The Democrats are going to continue to eat their own

I think it is getting to the point where Republicans have to hope not necessarily that John McCain's campaign goes and wins the election, so long as they don't go out and lose it. The Democrats seem to be taking care of the winning part for us. (H/T Soren Dayton of Red State via Marc Ambinder):



You just can't make this stuff up....

YES! YES! YES!

This may be the most important news for the Orioles yet:

After 36 years, it appears as if the city's name will make a return to the Orioles' road uniforms.

The Sun has learned that the Orioles are in the process of filing the required paperwork with Major League Baseball to add "Baltimore" to their road jerseys, replacing the nickname of the club that has adorned the away uniforms since 1973, according to a source with knowledge of the plans. The uniform change would go into effect for the 2009 season.

Words cannot possibly describe how important and awesome this truly is. All I can say is that it's about damn time......

Real Quiet

I notice that Maryland Democrats, both on and offline, have gotten real quiet about the troubles of Ulysses Currie. Considering the fact that her in Maryland time, and time, and time, and time again it is the Democrats who are always implicated in some sort of corruption scandal in Maryland.

Free State Politics and the other opinion leaders in the liberal blogosphere are quiet. David Paulson is keeping his mouth shut (for once) too. But hey, I'd get tired of going to bat for these guys, too.

But I keep noticing how much more critical Republicans are of their own, which I think speaks volumes of the charachter difference between the two parties these days. Most Republicans (not necessarily the ones in DC, mind you, but most) put principle and integrity ahead of victory. Not so much with a lot of Democrats these days...

Is Cathy Vitale going to Challenge Leopold?

This is interesting from today's Political Notes:

County Council Chairman Cathy Vitale, R-Severna Park, will host a breakfast and discussion on "Fiscal Trust and Responsibility: Local Leadership for National Success," from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tuesday at Carrol's Creek Waterfront Restaurant, 410 Severn Ave., Eastport.

Guest speaker is Dr. Donald J. Devine vice chairman of the American Conservative Union and editor of "Battleline."

Very interesting, particularly given Vitale's recent comments on the budget. It's not like you talk about fiscal trust at the local level when you're running for a legislative position.

Of course if Vitale is serious about running for County Executive she needs to get new campaign consultants, because we have seen time and again that her longtime consultants from Currier Communications are too interested in their own press clippings to focus on actually winning a competitive race for once.

Poignancy

As many of you know myself, Greg Kline, and others have spent a significant amount of time talking about GOP branding and how the Republican Party needs to right the ship in order to achieve electoral sustainability in 2008 and beyond. And nowhere has the argument for such a necessary rededication to principles has been found than today's Wall Street Journal piece penned by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn:

Many Republicans are waiting for a consultant or party elder to come down from the mountain and, in Moses-like fashion, deliver an agenda and talking points on stone tablets. But the burning bush, so to speak, is delivering a blindingly simple message: Behave like Republicans.

Unfortunately, too many in our party are not yet ready to return to the path of limited government. Instead, we are being told our message must be deficient because, after all, we should be winning in certain areas just by being Republicans. Yet being a Republican isn't good enough anymore. Voters are tired of buying a GOP package and finding a big-government liberal agenda inside. What we need is not new advertising, but truth in advertising.

And if that doesn't cut to the teeth of the argument, nothing will. Make sure to read the whole thing.

One of the points that Coburn mentions time and again is the need for Republicans to start acting like Republicans again. And that is something that all Republicans need to embrace. Furthermore, this is not a problem just at the Federal level, either. We have seen time and time and time again where Republican elected officials even here at the state and local level have gone to unprecedented lengths to aid and abet Democratic efforts to raise taxes, increase the size of government, or support Democratic programs for pet issues.

Unfortunately, friends, this is where the rubber is meeting the road for our Republican future. Our "farm team" both here and across the nation are being weaned on "compassionate conservatism" and running and governing on ideals that are anathema to the conservatism that endeared our party and our leaders to the electorate. These candidates and elected officials are being sold a bill of goods that puts greater importance on the next election than the next generation.

Connecticut GOP Executive Director Heath Fahle also makes solid points on The Everyday Republican and on his blog at The Next Right:

It falls on us to not be distracted by talk of a ‘new and improved brand’, and instead focus on promoting our values, especially those that we forgot about when Republicans were in power - a smaller government that cuts up the national ‘credit card’ and starts reducing the national debt, a simpler government that requires less red tape and agita to get things done, and a more fair government that does not favor one set of lobbyists over another - rather favoring sensible policy over foolish ones.

There is no silver bullet that will return Republicans and conservatives to ascendancy. But it will take Republicans from the grassroots level on up to stand up to big government Republicans, stand up to these liberals who wish to lead the party astray, and to reclaim the Republican Party for what it is. As Senator Coburn concludes:

Regaining our brand is not about "messaging." It's about action. It's about courage. It's about priorities. Most of all, it's about being willing to give up our political careers so our grandkids don't have to grow up in a debtor's prison, or a world in which other nations can tell a weakened and bankrupt America where we can and can't defend liberty, pursue terrorists, or show compassion.

The responsibility, friends, is ours.

What's good for the goose....

Here's something funny regarding legislators getting wined and dined by lobbyists:

Sean Dobson, executive director of Progressive Maryland, is critical of the current system but said the state should not revert to allowing individual meals.

"There should be zero tolerance for giving a lawmaker anything of value," said Dobson, whose group advocates for working-class families.

So, who commented on the story discussing these dinners?

In January, shortly after O'Malley introduced the bill, the entire membership of the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the legislation was invited to Ruth's Chris Steak House by Alexander & Cleaver, the firm hired by ACS. Among the attendees was the company's director of marketing.

Del. Tom Hucker (D-Montgomery) said that no hard sales pitch was made at the dinner but that it did provide a chance for the company to make its case in a relaxed atmosphere to lawmakers with qualms about speed cameras.

"If people went in agnostic about how they were going to vote on the bill, they probably had their questions answered," Hucker said.

And of course Tom Hucker was a...former executive director of Progressive Maryland.

So, can one suppose that Hucker's position on these free dinners changed somewhat when he become the recipient of such largesse?

Aren't you over your carbon limit, comrade?

For better or for worse, Britain once again is taking the lead on completely insane policymaking:

Every adult should be forced to use a 'carbon ration card' when they pay for petrol, airline tickets or household energy, MPs say.

The influential Environmental Audit Committee says a personal carbon trading scheme is the best and fairest way of cutting Britain's CO2 emissions without penalising the poor.

Under the scheme, everyone would be given an annual carbon allowance to use when buying oil, gas, electricity and flights.

And how would this cockamamie idea work?

