That's a bummer about the Dundalk piranha not being a piranha but a kinder, gentler piranha lookalike. It's not the first time a guy thought he caught something special only to discover -- or maybe not -- that he'd caught a lesser, bottom-feeding species.

This was five years ago. My brother-in-law from New Jersey and I went to a river near my in-laws' home in the Poconos to fish for trout. We fished for several hours. I used a fly rod, and Remy used worms. I caught one brown trout and held it up for a moment so Remy could see it from across the river. Remy caught nothing. I got bored and tired and went home.

Remy stayed because, just as I was leaving, he claimed to spot a "school of trout" in a deep pool.

"Are you sure they're trout?" I yelled from the parking lot above the pool where Remy was dunkin' bait. (Generally speaking, trout don't run in "schools," and you rarely see wild ones sharing a feeding lane.)

I don't think Remy heard my question. It was getting late and I had a three-hour drive. Last I saw him, Rem was staring intensely into the pool, fishing rod in one hand, cigar in the other.

Next day I get a phone call from New Jersey: "You shouldn't have left! I caught five!"

Remy was so excited. He had never caught trout before, never mind five. He said he'd cleaned and wrapped the fish in plastic and put them in the freezer at my in-law's house.

The following weekend, back in the Poconos, I opened the freezer to have a look at Remy's catch -- five of the plumpest, slimiest, bottom-feeding, round-of-mouth, mercury-laden suckers you'd ever seen.

My father-in-law and I called Remy to ask if it was OK to grill them up for supper. "Sure," he said. "Knock yourself out."

We buried them in my father-in-law's vegetable garden. The leeks loved it. Unless he reads this blog, Remy is still happily ignorant of the fact that his five "trout" ended up as fertilizer.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Frank Schaeffer, best-selling novelist and co-author of AWOL, The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes From Military Service -- and How It Hurts Our Country. Schaeffer has a new novel, Baby Jack, about the Ogden family, "where intelligent and talented son Jack decides, in the words of his father, to 'throw his life away' on the Marine Corps and join that 'collection of victims'.”

Challening stuff deep in the third year of the Iraq War.

Schaeffer is our guest at noon, WBAL AM 1090. E-mail comments during the show at rodricks@wbal.com

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Baltimoreans love nostalgia -- too much. Nostalgia has gotten old. Sorry. Been there, done that . . . The Sun romanticized the '66 World Series on Sunday. Fine. Good. And pathetic on some level.

I'm tired of all this. I want the Orioles in the World Series again. It's been 23 years! I want the Ravens in the Super Bowl. It's been six years! I want a minor league hockey team at the First Mariner Arena. (Right. It's not called the Civic Center anymore!)

Just the same, I'll be nice and pass along this notice about a Memorial Stadium memorial event from the Sports Legends Museum, which would not exist unless nostalgia was in epidemic proportions in greater Baltimore. When it comes to addictive nostalgia, this museum is Baltimore's shooting gallery.

WHERE: Sports Legends at Camden Yards - 301 W. Camden Street (adjacent to Oriole Park)WHEN:Saturday, September 30, 2006, at  2:00 p.m WHY: Enjoy a panel discussion with former Baltimore Colts’ players Joe Washington and Sam Havrilak, president of the Marching Ravens, John Ziemann,  and James Bready, former Baltimore Sun reporter. The program will be moderated by FOX 45 Sports Director, Bruce Cunningham, and videos about Memorial  Stadium  will  be  shown  before  and  after  the  discussion.   

The  program  is  free  with  paid admission to the Museum. Author Robert Brown’s House of Magic is only $5 (a $14.99 value) with admission to the program.  The book profiles 70 years of thrills and excitement on 33^rdStreet.

