Political Process

THE INTENSE arguments in Cynthia Snyder's political science class at South Carroll High School have provided an invaluable learning experience. For the past two months, students have researched the two candidates in Maryland's gubernatorial race, analyzed campaign techniques and voting patterns and, most important, studied the issues. They will present a mock debate between Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the high school. The debate is open to the public.

After weeks of partisan sniping, the public finally gets to judge HBO's Sarah Palin docudrama "Game Change" for itself this weekend. But the campaign for more politics as TV drama has only begun. Aaron Sorkin's "The West Wing" notwithstanding, prime-time television has never gone as far into the deep end of the political pool as it is about to do this year. At least four Washington-centric shows are in the works or set to premiere, including Maryland-based "VEEP" and "House of Cards.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A growing number of senior U.S. military officers in Iraq have concluded that there is no long-term military solution to an insurgency that has killed thousands of Iraqis and more than 1,300 U.S. troops during the past two years. Instead, officers say, the only way to end the guerrilla war is through Iraqi politics - an arena that so far has been crippled by divisions between Shiite Muslims, whose coalition dominated the January elections, and Sunni Muslims, who are a minority in Iraq but form the base of support for the insurgency.

As Wednesday's GOP debate arrives with Rick Santorum now at center stage, it is impossible not to notice how much his rise is welcomed at Fox News. It is also impossible not to see how deeply owner Rupert Murdoch and chief Roger Ailes have already corrupted the party and our political process through owned and operated candidates like Santorum. Yet, as impossible as it is, lots of my colleagues are acting like they don't notice, because while the turmoil in the Republican Party isn't as good for them and their employers as it is for Fox, it still makes for more interesting subject matter and better business.

With less than two weeks to Election Day, undecided voters continue to make the coming Presidential election the least predictable in years. But if kids ruled the world, we'd soon be swearing in the second President Bush in a dozen years. So says last month's Nickelodeon survey that also showed children are not only interested in the political process but in how a candidate projects admirable traits and shows caring for others. Their responses underscore an effort by some children's book authors to impart civic-mindedness to future voters.

WASHINGTON - The number of American mosques increased by 25 percent over the past seven years, a response to the rapid growth of the Muslim community fueled by immigration, conversion and a higher than average birthrate, according to a national survey released yesterday. "The Mosque in America: A National Portrait," which its authors called the largest and most comprehensive look at Islam in the United States, also found that four-fifths of mosques are in metropolitan areas, most are decidedly nonfundamentalist in outlook and three-quarters reported increased attendance over the past five years.

Mitt Romney claims that any criticism of his job-killing performance at his venture capital firm, Bain Capital, is an attack on the capitalist system ("Romney takes blows in N.H.," Jan. 10). Actually it is an attack on the kind of unregulated, predatory capitalism that corrupts the political process with unlimited, secret campaign contributions and fosters recessions through devious lending practices and shady investment schemes by Wall Street operatives. Jack Kinstlinger, Baltimore

As Wednesday's GOP debate arrives with Rick Santorum now at center stage, it is impossible not to notice how much his rise is welcomed at Fox News. It is also impossible not to see how deeply owner Rupert Murdoch and chief Roger Ailes have already corrupted the party and our political process through owned and operated candidates like Santorum. Yet, as impossible as it is, lots of my colleagues are acting like they don't notice, because while the turmoil in the Republican Party isn't as good for them and their employers as it is for Fox, it still makes for more interesting subject matter and better business.

McCain, a likely Republican candidate for president, was speaking during a visit to Iraq last week. He said he recognized the political danger of his call, with which many Americans disagree. ?I believe there is still a compelling reason to have an increase in troops here in Baghdad and in Anbar province in order to bring the sectarian violence under control [and to] allow the political process to proceed.? , --Sen. John McCain

Congress has a new act: "Whitewater: the Summer Rerun."Former Mayor Marion Barry is the front-runner to regain his old job on the ground that no law-abider could run Washington.The I.R.A. rejected playing a role in a political process. That is not something it does.The safest place for Rwandans is Rwanda, hard as that is for many of them to imagine.

