David Paulson needs to lay off the bong water

David Paulson is either or drugs or has completely lost his mind:

It's not every day that the state Democratic Party's communication director and one of Maryland's most prominent Republicans agree on a party's political fortunes. But after former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele told a crowd of Republicans that "the Republican brand quite frankly sucks," David Paulson emailed PolitickerMD.com to express his empathy for Steele's idea.

"I don't disagree with Michael Steele on his low opinion of the Republican brand - it's in the toilet for a lot of reasons," Paulson wrote in an email to PolitickerMD.com. "But Republicans who think they only have a branding problem are fooling themselves. This isn't a public relations problem. This is a public trust problem."....

..."Andy Harris is just more of the same - all talk and no action, especially when it comes to gas prices," Paulson wrote to PolitickerMD.com. "If Harris is so concerned with gas taxes why didn't he sponsor a bill as a state senator? He has even failed to officially request that any action be taken now. Proof once again that Harris (sic) all talk and no action."

Paulson concluded the email by criticizing Republicans even further: "Republican hypocrisy is not a branding problem. It's more like we-can't-believe-you-because-we-don't-trust-you problem."

Wow.

I mean, wow.

The Democrats in this country and this state have repeatedly found themselves to be either under some sort of cloud involving shoes, involving money stored in freezers, involving shady land deals, involving undisclosed employers, involving State Senators with drugs, involving unsafe vehicles on the road, accepting bribes, nepotism at the state and county levels, firing political appointees after spending millions to investigate Ehrlich doing the same, appointing lobbyists to patronage gigs, and nominating a pre-packaged walking, talking scandal waiting to happen for President.

And David Paulson thinks that Republicans are hypocrites that can't be trusted. He needs to either get a mental examination, or he needs to lay off whatever substances he is currently using. Because nobody can be as self-deluded as he is.

It's true Republicans that have a branding problem for their inability to follow their principles while governing at the national level. But I'd say we look pretty good standing next to the chain gang wandering the streets under the label of the Maryland Democratic Party these days....

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 06-27-2008

Meet Sam Georgiou

Meet Sam Georgiou.

Pharmacy Manager. Long-time resident of Anne Arundel County. Involved in more Civic and Community Groups that you can shake a stick at. And long-time interest in Public Education: member of the School Board Nominating Convention, Chairman of the Citizens Advisory Council, member of the Meade Area Redistricting Task Force, Member of the Maryland Department of Education Parent Advisory Council, etc. Sam Georgiou is just the kind of person you'd want to cast a vote for in an election for in an election to be a member of a School Board.

Except he lives in District 32. Instead of appointed someone with a long and varied background in community and school system issues, Governor O'Malley appointed insider Democratic lobbyist Teresa Milio Birge to the seat. Instead of appointing somebody with Georgiou's experience and credentials in public school policy, O'Malley appointed a Democratic crony instead.

Is there really any better argument for an elected School Board for Anne Arundel County than this?

O'Malley did appoint an Unregistered Democratic Lobbyist to the Board of Education

Yesterday, we talked about the fact that Governor O'Malley appointed an unregistered Democratic lobbyist to the Board of Education. And I got an email from Ms. Birge this morning confirming that very fact:

I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Teresa Milio Birge, and I'm the new District 32 appointee to the Board of Education. One of my friends recently put me on google alerts, and gave me a call this morning that I was the topic of your most recent blog. I thought I'd help you out and nip this in the bud for you. In 2005, after I gave birth to my second child, I stopped working. But I didn't want to lose touch with everyone I had known in my 10 years of nonpartisan work for and with the legislature. So, my mother, who at the time was a senior center director, knew that the Association of Senior Centers needed some help with the legislature. And I was bored. It was a perfect fit. We signed a $1500 yearly contract from July 1 2005 to June 30 2006 which we renewed through June 30 2007. I've been busier this year with my accounting work and knew that I would not be able to put in as many hours (charging them a ridiculously low rate of $25 an hour), so we agreed to just charge hourly. I haven't yet billed them for the year, but it will fall in far below the $1500 mark this year.

Would love it if you could clarify on your post. I even made sure when I forwarded my CV to the governor's office I explained this, because I certainly don't want anyone mistakenly assuming that I'm not registered when I should be.

If you have any questions, please call me or email me back - I'd be more than happy to answer them! My cell is [redacted].

Teresa Milio Birge

So, to recap, she is an unregistered Democratic Lobbyists, but falling within the guidelines of the ethics laws.

But man, does that message sound like backtracking or what? Between that and the comments made on the original post, the message I get from this is 1) I'm a lobbyist, but it's OK, an 2) God I don't want to make Governor O'Malley look bad.

