Sexual Assault near Saint Barnabas/John Hanson Road

(Posted 25 Aug 2008)

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This rape apparently took place just across the road from the Oxon Hill Home Depot.

Over the past year or so, increasing numbers of what the liberal PC crowd calls "day laborers" have been congregating on the edge of the Home Depot parking lot. Judging from the appearance of the area, and reports from passers-by, it seems likely that these individuals are violating a number of local, state, and probably federal laws.

Several women have told me they no longer feel safe shopping at Home Depot or the adjacent PetSmart. This report shows that their fears are justified.

Meanwhile, local politicians, pandering to the pro-illegal alien lobby, don't seem much concerned with protecting law-abiding citizens, and at least some of our local enforcement personnel are too busy playing at being soldiers and shooting dogs to worry about protecting women on our streets and at bus stops.

It is good that our police made a quick arrest, but it is a shame that they have failed to protect the victim's right to wait for a bus without being molested.


http://cms.princegeorgescountymd.gov/policenews/default.aspx?itemid=2199

Police Department
Prince George's County, Maryland

PRESS INFORMATION OFFICE
7600 Barlowe Road, Palmer Park, Maryland 20785 / Phone 301-772-4710 / Fax 301-772-4948

August 25, 2008
For more information, contact:
Pfc. Henry Tippett

PRESS RELEASE
Quick Arrest Made in Sexual Assault near Saint Barnabas/John Hanson Road

Prince George's County, Maryland…The Prince George's County Police Department's Sexual Assault Unit arrested 30 year-old Inmar Efrain Quelez in connection with a sexual assault that occurred on August 23, 2008 near Saint Barnabas Road and John Hanson Road. The circumstances of the case are as follows:

On August 23, 2008, at approximately 4:20 p.m., Quelez approached the victim who was waiting at a bus stop near Saint Barnabas Road and John Hanson Road. The suspect grabbed the victim, pulled her into a nearby wooded area, and sexually assaulted her.

Quelez, of the 12000 block of Centerville Street, in Montgomery County was arrested after officers located him nearby. He was charged with First Degree Rape, Second Degree Rape, and Second Degree Assault. He was remanded to the Department of Corrections in Upper Marlboro with no bond.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Prince George's County Police Department's Sexual Assault Unit at (301) 772-4908. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

For more information, call the Prince George's County Police Department's Press Information Office at (301) 772-4710. The investigation is continuing.

Montgomery Co. Man Charged With Rape.
nbc4.com, 25 Aug 2008

Pro-criminal Delegates Ramirez & Vallario offended by truthful criticism

Both show their contempt for freedom of speech and the rule of law.

Vallario, always supportive of the Constitutional rights of criminals,
disdains the Constitutional rights of critics, cutting off testimony
and refusing to accept criticism he doesn't like.

Ramirez, who wants law-abiding citizens to pay to subsidize
law-breakers, plays the race card to avoid responding to the substance
of the matter.

While Vallario and Ramirez seem to find the truth offensive, I am
greatly offended by them, their opposition to the rights of citizens,
their opposition to the rule of law, and their apparent disregard of
what they solemnly promised when they took the oath of office.

Sparks fly in House Judiciary Committee
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/assembly/

Del. Joseph F. Vallario, Jr., who chairs the House Judiciary
Committee, barred a flyer disparaging him from being passed out to his
committee yesterday in a hearing that dealt with a number of bills
seeking to crack down on illegal immigration. . . .

Later, the room erupted in some chaos when Susan Payne, the leader of
the Maryland Coalition for Immigration Reform, began to testify and
was barred by Vallario after he said he found what was going on to be
"offensive." . . .

Wanted Poster Riles Committee Hearing
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=1363915

March 13, 2008 - 8:47am

ANNAPOLIS - Fliers proclaiming House Judiciary Committee Chairman
Joseph Vallario, Jr., D-Prince George's, as "wanted for aiding and
abetting" illegal immigration were removed from a Tuesday evening
hearing after he took offense.

The fliers, which depict Vallario wearing an ornate, Mexican-style
sombrero, were denounced as racist by one legislator, but others
defended them as legitimate free speech.

