Interesting. A person can kill someone or several people and the state citizens will have to pick up the bill to keep them in prison, which is currently around $25K per year. Of course what would the governmet thing about it? Nothing, because they get the money from the people to pay the debts they built up.

wonder if the result would be the same if it were one of their loved ones that were murdered

That should really improve the crime rate in Md way to go make it easier on the murderers... Oh with exception of those who murder law enforcement because their lives are worth more than the citizens of md.... Omalley and the rest of them are a JOKE!!!!!

I'm a liberal who is pro capital punishment. I think this is a mistake but I understand being against it.

Nothing will change. Crime will stay high. People will kill. It will just cost more. These must be end times.

What a sad day for Maryland - another WIMP State with murders going up again in the city - and you ask why do we need the death penalty? Shame on you........We should have used the one we had more often, then maybe we would not have so many people murdered.....

I wonder if you would think like this if it was your brother in the chair? Only our creator can take and give a life...

hopefully this will go to referendum so that the 58% of the people polled that are in favor of the death penalty can be heard from.

I heard if you break the law in Baltimore city you actually receive a small trophy, a pat on the back and some gold front's.

Does it mean we are more safe now? Or THEY are more safe now?

THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE REASONS I WILL NOT VOTE FOR OMALLEY
http://dontvotemartinomalley.renthandy.com/

Thank god they voted on this since we haven't carried a death sentience in this state. All they do keep them on death row until natural causes get them.

My neice was murdered in 2007, I still think her murderer should have paid with Life.

Please conservatives stop implying that keeping a man in prison in life is currently more expensive than the death penalty. I am conservative myself and it annoys me to no end when people just make totally inaccurate claims.

Liberals have no problem vacuuming out a baby from a vagina yet will spare the life of a murderer.

Congratulations to all the murderers in Maryland on their victory today.

I believe Maryland is making a mistake by repealing the death penalty....but who am I ....just a law abiding citizen

@Columbia independant, in essence the point is made here. The antiquated legislation needs a refresher every now and then. The true spirit of Maryalnd as a democratic and liberal state is shown by repealing the law. A larger sect of Marylanders are headed in the right direction, congrats.

Thanks to Guv' O'Malley and the criminal-coddlers of Maryland's General Assembly, the single most effective remedy for recidivism amongst convicted murderers will no longer be available. For those who say that capital punishment doesn't prevent crime, I offer irrefutable evidence to the contrary: There has not been even one documented instance of an executed criminal committing another crime afterwards... ever! That seems like pretty successful crime prevention to me!

I don't understand the high cost of execution mentioned. In the old days they used a rope and a tree. A firing squad would be cheap.
Remember people - the death penalty should be for killers. Live by the sword die by the sword. Crime will go up. Fear of death works. The jails are country clubs were they lift weights and hook up with long lost relatives ...

Temporary win for you Libs., now let get it to the real voters.

Our goverment needs a death penalty becuase they are becoming useless to everyone but themselves.

Welcome to Murder-land, Oops Merry-land, Oops Mary-Land. The state is totally controlled by Montgomery Co., PG Co., Balto. City., and MOST of Balto. Co. Deal with it people. What do you expect. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm moving.... no offshore windmills for me. I'm fed up!!!!

I can't stand this state any longer. Enough is enough!! I plan on moving to PA. Why, not for the taxes, because every state has their way of GETTING you. I'm moving to PA because they are PRO 2nd Amendment AND they are a " Shall carry" state. PERIOD.

I am ambivalent about the Death Penalty. However, I find it ironic that the same body which is trying to take 2nd Amendment rights away from law abiding citizens sees fit to essentially pardon convicted murderers. Aside from the fiscal mess that one party rule has created and that we will all pay for dearly, this is just another example of why we need a strong two party system in this state.

Steve , you are right.YouYa feel better now!!!

Welcome to Maryland, now it won't be just the politicians who get away with murder!

I say put them in an concrete hole similar to an abandoned missile silo... open to the sky with a tent and an a few army blankets and toss down food. One guard with a nice hunting rifle could guard the entire prison. No medical, no entertainment, no getting out if they have a pulse.

We all seem to agree to disagree.There are some who don't want to support those who take the lives of our loved one's...and that is understandable. There those who might want a group who wants to repeal the death penalty to " adopt -a- murderer. All those who do pick out one will support them for the rest of there natural lives.With all the technology we have we can cut down on the waiting time for executions. Give them their appeals but to drag it out for years is not fair to no one.I hope that sends a message that we no longer accept the taking of innocent lives.There are some crimes that will have no compassion from me.We the people, do not want to take anothers life but it is them that put " themselves" in that position. Our system is broken and It is no easy way to solve it. I want to save lives but the right ones.

Maryland didn't become a liberal tax grabbing paradise with the stroke of a fairy wand? Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it voters!

