Friday, July 11, 2008

Friday, part uno

Around 2am this morning in North Baltimore, a man was shot after allegedly charging an officer with a knife. This marks the 12th police shooting this year. Clearly he's never heard the saying, "Never bring a knife to a gunfight."

Police have made arrests in the murders of Robert Long (#42), and Sandy Howard (#94).

"Name that Campaign" Contest: The Baltimore City State's Attorney's office has just received a grant to hire a Social Worker that will help women charged with prostitution.
Pick a catchy name for this new project. And... go!

From the "GO ON..." Department: Johns Hopkins Hospital was rated as the best hospital in the US for the 18th straight year. In the meantime, Baltimore's been a violent cesspool for many years. Coincidence? I think not...

... I mean, after all, why should our dear mayor care about crime in Baltimore when there are WNBA teams to get and Cell phones to keep from your employees while driving? WNBAStat and CellphoneStat, here we come!

I don't know who to be more annoyed with about this, the Police or the Prosecutors: The State's Attorney's office could be dropping hundreds of cases (possibly) after finding some of the cops may be no good, crooked liars.

Anna Ditkoff continues to illuminate the idiocy of the town we all live in in the News Hole. Hmm. When I think about the criminal behavior in this city juxtaposed to the level of precision and concern, I think Baltimore reminds me of another kind of hole...

Lewin Powell, Jr. comes to the defense of his son, currently charged with beating his mother to death with a baseball bat.

Deer hunters will now be allowed at the Loch Raven Reservoir pretty soon. Whether or not this will lead to more deer kills is unknown but I suspect it may cause more 'accidental' shootings over drinking the last Natty Boh.

BaltCo police are currently looking for a driver connected with a hit and run last night that left three people injured.

More to come today...

18 comments:

Sean said...

Well, I almost got all of these...

The Baltimore Cynic said...

Hey, keep up the good work with the links Folks - I can't keep a thumb on all the crime in the city by myself, after all...

Cameron said...

So here's a funny story that nearly sent me over the edge!

Yesterday I went to the Safeway in Canton to pick up a few things. I was ready to check out and got in a line behind a nice looking black woman who was nearly through. To my surprise, she pulled out an Independence Card to pay for her $250 worth of groceries. She didn't appear to need one of this gifts from our government, but who am I to judge. I quickly check out and as I am walking to my car I see this woman loading her groceries into a new 330i BMW!!! If she can afford that car, why the hell is she sucking on the governments tit and milking our tax dollars?!?!?!?

Seriously, how do they get away with it and is there no audit system set up to prevent this?

Sorry for the rant, but it really got my blood boiling!

ppatin said...

Cameron:

I'm surprised that's the first time you've seen that sort of nonsense in Baltimore. Before I moved to this city I used to consider myself a hardcore liberal, but seeing the kind of abuse you're describing helped change that.

BTW, you've gotta love the irony of the name "Independence Card."

helix said...

I kind of like the tongue-in-cheek remarks on baltimorecrime.blogspot.com, however, I won't stand for calling Baltimore a "cess pool".

That's the language the that the city-haters use. I do NOT live in a "cess pool". I live in a marvelous city which has some serious crime problems.

If I thought this town was a "cess pool", I would leave. Moreover, I would encourage anybody who feels that they live in a "cess pool" to just leave. Only an idiot would remain in a place that they really felt was a "cess pool".

ppatin said...

Helix:

I like to compare Baltimore to a relative who's an alcoholic, or hooked on Oxycontin. You still love him, but at the same time you have to admit he has a very serious problem that can't just be swept under the rug.

The Baltimore Cynic said...

Cameron, you wouldn't be surprised how often stuff like this happens in Baltimore. More common than your encounter, I think, are the ones where people spend all their pennies on nice shoes and clothes. Sheesh - talk about prioritizing.

I've also heard about people who will sell their Independence Cards (or rights to them) for less money. Perhaps this lady benefited from that.

My question for you: Do you think that this is a cultural problem (after all, who spends their money on cars before sustenance), a government problem, or both? Also, how do we rectify the issue so that the proper people get this type of support? Do we eradicate the Independence Card system entirely?

Helix: I raise my eternally filled glass of Deer Park water to Ppatin, who has expressed my view to a T.

John Galt said...

In point of fact, many people do continue to flee Balti-less.

