AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunApr 01, 2021 at 11:50 amJim Thompson and William Harbold discovered silver in a place in the Patapsco River where it had not been seen in more than a century. The discovery occurred last Friday around 10 a.m. about 3 miles downstream of Ellicott City and just upstream of where the Bloede Dam used to be.As discoveries go, it was hardly sensational; it did not send shock waves through the stock exchange.AdvertisementBut attention must be paid: What these two Maryland biologists found in the Patapsco offers living proof that a river enslaved by man can be liberated...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunApr 01, 2021 at 11:50 amJim Thompson and William Harbold discovered silver in a place in the Patapsco River where it had not been seen in more than a century. The discovery occurred last Friday around 10 a.m. about 3 miles downstream of Ellicott City and just upstream of where the Bloede Dam used to be.As discoveries go, it was hardly sensational; it did not send shock waves through the stock exchange.AdvertisementBut attention must be paid: What these two Maryland biologists found in the Patapsco offers living proof that a river enslaved by man can be liberated...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunFeb 11, 2021 at 9:46 amMaryland’s highest court just issued a ruling that resonates with relevance to Donald Trump’s second impeachment and the former president’s current trial before the Senate. The ruling tempts me to declare that the 44 Republican senators who voted against putting Trump on trial — and who appear ready to acquit him despite overwhelming evidence that he incited January’s violent insurrection — are engaged in the biggest case of jury nullification in American history.Now, let’s be clear about something: While it’s called a trial, the main...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunFeb 11, 2021 at 9:46 amMaryland’s highest court just issued a ruling that resonates with relevance to Donald Trump’s second impeachment and the former president’s current trial before the Senate. The ruling tempts me to declare that the 44 Republican senators who voted against putting Trump on trial — and who appear ready to acquit him despite overwhelming evidence that he incited January’s violent insurrection — are engaged in the biggest case of jury nullification in American history.Now, let’s be clear about something: While it’s called a trial, the main...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunFeb 05, 2021 at 10:29 amIt was in a Senate hearing room in Washington in 1954 when the bow-tied Boston attorney Joseph Welch asserted “a sense of decency” as an American ideal.In the early 1950s, in the midst of the Cold War, Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had almost single-handedly created a second red scare by claiming, with little evidence, that the federal government and Army had been infiltrated with communist sympathizers. His obsession was the “deep state” of the Eisenhower era.AdvertisementFor four years, McCarthy conducted investigations and made...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunFeb 05, 2021 at 10:29 amIt was in a Senate hearing room in Washington in 1954 when the bow-tied Boston attorney Joseph Welch asserted “a sense of decency” as an American ideal.In the early 1950s, in the midst of the Cold War, Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had almost single-handedly created a second red scare by claiming, with little evidence, that the federal government and Army had been infiltrated with communist sympathizers. His obsession was the “deep state” of the Eisenhower era.AdvertisementFor four years, McCarthy conducted investigations and made...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJan 21, 2021 at 1:00 pmOur new president, a Democrat, has called for unity and healing. But the former president, a Republican, has been impeached for inciting an insurrection that resulted in a mob attack on the Capitol; his trial in the Senate promises to be divisive and probably rancorous. Meanwhile, there are 147 Republicans in Congress who voted to overturn the new president’s election. Some of their Democratic colleagues have called on them to resign for voting as they did, thereby contributing to the insurrection.I say good.AdvertisementBut I also ask:...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJan 21, 2021 at 1:00 pmOur new president, a Democrat, has called for unity and healing. But the former president, a Republican, has been impeached for inciting an insurrection that resulted in a mob attack on the Capitol; his trial in the Senate promises to be divisive and probably rancorous. Meanwhile, there are 147 Republicans in Congress who voted to overturn the new president’s election. Some of their Democratic colleagues have called on them to resign for voting as they did, thereby contributing to the insurrection.I say good.AdvertisementBut I also ask:...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJan 07, 2021 at 9:44 amMaryland has the distinction of being one of four states that gave Joe Biden at least a million more votes than it gave Donald Trump in November’s election. Ours is , and it’s getting even bluer, with more than twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans.Maryland’s deep hue of blue is reflected in Congress. Our two senators are Democrats. Of eight House members, only one is a Republican. His name is Andy Harris and, while he’s always been extremely conservative and kind of strange, this week Harris earned a new descriptor — accessory...