Thanks to Friends School junior Bradley Kolodner for this comment:

"I want to bring to your attention a product very similar to the Smuckers Uncrustables that you ridiculed back in May, that my father and I got a kick out of at our local Giant.  They are called Fast Franks, hot dogs in a bun, made by Oscar-Mayer.  If you haven't seen them, I am sure that you can imagine what they are; hot dogs in a bun that you can just throw in the microwave and already have your hot dog in the bun.

I realize that actually putting a hot dog on a bun can take some elbow grease.  You have to walk to the pantry, open up the bun package, which usually has 2 fewer buns than hot dogs in a hot dog package, and actually place the hot dog in the bun.  Whew, that seems too tough for us Americans!  These "Fast Franks" save all that time and effort.  Just open the package of three buns and hot dogs, and without having to put the hot dog in the bun, just place in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds.  Those precious seconds saved could give Americans more time to watch television!  Anyway, I thought you would enjoy hearing about this fairly new product that seems to have the same purpose of the Smuckers Uncrustables: save Americans time but not necessarily money.

What will they invent next? A mini-microwave that you can purchase with food already in it where you just press a button and your food is warm without having to actually put the food in the microwave? 

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Now that a coalition of legislative leaders have renewed their push to end the death penalty in Maryland, with the new governor saying he would support repeal, let's reflect on the words of the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow in arguing in Illinois in 1924 against the executions of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Read this, and I think you will find remarkable how timely and relevant Darrow's words are.

Now, your Honor, I have spoken about the war. I believed in it. I don't know whether I was crazy or not. Sometimes I think perhaps I was. I approved of it; I joined in the general cry of madness and despair. I urged men to fight. I was safe because I was too old to go. I was like the rest. What did they do? Right or wrong, justifiable or unjustifiable — which I need not discuss to-day — it changed the world. For four long years the civilized world was engaged in killing men. Christian against Christian, barbarian uniting with Christians to kill Christians; anything to kill. It was taught in every school, aye in the Sunday schools. The little children played at war. The toddling children on the street. Do you suppose this world has ever been the same since then? How long, your Honor, will it take for the world to get back the humane emotions that were slowly growing before the war? How long will it take the calloused hearts of men before the scars of hatred and cruelty shall be removed?

We read of killing one hundred thousand men in a day. We read about it and we rejoiced in it — if it was the other fellows who were killed. We were fed on flesh and drank blood. Even down to the prattling babe. I need not tell your Honor this, because you know; I need not tell you how many upright, honorable young boys have come into this court charged with murder, some saved and some sent to their death, boys who fought in this war and learned to place a cheap value on human life. You know it and I know it. These boys were brought up in it. The tales of death were in their homes, their playgrounds, their schools; they were in the newspapers that they read; it was a part of the common frenzy — what was a life? It was nothing. It was the least sacred thing in existence and these boys were trained to this cruelty.

I do not know how much salvage there is in these two boys. I hate to say it in their presence, but what is there to look forward to? I do not know but what your Honor would be merciful if you tied a rope around their necks and let them die; merciful to them, but not merciful to civilization, and not merciful to those who would be left behind. To spend the balance of their days in prison is mighty little to look forward to, if anything. Is it anything? They may have the hope that as the years roll around they might be released. I do not know. I do not know. I will be honest with this court as I have tried to be from the beginning. I know that these boys are not fit to be at large. I believe they will not be until they pass through the next stage of life, at forty-five or fifty. Whether they will then, I cannot tell. I am sure of this; that I will not be here to help them. So far as I am concerned, it is over.

       I would not tell this court that I do not hope that some time, when life and age have changed their bodies, as they do, and have changed their emotions, as they do — that they may once more return to life. I would be the last person on earth to dose the door of hope to any human being that lives, and least of all to my clients. But what have they to look forward to? Nothing. And I think here of the stanza of Housman:

Now hollow fires burn out to black,
            And lights are fluttering low:
       Square your sholders, lift your pack
             And leave your friends and go.
       O never fear, lads, naught's to dread,
             Look not left nor right:
       In all the endless road you tread
             There's nothing but the night.

       I care not, your Honor, whether the march begins at the gallows or when the gates of Joliet close upon them, there is nothing but the night, and that is little for any human being to expect.

