How NOT to win friends or win elections

Just when you think that you have seen everything in politics, you see something new.

Tonight I attended the Southern Maryland Young Republicans meeting in Prince Frederick, and the meeting featured bookend speakers for Delegate in District 27B, the winner earning the right to take on Sue Kullen. And the meeting ended with one of the stranger spectacles you will ever hear about.

The opening speaker was Bob Schaefer. Schaefer spoke about his perceived role of the General Assembly, and some of the things that he would do as a Delegate. He spoke on and on about his role, and stumbled a few times about who exactly does what when it comes to the role of Government, and fumbled a few softball questions that were thrown his way. Nothing earthshatteringly bad, but clearly a case of nerves from a novice candidate.

Once the club conducted the rest of their business, they heard a presentation from candidate Mark Fisher who spoke not about his camapaign, but about Cap and Trade. He presented the club with a slide show as it relates to Cap and Trade, how Marylanders are impacted by it, and how it relates to voters and citizens living in Calvert County. It was an impressive presentation, and during it he remained focused on the cap and trade issue, mentioning his candidacy only in passing.

As the meeting wrapped up, Schaefer stood and announced that "he had never seen anything so impolite" as when Fisher and his team were setting up a projector to present the Powerpoint presentation during Schaefer's remarks; something that most in the room didn't even know was occurring. While I thought that was a little uncalled for (and that I had certainly seen things less polite than this), I thought nothing much more it.

As it turns out Fisher went to shake hands with Schaefer as folks were filing out to leave. And at that point Bob Schaefer punched Mark Fisher in the stomach, in front of Fisher's children, no less. And nobody could believe what just happened. Fisher, being a reasonable fellow, decided (at last check) not to press charges in this bizarre incident.

I understand that sometimes primaries get heated, but this is just way way way over the line....and I kinda thought it was reasonably self-evident that you don't punch your primary opponents at any point in the campaign.

Needless to say, I think Bob Schaefer just punched himself out of the Delegate's race in 27B tonight.

Google-perplexing

It its clearly obvious that the people in Martin O'Malley's office do not know how to use Google.

Martin O'Malley, in his continuing effort to try to cover up the fact that he has destroyed more Maryland jobs than any other Governor in the nation, launched a new O'Malleynomic initiative today:

At remarks made this morning at a conference in Rockville, Gov. Martin O'Malley was expected to announce an administrative and legislative initiative to spur venture capital investment in Maryland's technology sector.

The program is called "InvestMaryland" and it will be run by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

The governor called it "a public-private partnership to fuel venture capital investment in our innovation economy, such as bioscience companies," according to prepared remarks given to The Baltimore Sun.

So what in O'Malley's mind how will this program work? The Sun comes through with his explanation:

Insurance companies will be eligible for state issued tax credits and in turn they would invest dollars today in Maryland’s venture infrastructure. These credits will be deferred until 2015. A minimum of half these investments will flow into the Maryland Venture Fund. The balance will flow into Maryland based venture capital firms for the purposes of getting critical capital to Maryland businesses so they can create jobs and advance innovation in fields like the biosciences.

So what does it actually mean in the real world? Red Maryland has you covered with exclusive coverage of Martin O'Malley's internal monologue:

We will convince insurance companies to invest money in the state of Maryland and hope that they notice that the Governor has no pants and the effect of this program won't take effect until any potential O'Malley second term is over, when they realize that Martin O'Malley has no idea what he is doing when it comes to economic growth and development; in reality, venture capital will flow to Virginia where local and state political leaders actual welcome companies with policies that encourage job creation and economic development. But it's OK......because chicks dig me because I'm in a band.

Right....

Anyhoo, the name of this program is very curious because the name "Invest Maryland" has a history in this state when it comes to investing in our state. And it's not a good one:

Invest Maryland sued by state Suit alleges company misled investors refunds are sought September 19, 1995|By Kim Clark | Kim Clark,SUN STAFF The state's top securities regulator yesterday sued Invest Maryland Corp., charging that the Annapolis-based company misled investors who put up seed money to start a combined life insurer, stock brokerage and buffalo burger fast-food chain. In a 29-page civil complaint, Securities Commissioner Robert N. McDonald asked the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to appoint a receiver to manage the company and to order Invest Maryland to offer refunds to investors. In a separate action, the commissioner yesterday also gave Invest Maryland Chairman Dennis K. McLaughlin 15 days to show cause why he shouldn't be barred from engaging in securities or investment activities in Maryland. Mr. McDonald said in the administrative order that he took the actions because he had "determined that [Mr. McLaughlin] engaged in dishonest or unethical practices in the securities business by offering and selling securities in violation" of the state securities law. Attorneys for Invest Maryland executives didn't return messages asking for comment last night.

