Baltimore is a Dump!

And for as long as I can remember, Baltimore has had the reputation of being a "bad neighborhood".  I don't drive by the city often but I can't help but see it from Interstate RT-95 when I'm on my way back from somewhere else. I always take a long look at the place.

And I shudder. Who can imagine living there?

Baltimore Maryland is a perpetual welfare city. According to the national census, Maryland is the country's richest state with a median income of $69,272.00 per person so imagine what that means when you factor in the poorest city in the country! 

Did I mention that the current Mayor of Baltimore, Bernard Young, is a Democrat? I think the last Republican to run the city was in 1967. 

The last Mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh, also a Democrat, was forced to resign due to a corruption scandal involving a children's book she 'wrote" and coerced the city school system to purchase. It wasn't much of a book but it was a hell of a crime.

Maryland also has a Democrat for a Governor, Larry Hogan. I don't much about him since, I really don't pay much attention to the state in general since I would never think of setting foot there for any reason. It's just a name on a map to me. Sorta like say, Suriname, a place that might as well be on the moon. The only time you hear of such places is when bad things happen there. 

Way back in the late 1980s I had a co-worker who was originally from North Carolina but he and his young wife moved to Baltimore, to start their life together. He was not familiar with the place but thought, since they were in their early 20s, that the city was a place they could build a life together.

But there was no work. Neither could get a job. Their money quickly ran out and they applied for public assistance. They were assigned an apartment. When they looked at the place, it was filthy, in a run-down building in a seedy area of the city. But they were stuck and had to make the most of it. The place was roach infested. When they started to clean the place up, he told me, there was a taped up cardboard box in a corner of the room. When he picked it up, the bottom fell out and "about 2000 cockroaches" hit the floor and scattered in all directions. He and his wife shared their first Baltimore freak-out during their eventful but short stay in that building. There was more but you get the picture. 

What that lead to was the two of them frantically calling any relative and extended family member they could recall in the hopes that one of them would let them stay with them for even just a little while. One of them, who worked with me, told them that if they could get there, they could stay with him for as long as it took to get settled. He told me they each packed one bag and went straight to the highway and thumbed the first truck that would take them closer to Massachusetts and farther away from Maryland. 

When the truck driver dropped them off at our towns highway rest-stop on Interstate RT-495, he drove off with their luggage and disappeared into the night. But that incident did not offset the relief they felt for finally getting out of Baltimore. 

Since that time Baltimore has gotten worse. 

Baltimore is a city of stark contrasts, the have's and the have-nots, empty buildings that serve as drug shooting-galleries a block away from a posh neighborhood, poor schools and poor people a block away from good schools and rich neighborhoods. Employment in much of the city is public employment since businesses are reluctant to move in. 

People who live in Baltimore will tell you that there are a lot of great places to go there, museums, restaurants, art centers and other attractions. 

But they will also warn you to be aware of your surroundings when out and not to walk and talk on your cell phone in public since this automatically makes you a target. They will also tell you to simply expect things to be stolen off of your porch and to not leave items visible in your car when you park. They will mention that your home insurance should cover break-ins. Everyone there will acknowledge that the crime rate is very high punctuated by a lot of shootings. 

In 2017, there were a reported 343 murders in Baltimore but the good news is that it dropped in 2018 to 309. 

But that could be anywhere in the country, right? 

Since the Freddy Gray incident, where six Baltimore policemen were put on trial for the negligent homicide of Mr. Gray whom they left unsecured with his hands cuffed behind his back in the police vehicle and who subsequently died as a result of falling against the door handle, arrests have gone down and crime has gone up. 

People there warn you not to come. Don't take my word for it, Google "Moving to Baltimore" and see what that gets you. Oh, there's some fake news out there but you'll know the real stuff when you read it. 

All the money Baltimore gets in Federal Aid doesn't seem to help things. That's because the money isn't there to actually help people, it's good jobs at good wages for the people who dole it all out. Those are the people the money is for.

Nothing seems to get better in Baltimore.  

Joe Lieberman: Hypocrite of School Choice

I can't believe this is still an argument. If it wasn't for the power of the National Teachers Union which is only rivaled by the other two public union powerhouses, The International Brotherhood of Police Officers and The International Association of Fire Fighters, this would have been settled ages ago.

But I was reminded of a bit of hypocrisy just now when I read an article by none other than Former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman advocating for, of all things, school choice.

And I had to laugh.

NOW, he's the advocate for school choice...

Again!

Oh, old Joe WAS a champion for the school voucher system right up until the moment he was picked to be Al Gore's running mate for the Presidency back in 2000.

Then nothing, not a word about it was mentioned and nobody asked.

But I remembered.

Joe Lieberman remained in the Senate for 14 years after Al Gore's failed run for the presidency but until now we have not heard anything from the former senator advocating for school choice.

Since that time the voucher system was instituted in the District of Columbia and working well until the Teacher's Union finally managed to squash it, forcing the school kids back to their sub-standard district schools. They could have used a champion then. Now , with nothing to lose, nothing on the line and perhaps looking for some sort of relevancy in a new age, good old reliable Joe Lieberman is again advocating school choice.

