A lot of burglaries in Cedarcroft.
The WBAL "unreported crimes" story will actually run tomorrow at 6 and 11.
The body burned in Millersville belonged to 50-year-old Anthony Fertitta.
Rabbi David Kaye of Potomac and elementary-school teacher Steven Benoff lost their jobs after being busted by Dateline NBC (and mentioned on Larry King by Judge Judy) for trying to solicit sex from minors online.
A cop on Craigslist rants about "worthless annoying scumbags" and the "miserable process of Balt. City justice."
19 comments:
Great rant on Craigslist. Makes me look reasonable, which is a task.
I read that rant too, and unfortunately, I do agree with some points he made, like "all we cops can do on-duty is lock people up & watch the miserable process of Balt. City justice, which is none." i agree the justice system here fails most if not all of us on a regular basis. I don't have full faith in it. Also he said " I'd like to just knock/kick him unconscious in the alley, rub his face in his own shit, and go back in my house. But I can't. I gotta do the right thing and call 911 and wait 45 minutes for the guys I work with to drive by, not get out of their car, and do nothing." Ok let's be honest here, if someone shit on one of our steps, porch, etc or smeared it on the house, and knew who it was and had the chance, who wouldn't want to do what he just described? I definetely would. This city is, on a good day, dismal. The only happiness here is if you live somewhere that you don't hear gunshots at night, don't have drugs on the corner, or don't have fights on your block. The blocks that can say they have none of this in city limits is few and far in between. maybe we should just condemn this city, send the few non junkie law abiding citizens who haven't lost hope somewhere far away, and let the junkies dealers and murderers kill each other off, then come back, bury their bodies and rebuild.
Sounds like you're praying for a Katrina. Same result, no?
I'd like to see the Governor declare Baltimore in a state of emergency.
i really want SOMEONE to sue baltimore for false advertising for calling this worthless dump the "greatest city in america" it most certainly is not. it is more an average city in jamaica, or maybe one of the better cities in haiti. certainly by all measures, it is at best the second worst city in america
"Sounds like you're praying for a Katrina. Same result, no?"
How crass, callous, and mean-spirited. Let the old people die and the poor people almost die and then get left in Houston with nothing while Halliburton, Bechtel and Blackwell Security pull in Bank.
I guess I'm too stubborn. I don't think there are any throw away people, no matter how many people get thrown away on a daily basis.
BTW god bless America.
Simon,... you want 'em ??
Please don't suggest that WE babysit these 'teaming refuse' when you don't intend to be responsible for them.
You and the White House think alike, galt: "go down there and rescue people? What do they think we are, babysitters? If the American people care about a bunch of people down there, let them drive down there and 'pick up the trash'!"
How horrible. I'm all depressed now.
DC,
The difference is that it is the governemnts job to rescue people, not JG's. i think he makes a point. what is the difference if you dont care vs if you care and dont do anything.... same thing in my book
Recall, this discussion began with a common tale of 'worthless scumbags' who defacate on one's house.
Simon introduced the notionb of old and lower-income people to whom he is sympathetic. Presumably these are the 'virtuous poor' ands not scumbags. If he is sympathetic to scumbags who commit crimes,... (sparks flying out of my ears) then I can only say I feel very much otherwise.
We used to take care of those who deserved it by their actions and their reputations over a lifetime. It was called philanthropy or alms, not entitlement. It was voluntary and the giver took some responsibility for the disposition of the benefit.
Audits of FEMA debit cards in New Orleans demonstrate that disaster funds are being used for bail bondsmen, gambling, pre-Katrina traffic tickets, and booze. I don't think it wise to pump more relief dough into the hands of these folks. We shouldn't pay their bail. In fact, we should more likely pay the bail bondsman to deny them bail.
