WE HAVE LOST OUR DEMOCRACY WHEN WE LOSE RULE OF LAW. BALTIMORE HAS A BROKEN SYSTEM.
Just one more day on crime and Rule of Law for now by following the approach of lawsuits to hold the city responsible for police misconduct. We just had a case where the city's legal team presented a settlement for misconduct to the Board of Estimates and the Mayor stood against the settlement of a few hundred thousand dollars. The legal team who designed the settlement immediately voted against their own resolution plan. It will now go to court where the court costs to the city will be more than the settlement. We saw this on a grander scale with a lead paint lawsuit where the city was clearly at fault. The case above involved 4 police officers, two convicted of crime, actually kidnapping a city youth from his neighborhood driving to a rural area and leaving the boy in a State Park with no shoes. They did this while on duty. A total disregard of Rule of Law. This isn't isolated. The most outlandish make it to the news media.......incidents that the city know will go viral and can't contain. It is systemic and this condition exists because this complete disregard to Rule of Law is at all levels of government. When a behavior exhibits at the lowest end of the system it has become endemic. So here we have the reasoning for bringing in Batts as Chief of Police in Baltimore.
We only need to vote these characters out of office to start to address what is the primary concern for American citizens. The media and politicians have the mantra of jobs, jobs, and jobs......that is the same mantra in corrupt Afghanistan. You cannot have a working economy with no Rule of Law. That is what gave us the financial collapse and rebuilding employment with the same criminal environment will not happen.
Those of us who are democrats know that all these issues I raise are not democratic policy............none of this meets the Democratic Platform. So, it is not the democratic party that is failing us, it is the people who we are allowing to run as democrats who are the problem. Third Way politicians are basically Reagan Republicans and they act with the same naked capitalist......profit-at-all-cost mentality as Republicans. Third Way have gotten a hold of our party's leadership at all levels of government and now want to speak of Third Way policy as the Democratic Platform. WE ARE SHOUTING LOUDLY AND STRONGLY THAT THE PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS REPRESENTS THE CORE VALUES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND WE WILL TAKE BACK THE LEADERSHIP FROM THIRD WAY CAUCUS RESTORING TO AMERICA A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, AND BY THE PEOPLE.
Here in Baltimore our public radio station has been captured by corporate interests and they are determined to keep Third Way politicians in office. It is the New Economy you know! So talk of Clinton and Simpson-Bowles abounds, Cheney and neo-cons hit the guest circuit. Here is the coverage on WYPR this week:
Maryland vs Nebraska
August 30, 2012 Maryland is one of the “bluest” states in the Union. The Gallup organization has determined that Maryland is the 4th most Democratic state in the county, just below New York, and just above Massachusetts. WYPR’s Art Buist is at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and decided to find out what political life is like in the 4th most Republican state.
We need to be aware that these corporate politicians are acting as if their policies define the democratic party......and they do not. Free-market, globalization, mega-wealth, small government with little oversight are all contrary to the Democratic Platform. WE CANNOT LET THESE CORPORATE TYPES DEFINE OUR PARTY! STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK!
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!
Notice this article below shows action by the Court of Appeals. This behavior passed many levels of scrutiny before a higher court stopped the injustice. Tazing/stun guns have become the police action of choice and this is cruel and unusual punishment that often hits people not even guilty of misconduct.
Court of Appeals: Arrest occurs when stun-gun hits its mark Maryland Daily Record
A Baltimore detective lacked legal justification to use a stun gun on a fleeing man he suspected was armed, a divided Court of Appeals has held.
________________________________________________
Baltimore City Police Officers often take extra work to boost their income and security details are one of the venues. We don't know to whom the article below refers, but the heightened level of abuse and intimidation regarding security is unacceptable. WE SHOULD NOT BE SEEING THIS BEHAVIOR AT ALL! IT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF A LAX AND ACCEPTING ENVIRONMENT FOR AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN POLICING.
Cherry Hill activist's car vandalized
Cherry Hill activist Cleoda Walker's vehicle was vandalized Thursday
By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun 8:59 a.m. EDT, August 31, 2012
The vehicle of a Cherry Hill activist and pastor was defaced with a threatening message on Thursday, and city police say they are investigating.
It's the second time Cleoda Walker says she has been threatened since she started looking into complaints from residents about what they say are over-aggressive security officers in the Cherry Hill neighborhood. And the most recent incident comes as papers were served on officers being sued in a class-action filing by Walker and 20 other residents, according to attorney Tonya Bana, of the Murphy Firm.
In addition to Walker's car, the former home of a woman named in the lawsuit as a witness was also defaced, according to Bana. That home is in Baltimore County.
The l$25 million awsuit claims that at least two special police officers - a designation for security guards that gives them limited arrest powers on certain properties - employed by the Tenable Protection Agency have been acting like rogue cops in South Baltimore. Tenable has not returned messages seeking comment.
Earlier this year, Walker said at a press conference this month, she received a note that read, "Bitch if I lose my house job or wife, you will lose your life!" and her tires were slashed after she had complained to the security company about the officers.
Police said they were investigating the vandalism.
jfenton@baltsun.com
_______________________________________________
If you look at the examples of crime and punishment above it is easy to see where the system if broken. A City Solicitor or Prosecutor has the power and the expectation to resolve legal issues without trial. These two people ultimately decide who receives what legal treatment. THAT IS NOT HOW THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. WE HAVE A SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES WHERE EACH PERSON IS REGARDED AS EQUAL IN THE EYES OF THE LAW. IF YOU FOLLOW THE STEPS EVERYONE WILL BE ON EQUAL FOOTING. THESE POLITICIAN ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE STEPS......THEY ARE SLICING AND DICING UNTIL THINGS HAPPEN THE WAY THAT THEY WANT ACCORDING TO WHO THE CITIZEN IS.
THERE IS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR THE ISSUE OF PLEA BARGAINING. SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR MADE THIS PRACTICE THE TOP ISSUE IN PROTECTING THE JUDICIARY FROM COMPLETE DESTRUCTION. WE ARE WATCHING AS YOUR INCUMBENT ALLOWS OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM BE DISMANTLED. IT IS YOUR INCUMBENT WHO WRITES THE LAWS THAT ALLOW THESE EXCEPTIONS THAT CIRCUMVENT THE NORMAL LEGAL PROCESS. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT!!!!
Do Prosecutors Have Too Much Power?
New York Times Updated August 19, 2012 7:00 PMTHERE Debaters
Legal observers — including the editorial board of The New York Times — focused on the judge’s concern as a sign that plea bargains have gotten out of control and in the process given prosecutors too much power. When one party decides whether to bring charges, what charges to bring and whether to offer a plea bargain, is the justice system lacking checks and balances?
THIS IS THE SAME THING HAPPENING IN BALTIMORE OVER THESE YEARS OF O'MALLEY'S AND NOW RAWLINGS-BLAKE'S POLICY OF NUISANCE-ABATEMENT. THE POLICY RARELY FINDS ANY PROBLEMS BUT HARASSES AND DISREGARDS BASIC CIVIL RIGHTS OVER AND AGAIN. A POLICE POLICY THAT ROUTINELY REVOKES YOUR PERSONAL RIGHTS. THIS IS NOT FIRST WORLD POLICING.
Rude or Polite, City’s Officers Leave Raw Feelings in Stops
By WENDY RUDERMAN Published: June 26, 2012 New York Times
Most of the time, the officers swoop in, hornetlike, with a command to stop: “Yo! You, come here. Get against the wall.”
They batter away with questions, sometimes laced with profanity, racial slurs and insults: “Where’s the weed?” “Where’s the guns?”
The officers tell those who ask why they have been stopped to shut up, using names like immigrant, old man or “bro.”
Next comes the frisk, the rummaging through pockets and backpacks. Then they are gone.
Other times, the officers are polite, their introductions almost gentle. “Hey, how’s it going?” “Can you step over here, sir?” “We’d like to talk to you.”
The questions are probing, authoritative, but less accusatory. “What are you doing here?” “Do you live here?” “Can I see some identification, please?” During the pat-down, they ask, “Do you have anything on you?” They nudge further: “You don’t mind if I search you, do you?” They explain that someone of a matching description robbed a store a few days ago, or that the stop is a random one, part of a pr
Just one more day on crime and Rule of Law for now by following the approach of lawsuits to hold the city responsible for police misconduct. We just had a case where the city's legal team presented a settlement for misconduct to the Board of Estimates and the Mayor stood against the settlement of a few hundred thousand dollars. The legal team who designed the settlement immediately voted against their own resolution plan. It will now go to court where the court costs to the city will be more than the settlement. We saw this on a grander scale with a lead paint lawsuit where the city was clearly at fault. The case above involved 4 police officers, two convicted of crime, actually kidnapping a city youth from his neighborhood driving to a rural area and leaving the boy in a State Park with no shoes. They did this while on duty. A total disregard of Rule of Law. This isn't isolated. The most outlandish make it to the news media.......incidents that the city know will go viral and can't contain. It is systemic and this condition exists because this complete disregard to Rule of Law is at all levels of government. When a behavior exhibits at the lowest end of the system it has become endemic. So here we have the reasoning for bringing in Batts as Chief of Police in Baltimore.
