O'Malley Assigns Blame for Baltimore Murder

After much media hoopla and finger-pointing over the murder of 23 year old Johns Hopkins researcher Stephen Pitcairn, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has decided to jump on the blame bandwagon and has assigned the blame to Judge John Howard.

Judge John Howard twice released murderer John Wagner who was sent back to the streets to release his violent wrath upon society.

After learning that Judge John Howard was appointed by former Governor and current opponent Bob Ehrlich, it is easy to see why O'Malley is jumping on this. Though absolutely ludicrous, he will surely assign the blame of Stephen Pitcairn's murder to Bob Ehrlich. If Ehrlich hadn't appointed John Howard to his seat, then he wouldn't have released John Howard back on the streets and John Wagner would still be alive. Watch - it will happen.

In fact, O'Malley went on to say, "Whenever I appoint judges the question I always ask each and every one of them is will you send people to jail when they have a history and they are found guilty in front of you of shooting, robbing, committing crimes of violence against others". I'm sure he really says that. But the timing of the rhetoric is good, right?

The ridiculousness of this argument is obviated by the fact that judges and prosecutors in Baltimore City routinely release criminals back onto the streets. Thousands of criminals were released back onto the streets while O'Malley was mayor of the city that bleeds.

John Wagner is no anomaly. In fact, he's the status quo of the Baltimore judicial system. Two weeks ago Martin O'Malley would have praised John Wagner for giving these victims of society a second chance. Now the table has turned and he surely will use it as an opportunity to reassign blame.

Trust me. It will happen.

More Cars Ransacked in Eldersburg

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, my truck was ransacked in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the only thing they stole was a pair of sunglasses and my peace of mind.

A friend who lives in Carrolltowne II said that the night criminals hit her street this week. I know for sure that 3 neighborhoods have now been hit. I searched the local websites and Googled "Eldersburg Car Ransacked" and found nothing.

So if you live in Eldersburg, be aware that someone from Randallstown or Baltimore City is sneaking in at night and ransacking our cars. Keep your doors locked and your guns loaded. And call the cops every time it happens. If the State Police and the County Sheriff start getting more calls about this maybe they'll start patrolling the area.

How Bad is the Economy?

Courtesy of spam email....

The economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

I ordered a burger at McDonald's, and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you have to call them and ask if they mean you or them .

Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.

McDonald's is selling the 1 /4 'ouncer'.

Parents in Beverly Hills and Malibu are firing their nannies and learning their children's names.

A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico .

Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.

Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore.

The Mafia is laying off judges.

BP Oil laid off 25 Congressmen.

Congress says they are looking into the Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great!! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $ 1 .5 Trillion disappear!

And, finally... I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, and our bleak future, that I called the Suicide Life line and was connected to a call center in Pakistan . When I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

O'Malley Praises Baltimore's Crime Enhancer

O'Malley, in a show of Democratic solidarity, praised the Baltimore State's Attorney for the wonderful job she is doing letting criminals have easy sentences which allow them to go out and kill more people.

On Sunday night, 23 year old Steven Pictairn, a research technician at Johns Hopkins University, was stabbed to death by 2 thugs, husband and wife duo nonetheless, after robbing him of his wallet. The thugs, John Wagner and Lavela Merritt, are no strangers to crime. Both had earlier robbed people in the area and were apparently staking the place out for victims. Additionally, John Wagner is a convicted violent career criminal and both have long rap sheets. And for some reason, they always seem to get out of serving their sentences in their entirety.

Time and time again the court system in Baltimore City, from judges to attorneys, seem to have made it their priority to not try too hard. Their efforts to ensure that violent criminals remain on the streets has been successful. While in office as City State's Attorney, Jessamy's watch has repeatedly seen criminals released back into society where they commit more crimes and kill more people. Jessamy has helped maintain the fact that Baltimore is one of the most violent cities in the country. And she seems fairly proud of that fact - well, she seems proud of her work, but that's the most obvious accomplishment.