Now you would think that the O'Malley team, in their infinite wisdom, would not name some pie in the sky venture capital scheme after a failed pie in the sky venture capital scheme from fifteen years ago. I mean, it takes two minutes to find this stuff on Google. But then again.....nobodoy, least of all people like us, have considered that Team O'Malley knows the slightest thing about job creation and putting people back to work. O'Malley and company has done a fantastic job putting people out of work and creating a less favorable economic climate for Maryland's middle and working class families. But actually bringing jobs to Maryland? No.

To put it simply; if Martin O'Malley's economic team can't figure out Google, how can they figure out the economy?

Slick Spots

Martin O'Malley's endorsement of union violence isn't the only bad decision that's coming back to bite him. After all, his pronouncements about oil washing up on Maryland's shores sure looks stupid considering it was O'Malley who took over 20 percent of the state's Oil Disaster Cleanup Fund to cover his excessive spending in other areas.

Of course, we have documented Martin O'Malley's irresponsible budgeting for some time now. Maybe O'Malley doesn't understand that you have contingency funds such as the Oil Disaster Cleanup Fund in case of a contingency such as the need to fund an Oil Disaster Cleanup, not to line the pockets of the union thugs and special interests who support his candidacy.

With Martin O'Malley in Annapolis, you get a Governor who never has your best interests at heart. It's past time to put the adults back in charge in Annapolis. Just another reason Red Maryland backs Bob.

Ground Control to Susan Turnbull.....do you copy?

Susan Turnbull has completely lost touch with reality.

As you might have heard, the Office of Attorney General Doug Gansler has cleared WBAL radio and Governor Bob Ehrlich from any alleged wrongdoing in the continuation of Governor Ehrlich's Radio Show on WBAL. You can read the opinion here.

Susan Turnbull, the blithering chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party issued a response to this which is somewhat otherworldly:

Today’s opinion is not surprising given that Bob Ehrlich is using a loophole in the law to keep his talk show on WBAL-radio. Common sense and Bob Ehrlich’s own actions clearly show that he is a candidate for governor. By exploiting a technicality in the law to absurdly claim he is not a candidate, he has managed to lawyer his way out of playing by the rules. Bob Ehrlich is violating the spirit of this law, just like he continues to use his Womble Carlye lobbying firm as his campaign headquarters. Bob Ehrlich is violating the spirit of the law, and he knows it. But like most lobbyists, Bob Ehrlich is willing to use whatever loophole he can to get what he wants for himself and his clients.

Mind you, an I think I need to emphasize this for the Democrats that seem to be a little not so swift on the uptake, a Democratic Attorney General agreed that Bob Ehrlich and WBAL committed no wrongdoing, and your droning on about it makes you look stupid.

And of course, if you read the opinion, you will note that the opinion relies heavily on the protections of the First Amendment. So it would appear to a cynic, at least, that Susan Turnbull and the Maryland Democratic Party are opposed to your First Amendment rights.

Of course, Turnbull and the Democrats look equally stupid when they go blabbing onand on about lobbyists when lobbyists who actually committed crimes are revered as the highest, holiest saints of the Democratic Party.

Susan Turnbull has lost all sense of political reality and political sense, if she had any at all. Turnbull's continuous blabbering about grievances real or imagined while hoping people don't look behind the Democratic curtain, and goes to show how much of a tailspin Maryland's Democratic Party is heading into Martin O'Malley's impending defeat this November.

Trial Lawyers will get their Christmas in April....but why did some Republicans tie on the bow?

It's Christmas in April for Trial Lawyers in Annapolis! One of their pet bills has passed out of the House of Delegates....with some Republican support, no less. And at the end of the day, taxpayers are going to be the ones left holding the bag.

House Bill 825 passed out of the House earlier this week. The bill increases the minimum amount of coverage for injury or death related to a car accident from $20,000 or $40,000 (for one or two cars) to $30,000 or $60,000 (for one or two cars).