Delegate Victor Ramirez, a Democrat from Prince George's County who
serves on the committee, said the flier was "blatant racism."

"I'm hurt that people would resort to this type of action rather than
talk about the issues like grownups," said Ramirez, who was born in El
Salvador. "The true colors of some of the bills' proponents came out
[Tuesday]."

Vallario brushed off the episode a day later but was visibly angry
during Tuesday's hearing about several immigration-related bills.
After ordering the fliers removed, Vallario chided Delegates Warren
Miller, R-Howard, and Patrick McDonough, R-Baltimore County, telling
them they were fortunate he was even hearing their immigration-related
legislation.

"We don't accept literature that tries to intimidate or harass
people," said Vallario, who is of Italian heritage, in an interview
Wednesday.

But the Republican delegates, who both sponsored bills to prohibit
"sanctuary city" policies that bar local government employees and
police officers from asking someone's immigration status, said they
had nothing to do with the flier.

Susan Payne, a Montgomery County resident and executive director of
the Maryland Coalition for Immigration Reform, submitted the fliers
along with written testimony.

Payne said the poster was "tongue-in-cheek" political humor. But
after a six-hour wait to testify in support of bills that would target
illegal immigration, Payne was cut short in the midst of a heated
discussion with Vallario.

A security officer was called, but Payne escorted herself out after
refusing to answer committee members' questions because her "time was
up."

"Maybe at the next election, you'll be voted out and your time will
be up," she yelled at Vallario as she was leaving.

In an interview Wednesday, Payne said she was cut off after trying to
repeat Vallario's statements to pro-immigrant advocates at a Feb. 25
Annapolis rally. A YouTube link to a video of Vallario at the rally
was printed on the wanted poster Payne distributed.

"Either he doesn't comprehend the First Amendment or he's ashamed of
his own pandering," she said.

Delegates Miller and McDonough said the flier was free political
speech protected under the First Amendment.

"This was essentially, to me, humorous with a cutting edge,"
McDonough said. "You've got to be careful? she felt angry by the fact
that she was being denied her free speech? and I think she was denied
that right."

Delegate Richard Impallaria, R-Baltimore County, a co-sponsor of
bills discussed in the hearing, shrugged the flier off as a joke.

"[Vallario] looks good in that picture," he said. "Look at that smile."

-30- CNS 03-12-08Copyright 2008 Capital News Service. All rights reserved.

Md. House Rejects Plan To Stiffen Penalties For Transit Assaults

Over the past few years, many of our elected officials have been

unhappy with me when I accuse the general assembly of being
pro-criminal.

If they are not pro-criminal, why are they protecting violent people
who assault bus passengers?

Could it be partly because Judiciary Committee chair Vallario (D-27A)
makes his living defending criminals and uses his legislative position
to benefit his clients and not the people generally?

Md. House Rejects Plan To Stiffen Penalties For Transit Assaults
http://www.nbc4.com/politics/15342731/detail.html

Re: Death Penalty Input to Del. Victor Ramirez

I agree with Mr. Turner!

Society needs to be protected from killers. It is time to stop making excuses for them--time to stop treating the criminals as victims--time to start protecting the real victims.

Over and over again, I see where our public officials publicly condemn the government's use of the death penalty.

But when the killers use the death penalty against the rest of us, our offcials are almost always silent.

Over the long haul, 2 or 3 people a week are murdered in Prince George's County. I never see our public officials fighting to save the victims put to death by the killers.

Why are these people so much more protective of criminals that of the rest of us who are the victims?



On Feb 6, 2008 11:32 AM, ArthurTurner <arthurturner@verizon.net> wrote:

Peace & Blessings,

I strongly believe that we should keep the death penalty---and we should use it. We should not have this law on the books, sentence someone to die, then allow the perpetrator to stay on death row for 30 years. We should give a murderer; rapist; pedophile; car-jacker; or one who shoots, kills, or attempts to kill law enforcement personell the punishment of death. They should have a fair trial and the judgement should be swift---within 30 days. At that point, the electric chair, lethal injection, or firing squad should be brought to the town square and the punishment must take place--publically. At that point, justice would have been dispensed and society would have purged itself of someone who no longer wanted to be a part of the brotherhood of man. And, since this dispensation of justice would have been public, this would serve as a very strong visual deterrent for those wannabe gangsters.

