Wow

If the reports from Toronto are correct, B.J. Ryan has become the first major free agent to sign a contract and has received the largest contract in Major League history for a relief pitcher.

Wow. That is all I can say. Ryan is a great pitcher, but there is no way that he or any other relief pitcher is worth the average $9.5 million per year he is going to get from the Blue Jays. The Orioles often get criticized for not offering respectable contracts to their free agents, but I thought the team was overly generous with the 3 year, $18 million offer on the table for Ryan.

Looks like the Blue Jays have single-handedly changed the face of the '05-'06 Free Agent market. It will be interesting to see what the Blue Jays do the rest of the winter, and to see how Ryan's deal impacts Billy Wagner and other free agents.

Please Specify

I do not get too into the Christmas spirit until December 1st (though I did buy my first ornament of the year in September, but only because we were at Harrod's). But all of this un-Christmas spirit is driving me batty.

"We Wish You a Happy Holiday" is now sung in schools these days in lieu of the more familiar lyrics. There is the infamous Petco commercial with a couple celebrating their puppy's first holiday (with a Christmas tree in the background, no less). I cannot imagine hearing the phrase "Holiday Tree," or "Holiday Lights," or "Holiday Parade" one more time.

Things have gotten out of control when corporations and governments feel like they cannot refer to Christmas by name without offending the minority. We cannot wish people a Merry Christmas. Schools seemingly cannot have any reference to Christmas whatsoever (though references to Chanukah and Kwanzaa seem perfectly acceptable). When is the American public going to stand up and take a stand against people who refuse to acknowledge a holiday observed by a supermajority of the American public. This is an opinion shared even by our friends, particularly our Jewish friends, who do not celebrate Christmas.

If you want to greet me with a salutation, please specify. I would rather have somebody wish me a Happy Chanukah, a Happy Kwanzaa, a or even a Happy Saturnalia than just wish me a Happy Holidays. The message is not in intimidating somebody who is of a different belief than you; it is the spirit of camaraderie, family, friendship, and community such a greeting entails. A feeling that one individual hopes another has a wonderful day or week during that holiday, regardless of their religious beliefs. I feel blessed that the person acknowledged me in the celebration of their holiday.

Let's face it: a refusal to acknowledge Christmas insults to all people of all faiths who celebrate all holidays.

Allrighty Then

Not quite sure what to say to this:

A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics -- relations with “ETs.”

By “ETs,” Mr. Hellyer and these organizations mean ethical, advanced extraterrestrial civilizations that may now be visiting Earth.

On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: "UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head."

Mr. Hellyer went on to say, "I'm so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something."

Glad we've got that cleared up.

Black Friday vs. Economics

Today, of course, is Black Friday. And while I did make a trip to Target this morning, I am not one of the folks out there trying to finish their Christmas shopping today. Black Friday makes no sense when you account economics into the picture. True, Black Friday sales prices are great deals. But how much is saving money worth to the consumer when you consider:

• How early one must awake and leave the house to get these prices?
• How much gas will the shopper use in traffic?
• How much time will the shopper lose in traffic or waiting in line?
• Will the shopper be able to acquire the necessary items on the first trip, or will it take multiple trips?

I know that Black Friday is important to retailers, but as a shopper I just say no. It is more economically feasible, for me at least, to wait until Monday and go, once the craziness of the weekend slows down. Or else, and you really like to save time and money like I do, buy most of your gifts from Amazon and have them shipped directly to you. Why take a two-hour round trip to the mall to buy one item, when you can buy five in the span of five minutes from the convenience of your home?

Happy Thanksgiving...

...and be thankful for everything that you do have.

Bonus Baby

No wonder so many school administrators yearn to be superintendents; it is just about the only public sector job where you get a bonus for looking to work someplace else:

Baltimore County school board members voted unanimously last night to increase school Superintendent Joe A. Hairston's retirement benefits, a week after he withdrew from consideration for a similar job in Virginia.

