Free Republic

If you've seen HBO's "The Wire," you know why those of us who live in Baltimore are often asked whether our city really is the hellhole it is portrayed to be on TV. Our answer is, well, yes. Baltimore deserves the Third-World profile it has developed because it has expanses of crumbling, crime-riddled neighborhoods populated by low-income renters, an absent middle class, and just a few enclaves of high-income gentry near the Inner Harbor or in suburbs. This wasn't what Baltimore looked like in the 1950s. Then it was a prosperous, blue-collar city. [Snip] Today, the city has a population...

The Ravens probably have enough on their plate right now, what with a new coach and a new quarterback and Derrick Martin's recent citation for alleged marijuana possession and impersonation of a Cincinnati Bengal, but they still found time to run afoul of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Date/Time: 6/25/2008 3:20:34 PM Title: Baltimore Sun announces downsizing plans Posted By: Jim Romenesko Memo from Baltimore Sun publisher Tim Ryan Sent: 6/25/2008 3:00 PM Subject: Organizational Update Dear Employees / Owners, The two key factors that will sustain our company for the future are customer satisfaction and financial stability. Achieving both goals is challenging in the very best of market conditions. In the face of today’s tough economy, adapting to consumer trends while maintaining our fiscal strength is proving to be even more difficult – yet even more critical. Our long-term strategy of going on offense and creating growth...

Gun Facts version 5.0 is now available A new version of Gun Facts is now available, both as a free e-book and as a printed version. Gun Facts debunks all common gun control myths. Organized by gun control myths and with over 480 detailed citations, firearm policy wonks can rapidly refute the Brady Campaign, the Violence Policy Center, the Legal Community Against Violence, and other cauldrons of canards. Gun Facts 5.0 has 94 packed pages of information. Gun Facts is grouped into chapters on common gun control topics (assault weapons, ballistic finger printing, firearm availability, international, etc.) which make finding...

Anti-gun Mayor Sheila Dixon (Baltimore) was awakened at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17 by investigators with the state’s prosecutor’s office. Seven hours after the raid, they left carrying boxes, folders, and a blue cooler. For over two years, state prosecutors have been investigating Mayor Dixon’s questionable financial dealings during her time as the City Council’s President between 1999 and 2007. Mayor Dixon, who has called for broad restrictions on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, is a member of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group "Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns."

Orlando, Jun. 13, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The Archbishop of Baltimore has revealed that he planned to banish the Legionaries of Christ (LC) from his archdiocese before Vatican officials persuaded him to impose restrictions on the Legionaries instead. In an unusually candid interview with John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien disclosed that he had gone so far as to inform the priests' council of the Baltimore archdiocese that he would tell the Legionaries to leave. The archbishop said that the announcement was warmly received. However, after consulting with Vatican officials, Archbishop O'Brien agreed to discuss his concerns...

The lamestream media told you: Gun deaths and gun violence are a national scourge that must be met with strict common-sense gun laws, to prevent rampant violence in society. Everyone is affected, so everyone must be subject to controls. The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that: In an effort to prove the “news” myth paraphrased above, The Baltimore Sun, which features standard anti-gun-rights bias in its reporting, published an interactive map of homicides in the Baltimore area. Unfortunately for its inventors, the map only confirms what rights advocates have been declaring for decades — it’s not a gun problem, it’s a...

PIKESVILLE, Md. (WJZ) ― Officers Vickie Warehime and J. Posluszny Jr. have solved a lot of mysteries, but this one is over their heads--literally. In fact, it may be about 30 to 40 feet in the air. For months, the Baltimore County Community Outreach officers have been investigating a bizarre phenomenon disturbing neighbors in an area of Pikesville near Beth Tfiloh Community School. Now, they say they may be closer to an answer. Derek Valcourt reports 911 callers complain about a deafening explosion and a bright flash of light in the middle of night. "The bedroom actually lights up like...

