City On Fire - Standing Down

Well, the drama continues to unfold in the City That Bleeds. Earlier today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced that she would not seek reelection. This comes just two days after she and other members of the Board of Estimates agreed to hand over $6.4 million to the family of Freddie Gray.

In the midst of an already eventful week, this came as a bit of surprise. Rawlings-Blake would have been campaigning against several other challengers in the 2016 election, most notably, former infamous Baltimore Mayor, Sheila Dixon. It was thought that Dixon would have given Blake a tough run regardless. But now with Blake stepping out, as hard as it might be to do so, you have to believe that Dixon will be Baltimore's next Mayor.

So, the big question is why did Blake decide to bail out of the campaign. As expected, she gave the predictable answers at the press conference.....Gotta spend more time with the family, the campaign will be distracting, her effort needs to be focused on leading the city, blah, blah, blah. While these things sure sound good, I think there might be some other reasons why she's dropping out of the race.

No doubt, her opponents were going to blast Rawlings-Blake for her handling of the April riots (or "unrest" as she likes to call it). During that period she looked totally overwhelmed and her leadership abilities were heavily criticized. The Mayor also appeared very uncomfortable when she was getting grilled by reporters during and after the riots. So, I really don't think that she was looking forward to reliving that ordeal during a heated Mayoral campaign.

And while still mayor for another 15 months, Rawlings-Blake will likely have to face another round of "unrest" with the upcoming trials of the six police officers. If any or all of the cops are found not guilty, all hell will break loose in and around the city. And when this happens, the Mayor will be in a no-win situation. If she plays hard ball with the rioters (highly unlikely), she will be criticized for for not being "down with the struggle". And if she takes the "stand down and give 'em room to destroy" approach again, she will be blamed for the massive damage that the city will inevitably absorb.

One has to wonder what would have happened if Rawlings-Blake would have never given the thugs "room to destroy". Perhaps if the cops were allowed to defend themselves and arrest the "kids" who were assaulting them, order could have been somewhat preserved. But instead, the chaos escalated and Baltimore was telecast around the world as a lawless city with no leadership.

When the dust settles after the next round of riots, it could take years if not decades, to repair the damages. So, not only would Rawlings-Blake be heavily criticized in the aftermath, she would also have the unfathomable task of fixing things. When you put things in that perspective, it's not so hard to understand why she decided to bail out. Think of it as jumping off of the Titanic and into a lifeboat...

kw

City On Fire - The Hits Keep Coming

The six Baltimore City cops who were arrested for the death of Freddie Gray were dealt yet another blow this morning when it was announced that they would stand trial right here in Baltimore. This of course, comes just a couple of days after Gray's family was awarded a $6.4 million settlement from the city.

I'm not sure how it's going to be possible to find an impartial jury in Baltimore for this trial. I mean, who hasn't heard about this case? And more concerning, who hasn't formed an opinion already?

The protesting, albeit on a relatively small scale, has already started during the pre-trial motions. I would expect the momentum to pick up as we getting closer to the actual trial date in October. When that time comes, expect to see spontaneous disruptions in the downtown area, especially around the courthouse. And with all of the commotion going on outside, do you really think that the jury will simply be able to ignore it?

Another negative effect of having the trial in Baltimore is the imminent threat of violence if something doesn't go the protesters' way. If word comes out that one of the cops is likely to be acquitted, the protesters will threaten to burn the city down. I don't see a jury overlooking that scenario. Even after all of these years, the aftermath of the Rodney King case still lingers. And with all of the gas that the Mayor and company have thrown on the Freddie Gray case, Baltimore City is a potential powder-keg. That will inevitably be in the back of the jurors minds as they decide on the fate of the individual cops.

And what about the potential of juror intimidation? I guess there's a possibility that the jurors will be sequestered, but what if they aren't? I would expect the identities of the jurors to be kept secret but happens if this stuff gets leaked out?

I keep hear the chants of "No Justice, No Peace" but the last time I checked, the protesters have pretty gotten everything they wanted. Six cops have been arrested and are about to go on trial, the Gray's have been a awarded with the Mega-Millions and the trial will take place in Baltimore. The "system" is currently working exactly as you wanted. So, will you please shut the f*ck up and let the process take it's due course?

kw

The Guy Hovering Over My Shoulder

So, the other night, I'm sitting at a local watering hole playing trivia with my buddy, Kevin. I see this guy sitting across the bar who looks a lot like Billy Bob Thorton's character in "Slingblade". He's sitting there alone with both of hands cupped firmly around his large beer glass. To say that he was a bit peculiar looking would be putting it mildly. But at least he was a safe distance away. For now.....

About midway through the game, Slingblade heads to the men's room. When he returns, instead of sitting in his original bar seat, he pulls up the one directly to the left of me. I found this to be odd since the whole left side of the bar was vacant. This is like a guy walking into a men's room at the airport and there's 20 vacant urinals between you and the wall and the guy cozies up to the one right next to you. It's just weird, that all I'm saying.....

Anyway, Slingblade sits there with this goofy smile on his face. I could just sense that he was going to say something at any second. The trivia DJ asks the the next question and I scribble something on my note pad. As I start to write, I see that the guy is trying to peek over my shoulder. I instinctively try to cover my answer like I used to do in 3rd grade. From my peripheral vision, I can still see Slingblade hovering over my left shoulder.

Before long, inevitability reared it's ugly head and Slingblade says, "So, what'd cha put for that last answer?"

Keep in mind that we're in the middle of bar trivia game where you're prohibited from shouting out the answers. So, I knew if I gave the guy the real answer (which was Taylor Swift), he would blurt it out for the whole bar to hear. So, I figured I would make something up and try to use this guy to our competitive advantage. 

"We put Joan Jett for that last answer, bud", I quietly told him.

Sure enough, he blurts outs, "Joan Jett, huh? I like her!"

Then he proceeds to inform us that Janis Joplin has the same initials as Joan Jett. Actually, I was quite impressed that this guy had the mental capacity to figure this out. Could this guy possibly be Pasadena's version of the Rain Man?

Well, my admiration was short-lived as Slingblade followed up with, "I really like Janis Joplin. She's a good singer."

He was talking about Janis in the present tense, so my friend (Dave) who was sitting two bar stools to my right, leans over and says, "You know Janis Joplin is dead, right?"

A look of confusion takes over Slingblade's face and he asks, "Really? When did this happen?"

Kevin, Dave & I instantly looked at one another as the theme from The Twilight Zone played through our collective minds.

Realizing that this guy is probably a little behind in current events, I said, "She died a couple of years ago. Sorry to have to break the bad news to you, bud."

The guy seemed to be genuinely shocked. I felt the additional urge to inform him about Elvis, but I didn't want to overload him with grief. After a few moments of silence, he jumps right back into our trivia game and says, "So, what are you guys putting for this answer?"

I made some kind of wisecrack which caused Slingblade to chuckle. As a result, he revealed a set of teeth that looked like something you might see in the mouth of an alligator. I impulsively jumped back. I nearly blurted out, "Whoa, dude!" His teeth had obviously been on the losing end of an ass-kicking contest with tooth decay. Some were pointed and some were jagged but they were all a mess. Kevin later pointed out that he had "meth mouth". Nice to know...

Anyway, the trivial banter continued for ten or fifteen more minutes. Kevin, getting a little irritated, asked me why I kept engaging the guy . I explained to him that you have to be careful with these type of people. Even though the guy was hovering and was bit irritating, I really didn't want to piss him off. The last thing I needed was for Slingblade to go ape-shit and bury a lawnmower blade in the back of my head.

The DJ asks a football related question. While I'm trying to brainstorm with Kevin and Dave, my new friend is trying to loudly chime in with his incoherent answers. And then, he throws me curve-ball and asks if I ever watch Lingerie Football.

I respond, "Lingerie football? No, can't say that I have. But I'll bet the women are hot."

Kevin shoots me the "WTF look", letting me know that I really need to stop talking to this guy. Hey, I didn't ask this guy to sit next to me. How is this my fault?

Meanwhile, the guy's beer mug runs empty. But he continues to cradle it between both hands like he's making a clay pot. Normally, I would offer to buy a person a fresh beer, But this guy was really starting to make me nervous and I didn't want to give him any reason to stay any longer. As luck would have it, he just got up and walked out. No goodbye, nice to meet you, have a good night, etc. He just disappeared out into the night as quickly as he dropped in beside me. I'm not sure if I'll ever see him again. But there's no doubt that someone like him will cross my path before long....

kw

City On Fire - The Gray Pay Day

As I'm driving along 695 earlier today, I hear the radio DJ say that Baltimore City reached a proposed 6.4 million dollar settlement with the family of Freddie Gray. I instantly shook my head and erroneously attempted to rewind the radio station. I thought that I misheard what had just came out of my car's speakers.

