A guy got shot in the head yesterday in East Baltimore. Despite Galt's comment in yesterday's comments that the man died, there's nothing about it in today's news.
For the second time in two weeks, a body was found along the train tracks in Carroll Park. Homicide is investigating, and they say it's not one of the...
... two abducted teenage brothers who are still missing, and facts continue to trickle down to the public: a woman was sexually assaulted, the boys come from a family of convicted drug dealers and/or users, and each of the two boys has been arrested five times.
In other abduction news, some crazy-ass lady faked her own abduction.
Amy Castillo says that the court system failed her and her kids, and it sure is hard to disagree.
HarCo churches are hoping that some upcoming community events will help stop the violence in Edgewood.
Rasul Brown got 75 years for killing Marcus McDowell, a teenage boy with no criminal record who was trying to help a friend who was fighting with Brown.
17-year-old Dupree Williams pleaded guilty to murdering 18-year-old Jerome Hughes on Halloween in Annapolis.
William Floyd Crudup got 11 years for dealing crack, and he hasn't even been tried for shooting two cops in 2005.
A 19-year-old got 35 years for shooting at cops while riding his dirt bike.
PDJ: William Lee Burdette Jr. of Reisterstown pleaded guilty to distributing kiddie porn.
38 comments:
Clarification: I had no additional details on the condition of the guy shot in the head on the East side. I suppose I sorta read fatality into the fact that he'd been shot in the head, but I should always remember that the organs above the neckline are sorta optional in Baltimore.
Amy Castillo says that the court system failed her and her kids, and it sure is hard to disagree.
Her church probably failed her too. McLean Bible Church is a fundamentalist megachurch located in Tysons Corner, VA. Given the ideology of their pastor (Lon Solomon), I suspect that the only advice that she was given was the standard "be subservient to your husband" drivel.
WJZ observes that the drug business (which seems to be the most recession-resistant part of our economy) is violence-correlated and that its practitioners want to live in a better neighborhood than Baltimore City.
Yeah? Join the club.
While the courts obviously screwed up in the Castillo case it would help if so many angry spouses didn't make exaggerated or completely false accusations. There are all sorts of horror stories about lies that parents will tell in order to win custody battles.
Mr. Meph:
I will never understand how a woman who's intelligent enough to become a doctor could be foolish enough to buy into that fundie nonsense.
@tao:
ide love to help bring it back!!. i believe all these young kids are dying and atleast a story about their life and death is the least our society can do..people often say "oh he sold drug so its ok that hes dead"..NO! a kid is still a kid..no matter what drug you sell, you shouldnt be able to be murdered!!Bmore is a war zone, kids are always dying..wheres the "homeland security'? It in my house by my bed thats where it is!! i was thinking..is there anyway to get the mug shots of all these young killers? for example, when i read the articles in The Sun conerning guilty verdicts, indictments, etc etc, i want to see the guys face! Im so tired of reading the paper and only getting a name and age!
Mr. Meph,
Sorry BS (and BS ppatin too on that horrific "smart enough to be a doctor" comment).
I do not currently attend McLean but I have in the past. It is an utter myth that this church (or most others for that manner) would tell this woman to "be subservient." Please do not make all encompassing statements like that as the sort of attitudes that propagate domestic abuse are NOT acceptable in the mainstream these days (and McLean may be conservative by today's standards but it is certainly mainstream).
This blog is not the place to have any sort of discussing the validity of anyone's personal beliefs. Its pretty low to make assumptions and snarky comments about an individual church or collection of individuals like that.
Ppatin, if you'd like to have a real discussion about how "a woman who's intelligent enough to become a doctor could be foolish enough to buy into that fundie nonsense" let me know. I'd be happy to give you my e-mail address and we could have a real conversation about it, rather than throwing around rhetoric in the comments section of a crime blog.
