Baltimore and Maryland: Redefining the term “police state”

Governor Larry Hogan (a Republican, of course) announced on Thursday that $68 million lawmakers set aside for schools will now go to the state’s pension system, of which Baltimore would have received over $11 million. He explained the decision by saying “there is no magical pot of money”.

State officials did approve something for young people: a $30 million, 60-bed jail to house Baltimore teenagers charged as adults, a step to address years of concern about the practice of housing young city defendants alongside adults. In doing so, they were violating the law by keeping the youths in the same facility as grown-ups, where teens often are secluded and do not receive school or other services while incarcerated. See? Go to jail, get funded education!

Of course, you need more police to put people in jail, and that’s been taken care of, too. Governor Hogan also announced that he’s diverting funds meant for an art center to state police. “I am a huge proponent of the arts, and the first lady is a former member of the Anne Arundel County Arts Council. But in the current environment, a State Police barrack in our state capital and adequate funding for public safety in Annapolis must be the priority.”

And the way he’s going, that current environment he speaks of will be around for a long time.

The lesson to learn from Baltimore and Maryland is this: