Bob Ehrlich for Governor!

It's official. Bob Ehrlich has finally thrown his hat in the ring for Governor. Everyone knew that he was going to run, but no one knew if he was going to run.

I think the sentiment in Maryland, and across the country for that matter, is very anti-establishment, just like it was 4 years ago when the Republicans were in office. This time it's the Democrats. However, since a good chunk of Maryland is such an anti-Christian Socialist-leaning state, especially down in Montgomery County, I'm still not sure if he can win.

I do think, however, that his chances this time are better than they were during the last election when America had had enough of the Republicans, the war, and the economy and booted the bumbs out. I'm all in favor of booting the bumbs out. As I've mentioned many times there needs to be higher turnover in politics and I would love to see term-limits.

This time, the economy still sucks. Maryland's unemployment is still hovering around 10% and Martin O'Malley should not be rewarded for that.

The Democrats in Congress have passed massive legislation committing trillions of dollars to a new health insurance program. Not we have to figure out how pay for it. Obama said it will be paid for by eliminating middle-men and streamlining operations. For anyone that has ever owned a business you know that this is mostly bullpoop. So now we really have to figure out how to pay for it. And since Martin O'Malley is a Democrat, he is guilty by association and should not be rewarded for bankrupting our children's future.

Martin O'Malley said that he was going to stop BIG utility companies from raising their rates. He lied. He let them raise their rates. Not once. But several times. And in exchange for raising rates, he got Constellation Energy to give away millions of dollars. Having Martin O'Malley in the pockets of BIG utilities is no different than Republicans being in the pockets of BIG utilities, so since Martin O'Malley lied, he should not be rewarded with another term.

Another thing to consider is that while Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in Maryland, that statistic is misleading. Many people are registered as Democrats because the Republican party is so small in Maryland. Take my parents, for example. Both are registered Democrats because they know that voting in the Republican primaries is not going to have much of an impact, so if they can choose the most moderate Democrat, they can pull the political thought closer to the middle where most Americans really stand.

So here is my prediction - if Republicans come out in force and ALL vote for Ehrlich and a bunch of Democrats also vote for him and Democrats are disillusioned or over-confident and don't show up at the polls, he has a chance to win. However, if O'Malley's hypnotising babbling rhetoric convinces people that he's a political god, then Ehrlich will lose.

Let's hope that I'm not confident enough in my predictions.

Carroll County Public Schools & the Census

I received one of the AlertNow Messages from Carroll County Public Schools today. You would expect emails from the CCPS to be in good form, would you not? I know that I'm not perfect, but sometimes stupid things just jump out at me. And this message has 2 of them:


Remember April 1 is Census Day. Take 10 minutes to fill out your 2010 Census form and mail it back. If 100% of households mailed back their forms, taxpayers would save $1.5 BILLION dollars. Let's all do our part and mail back our forms!


First, saying "$1.5 BILLION dollars" is like saying 1.5 billion dollars dollars, isn't it? That's why Al Gore invented the dollar sign - so that we wouldn't have to type dollars at the end.


Second, how will returning the Census form save $1.5 BILLION? "Thank goodness, Larry. All 100% of the people returned the form. That will save us $1.5 billion." "What do you mean, Elmer? $1.5 billion to do what?" "Not sure, Larry. But we saved it! Now we can use that money to save even more money in the healthcare system!" "That doesn't make sense, Elmer." "Stop asking questions, Larry, and go back to work."

Robin Williams - Back on Cocaine?

Did anyone see The Late Show with David Letterman? I got home late last night because I was at the Baltimore Blast game, so it took me a while to wind down. While channel surfing I caught Robin Williams being introduced on The Late Show.

I shrugged and decided to watch it for a minute or until I was totally annoyed or bored, which I expected would be in about 11 seconds. Surprisingly, however, Williams was really funny. Although he looks like he's in his late 60's now (he did have heart surgery about a year ago), he was all wound up. This is a huge surprise because Robin Williams hasn't been funny since he was on cocaine back in the Mork & Mindy days.

And his movies over the past 20 years? If it was meant to be a comedy - then it sucked! So it was refreshing to see the "old" Robin Williams back. And if he's on cocaine, that's okay with me because he makes me laugh.

Little Johnny - Not an Obama Fan

Little Johnny is not an Obama fan

A teacher asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans.

Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny.

The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different... again. Little Johnny said, "Because I'm not an Obama fan."

The teacher asked, "Why aren't you a fan of Obama?"

Johnny said, "Because I'm a Republican."

The teacher asked him why he's a Republican. Little Johnny answered, "Well, my Mom's a Republican and my Dad's a Republican, so I'm a Republican."

Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked, "If your mom were a moron and your dad were an idiot, what would that make you?"

With a big smile, Little Johnny replied, "That would make me an Obama fan."

You'd Be a Fool If...

you thought Bob Ehrlich was not going to decide sometime in the future if he will decide on running for an office or not.

if you thought that Obama's new healthcare plan actually covered all Americans. It only covers about an additional 10-20 million more Americans, many of whom already have access to health insurance via their spouse.

you believe the government when they say that inflation is under control.

you think that the Chinese aren't going to control our economy in 20 years.

you think I'm going to lose 15 pounds by the time I go on vacation in July.

you think I don't enjoy watching hockey on my new 52" HD television with 16 speaker-sound.

you think the Orioles will do any better than last place this year.

you think I can get my 2 year old to bed before 10pm.

you think everyone loves those GEICO commercials.

you think that Dr. Pepper is better than Mr. Pibb.

you think John Sarbanes loves being a Congressman. He's got higher offices in mind. Hopefully we can do something about that. Preferably in a 14th story building in a law firm rather than an office in Congress.

you think that the University of North Carolina will be horrible again next year.

you think that John Edwards will ever be elected to office again after cheating on his wife while she was battling cancer.

you think that Comcast will eventually stop raising their rates faster than the rate of inflation.

you think we haven't had enough of Kate Gossling, the Duggars, and Lindsay Lohan.

you don't think this is the most horrible season of American Idol.

you don't think Martin O'Malley will run for U.S. Senate after Babs Mikulski retires in 6 years.

you think 'moving Maryland forward' means anything other than Democrats getting their way.

you don't think that Black Pepper Jack Doritos were the best snack food ever made.

you don't think that Winthrop University's men's basketball team is the most awesomest mid-major in Division I.

you don't think some physical education teachers in Carroll County Public Schools don't have anger-management problems.

you think I'm impressed that your kid is on 'travel'.

you think I don't like chicken.

you don't think I'm wrapping up this post so that I can go to bed.

Baltimore County Councilman Won't Seek Reelection

When I heard on the news that a Baltimore County Councilman will not seek reelection, I said to the radio, "Which one?" They then said it was the drunk one. I said, "Which one?"


Apparently it's the robust Democrat Sam Moxley who has been arrested twice in the past 4 years for drunk driving.


But he wants to continue to serve the public (which should be read as reap the benefits of public office). He wants to run for Clerk of the Courts position that is open due to the resignation (retirement) of 80 year old Suzanne Mensh.


Hopefully the good people of Baltimore County have enough sense to vote for someone who actually deserves the position. One who is not dependent on his pals Bud and Jack to get through the day. Can you image a drunk Moxley swearing in Pat McDonough, potentially the next Baltimore County Executive? Oh, my!

Do You Need A Bag?

I wish I would hear this question more often when I go shopping. We all know that those stupid blue plastic bags take 4.5 billion years to decompose, which if I'm not mistaken is the average tenure of a member of the U.S. Senate. And if you live in Baltimore City you're required to toss empty bags into your neighbors' trees.

Yesterday I was in Food Lion (pronounced Food Lee-uhn). I bought a toothbrush, raisins, and a jar of pizza sauce. I carried all 3 up to the register in my hands. As I handed her my shoppers' tracking card (which they call a bonus card) I told her that I didn't need a bag. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me. "You don't need a bag?", emphasizing "baaaaaag". "You don't need a baaaaaag?" "No, I do not need a bag." "Oooooooo-kay."

What the hell? Why am I an idiot for not wanting a bag? I can carry this stuff. This is just one example. We do our big grocery shopping at Martin's in Eldersburg. If left to do things themselves then EVERYTHING would go in a bag. Milk - in a bag. A bag of potatoes - in a bag. Why would you put a bag in a bag? Aren't the potatoes already in a bag? This drives me nuts. Don't they want to save money.

And for the record, when I do use those bags, I recycle them by bringing them back to the grocery store where they make into benches where smokers can sit outside and enjoy their carcinogens.

Do you need a bag for that?

Healthcare Boondoggle Becomes Reality

A year of pulpit-pounding rhetoric and arm-twisting has resulted in what we will see as the basis for the largest tax-increase in the history of America. Dozens of Congressmen were bullied into an Aye vote to pass the 'healthcare reform' bill - Congressmen who know damn well that they will be voted out of office come November.

Healthcare reform was sold to us as reform that will expand coverage for a certain percentage of Americans (and NOT all Americans). The estimated $10 trillion price tag will be paid for with cost-cutting measures for rich people.

As I have stated before, Americans are not stupid. They know that you can't go purchase a $2 million house and pay for it by cutting out the daily Starbucks coffee and getting rid of HBO.