Crime in Houston has doubled in relation to the influx of refugees from New Orleans. It is similarly uo wherever they fled. New Orleans has had a huge criminal population for decades, worsening with time. The more or less viable residents left early, because they had the resources at their disposal. That's part of being viable. They didn't become refugees, flying off instead to stay with family or otherwise in a civiluized setting. By exception, this ensured that the wave of 'wretched refuse' seeking 'teeming shores' post-Katrina were truly wretched, statistically. And quite criminal, again statistically. When it happened, I thought carefully about making accommodations available to disaster victims here. I'm ordinarily inclined to do those things. Then I thought about the statistical properties of the late refugees. Very much like East Baltimore, really. Inner-city, ill-educated, habitually criminal, lifetime-unemployed, and entitlement-expectant. Statistically. I didn't want that in my house. I could screen out bad indicators, but then when the 'winner' turned out to be a middle-class white girl from Tulane University Law School with no priors, then I'm gonna be labelled a racist.
So I didn't open my door to anyone. I'm not apologetic. Not in the least.
I read later of churches in this area which opened their vestry to refugees, housing and feeding them only to find the place ransacked and their guests demanding beer money. They regretted the experience, vowing however not to harden their hearts.
I'm not so holy. I don't like rotten people. I admit it. I never will, and no matter how many liberals try to convince me otherwise, I believe in being judgemental. The exception to being judgemental is that anyone is entitled to do their thing (if it's lawful) on THEIR time, THEIR effort, and at THEIR expense.
The guy defacating on houses is unwelcome at mine, unwelcome at Liz's. If Simon wants his house soiled, then he may host the scumbag internally, but please don't expose me to his conduct. The host undertakes an obligation to his neighbors.
A friend of mine has an office next to the Sisters of St. Francis who operate a soup kitchen. Before they open, the winos hang around the doorway for hours in the early morning. Because they have no bathroom, they defacate on the steps, not those of the Sisters, who would stop feeding them, but of their neighbor, who has no responsibility for the winos. When the sisters were asked to allow the winos in to use the lavatories before serving meals, they replied that they didn't want them inside in the morning. Why not? Because they'll soil the joint. In this way, the sainted sisters and their charity become a public nuisance.
Just don't ask me to praise them for their charitable works.
As I said, it's all about conduct. Yes, I judge. The failure to judge is to reward the misbehaved. Scumbags are not born, they're made. And they're due every just dessert they've richly earned.
John Galt is absolutely correct.
(john, why do you not have a blog?)
Baltimore is a disaster area.
I think Mr. Galt and Mr. Cybrarian may be one and the same. Going thru their postings I see the same misspellings, I'm thinking that Galt posts the harder-edged missives that the Cybrarian can't, since he needs to be fair and balanced as moderator of this forum. Galt is the one who shall stop the motor of the world.
On another note, over drinks with some folks employed in law, I was told that both Curran's and Jessamy's office are avid readers of this forum and after skimming the logs you can see they are watching!
Keep up the good work, if people are taking notice you are doing something good for Baltimore.
Only DC would sign on as "the analyst" and secretly explain things then "ignorantly" refer to herself as "Mr." Cybrarian. DC, are you really Batman? (Ha ha!)
Galt, you do come off sounding republican a little only because you assume that you're not responsible for the "refuse". Haaaate to sound like a tree hugger but I'm sure you know we're all connected or at LEAST you can envision that you are financially tied in many ways to the people you describe as rubbish. Crime costs you and I both in social costs, financial costs, etc. It's everbody's problem.
"I'm not so holy. I don't like rotten people. I admit it. I never will, and no matter how many liberals try to convince me otherwise, I believe in being judgemental. The exception to being judgemental is that anyone is entitled to do their thing (if it's lawful) on THEIR time, THEIR effort, and at THEIR expense."
The whole looking at things in either/or fashion is entertaining and provocative but dialectics are supposed to move one along to new meaning, new solutions. Don't get stuck in the "either I'm a judgemental" person "or I don't care what anybody does as long as it doesn't affect me (and it's lawful)". Of course what people do affects you, especially when you don't know that it's affecting you.