Every adult in the UK would be given an annual carbon dioxide allowance in kgs and a special carbon card.

The scheme would cover road fuel, flights and energy bills.

Every time someone paid for road fuel, flights or energy, their carbon account would be docked.

A litre of petrol would use up 2.3kg in carbon, while every 1.3 miles of airline flight would use another 1kg.

When paying for petrol, the card would need to swiped at the till. It would be a legal offence to buy petrol without using a card.

When paying online, or by direct debit, the carbon account would be debited directly.

Anyone who doesn't use up their credits in a year can sell them to someone who wants more credits. Trading would be done through specialist companies.

Leave it to the British to institutionalize bad policies under a Gordon Brown's stewardship (which, if there is anything fortunate about it, is making Tony Blair look like a Thatcherite and helps give ascendancy to the Conservatives, such as happened in London).

Of course, such a policy has not been well thought out by the MP proposing it. What about government agencies? Tourists? Local schools? How in the world does such an idea work? And what type of penalties does one receive for being a "carbon criminal" and selling petrol without the proper papers?

Unfortunately, I have a bad feeling that such idea may again see life in a General Assembly near you...

The Justin Ready Interview

I had the opportunity to interview via email our new State GOP Executive Director Justin Ready. Here is the full Q&A, and it provides a lot of insight into Justin's view on our current situation here in Maryland, where we go for the rest of 2008, and how our party is preparing for 2010 and beyond.

I greatly thank Justin for taking the time to do this!

* * * * * *
Brian Griffiths: You've been on the job for a couple of weeks now, how are you adjusting to the new position.
Justin Ready: I am adjusting pretty well, I think. Its still a process of learning more about day to day responsibilities and technical "stuff" while also looking to move the Party forward and take the next, crucial steps in fundraising and grassroots development. No matter how busy things get, it is an absolute privilege to wake up every morning and be able to work to advance the Maryland Republican Party.

BG: How different is your role as Executive Director from your previous roles on campaigns or in the General Assembly?
JR: In the General Assembly, policy and legislation are the primary concern. In my position with both Senator Greenip and Delegate Jennings, I spent the lions share of my time on researching and in some cases developing legislation, communicating with constituents, and working on problems that individual constituents brought to the Senator or Delegate's attention. At the State Party, it's a little different in the sense that my job is not to make policy but to work very hard to build a strong political infrastructure and organization to elect Republicans and grow our party.

There are a lot of similarities to running a campaign except your pushing all of your candidates while working to stockpile resources for the future.

BG: What are your goals for the rest of 2008?
JR: Building a stronger grassroots infrastructure, increasing the coordination between elected officials and the MDGOP, increasing our file of reliable donors both small and large, working to be sure we hold onto Congressional Districts 1 and 6 while working with our challengers in the other six districts, and beginning the process of recruiting and training great candidates for our races in 2010. How's that for a short list lol? Putting the party in position to elect more Republicans is what I see as my primary objective.

BG: In the past, the state party apparatus has been accused of meddling too much into the affairs of local central committees. What do you think the relationship should be between the state and local parties?
JR: The state party is empowered by the local parties, and not the other way around. I'm not sure about past situations, but my job is to work with our local chairs and central committee members on advancing broad goals not micromanage their processes. The only exception I would make is if there is some extreme case of fiscal mismanagement, corruption, or criminal activity. Even then, it's best handled locally.

BG: One of the concerns that many Republicans have deals with fundraising. How do you plan on ensuring that the party coffers get into and stays in the black?
JR: Our fundraising has been strong this year but we must use this election year interest to expand our donor base. It is so important to bring more and more small and large donors into the party. Part of the challenge is developing good relationships with people around the state who are able to invest a substantial amount, while also letting the small and medium level donors know just how important their donations are. You'll get tired of hearing me say this, but it just takes working very hard and also reaching out beyond our normal boundaries to find new donors.

BG:. There have been several proposals in recent years to allow the state and local parties to endorse in competitive primary elections, something that has proven rather controversial with Central Committee members and activists alike. What are you thoughts on these proposals?
JR: The position of the state party is to stay out of primaries and I think it is the right position. The Republican primary voters in each district should decide and then we should all come together behind the winner of the GOP primary. There are not enough of us to fight amongst ourselves during the General Election. That does not do anything to advance our cause or beat Democrats.

BG: The 1st Congressional District race was particularly ugly and caustic. What do you see as your role in bringing the party back together?
JR: Well, I think the party in many ways is back together. Senator Harris has reached out to supporters of his primary opponents and nearly everyone has gotten completely behind his candidacy, because the major debate in the primary was over policy issues. He has the support of every Eastern Shore GOP Central Committee and the elected officials on the Shore. My job as ED is to point out that the election in CD1 is between a liberal Democrat who wants higher taxes and more government spending and who wants to be an "ally of Governor O'Malley's in Washington," and a common sense conservative who wants lower taxes and less wasteful government spending. When Republicans, Independents, and moderate Democrats see the difference between Andy Harris and Frank Kratovil, I am confident Andy will be our next congressman. My role is to work with the local parties and activists to ensure that our entire Republican infrastructure is doing all they can to bring about victory. It hasn't been a hard sell. Andy Harris has really energized the Republicans across the board as well as many independents and Democrats.

BG:. Despite the party registration numbers, Maryland has a very vibrant conservative blogosphere. How do you think that bloggers can help the party, and how will you try to engage them?
JR: The conservative blogosphere in Maryland is doing a wonderful job of getting information out to activists all over Maryland. The commentary and issue spotlighting that happens on the blogs really encourages our elected officials and lets them know that they are not alone in the fight. With the dominant print media in this state being so left of center, it is vital that we have alternative outlets.

My plan is to be sure we are keeping bloggers in the loop with what we want to do message wise, while respecting their autonomy. It means treating bloggers as allies but not expecting them to be lockstep with us all the time. In addition, I would like to see the conservative blogosphere call attention to our candidates for office and work to drive volunteers and donations toward GOP candidates that are putting their name on the line to help build our party.

BG. One concern that I have had and have argued for is that the 2010 elections are much more important than the 2008 elections due to the composition of the General Assembly, the governorship, and the impending redistricting after the 2010 census. How important is 2010 in your eyes, and what preparations are you taking now for that election?
JR: It is vital for our party to come out of 2010 with positive progress. Even if we do not win the governorship back or a U.S. Senate seat (although those are certainly major goals), we must pick up seats in the General Assembly. If so called "moderate" Democrats are able to come to Annapolis, vote for higher taxes or ridiculous government programs and then get re-elected, then there will be no stopping the left-wing from completely dominating all aspects of our state.

