Posted on 07/30/2019 2:53:14 AM PDT by Kaslin
Ever since President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to chide Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) about the state of Baltimore, which sits in the heart of his district, political pundits have debated just how bad the city truly is.
CNN's Victor Blackwell got emotional when he heard Trump's comments about his hometown. A current Baltimore resident, however, confirmed one thing: the city really is rodent infested and Cummings has done nothing to help residents out over the last 20+ years he's been in office.
Turning Point USA's Chief Content Creator, Benny Johnson, hit the streets of Baltimore to talk to residents about their experiences and to set the record straight.
I am in Baltimore. Rep. Elijah Cummings’ district. I spent all day speaking with dozens of people who live in Rep. Cummings’ district. Some have lived here +60 years.
I learned so much.
Before continuing, ask yourself: Do you want to know the truth?
Here it is…
*thread @tpusa* pic.twitter.com/dLrMXJlsWk— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
First off, Rep. Cummings has represented this district for +20 years. Everyone I spoke with knew him & was aware that he was beefing with @realDonaldTrump.
I did not ask about politics - I asked about living conditions in this district.
That is all.
Here is what they said… pic.twitter.com/ZJQTpaSRVp— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
On being 'Rat Infested':
- *Every* person I spoke with *confirmed* that the district was rat infested
- This man told me that rats the “size of cats” run through his house regularly
- One woman told me rats have “taken over” her neighborhood
- One called it a "plague of rats" pic.twitter.com/Sccxl2qRjh— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
One of the most interesting things to come out of Johnson's trip: a resident showing him a flyer from the city of Baltimore asking residents to pick up trash to keep rats away. The kicker? This flyer was handed out in the last week.
"The best way to prevent rats is to cut off their food source and not provide hiding places for them," the flyer clearly stated.
Rodents are such an issue in Baltimore that the city has a dedicated "Rat Rubout Program."
In fact, the Baltimore County website has an entire section dedicated to "Rat Attack."
"Rats are a community problem that must be addressed by all residents. When a rat infestation exists at one location it may easily spread to adjacent properties," the website states. "To help alleviate this problem, Baltimore County has hired a licensed exterminator to treat areas affected by this issue. We will be treating homes with alley access. Notification signs of when treatment will begin will be placed at the main street entrances of your community."
One of Rep. Elijah Cummings’ constituents went inside their home and returned with this flyer from the city begging them to help with the rat infestation.
The flyer said that the trash & "animal feces" in the neighborhood attract the rats.
The flyer was delivered *this week* pic.twitter.com/G5bGUCUJoc— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
Trash plays into the rat infestation that's plaguing Baltimore. The County provided residents with these tips to help control the issue:
The following steps provide the basis for effective residential rodent control:
- Know your enemy. Review the Rat Facts.
- Be Aware. Inspect your property regularly for signs of rodent activity.
- Be neat. Keep your yard free of trash, debris, high grass or accumulations of building supplies. If you must store materials or equipment outside do so neatly. Organizing and/or elevating stored items helps to reduce harborage and allows you to inspect under and around them more easily.
- Don’t feed the Rats. You may not realize that pet food, dog manure, open garbage cans or cans without tight fitting lids or bags of garbage, bird seed or other food scraps left outside are an open invitation for rats to visit you and establish a home in your yard. Never put household garbage or food scraps in compost piles.
- Cut off their water supply. Dump pails, unused flower pots, toys or equipment in which water can accumulate (standing water also provides a breeding area for mosquitos during the summer months).
- Protect your home. Close any holes you find in the foundation of your house, eliminate cavities under steps, sidewalks, or porches. Close threshold gaps at exterior doors. Provide a heavy one fourth inch mesh screen over sump pump outlets or a tight fitting lid on your sump pump well.
- Think about your own activities. Be sure to clean up any outside eating areas. Minimize spillage around the Bar- B-Q. Greasy residue on a patio or porch or food residue allowed to build up on cooking equipment may attract rodents for extended periods of time. The feeding of wild animals such as birds and squirrels must cease and vegetable gardens or even fruit trees may have to be removed for rodent abatement measures to be effective.
- Don’t build in problems. Try to utilize construction methods that minimize or eliminate crawl spaces under decks or sheds. If building low to the ground is unavoidable utilize heavy one fourth inch wire mesh to close perimeter gaps. Remember rats can slip through spaces of one half an inch and are energetic diggers. Wire mesh should extend below ground at least 1 foot to deter tunneling.
- Communicate. Talk to your family and your neighbors. They may not realize that a problem exists. Rodent infestations must be addressed by everyone if they are to be successfully controlled or eliminated.
- Fight the Rat. When you see a rat, rat run, or rat burrow, take action immediately. The problem won’t just go away. Fill in the burrow to see if it is reopened, indicating an on going infestation. You should take measures to exterminate the existing population. Many bait station or trap products are available at local hardware and lawn and garden stores. You may wish to utilize a certified professional pest control operator. Just remember, any abatement must be accompanied by a continuing effort on your part to use The Rat Control Tips.