       Now, I must say a word more and then I will leave this with you where I should have left it long ago. None of us are unmindful of the public; courts are not, and juries are not. We placed our fate in the hands of a trained court, thinking that he would be more mindful and considerate than a jury. I cannot say how people feel. I have stood here for three months as one might stand at the ocean trying to sweep back the tide. I hope the seas are subsiding and the wind is falling, and I believe they are, but I wish to make no false pretense to this court. The easy thing and the popular thing to do is to hang my clients. I know it. Men and women who do not think will applaud. The cruel and thoughtless will approve. It will be easy to-day; but in Chicago, and reaching out over the length and breadth of the land, more and more fathers and mothers, the humane, the kind and the hopeful, who are gaining an understanding and asking questions not only about these poor boys, but about their own - these will join in no acclaim at the death of my clients. These would ask that the shedding of blood be stopped, and that the normal feelings of man resume their sway. And as the days and the months and the years go on, they will ask it more and more. But, your Honor, what they shall ask may not count. I know the easy way. I know your Honor stands between the future and the past. I know the future is with me, and what I stand for here; not merely for the lives of these two unfortunate lads, but for all boys and all girls; for all of the young, and as far as possible, for all of the old. I am pleading for life, understanding, charity, kindness, and the infinite mercy that considers all. I am pleading that we overcome cruelty with kindness and hatred with love. I know the future is on my side. Your Honor stands between the past and the future. You may hang these boys; you may hang them by the neck until they are dead. But in doing it you will turn your face toward the past. In doing it you are making it harder for every other boy who in ignorance and darkness must grope his way through the mazes which only childhood knows. In doing it you will make it harder for unborn children. You may save them and make it easier for every child that sometime may stand where these boys stand. You will make it easier for every human being with an aspiration and a vision and a hope and a fate. I am pleading for the future; I am pleading for a time when hatred and cruelty will not control the hearts of men. When we can learn by reason and judgment and understanding and faith that all life is worth saving, and that mercy is the highest attribute of man.

       I feel that I should apologize for the length of time I have taken. This case may not be as important as I think it is, and I am sure I do not need to tell this court, or to tell my friends that I would fight just as hard for the poor as for the rich. If I should succeed in saving these boys' lives and do nothing for the progress of the law, I should feel sad, indeed. If I can succeed, my greatest reward and my greatest hope will be that I have done something for the tens of thousands of other boys, for the countless unfortunates who must tread the same road in blind childhood that these poor boys have trod - that I have done something to help human understanding, to temper justice with mercy, to overcome hate with love.

       I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar Khayyam. It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all.

So I be written in the Book of Love,
       I do not care about that Book above.
       Erase my name or write it as you will,
       So I be written in the Book of Love.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

A message from Our Daily Bread: 10 mentors needed (see below)

Dan: I assumed the role of Director of Catholic Charities' Our Daily Bread (ODB) in June 2005.  ODB is the largest food program for the poor in the state. serving 249,000 meals in 2006.  I am currently the Director of the Our Daily Bread Employment Center which is under construction at 725 Fallsway.  You may be able to see the building across the JFX from the Sunpapers building. ODBEC is going to make an impact on people who want to make it back to supporting themselves and their families. People who don't want to go back to prison or be in the drug business anymore. 

The mission of the Our Daily Bread Employment Center is to improve lives by connecting them (in one place no less) to resources, serving daily meals and supporting efforts toward stable employment and housing. The Center will be home to

        *       Our Daily Bread dining room,
        *       Christopher Place Employment Academy, an 18-month residential program which provides training for job readiness and independent living for formerly homeless men;

        *       St. Jude's Employment Center which provides assistance for low- and unskilled workers to secure employment while helping to improve skills and address their barriers to success on the job with a goal of sustained employment at a living wage.

        *       In addition, the ODBEC will offer on-site services through other providers for Literacy/GED training, transitional work, recovery support services, mental health and physical health services, transportation services and the Maryland Re-Entry Program for men being released from prison.

When the Center opens in mid-May there will be many opportunities for Baltimoreans to become involved.  I hope we can keep in touch as this develops because ODBEC is going to offer real solutions for people.

But we are dependent upon volunteers to play a major role. 

