TALKING ABOUT NEWS CLIPS, SUN GIVES NEW MEANING TO TERM "BALTIMORE CLIPPER"

Elsewhere on this blog, CP scribes that the rapid rise of Obama is important mainly because he won in a state that is 95% white. Of course race still matters, as the title of Cornel West's book attests, but as today's Sun shows, you just gotta love it when a newspaper or tv station wants to know what Black men are thinking, they go to a barber shop. Have you noticed that? I guess they should go to a country club to know what white men think or to a nail salon to know what women think. Of course the media swarmed to Iowa to know what Iowans think, but do Iowans represent America? (Hint: answer yes if you grow corn or pigs) Furthermore, it's playing the race card by making news about Obama racial in nature while that's not what he is about AND then quoting others to confirm that it is or is not about his color either. So dear Sun, which one is it???

www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-te.md.obama05jan05,0,3435778.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
Without any sense of irony whatsoever, they even headlined their piece "Obama spurs talk on race".

The Sun quotes MD Attorney General Doug Gansler (White) who says,
"He's not someone who runs as an African-American," said Gansler, co-chairman of Obama's Maryland campaign. "He's saying he's the most qualified, most-experienced person to run, and he just happens to be African-American."

And with more irony, The Sun notes that in 1984, a generation ago, Jesse Jackson came close to being the Democratic nominee for president.

On the other hand, State Senator Ulysses Currie (Black but I do not know if he was getting his hair cut)called Obama's victory "the most significant political event that has ever happened in this country." That's about the most significant hyperbolic statement in his political career.

Perhaps the most telling quote of all was the final one in the article when one of the men getting a coiff said, "I'm 37 years old and I don't vote for nobody....But I will vote for him."

Yeah that about explains it. The man has had nearly 2o years of voting eligibility and he "don't vote for nobody." Like CP always says, the non-voters always get the candidate they want. When the Sun wants a news clip from a Black man, they go right to the clipper.

THE WRITING'S ON THE MALL......

Today's Capital has two stories on downtown retailers. One headline declares,"Vacant Shops Abound Downtown: Some blame new shopping centers on city's edge" while the other reads, "Downtown icon closing after 55 years: Johnson's On The Avenue owners say they can't compete with mall."

Word to downtown business owners--Quit whining about the mall and Parole and get your own acts together.

Downtowns wax and wane and retailers come and go. My family was in retail and I've worked many long hours in malls and urban stores, including downtown Annapolis, where I also rented space to sell antiques and rare books. Retail is hard way to earn a living. Annapolis presents a lot of its own weird challenges for shopkeepers, but it also has great attractions and qualities. Downtown retailers need to "capitalize" on them instead of worrying about external issues.

When my family's store was was burned in the riots of 1968, we and other retailers moved to the growing suburbs with their expanding regional malls. Downtowns imploded, suburbs exploded and edge cities grew. That was 30 years ago and in most of our cities, that trend has reversed. We've seen a great renaissance around the country with a return of shoppers to downtown and I think the future is even brighter for our cities. I've visited nearly all our major cities and many smaller ones in the last decade and have seen great renewal of downtown business districts, but it's increasingly clear that Annapolis is losing its appeal to shoppers.

Downtown businesses are up against the same challenges as any retailer but they are often their own worst enemies because they do not seem to realize that they must "capitalize" on what is special, unique, wonderful and attractive about downtown. They fight among themselves. They don't speak with a united voice. They should stop whining about the mall and about the so-called "parking" problem and get to work on improving and showing why our narrow streets, trees, bricked sidewalks, waterfront, boats, historic buildings etc. add up to pleasant shopping. While I frequently walk or ride a bike downtown, there just is not much for me to buy.

Almost 30 years ago I went to meetings where downtown business owners complained and argued about some of the same things they argue about today--yet look how much busier and prettier downtown is than ever before. More people come here for the Academy, special events, and everyday sightseeing than ever before. We can thank our city government, visitors bureau, Historic Annapolis Fdn. others for many improvements. Hundreds of newly arrived and affluent homeowners at Acton's Landing and Park Place represent potential customers and I wonder how retailers are reaching out to them. While we have five or six different business associations as well as a chamber of commerce that is almost regional in scope,they cannot seem to speak with one voice. Certainly some of their concerns overlap whether they be in Eastport, West Annapolis or Main Street. With concerns about trash collection, crime and image, why don't they really put their heads--and their money together? Hanging flower baskets are nice, but what is their overall impact? Perhaps they could create a business district or an investment partnership or at least a larger city-wide business association with teeth--and staff and marketing efforts.