After 19 years of silence, is anybody going to ask, "Where you been all this time, Joe?"

Fox news won't be asking that question, you can bet on that. They ran the article. What gall this guy has! Even for a former pol and lawyer. This sudden rekindled interest makes me wonder at what angle he's trying to play. Perhaps we'll find out in the near future.

School Choice

This is the system where each family gets a voucher for the money they pay each year towards their school system or per student funds allocated to each child at any rate that then can be put that towards a different school of their choosing. The money follows the child. 

Two-Tiered Education System

It has been argued that the voucher system will create a two-tiered school system and allow the wealthy to pull their kids from public school or that there will be a migration from public schools. 

The wealthy have already pulled their kids out of public school. THEY have the money to pay twice. Once for the sub-standard public school they don't use and again for the private school they actually send their kids to.

It's the poor people who can't afford to send their kids to an alternate or private school who get the short end. They can only afford the sub-standard.

Without a school voucher program to even the field, the people without the means are also without the choice. The lack of school choice hurts THEM, the people who can't afford to send their kids any place else.

The lack of competition for the monopoly of public schools means no challenges and no innovation or improvements. They never have to pay for their mistakes. Only the children will.

So here's hoping Joe sticks with it the second time around since School Choice was and is a good idea. Introducing competition into the educational marketplace will make all the schools stronger. They will either change or be emptied out.

But Joe Lieberman could have been fighting for this change for the last 19 years but abandoned his principles for the chance at glory and fame.

He thinks everybody's forgotten it.

At What Point Do You Stop Listening?

The press just can't get enough of the "feud" between President Trump and The Squad of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and that overt Jew hater, Ilhan Omar.

It's the media corps that have elbowed Nancy Pelosi to the back of the room and put the spotlight on these four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse and it is they who are the reason that this is all a big deal.

It's not a big deal.

If you're worried that people may be believing all the zany things these people are saying just because they're all over the airwaves, I wouldn't be.

It isn't like the political arena lacks for want of crazy, prescription-drug crazed politicos because there seems to be no short supply.

I don't blame the Socialist Sisters for being camera hogs, I blame the people who are supplying the cameras. It's Fox News and "The World is Coming to an End" Drudge Report that are making the most political hay out of this. Talk about "It's all about the Benjamins".

All the accusations of "Racist" and constant media deluge of media hate towards the president, the wobbly GOP who would still rather have Hillary Clinton than prosperity and a good economy, the radical leftist states that every day announce another reason for their working citizens to get the hell out of there, it's all for naught. It's just the constant stream of nothingness and minutia that the "News" has become today. Nothing more than an incessant drone of negative energy, causing no good and if you listen too long, will cause mental instability.

In the Oppressive Ogres Corp where I work I share an office with another person. He's a political guy and a Trump supporter and each day he can't help but peruse MSN, CNN, Politico and other such non-sense media sights and read me some of what they say. He gets upset about it. I say, "I don't understand why you do this to yourself, you already know what they're going to say." But he can't help it. He gets even more upset when Fox says the same thing.

"Stop reading that crap!" I insist, "You're going to drive yourself Koo-Koo!"

And here we are.

I've checked out. I don't give a flying Phitt about what any of these people have to say or the so-called "conservative" media outlet that gives them a forum because I know it's all just about ratings and the advertising dollars they bring. Fox isn't in business to "Defend the Republic", they're in business to make a buck and if you're stupid enough to jump through a hoop or run into the streets in outrage every time they come up with a "Crisis' then you have nobody but yourself to blame. It's all just Street Theater for the Rubes.

As my older brother used to say to me all the time...

"Don't be an idiot."

It's not going to make one iota of a difference when it comes time to vote. Nobody is actually picking up what they're putting down and all the dead people in the country won't be able to out-vote the living when the time comes.

Because, quite frankly, even though we are not all "Brothers under the Skin" like most whackos want you to think, we do all want the same basic things.

We all want a roof over our head. We want a good livelihood for ourselves and a future for our children. This includes an acceptable level of education and opportunity for them to pursue their interests when they are old enough to decide and choose.

We all want...stuff! Whether it be a nicer car than most people drive, a boat, a nice house with central air conditioning and nice patio furniture. Oh, and a patio!

And we're all too willing to work for it, to drive great distances daily to get to our chosen places of employment and to withstand most daily torments of American life to get this...stuff!

Now I don't care where you're from originally. If you grew up here, you'r ruined for any place else anyway. Once you are "Americanized" you're screwed. No, we should figure out what to do with the Dreamers because even though your name may be Hernandez and you're parents are from Mexico, you'd be fucking lost in Mexico. I have black friends that went to The Gambia for a visit. They're like, "Wholly shit, I couldn't live there!" Of course not, your a friggin' American. You haven't washed a dish by hand since childhood never mind having to live on rice and beans. They don't even have cable!