Is anyone else, besides me, sick to death of hearing the dribble coming from FiFA? My God I would rather be put to death then have to listen to his sanctimonious prattle! Give it a break!!

GET O'MALLEY OUT!!! If someone killed anyone in his family, he would feel differently. I know because I have been there! Yes, GOD will judge in the end and I wouldn't want to be in any killer's shoes.

The Governor doesn't pass the law he just signs it.

Martin o'malley, friend of the criminal, of the welfare recipient,of the homosexual.
Enemy to all who work for a living, of the crime victim, of men and women who love each other

Capital punishment is a deterrent if it is used. I've worked as a Correctional Officer in the state prison system and see first hand the kind of animals we have locked up. Those of you in favor of this repeal should spend some time walking the tiers with me. You have no idea what you are talking about. Rabid animals are put down so they can do no harm to people. Some of these men are rabid animals and need to be put down for the safety of us all. The leaders, and I use that term lightly, have no idea what they have done to those of use charged to keep YOU safe from these people.

I think Maryland will regret abolishing the death penalty absolutely. California recently had to re-visit the issue and I suspect, in a few more years do it again. It should never be about the cost or the time spent on appeals. The only issues should be the fairest, most zealous defenses for those accused and justice for the victims.

Just took a little survey on WBALTV over the death penalty. I know it just a local survey but it shows that our law makers got it wrong.
8:42pm
Here is the question: Md. lawmakers right or wrong to ban death penalty?
24% Right
76% Wrong

Political Hacks Rule and especially with a liberal mindset

If you all notice, change can be good but it has to be in the favor of those who represent the people who contribute to this state. The criminals are watching very carefully which way this goes. While I respect the feelings of the churches regarding capital punishment, they can't protect us against the criminal elements out there. None of us want to be branded as "killers" but you only get respect from criminals if you give them little options to commit crimes.The survey that was just posted by Freddy is the real feelings of the people. A few misinformed may say that is not true
but supporting killings of innocents can hardly be defended and this is what this discussion is really all about.

It's about time. The State should not be killing it's own citizens.

What a world we live in. The crimes are getting worse,but the penalties are getting kinder. If they keep it up,you can kill people that pissed you off. Then you get free room and board. Who says crime doesn't pay. Criminals do the crime. The innocent people pay. I don't care about them. I would rather pay for 5 minutes of electric,than years of food and shelter.

"The leaders, and I use that term lightly.."

Need we ask who the "Leaders' are? That's Aryan Brotherhood talk.

...living in Maryland is a death sentence...

The laws were designed to protect the law abiding citizens.The crimes should be dealt with according to degree of the offense.No one likes to take the life of another
( at least the law abidding see it that way ) but keeping the death sentence on the books " and applying it " sends a message to those who have no respect for our life. We should only respect those who respect us. How many more times must we "turn the other cheek" in this state. To those who can forgive the taking of a families life I have to respect that but I guess I am wired differently.There are ways to protect our families in Maryland and that is to fight ( in the courts ) against the criminals.

Evets, Sorry for the loss of your father. feeding and clothing that killer seems "to me" to be just a waste of our money. it's more than money, he doesn't deserve to live after a conviction. In a good situation, there would have been no killing and both could have lived out their lives. The killer made that decision that led to your fathers death. Compassion is extended to your father and " certainly" not to that killer.

I don't know what your dads killers sentence was or how the prison system works in the jurisdiction where your dad lost his life but would you have been ok if he was released on good behavior only serving a portion of his sentence? Because a life sentence doesn't always mean LIFE.

All this talk about Millions for Apeals is bull dookey,a County or state prosecuter are on salary not commission.If the Facts and evidence are backed up by DNA and Witnesses it's Show time Period,but we all know the reason for this passage because most of the Legislators who were for this passage probably have a family member in Prison or on Death Row.All they did was to make it open season on the population.And they're supposed to looking out for our welfare!! BULLDOOKEY!!

This is wrong and the citizens of Maryland will pay in the end.

Does anyone else find it ironic that they want to criminalize ownership of guns while at the same time lessen the sentences of those who use them in a crime?

Remember these little things next time you vote. Repeal of the death, tax increases, illegal immigrant in state tuition as well as other things.

Havent you heard, Its follow the leader. Long live the lemmings.

I believe if you kill you should be killed. If you rape you should be raped. If you abort you should be killed your still murdering. If you rob you should be robbed.if you assault you should be assaulted.I'm so sick of oh they didn't mean it or they have feelings too they should've thought about that first...I AM ALL FOR THE DEATH PENALTY...my aunt at 15 yrs old was raped,sodomized, and murdered (put in a hefty trash bag and in a ditch) her murderer was eventually raped and murdered and he got what he deserved!!

It would be cheaper to put all the lifers on an island and let them form their own society.No one here would want to share that area with them. Let them be self sufficient and raise their own crops.No guns allowed...that should be a shock. We wouldn't be having this discussion if the criminals didn't think they rule the streets. Hard to defend hardcore criminals but some people do a good job at it.