Here's what we need to take from this. Whether or not any ethics laws were broken is really inconsequential to the larger problem. The problem is the fact that Governor O'Malley appointed an individual to represent District 32 who has spent the majority of her professional career as a Professional Lobbyist, either for the State of Maryland or for private companies such as this one. Birge has no professional experience with education issues, which of course flies in the face of the concept that this School Board Nominating Commission was going to give us qualified people to speak on issues surrounding education. And again, the Governor and the Commissioners he appointed tried to slip an unregistered Democratic lobbyist onto the Board of Education and hoped that nobody noticed.

Well, somebody did notice. And I don't find the Governor appointing Annapolis insiders to the Board of Education to be particularly humorous at all. We need people who are serious about Education. Not rubber stamps for the Governor's policies.

134 days until Election Day...

Did O'Malley appoint an unregistered lobbyist to the Board of Education?

Governor O'Malley appointed Tricia Johnson and Teresa Milio Birge to five-year stints on the Board of Education this past Tuesday, pending the approval of the voters in the ridiculously asinine process that the General Assembly set up for us. More details on their appointments in general here.

But did O'Malley appoint an unregistered lobbyist in Birge to the Board? Birge is listed by the Maryland Association of Senior Centers as their lobbyist. In her resume, Birge notes that for a "private client" she:

Manages government relations program for a state association; track and review legislation; draft amendments and testimony; draft oral and written testimony; testify before legislative committees on legislative and budget matters; facilitate meetings of members with legislators; conduct training for association members.

All of which sounds like the activities of a lobbyist. Except Birge is not registered as a lobbyist according to the Maryland State Ethics Commission, nor is the Maryland Association of Senior Centers listed as employing a lobbyist. And the summary of lobbying law seems to indicate that if Birge received more than $2,500 in personal compensation or if the MASC paid a lobbyist more than $2,500 in lobbying expenses, both should have had to register.

The evidence seems to point to an unregistered Democratic lobbyist being appointed to the Board of Education. I'm not exactly sure how flouting ethics laws makes Anne Arundel County's new appointment process a success, though is does give us the opportunity to right this wrong at the ballot box in November.

As Expected, the System Fails

Yesterday, Governor O'Malley reappointed Tricia Johnson and appointed Terese Milio Berge to the Anne Arundel County Board of Education, moving us further along the circle of failure that is the current School Board Nominating Commission Process.

Johnson and Berge bring nothing new to the Board of Education. Johnson, whom was appointed in 2003 when I was a candidate for the open seat, is the current President of the Board. Ostensibly a Republican (though her most recent political donations have all been to Democrats), Johnson has stood for little more than the status quo during her tenure on the Board. She has failed to stand up for common sense Republican ideas, has failed to stand up for fiscal responsibility and accountability, and has failed to move schools from its current state of stagnation. She's been nothing more than a rubber stamp for both Kevin Maxwell and Eric Smith before him. Tricia Johnson has proven that she is not an agent of change, and should not have been rewarded with a second term. Particularly when you consider this:

Mrs. Johnson said she didn't have any specific plans for her second term.

"I hope that I can serve the people of Anne Arundel County to the best of my ability," she said.

If she has no plans, why did O'Malley give her five more years?

The appointment of Berge is just as problematic. A Democrat, Berge's professional experience has surrounded working with the legislature on noticeably non-education issues. While she may be currently working as an accountant, her career seems to have had more professional dealings in state government and politics than anything related to schools. I see little in Berge's experience that makes her more qualified to represent District 32 than Sam Georgiou, former Chairman of the Citizens Advisory Council and a longtime advocate for public schools. Berge appears, on the outset, to be more of an Annapolis insider than somebody who is going to put common sense school reforms on their agenda. In fact, it seems like Berge is going to give a free ride to Kevin Maxwell if you believe her candidate statement:

I believe that a board member's proper role is that of policymaker, and an idea generator. I think that a board member needs to allow the Superintendent and his or her staff to do their job and make the administrative decisions that have been clearly delegated to them.

Which means that you are going to get more of the same from Berge: no legitimate oversight of the job that Kevin Maxwell is doing, and probably a continued acquiescence to Maxwell's desires on policy and budget without a vigorous watchdog role.

Now, we move on to the final phase. Voters will have to make what will likely be an uninformed decision on whether or not Johnson and Berge should serve the remainder of these five year terms. Instead of competitive elections, in which Johnson and Berge could be challenged on their ideas and vision, we will likely see these two members hand-picked by the O'Malley/Leopold Commission rubber stamped into office. And that is bad news for the people of Anne Arundel County. As I have said before, the people of Anne Arundel County have had this shell game foisted upon them by John Leopold and the General Assembly delegation. What is it going to take to prove the unfeasibility of such a system, and the need for these candidates to compete in competitive elections based on ideas?

