Judge, Jury and Executioner- Death Penalty for Contempt of Cop?

I don’t generally have problems with police, or any authority figure for that matter. When I was younger I even had occasion to be “arrested” by a very nice police officer who chose not to handcuff me, and made me sit in the corner (instead of in a cell) at the police station while I waited for the also very nice bail bondsman the nice policeman had called. He was so polite and considerate at one point he actually felt the need to say “you realize you are under arrest don’t you?”. (minor traffic ticket snafu – nothing really serious) It would seem I am so obviously harmless I don’t even scare squirrels, rabbits or groundhogs out of my path while walking my dogs. —- the dogs are apparently not very intimidating either.

I will also mention that I have had particularly positive encounters with the Howard County police. Though I have not actually been arrested by them, I have had many contacts with several who have been just lovely – apparently conscientious and competent.

I mention all this because I am probably not likely to be tasered anytime soon. So when I say that I am horrified by the tidal wave of taser deaths and injuries it is not because I am a cop hating anarchist or criminal.

I can see how this tool (the taser) could be a life saving implement under the right circumstances and in the right hands. But like any tool – it can be deadly and must be very carefully and judiciously utilized.

In light of the mounting body of data from “real life” in the field use of this weapon – I hope our own Howard County government and police officials are continuously evaluating our community’s procedures and policies to make sure we do not have the same tragic results which are becoming all too common.

I am troubled to learn that it is permissible for HoCo police officers to “pepper spray” subjects for “verbal aggression” (talking back) —- surely this is only a matter of providing police with an opportunity to exact punishment for the “crime” of “contempt of cop”. What other crime does the cop on the street get to indict, try, judge, and execute sentence for personally? But at least pepper spray does not routinely kill people.

Tasers, on the other hand, have been killing people on a fairly regular basis. What a shock! [no pun intended;)]. Shocking someone with tens of thousands of volts of electricity – often in the direct areas of the heart — it is hard to imagine it can come as a surprise when people die of heart beat problems.

In cases where a traditional gun shot would truly have been used if not for the availability of the taser – then that is a risk our community can reasonably take (imho) —- but for anything short of the true need for potentially lethal force we should have very strong policies against the use of the tasers.

Look at the recent death in Frederick County of the 20 year old man. He was shot with the taser by an officer “trying to break up a fight”. Can it seriously be argued that had the officer not had the taser that he would have been forced to shoot the fighters with his gun? Is that how we want HoCo police to respond to a fight?

Bottom line – I sincerely hope HoCo officials maintain an ongoing vigilance regarding the policies and procedures for the appropriate use of these taser weapons. As much as I respect our police force – I do not believe it is appropriate for the power to pass judgment and inflict punishment to rest in one set of hands…. particularly when the crime can be “talking back” and the punishment can be death.

cindy v

MD General Assembly, Howard County Delegation Public Hearing Thur 11/29 @ 7:30 PM.

Thursday, 11/29 @ 7:30 PM in the Howard building Banneker room.

The Howard County delegation will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2008 local bills.   A full listing of the bills that will be presented can be found at the Howard County State Legislation page.

The bills to be presented include:

•  Allowing speed cameras in Howard County (Ho. Co. 07-08 (pdf))
• $500K each for Robinson Nature Center, North Laurel Community Center, Blandair Regional Park.
• Property tax credit for “water only” district (Ho. Co. 09-08 (pdf))
• Multiuse septic system regulations (Ho. Co. 11-08 (pdf)) and requiring performance bod (Ho. Co. 12-08 (pdf))
• Changing the date (again?) of the filing date for the Annual Financial Audit (Ho. Co. 06-08 (pdf)).
• …

Come on out and show your interest in local affairs.  Senator James Robey and the other elected Democrats showed that your emails and phone calls are worthless, but it may be harder to ignore you in person.

Did you ever feel like this…

Talk about what ever you want to talk about today.

Reader / Writer

One of our readers sent a letter the editor regarding recent tax hikes.  The Baltimore Sun published it.  Thanks for sharing Tom.

Cuts should come before tax increases

Home Equity

Just a quick survey.

How many of our readers took out a home equity loan over the past few years? 

Apparently across the country a lot of people did so that they could live a lavish lifestyle, pay for an expensive wedding, a car, etc.  Others took a home equity loan for the new roof, or new windows, or some other improvement – investing in one’s home is good.  Although tempted to do so we never touched the equity in our home. 

Unfortunately, many who did, in order to finance a lifestyle rather than home improvements, find themselves owing more on their houses than they are worth.  Sound familiar – this is like the late 70s early 80s all over again.

This also has some undertones of what is going on in Annapolis now.  Living beyond our means.  Going to the well once to often.

I am wondering how many people in Howard County are like the man in this article.

He and his bride exchanged vows on the grounds of a sumptuous private estate in the Napa Valley. They spent their honeymoon at a resort in Tahiti.

He had a choice.  Don’t have such a grandiose wedding but

rather than scale back, he chose instead, like millions of homeowners across the country, to borrow against the soaring value of his home.

