BUT WHAT WAS THE ULTIMATE COST?
by Sharon Rondeau
(Aug. 26, 2017) — On August 17, The Post & Email submitted to the Baltimore mayor’s office a request for documents pertaining to the removal of Confederate War memorials from the city’s Wyman Park Dell over a two- or three-day period earlier that week.
Prior to the American Civil War, Maryland was a “slave” state located just below the Mason-Dixon line. Following the protests in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resolved to have Confederate statues in the city removed and perhaps relocated to “Confederate cemeteries.”
Since the events in Charlottesville, many citizens have expressed that Confederate war memorials are symbols of “hate” and racism, while others believe they teach American history.
The first of its kind sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser, a dual statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Lt. Gen. Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson riding horses stood in Wyman Park since 1948 until its removal in the early-morning hours of August 16. Three other Confederate monuments were removed in Baltimore the same day.
In an update to its entry for “Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee Monument,” Wikipedia reported, “The statue was removed on August 16, 2017, on the order of Baltimore city council following political pressure, but the base still remains. The present location of the monument is unknown and some city council members called for all confederate monuments to be destroyed.”
Pugh’s predecessor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, had organized a commission to study the issue of taking down Confederate statues. According to the commission’s website, Rawlings-Blake’s request to place an explanatory plaque in front of the Jackson-Lee statue was fulfilled in early December 2016 and states, in part, “This Commission concluded that this monument was part of a movement to perpetuate the beliefs of white supremacy, falsify history, and support segregation and racial intimidation.”
On August 15, the website “Baltimore Brew” reported that the City Council voted to “deconstruct” the monuments and that while agreeing with their recommendation, Pugh said the process would “take time.”
Our public information request reads:
From: webmail.noreply@baltimorecity.gov
[mailto:webmail.noreply@baltimorecity.gov]
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2017 9:13 AM
To: Mayor Catherine E. Pugh
Subject: FORM SUBMISSION: Contact the Mayor
Under the Maryland Public Information Act (PIA), I am requesting the following public records:
(https://www.dpscs.state.md.us/publicinfo/pia.shtml)
*All contractors’ invoices for the removal of Confederate War statues in Wyman Park in the City of Baltimore on August 14, 15, and 16, 2017.
*Documentation on where the statues will be maintained, whether temporarily or permanently, or showing that they have been destroyed.
*If the monuments were destroyed, contractors’ invoices arising from said destruction.
In all cases, “contractors” refers to non-governmental companies and/or employees of the City of Baltimore or any other municipalities performing the work.
I am willing to pay up to $25 for the documents, although I believe a fee waiver should be applied, as the information contained therein would be of interest to the public and I operate a media organization. I can accept electronic delivery of the records to save copying and postage expenses.
Thank you very much.
Sharon Rondeau, Editor
The Post & Email
www.postemail.com
PO Box 113
Canterbury, CT 06331-0113
203-987-7948
On Friday, The Post & Email received a response from Benjamin A. Bor, Special Assistant Solicitor, Litigation; Baltimore City Department of Law. His email reads:
Ms. Rondeau:
In your August 18, 2017 email to the Baltimore City Mayor’s office, below, you requested “[a]ll contractors’ invoices for the removal of Confederate War statues in Wyman Park in the City of Baltimore on August 14, 15, and 16, 2017,” “[d]ocumentation on where the statues will be maintained, whether temporarily or permanently, or showing that they have been destroyed,” and “[i]f the monuments were destroyed, contractors’ invoices arising from said destruction.” The Maryland Public Information Act (“PIA”), Maryland Code, General Provisions (“GP”), Sections 4-101 et seq. governs your request.
This response is on behalf of the Mayor’s Office. There are no responsive documents at this time because the removal services were an emergency procurement via Section 11(e) of Article VI of the Baltimore City Charter. Additionally, the Mayor’s office does not have any records in its custody and control that are responsive to the balance of your request.
Nothing in this response is intended to indicate that records sought from City agencies exist or to waive any privileges held by the Mayor and City Council. You may contest this response by filing a complaint in Circuit Court pursuant to GP section 4-362.