This is what will happen (and I dare Congressman John Sarbanes to swear to resign from political office for the rest of his life if it doesn't happen) - healthcare costs for private health insurance (which is what MOST of us have) will skyrocket. You think your health insurance rates are going up fast now? Wait another 4 years. You will have to choose between paying your mortgage and feeding your family or paying your health insurance.

And the government healthcare plan? It will SUCK. And I mean S.U.C.K. If you are on this plan you will gladly stop paying your mortgage and stop eating to get better health insurance. Need an MRI? Nope. Sorry, there's a waiting list. You will be eligible in 3 more years. You're 84 and need chemotherapy? Nope. Can't have it. You're too old.

How can our elected officials say that healthcare will NOT be rationed? There doesn't seem to be any logical way to operate their socialist plan without rationing healthcare. And who gets rationed? That will be interesting. Which voting class has the least political power? You are the ones that will get rationed out.

And to top it off, taxes will rise through the roof. You think being in the 28% tax bracket sucks? Wait until a family of 5 making $85,000 per year suddenly jumps to the 65% tax bracket. Do you think you'll like this healthcare 'reform' then? Yeah, that's what I thought.

What did Americans really want? Simple things. Not this complex socialistic overhaul of the the health insurance system.

1) Get rid of the 'pre-existing' conditions that prevent you from getting coverage. Everyone hates pre-existing conditions except for actuaries and CEO's who determine rates for everyone else. But I think it's safe to say that the majority of Americans have some sort of pre-existing condition that will not be covered if they leave their current medical plan and have to join a new plan. And this sucks.

2) Portability. Do you like you existing plan? You should be able to take your health insurance plan with you when you leave your job.

3) Insurance for children. Our children should not be punished for being born into a family where the parents do not have health insurance. Throw them into Medicare.

4) Create 19 GIANT government bureaucracies that will cost trillions of dollars to operate and provide inadequate care. (Never mind, we DON'T want that).

So it will be interesting to see which Congressmen will be shown the door in November. They know their jobs are on the line. I bet a lot of them end up with government jobs courtesy of the Obama administration.

Can we at least be glad we don't have to hear the rhetoric anymore?

Tiger Woods' New Hat

Is anyone else tired of hearing about Tiger Woods? For crying out loud he's just an athlete. I went to the gym yesterday and when I got on the elliptical, they had breaking news on ESPN that Tiger was going to play in the Master's.

Fantastic. He's coming out of hiding after cheating on his wife and getting his ass kicked by her. Is some sort of hero now? Seriously - he has one of the hottest wives on the planet and he's two-timing with $20 whores and cocktail waitresses? Yes, I understand that he has a problem. That's kind of obvious in more ways that one. Do I have any sympathy for the billionaire athlete who destroyed his marriage and drove a wedge (or was it a 3-iron) between himself and his wife and children? Hell no.

Thirty minutes later when I finish my workout - they are still S.T.I.L.L. talking about Tiger Woods. Now they have special guests calling in to give their opinion about what this means for Tiger, golf, the Master's, ESPN, America, and the Federal deficit. OMG. And I hate golf, so it was a terrible workout. They could have put Ellen on the television and I would have been happier.

But there is good news in this. Because of Tiger's infidelity, he will be wearing a new hat. This time it is a white cap with the scarlet letter A on the front. For those of you that attended public schools in Baltimore City, you'll have to read this.

Thoughts on Daylight Savings

1. Can't the time change be like 5 minutes per week for 12 weeks rather than an entire hour over one weekend? Can't we just ease into it?

2. Why is the time change on Saturday night? Why can't it be on Friday night? That would give us 2 days to adjust rather than one. Anyone with children knows that one day is not nearly enough. How many of you had children up until after 11pm last night?

3. Who's the genius in the Maryland Public School system that scheduled MSA's this week? If you are not aware of MSA's - they are the tests that determine the curriculum at schools. That isn't the intention of the test. It is supposed to be used as a measure of achievement at the different schools throughout Maryland. However, instead of teaching the children what they need to know, the schools now teach what they need to know to do well on the test.

And this being the week of the change to daylight savings time, everyone is tired - ALL WEEK. Now the children will take the state tests measuring the schools' abilities to teach their children how to take the test and everyone will be too tired to do well. Good job educators!

4. The shift to daylight savings time causes a brief increase in traffic fatalities, mostly due to sleep deprivation. Therefore, we should move the clocks forward, but move our start times at work by an hour, as well. So rather than being at work at 7am, I should come to work at 8am. How does that sound?