That brings up a point. Should there be changes made to our prison system and how prisoners are treated?
1. Should we make prisoners work for their right to eat, exercise, visitation privileges?
2. Should convicted murders have zero privileges outside of 1 hour or outdoor exercise, basic food and be subjected to hard labor.
3. Should only those who have lighter sentences be eligible for education and vo- tech training to become productive members of society.
4. Not a single family member be allowed in the same prison.

Again a complete overhaul needs to be done and hard labor should be part of the theme.

Freddy, Do you mean we should take away their air conditionng and cable tv ? Some people can be welcomed back into society but those who do heinous crimes put them on chain gangs and living in tents. Cheaper on my tax dollar.

If a murderer is in prison for life with no parole, why would he even think twice about killing again? He can be punished no more.

What if a prisoner like Mr Gandison, (I think that was his name), orders more murders from inside of prison, then what?

The murderers in prison now have a license to kill anyone in prison, or out of prison, with no further punishment. I'm not overly concerned about fellow murderers, but I am concerned for the saftey of prison guards

If that were the case we would have seen a huge uptick in the murder of correctional officers in the other states that abolished it. Never happened.

For those looking for the country club life that inmates locked in solitary confinement, read here for the truth about the country club life.

http://solitarywatch.com/2013/03/11/voices-from-solitary-a-sentence-worse-than-death/

The unholy alliance of corporate lobbyists and state and federal politicians has not only seriously damaged our economy but also drains the tax dollar with the private prison scam. Their propaganda is that they save the taxpayer money by decreasing the cost per prisoner. Of course, their real expertise is in increasing the prison population, and therefore their ever increasing profits at the taxpayer's expense.

Typical inmate cost $50,000 per year. Make them farm their own food, raise cattle to make them self sufficient. You would reduce this number by 50%

Make it hard on the prisoners than they will think twice about coming back. Put all the murderers in a details that are demanding and make it public. Maybe Western Maryland can use extra help clearing the snow off their highways.Hire out the prisoners to do demenial jobs and give back to the system.You may say the lifers have nothing to lose but it can be served either contributing or complete isolation. No recreation time either.If you look at it, the criminals have a code ( in there ) to work against the system. To those who don't understand it ,we are the victims and they want to keep it that way.They are there because they chose to be there. If something should happen to one of the murderers and child molesters (in the prison) certainly wouldn't be any loss.No tears from me.

You all whine, whine, whine when the Governor spends money then you turn around and whine, whine , whine when he does something to save money....a lot of money.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/CostsDPMaryland.pdf

I think some people just like to whine.

$180 million savings isn't weak.

Whew! I actually thought that gun control and gun regulation was a boring topic that was rode into the ground. I was naive and impressionable.

This death penalty debate is even worse.

Can we talk about guns again? Could we pay the Mr. Sears to bring it back?

This is bad, real bad.

One does not need a cloak of invisibility or a magic wand to see 1ke and his ilk cannot refute facts therefore attack in a manner that would make Alinsky proud. Of course 1ke will tell you that the USDA is not recruiting illegal aliens with their brochure program and partnership with Mexico.

Do you have either Merlin?

Do you ever post factual information or opinions of value? It seems to my wizardly self that you merely insult posters on here or change the subject. You obviously do not want to rationally debate issues. That is another of the Alinsky playbook tactics that progressive and liberals engage in.

Merlin, why don't you just admit it? You are not interested in supporting any taxpayer-supported venture that does not immediately benefit YOURself, YOUR family, YOUR income and YOUR retirement at age 66.

1ke, why don't you just admit it? You are not interested in supporting any elimination of fraud, waste, or abuse in the government system that benefits Yourself, YOUR family, YOUR income, and YOUR retirement at age 66. I find it hilarious that you do not have the depth or wisdom to differentiate the two. I am not against programs that benefit the unemployed or the poor. What I am against however, are programs designed to create dependency on that assistance that removes the receiver of the benefits from actually trying to elevate themselves out of poverty. You are also sorely lacking in common sense. It would obviously benefit society to eliminate poverty, joblessness, and improve the economic statuses of all involved. This would eliminate the massive amount of money needed by taxpayers to support such lifestyles. And that is what is the crux of my arguments. Assistance is different than providing a lifestyle in which the individual never attempts to change their situation. But then again 1ke, we all know that you have no problem with abuses of ebt cards at strip clubs, and sending brochures to Mexico to ensure that more individuals come to this country and become dependent on government. As long as they vote democrat, you are content with fraud and abuse concerning taxpayer's hard earned money.