And on Thursday, Martin O'Malley praised her and her office for the hard work they do. If the hard work they are doing is putting criminals back on the streets, then Martin O'Malley must love the murders that happen in the city. If Martin O'Malley really cared about reducing crime in poor urban areas, he would do more than talk about the hard work that prosecutors and judges do. He would actually implement strategies that actually reduce crime - like locking up criminals for a long time.

I'm no criminal justice major, but to me it seems like if you lock up all of the criminals, they won't be committing as many crimes on the streets. If you give them short sentences or just release them altogether, then they will be on the streets and they WILL commit more crimes.

So Marty, you need to realize that the people of Maryland are not that stupid. Praising Patrician Jessamy for her continued failure as a State's Attorney is a failing strategy. But I encourage you to continue it so that you can start you new job early next year.

Coming to Eldersburg - Five Guys

There was a rumor that Five Guys was coming to Eldersburg, and today I know it to be true. It is in the old Hallmark Greeting Card store in the shopping plaza with Safeway. Do you want a greeting card? Or a cheeseburger that you can order with custom fancy toppings - like lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and mustard!!! Where else can you get such toppings?!!!



And by the way, here is a list of all of the new stores coming to Randallstown:








Nothing.

You Have A Call From Hell

George Bush, Queen Elizabeth, and Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell.

While there, they spy a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them it is for calling back to Earth.

Putin asks to call Russia and talks for 5 minutes. When he is finished the devil informs him that the cost is a million dollars, so Putin writes him a check.

Next Queen Elizabeth calls England and talks for 30 minutes. When she is finished the devil informs her that the cost is 6 million dollars, so she writes him a check.

Finally George W. Bush gets his turn and talks for 4 hours. When he is finished the devil informs him that the cost is 50¢.

When Putin hears this he goes ballistic and asks the devil why Bush got to call the USA so cheaply. The devil smiles his devilish grin and replies: "Since Obama took over, the country has gone to hell, so it's a local call."

O'Malley Admits "Tactical Mistake"

You've probably heard those hideous attack ads that O'Malley is running on the radio. I've blogged about them before. Funny how the incumbent is already on the attack. I thought it was the person running against the incumbent that was supposed to run the attack ads.

On WTOP radio today our smiling buffoon admitted that his attack ads that implied Ehrlich's guilt and involvement in the Gulf oil spill and his votes in Congress favor of big oil (which were bipartisan votes - meaning both parties voted for the bills) were "tactical mistakes" not lies like they really are.

O'Malley had repeatedly lied and implied or stated directly that Ehrlich was in the pockets of big corporations. You know the ones - the big corporations that are fleeing Maryland's high taxes and taking jobs with them. The big corporations that hire thousands of people. O'Malley hates big corporations that hire thousands of Marylanders.

Part of the problem with O'Malley is that he has two opponents. The first is former Governor Ehrlich, who now is creeping into the lead with probable voters. The other opponent is himself. People just plain don't like O'Malley right now. They don't like his arrogance. They don't like his condescension. They don't like his rhetoric. And they don't like the fact that he constantly blames everything on Ehrlich. As my wife always tells my kids: "Take responsibility for your actions." And O'Malley is just not doing that right now.

And probably most importantly, people don't like O'Malley's record as a governor. And that is haunting him. And because of his incompetence and failures, he is running against his own record.

This may be an election just like 2002. People didn't really vote for Ehrlich. They voted against Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. It's starting to look like people may again not be voting for Ehrlich, but against O'Malley. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it's a nice repeat of 2002

What's Shaking in Eldersburg?

At 5:05 am this morning, I was sort of twilighting. You know - not awake, but not totally asleep either. Then all of a sudden a loud bang shook the house. The windows, the doors - everything shook loudly for a hot second, then stopped.

I jumped up out of bed and whispered to my wife, 'What the hell was that?" She had no idea. I ran to the window and threw up the sash. And what to my wondering eyes should appear? Wait, wrong story. I expected to see birds fleeing the trees, or a big truck going down the road. Or a low-flying jet. None of that was to be seen.