The McLean Bible Church had nothing to do with the tragic loss of the Castillo children. I doubt if the church even knew the whole story of what was going on in her life. The church and I am speaking about all churches are for human beings to worship GOD. Now by our sin nature we are all imperfect. Only Christ is perfect. Everyone of us makes mistakes, we are all dust. The Bible teaches us that the man is the head of a marriage and with that comes certain duties. The most important is love. Mr Castillo failed in his duties and I am sure he will be delt with in this life and in the next.
Broadwater writes on the spike in Thefts From Auto, but fails to mention the high incidence in Charles Village. Click here for sixty days in the life of a Charles Villager.
So nice that that Commissioner says crime is down. Somewhere. Maybe in... Narnia ???
@tao
Regarding the fires/vacants:
The first house had residents last year but none recently. It was not boarded up as it was inhabitable, though it was not rehabbed.
The 2nd house was empty. It was adjoined to only one other house. I'm actually not sure which one caught first but both were empty. I'm not sure as to their state of repair at the time of the fire. One was boarded up but the other was purchased by an owner occupant last year who never moved in, though that may have just been because it wasn't ready to move into yet.
I haven't been down to the next block to see which house was the 3rd. But I live in Mount Clare/New Southwest Junction, so at least 50% of the houses (maybe more) are boarded up vacants.
Like, around Carey Street? About midway between Poppleton Village and Beirut ??
I'll pray you survive the weekend.
Even the Southwest District Police Station is abandoned there (which may frankly be more causative than resultant).
lucidsplash:
McLean Bible's website had several references to the Bible being the literal truth, including a statement that said "we understand the Bible literally, believe that it is inerrant and infallible." Now, I may be misinterpreting the message there, but that sort of language is usually code for creationism, which is a fairy tale that is totally incompatible with modern science. The thought of a physician believing in that sort of nonsense is a little scary.
"So nice that that Commissioner says crime is down."
You know, I've lived in Baltimore for about seven years, and every single year the city government trumpets how crime is going down. It reminds me of 1984, and the constant meaningless announcements about greater production & ration increases, despite the fact that the shortages never got any better.
(...McLean may be conservative by today's standards but it is certainly mainstream).
Sorry, I don't buy that. A church that includes religious fundamentalists such as Joe Gibbs, Ken Starr, and Senator James "Thank God There Are No Gays In My Family" Inhofe in their congregation is far from mainstream.
ppatin,
Please do not propagate the myth that intelligent and informed Christians speak "in code." If you're talking to the right Christians, we'll tell you what we think outright, without the use of code. It is certainly NOT incompatible to believe that the beginnings of the world was by design rather than by accident. Do I believe it happened in a total of six 24-hour cycles? No. Do I consider the Bible literal truth with an important message to convey to those who wish to hear it? Yes. Do I believe that evolutionary theory is incompatible with the idea that there was a creative force at work? No. Creationism is a rather broad term which groups together a number of diverse ideas about how God went about creating Earth and life on it. Its not all young-earth theories and 7th literalists. "Conservative" theology and ideology is a great deal more complex than most people realize, and even the terms "conservative" and "fundamentalist" are fraught with innuendo that doesn't do a thing to really inform anyone about what a person believes.
If you find what I'm saying scary, I'm sorry, but honestly I doubt you've really taken any time to talk to someone about what it means to "believe the Bible is literal truth" or what "creationism" means. In a little over 2 years I WILL be a physician and given that you've never met me (or any of my classmates who are Believers), its a little short-sighted to be "scared" of us as physicians.
Mr. Meph,
Why, because its "mainstream" these days to throw out what we don't like about the Bible? The membership of McLean is ENORMOUS and derived largely of people from DC and the surrounding area. I submit that the makeup of a congregation is NEVER homogeneous and the anecdotal actions and comments of some of the more "high-profile" members is not a good "litmus-test" (a horrible term anyway) for the attitudes and voice of the church as a whole. I for one believe that organized religion (including the so-called "religious right") has treated gays HORRIBLY - but that doesn't change my beliefs that the Bible speaks to the idea of a specific and intended design of a binary gender system. But I also don't think you can legislate sexuality and that "marriage" shouldn't even be a term or institution used by the government for ANYONE, including heterosexuals.