Once again, the Alinsky team is out in force. No need to throw slurs, then why did both you and your alter ego repeatedly do so to Patricia? Oh my bad, the tactic of demonize and insult since you cannot refute facts. As for 1ke, yes there is pervasive abuse of the ebt card system and states have done investigations and have legislation pending. If the brochures were designed for these nationals then we would not be seeing such low level visa denials based on dependency. They are not doing so, which goes to prove my point that the intent is to bring people over and make them dependent on the government. The goal of the democratic poverty is for generations to maintain their level of poverty as long as they vote for dems. This is evidenced in how many cities and states facing abject poverty in inner cities never see a lowering of the poverty rate when controlled by dems for decades upon decades. By the way 1ke, do you think that the ceos of Solyndra and other green debacles will pay us taxpayers back for their loans? I mean, why couldn't they since they can bundle millions on behalf of the dem party to get kickbacks such as their 500 million dollar loans. I mean, it wouldn't happen to be an Obama bundler that owns the company providing free Obama phones now would it? The elimination of the DC voucher program further shows how dems do not care about personal outcomes, but rather the outcome of elections. Why wouldn't dems want those to use vouchers to escape poverty?

Which abuses? Which states? Which legislation?

Which kinds of visa? H1B? Non-immigrant? Immigrant?

Should investments ever be made in technologies and manufacturing processes that are uncertain of yielding a return? Would you put the F-35 Strike Force fighter in the same category?

Is enforced poverty a city policy, a state policy, or a Federal policy?

You have a lot of questions to answer if you want to be accorded respect for anything other than your right to your own opinion.

Let's see--in Maryland we've got a welcome sign for illegals, and a welcome sign for murderers. What other perks can the politicians in this state possibly come up with for the good of the country????

You have to do a lot of research if you want to be accorded respect anything other than your right to your own opinion. Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, and several other states. Are you to lazy to even do a simple search of ebt card fraud and legislation? Nah, it is simply that you do not care as long as the democratic cycle of poverty and voting for dem candidates is supported. Investments should never be made when oversight recommendation clearly states that the loan should never be made. This essentially happened, and the white house merely overruled and ignored such recommendations. It has clearly been documented in the energy department that recommendations were made to not loan those companies millions of dollars. Neither should taxpayer money be forked out to campaign bundlers of any president. Gee 1ke, you guys were such bunged up about Haliburton and Cheyney, yet mysteriously are okay with the crony capitalism rampant in the Obama administration. My mistake, I keep forgetting the liberal mantra of keeping others accountable to standards that liberals repeatedly ignore. Enforced poverty has been a result of the department of education and teacher's unions having a ridiculous rate of failure in educating kids in public schools. Then again 1ke, based on the Annenberg Challenge, dems do not care if kids are failures in educations because then they summarily line up for assistance making dependency an all but assured outcome.

It sounds like you have signed on to a plan to eliminate 3rd World poverty in America. Send me the link, buddy.

I am starting my EBT research hoping to uncover the billions of dollars of waste.

Please do not talk about the Annenburg Challenge and education. You are just reading headlines from God-knows-where.

Here is a simple idea to eliminate poverty. Stop impeding, litigating, and eliminating programs such as vouchers and charter schools such as the ones in Louisiana that are actually educating our children. My bad 1ke, that goes against your core principles of supporting teacher's unions because they are the 3rd arm of the democratic party. If dems did actually want to improve poverty, they would be behind any and all programs that work. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The irony of your EBT research is that Maryland is one of the top states for reported EBT fraud. As for the Annenburg challenge, it obviously upsets you that the 100 million dollars that Ayers and Obama had to work with in the Woods foundation was squandered by teaching children left political philosophy instead of math, science, vocabulary, and real world skills. Instead, programs focusing on "Afrocentric" studies and left wing mantras left those children scoring lower on tests than those not involved in the challenge. Once again, my point is accurately proven. Instead of educating those children in a manner that would have made them prepared for a college curriculum or technical school to learn a trade, they were force fed liberal drivel that left them, once again, summarily lined up for dependency on government assistance due to their failure to acquire the skills necessary to ascend out of poverty.

Education is the answer, right?

Yeah, just like $4.30 per person per day is enough to eat. USDA data says that the rate of fraud in SNAP has been reduced from 4% to 1% in last ten years. Also, 35 states authorized SNAP without any other form of assistance. SNAP and the full range of assistance programs are designed as much to keep the money flowing in the economy as they are to relieve human want and suffering. Don't kid yourself. It is a job creator, which is supposed to be a good thing.

Obama was not involved in school reform in Chicago. Ayers taught at UIC and founded the Small Schools Workshop in 1993. He apparently lost interest. The work of the small schools people, for better or for worse, has resulted in the charter school movement after it was co-opted by Whittle et.al. and a host of corporate boys sniffing out that pool of Federal money since defense and education are #1 and #2 in the money-grub.

Are you rich or heavily invested? Why do you trust people who really make serious bank while feeding at the public trough?

How could you not be a fan of Merlin? Factual, concise, has quite a knack for explaining things in easy terms, that all can understand. And the Annenburg mention, must have really plucked a few nerves. I do have some information to share. Did you know, that not all democrats are liberals. BUT, all liberals pretend to be democrats. Is that what is known as hiding in plain sight?

This is our goverment for you. They don't care about the people that have to pay for this.

Well Patricia, it is quite easy to figure out. Liberals, and not necessarily democrats care only for a permanent voting bloc. They do not care about the personal outcomes of those they espouse to protect. The USDA and levels of fraud reported are quite hilarious, especially considering how they are handing out brochures detailing how to qualify for ebt cards in the country of Mexico. Ayers was a co-author of the grant proposal to ascertain funds in the challenge, he did not lose interest, nor did he lose influence on the programs curriculum. The Annenberg challenge really does piss off 1ke because it is just another reminder that liberals care nothing for the people that reportedly stand to protect and help. Maybe 1ke will explain how it helped those Chicago school kids to wind up scoring worse in school than before the challenge. Patricia, stop and think for 30 seconds about 1ke's statement about the ebt program creating jobs. How does redistributing taxpayer money create more jobs than if those same people had that money as disposable income and invested it into the businesses and services of their communities? It doesn't, but it does match Pelosi's ridiculous statements that unemployment benefits create jobs also. Remember Patricia, truth to a liberal is the equivalent of a cross to a vampire. If you ignore the insults from obvious political operatives on a agenda you can rationalize why they are here 24/7 and you and others post only in leisure.

Hmm, a coincidence, or no? 1ke takes a beating and cannot refute facts such as the reduced test scores of those in the challenge, and fifa mysteriously poofs in with comments. No, not a coincidence. Do the math people, read between the lines, it is so obvious it is quite comical.

If you want to have a good ol' fashioned laugh out loud belly laugh Patricia, just go back to other articles on this patch. Read the posts of 1ke and Steve and Fifa and others. Notice how all these "different" accounts always skip from making salient points and arguments to insults in the same semantics and grammar. Notice when any one of them gets debated based on facts, the others "magically" appear and "amazingly" can join in the thread seamlessly, effortlessly, and without delay. If it were me, I would have to go up and down reading the different posts to make my own comments relevant. They do not seem to have to do that. It took me under 5 days to figure this farce out, and if you do as I suggest it will take you little time to come to the same conclusion.

What test, Whizz? You obviously buy the argument that any educational outcome worth measuring is measurable by a bubble-filling session. No. Actually, you do not. You are interested in character and moral rectitude and the ability to do things and solve problems. So, what's your point, perfesser.

Chicago and the political wranglings and the flip-flop between centralization and decentralization when the Black mayor was elected and then defeated? You have no idea.

Whatever you say.

Hey, Mr. Wizard, what is ideal rate of "structural" unemployment in a global economy dominated by multinational corporations? Tell me. 47 million Americans receive assistance from SNAP. Be precise.

I am interested in facts. By the way, do I have to give multiple answers for each of your alter egos? The facts are obvious and glaring. Since the federal government got involved in the educational system, it has failed our children. Drop out rates have nothing to do with test scores, but it does have a correlation to poverty, crime, and dependency on the government. Why did graduation rates nosedive in our educational system? The most definitive and hilarious outcome of this thread is that once again you cannot dispute the facts about poverty and education, nor that government is filled with fraud and abuse. The fact that more Americans are receiving assistance than in the workplace speaks volumes of the failures of society to curb or curtail poverty. It also proves my point of dems and dependency in how the rates of assistance have gone up dramatically under the current regime. It is okay 1ke, or whatever other name you choose to post under. One only has to shift their gaze to Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York to see the net result of government dependency and the results of decades of democratic rule.

Wow, it only took a 2 minute time stamp delay for Fifa aka steve, aka 1ke, and others to respond. What a surprise.

Gee wizard, small w noted. You joined the Patch all of 12 days ago. What name did you use before this one? Be honest, we will know if you are lying again.

FIFA joined the Patch on May 29, 2012. My views are well documented and reviled by some, appreciated by others. But usually without sugar on them.
Steve joined the Patch on October 27, 2011.
1ke joined the Patch on December 19, 2011.

We have never changed our screen names. I doubt you can say the same. You are a con artist, trying to fool the foolish. Thus, the name wizard is appropriate. But once revealed, you will go away like flatulence in the wind. You stink.

