News Headlines

With Ehrlich Decision in Play, Md. GOP Faces Election Doubts

Deal With Private School in Environmental Dispute Criticized

D.C. Area Transit Agency to Fund Fix for Faulty Train Doors

Department of Natural Resources Seeks Law Requiring Those Under 13 Wear a Flotation Device.

The End of the Hoff? Plans to Reopen the Hoff Theater as Auditorium

Montgomery County Recycling More Items than Before

Franchot to run for second term as Comptroller

News Headlines

Md., Calif. sign agreement on stem-cell research

Dixon inquiry notes 'unexplained cash'

Md. Near Awarding First Slots Gambling License

Skills Set Drafted For Students Nationwide

Top Stories for Wednesday, August 12, 2009

College Park City Council Extends Rent Stabilization Ordinance.

Another Man Dies in Metrorail System

Samuel L. Dean to Run for Prince George's County Executive?

Closer Watch Needed on Anne Around Group Home

MD Chamber of Commernce is Opposed to Health Care Reform

The first top story on Friday, with the current health care debate rages on, even though the actual reform proposal is a joke because it merely strengthens the private health insurance industry (even though that joke proposal may be replaced with an amendment that effectively gets us a single payer system). The Maryland Chamber of Commence has voiced their opposition for a government run insurance system. Basically saying that if the bill is passed, it will further increase health care spending on their end.

In plain english: Even if this bill is passed, we will lose profit"The Maryland Chamber of Commerence practically sides with the health insurance industry in the Health Care debate. Again, I'm opposed to universal health care if it has a forced private insurance mandate, like Massachusetts. I rather prefer universal health care that a single-payer (The Federal Government), pays for. No deductables, no co-pay, any and every medical procedure is covered. That is single-payer health care. The American people want it, and I would want it too.

But I doubt even the MD Chamber of Commence would support single payer either.

News Headlines For Friday, August 7, 2009.

Maryland Chamber of Commerce Opposed to Health Care Reform Proposals

Questions Remain on Purple Line Proposal and Purple and Red Lines Being Built

Maryland Plans to Boost Math and Science Learning.

Maryland Regulators to Approve Deep Coal Mine

Random Youtube Video

The taxi cab industry in the Prince Georges County.

1.Silver Cab: Owned by Badi “Bob” Nabley-(Also owns Taxi-Taxi) controls 125 medallions-(dominant player in the market)
2.Blue Bird: Owned by Scott Bretner, but his son Scott Bretner is the president of Blue Bird-controls 186 medalions (reportedly controlled as many as 400 of the Taxicab operating certificates then in existance)
3. Paramont Cab/Paramount Cab-owned by Hashmatullah Haider-controls 102 medallions

Source: Dispatching Injustice: Cab Driver's Struggle in Prince George's County. Advancement Project. July 2009.

Daily Youtube Video

Repelling UMD Students?! Clash Over College Park's Rent Control Extention.

With the economy finally starting to recover, even though the real economy will not see a recovery anytime soon, it's still important for people to keep or to be able to afford a home, even if it means renting an apartment. This is especially true for students studying in the University of Maryland. Problem is that apartments will be more expensive if the landlords get their way to abolish rent control.

Many landlords accused the city of having an ulterior motive behind the ordinance — to rid neighborhoods of students from the University of Maryland, College Park.

"You can't come out and say, ‘We don't want students living here,'" said Bryan Mack, a College Park landlord who lives in Mount Airy. "But I think that's what's lying underneath everything."

While many landlords favored the outright abolishment of the ordinance, students at Tuesday's hearing spoke in favor of extending rent control to apartments as well as houses.

"The new [apartments] that are being built have an unfair advantage. They can charge rents that are artificially high," said Bob Hayes, a UM junior. "The only reason that I can afford to live in College Park is because I'm able to rent a single-family house with a group of people."

People should be able to rent rooms to other people, as long as they pay their share of the rent and don't disturb the community. The vote is scheduled on August 11 and this blog will cover it.

Morning Note

When you have classes on Monday and Wednesday, you tend to focus on Monday through Wednesday concentrating on that day. Then you take a day off on Thursday, then you start to slowly continue your studies on Friday to Sunday, taking small breaks throughout the day until the assignment is done.

That's why I'm study during the summer.

No More Adult Court Waivers or Not!?

What's really a bad idea, sending serious child offenders to adult court to do adult time. Doing that actually defeats the purpose of Juvenile Courts. The United States have done this bad idea for about two decades. But the state legislators are thinking of ways of reforming Maryland's juvenile justice system.

Source: http://www.gazette.net/stories/07272009/polinew173445_32533.shtml

What Free Market?! The Taxi Cab Cartel in Prince Georges County!

According to a report entitled "Dispatching Injustice: Cab Drivers' Struggle in Prince George's County", a cartel of cab companies which control taxi business in prince georges county hinders competition, leading to long hours and low pay to those that you hire to take you wherever you need to go. What even worse, is that there are many companies who still have taxi cab licenses, but never reliquished them when they gone out of business. What's interestingly is that Silver Cab and Taxi-Taxi, the county's central taxi dispatching service, share the same owner.

I'm watching this story as it develops, and I need to read the report to see what is going on.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072902528.html

What is the Modern Day Prophet? (Part 1)

The Modern Day Prophet is a news and commentary blog reporting on events in the state of Maryland. When I mean news, I mean hard news. No celebrity news, no crime blotter news that our local TV news reports every day, no fluff consumer or health pieces. Just hard news: News about social issues, politics, the economy, government, civic and cultural events.

Why hard news? Because local TV news in Baltimore/Washington area, rarely report hard news, because doing hit-and-run crime blotter stories is just too profitable. Newspapers? They just either too focused on Washington or too focused on Baltimore. So why not a regular person, a regular African American, to report hard news? And probably do its own investigations as well. Probably even better than the various consumer story laden investigative reports that our local TV station “I-teams” trot out once in a while.

The Free State Still in the Red?! 700 Million Dollars Must Be Still Cut!

The Government of Maryland is still 700 million dollars in the red. This is despite salary freezes, cuts to road aid, and taking advantage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Governor O'Malley is planing this week to present a package of cuts to the Board of Public Works.

This is a bit of old news because it was reported on July 10. But what cuts is the Governor planning to propose?

Morning Note

It's unbelievable, but I'm back in College Park. I'm about just to begin my 2009-2010 year in Leonardtown for the summer. I just need to cook breakfast for myself and be on my way to class. The thing is that why the University of Maryland likes to house students in Old Leonardtown? Because I have been in the same housing complex like the time I got housed there in Summer 2007. Amazingly, I'm across the street of where I was when I was in summer 2007 in Leonardtown.

O'Malley Will Run Again! Governor and Lt. Governor to Plan for 2010 Re-election!

Current Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown will be planning for their re-election next year in 2010. He announced his plan in a meeting with Fredrick County Democrats. Anthony Brown told 130 people in attendance in the meeting that "their administration is focusing on job creation, providing education funding and eliminating childhood hunger."

He also mentioned about the current recession that Maryland is doing a lot better than in other states "but that doesn't mean that people aren't struggling in our communities".

Interestingly Republicans still outnumber Democrats in the county. While the Governor were elected with about 53 percent of the vote in 2006, defeating incumbent Republican Robert Ehrlich voters in Frederick county however, favored Ehrlich by a wide margin.

But the real question remains: What will be their priorities for next year election?