None of that really has to do with the original issue of whether or not McLean's pastor would have told Amy Castillo to "be subservient." My points is that your original comment was VERY uninformed and inappropriate. Unless you have first-hand knowledge of the pastor and congregation at McLean, its in incredibly poor taste to make comments about what they would or would not do based on your own biases towards "fundamentalism" or organized religion. I DO have first-hand knowledge of McLean and I am simply speaking to refute your spurious suggestions.
galt,
Yes, actually the abandoned police station is directly next to the 1st house that burned in the last couple weeks. The old police station was purchased by developers last February but it is now tied up in litigation because apparently somehow there are two separate claims on the property and no one knows who really owns it.
I moved in in June 2006 and I appear to have survived thus far. Its certainly not paradise and I'm sure most of my classmates would not stand living here, but I really haven't had any problems. But again, I really don't take any shit from anyone and the local drug dealers know better than to stand in front of my house peddling their wares. I don't believe in living my life in fear or in perpetuating fear to others. This part of the city is an absolute shithole, but it is NOT beyond redemption if we could gather enough courageous individuals who care enough to act rather than just complain. Unfortunately, that sort of individual is in short supply in the US in general, not just Baltimore.
lucidsplash,
I've heard enough of Pastor Lon's "Not A Sermon, Just A Thought" radio commercials to have a negative opinion about the church.
If, as ppatin stated, McLean Bible Church believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible, then of course they would believe in a woman being subservient to her husband- as this message is contained in one of Paul's epistles (which was read at my wife's friend's wedding and elicited several snickers in the pews).
@Lucid,
Since religion and housing seem to be the themes today, here's a question:
There are a significant number of Christians who commute to city churches from the counties. Other than their church donations, these people have no investment in the communities where their churches exist.
When you say, "it is NOT beyond redemption if we could gather enough courageous individuals who care enough to act rather than just complain," it seems to me this would be a great group of people to target, if not to move than to at least become involved in their church's geographic community.
Do you think there are ways to get these people more involved? Do you think many pastors care enough to rock the boat, or would they rather shut up and rake in donations from their suburban parishioners?
Mr. Meph,
So you have a negative opinion based on some radio ads. That passage was read at my wedding too - I think you'd elicit a snicker from my husband if you asked him if that meant he would get away with abusing me or any future children we might have or if I'm going to be stay at home, ever, to do the cooking and cleaning.
Taking the Bible "literally" does not necessarily mean without an understanding of complexity and depth, anthropological and sociological relevance, or using one-sentence definitions to describe theological concepts.
I don't really care if you have a negative view of the church. Again, my point is that you are making assumptions based on a personal bias, which are inaccurate and do not match up with the experience of someone with first-hand knowledge about the church and the congregation.
A criminal at WCI did the taxpayers of MD a favor and died. The Sun says there were no signs of foul play.
More details about the dead guy that was found on the side of I-95 a few days ago.
the 2 teens are ALIVE...go figure
Tao,
Your question is a good one, and is a topic very much on the minds of many people within the Church (big C to refer to the worldwide community of Christians) today.
I wish I had an answer. A large part of the problem with commuter-churches is cultural. I did not grow up in Baltimore. But I know what it is like to grow up in dysfunctional and chaotic surroundings. If you are determined and lucky enough to escape the cycle perpetuated in places like many of the neighborhoods in Baltimore, you really do feel like you escaped. You bit, scratched, clawed your way out, and the idea of moving back once you've "made it" to try and improve the area you came from is a hard one for many people to swallow - there are some really good people who can manage this but it is psychologically difficult for a lot of people. But you still crave cultural relevance in your life - especially when it comes to faith and worship. That can be hard to come by if you're surrounded by people who have never lived in a place like a bad Baltimore neighborhood. So people live where they feel safe and are away from the day-to-day ugliness they fought to escape (out in the county) but will return to a city church where they find more like-minded individuals who they feel comfortable with. I myself have this experience except that the situation is reversed and most city churches are not culturally relevant to me. I understand where those church commuters are coming from. I almost certainly would not have bought a house in this location if I had children and I will certainly NEVER move back to Rochester - too many memories.
