The Battle Continues

The saga over the Obama Worship in Howard County continues to percolate, with WUSA TV-9 doing a story on it last night featuring Delegate Warren Miller (who was able to step in for me at the last second). And Howard County continues to either deny it, refuse to talk about it, or obfuscate what really happened depending on what day of the week it is.

Well, this Thursday the parents and taxpayers of Howard County an opportunity to speak their mind to members of the Howard County Board of Education at the Board's meeting. The meeting will be at Howard County Board of Ed HQ at 10910 Route 108 in Ellicott City, and will begin promptly at 7:30 PM. If you are a Howard County resident and wish to testify, call Kathy Hanks at (410) 313-7194 to sign-up.

It will be very interested to see if the elected Board of Education in Howard County takes a stand for indoctrination or takes a stand for education this Thursday...

Choosing a Carpetbagger

Anne Arundel County Democrats must be real hard-up for candidates if this is being taken seriously:

An Annapolis-area Democrat and business executive announced Thursday that she is exploring a run for Anne Arundel County Executive.

Joanna Conti, who said she has run businesses in five different industries and a nonprofit, has formed an exploratory committee for a possible run against County Executive John R. Leopold in the 2010 election, Conti said in an interview. Leopold, a Republican, is seeking re-election.

Conti, who moved to Maryland in 2006 from Colorado, is a virtual unknown in local political circles. She has never held public office but ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2004 for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Now to be fair, this is probably just somebody trying to get their name out there before the Janet Owens announces her attempt to reclaim the office. But Conti has some prominent names on her exploratory committee, including school board member and former County Council Candidate Andrew Pruski, AA Young Dems President Peter Smith, and Anne Arundel Democratic Central Committee members Ann Marie Remillard and Ann Marie Remillard.

Which leads me to two questions that need answering:

1. Are Anne Arundel Democrats really that disinterested in four more years of Janet Owens; and,
2. If they are, why would you hitch your wagon to a carpetbagger who has lived in Anne Arundel County for three years.

2010 could be a lot more interesting in Anne Arundel County than we first thought...

Other People's Money

Who else is stunned by this development?

A union representing more than 30,000 Maryland state employees asked Gov. Martin O'Malley on Thursday to tap into the state's $750 million rainy day fund to help avoid deeper cuts to state services. Patrick Moran, executive director of the Maryland chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, held a news conference Thursday with dozens of union members, who held up signs that read: "It's Raining." State officials avoid using the fund, fearing the state would to lose its Triple-A bond rating, which enables Maryland to borrow money at a more favorable rate.

I am glad that the Union at least can acknowledge when it's raining, but this is one of those metaphorical time when somebody is trying to piss on your head and tell you it's raining.

The rainy day fund exists when the state is short on money. This is true. However, financial mismanagement and incompetence by Governor O'Malley and his allies in the State House is no excuse to dip into the rainy day fund. It's very easy for AFSCME to call for O'Malley to take money out of the rainy day fund because it's other people's money; money that was collected in taxes at a time in which the state was collecting more money from the taxpayers than it was spending. The money was put aside for an emergency; a real emergency.

AFSCME trying to protect its flank in order to save union jobs in a bloated state government? That's not an emergency...

Governor O'Malley would be right to refute calls to dip into the rainy day fund in an order to cover the costs of his own mistakes. But there is an opportunity in this, but only if Governor O'Malley learns the lessons from his prior mistakes, reduces state spending, and reduces the size of Maryland state government. However, I'm sure the political pressures from his union allies to spend other people's money to protect their hide will take precedence over such common sense ideas...

Mission Creep

A Wall Street Journal editorial from Friday notes the problems with mandated insurance, particularly when it comes to health care in Massachusetts:

My husband retired from IBM about a decade ago, and as we aren't old enough for Medicare we still buy our health insurance through the company. But IBM, with its typical courtesy, informed us recently that we will be fined by the state.

Why? Because Massachusetts requires every resident to have health insurance, and this year, without informing us directly, the state had changed the rules in a way that made our bare-bones policy no longer acceptable. Unless we ponied up for a pricier policy we neither need nor want—or enrolled in a government-sponsored insurance plan—we would have to pay $1,000 each year to the state.