My wife demanded that I go check on the kids. After a quick peek I determined they were okay. I went downstairs to check out the house. I flicked on the spotlights. Nothing outside.

Well, I'm awake now. I turned on the television and decided to look at the news. I jumped on the computer (not literally. It couldn't take that kind of abuse) I got on Facebook and had several friends that posted "WTF was that?" and "Did we just have an earthquake?" Okay, so I wasn't the only one.

A few minutes later WBAL reported that a small earthquake centered around Gaithersburg had indeed shook (shaken?) the area. And then the flood gates opened. Some of my nerdier friends posted links to the U.S. Geological Survey's website declaring that we had an earthquake. Other links pointed to the site where you could input your information to help determine the magnitude of the quake and any possible damage.

This was the first time that I consciously experienced an earthquake. Scary at first, but now I find it intriguing and exciting. (BTW - Blogger's spellcheck does not recognize 'consciously' as a word. Huh????)

And I'm sad to report that it did not cause the Carrolltown Center to collapse.

Eludius - Robbed. Literally.

When I went to get into my truck this morning I noticed that something wasn't quite right. My driver's-side door wasn't shut tight. I immediately went back in time trying to determine what I was doing when I last got out of the truck.

The previous night I had gone to Pizza Hut to get breadsticks (buy 1 get 1 free coupon!). I was waiting for my son to get out of the back before I locked it (my Honda doesn't lock until all of the doors are closed). I was startled by my wife who was sitting on the bench on my porch and we began talking. And I never locked the truck. Dang it!

So I open the truck and look around. The glove box is open and its contents dispersed (Maryland map, some paper, and the manual.) The center console is open. Luckily they didn't steal the 2 bottles of water that I had in there. My sunglasses. Where are my sunglasses? They stole my $12.50 sunglasses that I just bought at Kohl's the other night. Now I'm REALLY mad.

I get in the truck and notice the other door is open. I reach over and close it and head off to work.

When I get to work I call the Carroll County Sheriff's department to report the incident. The officer tells me to call back when I'm home and they'll send a detective to take fingerprints. I send my wife an email letting her know what happened (she's still asleep).

Over the next couple of hours I learn that another neighbor's car was hit. They busted out the back window of his pickup and stole some of the contents. They called the sheriff and seeing him there my wife went to talk to him.

Since I had already driven the car, he said, I had contaminated the crime scene. However, he did take a report. He said that it happens quite often in Carroll County. And it's usually some punks from the city or western Baltimore County (read Randallstown).

I read this to be another example of Martin O'Malley's failed crime prevention policy. If Martin O'Malley truly cared about reducing vehicular crimes, he would do more. He's not moving us forward in this regard. He's moving us backwards. This is an obvious failure in his inability to properly fund needed crime prevention programs.

Later in the day I learned that another neighbor also had her car ransacked. And this is on top of kids ringing door bells in the middle of the night. I think it's about time I sleep on the porch with my Louisville Slugger.

Too Bad It Wasn't Peter

When I walked into the gym today I saw on the news that George Steinbrenner had died. That's too bad. He's a good example of someone who runs an organization and after years of meddling and running it into the ground he finally figured out that he should hire someone competent to run it for him. And now the Yankees are a dominating force in baseball. You can hate them all you want (and I do!), but you have to admire their ability to play by the rules (bad rules at that) and win year after year.

I turned to a friend and said, "Too bad it wasn't Peter (Angelos)."

"You're going to hell for that! Wouldn't you feel terrible if he died next?

Honestly, not really. Peter hasn't figured it out yet. He's made Baltimore a baseball embarrassment in what was once a proud baseball city. David Letterman and Jay Leno makes jokes about our city because the Orioles suck so much. The team is on it's way to it's 12th consecutive losing season. 12th. Twelve! TWELVE!!! My children have never seen the Orioles play over .500 baseball, let alone make the playoffs. They are going to grow up hating the Orioles because they suck.

