Time for Ravens to cut John Harbaugh

Will Baltimore Ravens ownership finally wake up from their absolutely blind devotion to John Harbaugh?

Last season’s disastrous play calling against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship — not running the ball when you had the top running attack in the entire NFL and Kansas City had about the poorest defense against the run — should have led to the head coach’s exit. There was even a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hire the next great coach in the game, Mike Macdonald, but that’s now gone as the former Ravens defensive coordinator is now head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

It’s time to act. As they do in pro baseball, put Harbaugh on waivers. I bet no one will take him now (“Mike Preston’s Ravens mailbag: Answering questions about Baltimore’s 0-2 start,” Sept. 18).

Consider this advice from a (former) Ravens fan living in the middle of Patriots Nation.

— Fred Hill, Arrowsic, Maine

Maryland can level the tax playing field for small businesses

A recent commentary in The Baltimore Sun raised the possibility that the state is considering increasing taxes on Maryland’s small businesses. The reality is that nobody is proposing raising taxes on our small companies (“Higher taxes are the last thing Maryland small businesses need,” Sept. 1).

In fact, the Maryland General Assembly has been considering tax changes that would benefit small businesses by finally leveling the playing field here and making sure big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.

The Fair Share for Maryland tax plan would close gaping loopholes that big — often out-of-state — companies have used to avoid paying taxes in Maryland for decades. These big businesses make money off Marylanders but use accounting tricks to avoid state taxes, seeking to contribute as little as possible to our state.

This fattens up these big companies’ bottom lines and gives them a competitive advantage over smaller Maryland firms that do indeed pay a reasonable amount to support our communities. Our state’s small businesses are at an unfair disadvantage and it must end.

We are also facing major revenue challenges in the state. We are already seeing budget cuts to the state’s transportation system; without action, we will see significant budget cuts that will hurt our schools, our health system and public safety. That’s not good for anybody, including small businesses and their owners and workers.

Groups like the National Federation of Independent Business, which are carrying water for big business under the guise of advocating for local companies, should stop raising straw-man arguments about taxes and get on board with the Fair Share plan. It will make small businesses more competitive and ensure everyone is paying the right amount to fund the things our communities and businesses need.

— David M. Friedman, Silver Spring

Familiar look to beachfront waste

Hypodermic needles, tampon applicators and cigarillo tips. Why does this plastic waste combination washing up along our Atlantic beaches sound familiar? Because this is exactly the same odd mix of flotsam I’d periodically remove from the Chesapeake Bay beach across from my house until about 10 years ago. Add spent, plastic, shotgun shells to the mix (“Needles on the beach: Perpetrators must pay,” Sept. 17).

It’s a positive sign of our pollution awareness that 60 government agencies were called upon to deal with the current issue. I’d just comb the beach with a plastic bag and pick up the stuff. The plethora of environmental stewards, starting with the EPA, have brought the terms “microplastics” and “parts per million” into general conversations about the health of the planet. We’ve come a long way, baby.

— Eric Greene, Annapolis

When it comes to inflammatory rhetoric, Trump should look in the mirror

In the wake of the presumed assassination plot uncovered at Donald Trump’s Florida golf course, the former president alleged that the use of incendiary rhetoric by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden inspired the suspected gunman to act.

Trump claimed, without a shred of evidence, that “their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at.” That would include the failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania (“Trump blames Biden and Harris’ rhetoric toward him despite his own history of going after rivals,” Sept. 16).

It is more likely that Trump’s long history of inflammatory rhetoric was a motivating factor, but we may never know the truth as to what compelled the would-be assassins.

One thing is clear: Trump remains a threat to our democracy, and he is trying to silence those who would remind the American people of the danger he poses.

— Jim Paladino, Tampa, Florida