Right now, there are 10 men in the current Christopher Place "class" who are need of mentors as they approach job readiness.  When they begin the job search process there will be the opportunity for local employers to provide jobs for the men.  It's important that prospective employers know that ODBEC staff work with the men to ensure their success in the workplace.  In the ten years since Christopher Place began it has assisted over 400 men in finding stable employment. Anyone interested in helping with these two requests can call me at 410-261-6776.

I worked for 32 years as a student affairs administrator at several different colleges of various sizes.  I was often unsure as to whether I was having a positive impact on the students with whom I worked.  At Our Daily Bread, I leave work every day knowing that in some small way, with the help of almost 200 good volunteers, we have improved the lives of 700 hundred people who really need our help at least for the day.  In the new ODBEC we will be working hard to help people break the cycle of poverty and move toward being productive members of the community.

I would really like to talk about how we can work together to get folks to understand and to take a role in reducing the heartbreaking impact of violence in Baltimore.  The frustration that some of your readers -- and some of the men you have heard from -- is the same that we feel.  The only thing is, Catholic Charities is actually doing something about it.  This new Center will be the first major resource opportunity for these guys and we really need the community to support it with sweat equity and funds. 

Dennis M. Murphy
Director
Our Daily Bread Employment Center
2305 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218-5128
410-261-6776
FAX: 410-889-0203

Preach the Gospel at all times.  When necessary, use words.
Saint Francis of Assisi

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here's an interesting idea from a reader named Tony, who describes himself as a conservative. We talked about this for an hour on The Buzz on Thursday, and the discussion was great. Keep in mind: The writer is responding to recent columns about the number of young black men and boys in Baltimore who end up victims of homicides or shootings, and the number involved in perpetrating those crimes. What we're talking about here is perhaps the most at-risk group in the United States, and one that costs Maryland taxpayers millions of dollars in foster care, group homes, juvenile detention, etc. The average daily cost of a kid in juvenile services runs from $115 to $150 a day. Here's Tony's idea:

I come from the other side (Right); however, I'd like as much as you for Baltimore and other urban areas to solve their many problems. Here's an idea that is free-market-based, would probably save lots of money, and hopefully benefit those in need. Assuming we could put a big dent in teen-age (out-of-wedlock) births and young men committing crimes, that would be a really big step. Here's the idea.  Give any boy/girl $25,000 (maybe $50,000) if they graduate from selected Baltimore City high schools without having a child and/or not being arrested, prosecuted, convicted (you chose) of a crime.Maybe, other high schools would be good candidates (some in P.G. county, Baltimore County). I have no idea how much it costs to arrest and try a teen for a crime.  Nor do I have any idea how much it costs to send a child to a correctional institution.  I figure it must cost lots for a teen who has a child and must go on public assistance. But, I'll bet any of the above costs more than what I'm proposing.  Even if it doesn't, why not if it gets kids to an advanced age (OK 18 - 19) without a record, or a having a child that at that age really stunts success. Listen, as a conservative all my life, I'd be willing to pay for this, since I think a reward would really mean something to those kids who need help - One doesn't need a stable family or need to be a rocket scientist to figure out they can get $25,000 for good behavior. You could even go further with this idea in having those who "earn" the reward, promise them another $10,000 if they complete an Associate's degree at a community college."

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

A reader named Patrick reports an oddball jogger on North Charles Street, between the Beltway and Northern Parkway, around 8 am on weekdays. 

"(This) guy jogs, and neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow can stop him.  This isn't what is most peculiar, however. What is most interesting is that he does it shirtless with spandex shorts and a brief case no matter the temperature. In cold weather, he does opt for a knit hat and gloves. I've seen him as far south as Cold Spring Lane and would love to know if that is how he commutes every day.  Recently I've seen him return northbound after seeing him run southbound and this has made me question whether he is commuting or just getting his morning workout. The brief case would seem to rule out the latter."

I dunno. Maybe there's a portable defibrillator inside.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

I apologize for the error in the opening sentence of Sunday's column in the print editions: Baltimore had 15 homicides in the first 10 days of the year, not 10 in the first 15, as I stated. The numbers are sometimes so numbing that a veteran columnist and experienced editors mess them up. I also regret to report that the bloody pace continues, though the rate has fallen in the last week to only one killing per day. There were two yesterday, one just before midnight, bringing the total to 20 through Jan. 20.

