Greetings from the "worst district in the USA"

[Belsnickel]

(07-30-2019, 10:20 AM)jj22 Wrote: TRUMP: If you criticize America you should leave

GOP: yeah don’t you dare criticize America!

GOP Voters: if you don't like it leave.

Fox News: Don't think America is great, leave and fix your home countries.

Conservative media: The squad hates America. Leave.

TRUMP: anyway here’s a list of US cities that are garbage

Meanwhile, his entire campaign was predicated on thinking America was not great and criticizing it.

[BmorePat87]

The struggles of Baltimore follow the troubling struggles of the US and its housing policies in the 20th century. A few miles down the road from me is Edmondson Village, which unfortunately was hit by an arsonist soon after the twitter assault on District 7/Baltimore.

Edmondson Village was a hot new neighborhood in the 40's thanks to the post WWII boom and had one of the best shopping centers built in 1947. Families flocked there, so when more and more black families entered the middle class in the 50's, they too wanted to make the same move from the heart of Baltimore City to the suburban neighborhoods on the edges.

Between 1955 and 1965, a real estate developer began buying up houses in Edmondson Village and selling them to black families. As more black families moved in, he approached white families with fears of plummeting home values and bought the homes for less than they were worth, reselling them to black families for more than they were worth. This process is known as blockbusting. Community charters were able to openly prevent the sale of homes to black families, so they were willing to overpay. The neighborhood had one of the quickest shifts from all white to all black, in only a few years.

Edmondson Village Shopping Center saw businesses begin to flee as well. Doctors, drug stores, restaurants, ice cream shops, a theater, jewelers, and a department store were some of them.

City funding also left. The local park and facilities suffered and money left the neighborhood schools. Without the influence of white families, the neighborhood was cast aside. Home values dropped and buildings became vacant.

This was not unique as Baltimore itself was facing a population problem. Baltimore's population hit its peak in 1950 at 950,000 (40% of the state lived in the city). Now it is close to 600,000 (9-10% of the state) and dropping. With a national shift away from manufacturing, Baltimore lost its status as a shipping and industrial hub. With that population shift came a decrease in the tax base and far too many vacant properties.

Federal housing policies also harmed Baltimore as redlining restricted loans and investments into immigrant and minority majority neighborhoods, preventing those areas from receiving the same influx of wealth that other areas received from the 30's-60's.

In the 50's-70's, 80-90% of those whose homes were displaced due to the constructions of highways and other urban renewal projects were black. Nationwide, the number is 67%. Jobs followed these highways out of the cities, but transportation systems did not.

Follow that with the mass incarceration policies of the 1970's. Minority populations, restricted by decades of policies, mostly remained in urban areas with low home ownership, inadequate infrastructures, and low job opportunities. Those stuck in poverty are more likely to fall to crime to survive, They're also less able to obtain the same defense as wealthier individuals and more likely to fall to the mercy of the court system. There of course is the bias that also exists within the system against minorities, which is compounded by the disadvantages of poverty within the justice system. The end result was millions of people ripped from their families in areas already struggling.

After that we saw gentrification raise property values in areas where minority populations already struggled to make it. Former industrial and low income areas became the home to shopping, entertainment, business, and high end housing. In that same period of time, banks, as we now have found out, were targeting minorities in areas like this by predatory loans, offering families who spent decades unable to own homes with the prospect of home ownership, keeping them in the dark on the hidden terms. You also have the slum lords, like Kushner who owns several Baltimore properties that were cited with hundreds of violations (which they only fixed when fines and legal action were taken), who take advantage of these situations and then trick tenants into racking up fees, using their naivety of the court system to win wage garnishments and evictions so that they can do it again to more tenants.

Rising healthcare costs, low unemployment, poor education, and a lack of services has also caused their own hardships. Something as simple as discriminatory housing


Baltimore, like most other urban areas, is the product of over a century of policies aimed at hindering minority populations and preventing them from receiving the boons that other populations received in that time. Part of it was shortsightedness. Part of it was prejudice. Part of it was the result of under-representation.

Still these areas have some amazing people who live there who want to fight for their communities, even if a small percent causes trouble. We need to be serious about addressing the issues that affect these communities and the causes, not blaming a congressman (who has spent his career trying to address this) on rats at vacant lots.

I think Buttigieg, whose emphasis has been on community, proposes a great start.
https://peteforamerica.com/douglass-plan/

[jj22]

Trumps son n law owns over 9000 properties in this disgraced city.

I guess that answers why it's in such bad shape.

correction: 900.

[6andcounting]

(07-30-2019, 12:10 PM)GMDino Wrote: But Pat...they CALLED Trump to thank him.

All of them I guess?

Trump has a 100% approval rating among the community of African American pediatric brain surgeons who have separated conjoined twins. 

[6andcounting]

(07-30-2019, 02:55 PM)jj22 Wrote: Trumps son n law owns over 9000 properties in this disgraced city.

