The New York Times recently made a big deal of the high school football team at Smith Center, Kansas -- a team that, at the time of the newspaper's front-page report, had outscored opponents 704 to zero. Impressive, yes. But the Times piece never answered a basic question: Is Smith Center playing comparable opponents? Is it playing in an appropriate competitive class?

It was a glaring ommission.

By contrast, consider the football team at Hereford High School, in The Hereford Zone in Baltimore County. This team moved up a class in Maryland high school divisions -- from 2A-1A last season to 4A-3A this season -- and it has scored 555 points so far in an undefeated campaign to the state finals. That's a remarkable accomplishment, and tonight at 7 at home in The Zone the Bulls play in the state semifinals against a team from Charles County. Here's Pat O'Malley's setup piece. Good luck to the Bulls.

 

Paul Mindus, an old friend and colleague who worked for The Evening Sun in the 1980s, has been in London for several years, and he's taken on a new and interesting venture there.

"I am starting a radio programme called Jewish Moments, which you can listen to on the Internet at http://www.jcomradio.net/ at 7 pm on Tuesdays (7 pm in London, 8 pm in Berlin, 2 pm in New York, 11 am in Los Angeles). The programme is broadcast live on JCom Radio, which is creating an Internet radio station for Britain's Jewish community. It is possible for listeners to participate by phone, email and instant message during the programme.

"Jewish Moments is taken from a feature column we started in the South Circular newsletter at South London Liberal Synagogue to encourage people to capture and share their own personal experiences which crystalised for them some insight or understanding of their Jewish identity.

"My first programme will discuss the journey I took with Rabbi James Baaden to produce a recital two years ago of music composed by my grandfather, Jakob Dymont - a Friday Evening Shabbat Service - and first performed in Berlin in 1934, more than a year after Hitler took power in
Nazi Germany. Jakob Dymont was the father of Lily Dumont, my mother, who was able to
attend the recital at South London Liberal Synagogue in London in September 2005, a few months before she passed away.

"We will play some excerpts from that recital, with gratitude to Vicki Barker for recording the performance, and Rabbi Baaden will share some of the details gleaned from German Jewish newspaper cuttings of the 1930s that describe both the impact of Jakob Dymont's music and the
tightening grip of Nazi persecution on Berlin's Jewish community at that time."

Good luck with this, Paul.

Today's column -- along with yesterday's story on the demise of the Edelweiss Bakery and Cafe in Baltimore -- gives me the idea that we should list Great Good Places right here in the Double-R Blog.

So here's one from reader Justin King:

The next time you are traveling north through the Garden State, take a detour and go into Summit, N.J. and seek out the Summit diner.  You will be glad you did.  It's one of those "good great places" that occupies what looks like an old train car with 8 or 10 booths and maybe room for 15 at the counter. Breakfast is best.  An order of bacon is  whatever the cook's over sized spatula can pick up and throw on the plate over the eggs and huge pile of home fries.  That is good eating and well worth the  $4.95 it costs (with coffee in those coffee-stained white coffee mugs.)

The region's economy is stronger than we think, according to the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore. A recent Sun story provided some quick facts from an alliance report:

Among the 25 largest metropolitan areas, Baltimore ranked first for income growth
per person between 2000 and 2005. It's eighth overall for per capita income, about $41,000 in 2005. . . . The region ranks eighth for private-sector employment growth from 2000 to last year, and it has one of the largest concentrations of jobs in the high-paying professional, scientific and technical services sector. . . . About a quarter of the area's office space was added between 2000 and 2006 alone.

Maryland showed up as the wealthiest state in the nation in the last government survey, and when you consider the anticipated economic growth from BRAC (an influx of at least 15,000 defense workers and their families, not to mention -- because Jay Hancock thinks it's oversold -- collateral growth as a result of the shift), and anticipated growth even without BRAC, you can make the case that we are sitting on huge potential not only for the suburban areas but for the city.

How does Balitmore -- an underpopulated city that could easily grow by another 200,000 residents -- get a piece of all this? It has to become a family-friendly city, not just a destination for young, urban professionals with no kids, or empty nesters. Interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal on this subject. It's not just Starbucks that we need here. It's solid schools, safe neighborhoods and affordable housing. A rising generation is going to figure this out. They won't want to drive an hour to work, and have no time for anything because of the long commutes. They are going to look to cities like Baltimore for a more convenient, interesting and environmentally-responsible lifestyle, and the city needs to be ready for them. Baltimore needs to break cycles of poverty, crime and drug addiction. If it does that, it will break another cycle -- young people who live in the city, work in the city, marry and start a family in the city, then head for the 'burbs to raise their kids.

 

Responding to today's column, reader Marge Stiemly writes:

Your column regarding your recent purchase of a partial frog leg tickled my funny bone. If you found the experience as exciting as it appeared, I recommend that you travel to the heart of Virginia.  There are two places that I know off that usually have frog legs offered.  Of course, they are prepared Southern style.  They are generally on the seafood buffet on Friday nights at the restaurant at the Peaks of Otter Lodge in Bedford County, VA and appear regularly at the Dogwood Cafe, a local restaurant in Amherst County, VA. 

As you may know, fried chicken is a Virginia specialty.  There are people who will tell you that frog legs are better than fried chicken.  I can remember as a child seeing a huge platter of wild-caught frog legs on the table for my sister's early May birthday.  This was always her birthday request, and my father went "gigging" for frogs to provide the tender, sweet delicacy for her.   

I enjoy my trips to the Dogwood Cafe to indulge in the delicacy and other down-home country cooking as it takes me on a pleasant trip down memory lane.

 

That's sad news about the death of the baker and owner of Edelweiss Bakery & Cafe, located on the sharp corner where Harford Road meets Old Harford Road. The pastries and cakes were extremely good, and I purchased the German chocolate for birthdays. We had some amusing visits there. The last time, Turkey Joe Trabert, Ingmar Burger, Frank The Fifth Beatle and I sat for the lunch-size portion of sauerbraten, dumplings and red cabbage. It was delicious, and while we dined a dozen pleasant men and women gathered, as they did each Thursday, to sing along with two accordion players. One of the accordion players wore eyeglasses with no lenses - I think to hold his hair in place. But I'm not sure. I didn't ask. It didn't seem like the time or place.

Edelweiss Bakery was a great good place, and a thing about the Thursdays there: When the accordian players gathered and the customers started singing, the room filled with gemutlichkeit. That's German for camaraderie, or "the warm, comfortable feeling one receives from pleasant surroundings and atmosphere." We need all the gemutlichkeit we can get, and now, with Edelweiss's closing, Baltimore has lost a great good source of it.

Mount St. Mary’s, the Catholic university in western Maryland, is celebrating its 200th Anniversary this year with a series of bicentennial events, including a bash in Baltimore this week (Thursday, Marriott Inner Harbor, 6-9 pm.) One of the featured attractions is a replica of the famous 200-year-old Mount cupola in a two-foot tall cake made especially for the celebration by famed baker Duff "Ace of Cakes" Goldman of Charm City Cakes and the Food Network. Sounds nice, but 200 years and just two feet of cake? Fame must be making Duff very pricey these days.

 

Almost don't know what to say about this story. Here's a wonderful guy, very affable and funny, very much alive, very much appreciated by the people at St. Leo's in Little Italy . . . and he's gone in a puff of smoke rising from 30 years in his past. What can we say? Shell shock sets in after a while.

I've been to his celebrations of the Mass, been to a funeral or two, dined with Father Mike. I was there the proud day they installed the statue of St. Leo in the long-empty niche in the top of the facade of the church. ("My spirit's way up," Tommy D'Alesandro, the former mayor of Baltimore and brother of Nancy Pelosi, said that day in 2000. "Higher than it's been in years.")

