On cops, speed cams and that Cox guy who wants Hogan gone
Nobody asked me to go ice fishing this winter, and that’s fine with me.
Nobody asked me, but if you want to reduce your chances of getting a ticket from the new speed cameras on the Jones Falls Expressway, I have a suggestion: Take an MTA bus or light rail. Try it, you might even like it.
Nobody asked me, but City Hall deserves praise for finally eliminating insult from injury: People who have their cars stolen in Baltimore no longer must pay the $100-plus towing fee to get their wheels released from impoundment. Suddenly, this city feels two degrees less appalling.
Nobody asked me to go ice fishing this winter, and that’s fine with me.
Nobody asked me, but instead of constantly knocking Police Commissioner Michael Harrison for staffing shortages, maybe the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 could help recruit new officers. The union blamed the recent fatal shooting of James Blue, husband of a police lieutenant, on the officer shortage and Harrison’s efforts to reduce overtime costs. (Police had a search warrant for the home of a teenager later charged with Blue’s death, but they did not execute it until after the Jan. 25 shooting.)
Two years ago, reporting on what it called the “mismanagement of the Baltimore Police Department,” the FOP listed a bunch of things the BPD should do to recruit new officers. Maybe it’s time for the
FOP to help with that instead of expecting the department to do it all.
Nobody asked me, but the real frustration in the Blue homicide starts with Maryland law — that is, the teenage suspect had been charged in late December with a misdemeanor gun offense
(the unlawful discharging of a firearm), making his arrest less than a priority for police.
But why is such a gun offense a misdemeanor? Even so, why would a teenager charged with any gun offense, apparently known to police as a gang member suspected of an armed robbery in Baltimore County, be allowed to roam freely and attend a city high school for nearly a month before police took action? We have a shortage of cops, without a doubt. Looks like we have a shortage of red flags, too.
Nobody asked me, but some federal official needs a course in flag identification. Reporting Thursday’s guilty pleas of Matthew Miller, a young guy from Howard County who took part in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice said Miller was “draped in a Confederate flag.” In fact, photos of Miller show him proudly sporting a Maryland flag on his shoulders as he engaged in what the Republican Party calls “legitimate political discourse” by shooting off a fire extinguisher at police.
Nobody asked me, but, if I were a federal judge sentencing any of the 725 “patriots” arrested in the Capitol attack, I’d be tempted to admonish each defendant with four words: “Grow the hell up.”
They didn’t ask me, but all those ardent Trump supporters who believe their man actually won the 2020 election need to remember: Presidents are limited to two terms. If your man won in 2020, he’s ineligible to run in 2024. Capeesh?
Nobody asked me, but I’d pay cash money to see Larry Hogan and Michael Steele as the leads in a production of “Waiting For Godot.”
They and other so-called moderate Republicans are waiting for the day when the GOP is no longer the lie-embracing, science-dismissing, vote-suppressing, seditionist party of Donald Trump. That’s going to be a long wait. Even if Trump gets indicted, current conditions (political tribalism, wingnut extremism) will prevail.
And Trump has understudies; they’ve been rehearsing to succeed him during the pandemic. “I think the world’s going to be a different place a year from now,” Hogan said the other day. Yes, the Ravens will be in the Super Bowl. But that’s about it.
Nobody asked me, but the new “Jack Reacher” series on Amazon Prime is a must-miss. Unless you want sadistic, gratuitously disgusting images flashing through your amygdala, take a pass.
As an alternative, go to PBS for the pastoral “All Creatures Great and Small.” Try it, you might even like it.
Nobody asked me, but his colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates should be inspired by Dan Cox, the Trumpie guy who wants to impeach Hogan. They should be inspired to censure Cox for a stupid stunt — and further inspired to make a rule imposing fines on publicity-seeking lawmakers who file frivolous bills and resolutions.
Nobody asked me, but if you’re skeptical of mincemeat and happen to have a jar of the stuff in the pantry, suggestion: Throw it away. … Or add a couple of tablespoons to the filling of your next apple pie. Try it, you might even like it.
Nobody asked me, but the recent audit on Baltimore’s water billing system raises even more doubts — to the point where a customer’s limited trust dwindles to zero. But I can’t face the questions anymore.
They give me a headache. So I just pay. Someday, I suspect, an auditor will discover that we’ve all been overbilled and large refund checks will arrive and we’ll be rolling in Peanut M&Ms.
Nobody asked me, but here’s a prediction: The Rams will beat the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, 31-10. It will be a dullish game, the halftime show being the best part of the evening. At 9 p.m., millions will turn their weary eyes to PBS and “All Creatures Great and Small.”
And they will like it.