So anyway, no matter what your background, if you're working for a living, trying to play by the rules and putting up with hearing all this whacko bullshit on the television and radio, when you finally get to the voting booth this November are you really going to pull the lever for what these nutjobs are trying to sell you?

No, I don't think so.

Like me, you may not have the best setup but it's working. You can go out every so often, have dinner and drinks, maybe once a week, take in a show, go for a hike, hit the gym and have some semblance of a decent career and life. You're hanging in despite the effort. But you know as well as I do that if you let this group of Quarter-Stalins get a hold of the means to your paycheck and livelihood, it could all turn to shit in a hurry.

There'll be no place to go but down...

And everybody knows it.

They're Not "Migrants"

They're being called "Migrants" but they're really not. These people crossing the boarder are the farthest thing from "Migrants" you can get.

A better word would be "Goths" as in "Visigoths", the destroyers of mighty Rome, the most successful Republic before this one. It might as well be old Alaric himself crossing the Rio Grande as far as I'm concerned. These people are no less dangerous as when the Goths crossed the Rhine back in 400 AD. We all know what happened after that.

These "oppressed masses" aren't here for asylum, although they'll take it if we're stupid enough to give it to them. They're economic refugees coming from the Continent of Failure that is South America. And they're here to put their thumb on the scales of our economic future. The nation's prosperity is not a given, it's not assured and there are many burdens on the other side of the equation that aren't as brightly lit when talk of the robust growth of the United States is discussed.

These are the burdens of the Welfare State, the social insurances of Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, Food Stamps and the Affordable Care Act. Then there are the public service pension administrations both federal and state. These are massive programs and all fall on the Accounts Payable side of the ledger.

Now add all these people to the welfare rolls, the food stamps, putting their kids into the public school systems, the hospital emergency rooms and WIC programs. Who will be paying for all this?

Not THEM!

Add to those costs the added price of fighting the diseases, some thought long gone, that have made their dubious return. Afflictions like Whooping Cough, Measles, Mumps and even the Plague. Find a bean-counter to figure that one out.

A Nation of Laws

We have immigration laws and they're pretty much like those of other countries and U.S. Citizenship takes about as long as does most countries: About 7 years.

And it takes a bit of work. You have to know about our system of government, how it works and how the people who run the country get to where they are. This is on the up and up. You have to learn a bit about our democracy and how it works. But the bottom line is...

You can't just walk in and start working. Or at least you shouldn't.

And one of the reasons you shouldn't is because there are thousands of naturalized U.S. citizens here already who played by the rules and waited the time it took and learned the things they needed to become a citizen of these United States.

And why would they do that?

Because they LOVE this country and want to be citizens. Because of that desire, they were willing to do the right thing. They didn't come here to just make a buck to send back to Whereverlahara so they could build a bigger house there. They want to build there house right HERE in the good 'ol US of A.

The Migrants Pay Taxes Myth

If you're working under the table and doing your shopping at flea markets, how much in the way of taxes are you paying? And if you're collecting housing benefits and going to the emergency room for free treatments, how much are you taking in exchange? Plenty. Add your non-English speaking children to the local public schools in enough numbers that there won't be much learning going on for anyone as schools scramble to not only teach the subjects but to bring up the language skills of these kids so that they can be taught at all. And who'll pay for that?

Not THEM!

It's you, the legal, working American working stiff, the taxpayer who'll get the bill. I'm sure you'd rather have the money to put your own kids through school but heck, these people need it more than you do you rich, white sons-of-bitches! And so what if the rising costs and deductibles of healthcare under the ACA make you think twice before you get that lump on your side checked out, these people have a RIGHT to HEALTHCARE! Yeah, so they can't pay for it, now sit down and shut up, you racist bastard!

Crashing the Welfare State

With all these illiterate, indigent masses crashing the gates of the kingdom, we will reach a tipping point in the costs of taking care of there "essential needs", meaning the people footing the bill will either get irate enough to rebel or the welfare systems will just go broke.

In the Theory of Anarchism, this is a desired result of the political Left. I don't see how anyone will escape the pain to follow should this be allowed to happen but Anarchists don't really think about the future in those terms. They only wish for the downfall. What happens after that is not important.

As a Libertarian, I too would like to see the end of the Welfare State as we see it today but would rather avoid an economic reenactment of the Hindenburg.

Trump Represents American Success

You wonder why all the vitriol, hatred and bizarre contrarianism the Political Left has directed towards President Trump and every move he makes. He tries to cut taxes and they try to block it, he tries to secure the border with Mexico and they block him. He tries to make a trade deal with China and the European Union and he's immediately branded a failure. For an American president acting in the best interests of the United States and it's citizenry, it's all seems so upside down.

Why?

Because the President was a successful businessman prior to the presidency, remains a successful person in the White House and the United States is a successful country full of people working and striving to get the things they want in this life. They have goals they want to reach and are willing to put in the work to get them, the right way.

Everyday we see Americans, from the newly naturalized to those here for generations, working, paying taxes, contributing to society and playing by the rules.

And the Socialist Democrats HATE that.

And they hate you.