Baltimore and Freddie Gray

I’ve refrained from commenting on this story all week. But with the arrest of six officers in Mr. Gray’s death, it seems like a rush to judgment is in full swing.

Freddie Gray

Freddie Gray, died at the age of 25. He was first arrested at 17 and his police record has consisted of 18 different arrests.

March 20, 2015: Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance
March 13, 2015: Malicious destruction of property, second-degree assault
January 20, 2015: Fourth-degree burglary, trespassing
January 14, 2015: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute
December 31, 2014: Possession of narcotics with intent to distribute
December 14, 2014: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance
August 31, 2014: Illegal gambling, trespassing
January 25, 2014: Possession of marijuana
September 28, 2013: Distribution of narcotics, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance, second-degree assault, second- degree escape
April 13, 2012: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance, violation of probation
July 16, 2008: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute
March 28, 2008: Unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance
March 14, 2008: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to manufacture and distribute
February 11, 2008: Unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance
August 29, 2007: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, violation of probation
August 28, 2007: Possession of marijuana
August 23, 2007: False statement to a peace officer, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance
July 16, 2007: Possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance (2 counts)

Barely two weeks have passed and charges have been brought against six police officers in the Freddie Gray case. I highly suspect there hasn’t been enough of a depth of investigation to warrant charges being brought so soon. It is for this reason, I believe, that most of the current charges against the officers will be dismissed or fail at trial.

Baltimore Background:

It is interesting to note that all 15 city council members of Baltimore, including the mayor and police chief, are democrats. There hasn’t been a Republican mayor in Baltimore since 1967.

The current mayor of Baltimore is Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, another democrat. She currently serves as the secretary of the Democratic National Committee and is the vice president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She was also a member of the Baltimore city council from December 1995 until January 2007.

The Baltimore Police Commissioner, Anthony Batts, was once married to Laura Richardson… one time U.S. Representative of California’s 37^th congressional district. She was defeated in 2012 by democrat Janice Hahn by more than 20 percentage points. In August 2012, the House Ethics committee found that Laura Richardson violated federal law, violated House rules, and obstructed the committee’s investigation. She was found guilty on seven counts of violating House rules by improperly pressuring her staff to campaign for her, destroying evidence and tampering with witness testimony. There were many allegations concerning Anthony Batts during his tenure as Chief in Oakland and Long Beach. Among them were Lobstergate and the possibility the Oakland Police Dept would be put under federal receivership.

Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby is a democrat. She’s married to Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby (D). Nick Mosby represents areas of west Baltimore where riots erupted earlier this week. Marilyn Mosby also has ties to the attorney representing Gray’s family, William Murphy, Jr. Mr. Murphy has raised monies and contributed to Marilyn Mosby’s campaign… as well as being a member of her transition team. It was for this reason, Gene Ryan (police union leader), asked Mosby to appoint a special prosecutor. She’s resisting appointing a special prosecutor.

Balitmore facts and demographics:

Population: 622,000

63% of the population is black

29% of the population is white

Low-wage service economy jobs accounts for 90% of jobs in the city.

Baltimore is an independent city and is not part of any county.

Baltimore has been a democratic stronghold for 150 years.

My take on this…

I believe liberal democrats have destroyed many people’s lives, their livelihoods, and the communities where they’re entrenched. Trillions have been spent on LBJ’s ‘war on poverty’ and guess what? We still have poverty. Yet, the liberals will bitch and complain that we’re not doing enough as a nation to end poverty. Our schools have suffered under the collective thumbs of teacher’s unions… another huge pool of liberal democrats. In my opinion, today’s democratic party is a modern slave plantation. Sounds absurd, I know. But think about this… if you’re dependent upon Social Security, welfare, Section 8/government housing, of a whole host of other entitlements… would you really vote for a conservative that wants to cut or reduce those entitlements? Of course not! In essence, your vote has been purchased by way of entitlements. You’re a slave of your overlords, the Democratic Party.

I believe Baltimore is just the latest example of the failure of liberal democrat policies. There aren’t any Republicans around to blame for their plight. And they cannot blame racism either. While 3 of the 6 officers charged are white, the other three are black. The whole governing political structure in charge are black and democrats.

February 15, 2015

A minimum income tax?

Ok, here’s something to ponder from my personal ‘Must be off my meds’ inner thoughts… One of the obligations we have as citizens and legal residents in the United States is the paying of income taxes. Some people pay a lot of income taxes and some pay none at all, yet we are all equal under the law. So, it seems to me, there should be a minimum tax levied unto all who do not earn enough to pay any income taxes. They’re still citizens and legal residents with all the perks afforded to others who do pay income taxes… why shouldn’t they also share in the burden of supporting our government via a minimum tax

February 6, 2015

Question everything.

Things aren’t always as they appear. Take for instance something as commonplace as grass. What color is most grass? The non-thinking immediate response would be ‘green’. While that answer has merit, it’s not quite accurate. Grass does indeed appear to be green, but why? The answer is best explained by understanding light, also known as electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves include radio waves, microwaves, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma-rays. Optical waves are the waves that can be seen with the human eye. The reason grass appears to be green is that it absorbs both red and blue light while reflecting green and yellow light. Our eyes are actually seeing this reflected light, which is why grass appears to be green.

June 24, 2014

Why does this surprise anyone?

Sudanese mom sentenced to die for Christian faith is freed

Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who gave birth in a Khartoum prison after being sentenced to death in May for allegedly converting from Islam to Christianity, has been freed.

Ibrahim, 27, refused to renounce her Christian faith in court in May, prompting a judge to sentence her to hang for apostasy. The case became an international cause, with several U.S. lawmakers and the State Department blasting the decision as barbaric. Sudan’s national news service SUNA said the Court of Cassation in Khartoum on Monday canceled the death sentence after defense lawyers presented their case, and that the court ordered her release.

“We are happy that Meriam is finally released,” said Al-Sharif Ali, a member of her legal team. “One thing I can say is that Meriam’s strong personality forced the Sudanese judiciary to respect religious freedom.”

Tina Ramirez, executive director for the Christian advocacy group Hardwired, which promoted Ibrahim’s cause, said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir bowed to immense public pressure and forced the court’s hand.

“We are witnessing a historic moment – in the three decades of President Bashir’s brutal dictatorship millions have lost their lives, yet here stands one defenseless and innocent young pregnant woman who forced President Bashir to respect her dignity and religious freedom.”

Ibrahim’s husband, Daniel Wani, holds dual U.S.-Sudanese citizenship, and Ibrahim’s supporters argued that their children, including a daughter named Maya born in prison in May and a 20-month-old boy named Martin who was imprisoned with her, are U.S. citizens.

Sources close to the situation tell FoxNews.com that Ibrahim was whisked away to a confidential location and that her lawyers will be meeting with representatives from the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday.

“We obviously welcome the decision by the Sudanese Appeals Court to order the release of Ms. Meriam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. “Her case has rightly drawn the attention of the world and has been of deep concern to the United States government and many of our citizens and their representatives in Congress.”

“This is a huge first step,” added Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organization Subcommittee. “But the second step is that Ms. Ibrahim and her husband and their children be on a plane heading to the United States.”

Ibrahim and Wani were married in a formal ceremony in 2011 and operate several businesses, including a farm, south of Khartoum, the country’s capital.

Wani fled to the United States as a child to escape the civil war in southern Sudan, but later returned. He is not permitted to have custody of his son because the boy is considered Muslim and cannot be raised by a Christian man.

Ibrahim’s case first came to the attention of authorities in August, after members of her father’s family complained that she was born a Muslim but married a Christian man. The relatives claimed her birth name was “Afdal” before she changed it to Meriam and produced a document that indicated she was given a Muslim name at birth. Her attorney has alleged the document was a fake.

Ibrahim says her mother was an Ethiopian Christian and her father a Muslim who abandoned the family when she was a child. Ibrahim was initially charged with having illegitimate sex last year, but she remained free pending trial. She was later charged with apostasy and jailed in February after she declared in court that Christianity was the only religion she knew.

“I was never a Muslim,” she told the Sudanese high court. “I was raised a Christian from the start.”

Sudan’s penal code criminalizes the conversion of Muslims to other religions, which is punishable by death. Muslim women in Sudan are further prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, although Muslim men are permitted to marry outside their faith. Children, by law, must follow their father’s religion.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which gathered some 320,000 signatures in an online petition for Ibrahim, praised the decision but called for the U.S. to help her.

“Her release from a Sudanese prison is a critical step toward securing her freedom and safety,” said ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow. “We now call on the Obama Administration to examine all possibilities to ensure that Meriam and her two American children are granted safe passage and immediate legal status in the United States.”

June 23, 2014

Something to ponder…

It is widely accepted that the universe was created during what is known as the ‘Big Bang’ theory. Based upon the study of the oldest objects within the universe and how fast it is expanding, the age of the universe is calculated to be about 13.8 billion years old. Now comes the question… does the universe behave like a living organism? Is there a ‘life’ cycle to the universe? In other words, does the universe reach a point in which it slows down its expansion and the forces of gravity slowly cause everything to collapse upon itself… only to once again reach singularity (also known as the ‘Big Crunch) and then another ‘Big Bang’?

If it is true that the universe behaves like a living organism. birth… life… and then death, humanity has a definite end. Our sun only has another 5 billion years of life left. Colonizing other planets only allows the human species to outlive the lifespan of our sun. Our species obviously cannot outlive singularity.

Any thoughts?