After the meeting, Hairston promised that he would remain in Baltimore County through the end of his contract in 2008. "I will not betray my commitment to this community and this board," he said.

The 11 members present voted in favor of a plan to transfer his annual $10,800 bonus to his salary, which will improve his retirement benefits. Only board Vice President Warren Hayman was absent.

"I'm just compelled to follow through on a mission," Hairston said, adding that he felt "humbled" and "appreciative" at the board's action changing his compensation formula.

It is nice that Hairston decided to "follow through" after the board showed him the money.

No Kidding

Here is a piece of breathtaking reporting from the Sun this morning:

During 2003, the year that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. took office, 207 at-will state workers were terminated, more than triple those fired by his predecessor the year that he was sworn in, according to data provided by the Department of Legislative Services.

The information, which was culled at the request of the special committee investigating Ehrlich's personnel practices, shows that while the number of people leaving state jobs under Ehrlich was essentially on a par with those who left under former Gov. Parris N. Glendening, there was clearly a spike in the number of at-will and special-appointment state employees who left their jobs when Ehrlich took office.

In 2003, more than 800 at-will workers -- a category of people who serve at the pleasure of the governor -- left their jobs. Under Glendening, that number had peaked at approximately 650 in 1996.

Gee, perhaps the fact that Maryland has its first Republican Governor in 34 years had a little something to do with employee turnover, both involuntary and otherwise.

I can only think back to a scence from The Usual Suspects, where Hockeny(played by Kevin Pollak) is being questioned by police:

Cop: I can put you in Queens on the night of the hijacking.
Hockney: Really? I live in Queens, did you put that together yourself, Einstein?

Reality Check

It is interesting that nobody (particularly the O'Malley camp) seems to want to discuss the recent Rasmussen poll that shows O'Malley not nearly as well off as the much-maligned Sun poll did.

What is fascinating about the poll is that Duncan's lead over the governor shot from one point to nine points. O'Malley leads only by six.

What does that mean? Not much. It is still a poll a year prior to the election, at a time where neither Democrat has suffered through the brutal primary, and while the Democratic machine is still firing all of their venom at the Governor. Check back in mid-September and these numbers will look drastically different.

Signs of Life

The Ravens certainly showed signs of life on Sunday as they beat the Steelers 16-13 in overtime. The game was capitalized by several two critical things that had been missing in recent weeks:

• Defense: The Defense forced two turnovers on Sunday, more than we can say for recent games. The defense stopped the Steelers cold at the most critical times.
• Chester Taylor: Taylor had more carries than Jamal Lewis this week. 19 carries for 59 yards is not wonderful, but Taylor was given the opportunity and was more successful than Lewis (13 carries, 29 yards). The fans, in particular, have been screaming for Taylor for most of the last month or so, and they were certainly happy he got the chance. Taylor provides a different look out of the backfield and so far he has capitalized on his opportunities. What really frustrated the fans was the fact that in the Taylor had more carries today (19) then he had in his the last four games (13).

We will have to see if the team is finally on the way back next week against the Bengals.

FEC Makes the Right Call

Today is a great day for freedom of speech on the 'net: the FEC has given the green light for blogs to be exempt from campaign finance regulations. The FEC ruling is here.

The bigger point, though, as Steven Den Beste points out in the RedState comments section:

But I remain appalled that Congress passed, the President signed, and SCOTUS approved the gross violation of the First Amendment known as the "McCain-Feingold Act". I'm glad for this decision, but it should never have been a subject of dispute in the first place. The idea that "You can say whatever you want about politics as long as you don't spend any money distributing your words" is preposterous.

What About that License Plate?

As nearly everybody in this area knows, the license plates for the District of Columbia carry the famous motto "Taxation Without Representation" on the bottom of the plate.

On the other side of that argument, D.C. City Councilman Adrian M. Fenty is trying to revive the idea of a commuter tax on D.C. workers who live outside the city.