Six days after she was sucker punched and beaten in her own Baltimore classroom, high school art teacher Jolita Berry still finds it almost impossible to watch the MySpace video of the attack. And she can’t make herself go back to work.... The attack happened last Friday morning in Berry’s classroom in Reginald F. Lewis High School in Baltimore. One of the girls in the class approached the 30-year-old teacher and got nose-to-nose with her and threatened her. ...The video, recorded on a cell phone by another student, picks up with Berry on the floor trying to defend herself while...

A difficult economy and a steeper-than-expected decline in revenue could prompt the new leadership of Tribune Co. to re-evaluate its plan to keep all of the media giant's assets, Tribune chief executive Sam Zell said yesterday. Zell, the motorcycle-riding real estate mogul who took control of Tribune in an $8.2 billion sale in December, has previously said he intended to keep Tribune's core newspapers. Besides The Sun, those papers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday and smaller papers in Florida, Virginia and Connecticut. Zell didn't rule out the possibility of asset sales. Asked if he would consider selling...

BALTIMORE - Banished smokers taking nicotine breaks outside bars in one of Baltimore City’s trendy neighborhoods are being told to move or face fines and arrest for loitering, bar owners said. Hampden bar owners said they were shocked last week when police began warning patrons to move 150 feet away from the entrance of bars they were patronizing or face loitering charges. “Loitering has always been a legitimate problem in the neighborhood that we couldn’t get police to deal with,” said Benn Ray, owner of Atomic Books and head of the Hampden Village Merchants Association. “So why all of sudden...

Sen. Barack Obama got a rock star's welcome from supporters in College Park and Baltimore yesterday, stirring his supporters into a frenzy on the eve of Maryland's presidential primary. With trademark themes of hope and change, Obama quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., pledged to end the war in Iraq and applauded young people for their unprecedented turnout in this year's nominating contests. "I am running because of what Dr. King called the 'fierce urgency of now,'" Obama said to a raucous crowd of about 20,000 at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. "And that...

Pro-life crisis pregnancy centers would get state funds if program gets go-ahead in Md. ANNAPOLIS, Md. (The Catholic Review) - The Maryland Catholic Conference is asking state lawmakers and Gov. Martin J. O’Malley to support the Pregnant Women Support Act, legislation that would partner the State of Maryland with non-profit organizations to help women in crisis pregnancies. Based on a much-touted Pennsylvania program administered by Real Alternatives, Inc., the proposed Maryland program would help women who want to keep their babies rather than abort them. Money for the program would be earmarked for the Maryland Department of Human Resources, which...

BALTIMORE, Md. (The Catholic Review) - When Father Gerard Francik recently interviewed a 19-year-old man who was thinking about becoming a priest, the archdiocesan vocations director asked him to talk about his prayer life. The former high school football player told Father Francik how he faithfully makes a holy hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, attends Mass or Communion services, prays the rosary and observes the liturgy of the hours – every day. “I was just blown away,” said Father Francik. “He was very dedicated to his faith.” That young man is typical of the kind of people who...

Legal Action Taken Against Bus Beating Victim Sunday, December 30, 2007 WBAL Radio as reported by Anne Kramer The attorney for one of nine Baltimore middle school students charged with beating a woman on a city bus says the student has filed assault charges against that woman. Nakita McDaniels' attorney Kimberly Thomas says the teen's complaints that Sarah Kreager assaulted her were not investigated by police or the State's Attorney's Office. Thomas says McDaniels filed charged on Friday and trial is set for Jan. 31, the same day the trial for the nine teens charged in the assault on Kreager...

Prosecutors in Baltimore have decided not to charge the nine middle school students accused in the beating of a 26-year-old woman on a city bus with a hate crime as a judge postponed their trial yesterday until Jan. 31. In court yesterday, Assistant State's Attorney Janet S. Hankin requested the addition of two charges: malicious destruction and disorderly conduct. The teens had previously been charged with aggravated assault and destruction of property.