Sincerely,
Benjamin A. Bor
Special Assistant Solicitor, LitigationBaltimore City Department of Law100 N. Holliday Street, Suite 101
Baltimore, MD 21202
Benjamin.bor@baltimorecity.gov
Office: (410) 396-3012
Fax: (410) 547-1025
An article in The Baltimore Sun dated August 14, 2017 reported that “Mayor Catherine Pugh pledged to Monday take down Confederate-era monuments in Baltimore — and said she has asked contractors for estimates on how much it will cost.”
The Post & Email submitted its public information request prior to seeing the aforementioned article.
On Saturday, we sent an email to Bor stating:
Here are the goofy Baltimore brains harboring the invisible thinking to remove statues of American History herein:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLLCQRaEAO8
http://law.ubalt.edu/admissions/ourstudents_profiles/benbor.cfm
https://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/
Goof-and-Golf NEVER-presIDent Adopted Barry Soetoro- Narrative Obama II, Michelle Soetoro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYY73RO_egw , Susan “Lie-a-Minute” Rice, Licensed Attorney Contempt of Congress Eric Holder, Licensed Attorney DHS Catch-and-Release-Murderers Jeh Johnson, U.S. Rep “Impeach Trump” Maxine Waters and so, so many other ungrateful American Negroes, exist each day just to suck-off American exceptionalism while trampling on the American flag at the same time!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address
When I visited Gettysburg in June 2017 I was told that the fallen bodies of the Confederate soldiers laid on the Gettysburg battlefields for some 7 years before ladies of the South united together to have them removed! Did some 650,000 humans die during the Civil War just to allow Baltimore leaders to willfully promote today’s UNTIED States of America?
From Democrat whips (1860’s) to Democrat welfare (1960’s); from Democrat field slavery (1860’s) to Democrat mind slavery (1960’s):
> 08-28-63 MLK’s I Have a Dream [That Became a Baltimore Reality]
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964
> http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/did-lbj-say-ill-have-those-nggers-voting-democratic-200-years
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Losing_Ground_(book)
> BALTIMORE, MD fights to preserve field slavery during the Civil War and now fights to preserve MIND SLAVERY (= City Council-taught and practiced PLANNED VICTIMHOOD + unlimited welfare hand-outs from taxed working heartbeats surrendered to ungrateful welfare deadbeats + never-ending affirmative racism)
BALTIMORE LEADERS REPENT: Knowledge is power, ignorance is poverty!
________________________________________________________________________
Thank you, Sharon, for approaching the Baltimore “officials” to uncover the undisclosed disposal of these American History statues with extorted taxpayer funds. The Baltimore government, like our U.S. Government, is out or control with an unaccounted life of its own, and your 8 years of archived articles at P&E are one of the few remaining Truth Centers for grateful folks on Main Street USA to ACT UPON.
In my opinion, the Left is organizing this effort to romove statues which represent their history; the history of the Democrats and their perpetration of slavery in our country. In fact, in 1861 the 4 million slaves in this country were all owned by Democrats. Not a single slave was owned by a Republican. The Left is entitled to their opinion, not their facts. This silliness will not erase their nefarious history. Please, folks, educate yourselves to the history of the Democrats and the Left in our country. The connections to slavery, to the Nazis and the Fascists are blood curdling! Their are books and documentaries that you can avail yourself to. Do not let this stupidity go unanswered. And by the way, Go Trump!!!
Doctor Lou
What the city of Baltimore really needs is an “Emergency Recall” election of their incompetent mayor and city council members.
But that’ll never happen, will it?
And the reason why it’ll never happen is because the rats that lives in Baltimore’s “mini-swamp” won’t allow the people to have their say in their own city government.
You want proof of stupid? Baltimore voted overwhelmingly for Obama and Hillary, assuring yet another generation to “graduate” from their public schools without the ability to read and write, yet they seem to be able to add-up the drug profits easily enough, so maybe their time all the way up to 3rd grade wasn’t wasted after all.
I thought the goal was to educate our young to be able to compete on the World Stage.
Boy, was I ever off the mark.