Sources:
Brown: we're running for re-election
Lt. governor says he and O'Malley will run in 2010

North American Influenza Update

Now for current updates for the so-called "Swine Flu" in the Maryland region which is really should be called the North American Influenza, since this flu did not came from pigs.

Four schools in the State of Maryland are being closed for an extended period to isolate cases of the influenza. Those schools are Rockville High School in Montgomery County, Montpelier Elementary School in Prince Georges County, Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore County, and Folger McKinsey Elementary in Anne Arundel County. Those schools will be closed for a period of two weeks to prevent the spread of this season's influenza.

These schools are closed are based on new guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and discussions with other State Governors on a conference call today, the Maryland State Government will close any public or private school and cease all extracurricular activities for up to two weeks in the event a student is deemed "probable" for the H1N1 influenza virus.

So what to do to prevent getting this virus. Surprisenly simple things you can do: Wash your hands after touching possible containmiated surfaces and cover your mouth when sneezing.

Sources:
Governor Martin O’Malley Declares Public Health Emergency
Md. Schools Hit by Flu Staying Shut For a While

News You Should Know About

A limited ID for illegal immigrants is the lesser of two evils.

COBRA benefits extended to Maryland small businesses

Plans for non-native oysters in Cheseapeake bay dropped

PSC tells staff, Verizon to try again on customer service settlement

Domestic Violence Bills Forwarded to O'Malley.

Screwed-up Priorities?

With all the budget cut mania the State Governments are forced to do due to the recession (and possible depression), every legislature is doing budget cuts on health care, education and such. But are they're cutting from other parts of the budget such as tax cuts, prisons, and other subsidies?

Top Stories for Tuesday, Janurary 27 2009

Office of Thrift Supervision to Suburban: Sell or Takeover, Your Choice!

New Laws to be introduced in the Maryland General Assembly 2009.

Two! Yes Two More Prisons Coming To Your Community.

Plus: The Analysis of the Maryland State Budget 2009 (If I have time)

UPDATE: University of Maryland Closed Due to Snow

Well history has repeated itself again. UMD has decided to close for the
remainder of the day at 12:30pm. All afternoon and evening classes has
been canceled. However the basketball game will continue as scheduled.

If you are not a dorm resident in the university I suggest you leave now
and go back home for the rest of the day. You don't want to get frostbit
don't you?

Morning Update

If you are living in the Maryland area you are already aware that the first snowfall of 2009 in our area has arrived. Problem is that unlike most schools in the Maryland area, university's such as the University of Maryland does not easily closedown. So I get the "pleasure" of going to the first week of classes in this weather. The same thing happened in 2007, even though another winter storm successfully closed down the school for two days.

Also in analog deathwatch front, the US Senate has voted to delay the digital changeover to June 12, 2009. The House has to vote for their own bill, and then reconcile it with the Senate. The President Obama has supported a delay in the digital changeover for sometime because the coupon program has ran out of funds. The problem is that the legislation will not actually solve the actual problems. One there are areas where no matter what they do, even if they have to get an outdoor antenna, they can't get any digital reception at all. Forcing them to pay more in monthly fees to satellite and cable television companies. While the FCC advised them licensees that they can install relays to transmit the signal to dark reception spots, they do not have to.

Another big problem with the digital changeover is that it has there is really no actual change in the content. Aside with crappy weather radar, sport archives (NBC's Universal Sport), and bowdlerized movies broadcast in 4x3, they are not really taken advantage of digital television revolution, except for broadcasting High Definition programs. What worse, is that there is no talk of re-regulating the airwaves to ensure that they use the new frequencies for the public interest, becuase they will not. Come on Obama, do I have to demand change in order to see it!?

Although I did see a special on the digital changeover on MPT, and as a concerned citizen I called their toll-free number and asked this question: What if I have a converter box, and I can't get any signal even if I use an outdoor box. Short answer: You should consider subscribing to cable or satellite service. Other questions include that cable companies may not service the area or the satellite may get a clear view of the southern sky. The represenative said that you may petition that cable regulation authority to service the area, and as for satellite, they can hook the dish in such a way so that you can recive satellite serivce. They even say the signal goes through trees.

(If you can prove the last few sentatives wrong, please contact me ASAP.)

Anyway that was your morning update for Tuesday Januray 27, 2007.

News Headline Summary

Here are the top stories for the blog for October 27, 2008.

Slots in Baltimore City?!

Maryland Education Bureaucracy Discovers Long Lost Subject

and...

Maryland Incumbent Serves a Long Political Career.

Your Silence Will Not Protect You.

Remember the Stop Snitching campaign brought to you by Baltimore drug dealers? Yeah these people did not snitched to you,but they eventually don't want to risk them snitching to you. So you get to pay with your lives anyway.

It's truly a sad story, good kids who have a bright future. Yet their silence did not protect them. The code of silence only protects the strong and perpetuates crime. If you see a crime, talk to the police, you can remain completely anonymous, even if you are in a witness protection program.

Great, more budget cuts.

O'Malley (D) predicted an "extraordinarily difficult budget next year" if his administration does not start to pare spending during the current fiscal year. "While these cuts will not be easy, it is clear that the economic crisis our nation is experiencing will have a dramatic impact on next year's budget," he said in a statement.

No comment. Except for one: Tax the corporate pigs more next fiscal year, because I'm getting sick of the word "Budget Cut".

News summary for September 2, 2008.

You pay your sales taxes and property taxes so public schools are supposed to be free. Yet, in the days of perpetually cash-strapped schools, they're charging fees.

I thought all prisons in Maryland I have a protective custody unit, then how come former Howard County teacher Alan Meade Beier was assaulted by five immates inside his cell? Not to mention after he recovered from the hospital, he was in 24 hour segregation.

Did I mention I'm so glad to be back at the University of Maryland, without dealing with economics or math?

OK, Britain is Unfair. Now Tell Me, How You Going To Sort It Out?

Yesterday in the UK, the British Conservative Party has released a report entitled An Unfair Britain: Why Labour Has Failed in Fairness in which one of the main points is that the number of people in “…deep poverty has rising by 900,000 since 1997 and the gap of life expectancy is now the highest since the Victorian age.” That is one of four main facts that are on the first page of the dossier. But if you look closer you’ll realize that the reason why it’s like is not because of Labour’s perceived socialism or its nanny state mentality. Even worse, the Conservative policy website is silent on how to reduce the deep poverty and the gap in life expectancy.

Since 1900 the Labour party was established as a democratic socialist party. It’s manifestos reflected its political orientation, even when Thatcher came to power in 1979. But it all changed in 1997 when Tony Blair came into power under a manifesto that changed Labour into the socialist democratic party into one which supports the "free market" . Since then, they’re more into making deals with business rather than than making deals with the voters. So there is some blame involved with Labor.

But would the Tory’s be any better? I do not think so, because when you actually visit the website, there is no mention on their policy section of their on how to reduce this deep poverty. As for life expectancy, there is a health policy available on their website to read entitled Delivering Some of the Best Health in Europe: Outcomes Not Targets. However it’s more to about focusing on outcomes and phasing out Labour led targets for NHS (National Health Service)

For all it’s worth, I’ll wait for the speech the Tory’s will hold in Parliament today. But by the looks of things, their plans will be no different than Labour’s.

P.S. For your reference to support the second paragraph, see this website of archived UK Labour Party Manifestos dating back to 1900. It's best that you compare the one's dated 1982 and 1987, and the ones dated 1992 and 1997 to understand how Labour changed from the democratic socialist party to one that more caters to the "free market".