Memorial Stadium was built in 1950 and over the years expanded, with more seats being added in the hopes of Baltimore landing a major league baseball team. The Baltimore Colts began playing at Memorial Stadium in 1953, followed by the first major league baseball game on April 14, 1954. The stadium was known for its horseshoe shape and was touted as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum” because of the crowd noise during Baltimore Colts’ football games. The Baltimore Orioles stopped playing at Memorial Stadium in 1991, upon their relocation to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Beginning in 1996, the Baltimore Ravens played their first two seasons at Memorial Stadium before moving to what is now M&T Bank Stadium. Among the numerous artifacts from Memorial Stadium that are featured at Sports Legends at Camden Yards are a Baltimore Colts’ locker, dugout bench from the Orioles, stadium seats and bricks from the structure.   Memorial Stadium remained empty until 2001 when it was demolished.The Babe Ruth Museum operates the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Sports Legends at Camden Yards. Sports Legends at Camden Yards opened to the public on May 14, 2005.  Located adjacent to the main gate of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Sports Legends consists of 22,000 square feet of artifacts and interactive exhibits profiling Maryland’s sport’s history. --- www.baberuthmuseum.com

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

All these years, all those kicks -- 38 years old and he can still whip Le Jambe like a side-show contortionist, and sail one 52 yards and win the day.  And McAlister -- did you just know the Ravens defense was going to make a big play? And did you have every confidence that McNair was going to put the ball where it needed to be for God's Kicker? That was fun.

Nice story by e-mail this morning from a Cockeysville reader named Pete Schap:

I was fresh out of the US Navy in January of 1973 after serving 4 years.  I met my future wife in September of that year and we began courting on a regular basis about two weeks later. It was later that year, or possibly in 1974, that we were celebrating an occasion with my parents.  Pat (my wife) and I were treating my parents to an evening at Haussner's Restaurant.  It was a Saturday evening and the line about 7PM was long and about a block in length.  Mayor William Donald Schaefer was in line alone.  His Honor was asked by the hosts at Haussner's if he wanted to advance to be served.  He said very privately -- but we were close enough to hear --  a no to the hosts. Mr. Schaefer said basically that he would wait his turn in line.  My father was quite taken with this response and approached Mr. Schaeefer saying he thought that was a very nice action for Mr. Schaefer to take.  My Dad and Mom are gone now, but my wife and I never forgot that evening at Haussner's.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 3:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Reader Elaine Forte writes: "Why all of the concern over Vernon Evans feeling pain at his execution?  Did he worry about the pain his victims felt when he killed them?  This is the reason killers get the death penalty - to pay for their crimes.  It is not the state's fault that he was a drug user with messed-up veins. Any thoughts on this subject, Dan?"

Yeah, thanks for asking, Elaine. I think the death penalty is barbaric and immoral. The state has no business killing people, even killers. So, for me, the debate about how someone is put to death -- arguments about methodology and whether one type of killing is more torturous than another -- is beside the point, a ghoulish sideshow. We should just not be in this business.

If I were in public leadership -- say, a governor or senator -- I would be saying these things as frequently as possible. People who agree with me, who are in elected office, refrain from speaking out against the death penalty because they fear being labeled soft on crime. Hillary and Bill support the death penalty -- or so they say. Michael Steele says he opposes it but, as lieutenant governor in Maryland since 2002, has neither said nor done anything to stop it, again probably in fear of being labeled soft.

I am not soft on crime -- I think killers should be locked up and put away, for good. The state, our government, should not lower itself to the stature of the killer.

Here are excerpts from earlier columns on the subject:

I'd like to respond to some of the many assertions I heard people make - or I read in their e-mails - in the days before and immediately after the Steven Oken execution. There were recurring themes, so I picked the quotes that best sounded them.

   "I believe the death penalty should not be looked at as a means to deter
crime. Rather, if you are willing take the life of another the state should require your life in return."

   Supporters of the death penalty have been saying this for years, without regard to the calculus. We'd have to put to death hundreds of Marylanders - and thousands of Americans, in time - to kill every killer and meet that eye-for-an-eye imperative. We'd have to buy lethal chemicals by the barrel and establish a state crematorium just to keep up with demand.

   "I am certain that if the appeals process was shortened and convicted felons didn't sit in jail for years earning their degrees, the death penalty would be a deterrent."

   Yes, and if history is any guide, we'd probably execute some innocent guys along the way. But what's one or two mistakes when we're talking about the expeditious eradication of killers? The people who argue this point never seem to acknowledge the deterrent quality or punitive power of life sentences without parole.

  "For better or worse, execution absolutely guarantees that the murderer will not murder again."

   Of course. But life without parole approaches the same promise without forcing the state to load up a syringe with succinylcholine chloride.

