I am appalled that someone is stealing the ugly blue signs ("Promenade foes clash over signs decrying project," Catonsville Times, Feb. 4).

I think the Catonsville police should do their best to apprehend this menace to the tranquility of our way of life.

I know who is taking the signs. It's the same person who keeps taking my remote.

Richard Hiteshew

Oak Forest

Conservatives' suggestions on how to save economy are poor

Harry Korrell's letter, "Problem of growing debt owes much to government," (Catonsville Times, Feb. 18) offers a diagnosis of our economic sickness that is exactly wrong.

He said that, "ideological and inept interference" by the federal government "perturbed free market forces" to cause a depression.

The Bush Administration was indeed ideological and inept, but it was his non-interference in the marketplace that let the financial wolves run wild. Following free market theology, Bush eliminated financial rules and cut back enforcement on those rules that remained. As a result, honest banking became less profitable, and the whole profession came to resemble a carnival card game.

Now it's Mr. Obama's job to revive the economy and put our house in order. That costs money.

Right-wing calls for frugality would be more credible if their hero, George Bush, had not increased the national debt by over $5 trillion, nearly doubling it.

Suddenly, conservatives care deeply about excess spending when it might actually help average Americans. What they really care deeply about is regaining power to help their rich friends.

Trusting Republicans with the economy now is like putting arsonists in charge of the fire department.

Mark Weaver

Catonsville

School play acts as a reminder on what makes Catonsville great

I was reminded again, several times last week, why Catonsville was named one of the best places to live in the United States by Money Magazine.

On Saturday night, I attended the Catonsville High School production of "Pippin" and it was terrific.

If you live in the community and are not taking advantage of the musical programs offered at Catonsville High School, you are missing out on a wonderful entertainment opportunity.

Congratulations to all of the students and staff members who put this production together!

We are fortunate in having such an outstanding high school serving our community.

While attending the musical, I was also struck by advertisements for student art shows that hang in the main hallway, and realized that hundreds of other students spent the day trying out for spring sports teams.

Let's not forget that, earlier in the week, Catonsville was recognized as one of the premier schools in the entire region for student performance on Advanced Placement tests, the gold standard for academic achievement in the nation.

Catonsville's Advanced Placement performance is amazing. It is fourth best in Baltimore County; it exceeded every Carroll County high school, and topped all but two schools in both Howard and Anne Arundel counties.

What makes Catonsville's AP performance so impressive is the large number of students who take the test.

Catonsville High is truly one of the quality high schools in the nation, a rank that it regularly receives from Newsweek magazine.

Catonsville does it all: It strives to achieve world-class academic standards while, at the same time, recognizing the important role that the arts and athletics play in the development of young men and women.

I want to thank Principal Debbie Bittner and her staff for giving us such an outstanding high school.

And let's not forget the administrators and staff members at Catonsville, Westowne, Hillcrest and Westchester Elementary schools, along with Catonsville and Arbutus Middle. Without the preparation that students receive at those schools, Catonsville High would not be able to reach the heights that it does.

A student who earns a five in Advanced Placement United States history, doesn't just magically appear in the 11th grade.

Money Magazine had it right. Catonsville is indeed one of the best places in the country to live.

Don Mohler

Catonsville

Proponent of the death penalty counts God among its supporters

The media reported that Gov. Martin O'Malley took his campaign against Maryland's death penalty to the streets recently, praying and marching with clergy in opposition to capital punishment. The governor observed that he has 22 Senate votes to repeal the death penalty, but the "Holy Spirit might have 24, so let's give him a shot."

The governor correctly identified the masculinity of the Holy Spirit.

However, if the governor is not interested in wasting "one instant, one day, one cent, one dime, serving death," he needs to practice his faith as a consistent Catholic and defend the great multitude of babies, who are butchered in the name of choice at area abortion clinics.

Many Christians are cognizant of the notion of a salad bar or buffet style Christianity. This increasingly popular brand of Christianity allows believers to pick and choose what is most appealing to them.

Has it ever occurred to liberal Christians that God, who never changes, supports the death penalty as it was His will for the Lord Jesus Christ to die for the sins of humanity?

Therefore, had liberals like Gov. O'Malley had his way 2000 years ago, there would be no remission for our sins.

Other opponents of capital punishment contend that there is a disproportionate number of minorities on death row.

Do we need to satisfy a racial quote for executions in America?

There is also a disproportionate number of minorities in prison. By using such logic, we should ascertaine that our jails are diverse and well-represented demographically.

Furthermore, when I first heard of the governor aligning himself with religious leaders in Annapolis, I was perplexed as to the overt silence from activist groups, such as the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, People for the American Way, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

When it comes to championing political causes of the left, it is permissible for government's elected officials to invoke their faith and attend marches. These groups aggressively silence and intimidate Christians more so than other faiths with the mendacious notion that there is an impregnable wall of "separation of church and state" in the United States Constitution.

Many Americans have been deceived into believing that the words appear in the Constitution when the fact is that they do not.

Matthew Pasalic

Catonsville

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