The Black Otaku

And now for something different for today, the Cumberland Times-News had featured a story about Otakon 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. The same convention I had a blast of time enjoying last week.

I also like this short description of the recent anime convention:

Halloween gone mad

An Unfair Britian?

Our top story for today, the British Conservatives published a dossier titled "An Unfair Britain" which explains how the gap between rich and poor has been wider than Victorian times under the New Labor's Gordon Brown. This comes to mind that a poll from the Guardian newspaper and ICM that voters would overwhelmingly prefer David "Hug a Hoodie" Cameron by a 21% margin.

But the main question is will conservative policy sort out the problems caused by Gordon Brown? My guess? I think not.

More to come this afternoon (Morning for those in the US).

Live from the Home of Robin Hood!

It's Ndubuisi Okeh blogging from Nottinghamshire, England, launching the 3rd edition of The Modern Day Prophet. From August 19 to August 27 you’ll hear news stories with commentary from Home of the Commonwealth.

P.S. Please pardon the header, it will be replaced tommorrow EST.

Why I Will Not Be Watching the Chinese Olympics

1. The chinese government has proven by their actions that they had and
will not improve their human rights record since they won the Olympic
Bid.

2. King Dubya went to the opening ceremonies despite the fact that china
will not improve said record.

3. The games have become too commercialized.

More later after the weekend. Don't expect me to watch any of the
olympics. Unless there will be a tienamien square incident.

The Prophet Has Spoken.

P.S. I'll be having too much fun at Otakon 2008 to watch the Beijing
Olympics anyway. Fuck Emperor Hu Jintao and his Chinese "Communist"
Party.

Mayor Sheila Dixon...

If you want to end homelessness in the "Greatest City in America", instead of putting homeless people in shelters, here's a better idea. Take ownership of the thousands of boarded up rowhouses in the city, offer the people a $1 rent and a grant to rehablitate the homes.

There, homelessness solved easy.

Source:Shelter plan upsets neighbors -- baltimoresun.com

Here We Go Again.

Yet again, schools in the Washington DC area are planning to, again, increase class size in the face of a tighter budget. Fairfax County,Virginia is planning to save $11 million. Loudoun County,Virginia is planning to save $7.3 dollars. The Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s: their planned savings has not been disclosed, are either seeking to combine smaller classes or cut support staff and teaching specialists.

Haven’t I seen this before last year?

Increasing pay for teachers would not solve another problem: purchasing supplies. Even with the cost of living increases they still have to buy school supplies that the school itself is supposed to buy.

As for the middle class families can transfer to a private or parochial schools, what about children of working class families? What about disabled children? What about those who speak English as a second language? If they remove the specialized staff, they will have a difficult time in school.

Again, this is easily solvable. Repeal the property tax. Implement a county income tax. Use general taxation to fund schools.

As for the class sizes: Reduce classes to 15 students, per class. From elementary to high school.

News Source: To Save Money, Some Schools In Region Plan Bigger Classes

Tuition Increase Likely! Maryland Senate Subcommittee Approves Higher Education Cut!

If you are a student of the University of Maryland chances are you may have seen stickers promising that if you vote Democrat they'll freeze tuition. But sadly there's something called the Universal Laws of Politics. The first rule of the universal rules of politics is that most politicians don't keep campaign promises when actually elected. Such is the case if O'Malley approves those cuts.

A state Senate subcommittee Friday approved over $80 million in total cuts from the governor's proposed budget, including $6.8 million in cuts to the University System of Maryland, which includes the state's 13 universities and research institutions.

...

• More than $10.5 million of the system's unrestricted funds will be held until each institution can prove its student enrollment is growing at a healthy rate. Institutions that meet their goals will be given their portion of this money, and those that don't might see some of their money go elsewhere in the system.

• Nearly $6.8 million in unrestricted funds will be cut from the system budget, and the cuts must be distributed fairly among all the system institutions. The system will be required to spend at least 4 percent more on each student than it did last year.

• $15 million will be cut from the system's allotment of general fund money. In its place, the system will be allowed to take $15 million from the Higher Education Investment Fund, created last year to set money aside for higher education and supplement state funding when needed.

However there is hope:

State officials expect that there will be nearly $15.4 million in the HEIF at the end of this fiscal year, so the subcommittee effectively voted to drain the savings account. When Gov. Martin O'Malley released his budget in January, he proposed using HEIF money to freeze tuition next year and possibly the following year, as well. So even if the General Assembly adequately funds the system this year, next year's safety net is gone.

Madaleno said spending the HEIF money now rather than saving it for later makes sense in the long run. He noted the importance of "keeping higher education off the funding roller coaster" it has been on for about a decade. He said if the state moderates spending during good economic times, cuts when money is scarce won't seem so severe.

But if that HEIF spending plan falls by the wayside, and O'Malley approves the cut, it will be proof that the first rule does apply, and that most Democrats are just as conservative as Republicans since the Regan era.

What's truely senseless?! Sending Youths to Adult Prisons!

James Edward "Lil' J" Smoot was 14 years old when his fellow Bloods gang members pressed a loaded 9 mm gun into his hand and directed him to knock on the door of an Essex man who failed to pay a weekly $250 "protection fee" to sell marijuana on the gang's turf.

When the man, Marquel "Marty" Smith, opened his door, Smoot pulled the trigger, shooting the man in the head and chest.

"He killed him because somebody told him to," prosecutor J.R. Francomano told a judge yesterday at the young gunman's sentencing hearing. "This was nothing less than a gang hit."

Saying he was disturbed by gangs' ability to "suck in young men like this" to commit the worst of their crimes, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Timothy J. Martin sentenced Smoot to 20 years in prison.

While the murder was truly senseless, what is really senseless is that Smoot was been convicted as a adult.

Smoot, now 15, pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder and a handgun charge. He was prosecuted in adult court.

Juvenile courts were established for a reason, to rehabilitate youths and keep them separate from adult prisoners. Due to the "tough on crime" political polices established by the political whores in Annapolis and in Congress more children, as young as 14 are being sent to adult prisons. As I mentioned, prison facilitates are currently run as human warehouses. They do not rehabilitate inmates because the way they are run.

The facts about children in adult jail speak for themselves.

Another Budget Cut?! $300 Million?!

This is proof that no matter who you vote for in the American Idol era, when it comes to bread and butter issues most Republicans and Democrats improve. Especially in the budget cut mania Maryland having for... I don't know, ever?

Lawmakers have been looking for $200 million in cuts in O'Malley's proposed budget to compensate for the flagging economy, but now they are saying that could rise to $300 million or more when updated revenue projections come out next week.

...

Three months ago, O'Malley called the General Assembly into a special session to close the state's structural deficit with $2 billion in tax increases and spending reductions, and a proposal to legalize slot machines that is subject to ratification by voters.

"The likelihood is, given the national economic downturn, that those difficult series of decisions will continue," O'Malley said. "Everybody is looking at the revenue estimates, and if they are coming in lower than projected, there will have to be further cuts."

But I bet there will not be any cuts to corporate welfare and their prison-industrial complex. I can promise you that. But there is one way we can stop this mania: Abolish balanced budgeting.

$2 Million Dollars?! What About Our Profits?!

The O'Malley Government is supporting a bill that would require power plants and other industries that pollute to pay air pollution fees so that the Maryland Department of Environmental Resources to use the money to hire 26 vacant spots for inspectors.

