Don't Believe the Hype

Free State Politics is firing up the hype machine and harping the MSTA talking points in favor of throwing more good money after bad to our public schools:

It's trite, I know, but I still love the bumper sticker that reads, "If education is expensive, try ignorance." The truth is, good education is expensive. It requires high salaries and good benefits packages that can attract and retain a well-trained and hard-working workforce of teachers, administrators, and support services personnel. It requires the construction of safe and stable learning environments for kids. It requires the provisioning of thousands of classrooms with the latest and best instructional technology, not to mention the basic supplies for learning. All of these things require money. And that money requires the long-term dedication of our state and our communities, and of the politicians who lead us.

Of course what Eric Luedtke and the rest of the urban liberals fail to realize is that you cannot continue to spend, spend, and spend in the same way that you have already spent, spent, and spent. If the "spend first, ask questions later" was accurate, our public schools would be the Cadillac of public schools systems, and the District of Columbia (who spends more than $15,000 per pupil) would have the best public school system in the Western Hempishphere.

We spend money hand over fist, and education officials still whine that there is never enough money and support. And liberals and union officials continue to want raise your taxes to spend, spend, spend on projects that they deem to be important.

Mainly, benefits. Just look again at what Luedtke wrote:

It requires high salaries and good benefits packages that can attract and retain a well-trained and hard-working workforce of teachers, administrators, and support services personnel.

To be blunt, how the hell much more can we pay on high salaries and benefits pacakges. We discussed a few months back the budget here for public schools in Anne Arundel County and remember what the breakdowns were? 80-percent of the school system budget is spent on personnel. Eighty Percent. And remember something else: there is one administrative staff member for every 4.35 teachers in the Anne Arundel County system.

I think that Luedtke's example of Loiederman Middle School in Silver Spring is a fantastic example of the positive changes that can be made. But a lot of what Loiederman is doing does a great job of proving Luedtke's point about the necessity of additional monies for education false. Read what he writes about Loiderman.

Partially funded with a $7 million, 3 year federal grant, it and its two sister schools adopted programs that have led to a decrease in economic segregation, an acceleration of curriculum for all students in the schools, and provided unique learning opportunities in the arts and technology that few, if any, public middle schools in the country provide.

Sure, the federal grant helped out. But look at what they did with it. They did not throw the money down the drain on what has already does not work. They tried innovative programs designed to change the culture of the school. They saw that Loiderman was failing, and took positive action in order to change the curriculum, change the focus, and put the focus back on educating students. They tried something different. And that's a great thing to see. They didn't wait around to spend more on failing ideas and just hope for the best. And you know something, you don't need $3 billion to make that kind of change.

We need to streamline education. Public schools systems need to trim their size, not expand further. Many administrative positions need to be eliminated. Costs savings need to be transferred to repair dilapidating structures, and modernize classroom spaces, technological upgrades and replace textbooks. State profits from the passage of casino gambling should be funneled as a dedicated funding mechanism for school construction and rehabilitation. Focus should be put solely on classroom instruction, and more taxpayer dollars should directly impact the classroom environment And yes, teachers should be paid for their performance, not their longevity.

Education is the touchstone issue. Conservatives agree with liberals that it is one of the most important issues facing our state. But the fact of the matter is that we have tried education for the last 100 years through the liberal, Democratic worldview. And more and more, we are seeing that the liberal view of education as some place to throw more and more money is not working.

Schools should not be viewed as a depository of taxpayer dollars designed to reward Democratic supporters. Nor should public schools be laboratories for whatever the latest leftist education theories should be. Schools should be merely for learning about the things that any basic educated individual needs to know. We need to make sure that kids learn match, learn science, learn history, and learn to properly read and write. We need to teach them skills they need to succeed in our modern world.

Frankly, I am afraid that Democrats, liberals, education leaders and union officials are not focused on educating our students anymore.

Studio 53

53. That's how many pass attempts Steve McNair had during today's 27-13 debacle against Cleveland.

53 passes. Only 20 rushing attempts. It was completely unbelievable.

Bud wants to lay all of the blame at Billick's feet. And yes, a lot of blame can be sent Billick's way for the playcalling. But a lot of the problems came with execution, not playclling. Two missed field goals. McAlister getting burned in coverage. Dropped passes. The inability to put the ball in the end zone. Coaching had nothing to do with that. That was just execution. Billick's insanely late throwing of the red flag on the Lewis touchdown? That's a coaching problem. Poor execution was only players not performing.

Looks like in the north, first team to 11 wins takes the division title, if that many wins are necessary.

In the meantime, and here's a question I didn't think I would ask: can anybody beat Dallas?

Meet the new bosses; worse than the old boss

I spoke with our good friend Greg Kline this week and he told me that he has withdrawn from seeking the vacant post as Legal Counsel for the Anne Arundel County Republican Central Committee.

Rumblings of this started right after the embarrassing September 5th meeting when the position of legal counsel was on the docket after the Chairman's fiasco was dealt with. Greg sat there, waiting to speak to the Committee on the matter long after the rest of the crowd left disgusted with the earlier proceedings. As the Committee went about its business, the issue of legal counsel was tabled until the October meeting. Some of the members apparently were not aware of Greg's qualifications and background.

Remember, this is the same Greg Kline who had a two-year hitch as President of the Anne Arundel Young Republicans, is a former Legal Counsel to the Central Committee, ran for the House of Delegates and hosts a reasonably influential Conservative podcast. People who have been active in the party for a long time know who Greg. Only a Johnny-come-lately would say something like this.

And remember this: when the call first went out for candidates, Greg was the only candidate who came to step forward.

But Greg being the Company Man that he is (something he'll even admit), he just went on about his business.

Then, we heard about Tom Redmond's shenanigans. Redmond started calling other individuals seeking new candidates to serve as legal counsel. Again, Greg was the only candidate who responded to the call to serve when it first went forth. But Redmond decided that he was going to open it up anyway.

Greg had talked to a member of the Central Committee and asked for a number in order to get in contact with Redmond. The member said that he didn't want to give Redmond's number to Greg without permission. And I believe that was the end of that. Redmond never contacted Greg to discuss his concerns with Greg taking over the position. He just decided to go out on safari and look for other candidates for the position, despite the fact that only one candidate came forward in the first place.