And it's a that point that things patently fly off the handle. As part of the process, insurance companies are going to need to create a new classification of insurance policy. The standard slotting for insurance policies across the country have always been incremental. They current $20,000/$40,000 slot is standard across the country. The next slot is $25,000/$50,000, the standard in the District of Columbia. The slot after that jumps to $50,000/$100,000. Insurance companies are going to have to create a whole new classification of policy specifically to deal with Maryland if this passes....a policy which, incidentally the Sun points out will be among the highest liability coverage rates in the nation.

When you are increasing costs to the insurance companies, for having to create an entirely new classification of policy, while at the same time increasing the required coverage for policyholders, guess who is going to be left holding the bag. Consumers. But it won't impact most consumers....

No, the brunt of this impact will be felt by low-income Marylanders, the same middle and working class families that Democrats routinely go out of there way to stick it to. As a matter of fact, almost the entirety of the premium increase will be taken out of MAIF's policy holders., which of course lead to some drivers driving without misurance altogether. As House Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell so poignantly noted:

"This bill is going to hurt people at the bottom end of the socioeconomic ladder," said House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell. "It's a tax increase. Call it something else. It's a burden that's going to come out of their pockets."

This bill is, at its most basic level, a ten-percent increase in insurance premiums for those least able to afford a ten-percent increase in insurance premiums. It's why the Democrats don't blink a passing such an expense on to the taxpayers, because their raison d'etre is to hurt people at the bottom end of the socioeconomic ladder to enrich their special interest buddies.....

....which leads me to the Christmas in April title of this post. You see, this bill is being championed by two groups of people:

• The O'Malley Administration
• The Trial Lawyers that keep the O'Malley campaign awash in contributions.

Within the Administration, there has been a gag order on this bill. Leadership at the Maryland Insurance Administration is against this. Leadership at MAIF is against this. But they have been gagged on the orders from the Second Floor of the State House to stay out of the way and let this pass. Insurance companies are also opposing this as well, because it's an administrative burden on them and will increase their cost of doing business in the state of Maryland as well.

This friends is O'Malley's gift to the trial lawyers. Presumably, it's to make sure that his campaign stays funded this fall.....but it may also be a tacit admission that the O'Malley Campaign and his trial lawyer allies have no confidence whatsoever in O'Malley's ability to get himself re-elected.

Incidentally, this isn't the only O'Malley give away to the trial lawyers; SB 119 has passed out of the Senate, a constitutional amendment that would raise from $10,000 to $20,000 the minimum amount of damages that would be required to be sough in order to guarantee the right to a jury trial....

O'Malley's Christmas in April give-a-way to the trial lawyers is bad enough. But then nine Republicans broke with the caucus and decided to vote with O'Malley on this issue. If anybody would like to explain why the following Republican Delegates broke ranks with their party and decided that Marylanders need to pay more for insurance, I'm all ears:

• Bob Costa
• Donald Elliott
• Rick Impallaria
• James King
• Pat McDonough
• Tanya Shewell
• Mike Smigiel
• Donna Stifler
• Nancy Stocksdale

These are the kind of a votes where we need a cohesive Republican Caucus that stands up for taxapayers and not special interests...and it is VERY hard for us Republicans to make the argument that we are a better choice for Maryland's middle and working class families when we've got such a large percentage of the Republican caucus going off the reservation and siding with Governor O'Malley and the trial lawyers.

The people of Maryland, particular those Marylanders who are least able to pay, should not be subject to Martin O'Malley's giveaways to his trial lawyer special interest buddies. We owe it to ourselves and to the future of our state to make our opinion's about Governor O'Malley and his handouts at the ballot box this November.

Judd Legum's Philosophy of Governance

Judd Legum, the out-of-state funded Democrat for Delegate in District 30, also has a side gig in addition to be a candidate and a trial lawyer as the Chairman of the Market House and City Dock Committee of Annapolis Mayor Josh Cohen's transition team. And buried deep in this Capital story about the failure of the Market House rehabilitation project to get on track are Legum's thoughts about how Market House should operate:

The committee recommended the formation of a commission to determine exactly who will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Market House and what businesses will move into it. It's more important to reflect the character of Annapolis than for the property to turn a profit, Legum said.

Emphasis mine.

