Readers Respond - baltimoresun.com

Thanks to the Guard for protecting our freedoms

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:45:00 GMT

It was refreshing to read your recent article about the hard-working young men and women of the National guard who are soon to deploy soon to Afghanistan yet have made time for their community ("National Guard cleans up city block before deployment," June 16).

O'Malley wrong to lobby for cruise line

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:00:00 GMT

"Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe and to love you!"

Murderer of 10-year-old deserves death

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:15:00 GMT

If ever a case screams out for capital punishment, it is the torture, rape, and murder of a 10-year-old girl ("New details emerge in killing of Cecil Co. girl," June 15). But oh, no, capital punishment is "cruel and unusual," as our royalty in Annapolis have decided for us. It is no longer available even for such situations as the murder of Kami Ring.

Cardin gets the Constitution wrong

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:30:00 GMT

I do not know Del. Jon Cardin ("The lawless sheriffs of Maryland," June 17), but I would assume from his employment as a lawyer that he attended law school. Given the status of Maryland's school system, it is easy to understand his ignorance of the U.S. Constitution. Just as many others in his chosen profession, he has either neglected reading Thomas Jefferson, or simply has chose to ignore what Mr. Jefferson said relative to the Constitution, government, law, courts and judges!

Catholic faith surrounded by threats

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:45:00 GMT

Archbishop's William Lori's commentary ("Religious freedom under threat in U.S.," June) reminds me of verses from Lamentations: "my children have become desolate, for the enemy is victorious" (1:16). On Friday, as the Archbishop enters the Basilica to say mass to begin the Fortnight for [Religious] Freedom, he must do so with a heavy heart, for the church is beset with problems, both high and low.

Lori's views outside the Catholic mainstream

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Archbishop William E. Lori writes that religious freedom is under threat in the United States by the exclusion of religious values from public life ("Religious freedom under threat in U.S.," June 16). This is difficult to understand in Maryland where our leaders include U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Gov. Martin O'Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch, all of whom are Catholic.

Southern Baptists love the Scouts, unless they happen to be gay

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:15:00 GMT

As I read the article about the Southern Baptists' position on gay scouts I couldn't help thinking about the wonderful song from the musical South Pacific entitled "You Have to be Taught to Hate" ("Southern Baptists condemn Boy Scouts policy on gays," June 13).

Why give Carnival Cruise Lines an unfair advantage over its competitors?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:30:00 GMT

It is bad enough that Carnival Cruise Lines would ask for an exception to the EPA requirement that its ships use cleaner fuel, but to threaten to take its business away from Baltimore is blackmail: The governor should have shown stronger character and not fallen for this ploy ("O'Malley lobbies EPA on fuel rules," June 16).

A double standard for cruise ships?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:45:00 GMT

Regarding your article about Gov. Martin O'Malley's efforts to pressure the Environmental Protection Agency to relax its "clean fuel" requirements for large cruise ships, it seems that both the Royal Caribbean and the Carnival lines have hinted they might move their businesses out of Baltimore Harbor If the EPA doesn't back down ("O'Malley lobbies EPA on fuel rule," June 16).

Carnival's request for a waiver from EPA emissions standards is disgraceful

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Regarding Gov. Martin O'Malley's decision to petition the EPA fuel standards on behalf of the Carnival Cruise Line, I urge Carnival to move its operations from Baltimore to Beijing or Somalia ("O'Malley lobbies EPA on fuel rules," June 16).

Where's the urgency to addressing global climate change?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:15:00 GMT

Your editorial on the International Energy Agency's "World Energy Outlook Special Report: Redrawing the Climate Energy Map" was right on the money ("Climate change warnings," June 11).

Baltimoreans are getting taxed to death

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:30:00 GMT

Baltimore city residents will be paying a 9-percent tax on the bottle for alcoholic beverages ("Give us a break from City Hall's fee fever," June 13). That means a 30-pack of beer will cost $1.69 more than in Baltimore County after the distributor takes 5 cents a case! Thank you, mayor and City Council!

Lori and Ehrlich: A match made in heaven

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:00:00 GMT

It was with great disappointment that I read Archbishop William E. Lori's op-ed piece on Sunday ("Religious freedom under threat in U.S.," June 16). His claims are not supported but rather tossed off casually and embedded in numerous spiritual platitudes. The Catholic Church's credibility is at an all time low. It should be cleaning up it's own backyard. Yet as with so many in the upper echelons of the church's hierarchy, Mr. Lori fails to bring humility to the public forum — but hubris instead. Unsupported claims from the pulpit have manipulated many of the faithful on political issues in the U.S. since before the building of Latrobe's beautiful Basilica — including the poor that the archbishop claims to be looking out for in his article.

