Will Baltimore ever return to an esteemed and thriving city?
Baltimore has hidden strengths. One could have joined me walking in Patterson Park today and not realize how bad the situation is in certain neighborhoods. There was a fishing tournament for kids, a kite festival, and lots of very young children chasing soccer balls. Some neighborhoods are strong in spite of the crime that afflicts the poor neighborhoods.There is a viable path to recovery from the city’s present ills.If the state is successful in expanding the Howard St. Freight Rail tunnel so that it can handle double-stacked shipping containers, the resulting increase in port-related activity will create a minimum of 15,000 blue collar jobs. The upper estimates for new employment is 35,000. This would be huge for a city of 621,000. If the tunnel project can be accomplished, the new jobs will take some of the edge off the large segment of the population that has no place to go in the post-industrial economy. This is the population that is driving the violent crime in the city. The violence is concentrated in the poor areas.The rest of the city is in better shape than most people from outside would believe. There is a strong health care sector with professional jobs. Federal employment at the National Security Agency in the southern suburbs and the Social Security Admin. and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid is an invisible strength of the city and its surrounding area. Federal jobs, health care, and the port are the factors that have prevented Baltimore from becoming another Detroit.The city government is run by idiots. The public has become so disgusted that they might actually attack some of the waste and corruption at the ballot box.
Is Condoleezza Rice a lesbian?
Why do you care? Why does anyone care? She's an attractive, extremely intelligent, poised woman. Isn't that enough? I'll be so glad when sexuality is a non-issue.March 3, 2018: There is a comment below regarding the color of Ms. Rice's skin. I need to include that, too, here. It's not the topic of the question, but …. Why should her skin color matter, and why should her gender matter either? It shouldn't. Ms. Rice has more than proved herself capable by anyone's standard. Trump would be an exception, but he's so far below her in every way. I will say that she should never support anyone who is bigoted or homophobic or racist or mysoginistic regardless of her political party if she is indeed a lesbian. I believe that when she is prepared to share that with the public, she will. Until then, unfortunately, she has and will have more cred if she keeps it to herself for now because too many people will rush to judgment. “Gasp! A black lesbian? High up n the government! Nooo! Egads!”I'm a Democrat, but I respect her. I don't know her opinions on trump, but I feel I can go out on a limb here and say she misses likeky can't stand him. Who can? He's all the things in one person she's had to fight her whole life. Bigot, racist, mysoginist and homophobic to.mrntion a few of better qualities (he's also a sexual predator, a liar, a thief, an adulterer, and he and Putin have something ominous going in. She's an exceptionally intelligent, proud but modest woman. Despite her political affiliation, I like her. I hope she is a lesbian. So there! ;-)I'm gay, a feminist, and I wish her the very best unless she comes out in support of Dimwit’s Rump. Then the gloves are off. Also I should say that if she is a lesbian and she supports any reduction of gay rights, a candidate who tries to reduce our rights, or anyone who espouses any of the personality defects (racism, etc.) I listed above, I will get right in her face. Ok, I'll give her hell from here, Twitter, email and by phone/faxSo there … again. Who knows, she might be the first female president. And gay as well, busting three records.