True, an elected school board is not going to be the answer to all of our problems. And there is nothing to say that an elected school board is going to provide more qualified candidates than this cockamamie Nominating Commission will. But I certainly would put more faith in the choices of voters than I do the choices of individuals hand selected by Martin O'Malley and John Leopold.

I'm voting no. How many others will?

O'Malleynomics Strike Back

Low and behold, look which failed economic platform reared its ugly head again:

Gov. Martin O'Malley unveiled yesterday a proposal to invest $1.1 billion over the next decade to cement Maryland's status as a pre-eminent hub for biotechnology research, including stem-cell studies aimed at finding breakthrough medical advances.

The funding, which would build on existing tax credits and grant programs, would be used to create a biotechnology center, finance capital projects and make equity investments in start-up companies. O'Malley, a Democrat, said the money could transform Maryland - where the human genome was mapped in 2001 - into a global leader in personalized medicine or the use of genetics to tailor treatments.

That's right boys and girls, O'Malleynomics are back. Once again, Governor O'Malley is going to stick the state's nose where it doesn't belong, in the private sector, and reallocate taxpayer dollars in order to fund unnecessary state priorities.

Don't get me wrong, I am very much in favor of science, and I am comfortable with the idea of tax credits to encourage further business growth in the state. But will O'Malley and state Democrats ever learn their lessons when it comes to government investment in private businesses? What role should government have in financing capital projects for private businesses? Why should the state gamble taxpayer dollars as part of venture capital schemes?

What's even further damning about O'Malley's plan is that it comes on the heels of higher taxes and reckless spending during the previous General Assembly session. The most important tax raised by the Democrats during that session was the "Millionaire's Tax" that disproportionately impacted Montgomery County, the very area most likely to benefit from O'Malley's largesse. The irony, of course is that it is likely that the necessity of these proposed state investments in biotechnology probably could have been avoided had O'Malley and company not created incentives for companies and entrepreneurs to relocate to Virginia due to Maryland's profligate tax and spend nature and the impact of the O'Malley Recession.

Time and time again, instead of encouraging private development of economic resources, instead of allowing the market to create a sustainable environment for economic growth, Governor O'Malley has returned to the failed policies of O'Malleynomics to try and earn political capital and to prop up industries that he favors. Time and time again, we have seen the impact of O'Malleynomics produces higher taxes and lower disposable income for middle and working class Marylanders, and the benefit, if any, from O'Malley's plan to throw money at this project is going to be infinitesimal, if such benefit exists at all.

If you missed the policies of economic failure, they are back with a vengeance...

For Larsen, PSC was never about the Public or Service

Public Service Commissioner Steve Larsen is stepping down, and I think that Marylanders should be happy to be rid of him.

Larsen was never the guy O'Malley promised us, promising a professional regulator who was going to make sure energy rates for consumers were lowered. Instead, we got a professional statist with a long record of sticking it to taxpayers who was more interested in cockamamie sticking it to taxpayers and keeping rates as high as possible in direct contradiction to Governor O'Malley's promise.

Of course, the Baltimore Sun's article on Larsen was a complete puff piece, talking about how Larsen was a "quick study" of energy issues that he was unqualified to be discussing. And of course there was talking about Larsen's great bipartisanship, which meant we got a quote from the one Republican always willing to kiss Governor O'Malley's ass:

Both Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly said Larsen did a good job leading the PSC.

"He certainly worked to be nonpartisan, and with both sides of the aisle," said Del. James King, an Anne Arundel County Republican on the Economic Matters Committee, whic handles many of the energy issues. "Unfortunately for me and every other resident in the state of Maryland, I don't think we solved a lot of the issues that we face with the energy situation, but I don't think that's from any lack of effort."

I would say that we should hold up that Governor O'Malley's new PSC Commissioner is going to be more sensible, but guess what? This one's a trial lawyer:

Though little known in Annapolis, Nazarian handled numerous high-profile cases before Maryland courts. Among them was a 1998 case where he successfully challenged the arrest of paroled inmate Vincent Henderson. Henderson was among dozens who were re-arrested after the state concluded it had incorrectly calculated the amount of good behavior time due some inmates, and prematurely released them. The case resulted in the release of nearly 50 inmates.

Nazarian also represented the state in a series of lawsuits against the law firm of Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos. The case related to attorney's fees Angelos was due in connection with national tobacco litigation.