I am glad that you continue to post. I am laughing out loud at my keyboard. All of your names follow the same semantic grammar techniques. The returns before sentences, the periods in all the same places. The timestamps where if any one of you loses an argument, the others immediate jump in, same train of thought. You do however make my argument better than even I can myself. Instead of focusing on facts, or even truths, you once again revert to Alinsky. In that, you have already made my case. Funny how you feel a need to run to a moderator, to eliminate a pest in your own words. See, if you were actually a regular poster like the rest of us here and not an operative that is obligated to be here 24/7 you actually would have been the one eliminated for your vitriol and personal attacks against others. By the way, and this may help you, those that are not engaged in the activities of your posting do not need to post drivel pretending to make your case. Maybe someday you will find someone in the literary world that will show you to better disguise your tendencies when posting. It is quite hilarious however how obvious the whole charade is. You gave yourself away in the post where your first instinct was to have my account banned instead of proving your case. Too late with these further posts, you have been revealed.

My man, B.O.! Show this Wizard fellow how clever you are. Or say something intelligent.

(Smell of smoldering insulation...brief flicker of acrid flame)

Capitan, it is even more evident when you call this person out, and immediately the names scatter once again. It is humorous, but actually boring in the scheme of things. By the way, if I were accused of something that I did not engage in, I would not be spending the rest of my precious weekend trying to convince others to the contrary. You may notice however Capitan, that this is the same behavior patterns of former head of the EPA Jackson that used emails under the name Richard Windsor and resigned after being caught. Or we can talk about the fake twitter tweets supporting gun control that were linked to an Obama aid. This is simply par for the course for these individuals. It is expected, and very predictable. They cannot win arguments based on facts and reason, therefore this is the type of behavior they engage in to try and win debates. Ever try and do probability statistics? If you have you would see the probability of all these names being online at the same time, arguing the same issues, day in and day out do not ring true. It is also quite telling that when busted they alter their time stamps. I do not use these other names, but magically their timestamps immediately differentiate. Let us know 1ke how many more hours you are going to spend trying to convince us otherwise. Maybe we can set up a fund to buy you as many computers as you have identities. Maybe we can arrange a lunch with you and Jackson or the fake tweeters.

Probability statistics: a new branch of mathematics. Haw haw...B.O. can't even balance his checkbook.

Zero hours. Not to belabor semantic grammar or strain on your probability statistics.

This is why I love Patch. Kirsten, you are my hero.

After getting owned on this board by an adult calling themselves Merlin I am sure that 1ke and all his other alter egos will be back at headquarters being given a new playbook to deal with the "crisis" of not even being able to win a debate with a fictional wizard. Unlike you, and your other alter egos, I have no vested interest in all of this. But you do, and it upsets you when others see through said ruse. It explains why you are on here 24/7 and the rest of post when we have free time. It also explains why someone can place a post in a thread about towson restaraunts stating that they have no money to eat out due to Owemalley and your charade of characters materialize from the mists to attack them in perfect concert.

Update: 9am 3/18/13
WBALTV POLL
Md. lawmakers right or wrong to ban death penalty
Right 24% 63 votes
Wrong 76% 201 votes

Bring it to the voters.

While the nation’s unprecedented rate of imprisonment deprives individuals of freedom, wrests loved ones from their families, and drains the resources of governments, communities, and taxpayers, the private prison industry is expanding at an exponential rate, holding ever more people in its prisons and jails, and generating massive profits.
Private prisons for adults were virtually non-existent until the early 1980s, but the number of prisoners in private prisons increased by approximately 1,600 percent between 1990 and 2009.In 2010, the two largest private prison companies alone received nearly $3 billion in revenue.
Government corruption plays the largest role in these decisions...greed drives profit.....this is the real reason for eliminating the death penalty....it's a numbers game.

Get off my lawn!

Talk to the chair!

Here is a poem dedicated to all of the alter egos, all in one fell swoop.

Hush little 1key,steve,frank,fifa don't say a word
The democratic party will buy you a brand new keyboard
And if that keyboard doesnt shut Merlin's trap
We will use stimulus money and buy you a brand new Ipad
If that Ipad does not make Merlin's rants cease
We will find more posters for you to fool and fleece
If that fleecing does not keep you warm
We will give you more websites to deluge with your liberal storm
If that storm cause the rain or post to go dry
We will find you 10 more names coming from the same guy
When that identity gets called out once again
You will disappear faster than the President can spend

That's not 'all" You left out JoeBlob/Sanchez and BO/Kongo?SteveFrankFIFA/Kongo/El Capitan and Buzzo/ Whatever the Fake-o 16 year old girl he was pretending to be

I think I hear a phone ringing in the distance. That might be your handlers. They are calling you back to headquarters after getting owned on this board. They probably want you to go to other designated sites. Just don't spend their money all in one place. Although I must admit that it is funny that non-operatives can destroy your arguments so easily. Bazinga! I must be a real wizard!

"owned"?? I don't think so....

I believe the wizard is a lizard. He grows back after being deleted by the Editors. His childish poetry was used by a previous poster as well. Sounds very familiar. Came from the Towson Patch also. Hmmm. Come out from behind your shield lizard! Who were you?

