Politics

I never before entertained the idea of writing a letter to the editor regarding a TV show. However Jean Marbella's article regarding "Dancing with the Stars" was so spot on I couldn't resist ( "Tea partiers: Don't tread on 'Dancing with the Stars'!" Nov. 21). Like many Americans I have some strong political opinions. But when I sit down to watch something as mindless as DWTS I do so to be entertained, not watch a political group hijack the results. When the tea party people have websites to encourage their followers to vote in unorthodox manners in order to have Bristol Palin win a dance competition, one has to question what that says about our country politically.

Days before last November's election, Gov. Martin O'Malley used his cellphone to call Jim Murren, the chief executive of MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas. The two talked for 11 minutes that Sunday. Not surprisingly, the topic was the Nov. 6 referendum in which voters would decide whether to allow expanded casino gambling, according to O'Malley spokeswoman Raquel Guillory, who didn't provide details of the conversation. Maryland voters approved the O'Malley-backed measure. MGM had a lot riding on the outcome.

Please allow me (or "myself" as Mike Myers famously said ) to introduce myself. Those of you who have been reading Baltimore-area newspapers for the past decade might (or might not) recognize my byline (I've written articles for The Sun, The Examiner, the Howard County Times, etc.) but this is my first attempt at a regular blog. We're calling it the Ridiculous Report and, on it, I plan to show on a frequent basis how common sense is often lost in our discussions of politics, government and the news in general.

I had to respond to Peter Jensen 's vituperative diatribe "Don't Save the Planet" about conservatives supposedly going out of their way to avoid protecting the planet (May 3). Since when did a question limited to specially marked light bulbs measure anyone's environmental consciousness? Based on our voting record, I guess you could label us conservatives. Like most people I know, we use both tubular and CFL fluorescent bulbs (where practical - show me one that works in freezers, variable intensity lamps, outdoor flood lights, desk lamps that take small bulbs, garage trouble light, etc.)

Would you please limit Susan Reimer to the gardening pages? I have to admit that my blood gets to the boiling point when I read anything she writes unless it deals with how to compost. Her latest outrage, "Keep politics out of the Super Bowl" (Feb. 1) is simply too much. Her attacks on Tim Tebow are an affront to all that is good and right with an exemplary college athlete. He donated over 700 hours of volunteer work last year. Last time I checked, this was a free country, and Ms. reimer can turn her sound down when his "hideous" ad airs.

Over and over again, we see that elections are ultimately not really about the issues or leadership qualities. They're about money. Whoever has the most money bribes, er, wins over the voters ("Ehrlich leads in donors; O'Malley leads in cash" and "Bernstein outpaces Jessamy in funds," Aug. 19). I suspect our nation's Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves. Mary Shaw, Philadelphia, PA

Four years ago, Barack Obama was elected president because Americans wanted a change from business-as-usual politics. Two years ago, the Republicans were swept into power in the U.S. House of Representatives in part because business-as-usual was continuing under the new president. Now we have the Occupy Wall Street protests on the left and the tea party on the right, both crying for a change from business-as-usual politics. But Maryland politicians still haven't gotten the message.

Here's a brief reminder to the president and members of Congress: It is not about you, or your party. It is about the U.S., and we the people of this country. Reid Hill, Catonsville

The GOP presidential primary revolts me. It is so full of scummy negativism. Each night the networks news programs thrust clips of Newt Gingrich throwing a jab at Mitt Romney, or vice versa, into our living rooms. Neither has any appreciable platform for what they would do as our next president. Most issues are simply swept under the carpet. Why? Because it's so much easier just to denigrate one's opponent. Both Messrs. Romney and Gingrich have the money to invest in small armies of people whose sole responsibilities are to dig up personal dirt on the other.

I am happy to see that once again there are Americans raising their voices in protest. I know I'm not happy with the direction that our elected officials, the banking industry and the military-industrial complex are taking this country. Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, recognized the need for "a little rebellion every so often. " Critics of the people who are beginning to protest say they lack direction. But it seems to me that once groups of people emerge who are disenchanted enough to organize, leaders eventually will appear.

