to Maryland?" Answer; almost zero influence because the Maryland voters are not mad as hell. With unemployment statistics more than 2 percent below the national 9.9 percent average, the solid control by the Democratic Party in all branches of state and most local governments, and the inept Republican/independent parties unable to present candidates that can light a fire under the electorate with solid programs to challenge the incumbents, there will be no Massachusetts/Virginia/New Jersey/Pennsylvania miracle in Maryland come November 2010.

With Mother's Day approaching, that suggested a motherly, guilt trip-y theme for Midweek Madness. Here's the great comic duo Elaine May and Mike Nichols, presenting a classic case of a mother whose son never calls.

ANNAPOLIS -- "Negative, negative, negative," was all Gov. William Donald Schaefer could say about The Sun's coverage last week of his appointment of Capt. Larry Tolliver, his chief bodyguard, as the new superintendent of State Police.So, when The Evening Sun asked its readers the very next day to register their opinion on the appointment by telephone, Mr. Schaefer was outraged. He angrily complained the question was skewed to produce a vote against his appointee.Mr. Schaefer's press secretary, Frank Traynor, apparently took the governor's remarks as a cue and did what he could to skew the clearly unscientific poll in the captain's favor.

With the sun spreading its vast Technicolor glow along York Road, and with thousands streaming into the Towsontown Festival, and with the music of their laughter filling the weekend air, this kid was spotted outside the Towson Library. Immediately, he made you want to cancel spring and issue a factory recall for winter.He was maybe 14 years old and wore a black T-shirt and a smirk. The T-shirt said "Nazi Punk." The smirk said: I am a geek who thinks this is cool, and I have no idea what I am doing.

A SCARY MAN named Carl Drega, who was 67 and had feuded violently with town officials for decades in northern New Hampshire near the Vermont and Quebec borders, finally popped last Tuesday.When troopers Scott Phillips and Leslie Lord stopped Drega's truck for a violation, it was Drega who had an assault rifle, Drega who wore a bulletproof vest. He assassinated them.He took their cruiser, hunting down a hit list. He executed Vickie Bunnell, a lawyer and part-time judge in Colebrook who had offended him, and murdered Dennis Joos, the town newspaper editor, who tried to intervene.

"What, me sell out?" Apparently so. Alfred E. Neuman, the gap-toothed mascot of Mad magazine, has officially joined the Establishment. Dressed in a preppy blue polo shirt, he can now be found on the cover of a Lands' End catalog, hawking chinos, button-down Oxford shirts and tasseled loafers. He also had his teeth fixed for a new "Got milk?" campaign. And PepsiCo plans to plaster his lopsided mug on bottles of its SoBe drinks. The list goes on. Although Mad's founder, the late William Gaines, once vowed to teach kids not to believe in ads, his cartoon protege has clearly chosen another path.

SAMUEL PENNINGTON publishes Maine Antique Digest, watchguards the antiques market, collects (historical bronze sculptures), and now and then catches public television's current hit, "Antiques Roadshow." Now and then his eyes, too, widen.May's issue of M.A.D., as the trade calls it, had 412 tabloid-size pages; 30,000-some subscribers rate M.A.D. without equal for Americana.Pennington, who founded M.A.D. in 1973, is from Baltimore (Calvert School, Johns Hopkins '52). Waldoboro, Me., offered lower costs, perhaps more action (recently a July 17, 1776, printing of the Declaration of Independence turned up in a Dumpster; clouded provenance, but worth at least $100,000)

Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of The Mentally Ill, by Robert Whitaker. Perseus Publishing. 334 pages. $27. Every problem in life can be solved with a pill. We learn this from TV ads where cartoon blobs are energized by Zoloft, snarling premenstrual women are beatified by Serafem and a lifetime of shyness is cured (poof!) by Paxil. Each day, more of us fall into a warm pharmaceutical embrace, seduced by blitzkrieg marketing to believe that psychiatry is always progressive and benign, its remedies always safe and effective.