I am as liberal, if not more liberal than most. But, we all are tired of the crime---aren't we? What we are doing now is not working. The murder rate goes up each year. Each year we have more rapes, incidents with peophiles, law enforcement killed or wounded, and utter mayhem. Our quality of life diminishes with the turn of each page of the calendar. We can, must, and shall do something to protect our society and this uncivilized culture from the extreme acceptance of inappropriate behavior.

Now, the young glorify the life of gangsters or gangstas. They have adopted prison attire as fashion. They wear prison-style jeans, jean jackets, and blue prision-style shirts and work boots which have become the in-fashion thing. Soom even have prison numbers stenciled on them. They too wear their pants hanging down low into what they refer to as "saggin." You may not know that this fashion is something that people wear mocking what happens in prison as prisoners are not allowed to wear belts and as such, their pants sag. Another prison style is the wearing of shoes without shoe laces. Prisoners are not allowed to have shoe strings. And the "do rags" which look like underwear that the guys wear on the street is also what is worn in prison. The young refer to themselves as gangsters or gangstas, pimps, hustlers, and thugs. The rappers make a lot of money glorifying thuggish behavior . Even female rappers and hip-hop artists glorify thuggishness by their proclamations that they want a "ruff neck" or a guy who is thuggish , horny, and tough enough to survive the cruel world of prison. These women also sing about the fact that it is OK for the ruffneck to even get physically abusive with them. :-( By looking at the TV show MTV Cribs, one will see that one of the requisite pieces of artwork displayed in thehouses of pop culture stars is a super-large picture of Al Pacino from the movie, Scarface.

We need to be protected from this insanity and the degradation of our society. Our quality of life continues to be eroded, our fears increased, and our stress level grows day by day. Why are we so willing to allow this antisocial behavior to continue?

People say that the death penalty is not a deterrent. You are right, it is not because it is not being used. We are not executing people for their transgressions. People who are sentenced to the death penalty spend 20, 25, 30 or more years locked up. So there is no deterrent when the death penalty is not carried out. But, what is happening now is not working. If we continue to do the same things that we have been doing, then sadly, we will continue to get the same results of high crime---and worse

Have you considered the growing number of infectious diseases that are incubated in prison? So-called straight men engage in sex with other men while in prison. These man-to-man encounters are rampant and continue while these guys are in prison. But, they do not consider themselves to be gay. They just consider this act as nature's way of them taking the edge off. After they are released, they then go into society as "straight" men and engage in sex with women. They have now infected women with a disease that they had gotten from having sex with men. Now, a man marries this woman and engages in sexual relations with this woman and he gets infected with what could become a deadly disease. They have now contaminated society.

Some may contend that sentencing Marylanders to die for their crimes is expensive. But, what is more expensive than life and the loss of life by repeat offenders? Is it not expensive to house, guard, feed, and provide medical care for prisoners for many years. Of course, the prisoners get GED training; free college; free healthcare; free cable TV; free eye glasses; free dental care; free gym membership that includes all the weights that one can lift; free AC in the summer; free heat in the winter; and free nutritionally balanced meals. So, many actually live better while incarcerated than they did while free to roam the streets and wreak havoc on and against you and me! Wouln't it be cheaper to cut the cord and eliminate these thugs from our finacncial burden? Would it not be better for them to face their Maker for their sins?

As a Black man, I am not buying into the argument that we should not have the death penalty because it is racially biased especially against African Americans. In truth, that is a reality. Judges have historically sentenced Blacks to death while sentencing Whites to life in prison. But, I believe that if you do the crime, you must pay the ultimate price for your transgression---Black or White. We need to see that the sentencing is fair. But, ritght now, I live in Prince George's County--- suburban Washington, DC. The perpetrators are majority Black. As such, these Black men must pay the price. They must be forced to pay for what they do unto us all. The same is true in Atlanta, New York, Detroit, LA, Philly, Miami, and other urban areas. I feel confident that by bringing back the death penalty and actually using it, we will see a dramatic reduction in violent crimes. And, the minor crimes will be reduced too because people will change their behaviors and mindset.

