Tame

PERMANENT normal trading relations is not about giving China access to U.S. markets that it does not already have. It is to give U.S. firms, especially financial services, telecommunications and distribution businesses, access they currently lack. As Congress prepares to vote on a major Clinton foreign policy objective in behalf of U.S. economic interests, the president can count on Republican leadership. It is Democrats in the House of Representatives, goaded by labor unions, who might defeat and embarrass the president.

Last December, an American milestone passed virtually unnoticed. Forty years earlier, Harrison Schmitt became the 12th and last person to walk on the moon. Mr. Schmitt and the 11 men who preceded him - beginning with Neil Armstrong in 1969 - had this in common: All were employees of the United States government. Some have argued that sending men to the moon may not have been the most prudent use of American resources or ingenuity. But the realization of President John F. Kennedy's dream of a U.S. moon walk before the end of the 1960s became a symbol of the scientific and imaginative leadership of this country and what Kennedy termed our "freedom doctrine" during the Cold War. Now, the United States has an opportunity, even an obligation, to mobilize its resources and knowhow to achieve a more practical, and pressing, end. Increasingly under siege by destructive and deadly weather events - wrought, many scientists believe, by man-made climate change - we need to make a national commitment to weather research, including the fields of geo-engineering, weather modification and storm mitigation.

I guess there's only one way to say it: This year's Corcoran Biennial is safe, comfortable, pleasant -- and distressingly undemanding. There's not a thing in it that would offend, provoke or inspire anyone to step out of his or her comfort zone and engage it on the level of passionate emotion. In a show that's supposed to be a kind of snapshot of the best work being done today, this strikes me as rather sad -- as if decades of so-called "culture wars" and the usual kvetching and second-guessing that go with biennials as a matter of course had finally succeeded in draining the heart out of the thing.

"The Taming of the Shrew" is such an unruly romantic comedy that there are advantages to staging it outdoors, where the running argument between a man and woman leads to some actual running. Although the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory production literally running in the meadow of Evergreen Museum & Library is more notable for its enthusiasm than its accomplishment, that kind of silliness is agreeable on a summer evening. It's also nice that the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is helping to fill the void left by the defunct Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, which also staged its shows outdoors at Evergreen in north Baltimore and indoors at St. Mary's Outreach Center in Hampden.

NEW YORK -- The renowned Biennial show at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art is famous as a venue for cutting-edge artists who aren't afraid to stir up controversy. The show that opened last week may have wanted to live up to that reputation, but in the end it seemed unlikely to provoke many howls of protest. Even the piece that inspired the most pre-opening publicity turned out to be pretty tame. Hans Haacke's "Sanitation," an installation about censorship prompted by New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's attempt last year to close the "Sensation" show at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, was loudly denounced when the New York papers reported that it criticized Giuliani and others by comparing them to Nazis.

Who will win the British Open? Only one player in the field can tame Royal Liverpool with his 2-iron stinger. He'll be the one wearing the red shirt and lifting the Claret Jug on Sunday. Thanks, Earl. Bill Leavy Millersville Royal Liverpool is going to be similar to playing 18 holes of golf on the parking lot at White Marsh Mall. I like Phil Mickelson sine he is the most imaginative shot-maker in the world plus he has a chip on his shoulder after Winged Foot. Bob Mulreaney Timonium

TAME, Colombia - In the cocaine-fueled conflict that imperils Colombia's priests, politicians, journalists and union officials at an alarming rate, few civilians face greater risk than the nation's rural teachers. Working in impoverished areas where roads are mined and combat is frequent makes life difficult for teachers. But it is their use as pawns by leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary forces that makes education a dangerous career choice in Colombia. Until last month, third-grade teacher Marlene Rincon commuted from the government-controlled town of Tame into an area dominated by leftist guerrillas.

Favorable mortgage interest rates, low unemployment and increasing consumer confidence across the nation will help keep housing markets strong for the rest of the year, the National Association of Realtors reported last week. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said the economy will improve in the second half of the year, but inflation will remain tame - a favorable backdrop for housing activity. "We expect the economy to gradually pick up steam during the second half of the year, yet inflation will remain tame.

In the Cranberry Mall on a recent afternoon, a dozen or more youngsters clustered around a pen in the pet shop, fascinated by the soft, fuzzy bunnies on display. This past weekend, some of those children nodoubt found real, live bunnies in their Easter basket.But Lois Szymanski of Union Mills doesn't view that as an entirely positive outcome."Often, people buy a rabbit because it's cute and cuddly, withoutthinking about the fact that it's a lifetime commitment," she pointsout.When the charm of the new pet wears off, many rabbits face an ominous future -- they are released into the wild.