I believe that FIFA needs to be recalled and reassigned to another website by the party. He consistenly spends his whole life on this website pushing a distinctive agenda. Hmmm. come out from behind your party headquarters. how much do they pay you to use several different names and spend your life here?

That is a funny thing about lizards. They are blinded when the light is shone on the squiggly little eyes. Same speech, same poems, same conspiracy theories, you have been exposed Lizard of the Patch for what you are. A slimy little brained lizard.

You know Buck, you would expect more from something making a living posting drivel and towing the party line. If it were my money, I would be paying someone that doesn't get handled so easily in debating politics. It is quite telling however the things that he and his alter egos refute and argue, and what they do not. The best way to think of FIFA and his other names is this:
Imagine you are in a grocery checkout line and the person in front of you starts up a conversation. They start by talking about what a shame it is with the post office cuts. They then go on about how much they looked forward to deliveries of mail and packages. As they keep going on an on you start to think it is odd. Next they tell you about signing petitions and online sites to ask for the post office to stay status quo. Just as you think that is even more out of place a customer walks past your line and points to that person and says, "Hey Bob, how is the post office treating you these days?" That about sums up all these different names and single user and why they are here, why they are here 24/7, and why they attack anyone making cognitive points that go against their liberal agenda.

While I am not for the ban, it isn't as if Maryland was executing criminals anyway.

For those that are not shills of the democratic party there are cognitive points made about section 8 housing and crime as well as government abuse and fraud. It is also a telling point that the USDA's own stats show that since 2004 approximately 3.5 to 4.0% of recipients of the SNAP program are Illegals. Only a person with an agenda would fail to recognize simple truths such as those. Then again the multiple identities have already denied that section 8 housing even existed in Towson, then tried to state that there is not a correlation in the increase of crime and violent crime to be specific. Like I said in the above post using the grocery store analogy, you are not debating some concerned citizen that lives in Towson. Instead, just imagine yourself debating with someone like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Schulz whose very income are premised on such activity. It is then that things make perfect sense.

Section 8 status merely reflects the fact that former residents and their heirs have moved on and that in their place investors with no stake in the neighborhood are out to make a buck. I once rented and you likely did, too. Did you do odd jobs around the property, go out and pick up garbage, establish friendly relationships with all the neighbors and cooperate with their goals in life?

Say yes and you are something else besides a paranoid conspiracy-theorist.

Self-righteous to the bitter end, Bucky-boy. Nice to see you and Schuub back to back, both choirboys, who have always been mature, in control and putting cleanliness right next to godliness.

I think you are both self-absorbed narcissists who take great pride in making the world go limbo-low underneath the bar you set where you please.

What I love are the looney tunes that believe income tax is illegal. These morons who believe that you don't have to pay income taxes. Anybody that believes in that believes the moon is made of cheese. What do you think buck? You violated Bryan's reprimand to you but you fail to learn, that is not very smart.

Where has all of the intelligence gone?

The intelligence disappears with the appearance of operatives with a set agenda posting under numerous ids. They will post until the sun goes down any and all things that belie common sense. For example, the police chief of Towson stated in the Towson Times papers that petty crime has remained relatively stable but it is the violent crime that has increased dramatically in Towson. When did that happen? It was the advent of thousands of section 8 housing units. Once again it is common sense versus propaganda. Anyone living in Towson for the past 5 to 10 years has seen violent crime increase exponentially. 5 years ago we were all not reading articles about violent criminals being apprehended at our beautiful library or on the campus of gbmc hospital. Now that is happening on a regular basis. As for as studies are concerned, questions are validity and sponsorship. I would guess that many patchers here do not know this if they are not in a science or research field, but in the 1960's the American Medical Association published a paper stating that anabolic steroids neither improved muscle mass nor athletic performance. Meanwhile, athletes worldwide laughed their asses off based on what alter ego calls "anectdotal" evidence to be dismissed. I would say that in some cases common sense trumps biased studies. Ever notice classaction suits involving drugs on the market? At some point in time all had to submit research data determining that the drug was not harmful to humans.

It does at some point reach a point of ridiculousness which becomes boring. For example, alter ego the operative disputes the 3.5 to 4.0 percent figure, yet it was the figure given by the USDA to senator Jeff Sessions concerning the USDA's involvement in the snap program. But then again, this is the same person that was incredulous about abuse in the program even though several states have passed and are in the process of passing legislation to prevent such fraud. News outlets are running stories about drug dealers and criminals driving luxury vehicles pulling into stores and dropping anywhere from 3k to 7k on their ebt cards. Now common sense tells you that if they can hold on to those benefits to rollover to that degree then they do not need nor should qualify for such benefits. A telling narrative that I will leave the "citizens" of Towson with is that when whistleblowers working at these stores broke the stories, they were treated the same way as patchers here when they post opinions contradictory to those of 1ke, aka Steve, aka FIFA, aka others.

