It was surreal. Fox News reporter Leland Vittert was trying to get answers from Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and she was being shielded by race hustler Al Sharpton. Rawlings-Blake has been considered to be a rising political star in the democrat party. Then as Baltimore spiraled out of control, Rawlings-Blake found herself way over her head and she was unwilling to take the heat. As Rawlings-Blake headed for a speaking engagement for Sharpton’s National Action Network , Sharpton promised that Rawlings-Blake would answer all Vittert’s questions, but Rawlings-Blake ducked out the back door and dodged all questions.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=287VGwjcmPo[/youtube]
Rawlings-Blake also walked back words she had used to describe the rioters. At first she referred to them as “thugs” but subsequently amended that.
BALTIMORE, April 30 (UPI) — Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake took back her comments calling protesters “thugs,” saying she used the wrong words in the heat of the moment.
“I wanted to clarify my comments on ‘thugs.’ When you speak out of frustration and anger, one can say things in a way that you don’t mean,” she said on Twitter. “That night we saw misguided young people who need to be held accountable, but who also need support. And my comments then didn’t convey that.”
Critics say Rawlings-Blake and others who have used the word to describe the protesters, including President Barack Obama, are being insensitive. The episode also underscores the fine line Rawlings-Blake is walking in the largely black city. Raised in an affluent family, some charge she’s out of touch with the city’s poor.
To his credit, Barack Obama stood by his description of the rioters as thugs.
There are several reports that Rawlings-Blake not only ordered the police to stand down but that she also ordered them not to wear protective riot gear.
Despite a firm denial by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a senior law enforcement source charges that she gave an order for police to stand down as riots broke out Monday night, raising more questions about whether some of the violence and looting could have been prevented.
The source, who is involved in the enforcement efforts, confirmed to Fox News there was a direct order from the mayor to her police chief Monday night, effectively tying the hands of officers as they were pelted with rocks and bottles.
Asked directly if the mayor was the one who gave that order, the source said: “You are God damn right it was.”
Since the riots began, 100 cops have been injured.
I don’t watch O’Reilly very often, but this is worth a few minutes:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk-OlVXrF0M[/youtube]
Rawlings-Blake spoke of avoiding loss of life here (at about 2:20 in). Five people were shot in Baltimore last night, two fatally, and a body was found in a truck.
I have tried maintaining respect for Mayor Stephanie. Little by little that respect has dwindled and finally was lost when she hid behind Sharpton and spoke to Sharpton’s NAN promising not to seek justice, but to seek justice only for Freddie Gray.
I don’t know what happened to Freddie Gray and I have not opined about it but Mayor Stephanie should be seeking justice for all.
She wanted the big job, and she has the big job. Now she needs to carry out the big job and stop hiding behind Sharpton’s skirt and stop acting like a suspect instead of a Mayor.
Everyone else should be waiting for the facts. Many bad things went down in Ferguson because people ran with a false narrative. I fear that should the crowd not get its pound of police flesh Baltimore is going to burn.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 40 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 45 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter who is in the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
“That night we saw misguided young people who need to be held accountable, but who also need support, ” said the mayor.
BUT….the facts show that almost 98% of all those arrested were legally adults, not ”misguided young people.”
Perhaps later some of these ”young people” will be arrested then supported as there is a year plus one day after their commission of felonies to do so.
The day after the worst violence a parent came out with a child to help clean up.
When asked why, the parent quoted a Bible verse: Train up a child in the way for him to go and, when he is grown, he will not stray from it.”
The mayor’s words and deeds point toward a different Bible verse: Because sentence against a man’s bad deeds is not properly carried out, he becomes set in his way to continue to do bad.
I can remember back in the 60s when conservatives called black activists “racial adjitators and demonized
In this age of the Obama justice department many lives are being destroyed for strictly political reasons.
The lives of 6 police officers have been completely destroyed — they were charged before all facts were available, or would have been made available in a diligent investigation. These charges are proof that justice has disintegrated. The danger is that these politically motivated injustices will make the Nation more dangerous for everyone — next time you need to contact a police officer for help, you may not get the help want or need.
Anarchy is the inevitable outcome of such idiotic and far reaching decisions. This is also a willed outcome from un-insightful, talentless and spineless leadership.
And the thugs rule the streets with wanton abandon. Thank you so much.
There’s a reason people don’t want to talk to FOX News reporters. FOX News has an agenda. It isn’t about providing an unbiased report of events.
On top of that, this particular FOX News reporter—one Leland Vittert—was behaving like a total jackass. At the point where the video clip picks up, he’s politely but firmly told there will be a time to ask the mayor questions, but that this moment isn’t it. He’s not having it.
I don’t imagine his refusal to respect that, or his whiny, offended tone, would go far toward convincing most people to reconsider. He is speaking to the mayor of a major American city, and someone who has had a lot of serious problems to deal with lately. If he wants respect, he should begin by showing a little.
I suspect that the Mayor will not have the support of the police in her next election.
@Greg:
He was acting like a reporter. Like ones we’ve seen on 60 minutes and every other news outlet since there have been TV news outlets. Your own bias blinds you to any reasonable thoughts.
As to the claim there would be time to ask the mayor questions, as promised, it did not happen. They didn’t get the chance.
Do we need anymore proof at what an idiot Gullible Greggie is when he posted this:
“So, there were choices and trade offs: The mayor could either lock down the community, preventing peaceable assembly and demonstration, or let people exercise their fundamental rights at the risk that certain elements will take advantage of the situation. She tried for a balance. People were allowed to speak and march. An irresponsible element took advantage of the situation, but no one was seriously injured or killed. The outcome could have been far worse.”
But then, we have this:
“Five people were shot in Baltimore last night, two fatally, and a body was found in a truck.”
Not the mention the 100 police officers that were hurt, one critically. Can anyone here explain what “fatally” means to Gullible Greggie?
Leland Vitter should press charges against tax-dodger Al Sharpton, or who ever it was in Sharpton’s group, that shoved him. When you put your hands on someone in an aggressive manner, that’s assault, baby, and against the law.
@John:
Actually, those would have been what we call “Democrats” (dem-o-crats). Meanwhile, Republicans supported rights.
@Greg:
Such as? OH, that’s right… you or any other liberal mouthpiece NEVER have examples to back up your blaming Fox for liberal failures. And, Baltimore is a liberal failure. ANOTHER liberal failure.
Note that Sharpton was already there when Vitter posed the questions; so the Mayor had already decided she was going to hide behind accusations of racism (please ignore the fact that 3 of the 6 cops are black, one a black woman) instead of asking questions. Liberals should learn that if they would simply honestly face questions, they would avoid “jackasses” (in this case, someone that will not tolerate ignoring questions about stupid actions). Perhaps the REAL jackass is anyone that tells rioters, “Here… you can have these people’s property to destroy. Just go ahead, have a good time and get it out of your system. I will make sure the police will not impede your lawlessness. Because you are black.” And THAT is what the Mayor told them.
@Mully: That is because liberals are cowardly liars.
@retire05:
Just think, if Sharpton, Soros, Buffett, Toure Neblett, Joy-Ann Reid, Harris-Perry and many federal employees would pay their taxes (you know, THOSE taxes that liberals preach are so patriotic to pay… kind of says something about their patriotism, doesn’t it?) all that money could be dumped into Baltimore and fix ALL those problems. Seems it is liberals that oversee the arising of the problems and liberals that, by their very own recipe, keep the problems from being resolved.
Perhaps it would be best if liberals just went away.
@Mully, #6:
Most serious news reporters don’t behave like tabloid journalists. He may be an indicator of an even lower standard that FOX News is headed for.
@Greg:
Vittert worked for both ABC and NBC prior to moving to Fox and is an award winning reporter prior to going to work for Fox. But I guess you prefer those “reporters” that fabricate their stories like Dan Rather, et al. Perhaps that explains your constantly exhibited confusion.
You’re still an idiot.
@Greg:
Talk about the media ”having an agenda…,” Greg, what do you think about how Ms Mosby used her lesbian deputy State Attorneys, Janice Bledsoe’s ”partner,” WBAL-TV reporter Jayne Miller to create a FALSE story that made the WaPo article SEEM false?
Background:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/prisoner-in-van-said-freddie-gray-was-banging-against-the-walls-during-ride/2015/04/29/56d7da10-eec6-11e4-8666-a1d756d0218e_story.html?tid=sm_tw
A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself,” …..
The prisoner, who is currently in jail…..
The Post was given the document under the condition that the prisoner not be named…..
The document, written by a Baltimore police investigator….
The third stop was to put the other prisoner — a 38-year-old man accused of violating a protective order — into the van.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, compare those fact situations with Mosby’s lesbian associate’s leaked story ID’ing the ”man in the van” as a 19-year old who stole a cigarette and is named.
http://www.wbaltv.com/news/second-man-in-police-transport-van-speaks-out/32669692
The other man who was loaded into the police transport van carrying Freddie Gray spoke out Thursday for the first time.
West Baltimore resident Donta Allen, 22….. raised controversy with what he told police because he told them something he really he had to speculate on because he wouldn’t have known for sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National media reports began conflating the two “passengers” and claiming the Washington Post passenger was ‘walking back his statements’.
But there’s no proof that Donta Allen was ever in the van at the time Freddie Gray was.
See any 22-year olds? No.
But you DO see a 38-year old.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donta claimed on CNN with Don Lemon that he arrived in the Baltimore Booking Station “while overhearing police talking about Freddie Gray not breathing”, there’s absolutely no indication he was ever there on 4/12/15. Nor is there an arrest record, or a booking record, for him on that date.
BROOKE BALDWIN: He was still in jail. [According to the WaPo article] But he’s not.[Danta Allen is not]
LEMON: And he’s not. And that was the issue of getting it on yesterday. Because we had it yesterday, we had it first, but we want to be — I’d rather be accurate than first. And so, today, when we spoke with the prosecutor, they said, indeed, it is him. You’ll hear his story tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~~
So, Mosby of her lesbian assistant, Janice Bledsoe, lied to CNN.
