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Gay marriage: Judge overturns DOMA, stepping up pressure on Supreme Court

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - May. 26 - A federal judge struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which precludes gay couples from receiving federal marriage benefits. She is the third federal judge to do so, suggesting that the Supreme Court might need to step in soon to clarify its position. ...

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Letter: Simpson needs 'intervention'

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:27:00 -0700

The Politico - By Patrick Gavin - May. 24 - After former Sen. Alan Simpson’s scathing, profanity-tinged letter to the California Alliance for Retired Americans, one organization is saying, “Enough!” “Call this a political intervention, if you will,” writes Max Richtman, the president and CEO of th

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The Most Powerful Special Interest in Washington: The Acronym

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Micah Cohen - May. 20 (Opinion) - A linguistic plague is creeping through the nation's capital - the "bacronym," where a PAC or bill name is chosen so that the initial letters of each word form a desired word.

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Those Revolting Europeans

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - May. 06 (Opinion) - The French are revolting. The Greeks, too. And it's about time.

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Schwarzenegger: GOP, take down that small tent

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Arnold Schwarzenegger - May. 05 (Opinion) - It was Richard Nixon who brought me into the Republican fold. He was running for president, and I had recently arrived in California from Austria, which I'd left because the European socialist mentality wasn't big enough for my dreams. Growing up, I was surrounded by kids whose greatest ambition was to one day collect a pension. I didn't intend to spend my whole life dreaming about floating on a government safety net. One day, when Nixon was talking on the television, my liberal friend Artie translated bits of what he was saying. As I recall, he spoke about free enterprise, about less government and taxation, about the need for a strong military. I asked what party Nixon was from. Artie said he was an imbecile Republican. "Then I will be an imbecile Republican," I said. I've been writing my memoirs recently, and looking back at how I came to my political identity has reminded me that this election cycle marks my 44th year as a Republican. I can't imagine being anything else.

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Mitt Romney's poor judgment is undermining his candidacy

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Michael Cohen - Apr. 15 - Finally, Obama's opponent has been confirmed, but can the Republican nominee mount an effective challenge? I doubt you will ever find a politician more desperate to believe Nietzsche's aphorism that whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger than Mitt Romney. With former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum announcing that he is suspending his presidential campaign, it ensures what many political observers have assumed for quite some time – that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee for president this autumn. Only 26 other men have achieved this goal, so congratulations to Romney are in order. But a larger view of Romney's political situation takes some of the bloom off this particular rose. Have the past 12 months of campaigning – while certainly not killing him – really made Romney stronger? So far the evidence is not very good. Only 34% of Americans have a positive view of Romney, which makes him at this point in the presidential campaign one of the least popular presumptive ...

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As tide of illegal immigrants goes home, will US economy suffer?

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - Apr. 09 - The illegal immigrant boom has fizzled; and as Mexican migrants go home, the question is whether it will drain the labor pool and hurt the US economy. ...

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How to Expand the Voter Rolls

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - Apr. 07 (Editorial) - One reason the United States has a low voter-participation rate is that most states are using 19th-century registration methods in the 21st century.

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How to raise African-American boys like Trayvon Martin to be careful, not paranoid

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - Apr. 02 (Opinion) - The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has opened a dialogue on broader issues. One is the unique challenge parents face in teaching African-American children to be safe but not fearful.

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A Quantum Theory of Mitt Romney

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By David Javerbaum - Apr. 01 (Opinion) - We have entered the age of quantum politics; and Mitt Romney is the first quantum politician. The recent remark by Mitt Romney’s senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom that upon clinching the Republican nomination Mr. Romney could change his political views “like an Etch A Sketch” has already become notorious. The comment seemed all too apt, an apparent admission by a campaign insider of two widely held suspicions about Mitt Romney: that he is a) utterly devoid of any ideological convictions and b) filled with aluminum powder.

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Incarceration nation

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

CNN - By Fareed Zakaria - Mar. 24 (Opinion) - The U.S. has 760 prisoners per 100,000 citizens. That’s not just many more than in most other developed countries but seven to 10 times as many. Japan has 63 per 100,000, Germany has 90, France has 96, South Korea has 97, and Britain - with a rate among the highest - has 153.... This wide gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world is relatively recent. In 1980 the U.S.’s prison population was about 150 per 100,000 adults. It has more than quadrupled since then. So something has happened in the past 30 years to push millions of Americans into prison.

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Tennessee bill protects teachers who challenge evolution and climate change

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Suzanne Goldenberg - Mar. 21 - State legislature gives legal protection to teachers who do not believe in the science and want to debate alternate explanations The state legislature of Tennessee has given legal cover to public school teachers to challenge the science of evolution and climate change, in a move that looks set to deepen a debate about politicisation of the classroom. The bill passed in the Tennessee Senate this week provides legal protection to teachers who personally do not believe in evolution or the human causes of climate change, and instead want to teach the "scientific strengths and weaknesses of existing scientific theories". It comes at a time when science associations are increasingly concerned by moves to inject religious or ideological beliefs into science teaching ahead of the release next month of a new set of education standards which give a central place to climate change. The new standards, based on recommendations from the National Research Council, are not mandatory for all states. ...

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In GOP Race, Geography Has Been Destiny

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Nate Silver - Mar. 11 (Opinion) - Rick Santorum's win in Kansas reinforced a pattern: geography has been the most reliable way to predict results in the Republican primaries.

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GOP War on Voting Targets Swing States

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Rolling Stone - By Ari Berman, Rolling Stone - Mar. 10 (Opinion) - 'Since the 2010 election, Republicans have waged an unprecedented war on voting, with the unspoken but unmistakable goal of preventing millions of mostly Democratic voters, including students, minorities, immigrants, ex-convicts and the elderly, from casting ballots in 2012.' Ari Berman, Rolling Stone

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Death threats, intimidation and abuse: climate change scientist Michael E. Mann counts the cost of honesty

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:32:00 -0800

The Guardian - Mar. 03 - The scientist who has borne the full brunt of attacks by climate change deniers, including death threats and accusations of misappropriating funds, is set to hit back. Michael E. Mann, creator of the "hockey stick" graph that illustrates recent rapid ris

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Focus on Social Issues Could Shape Battle for Women

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Richard W. Stevenson - Feb. 24 (Opinion) - There are any number of ways in which the politics of culture wars might play out, but perhaps the biggest question is the degree to which the new attention on social issues might shape the battle for one of the most important electoral swing groups: moderate and independent women voters.

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Arizona Debate: Conservative Chickens Come Home to Roost

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Rolling Stone - By Matt Taibbi - Feb. 23 (Opinion) - Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich at the Republican Presidential Debate in Mesa, Arizona. Throughout this entire process, the spectacle of these clowns thrashing each other and continually seizing and then fumbling frontrunner status

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Baltimore Believe campaign: 10 years after the Believe campaign, Baltimore is safer and stronger - baltimoresun.com

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Baltimore Sun - Feb. 09 (Opinion) -

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Case proves justice system works despite its problems - Baltimore Sun

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Baltimore Sun - By Michael Olesker - Feb. 08 (Opinion) - Martin, the Southeastern District city cop charged with taking about $300 from a Spanish-speaking immigrant named Felix Guevara, was thus found not guilty of robbery but was nailed on the lesser charges of theft under $300 and misconduct in office.

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Immigrant finally sees justice in America - Baltimore Sun

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Baltimore Sun - By Michael Olesker - Feb. 08 (Comment) - "From the beginning, this case has been about one lousy cop, but that was only a starting point. It was also about Baltimore's Latinos finding their voice. They wouldn't let this case go away. They needed proof that the American system works the same for them as it does for all others."