We only need to vote these characters out of office to start to address what is the primary concern for American citizens. The media and politicians have the mantra of jobs, jobs, and jobs......that is the same mantra in corrupt Afghanistan. You cannot have a working economy with no Rule of Law. That is what gave us the financial collapse and rebuilding employment with the same criminal environment will not happen.
Those of us who are democrats know that all these issues I raise are not democratic policy............none of this meets the Democratic Platform. So, it is not the democratic party that is failing us, it is the people who we are allowing to run as democrats who are the problem. Third Way politicians are basically Reagan Republicans and they act with the same naked capitalist......profit-at-all-cost mentality as Republicans. Third Way have gotten a hold of our party's leadership at all levels of government and now want to speak of Third Way policy as the Democratic Platform. WE ARE SHOUTING LOUDLY AND STRONGLY THAT THE PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS REPRESENTS THE CORE VALUES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND WE WILL TAKE BACK THE LEADERSHIP FROM THIRD WAY CAUCUS RESTORING TO AMERICA A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, AND BY THE PEOPLE.
Here in Baltimore our public radio station has been captured by corporate interests and they are determined to keep Third Way politicians in office. It is the New Economy you know! So talk of Clinton and Simpson-Bowles abounds, Cheney and neo-cons hit the guest circuit. Here is the coverage on WYPR this week:
Maryland vs Nebraska
August 30, 2012 Maryland is one of the “bluest” states in the Union. The Gallup organization has determined that Maryland is the 4th most Democratic state in the county, just below New York, and just above Massachusetts. WYPR’s Art Buist is at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and decided to find out what political life is like in the 4th most Republican state.
We need to be aware that these corporate politicians are acting as if their policies define the democratic party......and they do not. Free-market, globalization, mega-wealth, small government with little oversight are all contrary to the Democratic Platform. WE CANNOT LET THESE CORPORATE TYPES DEFINE OUR PARTY! STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK!
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!
Notice this article below shows action by the Court of Appeals. This behavior passed many levels of scrutiny before a higher court stopped the injustice. Tazing/stun guns have become the police action of choice and this is cruel and unusual punishment that often hits people not even guilty of misconduct.
Court of Appeals: Arrest occurs when stun-gun hits its mark Maryland Daily Record
A Baltimore detective lacked legal justification to use a stun gun on a fleeing man he suspected was armed, a divided Court of Appeals has held.
________________________________________________
Baltimore City Police Officers often take extra work to boost their income and security details are one of the venues. We don't know to whom the article below refers, but the heightened level of abuse and intimidation regarding security is unacceptable. WE SHOULD NOT BE SEEING THIS BEHAVIOR AT ALL! IT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF A LAX AND ACCEPTING ENVIRONMENT FOR AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN POLICING.
Cherry Hill activist's car vandalized
Cherry Hill activist Cleoda Walker's vehicle was vandalized Thursday
By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun 8:59 a.m. EDT, August 31, 2012
The vehicle of a Cherry Hill activist and pastor was defaced with a threatening message on Thursday, and city police say they are investigating.
It's the second time Cleoda Walker says she has been threatened since she started looking into complaints from residents about what they say are over-aggressive security officers in the Cherry Hill neighborhood. And the most recent incident comes as papers were served on officers being sued in a class-action filing by Walker and 20 other residents, according to attorney Tonya Bana, of the Murphy Firm.
In addition to Walker's car, the former home of a woman named in the lawsuit as a witness was also defaced, according to Bana. That home is in Baltimore County.
The l$25 million awsuit claims that at least two special police officers - a designation for security guards that gives them limited arrest powers on certain properties - employed by the Tenable Protection Agency have been acting like rogue cops in South Baltimore. Tenable has not returned messages seeking comment.