As far as preparations go, my passion is finding hungry, committed candidates for State Senate, House of Delegates, and our county offices throughout Maryland. They must be willing to work hard, raise money, and take an active role in getting themselves out in the community. Our party must stockpile financial resources so that we can have the ability to go after vulnerable delegates and senators BUT we must use our limited resources intelligently. Through identifying winning messages and pairing those messages with grassroots effort from solid candidates, we can make solid gains in 2010. We have to be smart about it as a party though. We need Republicans in every district to get behind their candidates and also their GOP incumbents to ensure that we hold our seats and make gains.

BG: One recent criticism of the state party apparatus has been candidate recruitment, two particularly egregious examples being the 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts this year. Have you started candidate recruitment for 2010, and do you think that the party will be able to field stronger candidates for Congress in the future?
JR: We are in the beginning stages of candidate recruitment. My goal is to have quality candidates for every state legislative district and congressional district in Maryland. There are many districts where, with hard-working and enthusiastic candidates, we can pick up seats in the General Assembly. In off year elections, we also have a much better chance in the six Democratically held congressional seats because Democratic turnout is much lower. One of the lessons that I learned running races in 2006 was that in districts with a strong senate candidate and strong delegate candidates, you had a much better chance of picking up House or Senate seats than if you just had one strong State Senate candidate or 2-3 strong House of Delegates candidates. It's important that we have qualified people up and down the ballot. We're working on identifying what ought to be our top targeted districts statewide and want to get our candidates trained and setting the table in their districts very early on.

BG:. Voter registration numbers in recent years have indicated that the younger demographic is registering as independents more than in previous years? How do you think we can reach these voters?
JR: I think we have to have a strong message and show them that they can trust us when we are in power. Also, Maryland Republicans have to break through the stereotypes created on the national level about Republicans. We are the party in Maryland that fights for working families, small business entrepreneurs and employees of businesses small and large. We want to cut taxes, stop wasteful spending and provide free market solutions in health care and energy.

The Democratic Party in Maryland (and nationally) believes that government knows best how to run your life. They want to control how your kids are raised, what car you drive, and whenever they spend too much money, they want to make you pay for their largesse by increasing your taxes. Why do they always blame us for the problem and not their over-spending? Because they think that we taxpayers are greedy, that's why! They think we are desperate for more and more government intervention in our lives and without big government there, we wouldn't have a hope of making it on our own. So they tell us they are hiking up taxes "for our own good". If we can succinctly express this to independent voters, I am confident that we can win a large percentage of them over.

BG: Any other thoughts you would like to share with our readers?
JR: Be a rebel...fight the establishment... support Maryland Republicans.

Wait....we're rewarding students for what?

You've got to hand it to the Maryland Transit Administration. Sure, they can't actually provide safe reliable mass transportation, but they are trying to corner the market on stupid, half-cocked ideas:

Maryland Transit Administration officials are offering discount cards for area businesses to students who pledge good behavior on city buses, an incentive that transit administrators hope will help curb disrespectful and violent behavior.

The discount card will offer 10 percent to 20 percent off purchases at 12 city establishments, including Dunkin' Donuts, Cold Stone Creamery, Shoe City, Downtown Locker Room and other places.

That's right, the MTA is going to offer discounts to teenagers to not break the law.

"The pledge is no magic panacea for things going on in the community," Greene said. "It's symbolic in its nature. It's not there to be a law enforcement measure or to do anything but take a step to reward good behavior."

No, it's really a symbolic gesture to show once and for all that MTA leadership has completely lost their minds. Instead of taking proactive steps to make public transportation safer, they are going to instead try hair-brained schemes to bribe young riders to not act like thugs.

We have reached a sad point in civilization when we governmental agencies feel it necessary to reward people to ensure they don't act in an antisocial or criminal manner. But it's also sad that Governor O'Malley refuses to clean house at the MTA, and that he refuses to put an adult in charge to fix the sheer mess that mass transit has become in our state...

Avoidance

Fortunately, John Leopold was told to take his tax hike and shove it:

Anne Arundel County Council members yesterday scrapped the proposed boost in the hotel tax and severely scaled back an affordable housing initiative yesterday as part of a laundry list of cuts to afford a pared-down budget for the school system.

After two weeks of deliberations and hearings, school officials who met with the county auditor determined that they needed $21 million - not $51 million - to close a budget gap.

I'm not saying I necessarily support all of the Council's decisions: I mean, Kevin Maxwell has somewhat been rewarded for his bad behavior and fiscal mismanagement in this regard as well. But I am glad to see that both Republicans and Democrats united to find other contingencies in the budget, and told Leopold to keep his tax hike. And he doesn't like it one bit:

Mr. Leopold condemned the council's actions, calling them "indefensible."

"They've taken the cold fiscal reality of 2009 and made it decidedly colder for 2010," he said.

No, what is indefensible is Leopold, a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative, always resorting to tax increases to cover spending instead of presenting the County Council with a balanced, responsible budget. What is going to make 2010 cold for Leopold and for all of us is the fact that Leopold was able to pull the wool over Republican eyes in the 2006 primary.

Of course, on the issue of taxes John Leopold is the biggest con man in the Republican Party. Always talking about being tax averse and being for the taxpayer, then trying to find new and creative ways to take more and more money from taxpayers. And remember, this is the same Leopold that supports Martin O'Malley's tax policies.

Leopold's behavior on the issue of taxes betray him as the unrepentant liberal that he has always been....

Sunlight, Please

Even the Capital, long a cheerleader of the Anne Arundel School Board Nominating Commission, is aghast at the closed door tactics adopted by the Commission during their selection process:

Although the public knows who was chosen, it is been kept in the dark about why they were chosen. That's a troubling sign for a new public body....

....Public bodies should be transparent. That's what the commissioners promised the public at their very first meeting. And isn't a robust discussion about future school board members the public's business?

A private meeting to discuss these nominations - on the ground that this is a personnel decision - may be within the letter of the law, but has nothing to do with the law's spirit.

And I agree. But some of the other points the Capital makes don't necessarily serve their point:

If you apply for an influential public office, enduring a public discussion of your qualifications - and perhaps your temperament - isn't too much to ask. Would we want a county executive or County Council member chosen behind closed doors? Why should it be any different for a school board member who will have a major voice on our children's education?

A full and open discussion keeps the public informed and assures people that a public body isn't mired in cronyism or conflicts of interest.

Openness is not always convenient or easy, but it keeps public officials honest. We doubt legislators intended to drop a cloak of secrecy around this process when they created it last year.