Activate Your Inner Citizen: Here is an e-mail from Michael Sarbanes, son of the retired U.S. Senator and executive director of the Citizens Planning and Housing Association, responding to the letter from Grant Corley, which is quoted in today's column:

Grant sounds like someone who is passionate for the city and the region, refuses to accept that things can’t be better, and doesn’t want to sit around until someone else figures it out. CPHA exists for people like that. We ask people like Grant to “activate your inner citizen,” something tangible that everyone can do, without giving up his day job or going to lots of boring meetings. We mean really going deeper on an issue that matters to them – whether it's trash or crime or drugs or transportation or housing or whatever -- to really learn why things are as they are, what are the real obstacles and what is just lack of imagination or concern, and what solutions can actually fix them.

We encourage people to stretch their comfort zone – to go places and meet people that may be new to them but are critical to building a new and better city and region. We ask people to activate their own networks –a nyone who has an email directory or an address book is a potential player in making things better.

Finally, we ask people to join CPHA and get other people to activate their inner citizen.

We work at the grassroots level and at the policy level and our basic principle for 65 years has been that informed citizens organized together can improve the quality of life for everyone in the region. We’re a volunteer and membership organization, so there are lots of ways for Grant or people like him to get involved.

If Grant wants to do someting in his own community or support a neighborhood leader who is working on issues he cares about in their community, we can help connect him. More than 30 community leaders are going through our Leadership and Community Building Fellows program now, the most intensive leadership program for grassroots volunteer neighborhood leaders in the nation.

We’re working with communities across the city to end the bizarre Baltimore practice of dumping the property of evicted tenants into the public right of way – 7000 times a year, in a way that humiliates tenants and depresses neighborhoods.

If Grant wants to do something about the drugs that are fueling so much of the despair and violence that is devastating families and neighborhoods, he can volunteer with CPHA to help advocate for adequate funding for treatment on request, or to help supportive housing providers provide a quality drug-free place to live for people in recovery.

If he wants to improve the transit system so that people can get to jobs or go have fun without wasting hours of time everyday, he can work with CPHA to improve the current system – like our rider survey of on-time performance last spring -- and implement the Regional Rail Plan, which could be the most important infrastructure investment in the city’s future in a generation.

If he wants to help Baltimore reverse a legacy of neighborhood disinvestments and devastating concentration of poverty, he can work with CPHA to implement housing policies in the city and the region that will create stable mixed-income communities that are onramps to mainstream opportunity for people at all income levels.

And if there are other issues he cares about, CPHA has been a gathering place for citizens who want to make a difference for over six decades.

For too long, Grant's kind of passion has been allowed to turn into a resigned voyeurism or soured frustration. That’s got to change. If he wants to be an active part of the solution, I hope you’ll give him lots of places to plug in to make a difference. I hope contacting CPHA is one of his first calls.

michaels@cphabaltimore.org

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

. . . . because parents don't beat their kids enough when they're little! Of course!

Here's another nutty e-mail message from a defender of the parental right to spank children, a woman commenting on an earlier post entitled, 'Stop Beating Babies.' I publish this one because it speaks for several others, with similar hysterical and angry tone, that have arrived here since a column on the subject a few weeks ago. This wild woman believes that, if parents spanked their kids more often, their kids wouldn't turn violently against them when they are older. Rather than let this bit of prose be buried in the comment thread down below, I thought I'd publish it here, where more of you are likely to read it. I pity the children of this person:

This is sooo crazy. You people need to grow up!
I believe in spanking my children. I have 3 girls and a boy! You know why? Because when I was growing up I was spanked and I turned out pretty darn good!
I remember even having to go pick my  own switch off the tree!
My kids aren't going to be spoiled to the point where when they get in their teens they are gonna whoop on me! They are going to respect me at all times I am the peron who is raising my children! I wish I was that lady that was being told "stop hitting babies" I would have took off on her and when she said somethin else I would have raised my hand to her! And told her to mind her damn business!
Its true you don't hit a child!!!!! But aint nuthin wrong with a good ole fashion BUTT whoopin! 
I am from the south (Texas that is) and when we would get in trouble  at school we would get sent to the principles office and guess what we would get 3 pops from the principle with hard paddle!
Thats whats wrong with parents today! Thats why you see soooo many parents getting killed at the hands of their children, NO DISCIPLINE!!!!!
****************NO CONTROL FROM PARENTS? NO CONTROL FROM YOUR KIDS!
Don't try and change them when they are 15 and out of control. You made them the way they have become (SPOILED) now you are fearful of your own child! Thats a shame!