  "How many of those who live in ivory towers and are opponents of capital punishment have ever been the victim of a violent act or know the loss of someone who has been tortured and killed by another human being?"

   Ever get called for jury duty? Ever notice the number of hands that go up during voir dire, when the judge asks prospective jurors who have been the victims of crime - or the relatives of victims of crime - to identify themselves? It's startling. But it's also irrelevant. What the state does, it does in all our names. What the state does is everyone's business. I'm tired of hearing that the victims of violent crime - or the relatives of victims of crime - have the exclusive say in this matter and that the rest of us aren't qualified to render an opinion because we can neither claim a homicide in the
family nor appreciate horrific tragedies endured by others.

   "It was poor judgment on the part of the Attorney General to make such a public pronouncement [against the death penalty] on such a controversial issue."

   Someone said this about Joe Curran, even as the attorney general's assistants rushed off to various courts to argue for the execution of Oken. Apparently, there was concern that Curran, a Democrat who opposes the death penalty, might keep his staff from making the state's case. Obviously, he didn't. Nor did he stand in the way of three other executions that occurred earlier on his watch. By contrast, no one seemed overly concerned about the Republican governor's bias in support of the death penalty, or his myopia. He's been dismissive of questions raised about racial and jurisdictional disparities in the application of capital punishment in Maryland; he made it clear during his 2002 campaign that he wasn't going to hold up executions despite claims that the system was terribly flawed.

  "How about we build the new prison to house all the murderers next to your
house?"

   Sorry, I don't think we have the right zoning. Besides, there's no need. We've got space, assuming the governor doesn't tear down Super Max. Housing murderers for life - and not putting them to death - is what a civilized society does. It's a measure of our decency. There's nothing uplifting about state-sanctioned murder. For proof, I offer the next statement, from a reader:

  "One day Channel 11 asked if lethal injection was `cruel and unusual.' My response was, `Well, it's pretty much like putting your dog to sleep, which makes it way too humane.'"

   Look, I hate the death penalty. It's barbaric. It's homicidal retribution, and homicidal retribution breeds and feeds violence in a society. The good society wouldn't tolerate this. The good society would view human life as inviolate to the extent that the state may not kill in cold blood. You can't
accept the proposition that the state has the right to take a life in cold blood and call yourself civilized. You can't have it both ways.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Before we get started: Make sure you check earlier posts on "Shunpiking." There's a new suggestion this morning from reader Gary Smith.

"This is Not a War on Drugs—it’s a War on People.”

So says Jack Cole, a former New Jersey narc who directs Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an organization that calls for the legalization of drugs and the end of America's long and costly war on drugs. Here's more, worth reading. (Try to imagine an American politician saying these things):

"Let me tell you a little more about the progress we have made. LEAP is an internatioanl non-profit educational organization created to give voice to law enforcers who who believe the US war on drugs has failed and who wish to support alternative policies that will lower the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction, without destroying generations of our young by arrest and imprisonment. As our name implies Law Enforcement Against Prohibition wants to end drug prohibition just as we ended alcohol prohibition in 1933. When we ended that nasty law we put Al Capone and his smuggling buddies out of business overnight and we can do the same to the drug lords and terrorist who today make over 500 billion dollars a year selling illegal drugs around the world.

Legalized regulation of drugs will end the vast majority of violent and property crimes that are a result of prohibition of those drugs. We can then treat drug abuse as a health problem instead of a crime problem and save the lives of our children, which we are now sacrificing at the altar of this terrible war. In four years LEAP increased from the five founding police officers to a membership of over 5,000, across the United States and in 65 other countries, which is fitting since U.S. drug policy has ramifications that affect the entire world. All LEAP speakers are former drug-warriors—police, parole, probation and corrections officers, judges, and prosecutors. We even have state prison wardens, FBI and DEA agents that help make up our bureau of more than 125 speakers.

The question exists: how do drug-policy reform groups get voters together to listen to a presentation? We took that question and reversed it. Voters already meet everyday. They meet in civic and community organizations. They attend PTA and school board meetings. They join in discussions based on their political alliance. So, instead of getting them to come to us, we went to the voters. This idea is a proven and effective way to sway public opinion.

