Tolerance

In reference to "Alonso wouldn't suspend bullies" (May 4), Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso should be reminded the classroom is no place to permit the presence of distracting bullying students at the expense of the other students being short-changed in their pursuit of a quality education. In my opinion, these disturbing bullies should definitely be withdrawn and placed in another facility where they are required to learn respect for others, self-discipline and a structured life along with an appropriate academic curriculum.

The U.S. public and the government have shown great tolerance toward Muslims after the 9/11 attacks perpetrated by Islamic extremists. However, the other side of the coin is the necessity after a terrorist attack to identify the culprits, determine their reasoning and bring them to justice. Contrary to 9/11, the current situation in Boston does not appear to be an organized assault on our citizenry and culture, as the motive behind it is yet unknown. However, initial indications are that the action was perpetrated by two Muslim brothers, one devout and the other younger and a follower.

Amid all the glitzy advertisements vying to capture the motoring public's attention in the Baltimore area, the students who designed five billboards promoting tolerance hope their messages stand out. Students at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts in Dundalk worked with graphic designers last fall on Design Ignites Change, a nationwide initiative to place student images and messages on billboards. The young artists created slogans, logos and drawings for the project. Five designs from Patapsco students were eventually made into billboards that went up this month in and around Baltimore.

I literally choked on my coffee when I read the first sentence of your editorial, "Hopkins students get it right, at last," (April 11). Let me quote it now that I've recovered. "The bright young people in student government at the John Hopkins University no doubt pride themselves on their openness to a diversity of views and their commitment to the free exchange of ideas. " Are you kidding me? Was this said tongue in cheek or are you so blatantly biased that you said this in all sincerity?

Day of Empire How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance - And Why They Fall By Amy Chua Doubleday / 396 pages / $27.95 With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the United States entered some select company. The superpower became a "hyperpower." Like Persia, Rome, China, Mongolia and Great Britain, the United States attained military, economic and technological pre-eminence. It projects its power - and its values, language and lifestyles - over vast areas around the globe. In Day of Empire, Amy Chua, a professor at Yale Law School, traces the rise and fall of these global hegemons.

The following is adapted from an editorial in the July 20 issue of the Economist. AMERICA has many contradictions but none greater than the fact that it was founded by puritans and yet invented tolerance.The tension between the busybodies of 1620 and the free spirits of 1776 has often marked American history: The puritan had the upper hand in Prohibition, the permissive had it in Woodstock.Like all things American, the contrast knob is turned up highest in California.San Franciscans treat homosexuals almost without prejudice, but 60 percent of Californians tell pollsters they want contraceptives forcibly implanted into drug-taking single mothers (thus simultaneously sanctioning fornication and eugenics)

Think lessons of cultural diversity and acceptance are way over a toddler's head? Think again. Barnes & Noble Booksellers and the Anti-Defamation League are co-sponsoring a "Close the Book on Hate Campaign," designed to educate young children (preschoolers to second-graders) about breaking the cycle of prejudice. Initiated after the Columbine High School tragedy, the campaign is in its third year of combating hate. This Saturday, it comes to Ellicott City's Barnes & Noble store. "We use stories to promote tolerance," Sherry L. Elswick, the store's community-relations manager, says of the event.

IF TOLERANCE is to be the leitmotif of Bob Dole's bid for the presidency, history will treat him well even if he loses in November.As he bid farewell to the Senate yesterday, his insistence on applying tolerance to the anguished issue of abortion had already gotten him in trouble.Once free of prepared handouts, with all their artful ambiguities, he gloriously offended the religious right Monday by saying his call last week for tolerance in the Republican platform would not be relegated to a vague preamble, as his handlers had hinted, but would be tied directly to the plank dealing with abortion.

Ephraim Wolfe was walking down the street in Chicago with a friend early last month when a light blue car drove by.A few minutes later, the same car drove by again and stopped. A few seconds later, Wolfe saw a flash and heard a noise."I thought it was a firecracker," the 15-year-old said. "Then my leg felt heavy. I picked it up, and there was a hole the size of a dime and blood gushing out. I realized I'd been shot."The story of Benjamin Smith, who allegedly went on a shooting spree last month against several ethnic groups, made national news.

Baltimore police are arresting fewer people than they have in years past, according to a recently released report, but almost 1,600 drug arrests in the first eight months of this year could not be prosecuted for lack of evidence. The decrease in arrests - 7,500 fewer through August compared with the corresponding period last year - provides evidence for what police officials have been saying: that they have stepped away from "zero-tolerance" policing. Jailing people for minor offenses that didn't result in criminal charges clogged the city jail and led to criticism and lawsuits.