I am fed up and I will be glad when we all get fed up about crime and stop coddling and patting the criminals on the back. It appears that people are more concerned about the criminals than they are about law-abiding citizens. When people commit violent crimes, they have forfeited their right to be live in a so-called civilized world. If they want to live like animals, put them in cages like animals--- until they are euthanized.

Del. Ramirez, speaking as a concerned citizen and community leader and activist, I respectfully ask that you not seek to repeal the death penalty. We are tired of crime and need to see that a strong deterrent is already on the books, but it needs to be enforced.

Here is my two cents worth. What say ye?

Peace & Blessings,

Arthur Turner

PLEASE SEE:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/prisons/

http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/prisons/atlas.html

http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2006/06/cost_of_incarce.html

Ramirez continues pushing to help Md. illegal immigrants pay for college

(Posted 7 Dec 2007)

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Ramirez continues pushing to help Md. illegal immigrants pay for college.
Baltimore Examiner, 6 Dec 2007 (Mabeus).Del. Victor Ramirez remains committed to a bill that would make it easier for thousands of Maryland high school students living in the state illegally to attend public colleges.

Ramirez, D-Prince George’s, said Wednesday that he would work to pass his bill — defeated in the state legislature earlier this year — when the Maryland General Assembly comes back in session next month.
[More]

Comment: Pro-tax Del. Ramirez, who recently voted for the largest, most regressive tax increase in Maryland history, obviously believes very strongly that it is a good thing to steal more money from the law-abiding citizens and families of Maryland in order to subsidize and reward people who have broken the law. The pro-criminal attitude of Del. Ramirez and so many of his colleagues among Prince George's County's elected officials is probably one of the main factors contributing to the county's high crime rate. Why should the criminal element feel obliged to obey the law when the people who make laws show their contempt for the law by supporting and encouraging law-breakers?

Tolerating, excusing, and encouraging violence

(Posted 29 Sep 2007)

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So far this year there have been at least 105 murders in Prince George's County. Last year there were at least 134, and at least 173 the year before that. And not all county murders are reported by the police or press.

Our murder rate is one of the highest in the nation--many, many times that of any other suburban jurisdiction in Maryland or Virginia.

Why?

Could it be because we and our leaders are so willing to tolerate, excuse, and even encourage violent behavior, especially by young men, while at the same time failing to encourage good behavior by our more civilized young people?

The September 29 Washington Post has yet another disturbing article by Ruben Castaneda, "Jury Acquits Suspect in Temple Hills Shootings; Lack of Cooperation From Witnesses Is Cited."

This is just the latest in a series of cases where the combination of

1. juries who apparently feel sympathy for the poor killer in front of them,
2. often intimidated witnesses refusing to testify, and
3. residents who believe that being a snitch is a far greater evil than allowing thugs and killers free rein,

all leading to acquittals that send our brutal killers a fairly clear message--even if you get caught, you will most likely get off and be free to terrorize the innocent again.

What have our elected officials done to resolve the witness intimidation problem? NOTHING. Under the "leadership" of our Judiciary Committee chairman, Joseph Vallario (D-27A), the General Assembly has come down clearly on the side of the witness intimidators.

Most of our pro-criminal General Assembly members openly and vociferously oppose the death penalty for murderers, while remaining silent when innocent victims are put to death without benefit of trial. Many of them, and some of our pro-criminal council members, further discourage respect for the rule of law by supporting, rather than condemning or prosecuting people who have broken the law by entering the country illegally.

Whatever we, the "civilized" members of the community may think, our murderous brothers and sisters seem to be reading the clear signals that we and our leaders will not only go easy on killers, but seem to endorse a society where people are free to pick and choose which laws they want to obey or disobey.

And then there's the "Jena 6." Despite whatever racism there may be in Jena, the simple fact remains that six African-American males savagely beat and stomped another single individual.

Many of our county's "leaders" seem to think that's just dandy. I have not seen any indication that any of our leaders, or any of our county's people contributing to the discussion of this issue, have condemned the violence in Jena. We are sending to our youth (and out to the world, thanks to wide press coverage), a very clear signal that we in Prince George's County believe violence and brutality are an acceptable response to perceived racism and that we will support violent and brutal young African-Americans no matter what they do.