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Jack Bauer shoots Curtis and a suitcase nuke goes off, and there's actually a mushroom cloud over Valencia, California. The oranges are gonna be huge this season!

I'm sorry. A nuke that actually goes off? Come on. I think the writers of '24' are getting a little desperate, no?

The flak-tac squad should have gotten to the address where the guy was activating the Soviet-designed suitcase nuke and just deactivated him. That would have been enough for me. I would have been happy with that. It was a very exciting season-opening four hours, and that's all I need this years . . . .  four hours of hot pursuit of terrorists topped off by foiling the attempt to nuke LA.

I can't take another 20 hours of this. The show should just be called '4' this year.

One other thing -- David Palmer's brother is president, and he's completely unconvincing in the role. Meanwhile, David Palmer is doing Allstate commercials. Who's producing this show?

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Here's what we need -- everyone, from city to suburb, politician to business leader, professional athlete to high school coach getting involed, in some way, for one year, in breaking the cycle of violence that is Baltimore's national shame: One man, one woman, one boy, one girl, one neighborhood at a time. I think about this night and day. It is our great unfinished business -- wiping out the poverty and other social conditions that lead to so much violence, so much incarceration, unemployment, family dysfunction in the inner-city. We are going to get something going. There is a movement afoot, and I can sense it.

I was inspired by this e-mail, among others like it, that arrived in a flood of response to Thursday's column. It is from a reader named Grant  Corley:

I was so frustrated and disgusted after reading your column last night. Thanks -- you ruined my dinner!

A month ago, I moved back to my hometown of Baltimore. I moved out 15 years ago, but I missed this town and slowly realized I wanted to live and work here as an adult. It meant a lot to me. So I'm back.

Needless to say, it's been a bittersweet experience so far. Every day I see things that amaze me and make me proud to call Baltimore home again.

But the crime is hearbreaking. It's stunning. It's wasting so many lives, it's killing our city, and it's crippling our state. I don't have immediate personal experience with the violence, but I take it personally. I realize this has been going on for years now, but -- still -- 15 murders in the last ten days???
So, yes, I agree with you. Every one of us who cares needs to help to try and end the cycle of poverty and despair.

And I wanted to ask you, or your readers, for a some suggestions on realistic actions for us to take. A lot of regular folks, including myself, probably don't have the time and the skill to personally organize a march on City Hall or to overhaul the city's school system. I'm not an aspiring politician or a social worker, or even a parent (yet), but I care about this community and I'm willing to pitch in to help turn this city around, in whatever way I can.

Maybe this is a recommendation for a column. I'm not sure. "10 ways you can pitch in to heal Baltimore." Something like that. What are the best organizations in the city that are working effectively toward stemming the poverty and the crime? Whether they be social organizations like soup kitchens or drug treatment centers, or political action groups, or simply groups that are trying to bring in more jobs and residents? Or maybe other creative ways to help? (Sorry if you already wrote the column I'm pining for, multiple times -- I probably missed it.)

I realize that this sickness has been going on for more than a generation. And that this is an immensely complex and deep-rooted problem, half a century in the making. It won't be going away anytime soon. But I can't think of anything that makes me sadder than this city still mired in violence in another generation.

Bad as things are, this old town is worth saving -- all of it. That's why I -- as I suspect you and many of your readers do -- still have this crazy vision of a happy, healed, growing Baltimore, and I can't seem to get it out of my head.

Please keep those outraged columns coming.

Thank you, Grant. All I can say is: Watch this space, and my column.

For now, Go Ravens!

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

I found myself answering some of the questions you posed [in the column], and I have been in a funk ever since. . . . I grew up in Belair Edison, the neighborhood where Jaimar's friend was killed.  A hardworking, blue collar neighborhood, full of the kids of steel workers, auto workers and the occasional Teamster.  Good jobs with a paycheck that bought hope and dignity and a little comfort.  Jobs that afforded an average Joe, with an average intellect, and a high school education the opportunity to provide for his family.