In 1997, St. Leo's parishoners mourned the sudden loss of another
popular Pallottine pastor, the Rev. Oreste "Rusty" Pandola. Then came Salerno,
a mustachioed cross between John Travolta (as Vinnie Barbarino) and the comic
actor Nathan Lane. He spoke fluent Italian in a thick New York accent -- "I
have a habit of using five different dialects in the same sentence" -- and
spicing homilies with humor. He brought new energy to the parish, expanded its
community outreach and increased church activities for old and young. ("Under
35 -- for us, that's young," Salerno said.) Attendance at Mass grew. The
sanctuary got a new paint job. The outside niche got a new statue. Father Mike appealed to the older folks who spoke Italian, and to some of the yuppies who had moved into the neighborhood and other trendy places in southeast Baltimore; and more of the suburbanites who had grown up in Little Italy started to return to St. Leo's on the weekends.

"I don't want to say who it was," the Rev. Frank Amato, Pallottine provincial and Salerno's superior, kidded the crowd in the wooden pews on the day of the statue installation. "But at one of the [Little Italy] festivals, someone cutting dough pointed a knife at me and said, `You better not move him. If you move him, you better not set foot in Little Italy again.' "
   Amato assured the parish that Salerno would not be transferred any time soon. To that there was great applause, and when someone asked for a special salute to Salerno, the applause was prolonged and spiked with "bravos," like a curtain call for an opera star.

And now this . . . .  The Catholic hierarchy thinks they've weathered the worst of this scandalous storm, but as time goes by more of these allegations emerge. What a surreal and tragic nightmare.

I hear that a St. Leo's parish group will be holding a prayer service in a home in Little Italy this evening.

 

It's here! It's finally here! It's bottles-and-cans recycling day in Baltimore. We haven't had one since Oct. 22. With the Veterans Day holiday falling as it did and the city bureaucracy apparently being less than willing to make workers make up for lost work -- or to change the curbside recycling pickup date -- those of us who still care have a mound of bulky blue bags, the biggest of the year. Be careful out there as piles of blue bags will present obstacles to drivers and pedestrians as they try to traverse the city streets today. This pickup should take all day, too. When the city waits five weeks to collect, I can only imagine what a strain and backup this puts on the system. Anyway, let us rejoice! The big blue B is finally on the calendar again! It's time to Purge, Baby, Purge!

Several readers already have contacted me about today's column -- to share their own thoughts and experiences when it comes to family and choices and distance. Please post your comments on this blog for others to read.

Robert Byrnes, who edited the column, just returned from visiting in-laws in Florida and noted the loss of a central place for family gatherings, and how easy it used to be for families to get together. "Maybe a follow-up," he suggested in a note last night, "could be people who move away and then come back to Baltimore to be near family."

Here's a comment from reader Mannlou: "Thanks for a very reflective piece. There is often so much pain in family life through divorce and separation. I often wonder how it is for those whose parents never bother to marry. Your insights might help us to better understand the suffering of
many of the Latino immigrants who come here to earn enough money to send home, or who hope to bring their family to the US. Separation from family, even when we think we don't need them, is the ultimate form of loss only made more real through death."

 

 

We have a winner -- Charles Mannion has made what I consider a serious bid for the homemade Italian subs (that could have gone to the Ravens offense, had Brian Billick just picked up the phone and asked for them). Anyway, Mr. Mannion gets the subs for his holiday party in return for a donation to the Patterson Park Stars, an ice hockey program for inner-city kids for which I have great affection.

For those just catching up (or responding to this blog only because it has the word "Ravens" in the title) here's the background:

See, I said I love the Ravens, but that they were borning me and I wanted to see 40 points in a game but would settle for 30. I said that, if the Ravens scored 30 in at least one game before Christmas, I'd send Head Coach Brian Billick and the starting offense a basket of homemade Italian subs, with the good soppressato and fresh mozzarella.

So what happens? They scored 30 in a frustrating loss to Cleveland.

Does Billick or any other member of the offense contact me to make good on the offer?

No.

And you know what? This deal does not automatically kick in. I'm not going to make subs and send them out to the Ravens complex so they can sit for 10 hours in a basket at the front desk in the lobby with Mr. Modell's oil painting looking down on them. I have to get the call that says, "Hey, Dan, how about those subs?"

It's been a week now and I haven't heard a thing, so fine then.

As far as I'm concerned the deal is off. The Ravens don't get my best subs. But if your office needs a lunch -- 12 high-quality Italian subs -- I'll make them and deliver them in return for a donation to a favorite charity. If you want to make a deal, drop me a line at dan.rodricks@baltsun.com

The day of Dallas.
Forty-four years ago, 1963.
I have a memory from that day -- dismissal from school on the afternoon President Kennedy was killed. It was a Friday, clear and bright, and Officer Charlie Thomas, the usually jolly crossing guard for my town, wept as he held up his arms to stop traffic in front of our school. Whenever we get to November, around Thanksgiving, I look at the silver bark of trees, washed in bright afternoon sunlight, and I think of the day Kennedy died and how the world seemed to shatter.
It was a heart-scorching moment that no longer seems like yesterday. It was a huge national tragedy and an international event that, by the force of time, has finally become a still life rather than living history, black-and-white instead of color.
Those who can remember Nov. 22, 1963, are saddened by the memories, but the hurt is not as acute as it once was. The scars have faded. Only time has made that possible.
The JFK assassination was the 9/11 of my childhood, and 9/11 is the JFK assassination of my children's lives. My daughter was 9 when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was the same age when JFK was killed. The memories of the effect of JFK's assassination on the grownups around us --- their shock at the murder of promise and the death of an ideal -- will remain forever with those of us of an age to remember.
I used to think we dwelled too much on JFK's death and that we attributed to Dallas more of an impact on American life, politics and culture than any such single event deserved. But I've changed my mind as time goes by. I think it marked the birth of an age of cynicism that persists to this day. The events that followed Dallas -- within five years, JFK's brother Robert and Martin Luther King Jr. were murdered; and the Vietnam War ripped the country apart -- compounded the condition. We have not been upset or particularly disturbed by it; we've grown used to it. Though its wings have flickered in the shadows of American life from time to time, I have not yet seen the great, exotic bird of idealism, fully restored and perched on the arm of a president. John F. Kennedy said: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Four decades later, the president told an interviewer that it's sufficient sacrifice for Americans to watch TV news about the Iraq war and feel distressed. After the terrorist attacks of 2001, he did not call for more volunteerism and public service; he suggested "live your lives" and go shopping, and we certainly do plenty of that now.

The day of Dallas.
Forty-four years ago, 1963.
I have a memory from that day -- dismissal from school on the afternoon President Kennedy was killed. It was a Friday, clear and bright, and Officer Charlie Thomas, the usually jolly crossing guard for my town, wept as he held up his arms to stop traffic in front of our school. Whenever we get to November, around Thanksgiving, I look at the silver bark of trees, washed in bright afternoon sunlight, and I think of the day Kennedy died and how the world seemed to shatter.
It was a heart-scorching moment that no longer seems like yesterday. It was a huge national tragedy and an international event that, by the force of time, has finally become a still life rather than living history, black-and-white instead of color.
Those who can remember Nov. 22, 1963, are saddened by the memories, but the hurt is not as acute as it once was. The scars have faded. Only time has made that possible.
The JFK assassination was the 9/11 of my childhood, and 9/11 is the JFK assassination of my children's lives. My daughter was 9 when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was the same age when JFK was killed. The memories of the effect of JFK's assassination on the grownups around us --- their shock at the murder of promise and the death of an ideal -- will remain forever with those of us of an age to remember.
I used to think we dwelled too much on JFK's death and that we attributed to Dallas more of an impact on American life, politics and culture than any such single event deserved. But I've changed my mind as time goes by. I think it marked the birth of an age of cynicism that persists to this day. The events that followed Dallas -- within five years, JFK's brother Robert and Martin Luther King Jr. were murdered; and the Vietnam War ripped the country apart -- compounded the condition. We have not been upset or particularly disturbed by it; we've grown used to it. Though its wings have flickered in the shadows of American life from time to time, I have not yet seen the great, exotic bird of idealism, fully restored and perched on the arm of a president. John F. Kennedy said: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Four decades later, the president told an interviewer that it's sufficient sacrifice for Americans to watch TV news about the Iraq war and feel distressed. After the terrorist attacks of 2001, he did not call for more volunteerism and public service; he suggested "live your lives" and go shopping, and we certainly do plenty of that now.

