Earlier this month the Baltimore Sun ran an op-ed piece entitled: “We assume it was pure motives that led a Trump supporter to launch a cleanup in Cummings’ district, right?”

In case this item passed under your radar, you can read the op-ed piece here. The editorial board of the Baltimore Sun questioned the motivations of a group of people that visited a neighborhood in Baltimore, picked up the trash that had accumulated in the streets and hauled it away. That’s right. Instead of saying “thank you”, instead they questioned their motives. The Baltimore Sun op-ed described them as “A group of conservatives.organized by pro-Trump activist Scott Presler”. They asked the question: “Does Mr. Presler know that drug dealers use trash to hide their product and have been known to threaten people who try to clean it up?” I kid you not.

So, is the Sun trying to tell us that the streets of Baltimore are patrolled by drug dealers intent on preventing neighborhood residents from picking up garbage? An amazing argument. But there’s an easy solution. Repeal the unconstitutional gun control laws. Drug dealers are able to threaten neighborhood residents because they’re armed — while the law abiding citizens are not. Purveyors of illegal drugs would not have any qualms about having illegal weapons. The deck has been stacked against the good people by the government that is supposed to serve them.

But then that’s the racist nature of gun control. According to Wikipedia, almost 2/3 of the population of Baltimore is African American ranking it 5th among cities with more than 100,000 people and 2nd among cities with more than half a million. And in Baltimore, it is almost impossible to obtain a permit to carry a firearm legally. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s by design. African Americans living in Baltimore are systematically being denied their constitutional second amendment rights by their local elected officials. And they’re paying the price, falling victim to homicide rates that are at record highs.

The Baltimore Sun continues its victimization of the people of West Baltimore with the claim that the goal of those that went there to pick up the trash was not to help the good people of those neighborhoods; it was to make poor people look and feel bad. I can’t help but return to the op-ed for another quote: “Whatever he says his motives were, Mr. Presler’s presence in Baltimore reinforces the tired image of our failing urban cores. That the poor people in this dilapidated city can’t take care of their own neighborhoods and all the public officials around them have failed as well. The bureaucratic, all-talk Democrats strike again. If a crowd of volunteers could clean up 12 tons of trash in 12 hours, how incompetent and helpless must Baltimoreans be if they can’t manage it in decades, right?”

Well, if the shoe fits… but their logic can be extended in a number of directions. By their reasoning, public assistance programs should be abolished. Apparently, as far as the Baltimore Sun is concerned, programs such as SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps) were created to make poor people feel bad. Or perhaps we should question the motives of the Salvation Army. Or any other charity. How about the Red Cross? How about Planned Parenthood?

Then there’s the government itself. What are the motivations of many of our elected officials from whatever party? Aren’t many politicians in it for their own selfish reasons? Just asking.

The truth is that motivations are not relevant in this matter. The Baltimore Sun is deflecting. As you can tell by the title of the piece, they are concerned that Congressman Elijah Cummings will look bad. They’re covering for a politician - and one that is currently in the spotlight. And has been in the past. But their rhetoric reminds me of Joe Biden who recently and famously said: “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids”. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth. Mr. Biden should write editorials for the Baltimore Sun, where values, common sense and logic are turned on their head. The people of Baltimore deserve better and it is within their power to do something about it.

Here in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, Baltimore is in close proximity, only about an hour or so away. Locally, Democrats running for office have been known to refer to “those people from Baltimore” – an apparent reference to the drug dealers that come to our neighborhoods. At least I suspect so. In any case, not a good reputation to have. However, I’m confident that no one will be telling us we can’t pick up our garbage. West Virginia has a castle law and constitutional carry. West Virginia isn’t a wealthy state, but we do have some common sense.