"We need to have adequate enforcement of our air pollution laws, and we don't have that - only 18 inspectors looking after 11,600 sources of air pollution," said Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat and sponsor of the bill. "That means more air pollution, which causes more health problems for people."

Critics of the legislation say that raising the fees on smokestacks would place an unfair burden on businesses and could lead to higher electric bills for a public already complaining about rate increases.

Here's the difference, the latter were just electric bill increases so that Constellation (who owns BGE) to make more profit. The former is a non issue, because air pollution affects everyone. You want to know a better idea? Outlaw all air pollution except for trace amounts.

Why Reasons Why Maryland Needs Universal Free Higher Education

Fee increases for housing and dining and the University of Maryland-UFHE would fully fund not only tuition, room and board, but also basically necessary infrastructure and needs for universities in the University of Maryland system.

Rising Textbook Costs-A monthly living expenses check of 2,000 per semester (and prorated by month on Summer and Winter semesters) with inflation adjustments would help out a lot with rising textbook costs, so that it will not put students into poverty

Negative Consequences of Using Property Taxes as a Main Source of School Funding

To this day many school districts still use property taxes as a main source of funding for their schools. This is despite two caveats: They highlight inequality between wealthy areas and poor areas in the school system. (That is the first one.) Second, housing market can fluctuate: In this case, we are in a recession and the housing loan crisis this. As property values lower, school districts now suddenly forced to make sacrifices just to keep running. It seems like every year they just keep cutting and cutting budgets . Even worse, there's No (Rich) Child Left Behind they have to deal with.

There are other alternatives to this problem, that is by implementing a county income tax. The income tax would be similar to the federal income tax but smaller. Another idea would to limit property taxes to businesses and people who have more than two homes (so they can only tax the second or subsequent home). I would recommend that both of these ideas be implemented next year, if not this year.

ECON 200 Cock-up

If you're reading this we are on a five min break. Actually we where
into almost an hour in my first ECON 200 retake when the projector blew
out.

More updates when available
--jkid4

If you're reading this. My Math111 discussion prof did not arrive.

The reason why I started blogging early in around 9:30am is because my discussion professor for MATH111 did not arrived. There was only about four other students in the small classroom as well. Around 9:15am only one man was in there and was about leave to take a shower. So consider this day a bit unusual, since this is the first week of the spring semester.

Hey Baltimore Housing Authority!

Instead of tearing down public housing for so-called "mixed housing" complexes will only allow few low-income people to live there, why not buy the many empty rowhouses that are still lying there just waiting to be occupied. Everytime I ride on Amtrak or MARC going past Baltimore, I see them waiting to be useful. By buying renovating these houses for occupancy, you can prevent them from being turned into meth labs, crack houses, or even worse...burned to the ground!

Same-Ethinic Hate Crimes! But Why Teens Are Still Doing Them

I would not believe this for a minute: Same Race Hate Crimes?

The threatening words discovered on the side of Virginia Trotter's Odenton home sent a chill down her spine: In dark red spray paint, someone had written a racial epithet and the letters KKK in what she saw as an act of racially motivated vandalism.

Anne Arundel County police investigating the crime weren't so sure: Trotter and her husband are black - but so are the teenage suspects.

After initially saying that it was not investigating the incident as a hate crime, the department reversed course yesterday and said the case deserves "special handling."

Aren't those teenagers still attend high school? If people are supposed to have a education, why not have a mandatory high school course on human diversity? That course would educate students about people of different ethnicities, cultures, gender, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, etc. That would be a great prevention tool against hate crime than reactive laws. (Even though we still need them for those who don't care about diversity)

Sadly, there's No (Rich) Child Left Behind and the sexual orientationalists who would prevent such a thing from happening because the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender variency.(They rather have teens perpetuate hate crimes than give them education about the people who will eventually meet in real life)

Got out of math class

My first math class which I got out of five mionutes ago is a bit of a
summary of the proballity poriton of Math 110 (which I barely passed
with a 62%). But I'm done for the day and need to get back to my room
after lunch.
--jkid4

Trains, Subways, and Bikes

Today's Story: Why Can't the Virginian Commonwealth Government Step Up in Funding?

Yesterday it was announced that without major changes from the Federal Transit Administration, the Dulles Rail Link will be put on the back burner. The Project needs $900 million dollars from the Administration. What's a Commonwealth to do?Here's private equity to the rescue! In the form of the Carlyle Infrastructure Fund. Yet with private funding, part of the project and the end resulting Rail Link will be owned by Carlyle.

But there is a better idea, why not the Virginian Government gives up many of its road buliding projects for the Rail Link? We have too many roads any way and the more we build, the most traffic will come. Why not build a rail track that reduced road traffic?

Requiescat In Pace Karibu Books (1993-2008)

I been to Karibu Books a couple of times while I was living at UMD. Most of the time I just window shopped there. I also remember buying a book from them at the 2006 Green Festival for my mom. So it seem surprising that Karibu Books, possibly the only African-American owned and operated book chain is Going Out of Business.

Yesterday I been to the store and half of it's stock already stripped. All of the books now cost 50% of the retail price. I picked up a few books out of curiosity to see what the prices where. A strange oddity that the final novel of Harry Potter and Densha Otoko (Train Man) manga where stocked at the shop. But in the end even though I got the price of those and 5 other books I wanted to get, it was not wroth it. I could could easily get these books online at a much cheaper cost.

With competition coming from big name bookstores, independent chains such as Karibu are being pushed out of the market. And with little minority ownership in bookstores these days: No book store will possibly replace Karibu.

Corrections?! Do Correctional Facilites Correct S***?!

The Baltimore Sun's coverage of the murder of correctional officer Jeffery A. Wroten while decent, does not cover a another perspective: Do correctional facilities do their job? There are three purposes of prisons: Keep them from society, restrict their freedom, and rehabilitation. But by how prisons are run since the Regan-era, they mostly do the first two right. If prisons were also for rehabilitation, why does this convict who was severing seven years for assault and armed robbery killed a correctional officer?

P.S. The title of this post is based on a lyric from 50 Cent's Bulletproof track called "Maybe We Crazy"

Pardon My Dust

I'm trying to update my blog with a new headers. Sadly blogger is not cooperating so it will take a few days to get that figured out.

Doc Block=Crime Block

While I watch plenty of the programing MSNBC has to offer on their "Doc Block", the majority on what they regularly offer is related to crime. The MSNBC's rebroadcasts of To Catch a Predator and Predator: Raw is about sexual offenders. Lockup and it's current series "Lockup: Extended Stay" and now another integration of the series "Lockup: Raw" is about maximum security prisons and inmates. Their true crimes series particularly "Dark Heart-Iron Hand": murders. While they broadcast other documentaries such as "No Place for a Child", and outside documentaries such as HBO's "Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder", "Supersize Me", and other documentaries, such as "Homeless" series. Most of MSNBC's Doc Block ought to be called MSNBC's Crime Block.

Anyway I'm going to watch Lockup: Raw Criminal Minds, featuring one convict who thinks that killing someone is a no brainier. Expect my synopsis soon after.

Another Anti-Immigrant Law?! From Charles, Again?!

Frederick County Commissioner Charles A. Jenkins has proposed another anti-illegal immigrant law, even though his other one died in council last year. His proposal is to periodically audit local businesses that have building permits for any illegal immigrants. If they are any, the company could be fined and have the workers removed. But his proposal has more questions than answers.

Like, how would the law be enforced and funded? Would the law be funded by the fines it would impose? What about legal immigrants? Also, why enact a local law to enforce federal laws against hiring illegal immigrants. But what about the goal of the proposal? Is it to persuade illegals to leave the country? That and the others remain to be seen.

One Cent Hike! Also, Other Tax Hikes in Effect!

With the State of Maryland in a constant budget crisis that seems to never end, I’m afraid that we will not see a real tax cut for the lower and middle class within our lifetime. With that in mind, Maryland’s sales taxes will rise from 5% (that’s 5 cents per dollar) to 6% percent (6 cents per dollar) tomorrow on Thursday. The hike will, according to the Maryland Governor’s Office, will generate about $900 million in addition revenue. The sales tax will make the state competitive to New Jersey, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The States I have mentioned already have a 6% sales tax.

Other taxes for cigarettes, vehicle titling, and corporations have already in effect as of New Years Day 2008. The tax for corporations has been raised from 7% to 8.25%. Taxes for cigarettes are now two dollars per pack. And vehicle titling tax was raised by 20% to 6 cents per dollar.

This article from Gazette.net has a convenient chart of the tax changes in full around the bottom of the page.

Dissapointment...

While the two houses of the General Assembly voted to expand the top rates of the state income and corporate taxes, consumers will have to fork over more money to sales taxes. Good but disappointing...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

Witness Intidmidation! Howard Park Residence Wrecked by Cowardly Vandals!

Whoever did this ought to be forced to pay every cent towards rebuilding this house. But why they target a house where the suspect is in jail and the suspect is someone's daughter?

The family, who have been living in Howard Park since 1999, found the phrase "rats must be killed" spray-painted in bright red on a wall inside their burned-out foyer last week.

In addition to the graffiti and fire, intruders had upended furniture, tipped over a cabinet and smashed drinking glasses in the two-story, four-bedroom home that had been renovated by the family over the years.

The couple fears that the intimidation might be aimed at the woman's 20-year-old daughter, who is mentioned by name in the graffiti. She does not live at home and has been jailed since July on charges she helped rob a taxi driver.

What's really amazing is that most of these incidents are driven in part by the
drug market that the War on Drugs has supposed to eradicate.

Witness intimidation has been a problem in Baltimore, a city in which the homes
of people who call police on drug dealers have been firebombed and where other
people willing to cooperate with police have been threatened, attacked and even
killed.

Another reason why to end the War on Drugs. Legalize and regulate recreational drugs and horrible incidents like this will occur less frequently.

I Pay Sales Taxes and This Is What I Get?! Another Unmaintained Public School!

This is not the America I know. If we pay taxes we should get safe, well-funded and maintained schools. But no Baltimore students and parents have to put up with this:

The school's principal, Edward D. Weglein, said he was unaware of the water problem until after Baldwin called the system's facilities department.

"Once I heard about it, I said, 'Let's get it done,'" he said Friday. "It's impossible to know something if no one tells you."

School officials acknowledge that work needs to be done at Woodlawn, which is on a state watch list for struggling schools and has experienced frequent turnover in principals.

Kara Calder, the school system's spokeswoman, pointed to examples of work under way or recently completed: the repair of a sidewalk that was torn apart last year; upgrades to a security system; and the installation of a lift for wheelchairs near the gym to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Baldwin says more work is needed. She says the sprawling building's aging windows demand attention because some don't open, some are broken, and others are foggy with years of weathering. A broken roll-up gate has meant the school store can't open. Insufficient outdoor lighting makes the school grounds unsafe after dusk, Baldwin says.

Weglein said a part for the gate has been ordered. He added that windows are sometimes broken during weekends, but are quickly repaired. He said he doesn't think the lighting was inadequate, but he is willing to have someone from facilities evaluate it.

Where do our sales taxes go after we pay them? Overpaid public school principals and sports programs!?

Truce in this Civil War! O'Malley Plans for Referendum!

Republicrat Martin O'Malley calling for a special session of the Maryland General Assembly, which will start on next Monday (that's October 29, 2007) is planning to push a referendum in this coming presidential election. The slots proposal is a small of party to raise funds close the deficit in the state budget. Pursuant to the Maryland Constitution such a proposal has to be approved three-fifths of the House of Delegates and Senate, a higher threshold than a simple bill. If O'Malley want slots so bad, the General Assembly would take advantage of it by changing the proposal in their favor by actually passing a legalized and regulated gambling. But you already know my position on this already.

Zero Tolerance Has Already Failed! Abolish It!

What's the point of having zero tolerance policies if public school systems use them for minor offenses (i.e. drawing something that is percived to be threatening)?

...an autistic girl who blurted out that she wanted to kill her teacher, was
referred to juvenile services for the outburst, although she did not mean what
she said. Those kinds of incidents, he said, are disconnecting students from
their schools and communities, he said.

Many of these zero tolerance policies have already expanded from gun and illegal drug posession to minor issues. The end result is that people of color and special education students are the ones being most affected. With school suspensions and explsions rising in the Free State it's clear that Zero Tolerance has failed. Either the school boards either limit these policies to drug and gun posession and only use expulsion as a last resort, or abolish zero tolerance altogether.

Schooling Is Not a One-Size Fits All Solution

Thankfully, Fredrick County School Board member Leslie Mansfield know this and has decided to home-school her daughter. If any parent wants to homeschool their children the government should not interfere with that right. As long as it's regulated to ensure that the child gets a proper education, there is no problem.

Silver Tsunami! Let the Baby Boomer Social Security Rush Begin!

The Baby Boomers have finally come full circle. Ms. Casey-Kirschling has just applied for Social Security benefits, and she is just one of the many who will apply for benefits in the coming years. Hopefully by the time 2040 social security will still be there, even if it can pay 80% of the benefits.

Nation's 'first' baby boomer, eastern shore woman applies for Social Security - Updates - (HometownAnnapolis.com)

Here's How to Solve the Maryland Budget Crisis.

1. Abolish sales taxes on products under $100
2. Abolish income taxes on low incomers
3. Institute progressive income taxes on well-off and rich.
4. Institute progressive corporate taxes from 1% to 25% depending on profit.
5. Increase tobacco taxes $2 a pack.

If you're real desperate for slots so bad, limit them to horsetracks and central business districts of large cities and let local communities have the final say regarding them.

Source: O'Malley's agenda for the special session -- baltimoresun.com

Commited crime as a Juvenile?! Try him as a Juvenile!

State governments,like the State of Maryland ,that has laws allowing trying juveniles as adults for serious crimes do not realize the consequences of those laws. If tried as a adult, they will have to serve time in adult jail. There are many cases that children are abused or even raped by more macho prisoners in adult jails. Seriously America has forgotten that the original purposes of the juvenile justice system is prevent the abuse of children in adult prison system and instead rehabilitate them. If someone committed a crime as a juvenile, he should be tried as a juvenile. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Public-Private Health Coverage?! Not Good Enough!

As much as a good thing that Harford County is unveiling a plan to provide coverage to about 20,000 uninsured children and adults, it's not enough. Reading this article, it does not mention emergency care. This is one reason why Maryland needs universal, single payer, health insurance ASAP. Preferably O'Malley if he wants to gain more supporters, should pass a bill establishing it.

What is this?! Slow News Day?!

This is yet another slow news day. If you have any interesting stories you like me to report on, email me on the address on the profile.

Red Tape! I Pay Sales Taxes and This Is What I Get!

With all the problems Baltimore is having, even 311 calls won't help if a government service takes it's time. When I mean by "takes it's time", I mean two or three months. If there's something broken in the city infrastructure and if it's easily repaired, they need to do that ASAP.

Sorry mates, they're here to stay.

Great, another proposal to denial services to illegal immigrants. Many anti-immigrants do not know that these same illegal immigrants actually pay sales taxes through purchases of goods or by sales. Meaning they already pay for government services just by working in the area. Denying them services does not make any sense and will force them out into other places. They think that denying them services will persuade them to go back to their own country. I promise you, as soon as they do just that, the county economy will go into recession.

Source Article

Yes, I'm still alive.

I have not updated this blog for over a month but I'm back. I also updated the links section of the blog to better reflect the new focus: Maryland Government, Politics, and Hard News. While there will be a few light stories, trust me there will be no celebrity crap you see on the "local" TV news and if a Maryland news story involves a celebrity, it'll be something related to the three themes.

Regular Blogging will resume on Monday, and by the end of the October, this blog will have a new look.

This Blog is Shutdown Until Further Notice

Due to continuing problems with my laptop, which it's condition is now deteriorating, this blog will not be updated until further notice. That further notice will be by no later by September 10 2007. By that time this laptop will get a full clean bill of health or I'll get a more powerful one. This blog that you'll are seeing right now will change by that time with a new look and focus. Here's a bit of a preview: Sayonara Until September 10!

Stop! Go! MARC Breakdown!

Maryland, like most states in this country is proud to have a railway system that pales to comparison to the British railway system. When highways are better maintained than railways, things like this will happen.

Buy-Out! Montgomery County Expands Housing Powers!

The Montgomery City Council is has approved a bill to buy out apartments before they turned into unaffordable condos to incorporate them into their public housing stock. Other possibilities planned by the council are "building affordable housing on vacant county-owned land. Residences also could be built on top of libraries or fire stations, or incorporated into commercial areas". Meaning they can either buy housing from developers or build their own public housing on their own property or land. Which is seriously important since with the lack of any real affordable housing, they are either stuck homeless or in housing in dangerous areas.

Children Today Are Socialized In All Types to be Sexualized.

Let's start today with something to think about. I have found this nice article regarding how teenagers especially teenage girls are pressured into dressing into provocative clothes to fit into youth culture (read: public school). Let me give you something to ponder about: What is 'appropriate' clothing?

To me it's too institutional (since I have been to a high school that used the word plenty of times.) , but what is considered 'appropriate' really depends on the adult. Some parents are "I got worst problems to worry about" and some parents are traditionally worried for the children type of thing. The main problem is is it really necessary to worry about what their children are wearing. What's the point if children are pressured into wearing such clothes by their peers and media?

This pressure is actually part of a genderization of clothing. Girls are expected by their peers to look like of what a women should be: clothes shopping, wearing tight clothes. The media expects girls to look like that too. Practically girls are being forced to grow up when they get to middle school. So it's really parents, the media, and other peers are pressuring teen girls to become stereotypical girls.

The article focuses on teen girls but what about boys? Teenage boys are forced to look like stereotypical notions of masculinity. Ironically instead of looking smartly dressed like girls , they are supposed to look rough and spartan with Baggy jeans and shirts. Now consider the word 'appropriate' and apply it to teen male clothing, you'll realize that they may been too thuggish or too big to fit without a belt. If a teenage man wanted find a pants or shirt that really fits its size (ie a small shirt with a 28x30 pants) you'll won't find it in most stores and if you do find it the man will run the risk of being subjected to gender or homophobic bullying/harassment.

What we are trying today in this sexophrinic society is to keep children innocent as long as possible until they're 18. And as long as they do not do anything that the person itself be considered 'sexually deviant", everything is fine and dandy. Children are expected by their parents to figure about sexuality and gender outside of the bird and bees. The end result: Stuff like this happens.

What we need to do is instead of worrying how we should dress teens, have teenagers have true freedom of what clothes they want to wear. If a boy is uninterested in baggy clothes and wants clothes that actually fit him or even wants form fitting clothes, let him do that. If a female wants to wear form-fitting (or so called-provocative clothing) let her. We should allow their children to explore sexuality and gender under the guidance of their parents and the school system, so that they will be prepared for it when they become adults.

O'Malley: Tax the Rich

I know that Taxes are a taboo subject in a era of market fundamentalism, but if you really want to fulfill your promise you're going have to raise taxes. When I mean raise taxes, I mean raise them for the rich. Create a top rate of 60% for people who earn at least $50,000 per year. That would raise more than enough to prevent the budget crisis. Then again, O'Malley is probably another neo-liberal Democrat.

Lawsuit! Dimensions Healthcare System Fights for PR Hospital Center!

Dimensions Healthcare System lawyers are suing the Prince Georges County Government for not releasing the funds to help keep the hospital afloat. They argued that the only way they would have got the money is that if four of its board of directors members resign. Without the money the Hospital Center will be forced to closed by early August. This is one more reason why we need Universal Single Payer Health Care. Because if local hospitals like this are forced to shut down, it will effect the community.

A Summer Apology

It was one hell of a coaster ride this school year, especially this is my first year at the University of Maryland. New Resident Orientation, Terpfest, the Stamp All Nighter, Katsucon, cram fests. While my performance (read: GPA) at the actual school year was disappointing, I enjoyed myself. I tell you all those all-nighters, once you have experienced New Student Orientation, your sleep cycle will be wrecked. It has been a blast for this year.

I have been to the Satanic Mechanics shadowcasting of the Rocky Horror Picture Show three times. With the exception for the one on a February weekend because I was at Katsucon at the time. Speaking of Katsucon that was my first anime convention I have been to. Despite not having the pleasure of an overnight stay it was awesome, not to mention it was in a backdrop of a recent snowed DC, with cosplayers galore.

The Iraq War protest by the Feminism without Borders and the International Socialist Organization of College Park was one of the few things I have videographed. That is one of the many events I have used my camera was a camcorder.

There were most films, thanks to the Hoff Theater, for the first time I have ever seen. Some of the films are blockbusters I have never seen before and those I have never heard of. Some of them were seen at advanced screenings. Turistas, Disturbia, Office Space, Shortbus, Battle of Algiers (a classic), Grindhouse (Great film, why premiere it on Easter?), the Little Shop of Horrors, Hot Fuzz, There’s Something About Mary, and An Incontinent Truth.

There are a few classes that I enjoyed: Government 100, Introduction to African American Studies 100, Women in Art and Culture.

Now there is a bit of sad news in this letter. When I first moved from Centreville Hall to the Old Leonardtown Apartments for a summer course, I thought I could spend a night unpacking, set up my desk and spend two weeks with my mom’s. Yet when I set up my laptop to hook up to the campus network for the night and reset the computer, something horrible happened: my computer committed suicide. More particularly it went into a blue screen with a error named unmountable boot volume. Eventually between panicking, calling HP, and using the much lauded HP restore software; I realize that the only way to recover the data by going to a computer shop.

Luckily my father knows of one he used several times. My computer was restored twice there. It was missing a few files and a huge pack of PDF files I have created, but most of them were recovered in my own backups before my first year.

That has served as a good lesson for me. If you have not backup your data, do so now! As a matter of fact if you have not stop what you’re doing and if you have backup equipment (CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, external hard drives) back them up now. If you don’t, buy some now. IF possible, use an offsite file storage system like mozy. Just about $5 a month can save you a lot of pain of a fatal computer crash. If will take a long time to back up every important files, like a few days, but it’s worth it.

Now with me almost through with my summer course, I will be talking about my blog. Due to the computer crash I experienced a month ago I was not able to update my blog in anyway. What I’m planning to do is to revamp my blog to focus on Maryland politics. No more national news or news about college park, but there will be stories regarding public transport or anime when location permits.

So that’s it, regular blogging will resume on Wednesday, hopefully.

Its been one hell of a coaster ride.

I have officially survived my first year at the University of Maryland,
College Park. I have seen moves that I have never been before. Read a
lot of stuff. Eate a lot, got snowed in, studies a lot.

The only complaint, I'd that this year ended witha wimper. The good news
is that I'm getting a two week breather to do the things I supposed to
do in past school year.
--jkid4

Trains, Subways, and Bikes

On the Washington Post's Maryland Briefing there is word that the planned Purple Line to Be extended from 12 to 21 stations. It would require the line to be a tram/light rail or a rapid bus system. If they have the funding to do this, that would awesome. Really, more stations=more ridership and revenue for Metro.

The Oak Hill Saga Continues!

More on the Oak Hill saga and argument over the federal land. Wait, a deal?

Snuffed Out! O'Malley Signs Ban On Public Indoor Smoking! (And other Bills)

Maryland has joined 20 states in banning smoking in indoor public areas. The bill was signed yesterday along with other bills including:

Measures to deny parole to rapists whose victims are children, toughen penalties for gang members and withhold learner's permits for driving from teenagers who miss more than 10 days of school without an excuse also became law.

Mike Grebel: Jail Dubya! Legalize Drugs!

While I must disagree with his proposal for a national sales tax if elected, which is a long shot, I must perfectly agree with his opinion.

Stupid Government Tricks!

I never was suspended in school for a short haircut, as a matter of fact I like my hair short. This person here has actually the same haircut I have right now. But a public school in Texas decided that this haircut was considered disruptive and gave the boy a one-day suspension. Only question: How do the school system define "disruptive?".

No (Rich) Child Left Behind+Overfocus on math, reading, and science= Historical Ignorance

Any Questions?

Desperado! Civil Martial Law in Baltimore?!

Have we seen this before? Another law-and-order legislation that really does nothing about the root causes of crime?

"Desperate measures are needed when we're in desperate situations," said City Council Vice President Robert W. Curran, the bill's author. "What I'm trying to do is give the mayor additional tools."

By introducing the legislation, Curran - who is an ally of Dixon - is promoting increased enforcement at a time when City Hall is moving in the opposite direction, shifting away from zero tolerance and toward an approach that focuses more attention on individual criminals. Dixon has sought to ease tension between police and residents who feel the city's past arrest policies were overzealous.

In addition to closing businesses in the zones, the bill would permit police to limit the number of people who could gather on sidewalks, in streets or in other outdoor areas. It would prohibit the sale and possession of weapons, though Curran acknowledged that weapons used by criminals are almost always already obtained illegally. Zones could be established solely by the mayor, initially for a two weeks, with the option to renew indefinitely.

Mr. Curran, I bet you know the real root causes of crime: drug selling, poverty, underfunded schools, isolated and disadvantaged neighborhood. But you do not really care do you? You just placed that legislation just earn political points. Proof that politicians these days are more interested in maintaining problems rather than resolving them completely. Because if they solve them, these politicians would have no purpose.

The Facts Behind the Stats.

The reason why DC is losing it's black population is mostly of urban renewal. Urban renewal purpose is mostly for Caucasians to enter ethnic communities easier. To do that they jack the house rent up so that the previous residents will forced to leave to areas of lower rent. In this case, Maryland and Virginia. This quote basically sums up what I'm saying:

"What you see are whites moving into the city because they are able to afford the pricey housing in all these areas that are gentrifying and becoming much more middle and upper-middle class," said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. "Meanwhile, the city is becoming more unaffordable to lower-income black families."

It's clear that it is an affordable housing issue and that our "leaders" are doing nothing about it. If I were the DC mayor I would find some kind of way to revitalize public housing. If they were built it would not be built like prisons.

Trains, Subways, and Bikes

"'This is a simplistic solution that is basically, ready, fire, aim,..."

That's the same idea I thought when another another road project has been approved. With global warming a proven scientific theory, the last thing we need is more roads. What Virginia and America needs an expedited expansion of public transport, especially our rail system which is becoming more embarrassing to the modern world by the year.

The Re-Genesis of Oak Hill?!

Immediately down the hall, walk into the Genesis unit, and it's like stepping from a prison into a college dorm -- a particularly quiet one. This experimental unit behind the tall razor-wire fences on the Oak Hill campus in Anne Arundel County is carpeted and freshly painted, with overstuffed couches and a ping-pong table. The cells have wooden beds with comforters. Clusters of kids and guards -- they're called youth development specialists now -- hang out together, laughing and talking about how each boy is doing on his push to get to the next achievement level.

This is the new face of Oak Hill, but don't bother showing it to U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin.

Wait, I did not know Oak Hill had an experimental rehabilitation unit. If it works out DC authorities can rebuild it where it belongs: The District of Columbia. Let Anne Arundel have their park.

Bubba On Board! With a Firearm's Card!

We definitely need a omnibus national firearms law, one that only allows persons 18 years or older to apply for.

The 10-month-old, whose given name is Howard David Ludwig, was issued a firearm owner's identification card after his father, Howard Ludwig, paid the $5 fee and filled out the application, not expecting to actually get one.

The card lists the baby's height (2 feet, 3 inches), weight (20 pounds) and has a scribble where the signature should be.

With some exceptions, the cards are required of any Illinois residents purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition within the state. There are no age restrictions on the cards, an official said.

No comment.

Islamicphobia! Islamic Doctor Got Manhandled!

Islamicpobia, another great American pastime.

Hussain went into a hospital restroom to perform the Islamic ritual, known as wudhu, in which he washed his hands and feet to purify his body and soul before praying. Corban walked into the restroom and proceeded to manhandle Hussain, yell racial epithets at him, push him down the corridor and order him to leave the hospital, Hussain said in an interview and court filings.

Hussain, who lives in Upper Marlboro and is a physician and radiologist in Waldorf, decided after filing the civil lawsuit to pursue criminal charges, said Hussain's attorney, David Ellin.

By description I'm reading, its obvious that it's a hate crime. The Maryland Code has a section regarding it under the Criminal Law Section, Title 10 (Crimes Against Public Health, Conduct, and Sensibilities), Subtitle 3 (Hate Crimes), Section 4 (Harassment; destruction of property.)(That's the Maryland Annotated Code: Criminal Law 10-304 :

§ 10-304. Harassment; destruction of property.

Because of another's race, color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or national origin, a person may not:

(1) (i) commit a crime against that person;

(ii) damage the real or personal property of that person;

(iii) deface, damage, or destroy, or attempt to deface, damage, or destroy the real or personal property of that person; or

(iv) burn or attempt to burn an object on the real or personal property of that person; or

(2) commit a violation of item (1) of this section that:

(i) except as provided in item (ii) of this item, involves a separate crime that is a felony; or

(ii) results in the death of the victim.

Penalty? (pursuant to the Maryland Annotated Code, Criminal Law 10-306)

(b) For violation of § 10-304 of this subtitle.-

(1) A person who violates § 10-304(2)(i) of this subtitle is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $10,000 or both.