A link to an interesting story regarding JFK and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks comes to us from Chris Cheesman, the news editor at Amateur Photographer magazine in London. Story summary: The estate of President John F. Kennedy's personal photographer has accepted an undisclosed sum over the loss of 40,000 negatives at the World Trade Center in 2001.

What did I say -- in this space and in print?

I said I love the Ravens, but that they were borning me and I wanted to see 40 points in a game but would settle for 30. I said that, if the Ravens scored 30 in at least one game before Christmas, I'd send Head Coach Brian Billick and the starting offense a basket of homemade Italian subs, with the good soppressato and fresh mozzarella.

So what happens? They scored 30 in a frustrating loss to Cleveland.

Does Billick or any other member of the offense contact me to make good on the offer?

No.

And you know what? This deal does not automatically kick in. I'm not going to make subs and send them out to Owings Mills so they can sit for 10 hours in a basket at the front desk in the lobby with Mr. Modell's oil painting looking down on them. I have to get the call that says, "Hey, Dan, how about those subs?"

It's been a few days now and I haven't heard a thing, so fine then.

As far as I'm concerned the deal is off. The Ravens don't get my best subs. But if your office needs a lunch -- 12 high-quality Italian subs -- I'll make them and deliver them in return for a donation to a favorite charity. If you want to make a deal, drop me a line at dan.rodricks@baltsun.com

 

This Just In, from a supporter of the Rev. Michael (Father Mike) Salerno, the pastor of St. Leo's in Little Italy who stepped down midst allegations that he sexually abused a teenager some 30 years ago in New York:

On Monday, November 26th at 6:30pm we will be gathering at the corner of Stiles and South Exeter Street (outside the church) to hold a Prayer Service/Candlelight Vigil in support of Fr. Michael Salerno, the St. Leo's Community and victims of sexual abuse. Fr. Mike worked so hard to build a strong parish and community. Let's come together to show him our support, continue his work, and to help everyone heal. If Fr. Mike has helped you, your family, loved ones, community--please come and show your support for him, St. Leo's and all victims of sexual abuse.
We are asking those that can to bring safety candles (and dixie cups for the wax).

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
LOVE THEM ANYWAY

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives,
DO GOOD ANYWAY

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies,
SUCCEED ANYWAY

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight,
BUILD ANYWAY.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them,
HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU'VE GOT ANYWAY

A reader named Fred Cusimano shares a study in human nature from the weekend. It's kind of a bathroom story, but it speaks to that old adage: Never judge a book by its cover.

 "My wife and I had a 7:30 dinner engagement with two other couples this past Saturday evening.  We were to meet at a restaurant in Edgewood known as Giovanni’s. The two of us arrived about 45 minutes early and decided to wait in the lounge for our friends. Before going into the lounge, I asked my wife to wait for me while I made a quick stop to the restroom.
  "When I entered the restroom there was a young man standing there kind of lurking around one of the stalls. The only description to characterize him was a full-fledged skinhead. He had, of course, a completely shaven head along with an earring and requisite facial hair (think Edward Norton in American History X), T-shirt, jeans, and pointed boots. He was very scary to me and I kinda’ kept him in view while I did my business.
  "As I was standing there I heard, from the stall, the voice of what seemed to be a little girl of about 6 or 7 say, 'Daddy, are you still there?' 
  "Whereupon this scary skinhead replied, 'Yes, I am, sweetheart.'
  "'I see you now, daddy,' she said, as he peered through the closed stall door. 'And I can see your eyes.'
  "The little girl then said, 'Daddy, the wall is pretty.' (It is decorated in square tiles that are inlaid in a pattern of diamonds). The skinhead said, “Yes, the wall is pretty.'
  "'It’s all diamonds,' said the girl.
  "'It sure is,' said the skinhead. 'They're also called rhombuses.' 
  "I think you get the picture and you can't imagine my thoughts. I walk in and immediately peg this guy as some bad and dangerous person, and he’s in there not only engaging and comforting his little daughter in the men’s room but also taking the opportunity to turn it into a learning experience in geometry. I was flabbergasted, moved, and embarrassed all at the same time. When I told my wife, she said it reminded her of the movie Crash and how we so quickly judge others."

According to Maryland records, Frank Gulbrandsen, the maintenance man hired by the Rev. Ray Martin to work at Holy Cross Church in South Baltimore, had most of his scrapes with the law in the 1990s, when he was in his 20s. The offenses and resolutions were: Possession of marijuana (1991, Anne Arundel County, case inactive); manufacture, distribution PCP (1993, Anne Arundel County, defendant committed to drug treatment); breaking and entering of a dwelling (1991, Anne Arundel, guilty, $250 fine); possession controlled dangerous substance, PCP (1994, Anne Arundel, defendant committed to drug treatment). Two bad-check charges in the 1990s were dropped. Other than this, and some speeding tickets in more recent years, there is nothing else on Gulbrandsen's record. His record is similar to those of many other ex-offenders and recovering or recovered drug abusers or addicts who have contacted The Sun since June 2005 in search of employment.

Given the forced resignation of Father Ray Martin from his South Baltimore pastorate by the new archbishop for violations of canon law -- and for hiring a maintenance man with a criminal record -- it was hard not to notice the official Catholic presence in the remarkable letter-writing campaign to soften the federal sentencing blow for Tommy Big Mouth, the former Baltimore County state senator, on corruption charges.

While the archdiocese had Father Martin sign an apology for "bringing scandal to the church," there was Dick Dowling, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, with a letter to Fed Judge Fred Motz on behalf of the bribe-taker Bromwell, calling him a "devoted husband, a caring father to his five children and a loyal friend who is worthy of trust."

Worthy of trust?

"He is also a man of compassion, a rooter for the underdog, for those who have no presence in the corridors of power and influence," Dowling wrote. "I believe his arc is still in its ascendancy -- he's got a good deal more to give."

Nice.
Maybe Father Martin should ask Dowling to write a letter for him.
Or maybe the archdiocese should ask Bromwell to sign an apology for bringing scandal on the entire state of Maryland.

The lingering question from the Tommy Big Mouth case -- why the attorney switcheroo and dropouts? I've had a dyin'-to-know Towson lawyer hit on me for the answer today, and I had to tell him I still didn't have a clue. The reasons have been sealed by the court and The Sun has been unable to break it.

Bromwell was originally represented by attorneys Bobby Schulman
and Josh Treem. Bromwell's wife had Jerry Martin. These guys are all expert at federal cases. But then, without even calling me to explain himself, Schulman drops out of the case, and then Treem and Martin switch clients. (Didn't a couple of cabinet secretaries do this during the Reagan years? They also didn't call me ahead of time; I had to find out about it from the newspapers.) About a week before Bromwell jury selection in March, Treem and Martin left the case. They walked out of the room! I saw Jerry Martin at Artscape and meant to ask him about this, but I was groovin' on some blues at the time and it just wasn't the right moment to say: "Hey, Jerry, what's with you and the Bromwells?"

Judge Fred Motz said it was because of "irreconcilable conflicts of interest" but that's one of those vague generalities, and absolutely no fun. So it's a mystery wrapped inside a suit . . . er, three suits.

Meanwhile, with today's sentencing of Tommy Big Mouth on sleaze charges in federal court, I was reminded of something said by the late and legendary Harry "Soft Shoes" McGuirk, a state senator from South Baltimore: "Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered."