Greg told me that he tried to get in contact with new Central Committee Chairman Jerry Walker. And after playing some phone tag, Walker never called back and spoke with Greg about his concerns.

Seeing that writing on the wall, Greg bowed out.

Now, when Redmond, Walker and the rest of their crew ousted Mike Collins, wasn't one of their concerns about people not getting calls returned? Weren't they concerned about what Collins was allegedly doing going around people to get things done?

Greg Kline is a great guy. He is a Company Guy, for better or for worse, in support of the party. He isn't going to rock the boat.

I am less than surprised that Walker and Redmond would go out of their way to stick it to a loyal Republican, even one as loyal as Greg has been to the party. These people continue to prove, time and again, that their problems with Mike Collins had less to do with Mike Collins and more to do with achieving power to push an agenda. I am sure that whomever the new counsel winds up being will be brought in to ensure that this agenda is pushed.

Meet the new boss; worse than the old boss. Under the guise of a tossing a Chairman overboard for leadership reasons, new leadership has been installed that can't even understand what it means to lead.

Duck and Cover

So Al Gore loves to talk about Global Warming. Except when he doesn't (H/T Instapundit):

As over 150 heads of state and government gather at UN headquarters in New York to discuss climate change, former Vice President Al Gore, the most prominent proponent of the theory of the human-induced, catastrophic global warming, continues to refuse repeated challenges to debate the issue.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who addressed the General Assembly on climate change September 24, is but the latest global warming skeptic to receive the cold shoulder from Gore. In ads appearing in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Times, Klaus has called on Gore to face him in a one-on-one debate on the proposition: "Global Warming Is Not a Crisis." Earlier in the year, similar challenges to Gore were issued by Dennis Avery, director of the Center for Global Food Issues and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and Lord Monckton of Brenchley, a former adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. All calls on the former vice president to face his critics have fallen on deaf ears.

Read the whole thing.

So I ask the question: why is Al Gore afraid to debate on Global Warming if the facts are allegedly so much in his favor? Why will he only talk to audiences who drink his kool-aid, or only before audiences who are not allowed to question his "facts?"

Podcast: Taxing Matters

New CR Podcast is up. Listen as Greg Kline, Mark Newgent and I talk about taxes, and slots, and potential hitches in the tax-raising giddy-up.....

The Beginning?

Comptroller Peter Franchot unleashed this criticism of the O'Malley tax plan this week:

State Comptroller Peter Franchot criticized government leaders this week by saying it would be "reckless" to add $2 billion of tax burdens in a special session before December revenue estimates can show whether the economy is tanking.

The volatility of the local, state and world economies - and the lack of analysis in the budget plans put forward so far by Gov. Martin O'Malley - have Mr. Franchot concerned the administration is not fully considering the effects of new taxes.

The governor's piecemeal rollout of the different tax options to address a projected $1.7 billion deficit next year has made it difficult to see how all the proposals fit together, he told The Capital's Editorial Board this week.

"We have an opportunity to reform the tax code and instead we have treated it a little bit like a take-out menu," he said. "It's just not comprehensive or inclusive (and) ultimately I don't think it ends up being fair."

Read the whole thing, but I ask you this: is this the start of Peter Franchot's primary challenge to Governor O'Malley in 2010?

Scenarios upon Scenarios

Usually, I note how crazy football tiebreaking scenarios are. So, to be fair, check out all of the problems the National League could have next week:

Five-way tie (Mets, Philllies, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies):

• The Mets and Phillies play a one-game playoff Monday in Philadelphia to decide the NL East.
• The Rockies, Diamondbacks and Padres would have a three-team playoff Monday and Tuesday to decide the NL West champ. (The Rockies, the team with the best three-way head-to-head record, would have the option of playing two games at home or one game on the road.)
• That would still leave three teams tied for the wild card. So those three then would kick off another three-team playoff for that spot Wednesday and Thursday. (If Colorado is involved, it's just about guaranteed to have the best head-to-head record and, again, the option to choose two home games or one road game. But if the Rockies win the West and three other teams are involved in the wild-card playoff, don't even ask. Too many different scenarios.)
• The survivor of those four days of madness would be the wild-card team and, if it's an NL West club, would start the playoffs in either New York or Philadelphia. If it's an NL East team, it would start the playoffs in the park of the NL West winner.)

And this goes on like this. As Stark notes:

Among the fun possibilities if that happens: The Padres theoretically could play in Milwaukee on Sunday, in Arizona on Monday, in San Diego on Tuesday, in Philadelphia on Wednesday, back in San Diego on Thursday and then in New York on Friday.

Killing the Environment to Save the Environment

I take a lot of heat for being a skeptic on man-made global warming. Well, a lot of my skepticism comes from reading stories like this one:

Primate scientist Jane Goodall said on Wednesday the race to grow crops for vehicle fuels is damaging rain forests in Asia, Africa and South America and adding to the emissions blamed for global warming.

"We're cutting down forests now to grow sugarcane and palm oil for biofuels and our forests are being hacked into by so many interests that it makes them more and more important to save now," Goodall said on the sidelines of the Clinton Global Initiative, former U.S. President Bill Clinton's annual philanthropic meeting.

As new oil supplies become harder to find, many countries such as Brazil and Indonesia are racing to grow domestic sources of vehicle fuels, such as ethanol from sugarcane and biodiesel from palm nuts.

The United Nations' climate program considers the fuels to be low in carbon because growing the crops takes in heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide.

But critics say demand for the fuels has led companies to cut down and burn forests in order to grow the crops, adding to heat-trapping emissions and leading to erosion and stress on ecosystems.

So basically, in order to save the environment from global warming we are condoning the undertaking of methods that cause additional global warming. And that's doubly so considering the additional smoke from burning and the additional loss of rain forest acreage. Combine that with the environmental damage caused by the manufacturing of biofuels, you have a triple play of environmental degradation in the name of saving the environment.

I have never been one to say that we should do nothing for the environment, because obvious it is in the best interest of us individually and as a species to keep the environment as clean as possible. But in order to avoid doing more damage we have to go out of our way to make sure we are taking an appropriate course of action. We have to make sure not to switch fuels and cause additional environmental damage. We should not rush to abide by useless, biased international treaties, or follow the environmental suggestions of ambitious politicians. And we certainly should not follow the example of environmental hypocrites who condemn the proletariat for their abuse of the environment from their luxurious private jets.

