Truth

I find it unbelievable that Dan Rodricks , in his Sunday column, thinks that the laws God gave us to live by are antiquated ("Ben Carson's conservative views are drawn from the Bible" Mar 30). The problems we face in this world today come from that same line of thinking. If we never turned our backs on God, we wouldn't live in a world on the edge of self destruction that exists today. All I can do is pray that the Lord opens Mr. Rodricks' eyes to the truth before He returns to take His church home.

The ingratiating display at the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas last week simulated reverence for a failed president who plunged us into massive debt, polarized Americans and made America the target of Muslim radicals and homegrown terrorists ("Bush family, Hillary Clinton flock to Texas," April 25). George W. Bush is and will ever be one of the darkest blotches on our country. No matter how much he has donated to world causes, he hasn't said he's sorry for the tens of thousands of lives lost, both American and others, around the world.

In the article "Bachmann's loose 'facts' stacking up" (Oct. 28) the writer criticizes Rep. Michele Bachmann's statement about taxes being less when she was a child. The writer uses the example of a couple earning $379,150 and being taxed 35 percent today and taxed at 59 percent 50 years ago. The problem with this argument is that a person making that much money today would have been earning approximately $52,000 50 years ago if you take inflation into account, which is the only way to do a fair comparison.

If there were any remaining doubts that what the CIA did to captured terrorist suspects in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks was torture, a report last week by an independent investigative panel should put them to rest. According to the report by the Constitution Project, an independent legal research and advocacy group in Washington, not only did the Bush administration indisputably engage in torturing prisoners to extract information, a practice banned by both U.S. and international law, but the nation's highest officials knew about the abuses and condoned them.

As usual, our Republican friends from Cecil County wish to manipulate the truth to make their case that repealing the 14th Amendment is not racially motivated ("Repeal 14th Amendment," Readers Respond, Aug. 18). Ron Wirsing, once 28 of the 37 existing states ratified the 14th Amendment there was no need for the other states to rush to ratify. You only need three-fourths of the states to ratify an amendment for it to become law. The 14th amendment was stupid? The 14th Amendment was Congress' way of overruling the Dred Scott decision and the basis for Brown vs. Board of Education.

I am a huge supporter of Pat McDonough and The Sun is ripping him apart for the truth he states ("Baltimore and bigotry," May 18). I read another article recently in your paper that now after Mr. McDonough brought this situation out in the open, MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeis going to add additional police officers to the area ("Mayor has a look as police presence rises in downtown," May 20). At least the city is now taking action by adding more police. I will not go to the Inner Harbor area anymore - last time was about five years ago, and I know it's worse than it was then.

Pisces 02.19-03.20 Ignoring a problem does not make it go away. You hate confrontation, but that doesn't mean you should turn a blind eye. Give it some thought and handle the situation. Aries 03.21-04.19 Boldly go where you've never gone before when gutsy Mars give you extra confidence. An adventurer such as yourself can never have too much of a good thing. Taurus 04.20-05.20 Saturn is making you want bigger and better things today. You're no longer satisfied with your apartment, car or your significant other.

I do not oppose the Archdiocese of Baltimore's stand for life ("Church: Clinic signs are unlawful," March 30). I oppose the lying by omission. A lie is still a sin. A place that offers a service needs to be honest about the service being offered. It's called truth in advertising. And as long as the archbishop insists on being politically active, he needs to be a good citizen and give up his tax exempt status. Freedom of speech is a right that needs to be matched by responsibility.

When, at long last, will people understand that the left is boring? The question came to mind as I was dipping in and out of Oliver Stone's miasmic 700-plus-page tome. I'll never read the whole thing, and not because it's a left-wing screed full of slimy distortions about the evils of the United States (though that doesn't help). It's that it's boring. Mr. Stone and co-author Peter Kuznick call their book "The Untold History of the United States," except, again, it isn't. This story has been told countless times before.

I agree with Del Pat McDonough for telling it like it is ("Baltimore and bigotry," May 22). He is the only delegate who has the guts to tell the truth. He was just calling it as it was. You have no right to get on him for that. Delegate McDonough didn't do anything wrong, the mob did. By the way, I didn't need anyone to tell me what color the mob was. I knew just by hearing the 911 tapes. It is amazing to me, when black people do bad things, The Sun will always blame it the other guy. And yes, if the mob was white, The Sun would have been all over it along with the mayor, police, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton.

