Our “stable genius,” President Donald Trump, in one of the rare occasions when he was telling the truth, said in 2021 that “crypto is a scam, a con.” He was correct then and that view is still correct.

As for AIPAC, everyone who has been paying any attention to what goes on in the world knows that the AIPAC organization is a one-trick pony — its only reason for existence is to lavish praise on anything Israel does and to denounce anyone who criticizes, in any way, any action taken by the government of that country.

Those of our political representatives who accepted money for their campaigns from either of those two sources must be closely watched to make certain their actions are not influenced in any way by the crypto scammers or AIPAC.

— Harris Factor, Columbia

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We are “One Maryland,” and there should be one statewide property tax rate with jurisdictions receiving a revenue share proportional to their share of the population, perhaps modified by need.

— Bill Marker, Baltimore

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But at least our view of Watergate wasn’t from outer space, as it seems to be with Vice President JD Vance.

Vance recently told an audience at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California that the Watergate burglary, crime, perjury, destruction of evidence and coverup were no big deal and an innocent Nixon was done in by the “deep state” (“Vance, an admirer of Richard Nixon, says Watergate would be ‘a 12-hour news story’ today,” June 26).

There is more than Vance’s already diminished reputation at stake here. In 1973, in Kabul, two mornings after Nixon resigned in disgrace, an Afghan coworker, using the double negative commonly used in Dari, said to me: “Well, if you hadn’t forced him to quit, it would have proven all the good things you say about your political system aren’t true.”

— Stan Heuisler, Baltimore

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One thing is certain: They have fooled me for the last time. If the pitching is good, they stop hitting. If they hit, the pitching goes in the tank. And if they do both, they will still find a way to lose.

Who exactly is at fault is hard to determine, but one thing is absolutely clear: This team can’t be considered good by any stretch of the imagination.

There needs to be complete honesty moving forward by General Manager Mike Elias, and very hard decisions need to be made.

— Bob Lancione, Towson

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Scott is not extraordinary. He’s another one of the elected crooks that permeate the United States. “Where there is smoke, there is fire,” as the saying goes.” Maybe a single instance of seemingly unethical or irresponsible actions could be overlooked, but that isn’t the case with Scott. Here are some examples:

• Not cooperating with the city’s inspector general, whose job it is to protect Baltimore taxpayers.

• Purchasing an extravagant vehicle that was unnecessary and costly.

• Spending tens of thousands of dollars on “discretionary spending” for Ravens and Orioles tickets and things that we don’t know because the mayor won’t cooperate with the investigation.

• The tens of thousands that went to a defunct nonprofit run by Scott’s wife, again without needed transparency.

• The matter of senior adviser Marvin James, who earns nearly $200,000 but, as reported by Spotlight on Maryland, rarely reports to City Hall. He does, however, find time to go to salons, restaurants and political campaign offices in Washington, D.C. using a city vehicle in violation of the guidelines.

• Refusing to cooperate with Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates regarding the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement program. The mayor takes credit for the murder rate reduction. His actions certainly contributed to the reduction, but equally, if not more important, have been Bates’ efforts to imprison people who carry guns and shoot other people — as opposed to giving them probation and an ankle monitor. Bates has done an incredible job ridding our streets of the most violent offenders.

It is obvious that Scott is a man without honor or integrity. He is not someone suited to turn Baltimore around. He certainly chooses not to be held accountable for his actions. When questioned about James, his answer was, “Stop chasing me.”

Wow, Mayor Scott, this isn’t your money to spend where you want and give gifts to your friends. Taxpayers worked hard for that money; it’s ours. We want to know where it’s being spent.

When men like the mayor get elected, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

— Andrew G. Kelly, Sparks Glencoe

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Interestingly, today, with much of our world and especially our own country faced with uncertainty and in turmoil, with a totally unnecessary war, many people are once again turning to escapism or to comfortable old favorites — novels, movies, even TV sit-coms. Oldies such as “Seinfeld,” “Cheers” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” episodes have become available on Netflix.

As for movies, nearly all of my many friends and I couldn’t wait for the “Downton Abbey” sequel. Between 2001 and 2024, there were 44 Barbie movies. Talk about escape.

But there is nothing like reading a good book, especially an old favorite, to escape the perils of climate change, tariff wars, an unstable economy, polarization in Congress and musical chairs in government.

Of the too-many-to-count books I’ve read in my life — for school, for teaching and for pleasure — one of my favorites was Herman Wouk’s “Marjorie Morningstar,” definitely a classic love story. Although I was 14 when I first read it, I’ve never forgotten how much I enjoyed it. And when the movie came out, starring Natalie Wood and Gene Kelly, I even got my parents to get me a similar yellow dress to the one Marjorie wore in the film.

Even though I subsequently read Wouk’s more highly acclaimed books, “The Caine Mutiny” and “The Winds of War,” Marjorie remained my favorite.

When I decided to ask friends and acquaintances what their favorite books were, I discovered some interesting answers, often going back to early childhood. For example, my minister friend Sharon, once a high school English teacher, then a corporate manager, clearly remembered, as a little girl, going into a bookstore in New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal and, after browsing in the children’s section, asking her mother to buy her a “Bobbsey Twins” book. She eventually read them all. In addition to her ministerial duties, which included writing weekly sermons, often based on books, Sharon led a summer book club.

Barbara Stack, an old friend, now living in Buffalo, said she loved “Heidi” by Johanna Spyri because of Heidi’s relationship with her grandfather, who reminded Barbara of her relationship with her own grandfather, who she says “looked like a tall Harry Truman!”

Said my friend MaryAnn, a retired legal administrator who lives in San Francisco, “I loved ‘Little Women’ because, having two brothers and no sisters, those girls became my family.”

As an only child, my Baltimore friend Heather said she loved the Zane Grey books because she loved horses and had two of her own. But, she admits, she could not finish Anna Sewell’s “Black Beauty” because “it was just too sad.”

My friend and neighbor Peggy said her favorite book was “In the Fall” by Jeffrey Lent. “I guess I never realized,” said Peggy, “that when the Civil War was over, the soldiers just walked home. A slave girl helped an injured white soldier and walked home with him to Vermont. People there had never seen a Black person. The story goes through three generations of their lives.”

Michael, a long-time actor in movies made in Maryland and a Civil War buff, claimed his favorite book was Ralph Peters’ “Cain at Gettysburg,” especially since Michael had acted in “Gods and Generals,” a 2003 movie based on that memorable book.

Richard Brautigan’s “Revenge of the Lawn,” composed of very short stories, was Paul Overly’s favorite. Paul, a former senior administrator in the Baltimore City Health Department, said he read the book while in college, approximately 45 years ago. Today, critics still call “Revenge of the Lawn” “radical, vibrant and funny as well as dark.” A good escape, I am sure.

Friend Roy loved the award-winning Daniel Yergin book, “The Prize,” a detailed history of the oil industry, written in 1990 and more relevant than ever today. The book, all 800-plus pages, says Roy, “is good writing, easy to read and understand.” Roy also likes historian David McCullough’s books, especially for “the depth of detail.”

I actually own and have read all of McCullough’s books and met him at a Meyerhoff talk several years ago.

Finally, Ralph Reed, 88, a retired electrician who, like me, walks at the mall for exercise, says his favorite book is definitely the Bible, which he reads daily. And in today’s world, that book, both ancient and inspiring, may be the best read of all.

— Lynne Agress, Towson

The letter writer teaches in the Odyssey Program of the Johns Hopkins University and was president of BWB-Business Writing Inc., a writing and editing consulting company. She is the author of “The Feminine Irony” and “Working With Words.”

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The former state delegate’s idol, President Donald Trump, increased the budget deficit from $585 billion in fiscal year 2016 to over $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020. And the only reason that it hasn’t increased even more during Trump’s current term is that the so-called One Big, Beautiful Bill Act held down expenses on the backs of the needy by cutting funding for important social supports such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid.

Good luck with that in Maryland, Dan.

— Alan L. Katz, Owings Mills

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I understand that the vetting of players and staff is needed and warranted. However, if the vetting shows the players and staff are cleared to enter the U.S. to play, they should be allowed to remain for the duration of their eligibility until “knocked out” of the tournament.

I am also a fan of the Little League World Series. Will a team of children from a nation that is out of favor with whomever serves as President of the United States at that moment be required to travel to Canada and back after every game?

— M.C. Chesshire, Towson

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As your paper reported, “On Monday, port officials joined CSX rail operator and Gov. Wes Moore to mark the opening last month of the Howard Street Tunnel to accommodate double-stack container trains. The work modernized the 1890s-era tunnel while upgrading bridges and overpasses.
State officials expect those improvements to enable an additional 160,000 containers to be shipped by rail each year” (“Port of Baltimore buys 17 acres near cargo terminals to boost expansion and jobs,” June 22).

The results of this accomplishment will have nothing but positive effects on the 20,000 full-time workers in the port and help increase the more than $70 billion economic impact.

Thanks are owed to everyone who worked toward this accomplishment, especially former President Joe Biden, Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland Port Administration head Jonathan Daniels and former MPA head Bill Doyle.

People had been talking about getting double-stacking for the Port of Baltimore for over 50 years. They got it done.

— Richard P. Krueger Jr., Linthicum Heights

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And, of course, President Donald Trump just continues to embarrass us all with his needless self-serving lies about the Italian prime minister, his wrestling match on the White House lawn and his Reflecting Pool debacle. God, do we have to endure another two years of this? How depressing!

— Charles Rammelkamp, Baltimore

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