Appropriate environmental action calls for reason, not overreaction. That is what causes the problems Dr. Goodall notes....

Great Minds Think Alike

Apparently, I'm not the only cat who digs the idea of table games:

As Gov. Martin O'Malley makes a pitch for slot machine gambling as part of his attempt to address a $1.7 billion budget shortfall, a powerful retail lobby is asking that he go one step further by pushing for table games.

The Maryland Retailers Association, miffed by O'Malley's inclusion of a state sales tax increase in his budget package, is suggesting instead that the state approve full casinos.

Without them, Maryland will lose customers to West Virginia, which has approved slots and table games in some jurisdictions, said Tom Saquella, president of the organization

"We would support legislation that would involve table games and full casinos," Saquella said. "We always felt that slots was good for the economy. We never bought this zero sum game."

Though an O'Malley spokesman and other lawmakers said this week that table games are unlikely to be part of any tax package approved by the General Assembly this fall or during the next legislative session, some argue that if the state legalizes slots in coming months, a debate over casinos would be imminent - and unavoidable.

And that is a debate that we should have. We should be debating the utility of slots, and debating the utility of table gaming. And the Retailers are even trying to play let's make a deal with the Administration on the gaming issue:

Representing about 700 businesses across Maryland, the retailers association is lobbying for O'Malley to include table games in any slots proposal. It is suggesting four locations: the Inner Harbor, National Harbor in Prince George's County, and still-undetermined sites on the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland.

In exchange, the retailers want O'Malley to drop plans to increase the state sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent. O'Malley hopes to raise $730 million by increasing the sales tax and extending it to health club memberships, property management and other services.

This is something that on which we need to have a full and serious discussion in Annapolis.

No really people.....

ENOUGH! It's still September!!!

Some people are idiots....

...and beyond that threshold sits Michael Vick:

A federal judge placed tighter restrictions on Michael Vick today after he tested positive for marijuana.

Because of the result, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson placed special conditions on Vick's release, including restricting him to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and ordering him to submit to random drug testing.

The urine sample was submitted Sept. 13, according to a document by a federal probation officer that was filed in U.S. District Court today.

What an idiot.

Beyond Ridiculous

Reports from our Super Secret Annapolis Bureau indicate that Don Dwyer was wearing a Hawaiian shirt during hearings at the Judiciary Committee today. All other members of the Committee, and a supermajority of the audience dressed appropriately for the conducting of public business, at least wearing a normal shirt and a tie.

And Dwyer wonders why everybody thinks he's a joke....

Why slots won't work

My esteemed RedMaryland colleague Streiff noted today that Governor O'Malley finally unleashed an expected piece of his budget-gap closing arsenal: slots. And yes, this proposal does come from the same governor who called slots a "gambling gimmick" so long ago. As much as I support the of legalizing slots, (even if O'Malley's idea of only having only state-owned machines is a little weird) this plan is too little too late.

One of the best reasons that Maryland could have introduced slots years ago was the competitive environment in which legalized gambling was available at the time. Charles Town, Dover Downs, and Delaware Park were the only games in town for legalized slot action. Now, with the opening of slot parlors in Pennsylvania, and the expansion of gambling operations at the West Virginia and Delaware tax, there are even more opportunities for Maryland bettors to vote with their feet and take their expendable income to Pennsylvania. Furthermore, the expansion of slot gambling in those states (particularly Pennsylvania) makes Maryland slot machine opportunities less appealing really only to Maryland gamblers and those in D.C. or Northern Virginia.

The General Assembly's reticence to support slot machine gambling in the past means that we pretty much missed the boat as far as sustainable income from slots parlors. The law of diminishing returns tells us that the expansion of gambling to include legalized slot machines is likely to merely split an already existing market for slot machine gambling. Yes, Maryland machines will take revenue from Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia parlors, but it also means that Maryland machines won't generate nearly as much income as everybody thinks they will.

I strongly support the idea of raising additional revenue through the expansion of legalized gambling in Maryland. However, there is no earthly way that slot machines alone are going to cut it. Slot machines may be able to save horse racing, but they are not the be all and end all of the budget debate.

If Maryland is going to be serious about raising revenue through the expansion of legalized gambling, there is really only one way to make that work. An idea that I support, but one that would not be warmly received by a lot of people.

The only answer is through the legalization of full casino gambling. I'm talking about table games: blackjack, poker, roulette, etc. That is the only way that Maryland can stand above the surrounding crowd in order to raise revenue through gambling expansion. It is a surefire way to take long-distance business away from the Atlantic City tables, and a surefire way to draw certain gamblers past the Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia slots parlors and into Maryland casinos. And you can only imagine the potential revenue available through the location of a full casino near Washington to draw in the national and international travelers who came through year-round.

Is full table gaming the solution to our budget problems? Heavens no. But it beats a slots only solution if the objective is revenue enhancement.

50 Years

It has been nearly 50 years since the launching of Sputnik, and even today it's hard to imagine the enormity of the event:

Fifty years ago, before most people living today were born, the beep-beep-beep of Sputnik was heard round the world. It was the sound of wonder and foreboding. Nothing would ever be quite the same again — in geopolitics, in science and technology, in everyday life and the capacity of the human species.

The Soviet Union had launched the first artificial satellite, a new moon, on Oct. 4, 1957. Climbing out of the terrestrial gravity well, rising above the atmosphere and into orbit, Sputnik crossed the threshold into a new dimension of human experience. People could now see their kind as spacefarers. Their enhanced mobility might someday prove as liberating as the first upright steps of hominid ancestors long ago.

The immediate reaction, though, reflected the dark concerns of a world in the grip of the cold war, a time of fear and division in which the two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, stared each other down with the menace of mass destruction. Sputnik altered the nature and scope of the cold war....

...The Russians clearly intended Sputnik as a ringing statement of their technological prowess and its military implications. But even they, it seems, had not foreseen the frenzied response their success provoked.