Boy, 14, shot in the leg on bus in West Baltimore By Michael Dresser 12:00 PM EST, December 26, 2007 In the latest of a series of violent incidents on Maryland Transit Administration property, a 14-year-old boy was shot and wounded on board a bus in West Baltimore this morning, according to city police. Agent Donny Moses, a department spokesman, said the incident occurred about 12:45 a.m. on the No. 15 bus in the 1100 block of Poplar Grove St. He said the youth got into an argument with another male, who stepped off the bus at a stop, then...

Fourth Bus Attack Investigated Thursday, December 20, 2007 WBAL Radio A fourth MTA bus incident now under investigation. MTA police are looking into a reported fight between two groups of teens on a bus yesterday afternoon. Earlier this week a teenaged girl was stabbed during a fight on a bus near Mondawmin Mall. Later today the MTA is due to outline a new cooperation plan between police agencies in the rash of bus attacks.

Washington, DC—Fighting to keep its doors open, a struggling United Methodist congregation in Baltimore has partnered with a collective of radical anarchists in a space-sharing agreement. The tiny St. John’s United Methodist Church, still not fully restored after a 1981 fire, now hosts meetings of Red Emma's collective, a self-described anarchist group. Payments from the anarchists have allowed the church to continue paying its utility bills. Red Emma’s speakers at the church have included a former Black Panther imprisoned for armed robbery and the Northeast Federation of Anarchists-Communists St. John’s garnered attention earlier this year when its pastor, Ann Gordon,...

Patrick Green and Robert Rothe told WBAL TV 11 News that they were antagonized and attacked after boarding the No. 64 bus late Monday night in south Baltimore. The men, who are white, said the attackers yelled racial slurs and that no one on board, including the driver, stepped in to stop the attack. MTA surveillance cameras captured four men boarding the bus at the Hanover Street stop Monday night, moments before Green and Rothe got on. Green and Rothe said they believe other passengers were afraid to help and that the driver refused to call for help. "We were...

Another Alleged Bus Beating In Baltimore Thursday, December 13, 2007 WBAL Radio and TV There has apparently been another bus beating on an MTA bus in Baltimore. WBAL-TV reports that two men aboard the #64 bus in Brooklyn claim they were attacked by a group of 7 black teens. The two men say they were attacked because they were white. They also claim the bus driver refused to call police for them. The two men suffered cuts and bruises. The MTA says it is investigating the claim. This comes less than a week after a white woman was beaten on...

Video Of Bus Beating Reported Blank Monday, December 10, 2007 WBAL Radio and The Baltimore Examiner There is a report this morning that police investigating last week's beating of a woman aboard an MTA bus don't have any video of the beating. The Baltimore Examiner reports that while police believed the beating was caught by the bus's on-board video camera, that tape appears to be blank. The Examiner quotes a source close to the investigation who says the camera wasn't working properly and the paper reports MTA police are sending the video to specialists, hoping they can find something on...

Again it happens. In Baltimore a young white woman boards a bus and wants to sit down. Each time she tries to take a seat she is told by nine black middle-schools students, ages 14 and 15, including three girls, that she can’t. Finally she sits anyway. The little—the middle-school students, I mean—attack her. From the Examiner, “She sustained ‘serious injuries’ and had to be transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to a police report…[Sarah] Kreager suffered two broken bones in her left eye socket, police said. She had eye muscles that were damaged…She had deep...

BALTIMORE - A white woman beaten by a group of black students on a bus has prompted a hate-crime investigation, attempts by transit officials to reassure riders of the safety of the system, and radio talk-show chatter over comparisons with the Jena Six case. The uproar prompted two leading black politicians to issue statements decrying the attack. Sarah Kreager, 26, suffered broken facial bones and other injuries after she was punched, kicked and dragged off the bus Tuesday afternoon. Kreager's companion, Troy Ellis, was also attacked, but not beaten as severely. Kreager has an unlisted phone number and attempts to...

BALTIMORE — A white woman beaten by a group of black students on a bus has prompted a hate-crime investigation, attempts by transit officials to reassure riders of the safety of the system, and radio talk-show chatter over comparisons with the Jena Six case. The uproar prompted two leading black politicians to issue statements decrying the attack. Sarah Kreager, 26, suffered broken facial bones and other injuries after she was punched, kicked and dragged off the bus Tuesday afternoon. Kreager's companion, Troy Ellis, was also attacked, but not beaten as severely. Kreager has an unlisted phone number and attempts to...

Maryland Transit Administration Police said last night that they have found no evidence that the severe beating of a 26-year-old woman on a city bus this week was provoked and that they are investigating the attack as a possible racially motivated hate crime. Nine middle school students have been charged as juveniles with aggravated assault and destruction of property in the Tuesday afternoon attack on a woman and her male companion on the No. 27 bus. Police said yesterday that they have determined that there were two additional victims in the case - a third passenger and the bus operator...

As Sarah Kreager, 26, tried to sit down on a Baltimore City bus Tuesday, police say, a middle-schooler told her she couldn’t. When she attempted to take another seat, a middle-schooler wouldn’t let her. Finally, according to police, Kreager just sat down. She was “immediately attacked” by nine students — three females and six males — from Robert Poole Middle School. They punched and kicked her at 2:59 p.m. at the intersection of 33rd Street and Chestnut Avenue, according to Maryland Transit Administration police. Kreager was dragged off the bus and her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, attempted to get her back...

The NFL is looking into a postgame comment by Baltimore cornerback Samari Rolle, who contends an on-field official called him "boy" during the Ravens' 27-24 loss to New England. Rolle identified the official by his number rather than by name following the Monday night game, which was marked by several disputed officiating decisions. "The refs called me a boy," Rolle said, according to a transcript of postgame comments provided to the media by the Ravens. "No. 110 called me a boy." Both Rolle and the official, identified in the NFL official guide as head linesman Phil McKinnely, are black. The...

The Browns' 33-30 overtime win Sunday was proof the ball is now bouncing their way. A crushing, heartbreaking defeat to the rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday was averted when a controversial, game-tying field goal by Phil Dawson at the end of regulation took a crazy bounce. The 51-yard kick into the wind glanced off the left upright and bounced off a metal support behind the crossbar. The ball then was ejected forward through the goalposts. It looked like a blocked shot in basketball. One field official immediately signaled the kick no good, and the Ravens danced off the field with...

Like many people, I've been watching with interest the story regarding S-CHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) in the news and have been fascinated with the push for what amounts to socialized medicine by the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelsoi, the Speaker of the House seems to have taken this issue on personally with much time and attention. There are many who view this as purely a politcal game by the Democrats to make the current Bush administration look bad, particularly before the '08 election. Be that as it may, the Dems really are showing themselves to be somewhat sloppy in...

Conservatives claim to be in favor of stable families, small businesses, hard work, private schools, investment and homeownership. So why in the world are so many on the right attacking the family of Graeme Frost? Frost is the 12-year-old from Baltimore who delivered the Democrats' reply to a radio address by President Bush in September. The seventh-grader pleaded -- in vain, it turned out -- that the president not veto Congress's $35 billion expansion of the children's health care program known as SCHIP. A car crash in December 2004 left two of Halsey and Bonnie Frost's children comatose, Graeme with...