LEAP presents to civic, professional, educational, and religious organizations, as well as at public forums but we target civic groups; Chambers of Commerce, Rotaries, Lions and Kiwanis Clubs, etc. The people in these organizations are conservative folks who mostly agree with the drug-warriors that we must continue the war on drugs at any cost. They are also very solid members of their communities; people who belong to civic organizations because they want the best for their locales. Every one of them will be voting in every election. Many are policy-makers and if they are not, they are the people who can pull the coat tails of policy-makers and say, “We have someone you must hear talk about drug policy.” We believe the vast majority of these audience members agree with the goals of LEAP by the end of our presentation.

Even more amazing is that we are now attending national and international law-enforcement conventions where we keep track of all those we speak with at our educational exhibit booth; After we talk with them on a one-on-one basis, we find that only 6% want to continue the war on drugs, 14% are undecided, and an astounding 80% agree with LEAP that we must end drug prohibition. The most interesting thing about those who agreed with us is that before LEAP came along only a small number of that 80% realized anyone else in law enforcement felt the same. Officers are so frightened of being labeled “soft on drugs” that are afraid to tell each other their real feelings about the war on drugs.

This also holds true for policymakers. In August 2005 five LEAP speakers staffed an educational booth at the National Conference for State Legislators in Seattle,Washington. We spoke with 450 of the 5,000 attendees on a one-on-one basis and 86% of them agreed that we should legalize drugs—only 4% wanted to continue the war and the other 10% were undecided. This means if we can show these legislators that they won’t loose one more vote than they will gain by backing drug policy reform, they will end drug prohibition. The way to do that is to show them LEAP has a huge membership. By 2008 we want to be able to say we have 10,000 members of law enforcement calling for an end to drug prohibition and a MILLION private citizens who agree this is the correct policy. If we accomplish that we will elevate discussion of legalized regulation of drugs to the level of a Presidential campaign issue.

            Things are already changing. In New York State, the prosecutor for Albany County and the Executive for Erie County both said the failed war on drugs must be replaced. In April Erie County, New York, Executive Joel A. Giambra was queried by reporters as to what he was going to do about the murder one day earlier of Sister Karen Klimczak by a self-confessed crack-addict who said he killed the nun to get her cell phone which he wanted to sell to buy more crack. When Executive Giambra replied that he thought it was time to talk about legalizing drugs the media set out to demonize him. The following Monday Mr. Giambra was joined at the press conference podium by Peter Christ, Board member, speaker and co-founder of LEAP, who explained to the media why Mr. Giambra was correct in his assessment. Two weeks later the Buffalo News allowed Mr. Giambra to publish an Op Ed titled “DRUG LAWS DON'T WORK; IT'S TIME TO TRY LEGALIZING THEM,” and later published their own article, “GIAMBRA A PIONEER ON DRUGS?” suggesting “Years from now, they may look at him in the same way we see Susan B. Anthony and other pioneers for women's rights.” This amazing media turnaround was a direct result of the credibility that LEAP brought to Mr. Giambra’s courageous statement.

           April 13, 2006 the Strathclyde Police Federation of 7,700 officers in Scotland publicly called for the legalization of all drugs. We are looking forward to working with you to end the agonies created by the war on drugs and to renew and deepen respect for the honorable profession of policing that has been severely weakened by the role police have been required to play in enforcing drug prohibition laws. Together we can make a better and safer society by serving it in a more efficient and ethical manner.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Anybody else hearing what I was hearing early this morning? It got pretty chilly last night and I am pretty sure I heard the furnace come on this morning for the first time since late winter/early spring. I love the advent of autumn in September, but it always brings two things that bum me out -- the last tomatos on the vine and the first growls of the furnace. With energy dereg, the furnace sounds like a thousand screaming pole cats.

Don't forget to try Baltimore's Farmer's Markets this weekend. If you've never been, you're in for a treat. There's one Saturday in Waverly and Sunday morning downtown by the Fallsway.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Today's column doesn't suggest legalization of heroin, cocaine and marijuana, but I am headed in that direction. I have read a lot about this subject and spoken to hundreds of people about it. Lately I've heard compelling arguments for legalization from long-time Baltimore trial attorney Billy Murphy and Jack Cole, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. (Jack was in Baltimore last spring and debated the subject with a female prosecutor; someone who was there told me Jack "cleaned her clock.")