Read the whole fascinating thing. Compare the reactions from 1957 it to the ho-hum reaction to the Chinese launching their first astronaut into orbit a few years back. Can you imagine what the reaction would be today to an event of such magnitude, say a surprise Chinese expedition to Mars? Would the be such wonder?, Would there be such fear? Would the administration launch and immediate plan to put a man on Mars in a hurry (and would protesters complain about Bush's demonic plan to conquer a sovereign planet?)

It is amazing to think that a government run program actually went from ideas on a blackboard of launching an inanimate object into space to landing a man on the Moon in 12 years. But given NASA's current propensity for mismanagement and cost overruns, the future of meaningful space travel will likely fall with private industry. But that does not mean that the lessons from Sputnik are not worth reliving, sharing, and considering as we move forward with the next fifty years of space exploration.

Asleep at the Switch

It's been three weeks since the Central Committee banded together to unceremoniously oust Chairman Mike Collins. One of their complaints was things weren't being done in a timely manner.

So why does their homepage still list Mike Collins as Chairman, with Mike's Chairman's Message still up?

It's the stupid little dumb stuff like this that makes me think the the new Central Committee leadership does not understand or does not care how to get the big important stuff done...

Unconstitutionally Ours

This mysteriously was nowhere to be found in the Sun, but the O'Malley administration got cut off at the pass yesterday by the courts:

A Maryland judge yesterday issued a temporary restraining order against Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration, saying the governor acted unconstitutionally in signing an executive order to unionize child care workers.

The order by Judge Dexter M. Thompson Jr. of the Circuit Court for Cecil County bars Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, from enforcing the executive order he signed last month.

"Continuing to enforce the provisions of ... the executive order would result in immediate, substantial and irreparable harm to the plaintiffs," wrote Judge Thompson. The judge stated he made the ruling because the executive order breeches the separation of powers as detailed in the state constitution and because the independent child care workers should not have a union negotiator forced upon them as a result of the order.

Delegate Michael D. Smigiel Sr., Eastern Shore Republican and an attorney, argued the case.

Mr. Smigiel said he brought the case before the court because the executive branch has been "usurping" the powers of the General Assembly.

"It is a victory for the legislative process and following the [Maryland] Constitution," he also said.

Mr. O'Malley quietly signed two executive orders last month, allowing in-home health care workers and child care providers to form unions.

Mr. Smigiel and others then questioned the constitutionality of the move, saying the governor made an "end-run" around the Assembly by signing the orders.

I'm sure that the same liberals who assail the Bush Administration for allegedly violating the separation of powers between the branches will now chastise the court for not allowing O'Malley to do whatever he wants to do.

Of course, I have no idea what possessed the O'Malley Administration to go around the General Assembly in the first place. I mean, what gives the Executive Branch the unilateral authority to decide who does and does not get to be unionized? Why does he get to decide, and not the people's elected representatives?

Can you imagine if Governor Ehrlich had unilaterally declared Maryland to be a "right-to-work" state? Organized labor would have descended on Annapolis like you wouldn't believe, protesting and filing suit after suit after suit?

If child care workers should get the right to unionize (and I'm not saying they shouldn't) then it needs to be decided in the General Assembly. No matter how strong the Executive Branch is in Maryland, Governor O'Malley is not "The Decider" on issues like this. Perhaps his administration will now respect the separation of powers put forth in our state Constitution....

In Praise of the Joba Rules

I usually don't say too much kind about the Yankees, but they certainly cannot be faulted for their handling of vaunted young pitcher Joba Chamberlain. Sure, the " Joba Rules" sound funny at first, but it was a smart way to protect a young pitcher from overuse. Plus, now that he is stretched out, he is ready to pitch as needed in the playoffs, as any other pitcher would. And remember, he did start the season playing in the Florida State League.

Additionally, the Yankees use of Joba has been completely old school. Starting pitchers back in the day routinely were called up and used as relievers in the bigs before being moved into the rotation. Chamberlain will have no trouble making the transition next year into a big league starter. Added points for having the experience of pitching in New York, in meaningful games, in the late innings, in September.

So, the Yankees get credit for their handling of Chamberlain. Now, let's hope they get swept right out of the playoffs....

Did you need a survey to know this?

Seriously, I think we are just a wee bit over-surveyed:

Somalia was named and shamed Tuesday as the worst-governed country in sub-Saharan Africa in a survey of political performance across the continent.

The inaugural annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance, published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, ranks 48 countries against 58 individual measures.

The foundation uses those measures to rank countries on five factors: safety and security; rule of law, transparency and corruption; participation and human rights; sustainable economic opportunity; and human development.

Somalia basically exists as a de jure country, something that exists merely on paper. It hasn't had an operational central government since 1991. There are not one, not two, but three breakaway provinces in the north claiming independence and acting as de facto sovereign states. So did it require a study of "African Governance" to figure out that Somalia was the worst governed country? Couldn't the money used to conduct this survey have been better used to help people in Africa who need it?

Thin Skinned Whiny People

Color me less than surprised:

MoveOn.org's excessively discounted broadside against General David Petraeus in the New York Times two weeks ago won't rank as its most successful tactic. The full-page nastygram appears not only to have solidified Republican opposition in the Senate for proposals to curtail the Iraq war effort, but also to have shaken the group's rich Hollywood funding base.

So it's not too surprising that the liberal advocacy group would be a mite touchy from all the blowback online, even though it should be used to the abuse by now. So touchy, in fact, that it's been sending out cease-and-desist letters to CafePress, a website that lets people offer custom-designed t-shirts, coffee mugs and the like for sale. Last week it demanded that the site remove eight items, arguing that they violated MoveOn's merchandising trademarks.

Trademark law doesn't confer monopoly rights over all uses of a registered phrase or symbol, however, and it wasn't created simply to protect the trademark owner's interests. Instead, it's designed to protect consumers against being misled or confused about brands. The courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of parodies and critiques; that's why www.famousbrandnamesucks.com doesn't violate famousbrandname's trademark. And most, if not all, of the items targeted by MoveOn were clearly designed to razz it, not to trick buyers into thinking they were the group's products.

Beyond that, it's amazing that MoveOn would try to squelch political speech.

H/T Instapundit, and as Glenn notes:

They told me that if George W. Bush were reelected simple Internet parodies would be ruthlessly suppressed by a political commissariat. And they were right!

