Happy Maryland Day!

Believe it or not,today is actually an obscure holiday,"Maryland Day",which commemorates the founding of Maryland by colonists on this date in 1634,sent here by Lord Baltimore himself.

But what exactly do we have to celebrate?In case you haven't noticed,living in the "Free State" is starting to cost too much.Our state sales tax recently increased by 1%,a foolhardy move considering our proximity to tax-free Delaware.The price of a pack of smokes in Maryland have skyrocketed,but we also are close to Virginia,where cigarettes are considerably cheaper.Alcohol is just as lethal as tobacco,but alcohol taxes have not been increased in our state in over a decade,excluding the sales tax increase.Don't even get me started on the smoking ban issue.

At the same time that we are paying higher service fees at the MVA,they are making it easy for illegal immigrants to get drivers licenses.While I get a decent Federal Tax Refund,I almost always end up owing Maryland money.Property taxes are being inflated in some counties to the point that they are driving out jobs and residents?We blame watermen and farmers for polluting the bay but allow unchecked development to swallow up rural areas.Do I need to go on?

All of our elected officials need to take this day to think about what direction Maryland is headed in and decide what to do next.If things keep going the way they are,they may have to think up a new state nickname.

Dangerous Games

A grisly scene unfolded on a Southern Maryland highway over the weekend-very early Saturday morning.A crowd of about 50 spectators had gathered to watch an illegal street race on Route 210 in Prince Georges county and were in the road watching the 2 racing cars take off when a 3rd driver,in a Crown Vic,whose vision was obscured by auto exhaust,came along and sliced through the crowd,killing eight persons.Witnesses say that bodies were strewn all over the scene and one victim was ripped to pieces,and allegedly a tractor trailer follwing the 3rd car hit some of the victims as well.PG county police say its one of the worst accident scenes they can recall.It is very tragic and my heart goes out to everyone connected to it.
As of yet,no charges have been filed against the 3rd driver but police are looking for the two drivers who were racing one another.Witnesses also say the stretch of road is known for illegal street racing.

What is happening to these kids?

It was reported today in national news that a 15 yr old Cockeysville Maryland boy gunned down his parents and two brothers,left and spent an entire day with his friends,and reported his familys deaths upon returning home Saturday evening.He allegedly had been having difficulties getting along with his father,a Towson real estate attorney.Nicholas Waggoner Browning confessed to the slayings to police shortly after his crime was discovered.All their neighbors and friends have commented on what an asset this family was to the community and the boy had no history of violence.
Lots of teenagers argue with their parents.Let's face it,when you are a teenager you pretend your parents do not even exist,lol as if you were hatched out of an egg or something.There are going to be screaming matches and occasional tantrums but KILLING your parents AND your siblings?It is eerily reminiscent of the 1970's Amityville NY DeFeo murders-you know the ones in the "Amityville Horror"house.Was the kid in this case doing drugs?Did he have a mental illness?Or was it something darker that propelled him to commit such horror?He is too young to be charged as an adult in this tragedy and there is no offical word yet on whether he is being represented by an attorney.
I hope this is not indictative of another underlying epidemic of killer kids.In this case,the murder weapon was a gun in the home that belonged to the killers Dad.That opens up another big can of worms if the guns were not properly under lock and key.Browning is being held in a segregated juvenile unit at the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson.

Today is the day.....

The public smoking ban in Maryland goes into effect today,and while I understand it's intent,it is not the responsibility of the state to save us from ourselves.Where does it stop?Some strong odors,for example,can cause anaphalactic shock in an asthmatic.Do we ban all personal fragrances?The majority of businesses already had smoking bans in place but the new law limits smoking literally to ones home or car.Some local beaches have enacted smoking bans too.There is no loophole that will allow a business to offer a seperate designated smoking area under the law and that is a little unfair.As long as comparable accomodations are made for non-smokers and the business has enough demand for a smoking area to justify the expense of expansion,why can they not do so?

Don't people walk in the other 49 states?