Those jobs are, for the most part, gone now.  And that's fine with some.  Good jobs?  Work harder.  Need health insurance?  Work harder.  A wage that can support a family?  Work harder.  The very same people denounce unions, and the economy they built as some sort of cancerous bloat and in the next breath justify the excess of corporate compensation as the fruits of "hard work", as if working long hours in a board room is somehow tougher than long hours at the blast furnace.

Belair Edison was lily white when I grew up there.  And, as blacks moved in, whites fled.  Mind you, this was not 80 or 60 years ago.  This was 20 years ago.  And those same people who fled will respond with incredulity if you suggest that race plays a significant part in our society.  They will insist that racism is all in the past, that it was cured sometime around 1964, and that anyone who complains, or tries to rectify injustice is a liberal whiner.

Tom Shaller once on WBAL put it very well.  Imagine a football game where the Ravens were prevented from even stepping on the field in the first quarter.  And then in the second quarter, they could come on the field, but couldnt touch the other players.  In the third quarter, they could only play with one hand.  Can you imagine what the score might be?  Finally in the fourth quarter, the Ravens could compete equally with the other team.  How long might it take for them to catch up.  That is a very apt metaphor for the history of race in this country.  Conservatives in the fourth quarter would tell the Ravens not to complain, that everything was equal.

So, we have a huge population that we have relegated for three quarters of the history of the country to economic oblivion.  Just when we allow them a little chance to advance, we abolish or export the very jobs that would allow them the best opportunity.  To the right, poverty is the fault of the poor, and their despair is just the wages of their sloth. We have stopped caring for each other.  Black for white, native for immigrant, county for city, rich for poor. We are not two cities, we are two countries, and callousness is our currency.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Why do I publish this stuff on my blog? Because I want y'all to see the kind of e-mail I get with this job.

This one is from a guy who works in Washington, lives in Baltimore, and after you read it, you'll probably just want to jump off a bridge. (Look, my mind is open to all opinions, but these days I'm looking for something more than sarcasm, hyperbole and doomsday rhetoric, OK? We have kids dying in the streets, and this guy is bellyaching about shopping and the lack of an NBA team. As Martin Luther King Jr. said: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'”)

I read your article this morning on line, and I have a few comments.  I am a transplant from South Philly where people are all about community and old school values.  This town is destine to fail it's not a city so stop calling it that.  There is no shopping, no reason for outsiders to visit at all.  OK the harbor big deal you can walk that in 1 hr then what where do you go?  Fed hill all bars canton all bars.  Baltimore is such a transplant town and none of us care about because we will not be here forever.  I have been here for 6 years and 100% percent of lets say 50 friends are not from here or even close to here.  Another thing this town has no money coming into it.  No baseball,hockey,basketball.  You football is good but the fans don't spend money or support the team like other teams.  The problem with Baltimore is all about one thing you have no defined boundaries here.  I have family all in jersey,philly,nyc.  See OK there we know where certain people belong black white Asian puerto rican.  See here you can be shot any where any time.  Look at federal hill for instance the most young and decent money in the city, you can be at mothers having a good time driving your new SUV and going back to your nice 3bed 3 bath town home and on the same street are lets face it all the black kids selling drugs shooting each other.  We tried and tried to care about Baltimore and tried pushing fed hill out further to push out the poor and unwanted but we received no help from the city and I am personal friends with many hi ups in the BPD including ex-chief Norris and forget about the BPD is the most crooked corrupt police force in the country they tell me except for the LAPD.  So there are a number of reasons this town will never succeed and I have a million more.  MY point is never call Baltimore a city with no sports, no public transportation, no shopping that sounds like a town to me!!!

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

From Monica, in Harford County:

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Baltimore and Indy: How do we feel about this again? Do we still hate the Colts?

If the Colts win this wild-card weekend in the NFL, they come to Baltimore the following week to play the Ravens. Do we want this? Would we rather have the Colts lose -- choke again, lose to K.C. -- and play the winner of Patriots-Jets? Would we want to have the ultimate grudge match, once and for all, between the Ravens and the Colts in a game that really matters? Do we still hate the Colts for leaving town in 1984, or are ill feelings a thing of the past? A younger generation doesn't know from Unitas or Mackey or Moore, but the boomer crowd that buys the season tickets to the Ravens still does. How do we feel about all this? Comments welcome, and please state your age when you post.