And I couldn't agree more. But what hoots down their argument is the fact that the Capital is against an elected School Board. All of the things they say are correct, but can only be done justly and properly in a situation where the voters, not political cronies of Martin O'Malley and John Leopold, get the final say on who gets to serve. I want candidates to be scrutinized by the public. I want their qualifications discussed. But I want it done by the voters, not the unelected hacks that make up the Commission.

The public would be best served if the General Assembly were to right this wrong, disband the Commission, and allow the voters to elect the members of the School Board as soon as humanly possible.

If it's Tuesday, it's WAMD

Kenny Burns, Joe Gagliardi and I will again be among those appearing on Warren Monk's Word on the Street program Tuesday night from 7 pm to 8-ish pm on WAMD, AM 970 Aberdeen.

As always, we are most appreciate that Warren gives us conservatives a chance to be on the radio and, in some small way, serve as the voice of the Silent Majority here in Maryland

We will have a number of things to discuss, so check below to see if you can hear us tomorrow night: (H/T Radio Locator).

Shorter Schwarzenegger: "Republicans should not be Republicans"

Well, Greg Kline (much like in the latest podcast) and I have been talking about the issues of Republican branding for some time now. Well, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to agree with that idea:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger created shock and awe in the Republican Party when he warned years ago that the GOP was in danger of "dying at the box office" by failing to make the sale to a wide swath of voters.

And with the presidential election looming, the Republican governor of the nation's most populous state - a decidedly blue state - has now found a chorus of agreement. The Republican "brand" - thanks to an unpopular president, a war, gas prices, foreclosures and deficit - has become such damaged goods that GOP Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia groused last week that "if we were dog food, they would take us off the shelf."

Of course the Governator wants us Republicans to create a brand that is.....not Republican:

"The Republican idea is a great idea, but we can't go and get stuck with just the right wing," Schwarzenegger said. "Let's let the party come all the way to the center. Let those people be heard as much as the right. Let it be the big tent we've talked about.

"Let's invade and let's cross over that (political) center," he said. "The issues that they're talking about? Let them be our issues, and let the party be known for that."

Read the whole thing, because it is a sad indictment of a lot of things. First, it's an indictment about the brand of Republicanism that Gov. Schwarzenegger is trying to lead California down. While I understand that it is harder for a mainstream conservative to win in California than it is in Alabama, for example, the concept that we need to "cross over that center" is anathema to everything that we are trying to do as Republicans. If Republicans wanted to be Democrats, shouldn't they just go be Democrats.

Second, and more damning, is the fact that the Republican brand has been allowed to be reduced to what it is through milquetoast leadership, reckless spending, and morally bankrupt officials. When Republicans stop acting like Republicans, when you can't tell the difference between the Republicans and our Democratic opponents, our party and our nation suffer dire consequences.

The party as a whole would be best suited to ignore Governor Schwarzenegger's recommendations. We have shown time and time again that the way Republicans win elections is to stick to our conservative principles. People much rather vote for true conservatives than for a just slightly more conservative than the opponent liberal any day of the week. Only through principled conservatism can the Republican brand be restored to what it can and should be.

Being Generally Asinine

During a relatively interesting piece on Bobby Valentine by the generally not-annoying Jon Heyman, we get this:

Valentine even supported his old boss Bush for president, which only goes to show that nobody's perfect.

Does that really have any purpose in a column postulating why Valentine isn't managing in the majors? Not really. Just an asinine comment dropped into an unrelated story for no particular reason by someone who should know better......

John the Destroyer

Tax-hiker John Leopold looks like he wants to be at it again, with the proposed hotel tax sparking well-deserved outcry:

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold's proposal to raise the hotel tax to generate revenue for the financially strapped school system has drawn sharp opposition from state and local tourism officials, who say it would have a devastating trickle-down effect on the county's economy.

The measure - which combined with Maryland's 6 percent sales tax would give the county the state's highest checkout fee and one of the steepest in the country - will drive visitors to competing destinations, officials predicted, saying they've seen it happen elsewhere in Maryland.

"People will be laid off, they will lose jobs, shops will close, and hotels will go bankrupt - the mid-size hotels that can't survive this - if we have a decline in visitors coming here," said Connie Del Signore, president and CEO of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau.

Of course, Leopold tries to defend this, but there is a noted change in his rhetoric from previous years:

"Because of the well-established aversion to any increase in property and income taxes here, it requires me to secure revenue for our public school system through other means."

Once again, Leopold is going to blame country residents opposition to higher taxes as a justification to raise the hotel tax. But as usual, Leopold fails to see the forest for the trees. Yes, people are opposed to higher income and property taxes. But they are also opposed to liberal County Executives trying to tax businesses out of existence too. The Convention Bureau is correct in that the tax will destroy the local tourism industry. And when you think about how many people cycle into and through Annapolis, and cycle through the hotels at BWI each year, such a tax would have a devastating effect on the economy.

What's even more ridiculous about the proposed tax hike is the fact that Leopold is trying to have it both ways on school funding. He wants to be able to tell Superintendent Kevin Maxwell to pack sand on Maxwell's egregious and outlandish budget proposals, but still wants to raise taxes in order to increase the education spending that he himself has proposed.

Leopold's usual run towards hypocrisy and tax increases is becoming more and more ridiculous. Leopold wants to take money out of the pockets of Anne Arundel County's businesses through higher taxes that will drive businesses and visitors out of our county. Unfortunately, it seems that the closer we get to 2010, the more it is starting to look like 1998....

Consensus This

Once again, the global warming consensus myth dies:

Global warming isn't to blame for the recent jump in hurricanes in the Atlantic, concludes a study by a prominent federal scientist whose position has shifted on the subject.

Not only that, warmer temperatures will actually reduce the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic and those making landfall, research meteorologist Tom Knutson reported in a study released yesterday....

...He said his new study, based on a computer model, argues "against the notion that we've already seen a really dramatic increase in Atlantic hurricane activity resulting from greenhouse warming."

The study, published online yesterday in the journal Nature Geoscience, predicts that by the end of the century the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic will fall by 18 percent.

Again, this does nothing to prove there is or that there is no global warming. Just the fact that the myth propagated by the left of this magical consensus on global warming is pure and utter bull....

No, No, No

There is nothing that could possibly be any worse for the Republican brand than this:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Sunday he'd like to be John McCain's running mate.

"There's no one I would rather be on a ticket with than John McCain," said Huckabee, who was a stronger than expected challenger against McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. "All during the campaign when I was his rival, not a running mate, there was no one who was more complimentary of him publicly and privately. ... I still wanted to win, but if I couldn't, John McCain was always the guy I would have supported and have now supported.