It is less than surprising that D.C. politicians sign a different tune on taxation without representation when trying to raise revenues from non-residents. Thankfully, Congress will almost certainly shut down any efforts to enact this silly idea on the workers of the District. In fact, a rejection by Congress, combined with the previous declarations of such taxes as unconstitutional, are a blessing for the District. Non-resident District workers bring much more into the District's economy than they use. A commuter tax may provide businesses, partiuclarly small businesses, an incentive to move to Virginia or Maryland, thus reducing the tax base even further.

If D.C. politicians put as much time into governing the city as they did with publicity and putting ideas out in the press, perhaps they could actually work to lower the crime rate or improve D.C. schools. Instead, D.C. leaders seem to talk only for the purpose of hearing themselves talk.

Like a Bad Dream, the Bad Bill is Back

Like a bad dream, the disastrous school board bill first proposed last year is back as promised , this time with a interesting assortment of sponsors. Any bill whose key sponsors are Dels. Busch, Leopold and Dwyer is bound to be an amalgamation of bad ideas.

As I said in March:

Well, "something" has been done. But what does the bill accomplish? What the bill does is create a new level of government to suggest to the Governor candidates for School Board selection. The power is still in the Governor's hands. Nor is there anything to prevent the current School Board Nominating Convention from continuing to meet, screen potential members, and provide the Governor with a list of candidates of their own. The "competency election" is a farce. The election will be an yes/no vote on the existing board member in order to allow them to serve another five years. Does anybody truly think that a sitting board member will be turned out of office? Can anybody remember the last time a sitting District or Appellate court judge was voted out of office? These elections usually send the judges back with a total of 85-90 percent voting yes. One could argue that by passing the current bill, the Delegation has actually decided to give less power to the people than the current system.

I have stated my opposition to this idea since it first surfaced back in February. In fact, my first substantive post on this blog was in opposition to HB625, and I still believe that the purpose of this bill is for its sponsors and supporters to say that they have "done something" about the Board selection process.

What is unfortunate is the way Delegate Leopold proposes to frame his purpose in sponsoring this legislation:

"The public is justifiably interested in a direct voice in the selection of school board members, and this would provide that direct voice for the first time," said Mr. Leopold.

If Delegate Leopold were truly serious about providing for a direct election of board members, why any commission? Why not call for a direct election of all school board members as proposed by my fellow Republican Greg Kline?

Elections have their own problems, as I have stated here before. However, if we are going to make a change, let us have a directly elected school board, with one member elected from each of our County Council districts. If a bill passes the General Assembly, let it be a serious bill with a serious election setup. We cannot afford to settle for this farcical bill put forth in the name of "progress" and "doing something."

UN-believable

Apparently, the UN's hypocrisy knows no bounds:

The United Nations reinstated the only U.N. official who was fired over the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, after an internal appeals body ruled that he had done nothing wrong, according to a letter made public Tuesday.

The decision was made Monday and Joseph Stephanides, fired May 31, received the letter Tuesday maintaining that he violated staff rules by showing preference to one bidder for an oil-for-food contract but essentially acknowledging the punishment was too harsh.

Stephanides, a 60-year-old Cypriot national, had been scheduled to retire in September and the move gives him his pay up to that point. Deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe confirmed that Stephanides' firing had been overturned and said Undersecretary-General for Management Christopher Burnham signed the letter on behalf of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is at a conference in Tunisia.

The letter, dated Monday, said "the sanction that was imposed on you has been reconsidered in light of all the circumstances in the case and the principle of proportionality."

Only the United Nations could convince itself that the violation of U.N. imposed sanctions and the violation of internationa law is not a punishable offense.

One Less Roadbloack

Good news on the State House front; Peter Franchot is gone after 2006. Franchot's absence from Annapolis after his impending primary loss to William Donald Schaefer will mean one less roadblock to common sense come 2007.

Now, let's continue our work on the other roadblocks to progress.

A Sigh on Cy

Which candidate do you think is most worthy of the Cy Young Award?