Here's today's first reader e-mail on the subject:

I read in the Sun the other day Willie Nelson and his band were stopped by the police and he was issued a citation for possessing marijuana. The police found 1 and 1/2 pounds of it. A citation.  What would have happened to Willie and the boys if they had been stopped in Baltimore? Or if Willie & company were Blacks stopped by Baltimore Police with a pound and a half. We both know what would have happened. We need to take the crime out of drug use. In Switzerland the junkies were once a huge problem in the needle parks. The Swiss decided to provide heroin free to junkies if they came in for treatment. Needle parks disappeared. Junkies got treatment and counseling. The government put the drug dealers out of business. People stopped dying at the hands of dealers and bad drugs. Every addict is now registered. Every addict is counseled every time they come in to the clinic for heroin to take the methadone treatment.  The program remains a huge success. It will unfortunately never happen here. It's too practical. Too logical. Our war on drugs was lost long ago because our leaders don't get it. Our tactics are failed. I may be a conservative, but I am a practical one. And Willie better steer clear of this town!

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

It's so easy to beat up on these people -- Raynor, Lamone. Give me a break. Spare me the gubernatorial grandstanding, too. (Ehrlich has been looking for an excuse to get ride of Linda Lamone for two years.) Legislatures across the country forced the switch to electronic voting and gave elections officials virtually no time to make it and train people. I believe the Harford County acting elections chief resigned in August because of stress and health issues. There are going to be more problems in November, too. And there are problems that go beyond election-day glitches. Check out this web site of Avi Rubin, the computer security expert at Johns Hopkins. He just wrote a book on the subject of e-ballots and security. Wear a sweater. It could give you a chill.

Meanwhile, make sure you read tomorrow's Sun story on William Donald Schaefer at the state Board of Public Works meeting. He threw another priceless tirade today -- and guess who was the recipient this time.  Get up early to read this one, folks. And, after reading the story by the Sun's Andy Green, you'll wonder what I wondered: What happened to the guy with the cake? 

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Sorry about the gap between blog postings. I've been undergoing tests. We're not sure what it is. Something about leafy green vegetables! More after my GI series.

Pieces of columns too short to use . . . .

It will be interesting to see if Martin O'Malley -- or his gubernatorial opponent, Bob Ehrlich -- reacts to the Edna McAbier story on today's front page. Here is a woman who does what the city implores -- she identifies drug dealers in her neighborhood, turns them in and then follows through and testifies at trial and helps put away eight defendants. You'd think today's story would have been her triumphant return to reclaiming the neighborhood she saved. Instead, she is exiled, unable to return because, in some ways, her neighborhood is worse than it was before. This is an important story, and maybe the mayor should get Edna back where she belongs, with 24-hour police protection if necessary. This is Baltimore's war on terrorism, and if Edna goes,the terrorists win. More on this tomorrow.

With the Cardin staffer story, be listening for Michael Steele to revive the one about having had Oreo cookies thrown at him at a campaign event in 2002. Beware: Last I heard, that story had shriveled into myth.

Thanks to reader Jonathan Jensen for pointing out this interesting phrasing from the web site of one of Baltimore's premier restaurants, Sotto Sopra:

"Sotto Sopra bursts a casual, yet aristocratic atmosphere. Within its walls the harmonious feast of shiny mirrors and fancy murals is orchestrated to provide a sense of liberalism and romantic freedom without diminishing the casualty of the dining experience."

Goodbye Rochambeau, home of Rudy Handel, the "Sun Lies/Sun Errs" man who used to hold up that sign in front of our building on Calvert Street at rush hour.

After a million years and countless nuclear wars, only three things will still exist from our epoch: The Great Wall of China, Cockroaches, and that big, stupid Man/Woman thing in front of Penn Station.

The first horse to cross the finish line is always called "Win." Second is "Place." Third is "Show." What do you always call Fourth? "Orioles."

Do you think Stan the Fan's mother calls him Stanley the Fan?

Inappropriate remarks. First Schaefer, now the Pope. How high can this thing go?

Canned and frozen spinach prices skyrocket. Hoarding suspected! Governor urges calm! Film at 11!