I'm glad that Huckabee wants to be a team player and all, but there is no possible scenario in which the presence of Huckabee on the ticket enhances McCain's chances in November. There is a pretty widespread consensus that McCain needs to put a conservative on the ticket to balance on his more moderate credentials. Having Huckabee on the ticket gives the party two big-government Republicans on the ticket, and that is something which could make the doom and gloom scenarios surrounding Bob Barr's candidacy prophetic.

Huckabee, though, would probably do best to suspend his campaign for the 2012 or 2016 nomination that he seems to be running right now...

That's 7 of 8.....

.....and it just makes you want to sing (I'm just happy I finally found this in a form that can be embedded):

Orioles Magic 2008
Uploaded by gatecitycanes

Quarterpole

We are one-fourth of the way into this pretty surprising Orioles season, considering even eternal fans like this guy were prediction doom, gloom, and 107 losses.

What is shocking about the Orioles 21-19 start has less to do with the fact that this team is 2 over .500, but the fact that this team is far from firing on all cylinders:

• Nick Markakis is only hitting .261, and is 1 for his last 17
• Ramon Hernandez has been hurt off and on, and is hitting .211
• The .246 team batting average is third worst in the American League
• Luke Scott has the highest average on the team at .271.....despite hitting .198 in the last month, hitting .133 against lefties, and .194 on the road
• Steve Trachsel......'nuff said.

The fact of the matter is that despite that, this team can win ball games, even if they spot the defending champs a 3-0 lead two nights in a row. The bullpen has been mostly phenomenal, the starting pitching has done its job (keeping us in games) and the team is playing with confidence. It has been a fun group to watch.

Now, at the quarterpole, let's talk about the Most Valuable Orioles for 2008:

1. Dave Trembley: Sure, he isn't an active player. But it is hard to argue with the impact he has had on this club. Remember, the preponderance of players on this 2008 team were also on the 2007 team; that team was nine games out 40 games in, and was 11 games under .500 when Sam Perlozzo got canned. Trembley has had a year and a Spring Training to implement his philosophy and his system with his staff and his players. It's working.
   
2. Jim Johnson: Where would the bullpen be without this guy? He was a starter in the minors and had brief cameos in '06 and '07, but he has been the stopper out of the bullpen this year, including his amazing duel with Manny Ramirez on Tuesday that ended with a 1-2-3 double play to kill a Red Sox rally.
   
3. George Sherill: Sure, it hasn't been pretty, but Sherill has stepped into the closers role and gotten the job done when it counts.
   

2008 has been more than we can ask for. Let's hope it keeps up. But remember this: the 2002 overachieving squad got to 63-63 on August 23rd, only to go 4-32 down the stretch, so we're not even close to seeing this team be where it needs to be quite yet...

MTA Still Clueless

The Maryland Transit Administration can't properly operate the transit systems they have, but that isn't stopping them from asking for more money to expand services:

As gasoline prices climb toward $4 a gallon, more commuters in Maryland are leaving their cars and trucks at home and hopping a bus or train to work.

The Maryland Transit Administration will seek approval next week to expand service on its long-distance bus lines to accommodate a surge of new riders. The so-called "commuter" buses ferry workers to Washington from places as far-flung as Hagerstown, Kent Island and Ellicott City.

The action comes at a time when ridership on almost all forms of transit - including subway, city bus and commuter rail - is up in Maryland and across the nation. Maryland's long-distance commuter bus lines handle just a fraction of all the people taking transit every day, but officials say those lines are among the most sensitive to rising fuel prices because of the distances riders must travel to and from work

Given the complete incompetence of the MTA, additional funding for additional projects should be rejected. If these commuter bus lines need to exist, outsource the work out to private bus and coach companies who can offer such services competently and at a lower costs.

Apparently, the MTA senior leadership (who, despite my pleas, remain on the job) still haven't gotten the memo that their system is in disarray.The Governor needs to get the MTA's house and order, not create more ways for it to fail as a transit organization.

The Capital is for accountability?

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. The Capital finally decided that somebody should be accountable for the school funding row:

Pity the poor parent in Anne Arundel County who is looking for someone - anyone - to lobby for more education funding. As our Sunday story illustrated, the county refers callers to the school system and the school system refers them to the county. Welcome to the budget merry-go-round....

....Who's in charge here? No one person, but an appointed school superintendent and an elected county executive - and that's the problem.

The local delegation would be wise to at least study the relationship between the school system - which spends our taxes - and county government, which raises our taxes.

That's funny. Because the same folks on the Capital editorial board who are in favor of holding somebody accountable for school system funding are the same people against allowing the Board of Education to be held accountable by being elected directly by our county voters.

So I have to ask this: why is accountability good in this sense, but not good in another?

Private Ventures

Looks like NASA is starting to finally get real (H/T Instapundit)

For decades, NASA kept a tight fist around the construction and operation of the spacecraft that ferried its astronauts and hardware into orbit. Sure, an army of private contractors actually built the vehicles, but NASA oversaw the designs—and always kept the pink slips. Now, however, the agency seems to be shifting course, as NASA officials insist that the budding commercial spacecraft fleet represents the only way the United States can realize its dreams of solar-system conquest on schedule and at an affordable cost.

Because of a new focus for NASA's strategic investments—not to mention incentives like the Ansari X Prize, which spurred the space-tourism business, and the Google Lunar X Prize, which could do the same for payloads—private-sector spaceships could be ready for government service soon, says Sam Scimemi, who heads NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. "The industry has grown up," he tells PM. "It used to be that only NASA or the Air Force could do such things....."

....."I'd like for us to get to the point where we have the kind of private/public synergy in space flight that we have had for a hundred years in aviation," Griffin said. The spirit of private enterprise is crucial to the future of space exploration, he acknowledged. "I see a day in the not-very-distant future where instead of NASA buying a vehicle, we buy a ticket for our astronauts to ride to low Earth orbit, or a bill of lading for a cargo delivery to space station by a private operator. I want us to get to that point."

Hauling cargo represents the grunt work of space exploration and, dominated by the space shuttle, it has long gobbled millions of dollars of NASA's budget. The agency's new vision hands that duty off to private companies that, freed from government paperwork, can do it more economically. This would free up more of the NASA budget for space exploration missions, Scimemi says.

And this is exactly what NASA should have been doing for years. The NASA monopoly on government-backed space missions has always seemed silly particularly, as the story notes, since all of the components and crafts were being built by private contractors.

As we have seen time and time again, privatization of certain government functions gives the taxpayer more flexibility, more options, and a better product with less overhead, less bureaucracy, and lower costs. Let's just hope that NASA's newfound vision of the space program not only spreads to other agencies at the federal and (hopefully) state level, but also survives the next Presidential administration. I have a fear that such innovations will suffer under a Democratic administration....