So, just to be clear, Judd Legum has absolutely no problem whatsoever with Annapolis City Taxpayers operating an ostensibly for-profit enterprise that competes with local private businesses for customers and revenues operating at a loss. That of course would mean that city taxpayers could see themselves footing the bill for more of Market House's operating costs than would be legitimately necessary; a philosophy that has already failed at the state level.

In Judd Legum's world, soaking the taxpayers for the ineffectiveness of government is a perfectly legitimate position to take. We need to make sure that Judd Legum doesn't bring his backward philosophy of governance to the State House next year...

Bill Frick Beclowns Himself Again

Last night I wrote about Bill Frick's tweet lamenting his job. Well, sometime between 8:54 PM and now, Frick deleted the Tweet.

Thankfully, we have saved it for posterity so you can see it.

You can run, but you can't hide, Delegate Frick.....

The Selfbeclowning of Bill Frick

Delegate Bill Frick may have become the first Delegate to selfbeclown himself in 140 characters or less. Check out this tweet from Frick:

In a tax bill hearing. Lectured at by a 22 year old from Americans 4 Prosperity about freedom and how business works. This is my life.

Apparently, Delegate Frick isn't a fan of, you know, public participation in the Legislative Process. Apparently it is a tremendous strain on Frick's life to listen to testimony from somebody who probably understands more than Frick how free markets work and how to pull Maryland out of our economic doldrums. Then again if you read into his condascending tone, I suppose Bill Frick doesn't think 22-year olds should participate in the political process except to be quiet and knock on doors.

Of course, Delegate Frick, if your life is so difficult and you are so inconvenienced by public testimony, you could always hit the bricks, go back to Montgomery County, and let one of the thousands of unemployed Marylanders take your $43,500 a year seat in your place...

MTA stands for "Most Troubled Agency"

You know that sometimes, I get letters. And sometimes I get them about the Maryland Transit Administration, which as you know if you've been paying attention, is in dire need of a clean slate and fresh leadership from somebody who has not been part of the circus and has at least a smidge of common sense.

So needless to say that the following email message I got was....disturbing:

A guy I work with has a neighbor who does maintenance and repairs of the MTA buses in Baltimore City. Last week, a call came in from a driver, and she wanted to bring her bus in because "someone had taken a crap in the bus."

She brought the bus in, and, unbeknownst to her, this guy reviewed the tape from the bus. Well, as you probably guessed by now, they have footage of her emptying her bus, going Out of Service, pulling off somewhere, and taking a crap in the middle of the bus. The best part of it was this: she was on the phone calling it in as she was taking the dump.

So, the mechanic followed up with HR (or whatever the heck they have) and, because she is union, she was not fired... only reprimanded for her behavior.

Wow. Just wow. Is it any wonder why Light Rail, Metro, and MTA Buses fail to meet ridership expectations? I mean, how can riders expect a clean and safe mode of transit when even MTA employees can't meet basic standards of human civility?

So that leads me to ask the same questions I usually have when this issues come up:

• Why do Senior Leaders at the Maryland Transit Administration continue to have jobs;
• Why does Governor O'Malley take no responsible for MTA and its mismanagement?

If transit advocates really want to help increase ridership in the Baltimore area, they should join me in calling for new leadership and new realities over at MTA Headquarters. The current crew cannot change make the necessary changes to provide safe, reliable and clean transit.
For positive change, outside leadership is necessary.

Meaningless Numbers

The left has decided to examine Governor Ehrlich's chances of unseating Martin O'Malley next year, and Adam Pagnucco decided to start his analysis with the most meaningless statistic in all of politics: voter registration data.

Overall, the Democrats have an absolute majority (at 56.9%) and outnumber Republicans by better than two-to-one. But the total numbers mask the geographic domination of the Democrats and the regional isolation of the GOP.

The Democrats have more than 50% of registered voters in eight jurisdictions: Baltimore City and Baltimore, Charles, Dorchester, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Somerset Counties. Those jurisdictions account for 60% of the state’s registered voters. The Republicans have more than 50% of registered voters in two jurisdictions: Carroll and Garrett Counties, which account for just 4% of the state’s registered voters.

Let’s lower the threshold to 40%. The Democrats have more than 40% of registered voters in 18 jurisdictions (all except Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Queen Anne’s and Washington Counties) that account for 88% of the state’s registered voters. The Republicans have more than 40% of registered voters in eight jurisdictions: Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Washington Counties, which account for just 17% of the state’s registered voters.