I restated my comment to another friend later in the day and she agreed with me, then added a twist. "Would you feel bad if O'Malley died?"

While I can't agree with O'Malley and his failed policies, I can honestly say that I wouldn't wish him dead. He's a father of young children and it wouldn't even be remotely funny to joke about that. There's still hope that Papa Marty will see the light and stop moving Maryland forward toward a bottomless black hole and get us moving toward economic prosperity again. And I'm all in favor of allowing Bob Ehrlich help take this task off of O'Malley's hands so that he could focus on other things.

And for the record, I don't really wish Peter would die (at least not because I wished him to). I just want him to sell the team to Cal Ripken.

O'Malley Hates MARC Train Commuters

Since this blog is supposed to be about Martin O'Malley and his destructive socialist-leaning policies, I should probably blog more about him. Seems like I've blogged pretty much about every thing except Martin O'Malley.

While I was away on vacation I saw on the news that a MARC train had to stop because of heat or a train broke down or something. It seems that MTA officials have no idea. And in the MTA's infinite wisdom (leadership comes from the top down, right?) they decided that the best policy for commuting the train problems to the passengers was to not communicate with them. In fact, the temperate outside was a scorcher - upper 90's, maybe even 100°? And the officials or train conductors refused to allow the passengers to open the doors to get a breeze. It wasn't safe, I'm sure they said. Because being in a +100° rail car is safer.

Part of the MTA system is the money-losing crime-ridden failing Light Rail train.



Think of it from the MTA's and Governor O'Malley's perspective - do you really want to tell the passengers who are suffering from heat exhaustion and lack of hydration that you are sitting on the train because something's broken? (Or as they would say in south Baltimore - something's broke. Or as they would say in Edgewood - something's all broked up). That just let's them know that you're incompetent. As any good lawyer (like O'Malley) would tell you - it's better to say nothing than admit you did something wrong.

Then something startling happened. Governor O'Malley and Senator Ben Cardin rode the Apology train. And they loaded the train with lots of apologies and promises along with a few bottles of water and Michael Dresser from The Sun. There they got to enjoy stunning photo ops with their bigg cheesy insincere smiles. I have to admit, however, that the rolled-up sleeves made it look like he was getting down to business. They promised to do more so that this would not happen again. Most people on the train just looked pissed off.

The next day - another train got stopped on the tracks. It wasn't for hours like the previous day, but according to the news the MTA actually kept the passengers informed this time. "Attention passengers, we are stopped. We'll let you know when we're moving again."

Why do I sound like such a cynic? Because I was an MTA rider for 4 years and know exactly what they were going through. No communication. No bathroom. No water. Sometimes not even any air conditioning or heat. It seems to be the policy of all of the MTA systems.

The liberals want more people to ride public transportation. I'm okay with the concept. But when you treat your clients like inconsequential pieces of rat turds (as is the implied policy under O'Malley), then it is ridiculous to even think that anyone should use public transportation.

O'Malley will say that they've made the necessary changes to make it a better system. Nice reactionary policy there, Gov'nah! So when this happens again (it always does - it's the MTA!), then what will he say? He'll say that it's Ehrlich's fault for not properly funding public transportation years ago and that he's now moving forward. Unfortunately for the MTA passengers (and most Marylander's in fact) no one is moving forward. We're just spinning around in circles.

Coming to Eldersburg - Glory Days Grill!

As you read last week, I heard a rumor that Red, Hot, and Blue was coming to Eldersburg. I was mistaken. It's actually a Glory Days Grill. My bad! Thanks for the correction, DB!

Coming to Eldersburg - Red, Hot, and Blue?

I heard a rumor that the nice building next to the Wal-Mart in Eldersburg will soon be occupied by the chain restaurant Red, Hot, and Blue.

The building was constructed what seems like several years ago and has sat vacant ever since. I heard a previous rumor that the debt-struggling Mikhaeljohn's (sp?) was going to move in after they moved out of the plaza over by Arby's. That turned out to not be true - or the rumor was true, but unfulfilled.