Thanks

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

I continue to be amazed at how people think it's perfectly fine to slap and spank kids, as if this is a magic cure-all to changing behavior -- even a responsibility of adults. While most mail this week supported my view that use of the hand against kids is wrong -- a failure of parenting and an endorsement of violence as cure -- several letter writers, such as the one below, believe they are better human beings for having been given a good whooping at a young age. These readers also seem to be clueless as to the rate of abusive childhood experiences among men and women who are in our ever-growing prison population.

A parent has a right to discipline their child however they see fit.  The little girl in the rest stop needed to learn than when your mother tells you to stop doing something and "come here" that you are to do exactly what she says when she says it.  As a result of getting her backside spanked, that same little girl will remember that the next time her mother tells her to stop doing something and "come here".  As far as you saying something to the mother, she was absolutely correct, it was none of your business.  There was no abuse happening.  It's called discipline.  In case you didn't notice, most children who grow being properly disciplined, not abused (there is a difference), don't end up on the six o'clock news; just ask the kid who got caned in Japan for spraypainting a wall.  If his parents had spanked him when he was a kid, the Japanese would not have had to do it when he was an adult.  Also, when you are out in public, take time to observe the kids who are saying "F--- you Mommy."  Those are the kids who probably didn't get spanked when they were young. 

As far as spanking children being percieved as teaching violence, that's a line of B.S.  My parents spanked both my sister and I growing up and guess what, neither one of us grew up to be violent adults, we both graduated from college, and at ages 30 and 27, those spankings are an afterthought.  Many our childhood friends, however, who did not recieve the discipline that we did, ended up dead or in jail because their negative behavior was not corrected in any way.   Please understand, I don't advocate abusing kids.  My parents always let us know that the spankings we received were for a particular negative behavior that we exhibited and that even though we didn't understand, we were being spanked out of love.  Our parents also gave us praise for positive behavior and achievement. 

I say all of this to say that if used properly, spankings are an effective tool in disciplining just about any child.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Ever since moving to Baltimore from New England, I've been hockey-needy. I grew up with that sport -- the Beanpot Tournament, the Boston Bruins, No. 4 Bobby Orr, he shoots, he scores!! -- and, though Baltimore had minor league teams here (the Clippers, the Skipjacks), there just didn't seem to be much of a hockey tradition. Turns out, that organized hockey at the youth level has been around for better than 40 years, and there were high school teams in Baltimore long ago. (The first college game in history was played a century ago between Johns Hopkins and Yale at a long-gone rink in Baltimore. You can look it up.)

Around here, guys played for the old Baltimore Boys Hockey Program, a forerunner of the club my kids play for, Baltimore Youth Hockey. My kids got me involved in the sport locally and, over the years, I've met dozens of guys (and a few women) who played at the local rinks, including Orchard and Meadowbrook, the outdoor rink near Memorial Stadium, Benfield and Patterson Park, back in the 60s and 70s. The common experience of ice hockey -- a niche sport in these parts -- binds ole hockey heads; theirs is a relatively small and unique fraternity. So, for the first time that anyone knows of, they're staging a reunion for anyone who ever played youth hockey in the Baltimore area. It's Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Tall Cedars of Lebanon Hall, 2301 Putty Hill Avenue, Putty Hill Avenue and Old Harford Road, from 7 p.m. until midnight. It is for ages 21 and up and costs $35/person. Contact Mark Conner, mark.conner@credit-suisse.com.
Proceeds benefit BYH's Patterson Park Stars community service project.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Here are more reader comments in response to Sunday's column and to Monday's posting on the cop who spanks his kids on a regular basis:

It was quite disheartening to read the police officer's email you printed in your blog, in reaction to your article on spanking.  He fails to understand there is a difference between "spanking" and "discipline".  You can certainly have discipline without spanking. I was also disgusted with the way he used the term "liberal" like it was some horrid title.  It is a sad state of affairs to know some close-minded fool like this is actually a member of law enforcement.              Phil Kolocotronis, Columbia