All of which, statistically speaking, was incredibly similar to the numbers that then-Congressman Ehrlich faced in 2002 when he defeated Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

Pagnucco goes on to continue with his analysis:

Registration does not always determine voting behavior. Maryland is a state in which Democrats can and do vote for Republicans, the most successful of whom has unquestionably been Bob Ehrlich. But all of the above means that the Democrats have a far broader reach across the state than does the GOP. Western Maryland is the only region in which the Democrats struggle to compete. The Republicans are non-competitive in three of the state’s four biggest jurisdictions (Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties) and lag Democrats in Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, fast-growing Charles County and even some parts of the Eastern Shore. All of this is a hurdle that any statewide GOP candidate would have to overcome.

Which of course, is also completely meaningless. When you look at voting results, and not voting registration, you see a picture that is, statistically speaking, more of a level playing field for Republicans running in Maryland; particularly a more-moderate, high-name ID Republican such as Bob Ehrlich. And, of course you need to look no further than the aforementioned Anne Arundel County to notice that a Democratic-majority county has elected this decade a Republican County Executive, Clerk of the Court, Register of Wills, two Circuit Court Judges who ousted Democratic appointees, three Judges of the Orphans Court, four of seven County Council Members, a majority of the Delegates, half of the State Senators, and gave two solid majorities to Bob Ehrlich and George W. Bush, and even one to John McCain.

What does this all mean? It means that voter registration numbers as a means of determining voter performance are completely useless......which was something Pagnucco could have learned had he read my analysis from six months ago, the last time he tried this argument.

If Democrats are hanging their hat on voter registration numbers to bail them out next year, Bob Ehrlich and the Republican Party may be in better shape that even we think...

Get Real

Len Lazarick reported yesterday about the work of the General Assembly Compensation Commission, which determines whether or not the members of the General Assembly are underpaid when they make $43,000 a year for part time work. But it seems like some of the findings of the commission are not going to put members of the General Assembly (presumably of both parties) in a good light:

The 51 pages of data legislative staff produced for the commission contained a number of telling statistics. For instance, 86 percent of the 188 lawmakers claim their full $42 daily meal per diem during the 90-day session without submitting receipts, though some senators and delegates attend receptions and committee dinners hosted by others....

...Eighty percent of legislators --156 lawmakers -- are reimbursed for lodging for all 90 days the legislature is in session, most at the maximum rate of $126 a day, even though many live within commuting distance. Some of the hotels throw in free breakfast, Sprague noted.

Emphasis mine. And why not give these folks higher compensation during a recession, the lot of them are doing such a bang-up job...

This is an issue that we have touched on before, with a number of legislators who live right here in Anne Arundel County staying the night in Annapolis and claiming their full $126 per diem rate. As I said nearly two years ago:

There is virtually NO good reason (except for maybe issues concerning the weather) for an Anne Arundel County legislator to seek state reimbursement for hotel rooms in Annapolis. It's completely insulting as a taxpayer to see legislators, regardless of political affiliation, live the high life at the Loews or the Marriott in Annapolis while the rest of us mere mortals are subjected to higher taxes and higher costs of living. Sure, I don't have as much of a problem allowing for reimbursable expenses for legislators from the Eastern Shore, or Western Maryland, or even Montgomery County. But when you work in the county you live in, it's just shows embarrassingly poor judgment.

And it still stand true. Frankly, any legislator who lives within a reasonable commuting distance from Annapolis who decides to stay in Annapolis and claim their full per diem is unfit for office. Period.

In the meantime, somebody also needs to get the memo to Senate President Mike Miller that it's a tacky to justify these handouts to General Assembly members in the middle of a recess

Miller defended the per diems and lodging arrangements.

“I don’t think people abuse” the meal or lodging per diem, Miller said. “These are elected officials. Nobody is going to be chintzy about meals.”

“I get invitations to four or five receptions a night, and I rarely eat or consume anything at these events,” Miller said. “Obviously you can’t drink or you’d be an alcoholic.”

“You’re not there to eat, you’re there to meet and greet, and you can’t talk with your mouth full,” Miller said.

He pointed out that some senators and delegates don’t go to any receptions on principle, and other members will go out to eat after they’ve attended a reception.

Well, let's throw a pity party for General Assembly members. It must be tough getting $43,000 a year to work a part-time job (that admittedly does require a lot of extra attention) while generally holding down another full-time job.