Anyway, after that rumor had quieted, I later heard that Goodwill would be moving into the building, which seemed absolutely preposterous on many points. Why does Eldersburg need a Goodwill? Why would someone rent out perfectly good office\restaurant space to Goodwill?

Fortunately, the rumor proved to be partially untrue. Goodwill is moving to Eldersbug (totally ridiculous), but is going into a soon-to-be-built building next to Wal-Mart and behind the rumored building.

So while it's nice to know that we're getting a good BBQ place (or should I say another - Hi, Smokey's!), I am still shaking my head as to the new Goodwill store. Aren't there hundreds of acres of abandoned properties in Randallstown? Does the average family in Eldersburg that makes over $100,000 need a Goodwill? Is Goodwill truly serving the needs of their clients by opening a store in Eldersburg? This just seems to be a terribly misguided decision.

Funny Sign

I saw this truck at a red light while visiting the in-law's in Bel Air recently. This really made me laugh. Double-click the picture to enlarge it. When I used to live in Harford County, we called in Hazzard County. And this is one of the reasons why.

Closed - Luna Rossa

While stopping at Radio Shack to pick up a splitter for my kids' earphones before our trip to the beach, I noticed a sign on the front door of Luna Rossa, the garlic-laden restaurant next door.

I had never been to Luna Rossa. I heard mixed reviews. Food was good, but too pricey. Too much garlic. Really? Just because I can small the garlic from Denny's?

Anyway, I asked the guy in Radio Shack what happened. He said that the restaurant was run by 2 ladies. They got into a fight and the next morning one of them came early and changed the locks on the door. And it's been closed ever since.

What an awesome way to end it! Now if you want Italian food you're stuck going to Liberatori's and getting crab dip with ceramic shards (happened to my wife - Liberatories said, 'oops'. They didn't seem to be too concerned that someone could have chocked on the chard and died.)

So anyway, here is a picture of the sign on the door. Apparently they didn't know how to spell 'until' and I wonder how long it will be until that further notice? And I love the "thank.....you". What's with the dramatic pause?

How Hot Is It?

It was so hot yesterday (I feel like Johnny Carson) that the Eldersburg branch of the Carroll County Library system was closed. A sign posted on the door stated that it was due to lack of air conditioning. I will admit that the library is usually full of hot air, though not as much as there is in Annapolis. Anyway, I unfortunately did not have my camera with me to snap a picture of the sign.

My 2 year old daughter and nephew were disappointed that we didn't get to go into the library to play on the computers and pick up 45 Barney DVD's (12 of which are usually duplicates). But I did drop them off in the quick drop slots on the side of the building.

In related news, the Eldersburg library is getting a drive-thru drop-off. Not quite sure how they're going to do that. It'll either be in a Post Office-style drop box at the edge of the sidewalk on the main drive or they are going to have to wipe-out a bunch of parking spots to connect it to the main building on the side. If you know more about how it will work I'd love to know.

Faith Lutheran Church's New Electronic Sign

There are signs that Black Oak Associations is not the only ones that are trying to bring Randallstown to Eldersburg. Faith Lutheran Church on Liberty Road, ironically, right next to the ghetto dead mall Carrolltown Mall, recently put up this lit sign.

Like other low-class fly-by-night establishments offering check cashing and bail bonds, Faith Lutheran installed this red-lit sign on their front lawn facing Liberty Road.

Now we'll be able to see from a mile away what the message of the Lord is as it scrolls by with its flashing yellow-ish lights.

Closed - Wine Country

As the recession toils along, another establishment has fallen victim. While Obama talks about cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf (with less discussion about stopping it), a more important matter is taking place.

One of the local liquor stores in Eldersburg has shuttered its doors. Wine Country next to the Shoppers Food Warehouse (SFW to the cool cat crew) is now closed. The sign on the front door directs its customers to the nearby Eldersburg Total Discount Liquors.

President Obama. Martin O'Malley. Why did you let this happen? Why are you letting small businesses close? Is it because you have your hands in the pockets of big liquor?