Oh, Baltimore, what happened to you?

"Baltimore stinks to high heaven. There is no amount of lipstick you can put on that pig. Cummings has devolved from a civil rights icon into a Democrat tool."

Years ago, while working at United Defense, I became very close friends with the Director of Contracts at Lockheed Martin. In fact, he, I, and our Procurement Contracting Officer were such good friends, some referred to us as the "The Three Amegos".

Lockheed and United Defense were teammates in making the Navy's Vertical Launching System. It was all good. In any event, at one time, my friend from Lockheed Martin asked me if I would like to change teams, and move out to Baltimore to work for him.

I had been out to Baltimore many times, and knew the lay of the land. I was not a fan. Baltimore was an old, run down (in many areas), Blue city. He wanted me to be his Contract Manager for all Lockheed's international business. It would have been a great job, and I could do it. I had some international business experience at my current company. But to move to Baltimore, I would need my wife to buy in to it.

So my friend from Lockheed invited my wife, my youngest daughter, and myself out to Baltimore to get a feel for the city. We stayed in his house. He took us to different areas of the city. After that trip, my wife told me there was no way in this planet she would move to Baltimore. I did not blame her. It was a dump. Even the "better" places my friend showed us.

This morning on Fox an Friends, Dan Bongino was asked about this latest "dust up", between Elijah Cummings and the President. What Bongino thought about the President being called a racist. His reply was epic. "This is nothing but a big pile of steaming dog do-do on your porch", Bongino said. "Every time a Democrat starts to lose an argument, they revert to using that word. There is nothing racist about what has happened to Baltimore. The Democrats have ruined it. In the 1930's, Baltimore was one of the richest cities in the nation. Today, it is a dump. Why? 70 years of absolute Democrat control. They have not seen a Republican elected for anything since the 1940's."

Today, the President is right. The crime rate in Baltimore is shooting up (no pun intended), the poverty levels are increasing, and the city is totally hollowed out. Like Detroit, it is a very dangerous city to be out in after dark. But to listen to Elijah Cummings, you would think that Baltimore is home to the holy grail. Nirvana. It is not. It is a crime infested, rat infested, mess. And the Democrats made it that way.

We can argue about this until the cows come home, but here are the facts. Every city in this country which has been Blue for decades, is now a candidate for demolition. The poor people who live in those cities, who have been cowed into voting for these clowns year after year, are the real victims. The ones who could afford to leave, have left. What remains is a hollowed out poverty trap.

This may sound incredibly naive, and I have said this before. This great country will not be totally healed until one can walk down any street, in any city, at any time of day or night, and be totally safe. Right now, we are about as far from that as day is from night. It should not be that way. In every city, we should respect each other as fellow citizens, allowing everyone safe passage. Instead, we are looking at each other like predator and prey.

The President is right. Dan Bongino is right. My wife was right. Baltimore stinks to high heaven. There is no amount of lipstick you can put on that pig. Cummings has devolved from a civil rights icon, into a Democrat tool. Sad. Sad to see Cummings go this way, sad to see Baltimore go this way. But that is what the color Blue does to you.