At the same time that our local PTA president, Robert Ross, has been demonstrating in support of the violence in Jena, school board members, led by Ron Watson, and the organization "People for Change" have been busy attacking non-violent, well-behaved youth in the community.

"People for Change" launched an all out attack to destroy the future of our immediate past student school board member, deeming him guilty without hearing or chance to reply of moral offenses for hanging out with an adult board member--one who had been firmly endorsed by most of our political establishment. The student is question was always well-behaved, stayed in school, got good grades, is going to college, and wants to be a teacher. He is not a violent, murderous drug dealer who has dropped out of school. Just look at the message "People for Change" seems to be sending--if you are a goody-goody and do anything we don't like, we'll savage you, but if you drop out and deal drugs or kill people, we'll be silent. What conclusion do you suppose students facing hard life choices will draw from that?

Now board member Watson seems to want to punish the current student school board member--a high achiever with a good record--and future student members for the perceived transgressions of the former member (and remember, there were never any real charges, nor was he given any formal opportunity to respond to the smear campaign) .

When numerous other well-behaved students, who apparently learned something from their civics classes, showed up to speak against Watson's proposal, Watson "said he was unmoved by the students' testimony." Apparently one unbalanced investigator's report filled with gossip and innuendo about one student is more important to Watson than anything else, certainly more important than the behavior or testimony of the rest of the universe of students.

Watson has probably taught those students, who have remained school, and who cared enough to attend and speak at a board meeting, exactly the opposite of what they learned in school.

Looking at what seems to be important to the "adult" leadership, the students might get a better hearing, and more respect, if they staged a violent protest.

So, why do we have high levels of violence and school drop-outs? Because we tolerate, excuse, and even encourage violence and confrontation among our young people while showing disrespect for well-behaved, civilized youth who stay in school and play by the rules.

As Jacob Andoh would ask: "What say ye?"

Thoughtful responses preferred, hate mail also welcome.

Washington Times editorial: PG officials aiding and abetting illegals

(Posted 15 May 2007)

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Aiding and abetting illegals
Times, 13 May 2007 (Editorial).

New outrages in recent days serve to highlight the fact that Maryland has become an increasingly welcoming place for illegal aliens -- with taxpayers footing the bill -- and is likely to become even more so in the brave new world of one-party liberalism. According to Prince George's County Police, Never Leopoldo Navarro-Montoya, an illegal alien from Mexico carrying fake Social Security and permanent residency cards, was the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into an SUV early May 5, killing Matthew Watson, 20, a University of Maryland student. On Monday, Jerry Seper of The Washington Times reported that CASA of Maryland Inc. -- the state's leading advocacy group on behalf of illegals -- is distributing guidebooks instructing people targeted by federal immigration agents during job-site raids not to cooperate with authorities if they are detained or arrested. The book features cartoon-like drawings of armed black and white police officers escorting Hispanic men in handcuffs and shows babies crying because their fathers are incarcerated.

Most of CASA's $2.78 million in revenue in the year ending June 30, 2005, came from government fees and contracts. The organization received funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state of Maryland; Montgomery and Prince George's counties; and the cities of Takoma Park and Baltimore. Even with an estimated $1.5 billion state deficit and the prospect of tax increases staring Marylanders in the face, don't expect CASA to be short of money: The group has plenty of powerful friends in the Maryland General Assembly. Major Democratic figures -- including House Speaker Michael Busch, Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson, State's Attorney Glenn Ivey and Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett -- use their political muscle on CASA's behalf. CASA also uses tax dollars for day-labor sites and makes no distinction between immigrants and illegal aliens. CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres served on Martin O'Malley's gubernatorial transition team. Rick Abbruzzese, a spokesman for Mr. O'Malley, said in December that Mr. Torres was appointed partly to be a voice for the legal and illegal immigrant communities.

With politicians putting out the welcome mat, it comes as no surprise that the number of illegals in Maryland is growing. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, there were an estimated 120,000 illegals in the Maryland in 2000. The number increased to 225,000-275,000 in 2006. CASA is doing its level best to attract more of them to Maryland by taking a leadership role in mobilizing support for in-state tuition for illegal aliens and lobbying against legislation that would deny them driver's licenses.