Jeanette M. Smith, a retired housekeeper who was active in Republican politics, died May 2 at FutureCare Old Court senior living facility in Randallstown. She was 94. "We are waiting for the results of an autopsy for the cause of death," said a grandson, Thomas R. Jones II of Baltimore. The former Jeanette Marion Ray was born and raised in Catonsville and was a 1937 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. That year, she married Alexander Smith, a jukebox repairman, who died in 1983.

On April 17, State Senators Joe Getty, R-Baltimore and Carroll counties, and Ed Kasemeyer, D-Baltimore and Howard counties, shared anecdotes and answered questions from about 50 McDaniel College students who had gathered in a lecture room at Hill Hall for the occasion. The senators had visited the campus for a presentation, ““So What Just Happened: A Report from Annapolis,” as a courtesy to long standing McDaniel political science professor, Dr. Herb Smith - who is frequently sought-out by statewide and national media outlets for his insights into Maryland politics.

Kathy Forthman of Polite Pooches in Forest Hill gave a positive dog training and dog body language workshop to the dog volunteers at Luna's House Animal Care and Education Center in Edgewood on April 14. Topics covered included benefits of positive dog training, teaching basic manners, safe handling, loose leash walking and identifying dog body language. All of these topics were beneficial in helping the volunteers work with the rescued dogs to make them more adoptable. The volunteers expend a lot of time and effort in ensuring the rescued dogs are provided with the highest quality of care while at Luna's House.

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland recently met with the family of Sergei Magnitsky. The reasons for the meeting: In 2009, Mr. Magnitsky was jailed in Russia for exposing governmental corruption. While in prison, he died after allegedly being tortured. In December, with the energetic legislative support of Senator Cardin, Congress passed a statute, the Magnitsky Act, forbidding those accused of human rights abuses in Russia from traveling to the U.S. This month, the Magnitsky family came to Washington to thank Senator Cardin for his efforts.

National Rifle Association President David Keene said Wednesday the organization will pursue lawsuits in two states where Democratic governors are believed to have presidential aspirations, but it might not challenge new state gun laws elsewhere. "We're already in court in New York, and we will be in court in Maryland," Keene said in an interview. "Our feeling is that you've got a case in two states in particular that are one-party states. They both have governors who, when they close their eyes, see themselves in the White House.

The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow businesses to share information with the federal government that could help thwart cybersecurity threats, despite concerns from privacy advocates and opposition from the White House. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Baltimore County, was approved 288-127 in the face of a veto threat from President Barack Obama. The measure would allow Internet companies such as Google and Facebook to share data with federal agencies about potential threats.

It would help all of us average guys for someone to explain what politicians are allowed to do with campaign contributions ("Disclose, disclose, disclose," Aug. 13). One assumes they pay office expenses, salaries, rent, supplies, etc., but are they allowed to buy personal items, clothes worn on the job, cars that they use for the job, rent for a house in Annapolis, etc.? Also, what regulatory body ensures they do not abuse any rules? And the accounting of such? Is that information made public?

We have now reached a point in our public discourse where it is acceptable to openly advocate for the overthrow of our national government. Politicians, without compunction, portray adversaries in gunsights and advocate resolving matters with bullets when ballots fail. Individuals eager to express unsupported, offbeat notions of presidential corruption and lack of citizenship are given implied credibility by media exposure. There is no media filter that separates the responsible from the irresponsible, the benign from the incendiary.

Forty-one years ago, Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel pulled off a series of staggering triumphs that The Sun compared to winning the Triple Crown: Maryland's first gun-control law; a unique, state-run auto insurance agency; and a higher gasoline tax to support Baltimore's first rapid rail line. He achieved this in the face of ferocious opposition from the National Rifle Association and the insurance and trucking industries. It took Mr. Mandel's enormous persuasive skills - including arm-twisting and deal-making - to win those monumental battles.

Liberal media have again shown that they can be just as self-righteous and intolerant as their ardent conservative adversaries. How else to account for the recent furor over views expressed by a world-renowned pediatric surgeon, neurologist and medical scholar? Baltimore's Dr. Benjamin Carson, an eminent Johns Hopkins Hospital figure long admired by people of all political stripes, including many liberals, is now being derided as a turncoat or doddering fool. His invitation to speak at a Hopkins commencement might be withdrawn.