Friday, August 10, 2012

Think of the invisible children!

Damn, domestic assailants! A Baltimorean who held a gun to his babymom's head and kidnapped their child was shot to death in Columbia.

Fifteen federal years for a cocaine dealer who helped bring product to MD from CA in a shipment of strawberries.

A teacher who taught at Towson's Carver Center for Arts and Technology was indicted for assault; he allegedly pointed a gun at workers removing trees near his Carney home.

Think of the (invisible) children! Five new speed cameras are up and running in the county, supposedly to protect schoolchildren. Never mind that the one "near" Stoneleigh school is actually five blocks away, or that the school is currently closed for renovations. According to the Patch, the county got an even worse deal than the city's 48%-of-revenue kickback, in 2010 paying the camera co. 81 cents of every dollar collected in camera revenue. Fun bonus fact: in D.C. in 2008 ACS, now a subsidiary of Xerox and operator of city and county cameras, was accused of vandalizing speed cameras by cutting wires after losing the contract to a competitor.

The MD political process has hit a new low with the "Special Session"-- an *emergency* meeting of the legislature in the middle of summer. And what's the emergency, you out-of-state readers might wonder? The state's poor preparedness for a natural disaster, terrorist attack or outbreak of infectious disease? The closing of fire stations or post offices? Schools that are falling apart? Ho, ho, ho. No, dear reader, the gambling industry is apparently having a money emergency and needs some tax breaks this minute*. One sliver of good's come out of it though, a senate panel has advanced nixing that goofy pit-bull law in favor of a bill that makes dog owners responsible for their own pets.

Thought-provoking Google ad of the day (from this page*): "Do you need to be on House Arrest? Inexpensive & No Ankle Bracelets www.shadowtrack.com" Can I take this ad to imply that if you're on house arrest you have to buy your own ankle bracelet? Notes the ad, "ShadowTrack has been helping individuals with their house arrest needs for over 10 years."

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