It's Over.....for now

Well, the School Board Nominating Commission process is mercifully over for this year:

For the new District 32 seat, the commission chose candidates Teresa Milio Birge and Sam Georgiou. For the at-large seat, they chose Walter Chitwood, Kevin Jackson, Evelyn Gray-Mason and Tricia Johnson, the current board president who's up for re-appointment.

Of course, nobody has actually convinced anybody that the new process is any better than the old process. Particularly when you have attempts at stunts like this:

Tim Mennuti, a commissioner who represents the local teachers' union, asked for the vote to also happen behind closed doors, but not enough commissioners agreed.

That's right. The teachers union wants to conduct business behind closed doors. Shameful.

Of course, not as shameful as this entire cockamamie process in general. Once again, the O'Malley/Leopold Commission structure still does not address basic questions, such as why voters should not get the final say as opposed to unelected special interests.

We'll see how this all plays out with the Governor's appointment, and the silly "vote" on the ballot in November. Because I have a funny feeling that we haven't seen how this is going to play out in the end just quite yet...

Maxwell Can't Fool Everybody

It looks like Kevin Maxwell's campaign for more school money clearly isn't fooling everybody.

First, Eric Hartley in yesterday's Capital:

Money isn't the only answer. But the thing about government bureaucracies is they don't know any other answers. They're not equipped to come up with new ways of doing things that take account of reality; they just demand more money. Nice work if you can get it.

For all the rhetoric about how this money is needed for children and teachers, it helps to remember there were at last count 213 school employees making six figures. It goes without saying that not one of them is a teacher. Some of these folks have been getting bonuses or generous raises despite the tough times. Even Dr. Maxwell got a $6,000 bonus last year on top of his $231,000 salary. ("Personally, I would love to give you a bigger bonus," the school board president said at the time.)

By the way, Montgomery and Howard counties, with their vaunted schools, spend just over $12,500 per student. That's not much more than Anne Arundel and less than Baltimore. Money isn't the only answer.

A parent of two kids in the school system writes the Post and doesn't have much positive to say about Maxwell, either:

This is nothing new. Mr. Maxwell has a well-established pattern of engaging in thinly veiled public relations stunts and maintaining an antagonistic stance year-round with elected officials and parents. That route is much easier for him than engaging in constructive dialogue with all stakeholders to develop a realistic, comprehensive long-term plan to improve county schools. Since his appointment, he and the Board of Education have done nothing to foster positive relations with elected officials, parents and the community at large.

Mr. Maxwell consistently expands the size of the school's administrative bureaucracy, ignores recommendations for greater efficiency and uses the threat of cuts in the classroom to instill fear and anger in parents toward the council and executive. His long-term plan for school achievement lacks any accountability, which is apparent in both the current performance of the system and how he conducts himself in office.

It's easy to see that Maxwell's whining about funding issues, his refusal to actually prioritize school spending, and his refusal to cut the fat from Riva Road are not winning him many fans, either inside or outside of the County Government. I have documented for some time Maxwell's largesse directed at the sustainment of the overbloated, unnecessary school system bureaucracy. By reducing some of the redundancy and by reducing the high paying non-teaching positions located at school system headquarters Maxwell would be able to direct more money towards the classroom without raising anyone's taxes.

But as we have seen with other lifelong educrats, Kevin Maxwell cares more about feeding the beast, more about sustaining the overbloated school system bureaucracy, than he does with teaching kids and paying teachers. Maxwell, unfortunately, is one of a line line of administrators throughout our state and nation who puts the agenda first, and the kids second. Until we break that cycle, it's never going to change...

Silly Silly Silly

Syndicated columnist Cynthia Tucker seems to think that common sense voter ID laws like the recently upheld law in Indiana are some sort of Republican plot:

So what's the real motive for these punitive voter ID laws? Republicans are trying to block the ballots of a few poor and elderly voters, those least likely to have driver's licenses. It's probably no coincidence that those blocs tend to support Democrats. (Indiana's prohibition against out-of-state licenses would also work against all of those Obama-loving college students.)

President Bush has touted democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, proudly pointing to the purple-ink-stained fingers of voters who were able to cast ballots without fear of political retribution. But in this country, the president's political party denies the ballot to elderly nuns.

Of course, as usual, Tucker's reasoning is asinine and devoid of logic. The fact of the matter is that it requires identification to cash a check, it requires identification to enter a government building, so why in the world should something as precious as the right to vote be treated any differently? It has nothing to do with partisan politics; it has everything to do with protecting the sanctity of the ballot and ensuring that somebody who shows up to the polls on Election Day is casting their vote legally and properly.

I just wonder why so many Democrats seem to think that voter ID laws are some evil Republican plot. What exactly do they have to hide, anyway?

No End in Sight

Another day, and more horror stories from riding light rail:

When the single-car light rail train pulled into Mount Washington station about 3:30 p.m., it was so crowded that David Utley couldn't board it with his bicycle to get to his job at Penn Station. He decided to wait for the next train - which didn't come for another 50 minutes. And it was so overstuffed that Utley just gave up. "Time for Plan B," he said as he wheeled his bike away from the station. The Mount Washington man is one of thousands of light rail riders who have had their lives disrupted as the Maryland Transit Administration grapples with maintenance issues that have sidelined more than three-quarters of its rail cars at peak travel times.

I think somebody needs to wake Governor O'Malley up and make him realize that he has a major crisis on his hands when it comes to public transportation. He has a Transit Administration that can't even make the trains run on time (literally and figuratively) and the people who use the system most frequently are fed up with it.

And actually, this entire fiasco regarding the safety of Light Rail trains brings up another question: where was the MTA on doing increased inspections before they found the crack? Was the wheel crack attributable to shoddy maintenance? Were enough inspections being done prior to discovering the wheel crack?

What it seems like to me is the fact that there is a lack of institutional control over the Maryland Transit Administration. The Governor's office should have already been looking into this issue, but even now it seems like there is no interest in addressing the problem. His office should be demanding that MTA senior leadership answer the questions surrounding their incompetence. And the Governor needs to make major changes in MTA leadership, instead of accepting the continuance of the MTA's culture of failure. We need accountability in leadership of all high profile government agencies, and O'Malley could (but likely won't, given his past history) make a major statement about government accountability at the state level by doing the right thing and making a change.

But since it isn't likely that changes will be made, it's going to be more of the same for the commuters who use mass transit....just as the state encourages them to.