 

 

We have hundreds of pages of transcripts of recordings made
while the FBI was investigating former Senator Big Mouth, Tommy Bromwell, for corrupt activities. Among all the profanity-laced, Soprano-like comments - "He got major juice, I mean major juice" - and claims - "I control the [expletive] Liquor Board" - and boasts - "I'm a rainmaker" -
Tommy Big Mouth also expressed awe and respect for some of the many Maryland
politicians who have broken the law over the years.
   One might even speculate that he thinks getting nailed by the feds is a
good career move.
    On the first page of the transcript of the recording from June 14, 2001,
Tommy's talkin' about certain guys from the Marvin Mandel days in Maryland and
how they, like Mandel, went to prison on corruption charges. Tommy says: "All
these guys that went to jail, right, for 18 months. They're all [expletive]
millionaires, OK?"
   That doesn't sound like irony to me.
   That sounds like awe.
   That sounds like admiration.
   Which gets me to thinkin' that maybe Tommy Big Mouth doesn't see prison as
such a bad thing, especially if your sentence is relatively short, as they are
for most white-collar crimes.
   Sounds crazy, I know, but can we say such a thing is not true?
   Spiro T. Agnew was found to be nothin' but a [expletive] sticky-fingered
bribe-taker, first as Baltimore County executive, then as Maryland governor,
then as vice president of the United States. He didn't even go to prison. And
after he didn't even go to prison, he was for a long time sittin' pretty and
tanned like [expletive] George Hamilton in California, makin' gobs of
consultant's money and hangin' with [expletive] Frank Sinatra.
   Then there was Mandel, Agnew's successor as governor. After a corruption
trial, prison and disgrace in the 1970s, he received a presidential pardon,
his [expletive] conviction was overturned and he landed on his feet as a lobbyist in
Annapolis and as a member of the [expletive] University System of Maryland's
Board of Regents. He violated regents' policy by working as a paid lobbyist
during three legislative sessions, but he's still around, relaxed and happy, lovin' life and livin' large.
   The same goes for a whole litany of political crooks.
   Most of them did their time, then bounced back. Shame does not seem to be
something with which they are afflicted. In the Bromwell transcripts, Maurice
"Mo" Wyatt is mentioned. Mo was one of Mandel's henchmen back in the day, and
he was convicted of bribery in 1980. Wyatt hardly lost a step. These
days, Bromwell noted in the FBI recording, Wyatt could be worth $20 million,
and he's still a "player" in Maryland politics and deal-making.
   Why should bribing a judge hurt anyone's career, after all? Ex-offenders
deserve a second chance, don't they? I've been sayin' that for more than two
years in this space.
   America, it's a great country, and in this state, the Democrats take care
of each other pretty nicely. When he became governor, for instance, William
Donald Schaefer pardoned Wyatt. Who said Schaefer wasn't a sweetie?
   So you can see why Tommy Big Mouth would be so impressed, and maybe not so
worried about suffering a similar fate today in federal court.
   We've had successful and rich Annapolis lobbyists fall in and out of grace.
Ira Cooke bounced back from trouble with the law, at least until the next
time. Same with Bruce Bereano, who was convicted of mail fraud several years
ago, served a 10-month sentence and paid a $30,000 fine. Bereano was last seen
shilling for Big Tobacco in Annapolis. I'm sure he'll never be seen on
Rowe Boulevard with a cardboard sign that says, "Will Lobby For Food."
   Gerry Evans, the corporate lobbyist, was found guilty of nine counts of
fraud and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. He's back.
   "It's going great, having my best year ever," he told The Sun's Laura
Vozzella a few months ago.
   And Ed Norris, the former Baltimore police commissioner who went down on a federal rap, has his own [expletive] radio show now, which is more than I can say for me, and he sometimes uses the airwaves to tell people what a [expletive] sham the case against him was.
   Tommy Big Mouth might be in big trouble now, but he'll be OK, and he
[expletive] knows it.

Lots of reader reaction to today's column in response to yesterday's story about all the cool proposals for a big, new arena for Baltimore. Here's one from an attorney named Andy:

"Like you, I am a transplant to Baltimore and always been struck by how negative the city is.  I think it is some huge collective hangover from the riots of the 60's and subsequent evacuation of the middle and mercantile class.  I don't know if Baltimore can support another major league franchise, but I like thinking big. On the location, though, I think we already missed the boat.  The perfect spot would have been the bit of land just north of left field of Camden Yards, where that awful hotel is now going up, perfect for blocking all skyline views from most of the seats in the Yard (bet you anything that you can't see the Bromo Tower from home plate when the hotel is done).  An arena there could have been completely connected to the Convention Center right across the street, and you would have seen the Final Four, Democratic and Republican conventions as well as lots of other events that our convention facilities just aren't big enough to handle.  Oh well, I will fix it when I achieve full omnipotence."

From Russ:  "GREAT column today! We must keep those thoughts alive. This is a great city and we deserve and need a world class arena. I truly believe that when we build it they will come!"

Please keep the comments coming, y'all.

The Curran carillon in the Govans section of northeast Baltimore -- at York Road and Woodbourne Avenue -- will finally start ringing again, but in a different place. Baltimore City Councilman Bob Curran called today to say the carillon bells have been moved to the Thanksgiving prayer garden at Stadium Place on East 33rd Street, and there will be a dedication ceremony on Monday morning, with Archbishop O'Brien and the governor of Maryland present. The bells were part of a clock tower erected to honor the late Councilman J. Joseph Curran Sr., who suffered a heart attack during the 1976 shooting at a temporary City Hall. Old Joe Curran was the father of former Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. and Councilman Bob Curran, and he was the grandfather of District Court Judge Catherine Curran O'Malley, wife of Gov. Martin O'Malley and Maryland's first lady. The clock tower in Govans had not worked in years. The Curran clan raised money for the move and the repair. Apparently there will still be a clock in Govans, but the bells will ring on 33rd Street.

We knew it would happen, but maybe not this early in the presidential campaign. As her front-runner status becomes firm, as we head into 2008, the attacks on Hilary Clinton won't really be about her politics, her view of the Iraq War, or her husband, it will be about the fact that she's a woman. It's pretty clear that her biggest enemy will be misogyny. It's interesting that the person who posed the question to John McCain happened to be a woman herself. Woman-hating cuts across gender lines. "How do we beat the bitch?" was the question, and McCain's response was to laugh, and come back with: "That's an excellent question."

Unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, but what can you do? These are desperate times for the Republicans, the party of God, decency and family values.

"That was an excellent question" was McCain's way of saying he agreed with the characterization of Clinton. He can't get around it. The moment has been captured on video. But it doesn't sound like he or his campaign is about to apologize for McCain's chuckling acceptance of the vulgar name calling.

It will be interesting to see how this serves the senator. My bet is that it will give his campaign treasury a shot.

Here's a comment from Random Rodricks reader Robert Doyle:  "A woman at a McCain event calls Hillary the “B” word, the room applauds, McCain laughs and answers her question without commenting on the slur. Just like back in 2004, when Cheney used the Senate floor to tell an opponent to go f--- himself, the party that drapes itself in the Bible, the party that says it represents God and decency, can’t resist being foul-mouthed.  And to think we have an entire year of God and decency in front of us. If God is listening, may he or she save us from Republicans." 

Readers keep commenting on Archbishop O'Brien's dismissal of Father Ray Martin as pastor of the three South Baltimore Catholic churches. Here's more:

I am saddened by your article about Archbishop O'Brien, a faithful and orthodox Shepherd. Are you Catholic? If so, you should be ashamed of your flippant way of speaking of the Church and its Shepherd. If not, then you should research stories before you write them. With all due respect to your job, allowing anyone who is not a priest or a deacon of the Catholic Church is not a small offense. Your statement that " apparently a priest can get in big trouble for seemingly small offenses" is completely incorrect. It is not a small offense. Your statement "and let that be a warning to anyone else who might have ideas about tinkering with sacred rites" show how little you respect the Mass which is the re-presentation of Jesus Christ's suffering, passion, and death on Calvary. Do you take the death of Jesus to save us lightly? Even if you do, Jesus still died to save you. How shameful that you make fun of this. Then to bring up sex offenders is really despicable. Perhaps you are a lapsed Catholic and want to try to hurt the Church. But in fact, you are doing this to Jesus. He founded the Catholic Church and prayed that all may be one - as He and the Father are one.  . . . You are so confused. Ecumenical talks do not mean the watering down of the Truths of the Catholic faith. And you do not even understand what the word scandal means in this context. . . .  I just think you have an ax to grind. An agenda perhaps which is to tear down the Catholic Church. If so you can stop now because Jesus himself told us that the gates of hell will not prevail. Many have tried but none will be able to destroy the church. It is just sad that you would write an article when you don't understand the Catholic faith.  . . . I will pray for you daily. How sad I am at the pain you cause my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
God bless you,
Maryanne Linkes

My husband and I are practicing Catholics.  There is a hymn that we sing in our church  that is called, "All are Welcome".  The Archbishop has never read the words to this hymn or he would not be acting as he is.  My husband and I are ashamed of him.  What is going on with the Catholic church?  Father Bernard Law in Massachusetts moved pedifile priests from place to place and he got a promotion to Rome.  Father Martin seems like he is really trying to do the right thing and he is being sacked.  We do not know Father Martin nor do we live near Federal Hill.  My mother was 86 when she died.  She was Methodist and I am Catholic.  Right before she died, I took her to my church for mass.  When I started up the aisle to receive communion, I saw my mother out of the corner of my eye, in line to receive communion.  What was I suppose to say to her?  Hey this is not allowed.  This was God's house and he was happy she was there. Edwin O'Brien is wrong.