• Candidate A: 2.83 ERA, .231 Batting Average Against, 51 BB, 213 K, 204 H, 241.2 IP
• Candidate B: 2.63 ERA, .243 Batting Average Against, 55 BB, 170 K, 213 H, 236.1 IP
• Candidate C: 1.87 ERA, .198 Batting Average Against, 62 BB, 185 K, 151 H, 211.1 IP

From the stats, it looks like Candidate C was clearly the most dominating pitcher of the three. Naturally, Candidate A (Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals) won the National League Cy Young Award today, edging out Candidate B (Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins). Candidate C was Roger Clemens and he finished far behind the other two. The reason; check out the won-loss records:

• Carpenter: 21-5
• Willis: 22-10
• Clemens: 13-8

Clemens was punished because the Astros did not give him the run support he needed to win 20 games. It is even more ludicrous when you look at Clemens' career numbers and see that 2005 might have been the best statistical season of his career; approaching his 1986 and 1991 campaigns. Now let us look at three other candidates:

• Candidate A: 3.48 ERA, .254 Batting Average Against, 43 BB, 157 K, 215 H, 222.2 IP
• Candidate B: 1.38 ERA, .177 Batting Average Against, 18 BB, 80 K, 50 H, 78.1 IP
• Candidate C: 2.87 ERA, .210 Batting Average Against, 45 BB, 238K, 180 H, 231.2 IP

Again, Candidate A (Bartolo Colon of the Angels) won the AL Cy Young Award. Candidate B (Mariano Rivera) was second, and Candidate C (Johan Santana of the Twins) finished third. The records?:

• Colon: 21-8
• Rivera: 7-4, 43 Saves
• Santana: 16-7

Again, the pitcher with the worst record had a better year statistically than the Cy Young winner in every category except wins and losses. What is really frustrating is that the pitcher having the better year gets snubbed all too often. It happened to Randy Johnson last year, and Perdo Martinez in 2002. It is almost amazing that Pedro Martinez won in 1997 while posting "only" a 17-8 record. Now, I am not saying that there should be statistical requirements to win the award. I just wish writers would better recognize the importance of relevant stastical information. If a pitcher goes 10-15 with a 1.60 ERA and a .175 BAA on a last place team, and another pitchers goes 23-7 with a 3.85 ERA and a .267 BAA, who is the better pitcher.

The award does not go to the most valuable pitcher. When it comes to the Cy Young Award, numbers matter.

Another Bad Idea

In 1919, the State of Nebraska passed a law requiring that all students be taught in English. Only once the student entered the Ninth Grade would students be allowed to study foreign languages. The case was thrown out in the Supreme Court's 1923 decision in Meyer v. Nebraska.

At the other end of the spectrum, Florida has come up with this idea:

The youngest students in Southwest Florida's public schools could soon be saying "hola" to a new language. A Proposal in Tallahassee to make Spanish class mandatory is causing a big stir in schools throughout Southwest Florida.

The state's top democrat supports a plan to make Spanish classes mandatory for all students in kindergarten through second grades.

The bill was proposed this month, and it's already making waves in Florida schools.

Spanish teacher George Muentes says, "I frankly believe, the earlier you teach someone, the better it is."

The law would make Spanish a core class like math and science, it would also force school officials to shuffle an already crowded schedule.

Don't get me wrong. I support and encourage young students to be taught foreign languages. The study of foreign languages increases over all educational ability, and actually increases competence and understanding of English. However, there are a couple of reasons why this is not a good idea.

• How is the system going to pay for it? Would this proposal require more materials? More teachers?
• What about other core classes? How does this impact other programs such as art, music, and phys ed?
• The implication of it all: is the legislator implying that all Floridians should be forced to speak Spanish because of the influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants who have chosen not to speak English?

The idea is just not well thought out. The teaching of languages is good, but not as a requirement and certainly not for every student. And why should each student be forced to study Spanish? I studied German and Russian and I turned out OK.