There are thousands of Marylanders right now who are unemployed (a lot of them thanks to the General Assembly's complicity in Martin O'Malley's reckless spending) who would be absolutely delighted to be making $43,000 a year for a full-time job, much less a part-time one. To then defend the legislators use of per diem, with the added insult that implies General Assembly members are too good to eat like the rest of us, is an insult to all of the middle and working class taxpayers who are suffering thanks to the actions of Miller and the rest of the Democrats in the General Assembly.

I hope that the compensation commission recommends no changes to the salary or expense rates for General Assembly members. Regulations should be adopted by the General Assembly regarding who is and is no eligible to receive per diem lodging payments (banning legislators within a 50-mile radius of Annapolis from receiving lodging reimbursements would be a good start). And the commission should continue to hold the line on expenses until legislators shape up, provide receipts, and stop abusing the system. They are not send to Annapolis to have a taxpayer funded vacation; they are citizen legislators who are (theoretically) there to serve the interests of the state, not to be reimbursed for expenses that are clearly unnecessary or nonexistent.

Memo for Democrats

As we celebrate what we are most thankful for, here's a reminder about the Pilgrims and why they didn't eventually wind up starving to death (H/T Instapundit):

In 1620 Plymouth Plantation was founded with a system of communal property rights. Food and supplies were held in common and then distributed based on equality and need as determined by Plantation officials. People received the same rations whether or not they contributed to producing the food, and residents were forbidden from producing their own food. Governor William Bradford, in his 1647 history, Of Plymouth Plantation, wrote that this system was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. The problem was that young men, that were most able and fit for labour, did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense. Because of the poor incentives, little food was produced.

Faced with potential starvation in the spring of 1623, the colony decided to implement a new economic system. Every family was assigned a private parcel of land. They could then keep all they grew for themselves, but now they alone were responsible for feeding themselves. While not a complete private property system, the move away from communal ownership had dramatic results.

This change, Bradford wrote, had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. Giving people economic incentives changed their behavior. Once the new system of property rights was in place, the women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn; which before would allege weakness and inability.

Once the Pilgrims in the Plymouth Plantation abandoned their communal economic system and adopted one with greater individual property rights, they never again faced the starvation and food shortages of the first three years. It was only after allowing greater property rights that they could feast without worrying that famine was just around the corner.

So, National Democrats, Maryland Democrats; are you guys boneheaded enough to realize that the stimulus package, the GM bailout, and the nationalization of health care are going to work out any differently for us than communal farming did for the pilgrims?

Happy Thanksgiving everybody...

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.

Sin Wagon

Once again it looks like some Democrats are going to go into the 2010 General Assembly session hellbent on raising your taxes. And once again these Democrats are going to try to take their pound of fresh from the poor:

Legislators are not ruling out increases in so-called sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco to prop up programs that have suffered during the state's ongoing budget crunch.

Such taxes have been at the heart of attempts in recent years to fund services for the developmentally disabled and to expand health care coverage for the needy.

Now, with services for the disabled sustaining $24 million in cuts, as part of the $735 million in budget reductions by the state Board of Public Works this summer, and with health care advocates looking to restart a stymied expansion of Medicaid, legislators say they are not ruling out raising taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

Cognizant of the 2010 elections, legislative leaders have said no to new taxes. And rank-and-file members agree that taxes are unpalatable.

"However, that being said, there may be a few targeted revenue increase measures that we may be able to take," said Sen. Mike G. Lenett (D-Dist. 19) of Silver Spring.

Of course sin taxes on alcohol and smokes disproportionately take their toll on the poor, since it is lower income Marylanders who use these products at a higher per capita rate than middle and upper class Marylanders do. And, of course, this is the kind of regressive tax that Democrats love to pretend to hate precisely because it is a tax that is aimed at those Marylanders who are least able to mount a credible response against them. Of course, calls for higher sin taxes are nothing new to Annapolis liberals, and still reeks of attempts at social engineering with a tax theoretically designed to bring diminishing returns.

Sen. Richard Madeleno of Neptune Kensington chimes in with this productive train of thought:

Madaleno expects an "uphill battle" when he introduces the bill again in 2010. Given the bleak fiscal outlook, a sin tax "might be more palatable to some of my colleagues who are prone to support them," he said.

