Sun foolishly glorifies ‘Peanut’ on front page
What is the point of putting the Maurice “Peanut” King piece on the front page (“Peanut King: After 37 years in prison, a giant of Baltimore’s drug trade returns to face his city’s ruins,” Dec. 5)? By devoting so much attention to a drug dealer, reformed or not, this piece inadvertently glorifies past, current and would-be criminals.
Everyone, even President Donald Trump, knows all about our woes. Enough of this constant navel-gazing!
Instead, we should celebrate Baltimore’s real heroes like our teachers, Dr. Douglas Robinson of Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and those involved in the University of Maryland, Baltimore Cure Scholars Program, who are working to provide valuable STEM experience for our inner city youth.
Clearly, more needs to be done. Our city needs to look forward, not sideways or backward.
Kamala Harris did not lose her presidential bid because of race or gender
It’s not often that we read a commentary in The Baltimore Sun that is blatantly sexist or racist, but the op-ed, “Being black hurt Kamala Harris’ presidential bid” (Dec. 9), hit the mark on both counts. In spite of equal opportunity federal employment laws that have stood for many years, it is hard to believe that Debbie Hines, a former Maryland assistant attorney general, would write: “Black women know that we must work twice as hard and be twice as good as a white man to get half as much.”
Perhaps it will dawn on Ms. Hines that in the more enlightened thinking of 2020 that the president of the United States represents all Americans, not just those in her preferential class that is biased by their gender and their race.
On ignoring gag order ban, Baltimore Mayor Young believes he’s above the law
Trivializing important social issues. Declaring that the people are the problem. Using your legal counsel to provide cover. Acting like you’re above the law. Who am I talking about? The correct answer is Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. If you have had your head in the sand, you may have missed some recent ugliness coming out of City Hall.
Besides sending out white van alerts and saying leadership doesn’t matter, our mayor has said he will openly disregard the law banning “gag orders” in civil settlement agreements with the city that was recently passed by City Council (“No Baltimore renaissance with gag orders still in use,” Oct. 30). Mr. Young chose not to veto the Transparency and Oversight Claims and Litigation Ordinance (190409) knowing that the veto would be overridden.
He refused to sign the bill fearing he would be rebuking the orders of City Solicitor Andre Davis. According to Baltimore Brew, Mayor Young’s spokesman claims “the mayor can’t be in the habit of instructing a former federal Judge to ignore and break the law.”
It seems to me that the solicitor should not be in the habit of instructing the mayor to break the law.
Gag orders or non-disparagement agreements that are written into these settlements have already been found to be unconstitutional and essentially force citizens to shut their mouths about their victimization from police or other city agency employees.
Unfortunately, getting any criminal recourse for those victimized by police brutality, in particular, is almost impossible.
This is the reason that most victims turn to the civil courts. In most cases, dragging their families through the courts and being re-traumatized is so offensive that victims and their families feel compelled to take the settlement out of court.
What can you do? Call in and air your concerns to the mayor. Ask the candidates running for mayor whether they want to continue with a city solicitor who wants to stifle victims and their families.
Contact your state legislator to let them know that our city needs control of our police department and that the Officer’s Bill of Rights should be abolished because police officers need to be held accountable for their actions.