Annapolis Capital Punishment

Man oh man, it's just so ironic what the lyrics from Simon And Garfunkel's "Mrs Robinson" says:

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon

Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose

Democratic politicians continue to make the rounds to our taxpayer-funded public housing communities to rename similarly funded buildings in honor of people who apparently have spent much of their lives in such communities where the politicians have spent much of our money. They did this recently at a number of places around Annapolis including the community center at Obery Court Apartments which is on a street named in honor of another local activist, also associated with a legacy of public housing.
 
On Tuesday at 5:30 pm, they will name a community center in honor of a local Mrs. Robinson. Mayor Joshua J. Cohen, House Speaker Michael E. Busch, Sen. John C. Astle, Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson, HACA Chairman Carl O. Snowden, HACA Commissioners, other dignitaries and family of Ms. Robinson will dedicate the Elizamae Robinson Community Center in honor of the longtime housing advocate Elizamae Robinson Community Center at Newtowne 20, 800 Brooke Court & Betsy Court.

I'll say it again and again and again that we have to find a way to properly deal with our public housing communities to serve not only its residents, but all the residents of Annapolis in the best way possible. Unfortunately, what a lot of Democratic politicians are doing is celebrating and continuing this legacy of despair rather than transforming these properties and that was the subject of one of my recent The Ninth Ward columns in The Capital. http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/opn/2010/07/28-25/The-Ninth-Ward-Not-much-to-celebrate-in-public-housing-unless-youre-a-politician.html?ne=1

While community centers at these facilities specifically may very well be a good and valuable thing for residents, they also raise a lot of questions but those Dems love to show up and smile and say "look what we have done with you.....we let you live in these crime-infested ghettos of despair, but we built you a community center at taxpayer expense...oh and don't forget to vote for us...."

I do not know Ms. Robinson or what she did for Annapolis, and this is not about her or naming a building in her honor. It's about the ongoing shame in our public housing and who is responsible for that. I can't help it that the classic song is just so appropriate.
The complete lyrics from Simon And Garfunkel's "Mrs Robinson" with my emphasis in bold:
And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home


And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray


(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)


Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It's a little secret, just the Robinsons' affair
Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids


Coo, coo, ca-choo, Mrs Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)


Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose


Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Yup. Ev'ry way you look at it, we all lose...except certain politicians.......


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