 Here is the beginning of the article

RENO, Nevada:As his wedding day approached last spring, Marshall Whittey found that his money could not keep pace with the grandiosity of his plans. But rather than scale back, he chose instead, like millions of homeowners across the country, to borrow against the soaring value of his home.

He and his bride, Holly Whittey, exchanged vows on the grounds of a sumptuous private estate in the Napa Valley. They spent their honeymoon at a resort in Tahiti.

But now, in an ominous portent for the national economy, Whittey has grown tight with his money. His home is worth far less than it was a year ago, and his equity has evaporated. And like many other involuntary adopters of a newly economical lifestyle, he can borrow no more.

“It used to be that if I wanted it, I’d just go and buy it and finance it,” Whittey, 33, said. “I’m feeling the crunch, and my spending is down significantly.” (kinda like the General Assembly).

This article from the International Herald Tribune is based upon a paper written by by James Kennedy, an economist, and Alan Greenspan (yes, that one).

Many experts are expecting a slow down in the economy because this type of borrowing and spending is slowing, yet the consumer spending is still growing at 3.9% last summer.  When will these lines cross?

If consumption does slow down enough to throw us into recession it is a good thing that the dollar is falling in value against other currencies in that we can generate a lot more revenue on our cheaper exports.  I don’t know if it would be enough to make up for the loss in consumer spending (the engine of our economy).  Clearly, our engine has been fed by easy credit.  Seems like we have been fed easy credit so we can spur the economy and now those lending the money may have ended up suffocating the engine with too much paper money.

Couple this with the average savings rate of Americans.  In 2006 we spent $42B more than we saved.  Yep, it is true.  Nearly 28 million U.S. households–37% of the total–do not own a retirement savings account of any kind and on average have only saved $25,000 per family for retirement.  Half of the households headed by a worker aged 55 to 59 have $10,000 or less in a 401(k) or in an IRA – they may have retirement plans (I don’t anymore). 11% of all Americans have retirement savings of $250,000 or more. In order to replace an income of $100,000, most retirees would need savings of $1.5 million – very few of us on on that trajectory.

This is scary stuff.  Any young workers out there reading this – now is the time to save.  You would not believe what $1,000 invested today would be worth in 30 or 40 years – $10,000 to $22,000, notice the $12,000 jump between 30 and 40 years?  The miracle of compound interest baby!  If you saved that $1,000 now and added $100 every month to it then the values look like this, an additional $10,400 to $26,000.  If you have a 401k or 403b that your employer will GIVE matching funds to then all the better.  Free money is the best gift one can get. This is just a rough sketch of expected returns. If one is 25 years old and single earning $35,000 per year and puts 10% away with your company matching part of that you would have $900,000 by the time you were 65 years old.

What is the solution for this 25 year old? Get married and double your income. Go back to school and get a better job. Save more and spend less (hear me Martin O’Malley). It is hard for a 25 year old to think this far out. Someone who is 35 years old might feel behind the eight ball and be demotivated to improve their circumstances. It doesn’t matter. I don’t know about you but I would rather be middle class and frugal than old and poor. How about you?

When the papers quote experts talking about the sub-prime mortgage mess (which looks to drag out much longer) I wonder how much of the problem is associated with home equity loans rather than mortgages.  How less of a problem would the credit crunch be if we saved more and took a longer term view of our financial position.

I wonder if the fact that other cultures that are so much older than ours have an easier time to think long term. According to this report their is no linkage.

U.S. workers save on average $696 a month for retirement, more than double the amount saved by workers in Germany, Italy and France, and nearly 10 times the amount saved by workers in China. Eight of 10 working Americans surveyed have already started saving for retirement.

Encouraging, but is it enough?  Any thoughts?

Senator Robey – Honorable Mention

Senator Jim Robey got an honorable mention on the “O’Malley Watch” blog.

Apparantly when it comes to citizen input on the massive tax increases making their way through the special session of the General Assembly our:

“…opinions are worthless.”

Par for the course if you ask me.

The full excerpt here:

You can tell that the e-mails and phone calls are having some effect.  According to reports on the Ed Norris Radio Show, the Senator representing Columbia, James Robey (he might live there now too) has staffers that are telling callers and e-mailers that their opinions are worthless. Well, Robey did vote for every tax increase, but let it put a smile on your face to know that you’re hard work is at least pissing them off.  Keep it up.  James Robey: (410) 841-3572 (office number)

Law and Order

This is a great article about citizen involvement.  Don’t try this at home!!!I have known Judge Tom Ward for a long time in that he and his wife are very active:

…in Baltimore’s Irish-American community and helped found the Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers Memorial on Lemon Street.

We were also neighbors when I lived in Bolton Hill.  My experience in Bolton Hill was great.  I liked the neighborhood a lot and really liked my Church (Corpus Christi) where I was married. 