You can't get grapenut ice cream in Maryland -- no place that I know of (unless you special order it from Moxley's). If you see it on sale somewhere, please call me at once: 410-332-6166.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Memo to Josh Rales, failed U.S. Senate candidate who spent $5.5 million on his campaign and got about 5 percent of the Democratic primary vote:

That's about one percent of the vote for every $1 million. Good work. If I didn't know better -- from your numerous TV commercials -- I would have assumed Josh Rales was a fat-cat who lit cigars with burning $20 bills. When you got it, flaunt it, baby, flaunt it!

How much good could you have done, JR -- may I call you that? -- with $5.5 mil if you were really interested in public service instead of gratifying your own ego? I know drug treatment clinics and after-school programs for children that would have put that money to good use.

I know -- you're a philanthropist already. But you could have been $5.5 million more of one and done a lot more good.

The millionaire-running-for-Senate thing didn't work here. Look what K. Mfume did with a piddling $800,000 -- about 40 percent of the vote.

It may be tempting to underestimate the wisdom of the few voters who actually bothered to exercise their constitutional right, but we're not total dummies.

We know, for instance, that somebody who wakes up one day and says, "I think I'll go on TV and bestow my fabulous wisdom on the huddling masses because I'm rich and I can," isn't going to get too far. Not here, anyway.

If you truly wanted to do good, JR, you could have taken the $5.5 mil and provided scholarships to college students, given bonuses and prizes to good school teachers, or provided more beds for drug treatment in Baltimore, where close to one in 10 citizens is addicted.

$5.5 mil on a Senate campaign that raked in a whopping 4 percent of the vote?

Was this some kind of mid-life crisis, JR?

Next time, just buy a Miata!

Make sure you check out all the reader mail on the previous post on Schaefer.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

I've been a little distracted. No time for blogging on primary day but I'll be here in November, up all night with the election results as Martin O'Malley and Robert Ehrlich, Michael Steele and Ben Cardin, and Peter Franchot and a Republican Comptroller Candidate Whose Name I'm Sure Is Somewhere On The Sun's Website go at it.

Several people who remember the series have asked why I never revived The Don Donaldo Ring Cycle -- my operatic columns on the reign of William Donald Schaefer as governor (1987-1993) -- during his time as comptroller, particularly the last couple of bizarre years.

I guess WDS stopped being funny. I guess I liked him more when he wasn't offensive and ridiculous, just mean and pouty but on top of things, doin' it now, doin' it now, doin' it now!

Pat Ercolano, one of the best copy editors we have at The Sun and a clever writer whose prose we miss on the feature page, regrets this. "It woulda been appropriate," Erc writes, "for Don Donaldo to go out like Don Giovanni, laughing at and disparaging his detractors as he is swallowed up by the gates of hell."

It came pretty close to that, didn't it? And it ain't over yet. They still have to have Schaefer actually leave office and the new comptroller move in. We'll see how that goes.

We'll also see if WDS calls today: I challenge him in today's column to come to the Sun once a week and spend some time answering phone calls from XOs looking for jobs.

Some of the people who voted for Schaefer probably did so to help him save face; they felt they "owed" him that. It's interesting. I think we might have "owed" Schaefer in 1998, or 2002, when he ran for comptroller in a fabulous political comeback. But not this time, not to save face. WDS became his own worst enemy, and a plurality of Democratic primary voters just decided it was time to move on. Anyway, I'll stop here and let Reader Thompson have his say:

“WE love people because of their imperfections, not in spite of them. I voted for Schaefer because I owed him. We all owed him. We owed him bigtime. Yes, he is a dinosaur. He's a 57' Chevy with fins. Still. I owed him. He made the Ravens happen. He was disrespected by the football commissioner and took the hit. He made me proud to be from Baltimore Schaefer will be forever the greatest mayor this city ever had. All of that ego was simply part of the passion for this city. Often we take the good with the bad. With Schaefer, we took the great with politically incorrect. I'll take that deal anytime."

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
                    

I'm working on a report of a golfer at a certain prestigious golf course on North Charles Street going out of his way to approach the 9/11 Peace Path demonstrators yesterday evening and strike one of them with a golf ball. (I guess the demonstration -- and disturbing thoughts of Bush's war in Iraq -- was messing up his game.) More later. Film at 11, or check out this blog.