The Party of the People

Hint: it's not the Democrats (H/T Ross Douthat and Instapundit):

In this upside-down campaign season when populist GOP campaigners like John McCain and Mike Huckabee surprised the pundits with their primary victories or, in the case of Ron Paul, their fundraising prowess, it almost makes sense that the party of the country club set has been winning the fundraising race among the common man. That’s right. The white-shirt/red-tie brigade of Republican presidential aspirants holds a nearly three-to-one edge among janitors, custodians, cleaners, sanitation workers, factory workers, truckers, bus drivers, barbers, security guards, and secretaries. While Democrats command the financial loyalty of architects, Republicans successfully woo contributions from the skilled craftsmen who turn their blueprints into reality — specifically, contractors, hardhats, plumbers, stonemasons, electricians, carpenters mechanics, and roofers. This trend extends to the saloons, where the Democrats carry the bartenders and the Republicans the waitresses. The GOP field even secures more financial support from teamsters, steelworkers, bricklayers, and autoworkers.

These are just demonstrable examples of what I have been saying for some time: that the Republicans are the party that best represents the interests of working and middle class families.

Who do the Democrats represent these days? According to Franc's article, contributions from Democrats came from Wall Street, lawyers, teachers, journalists, college professors and scientists (except, oddly, for rocket scientists). Why? Because these individuals have the most to gain from Democrats providing them with bigger and bigger government. They are the ones who will benefit.

Maybe that's why Republicans are becoming the party of the people. It's the middle and working class families that has the most to gain from low taxes and smaller government. It gives them the freedom the Democrats don't want them to have...

Same Old Song

Looks like we have another satisfied MTA customer...

The doors opened and people were spilling out because they were so jammed in the exit wells. Needless to say, I did not get on; it did not look safe, much less comfortable. Ten or so minutes later, the next one arrived - same story. People were falling out when they opened the doors, and again I declined to board. (This also happened to be a day when the Orioles had a 12:30 p.m. game at Camden Yards that let out at rush hour.)

Thirty minutes later, I was finally able to get onto a two-car train. Why would the MTA use only the singles during rush hour and on the day a game lets out during rush hour?...

....I think I speak for many when I say that's a long time to put up with such inconvenience. At a time of soaring gas prices and clogged highways, transit officials should be doing what they can to encourage ridership - not driving people away.

Amen to that. The Maryland Transit Administration has been a disaster for some time, and I have long called for a house cleaning of all MTA senior leadership. I just continue to ask why the O'Malley Administration, who advocates the expansion of transit, continues to allow this kind of failure and mismanagement from its transit system managers?

More SBNC Shenanigans

The School Board Nominating Commission process is so screwed up that they are now changing the rules as they go:

County Executive John R. Leopold's appointee to the School Board Nominating Commission successfully pushed through a rule change that limits the power of the governor's five appointees. Each candidate, even the five appointed by the governor, now needs approval from eight of the 11 commissioners to have their name sent to the governor, who appoints new school board members from among those names.

Before the commission changed the rule last night, candidates had needed only six votes - easy to get if Gov. Martin O'Malley's five appointees voted as a bloc.

Of course, the change is likely cosmetic as the O'Malley/Leopold/Union liberal block is pretty likely to be in line on candidates. But does this not serve as a wonderful display of the absurdity of this kangaroo court system?

And speaking of the absurdity of this system, the same School Board Nominating Commission doesn't think the Board of Education should be involved in school system operations. So explain this:

The county Board of Education plans to discuss raising school lunch prices at its meeting tomorrow.

Meal prices haven't gone up for four years, said Jodi Risse, supervisor of the school system's Food and Nutrition Services.

She said the combination of federal and state money and revenue from the lunches isn't enough to cover expenses of the county's school lunch program.

Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell is recommending the board raise school lunch prices by the following amounts:

Milk, ½ pint, up 5 cents from 45 to 50 cents

Breakfast up 25 cents from $1 to $1.25

Elementary school lunch up 25 cents from $1.75 to $2

Secondary school lunch up 25 cents from $2 to $2.25

This isn't a knock on the decision to raise prices, because if you gotta do it, you gotta do it. But isn't this the kind of thing that the Commission believes School Board nominees should not be vetted for (i.e., their thoughts on operations) before the Commission passes the buck on to the Governor's office?

The school lunch price decision, no matter how minor, just goes to show out of touch and poorly planned the Nominating Commission concept is....

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 5-4-2008

Of course not, that would be helpful

It's not liked anybody expected the O'Malley Administration to do anything to benefit taxpayers, but still:

With gas prices continuing to reach new heights, the part of the cost controlled by federal and state governments is coming under increasing scrutiny as some politicians lobby for a break during the summer driving season.

Officials in Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration, however, caution that any reduction in gas tax revenue - which is dedicated solely to transportation spending - would hurt the government's ability to maintain roads.

"It might be a 'penny wise' and a 'pound foolish' at this point, especially since we've seen chronic underfunding of our transportation system," said Rick Abbruzzese, the governor's press secretary.

No, because god forbid the taxpayers of Maryland actually get a break after the Democrats pillaged them time and time again over the last few months. What's even more absurd is that Rick Abbruzzese actually talked about the chronic underfunding of transportation when the O'Malley Administration raided the Transportation Trust Fund to cover the excesses of their profligate spending!

Maryland taxpayers need a break, even if it is a largely symbolic break on state gas taxes. The fact that O'Malley and Maryland Democrats refuse to take even such a minor step to benefit the citizens of Maryland shows the kind of contempt these people hold taxpayers in: you are an ATM to benefit their pet projects, enrich their cronies, and keep them in office, and nothing more.

Bologna Boy still full of Bologna

David Paulson, of all people, has a column up at PolitickerMD.com regarding "political courage." Now, never mind the fact that "Maryland Democrat" and "political courage" tend to be oxymoronic, I want to highlight this comment, which highlights why Paulson doesn't get it:

It is easy to whine, gripe, attack and predict disaster is at the doorstep. Having the courage to solve real problems is hard and sometimes costly. After all, there is always someone or some group ready, willing and able to do what's easy.

You're right David, it is easy to whine, gripe, attack and predict disaster. So why, David, do you instinctively defend Martin O'Malley at every turn? All the Governor does is whine about Governor Ehrlich, gripe about how hard his job is, attack anybody who even remotely opposes his bad ideas, and predicts disaster if the people of Maryland don't roll over for his whims, and right now.

And you're right David: having the courage to solve real problems is hard and sometimes costly. I just wish that Maryland Democrats had some of this courage that you speak of, because they sure as hell didn't show it during the General Assembly session. Instead of reducing the size of government and assuring the people of Maryland that our state was under prudent financial stewardship, they instead rubber stamped O'Malley's profligate spending, sticking the citizenry with a higher tax bill as a result. That's certainly not leadership, that is, in fact, doing what's easy. Maryland Democrats are good at that.