There's even a section in their county codes and ordinances which talk about "rodent control." if Baltimore County finds a rodent infestation, abatement can occur.
"If the Code Official, the County Health Officer or the Director finds that a public health emergency exists because the infestation of a building, structure, dump, or other premises by rodents or other vermin is likely to cause disease to be spread to human beings, the Code Official, the County Health Officer or the Director may summarily abate the condition of infestation without prior notice to owners or occupants," the county code says.
And no one can say this is a new problem. The website was last updated May 9, 2016. This has been on-going.
On trash in Rep. Cummings’ district:
- There is trash everywhere
- Filth & garbage piled up high in the street
- One building had a big sign that begged ‘DO NOT PUT TRASH HERE’ - below the signs were piles of rotting refuse
- Constituents blamed the trash for the rat infestation pic.twitter.com/UpIqJSCWsC— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
Constituents say the trash is why rats are infesting the city. Based on Baltimore County's guidelines, everyone's in agreement.
On crime in Rep. Cummings’ district:
- Every constituent said that murders, shootings, drugs run rampant.
- Many told me they were scared & do not go outside after dark.
- One elderly man, “It did not used to be this way. Now we kill each other. Why? Because no one has a job." pic.twitter.com/h221SnGXpd— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
On the abandoned houses in Rep. Cummings’ district:
- Constituents tell me crime, rats, trash, drugs, killings & crumbling infrastructure has forced many out.
- One woman told me she wished the city would just “demolish” her block
- Parts of the district look like a ghost town pic.twitter.com/EqOlei0KEl— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
One home had a 30 foot tree growing from the basement right through the roof. You could see it from the street. How long has this home been abandoned for a tree to take over the entire house and add *another* story?
It was very sad. pic.twitter.com/gwAqpS4gko— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
Parts of Rep. Cummings’ district look like a foreign war zone. Many homes are so decrepit, they are just crumbling to pieces. Every block I walked had a home with no roof. Some blocks have multiple homes that look like they had been through the battle of Leningrad. pic.twitter.com/rLTtpqfitV— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
Other blocks were just eerie. Row after row of abandoned shells of houses. No signs of life or occupancy anywhere. Just like the people who lived there had vanished. In a way - they have. pic.twitter.com/of2EvLZvEk— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
I want to end with this:
Every person I spoke with in @RepCummings district was deeply kind to my crew & me.
Wonderful, beautiful people.
Here is what they all had in common: They feel abandoned by their politicians.
With a district like this - can you really blame them? pic.twitter.com/aLexSb8zQo— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
Why is this even up for debate? Baltimore residents have said their city is filled with trash and, as a result, rodents are infesting their city. The county has guidelines on their website to urge residents to take an active role in preventing the very infestations that are becoming so controversial. The county has hired an exterminator that does nothing but respond to rat infestations.
Nothing has changed in Baltimore. How many more residents need to step forward and say there's a problem before the mainstream media takes them seriously? How many more residents need to call out Cummings for being a failure before the mainstream media takes note and agrees with them?
In the 60s we lived for a couple years in Chicago. My dad drove us down to South Chicago where he had lived for a few years as a boy in the 30s. I guess it had been a middle class neighborhood at the time. It looked a lot like the pics we have seen of Baltimore. This is not a new problem, I don’t think. It has just gotten much, MUCH bigger. IIRC they tore down those slums to build “the projects” which were supposed to be the “modern answer” to slums.
I assume Baltimore is about to be plague infested.
It would not surprise me.
Take a drive through almost any Indian Reservation out west and you will see the same thing. I have a customer that was involved in building new roof trusses for the Yakima Indian reservation public housing.
He stated they were tearing down the old government housing structures that were 30 years old. I asked him why they did not just repair/rebuild the old buildings? He said after 30 years of neglect by the inhabitants there was no reason to keep the old building. It was trash.
Wow, same thing here in NH. The RATS even marched in our July 4th parade.
Obviously not.
There are all kinds of rats...….
The Baltimore jail that was run by a gang....
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2015/4/23/baltimore-jail-gang.html
On 11/9/16, the President promised to work on infrastructure and if the Dems had not been a rat king* concentrating solely on removing him from office, he would have gotten something done by now.
However, when he lobs a grenade at Baltimore I suspect it is the opening pitch in an infrastructure overhaul.
* from Wiki: “A rat king is a collection of rats whose tails are intertwined and bound together...”
I think cities that charge for trash removal are making a huge mistake. The cities should take as much as anyone wants to put out and keep the place clean.
I am having this argument on SM with the mayor of my city right now. We have a problem with illegal dumping in open areas. I suggested we negotiate with Waste Management to have bulk trash pick up once a month. I was attacked for defending lazy people who won’t pay to haul stuff to the dump.
According to Joe Biden, that would be putting them all back in chains!
ping!
The political family that preys together GETS RICH TOGETHER....
RAT SOUP FOR YOU WHO LIVE ... IN THE SLUMS.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/05/31/cummings-wife-nonprofit-disclosure-forms/
Pictures of Baltimore should be spread ALL OVER social media...this is what you get when you vote DemocRAT, soccer moms!
