Doug Schmidt Blog & Writings

Our loving gentle giant

The life and death of Eddie Feete is a reminder that we can find much good in the world if we look. Edward Feete was buried this past week. His was a simple service at a Falls Road funeral home, attended by dozens of his friends and remaining family. Eddie was 68, still youngish by […]

Six things you need to know about the special session

If you thought it was all about money for education, you’ve got another thing coming Everybody has a family member who, to put it politely, doesn’t quite have both oars in the water and does the most inappropriate things while not knowing any better — like demanding a family photo at a funeral or calling […]

Maryland politicians’ crime spree

From political crime to legalized corruption, the state of ethics in the Free State is a sorry one For the past three years, Maryland has experienced an unprecedented crime wave of political corruption. The only comparable period in memory would be the 1970s, when a governor was jailed and a sitting U.S. vice president (who […]

How Bain Capital Made a Fortune for Romney

Fellow Republicans (and soon enough Democrats) are delivering broadsides at Mitt Romney for his fortune and how he amassed it at Bain Capital. His career in finance is lumped in with corporate raiders, vulture capitalists, robber barons, and Barbary Pirates. No one is shocked that political rivals will sift through and distort a presidential candidate’s […]

Maryland’s victims: The lost and the living

In the wake of tragedy, Marylanders showed their best side, coming together to help the families of the 9/11 victims Remembering Marylanders “Always Remember” reads the banner on the fire station door. After 10 years, the phrase still evokes an upswell of emotion. But why do we have to be reminded? How lasting will Sept. […]

Jerry Sloan’s summer of ’66

Thousands of men across America have had to make peace with their demon. With a little better luck or a little more playing time or one less injury—they could have made it in the NBA. But in the competitive and unforgiving realm of professional sports, they either never got out of training camp or were […]

Maryland’s Gambling Governors—lies, damned lies, and statistics

Years from today, if Marylanders are asked to cite Governor Martin O’Malley’s greatest achievement while in office, the first answer will be, “He was the governor who gave us slots.” The Governor’s ego and self-image will surely bristle at this epitaph on his career, but the fact is that no single issue in memory in […]

Where’s the rage?

Another promising Baltimore youngster has lost his life to violence; what are we going to do about it? John Crowder, playing for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel High School, was a special and feared presence on the basketball court. He was not demonstrative or overbearing — but there were moments when, at 6 feet, 8 […]

Black & Decker III—Death by Poor Governance

When I first learned of the sale of Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) to The Stanley Works (NYSE:SWK) in November of 2009,  I was immediately suspicious and wondered how much money Black & Decker executives would be making by selling their own company.  For decades now, it has been a growing and, in my […]

Black & Decker II: The Death of Black & Decker

The nagging question about the “merger” of Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) and The Stanley Works (NYSE:SWK) is, “Why is this happening?”  Why is Black & Decker disappearing (becoming a division of Stanley) at the beginning of an upturn in the market?  Why is the company selling for a modest premium?  Why are shareholders […]