But he doesn't expect to get the support of anti-tax conservatives. "To those who want to run on a mindless anti-tax platform, one tax is just as evil as the next," Madaleno said.

Wow, that added a lot to the debate. But I'm not exactly sure that Madaleno should be throwing stones when he and his leftist colleague in Annapolis run on a mindless platform to constantly screw Maryland's middle and working class families.

Either way, the politics of sin taxes are going to be on everybody's mind until the General Assembly gets to Annapolis January 13th...

Hope and Shame

If as to prove that most local Democrats do in fact make up the gang that couldn't shoot straight, Annapolis Democrats lost their Mayoral nominee tonight:

Zina C. Pierre, a virtual unknown in Annapolis politics whose primary victory this week put her on track to become the city's first African-American mayor, dropped out of the race Friday evening in the wake of revelations of personal financial problems.

Pierre was besieged with questions about the foreclosure of her Bowie home and several state tax liens.

"Zina Pierre has decided that for personal reasons she will withdraw from the race for the city of Annapolis," said her spokeswoman, Michael Matthews, who declined to comment further.

According to city code, the Annapolis Democratic Central Committee must choose a replacement nominee by early October. Nick Berry, the chair, said the group will move "expeditiously" to appoint a nominee.

Go figure...a Clinton Administration figure with character issues. Who'd have thunk it?

To his credit, our sometimes nemesis Paul Foer broke the story this afternoon:

Zina Celestine Pierre, the recent upset winner in the Democratic Primary for Mayor, has a lengthy history of legal troubles that have repeatedly landed her in court for issues such as mortgage foreclosure, tax lien and a credit union judgment.

According to state records easily available online, Zina C. Pierre is listed as a defendant in 18 civil lawsuits and 3 traffic cases in Prince Georges County, the earliest being 1990 and the most recent two being filed in March of 2009. In all cases she is the defendant.

Five of the civil lawsuits are listed as still active and involve a mortgage foreclosure, a credit union judgment against her (over $6,000), a State of Maryland tax lien ($653), another approximate $6,000 judgment against her and what looks like her company, and another lien. These are just the active and open lawsuits. Among those listed as closed are lawsuits involving Hecht's and Jaguar Land Rover of Annapolis.

managed to not see any reporting, any campaigning, or any discussion of this issue until three days after the Democratic primary. I am completely flabbergasted that a mayoral primary that seemed to have lasted almost a yearEspecially when you consider all of these records were easily accessible via computer.

Looks like Annapolis Democrats were incredibly under served, not just by the other six Democrats who ran for Mayor, but also by local media. The Sun and The Capital managed to completely fumble this story and run no stories about Pierre's background until after her withdrawal from the race. Given how much ink was (rightfully) given to the Sam Shropshire sexual assault allegations, you would have thought that somebody in these journalistic institutions would have thought to sit at the computer and do this basic research.

Score one for the blogosphere, but what a complete embarrassment for the city of Annapolis...

If you build it, they won't come

For all of the people who seem to think that all of our nation's health care problems will magically disappear once socialized medicine is on the scene, I give you this:

Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.

The poll contradicts the claims of not only the White House, but also doctors' own lobby — the powerful American Medical Association — both of which suggest the medical profession is behind the proposed overhaul.

It also calls into question whether an overhaul is even doable; 72% of the doctors polled disagree with the administration's claim that the government can cover 47 million more people with better-quality care at lower cost.

Here is a graph for those of you who might not grok it otherwise:


So riddle me this; if we know that the passage of Obamacare means that we will artificially limit the number of practicing doctors in this country, and we know that through the artificial limit on practicing physicians that the quality of care will be significantly diminished and more expensive due to scarcity.....then what is the value-added to passing this boondoggle at all?

Looks like we might be going towards the DIY work ethic practiced by the British. Somebody get me some pliers....

Seeing the Light

Who is surprised to read this:

"...the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel has failed to live up to rosy predictions made in more robust times. The 757-room hotel, a block north of Camden Yards, has fallen short in a key measure of a hotel's performance - revenue earned per room. And city officials are less certain the hotel will turn a profit in the three- to five-year time frame originally projected."
- Baltimore Sun, 8/22/2009

If there were only somebody who saw that this was going to happen.....oh, yeah:

This in a city that continually runs deficits in its school system. A city where the crime rate remains one of the highest in the country. A city where drug dealers rule many streets. To spend that amount of money on a business venture is nearly criminally absurd.