I've really got to use my imagination
To think of good reasons
To keep on keepin' on
It is interesting how this is accepted in some cultures and not in others. I remember a visit to Tortola in the BVIs about 19 years ago. We stayed in a house owned by an American right on Cane Garden Bay.
Right down the beach was another house owned by a local family. It was water front. The lot alone was probably worth $300K or more. The house was half finished which is not uncommon because you can not get a mortgage like you can here. Therefore, people finish their house when they have the money.
That was not the issue. It was the fact that there was trash laying around their house and right on the beach out front. Meanwhile, on both sides of this residence there were rental houses and nice businesses.
These businesses made a lot of money when the cruise ships came into dock in Road Town, just over the hill. The passengers came there for lunch, drinks and just to hang out on the beach. The place next door charged $2/day for a lounge chair rental for the day.
These people could have bought a few lounge chairs and sold bottled water. They could have had a business making tourist money just because of their location. In my head I imagined buying a few chairs, paying them off and then buying more. They could have made a couple hundred a day just selling water bottles. Instead they just hung out because they were lazy.
This is NOT the case with most of the BVI residents. Many of the people that were born in the BVIs have become very wealthy off the tourist business. This is because it is very hard for outside investors to come in and establish businesses or buy real estate in the BVIs. There are no Marriott or Hilton hotels in the BVIs. There are several neighbors of these people that are multi millionaires because they happened to own land/businesses in the Cane Garden Bay area. Their great great grand parents were slaves on the sugar cane plantation. Now, they are rich because they had some foresight and were willing to work hard.
On a previous trip I rented a car from a local rental agency(not Hertz or something you see in the US). After signing the paper work the young man told me to drive it across the street to the gas station to fill it up. As he was filling the tank I asked him about his business. He stated that his father had started with the small grocery store also on the same intersection. Then he built the gas station and finally the rental car company. I noticed a tricked out Jeep Grand Cherokee in the gas station lot. It was his. He had it shipped over from Puerto Rico because there was not a Jeep dealership in the BVI or next door on St. Thomas. I also noticed on his left wrist a Rolex watch. He was also wearing Tommy Hillfinger jeans and Air Jordans.
He was also as black as the Ace of spades in skin color. Ne was also rich.
Welcome to “post industrial” America. There is no quick cure. This not Cummings’ fault. He is just another maggot feeding on the corpse.
I want to end with this:
Every person I spoke with in @RepCummings district was deeply kind to my crew & me.
Wonderful, beautiful people.
Here is what they all had in common: They feel abandoned by their politicians.
With a district like this - can you really blame them? pic.twitter.com/aLexSb8zQo— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019
LBJ’s and the Democrats’ War on Poverty has destroyed every city, which were sold into the WOP by the democrat leaders in every city.
This War on Poverty was a new form of economic Slavery of black Americans living in the big cities, by the democrats.
The politicians in control of these cities have gotten rich while their cities became rat infested $hitholes with increased poverty for the citizens in these cities.
The War on Poverty Wasn’t A Failure — It Was A Catastrophe
57,390 viewsMar 19, 2014, 11:52am
Louis Woodhill Contributor
I apply unconventional logic to economic issues.
Has the War on Poverty been a failure? Well, of course it has. If you devote 50 years and $21.5 trillion (in 4Q2013 dollars) to anything, and people are arguing about whether it was a success or a failure, then you can be sure that it was a failure.
Have you noticed that, 50+ years from its inception, no one is suggesting that the Apollo program was a failure? The Apollo program was an unchallenged success because it accomplished its stated goal: “…to land a man on the moon, and to return him safely to the earth.”
The stated goal of the War on Poverty, as enunciated by Lyndon Johnson on January 8, 1964, was, “…not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.” Measured against this objective, the War on Poverty has not just been a failure, it has been a catastrophe. It was supposed to help America’s poor become self-sufficient, and it has made them dependent and dysfunctional.
Now, the faithful inner city voters for Democrat mayors, governors and congre$$its for decades are being abandoned as the illegals are now the #1 priority to the Democrats!
“Trump will use Baltimore as an example of his racism by investing in it and cleaning it up thereby watching the criminals that have been taking advantage on the sidelines with their mouths open and their last group of constituencies leaving the democrat arena.”
LS: I once thought Trump just did this intuitively, just “felt it.”
No longer. This has been a well-constructed and deliberate campaign to undercut and destroy the old-line civil rights/DemoKKKrat leadership so as to separate blacks/Hispanics from them. ——————————————————————————————
Baltimore residents reveal how locals really feel about Elijah Cummings with scathing honesty 7/29/2019, 11:15:31 AM · 5 of 20 “As far as the houses and everything, like I said, [Cummings] has never done anything for not even one person that I know of. I never heard anybody say anything about him,” Michelle explained. “And people want to talk about Donald Trump ... why is [Cummings] over there taking care of people at the border? We are hungry. We need a place to stay.”
That really depends on one's perspective. To the democrats it was a great success as it locked in a large voting block.
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