According to the census, Charm City is the fifth-most rapidly depopulating city in the U.S.

That's gotta mean something.

The Mayor's office will probably appeal on the grounds that the homeless are undercounted.

Fine, so we're the city losing its functional population most rapidly. Not much of an improvement.

We'll be a city of junkies and whores, but the most well-counseled whores in the nation.

Cham said...

Galt, tell us, why is it that you post here? You are one negative comment after another. Does bad mouthing this city give you a jolt of testosterone?

Bmore said...

Galt speaks the truth...the city is a lost cause, and it has all the symptoms of a failing society..and this isnt coming from a bmore county resident.. W Lexington and N Monroe baby heart of the West Side...hope is long gone.

helix said...

galt:

I won't dispute that Baltimore is "depopulating". However, what is more important than raw "head count" is the demographics of WHO is leaving and WHO is coming.

Just like other old cities, we are seeing a net influx in young and moneyed folks-- your dreaded "Baltimore A". I'm sure you'll find something grouchy to say about that, as you have literally NEVER said a positive word about Baltimore.


ppatin, cynic:

The drunk uncle analogy only goes so far. You have a choice of where you live (free country, you know). If you call it a cess pool, either you don't really mean it or you have some kind of pathological need to hate it (yet live in it) like galt.

Maurice Bradbury said...

imo there are enough people outside of baltimore who hate the city. i want it to be better because i love it.

Maurice Bradbury said...

... i think the cynic secretly loves it too, but won't admit it on account of all the cynicism.

ppatin said...

helix:

I've never called Baltimore a cesspool. My point was that I do love this city, but I'm not blind to it's very serious problems.

Also, while an influx of educated, affluent people is a good thing, the problem is that a lot of them won't be sticking around. They live in the city in their early to mid-20s, but then when they get married and have kids they move out to the suburbs. Now, from a tax perspective those kinds of residents are great (they pay a lot in taxes, don't consume a lot of city services) but it also means that a lot of people don't really take root anywhere in the city, with the obvious negative consequernces.

John Galt said...

I'm negative, true, but the operative question is,.. am I mistaken ??

This city has little to commend it relative to most others. Once upon a time, one lived here because although it was an inferior alternative to living in those cities, it was cheap.

What about Baltimore is better than elsewhere? Even the crabcakes in Baltimore are not superior.

Politicians in New York are far more capable public managers. The corrupt politicians in Providence at least do it with some flair

But in Baltimore, everything is done in such a mediocre and substandard fashion that the city is a testament to all things... dysfunctional.

John Galt said...

we are seeing a net influx in young and moneyed folks


Incorrect. Actually, what the census data show is that while the broad mainstream population is leaving, that effect is somewhat offet by the volume of people who escape being counted in the census,... street people. We are a destination for the indigent and immoral.

Now, if you're asking only about the yuppies, when did I ever say that I objected to them?

What I object to is the fact that there is one set of rules which apply in their neighborhoods and another set in the rest. There's no reason why some people cannot have a BMW while others have a '72 Nova. But the speed limit has to apply equally to both.

Back in '57, locals in Little Rock expressed your notion that 'if you don't like how we do things here, you can leave.' The nation determined that that proposition was unacceptable. That we wouldn't permit local majorities to dictate unacceptable conditions which minorities who stay must endure because and only because they stay.

As candid as I am about the current lousy condition of this city, I happen to think it has tremendous (unrealized) potential. Unfortunately, based upon the way it operates, it never will actualize that potential, either.

There's just a very large constituency here for a ghetto city. Ghetto behavior serves many people here quite well.

Caederus said...

I have made no false claims. I am one of those who love the city but cannot even think of living there.

Grew up in the city, moved out in my mid 20s. Now many years later between the crime, lack of a real public school system, and poor infrastructure, the idea of moving my family to the city is unthinkable. I wish it was a better place, and I know it has the potential, but I don't see that happening.

As for the woman on assistance with the BMW, I remember back in the 70's my father complaining about a TV news story with this woman complaining that she needed more money in food stamps, as she was making a bacon sandwich for lunch, my father would have loved bacon sandwiches for lunch, but we couldn't afford them on his salary.

burgersub said...

that wasn't the 12th police shooting this year. the article says 12 people have been KILLED in police shootings this year. this was like the 17th or something.