Maryland needs a new strategy to fight juvenile crime

The Baltimore Sun does a respectable job of reporting on juvenile crime, but hasn’t offered any solutions (“Armed carjackings by juveniles up in Baltimore, new data shows,” Oct. 7).

Consider the case of carjackings. An offender who gets caught, with or without a weapon, should do six months in a “boot camp” no mater what the age. The camp can include classroom education, but also total discipline from sunrise to sunset.

I would wager that this will cause a reduction in this category of crime once this policy is implemented and young people realize this would be the consequences of being caught stealing cars. Baltimore has won tens of millions of dollars in recent lawsuits — use that money to fund this effort!

— Richard Webb, Parkton

Don’t be lulled into thinking this election doesn’t matter

I found a recent column by Armstrong Williams unsettling (“Armstrong Williams: Politics is a sideshow,” Oct. 4). It features a collection of quotes from the Bible and the Founding Fathers meant to promote the idea that the election is not important because life will go on as usual, and it’s all part of God’s plan so it must be good.

It is most decidedly not good. The world is full of injustice and suffering, much of which is the fault of humans. Did God create the world so we could mess it up and hurt each other? No. We are put in a broken world to make things better. We will be held accountable for our actions or inaction.

This election is different from all that have gone before. This time one of the candidates is cruel, ignorant and vengeful. If he is elected, there is no telling what horrors will follow. Do not be lulled into thinking it’s no big deal.

— Sidney Turner, Catonsville

Scary and yet also kind of hilarious

There have been statements made in recent weeks by former President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene regarding immigrants eating people’s pets and how the Democrats are controlling the weather (“US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a ‘truly dangerous narrative,'” Oct. 7). These statements are so ridiculous that they are hilarious.

The scary part is there are people out there who believe them.

— C. Bennett, Bel Air

Oh, there’s someone seeking to subvert the Constitution alright

Michael J. Onisick’s commentary, “A dangerous political philosophy is on the ballot in November” (Oct. 10), reads like a late-night game of MAGA Mad Libs. Claims that immigrants are treated better than “regular” citizens? Check. Concerns about the erosion of religious freedom? Check. Pandemic mandates? Check. And, of course, no piece like this would be complete without a mention of George Soros.

The real irony, however, is that the writer overlooks the fact that the person he’s advocating for tried to subvert the very Constitution he claims to defend. On Jan. 6, 2021, we witnessed an attempt to undermine the rule of law, disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and perpetuate falsehoods about our free and fair elections — pillars of our democracy.

At least the headline was correct. There is a dangerous political philosophy at stake. Unfortunately, Onisick is standing on the wrong side of it.

— Paul Winston, Baltimore

Don’t cancel Tesla or Elon Musk

Letter writer Rhonda Brooks stated that Baltimore should not purchase Tesla automobiles for the city (“Baltimore should not be lining Elon Musk’s pockets,” Oct. 12). I have a fiscal concern, but Brooks has an ideological one.

She claims that Elon Musk has no respect for Black people or inner-city communities. It is a shame that she declined to include the source of that comment in context. It’s just another “corporate cancellation” request to undermine the likes of My Pillow, Urban Outfitters and Aunt Jemima. Might we cut the philosophical handwringing and go for the best product over personality?

— Sophia Montgomery, Perry Hall

On books, abortion: Don’t tell me what to do

To people who are so upset by some books that you insist on having them removed from libraries, you do not have to read them. To people who insist that abortion should be illegal for women, you don’t have to have one (“Abortion ballot question is a test of voters’ social conscience,” Oct. 14).

You have every right not to read a certain book. You have every right not to have an abortion. But you have no right at all to dictate to me what I can or cannot read and can or cannot do with my body.

— N.L. Bruggman, Jarrettsville