The first half of 2024 in Baltimore ended with 89 homicides, the second fewest to start a year on record (since 1970). Just two years ago saw the worst first half on record, with 179 killings. That's a two-year drop of more than 50 percent

Trump is too old to be president

📚 NOW IN PAPERBACK! 📚 FLEE NORTH by Scott Shane, a riveting account of the abolitionist, liberator, and writer Thomas Smallwood, an extraordinary American hero all but lost to history, who bought his own freedom and led hundreds out of slavery. bit.ly/48jAGwk

Thanks to the NYT Book Review for the shout-out for my book FLEE NORTH in its Paperback Row column! Just in time for last-minute holiday giving....And to Gabrielle Dean of Johns Hopkins U for her moving account of what she chose as her favorite read of 2024. Many thanks to her!

An old article that's still worth the read and perhaps increasingly important as we move forward (written by Scott Shane): Russia Isn’t the Only One Meddling in Elections. nytimes.com/2018/02/17/sun…

If I were about to capitulate to Vladimir Putin, as Trump and Vance seem to be, it might seem like a good tactic to pick a public fight with Putin's adversary. It might distract at least a few Americans from how "peace through strength" has become peace through abject weakness.