Oh, this is rich, John P. Angelos, executive veep of the Baltimore Orioles, stands up for the rioters:
Brett, speaking only for myself, I agree with your point that the principle of peaceful, non-violent protest and the observance of the rule of law is of utmost importance in any society. MLK, Gandhi, Mandela and all great opposition leaders throughout history have always preached this precept. Further, it is critical that in any democracy, investigation must be completed and due process must be honored before any government or police members are judged responsible.
That said, my greater source of personal concern, outrage and sympathy beyond this particular case is focused neither upon one night’s property damage nor upon the acts, but is focused rather upon the past four-decade period during which an American political elite have shipped middle class and working class jobs away from Baltimore and cities and towns around the U.S. to third-world dictatorships like China and others, plunged tens of millions of good, hard-working Americans into economic devastation, and then followed that action around the nation by diminishing every American’s civil rights protections in order to control an unfairly impoverished population living under an ever-declining standard of living and suffering at the butt end of an ever-more militarized and aggressive surveillance state.
The innocent working families of all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the Bill of Rights by government pay the true price, and ultimate price, and one that far exceeds the importances of any kids’ game played tonight, or ever, at Camden Yards. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying around the U.S., and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere who don’t have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal rights, and this makes inconvenience at a ballgame irrelevant in light of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.
John P. Angelos is a poor little rich boy. He made his money the old fashioned way: he got it gratis from his Daddy, uber ambulance chaser Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles. He is a liberal Democrat and has worked glove in fist with the Democrat powers that be in Baltimore, who have controlled the city since World War II, with one, count them, one Republican mayor from 1963 to 1967 to prove the exception to the rule. He is a big time donor to Planned Parenthood that wages a never ending war against urban black unborn babies. If there is a leftist cause in America that Angelos has not paid lip service to, it must be very, very obscure. In short, Angelos is a member in good standing of the liberal Democrat establishment that runs things in Baltimore and Maryland. Let us examine his statement:
“That said”
Translation: you can ignore the part of my statement that was my window dressing prelude.
“but is focused rather upon the past four-decade period during which an American political elite have shipped middle class and working class jobs away from Baltimore “
Oh, that is rich! Baltimore, above almost all other cities in the country except for Washington, has benefitted from government largesse over that same period. The growth of the federal bureaucracy in Washington has brought endless jobs into the areas that surround Baltimore. What has hurt Baltimore has been a completely corrupt government, former Mayor Sheila Dixon we are looking at you, and the legacy of the Baltimore riots of 1968 that accelerated white flight from Baltimore to its suburbs.
“to third-world dictatorships”
Angelos helped negotiate a two game series in 1999 between the Orioles and the Cuban National Team in Havana. Today, one-quarter of Oriole players are foreign, most of them from Third World nations.
“plunged tens of millions of good, hard-working Americans into economic devastation”
True, the Obama administration, loyally supported by Angelos, has been an economic disaster for most Americans.
“and then followed that action around the nation by diminishing every American’s civil rights protections”
If Angelos were truly concerned about civil rights in Maryland, he and his Daddy have more than enough pull with the Maryland Democrat Party to make a difference in Maryland.
“of an ever-more militarized and aggressive surveillance state.”
Having rioters run wild is not the way to convince people that the police have too much authority. Perhaps an experiment could be conducted and have the police reduce their presence today around Oriole Park?
“The innocent working families”
I doubt if many of the rioters have been employed for as long as a month at a time in their lives. Riots of course are poison for innocent working families luckless enough to live in the area of a riot due to the destruction wreaked during the riot and the businesses that flee from these areas after riots.
“needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans”
Angelos is of course a member in very good standing of the political party that stands for ever more expansive government.
Go here to read the Wikipedia page on Angelos. Like the pages of most lesser known contemporary figures it is basically a press release by Angelos:
This would-be tribune of the rioters is a paid-up member of the party of the status quo. His statement is a bleakly humorous insight either into the human capacity for being either unremittingly meretricious or unremittingly self-delusional.