I think a lot of pastors understand this about their congregations. Of course, the population is diverse and many people who attend church do so for status and networking, rather than the idea of being in community with other believers. Given the opportunities and manpower, I think many city pastors would love to try and enact real change - but the deck is stacked against them in many ways. Some wounds just run so deep and there are only a lucky few who are really able to face those old wounds in ways that are helpful to the community. That's not a judgement for me - its just my honest assessment based on my own experiences. People feel helpless too - like they barely got out, so how are they going to help anyone else. So much of it is based on individual determination. You can't change people (or neighborhoods) when they aren't ready to change.
I think that was more vague than what I was going for, but I hope it makes sense. I don't claim to have answers to these problems. I know that if more young professionals who work in Baltimore were willing to live in Baltimore, then Baltimore could change. But I don't think you can change the schools until you change the parents who's children attend the schools - and who wants their kid to be the guinea pig? So once the young professionals start having kids, the story changes unless you are a rare person. I think it starts with the schools - but then it becomes sort of a chicken and egg thing.
That was rambling and meandering. I would have to put pen to paper (ie open a word document) and work on my thoughts on the issue for awhile before it would be coherent. The sociologic, psychologic, anthropologic, historic, and ethnic issues at play are more complex than someone like me is able to deal with in one blog post. I have a degree in biochemistry, not community revitalization.
"Baltimore defense attorney Warren A. Brown said this afternoon that he has been in contact with people who wanted help negotiating a turnover of the brothers to authorities."
Warren Brown, like a fly to shit...
Why would the kidnappers want to "negotiate a turnover" anyways? Couldn't they just release the two on the side of the road somewhere?
Hey Lucid... Since YOU seem to be unclear on the definition of literal, here you go!
lit·er·al (lÄt'É™r-É™l) pronunciation
adj.
1. Being in accordance with, conforming to, or upholding the exact or primary meaning of a word or words.
2. Word for word; verbatim: a literal translation.
3. Avoiding exaggeration, metaphor, or embellishment; factual; prosaic: a literal description; a literal mind.
4. Consisting of, using, or expressed by letters: literal notation.
5. Conforming or limited to the simplest, nonfigurative, or most obvious meaning of a word or words.
To me, the EXACT and PRIMARY meaning of the word SUBSERVIENT is "Subordinate in capacity or function."
Chew on that for awhile and see if you still like the taste.
"Warren Brown, like a fly to shit..."
Yeah, I guess finding an SUV with a dead man in his swimming pool didn't make him realize the error of his ways after all.
Kidnapped Baltimore teens found alive
Maybe this little adventure will scare those two away from the hoodlum lifestyle, although I wouldn't be surprised if they refuse to cooperate with the cops now that they're free.
Summer,
Yes, thank you, I was unaware of how to use a dictionary. Your guidance is appreciated. I didn't feel it was necessary to correct Mr. Meph in the his comment, but to be clear, the passage in mention says "submissive" rather than "subservient." Chewing...
I know you have your opinions. I know that little I say here is likely to change them. However, since you asked:
The full passage in question is (NASB version):
Ephesians 5:21-33
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[c] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
In brief: in context, this passage literally says: women should do what their husbands ask when it is asked in the context of a loving Godly relationship. In the perfect relationship (which none of us have) men should love their wives as Christ loved the church - ie MORE than himself. In that light he would never ask her to do something undignified, harmful, demeaning, or degrading. In the perfect relationship, if a man is loving his wife as Christ loved the church, he would not make a request of her that was burdensome. The exhortation for the wife to "be submissive" is saying "don't be a bitch." This passage is about doing what is best for the other person in the relationship in the context of the other person also doing what is best for you. In a perfect execution of that, each person is being submissive to the other.