"His experience doing litigation and preparing cases is exceedingly good training for now trying to set policy and decide issues in the regulatory context," said Ralph S. Tyler, Maryland's insurance commissioner.

Great.....just what we need. And Tyler finishes up with this quote about the new Commissioner:

"I expect that [Nazarian] will lead the commission in a way where it will be fair, but it will be fair in looking out for the public interest," he said.

Not bloody liklely. But what I do suspsect is that Nazarian will be a chip off of the Larsen block, attempting to lead Maryland further and further into an O'Malleynomic hell of higher regulatory costs, higher energy costs, and ever higher taxes. Like Larsen, serving the public interest will be the farthest thing from his mind...

It keeps going, and going, and going....

Remember the Kangaroo Court? The special committee the General Assembly convened to investigate the legal firing of at-will government employees? Did you know that legal battles from that are still being played out?

It has been 18 months since former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. left office, but the legal battle over whether he illegally targeted longtime state employees for political firings continued Monday in a case to determine the extent of the General Assembly's subpoena powers.

The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, heard arguments Monday about the refusal of two state employees to answer questions during a May 2006 hearing before a special legislative committee. The employees, who allegedly were dispatched to agencies to target political enemies for firing, have appealed a lower court decision compelling them to respond to the questions.

Why in the world has it taken this long for the case to wind its way through the appeals process? Why is the state still fighting this case years after the Committee's preordained decision was rendered to the public? Seriously, why is the battle over the Kangaroo Court still being played out through Maryland's Judicial System?

And perhaps a better question still is why has the General Assembly not convened a similar committee to investigate Governor O'Malley's identical actions, but that answer is rather self-explanatory...

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...

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.

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 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.

The Recession Proof Economy and other Liberal Economic Myths

Isaac Smith tries to climb his way out of his remarks about the "conservative" General Assembly by making some more odd points, the first of which is by again talking about the myth of a recession proof economy:

Of course, Brian's point (I think) is that the tax increases are exacerbating the recession's effects in Maryland, which is debatable; certainly the Washington suburbs have been doing better than the national average in terms of employment, and Maryland's unique economic features make it more resilient to downturns generally. Things could get worse, however, if the state made the draconian kind of budget cuts that Brian and other Republicans have been clamoring for. As I've noted before, budget cuts during a recession are actually more harmful to the economy than tax increases, since it exacerbates the problem of falling consumption by reducing consumption even further.

And yes, that was the point I was trying to make; that an already bad economic climate is being made worse by Annapolis Democrats. Of course, liberals in Annapolis always try to fall back on the idea that Maryland's economy is recession proof due to the shear number of federal jobs and federal spending that is tied into the Montgomery and Prince George's County suburbs. The fact of the matter remains that despite this "unique economic feature" as Isaac likes to call federal spending, federal workers can also be disproportionately harmed by higher taxes and higher spending at the state level. Just because their jobs are "recession-proof" doesn't mean that the diminution of their purchasing power thanks to higher taxes and the higher price of goods and services is going to be stopped, too.

As far as budget cuts during a reccession harming the economy, that just make little sense. The preponderance of the additional spending proposed an enacted by the O'Malley Administration deals with increasing the size and largesses of government, not the reduction of capital projects that are already budgeted and under contract. This is further exacerbated by the fact that much of the spending cuts and the diminution of purchasing power could have been avoided if spending were cut in the first place since the spending cuts could have provided relief from the "need" for higher and higher taxes. And besides, remember what happened when Roosevelt tried to spend his way out of a massive economic downturn. The type of spending that Isaac suggests is the type of spending that bankrupted the Soviet Union.

I am heartened by the fact that Isaac realizes that the elimination of balanced budget requirements in Maryland is foolhardy, but I could not disagree more with this reasoning:

Ideally, what you would want is for the state to build up its rainy-day fund during boom times and spend it down during bust times (what's known in economic jargon as countercyclical fiscal capacity), so that there's some stability in the functioning of government programs. Unfortunately, Maryland's rainy-day fund went dry in 2007, so that option is closed off.

No, ideally what you want to do is have a government that only takes as much money from its citizenery as it needs to provide the most basic of services; schools, fire, police, etc. I'm pretty sure I didn't volunteer to make an interest free loan to the State Government in order to stash away money for pet projects when times are rough. Should there be a rainy-day fund? Yes, but only for actually fiscal emergencies to meet the most basic of collective services, not just for the sake of out-of-control spenders trying to balance the budget when tax revenues fail to meet expectations.

And finally, we get this:

I'm hoping, then, that if the recession persists, as seems likely, Congress will push for greater federal aid to the states, which would allow programs like Medicaid and unemployment assistance -- which are high in demand during a recession -- to get to more people who need it.

