It Doesn’t Pay to Upset the Queen of Barrieland
Filed under: Crime, Maryland, Media, Salisbury Politics, Wicomico Politics
Tomorrow I was planning on running a piece on the current state of print journalism (if you can call it that) in Salisbury. This morning’s “Daily Times†provides at least three examples of why our local newspaper (sic) has long ceased to be a neutral arbiter of the news and has degenerated into the house organ of the Committee to Re-Elect Barrie and the Dream Nightmare Team. We had no choice but to address this cancer upon our community immediately.
On Sunday’s front page we are subjected to a blatant attack piece on Wicomico County State’s Attorney Davis Ruark. For purposes of disclosure, I am no fan of Mr. Ruark. He’s an elected Democrat and I’ve never even shaken the man’s hand. He could burst into my office right now and I wouldn’t know him from Adam.
I just find it odd that I’ve heard rumblings about this piece for the last few days and they all seem to tie into one of four possible reasons.
- Mayor Barrie is “upset†because Ruark chose to move the city’s pending case against local gadfly and blogger Joe Albero to Somerset County, where her highness holds no sway and may just be humiliated by a judge intent on meeting out justice rather than adhering to Queen Barrie’s political agenda (no disrespect meant to any Wicomico County judge).
- The attack on Ruark will serve as a “shot across the bow†to anyone who is faint of heart and thinking of challenging any of the Queen’s jesters in the upcoming city council elections.
- Barrie can’t stomach Ruark because he is one of the few elected officials she has been unable to bully (or bend) to her will. (Remember that Mr. Pollitt)
- Any combination of 1, 2, or 3.
Again, I don’t know Mr. Ruark. He could be the Democrat Thomas Dewey or incompetent enough to serve in the Barrie Tilghman administration. The bottom line is that even if (and it’s a BIG if) everything that the local mullet wrapper says is true, how is Mr. Ruark’s office totally responsible for the crime problem in Salisbury.
When a mayor and police chief make the repeated claim that gangs do not exist in Salisbury I can only think of J. Edgar Hoover (who maintained that the mafia did not exist). Perhaps we can all chip in and buy Chief Webster a nice party dress for the holidays.
Recently there was a murder not a mile from the Mayor’s office. When a group of volunteers held a press conference to announce a reward for help in solving this crime where was Queen Barrie? Where were her court jesters? Where was the chief of police? Their response? We didn’t know about it. If I knew about it, why wouldn’t they? Trust me, we don’t have a large staff here at DD and people don’t burn up the phones and the internet leaving us tips.
The icing on the cake is the Queen’s edict that
I see a preference for public image over substance, of perception over sustainable positive improvement in the community.
Mr. Duvall was too kind to state that this was a case of the “pot calling the kettle blackâ€. This is yet another instance of our local mullet wrapper condoning the rank hypocrisy of a mayor and “council leadership†who hold press conferences to profess their undying devotion to the citizens of Salisbury while conspiring to rob their standard of living at nearly every turn.
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The attack by Barrie and her buddy, “Chief” Webster, is truly outrageous. The SPD has become the laughingstock of law enforcement and criminal defense lawyers on the lower shore. Too many “cowboy” types in the force these days, and much of the senior leadership has retired in recent years. And it’s impossible to lead the troops from Seacrets or elsewhere in Ocean City.
Looks like the Tilghman Times has been called upon once again to publish misleading diatribe and nonsense to take the focus off of the real problem — Barrie Tilghman and her administration, with the concurrence and cooperation of the “Dream Team” on City Council.
“I see a preference for public image over substance, of perception over sustainable positive improvement in the community.”
I should throw that quote right back at her at a city council meeting, it sure does put this city’s administration right smack dab in the nutshell.
There’s a great comment in the “Community Forum” in today’s DT (print version only, I believe). The question for comment is “How can we keep our communities free of gangs?”. Along with the usual group of pontificators (Crumbacker, Cornbrooks, Mason McDermott, Smoot, etc.) there’s a new kid on the block — namely, Joe Albero — who addressed the root of the matter.
His comment is too long to recite completely, but here are the first and last parts:
“Hire a police chief in Salisbury who isn’t afraid to fight crime — or allow Sheriff-elect Mike Lewis to take over the Salisbury Police Department…..Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman is trying to ride things out without taking any risks until she loses the next election, as she surely will. Nonetheless, there’s a new sheriff and he’s going to impact the county.”
It should also be stated that the SPD is being made to waste time and resources trying to “get even” with Mr. Albero — at the direction of Barrie and the Dream Team — that could and should be devoted to fighting gangs.