I'm appalled by the response of the police officer to your column!  You were absolutely right that what children learn from spanking is that it's OK to be violent, especiallly if the victims are younger, smaller, or otherwise unable to defend themselves.  I applaud your decision (reflex?) to speak up, and then to write about it!  Keep raising your voice.                                                                                    Ella Porter

Thank you so much for standing up for the little girl. She was having fun. No one should be punished for that.                                               Margaret Scherer

The Bible says Spare the rod and spoil the child. I am sure you don't care about the Bible but you also don't look at the facts. In the decades before 1960, spanking was a normal and acceptable means of correction. Now it is not. Before the 60's murders by teenagers were almost unimaginable. Now they are common. Today we have metal detectors in the schools to prevent murders. I raised 5 sons & all of them received occasional corporate punishment. None were ever arrested for anything! Spanking (spanking which does not injure) tells the child that bad behavior has consequences. Otherwise, the child will just tune out the commands of the parents. Spanking does not alienate the child (I speak from experience), it actually helps the child deal with his guilt knowing that the confrontation with his parent has been resolved. After spanking has corrected the behavior and attitude, then love shows that the parent hates the behavior and not the child. Guns were very common in homes in past generations, so the problems today cannot be blamed on guns. They are the result of rebellious behavior which was allowed to fester. They are the result of believing you can get away with bad behavior. As each wrong act is allowed without consequence, the child believes he can get away with something worse. Nothing curbs the child's behavior until he is arrested. Appealing to conscience works with some pliable children, but if you think it will work with all children you are naive. Children tell me I grew up in the good old days when no one locked their doors and you weren't afraid to go to school. Spanking teaches consequences much better than jail time.              Alan Bauer

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Among those who disagreed with Sunday's column -- and who, in fact, believe what our already violent society needs is more spanking of children -- were a law student at Georgetown (who said I should have been punched for speaking up about a mother's spanking of her 3-year-old) and three police officers, present and former. All e-mails from these men, I should note, either supported spanking or slapping of children, or suggested the use of phsyical force to settle disagreements among adults. Two of them used foul language, or pugilistic prose. (This was, fortunately, the minority view among the many e-mails received yesterday and overnight.)

What follows is an e-mail from a suburban Baltimore officer who asked that he not be identified. I went along with the anonymity because I think it important that we hear what he has to say -- and so that we understand just what children are up against, in public and out of sight. This officer wouldn't feel it OK to hit his wife, right? Or a colleague at work, right? Somehow it's OK to hit your kids on a regular basis, and be proud of it! It should be of great concern that men with these attitudes are in law enforcement.

Rodricks - I read your Sunday article about how you told a parent in New Jersey that they "can't" hit their child and was surprised when you were told to mind your own business, by responding, "It IS my business."

Let me start by telling you that it is NOT your business if a parent disciplines their child by smacking the child on the rear. There is no law against it and I love it when some liberal do-gooder calls me to respond because they saw a parent disciplining their child in the supermarket.

After checking the child to make sure that no "abuse" has occurred, I always congratulate the parent for taking the time to correct their child in a way that will leave an impression upon the youngster. Then I advise the caller that there is no law against spanking in this country (for now) and I tell them to have a nice day. (You ought to see the surprise on their faces...I imagine they look alot like you did when you were told to mind your own business.)

I'm sure you have heard many people tell you the "I was spanked as a child and it didn't hurt me any" line. But there is a lot of truth to that line. If I hadn't been spanked by GOD-fearing parents who did not spare the rod, I would not be a police officer today and I shudder to think of what might have happened to me.

In your articles, you are always wondering what's wrong with this world, and what is wrong with the youth today. You always complain about absent fathers and drug users not having role models and how these kids are facing terrible odds. You never seem to understand that articles like yours LEAD to the problems we have. I can speak with authority on this subject, having worked the streets for 12 years. I can point out the children who have never been spanked. I can point out the children who have never been disciplined. You know why? Because I am always at their houses, handling the problems their parents were never willing to handle.

Finally, I enjoy telling you that I have two children, 5 and 2. They are spanked regularly and are turning into beautiful, well-behaved little people, thanks to the correction that they get. My wife and I will continue to spank our children as long as they need it.

Spanking isn't "violence". It's correction. I know to a liberal like you, it's impossible to understand the difference. I only wish it had been me in that line ahead of you. I would have enjoyed telling you personally why people like you are responsible for the current state of our youth.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)