I give credit to the Annapolis Business Association for hiring an executive director. I can only hope that their members didn't fight and argue for years about that decision.

LET'S NOT MAKE TOO BIG A DEAL OUT OF IOWA...

While much of our phony media has tried to focus our attention on tiny, rural Iowa where a relatively tiny number of people caucused (not even voted on the D side), the media circus frenzy has whipped us all into a dither. For example, CP, not a great fan of the New York senator, is bothered that a big deal is made out of her so-called "third" place finish. Hillary Clinton really tied for second, and a fairly close second. Edwards was vastly outspent by Obama and Clinton, but edged Clinton. Obama only got about 9% or so more caucus votes than did Clinton and Edwards. It's damn close!

Why should anyone discount a second or third or even fourth placer in tiny, 95% white, mostly-rural Iowa where as far as D's are concerned, there is not really a popular vote but a caucus! Have you or most folks even been there? Even tiny New Hampshire is a more diverse and more representative state which actually has an election, and not a hybrid caucus. What's truly amazing to me is that a first-term Senator, who has mis-spent most of that term campaigning, and not even voting in D.C., who has never had to run a complex organization or make a budget and who's Black, gets such an exciting response in Iowa! And on top of it, his name sounds like Osama! But--everyone wants to know, can he last? Well, let the chips fall where they may.

Don't write off Clinton or Edwards yet. Don't go yah-yah-ing about Huckabee, and let's not let tiny New Hampshire be decisive.

This whole business about talking change, leadership or Washington-this and Washington-that or whether someone is a leader, a changer or different from Washington...good grief! All these people are essentially phonies, even John McCain, the most straightforward, head-on-tight, grounded guy in the whole dang field has flip-flopped numerous times in major ways. Is this long-time Senator going to talk about change?

As for Huckabee, well, he got out the heavily evangelical Christian vote. Can this preacher do well elsewhere? I was really bothered by watching his campaign supporters gathered around, holding hands and praying to their Lord and Saviour for his victory. I suspect--and hope that this Bible-stompin', Southern Baptist preacher, white-cross-in-my-face tv ad promoter who makes a negative ad, then tells us he's not going to show it and then shows it to show that he's not showing it......goes back to Arkansas. He can make a fortune praying on television.

THE CAPITAL TELLS US IT MAY BE SOLD.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it in today's paper. This must have been part of a very big, strategic plan with the recent buy-outs of senior staffers just one more way to somehow make the balance sheet more desirable to a buyer. In 2007, Landmark Communications became sole owner of the paper after being a long-time, part-owner. CP was pleased that at least the paper was remaining in the hands of a regional, media concern with small newspaper ownership rather than going to one of the mega media chains--and was quoted in The Capital to that effect last year. Now all that is in doubt.

Will we benefit if Gannett or The Washington Post Company or some such mega conglomerate buys our hometown newspaper? I would doubt that as well, but maybe it will be good for bloggers......?
(Click on the headline above to go to the story)

FIGHT CRIME--JOIN NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Stacey L. Bolin, Neighborhood Watch Coordinator with the Annapolis Police Department invites you to join Neighborhood Watch. "We are looking forward to seeing may of our new members and those who have supported us for many years, to come and join us. It is an excellent opportunity to network with other community and share the strategies they use to make their community a great place to live, work, and play."


Next Neighborhood Watch Meeting:
Date: January 8th, 2008
Location: Wiley H. Bates Senior Center meeting room.
Please enter through the doors marked "The Residences" located
by the upper right parking lot.
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Topic of Discussion - "Changes to the Annapolis Police Department Post Officer and Shift Schedules".

January Neighborhood Watch Block Captains Training:
Date: Tuesday January 15th, 2008
Location: Wiley H. Bates Senior Center meeting room.
Please enter through the doors marked "The Residences" located
by the upper right parking lot.
Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm

February Neighborhood Watch Meeting:
Date: February 12th, 2008
Location: Wiley H. Bates Senior Center meeting room.
Please enter through the doors marked "The Residences" located
by the upper right parking lot.
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Tentative Topic of Discussion - "What is Probable Cause and it's important role in Law Enforcement - What we need to know as citizens".