Hey, check out the response on my last post about telemarketing by politicians -- someone actually defends it as the only way for candidates to get their messages out, in this case candidates in Maryland's Sixth Congressional District. My point is, it might be effective at getting candidate's names into voters' ears but, by calling us up at home and leaving phone messages -- my answering service had seven of them yesterday! -- they're also getting their names stuck in our craws.

Today on the Buzz (1090 am, 11:30 am - 2:00 p.m.)   The CSI effect on jurors. Are juries so influenced by the "forensic science" they see on TV that they expect the same from real-live medical examiners and homicide detectives?  Also, I'm going to put Mentos in a bottle of Coke and fire it at Chip. . . .

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Just one more day to the primary, and maybe that will put an end to the latest innovation in campaign advertising -- computer-generated telemarketing calls with candidates' recorded voices. Make it stop! They are coming in at three per hour -- O'Malley, Cardin, Bielenson, someone named Washington, Hollinger, Cardin again, and Mrs. Cardin!!

Did I miss something in 2004? Is this something new this year? Do these politicians understand that few things are as despised in American society as telemarketing calls?

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
                    

A real surprise -- I guess because I always assumed it was a congested, old highway -- is Route 1, particularly through northeastern Maryland, Cecil County, up through Pennsylvania, the Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine Valley area. What a surprise. I went to an event in the West Chester area recently, and, coming back, decidced to skip Interstate 95 and caught the Paoli Pike and Route 202, then banged a right on Route 1 and took it all the way to Bel Air, Merlin. Made good time. Saw some great sights. A very pleasant shunpiking -- and no tolls.

OK, pikers -- please post your shuns!

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

I love this word: Shunpiking. I’m a shunpiker and didn’t know it.

You can be a shunpiker, too.

For one thing, you can avoid the $5 toll on Interstate-95 Northbound at Perryville by getting off at Havre de Grace (“Last exit before toll”) and spending about five to seven minutes cutting to Route 40 and buying a decal for the Thomas J. Hatem Bridge. Buy it one time and you can use it all year. Make the next left after the toll and you get back on I-95 above the Perryville plaza.

With the HatemBridgedecal on the side passenger window of your vehicle, you save $5 on every ensuing trip north. It’s called shunpiking!

-o-

A Sun reader named Jacob Exler provided a way to avoid a toll in Delaware.

Here are his instructions:

Northbound: Leave I-95N at Exit 109B, Rte. 279N (Elkton Rd.) toward Newark.Go 2 miles and make a right onto Christina Parkway (Rte. 2E and Rte. 4E). Pass the Daimler-Chrysler Assembly Plant on the left. After 1 mile turn right onto Rte. 896S (S. College Ave.) and continue to get back on I-95N.

Southbound: Leavet I-95S at Exit 1, Rte. 869N (S. College Ave.) toward Newark. Go 1 mile and make a left onto Christina Parkway(Rte. 2W and Rte. 4W). After 1 mile turn left (there are 2 left turn lanes) onto Rte.279S (Elkton Rd.) and continue to get back on I-95S. “Try it out,” Exler says, “I'm sure you will like it. My next goal is to avoid the Delaware Memorial Bridge southbound.”

-o-

There’s a web site devoted to shunpiking, started by a guy named Steve.

“I travel the country and I started the web site almost for my own wants,” Steve wrote in an e-mail. “I am a gear head (car nut) and would travel places with beautiful back roads.  I have been driving Corvettes since the late 70's.  I know the most common definition for shunpiking is to avoid tolls. I had seen a definition that said something like ‘to take a back road to avoid tolls and major roads.’  Well, if you are not in a hurry, then there is great value in touring the ‘back roads.’  And I mean touring.

“I wanted to get some input for scenic back roads when I travel.  I think there are other roads like Route 66 out there. I am working in Alabama now and took back roads through Memphis to northern Alabama.  I saw possibly eight little towns that aren't even on maps.  I grew up in a small town in central New York and really enjoy the atmosphere of small towns. So, not only can shunpiking save you money, it can also reaquaint you with America.”

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)