On the question of ensuring that illegals retain access to Maryland driver's licenses, CASA has few friends more powerful than Sen. Paul Pinsky, a Prince George's County Democrat who serves as chairman of the legislative panel that reviews state regulations. In October, then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich, noting that the state Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) had experienced a dramatic increase in fraudulent applications for Maryland licenses, wrote Mr. Pinsky urging him to hold a hearing on the subject. Mr. Pinsky rejected Mr. Ehrlich's request to hold a hearing before the November election, and, joined by CASA's Mr. Torres and the O'Malley campaign, suggested that by raising the issue that Mr. Ehrlich was engaged in immigrant-bashing for political gain. Mr. Pinsky helpfully added that members were too busy campaigning to reconvene for a hearing on driver's-license fraud.

Mr. Ehrlich pointed out that that an MVA internal study, first reported in this newspaper, revealed a 233 percent increase from 2003 to 2005 in the number of false claims of Maryland residency or attempts to obtain new identities when applying for licenses. "It is clear that Maryland is becoming a magnet for illegal immigrants living on the East Coast who are using fraud to prove legal residence in the state," the Republican governor wrote in his letter to Mr. Pinsky. Unfortunately, Mr. Ehrlich's concerns were ignored by the Democratic Party majority bloc -- just as the General Assembly and the current governor have scandalously failed in their responsibility to bring the state's requirements for issuing driver's licenses into compliance with the federal Real ID act (Maryland is one of the few states in the country which do not require applicants to prove they are legal immigrants before seeking a driver's license).

That brings us back to the story of Mr. Navarro-Montoya, who has been charged with driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated, among other things. CASA and its allied politicians will mount a superb spin campaign to drive home the point that his alleged drunk driving has nothing to do with his unlawful presence in this country. We disagree, of course. Mr. Navarro-Montoya's broke the law by entering America illegally, and there's the question of the forged documents that were in his possession -- and those law-and-order issues are pre-eminent. After all, because he is an illegal alien, who can say that he is, in fact, Never Leopoldo Navarro-Montoya?

Response to Del. Ross on violence in our county

(Posted 28 Mar 2007)

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On the subject of violence that plagues our county, I tend to differ with Delegate Ross on one point (education funding), and believe that he has either overlooked or deliberately ignored another major contributing factor--how the scofflaw behavior of our public officials may contribute to law-breaking by others.

First, he blames "historical under funding of public education." I disagree. Our schools have received increasing funding for decades. But while funding has increased, results have decreased. More and more, increased funding has been used to finance bureaucratic activities that do little, if anything, to contribute to educational results, and are often counter-productive..

Salaries have grown dramatically for administrators and other non-classroom personnel, while teachers pay has lagged behind. These administrators, not classroom teachers who know their students, have determined what is to be taught and how. Despite the decline in educational results, our politicians keep spending more and more money to reward and increase failure.

Based on the performance of our educational system, there is little reason to believe that any significant increase in funding will actually lead to an increase in educational results. More likely, it will only bring us more educrats, poorer results, and more calls for even more money.

Second, I think Delegate Ross, like virtually all of our elected officials, overlooks or deliberately ignores how our elected officials are contributing to a climate of disrespect and even contempt for the rule of law and "following the rules."

Much of our drug and violence problems are caused by individuals who choose to ignore the laws and rules that are supposed to rule our society.

Why should they obey the law or follow the rules when our elected and appointed officials set such a terrible example?

Last year, members of the General Assembly, including Delegate Ross, broke their solemn promises to uphold the Constitution and Federal laws and passed several laws later thrown out by the courts.

Delegate Ross and most of his colleagues seem to wink at and encourage people to not aid in the enforcement of Federal immigration laws--their attitude seems to be that it is ok ignore law violations when you don't like the law. That's no different from the attitude of drug dealers and killers.

The Delegate and most of his colleagues seem to place a higher priority on protecting criminals than on stopping them. There does not appear to be any legislation under consideration that would reduce the murder rate, but the General Assembly is considering bills to give killers protections their victims did not have, and to reward criminals by allowing them to vote despite their rejection of society's rules.