And another thing; we should not be mandating the study of foreign languages until we are sure that these students can fluently speak, read, and write English first.

Moving Backwards

The setbacks for the party at the ballot box on Tuesday have continued in Congress this week.

• Senators have been unable to get the tax cut package out of the Finance Committee.
• The victory on ANWR has been overturned.
• H.R. 4121, the Deficit Reduction Act was postponed 'til next week becauseof hesitance by party moderates.
  

Somebody needs to take charge on Capitol Hill. Neither the House nor the Senate can keep the party together well enough to push the sensible conservative policies the American people sent them to Washington to accomplish.

With a Republican Congress, sensible tax cuts and deficit reduction should be slam dunks. Why can we not make this happen?

Fault for the Riots

The International Herald-Tribune has a pretty damning assessment as to ther reasons behind the French riots.

As usual, France's hubris comes back to bite them. While French elites like to criticize American government, American values, and especially American race relations, it was also inevitable that the French would be subjected to such riots because of the French government, French values, and French attitudes towards race.

Unfortunately, France has not become sophisticated enough to move beyond its deep racism and flawed governmental policy. Only then can France truly become a modern western democracy.

Prices Rise, Revenues Fall

I have been calling for a reduction in the gas taxes for months. And now, here is further proof why we need the cut:

Sticker-shocked drivers skimping at the gas pump could be costing Maryland millions in unrealized vehicle taxes - threatening a source of money tapped for road and transit projects.

State officials said they believe gas tax collection is falling far below expectations because drivers are taking shorter trips or using public transit, even through fuel prices have retreated from their late-summer spike.

"As everyone knows, the price of gas has really increased," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan, who is raising the issue during a statewide tour to unveil the department's six-year plan. "The result is people are making logical judgments in their everyday lives."

As usual, the higher the prices are, the fewer people pay for services. While the state gas tax remains steady at 23.5 cents per gallon, I would like to see that tax rate reduced at the very least to 20 cents per gallon. It may look like a relatively small cut, perhaps only 50 cents per fill-up. But the cut will save money for drivers over the long run, and provide tax relief to businesses who have vehicles on the road and with large fleets. It will ensure that gas prices may not necessarily cause these businesses to increase the prices they charge to the consumer.

The Flop

I am glad to see that charges we dropped against the eighty or so poker players who were cited for playing in a tournament in Baltimore City last week. Not necessarily because they did not break the law; they did, but the police officers filed the charges incorrectly requiring the citations be thrown out. It is that the Office of the State's Attorney recognized that persuing this further would be a waste of court resources.

I understand that this action was against the law. The law is the law, even if it is antiquated and needs to be fixed. But with all of the problems going on in Baltimore City, with all of the work that has gone undone in making the streets safe in the last five, ten, fifteen years, the question has to be asked; was this a good use of City Police resources? And the clear answer seems to be no.

Bad Form

To add insult to injury to the paltry 18 percent in the Mayor's race, this happened last night as well:

As for three Republicans and one independent candidate, we don't know how they acted in victory or defeat. Reporters were barred from their party last night at Armadillo's.

Lawrence Scott, a political consultant aiding many of the candidates inside, booked the room and had the bouncers make sure a reporter stayed out.

Two Republicans, Circuit Court Clerk Robert Duckworth and Del. Herb McMillan, were shocked that the local newspaper wouldn't have access to political candidates on election night.

"That's ridiculous," Mr. Duckworth said. "What happened to freedom of the press?"

Mr. Duckworth asked Mr. Scott why reporters weren't allowed in.

"Not my call," Mr. Scott said.

It was a private functiton, and it is their right to do so. But the individual that "made the call" so to speak made a poor choice. It is bad form to bar the press from an election night celebration, win or lose, regardless of the party.

On a night that was bad enough for the party, that certainly did not help.