I am so glad you took the time to note the "bigger picture" in the demoting of Father Ray Martin.  The fact he held services in three different parishes says a lot about the man.  I am not Catholic and do not know all the rules affecting a diocease, but I do know a little about humanity and it's affects on people.  According the your paper's Friday's article, he was asked by the son to have a person who happened to be Episcopalian participate in the service.  Requests by family mourners are usually permitted.  I myself have partaken of the Catholic communion and thought nothing of it. (I am Episcopal.)  Neither the priest who offered the communion nor the person with whom I had attended the church seemed to see anything untoward about it.  Perhaps we were all wrong. It has been many years ago.  This man seemed to be doing Jesus' teaching when he hired a maintainance man with a criminal background ----only he (Fr Martin) knew why he chose this man for the job.  I would assume he had checked into the man's background and found him needing a job to stay out of trouble.  Perhaps the man was a parishioner at one time--or perhaps the man had come to him as a last resort when no one else would take a chance on him.   My husband and I are  "oldsters" he is 81 and I just turned 79 the 4th of this month. You've heard enough from me.  I just wanted you to know I felt your article was needed and appreciated. 

I think your Sunday editorial was pretty darned good, and quite accurate as
far as the Church goes.  As often happens in the corporate world, the person
at the top doesn't necessarily have experience actually performing the job
of his/her subordinates.  Therefore, he/she often makes decisions that go
against the grain.  You have to wonder, "Do they ask for input from anyone
before making a decision like that?"  I mean, it's not like we have priests
out there just waiting to fill the vacancy.  So, the Catholic Church is no
different than any corporation.  But, I do challenge your closing paragraph.
I have to take issue with your statements: "But in the realm of the
mysterious and powerful, what you say or think doesn't matter. Your country
is a democracy. Your church isn't."  I know our country was founded as a
democracy, but I think that form of government was abandoned in Maryland
about a year ago.  Maryland does not have a democratic government; it has an
oligarchy headed by Messrs. O'Malley, Bush and Miller.  Otherwise, why are
our "representatives" (and I use the term loosely, since they are not
representing the views of the people) being held hostage in Annapolis? 
What we say or think does not matter to most members of our state
government. Many of the elected representatives in the Maryland State House
are obviously not paying attention to the calls, emails and cries of their
constituents.  But, beyond that, it seems that they are being held captive
in a "special session" with the threat of missing Thanksgiving (unless, of
course, they vote in favor of increasing taxes).  The voting sessions are
being held on weekends and at night, while daylight hours are being wasted.
They are voting on bills that haven't even been written. The entire fiasco
smells of collusion, coercion and deceit, and we are powerless to change it.
That's not quite how a democracy works. No, I don't think Maryland can be called a democracy anymore.  And that fact diluted an otherwise fine editorial.   -- Jeanine Smetana

My hat is off to Father Ray Martin. He did nothing disgraceful in the eyes
of God. But as a result of his kindly gesture, he suffered a humiliation
from his new bishop who, it seems, is little more than a mean spirited
ecclesiastic. People, like O'Brien, who use totalitarian tactics to assert
their questionable claim to be spiritual leaders, are an absurdity. The
people of Baltimore deserve much better. O'Brien is just one of the many brutes that populate the episcopacy of the Church. There is nothing wrong with the Catholic faith; it is only the
leadership of the Catholic Church that is bankrupt. As long as parishioners
want to remain docile in the face of reprehensible conduct on the part of
its leadership, then they will continue to be abused by these charlatans who
claim to be a representative of the loving Christ. What the Church needs today is another Martin Luther. What we have are far too many Torquemada like mentalities running around in their fancy attire trying to act like very important people. --Bob Hertz

A lot of my family is in that neighborhood and parish.  I can't
imagine how this occured. It is unbelievable that one Christian would treat
another Christian in this manner as you are saying Good By to a family
member and friend.  The Catholic Church needs to see the humanity of the
service, not the ritual, and welcome each other to worship and pray
together.  The Catholic Church is in turmoil, and this is not the way to
have God send his blessing to us who call ourselves Christians.
I grew up a Catholic Christian, spent years in a Catholic elementary school,
high school and college, and now in my adult years, I have had to also ask
questions about how this can continue while the church suffers attendance,
vocations and sex offenses that God has to deal with.
Since when is it inappropriate for an Episcopal priest not to be worthy to
read the Gospel, or for that matter anyone who God wrote the Gospels for.
Anyone is welcome to read the Bible. You are correct in saying that it is the parish people who suffer when something like this happens.  -- Sue Bents

 

Here's a blog entry (Whispers In The Loggia) that reports Cardinal Keeler's comments to bishops in Baltimore yesterday. This is not the first time Keeler raised "anti-Catholicism.' Another memorable time was a 2004 op-ed on the subject, "Catholicism Under Seige," that placed anti-Catholicism on the same page with anti-Semiticism and anti-Muslim hostility, and it appeared in . . . . The Baltimore Sun! (The Sun, by the way, has given Keeler and his successor, Edwin O'Brien, much flattering coverage. But any criticisms, any questions about archdiocesan decision-making seem to be met with the playing of the paranoid 'anti-Catholicism' card.")

Here are some excerpts from Keeler's 2004 op-ed, published in the midst of the church's national nightmare scandal over priest pedophilia and coverup by the hierarchy.

"Signs of a reviving anti-Catholicism are also apparent in the mainstream
media, recalling a time when it was vogue to depict Catholics as abnormal or
unpatriotic. Today, even some Catholics engage in Catholic-bashing. In a Nov.
4 article, for example, a Los Angeles Times columnist charged that Catholic
bishops 'demonize' supporters of presidential candidate John Kerry by warning
them 'they could go to hell just for voting for him.' No examples were
provided. There was none to offer."

"Anti-Catholicism (has) persisted, evolving across the years from violent
expressions and the outright denial of basic human rights, to rumors of papal
conspiracies, to behaviors we now too often witness in the public square -
policy-makers who defame our clergy and assault our doctrinal beliefs, policy
initiatives that not only promote abortion and gay marriage but also ridicule
our church's teachings in those matters."

" We live in a culture in which anti-Semitism, homophobia and racism are
rightly condemned. Yet anti-Catholicism is tolerated, and, with two noteworthy
exceptions, most Catholics seem resigned to it. Catholic immigrants are not so
placid in the face of prejudice. They were raised to embrace the shared values
and beliefs of all Catholics, and they possess a fierce determination to
defend these beliefs. So do our young people, most of whom are unapologetic
about their Catholic heritage and about what it means to be Catholic."

The cardinal sees disagreement as ridicule, and opposing views as emanating from Catholic hatred. When this op-ed appeared it was followed by several letters to the Sun editor expressing dismay at the cardinal's view and criticizing Keeler for equating modern anti-Catholicism with anti-Semitism and racism.

 

Not nice -- the Pope's handlers skipping Baltimore on Il Papa's first trip to the United States. He won't see the Basilica's multimillion-dollar renovation? Won't see the Rochambeau prayer garden? Such a slap at Baltimore, the premier see, and Cardinal Keeler. After all the fuss over the basilica -- raising all that money ($32 million, conservative estimate) for its restoration and tearing down the nearby Hotel Rochambeau, despite objections from preservationists and Charles Street interests, for a prayer garden in time for the pope's spring 2008 visit -- you'd think Benedict could find three hours out of six days to pay his respects. But no. This is not only a disappointment for Keeler, the archdiocese and the new archbishop; it's an embarrassing ouch.

