Federal justice=fair. Local justice=joke

I am still reeling on the audacity of "Judge" Manck and his slap on the wrist to the pervert in Severna Park, MD who abuses his daughter and niece for MANY years and essentially walks away.

To highlight the disparity, an Annapolis man was recently busted for viewing (not touching--"Judge" Manck--are you listening??) child porn. He is put on trial and receives a 4 YEAR sentence. In addition, he will be deported when he is done (illegal immigrant). So, a hearty "THANK YOU" to Judge J. Frederic Motz--he gets it. The judge commented that the sentence was so light because he knew this pervert would be tossed out of the country. (Photo: "Judge" Manck featured in the party pages of a local magazine)

Just to recap.

• Abuse your daughter and other family members=4 months of jail with time allowed to go to work
• Look at child pornography on the Internet=4 years and throw your ass out of the country.

To put this in perspective just a but further, in a criminal conflict of interest case, a man was accused of steering $700,000 of government contracts to companies in which he had an interest. This man received a sentence of 6 months of house arrest, followed by two years probation and restitution. Reprehensible for sure. But also an adequate and fair sentence. Another thumbs up to Judge Catherine C. Blake. Another federal level judge.

Another recap.

• Physical child abuse of several young children=4 months with time allowed to go to work by "Judge" Manck (Local)
  
• Looking at child porn=4 years and deportation by Judge Motz (Federal)
  
• Corporate shiftiness=6 months house arrest + restitution by Judge Blake (Federal)

Maybe the solution is to take the criminal cases out of the local hands. Maybe it is time to let our local "Judges" handle the parking tickets, littering, and jaywalking. Perhaps they might be able to glean a clue.

A personal note to "Judge" Manck. How do you sleep at night? Do you have any children or grandchildren of your own? Do you not feel the slightest obligation to protect our youth? "Judge" Manck, you are a coward. You do not have the courage to issue an appropriate sentence when warranted. You do not have the courage to speak to the national news when there was an interest in this case--maybe that should have given you a clue. I am curious, did Mr. Severnaparkigottohelpgroupsnadmolestmyfamily offer a contribution to your re-election fund. Did you take any money from NAMBLA? "Judge" Manck--enquiring minds want to know!


Here are my previous rants on this "Judge" and the issue:
Rant 1
Rant 2
Rant 3

Note: Current Links not available yet. Stay tuned!

THIS JUST IN FROM CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK (CCAN)

Join us Saturday, April 14, 2007 at Susan Campbell Park at Annapolis City Dock for a national day of climate action when we'll ask Congress to:

Step it Up!
Reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050.
Wear blue to show unity and signify the sea level rise that will lap at Annapolis's doorsteps as global warm intensifies. Bring signs and props (snorkel gear, life vest, inner tube).

There'll be music to entertain you, recycled art by Chesapeake Childrens' Museum to inspire you and literature from environmental groups to show you how you can reduce your carbon footprint!

WHEN: Saturday, April 14, 2007 from 11 am to 1 pm
WHERE: Susan Campbell Park @ Annapolis City Dock

At 12:30, we'll walk up the streets of Annapolis to Lawyer's Mall for a keynote address by polar explorer Lonnie Dupree, author of "Greenland: Where Ice Begins". That's where we'll take the photo to send to Congress asking them to Step It Up!, to be streamed with the now 1227 other Step It Up rallies across the country.

SPONSORED BY: CCAN, Cool Cities, Audubon Naturalist Society and Students for Sustainable Society
and St. John's Students for a Sustainable Future.

See www.StepItUp2007.org for more information or contact Cherie Leyton at clyelton@comcast.net.