Senator Verna Jones introduced a bill today in Annapolis to designate walking as the "official exercise" of Maryland-but it isn't getting much support.I can understand a state bird,state song,even the other state symbols like the Chesapeake Bay Retriever & Blue Crab.I initially thought the effort to make Smith Island Cake the official State Dessert was a little trite and corny but since then I think it may help put Smith Island on the map and attract tourists,which is always a good thing for the state and the local communities.However,I do not see what makes walking for exercise unique to Maryland when people do it in all 50 states!While walking is by far the easiest,most inexpensive and safest form of exercise for all ages,it is in no way reminiscent of any particular state or its inhabitants.
And while some people would point to the State Dessert designation as frivolous,those cakes ARE a local tradition and represent a part of the state that few outsiders know anything about when they visit Maryland.Theres nothing wrong with the suggestion that walking is popular in Maryland,it is just isn't relevant.

How many of you are watching "Snapped" tonight???

Oxygen,a cable channel,airs an original series called "Snapped" that I have seen every episode of and tonight the show is profiling Erica Sifrit,who along with her husband,Benjamin,in 2002 conspired to commit a double murder & killed an innocent couple,fellow Ocean city tourists Martha Gene Crutchley and her boyfriend Joshua Ford(pictured above)who had met them on a resort transit bus.It's been all over the local news and I am curious as to how many people on the shore will watch it-Oxygen isn't available everywhere so some people may not receive it and alot of people just wish it would all go away.I agree with the opinion that while there are alot of crime shows that revolve around the criminal,very seldom does the victim receive the same media attention and I hope that the Crutchley & Ford families were interviewed and allowed to speak for the victims,if only briefly.

"Judge not,lest ye be judged"

Two women recently disappeared in the Pocomoke Community,one has sadly been recovered not alive and another is nowhere to be found.The blog community has been very supportive to the families of both women and thats great,but theres that small fraction of people who are essentially "blaming the victim" because of whatever lifestyle these women may have led at one time or another and it is heartbreaking to say the least.Regardless of their choices in life,these two women are mothers,daughters,sisters & best friends to SOMEBODY.Whatever the critics think of these women has no bearing on how important THEY were in someone elses life.I do not live in that community so I do not know anyone involved in either family nor do I have any solid opinions on the issue,I just think it is unfair to even suggest that the women deserved whatever happened to them!Who among us is without sin?
The suspected murderers of Judy Wojcik have been detained however there is still no real progress in the case of Christine Sheddy,who remains a missing person.I certainly hope they find her somewhere alive and well and safe and my heart goes out to both families.They do not need to hear moral judgements about the people they love on top of everything else.

Who dropped the ball?

A Baltimore County couple have been indicted for the death of their 2 year old son,who was pronounced dead shortly after his parents brought him to St.Joseph Medical Center in Towson on December 26,2007.The child was bruised and battered and shockingly,at the time of his death,2 year old Andrew Patrick Griffin weighed 13 lbs which is the average weight of a typical 3 MONTH old infant!
John & Susan Griffin have been charged with two counts each of 1st degree and 2nd degree child abuse,and NO murder charges have been brought as of yet pending an autopsy.
What I want to know is this-who dropped the ball?Why didn't someone,ANYONE,close to the situation do something about it?The kids doctor,Aunt,grandparent-whatever!A child that malnourished and battered is painfully obvious!And if it was reported to social services,what the hell happened there?I am sick and tired of opening up the newspaper or turning on the news and hearing about parents hurting and killing their own children.Your parents are supposed to love you and protect you,and shield you from harm.And I am tired of people playing the "I don't wanna get involved" routine and turning a blind eye to those situations when they know it is going on!Someone had to see this kid and know things were not well!!!
It's been said before and I will say it again,some people should NOT have children.If you build a deck you need a permit-you need a license to drive-but any damn fool who can reproduce can be a parent.There is not a Hell hot enough for the Griffins in my opinion and ultimately they are to blame but I also blame the system and anyone else who came in contact with Andrew and failed to intervene.He and the other children like him deserve better!