Baltimore Tunnel Threat Staged by MD Gov. as Reelection Stun

As a Baltimorean, I can tell you, there are several things about the whole "tunnel threat" scenario that STINK First. the Baltimore City Police and other first responders were NOT NOTIFIED until after the fact. The City's police chief stated that on the local TV news tonight. Only state agencies under Governor Robert Ehrlich's control were involved in any way until the tunnel had been shut down. Ehrlich is a very good friend of G.W. Bush - he's pumped iron with him and is a frequent weekend guest at Camp David, in fact. See http://www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/03/2/athome.html I am sure Bush gave his pal plenty of pointers on staging phony terror threats, and probably even told which people in the FBI could be counted on to go along with the program.

NUMBER ONE: The first thing that the tunnel closure setup indicates is that there was no real credible threat and that the people who orchestrated the "response" to the threat knew it. If you REALLY thought that a major explosion had even a remote chance of happening in Baltimore City, you would make sure every policeman, firefighter, and EMT in the city was on high alert. And, if Ehrlich thought there WAS a credible threat and FAILED to put these people on high alert, then he was risking scores of lives simply to cop the limelight.... Which leads me to...

NUMBER TWO: Ehrlich is running for reelection this year and guess who his opponent is? Baltimore City Mayor Martin O'Malley. And guess what O'Malley has been nationally recognized for? His ability to handle Urban Homeland Security (see http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/html/msa13090.html ). So what better way to try to steal O'Malley's thunder than to stage an elaborate "terror threat" and make it look as if O'Malley just sat by twiddling his thumbs.

Ehrlich is a notorious master of dirty tricks. Most recently, his henchmen spread a completely false rumor about O'Malley and his wife that was so vicious that even those close to Ehrlich believed it went too far. During his first election campaign, Ehrlich's campaign pulled stunts like promising homeless people $50 each if they would put in a day passing out material at a polling place. The homeless recruits did their jobs - then were stiffed. Ehrlich's campaign also went into poor black neighborhoods and posted fliers giving the wrong date, time, and location for voting. They also posted phony "notifications" around various neighborhoods that only people who had no outstanding court business, including unpaid parking tickets, was allowed to vote. A real prince of a guy, Ehrlich.

So, it is hardly surprising to see Ehrlich pull a stunt like the tunnel alert. Everything was prearranged - right down to calling a press conference at which ONLY Ehrlich had the limelight, with a few state officials in the background. He commandeered a huge chunk of prime time local news. A big, fat, FREE (or should I say taxpayer-funded) publicity stunt.

So this is what it's going to be? The Department of Homeland Security is just a high-priced tool for politicians to promote their agenda with the cleverly orchestrated use of threats? To me, this is downright treasonous, because it is risking national security by A. creating a situation where REAL threats may not be taken seriously and B. Diverting resources that should be on standby for real emergencies.

Just like his pal Bush, Ehrlich has become a menace to society.