As we have noted here before, liberals can be best described by this Churchill quote:

"Everyone is in favor of free speech ... but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."

Planning Effects

Usually we wind up complaining the government isn't doing enough planning. So I suppose it would be hard to fault them for this kind of planning:

The Maryland Transit Administration is planning a sweeping expansion of its popular but crowded MARC commuter train service, including weekend runs and additional weekday trains by next year and a tripling of the system's capacity by 2035.

The detailed blueprint, outlined in a briefing by MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld, envisions a system that eventually would stretch from Virginia to Delaware and have the capacity to carry more than 100,000 riders a day.

The plan, the cost of which would amount to billions of dollars over the next 28 years, would add tracks in areas that are bottlenecks and would increase the frequency of train arrivals. It would bring new interconnections with existing and future transit lines and create a new transportation hub at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

A 28-year plan? Ambitious. How they pull it off is anyone's guess. The fact of the matter is that the state owns pretty much no rail lines. All of the lines are owned by CSX or Amtrak. Without ownership of any rail lines, the MARC system is automatically at the mercy of external forces. How in the world can you expand service when you don't own the mechanisms you need to provide the service?

On top of it, how could the state possibly find enough money to pay for this? Such an ambitious, multi-decade expansion plan will probably costs the state several billion dollars in the long-run? Is it an sexy idea to basically be able to go from Fredericksburg, VA to Trenton, NJ? Sure. Is there a demonstrable demand for such a service? Not that I can see. Is there a way to make such a service financially self-sufficient? Not a chance.

Regional rail is a great way to provide an alternative means of transportation when expansion plans are reasonable, have a funding source, and will alleviate traffic on the roads. If regional rail plans do not have all three of those components, then tax dollars are better spent addressing the noted shortcomings of our highway system. And I can think of ten highway projects that should be a higher priority than this kind of MARC uberexpansion.

Montgomery County gets even more nannystatish

If you didn't think Montgomery County tried to control the lives of its citizens enough, here comes this:

It's for your own good, Montgomery County. Really.

The county has banned trans fats in restaurants and is considering mandatory nutrition labels on menus. And now an Obesity Task Force is trying to brainstorm ways to prod residents to make healthier food choices.

Its first targets are kids in child-care centers and county employees. Better informed child-care providers and less-fattening vending machine choices would be the means.

Read the whole thing, it's ridiculous. The county is aghast that people "aren't aware that there are better choices." When I have a cheeseburger, I know that there are healthier choices I could make. It's just that sometimes I just want a damn cheeseburger (usually a really good damn cheeseburger). Montgomery County has so many bigger problems to worry about than worry about what its residents are eating...

Mark Your Calendars

I'll be speaking to the Elephant Club on Thursday, October 11 at 7:30 am. I'll be discussing blogging and some of my views on issues impacting us as Republicans.

The event will be at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, 400 Benfield Road in Severna Park:


View Larger Map

For more info visit the club website at http://www.elephantclub.us

This is not surprising

If you have been paying any attention at all in the last thirty years, this will not surprise you (h/t Instapundit):

Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem.

The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say.

They confirmed that samples taken from Syria for testing had been identified as North Korean. This raised fears that Syria might have joined North Korea and Iran in seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Israeli special forces had been gathering intelligence for several months in Syria, according to Israeli sources. They located the nuclear material at a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in the north.

The fact that Syria was working with the PDRK on nuclear materials is shouldn't be surprising to anybody given Syria's fervent anti-west and anti-Israeli sentiments. And I am particularly glad that the Israelis took this defensive measure to stave off a Syrian bomb...

RFK at dusk.....

One Night Only

For the first. last, and only time, I am seeing a Nationals game at RFK Stadium...

This will probably serve as a reminder how great the experience at Camden Yards really is...

Leopold supports O'Malley's Tax March

Surprising absolutely no one, John Leopold has come out in favor of "closing the tax loopholes" on corporations as Governor O'Malley likes to call them:

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, a Republican, said support for closing the corporate tax loopholes crosses party lines. He said closing the transfer tax loophole in particular would mean millions for Anne Arundel County that could prove crucial in its ability to maintain public services.

"My concern, of course, is that part of the budget-reduction package will ultimately include reductions in state aid to counties," Leopold said. "Any monies we can secure to counterbalance those cuts are welcome."

This is just a continuation of Leopold's ridiculousness. Once again, Leopold sounds like a Democrat by favoring tax increases instead of cutting spending or reducing government services to cover the gap.

Since Leopold likes to proclaim that he is a fiscal conservative, you'd think he would understand that. But Leopold's big government conservatism walks and talks a lot like O'Malley's big government liberalism: there is never enough money to make government big enough and overreaching enough in their eyes.

WAY Too Early

This was from this afternoon at the Severna Park Kohl's. All I have to say is that it's WAY to early in the year to be seeing this kind of stuff....

A Good Idea for a Symbolic Gesture

I was reminded by an article in the Sun this morning about a symbolic gesture the O'Malley Administration could make to prove that they are taking proactive steps to address the budget shortfall other than just sticking it to taxpayers.

Sell Rocky Gap:

Nearly a decade after opening, the state-supported resort in Allegany County has struggled with operating losses that, while gradually shrinking, totaled $1.1 million last year. It has missed payments to bondholders, and the project's owner, the Maryland Economic Development Corp., is negotiating with them to restructure the debt.

In fact, the resort is in danger of defaulting on its debt, said Bruce A. Myers, the state's chief legislative auditor.

"How long can this go on?" asked Myers. "Ten years from now, will there be a larger deficit?"

Rocky Gap is the kind of fiscally imprudent situation the state always seems to put itself in, particularly when you consider that it was virtually just a pork barrel spending project to benefit the home district of former House Speaker Cas Taylor. The state should know better by now than they cannot compete with the private sector when it comes to competing with private industry in competitive service businesses. And we have known for years about all of the flaws with MEDCO and the way their business model works.

The symbolism of selling Rocky Gap would make the administration look good. It takes the $1.1 million operating loss off of the books, provides a large influx of cash immediately, and it starts to get the state out of this particular business. It makes good policy and good politics, which is why it will be a non-starter with this administration.