Even more reader response to Archbishop O'Brien's canning of Father Ray Martin:

Father Ray did something the Church considers out of line.  They decided
to reassign him and gave a large slew of reasons for his needing
reassigning, to make it look like the main charges were just part of
some long history of offenses.  This should not be surprising, after
all, the large ruling body of the Roman Catholic Church can be best
compared to a large corporation.  I don't think that's a good thing, but
that's the way it seems to work to me.  Sometimes, big companies will
move or reassign someone and list every time they were late to work or
made a mistake to strengthen the case for reassignment.  Whether or not
you agree or disagree, can you be surprised that this is what happened?
How is it different than a board of directors acting to protect their
bottom line and their shareholders?  Much like the executives in large
corporations, the problems can't be solved until there is less distance
and more respect between the people at the very top and very bottom, or
there is no top and bottom, just people trying to better live Christian
lives together.  -- John

I am not a member of any of the three churches that apparently have worked together so harmoniously for many years. The members of these communities obviously have "not lost sight of the big picture." It its incomprehensible to me how the new Archbishop could have handled these "offenses" by Father Martin in such an extreme, public and insensitive manner,  considering the horrendous coverup that existed for decades involving criminal behavior perpetrated against the most vulnerable members of society, children, and their families.  Let me see, child molesters deserve compassion and protection from discovery---priests who commit infractions of canon law need to be dismissed and sent to think about their administrative failings, pets in the sanctuary  and"sins against canon law. The church losing sight of the big picture?  NO, the church is blind, deaf and dumb, by choice.  -- Carol Murray

I know your column in Sunday's paper was an attack on Archbishop O'Brein. I didn't see the Sunpaper article on Martin's dismissal. Your column informed me that we have an Archbishop willing to do the right thing and enforce the Catholic Church's teachings and rules. Most Catholics, myself included, want to pick & choose the Church's rules they will follow & which ones they won't. If you have a Pastor of 3 Parishes disregarding church rules, how can you expect the parishioners to receive the guidance they are entitled to. Leaders lead by example. You hear about abuses in other dioceses. I am happy Archbishop O'Brein is the Archbishop of Baltimore, and hope those abuses won't happen here with this kind of leadership. -- Tim Weber

I have, from time to time, written you concerning the differences in our political outlooks, but today's column was right on the money.  This whole thing is ridiculous. It would appear that the new archbishop is a hardliner, probably directed by Rome. My unscientific survey indicates most Catholics, of which I am one, are in shock and gross disapproval of this action. -- W. L. Wilson, Hydes

I appreciated your thoughts today on Fr. Ray Martin.  Please keep them
coming, and encourage the non-editorial staff to do the same.  This
issue should not go away, and despite the fact that the "church is not a
democracy", many of us are so charged up about this that the oldest
archdiocese in the nation is going to have to AT LEAST do more to
explain its actions, if not reverse them; but media attention, stemming
from community diligence, will continue to push the new archbishop to
this, which he certainly owes to his community.  Leaders (like the
archbishop) are SERVERS of the community, and if the new archbishop
disagrees, he's just begun to suffer his losses in the community.
Ultimately, its important that everyone remember not to let the church
get in the way of their faith. -- Bob Riley

More reader reaction to  Archbishop O'Brien's canning of Father Martin:

I can't remember when I have been so outraged. . . and I don't even know Father Martin.   Wait until O'Brien gets wind of all the rules that we "bend" at our church.  It's OK to be a pedophile  or a priest who embezzles money from the parish till, but heaven help you if you reach out to a Protestant clergyperson, most especially a female.   And dogs in church. Don't even think about it........  St. Francis of Assisi is turning over in his grave.  Thanks for having the courage to speak out.  You'll be on the Archdiocesan sh*t list from now on, but you'll be in good company.
 
Anne Brusca
Columbia, MD

Your article regarding the Catholic Church losing sight of the big picture, expressed my feelings completely.  My daughter cantored at the three South Baltimore churches while in medical school a couple of years ago.  Fr. Ray Martin was a wonderful priest.  The kind we really need.  They forgot to mention that at mass during baptisms he always held the baby and talked lovingly to the parents and families. The complete story was left out.  Many people loved him.  He did a job running three parishes that not everyone could have accomplished.  When you went to his service you really felt like you went to mass.  I cannot say that for every church, nor every priest.  I can think of a few priests I have wondered why they have not been removed, quite honestly.  Fr. Ray  made it the Catholic Community of South Baltimore when no one else succeeded.  Community was the key word.  I will find it hard to go to mass today. I am sure that there was an alternate way to handle this situation.   What you may not know is that I believe this was a witch hunt.  The only way this information got to the Archbishop O’Brien was through an inside job.  There were several people, not parishioners, who were out to get him because of a need to fulfill their own selfish desires.  They have succeeded.

Darlene Helmer

Thank you for your articles about Fr. Ray and exposing the ridiculous reasons for his dismissal. I do not live in Locust Point but my family has been there since the turn of the century.  I have family that still live  there and have rejoined the parish after raising the family in Crofton, MD. Fr. Ray's was dismissed for petty reasons, apparently he was not the soldier that the Archbishop wanted.   The reasons given to the parishioners mean nothing because they know what Fr. Ray did for each and every person in the parish. I personally called him when my mother was dying to administer the Sacrament of the Sick, he was on her doorstep within minutes and his personality was warm and loving.  He had a gift of making people feel comfortable.  Fr. Ray also returned home from a vacation when my husband died suddenly.  The day of my husband's funeral Fr. Ray met me as I walked into church,he had tears streaming down his face. The people of Locust Point can recall many, many times when he stayed with those that were dying - not for minutes but for hours!  I have never met anyone who can touch so many.  Fr. Ray welcomed all in the church.  He held children while giving his sermon, calling them by their Baptisimal name.   He is responsible for many a soul returning to church. I had belonged to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Crofton, MD for about 25 years, during that time. There have been weddings of a parishioner with a Rabbi on the altar and the wedding of another prominent family where a minister from another faith gave communion to the congregation.  If the Archbishop is cleaning house, there may be no one left. When I was growing up I was taught that  we, the people, are the church and the priests are servants of God to help us be Christ like. It was right that all walked out of church this morning.  All I could think about was my mother, father, husband and many, many relatives who have been  part of the history of Our Lady of Good Counsel, I think they would have done the same. Thank you for listening to my thoughts, My hope is that the Parishioners of the church meet with the Archbishop and Bishop, I think that is what they deserve but doubt that will happen.
 
With a Heavy Heart,
Dorothy Barrett,
Crofton, MD

 

 

I've already received numerous e-mail comments on today's column on the decision by Archbishop O'Brien to pull Father Ray Martin out of his three South Baltimore parishes for seemingly minor offenses. I've asked the letter-writers for permission to publish their comments here and, as I get their OKs, I'll post them. Others should feel free to add their comments to this blog.

I went to Catholic schools from third grade through college.  I am pretty close to a couple of priests and am a practicing Catholic.  But what is "my" church coming to? Is this what the Baltimore diocese needs in a leader?  Cardinal Keeler set such great example for many years.  I hope The Sun keeps this issue alive!
Ed Casey

You were waaaay too kind on O'Bren. I am Catholic myself and see Cardinal O'Brien as nothing more than another church bureaucrat who is in dire need of a very long retreat to find Jesus. To end on a positive note I have to say that most Catholics that I know are nothing like Cardinal O'Brien.  Thank God!
Best Regards,
Pat Mayhorga
Columbia, MD

Given the handling of Father Martin and Father Doyle, I wouldn't be surprised if you were forbidden to receive communion in this archdiocese just because you think that, just possibly, our new archbishop is fallible.  If the archbishop keeps losing priests, he may also lose many of the Catholics he is supposed to guide.  I was a great admirer of Cardinal Keeler because of his humble approach to leadership; I am not at all impressed with his replacement. 