CSS Stacey L. Bolin
Neighborhood Watch Coordinator / Victim Assistance / Public Information
Annapolis Police Department
410-268-9000 ext. 7331
sbolin@annapolis.gov

MORE USELESS @$%#%^ FROM OUR BLOATED EDUCRACY

I received a recorded phone message from my son's middle school principal informing me about a survey--a very important survey I was told, from the MD Department of Education, that was given to my son. We opened and read the five paragraph letter that came from an assistant state superintendent (with a Ed.D in fact!)and two pages of ridiculous, useless and pointless bureaucratic questions. This very important survey was developed by none other than a national center. The assistant state superintendent with the Ed.D. told me that "all states must collect these data as part of their State Performance Plan as required under federal law." No doubt there would be many more people with these Ed.D.'s poring over all these data.

The first paragraph told me that if the survey was not relevant to my child that I should call the MD Department of Education and "disregard the remainder of the letter." ???? I can just imagine the conversation in that call. To cut to the chase, the survey asked 32 questions about how the school worked with me, and focused on administrative and bureaucratic procedures, flow of information etc. There was not a single question, NOT ONE about my child! Not one! Not one about his progress, performance or accomplishments. Not one about quality of services or teaching. They did wish to know if the school "respected my cultural heritage". My cultural heritage. Yeah, my cultural heritage was that I went to public schools and teachers were expected to teach and students were expected to learn.

I am relieved that a person with a Ed.D. after her name took the time and spent my money to write, copy and mail me a letter and a survey and more money on a SASE to return and then to crunch the data, no doubt to make a big report.

And remember, if this posting is not relevant to you, be sure to call me and disregard it. Pretend it's from our educracy. I hope this posting has respected your cultural heritage.

P.S. In fairness to the State Dep't of Education, I had a pleasant and detailed conversation with one of the MDE professionals behind the letter and the survey. The gentleman was a serious, knowledgeable and considerate state employee who listened and responded carefully to my concerns. Suffice it to say that this thing partially emanates from federal law and federal bureaucracy.

LEGAL ENTANGLEMENTS WITH THE MARKET HOUSE???

Annapolis Politics reports that our City Council will soon have a special closed session to discuss a legal issue to do with the Market House. See: www.annapolispolitics.blogspot.com/2008/01/something-going-down-with-market-house.html
While Brian at Annapolis Politics speculates what the meeting may be about, CP has come up with his own wondrous imaginings:

1. The Mayor plans to franchise the Market House concept and start opening them up around the world at all of our sister cities.

2. We will move the police department into the facility while they try to get the mess cleaned up at the one-day-to-be-completed police station.

3. They wish to empty out the Market House to use it as a storage site for all the materials they are dredging up at City Dock, which will likely be the next source of yet another lawsuit about a city construction project.

4. The Mayor will use it as the new stable and depot for the horse and #^&^# Segways she wants to get for the police department.

5. Homeland Security will make this the new holding cell for dissident bloggers. Great-I always wanted a water view. It will be called Anna-Ghraib.

6. City Council will consider the legal ramifications of purposefully torching the Market House, thus collecting insurance money and getting the darn thing over and done with, otherwise known as Municipal Lighting.

7. They are considering giving it over to the incipient Sailing Hall of Fame.

8. Some of the Aldermen are planning to release the secret ingredients of the fried dough and pretzels that makes the Market House so special and inviting and such a wonderful and welcome addition to our town.

9. City Administrator Bob Agee has a new plan to heat and cool the beleaguered facility. All we know is that it has something to do with redirecting hot air from Council Chambers and the State Capitol building.

10. They are considering making it the new headquarters of the new Annapolis Department of (fill in the blank)

COUNTY CONSIDERS AN "ANTI-TERRORISM" BOAT

CP just could not let this one pass without comment. Today's Capital reports that our county is applying for $670,000 in federal funds to buy a new terrorism prevention and response boat that can detect biological or chemical attacks and respond to nuclear explosions. (I'd like to know how they plan to do that one!)

(Photo at right shows camouflaged terrorist defacing the anti-terrorist boat on Severn River with threatening graffiti designed to terrorize us)

Well that's just great! While our local governments don't have enough money for police or firefighters, while it took over a decade to break ground for a much-needed fire station on Annapolis Neck, while we routinely have sewage spills, we may now get a boat to patrol our many rivers and creeks and hundreds of miles of waterfront for "terrorists."

I can just imagine how this is going down with one of those "sleeper" cells:

Terrorist One: "Wake up! Wake up my sleeping brother. Allah is great. Now let's get on our boat and head to Anne Arundel County in Maryland, the land of the infidel where we will wreak havoc by releasing terrible chemicals into their air and water to terrorize the Great Satans."