The trial of the six cops has barely started yet and we're already throwing millions of dollars at the Gray family? Of course, the mayor justifies the settlement by saying that it's in "the best interest of the city". She also says that the settlement doesn't represent an admission of guilt by any of the parties potentially linked to Gray's death. I'm glad that she doesn't think so. But those who don't have their heads completely up their ass might not see it the same way.

This is just another middle finger to the taxpayers of Baltimore who increasingly find themselves paying more and getting less. That $6.4 million will really be missed when it comes to rebuilding the city after the next round of riots. But, of course, the taxpayers will likely get gang-banged by the City Council when that bill comes due as well.

Perhaps, the city should have waited to see if the cops were actually at fault before they handed over the Mega-Millions to the Grays. And who decides who gets what in these situations. When cops are killed in the line of duty (like the seven last week!), do the cities immediately hand over a multi-million dollar check to the family? Somehow, I doubt it. In mentally unstable cities like Baltimore, the value of a drug slinger's life is more than a cop's. That's the message that was sent today.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the FOP is outraged over the settlement offer. And I certainly can't blame them. The "leadership" of Baltimore, from Mayor on down, continues to screw over the BCPD. If they don't think that this is going to have a detrimental effect on the upcoming trial, they're even more clueless than I thought.

kw

Route 100 - A Commuter's Battleground

Last week, I approached the ramp to route 100 as I headed toward Pasadena. It was a beautiful day with low humidity so I casually rolled down my driver's side window to get some fresh air. As I gradually picked up speed in the right lane, I saw what appeared to be a smoky haze about a quarter mile in front of me. It didn't take long to realize that it was actually road dust being kicked up by the traffic ahead.

I had just ran my car through the car-wash and it was still wet in some places. Traveling through the dust cloud quickly turned my car's exterior from a shiny luster to a depressing gray film. Before long, it looked like I had just taken 2nd Place in a four-wheeling competition. But knowing that this was just one of the occasional drawbacks of commuting, I let it go.

But what came next was not so easy to ignore....

As luck would have it, there was a large pick-up truck directly in  front of me. The double-tires of the truck began to kick up gravel and hurl it violently at the traffic behind. As the projectiles ricocheted off of my hood and windshield, I looked for an opportunity to switch lanes. But there was nowhere to go. I caught a quick glimpse of the driver beside me, He had a firm two-handed grip on the steering wheel as his head bobbed to the left and right. The poor guy looked like Rocky Balboa ducking a punch from Mister T. And although I did feel a bit of sympathy for him, I had my own issues to deal with.

With the road being torn up, it was like driving on an extended rumble strip. So, I decided to turn up the radio to drown out some of the noise. "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones happened to be playing. Really? The Stones? Right now? Come on....

As the truck in front of us accelerated, the frequency of road shrapnel increased. Pieces of route 100 rained down on us like a summer hail storm. Rocks were coming from all directions. My poor Honda was taking on more abuse than a Baltimore City police cruiser!

Out of nowhere, my elbow, which had been hanging vulnerably outside the window, was met by an oncoming rock. Grimacing, I took the pain like a man. I slowly retracted my stinging arm and rolled up the window. Although I wasn't out of danger quite yet, I did feel a little safer.

Thankfully, the scarred battlefield soon gave way to a freshly paved surface. I eventually exited the expressway and pulled into the safety of a parking lot where I was able to survey the damage. Miraculously, I came out of the onslaught relatively unscathed. My battle wounds were limited to a couple of small nicks in the windshield and a small red welt on my left elbow. I had survived. But how many commuters wouldn't be so lucky?

kw

The Roanoke Shootings - Disregarded Racism

By now, everyone has probably heard about the disgruntled asshole (Vester Flanagan) who murdered the Roanoke news reporter and cameraman on live TV. Initially, as expected, the story was widely covered by almost every media outlet in the country. But as details emerged about the shooting possibly being racially motivated, the media slowly backed away from their coverage.

Hmmm....

