Dan Rodricks

Ordinarily, I don’t engage or indulge topics such as this: The prospects of another civil war in the United States. Such things seem too far-fetched, speculative, even ridiculous to bother with, unworthy of 900 words. But the prospect of civil war — an actual split in the country and violent confrontations between red and blue … Continue reading Civil war sounds crazy, but so did a Trump presidency

Updated post, with this New York Times story: As Manchin blocks climate plan, his state can't hold back floods Having read my Oct. 3 column in The Sunday Sun, my friend Tom recalled a trip to the Louisiana Gulf Coast a few years ago to do some birding with his wife, Gaile. As they travelled … Continue reading Joe Manchin’s legacy: Wealth from fossil fuels and putting the nation at risk of more Trumpism

I've written about this problem in the past. Glad to see this new law on the books. Here's the press release from the state: The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) remind Marylanders that a new state law that prohibits intentional balloon releases takes effect October 1, 2021. … Continue reading Great news: Intentional Balloon Releases Banned in Maryland

Beauséant  So this is what happens: I'm driving through Mount Washington after visiting my old and beloved Evening Sun editor, Ernie Imhoff, at Springwell retirement community. I see this amazing carved sun face in the remainder of an old tree and, inspired by memories of Ernie assigning stories in the newsroom, I snooped around. I … Continue reading A carved sun face, a for-sale sign and the ‘General’s House’

Please note and mark the moment: Justin Tucker’s 66-yard field goal to win today’s NFL game in Detroit for the Baltimore Ravens belongs among the Greatest Feats in Sports History. It’s up there with Bob Beaman’s amazing Olympic-record long jump in Mexico City (1968), Don Larsen’s perfect game in a World Series (1956) and Usain … Continue reading 9/26/2021: Justin Tucker’s foot records his greatest feat

Question for the house: What takes more, being the best player on the worst baseball team or the best player on the best team? I’m looking at the Marvelous Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles as one of the greatest seasons by an individual Oriole comes to a close. Cedric has hit 30 home runs while … Continue reading The Marvelous Mullins kept his eye on the ball

In doing some research on the Progressive Era — in part, the subject of my Wednesday column in The Baltimore Sun — I tripped into a fascinating corner of Maryland history and the record of a long-gone governor from Conowingo named Austin Crothers. He was a man of contradictions in an age of ambiguity, a … Continue reading History lesson: The contradictions of Maryland and its Governor in the Progressive Era

The pandemic cancelled Little Italy’s Madonnari Arts Festival again. The next one is scheduled for September 2022. Still, art is happening in the old neighborhood. During the hiatus, the organizers of the festival invited Mexican street artist Carlos Alberto Garcia-Hernandez to create a permanent 3D mural on the wall of the Hospital Support Services building … Continue reading A wow-inducing new mural for Little Italy

What we are facing, my fellow Americans, is not simply a difference of opinion. You all know what a difference of opinion looks and sounds like. What we are facing is not mere disagreement about how much the nation should spend on defense or whether undocumented immigrants should be given a path to citizenship. What … Continue reading America is facing something much bigger than a difference of opinion