I guess that answers why it's in such bad shape.

correction: 900.

It could also be the poverty and rats.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(07-30-2019, 06:54 PM)6andcounting Wrote: It could also be the poverty and rats.

...and having the 5th highest in murder rate in the US probably doesn't help either.


Bright Side: We got The Wire out of it.

[Arturo Bandini]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/30/1875426/-In-1976-Trump-owned-housing-in-Maryland-was-so-deplorable-Trump-s-father-was-arrested

[Belsnickel]

(07-31-2019, 08:05 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: ...and having the 5th highest in murder rate in the US probably doesn't help either.


Bright Side: We got The Wire out of it.

I'm a Homicide fan, myself.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(07-31-2019, 09:37 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: I'm a Homicide fan, myself.

Homicide over The Wire? Bring back neg rep!  

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-31-2019, 10:38 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote:

Homicide over The Wire? Bring back neg rep!  

Agreed, that is an objectively wrong opinion.  

[GMDino]

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-critics-post-photos-poverty-homelessness-republican-districts-across-us-1451472?fbclid=IwAR17GNio8Dol-7YIB9zGhNTztvfJ5E0eDb6tTgc4fsIqQPVGi7GR5alU4fA

Quote:Critics of President Donald Trump responded to his recent labeling of Elijah Cummings' congressional district in Maryland as "disgusting" and "rodent infested" with photos of neighborhoods in Republican-controlled districts that also appeared to be rife with homelessness, poverty and waste.


Trump on Saturday railed against Cummings and Baltimore — about half of which falls in the congressman's district — calling the city "disgusting rat and rodent infested." Rather than decry or disavow the president's remarks, Trump's allies and conservative media outlets like Fox News attempted to bolster his claim by sharing photos and video of destitute and dirty portions of the Maryland metropolis. White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday he'd have been "fired" from running his former South Carolina congressional district if it had as much crime and homelessness.


But Trump critics began pointing out these images were cherry-picked and failed to tell the whole story of Baltimore or the many suburban and rural communities included in Cummings' district, they also posted pictures of their own of neighborhoods blighted by poverty and crime.


What's more, these photos were reportedly taken in congressional districts and states controlled by staunch Republican Trump defenders, including Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rep. Devin Nunes' district in California's San Joaquin Valley and Fresno.


The photos showed desperate scenes of poverty and waste in the largely rural and agricultural areas held by members of the GOP.

Quote:
[/url]Ben. No More, No Less.@BJS_quire




I can't believe the conditions in Baltimore!

Wait... I'm sorry. These aren't from Baltimore.

They're from the places @Jim_Jordan & @senatemajldr represent.



45.8K
8:40 AM - Jul 28, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy

22.6K people are talking about this

[url=https://twitter.com/BJS_quire/status/1155457940444319745]



During Trump's Saturday rant against Baltimore, he described Cummings' district as "FAR WORSE and more dangerous" than the Southern Border with Mexico. And claimed, "His district is considered the Worst in the USA."
But many left-leaning Twitter users defended Democratic-held districts across the U.S., noting that 8 out of 10 states with the lowest poverty levels are blue states. And 8 out of 9 states with the highest level of poverty are red states, according to Census data.


Fox News joined Trump's offensive against Maryland's 7th District Sunday, with Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth saying Cummings has overseen a "systemic culture of poverty." Many media analysts suggested it was Fox News' own Saturday segment on Cummings' district which provoked Trump's anti-Baltimore rant in the first place. The segment showed pictures and videos from the most destitute portions of West Baltimore.
Critics of President Trump and his labeling of Baltimore as "disgusting" began posting pictures to social media showing Republican-controlled areas rife with homelessness, poverty and masses of garbage.MO LATNO BILL PHELAN/SCREENSHOT: TWITTER


White House Chief of Staff Mulvaney joined in support of condemning Baltimore and Cummings' longtime Democratic district.


A viral thread of pictures showing Republican-held districts was posted by an attorney using the Twitter handle of @BJS_quire Sunday morning. Several GOP senators and House members including Lindsey Graham and Matt Gaetz were targeted for scenes of dire poverty in their respective South Carolina and Florida constituent bases.


The thread noted people live in poverty in districts across the entire country, not just districts under either Republican or Democrat electoral control.
Critics of President Trump and his labeling of Baltimore as "disgusting" began posting pictures to social media showing Republican-controlled areas rife with homelessness, poverty and masses of garbage.SCREENSHOT: TWITTER | @BJS_QUIRE


"The point, which many have picked up on, is this...Poverty, homelessness, & crime can be seen across America. Singling out one city and Congressman (especially of the pedigree of @RepCummings) is not about addressing the problems. It's about something else. And we all know it."


Many current and former members of Congress from both sides of the aisle noted Trump should be more concerned because all of these cities are filled with Americans, not just members of a rival political party.