The Democrats are like jihad recruiters of teenage suicide bombers. Objective: Assassination Death of bomber: Yes in both instances. Once Kid is outed he will be picked on by non-liberals to a larger extent than kid can cope. Proud Parents: Yes (these parents may get more kickback than they expected with outing of their affluence). Religious fervor: Yes Recruiters Remorse: NO The kid claimed parents couldn't afford health insurance and was outed on Rush's show today as being from a very affuent family.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Picked on for years, the Cleveland Browns finally gave a black eye to one of the NFL's biggest bullies. Derek Anderson threw two touchdown passes, Jamal Lewis ran for one against his former team and the Browns, considered the 98-pound weaklings of the rugged AFC North, surprised the Baltimore Ravens 27-13 Sunday. With their second win over a division opponent this month, the Browns (2-2) looked nothing like the inept team that was embarrassed 34-7 in their home opener three weeks ago by Pittsburgh. Instead, Anderson, who has had a tendency to make poor decisions, made mostly...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #7 – Baltimore, Maryland 09/27/07 - Official Discussion Thread All-American Presidential Forum on PBS Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland September 27, 2007, 9:00 pm-10:30 pm ET (check your local PBS listings) Moderated by Tavis Smiley. Candidates participating: Sam Brownback Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter Alan Keyes Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Journalists involved... Ray Suarez is a Washington-based Senior Correspondent who joined The NewsHour in October 1999. Suarez has thirty years of varied experience in the news business. Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist whose work appears in...

Francis Scott Key 1780-1843On Sept. 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key peered through clearing smoke to see an enormous flag flying proudly after a 25-hour British bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry. Key was inspired to write a poem, which was later set to music. Even before "The Star-Spangled Banner" became our national anthem, it helped transform the garrison flag with the same name into a major national symbol of patriotism and identity. The flag has had a colorful history, from its origins in a government contract through its sojourn with several generations of a Baltimore family to its eventual donation to...

Mrs. Reaganesque and I are moving to the Baltimore, MD area. Are there any Freepers out there that can give us a good idea of where to look for a home or apartment, either in Baltimore or nearby? We would much appreciate the info! Thanks!

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - The weekday and Saturday newsstand price of The (Baltimore) Sun will go up to 75 cents from 50 cents starting Monday, the newspaper said Friday. "This is our first price increase in 12 years," said Tim Thomas, vice president for marketing for The Sun. "We've maintained that price for a long time." Thomas said there will be no price increase for the Sunday Sun, which is $1.66, and no increase to the home delivery price. On Mondays through Fridays, The Sun sells an average of 37,000 papers at newsstands, he said, meaning the price increase affects...

Friday, August 03, 2007 In Charm City, 100K Have Seen the Light When he announced plans for a stem-to-stern restoration of the US' first cathedral, Baltimore's Basilica of the Assumption, Cardinal William Keeler was met with no small amount of intense criticism. Neighborhood groups railed against the removal of the century-old stained glass as some of his presbyterate griped that the cardinal had proposed what one cleric deemed "a monument to himself." Ever the wise student of history, Keeler forged ahead anyway with the two-year, $35 million project. And since its completion in November, every outcome he foresaw at...

BALTIMORE -- There are new efforts to unravel the truth about Jonathan Luna, the federal prosecutor from Baltimore whose body was found in a shallow creek in Lancaster County, Pa., three and a half years ago. There has been a flurry of media attention on the case in recent months, rekindling the debate about whether Luna was the victim of a violent crime or whether he killed himself.

At Noon today in Rome (12 Jul / 06:00 ET), it was announced that the Most Reverend Edwin F. O'Brien has been appointed by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, as the 15th Bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

(WJZ) BALTIMORE -- A Marine reservist was murdered in Southeast Baltimore Saturday morning, prompting a search for several suspects believed involved in the killing. As Mike Hellgren reports, investigators believe 18-year-old Marine reservist Michael Simms was trying to protect friends in a street fight when he was stabbed. He was rushed to Shock Trauma, where he was pronounced dead. According to police, Simms had just completed Marine basic training. Investigators said they had leads on more than one suspect in the case, but no more information on their identities was known. Police said it was a knife fight on the...

Baltimore city could soon have a serious constitutional problem on its hands if the City Council declares martial law to combat crime in troubled neighborhoods, American Civil Liberties Union officials said. The proposal drafted by Council Vice President Bob Curran will officially be assigned to his committee Monday tonight. But legal experts said they doubt the city can impose a law to fight crime that was drafted to restore order because of a riot. According to the proposal, police will also be instructed to shut down businesses and limit the number of people gathered on sidewalks. But David Rocah of...