O'Malley: Moving Maryland Clocks Forward

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has moved Maryland forward so much that he gets all giddy when he looks in the mirror. Today, he may be over-stepping his bounds when he declared that all clocks in Maryland will be moved forward 1 hour.

Fortunately, O'Malley is always there to move Maryland forward and what a better opportunity than the spring time change? In addition to taking credit for moving the clocks forward, O'Malley took credit for me waking up on time, for my 2 year old going pee-pee on the potty, and for the water boiling in the pot for macaroni-n-cheese at dinner time tonight.

O'Malley - thanks for moving so many things forward!

Martin O'Malley Siting

I heard that O'Malley was visiting a farm in Carroll County and I was able to snap this photo of him giving his opinion of Joseph Vallario.

Any Reference to Star Wars is a Good Reference

Yesterday a co-worker in the conglomerating department sent an email to me and asked if I could provide a list of famous people with mustaches. I didn't ask the reason, but I came up with the list. The most famous, obviously, is Tom Selleck, but she already had that on her list. So I added:

Ted Nugent
Adolph Hitler
Charlie Chaplin
Rollie Fingers
Geraldo Rivera
Hulk Hogan
Jason Lee
Borat
Pancho Villa
Johnny Oates
Ned Flanders
Lando Calrissian
Wilford Brimley
[SEND]

Friend: OMG - I can't believe I forgot Lando Calrissian.
Eludius: What? You forgot about Lando Calrissian? What - have you been living on Daegobah for the last 30 years?

It got a few laughs - at least from the people that are in the know.

Time To Import Wine Into Maryland

Thanks to the head's-up from Maryland blogger HoCo Rising. As I have stated before, Maryland has a ban in importing wine from out of state via the Internet or mail-order catalog. If you go to http://winewoot.com, you can order all kinds of great wines from across the country. But you can't send them to Maryland because it is against the law.

You see, our Maryland elected officials think that they are protecting our children by banning the importation of wine. Because if Maryland children could order wine over the Internet, they'd be buying that Verge Dry Creek Valley Syrah for $49.99 + $5 shipping. And we know that children certainly don't have easier ways to purchase alcohol - like older siblings or hanging outside of the 7-11 waiting for some guy to buy you a case of Coors Lite with a twenty.

However, that's only part of the problem. On the other side of that there is the liquor lobby that is funneling campaign contributions into the coffers of our elected officials in order to keep them from voting in favor of removing the ban. And as HoCo Rising pointed out in this post, someone challenged The Sun to produce a campaign donation list from the liquor lobby.

Now we have a list of legislators that have not cosponsored the bill, which can generally interpreted that they are opposed to it, though not necessarily. If any of your elected representatives are on this list and you agree that we should be allowed to import wine into Maryland, then please contact them! We need to end this stupid ban.

Rahm Emanuel - Naked Rage

This is pretty funny. I recommend you listen to it. It's about 2 minutes long. It's Democratic Congressman Eric Massa commenting about White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's verbal attack in the shower at the gym. Funny stuff!!

Listen here.

And here is some empty space so that the above link stands out better.

Ed Block Courage Award - Now Meaningless

The Ed Block Courage Foundation hasn't unofficially announced that it's annual awards are now a meaningless and should not be taken seriously.

One of the recipients of the 2010 Ed Block Courage Awards is convicted dog-killer Michael Vick, a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

On their website they state:
Each year, the Ed Block Courage Awards honors those National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Recipients are selected by their teammates for team effort, as well as individual performance.

Let's see - Michael Vick is courageous? Nope. Callous? More likely. Arrogant? Irresponsible? Demonic? I would agree to those.

The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication. He is also a community role model. With this honor, he enters into an association which contrasts his fierce profession by becoming a major component of the Courage House National Support Network for Kids. He becomes an Ambassador of Courage for victims of abuse, violence and neglect.

Moreover, does Michael Vick demonstrate professionalism? Eh. Dedication? To dog killing? Is he a community role model? No way in hell. He becomes an Ambassador of Courage for victims of abuse, violence, and neglect? He gets to represent mutilated and dead animals? Or does this only apply to abusing people?

Usually the award goes to players that have overcome possible career-ending injuries, or players that suddenly fell out of favor only to surge back as a starter and lead their team to success. The player should show integrity and principles of sportsmanship on and off of the field. Previous recipients include Isaac Bruce, Mark Brunell, Corey Ivy, Bruce Smith, Mark Rypien, Duce Staley, Fred Taylor, Zach Thomas, Ozzie Newsome, Trent Green, Marshall Faulk, and Charlie Garner. All distinguished men.

Michael Vick is a dog-killing thug that spent 22 months in prison. He's been doing a lot of community service for children, not because he wants to, but because it's part of his probation. If he fails to fulfill his community service requirements, he will be forced to return to prison for violation of probation. That's not courage. That's not dedication. Those are terms of a sentence. I don't think he should be rewarded for fulfilling the terms of his prison sentence.

And by awarding Michael Vick with the trophy, the Ed Block Courage Foundation has just announced to the world that their award is meaningless.

Jack Young - Returning Corruption to Baltimore

When Baltimore City Councilwoman Helen Holton was indicted on criminal charges in 2009, then City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake removed her from her chair position over the City's Taxation Committee. Then Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon resigned in disgrace after facing corruption charges, which by-law moved Baltimore City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake up to the position of Mayor. The Baltimore City Council then voted unannomously to appoint City Council member Jack Young to the City Council President.

Now with Jack Young as City Council President he has made a move that signifies that he is ready to return Baltimore back to the days when corruption was tolerated in city government. Jack Young has reaapointed Helen Holton to the chair of the Taxation Committee.

Helen Holton is no stranger to corruption. In fact, she gave former Mayor Sheila Dixon a run for her money for the title of the most corruption Baltimore City politician. Holton was charged with bribery, perjury, wrongdoing in office, accepting a bribe (ABC News 1/9/2009), and campaign finance violations (Baltimore Sun 7/28/2009) when she soliticed campaign contributions from developers Ron Lipscomb (Sheila Dixon's former boyfriend) and John Paterakis, the developer who is giving himself a questionable reputation.

The position for which she will be reappointed will give her the power to give tax breaks to developers. So let me get this straight - she was charged with illegally soliciting campaign contributions from developers, but she will be allowed to provide tax breaks for developers? No conflict of interest there!!! This would be like appointing Maryland Delegate Kumar Barve who was arrested for DUI to be in charge of the liquor board.

If Baltimore City wanted to remove any hints of impropriety, it would ban campaign contributions from developers to elected officials who can grant tax breaks to developers. In fact, the city should ban campaign contributions from any entity that receives tax breaks to any elected official who is on a board that provides such tax breaks. Think that will happen? Not a chance in hell!!! Baltimore City politicians like their cozy corrupt relationships.

So don't be too surprised when we learn of more corruption in Baltimore City. Because when you put people with no ethical standards in charge of the government, you get corruption.

More Unintended Consequences

In order to save money here at Amercian Amalgamated Corrugated Conglomerates of America, management has been working hard to find ways to save money. With shrinking revenues, costs must be cut.

Many of the cost-saving efforts are admirable. For example, all of the printers have been set to have the default printing to double-sided printing rather than single-sided. That makes sense to me. This will save a lot of money on paper. I don't mind the double-sided printing and normally I wouldn't even think of it until I got to the printer. "Oh, I could have printed this double-sided." Now the printer does it for me.

Some of the cost-cutting measures I don't really like. We now have less expensive cutlery in the kitchenette. Now when I heat up food for breakfast or lunch, by the time I walk back to my desk the fork or spoon that I had stuck in the Tupperwear is now melted or severely deformed.

Last week I found an unintended consequence of another cost-cutting measure. Management had determined that we were using too much soap in the bathrooms. I may agree with that. Some people bang the dispenser several times and fill up their hands with the softsoap. Most of it falls into the sink before they even get to lather it up in their hands. In order to save money because of careless soap users, they installed hand's-free automatic soap dispensers next to the sink. Now all you have to do is hold your hands under it and it spurts out a premeasured quantity into your hand. Sounds great, doesn't it?

How are these soap dispensers powered? With batteries, of course. Last week the batteries on all 3 units were dead. Now, instead of overusing soap, we can use NO soap. So in an effort to reduce money on soap, we now have guys walking around with unwashed hands. Ugh!!!

Winthrop Going to the NCAA Tournament - Again!!!

For the 9th time, Winthrop University is going to the NCAA Tournament. They accomplished it this time by defeating Coastal Carolina in Conway, South Carolina (Coastal Carolina's hometown).

Final score - Winthrop 64 - 53.

Go Winthrop!!!!

Possible 15 seed?

Vote for the Most & Least Effective in Maryland General Assembly

Thanks to my friends at Maryland Politics Watch (I'm not sure if they like me or not, but I read their blog!) - they have intercepted an email to the Gazette that allows you to vote for the most and least influential State Senators and State Delegates.

Click on this link to vote for yourself:

Gazette Poll.

Who do you think is the least and most effective? For the record, I voted for both Republicans and Democrats. Which Democrats would I vote for? My friend Saqib Ali, for one. He seems like an honest guy. And I'll take an honest hard-working Democrat over a questionable fringe Republican.

Bush vs Obama - Talking to the Kids

We all know that George W. Bush was a little dopey. Okay, he was a lot dopey. But at least you knew what you were getting. And he had a bit of a country hillbilly charm.

Someone forwarded these 2 pictures to me and I think they are hysterical. One shows George W. Bush, dressed casually, talking to the kids through a school microphone as they sit around him.

The other pictures shows Obama standing at attention at an official White House podium, speakers and teleprompters around him so that he can deliver his flawless agenda, and a security guard behind him ready to tackle any 7 years olds that may get too close to the President.

Now, does Obama look like he came to talk with you, or does he look like he came to talk TO you? Which one looks like he's more down to Earth. Obama - you need to lighten up a little!

New York Politics - Corrupt

What's up with New York politics? I like to think that Maryland and Illinois lead the country in political corruption, but suddenly New York started getting more attention than that fat girl at the mall with the tank top that's 8 sizes too small.


Not sure if Rudy counts as corrupt, but he likes the ladies. The former Mayor of New York City liked the ladies so much so that he's been married to several of them. And he always seemed to start dating the next one while he was married to the previous one. But - all but the first wife should not be surprised. I mean if you're dating a guy who's cheating on his wife, are you really surprised when you marry him and he starts cheating on you?


We all remember Elliott Spitzer. He went after financial firms as Attorney General of New York making life hell for everyone - even the good financial firms. He was just doing it to make a name for himself. Then he got elected to be Governor or New York. Then he started getting blow jobs from a hooker. Or lots of hookers. I don't exactly remember. So he bailed ship.


Next we have current New York Governor David Paterson. He wasn't elected to be Governor, but was the replacement for Elliott Spitzer (swallows) who resigned in disgrace. He has recently been charged with witness tampering in a domestic abuse case involving a staff member. Additionally, he was charged with lying under oath. And now he has announced that he will not seek reelection. You don't not seek reelection for public office unless you have something to hide or when you know you're not going to win the next time. Just ask Christopher Dodd, Byron Dorgan, Evan Bayh, and Brian Baird.


Now New York Congressman Charles Rangel was removed as chairman of the House Ways and Means committee while he is investigated by the House Ethics Committee. He rents a four unit apartment at below-market value, which is owned by the Olnick Organization, an organization that donates a lot of money to him. Hmm... no impropriety there.


He also uses one of the apartments as a campaign office - a violation of NYC rent-stabilization laws that require apartments to be used as a primary residence, not an office.


Additionally, Rangel owns a villa in Punta Cana, which he rents out. Rangel failed to report this income to the Congress.


Furthermore, investigations into his financial history show discrepancies between what he claimed as income and what he received from sales of property.


Finally, Representative Rangel has been storing a vehicle in the House parking garage for storage, a violation of House rules. Moreover, this vehicle is unlicensed and does not have a House parking permit.


So while Rangel has been sticking to everyone while he is in Congress, he has also been sticking it to us with his continuous violations of law and rules. Rangel is an elected official that we cannot trust, because he refuses to play fairly. He has no integrity and deserves no respect. Not only that, I've heard him chair the the House Ways and Means Committee and he is an absolute jerk. Do you want to talk about partisan? He makes prosecuting attorneys seem like kindergarten teachers.


Congressman Rangel - it's time for you to step down. You can pretend you're retiring to spend more time with your family and we'll be okay with that. But it's time to go.

Winthrop - Off to the Big South Championship

In case you're like me and TOTALLY forgot to watch the Winthrop vs. Radford game on ESPNU last night, you'll be happy to know that Winthrop beat Radford 61-46. They will play regular season champion Coastal Carolina for the Big South Championship. The winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

During the regular season, Winthrop split the series with Coastal Carolina losing the first game 57-47, but won the second game 67-64.

It's been a couple of years since Winthrop made it to the tournament, so you know they're hungry for it. Winthrop has been to the dance 8 times since 1999.

So if you're available, tune in on Saturday at 4pm to watch them fight for the Big South Championship!

Joker - Joker - Potpouri

Remember Joker's Wild? I loved that show. I watched it with my grandmother when I would go spend time with my grandparents in the summer.

Potpourri was the category for non-related topics. It could be anything. So here is today's potpourri.

Winthrop men's basketball plays at 6pm tonight on ESPNU. Make sure you watch it!

American Idol cliche' of the year - "watching you is very frustrating."

You know you're getting old when you take Step Aerobics class at the gym and you don't know any of the songs.

I can French braid girls' hair. One time at a party in college when under the influence of my friend Miller, I asked a girl I barely knew if I could French braid her hair. She let me, but I could tell she was very uncomfortable. I can't help but laughing every time I think about that now.

I was on the phone yesterday with my college roommate who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina while he was in line at the drive-thru at McDonald's. While ordering I kept yelling into the phone, "Get me a Big Mac! Get me a Big Mac!!"

Drunk people should not be allowed to text - unless they say really bizarre things that you can use against them later.

I have a coworker who is learning a new process that I am teaching him. I gave him a link to the directory of data and he said that he is not that familiar with that directory yet, but over time "I should be able to feel myself around." Um.....okay.

We had our softball coaches' meeting last night. I'm not interested in the history of the program, nor your involvement. I don't care how good your team was in 1995. Just shut the hell up and give me my lineup and a copy of the rules so I can go home.

If you do a Google-search for "no touch love", the first result is "No touch paper towel dispensers".

An average looking girl suddenly becomes much more attractive when she either wears glasses or a baseball cap. If she wears both my knees are shaking.

I once got assaulted by a man's eyebrows.

My name is not Baby. It's Eludius. Mr. Eludius if you're nasty.

I hate partisan politics. Why can't you just agree with me? Things would be so much easier.

During the Presidential campaign, they said that Obama was from Illinois. But he's from Hawaii.

If Doug Gansler is going to recognize same sex marriages from different states because we should respect the laws of other states, then he should recognize Alaska's concealed carry laws in Maryland.

Since Hollywood is remaking all of the movies and TV Shows from our childhood, they should just go all over the top and remake the Molly Ringwald trilogy with Li'l Kim as Molly's characters.

If the Post Office eliminates Saturday delivery that is totally going to ruin my Netflix queue.

Girls in high school hate dorks - until they get older and we have steady jobs, make good money, and they realize how funny we really are.

I'm not Samurai Mike.

Please don't play male enhancement commercials on the radio during the day. My little kids listen to the radio too and I'm not ready for that conversation.

I secretly listen to Tina Turner, but don't tell anyone.

I hate it when people ask if they can ask a random question, and then I find out it's work-related. If you're going to ask me a random question, make it something like, "Who was my 2nd grade teacher?" Now that's random!

And these are my random thoughts of the day.

Baltimore Catholic School Closings

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has decided to close 13 of its schools due to falling attendance and rising costs. Like most businesses in the area, they are suffering in this economy that just can't seem to be fixed with increased government spending. And when costs start exceeding revenue, you have to cut costs or increase prices, unless, of course, you are the government. Then you just print more money or borrow more from the Chinese and the Middle East. But the Archdiocese of Baltimore doesn't have the option to borrow money from Asian communists or Islamic dictators.

Most of these schools are suffering because the middle class of Baltimore City have been fleeing the city for years. I should know. My family was one of them. And now there just aren't enough children of middle class families to support the vast network of schools that the Archdiocese built to support the middle class who didn't want to send their children to the miserable and failing public schools of Baltimore City.

I probably wouldn't care too much about this whole issue except for one fact. I attended one of the schools that is being closed. In 1977 my parents enrolled me into St. Anthony's on Frankford Avenue, just south of Bel Air Road. I went there from 1st grade all the way through 8th grade. And like most children, my fondest memories of my childhood are at that school or with my friends from St. Anthony's.

My first memory of the school is when my mother dropped me off at the front steps and told me to go inside to room 105. I walk into the school and have no idea where room 105 is, so I stand there and cry.

When I first started attending the school, there were 3-4 classrooms for each grade with each class having about 30 students. That's huge by today's standards when parents demand no more than 15 students in a class. So assuming 90 students per grade, 8 grades, we probably had over 700 students when I first starting going to school there. And I think it's safe to say was probably more as most of the upper grades had 4 classes per grade. And they all had big flowing Barry Gibbs hair.

However, as I moved up in grade level, the newer classes were smaller. By the time I graduated 8th grade in 1986 most of the younger classes were 2 rooms each. I didn't keep in touch with the school after 8th grade as we moved from Rosedale to Bel Air where I attended Bel Air High School, which, coincidentally, was torn down this year to make way for a new high school. So now 2 of the 3 schools that I attended will be gone. The other school that I attended was McCormick Elementary School in Rosedale, where I went for Kindergarten. This is now a Baltimore County ghetto school.

In the late 90's the school attendance dropped dramatically and it eventually merged with some other schools and was renamed Mother Mary Lange Catholic School. St. Anthony must be all fired up - no offense Mother Mary Lange.

So while I understand that the Archdiocese must close schools in order to continue operating effectively, it saddens me to know that part of my childhood will no longer be there. But on the other hand, I probably wouldn't be caught dead in that area today anyway. So from Principal Duckett to Principal MacIntyre to Principal Moore, St. Anthony's is no more.

Back to States' Rights - Not Really

Hard left-wing liberal Maryland Senators Babs Mikulski and Ben Cardin have submitted a bill to the Senate to remove control of locating liquefied natural gas facilities from the federal government to the state. Currently the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the power to place these facilities where they think they will best serve the country, regardless of what the states and the people want.

The bill that our Senators submitted would effectively repeal a 2005 law that transferred the power to the commission. Both Senators are praising their own efforts to give the power back to the people of the states, despite years of ripping power away from the people.

However, any smart person can figure this one out. Marty O'Malley doesn't want to bring more jobs to Maryland. He wants to keep as many people in Maryland either on the payroll of the government or dependent on hand-outs from the government, thus securing Democratic votes. If we start allowing companies to come here and create jobs, people will start thinking about keeping their money and liberty and all of those other dangerous thoughts.

A couple hundred people protested this LNG gas facility and the route it would take into Pennsylvania. However, you never see people coming out to support new business - just to protest new business. If the facility and pipeline were already built, then people who moved here most likely wouldn't bat an eye at the fact that there's a natural gas line running down the road.

Opponents claim that it will be a target for terrorists. Just like all the other gas pipelines that have been attacked in the United States? So while Babs and Benny are claiming that this bill will give the states the right to decide what we want to do, the real reason is that Marty doesn't want it and if he gets to make the decision, then it isn't going to happen.

And again, Maryland will lose another opportunity to move forward.

O'Malley: Iraq and Hard Place

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley just visited occupied Iraq claiming it was to visit Maryland National Guard troops. While there he held up the Maryland flag for a photo-op, ate some barbecue, put on his fake smile, thanked the soldiers, and left.

I don't have a problem with the spirit of the visit. We all want to thank our troops for putting their lives on the line. Many of us actually do things like coordinate gift packs, books, magazines, etc. for the soldiers. Marty had to do something so that he didn't look like an callous fool come election day.

But you must ask yourself - how much money did it cost the state of Maryland to fly him there and how much did we have to foot for his protection? God help us if Marty got blowed up. (I heard students from Baltimore City saying 'blowed-up', and since B-more City teachers and elected officials say that the students have made great strides, then 'blowed-up' it is!)

However, like Ehrlich, I question the true reasons for the visit. You know he has an ulterior motive for going there. Now he can go to the military voters (overwhelmingly Republican) and say, "I support the troops! I went to Iraq!!! Go America!!!"

We all know Marty is going to run for Gov'nah again and it's probably safe to say (God help us) that he will win again. But he's clearly lining himself up for a run at Senator. If Babsy runs again, it is probably safe to say (God help us) that she'll win again, she'll finish her term and be done, leaving her seat wide-open for him. John Sarbanes - there ain't no way in H-E-double hockey stick you're going to get that U.S. Senate seat if you run against Marty (God help us).

So on top of Ehrlich doing the mandatory criticism of O'Malley taking this trip during an state-wide economic crisis (which may be to redirect the attention of our short-minded voters), Tony Brown immediately responds by saying that Ehrlich's criticism is irresponsible. I was hoping that Ehrlich would respond to Tony's criticism by saying it was partisan, to which Tony could have replied that Erhlich's rebuttal was inappropriate, to which Ehrlich could have responded that Tony's rebuttal was immature. And so on. And so on.

I love the juvenile nature of politics!!!

Unemployment in America

Check out this video of the progression of unemployment by counties in America over a time line. Very interesting.

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

O'Malley's March

A friend of mine asked if I had purchased the latest album by O'Malley's March, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's Celtic rock band. I told him that I got it off of Amazon.com from their Deal of the Day. It only cost me $2.2 billion.

NBC's Gander Airport Special

Did anyone catch this report by Tom Brokaw on the Gander Airport in Newfoundland as it was impacted by 9/11? It was absolutely fascinating and NBC currently does not have it listed for replay on the Internet.

Background
It's a little airport in Newfoundland. On 9/11 the U.S. airspace was closed and planes beyond the midpoint across the ocean from Europe had to land somewhere, so many of them were directed to Gander, which is about the size of Martin's State Airport in Middle River, Maryland. I think they said 68 jumbo jets landed there bringing almost 8000 people to a town that only has about 10,000 people total and 500 hotel beds. The video footage was incredible. They showed townspeople coming to the airport to watch these giant planes land one after another for hours. Here's a picture of what the runway looked like that day. They had to stack them up and no one was allowed to disembark until they went through customs, which took about 32 hours because the airport only have a few people to do the work.

If you happen to find it, please respond. I would love to watch it again.