And why exactly were they being fined by the state? Well, the answer sounds lot like some of the arguments that are currently being made by supporters of Obamacare.....except this was being championed by a Republican Governor:

The turning point was three years ago, when then-Republican Gov. Mitt Romney pushed through the state legislature a health-care plan that he promised would provide universal coverage while lifting from the middle-class the burden of having to pay for those who do not have insurance. His argument was that the uninsured drove up the cost of health care for everyone by seeking care at emergency rooms and then skipping out on their medical bills. Hospitals make up for those unpaid bills by charging everyone else more than they otherwise would.

The central plank of the Romney plan was a mandate that required everyone to buy health insurance or pay a fine for posing a risk to society by walking around without coverage. There would be subsidies for those who couldn't afford insurance, and residents would be required to buy a minimum amount of health insurance, on the grounds that they might buy a policy that doesn't cover the cost of their care and end up skipping out on their medical bills. "We insist that everybody who drives a car has insurance, and cars are a lot less expensive than people," Mr. Romney told the Boston Globe in 2006.

Mr. Romney and Sen. Ted Kennedy publicly promised that the middle class—that is, people like us—would not be taxed and that our health-care costs would actually decrease if the plan became law.

Well, needless to say we see that mandated care in Massachusetts hasn't exactly worked our swimmingly for middle class folks up there. The cost of health care continues to skyrocket, people are still not necessarily covered, and middle class tax payers are suffering for the broken promises of bureaucrats and politicians who told them time and again that they wouldn't be subjected to a tax on health care and that health care costs would drop.

Sound like anything coming out of Washington these days?

Anybody of sound mind can see what is coming if the current health care plan is enacted. I have been saying time and time again that the option of health care reform, in the minds of the Democratic establishment in Washington, has little to do with providing better care at lowers costs, and everything to do with the socialization of health care at the federal level. Mandating minimum levels of coverage, to a certain extent, will be the same thing. And there will be a continued mission creep of the federal mandate to ensure that people are steered toward the exact coverage that Washington bureaucrats want, or whatever coverage Congress mandates into law. As Jonathan Adler notes:

If the federal government adopts an individual mandate, Ms. Williams fears her experience could soon replay itself nationwide. She’s right to fear. Once there is an individual mandate, interest groups will flock to Washington seeking to have their preferred treatment or service incorporated into the requirements for acceptable health care plans. Over time, the requirements will grow, and the cost of health care plans for many Americans will increase as a result. Consequently, many individuals who have health care plans that fully meet their needs will suddenly find themselves “underinsured” — and taxed fined as a result.

I can happen here. And it will happen if Congressional Democrats get their way. The Mission Creep has been real in Massachusetts; it will repeat itself at the federal level. The Bureuacuracy needed to run this mess will be nightmarish. Middle class families are going to have to spend more money on health care, turning it over to one bureacuracy (federally-approved health care companies) or another (the Government).

Mandated care, as constructed, is pretty much the enemy of our basic free market economic principles.....and while only tangential to the health care argument, it should give fiscal conservatives a lot of pause when you consider Mitt Romney's likely second try at the White House in 2012.

Fitting

Adam Pagnucco reported on Friday about Governor O'Malley's fundraiser that was scheduled for today...........in South Beach...........at a place called "The Meat Market."

The jokes just write themselves at this point.

What's not quite as funny, though, is this thought: what is Governor O'Malley doing going to South Beach to raise money at a time in which Maryland's middle and working class families are suffering from his incompetent leadership?

.....or are business owners and Democrats in South Beach merely thanking Governor O'Malley for driving more and more businesses out of Maryland, improving the business and economic climate of states like Florida?

Either way, I am glad to see that Governor O'Malley had the economic resources to fly down to South Beach while so many of Maryland's families are suffering due to the Governor's inability to control spending and his never ending desire to raise taxes on the middle class.

Talking Bollocks

Jeff Quinton has one of the more amazingly deluded "clarifications" I have ever read in my life, this one coming from Howard County Public Schools PIO Patti Caplan regarding the Obama Sing-a-long fiasco. Here it is in entirety, with some commentary interspersed.