Terrorist Two: "Maybe we should wait. I have just read that the infidels, may Allah smite them, are operating a new boat that patrols their waters for terrorism threats."

Terrorist One: "Those wily Great Satans. No doubt it is a Zionist-CIA plot. What shall we do now?"

Terrorist Two: "Wait. I have just read one Zionist-inspired web-site called "Capital Punishment" that the infidels are already polluting their air and water with filthy and dangerous chemicals. Why, they are terrorizing themselves with their own form of pollution. They cannot even seem to clean up their rivers. I have heard of their sewage runoff spilling over, shoreline over-development, overfishing, overeating, overconsuming, and generally being overbearing."

Terrorist One: "Yes, they are their own worst enemies. They could put we terrorists out of business. But, did you say "Capital Punishment"? That must surely be a Zionist plot! We are foiled again, but with Allah's will, may it one day come to pass that the infidel will pollute himself to death."

Terrorist Two: "Yes. And to think. They thought we were coming to pollute them so they got a boat, all the while seeming to ignore that they were polluting the air and water with wastes and chemicals. Stupid infidels. May Allah gleefully watch them all drown in their own wastes."

Yes--we have seen the enemy and the enemy is........terrorism!!!!....but not our own wasteful, nature-hating, get rich for nothing, there are no consequences, pass it all off to the "environment" lifestyle.....no, it's terrorists.

See The Capital:
www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/01_02-33/TOP

FASCISM: COMING SOON TO A COUNTRY NEAR YOU???

What do you think are the signs of creeping fascism? How about secret prisons? ( Guantanamo) Torture? (Abu Ghraib, waterboarding) Surveillance? (Just look around) Private military forces? (Blackwater) Suppression of dissent and labeling critics as unpatriotic? (all the time) Restriction of civil liberties? (Patriot Act etc.) Election fraud and disparities? (Ohio, Florida...hanging chads) Need for war? (Well, duh!) Enemies within and without? (Terrorists, sleeper cells, terrorists!)

• For a darkly funny interview by Stephen Colbert with author Naomi Wolf on Fascism in America see this YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doKkduuY-M4&NR=1.

• Another equally provocative video on the same topic may also be found at YouTube called "Top Ten Signs Your Country May Be Going Fascist": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSuWCIYi7T4

The top reason is that your president is obviously too stupid to be running the country, so someone else must be doing it. Yeah--that sounds about right!

• Readers may also find this cartoon political summary to be of interest. How many similarities can you spot in it with our current national political situation? http://www.mises.org/books/TRTS

P.S. If I mysteriously disappear, please contact your local ACLU, if its office has not yet been shut down.

CP's NEWS PREDICTIONS FOR 2008

Mayor Ellen (O) Moyer will do a top-down review of the performance of all her appointed officials and their effectiveness in running city departments by hiring an outside consultant. Somehow the report will be sequestered while it undergoes review and revision. While this is going on, so-called City Administrator (can you say "sinecure'?) Bob Agee will be on an extended trip with various well-paid city consultants/cronies to plant a million trees in a hundred sister cities all over the world.

As the field of mayoral hopefuls grows daily, outgoing President George Bush decides to throw his hat into the ring and declares his candidacy for mayor of Annapolis. "My plan is to seek and destroy all evidence of WMD's" said the two-term president who is likely to be remembered as the worst president in US history. "By WMD's, I am referring to Wasted Moyer Disasters, namely the Market House, police station, and skyrocketing crime rate. I sure can't do a worse job."

Five more Aldermen announce they will not serve the remainder of their four-year terms. Another special election is called. Five Green Party candidates sweep the election and Green Party members still whine that Democrats whine that they stole votes from them.

Mayor Moyer and Public Housing Director Eric Brown are seen dining in a local watering hole. Reports that they were playing footsie with each other are not confirmed.

Longtime Police Chief Joseph Johnson continues to say he plans to retire.

In a bold move, Alderperson Classie Hoyle proposed a resolution to condemn the Naval Academy for not banning use of plastic explosives.

In an even bolder move, Mayor Moyer and City Council vote unanimously in favor of annexing the entire Anne Arundel County. "We think this will enhance our tax base and allow us to continue to provide the high level of services we provide for Annapolis, to residents of all Anne Arundel County." County Executive John Leopold promised he would meet with the Mayor to discuss their mutual concerns as soon as he could find time on his calendar.