As a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University some years ago, I feel called upon to remind this august body that the motto of the school is, or was, veritas vos liberabit , or, the truth shall make you free. Obviously the present administration does not know that, or, if they do, does not subscribe to it. A few years ago, I ceased all financial support of the school because I felt that it no longer represented the views of myself or many of my fellow graduates. I think that in the current actions of Hopkins, this was a good, but sad decision.

Of course, I agree with The Sun's general comments in the editorial regarding the Johns Hopkins Student Government Association's overturning of the decision to deny recognition to Voice for Life, a pro-life group ("Hopkins students get it right, at last," April 11). However, your spin on the story, where you claim that young women fear that they could be harassed by this group, is typically outrageous. You further state that any challenge to abortion rights is a personal affront to young women and their control over their bodies.

I find it unbelievable that Dan Rodricks , in his Sunday column, thinks that the laws God gave us to live by are antiquated ("Ben Carson's conservative views are drawn from the Bible" Mar 30). The problems we face in this world today come from that same line of thinking. If we never turned our backs on God, we wouldn't live in a world on the edge of self destruction that exists today. All I can do is pray that the Lord opens Mr. Rodricks' eyes to the truth before He returns to take His church home.

"If there is anything that links the human to the divine, it is the courage to stand by a principle when everybody else rejects it. " -- Abraham Lincoln History is full of warnings about what happens when people follow public opinion instead of standing by their principles. In its most extreme manifestation, public opinion might well become mob rule when vigilantes take the law into their own hands. Major media have whipped the crowd into its latest frenzy over same-sex marriage, or should I say "marriage equality," the latest euphemism, likely intended to make the masses more accepting of what was once unacceptable.

Just wanted to say a resounding "thank you" for printing Maria Santo's article on the truth - the simple, basic truth - of what abortion is:  killing a very young baby.   Thank you for not bowing to the insanity of political correctness on this most fundamental issue of human rights.  How can we concern ourselves with child abuse or any other important human rights issue while we are endorsing genocide of babies? Yvette Ridenour Catonsville

Journalist Bob Woodward, certainly not a lifelong conservative, dares to tell the truth about the current administration and is castigated by the White House and the trolls in the media ("Woodward's spat with White House grabs spotlight," March 1)? How interesting. Let's see if others now break ranks and decide to tell the truth about this abomination. F. Cordell Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Ouch! Apparently the truth hurts, as evidenced by the visceral reaction to last week's "Doonesbury" cartoons. The strip dealt honestly and pulled no punches about the utter hypocrisy and lack of morals of the so-called "right to life" zealots. They're upset that Gary Trudeau dared to utter the truth about anti-abortion fanatics - that they don't so much hate abortion as they hate women, especially women who refuse to live their lives barefoot, pregnant and chained to a stove.

WE HOLD these truths to be self-evident:* Truth No. 1: Ronald Reagan pledged to lower taxes, and Congress went along. The nation's tax structure lost what little progressivity it once had, and the nation's debt exploded.Our tax structure must be more progressive. The rich should have to pay more than they do.* Truth No. 2: Even if tax rates for the rich were 100 percent, the middle class will get hit -- hard. That's where the money is. Without pain for the middle class, the budget-balancing act is phony.

It was a delight to see Dr. Ben Carson on The Sun's front page recently ("Controversial address vaults Hopkins' Carson into political arena," Feb. 18), and it was a stark contrast to the vitriolic online piece earlier by TV critic David Zurawik ("Hopkins' Dr. Benjamin Carson anointed new Fox darling of the right on Hannity," Feb. 16). Mr. Zurawik's hatred for Fox News came through loud and clear. He clearly was using Dr. Carson as a conduit to disparage Fox. No wonder he was critical of the way President Barack Obama appeared in a film shown on Sean Hannity's program Friday evening.

Your recent article about the Joe Paterno sex abuse case missed the mark ("Report by Paterno family rebuts scandal accusations," Feb. 11). Buried on page 8 was the following dismissive remark: "The 238-page review, conducted by former Pennsylvania Gov. and U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and a team of others ... " That "team of others" included two highly regarded men who are tops in their fields of child sexual victimization and pedophilia: Former...