What makes it more absurd is the failure of other publicly financed projects of similar magnitude in other major cities. As the Sun cites, similar projects in Myrtle Beach, St. Louis, and Sacramento have been built at tremendous costs to the taxpayers, but without the expected benefits in bookings and revenues the city expended. And on top of those projects, the Rocky Gap resort in Garrett County and our very own Compass Pointe Golf Course are local publicly financed projects that have run in the red since their conception.
- Brian Griffiths, 8/10/2005

Maryland Democrats catch the Stupids

We rail a lot about Maryland Democrats and their poor decision making, but nothing could possibly have prepared us for the nonstop festival of stupidity and lack of judgment that we have seen from Maryland's Democratic elite in the past week.

First, it all started off with the now infamous marriage proposal of Delegate Jon Cardin, who of course had to invoke the use of the police to propose to his wife in one of the most dangerous, crime ridden cities in America. While this stupid misuse of police resources is obvious to everybody, apparently Cardin's proposal was a hit with Democratic legislative buddies at the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) Conference in Ocean City last weekend. More curiously the House Ethics Committee, which of spent untold millions investigating Governor Bob Ehrlich's legal hiring and firing of at-will employees, has decided to punt on doing an investigation of this actual ethically challenged decision.

Speaking of MACO, then we come to the first Facebook fiasco of the week. First reported by Adam Pagnucco were the pictures posted from MACO of Governor Martin O'Maley and Mayor Sheila Dixon and other Democratic pols hamming it up down in Ocean City. The pics were posted by Jeremy Rosendale who works in the Governor's office. I know Jeremy, and Jeremy is a good guy, but this was just a bad choice in posting these pictures to Facebook for the entire world to see. But that really isn't biggest issue here; the issue is that elected officials, despite assurances to the contrary, decided to go down to OC and partake in the usual debauchery that happens every year during the MACO conference. And it was because of that debauchery and the presence of these photos that the story really, really blew up.

And while we are talking about special Facebook moments, that brings us to Democratic Delegate Saqib Ali. Ali's Facebook status updates have been interesting insofar as that in the span of three days he called opponents of Obamcare terrorists, and followed that up with a really stupid and offensive joke about Glenn Beck's grandmother.

On top of that, apparently Sun reporter Michael Dresser seems to think Ali's offensive comment is funny.

What has gotten into Maryland Democrats that has made them lose even more of their common sense? While thes transgressions are little more than blips on the political radar, they are more indicative of a dangerous arrogance seen in Maryland Democrats. These Democrats seem to think that they can do no wrong, that they are above reproach, and that nothing can stop them from doing or saying whatever they want, regardless of the ethics or the consequences of the situation. It is a key character trait from people who believe that they are entitled to lead in a single-party state.

It's just a sad, sad state of affairs that elected officials believe that this kind of behavior is acceptable (and, apparently, approved by Baltimore Sun reporters).

Contract Matters

You might have seen this story today regarding State GOP Chairman Jim Pelura's push to create a "Contract with Maryland." Amazingly, this actually create a large problem for the State Party. And I'm not even talking about the fact that Pelura is trying to dictate the legislative agendas of Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman and House Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell.

See, the story here is the fact that Pelura has appointed yet another committee to try and develop party policy. Which would be novel if it wasn't for the fact that Pelura has done this multiple times now. Including the appointment of Charles County GOP Chairman Charles Lollar to the much ballyhooed tax commission.

Lollar spoke at the Anne Arundel Republican Central Committee meeting, and the gist of his speech was that the tax commission was basically put officially hold, and that the Lollar Commission decided to move forth and continue meeting and to present its recommendations independently of the state party apparatus. That is what led to the creation of Concerned Citizens for a Better Maryland. And that outfit last week released its......Contract with Maryland.

So, to recap, Jim Pelura is creating a commission to recreate the work done by a former Pelura-created commission that was cast adrift. And both commissions are at odds with legislative leadership over who should be crafting the party's agenda. The State GOP will have two competing, conservative Contracts with Maryland.

I'm so glad that the party is getting its act together.

Maybe the creation of a new committee is not the best idea we can come up with right now. And frankly given the bottom line of our bank accounts these days, shouldn't the state party apparatus take the time to create a finance committee to raise some money for the state party to get us out of this fiscal black hole the party finds itself in?