Mayor Moyer pushed for banning real Christmas trees in Annapolis, saying instead that "Due to ecological concerns, we should allow people to choose between paper or plastic trees, but not real ones."

Alderman Sam Shropshire proposed new legislation to ban the use of all plastic gags in Annapolis. "This means whoopee cushions, squirting lapel pins, and of course handshake buzzers. Paper gags such as fake money will still be allowed."

Newly-elected Alderman Fred Paone announced he would submit a bill to ban plastic guns. "Just kidding" he was quoted as saying after the council meeting.

Alderman Julie Stankivic proposed legislation that would not longer allow the City to either borrow money or sell bonds to finance debt. "We should pay our bills with paper that we have in our hands that represents real money in a real bank, rather than plastic. When Wall Street meets with us and asks "paper or plastic" we can faithfully say "paper."

Alderman Ross Arnett, owner of a fiberglass (also known as plastic) sailboat, said he would introduce a bill to force all owners of wooden (also called paper) boats to purchase plastic boats in their place. Arnett asked, "Why should any self-respecting yachtsman be forced to sand and varnish when a plastic boat just needs a good wash down?"

Alderman David Cordle announced he would submit a bill to ban plastic guns. "Just kidding" he was quoted as saying after the council meeting.

Alderman Sheila Finlayson could not be reached for comment. However, she and all Alderman announced that they too would be running for mayor.

WAS IT ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS KILLED? A POLICE RAID? AN OFFICER GETTING WOUNDED?

The Capital got a lot of grief from readers for its reporting about the recent police raid that resulted in a suspect being killed and an APD officer being wounded in Eastport. CP was on the scene shortly thereafter. The photo and headline for the story were about the slain criminal suspect and his grieving girlfriends rather than the injured police officer. Readers were angered. Weeks later, The Capital used a photo from that event to illustrate the murder rate as its chosen number one news story of the year (in its December 30th issue), and this is how it was portrayed (see photo to the right...uhh obviously). The caption reads:"Scene where an APD officer was shot."
See: www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/12_30-35/TOP

The point of this posting is not to remind readers that The Capital made a mistake, but to show that it is sensitive to and responsive to local concerns and reactions. Far from being an isolated or disengaged, monolithic entity, The Capital merely suffers from the same challenges we all have everyday in filtering everything through our own experiences, notions, shortcoming etc. The difference is that we each have one set of eyes, while they have dozens. We have one set of ears, while they have dozens. They are but one sender, one transmitter of news, but the difference is that they send or broadcast their messages to tens of thousands. Most of us don't have that kind of audience or resources. They have the protection of the sacrosanct First Amendment that essentially enfranchises them to make money--and lots of it. The Capital exists on the revenues from ads from businesses we own and patronize. That is why we expect--indeed, demand a high degree of accuracy and impartiality from them. It's also why your feedback and reaction to what they do--or don't do, is so important. Editor Tom Marquardt and staff are reading CP and hopefully are heeding what we are saying when we criticize them. My experience is that the Capital is open to and generally, responsive to criticism. Just remember CP's theory of journalistic reliability which states that the closer the reader is to any news story, the more likely the reader is to find fault with the accuracy and fairness of the story. That's why The Capital, and yours truly, can never win!!!

p.s. What's wrong with this story? (I can't wait to hear...)

THE CAPITAL'S TOP TEN NEWS STORIES OF 2007

It is axiomatic (cool word huh?) that the news media may not necessarily tell us what to think, but they do tell us what to think about. In other words, the editors don't of course, decide to cause a major car crash or burn down a major building, but in another, equally important sense, they decide to make "news" of it or not. At the end of every year, as is customary, our local editors, who in their role as "gatekeepers" of the news, have already decided on what to report, how to report, how much prominence, depth, duration or salience to give to the news, then go on to tell us their thoughts about what are the top ten news stories of the year. Can you say ironic? Can you say tautology?
CP agrees that the skyrocketing murder rate is the number one story of the year, but rather than focusing on the events of the murders themselves, CP thinks the real story (behind the story?) is the apparent unwillingness or inability of our mayor and police chief to confront this escalating violent crime. As the Capital accurately and appropriately reports, there is a very strong correlation between these murders and public housing. Therefore, let us all hope that in one year, the big news story of 2008 will be about a major drop in violent crime with the real story behind it about how our mayor and police chief worked with community leaders and public housing officials to make it happen. Even better, perhaps the biggest story might be something about a major plan to transform the failed experiment of public housing into something better for all residents.
See the Capital's story about their stories at:
www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/12_30-35/TOP