Free Republic

According to a senior law enforcement source, the embattled mayor effectively told her officers to do nothing as the city began to burn - raising questions as to whether the rioting could have been stopped. Asked by Fox News if the mayor was responsible for the order, the source said, 'You are God damn right it was.'

It's a Thursday afternoon and William H. "Billy" Murphy Jr., as is often the case, seems to be doing 10 things at once. The phone rings. And he's spouting off about Mayor Martin O'Malley's response to a radio ad in which Murphy is featured, accusing the Baltimore Police Department of unlawfully arresting thousands of black residents. Murphy paces. Advertisement "Did you hear what O'Malley said today?" he booms incredulously into the phone. "He said that Governor Ehrlich was lying about this! He didn't say disagreeing. He said lying!" Fiery as ever, Murphy, 63, is a force to be reckoned with...

Free Republic is a longtime hangout for me and sometimes things get pretty interesting. The current big story has all the complexity and treachery of a Russian novel.In October of 2004, a Freeper who goes by the handle of MD4BUSH began making posts on Free Republic urging Republicans to "play dirty" in the 2004 election. MD4BUSH represented himself as a staunch Republican. He lured another poster named NCPAC into his confidence and then posted alleged private "freep-mails" between the two. MD4BUSH baited  NCPAC into discussing sexual rumors about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. When MD4BUSH brought the exchanges to the attention of the...

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley yesterday accused agents of Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration of spreading false rumors that he had an extramarital affair, and Ehrlich responded hours later by dismissing a longtime employee. The mayor, a Democrat considering a bid for governor in 2006, said he believes that the widespread and persistent rumors were part of a "concerted and orchestrated and sustained" effort and called on the Republican governor to apologize to his wife and children. "I don't think any of us run for office expecting that this sort of hurt will be heaped on our kids or...

<p>Maryland's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, has been hinting that restrictions on firearms ownership might have prevented the recent string of shootings that have terrorized the region and left at least six people dead. Although careful not to appear to be making political hay of the carnage, Mrs. Townsend nonetheless quipped not-so-elliptically the other day that there must be a new debate "about how best to protect our citizens," and that existing gun control laws "save lives."</p>