Annapolis Capital Punishment

This is an odd one. First off, I think The Capital's Teen of the Week (TOTW) column is a great column highlighting the cream of our youth. I have known some of the featured students. Maybe one day my children will be featured. I suppose if that happens, The Capital might stoop to mention something such as "The boy's father writes the incredibly popular, influential and always beautifully crafted local political blog which has had a tremendously positive influence on the Teen of The Week...." but, wait it's about a teenager, not the parent. Read on.

This week's TOTW is a bright, highly accomplished athlete scholar who is bound for the Naval Academy. The Capital writes that, "Phoenix Geimer, 17, son of Wendi Winters and Tod Geimer of Cape St. Claire, would seem destined for a sea-faring career."

What The Capital fails to tell you is that Wendi Winters, as you may not have noticed, is a regular freelancer for The Capital, usually writing none other than.....Teen of The Week! They left this out! However, at the end of the TOTW column, one reads, "Anyone can nominate a Teen of the Week. If you have a nomination, send it by e-mail to Wendi Winters at Teen@quantumstep.com. Questions? Contact Wendi at the same e-mail address."

It would appear that not only can anyone nominate a TOTW, you can also be chosen as TOTW, even if your mother normally writes the column.

Please--I'm not begrudging the young Mr. Geimer from this deserving recognition, and it might even be wrong to deny this honor to him solely on the grounds that his mother normally writes the columns. And in all fairness, this week's column is written by Barbara Mclaughlin, who is identified as a Capital staff Writer. But, whooaaaa, does it raise any red flags for you?

Take it a step further. Let's suppose my teenagers are deserving of such a recognition. Do you think The Capital might not consider them because their father writes that lousy, two-bit, useless, negative local blog whose URL shall not be mentioned???? The bottom line here is that even if it might be a "fuzzy" issue to choose or not to choose the young Mr. Geimer on account of his mother, at the very least, The Capital should have taken pains to make this very clear to we the readers--at the start of the article!

And, finally in the interest of full disclosure, CP is friendly with Ms. Winters and one of her children, who is also a school buddy of one of CP's children. I hope that has absolutely none, zero, nada, any effect whatsoever on having my boys chosen at TOTW......