Uninspiring

Cicero at Political Insider proposes a rather lackluster list of potential GOP running mates for 2008. Take a look at the entire list.

The only ones on that list that hold any interest for me as legitimate potential nominees are Palin, Sanford, and Franks. I certainly see a potential for a 2008 running mate to come from the obscure corners of Congress to meet some sort of demographic profile. Look at what happened in 1988 when George Bush launched Dan Quayle from obscurity to Number One Observatory Circle.

We could also see the potential for pre-convention selections for multiple candidates if my thoughts about a brokered convention come to fruition. And there is some real danger to making those selections. Going into the 1976 GOP Convention, Ronald Reagan was looking for an edge to get over the hump and past President Ford for the nomination. So Regan announced early in the convention his choice for running mate: liberal Pennsylvania Senator Richard Schweiker. The move wound up costing Reagan the 1976 nomination, as some members of his conservative base got angry and few of the moderate Ford supporters switched sides.

All interesting things to think about once we get past February 5th...

I don't give a damn about gay marriage

There. I said it. I think that all of this a waste of everyone's time when we have actually important issues to be dealing with.

Was the recent Court of Appeals decision deciding on gay marriage important? Absolutely. Greg Kline does an excellent legal analysis of the decision in the latest Conservative Refuge podcast. I am pleased that the Court of Appeals refrained itself from legislating from the bench. And if the people of Maryland wish to legalize gay marriage, their voices can be heard through their legislators.

But you know something? The concept of two people of the same sex getting married doesn't give me heartburn. I couldn't possibly care less what two consenting adults do. What gives me heartburn is the concept of government caring who can marry whom. In the eyes of government, marriage is a contract; nothing more, nothing less. By spending so much worrying about it is advocating for big government conservatism to me. Sorry.

But thank god that Mike Miller (of all people) hopefully put this issue to bed for the foreseeable future. Because for god's sake, issues that matter need to be dealt with, as the Capital points out in their editorial today...

Sense from Stoltzfus

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the Sen. Lowell Stoltzfus wrote an op-ed in today's Sun that's probably a little too sensible for Annapolis:

During this year's session, I offered an amendment that would have balanced next year's state budget without any tax increases. It did not "cut" any appropriation from the previous year but simply restrained growth. Though several Democratic leaders in the Senate privately informed me they liked the amendment, none voted for it. The education, environmental and labor lobbies were powerful enough to alter their better judgment.

It's time now, as Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller repeatedly says, "to make a tough vote." Although he always means to vote for tax increases, it's really time for the Democrats to make a truly tough vote and restrain the growth of government.

Otherwise, government's insatiable appetite for more spending and growth will continue unabated, because that is the way the Democrats court their supporters and the way government generally responds to problems: by spending more money. Your money.

Though on many hot-button issues individual Republicans and Democrats at times may agree, Republicans generally disagree with Democrats on increasing the size and scope of government at the expense of taxpayers. Citizens pay a very large percentage of their income for a long list of taxes: federal income tax, state income tax, local income tax, sales tax, property tax, gas tax, excise tax, plus additional "fees" in numerous areas. I say, Enough already!

The decision to increase taxes is made by government officials who often have discretionary income that is not available to many - particularly to senior citizens on fixed incomes and minimum-wage earners. They are the ones who struggle mightily to make ends meet and to whom each nickel matters greatly in their effort to purchase bare necessities and health treatment. A 20 percent increase in the sales tax would be especially painful to them.

Hear, hear! It is amazing to think that the O'Malley, Franchot and the rest of the fringe left have the hubris to call for tax increases to benefit those on the lowest level of the economic latter when, in actuality, those are the people that O'Malley, Franchot, et al seem hellbent on making poorer to expand their precious government programs.

Incidentally, Stoltzfus is right about the government officials making these decisions; it's kind of ridiculous for Peter Franchot to call for tax hikes when he used nearly a $1 million of his own money to become Comptroller...

Only Here...

Only in Maryland can a Governor martyr himself for proposing an income tax cut that will return $90 a year to the taxpayer.

Only in Maryland can a 20% tax increase be called "progress" when it virtually negates the income tax "cut" from the get-go.

Only in Maryland can a deficit created by overspending be overcome by more overspending.

Only in Maryland...

More Fred...

Awesome (H/T Erick Erickson):

Leopold Admits Hypocrisy

John Leopold makes a half-assed attempt to defend his recent acceptance of donations from developers in violation of his own promises.

Here's the laugh line:

My record over three decades justifies public confidence that my commitment will be kept.

Once again, the next time that John Leopold keeps a commitment will be his first...

It's Official: O'Malley seeks to screw middle class

Signed sealed and delivered according according to the Sun:

Gov. Martin O'Malley will seek a 1-cent increase in the sales tax rate, a 1 percentage point increase in the corporate income tax rate, a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase and a series of other measures to tackle a budget shortfall he now estimates at as much as $1.7 billion -- and to fund new spending programs, legislators said....

...Though the package would require Marylanders to pay more -- including money from slot machine gambling, the total package tops $2 billion -- it would also readjust the tax system to lessen the share of the burden borne by low- and middle-income families. O'Malley is proposing a property tax cut, an income tax cut and an enhancement to the state's earned income tax credit to offset the effects of the sales tax increase on low-wage workers, legislators said.

That's right, he seeks to screw the middle class by raising the cost of all goods to spend on programs we can't afford, and then on top of it add more programs we already can't afford. And by merely proposing property tax and income tax cut, his administration is going to try avoid and getting saddled with the fact that the General Assembly will likely not allow for an income tax cut and a property tax cut. They are trying to have cover for 2010 and beyond.

Apparently, the Governor spent his formative years too busy caught up trying to be a rock star than trying to learn basic economics. Why else do you both simultaneously try to raise revenue and increase spending when you are already spending too much. It's a completely ridiculous economic policy, in a state already full of ridiculous economic policies...

The Most Useless Poll ever conducted

The polls the Sun usually conducts or reports on are usually terrible, but this is extra special:

The margin of error was 5.4 percentage points for the Democratic contest and 7.4 percentage points for Republicans. The Sun used OpinionWorks to conduct two city Democratic primary polls this summer, but this statewide survey of 335 Democrats and 177 Republicans was part of a separate poll initiated by a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. It was conducted before Thompson entered the race.