Lori demonstrates the shrinking horizons of Catholicism

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:15:00 GMT

In the 1960s, I was young, and it was an exciting time to be Catholic. We fought for freedom and justice. Parishes formed social justice committees, priests were arrested at civil rights demonstrations. The archbishop published a document on racial justice.

Lori's fallacy of faith

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:30:00 GMT

In Sunday's opinion piece, Archbishop William E. Lori opines that he can't understand why as people become more educated, they turn away from religion ("Religious freedom under threat at home," June 16). But the answer is right there in his article, if only he took the time to read what he was writing. But I'll give him a hint.

NSA surveillance: Who thought we had privacy to begin with?

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:45:00 GMT

What I find most surprising about this whole NSA data mining operation is not that the government is doing it, because I expected that all along. What surprises me is that anyone had any delusions that privacy existed at all any more. Individual privacy disappeared years ago.

Church can't afford exorbitant 'rain tax'

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Letter writer Kenneth Hoffmann's complaints against the "wealthy" Catholic Church and against all other religious institutions are ludicrous ("Church shouldn't complain about stormwater fees", June 14).

Rawlings-Blake must not have gotten Obama's memo on lobbyists

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:15:00 GMT

I guess Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake didn't get the memo from her party's leader, President Barack Obama in 2008, that he was going to put a stop to lobbyist influence in government ("The mayor and the lobbyist," June 14). But now that the NSA is keeping phone records of millions of Americans, all we need to do is have one of the groups that fight against corruption in government to subpoena the mayor's and the lobbyist's phone records to determine how many times the mayor has called the lobbyist and how many times the lobbyist has called the mayor.

Cecil girl's murder shows error of Md.'s decision to abolish capital punishment

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:30:00 GMT

All you folks out there who were celebrating the repeal of Maryland's death penalty, rejoice. A 29-year-old Cecil County man has been charged in the rape and murder of 10 year old Kami Ring of Charlestown ("Man Charged in Killing of Girl, 10," June 14). The worst punishment in the great state of Maryland this animal can receive is life without parole. If convicted, we taxpayers get to provide his room, board and medical care for the rest of his life (maybe the next 40 or 60 years).

Don't downplay the seriousness of the Benghazi debacle

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:45:00 GMT

A letter writer's response to Bob Ehrlich's column on Sunday, June 9 ("Obama foreign policy follies befuddle right and left alike") accuses Mr. Ehrlich of merely using all of the buzz words like Obamacare, Benghazi, Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright ("Ehrlich column another hack attack," June 14). Buzz words? Excuse me, four Americans were killed in Benghazi. If The Sun and the rest of the liberal media would have done their job, perhaps the full story and truth might have been out by now!

Elizabeth Warren is principled; Ted Cruz is polarizing

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:00:00 GMT

The headline "Principled or polarizing" on Juan Williams' op-ed (June 14) was a perfect description! Sen. Elizabeth Warren is principled. Sen. Ted Cruz is polarizing. Ms. Warren is trying to accomplish laws to help the average citizen with no desire for publicity. Mr. Cruz is all about tearing apart citizens while grandstanding on every news show he can. This opinion piece of yours showcases the difference of intention between these two senators more than you realize.

'Rain tax' will hurt Baltimore's poor

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:15:00 GMT

In Baltimore City, the rain tax will be a tax on the homeless and poor ("Religious groups pushing for city stormwater fee reduction," June 11). Churches and non profits located in the city will be forced to raise money for the exorbitant rain tax. Instead of asking for donations to fill the food pantries and provide meals for the poor, the churches and non profits will be collecting money for the rain tax. A tax which creates a slush fund for "public education and outreach" and "grants to non-profits" at the expense of the homeless and poor.

Smart transportation projects could improve the quality of life in Baltimore City

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:30:00 GMT

I was happy to see the benefits of intermodal transportation for city residents so clearly described in a recent Sun commentary ("Put people ahead of cars," June 5). I've begun to see a transformation over the last decade in Baltimore, and I am encouraged that we may yet see more improvement in the future.

Privacy is great, but not getting blown up is better

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:45:00 GMT

I just read letter writer Charlie Cooper's response ("Do you really trust the government?" June 14) to my previous letter to The Sun ("Don't worry: The NSA isn't interested in you," June 12). While I am sympathetic to his feelings about privacy, I am personally more worried about a group of terrorists getting hold of a nuclear weapon and setting it of in Washington or New York or London, or pretty much anywhere.

Security is found off-line

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:00:00 GMT

More than a decade ago, I ordered a book from a publisher specializing in technical books. I then received notice that my credit card information, along with hundreds of others, had been compromised by an Internet hacker who had penetrated the publisher's computer files.