Truth

On paper, Sunday night's WrestleMania looked as if it could be one of the strongest installments in the event's 28-year history. In execution, it was anything but. I personally avoided Twitter and Facebook, so that the thoughts I would be sharing here would be as purely mine as much as possible. The show lacked the feel of WrestleMania; the first hour felt rushed and most of the matches seemed to be missing something. The show wasn't bad by any means, so I don't want people to misread what I am saying, but I expected more.

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.

The woman who says she represents North American Power is not telling the truth about the benefits of buying electricity from her company. "You can save up to 10, 15, 20 percent of your bill, depending on your usage," she says in a telemarketing call to my house. But the rate she eventually quotes is only about 7 percent less than the standard price offered by Baltimore Gas & Electric — something the average customer would have no way of knowing. And of course the percentage savings won't vary even if my "usage" goes up to that of a steel mill.

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.

In the wake of WWE's Over the Limit pay-per-view, a new Intercontinental champion has been crowned, four other champions continue to hold onto their titles and John Laurinaitis remains employed. Sunday night's show delivered an evening of quality entertainment and good in-ring performances. On a non-major PPV event, WWE delivered a product that surpassed the expectations of many. Here's a match-by-match look at the show: Battle Royale This last-minute addition to the card was a means of crowning a No. 1 contender for one of the midcard titles.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Some of the bravest people in the world can be found at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. The Dalai Lama. These and many other figures are featured in a photo exhibit organized to honor human-rights defenders around the world. Part of the airport's upper concourse, just off the main atrium of the international terminal, has been transformed into a photo gallery to display the traveling exhibit "Speak Truth to Power," which runs through May 31. The exhibit was organized by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that was formed in 1968 in memory of the former U.S. senator and attorney general, who was assassinated that year at age 42. It is based on a book written by Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and president of the RFK Center.

Five weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden publicly commanded his foot-soldiers to ramp up the violence against American civilians. But five weeks before his death, he privately instructed his lieutenants to refrain from killing any civilians. Did the world's most notorious terrorist have a moral awakening and grow soft? Hardly. His unheralded tactical shift was purely strategic. This month, the Combating Terrorism Center at the West Point Military Academy released 17 declassified documents that were seized from bin Laden's Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound in the targeted killing last year.

Are the French getting their Tea Party on? That's what an outsider looking at the country's first-round presidential voting results might have been led to believe. But, as with many things French, the reality is très compliquée . The weekend vote knocked out all but the two candidates long expected to square off in the May 6 final: Socialist Francois Hollande (28.6 percent) and incumbent center-right President Nicolas Sarkozy (27.2 percent). This isn't the story, though. The most striking news is the 17.9 percent score by Marine Le Pen's National Front party.

To be Mike Miller, it seems, is to be misunderstood. The Senate president and Annapolis institution has been getting most of the blame (including from this editorial page) for the failure of key budget and tax bills at the end of the General Assembly session last week. The general impression had been that he was holding up consideration of the budget as leverage to get what he really wanted: a referendum to allow a casino inPrince George's County, and, as part of the bargain, table games at all of Maryland's slots parlors.

In response to the article about the Defend Life protesters and their signs (""Law, order, free speech," March 25), I can't believe the reaction of the people who are "victims" of having to look at such horrible images. Did people say that about the images we saw during the Vietnam war? Didn't that help to bring the war to an end? What about images of the starving children and refugees in Africa and Haiti? How do you think the world is able to respond to those kinds of crisis if they don't see the truth?

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.

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.

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.

The movie "Game Change" was designed to depict the narrative from the left about Sarah Palin as being true. The movie was about the narrative. The progressive/liberal left must be terrified of a Sarah Palin resurrection, as they are re-crucifying her with this movie. The truth cannot be stopped and cannot be silenced. For that reason, Sarah Palin will emerge like a stainless steel alloy from the forge of politics. As the American people realize the lies behind the various narratives from the Obama administration, elected and appointed progressive/liberal government officials and delivered by a complicit mainstream media, both the political left and the media will lose credibility, support and relevance.

— Outside the courthouse, the day went from spring-like sunshine and blustery winds to a dark night of cold, hard rain. Inside, a jury plowed straight through a marathon day of deliberations Wednesday — nine hours to find George Huguely V guilty of second-degree murder and grand larceny, two more to recommend he serve 26 years in prison for the death of Yeardley Love. It was a workmanlike resolution to a case that had seemed like anything but, a compressed day of behind-the-scenes activity for a high-profile crime — the May 2010 murder of the 22-year-old Love, who grew up in Cockeysville and was fulfilling her childhood dream of playing lacrosse at the University of Virginia.