Earlier this year, Walker said at a press conference this month, she received a note that read, "Bitch if I lose my house job or wife, you will lose your life!" and her tires were slashed after she had complained to the security company about the officers.
Police said they were investigating the vandalism.
jfenton@baltsun.com
_______________________________________________
If you look at the examples of crime and punishment above it is easy to see where the system if broken. A City Solicitor or Prosecutor has the power and the expectation to resolve legal issues without trial. These two people ultimately decide who receives what legal treatment. THAT IS NOT HOW THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. WE HAVE A SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES WHERE EACH PERSON IS REGARDED AS EQUAL IN THE EYES OF THE LAW. IF YOU FOLLOW THE STEPS EVERYONE WILL BE ON EQUAL FOOTING. THESE POLITICIAN ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE STEPS......THEY ARE SLICING AND DICING UNTIL THINGS HAPPEN THE WAY THAT THEY WANT ACCORDING TO WHO THE CITIZEN IS.
THERE IS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR THE ISSUE OF PLEA BARGAINING. SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR MADE THIS PRACTICE THE TOP ISSUE IN PROTECTING THE JUDICIARY FROM COMPLETE DESTRUCTION. WE ARE WATCHING AS YOUR INCUMBENT ALLOWS OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM BE DISMANTLED. IT IS YOUR INCUMBENT WHO WRITES THE LAWS THAT ALLOW THESE EXCEPTIONS THAT CIRCUMVENT THE NORMAL LEGAL PROCESS. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT!!!!
Do Prosecutors Have Too Much Power?
New York Times Updated August 19, 2012 7:00 PMTHERE Debaters
- Prosecutors’ Overreaching Goes Unchecked Angela J. Davis, author, "Arbitrary Justice"
Unchecked power in the hands of prosecutors is as much a threat to our democracy as it is with any other government official, if not more. - Judgment Requires Power and Vice Versa Samuel W. Buell, former federal prosecutor
Proving sophisticated crimes requires far-reaching statutes and the leeway to use grand juries, charges and agreements for testimony. - The Problem With Mandatory Minimums Rachel E. Barkow, New York University
Far from eliminating disparity by curbing judicial discretion, mandatory minimums simply shift power to prosecutors. - The Right to Appeal Is an Issue of Fairness Nancy Gertner, former judge
You can’t bargain away your right to counsel; you shouldn’t be allowed to bargain away your right to appeal. - Limit Control Over Charges and Sentencing Paul Cassell, former prosecutor and judge
We can and should take modest steps to ensure that the power prosecutors exercise does not encroach on the functions of the other branches.
Legal observers — including the editorial board of The New York Times — focused on the judge’s concern as a sign that plea bargains have gotten out of control and in the process given prosecutors too much power. When one party decides whether to bring charges, what charges to bring and whether to offer a plea bargain, is the justice system lacking checks and balances?
THIS IS THE SAME THING HAPPENING IN BALTIMORE OVER THESE YEARS OF O'MALLEY'S AND NOW RAWLINGS-BLAKE'S POLICY OF NUISANCE-ABATEMENT. THE POLICY RARELY FINDS ANY PROBLEMS BUT HARASSES AND DISREGARDS BASIC CIVIL RIGHTS OVER AND AGAIN. A POLICE POLICY THAT ROUTINELY REVOKES YOUR PERSONAL RIGHTS. THIS IS NOT FIRST WORLD POLICING.
Rude or Polite, City’s Officers Leave Raw Feelings in Stops
By WENDY RUDERMAN Published: June 26, 2012 New York Times
Most of the time, the officers swoop in, hornetlike, with a command to stop: “Yo! You, come here. Get against the wall.”
They batter away with questions, sometimes laced with profanity, racial slurs and insults: “Where’s the weed?” “Where’s the guns?”
The officers tell those who ask why they have been stopped to shut up, using names like immigrant, old man or “bro.”
Next comes the frisk, the rummaging through pockets and backpacks. Then they are gone.
Other times, the officers are polite, their introductions almost gentle. “Hey, how’s it going?” “Can you step over here, sir?” “We’d like to talk to you.”
The questions are probing, authoritative, but less accusatory. “What are you doing here?” “Do you live here?” “Can I see some identification, please?” During the pat-down, they ask, “Do you have anything on you?” They nudge further: “You don’t mind if I search you, do you?” They explain that someone of a matching description robbed a store a few days ago, or that the stop is a random one, part of a pr
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