On our TV Lust blog, we recently dubbed Stephanie Drake's character, Meredith, the Most Oblivious Employee on "Mad Men. " Does the scene where Joan throws a model airplane at a helpless receptionist ring a bell? That was her. But Drake insists her character has more guts and work ethic than meets the eye. After chatting with her, we're starting to agree. But will this plucky secretary continue to butt heads with Joan? This is your second season on 'Mad Men.' What's your favorite part about working on this show?

Peggy's back, and so is the "Mad Men" we all love. True, Peggy has appeared in the show for most of this season. And the overall themes (prostitution and adultery) are still present in "For Immediate Release. " But it's as though the writers were just as excited as we are for the Peggy and Don reunion, no matter how fleeting. My how it shows. Now that she and Don will be working together, Roger's quips are that much sharper, Don's glances are that much more seductive, and Pete's comeuppance is that much more awkward (as it should be)

Sad to hear about Deanna Durbin's death this week at the age of 91. The Winnipeg-born Hollywood actress and singer was a terrific talent whose 1930s and '40s movies earned her enormous popularity (my late father was one of her biggest fans). Deanna Durbin became nearly as famous for her extraordinary retirement from show business in 1949 -- giving up everything to move to France with her third husband. She remained basically secluded for the rest of her long life. At the risk of seeming inappropriate, I thought you wouldn't mind if I devoted this installment of my Midweek Madness featurette to this endearing artist, especially since this clip manages to capture her operatic ability, charm and comedic flair all in one. This is a scene from her last film, "The Love of Mary" (1948)

The happy convergence of Midweek Madness time with Barbra Streisand's 71st birthday means a little levity is in order. I always did have a soft spot for every moment of "Color Me Barbra," because it was the first Streisand album I owned and the beginning of a life-long, unrequited romance. The TV special that generated that album includes this comic gem -- a harried Marie Antoinette getting a hurried last song in.

"The only thing worse than not getting what you want is someone else getting it," Roger said in season five. In "To Have And To Hold," Don not only loses what he wants to someone else, but he also watches the defeat unfold right in front of him. This ties in seamlessly with the theme of unattainable desires and gluttony, straight from Dante's “Inferno.” (Last week episode's focused on the lust -- did the heavy-handed theme of prostitution give...

Well, it was a wonderful General Assembly session ("What's left for O'Malley," April 14). No matter what kind of heinous crime you commit, you never have to fear the death penalty. There are now more restrictions on the law-abiding gun owners when it's the criminals and certain mentally ill individuals who commit these mass murders. There will be a higher gas tax which will really hurt middle- and low-income people, and last but not least, there's a rain tax! I think instead of living in Maryland, I'm living in Wonderland.

CHICAGO -- If a hospital wanted to advertise that it upholds sanitary standards higher than any required by the government, no one would object. A used-car dealer who decided to offer only vehicles with the best crash-test scores would be free to do so. But after a meatpacker announced plans to establish the strictest program around to protect consumers from mad cow disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture replied: fat chance. Eating meat from animals afflicted with the illness can cause irreversible, fatal damage to the brain.

President Clinton, on being accused of weakness for his compromise policy on gays in the military, responded, "I am the first president who ever took on this issue. It may be a sign of madness, sir, but it is not a sign of weakness." We don't think the president has gone mad, but we wonder about some of his critics.The fact is this compromise moves homosexual rights in the military quite far along. This was achieved without provoking bitter acceptance from the Joint Chief of Staffs, much less opposition.

Submitting sports notices The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Monday. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). Running Reservoir High School will hold its sixth annual Musical Madness 5k and 1k kids' fun run May 18 in Maple Lawn. The race starts at 8 a.m. and the post-race festival will include food and prizes from race sponsors and musical performances by Reservoir students. Musical Madness is a fundraiser for the Reservoir music program. Go to musicalmadness.wikispaces.com for details.