Obvious

There is an alarming trend in this country that started during the Reagan years: denial of the obvious.Politicians learned they could sidestep prickly problems simply by denying that these problems existed. The morass known as the federal deficit is a classic illustration.We are witnessing the same phenomenon locally. What is crystal clear to most people isn't so obvious to those with ties to government.Teachers in Anne Arundel County want a 7 percent pay raise; firefighters in Baltimore still want a 6 percent raise, and teachers in Montgomery County are holding firm for a 6.5 percent raise.

Today is Earth Day , a day when environmentalists and concerned citizens around the world demonstrate their caring for the health of their communities, the natural world and the planet. Forty-three years ago, the first Earth Day drew an estimated 20 million Americans into the streets, into parks and onto campuses for teach-ins and protests over environmental degradation.  Organizers today claim the observance has gone global, with more than 1 billion participants. Earth Day helped launch the modern environmental movement, which provided public pressure for passage of many of the environmental laws we have today.  Like the movement, its focus has shifted from fighting obvious air and water pollution to knottier issues around how and where we live, and what we consume, most notably climate change.

This book is a good antidote for anyone with a lump in his throat or a bad taste in his mouth left over from the Bettelheim affair.At the time of his death two years ago, Bruno Bettelheim was hailed as one of the founding fathers of child psychiatry. Dr. B., as colleagues and patients knew him, achieved a celebrity far beyond that usually won by even the most important scientists or physicians. "The Informed Heart," "Love Is Not Enough" and his other books were household manuals for thousands of families whose children were free of the terrible maladies he treated in his famed therapeutic school at the University of Chicago.

In the grand scheme of things, most of the issues that seem important to a particular generation fade with time, even as the things that are truly important remain so throughout the ages. Thus, it isn't much of a surprise that people in Harford County feel strongly enough to turn out in substantial numbers in Bel Air to talk about a decision being made half a world away by people over whom they hold no sway. The decision being considered that drew a crowd over the weekend at St. Margaret Catholic Church in Bel Air is that of who will be the next pope.

I seldom give shopping tips, but here is a piece of shrewd advice that might be handy for those of you thinking of buying a computer.It might be your first computer or maybe you are moving up to a more recent model. In either case, this tip will prove invaluable.Be sure the computer you plan to buy will do what you want it to do.In other words, don't buy a computer that won't do what you want it to do. That's because if you buy a computer that won't do what you want it to do , the things you want it to do won't be done.

Tucker Carlson was an obvious out the first week on Dancing With the Stars 3. But Shanna Moakler? It's pretty clear that, at least for now, the voting is all about fan base and not so much the dancing. How else to explain that Jerry Springer's still in it? I think he'll be around for a while, much to the consternation of some of the better competitors.

A word of advice to those wondering who will be the big winners at the Grammy Awards broadcast this Tuesday: Don't bet on the obvious choices.Why not? Because last year was not an obvious year for the industry. It was a strange period, a time when even veteran observers felt a bit like Dylan's Mr. Jones in "Ballad of a Thin Man," aware that there was something happening here, and they didn't know what it was.That sense of uncertainty is reflected in this year's list of nominees. Not only were some of last year's biggest sellers -- stars like Paula Abdul, Prince, Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire -- under-nominated or overlooked, but those who did get the nod represented an unexpectedly wide range of genres.

The problem with a "Year of the Infant" is obvious -- eventually the year ends, but the needs of infants never do. Governor Schaefer's proclamation last January of a year of initiatives and emphases on the needs of Maryland's youngest children was well-intended, and some of the initiatives even got off the ground. But now that special year is over and, as Laura Lippman reported in Thursday's Evening Sun, most of the substantive proposals were either delayed, abandoned or are limping along with too little funding and not enough staff.

WASHINGTON -- Every week or so another Washington politician turns up in New Hampshire or Iowa, and the press dutifully speculates on whether he is planning to run for president in 2000.It is not just the obvious ones like House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt or Republican Lamar Alexander who have tried it in the past. Some seem to come out of the blue. If there is a groundswell out there for Republicans like Rep. John Kasich of Ohio or Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma, it has been well hidden.