Our delegates also tolerate a pro-criminal committee leader, with a clear conflict of interest, who makes it more difficult to prosecute criminals and protect victims and witnesses.

Currently under consideration are proposals to award Maryland's electoral votes in a manner contrary to the U. S. Constitution. If our legislators don't like the Constitution, it seems to me that they should either resign or try to follow the rules to amend it, not circumvent it.

I could go on and on, but it seems clear to me that our state-level lawmakers don't feel obliged to follow laws and rules that apply to themselves. Why should we be surprised when others follow their example and ignore the law?

On the county level, our county council's two top leaders have ignored ethics rules, been caught at it, and still elected to leadership positions by their colleagues. This is another group of lawmakers that feel they can pick and choose which laws and rules to follow--more "leaders' setting a terrible example for our youth.

And then there is our failing school system, where top leaders have apparently violated Federal laws. We have an assistant superintendent in Federal prison and the last school CEO under indictment, even though protected by the school board until the bitter end. A former school board member (and current council member) was accused of many ethical violations, but her colleagues did nothing about it.

Intended or not, the school system policy seems to have been that school leaders, elected and appointed, don't really have to follow laws and rules. Given that example, why should our school children and recent graduates feel that they must do so?

Our "leaders" continue to foster a climate of disrespect for the lows and rules that should govern our society. Why are they surprised when the criminals follow their example?

On 3/28/07, Jacob Andoh <jyandoh@yahoo.com> wrote:

Thanks to Hon. Del. Justin Ross and Mr. Mel Franklin (GMDC) for sharing.

Note: forwarded message attached.

---

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Mel R. Franklin, District 27A Central Committee" <mel.franklin.district27a@gmail.com >
To: gmdc@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:41:37 -0400
Subject: [gmdc] Fwd: The Ross Report - March 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Justin Ross < justinross@justinross.us>
Date: Mar 27, 2007 9:37 PM
Subject: The Ross Report - March 2007
To: mel.democrat@gmail.com

A Message from Delegate Ross

* * *

However, over the last week, the issue that was most on my mind was the shocking number of murders in our beloved county. This most recent crime spree hit particularly close to home for me with two murders occurring within a mile of where my wife and children lay their heads at night. I would be lying if I said that, if only for a brief moment, I didn't think about moving to a small remote place that had experienced little crime and was perceived to be "safe". Turning tail and running, however, isn't the answer.

The reality is that the violence that plagues our county is not a Prince George's County problem, it's an American problem. It's a problem that is poised to get much worse unless we are committed to solving it. This is a topic much too broad to be dealt with meaningfully in this short letter but I do have some thoughts on the subject.

First, I think the issue of violence in America is the most important issue of our day and I don't hear either political party speaking about it. By way of example, over the last four years in Iraq, the United States has lost over 3,000 brave men and women in the line of duty. Back home, in America, we have lost almost 60,000 men and women to murder during that same time. In Prince George's County alone we've lost over 500 during that same time. From where I sit, I believe this is due in large measure to our failure to deal with drug addiction, a historical under funding of public education, the glorification of violence in popular culture, and a breakdown in the family structure. Disagree? That's cool; I am only one man and would like to hear other opinions. But from here on in, we're going to talk about it.

Again, my hope in talking about this was not to provide an all inclusive list of why our society is so violent and all the remedies to fix it. Rather, I am hoping to start a continuing dialogue and to push the body politic into making this issue a top priority. Thanks again for your comments, advice, and support.

* * *

PG Delegates sponsor vill to let more criminals vote

(Posted 31 Jan 2007)

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House Bill 273, Voting Rights Restoration - Ex-Offenders, 31 Jan 2007

Sponsored By:

Delegates Braveboy (25), Barnes (21), Benson (24), Davis (25), Frush (21), Gaines (22), Griffith (25), Healey (22), Holmes (23B), Howard (24), Hubbard (23A), Ivey (47), Pena-Melnyk (21), Proctor (27A), Ramirez (47), Ross (22), Valderrama (26), and Vaughn (24)