FORUM ON RACE RELATIONS...MAYOR GETS HUFFY-PUFFY...again

(see March 26 post below ) Aside from the fact that the night wore on and on as “Moderators” Carl Snowden and the YWCA’s Candice Jackson went on….and on….and on…CP felt the evening was informative and useful. Both Snowden and Jackson were terribly disrespectful to their audience and especially to the second panel by taking too many questions, supplying too many of the answers themselves and not setting the second panel up until after 8:30 (the event scheduled for 6:30 started more like 7), promising to end at 9 and then going to 9:30 so Carl could have everyone hold hands, turn to each other and say “I love you.”….while PC pretended to be dozing. MAIN POINTS--We know the identity of some of the main spreaders of this filthy racist literature. There are laws that define and stiffen penalties for hate crimes. Merely spreading hate literature is usually not a crime. Law enforcement officials from city and county police to sheriff to State’s Attorney General take hate crimes and racist literature seriously. Incidents of hate crimes or of literature should be reported and are important for police to collect. One audience member asked what would result from this final in a series of meetings. The organizers said a report is forthcoming. Okay-we’ll give it some time, but CP does not think anyone is too excited by the possibility of another report. HIGLIGHT OF THE EVENING was when Mayor Ellen Moyer got all bent out of shape, went on the defensive/offensive when asked about plans for public housing. It was a little off topic, but the audience member posed reasonable questions. Thin-skinned Ellen got all huffy and resorted to her normal reply that it’s a federal issue. CP wonders why with her emphasis on talking and listening, that she seems so unwilling to engage in it herself. CP listened to her defend her efforts in talking and encouraging talking yet it has never occurred to her that it is likely that her own unwillingness to talk with the Federal Housing and Urban Development folks could be a major stumbling block to improvements! So, Madame Mayor, if it’s talk you want, stop condemning those who ask you questions and start talking with everyone, including HUD about our public housing. And for gosh sakes, quit being so skin-thinned! You are the Mayor! Be the Mayor!

CAPITAL GIVES THUMBS DOWN TO ALL BLOGS AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA…WAS THIS AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE???

This is what Editor Tom Marquardt wrote in The Capital on April 1:

“QUOTING FROM BLOGS - The emergence of blogs - running commentaries that virtually anyone can post on the Web - have posed ethical challenges for traditional media.
Not everything you read on the Internet is accurate, or even within several miles of accuracy. This particularly applies to blogs, freewheeling online discussions in which anything can be said and anything can be challenged. Most blogs have no editors, no fact-checkers, no ethical parameters. So should a reporter quote from a discussion on a Web site?
Certainly, the e-mail and electronic discussions about the hiring practices in Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration were well exposed in the media. Now comes an Internet discussion alleging lewd behavior by midshipmen on spring break, supposedly witnessed by several passengers who joined them on a cruise. Area newspapers quoted generously from the Web site.
I have problems with this. The information is not attributed to anyone - only e-mail addresses are available. Editors ordinarily wouldn't accept anything short of a full name for use in stories. They frown on using anonymous sources. So why should the standards change for quotes lifted from the Internet? How do we know these people were really on the same ship?
Editors here have concluded that quotes from the Internet should be avoided.”

All internet quotes to be avoided??? All right Tom-aside from this hyper generalization and this blanket condemnation of all blogs and internet news, but we both know that anyone can start a blog and be as irresponsible, unaccountable, inaccurate and unethical as they wish, but what’s the difference between those bloggers and Eric Smith and Joe Gross? The main difference is they get paid and get an office and a guaranteed audience!

Here is what Editor Marquardt wrote back to CP after admitting he over generalized, “But I was specifically referring to the Sun and Post quoting from anonymous blogs about mids behaving normally aboard cruise ships. What do you think of that?...you are responsible - thank you - although occasionally wrong (your prognosis of what we were writing about public housing). My point is that newspapers have developed standards over time. We may not always follow them, but there are formal and informal standards of conduct. The wild frontier of the Internet has no standards - agree? So, protocol and ethics are personally driven. That you come from a journalism background gives you a foundation that I'm betting plays into your writing and decision-making. I don't think most non-newspaper blogs have any standards.”

This is CP’s take on the issue. CP still believes that the so-called mainstream media, meaning The Capital as well, are essentially money-making ventures run by managers for profit with the ability to hide behind the First Amendment anytime something uncomfortable comes along. The media are decidedly centrist, elitist, corporate and reflective of the upper echelons of our society who own, operate and write for them--for a profit. Aside from that, our mainstream media have been wracked by a host of serious ethical and yes, even plagiarizing and fictionalizing violations that seem to get worse every year. So, there is plenty of blame to go around and pointing the finger at bloggers, some of whom have done a great service to journalism and democracy by covering and writing about issues not otherwise covered is unfair. CP does agree with the need to quote sources and is upset by the widespread anonymity of many bloggers who are unaccountable and irresponsible, but let’s not condemn all bloggers! Tom, this deserves a clarification in your next editorial.