Taking drops of allergens under the tongue can be an effective alternative to allergy shots for preventing coughing, wheezing and chest tightness common this time of year among allergy sufferers, according to a Johns Hopkins doctor's review of dozens of published studies. The report, published on the Journal of the American Medical Association's website Wednesday, summarizes 63 studies and makes a case for what is known as sublingual immunotherapy. The treatment is popular in Europe but is less common in the United States.

Last April, when a North Korean missile launch appeared to be imminent, this newspaper published my commentary urging the U.S. to "get tough with North Korea. " My determination that U.S. actions to date had produced little or no effect in deterring the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - the DPRK - from engaging in irresponsible, downright hostile behavior, and that an unmistakable stance of intolerance toward further provocations was needed, was based on four years of experience negotiating in and with the DPRK.

Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs isn't buying the Pittsburgh Steelers' announcement Wednesday morning that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not play in Sunday night's game against the Ravens. “Until the ball is snapped, I'm still preparing as if he's playing,” said the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who then referred to Roethlisberger leading the Steelers to a 13-10 win against the Ravens on Dec. 5, 2010 despite a sprained right ankle and a broken nose. “Like I said, I saw the guy play on a broken ankle when he came down here, and we even broke his nose, and the guy continued to play, and if you all recall, it didn't pan out too good for us at the end of that game.

I find it so amazing that the proponents of Question 6 say that passing this will help to promote a climate of tolerance. All the while they are attacking anyone, any organization or church that opposes it. The recent comments of those opposing the Rev. Robert Anderson and other pastors who oppose the redefining of marriage have been anything but tolerant ("Same-sex unions: What would Jesus do?" Oct. 25). I understand that there have been threats made to him. Perhaps, this is just of glimpse of what to expect if this Question 6 becomes Maryland law. I guess we will have free speech, as guaranteed by the United States Constitution, as long as we agree with supporters of this ballot question.

State troopers on Friday will begin a new enforcement effort targeting truckers and other commercial vehicle drivers who illegally park along Interstate 83 in Baltimore County, according to the Maryland State Police. The practice, which has increased in recent years, creates "extremely dangerous conditions" for other drivers on the road, police said. Troopers will be enforcing the new "zero tolerance" policy by issuing a citation to any commercial driver parked on the highway's shoulders for a non-emergency reason, police said.

The Baltimore County school board voted Tuesday night to get rid of a zero-tolerance approach to discipline and replace it with a policy that will give principals more discretion in deciding how to handle serious offenses. The county has one of the highest suspension rates in the state, and school leaders hope to reduce the number of times a student is sent home from school for minor infractions. The new policy will also give school leaders more discretion in cases where principals have no choice about what punishment to give a student.

Mayor Martin O'Malley is planning to launch an aggressive anti-graffiti campaign, saying the age-old scourge is dragging Baltimore down. "It makes the city look trashy," he said yesterday. "In some neighborhoods, it's an out-and-out advertisement for open-air drug dealing. ... The key is rapid abatement." The steps he intends to take include: Adding three graffiti-removal crews to the six working citywide on public and private properties Seeking stronger penalties for convicted graffiti vandals and possibly requiring property owners to undo damage by a deadline Putting undercover police officers on stakeouts in unmarked cars outside properties that are hit repeatedly Establishing "no-tolerance" zones in high-visibility corridors that will be patrolled daily, with all identified graffiti removed Using an April 20 citywide cleanup, dubbed the "Super Spring Sweep Thing III: Let's Paint the Town," to encourage property owners to paint over graffiti with materials supplied by the city.

LEONARDTOWN -- Outside, sheep are being blow-dried, cow dung cleaned from the road and cotton candy wiped from children's mouths. Inside, 11 young women stand around in evening gowns, straining to subdue the butterflies in their stomachs."

How much longer can the world stand by while Syrian dictator Bashar Assad murders his own people by the thousands and the streets of Syria's cities and towns run red with the blood of his victims? If there were any remaining doubt as to whether Mr. Assad might see reason and accept the peace proposals put forward by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan, last week's massacre in the village of Houla, near Homs, where 108 civilians - more than half of them women and children - were methodically gunned down by pro-government thugs shows the dictator has no intention of stopping the killing.

We often watch a reality show about a couple and assume they won't be a couple for much longer. It's not that we're cynical; it's just the facts of reality TV life. But "Giuliana & Bill," featuring Giuliana and Bill Rancic, seems to have broken that curse. The show (Season 5 premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday on Style) features the so-clearly-happily-in-love husband and wife balancing their busy careers with domestic life and becoming even closer as Giuliana battles breast cancer and eventually has a double mastectomy.