And guess what, it is a hate crime:

If convicted, Corban could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $2,500 fine, Sviatko said.

The trial is set for June 26.

New Library in Baltimore! But what about the others?!

It's good to see that there is a new library that has opened in Baltimore. However the Baltimore Sun does not cover the condition of the rest of the libraries in the Enoch Pratt Free Library system. This only gives us a glimpse of their possible condition.

Yesterday's opening of the 27,000-square-foot, $16.2 million library was a boon to a struggling neighborhood. And, as the first brand-new public library building to open in the city in 35 years, it was symbolic of a turnaround for the city's Enoch Pratt Free Library system.

Six years ago the system closed five libraries in some of its poorest neighborhoods. A decade ago, two others were shut down.

Can you say "investigation"?

Jack Up! Prince Georges County Exeutive Plans to Fund Public Education!

Mr. Johnson, there's a better idea to fund public education in Prince Georges County. Instead of raising the telephone tax (What's the purpose of that) or relying on property taxes. Fund them using county income taxes and peg them via the federal income tax.

I'm still not dead. Finals got a hold to me.

Summer term is just around the corner. Plenty of stuff I promise to do in the spring I can finally do here. But in the mean time consider this another slow day.

Bill: Signed Bill: Signed Bill: Signed...

Governor O'Malley signed the Living Wage Act and several bills including:

"The bill freezing university tuition was another that O'Malley said demonstrates the state's commitment to helping 'strengthen and grow our middle class.'

Despite a looming $1.5 billion budget deficit, O'Malley has pledged to try to continue holding the line on tuition at University of Maryland campuses. Annual tuition for in-state undergraduates at the system's flagship campus in College Park will remain at $6,566 this fall.

A separate bill signed yesterday calls for a state study of textbook costs for college students. The bill was sponsored by Del. Craig L. Rice (D-Montgomery), a freshman lawmaker.

Another bill to help working families that became law yesterday will give counties more flexibility in promoting affordable housing programs.

O'Malley also signed a bill to rename the district courthouse in Silver Spring for former Judge L. Leonard Ruben, who collapsed and died outside the building in March. His widow, former state Sen. Ida G. Ruben (D-Montgomery), was at the ceremony yesterday."

Regarding the budget deficit O'Malley I have one suggestion: Tax the Rich.

I'm Not Dead! And This Blog Isn't Either!

It's just one of those times where you have to only concentrate on final papers and exams. Yes it's that time again at Universities across the United States: We're approaching Finals Week. I'll catching up with the news that's here today.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

The Math Nightmare is Over. Until This Fall.

I have finally completed the coursework for Math 003, and will finally having my final text next week. That's one class out of the way...

Arrest Warrants Issued! ICC wants Ahmed and Ali

Finally, we're getting some progress on the Darfur situation.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued its first arrest warrants over the Darfur conflict for a Sudanese minister and a Janjaweed militia leader accused of murder, torture and rape.

The two men are: Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's secretary of state for humanitarian affairs and a former minister in charge of Darfur; and Ali Kosheib, a principal leader of the Khartoum-backed Janjaweed.

They face a long list of 42 and 50 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes respectively.

Any way you can nab these guys, do so. Sudan will do anything to resist any attempt.

Car-Free Zones?! Americans Should Expand Them.

To Car Drivers: Don't like the idea? Use Public Transport!

Tanks! What is It Worth!? Absolutely Nothing!

Interest why SWAT teams are so much popular these days: Blame the Pentagon.

The Pentagon giveaway program began in the late 1980s, and is almost certainly responsible for the dramatic rise in the number of SWAT teams across the country, which led to the 1500 percent increase in the number of total deployments over the last 25 years, and to the increasing use of paramilitary tactics for nonviolent crimes. Many criminal justice experts say the program, along with the fact that SWAT teams and narcotics officers are often trained by former members of elite military groups like the Army Rangers or Navy Seals is responsible for the "cowboy" mentality that pervades many SWAT and narcotics units.

It isn't hard to see why. Outfit domestic police officers in military clothing, arm them with military gear, train them in military tactics taught by ex-military personnel, then tell them they're fighting a "war" on drugs, and we shouldn't be the least bit surprised when they treat city streets like battlefields, drug offenders like enemy combatants, and victims like Katherine Johnston and Isaac Singletary as mere casualties of war. Posse Comitatus isn't some quaint relic from the Civil War era. It shows a clear understanding between the two institutions' missions. One is charged with protecting our rights. The other is charged with annihilating an enemy. It's probably a good idea not to get them confused, no?

Normally I would not post from a libertarian news source but this is relevant because the War on Drugs are fueling the rise of SWAT teams. What's the point of them anyway? Police and the armed forces are not the same. Congress ought to keep them separate. (But that will never happen)

Modern Day Slavery! Tanzanian Sues Country's Envoy!

Human Trafficking is no different from historical slavery.

The lawsuit states that Alan Mzengi drafted a contract stipulating that she would work eight hours a day, five days a week taking care of the couple's house and their children. She would be paid $900 a month, from which $150 would be deducted for room and board. The contract also stated that she would be eligible for overtime pay, according to the lawsuit.

About a month after she started working at the couple's home in Bethesda, Mazengo said, she realized her bosses weren't going to adhere to the terms of the contract. But she felt that she had no recourse, she said, because the couple took her passport and because she spoke virtually no English.

Mazengo said she was forced to work from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day caring for the couple's children, cleaning and cooking, according to the suit. Additionally, she cooked for the couple's African food catering business, which they ran from their home, the suit states.

On one occasion, Mazengo said in the interview and in the lawsuit, Stella Mzengi struck her in the face. The couple also refused to take her to a doctor for more than two years as ingrown toenails became so painful she couldn't wear shoes, Mazengo said. Despite her condition, Alan Mzengi "ordered her to shovel snow in her bare feet," according to the suit.

In August 2004, Mazengo said, when she asked Alan Mzengi for her wages, he bought her a one-way ticket to Tanzania and told her she would be paid when she returned home. Mazengo called one of the clients of the catering business, who had been friendly to her, to say goodbye. During the phone call, Mazengo said, she began to weep and told the customer about the conditions she had endured. The customer asked her to take a cab to her home, where she eventually got in touch with CASA de Maryland, Mazengo said.

Honestly, I do not care about diplomatic immunity. Slavery and Human Trafficking is a crime, and anyone who is convicted of should go to jail and pay the back wages of any and all victims by prevailing living wages of each day they have been enslaved.

DC Want to Build Another Oak Hill

...D.C. should build its replacement facility somewhere in the District, closer to the homes and families of the youths detained.

That's what the DC Government should do, instead of building another Oak Hill facility.

Corrupted! NeoLiberal Bush Allowed Student Loan Controversy!

This is why neoliberalism sucks, it only benefits the wealthy. Like the student loans controversy that's reported on today's Washington Post. To tell you the truth, I rather have the Department of Education abolished loans and use the money to be used for those loans into expanding PELL grants.

How to Address a Budget Deficit?

Here's some ideas: Repeal the sales tax, legalize slots, and raise the state income tax for rich folk. That should be easy. (But politics is never easy.)

Another Reason to End the War on Drugs

NORML to UMD Police:

"Maybe they should be working on other types of crime instead of busting students with small amounts of pot," Cosner said. "I mean, who are they helping? This is not keeping me safe."

Crime Alerts! Comming to a Cell Phone Near You!

UMD Alert has launched for all your emergency notifications.