The downside was that Bolton Hill is surrounded by some tough neighborhoods.  The residents of those neighborhoods and Bolton Hill are often preyed upon by criminal elements from some of those neighborhoods.  One is always on the alert when walking at night.  For example, when I arrived home one night after an evening out with my girl friend (turned wife) through the alley to my back door we noticed that the brick and concrete wall across the alley behind my neighbor’s house had collapsed.  As it was relayed to us it turned out that another neighbor was having a dinner party that evening.  When the hostess went in to her kitchen to check on the meal in the oven she came face to face with an invited guest (aka burglar) in her kitchen (very brave of the burglar).  Well, she raised the alarm.  The burglar took off with the entire dinner party in pursuit.  The burglar catapulted over the wall in question which promptly collapsed under his weight.  He got away. 

That is just one of many stories I could tell about crime and life in the city.  Judge Ward is well aware of these problems as he has lived with them for many years.  Given his character this act of bravery comes as no surprise to me. He and his wife, Joyce,  are dedicated to their community and neighbors.   I can not think that Judge Ward would have (even could have) behaved any other way.  To boot he is a Democrat!  Go figure (for you rabid partisans – that is tongue in cheek).

He was messing with the wrong guy.

When 80-year-old Thomas Ward, a former city councilman and retired Baltimore Circuit Court judge, heard someone hollering “Police! Police!” while he took a walk the other day near his home in Bolton Hill, he didn’t flinch.

The Baltimore Sun Article in it’s entirety.

This is funny!

Governor O’Malley sent this out last night  Tell Them the Truth  

• We can make Maryland’s tax system fairer for the middle class – by raising taxes on everything.  On one hand O’Malley wants to convince you he wants a fair income tax but he wants to pick your pocket on sales taxes.

• We can reform taxes so most Maryland families pay less.

• We need to repeal Ehrlich’s 58% property tax hike.  Smoke and mirrors.  Glendenning cut property taxes, Ehrlich raised them, O’Malley wants to give you a $.03 cut but raise everything else.  He is just being dishonest.

• We should give 95% of Marylanders an income tax reduction which more than makes up for the one penny sales tax for most working families.  Sure it does.  Please show me the numbers?  Now what about chasing people over the line to Delaware and Virginia for big ticket purchases.  How much revenue is that going to cost us.

• Why are they not talking about the gas tax increase?  More smoke and mirrors?  Del. Warren Miller explained the scheme so well in his newsletter to district 9a

 

Several problems exist here. Let me set the backdrop first. In years past, it was part of the legislative process for the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) to go before the legislature and make their request known and support it with empirical evidence in order to receive tax dollars for projects. Gov. O’Malley’s plan is an end run around this process. If Gov. O’Malley gets his way, the MDOT will no longer be subject to legislative scrutiny, nor will they be obligated to provide evidence to support their need for tax dollars. Gov. O’Malley wants to tie the gas tax to the cost of road construction (an index which grows faster than the CPI) and fund the Transportation Trust Fund. This is undermining a time tested and constitutionally sound process of accountability as well as legislative authority and process and turning it into a welfare system for Transportation Trust Fund without any supervision or accountability.  

Tell them: The Obstructionists are wrong  

• We must move beyond partisan conflict to find consensus (So we are going to call our opponents obstructionists because we are not partisan).

• We must restore fiscal responsibility and get our fiscal house in order once and for all.  (How about recognizing the problem that the General Assembly created – not Glendenning, Ehrlich or O’Malley – over spending and unfunded mandates.  They screwed us and now they want us to pay up.  They really have no regard for the people’s money.)

• We must protect our investments in education, health care and public safety that are critical to the future of the state we leave our children.  (No S&&& Sherlock – go ahead tug at the heart strings.  Show me were we are falling short on any of these initiatives and why we need more money.)

• We can accomplish this in a way that not only protects our competitive advantage with surrounding states, but is also fairer to the working people of Maryland. (What?  We are more heavily taxed than any of our neighboring states.  What the hell does this mean?)

 

Don’t be Fooled 

• The obstructionists (remember they are not PARTISAN) helped hike taxes by over $3 billion on the middle class and hiked spending by 32% for the previous 4-year administration.  (So cut them and stop unfunded mandates, and cut spending).

• The obstructionist plan would NOT solve the INHERITED STRUCTURAL DEFICIT. (Neither will yours – it is about unfunded mandates).

• But, the obstructionists would cut hundreds of millions from priorities important to you – FOR EXAMPLE: $300 million from Education – $42 mil from Baltimore, $50 mil from Prince George’s, $22 million from Montgomery, $11.5 mil from Frederick, $5 mil from Calvert, $12 from Harford, and on and on and on… (Your point being that we should not cut spending – you also neglect to point out that they all get funding increases.  You only want to depict it as a cut because the increases are not as much as yours).

 They really must think people are stupid.  They claim to be non-partisan but the entire message is repleat with partisan slander and language.  They have one goal and one goal only – massive tax increases to solve a problem the General Assembly created years ago.  They don’t want to do the necessary things – like cut spending and bite into the pocket of their liberal/progressive supporters.  Why not, those folks will do everything they can to keep the democratic party in powere in Maryland.  We will have these problems for as long as they remain in power too.