So, let me see if I've got this right. If a racist white guy shoots up a black church, we're told that it's due to "systematic racism" and then there's an immediate push to ban the Confederate Flag and any future showing of The Dukes of Hazard. And if a some white cops are suspected in the death a black drug dealer, there's an instant gathering of "protesters" who are given "room to destroy" the city.. But when a racist black man guns down two white news reporters on live TV, there's no outrage over the demographics.

So, what got Flanagan so outraged that he felt the need to gun down 24-year old, Alison Parker and her 27-year-old cameraman? Apparently, the young reporter commonly used the words "swinging" and "field". I understand that these are commonly used words by news reporters as they might "swing by a location" or "go out to the field". But somehow, Flanagan found these terms to be racist. So, he went to his superiors to report it. In the end, common sense prevailed and it was brushed off as nonsense. This didn't sit well with Flanagan and his rage continued to brew until the time of the shootings.

From what I've read, Flanagan liked to accuse people of racism whenever things didn't go his way and he had a history of filing discrimination complaints. This moron even called 7-11 racist because they had watermelon flavored Slurpees.*

In a manifesto that he faxed to ABC News shortly after the shooting, Flanagan mentioned that the recent Charleston church shooting was one of the factors that sent him over the top. So, it kinda sounds like this guy wasn't feeling a whole lot of love for white folks.

So, as we sift through all of the bullshit, it looks like Flanagan's violent outburst was ultimately carried out in retaliation for the June 17 racist attack in Charleston. So, in effect, wouldn't that make Flanagan's targeting of two innocent white people just as racist? Apparently, there's a lot of people who don't see it that way. Or they're just too afraid to talk about it.

Almost everyone, black and white, was outraged and sickened by Dylan Roof's actions in the Charleston church murders. Most people wold agree that he is a racist piece of sh*t. But when it comes to Vester Flanagan, his racial influences are largely ignored. Even President Obama, who usually seizes the opportunity to fan the flames in these situations, blamed guns this time around. I guess blaming the guy who actually pulled the trigger would be too insensitive? By the way, has the term "hate crime" even been mentioned during the course of this event?

kw

* http://nypost.com/2015/08/28/reporters-everyday-comments-deemed-racist-by-on-air-killer/

It's Raining On Eutaw Street

When I venture into the inner city of Baltimore, I never know what oddities await me. Case in point, earlier today I was driving near the "World Famous" Lexington Market. As I began to make a right turn onto Eutaw Street, a disheveled man walked in front of my car. He seemed to be oblivious to anything around him. As the guy took a couple more awkward steps, he appeared to be pissing in the middle of the downtown street. To confirm my suspicion, he turned in my direction with his d*ck firmly planted in hand. Just what I needed to see first thing in the morning, huh?

As the guy continued to relieve his bladder all over Eutaw Street, people casually walked past him without blinking an eye. It was only when the guy started to pee from side to side that people started to give him distance. One guy nearly got his shoes acid-washed. But he was able to jump out of the way just in the nick of time.

Baltimore is not really known for dragons but this guy was definitely draining one!

Meanwhile, an overweight woman near the market entrance was yelling, "Anybody holdin' any loose one's??" (I'm assuming that she was looking to buy some loose cigarettes)

I fought back the urge to yell back, "Hey, I think this guy in front of my car is holding a loose one!"

And just as I start to laugh, the pissing guy does a complete 360 in the middle of the street. The whole time, a steady stream of  piss was flowing abundantly. He looked like some type of urban lawn sprinkler as the urine made a perfect circle around him. Like a stray dog, the guy almost seemed to be marking his territory. I could see the corner street vendor getting really nervous as the guy moved towards the corner. I can certainly understand why. I imagine that it would be kind of tough to sell those multi-color hair weaves after this guy gave them a golden shower.

Overall, the guy didn't appear too healthy. I'm assuming that drugs and alcohol had taken their toll on him. But from the way he was blasting way, I'm pretty sure that he didn't have any prostrate issues. Maybe they should call this guy out to California to fight some of those forest fires. After a few bottles of Knotty Head, he could probably extinguish at least four or five acres. I'm pretty sure he could find some work as a power washer as well.

The guy eventually staggered across the intersection. And fortunately for the street vendor, the guy's bladder was finally empty. On that note, I seized the opportunity to flee the scene. There's no way that I wanted to be around when this guy felt a bowel movement coming on.....

kw