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                       Patricia Walz,
                                                       member of St. Patrick's in Havre de Grace

I appreciate your article in today's paper. I do not know Ray Martin, and I
am not a Catholic. I do, however, know "the Church," and part of the tragedy
of this absurd action is that in all probability the active priesthood of
Ray Martin is coming to an end. He can not argue his case. He can not
object. He can not get a "hearing" by objective people. All he can do is
apologize, repent, be humiliated, go off to a monastery in "obedience" and
promise to be a good boy from now on. Or he can resign from the priesthood.
He can't go back to his parishioners in Locust Point; that will not be
allowed. He will be reassigned to who knows where---Garrett County? He
apparently was a good pastor and a good community leader, an advocate of
unity, compassion, community harmony---all the positive "articles of the
faith." For this he is being punished. It will eat at him, and eat at him
until in due time he can't take it any more. The institution has betrayed
him and it will abandon him. He will face the need to find employment in
some field for which he was not educated and trained, and he will get no
help in the process. He will nonetheless survive and join the ranks of
former Catholic priests. But why? What a stupid, intolerant, despicable act.

David Pardoe

 

In regards to your article "Church loses sight of the
big picture." As a way of example: I, as an employee at my company,
am expected to read my employee handbook and to
implement the rules of the company as stated by senior
management. If this is a problem for me, I might want
to consider quitting and going to another corporation.
Roman Catholic priests agree to obey cannon law. From
reports I've read, Father Martin reportedly let Pastor
Chappell,a non-Catholic priest, read from the Gospel
and then encouraged her to receive communion. I don't
have to remind you that these are violations of the
Catholic Church's laws. Why does it seem harsh that
the Archbishop of Baltimore would want his priests to
follow Church law? I am expected by my boss to follow
company law - if I don't there are consequences.

The Catholic Church is not the local rotary club - it
as a private Church of believers who expect its clergy
and baptized lay people to be in communion with its
doctrine. The Church does not have to be "tolerant" in
the sense that it must violate its sacred beliefs,
dogma and traditions for those outside the Church or
those Catholics in opposition to the church to feel
"comfortable." As to the question of whether you or anyone else will
go to hell or not - I think to preface your article
with such a question is real really a cheap shot,
which shows your prejudices up front. Hell is not the
issue at hand and the eternal salvation of individuals
is not something Catholics toss about casually. It is
a serious matter between God and that individual.
Please refrain from sensationalizing matters of faith.

Please stop expecting the Catholic Church to mimic the
increasingly liberal and secular society that
surrounds it. I respect that you may be non-Catholic
or a fallen-away Catholic - but I can't understand why
you use your position to slam the Church.

Respectfully,
Robert Fay

An Episcopal priest (woman!) reading the Gospel.! .Mother Church proves once again that the people have not fallen away from the church-----the church has fallen away from the people.No spin can be put on this one. The Catholic World News tried with the term "liturgical abuse". Forget the concept of community, forget the true meaning of Christianity, forget the very idea of 'reaching out'. To use 'violations' and 'abuse' as part of the Catholic prosecutors lawyer-speak is the most delicious, yet tragic , of ironies. "I have a dream" that many of the Catholic parishioners will waltz (NO jitterbugging) out of their respective parishes and go join the Episcopal church. Even if their priest is a woman. Talk about a tempest in a communion cup. And, the spy who came in from the funeral mass is a coward beyond description. Let that person, or persons, claim their part.  Just in case, God forbid, I ever meet this informer, I want to know so I can leave the room.   Betty Walter
 

 

 

My family and I thank the many, many baltimoresun.com readers who responded to yesterday's blog post about Toby with kind comments and comiserations. I just finished writing Sunday's column at home, and it's the first one I've knocked off at my desk without Toby at my side in maybe five years. It's nice to be able to read all these e-mails and blog comments. Thank you for taking the time . . . .

 

Today we had to say goodbye to a mixed-breed beagle who carried himself with all the dignity and rectitude of his purebred cousins; a noble hound, connoisseur of fine cheeses, our buddy for the last 11 years, my children's dog, and my companion at the writing desk. He became gravely sick and the dog doctor said he would not recover. So we made him as comfortable as possible, and he was as tough as possible, as the cancer spread. But it was hard watching him deteriorate. Still, until the end, the tail always wagged, if a bit feably, when I called his name: "Toby."

Toby was a finicky, impatient beagle mix -- a very old soul when he was just a pup -- who patrolled the driveway and sometimes the sidewalks like a well-trained sentinel, sniffing the trees and the breeze, and uttering a hound's howl now and then just to remind us of his ancestry. I would not say he was the sweetest dog. Sweet isn't the word for Toby in his first six or seven years. He was kind of a fuddy-duddy bachelor dog and, until the last couple of years, wanted to be left alone most of the time. He was all-business and not a big fan of the human-reaching-down-to-pet trick. If you had food -- particularly cheese -- he loved you for it. Otherwise, it was seeya-later-Charlie. Toby loved you from a short distance away.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. I actually liked that about Toby -- he was peculiar and independent (a "character") and he reminded me of some odd people I've known, and you can't say that about most dogs. That dogs aren't human, or don't in any way remind us of humans -- that's usually the reason we have them around. But Toby had this retired-military-man-where's-my-breakfast? thing about him; he expected service and he expected it now, boy, now. If you could cast a dog instead of an actor in the role of Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino) in "Scent of a Woman," I think Toby would have had a shot at the part. ("Hoo-ah!").

I've mentioned him a few times in the column over the years, and readers might recall Toby's rivalry with City Bunny. City Bunny used to come into our clover-filled Baltimore backyard early in the morning and, when he was a bit younger, Toby would get as close as possible to the low windows in the kitchen door, spot City Bunny and start growling. I would come to the door and yell, "Release the hound!" (partly to give City Bunny a head's up) and Toby would yelp and scamper after City Bunny. He never caught City Bunny -- City Bunny and Toby had that Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote thing going' on -- but the chase . . . it was all about the chase, followed by a snack, of course, and a nap, of course. 

The last few years, Toby became more touchy-feely. He had a bed by my desk and he'd sleep there all day as I worked. He was great company -- just always there, sleeping, or occasionally going to the door to see if City Bunny had returned, or looking up to see if I was serving provolone or muenster, or letting me scratch him behind the ears. I miss you terribly already, noble dog.

 

Sun Annapolis correspondent Andy Green is reporting that top delegates want to raise "combined reporting" of corporate profits from the dead. The measure, to bring Maryland up to speed with more than 20 others states that have opted to close this tax avoidance loophole, was left for dead in a Senate commitee Tuesday. Here's Andy's story.

 

More on the subject of today's column:

Making this system simpler and logical is way overdue. Many Baltimoreans have learned to live with the present schedule, but it's still a pain, trying to remember when the bottle-and-can truck is coming, and when it's paper day. Worse yet is the impact on all those city holidays on the schedule. The city has done nothing to make up for the loss of recycling days due to holidays, and the result is a major backup/pileup of recyclables in basements, garages and backyards, or people just tossing recyclables in the trash. Look at this month for instance -- bottles and cans were picked up citywide on Oct. 22 and they won't be collected again until after Thanksgiving, on Nov, 26. That's all because of Veterans Day. There's got to be a better way, and hopefully the city has found it.

This weekend marks the second year of Evening of Elegance, an event described below by a reader named Janet Randall. Her son was in need of help finding a job a couple of years ago. . . . Here's a segment of society we never think much about -- the families of prisoners, many of them women who bear the burdens while fathers, husbands, sons and boyfriends are behind bars, then support them after their release:

Evening of Elegance is for ex-offenders' families. We honor them with a sit-down dinner, live music, roses and a engraved gift honoring them for taking on the responsibility of a love one that is incarcerated. We invite guest speakers from the mayor office, governor office, political speakers, ministers,and ex-offenders who have been motivated to helping other ex-offenders to get re-established back into society. This year we are hosting the affair at St. Matthews' newly built hall on Loch Raven and Woodburne on Saturday  November 10, 2007 at 4:30 until 10:30 P.M. This affair was a dream and vision by a dedicated mother of an ex-offender, Vanessa Brandon. She has held fundraisers by selling dinners, holding flea markets in her backyard, and by appealing to organizations and churches to help carry on this tradition every year. 

 

This just in, from Ralph Moore at the St. Frances Outreach Center. If you want to volunteer for this event -- or mentor a man or women seeking employment in Baltimore -- give him a call.