Paulson later goes on to say something even more patently absurd:

In the end they couldn't even agree with each other on the Smith Island Cake. Some belittled our new "state cake" as a complete waste of time for a General Assembly facing serious issues. They must have forgotten it was a Republican sponsored bill in the first place.

Paulson forgets three key points:

1. Just because something is sponsored by Republicans doesn't mean it's a good idea. There are a lot of ideas from the moderate wing that aren't exactly beneficial to our side, nor are any number of bills that Republicans sign-on to as co-sponsors at all representative of our ideology;
   
   
2. Republicans actually have the testicular fortitude to call each other out when they go astray: Democrats outside of leadership have been for all intents and purposes been politically neutered in Maryland for some time now; and,
   
   
3. The Smith Island Cake was not the issue for a lot of people; it was Page Elmore's sellout of his vote for O'Malley's profligate budget to get the Smith Island Cake bill passed that was the real key issue.

What's odd is that David Paulson would spend his time kicking us while we were already down. I just wish that Paulson would spend less time psychoanalyzing the Republican side of the aisle, and instead spend more time trying to explain and justify why Martin O'Malley and Maryland's Democratic leadership want to tax Marylanders right out of the state and why these "leaders" want to destroy Maryland's Middle and Working Class Families.

Kevin Maxwell: Smartass

Anne Arundel County School Superintendent Kevin Maxwell decided to respond to John Leopold's budget statement with less comments about how to improve schools, but did plenty to act like a smartass:

And even though he already decided to cut 50 non-teaching positions, he'll have to look at slicing more administrative positions from the school system's central office - all cuts that ultimately will hurt student achievement and his goal of taking county schools "from good to great."

"If you want a Mercedes, you have to pay for a Mercedes," Dr. Maxwell said. "And we didn't even ask for a Mercedes. We asked for a Chrysler, and we got a pogo stick."

Yeah, that's clever. Not as clever, though, as it would be for Maxwell to adequately fund teacher pay and adequately fund classroom development. The fact of the matter is that in the Anne Arundel County School System all of the pork is at the top of the heap. I have talked previously about all of the unnecessary bureaucracy in public schools, all of the unnecessary positions and money tied up in Riva Road as opposed to being in the classroom where it is actually needed. Why does Maxwell insist that he needs to have record-high school funding when, in actuality, we aren't even quite sure what we have exactly with so little money going towards the classroom?

Kevin Maxwell needs to get his fiscal hosue in order....and this is exactly why this was a stupid statement from the School Board Nominating Commission

Growth Potential

Read it for yourself:

How? Well that's the truly remarkable part. It wasn't a transplant. Mr Spievak re-grew his finger tip. He used a powder - or pixie dust as he sometimes refers to it while telling his story.

Mr Speivak's brother Alan - who was working in the field of regenerative medicine - sent him the powder.

For ten days Mr Spievak put a little on his finger.

"The second time I put it on I already could see growth. Each day it was up further. Finally it closed up and was a finger.

"It took about four weeks before it was sealed."

Now he says he has "complete feeling, complete movement."

The "pixie dust" comes from the University of Pittsburgh, though in the lab Dr Stephen Badylak prefers to call it extra cellular matrix.

Yikes....though I guess we have finally figured out a way for Maryland Democrats to get a clue.

New Refuge Podcast

If you can't get enough of hearing me opine, take a listen to the new Conservative Refuge Podcast, where Greg, Mark and I tackle the recent General Assembly session, as well as Greg and I talk about the School Board Nominating Commission.

As always, it's a great listen...

Saving the Planet, Starving the Poor

Another catch-up from yesterday, here is a frightening thought:

And it has linked food and fuel prices just as oil is rising to new records, pulling up the price of anything that can be poured into a gasoline tank. "The price of grain is now directly tied to the price of oil," says Lester Brown, president of Earth Policy Institute, a Washington research group. "We used to have a grain economy and a fuel economy. But now they're beginning to fuse."

That's right, ethanol is making it harder and harder for people to put food on their plate. Not just because it makes it harder to buy grain, but because of all of the other uses grain has as it relates to food production, particularly when it comes to feeding livestock. Read the whole thing...

I've talked before about the potential pratfalls of switching to an ethanol based fuel situation, whether it relates to the impact on the poor, increased pollution due to higher grain production, or the further degradation of rain forests. And once again I can't emphasize enough the idea that people are jumping headfirst into support ethanol production no matter how wasteful ethanol production is and how much the increased use and production of ethanol may hurt, not help, our environment.

Obviously, the private sector needs to take the initiative in creating alternatives to both the use of oil and the use of ethanol in fuel consumption. Clearly, if there is a way to produce cleaner fuels we need to investigate those alternatives but we certainly should not do so at the cost of making it harder and harder for our working families to put food on the table.

What's the Big Deal?

Catching up from yesterday, the Sun had an editorial bemoaning the Supreme Court's decision in an Indiana case requiring voters to identify themselves before casting their ballot:

By upholding Indiana's voter identification law, the U.S. Supreme Court has virtually ignored the nation's ignominious history of disenfranchising certain groups and sanctioned an overly restrictive solution in search of a problem. While the court's 6-3 ruling is not expected to have a major effect on the coming presidential election, it is likely to encourage more states to follow Indiana's lead, guaranteeing that more Americans could be denied one of the most basic rights in a democracy. Maryland should stick to its convictions and continue rejecting stricter voter ID requirements.

I am extremely confused by the Sun's logic on this one. On one hand, the Sun wants to protect "one of the most basic rights in a democracy" while simultaneously refusing to support ID measures that would strengthen that right. The fact of the matter is that when somebody casts their vote illegally, it cheapens the vote and diminishes the rights of all of those individuals who do the right thing, follow the law, and only vote legally.

Furthermore, the argument that ID requirement would negatively impact the poor and the elderly is just spurious. How in the world can anybody logically survive these days without some sort of identification card? And when you consider that the Motor Vehicle Administration issues non drivers-license identification cards, I'm not sure what the argument is.

Finally, the Sun trots out this silliness:

Rooting out voter fraud may be a legitimate concern, but ID laws such as Indiana's have taken on a distinctly partisan cast - generally favored by Republicans and opposed by Democrats - and seem to be more about limiting the right to vote. In a nation where voter participation is pretty pitiful, states such as Maryland that have successfully resisted stricter voting requirements come closer to the democratic ideal.

Again, there is no logical sense in this argument either. While sometimes the arguments for voter ID take on a partisan take, they really should not. It's not about limiting the right to vote, it's about limiting voter fraud, something that is all too common in places like Maryland, that do not have strict voter ID requirements.

If we all want to protect the sanctity of our votes, we all should support common sense voter ID laws like the Indiana law the Supreme Court just upheld.