Maryland Democrats in Congress vote pro-sanctuary

It is very easy and no great surprise to see where the sympathies and priorities lie with Maryland’s Democratic representation in the U.S. House of Representatives with regard to addressing crimes committed by individuals who are unlawfully present in this country (“Immigration a higher priority for Americans than it was a year ago, new poll shows,” Jan. 7).

While the House with the support of enough Democrats (none from Maryland, of course) succeeded in passing the Laken Riley Act (HR 7511), the vote certainly provided insight about the leanings of most Democrats in the chamber. It will now be sent to the U.S. Senate where it should be brought to a vote unlike HR 2, the House-passed immigration bill that was never allowed to reach the Senate floor.

I would expect both Maryland senators follow suit and oppose it owing to their support of Maryland serving as a de facto sanctuary jurisdiction. At least we can thank U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s 1st District Republican, for his support of its passage.

— Michael Ernest, Catonsville

US needs a president more like Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States passed away on Dec. 29 and will lie in repose in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 9 so that thousands of citizens can still pay homage to this humble peanut farmer, a great humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize winner. The U.S. flag will fly at half mast in his honor during this period of national mourning (“Jimmy Carter continues to lie in state at Capitol Rotunda ahead of his state funeral,” Jan. 8).

Although he was only a one-term president, Carter was the architect of the Camp David Accords. He won significant other victories, but they pale in comparison to what he achieved in his post-presidential life from helping eradicate “river blindness” in Africa to his lifelong dedication to Habitat for Humanity building homes for the poor and to monitoring elections in many fledgling democracies.

He was a faithful husband, married to his wife Rosalynn for 76 years. A man of strong Christian faith, he regularly taught Sunday School in his local church in Plains, Georgia until his death. He was honest, decent, caring, empathetic and devoted to helping the needy..

As the nation mourns the demise of this noble humanitarian and tributes pour in from all over the world, the differences between the qualities and attributes of the 39th President and the incoming 47th President are stark and undeniable.

President-elect Donald Trump is the polar opposite, lacking any of the qualities including the integrity, goodness and humility that Carter possessed. Our nation has elected a president who is a convicted felon, accused of fraud and sexual crimes, spiteful and vengeful, scornful of our allies and the NATO alliance. All we can do is to watch what happens in the next four years and hope and pray that Congress will be able to exhibit some semblance of sanity and statesmanship and act as guardrails to save our democracy from chaos.

— Vijay Abhyankar, Bel Air

And so the battle over education dollars begins

The gloves are off and the battle for state money begins as the Maryland General Assembly faces a huge deficit (“We must not lose vital arts funding in Maryland,” Jan. 6). First, the supporters of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reforms and now, supporters for the arts. Everybody wants a piece of the pie and the problem is, it is a pretty small pie this time. The arts supporters battle cry could be: “If Maryland’s Blueprint education plan leaves funding for the arts vulnerable, it is not worth the paper on which it is written.”

To the various Blueprint supporters, their cause is worth the money and they are ready to argue with whoever will listen. But what they all need to realize is there is a state budget deficit and many things will not be funded. Some will win and, unfortunately, some will lose. And integrating art into STEM curricula will probably never happen.

— Stas Chrzanowski, Baltimore

Streaming of Ravens-Steelers game is about short-term profits

The NFL’s decision to stream the Ravens-Steelers playoff game exclusively behind a paywall on Amazon Prime Video (though in Baltimore it will be broadcast on WMAR) is an omen that its fiscal sustainability on traditional broadcast venues may be in jeopardy (“5 things to know about the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens’ wild-card round opponent,” Jan. 5).

The Ravens-Steelers game, the most attractive of the weekend schedule, is prime time Saturday night. People will, no doubt, pay to watch it. However, it remains to be seen whether streaming games will help or hurt the National Football League.

Streaming is more profitable than legacy networks so more games will go exclusively to streaming. But viewers will have to subscribe to multiple services to get as many games as they can access. As a result, the NFL will likely decline in popularity but will make more money than ever. The NFL is sacrificing its long-term survival and viability at the altar of a “quick buck.”

— Mel Tansill, Catonsville