Mitt Romney claims that any criticism of his job-killing performance at his venture capital firm, Bain Capital, is an attack on the capitalist system ("Romney takes blows in N.H.," Jan. 10). Actually it is an attack on the kind of unregulated, predatory capitalism that corrupts the political process with unlimited, secret campaign contributions and fosters recessions through devious lending practices and shady investment schemes by Wall Street operatives. Jack Kinstlinger, Baltimore

The Sun says it's time for the Occupy Wall Street movement to grow up ("Time to grow up," Nov. 17), urging the protesters to "develop goals beyond camping in public. " It would be instructive to ask The Sun, where is the outrage, the righteous indignation at the violence of the police to unarmed citizens? Besides adopting an unnecessary tone of condescending sarcasm, The Sun misses the point. Instead of focusing on the logistical problems city officials have to contend with, it's time to ask politicians and city officials what they have done to enact the fundamental reforms the protesters have been advocating for the last two months - jobs with a living wage, single-payer health care for all, an end to murderous, wasteful wars, and an end to the influence of money in the political process.

The several gerrymandered congressional redistricting plans now being considered by the General Assembly are self-serving and cynical. The heavy-handed manipulation of Maryland's voters is an crass perversion of how districts should be drawn, and it points up the corruptive danger of long-term one-party rule. Supreme Court rulings and federal laws require that congressional districts must be contiguous, compact, and equally populated. Please explain how any of the proposed districts meets the definition for being compact.

Regarding your report about Casa de Maryland and the ACLU's effort to block a referendum on in-state tuition for noncitizens ("Vote on tuition bill faces lawsuit," Aug. 2): I have been watching the letters to the editors expecting to see someone point out the irony in the efforts of these groups, who are contesting the petition signatures on narrow legal grounds. Yet they are the same people that insist anyone can come into a polling place and vote, even if they are not registered and present no identification.

Most of the facts had not been identified yet before the left wing progressive news commentators, politically correct, anti-free speech, pro amnesty and gun control nut cakes blamed the tea party, Republican Party, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News for the horrific shootings in Tucson, Arizona. Even though The Sun's editorial ( "The language of violence," Jan. 11) states that "all the information revealed so far about the accused shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, suggests that mental illness, not the tone in Washington, is to blame", The Sun could not keep from linking violence with the language used during last year's election.

As the general election season begins to swing into full gear, what passes these days for political debate and analysis is hardly inspiring. We can expect to spend the early fall constantly bombarded with platitudinous sound bites and spin intended to invoke some visceral reaction in a target group. It is mostly attention-grabbing drivel that does very little to promote a meaningful discussion about policies and governance. Much of it is now carried on in self-published blogs and social networking sites, where it has both unlimited access to the public forum and freedom from the scrutiny that used to be the function of a truly independent press.

Regarding your report about Casa de Maryland and the ACLU's effort to block a referendum on in-state tuition for noncitizens ("Vote on tuition bill faces lawsuit," Aug. 2): I have been watching the letters to the editors expecting to see someone point out the irony in the efforts of these groups, who are contesting the petition signatures on narrow legal grounds. Yet they are the same people that insist anyone can come into a polling place and vote, even if they are not registered and present no identification.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A senior aide to Iraq's president said yesterday that some insurgent groups had contacted him to discuss joining in the U.S.-backed political process. Lt. Gen. Wafiq al-Samarraie, the security adviser to President Jalal Talabani, said he had received calls over the past few days from people claiming to represent bands of guerrillas. The general declined to identify the groups or to say how many had called. He also declined to discuss any demands that the groups might have communicated.

I would be remiss if I did not respond to comments made about my campaign in your article, "Lesser-known candidates also want to be governor," July 11. Let me explain why I'm running for governor. My name is Ralph Jaffe. I am a political science teacher. When I first started teaching in 1964, I told my students that Maryland was one of the most corrupt states in the union. Fast forward to 2010. Nothing has changed. This is why I am now a candidate for governor in the September 2010 Democratic primary.

I remember when the Republican Party was a credible political force providing worthy opposition to the Democrats. The American people could expect spirited bipartisanship and a GOP that actually offered substantive programs and constructive input to the political process. Contrast that with the Republican Party of today that has morphed into a group of abject obstructionists with the slogan of: THE ANSWER IS NO. WHAT'S THE QUESTION? I get the feeling that the GOP is so far removed from remembering the last time it did anything positive for the country that is has given up trying altogether.