Actually, the last thing we need to do is for Congress to start doling out more money to the states. States should be able to find ways to fund these programs out of their own fiscal houses and not really on additional federal assistance above and beyond what is already in place. The state budget should have adequately prepared for increases in Medicaid and unemployment claims when the General Assembly adopted it last week, but I'm sure that pet projects were more important to legislative leadership than this already existent spending.

The argument that Maryland does not spend enough and that we should continue to maintain current spending levels during the O'Malley Recession flies in the face of responsible government, and I find it hard for Smith and others to continue making spurious arguments for the continuation of this reckless fiscal posture.

The Morality of Taxes

Sun reporter Michael Dresser provides virtually glowing commentary in beginning his article about the new "Millionaire's bracket":

It's quite an exclusive club, Maryland's new millionaires' tax bracket. A little more than 6,000 households statewide qualify for the distinction - more than 40 percent of whom reside in Montgomery County....

...With the General Assembly's passage of the new 6.25 percent top tax rate on incomes above $1 million, and Gov. Martin O'Malley's signing of the bill yesterday, Maryland has apparently become the first state to create an actual millionaires' bracket.

Some other states have created high-income tax brackets - some paying rates that make Maryland's levy look like a bargain - but they kick in at lower thresholds. For instance, New Jersey residents in the top income bracket pay a rate of 8.97 percent but don't receive the cachet of being in a millionaires' club because it applies to all income above $500,000.

Democrats even found the opportunity to trot out cheerleaders to talk about how great it was that Annapolis was going to screw them tax them more:

"I've had numerous people come up to me in the course of these last few months and whisper to me that they are in that highest bracket of millionaires and they are willing and they are able to pay their fair share," he said.

By the end of the session, the idea of taxing the rich wasn't looking so bad to many of the Assembly's leaders. O'Malley jumped aboard the repeal bandwagon and re-endorsed the millionaires' tax.

Ed Hale, chief executive of First Mariner Bank in Baltimore, said he told O'Malley the computer tax had to go - even if he had to pay more in income tax.

"Any self-respecting person that was wealthy enough could pay more tax just because of the quality of life in the state of Maryland," he said. "It's much ado about nothing for a very few people."

Which is fantastic. Maybe Ed Hale can pay my taxes too if he thinks it's so awesome. And just to prove the point how awesome this all is in the eyes of the Sun and the eyes of Annapolis Democrats, let's go to an example:

The average income reported by those in the new bracket was $3.1 million. That translates to an extra $15,000 a year for three years until the surcharge sunsets - or just about the $45,000 that would put a mid-range BMW in the three-car garage - compared with the law at the beginning of the session. (In some cases, some of that extra cost could be offset by federal tax deductions.)

That argument is, of course, ridiculous. It is ridiculous to think that a millionaire is being hosed out of a BMW because of the new O'Malley taxes. The millionaire's are going to miss the money just like anybody else is. Of course, what cheerleaders for the O'Malley tax won't tell you is the fact that $45,000 out of the pocket of somebody who qualifies for this tax bracket may be reducing that individual's capability to send that money directly back to the community, whether it be in the form of charitable donations or continued reinvestment into the local economy. That $45,000 could be better spent on job creation in the private sector than it will certainly be spent in the black hole that is Annapolis.

But the conversation we need to be having here has nothing to do with how poorly government wastes money, or how much better the private sector can spend it. It actually deals with the moral questions of taxes. How can government retain the moral high ground, particularly a government that claims that it is for the working men and women of Maryland, when most of the impact of the O'Malley Recession is being felt by these same work class folks? To paraphrase George Bailey, the working class people who are most hurt by what O'Malley and company are doing, they are the ones who do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this state.

So how come a disproportionate burden is placed on the middle and working class families of Maryland to pay for programs that make rich urban liberals feel better?

What we have right now in Annapolis is a situation involving taxes and the question of morality. How can government remain moral when government is doing its part to make it impossible for Maryland's working class families to survive financially? Why should parents who want to raise their children in the same communities in which they grew up be forced to choose between making ends meet or moving to another state in order to relieve themselves of the financial burden of living in Maryland? Why should the middle and working classes be forced to pay for unnecessary programs to which they receive no benefit? And how can Government maintain maintain its own sense of morality when it continues to ask more and more of citizenry in the middle of an economic downturn when this same citizenry is already overburdened with oppressive taxation at all levels.

