Dan Rodricks

Before I leave the subject, until next time, a further thought about the boys and young men who offer to wash car windshields at a few busy Baltimore intersections -- the squeegee workers. This issue is so fraught with race, politics and class dynamics, it’s hard to have a civil discussion about it. On Sunday, after … Continue reading Why some people resent the ‘squeegee boys’ of Baltimore

“Every war is ironic because every war is worse than expected. Every war constitutes an irony of situation because its means are so melodramatically disproportionate to its presumed ends.” -- Paul Fussell

A new film, “Just Mercy,” tells the story of the extraordinary efforts of a young attorney, Bryan Stevenson, to save the life of an innocent man, Walter McMillian, who had been placed on Alabama’s Death Row even before his wrongful conviction for murder in 1988. The movie, starring Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan, lands … Continue reading ‘Just Mercy’ and the work of justice crusaders

While Trump’s election was a truly tragic development, it was not until his decision to kill Suleimani and provoke retaliation from -- if not war with -- Iran that we could see Trump’s psychological condition fully deployed and dangerous. The United States has a narcissist for president. The motivation for everything he does is fed … Continue reading The psychological mess of a man in the White House takes us to Code Red

Whenever I wander into pines, either a natural forest or state park or a grove that some landowner planted years ago, I feel a sense of secluded comfort, even with houses and rural roads nearby. Pines grow close and they grow tall, and if you walk among them, or through them, they will protect you … Continue reading The pines at dusk: Joe Meyers’ spirit-home

This is a 2007 column I wrote about the felon "call-in" approach to stopping violence, referenced in a more recent piece for The Sun. I attended my first felon "call-in" the other night, and came away thinking: Why haven't we been doing this, once a month in every Baltimore police district, for the last 20 years? … Continue reading From the archives: A violence intervention program that worked in Baltimore

I only fished with Randy Julius one time. It was on Cape Cod, and it only lasted a couple of hours, but it was such a good experience I have savored it for years: Late morning in East Sandwich, maybe 200 yards from the beach, on a tidal creek, fly fishing for striped bass, or … Continue reading Randy Julius: Stripers swimming backwards

Nobody asked me, but . . . The three divisional teams Tom Brady has played against since becoming the New England Patriots starting quarterback -- that is, the teams he’s played against the most in the NFL regular seasons since 2001 -- have a combined record of 401 wins and 512 losses. That’s a winning … Continue reading Had the Ravens and Patriots been division rivals, Tom Brady would have been retired by now

There might be nothing that stops online consumerism from consuming all of human civilization as we know it. The way retail stores have been closing, it seems possible that, less than a decade from now, you won’t have to go anywhere for anything and look at anybody. While I have not been to see my … Continue reading No Cyber Monday for Me: Amazon Aversion Syndrome

Sad news this week with the passing of another excellent journalist and former colleague, the editorial cartoonist Mike Lane. He created daily cartoons for the Baltimore Evening Sun from the early 1970s, giving him a chance to include Richard Nixon among his subjects, into the 1990s, after the afternoon paper merged with the morning edition. … Continue reading On the passing of cartoonist Mike Lane