Michael Steele

This is a no-brainer. Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele is my choice for Senator. He deserves a chance at the job. I like everything he has said during the campaign. He will be the first black from Maryland to hold such a position. Likewise, it was because of Robert Ehrlich choosing Steele that he was the first black to hold the position of Lieutenant Governor. The Democratic party has claimed all these years to be the party for the black community, yet they had not produced any positions of power for them. It took the Republican party to accomplish the job. Furthermore, as I stated in a prior blog entry, Ben Cardin has been a career politician in Maryland.....a 40 year career! It's time for him to go away quietly. I will also be giving Robert Ehrlich a second term as Governor. I like what I have seen so far of him and it makes good sense to give him more time and see what transpires. Maryland deserves progress. We want honorable and respectful people in high positions. Like it or not, a State IS big business and it takes certain kinds of people to run it efficiently. Forget the pollsters, they never call people like me. Every year I have been somewhat ashamed of Maryland's representation in Washington. The politicians get elected and re-elected year after year and I didn't have anything to do with putting them there. I want to see at least one of them actually do something which benefits "all" of us Marylanders. We are at war, and its not just any war....it's a war on terror. When I see my "alleged" representation in Washington go up against our President, strictly because of his political affiliation, it disgusts me. Shame on them. These politicians have much to say about the number of deaths of our soldiers in Iraq, yet could not care one bit about the amount of murders or violence on our own streets. I have been watching them, they have been in office, and they remain silent and unaffected. Shame on them. Crime is not a "local" problem.......it's a NATIONAL PROBLEM. I can guarantee you this, until some of this crime in Baltimore happens personally to a Senator or Congressman, they simply will not give a hoot. It should not have to come to that. As for Baltimore, I predict that one day, it will merge with Baltimore County government and become one big metropolitian government. I cannot see Baltimore surviving without the tax base that once existed there. When I graduated from high school, the population was double what it is today. Baltimore has not only been just treading water, it has been sinking faster and faster. Sure there are some bright spots, but not enough to stop the flow of exiles. In the meantime, Baltimore will just get worse. Consider the Orioles that have their baseball stadium in downtown Baltimore. The majority of people that attend the home games are not from Baltimore City. The majority of fans come from Baltimore County. No wonder that you won't see the name "Baltimore" on the Orioles uniform. In fact, officially, they are just "The Orioles". It's very hard to finance a decent school system when your tax base has left town. Shame on O'Malley, he had every opportunity to at least try to make Baltimore home again for many Marylanders, and he has failed. Some could say that the recent "renaissance" of some city neighborhoods such as Canton, have been progress. Some could say that the condos aong the Inner Harbor have brought people here to live. The problem with that is those people are not Baltimoreans........most of them are refugees from Washington DC. This city was not ever their home. In quick time, these same people will head for the county line, for the same reasons others have left. Fresh victims for a city that has less of a chance for rebound than a shoeless midget on crack playing basketball. Just look at the condition of the streets and sidewalks....disgusting. Yet I love Baltimore. It's my hometown and there is nothing I can do about it. It is just not safe.

Pretty bleak isn't it?