The moral question of taxes is whether or not taxes in and of themselves are moral. The question is whether or not those who make tax policy, those who think that the citizenry is nothing more than a checkbook, those who believe that by taking more and more money away from taxpayers government can make taxpayers more economically viable, have the moral compass to do the right thing and reduce the oppressive burden on Maryland's taxpayers. And given the position of O'Malley and the legislative leadership, by their actions to raise more taxes and spend more money when we can least afford it, I think we have the answer to those questions.

In the Bag

Once again, the Sun thinks you're stupid:

There's likely enough good news coming out of the recently completed legislative session to soften the blow of last fall's tax increases and return a bit of luster to the image of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who took a subsequent beating in opinion polls.

What good news? How can any objective individual see any good news coming out of the recent session? Taxes are going up. Spending is out of control. The General Assembly paved the way for electric ratepayers to pay even higher electric bills than ever before. The annual tradition of the transportation trust fund raid came once again.

There is but one line of obvious truth in this editorial:

Mr. O'Malley recently told The Sun's editorial board that his first 14 months in office have been "difficult and often miserable."

Yeah...even O'Malley knows how bad of a job he is doing as Governor.

Why School Board Elections are important

Two stories are quickly coalescing together in a way that was altogether too predictable.

First, let's hear about how much of an issue the school curricula are here in Anne Arundel County:

The recent decision by Anne Arundel County schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell to turn social studies and science into semester-long courses in middle schools has sparked fierce criticism among parents, students and some teachers who accuse the district of robbing students of a well-rounded curriculum.

The roiling debate in Anne Arundel County reflects a trend in which a fifth of middle schools surveyed in a recent national study say they have sharply cut science, social studies, art, music and physical education in order to double up on math and reading.

All of which is a very important policy discussion that has a tremendous impact on the life of students, and should engage all citizens, teachers, parents, and taxpayers as part of this discussion.

At the same time, the names and resumes for candidates who have applied for the two vacancies on the Anne Arundel County School Board have been put on the School Board Nomination Commission website which also got its own write-up in the Sun, which talks a little bit about this goofy process:

The commission will hold a public hearing Monday night, where the public can meet the candidates and the commissioners can formally question them. Two weeks later, the commission will hear public testimony on the qualifications of the candidates.

The fact that these stories come together like this is fortuitous because it once again highlights how ridiculous and absurd the new nominating process is. The School Board Nominating Commission is going to hold a meet the candidates night, yet the public has absolutely no real input on who is going to serve on the School Board. The Commission, made up of Martin O'Malley and John Leopold's liberal donors and friends, are going to nominate to the Governor whomever they damn well please, regardless of the public input. One the candidates go to a retention election in the fall, they will likely remain unchallenged on their records or their qualifications since the voters will not have a true voice in the process and cannot replace them with somebody who better represents their views on education and public spending.

The story about the curricula questions are even further damning of the new and convoluted process. The candidates will not have to defend or promulgate their stances on the curricula issue, or any other issue for that matter, to the public. Under the old process, despite its flaws, candidates still were questioned by the public before a vote was taking of Nominating Convention delegates. Candidates were questioned directly. Under the new process, parents, teachers, and taxpayers may not be able to know or understand the positions of these candidates or their implications for School Board policy until well after they are already serving on the Board of Ed. it is even more of a hopeless situation when you remember the fact that even if a candidate is nominated who is out of touch with their constituents (a likelihood given the O'Malley/Leopold team in place) and turned out by the voters, the liberal Nominating Commission will merely appoint another out of touch replacement.

Issues regarding school curricula are critically important for the future of Anne Arundel County and its children. Unfortunately, what this story really does is highlight merely the seriousness and gravity of our newfangled, highly undemocratic School Board selection process in Anne Arundel County.

O'Chutzpah

Man, this takes either a great deal of guts or a great lack of foresight:

As lawmakers worked Monday to trim state spending to balance Maryland's budget for next year, Gov. Martin O'Malley proposed $18.2 million in new expenditures, much of it earmarked for health care, programs for children with disabilities and a fund to help the poor pay their electricity bills.

O'Malley called for additional general fund spending totaling $28.7 million over the next two years but also proposed significant expenditures relying on special earmarked funds, some of which are nearing approval by the General Assembly.

Seriously. The General Assembly is trying to cut $300 million from the budget, and the Administration is trying to sneak in additionally supplementary funds to pay for things that, realistically, we don't need.

While he makes a hefty salary to do it, I somewhat sympathize with Rick Abbruzzese for having to go defend this:

O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese defended the governor's submission of a supplemental budget request -- an annual tradition -- at a time when lawmakers are struggling to balance the state budget and repeal an unpopular computer services tax.

"This is a very lean supplemental budget that goes directly to making government more effective and more efficient," Abbruzzese said. He said the governor focused his spending requests on "core services" such as juvenile services, state police and aid for infants and toddlers with learning disabilities.

Of course, the truly lean supplemental budget would have zero dollars contained in it because of some sort of revelation to the Administration that we have a budget crisis.

I wonder what it is finally going to take for somebody on the second floor to understand that Martin O'Malley cannot tax and spend Maryland into prosperity. This continued reckless spending is just continuing to propagate preexisting problems with our state's financial posture. It takes a lot of chutzpah to offer a wasteful supplementary budget when we have a budget shortfall during a recession. But what exactly is it going to take for Democrats in Annapolis to act in a fiscally responsible manner?

This could get fun!

Check out this little nugget regarding the Kevin Clark lawsuit:

Gov. Martin O'Malley, who fired former Baltimore police commissioner Kevin Clark when the governor was Baltimore mayor, will be deposed as part of a court battle to return the police chief to office, Mr. Clark's attorneys said.

Which means that, theoretically, anything connected to the Governor's failed years as Mayor of Baltimore could be on the table in the deposition.

One can only wonder exactly what questions Clark's team of lawyers may cook up to ask O'Malley while he is under oath. Because for better or for worse, nothing may be out of bounds...

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 03-15-2008

Ignore their will at your own risk

As Governor O'Malley continues to ignore the will of the voters and continues to try and tax and spend us to death, his poll numbers fall further into the crapper:

In a new poll by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategy, 37 percent of the people asked approve of the job the governor is doing, while 48 percent disapproved. Another 15 percent of people in the survey had no opinion.

O'Malley's approval numbers dropped after November's special session. That's when $1.4 billion in tax increases were approved to address a projected $1.7 billion structural deficit.

If the Democrats want to wax poetic about how the Governor is doing what's right and not what's popular, go right ahead. But it is looking more and more apparent that Ehrlich II will be starting in January 2011...

Impending Global Warming Hysteria induced Economic Cataclysm somewhat averted

I bet you that the people of Western Maryland won't give a lick about global warming if this happens:

A bill being considered in Annapolis today would require businesses across the state to cut their average emissions of pollutants that cause global warming by 25 percent by 2020 and by 90 percent by 2050.

Gary Curtis, a vice president of NewPage, said these limits could mean he would have to replace coal with natural gas - which creates less carbon dioxide but costs five times as much.

He said he could try to make his machinery more energy-efficient, but that would shave only a few percentage points off his fuel consumption. Substituting wind or solar power for coal wouldn't work, he said, because they are not reliable enough to run his wood pulping machines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

"It would basically put us out of business," said Curtis, as he watched a clattering conveyor belt carry logs into a machine with whirling blades.

"We need to have [pollution] goals that are aggressive but achievable - and forcing us to do this much would be disastrous," he said.

With 950 employees, NewPage is the largest industrial employer in Western Maryland. And it's one of several businesses in the state, including the former Bethlehem Steel mill and power plants, that have complained that the Global Warming Solutions Act could make it impossible for them to compete by imposing limits that do not exist in other states or countries.

I'm glad that the O'Malley Administration is so dedicated to global warming that they plan on finishing off the state's economy once and for all in the process. And the impending economic disaster will be far worse for places in Western Maryland, where there are fewer industrial related jobs than it will in the Baltimore area. Places like Luke (population: 80) are dependent on these jobs to keep their economies above water., and it is something that impacts their entire region:

"This is one of the lone remaining heavy industries in the whole region," said Matt Diaz, director of economic development for Allegany County. "If it closed, it would have a ripple effect all over Western Maryland, impacting not only mill workers, but also a lot of loggers and coal miners and truck drivers."

The fact that the O'Malley Administration is content to kill off economies across Maryland for a visionless plan based on junk science should give all Marylanders pause...

....which made it even more curious to see this today:

The O'Malley administration today proposed paring back a bill aimed at reducing global warming pollution after Maryland industries warned the legislation could put them out of business.

Instead of mandating a 90 percent cut in greenhouse gases statewide by 2050, an amended version of the bill would set this as a goal that the state should write a plan to try to reach, officials said.

"The Maryland Department of the Environment will institute the planning process to get to the 2050 goal ... but we want to clarify that the bill does not require a straight out 90 percent reduction," Maryland Environment Secretary Shari Wilson told a joint hearing of State House committees this afternoon.

Which means this bill is actually even more pointless than before. However at least we have seen at least some capability of common sense to seep into Annapolis before we try to close the last remaining industrial wage-earning jobs we have here in Maryland.

This crisis has been averted, hopefully because legislators realized the damaging consequences to Maryland's working families.

Obviously we're all going to die!

Now that I've got your attention, it's time to break out the parkas, folks (H/T Instapundit)

Twelve-month long drop in world temperatures wipes out a century of warming

Over the past year, anecdotal evidence for a cooling planet has exploded. China has its coldest winter in 100 years. Baghdad sees its first snow in all recorded history. North America has the most snowcover in 50 years, with places like Wisconsin the highest since record-keeping began. Record levels of Antarctic sea ice, record cold in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Greece, South Africa, Greenland, Argentina, Chile -- the list goes on and on.

No more than anecdotal evidence, to be sure. But now, that evidence has been supplanted by hard scientific fact. All four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA's GISS, UAH, RSS) have released updated data. All show that over the past year, global temperatures have dropped precipitously.

And yes, there is a handy-dandy chart to show the cooling.

As I keep saying, in the long-term picture this means absolutely nothing. But it is interesting to see scientific evidence as to how much our planet has cooled just in the last year.

And that, of course, makes all of this stuff coming out from the O'Malley administration about carbon trading, carbon credits, and all of the other global warming nonsense coming out of Annapolis that much more farcical. While it's a typical tenet of O'Malleynomics to act before thinking, we should make sure that we fully understand what is going on around us before we go to great lengths to destroy Maryland's economy.

The Results of O'Malleynomics

One of the net results of the computer services tax that the Governor and the General Assembly railroaded through the Special Session is that it is becoming more and more attractive for tech businesses to cut bait and leave the state:

In January, just as anger over a new tax on computer services was beginning to boil over in Maryland's high-tech sector, Robert Epstein received a call from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

"This guy called and said, 'I don't know if you've heard of the computer tax coming on board in Maryland. ... Have you ever thought of opening an office in our state or relocating to our state?'" recalled Epstein, president of About-Web LLC, a 52-employee, information technology firm based in Rockville.

After poring over maps last week with Pennsylvania officials courting his and other companies in Maryland, Epstein said he is thinking of moving a large chunk of his business to York, where employees can serve Baltimore-area clients. He's already committed to investing more resources in an office he has in Virginia.

Other technology executives in Maryland tell similar stories of being approached by officials from neighboring states and by commercial real estate brokers looking to capitalize on widespread discontent in the information technology sector over the new tax.

Of course, anybody with half a brain can understand that when you make the business climate less and less appealing by continuing to raise the cost of business, business leaders are going to do what they have to do in order to continue to keep costs low. If, as in the example above, businesses can serve Baltimore and still relocate to a place like York with lower taxes, they are going to leave much like so many folks who work in Baltimore have moved to the Red Lion and Shrewsbury areas the last fifteen years.

What's amazing is the fact that the O'Malley Administration is completely oblivious to the fact that business might actually take advantage of such economic benefits:

Gov. Martin O'Malley's secretary of economic development, David W. Edgerley, said yesterday that his office is aware that Pennsylvania and Delaware have recently targeted Maryland computer companies. He said he is "monitoring the situation" but does not believe it is widespread.

"It is standard operating procedure behind the scenes to try and take advantage of any opportunity," Edgerley said of states' business development agencies. "I don't think it will be very successful."

I'm not even sure how one could say that logically. Does Secretary Edgerley really believe that businesses are so tied down in Marlyand that it doesn't make economic sense for them to move? This is particularly true of small businesses. It might make more sense that a large operation with a number of sunk costs will not pull up roots and leave quite so quickly. But small businesses, the backbone of our local economy, tend not to have those sunk costs. If they can continue to serve (or even expand) their customer base and save money on the cost of doing business in the process, why wouldn't they?

And reasonable people understand that:

Greater Baltimore Committee head Donald C. Fry said that position betrays a naivete about the uniqueness of the computer services industry: "Whenever the business community raises concerns about taxes and talks about the possibility of leaving, the state government leaders seem to believe that that's just not going to happen because there are other compelling reasons for them to stay."

The computer services tax is different, Fry argues, because the high-tech industry is "much more mobile. ... You don't have to bring in moving vans. You can do it electronically."

The irony of the computer services tax is rich when you consider how much time and effort state and local leaders have spent trying to turn Maryland into a player in the technology field. How many times have they tried to woo businesses to our state in order to create a Tech Corridor in Montgomery County, or try to woo businesses to downtown Baltimore. The administration seems to fail to realize that businesses that could be wooed here can also be driven out of town by decisions that negatively impact their bottom line in such a way that it makes it difficult for them to do business.

When will Maryland Democrats, particularly Governor O'Malley, learn that you cannot tax your way to prosperity?<