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJan 07, 2021 at 9:44 amMaryland has the distinction of being one of four states that gave Joe Biden at least a million more votes than it gave Donald Trump in November’s election. Ours is , and it’s getting even bluer, with more than twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans.Maryland’s deep hue of blue is reflected in Congress. Our two senators are Democrats. Of eight House members, only one is a Republican. His name is Andy Harris and, while he’s always been extremely conservative and kind of strange, this week Harris earned a new descriptor — accessory...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunNov 04, 2020 at 8:49 amHow many votes could $4.8 million buy for a Republican candidate seeking the congressional seat held for years by the late Elijah Cummings, a revered Democrat?The answer so far appears to be about 12,000.AdvertisementKim Klacik, the woman in stilettos who was all over local television with slick commercials leading into Tuesday’s general election, had by Wednesday evening notched 68,161 votes in her quest to win the 7th District seat.Her Democratic opponent, Kweisi Mfume, the man who currently holds the seat (and held it years ago,...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunNov 04, 2020 at 8:49 amHow many votes could $4.8 million buy for a Republican candidate seeking the congressional seat held for years by the late Elijah Cummings, a revered Democrat?The answer so far appears to be about 12,000.AdvertisementKim Klacik, the woman in stilettos who was all over local television with slick commercials leading into Tuesday’s general election, had by Wednesday evening notched 68,161 votes in her quest to win the 7th District seat.Her Democratic opponent, Kweisi Mfume, the man who currently holds the seat (and held it years ago,...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunSep 03, 2020 at 12:12 pmA new documentary film both fascinating and frightening gives and a supporting cast of mental health professionals ample opportunity to make their case that Donald Trump is psychologically unfit to be president of the republic.Its title, suggests a polemic, and there were many moments when I thought Michael Moore had directed the film. (He didn’t; Dan Partland did.) But, generally, the tone is clinical and explanatory, with arguments presented by experts in psychology, sociology, history, national security and cheating at golf. Trump’s...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunSep 03, 2020 at 12:12 pmA new documentary film both fascinating and frightening gives and a supporting cast of mental health professionals ample opportunity to make their case that Donald Trump is psychologically unfit to be president of the republic.Its title, suggests a polemic, and there were many moments when I thought Michael Moore had directed the film. (He didn’t; Dan Partland did.) But, generally, the tone is clinical and explanatory, with arguments presented by experts in psychology, sociology, history, national security and cheating at golf. Trump’s...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJul 07, 2020 at 11:17 amNobody asked me, but if I was of Italian ancestry — and I am, on my mother’s side — I would see the as an opportunity to honor an Italian-American who has lived an honorable life. And a statue of someone from Baltimore who has served the public good would be even more suitable.Here’s an idea sent my way from Melanie Hood-Wilson, a Baltimore educator: Replace the statue of Columbus with one of — the former Nancy D’Alesandro of Albermarle Street, Little Italy, the daughter and sister of Baltimore mayors and a history-maker as the first...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJul 07, 2020 at 11:17 amNobody asked me, but if I was of Italian ancestry — and I am, on my mother’s side — I would see the as an opportunity to honor an Italian-American who has lived an honorable life. And a statue of someone from Baltimore who has served the public good would be even more suitable.Here’s an idea sent my way from Melanie Hood-Wilson, a Baltimore educator: Replace the statue of Columbus with one of — the former Nancy D’Alesandro of Albermarle Street, Little Italy, the daughter and sister of Baltimore mayors and a history-maker as the first...WW…

AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJun 18, 2020 at 2:00 pmHere’s a key question for the Rev. Derrick DeWitt, director of the Maryland Baptist Aged Home in West Baltimore, a 100-year-old nursing facility that has had no coronavirus infections: What was the moment you realized the threat was real and that you had to take action to protect your residents and staff?“Right after President Trump said we had 15 cases and it would soon be down to zero.”AdvertisementI dare not put words in a Baptist minister’s mouth, but it sounds like he listened to what the President of the United States had to say,...…AdvertisementBy Baltimore SunJun 18, 2020 at 2:00 pmHere’s a key question for the Rev. Derrick DeWitt, director of the Maryland Baptist Aged Home in West Baltimore, a 100-year-old nursing facility that has had no coronavirus infections: What was the moment you realized the threat was real and that you had to take action to protect your residents and staff?“Right after President Trump said we had 15 cases and it would soon be down to zero.”AdvertisementI dare not put words in a Baptist minister’s mouth, but it sounds like he listened to what the President of the United States had to say,...WW…