What about meretriciously self-delusional?
No, wait!!!
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Fifty-plus years of affirmative action, CRA, EEO, Great Society, trillions of dollars in welfare, job-skills training, unaudited $$$ grants to community agitators, er, groups, etc. and America (every six months!) gets in return arson and rapine.
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As with all liberal lies (I repeat myself again), two words characterize this particular numbskull’s comments: irresponsible and idiotic.
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Six years of Change and Hope!
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It’s really simple. Any good person can understand. Don’t burn down your neighborhood. Don’t mug. Don’t kill. Don’t rape. Don’t steal.
Almost all of the problems of black people since the end of the Civil War can be put down to unequal enforcement of the law. The extent that that is still going on is exacerbated by people like the current mayor of Baltimore and liberals like Angelos who know that their property is protected (armed guards in gated communities, heavy security around his stadium), but is not interested in extending that protection to individuals and businesses in poor neighborhoods. Liberals like Angelos and Warren Buffet hire lobbyist who write legislation which prop up the monopolistic aspects of their businesses, so that the fairways are less crowded for their tee times, and they can get their private jets in the air without waiting too long.
I recall the Cuba vs Baltimore baseball series. For the game in Baltimore, Angelos guaranteed his new best friend Castro as a condition of playing the game here that no Cuban player could seek asylum. Angelos provided extra security to enforce that condition. That always sickened me….that any American would be so callous toward another human being attempting to escape tyranny but of all things for a baseball game. Of course to those on the left, liberty is an obstacle not an outcome.
Camden Yards is a few miles away from Johns Hopkins, where you can’t buy a chicken sandwich. Support the Cause and you will be rewarded. Oppose the Cause and you will be punished.
Baltimore has long been a mess of a major city. There has been a heroin problem in Baltimore since the 1930s. When I lived in suburban Howard County, the Baltimore City property tax rate was almost double that of its Baltimore County neighbors (Maryland, originally a Southern state, does not have townships and cities are usually separate from counties in much of the South – a phenomenon not known in the North).
Peter Angelos, the attorney who owns the Orioles, had a nasty conniption when Major League Baseball moved the former Montreal Expos to Washington. Typical leftist, he couldn’t handle the idea of competition.
Maryland is held in the iron fisted grip of Baltimore City and the Washington DC suburbs of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Maryland makes Pennsylvania seem like Texas.
“Maryland makes Pennsylvania seem like Texas.” Heh. Yup.
Baltimore has long been a mess of a major city.
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The four counties in which greater Baltimore nestles have had adequate (not robust) demographic growth over the last generation. Income levels for the metropolis are above the metropolitan mean for the nation as a whole. Employment to population ratios of the whole area and every component thereof are above the national means. The area is not hurting (relatively speaking) regarding production and commerce. It has terrible quality of life metrics, however. The most salient of these is the dreadful slack regarding law enforcement. Homicide rates in Baltimore City are 3x what a comparable mix of neighborhoods was suffering in New York in the pre – de Blasio era. The schools are a mess, of course, and suburban land use planning is wretched as everywhere.
Roger Simon argues that the real problem is liberal racism:
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Except that what he refers to is a secondary problem or contributing factor. The salient factor is the refusal of what Glenn Reynolds calls ‘the administrative class’ to make more than a sloppy and haphazard effort at enforcing standards of public order and civility. What’s he’s referring to is a problem re labor force participation and development, but that’s decisive for a modest minority. The crime and the disorders in the schools affect about 2/3 of the black population and have knock-on effects on everyone else.
This sage commentary (sarcasm) is from a person whose family wealth was built on the politically advantageous association with and support of the Maryland Democratic machine. I would also mention their law firm and its focus on Personal Injury litigation which looks for the “deepest pockets” to pick. A family of HYPROCRITES!
Wonder if anyone can extract from the ranks of this front office …. the cultural make up?
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/team/front_office.jsp?c_id=bal