So you have a poll whose sample size is about a quarter of the size it needs to be the size that it needs to be: you need to have at least 800 people surveyed in order to have a useful poll in a state the size of Maryland. On top of it, it was conducted before Fred Thompson entered the race, and he announced two weeks ago. Plus, the poll was conducted for some mysterious "nonpartisan, nonprofit organization" who is not mentioned in the article.

Nothing in this poll legitimately tells us anything. A completely useless poll, and it's really, really lame that Sun is reporting it like it is the gospel...

We're not this lucky

David Kyle has this:

It seems that Governor O’Malley had at Party caucus lunch today and announced to them all that Delegate Dwyer was going to be running for Governor against him. I almost fell out of my seat when I heard this new rumor. Where the Governor got this bit of news I have to wonder, as it seems to me that he must have someone on the inside of things. Hmm, who recently in the Republican Party has been leaking things to the papers?

Now I have to admit that I had this conversation with Dwyer several years ago but it was not something that we went into great detail on. As I am no longer close to him I don’t know if he has decided to do this or not, I guess time will tell.

This is fantastic news. First, it will give the Maryland Republican Party the opportunity to show that Don Dwyer is not the face of our party. There is no earthly way that he wins the nomination, as he is too far to the right, irritates too many people, and of course has not always supported the party.

And secondly, it would be nice to have a third Delegate in District 31 who actually, you knows, tries to do their job. I'm still pretty tired of Dwyer getting $43,000 a year to accomplish nothing. It's like a having a welfare recipient on the government dole instead of a Delegate...

Duh Moment of the Year

It's painfully obvious, but today's Capital Editorial nailed it:

Gov. Martin O'Malley is a Democrat and County Executive John Leopold is a Republican, but there are many things on which they agree.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Watching Leopold and O'Malley are like watching ideologically leftist soulmates...

I think Dick Enberg needs a script

So far he noted that Kellen Clemons is an "Oregon Cowboy" (they're the Ducks) and that Derrick Mason "started out with McNair in Jacksonville."

It's gonna be a long game from the broadcast perspective...

Separatist rumblings...

...conveniently in the heart of Europe:

Several months ago, elections were organized in Belgium. The outcome of these elections was that a center-right coalition would be formed. After months of negotiations, however, a crisis broke out. Now it seems possible that the tiny country of Belgium could split apart into two separate states.

Belgium is, in many ways, a strange country. It is young; it only came into being in the 19th century. And it consists of two very different parts: one part is in the south where people speak French, the other part is the north where people speak Dutch. Until 1830 Belgium as a whole was part of the Netherlands, but Belgians wanted independence, fought for it and got it.

Language, though, is not where the differences between the two parts end. The northern region does not just speak Dutch, it is also much richer than the south. The south of Belgium is less developed and has a smaller population. While 58% of the Belgian people live in Flanders (Dutch speaking), only 32% live in Wallonia (the French-speaking part).

The relationship between the two regions has always been troubled. They have always fought about who should hold the most power and why. Furthermore, the two main groups have always lived independent from each other: neither side communicates with the other. One famous saying is that the only things all Belgian have in common are “the king, the football team, and some beers.”

The Economist goes into additional detail.

This shows continuing and further problems with the continued centralization of Europe. I noted two-years ago to the day that the "Long Goodbye" of the European Union was already underway, due to problems with the harmonization of criminal law across the European countries. Problems due to legal traditions in different member countries were becoming problematic.

Here, in the Belgian situation, you have an already existent country trying to come to grips with different ethnic groups and traditions. This is not something that could wind up not even confined to Belgium, as countries such as France and Spain could run into similar problems.

If there are problems such as these in EU member countries now, we can only imagine what kind of problems the EU could face as the Eurocrats continue to try and eliminate European national identities.

So...

...do you think O.J. can find the killer from the clank?

Moving goalposts on climate change literature

What was once useless now pushes the mythology forward:

Ancient diaries of day-to-day weather details from the age before 19th-century standardized thermometers are proving of great value to scientists who study today's climate. Historical accounts were once largely ignored, as they were thought to be fraught with inaccuracy or were simply inaccessible or illegible. But the booming interest in climate change has transformed the study of ancient weather records from what was once a "wallflower science," says Christian Pfister, a climate historian at the University of Bern.

The accounts dispel any lingering doubts that the Earth is heating up more dramatically than ever before, he says.

Of course, it actually does not clear up anything because the diaries didn't suddenly become cogent and accurate overnight. The only reason the diaries are at all being referenced is because it moves the global warming argument forward for those individuals who believe that humans are the only cause of climate change. The newfound interest in their contents is only in order to push agenda politics.

Trans-Fat between the ears

The City of Los Angeles comes up with something that even Baltimore City and Montgomery County have managed not to come up with yet; "health zoning":

Amid warnings of an obesity epidemic and related illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, Los Angeles officials, among others around the country, are proposing to limit new fast-food restaurants. Call it health zoning.

The City Council will be asked this fall to consider a moratorium of up to two years on new fast-food restaurants in South L.A., an area where fast food is at least as much a practicality as a preference.

"The people don't want them, but when they don't have any other options, they may gravitate to what's there," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who proposed the ordinance in June and whose district includes portions of South L.A. that would be affected.

In just a quarter-mile near the University of Southern California, there are about 20 fast-food outlets.

"To be honest, it's all we eat," Rey Merlan said one recent lunch hour at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. "Everywhere, it's fast food everywhere."

Merlan said it wasn't likely that a limit on new restaurants would change peoples' habits, even though he thinks it's a good idea.

Once again, government completely overreaches its logical boundaries and wants to attempt to limit what businesses may or may not go where. Which is kind of ridiculous, and discriminatory.

Think about it. Councilwoman Perry is concerned that "when they don't have any other options, they may gravitate to what's there." Has she (and people liked the idiotically named Center for Food and Justice) considered why they may not have any other options? If you are a lower to lower-middle class family of four, and you do not have time to prepare a meal, what is fairer to that family: allowing them to buy Happy Meals at McDonald's or forcing them to go to Chez Ripoff and get salmon cakes when they can realistically only afford McDonald's?