U.S. factory output fell for the eighth straight month in May, but consumer prices remained tame - a one-two combination that analysts say virtually guarantees that Federal Reserve policy-makers will cut interest rates yet again this month to dodge the first recession in a decade. Yesterday's reports on industrial production and the Consumer Price Index, as well as some high-profile profit warnings, highlight the crosscurrents that are buffeting an economy facing its first real downturn since the 1990-1991 recession, analysts and economists said.

South Baltimore's had a prolific year in nightlife. Barfly's, Barracudas and the Park Bench are just a few of the bars that have popped up. The latest is the Feisty Goat, a sports bar on Key Highway that is as low-key as those other new bars. Open since last month, Feisty Goat is an agreeable sports bar, adequate for sports fans looking for a no-frills atmosphere to watch a game. But, it could use some improvements in service, atmosphere and variety. Located on the first floor of a rowhouse on Key Highway, the bar has the feeling of someone's basement rec room.

As the Preakness Nation gathered for the 136th time on Saturday, it could count its blessings any number of ways — a sky so brightly blue the ladies really did need their bountifully brimmed hats, an infield scene that seemed as beer-soaked as ever yet also tamer, and, most of all, a horse race that was in doubt until the last step. Maryland's own Animal Kingdom finished second, a half-length behind Shackleford, disappointing home fans and ending any chance of a Triple Crown, last accomplished in 1978.

Thousands of people may be drinking in the Preakness infield, but police describe the scene as tame. "The goal is to have the police as out of sight as possible and as uninvolved in craziness as possible," said Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld as he walked through the infield. "We just want everybody to have a good time. It's we're not called into action, its been a great day. " Bealefeld, as much of a booster of the city as he is its 3,000-member police department, said the changes the Jockey Club has made in recent years have improved the quality of the event.

The budget proposal President Barack Obama laid out Wednesday offered a thoughtful, balanced plan for tackling the nation's debt crisis that both acknowledged the threat posed by spiraling federal deficits and honored the country's promises to its most vulnerable citizens. In the current atmosphere of partisan hysteria and sniping, the nation needed to hear a reasoned discussion of the problems confronting us, and Mr. Obama delivered by framing his proposals in terms of the core values and governing philosophy he ran on during his campaign for the presidency.

A recent letter writer proclaims that "anyone who claims to be concerned about the deficit and doesn't want to raise taxes is either a fool or a fraud" ("Taxes and the deficit," April 8). With all due respect, our current national debt is over $14 trillion, an amount that equates to more than $45,000 for every living American man, woman and child. Our debt is crushing, and America's children are at risk. We're well beyond just raising taxes, and just raising taxes alone won't get us anywhere near where we need to be in the coming decades.

Making a car in the age of computers and automation requires fewer than a fifth of the workers that the same task took half a century ago, reducing the relative cost and making cars available to almost everybody. Making a college education, on the other hand, takes about the same number of people as it did in the 1960s. Or more in many cases. That keeps it expensive and out of reach for most Americans. When will the higher education system get with the productivity program that has revolutionized much of the rest of the economy?

In a year that saw a woman get remarkably close to a presidential nomination and a realistic chance at reaching the White House, it may be harder than usual to swallow the notion, expressed in the closing moments of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, that the female sex shouldn't "seek for rule, supremacy and sway, when they are bound to serve, love and obey." But there has long been a way to deal with viewpoints in this play that now give offense to our gender-respecting souls - rev up the farcical side.

Los Angeles -- THAT MIKE Tyson can be a violent SOB is not under dispute. As a boxer, you want to play this up.You might growl for reporters, or describe, rather crudely, what you are going to do to anybody who thinks they can take you on. Heavyweight boxing is blood and brawn, guts and a lot of hot air. This makes for a great show.Mike Tyson, who hopes to win back his heavyweight tilater this year, is good at all of that. His upcoming fight promises to be the richest on record, with revenue nearing $100 million.

Joe Flacco delivered his first 300-yard game of the season as the Ravens overcame a sloppy effort to defeat the outclassed Carolina Panthers, 37-13, on Sunday. Criticized for their slow starts on the road this season, the Ravens scored on three of their first four drives and never let up at Bank of America Stadium, which appeared nearly half full of Ravens fans. Criticized for their inability to finish games, the Ravens' defense closed out the game by returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter.