Dalai Lama Meets Obama

Last week the Dalai Lama met with President Obama in the White House. As a token of their frienship, President Obama presented the Dalai Lama with a set of cufflinks, presumably to go on his tunic??? When they parted, President Obama pointed him to the back door past the trash bags. Ain't hospitality great?!!!

Carrolltowne Elementary School Hates Children

That is the only conclusion that I can generate. If you saw my blog post yesterday about the snow still being piled up in front of the doors and steps of the portable classrooms, you'll be saddened to know that the snow is still there. I drove by the school after work and there's still plenty of snow in front of the door.

My wife suggested that maybe they are not emergency exit doors. But shouldn't a building have an exit in the front and rear? If there is a fire or a collapse of the structure at the front door, how will the kids be able to exit the building? My only conclusion is that the administrators of Carroll County and Carrolltowne Elementary School just do not care about the safety of the children.

And all of this on top of the cold pizza Friday menu. My kids don't buy lunch anymore because they say the food is of very poor quality and usually cold when it's supposed to be hot. School administrators must be looking for ways to save the school system some money. "Feed 'em crap, Mabel! They won't know the difference!" Well, Mabel, they do know the difference and they say it sucks.

Eldersburg - the New Randallstown

What the heck is up recently? For a several week period at the end of the year we saw a spate of robberies along Liberty Road in Eldersburg. Dunkin Donuts, Dick's Nursury, and Subway were all robbed, some several times.

Then yesterday the Susquehanna Bank on Ridge Road was robbed by a fool who hid under a pool. And these may be the lyrics to the next hit rap song.

Last night Eldersburg got robbed again. According to the article in the Carroll County Times, this time it was the Exxon gas station on the corner of Route 32 and Liberty Road. This time the fool was hooded in a sweatshirt (but no kiddie swimming pool), robbed the store, and took off in a red 80's model pick-up truck and headed east - toward Randallstown.

So when are Eldersburg businesses going to start packing heat?

Carrolltowne Elementary - Locked Down

Carrolltowne Elementary school in Eldersburg was locked down today because of a robbery at the nearby Susquehanna Bank. For the safety of the children all doors were locked and there was limited access. This makes sense, right?

Fortunately, the suspect was apprehended by Carroll County's finest. He was hiding under a children's pool in someone's back yard. I'm not sure if they labeled him a person of interest or a suspect, but when you're hiding under a kiddie pool in the middle of winter - you're guilty of something.

And speaking of locked down, as of Sunday Carrolltowne Elementary School had yet to remove the snow from the emergency exits of the portable classrooms. I suspect that this may be a violation. If my children were in these classrooms I would have called and complained while subsequently going up there and shoveling it myself. I wonder what school administrators and the fire marshal have to say about this.


And as I stated before I took these photographs on Sunday after the kids had been in school for 3 days.

Fun With Google Maps

Sometimes when I like to waste some time I'll go on Google Maps and check out cities on foreign countries. Check out what I found today. I think it's some large yacht off of the coast of Greece laying on its side. It's kind of creepy.

Casualties of Apples and Snow

The snow has claimed another victim. And for once, I am the victim. Moving hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of snow is bound to cause an injury. On Saturday last week my wrist started to hurt. Then the next day it started to hurt some more. Then the next day it started hurting even more, but with the added bonus of less strength and less mobility. The next day blessed me with a grinding sound.

My mom is nurse and when I spoke to her on Wednesday night I mentioned that my wrist was in a lot of pain. She asked if I was taking an anti-inflammatory. I told her I was taking Advil. She asked how much? I told her about 12 per day. Yeah, it's time to go the doctor.

I made my appointment for Thursday evening. This would alleviate any conflict with leaving work early. I made the appointment at Carroll Primary Care over by Liberty High School. It would be the first time I visited this doctor. There's a pool of doctors and sometimes you just get who you get.


I arrived at 7:20pm, signed in, paid my copay, and sat down. I picked up Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue that was sitting on the chair and I was only 15 bikinis into it when they called me back. Damn!!! For once I didn't care if I sat in the waiting room for an hour!

First they weighed me. (Those machines lie!!!) I was then led into a room. The room was decorated with an American flag border around the top, ceramic miniatures of famous buildings such as the White House, the Capitol Building, Independence Hall, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial, to name a few. On the wall was a framed picture of Ronald Reagan and the Constitution. Wow!!! This is my kind of doctor!!!

When he arrived he diagnosed my problem quickly - an inflamed tendon, that can quickly be cured with an immobilizing wrist brace and a stronger anti-inflammatory medicine. We then talked politics for like 15 minutes. What a cool doctor!!!

Meanwhile, on the same day, my 14 year old neighbor was having surgery. A month or so ago she was using one of those Pampered Chef apple slicers. Well, it sliced more than her apple. It sliced a tendon on her finger and then it never healed properly. Her doctor recommended immediate surgery.I feel bad for her because she's very active in school with volleyball and the clarinet. Plus the finger is on her right hand and she's right-handed. But in a few weeks she'll be as good as new.

And here we are show-casing our injuries. Perhaps I can be her right hand and she can be my left hand:

The Same, But Different

When you look at this picture, what do you see? It's two different pills, right? Wrong. They are the same. You can imagine my surprise when I received my refill on my reflux medication and I saw the green ones. The pills have been white for a couple of years. My first assumption was that I received the wrong medication. Upon reading the label it says that the pills may appear different in color and size. That's a nice disclaimer. Am I just to assume that because it might be different in shape and color that it's the same? Am I to put my fate in the hands of a 10¢ label on a plastic medication bottle? Is this what we have to look forward to with healthcare reform? God help us!

Follow Up to Comment Censoring

Yesterday I mentioned how I post comments on other blogs and all of them except one post my comments. Adam Pagnucco, one of the writers of Maryland Politics Watch, responded within 3 hours of my comment and stated that it is their policy not to post anonymous comments. If you don't read the comments at the end of the my posts, some of these were mentioned by me:

Here are my thoughts:
1) How did you find my comment about your blog? Do you read my blog? Or are you web crawling for your names?
2) Anonymous? My name is Eludius.
3) Their policy prevents the likes of James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton from posting on their blog. If you read American history you know that when they sent letters to the newspapers criticizing their opponents they always used a pseudonym. For those of you that attended Baltimore City public schools, a pseudonym is a fictitious name.
4) Others that would not be able to post comments because of their pseudonyms: Batman, Sting, Snoop-Dogg, Eminem, Wonder Woman, 50 Cent, Axl Rose, Dido, Lulu, Aqua Man, Meatloaf, Pink, Prince, and Lady Gaga. Are you saying that if they commented on your blog you wouldn't post it?

Follow Up to Carroll County Bureaucrats

Who says actions speak louder than words? Taking lessons from Martin O'Malley, I'm taking credit for the snow removal in my neighborhood. Who knew that bureaucrats for Carroll County read my blog and noticed my complaints?

When I arrived home today after work, I noticed that my streets were much wider. Two cars could actually pass each other rather than having to pull into someone's driveway while allowing the other car to pass. However, I did not see the piles of snow lined up against everyone's driveway. To me this meant that the snow was removed. When I pulled into my driveway I looked around and saw where they put the snow - in the front yards of my neighbors across the street. So each of them now have 9 foot piles of brown and gray snow in the middle of their yards.

Additionally, my mailbox is now accessible without the mail carrier having to get out of her truck and walk up my ice path. But this wasn't done before she left me a nasty-gram. Yesterday when I got home from work I found this in my mailbox.



She wanted me to remove the 6ft by 4ft by 30 ft section of packed ice. Now, if a cubic foot of water weighs 62.38 pounds, then I would need to remove 335,953 pounds of ice. If my calculations are correct - Post Office lady - you can kiss my butt.

100.7 The Bay - New Light Music???

For the past several years 100.7 has advertised itself as Classic Rock. That is my kind of station. I listed to 100.7 back in high school when they were known as 100.7 GRX. Up until recently they've specialized in Van Halen, ACDC, Led Zepplin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and other related "classic rock" bands.

However, I have noticed over the past couple of weeks that they are morphing into 100.7 The Weenie. What the hell is up with that? They are currently playing Chicago's Saturday In the Park. Oh, how romantic! Yesterday there seemed to be a deluge of Hall and Oates.

Uh - message to producers of classic rock radio stations - Chicago and Hall & Oates are not classic rock. They are classic weenie adult contemporary. They belong on Lite 101.9. If they keep it up they'll be playing Barry Manilow and John Sakata soon. Then where will I get my music? I guess it's back to my iPod.

O'Malley Decreases Traffic Deaths

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley continues to stick to his rule of taking credit for all good statistics.

Today, the Baltimore Sun reported that highway deaths are down over 50% for the first month and a half of the year. Common sense tells you that if the roads have been covered with snow for 2 weeks of those 6 weeks, then people would be driving less.

However, Slick Marty claims that the reduction are the results of his efforts to step up law enforcement and to convince people to not drive so fast. You know, I was driving down the road the other day going way too fast and Little Marty popped up on my dashboard and in that fatherly voice said, "Eludius, don't drive so fast. Driving too fast is dangerous and you could kill someone." I thought, "Gosh darn-it! You're right!" And I slowed down. And by slowing down, I didn't kill 5 people. I hope he records that his conversation with me saved 5 lives.

I should also mentioned that Martin O'Malley helped me reduce my credit card bill last month by 25%. And he helped me read 10% more pages of my book. And I got 17% more sleep last week. Martin O'Malley - making all of our lives better. This message is not paid for by VoteNoMalley.

Comment Censoring

I read a lot of other political blogs, both left-wing lunatic blogs and intellectual-logical-conservative blogs. I comment all the time. What a great way to get your readership up than by leaving comments on other blogs?

Anyway, most blogs have moderation of comments, which makes sense. Sometimes crazy people put some very inappropriate comments on a blog post. However, at one blog my comments are always - what's the word? Unapproved? Censored?

What blog is that? Maryland Politics Watch. It's mostly a Montgomery County-centric blog that champions socialist causes and attacks Republicans for trying to be responsible to the people and is written by Adam Pagnucco and David Lublin. They can write what they want. I'm not criticizing them for that. Some of it is very interesting. But they NEVER post my comments. NEVER. EVER. NEVER-EVER!!! So, Adam Pagnucco and David Lublin - what's the matter? Don't like a little controversy? Do you want all comments to agree with you? That's not responsible.

Carmen Amedori for U.S. Senate

Check out this interview on Red Maryland with former Carroll County State Delegate Carmen Amedori. She is going to challenge liberal extremist Barbara Mikulski for her U.S. Senate seat. There are rumors that Mikulski may retire rather than run again, but I'll believe it when I hear it from her mouth.

Dear Carroll County Bureaucrats

Dear Carroll County Bureaucrats,

Thank you for plowing my street. Thank your plowing my street 6 days after the last snow storm. Thank you for plowing my street 6 days after the last snow storm and not within a couple of days of the storm with the snow was still snow and somewhat manageable. Thank you for plowing my street 6 days after the last snow storm when the street was 4 inches of packed ice and the street was only wide enough for one car. Thank you for placing 25 pound chunks of solid ice at the end of my driveway so that I had to clear my driveway at 6:45 am and be late for work. Thank you for not entirely clearing the street, nor making no attempt at making my street any wider so that 2 cars could pass. Thank you for the blind corners. Thank you for the streets where the lanes come to a sudden end and we are forced into the lanes of oncoming traffic (see Hemlock Drive in Eldersburg).

Dear Helen the Post Office Delivery Lady,

I am sorry that I didn't shovel out my mailbox. I made a horrible assumption that the plow would come within a day or so of the last storm and push more of the snow off of the street, after which I would clear away the remaining snow (see previous letter). Unfortunately, the snow in front of the mailbox is now a 4 ft high polar ice cap and I am making no attempt to remove it. I left my pick-ax in San Francisco during the last gold rush. I hope that my 18 inch wide path to the mailbox from the middle of the street will suffice until May when this snow has finally melted. I do not envy your job for the next several weeks.

Dear Carroll County Board of Education,

Thank you for utilizing your new auto-dialer every time schools are opening late. I really like to get that dream shattering panic phone call at 6am to tell me that my elementary school children who normally leave for school at quarter-to-nine will be going in at quarter-to-eleven instead. It's always good to know several hours ahead of time. Additionally, I forgot how to watch Channel 11 in the morning to find out this news for myself, so your method of communication is wonderful.

Thank you for the conversation that we had when I called to complain about the calls. I totally understand that your system is rigid and inflexible. I understand that technology is at a total stand-still and there is absolutely no way to call people at different times or opt out of certain calls. Yes, I would like to know when there is a local emergency, but understand that also requires you to call me at 6am when schools are opening late. It's an all or nothing technology. Sort of like automobiles. Options are not a reasonable request.

Fortunately Carroll County bureaucrats were not running this country in the 1770's. I can imagine that you would have thrown up your hands and surrendered to the British tyrannical demands. There's no other way, right? We have no options, right? Just go back to sitting on your hands and running the county. You're doing a great job!!!

Sincerely,

Eludius, the understanding citizen of South Carroll

O'Malley's Tenure Flip-Flop

Never one to constrict himself with principles, Martin O'Malley has done an about face on recommendations to change tenure requirements for public school teachers.

Previously, Governor Martin O'Malley did whatever the teachers' union told him to do. I hear that they once told him to wear lipstick and pink underwear. No confirmation on whether or not he did that, but I would bet my money on him doing whatever they demanded.

However, there is one thing that guides Martin O'Malley's principles more than campaign contributions - and that if federal tax dollars. As reported by WBAL.com, socialist-leaning Obama has a new education program called "Race to the Top". This program is a blatant attempt at removing more state sovereignty, increasing federal control, and dictating how states should operate the schools and what they teach the children by bribing the states with money. It's a very common federal strategy. The federal government uses the same methods for federal highway & transportation dollars.

As for the federal program, by increasing then tenure requirement to 3 years, O'Malley is increasing Maryland's chance at receiving more federal tax dollars.

Maryland State Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick had recommended these changes previously, but Slick Marty rejected her recommendation because he hates her. And she tends to vote Republican. But most importantly, apparently Grasmick didn't bribe O'Malley with enough money.

I'm not against increasing the requirements to get tenure. Heck, most jobs are at-will hires and we get fired when we screw up. People in tenured positions can screw up royally or do things that most people would consider outrageous, but they cannot be fired unless they do something radical like bring a gun to school or show up at a pro-life rally.

It's amazing that Martin O'Malley can look so tall without having a spine.

If You Buy a Mouse a Cookie

For those of you who are parents I am sure that you are familiar with the Laura Joffe Numeroff book titled If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. In the story a young child gives a mouse a cookie. However, after you give the mouse a cookie, he'll want a glass a milk. And then it goes on an on about what he'll need next as a result of the previous item. This story is true to life.

My wife and I have been watching television on our 300 pound 32 inch RCA cathode ray television since we bought it back in 1999. To accompany our young dinosaur we purchased a mission-style oak entertainment cabinet for many dollars.

Fast forward 11 years. I have been perusing the advertisements looking for a new television. Just out of curiosity, of course. I'm no tech gadget kind of guy, so I wasn't quite sure what I should be looking for. LCD or LED or plasma? 46" or 47"? 120hz or 60hz? Fortunately my friends on Facebook were there to lead the way, except for one poor soul who was my classmate in private school 24 years ago. He recommended a 13" Westinghouse with the handle on top.

I had decided on getting a 47". They were about $700-$900. That seemed to be about what I wanted to spend for a new television. Then my wife got involved. We visited Best Buy. We visited BJ's Wholesale club. Not being one to tolerate hours of reading reviews, I let her do the legwork. Finally she tells me that she wants to go visit the Big Screen Store in Westminster.

We rally the kids and head up there. We are greeted by a young man named Chris who appeared to be out of high school by about 45 minutes. Spiderman is playing on all of the televisions, which I'm not sure was appropriate given that it is Rated PG-13. But if I could plop them down on those leather chairs to watch the movie while the missus and I shopped then all the better.

Chris showed us the differences between some of the televisions and clearly explained what our expectations should be. He then showed us a Mitsubishi with 16 speaker built-in multi-directional surround sound. He first showed us what it was like with 2-speaker sound. Not too bad. Then he turned on the 16 speaker sound. Holy mother of decibels!!! After I picked myself up off of the floor he says, "but if you're going to spend $XXX on this 47", then you might as well spend $200 more and get this 52". My wife was sold. "This is what we're getting!"

What a role reversal. The woman is telling the man that we are getting the phat-jammin television. Don't get me wrong. I loved it. But the money! Fortunately, slightly-post-pubescent Chris informed us that we could get 18 months no finance charges on a new Big Screen Store credit card. Sounded good to me! Plus it's a 3 year warranty and life-time tech support.

So Chris tells us that the television will be delivered next Wednesday (the week leading up to the Super Bowl). He asks us how we plan on mounting the television. I was set on getting a mission-style credenza to replace our Godzilla entertainment center. My wife disagreed. She wanted to mount it on the wall - above the fire place. Of course, this will prevent us from using the fire place. So we buy a mounting kid.

Another friend then informs us that since we're getting an HD TV, we need to upgrade our cable service to HD. What? So we had to get a new box. Another friend informs me - 'if you upgrade you're cable box, you'll need to get an HDMI cord. What? Another friend informs me - 'if you upgrade to HD, you'll need to get a Blue-Ray player to take advantage of the HD capabilities. What? All I wanted was a cookie!

The television finally arrives on Wednesday and the Eludius family officially enters the 21st century. We haven't buried the cords so they are still draped over the sides of the fireplace. Wii is a little interesting since the television is so high. The response time is slightly delayed thus rendering my old-bone abilities useless against other finely crafted Mii characters.

Two weeks later we still do not have a Blue-Ray player, but my wife is still shopping around. We still don't have an HDMI-compatible cable box because Comcast refuses to get more. Instead they are providing their customers with inferior composite cable boxes. But we'll call them every week until we get one. And once we have that, I'll get a glass of milk.

Vote No Malley Hits 30,000 Visitors

Congratulations 162.84.131 from the Bronx in New York City, New York. Your search Google Image search for "Underoos" at 8:26pm led you to my blog and made you the 30,000th person to hit my blog. Your prize is in the mail.

A Week in a Bottle

In a state that refuses to allow purchases of fine wines over the Internet (thank you Nathanial McFadden - that's sarcasm - I know you've been bought by the liquor board to vote that way!), we have had the most unbelievable week in my recent memory - and I have a bad memory.


We started last Saturday with a huge snowstorm - the most snow in the history of the state of Maryland according to Governor Martin O'Malley - despite the fact that we got more snow in the 2003 President's Day Blizzard. But then again, Martin O'Malley wasn't Governor then. He was slummin' it as the Mayor of Baltimore back when homicides were at their highest. Give credit to Sheila Dixon - murders dropped on her watch. Marty - why were there so many murders during your tenure as mayor???

In an unprecedented occurrence, another blizzard hit Maryland 4 days later. Was this another record for Maryland? Martin O'Malley gave the rhetoric - "we're moving forward. We are using our resources to effectively help the citizens of Maryland during this trying time. Blah-blah. Blah-blah-bla." Did you notice that the members of his administration were wearing really big boots while he was giving his speech? I think there's more on the ground than snow.


On the other hand, new mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is telling it like it is. When asked if side streets will be plowed soon, she replied 'not a chance'. You can dislike being stuck on a side-street, but you have to respect her honesty. I'm pulling for you, SRB!

Meanwhile, in my neighborhood, we went 2 days before being plowed out from the first snowstorm. I called the county and asked when we would get plowed and was told that most of the snow removal equipment was broken because the snow was so deep and heavy. Finally on Monday night I see this GIANT front-end loader pushing a mound of snow larger than several of my Honda Pilots.



Then the second storm hit. I heard that Martin O'Malley instructed Carroll County to not plow my neighborhood until tonight (almost 4 days after the storm) because he doesn't like the honesty of my blog. So at 8:45 tonight a plow FINALLY went down my street. However, it's been nearly 4 days and the street is nearly 8 inches of packed ice. Additionally. it's now in the 20's so the snow is now ice. The plows coming through had the same effect as me using a butter knife to slice ice cubes. It just didn't work. Do you think they'll come back tomorrow?

So as we look out our windows tonight with the Olympics blaring on our televisions, we hear news of another snow storm on the heels of our progress. Global warming experts are shifting their logic to say, 'global warming will cause it to be colder and snowier. It's common sense!' I don't know who to believe. The only thing I know is that my arm still hurts from shoveling snow and I'm tired.

Mother Nature - can you give us a break for a while? Please?

Maryland Politicians? Ha!

Why are so few politicians in Maryland not born in Maryland? Do native Marylanders have an aversion to politics? You think I'm kidding? Check out this list of elected and appointed officials that are not Maryland-born.

State-level

Martin O’Malley Washington, DC

Peter Franchot New Haven, Connecticut

Anthony G. Brown Huntington, New York

John P. McDonough Scranton, Pennsylvania

Nancy K. Kopp Coral Gables, Florida

Thomas Perez Buffalo, New York

John Porcari Rochester, New York

State Senators

Nancy Jacobs Charleston, West Virginia

Alex Mooney Washington, D.C.

Andy Harris Brooklyn, New York

Delores Kelley Norfolk, Virginia

Bobby Zirkin Davis, California

Rona Kramer Washington, D.C.

Robert J. Garagiola Warren, Michigan

Brian Frosch Washington, D.C.

Jennie M. Forehand Nashville, Tennessee

Michael G. Lenett New York, New York

Jamie Raskin Washington, D.C.

James Rosapepe Rome, Italy

Paul Pinsky Camden, New Jersey

Nathaniel Exum Memphis, Tennessee

Ulysses Currie Whitevilel, North Carolina

John Astle Charles Town, West Virginia

Edward Reilly Glen Ridge, New Jersey

Lowell Stoltzfus Pottstown, Pennsylvania

Nancy King Niagra Falls, New York

Catherine Pugh Norristown, Pennsylvania

Maryland State Delegates

Kumar Barve Schenectady, New York

Talmadge Branch Northampton, North Carolina

Tony O’Donnell Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

John Donoghue New York, New York

Charles Jenkins Norfolk, Virginia

Tanya Shewell Piqua, Ohio

Gail H. Bates Washington, DC

Emmett C. Burns, Jr. Jackson, Mississippi

Shirley Nathan-Pulliam Trelawny, Jamaica

Dan K. Morhaim Los Angeles, California

Shane Pendergrass Los Angeles, California

Frank S. Turner Mt. Pleasant, New York

Anne R. Kaiser Washington, D.C.

Craig L. Rice Washington, D.C.

Kathleen M. Dumais La Jolla, California

Brian J. Feldman Pittsburgh, Pennsulvania

William A. Bronrott Washington, DC

Susan Lee San Antonio, Texas

James W. Gilchrist Washington, DC

Luiz R. S. Simmons Winchester, Virginia

Ana Sol Gutierrez El Salvador

Alfred C. Carr, Jr. Cleveland, Ohio

Hank Heller Washington, DC

Roger Manno California

Tom Hucker St. Louis, Missouri

Sheila E. Hixson L’Anse, Michigan

Heather R. Mizeur Blue Mound, Illinois

Barbara A. Frush Washington, DC

Benjamin S. Barnes Peoria, Illinois

Joseline Peña-Melnyk Dominican Republic

Tawanna P. Gaines Washington, DC

Anne Marie Healey Scranton, Pennsylvania

Gerron S. Levi Chicago, Illinois

James W. Hubbard Washington, DC

Marvin E. Holmes, Jr. Cleveland, Ohio

Joanne Claybon Benson Roanoke, Virginia

Carolyn J. B. Howard Deland, Florida

Michael L. Vaughn Tuskeegee, Alabama

Aisha N. Braveboy Washington, DC

Dereck E. Davis Washington, DC

Melony Ghee Griffith Albilene, Texas

Melony Ghee Griffith Washington, DC

Jay Walker Los Angeles, California

Veronica L. Turner Washington, DC

James E. Proctor, Jr. Washington, DC

Joseph F. Vallario, Jr. Washington, DC

Sue Kullen Verona, Italy

Peter Murphy Washington, DC

Virginia P. Clagett Washington, DC

Ron George Syracuse, New York

Mary Ann Love West Pittson, Pennsylvania

B. Daniel Riley London, England

David Rudolph Summit, New Jersey

Susan K. McComas Denver, Colorado

Richard A. Sossi New York, New York

Adelaide C. Eckardt Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Douglas Page Elmore Nassawadox, Virginia

Charles E. Barkley Elkins, West Virginia

Kirill Reznik Kiev, Ukraine

Saqib Ali Chicago, Illinois

Barbara A. Robinson Alexandria City, Alabama

Shawn Z. Tarrant Freeport, New York

Stephen W. Lafferty Washington, DC

Curt Anderson Chicago, Illinois

Ann Marie Doory Yonkers, New York

Margaret L. McIntosh Quinter, Kansas

Keith E. Haynes Shelby, North Carolina

Talmadge Branch Northampton, North Carolina

Hattie N. Harrison Lancaster, South Carolina

Jolene Ivey Washington, DC

Doyle L. Niemann Grand Island, Nebraska

Victor R. Ramirez San Salvador, El Salvador

Martin O'Malley's State of Emergency

Martin O'Malley has declared a state of emergency. I'm not sure if this is a recognition of his failures as a Governor or if it has to do with the weather. More details as they become available.

Happy Groundhog's Day!

As everyone knows, today is Groundhogs Day. If Martin O'Malley comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, then we will have 6 more weeks of misery. If he does not see his shadow, than we will still have 6 more weeks of misery.

Maryland's State of the State

Pretty Boy O'Malley will deliver the State of the State address today at noon. It's delivered at noon instead of during prime time hours so that O'Malley won't miss The Biggest Loser tonight at 8pm. He can relate to that show.

I have my predictions about what Marty will say at noon. He'll start by talking about how he is going to create jobs. He knows that he does not have the power to create any jobs other than bureaucratic state jobs, but he'll take credit for the private sectors' hiring. He'll probably also take credit for the jobs that were created by the federal government in Maryland. He'll mention how he is pushing for a tax credit for each employee that is hired, but will fail to mention that he is still seeking an industry that is unorganized so that the General Assembly can tax the crap out of it.

He will say that we are working our way through one of the toughest economic periods in several generations, economic turmoil brought on by greedy businesses, unsavory lending practices by big Wall Street banks, and the mismanagement of our economy by the previous administration. Yes. Despite being in office for 3 agonizing years now (Dear Lord, please convince O'Malley to resign. If he does I'll send him one of my horny fat cousins so she can give him a lap dance), Governor O'Malley will still blame George W. Bush and Governor Ehrlich for all of the problems that the state of Maryland currently suffers.

Yadda-yadda-yadda. O'Malley will mention that crime is down across the state due to coordinated efforts amongst our hard-working law-enforcement officials, though he won't mention that the weather has been too cold for the thugs to go outside and shoot up each other.

Governor O'Malley will mention that he hasn't raised taxes in several months, though I suspect that he will spin his previous tax increases as common sense tax increases on the wealthy and big businesses that were not paying taxes, while failing to mention that he defines "wealthy" as households that make over $40,000 and honestly how many businesses are still in Maryland? They all moved to Virginia!

Marty will also mention slots as a source of future revenue and he'll state that he has worked hard with local and state officials to get the job done - despite the fact that the job is not done. He won't mention that his administration has failed to get one single slots parlor open. He'll fail to mention that the Anne Arundel County slots parlor has failed. He'll won't mention that the slots parlor in Baltimore City has failed. He won't mention that the slots parlor at Rocky Gap has failed. He won't mention that the slots parlor in Ocean City has failed. He won't mention that his legislation is so unreasonable that several slots operators have "politely" told him 'no thanks'. Martin O'Malley also won't mention that if slots would have been passed 6 years ago during the Ehrlich administration, they would be up and running and the state of Maryland would be benefiting from the revenues that are generated.

And my favorite - O'Malley will say that he is helping to move Maryland forward. Forward as if we are moving toward a goal. An ambiguous goal. With no defining characteristics. But we are moving there. What does moving forward mean anyway? I plan on counting how many times he says 'moving forward'. If it is over 10 times then we all win a prize.

So while no one will hear the State of the State address (other than some local news reporters, politicians, and the local talk show hosts), I will do my best to hear it and give you the feedback that your crave. Though I suspect you'll be more interested to know who gets kicked off of The Biggest Loser tonight.

No Republican Governor Candidate?

Republican Larry Hogan made it official today - he is not running as the Republican candidate against incumbent socialist-leaning, tax & spend liberal, but oh so cute Martin O'Malley.

Hogan stated that he his confident that former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich will go against O'Malley to win his seat back. However, the former Governor has made no commitment yet, and as of now, with only 9 months to go until the general election, I think there is no Republican candidate for Governor.

Alan Keyes - where are you? Doesn't Alan Keyes run for every position? He's run for President several times. Maybe he can jump in there. Not that I'm endorsing him. Chuck Ecker is retiring as the Carroll County Superintendent of Schools. He ran in 1998 against Sauerbrey for the Republican candidacy. Maybe he could consider another run in his retirement. Thomas Mooney - he once ran for Governor against William Donald Shaefer, though he got his ass kicked when Willy Don got 82% of the vote. Pat Sajak is out there. He lives in Maryland. Is he a Republican?

Who can beat Irish Mug? I'm not real sure the Governor Ehrlich can win a rematch with Slick Marty. I agree, as do most Marylanders, that he's jacked up taxes across the state that impact hard-working middle class and poor families (remember, the sales tax is regressive as it hits poor people disproportionately), and he is robbing from the rainy day funds to pay for programs today. That stimulus money isn't going to keep on showing up so that Marty can have thousands of do-nothing lap dogs in Annapolis.

So what's a Marylander to do? I can retire in 30 years and move to South Carolina. But until then, I'm just not sure.

Political Aid

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