When a person or an organization claims to take the Bible literally, you simply can't assume it means the same thing to everyone. There is a large gap between the people who stand on roadsides with signs that say "God hates fags" and congregations like McLean. Everyone has a different "literal" translation. After all, Ephesians was written in Greek, not English. With a language like Greek, you simply MUST take cultural connotation and the surrounding text into account. You can't pluck a verse out and say "well this literally says" because you need to consider the surrounding text.
Its the same as if I said:
All my exams are on Mondays. The weekend before an exam is always the worst; I'm miserable the entire time. I especially hate Fridays.
If you selected the sentence "I especially hate Fridays" out of that paragraph, you could "literally interpret" something very different from what the passage says in its entirety.
I'm sure most of this is lost on people here, as there are strong ideas and emotions attached to words like "literal," "fundamentalist," "conservative," etc. Some people can't get past it to engage in a real discussion. But I'll say again that I do not think that this blog, being a crime blog, is really the appropriate place to discuss such things. I am more than happy to strike up e-mail correspondence with anyone truly interested in exploring these topics: I certainly do not have all the answers but engaging in meaningful, non-antagonistic, and open discussion on subjects like this are enjoyable for me though I recognize that the same can't be said for everyone.
@tao
You ask an excellent question, and I will tell you that there are people that are starting to do what you suggest. I have been a Pastor for over eight years now, and have left my former church in the suburbs to move into the city with a group of others with a shared desire to work through the problems in this city. The best part, to me at least, is that we are not alone, there are several other groups doing this as well. I would love to discuss it with you, but this is not the forum for that...
VICTORY MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL is a brainwashing, fraudulant "church" located in Park Heights...the "pastors" name is Tony Smith and he drives 3 cars that the whole area combined could not afford, oh wait, thats bc everyone in that area gives him their money!!!!
Wait a minute now. I can't have you fine people bad mouthing the great Warren Brown.
That man is a master criminal defense attorney.
I know we are not a popular group [the dreaded criminal defense attorneys] in a city that struggles with crime.
But do remember that the Warren Brown's of the world are the only protection we have against the government wiping their asses with Constitution.
@Donald,
As a defense attorney, where's the line between defending someone you believe to be innocent and defending someone you believe to be guilty?
If Warren Brown defends the six guys who (allegedly) kidnapped the Blackwell brothers, who is wiping their ass with the Constitution, not just its words but its spirit? (And that's not a rhetorical question. I'd like to know your answer.)
And how about when Warren Brown deliberately delays and delays court proceedings, trying to make the process miserable enough for the victim's family that they'll accept a plea bargain? Is that "defending the constitution?"
The cops arrested a bunch of people on the 2000 block of Eastern Avenue this evening a little before 10 PM. I wonder what was going on there.
Chuck, that's by far the question I get answered the most in this job. How do you feel about defending someone you suspect or even know to be guilty?
I think our adversarial system of justice is the best one possible. Yes it is imperfect, but any system comprised of human beings will be imperfect.
But in order for it to work properly, everyone involved has to do their job. If the police and state's attorney do their jobs well, and you have a good judge and a guilty defendant, justice usually does prevail, even with a Warren Brown on his A game.
Aggressive and skilled defense attorneys force the police to be on top of their game, and to conduct their investigations properly.
Basically, the defense stops the police and state from doing as they please. And we're the only ones in the process who serve that important function.
And Patin, I don't think our ideas are mutually exclusive. All defendants should have fair and competent representation. Of course postponements, and having to sit through closing arguments where the victims themselves are often challenged directly, are all terrible things for the victims of crime. But they have the State of Maryland on their side trying to get justice for them. All the defendant has is that one man or woman sitting next to him at the trial table.
That silly Amy Castillo, if she had just read her Ephesians and submitted to her husband in a Godly way, this mess wouldn't have happened. Back to bible church for her!
Post a Comment