You ignore a mass of facts concerning the ongoing urbanization of Towson: growth of retail infrastructure, growth of the entertainment sector, development of mass transit options and residential development. Certainly, these have been in place for more than ten years, but they mature over time. That people and property in Towson are exposed to a revolving set of strangers moving in and out of the area is clear. Correlations with Section 8 housing are not clear.

Why don't you blame "job creators" for messing up this little bit of bourgeois heaven?

"News outlets are running stories about drug dealers and criminals driving luxury vehicles pulling into stores and dropping anywhere from 3k to 7k on their ebt cards."

You just love to keep repeating the Urban Legends don't you?

Well well, if it isn't steve and 1ke, or should I just refer to the same person that is at the keyboard? You just love to keep repeating liberal mantra don't you? The welfare chief of Massachussets was fired because of ebt fraud involving those ineligible to receive benefits and the failure to track recipients already receiving benefits. Multiple states have now passed legislation to deal with this issue, and in the state of Texas and New York store owners have gone to the media over people racking up thousands of dollars of their products at one time, with the ones in Texas documenting the luxury vehicles. Gee alter ego, do you think the readers of patch or citizens of Towson are too lazy to do a simple search using the keywords ebt fraud and find out what I am talking about? Or maybe they are not here because of their job and income dependent on a political party. You are right about one thing, the transportation choices brought to Towson have indeed made the neighborhood worse off as far as crime is concerned. And once again you post ridiculous untruths. Why don't you tell those reading Patch about the ACLU lawsuit that took place which opened the door for these section 8 residents to be placed in middle and upper class communities which directly refutes your assertion that it was "capitalism" or businesses that were the reason they were brought in.

No, I think you are too lazy to give us a link.

Maybe you ought to read the latest study which was recently released which tracked the MTO participants for a lengthy period of time. Most of them have moved back to their original neighborhoods.

For those that are actually concerned with facts, the lawsuit I am referring to is Thompson vs HUD, and in the resulting settlement Baltimore city and region residents were given the ability to choose mixed income neighborhoods to settle in. It was not business leaders, nor urbanization as 1ke would like you to falsely believe. One little caveat that also blows 1ke/Steve/FIFA and his other identities out of the water is that the settlement targeted neighborhoods that were SAFER than the original homes for settlement. In other words, Towson was recognized for its safety and low crime which met requirements of the lawsuit settlement. Now, it is obvious that the terms low crime and safety do not fit the description after receiving so many section 8 residents. Maybe next 1ke will tell you that the level of violent crime is because the Orioles have not yet or maybe will not ever agree to move their schedule for the Ravens home opener.

I wonder how that above post fits the purposefully wrong description of blaming "job creators" that he/alter ego previously posted. Maybe we should blame those responsible, such as the ACLU for the ruining of our neighborhoods.

Let us look at a very easy example to follow. Rodgers Forge was considered an exclusive housing community not only because of rental cost but of safety and low crime. Enter section 8 housing. Immediately a resident that did not have to lock down their vehicle in the past had property stolen from that vehicle. After word got round to other residents that things had changed people were careful of leaving anything open. Next, the storage area where residents now locked up these posessions was broken into and their property stolen once again. Now, Rodgers Forge has a security presence. Was it urbanization? Residents going in and out? New development to the area? Nah, it was the ramifications of social justice. Innocent taxpayers were subjected to crime because of section 8 housing and civil liberties lawsuits. What about the civil liberties of those Towson residents?

There is no Section 8 housing in Rodgers Forge. It doesn't meet HUD's criteria.

Your high standard for medical research (i.e. the AMA steroid stance of the mid-60's) does not influence your standards for policy research in the least. Your view of the influence of Section 8 housing on neighborhoods should appear in a peer-reviewed context. All you would need is a few footnotes. Maybe you could run for Dan Bongino's seat.

My views of section 8 housing are based on observations. For example, it was not until violent crime and aberrant behavior started to rise in Towson that I sought an answer for why it was happening. That was after noticing people sleeping next to the Burger King that was razed, next to the library, and using spotcrime and the news to examine the uptake in crime. Much to my shock, not really, I went to a website that listed Section 8 rentals in Towson. At that time there were 1,159 units and the prices went as high as 2000 dollars per month for 5 br houses. There is a house for rent now for 1695. There is also good research on property values for those adjacent to section 8 housing, and the results of such housing. Unlike yourself, I am someone that cares about walking in my neighborhood with my partner without worrying about the crime that has come from this housing boondoggle. But then again considering that you are an operative given talking points it was no surprise that you at first denied section 8 housing was even in Towson and that it took lawsuits to achieve such things.

Welcome to America. I have never felt comfortable walking on a street in my life. Never. Not ever.

When the divide between haves and have-nots is so broad and bridging it so unthinkable, unimaginable, this is what you get.

Enjoy living like the rest of us. Stay alert. I am done on this thread, Wiz.