"In a little over two months, we will be honoring the memory of Martin Luther King with our annual self help and service day here at St. Frances Academy Community Center.  The King holiday jobs event here at St. Frances will take place on Monday, January 21.   . . . There are still too many Baltimoreans without meaningful, lucrative enough `work and benefits to support them and their families.  Our work each year is a prayer for those unemployed and their families.  Please let me know of your interest and/or ideas, either by e-mail or by phone: 443-255-5600.

Peace and justice,
Ralph E. Moore, Jr.
Director of the Community Center
St. Frances Academy

Hello Dan, 
Can you steer me in the right direction?  I signed a contract on May 22, 2007 to have a floor replaced in my house and after signing gave the contractor $4,000 in cash for materials.   I have no materials, no new floor, and the President of the company won't return my phone calls.  I filed a complaint with the BBB, but haven't heard anything.  I called the Benson Police Barracks and the non emergency attendant told me there was nothing the police could do.  I was told it was a civil matter.  Is that right?  Can someone use a contract as a vehicle to take $4,000 from someone and then the victim has to do the work rather than the police?  Where is the fairness in that?  He stole from me.  Isn't that grand larceny?  
A crime has been committed and I can't figure out where to go to get justice.  A man who professes to be prompt and responsive on his Construction website has become unresponsive and has $4,000 of mine.  PLEASE DAN, can you tell me what I need to do to get this guys attention?  I am almost certain he has done this to more people than just me.  How do I begin the process of getting someone like him out of circulation?  He's a thief.  He's worse than a convenience store robber.  
Here's hoping you can help in some way.
Linda Brown

Linda:  Contact the Attorney General's office of consumer protection at (410) 528-8662 or 1 (888) 743-0023 toll-free . I'm going to forward your note to Dan Thanh Dang, our consumer affairs writer. (She can be reached at dan.thanh.dang@baltsun.com). Does this rise to larceny? I'm not an attorney. But I'll bet a few read this blog, so I'll post their comments when they come in.

Sorry for your trouble. Let's see if we can help.

Dan

I stumbled across an AOL "session" of Paul Potts, who is this nice fellow from South Wales that way too many people are raving about. He sings opera -- badly. (Listen for yourself.) He appeared on Britain's Got Talent, and even Simon thought he was awesome. Potts won the first round. I understand rootin' for the guy, but please . . . he's a shower singer. He shouts. His voice has no color, and an unstable range. To read and hear some of the comments about this guy, you'd think he'd inherited Pavarotti's gifts. People who don't listen to opera much -- or not at all -- and who, in fact, scorn it, need to stay out of this critics' circle. It's really a shame -- all this attention for an upstart, and a weak one at that, when there are so many good, accomplished tenors who get little or no attention from the public.

 

Wow. That Ravens game last night  . . .  wow. Pretty bad. Pretty depressing. Yeah, I know -- the team has a lot of injuries. But . . . something is wrong beyond that -- very, very wrong.

I fell asleep at halftime, woke up and it was only 38-7 and felt relieved at that. (What's going to happen when the Ravens play New England on a Monday night?)

Guy I know tells my wife: "Hey, about those Italian subs Dan said he would make for the Ravens if they scored 30 or more points in a game -- since he's not going to be making them for the team, could I get one?"

 

Congratulations to Navy on finally beating the Irish. Five years ago, when they played that game in Baltimore, I wrote the column below (inspired by the Saint Crispin's speech from Henry V, the greatest pep talk ever) in the hopes of getting the Mids psyched to end their losing streak at 38 years. (Yesterday, the day the streak ended after 43 years, was neither Saint Crispin's nor Saint Vito's Day. Notre Dame's dominance of Navy ended on Nov. 3, the feast days of Saint Winifred's and Saint Martin de Porres. Saint Winnie reportedly survived a beheading, and this Saint Martin opened a cats-n-dogs hospital at his sister's house. There's no mention of how his sister felt about that.)

======================================================

 It's time for Navy to fight the good fight, for St. Vito
Nov. 2, 2002
   EVERYONE KNOW what's going on out there? Everyone hear what they're saying
about us? They're saying it cannot be done. They're saying we couldn't beat
Notre Dame unless the Irish played in home detention anklets. They say we
couldn't beat Notre Dame unless we hooked the refs up with the girls from
Hooters. They're saying we couldn't beat Notre Dame unless Kitty Carlisle was
the Irish quarterback -- instead of Carlyle Holiday -- and some people think
Kitty Carlisle has already gone to that great TV game show in the sky when,
for the record, gentlemen, Miss Carlisle is 92 years young, thank you very
much!
   We haven't beaten Notre Dame since Miss Kitty Carlisle was a spry and
lovely 53!
    That was the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-three, gentlemen.
   The Beatles hadn't even done Ed Sullivan yet. Ronald Reagan was still
selling 24-mule-team Borax! We are on the losing side of a 38-year-old trend,
gentlemen, and they say we cannot beat Notre Dame because we cannot change
history.
   And on top of that, we're smaller, we're shorter, we're slower, and the
sportswriter in The Sun -- Mike Preston -- you know what he said? He said we
should be playing in the 165-pound sprint league!
   And you know what else? There are guys on the Notre Dame team who think
they're going to come in here and blow us away in order to regain their
national stature and prestige after losing pathetically to Boston College last
weekend.
   So that's the word on the street, gentlemen.
   The fightin' Irish are going to come in here and do the gandy dancer on our
heads.
   My God! We shouldn't even play this game! Hell, let's get back in our
weekend whites and retreat to Annapolis right now. Whaddaya say? Who'll beat
me to the coach? I hear they're showing When Harry Met Sally on the bus. Let's
head down I-97 right now and stop for ice cream in Severna Park. Come on!
   What's the matter?
   You wanna stay for the game? You wanna watch Notre Dame run through our
defense like a high-fiber cereal through an old folks' home?
   Well, now. ... No one appears to be making a rush to the bus.
   I think I know why.
   It's because you want to stay and fight the good fight.
   (Pardon me while I have a cheap Shakespearean soliloquy.)
   You come not into this vale to cultivate a career as a professional
football player. You are men in service to your nation and not just
yourselves.
   We are but warriors for the working day. We go into this battle as a
chosen, special few -- with not a Division I-recruited player among us, not a
great star or Parade magazine high school All-American.
   But God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, we are not
here for the money. It yearns us not if we've won only one game so far this
season. Such outward things dwell not in our desires. But if it be a sin to
covet honour, we are the most offending guys alive.
   No, gentlemen, wish not one more player with great hands, not a quarterback
other than he who has carried us thus. God's peace! I would not lose so great
an honour as one slot back more, methinks, would share from me.
   O! do not wish one more. Rather proclaim it, gentlemen, that he which hath
no stomach to this fight, let him depart; his weekend pass shall be stamped,
and bus fare to Annapolis put into his purse. We would not lose to Notre Dame
in that man's company that fears his fellowship to lose with us.
   Do you know what day this is called?
   This is Nov. 9, the Feast of St. Vito.
   I know zilch about this ancient ghost, but I know one thing, gentlemen: You
don't say no, to a man named Vito!
   So I promise thee all:
   He that outlives this day, and goes back to Annapolis a winner, will always
stand a tip-toe when someone says the name of Vito.
   He that shall live this day, and see old age, will yearly on the vigil cue
up the videotape and say, "Tomorrow is St. Vito's Day." Then will he roll up
his pants leg and show his scars. And say, "These wounds I had on St. Vito's
Day in Baltimore."
   Old guys forget stuff, but they'll remember with advantages what feats we
did that day. Then shall our names be familiar in mouths as household words --
Candeto the QB, Moody and Todd, Wesley and Zetts, Brazier and Jackson, be in
their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
   This story shall the good man teach his son. And no St. Vito Day will ever
go by again, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be
remembered.
   We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
   For he who sheds his blood and gets generally crunched with me today shall
be my brother. Be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition, and
men who just take up space on couches across America will think themselves
accursed they were not here, and regard their manhood cheap whiles any speaks
that fought with Navy upon St. Vito's Day!!!

(In the game that year: Navy came up a quarter short in loss to Irish, 30-23; leading 23-15 late in 4th, Mids allowed Notre Dame to score 15 unanswered points.)