Fairness dictates that if one tavern can stay open until a certain hour, so should the establishment next door. This is so obvious it's hard to believe the city of Annapolis and the courts have spent so much time debating the matter.Once again this controversy has settled on Buddy's Crabs and Ribs, an eatery in the heart of Annapolis which wants the same rights enjoyed by at least eight other taverns and restaurants downtown -- namely to hold a 2 a.m. liquor license. The City Council decided last summer to grant Buddy's that right, but residents appealed in court and won.Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Eugene M. Lerner ruled the council's decision "capricious" because, having denied Buddy's request before, it didn't offer sufficient reason for changing its mind.

Maryland law says that "if a contractor operates a speed camera system on behalf of a local jurisdiction, the contractor's fee may not be contingent on the number of citations issued or paid. " Baltimore City, like some other jurisdictions around the state, has nonetheless paid the private firms that manage its camera system on a per-ticket basis. The way Baltimore officials and others around the state have justified this apparent contradiction is by contending that the government is, technically, the "operator" of the speed cameras, and the vendor is merely under contract to "provide support services.

Predictably, within nanoseconds of passing the Ravens to the Super Bowl, Joe Flacco was back in the never-ending debate about whether he is an elite quarterback. Even the NFL's official website had a blog post with a headline that asked “How elite is Flacco?” as if there are now subsections within that elite status. Let's save the elite talk for another day, when there isn't football left to be played, because it doesn't really matter. Everyone's definition is different, which usually makes for a fun debate as we wait for free agency and the draft.

The Baltimore City speed camera ticket alleged that the four-door Mazda wagon was going 38 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone - and that owner Daniel Doty owed $40 for the infraction. But the Mazda wasn't speeding. It wasn't even moving. The two photos printed on the citation as evidence of speeding show the car was idling at a red light with its brake lights illuminated. A three-second video clip also offered as evidence shows the car motionless, as traffic flows by on a cross street.

As the days dwindle down for calling a special session on expanded gambling, there are no obvious signs of significant progress in reaching a deal the House, Senate and O'Malley administration can all agree on. Last week Gov. Martin O'Malley expressed hope that he could show the Baltimore city House delegation a draft of a proposed casino bill last Wednesday. Nothing was delivered. Then hopes among gambling expansion proponents that the administration would deliver the text of a bill Friday were dashed.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating the death of a woman found early Sunday slumped in a car parked near the Anne Arundel Community College satellite building in Hanover, not far from Arundel Mills mall. Fire Department rescue crews responding to the 5:30 a.m. call from Arundel Mills mall security officers found an African-American woman who appeared to be in her early 20s in the vehicle near 7009 Arundel Mills Circle and determined she was dead, police said. Police said they saw no obvious signs of foul play.

The first entry in Sunday's costume contest at the 17th annual March for the Animals was a pit bull dressed as Batman. I was on a wooden stage with the other contest judges, about four feet off the ground at Druid Hill Park. That distance from the dog suited me. When I see pit bulls, even those in charming costume, I stay clear. They have a reputation for vicious mauling, and I'd rather avoid one. Still, I awarded eight out of 10 possible points to the beefy pit bull in the Batman cape.

A Los Angeles Rams spokeswoman yesterday said what by now seems obvious -- St. Louis has the edge in the race for the team -- but denied Baltimore is out of the running."

Your article about the references to race and religion in state Sen. C Anthony Muse's campaign materials as he seeks to unseat U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin in the April 3 Democratic primary says more than it seems to ("Muse flyer questioned over religious message," March 28). This isn't so much about race as it is about incumbency and cronyism. You don't have to be black or Jewish, male or female to be a victim of a captive electoral system. You just need to challenge an incumbent. Candidates always highlight the differences between them and their opponents in order to gain support.

It would be amusing if it were not so embarrassing: The all-male, all-white Anne Arundel County Council is deadlocked over filling a vacancy created when its only black member went off to federal prison for failing to file a tax return. The council's chairman, Derek Fink, is a young Republican who less than a month ago said, "I think we've got a council that works together well now. " And yet this same group of six guys, led by Mr. Fink, took 100 votes and still couldn't come up with a seventh member to fill the seat previously held by the incarcerated Daryl Jones.