Several weeks ago, all Longfellow Elementary School first graders were shown a videotape of President Obama’s speech to students as part of the school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Program (PBIS), which focuses on being safe, responsible and respectful. As the classes were gathering in one of the first grade classrooms, the teacher was playing a CD of a song she and her students composed last year for a technology competition. She also played the song as the students were leaving.

Interestingly, the Obama speech was causing a scandal of all of its own. The fact that a teacher decided to exacerbate that issue by playing such a song is amazingly shortsighted, but it gets worse.

One (yes only one) parent called and emailed the school with his concern that the students were being forced to “glorify and worship” President Obama. The school administration responded to this parent and provided him with a copy of the lyrics, which his wife posted on a blog. The school administration has met with this parent and he apologized for the posting and for creating so much trouble for the school. He indicated that the school had addressed his concern.

Talk about trying to place the blame on somebody else. The fact that Caplan would throw a parent under the bus is incredibly amazing. Of course, it seems to fly in the face of a few facts.

There is no mention of the principal, or the song lyric, or Longfellow Elementary prior to September 29th, the day I received the email and posted the contents of the email on my blog and at RedMaryland. So, given the fact that a search of blog records and the internet shows no postings before then, exactly who is Caplan saying leaked this and who is she saying that information came from?

On top of it, why does Caplan try to minimize the one parent who had a concern with this? How many times have we seen schools bend over backwards to accomodate the needs of one parent who is pissed off about something? I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying that Caplan seems to be trying to deflect the seriousness of this story on the premise that only one parent of one child was angry.

The objective of this lesson was to motivate students with a positive message to be respectful, stay in school, work hard and do their best. The lesson supports the work the school is doing as part of PBIS. The children did sing along to the song, which repeats “Yes I Can” and “Yes We Can.” Repetition of this nature is a common element in songs for children of this age.

Well, that's a noble goal. But that leads us to.....

The focus of the lesson was on the children and positive behavior, not the President. There was no intention or attempt to glorify or worship the President. Educators often use positive role models in their lessons, including Presidents of the United States, and this practice is supported by the Howard County Public School System. The Howard County Public School System does not require nor encourage teachers to include references to President Obama in their lessons, nor does it discourage the use of such references.

So why then did the teacher include the President in the lesson plan when there are a plethora of historical figures who could have been used to create a similar example. And does not the fact that the President's campaign slogan was included in the song a tacit endorsement by the teacher and/or the school of the President and the policies that the President is promoting? I mean this isn't rocket science here, and considering that incidents like this are on the rise across the country, you would seem to think that somebody would question whether or not the use of the song is a good idea.

The Howard County Public School System respects the right of individuals to disagree with the words of the song and/or even the use of the song in this context. However, the idea that a public school system would have a “policy” to force students to “worship” the President is so ludicrous it deserves no response.

Again, Caplan is trying to deflect away from the meat of the story. Nobody is saying that the Howard County Public School System has a policy to force students to worship to the President. But the fact seems to be at least one teacher at Longfellow Elemetnary in the Howard County Public School system has made it their policy to try and force such beliefs on their students. And since they are employees of the aforementioned public school system, I would love to know what steps the Howard County Public School System is taking to end such shenaingans. But since Patti Caplan seems to be denying that a problem exists, I'm guessing that we know the answer.

Glad to know that Patti Caplan and the brass in the Howard County Public Schools seem to condone this ludicrous behavior.

Health care reform through policy, not pandering

Back in August, I noted that Republicans needed to come up with a health care plan of our own. Fortunately, Governor Bobby Jindal was listening.

Gov. Jindal has to be considered one of the leading Republican authorities on health care, given his support for common sense budgeting and fiscal policy, along with his experience in serving as Louisana's Secretary of Health and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. Jindal published an editorial in today's Washington Post that listed ten basic Republican tenets of health care reform. Common sense solutions that actually would benefit everyday Americans, such as:

• Voluntary purchasing pools
• Portability of coverage
• Tort Reform
• Coverage of preexisting conditions
• Transparency
• Electronic Medical Records
• Tax-free Health Savings Accounts
• Rewarding healthy lifestyles
• Allowing younger adults to be covered on parents policies
• Refundable tax credits

Jindal's plan, more so than any other plan presented on the national stage, will accomplish what the ostensible goal of health care reform should be; getting more folks covered at a lower price to the consumer.