The point is not whether or not restaurants should be banned in those areas. It's why individuals in those areas should not have the freedom of choice to eat where they want to eat and to have the options in their ares that appeal to them. The already choose to vote with their wallets buy frequenting these establishments. If they do not want to eat fast food, either because they don't like it or they want to make healthier choices, they have this option. And quite frankly, who is to say that by banning these fast food establishments that they will eat healthier? Many inner-cities have numerous local (and delicious) fast-food style establishments serving greasy, unhealthy food.

Once again, government needs to stay out of people's stomachs.

Just so I can again be called a "Media Darling"

I was listening to the streaming broadcast of Full Circle this morning and the topic of the Central Committee came up, and I found myself motivated to call. So I appear on the show for about five minutes late in the broadcast, along with host Eric Michelson, Mike Collins, South County Democrat Ray Naughton, and the Green Party's Rob Savidge.

The show runs again on Thursday night from 7-8, and you can listen on 97.5 WRYR-LP in Southern Anne Arundel County or streaming through their website.

Even the Sun...

John Leopold has always been a darling with the Sun, because he is a registered Republican who talks, acts, and thinks like a liberal Democrat (and check out the love Paul Foer foists upon him). But even their editorial page took him to task for his latest broken campaign promise:

Certainly, there's nothing unusual about developers giving political contributions to county executives. Everyone does it. Executives have a big say in whether projects get the necessary government approvals. Developers can hardly afford not to be on their good side.

But Mr. Leopold is anything but typical. He waged a campaign that emphasized his arm's-length approach to the "growth industry" and that he wasn't part of the "good ol' boy" network of politicians and developers. And, indeed, his campaign finances reflected his attitude: Mr. Leopold spent more than a quarter-million dollars of his own savings on his candidacy, but his Democratic opponent still outspent him by a 3-to-1 ratio....

...No one is suggesting Mr. Leopold is particularly pro-development, at least not judging by his first nine months in office. His plight is also familiar: A county executive without a big pot of campaign money is seen as weak and vulnerable.

But appearances matter, and taking money from the same people you decry comes off as hypocritical. Taking that money just as the county is about to rewrite its comprehensive plan (with billions of dollars of development at stake) makes matters worse - and underscores the need for local residents to monitor this process closely.

The Sun's conclusions about public financing are another matter entirely. But even they note that Leopold's latest cash grab is nothing more than sheer hypocrisy from somebody who publicly chastises developers and campaign on promises he had no intention of keeping.

I hope that we as Republicans can unite behind a real Republican candidate for Governor in 2010, and make sure that we don't get stuck with Leopold as our standard bearer...

Another Day, Another Broken Promise

This is really starting to sound like a broken record:

Anne Arundel County's chief executive is seeking to create a storm-water management fund that would generate at least $5 million a year to repair waterways damaged by future construction.

County Executive John R. Leopold, a Republican, said yesterday that he will introduce legislation to the County Council on Monday to create a fee paid by property owners based on the amount of impervious surfaces, such as driveways, parking lots and home additions, they create....

....Local lawmakers in the tax-averse county have frowned on the idea of creating a storm-water restoration fund paid by a fee on property owners. During his campaign, Leopold said it amounted to a property tax increase and said he would pay for restoration efforts within the confines of the existing budget.

Whoops.I love how Leopold can say during the campaign that this was a property tax increase, and now it is just a fee. From the Capital:

"I made a commitment during my campaign that I would identify a fiscally responsible way to address stormwater management without increasing property taxes, and the legislation I am submitting to the council accomplishes this goal," Mr. Leopold said.

And that would be fine if you didn't just call the exact same thing a property tax a few short months ago.

This is getting to the point where it is almost ridiculous. Seems that you can never underestimate Leopold's omnipresent mendacity.

I have to ask: how long before Leopold proposes a property-tax or income tax increase?

Brokered Time

The New Republic (of all places) has an interesting piece about the prospects of a brokered GOP convention next year. John Judis' assessment is accurate in that there is a pretty good chance that given the candidates involved and the way the schedule is broken out.

But unlike Judis, I am not at all convinced that this is a bad thing.

One of the perceived problems with a brokered convention is that all hell will break loose on the floor of the convention. As Judis notes:

That can make for very exciting television, but could pose difficulties for a party that wants to use its convention to showcase its nominee. A protracted nomination battle could also sow discord within the party itself and squander funds that the candidates might want to use later.

Well, Judis is partially true in that the parties do prefer to use the convention to showcase their Presidential nominee. But do the conventions actually do this is a useful manner? Do swing voters watch the conventions now? Do any voters watch the conventions now? As it sits, the networks show three-and-a-half days of an long, overly-scripted infomercial before getting to the main event, the candidate acceptance speech, on Thursday night. Even the Vice-Presidential nominee is now selected and announced long before hitting the convention floor.

A brokered convention is different. If three (or more) major candidates go to Minnesota with a good chance to win, it is going to be must-see TV. Each campaign will continue jockeying for position right up until (and likely well after) the first ballot. Campaigns will begin trying to feel each other out, feel the delegates out, and settle in for the next ballot.

And once the first ballot is done, that's when things truly can get wild. Many states require their delegates to be committed to their pledged candidate for a certain number of ballots. Many are only required to stay faithful on the first few ballots. Once those pledged delegates are basically released, anything can happen. And that includes candidates who aren't even in the race when the convention starts. You could see anybody jump into the race at that point.

Think about this scenario. Newt Gingrich could (theoretically) skip the primaries and hope for a brokered convention. If he thinks none of the delegates can get to 1,259 delegates by the start of the convention, why not wait and see what happens and maybe have the chance to ride in to save the day?

Television aside, this also makes for good political theater and a great opportunity for the party. In most conventions, the platform and a lot of the convention logistics are decided by the campaign of the presumed nominee. That means only the views and positions of the nominee are going to be showcased during the convention, and that does not always portray the view of a majority of the party on any particular issue. A brokered convention will give all of the remaining candidates an opportunity to address the convention and to have their surrogates address the convention. It will provide an unprecedented opportunity for all factions within the Republican Party to have their views heard and taken seriously on a national stage.

A lot of people think a brokered convention is a disaster. I just happen to think it's an opportunity.