One caveat, I'm not saying there aren't rotten people and I'm not trying to convince you to like anybody. But your solution to lock up all the "refugees" (I'm assuming you used that word in an attempt to ignite a firestorm) is not a good solution because that one costs you just as well. You can't seperate yourself no matter how you try. --Kevin
Not that anyone is to throw away by us just saying "hey John and Jane are worthless let's leave em to die". remember people on drugs had to choose 1st to use them, then yes they become addicted, but here rehab is the mathadone clinic, which is just a legal form of getting high? Have any of you ever been downtown mid day? or around North and Charles from 9am to maybe 3 or later? they are high, nodding stumbling trying to cop pills and whatever else they can get to get them higher. And the drug dealers? I have known a few in my teen years, and let me tell you, it is by choice, they aren't doing it to feed their families, or provide a roof over their head, the average teen to mid twenties dealer lives at home with family, has nothing to show except maybe a car and cares nothing about anyone but them and getting more "paper". I don't think they are throwaways, but they don't seem to think they are worth saving because they are killing themselves, inly slowly... wouldn't most people want to die without suffering for days, months or years?
I just can't comprehend how people with a lick of common sense start using and how any kid who grows up watching this can't see that it's not the road to take, just my opinion.
DC,
Are you the Jekyll to my Hyde ?
I don't know if I can stop the motor of the world, but I know I won't go out of it quietly. Oh, and I was broken into again last night. It was done out in the open on a major thoroughfare with a crowbar or the like, which is neither silent nor quick. But that doesn't matter in a district which has half its police complement of ten years ago and far more crime (except perhaps on the Mayor's set of books) and which has had its community President exiled into witness protection. Fallujah has nothing on this. Maybe we can rename Baltimore: Najaf-on-Chesapeake.
Funny thing, on the Police Dept. crime map this neighborhood has no crime. Guess it's REALLY safe. Or maybe there are no law-abiders remaining in this area, cuz' adjoining Charles Village sure has its crime recorded.
Two-thirds of males are on supervised parole/probation and half of all residents are unemployed. One quarter have incomes below $15M.
But if Martin's records indicated we have virtually no crime, I'm sure it must be so.
Nothing like opening up your blog after a hard day's work to find out that people think you're a skitzoid Republican male.
BTW, Liz, I got your e-mail about the arraignment and plan to go if I can. I won't post the information if you don't want me to.
(I meant that Kevin thinks I'm skitzy, not that you are, JG.)
Hey, if the schiz fits...
Oh no, I don't think you're skizo. I think its funny all the speculation, is all.
That's funny, I was gonna make the same point about the crime map and my neighborhood. My roommate and I took a look about 3 mos ago and noticed it reported we live in a wildly safe neighborhood despite some heavily reported crimes.
He found another crime map that wasn't put out by the city and it was drastically different. We wondered whether it was the difference between reports and convictions.
--Kevin
I think JG has proven himself to be sexist, racist, classist, but hey, at least he is honest hidden behind his pseudonym.
Now, I am very skeptical of anecdotes JG brings up without any citation. The church story seems fishy.
And let me tell you, when NOLA was flooded, I was in rural Mexico and it broke my heart that I was too far away to lend a hand in solidarity. I plan to go down with Common Ground (a sometimes controversial relief effort coordinated by a former Black Panther Malik Rahim). I want to help doing the hard work of stripping flooded homes and re laying drywall, etc. while also helping interpret for health clinics and the opening of a bilingual workers center to insure that employers don't discriminate against locals by not hiring them in favor of abusing, mistreating and underpaying undocumented Spanish speakers.
re: Liz, I know what goes on in this city. i don't romanticize "the working class" nor the mostly young black males that get caught up in a culture of violence. Sometimes when I walk to the train station in the morning I hear "Cops on the block" while the many loiterers turn away/walk away. But we have to offer an alternative culture. Not charity but solidarity. Fear and paranoia are fueling our broken society.
The horror that is nieghborhoods like West Baltimore is shared by all of us, by insisting that that is not our community, we have fractured our own community.
JG wants to let the "teaming refuse" die.
Fuck that! I would like to think of them as my people, as part of my community. Our community is fractured, fragmented, violent and cruel. Welcome to America! welcome to Empire. half the world is in such a state of violent collapse. Our problem is not in Iraq, it is in Baltimore, New Orleans, Wyoming (they gave us Cheney) and Washington DC.
If we don't start building community now, we might as well just bury it, cause it is we that is killing ourselves.
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