Of course.....there is a minor hitch in that giddy-up.

Does anybody really think that the Obama Administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress want any of those things that are listed above? Do they want individuals to be able to buy coverage across state lines, or to take it with them when they move? Do they want taxpayers or businesses to be able to join together cooperatively to purchase coverage at a lower rate? Do they want tort reform, or tax free savings accounts? Of course they don't. The issue of health care, on the national scene, has never been about maximizing the number of people with health insurance while minimizing the price to consumers and taxpayers. Because if that were the goal, some of Governor Jindal's recommendations would be a part of the plan being put forth by Congress.

Instead, what do we see being proposed? Larger government, more bureacuracy, a reduction in the ability of people to purchase coverage without government strings attached....and a fine/tax if the citizen does not want to play ball with the government mandate. And that says nothing of the fact that a system is being proposed that even doctors don't want to see.

Can somebody tell me how any of those things are going to maximize coverage and minimize costs? They aren't, because the Democrats aren't interested in solutions to the health care problem. Just demagoguery at best, or a radical change in American society at worst.

Leaders in Congress would be wise to consider Gov. Jindal's path. Because if the goal is truly "health care for all" this, frankly, is one of the only logical, affordable ways to get there.

"Sure Maryland's economy is in the crapper, but who needs to worry about that? Now watch me play this riff"

Hey, remember back when Martin O'Malley was running for Governor back in 2006 and he talked about giving up his side gig in a crappy band in order to focus on his day job. Well, neither does he:

O'Malley's March, the governor's semi-retired Celtic rock band, won't be hanging it up for good anytime soon.

The band has two concerts planned the night of Nov. 21 at the historic Avalon Theatre in Easton. And Tuesday morning, the Rams Head in Annapolis said it had landed Gov. Martin O'Malley's band Dec. 20 (in an announcement that also included newly booked shows by Keb' Mo' and Sonny Landreth).

"Yeah, we have a couple of jobs," O'Malley confirmed in an interview Tuesday morning after a gubernatorial event in Glen Burnie. "I guess they're near enough to the holidays that we felt free to do them. It will be good to play again."

Sure, it's not the only promise O'Malley threw out the window after the election, nor is it the first time that he fell off the music wagon....

But god forbid the Governor actually, you know, try and do something for the taxpayers of Maryland and focus on lowering taxes, cutting spending, and solving this deficit.

Maybe an enterprising group might choose to protest to make that point outside of the Governor's gigs....

Until then, maybe somebody should remind the Governor that he can always pursue his dream of being in a band and living out of a van, resign the Governorship, and turn the responsibility over to somebody who actually gives a damn. I think we'll all be happier that way...

Death, Taxes, Earmarking

Is anybody terribly surprised that Maryland's Senior Senator seems to be shutting money to her campaign donors?

Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski has added tens of millions of dollars to a defense spending measure in earmarked grants for her top campaign donors, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.

All but one of Mikulski's 16 funding requests were approved, making her the champion defense earmarker for the state. Final numbers won't be available until Congress completes action on the spending legislation later this fall.

Included in the senator's $42.1 million total is a combined $10.5 million for three companies, Northrop Grumman, Thales Communications and L-3 Communications, whose executives and political action committees have been among her most generous contributors.

Northrop Grumman officials and the company's PAC gave $57,900 to Mikulski's campaign and her political committee between 2005 and this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks political money.

That makes Northrop Grumman the largest source of contributions to Mikulski's re-election, according to the center's figures. The other two companies, Thales and L-3, also ranked among her top 15 donors.

Of course, none of this should comes as a surprise to people who pay attention to Barbara Mikulski, noting her status as a high ranker in the "Pig Book" to overcome her complete lack of influence in the U.S. Senate. She has to try to justify her continued service in the U.S. Senate, so instead of actually putting the interests of Marylanders first she will settle for at least staying bought by her largest contributors.

There is one thing that makes me a little curious going into 2010 however. Mikulski is now caught red-handed shuttling earmarked spending to large corporations who just happen to be some of her biggest donors. Last year, Mikulski was being pummeled by the lunatic fringe on her side for not being enough of a leftist.

How do you think Maryland's fringe left is going to react to this?