18 Percent

All of the professional operatives, all of the resentment towards Mayor Moyer, all of the discussion about Market House, all of the organization, all of the support for Republican Aldermanic candidates. And all of that turned out to mean nothing on Tuesday for Annapolis Republicans.

Eighteen percent. That is all that Alderman Kelley could get.

Unfortunately, this is an extremely dangerous sign for the 2006 Elections. If eighteen percent is this party can muster in an important Mayoral election, that just goes to prove how important it is to work hard and work together to ensure that Speaker Busch gets a run for his money next November.

There is a long road to hoe from here.

Wishing I Was Wrong

Back on October 17th, I wrote:

The ads are so raw, so emotional, some analysts are wondering whether the Kilgore campaign, who had a lead prior to these ads, overplayed their hand and actually hurt their chances at a knockout.

Unfortunately, I was right and Kaine won.

It's Over

The Ravens season, at least the meaningful portion of it, officially ended with today's 21-9 loss to the Bengals at home. We had some reason to hope, and some reason to believe in this team after the heartbreaking loss on Monday night. But it is officially time to look at 2006.

This gives the team an opportunity. It gives the Ravens a chance to determine:

• If Kyle Boller is for real, once he is healthy
• Which running back is worth the money: Jamal Lewis or Chester Taylor?
• Will Brian Billick be the coach next year; for better or for worse, the buck on the 2005 season stops with him, and the lack of offensive production this season makes it a lot harder to blame everything on Matt Cavanaugh.

A load road to hoe until next September. The Ravens as we know them may never look the same again.

Outlier

With most polls having next year's gubernatorial contest seperated by six points, it is pretty hard to take serious the Sun poll released today that claims a 15-point lead for Mayor O'Malley.

One problem I have is with the questions: the candidates in the Ehrlich/O'Malley and Ehrlich/Duncan question with identified with their party affiliation. That can skew numbers disproportionately in a state such as Maryland. Especially in the Sun's own poll when the question was not asked that way back in April.

The data is skewed; the Sun made it that way.

Failed Gunpowder

An interesting question (and recommended reading) from the Scotsman; today, on the 400th Anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, what would have happened had Guy Fawkes suceeded?

Unproductive

The Teacher's Union went ahead with its vote of no confidence against Superintendent Eric Smith yesterday, squeaking by with a 109-2 vote. How exactly this unproductive, petty gesture will help improve the plight of teachers, schools, and students I am not exactly certain. TAAAC has registered its disapproval with Smith for some time now over the course of the last several years. With Smith leaving in less than three weeks, how does this move impact the course of his administration? For that matter, will the union's move negatively influence potential candidates to be Smith's full-time replacement? Would a potential candidate choose against coming to Anne Arundel County due to the political machinations of the union? We will wait and see. I will also be interested to see how the union deals with interim Superintendent Nancy Mann. How they deal with Dr. Mann will show if they are truly committed to working within the system to enact positive change for the teachers they represent.

An Understatement

"he's not a Giuliani."
- Undecided Democratic Primary voter Roberta Isaacs from Laurel, describing Martin O'Malley.

Administration Moving Against Pork

Cross your fingers, but the Secretary of the Treasury is indciating that the administration may take on spending:

The Bush administration's highest economic priority for its remaining three years is to control the growth of federal spending and bring down the US budget deficit, John Snow, US Treasury secretary, said.

“The clear priority of the administration right now is the deficit, making sure that we achieve the president's objective of cutting the deficit in half by the time he leaves office,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times. This would put the deficit below 2 per cent of gross domestic product, low by historical standards.

“This administration knows that deficits matter,” he added. “We know they're unwelcome.”

Mr Snow also called on China to introduce greater currency flexibility by widening the trading band of the renminbi.

The declaration is the clearest signal yet as to which areas of domestic agenda the administration intends to pursue hardest as President George W. Bush tries to recast his presidency after a disastrous year.

Hopefully, the public sentiment to reduce pork is finally influencing the administration to cut back discretionary spending. Maybe not we can restore sound fiscal policy to our federal budgetary process.