BALTIMORE - A city council leader, alarmed by Baltimore's rising homicide rate, wants to give the mayor the power to put troubled neighborhoods under virtual lockdown. "Desperate measures are needed when we're in desperate situations," City Council Vice President Robert W. Curran told The (Baltimore) Sun. He said he would introduce the legislation next week. Under Curran's plan, the mayor could declare "public safety act zones," which would allow police to close liquor stores and bars, limit the number of people on city sidewalks, and halt traffic during two-week intervals. Police would be encouraged to aggressively stop and frisk individuals...

>Baltimore, May 17, 2007 / 10:39 am (CNA).- Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore has sent a written invitation to the Pope, asking that he pay a visit to Baltimore when he comes to address the United Nations in New York. Though a date has not been established, Catholic News Service has reported that a UN trip is likely to take place next year. The trip would be the pope's first visit to North America since his election in 2005. Cardinal Keeler invited Pope Benedict to visit the Basilica of the Assumption, the first cathedral in the United States, and the...

Should abortion be legal? Only in the first trimester (until week 13) Only until the third trimester (until week 27) Only during the first half of pregnancy (before week 20) Only in the case of rape, incest, fetal birth defects, a risk to mother's health or some other circumstances Never Yes, on demand at any point Some other answer

Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko Date/Time: 4/24/2007 4:29:30 PM Title: Baltimore Sun aims to eliminate 50 jobs Posted By: Jim Romenesko Memo from Baltimore Sun publisher Tim Ryan Dear Colleagues: At the recent town hall meeting and the employee meetings held earlier this month, I had the opportunity to talk about our 2007 objectives and the challenges that we continue to face in meeting these objectives. This has been a very difficult first quarter for the newspaper industry in general and for The Sun in particular. Total revenue declined 6% from the same period last year and this same trend...

Q. 1052. What is a sacramental? A. A sacramental is anything set apart or blessed by the Church to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin. Q. 1053. How do the Sacramentals excite good thoughts and increase devotion? A. The Sacramentals excite good thoughts by recalling to our minds some special reason for doing good and avoiding evil; especially by reminding us of some holy person, event or thing through which blessings have come to us. They increase devotion by fixing our minds on particular virtues and by helping...

BALTIMORE - If at first you don’t succeed, try again. And give the job to the freshman. “It’s a whole new ball game,” said freshman Montgomery County Sen. Mike Lenett, who introduced the latest version of a statewide assault weapons ban this week. “We’ve got a lot of new people ... we have a great new governor who has stated his position in favor of an assault weapons ban. I don’t believe you should ever give up.” Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman Brian Frosh, D-Montgomery, said the five new members of his committee could make all the difference for an...

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A Johns Hopkins University student who was suspended for a year for writing an invitation to a fraternity "Halloween in the Hood" party has had his punishment reduced after an appeal, according to a nonprofit free-speech group that has been advocating on his behalf. Justin Park posted the invitation on the Web site Facebook.com. The posting described Baltimore as an "HIV pit" and urged guests to wear "bling bling ice ice, grills" and "hoochie hoops." A skeleton pirate with dreadlocks hanging from a nose was used as decoration at the Sigma Chi fraternity party Oct. 28.

Some Muslims in Baltimore County say lessons involving Islam being taught to seventh- and 10th-graders in public schools are inaccurate. Bash Pharoan, president of the Baltimore chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, says resource sheets, called "Islamic Life," given to seventh-graders studying world cultures and "World Religions" for 10th-graders in world history classes, not only misrepresent Islam, but show disrespect to the prophet Muhammad. For three years, Pharoan says, he has unsuccessfully petitioned the Baltimore County school board to review the way Islam is presented in public school classrooms. Joe Hairston, county school superintendent, said his "teachers do not...