"The United States of America includes West Baltimore," former GOP Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh tweeted Sunday. 
"Somebody tell Trump that Baltimore is in the United States. Trump is President of the United States. So then isn't Trump responsible for the disgusting conditions in Baltimore?"


Mulvaney defended Trump's attacks on Baltimore, telling Fox News Sunday that he would have been "fired" if his former rural South Carolina district he flipped in 2010 had crime like that of Baltimore. But critics pounced on Mulvaney's claims, pointing to census and poverty statistics showing Mulvaney's very rural and agriculture 5th District was poorer than Cummings' district.

"If I had poverty in my district like they have in Baltimore, if I had crime in my district like they have in Chicago, if I had homelessness in my district like they have in San Francisco, and I spent all of my time in Washington, D.C., chasing down this Mueller investigation, this bizarre impeachment crusade, I'd get fired," Mulvaney said Sunday.



Many Trump critics labeled the president a "racist" for singling out a largely African-American part of Maryland. And prior to Trump's election, he called black Democratic Georgia congressman John Lewis' district "crime infested." But Mulvaney said Trump's comments had "zero to do with race."

[Vas Deferens]

(07-31-2019, 10:42 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Agreed, that is an objectively wrong opinion.  

Book the series is based on is even better btw.

David Simon's blog is a real gem too

[Belsnickel]

(07-31-2019, 10:38 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote:

Homicide over The Wire? Bring back neg rep!  

(07-31-2019, 10:42 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Agreed, that is an objectively wrong opinion.  

I've actually never watched The Wire. Never had HBO in my life.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-31-2019, 11:47 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: I've actually never watched The Wire. Never had HBO in my life.

If you have Amazon Prime it's on their instant video.  Watch the whole series for free.  I think you'd especially like season three.

[Belsnickel]

(07-31-2019, 01:00 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: If you have Amazon Prime it's on their instant video.  Watch the whole series for free.  I think you'd especially like season three.

My problem is I just rarely watch any television. For instance, I am a fan of Veronica Mars from back in the day, and my wife is all excited about the reboot, but I just can't get into it. I've really lost interest in television or movies. I'd rather go sit outside and read or hit the water.

[Vas Deferens]

(07-31-2019, 01:05 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: My problem is I just rarely watch any television. For instance, I am a fan of Veronica Mars from back in the day, and my wife is all excited about the reboot, but I just can't get into it. I've really lost interest in television or movies. I'd rather go sit outside and read or hit the water.

I've found myself in the same situation recently.  Would rather be listening to an audiobook and when getting things done around the house or out getting shitfaced / playing pool.

but the wire is a great series.  highly recommend it.  

[GMDino]

(07-30-2019, 06:52 PM)6andcounting Wrote: Trump has a 100% approval rating among the community of African American pediatric brain surgeons who have separated conjoined twins. 

Nailed it.

Ben Carson is out here comparing Baltimore to a person who has cancer, but wears a nice suit to cover up their illness pic.twitter.com/v4x6DVIFds

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2019

 

[Benton]

(07-31-2019, 01:05 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: My problem is I just rarely watch any television. For instance, I am a fan of Veronica Mars from back in the day, and my wife is all excited about the reboot, but I just can't get into it. I've really lost interest in television or movies. I'd rather go sit outside and read or hit the water.

I didnt know they were. Loved that show. But probably won't work if bells not there.

[Belsnickel]

(07-31-2019, 03:15 PM)Benton Wrote: I didnt know they were. Loved that show. But probably won't work if bells not there.

Bell is still the star. The four mains (Veronica, Keith, Wallace, Logan) are all still there and the same with some other old favorites making appearances (Dick, Leo, some others I think). I have been catching some of it while she has been watching it and it seems pretty funny. It's on Hulu, released about a week ago.

Edit: "Reboot" is probably the wrong word. It's season 4 and takes place a few years after the movie.

[Dill]

(07-29-2019, 12:42 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I woke up this morning the same way I do every morning: by going outside chasing away the rats and cleaning up all of the trash.

Life is great in America's "worst district". It's statistically last in every category (I can't get any more specific than that so don't ask which ones). It's very poor (unless you include the part that covers almost all of Howard County, the 2nd wealthiest county in the country). It's home.

Bpat you are the perfect guy for these questions:

1. How do you guys control rats there in Baltimore? Is the task large enough to require assistance from the city, or is it basically up to local homeowners to fend off the threat themselves. Is Big government failing you here? Could open carry be part of the solution?

2. What kind of rats swarm your property and neighborhood? Are they mostly Norwegian?  Could some kind of immigration control from Scandanavian countries help or is it just too late for that?

We have an occasional rat in our neighborhood, but our cat appears to be all the control we need.  The only evidence of rats I have seen in the last year is a rat tail he coughed up in our computer room, along with a pile of black fur.