O'Malley Platform Sparse on Details

If the playform Mayor O'Malley spoke of today is anything like the one he uses during his gubernatorial campaign, it is going to be pretty light on substance. Even he admits that some of his ideas have not be thoroughly thought through. I like what the Mayor will concentrate on:

O'Malley, speaking to a gathering of the Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Press Association, said he would concentrate on education, safety, expansion of health-care coverage, and the strengthening and expansion of the middle class in his bid for the State House.

Because he has done such a great job improving the plight of Baltimore's school children and increasing public safety.

If the Mayor does not start laying out more specific policy proposals, he could be in for a rude awakening in his party's primary.

Paris Burning

At one point, we considered going to Paris for our honeymoon. I was against it, mainly because of how dangerous Paris could become. Unfortunately, Paris has become dangerous place as proved by a full week of riots.

It is unfortunate that this story is being underreported in western media. The riots are the natural extension of the welfare state and an open borders policy.

A Sad Statement

This is what it is:

A fierce effort launched by some of the State House’s most influential hired guns has led the Department of General Services to abandon its new security requirements for lobbyists.

What a sad statement on modern political affairs when government officials give in to lobbyists on such a basic issue.

Good News on Free Speech

Last night, Speaker Hastert indicated on his blog that H.R. 1606 would be back:

Today’s action marks a sad day for one of our nation’s most sacred rights: freedom of speech. The federal government seeks to control and regulate the Internet, but the last thing this Congress should be doing is trying to stifle public debate online. This bill would have kept the hands of the federal government off of Internet speech and protected the online debate that’s underway. Our world has evolved and grown more technologically savvy. Lawmakers need to adjust to these changes. Unfortunately, opponents of online speech have decided to punish our changing technological world. It’s especially unfortunate that Democratic Leader Pelosi voted no to free speech. This bill will come back under regular order, and I encourage all those who support free speech on the Internet to make their voices heard.

That is great news in that supporters of the bill have a clear majority, at least in the House.

What I question is why 38 Republicans, including our Maryland's own Congressman Gilchrest, voted against this bill.

On the Road to Regulation

Looks like the FEC may get their way and be allowed to restrict free speech on the internet:

Online political expression should not be exempt from campaign finance law, the House decided Wednesday as lawmakers warned that the Internet has opened up a new loophole for uncontrolled spending on elections.

The House voted 225-182 for a bill that would have excluded blogs, e-mails and other Internet communications from regulation by the Federal Election Commission. That was 47 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed under a procedure that limited debate time and allowed no amendments.

The vote in effect clears the way for the FEC to move ahead with court-mandated rule-making to govern political speech and campaign spending on the Internet.

The only good news is that a majority of the House does support the bill. Hopefully it can be reintroduced without the procedural pitfalls. But it is extremely disappointing to see 182 members of the House oppose free speech online. It will be interesting to see when the Library of Congress posts the vote total to see who did and who did not support free speech in this bill.

An Appalling Lack of Decency

We have come to expect the worst from politics and politicans, but local politics may have hit a new low last night:

Halfway through a debate sponsored by civil rights groups RESPECT Inc. and the county NAACP at Mt. Olive A.M.E. Church, moderator Carl O. Snowden shocked the crowd and the candidates when he asked independent Ward 6 contender Julie Stankivic to comment on her personal life and a rumored past relationship with Del. John R. Leopold, a Republican candidate for county executive.

"(Del. Leopold) said you sent him a letter describing yourself as a reincarnated Egyptian princess," Mr. Snowden said, asking for a comment from the startled Ms. Stankivic.

"I have no comment on anything John Leopold would say. It's irrelevant to the election," replied Ms. Stankivic, who refused to comment further and left the forum before it ended.

I am almost at a loss for words as to how such an inapporpriate topic can be brought into an important political forum. There are a few people who have some explaining to do. Kudos to Ward 1 Alderman Candidate Doug Burkhardt for point out how inappropriate the question was.