~~~~~~~~~~~
It appears almost certain that Donta Allen was established then leaked to reporter Jane Miller by her girlfriend Deputy SA Janice Bledsoe in an effort to deflect attention from the concerns of the Washington Post story.
If you watch Donta’s various interviews you can see how he’s making it up as he goes along.
More here:
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/05/02/update-the-curious-case-of-freddie-grays-transport-van-companion-baltimore-prosecutor-marilyn-mosby-manipulating-the-media/#more-100291
FOX News wants to make the entire story about lawless black people rioting in the streets, while simultaneously attempting to discredit a black mayor who has actually dealt well with an extremely difficult situation. They’re attempting to place blame for Freddie Gray’s death on Freddie Gray, using their standard approach of injecting unverifiable information from unnamed sources.
The second prisoner who was reported to have stated that Gray was attempting to injure himself inside the van denies every having made such a statement. If he’s an unreliable witness, anything he has said becomes irrelevant. There were apparently no signs of self-inflicted injuries. Something clearly happened while the guy was in custody, and somebody knows what it was.
@Greg:
I guess while you’re so busy hating on Fox News, you failed to see the people they interviewed that were trying to calm the crowd, or the number of blacks who just wanted everyone rioting to stop harming their city. I’m sure you missed the line of black men, locked arm in arm, to put themselves in front of the police officers so that the thugs would not throw bricks at the police officers.
As to the mayor, she is a disaster. Just another example of a Democrat leader who doesn’t know how to lead. What kind of fool tells the police to “stand down” when they are watching their city being looted and burned? The kind of fool that Baltimore has as a mayor.
Now you can twist and turn and hate on Fox all you want, Gullible Greggie, but it doesn’t eliminate that a city that has been controlled by Democrats for over 1/2 decade is a major failure.
You continue to prove you’re an idiot.
@Greg:
Correct,, it is about providing a report of events ‘without’ a biased or unbiased point of view or agenda which they do considerably better than any other news service.
@Greg:
It probably is futile, try as they might, they’ll never get down to the level of the lefties.
@retire05:
Retire,, you may be giving Greggie too much credit.
News Flash: Media across the Nation uses the term “HERO” — describing this prosecutor.
The insanity wagon rolls along.
@Greg:
Actually, Greg, it is people like YOU that wish to make the story about Fox News rather than a bumbling Mayor that decided to sacrifice the private property of individual taxpayers so those with a like mind to hers could satisfy their blood-lust and instinct to steal.
Funny…. you didn’t have that opinion of Ferguson “witnesses” whose credibility had been wrecked by the exposure of their lies. You have held to that falsehood of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” even to today.
Yes, there were.
Baltimore has been out of control for years. Residents tell me that groups of black kids ride motor bikes ( without license plates) in heavy traffic, running red lights, surrounding cars, cutting people off and generally creating mayhem. This mayor and her predecessor have done nothing to stop it.
Anyone living anywhere close to Baltimore that reads the paper or follows local news, hears about muggings of white people by gangs.
Recently a 61 year old white man was attacked and nearly killed by a gang of 40 or more kids because he interrupted two girls who damaged his car while they were fighting each other.
Baltimore, once a proud city of tight neighborhoods, is now one big mess. The mayor’s comments and treatment of the thin blue line is outrageous..
She treats the young people( aka thugs) as if they were a bunch of puppies, caught for chewing a slipper. She’s a lawyer, by training and should know better.
Her father was a well-respected pediatrician and politician. Shame on her.
Let’s see how many businesses want to return, how many people go to Oriole’s games, the Zoo, or the Inner Harbor. Good job, mayor.
Oh, by the way, the autopsy reports showed that Freddie gray had pot and heroin in his system. He’s been arrested multiple time for dealing drugs and was carrying a weapon.
Good job mayor.
@james raider: The left considers Bergdahl a hero as well. Perhaps “hero” is the new “traitor”.
@John: And by “conservatives” you mean Democrats…
@John: And I was there and they where right!! What’s your point??
@Bill: Greggie uses diversionary tactics when he is, as usual, caught in a lie without proof!! Thats most of the time!!
You’re conflating two different men, Greg.
I don’t blame you, though.
The media made it all extremely confusing.
A 38-year old man who broke a protective order was in the van with Freddie Gray.
That is the man who said he heard Freddie Gray bouncing around during the ride./
A 19-year old man who stole a cigarette and is Freddie Gray’s friend was the man who CLAIMED the story was wrong.
His identity was ”leaked” to a lesbian media member by her own lover who is Assistant to Mosby.
So, two different guys.
As to having to hide behind Sharpton, rioters and their enablors won’t have that problem anymore if CNN is leading the change.
No more reporters in times and places like those.
Drones will be used instead, according to CNN.
Problem solved.