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Baltimore's Fight Against Drug Violence : NPR

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:08:17 -0800

All Things Considered - Feb. 08 -

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The Great Illusion of Gettysburg - Yoni Appelbaum - National - The Atlantic

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:38:12 -0800

Atlantic Monthly - Feb. 06 -

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The Civil War taught us to fight for the right to be wrong

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - Feb. 06 (Opinion) -

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Berger Cookies Are Going Retro With Rum, Strawberry & Lemon Flavors

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

WJZ-TV - By Sjohnson2 - Feb. 02 (Opinion) - BALTIMORE (WJZ)—If you’ve been in Baltimore for a while, you have no doubt enjoyed some Berger Cookies. The chocolate cookie is an all-time favorite. Ron Matz reports there’s a new twist to this Baltimore classic. Enter the home of Berger Cookies and you

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O'Malley Stresses Dignity In Same Sex Marriage Bill

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:40:56 -0800

WBAL Radio - Jan. 31 - Governor Martin O'Malley says legalizing gay marriage in Maryland is a matter of protecting children. The governor, a Democrat, testified in support of his proposal to allow same-sex marriages before the Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee Tuesday afternoon. O'Malley said the bill will offer certain legal protections to children of gay couples, providing parity with children of married, heterosexual parents. The governor says the bill is about protecting both the dignity of same sex couple, and those religious groups that object to the bill. "The common thread of each of the issues that we are addressing this session, indeed that we addressed throughout our history is the common threat of human dignity," O'Malley told the committee. "The dignity of work, the dignity of faith, the dignity of home the dignity of every family, the dignity of every individual. The dignity of a free and diverse people who all want the same thing for our children." In his brief appearance before the committee, Republican Sen. Nancy Jacobs indirectly referred to comments made by the governor's wife last week calling opponents of same sex marriage, "cowards." Jacobs didn't mention Katie O'Malley by name when she asked the governor what he thought of opponents of same sex marriage and their views. "I think that's their right," O'Malley replied. The governor's testimony lasted less than 10 minutes. He appeared as part of a panel of elected officials who support same sex marriage including Attorney General Doug Gansler and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Last year, the Senate passed a version of the bill. But it stalled in the House, at least in part over legislators' religious and family values concerns. The governor has said that this year's bill offers additional protection to religious institutions that do not support same-sex unions by adding language that draws on similar legislation passed in other states. The hearing which was in its fifth hour as of late Tuesday afternoon attracted hundreds of spectators, many of whom watched the hearing from an overflow room via closed circuit television. A member of the the committee, Baltimore County Democrat Jim Brochin, told WBAL News he didn't think today's hearing will change any minds on the committee. Last year the committee approved the bill in a 7-4 vote. CLICK HERE to see how the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee voted on the bill last year. He also believes, like last year the Senate will approve the bill, but it will face an uncertain future in the House of Delegates. CLICK HERE to see how your Senator voted on the issue last year. The Senate approved it 25-22. Brochin failed in his attempt last year to pass an amendment that would have established civil unions for same sex couples, which would give them the same legal rights as a married heterosexual couple. Brochin says he will introduce the amendment again this year because he feels his constituents support it, and notes lawmakers in Annapolis are "polarized" on this issue. Last year, Brochin was undecided on the issue, until his amendment failed. he then voted in favor of the bill both in committee and on the Senate floor. Committee chairman Brian Frosh told WBAL News that he expects the panel to vote on the bill next week, with a full Senate vote the following week. Senate President Mike Miller has repeatedly said he wants the Senate to consider the issue soon, because lawmakers have other issues to consider in a session that ends April 9. A Washington Post poll released this week finds 50-percent of Marylanders favor same sex marriage, while 44-percent are opposed. The Post reports that this is the highest level support for same sex marriage in one of its poll. The poll finds a racial divide on the issue as 71-percent of white voters surveyed favored same sex marriage, while just 41-percent of black voters supported the issue. The poll was conducted by telephone Jan. 23-26 among a random sample of 1,064 Maryland adults. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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