A Little Stop in Harper's Ferry

I really don't have anything political to write about today, so I'll post some photos and commentary about a family trip to Harper's Ferry that we took in August.  

Harper's Ferry is rich in history and is very beautiful.  AND it's in West Virginia.  Imagine that.  The small town is mostly well-known for John Brown's raid, but there are many other things that we found interesting.

The Appalachian Trail winds through Harper's Ferry.  Check out this sign.  I thought it was pretty cool.  Maine is only 1,165 miles away.  Georgia is actually closer.

This tie was used by Union Troops during the Civil War.  Troops hammered in the tie and tied ropes to it, swam to the other side and used it to ferry boats across the Potomac River while under fire from the Confederates.  The tie was hammered into the stone foundation of the railroad bridge and remains there 150 years later.

Most of Harper's Ferry was destroyed during the Civil War as it changed hands several times and was subject to plundering and reckless hooliganism.  I'll pretend that this is what it looked like in 1861.  Minus the Dodge Caravan in the bottom right hand corner.  And the window air conditioning units.

These are the two railroad bridges that span the Potomac River into Maryland.  Both are still in use, more than 150 years later.  There was a bridge on the Shenandoah River side, but only the stone piers remain.

I found this tid-bit of history interesting.  Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark fame passed through Harper's Ferry to get the boats that were used to explore the west, as commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. Little did they know that their likenesses would be used on the back of the dime.

This series of pictures is really cool.  I guess someone had some extra rocks, some spare time, and a nice sense of creativity.  I wonder which brand of beer was involved.  I actually went into their yard to take these pictures, but I'm sure I'm not the only one to do this.

This is the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.  It's hard to look at this picture and not sing Country Roads by John Denver.  Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.  You're humming it now, aren't you?

If you go to Harper's Ferry, make sure you stop at the Hannah's Train Depot and get some barbecue.  The restaurant is in an old Pullman train car.  It's amazing, the food that is.  And don't forget to get some ice cream at Scoops Ice Cream Cafe and shop at the little boutiques along the side roads.  Support small businesses!!!

Maryland Question 7 - What is the Truth?

If you've watched any television for 30 minutes in the past 2 months or so, you've seen the Question 7 advertisements at least a million times.  What is the truth behind Question 7?  Is one side lying?  Are we being had?  Or is this the biggest revenue generator since the Maryland Lottery?

If you are not familiar with this whole issue, Question 7 is officially called Gaming Expansion Referendum.  On the ballot the question will read as follows:

Do you favor the expansion of commercial gaming in the State of Maryland for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education to authorize video lottery operation licensees to operate “table games” as defined by law; to increase from 15,000 to 16,500 the maximum number of video lottery terminals that may be operated in the State; and to increase from 5 to 6 the maximum number of video lottery operation licenses that may be awarded in the State and allow a video lottery facility to operate in Prince George’s County?

Martin O'Malley has been touting Question 7 as the answer to all of our prayers.  Question 7 will allow for a new casino in Prince George's County.  It will allow for table games in the state.  O'Malley says that the development of the casino will create thousands of construction jobs, provide thousands of permanent jobs, and will provide millions of dollars for education and teachers.  And he may have also said that it will allow Baltimore County to repave that terribly bumpy intersection at Deer Park Road and Lyon's Mill Road.

The truth is that many of the jobs will go to illegal, I mean undocumented workers.  As you know, construction work is not permanent work.  When the project is complete, those employees are terminated if there are no new projects.  As I've said before, the completion of construction projects is one of the leading causes of unemployment.

Second, we all know that most of the jobs at the casino will be low wage jobs.  I've heard the pro-Question 7 crowd say that the average salary of the new jobs will be $50,000.  Politicians and lawyers always lie by about 100%, so the real figure is probably closer to $25,000.  Additionally, the majority of these jobs will not require a college degree.  Do you need a college degree to operate a table came, wipe down a slot machine, serve food to overweight people, or to vacuum the floors?  There will be a modicum of skilled jobs for people with college degrees, such as supervisors (I'm stretching it there), managers, accounting, and other office jobs.  The people you see on the floor will not be skilled workers.

Furthermore, O'Malley loves to tell us how much we invest in our education.  I'm all in favor of investing in education.  But did you know that there is nothing in the new law that says the money HAS to be used for education?  It goes to the general fund and it allows state legislators to use the money as they see fit.  If they want to use it for education - great!  If they want to use it for building a new state office building in Baltimore City, then they can do that instead.  Even the Baltimore Sun agrees with that:

Moreover, nothing in the law says that the state is actually required to spend more on education than it would have otherwise. More money in the education trust fund can mean — and heretofore always has meant — that less general fund money is sent to the schools, freeing it up for other purposes. That's what happened with the lottery, keno and slots, and that's what would happen if Question 7 passes.

Moreover, O'Malley is trying to hypnotize us into believing that ANOTHER casino will help generate more revenue. Anyone who's taken basic economics knows that when there is a finite amount of money, it can only be spent finitely (unless you're the Federal government).  By adding another casino, you are spreading existing dollars from one casino to another.  Or, for that matter, existing dollars from other entertainment venues, such as the Ravens, Orioles, Redskins, theaters, and shopping, are being shifted away to the new casino.  So while the new casino will generate revenue, and predictably a lot less than state officials anticipate, surrounding establishments will suffer from declines in revenue.  We've already seen the impacts of the new Maryland Live Casino in Arundel Mills on the existing casinos Perryville and Dover Downs.

Additionally, studies show that gambling disproportionately impacts people that are poor.  Many gamble with hopes of getting out of poverty or their personal money problems.  Some studies show that poor people who gamble bet more money than higher income people that gamble.  I think it's safe to say that gambling is a regressive tax.  Poor people lose their money while smarter people stay at home, though they may venture to a casino a time or two for pure entertainment purposes.  It is like the FICA tax - poor people pay disproportionately more of their income versus higher income people toward the tax.  Why does Maryland and Martin O'Malley want to tax its poor people more than the middle class or upper class?  Regressive taxes do not help people move forward.

And finally, there are two campaigns funding the advertising on Question 7.  The anti-Question 7 group, pretending to be looking out for Marylander's best interests, are sponsored by the West Virginia gaming industry, whereas the pro-Question 7 group is sponsored by unions and the casino company that would manage the new casino.  Neither advertisement is sponsored by the real people of Maryland.

So, while no one is actually lying, everyone is certainly bending the truth.  I am going to vote against Question 7 because I think there are enough gambling attractions in Maryland and if the state wants to expand gambling, it should do so at the existing facilities.  How do you plan to vote?

Daylight Savings Time!

Tonight is the beginning of daylight savings time. If you live in most parts of the country, set your clock ahead one hour tonight. If you live in West Virginia, set your clock ahead 50 years. If you live in Baltimore, set your clock ahead an hour and 42 minutes.

Chuck Norris doesn't worry about daylight savings time. The sun rises and sets when he tells it to.

Here's the regionally famous Bromo Seltzer tower in Baltimore. Sometimes it shows the correct time. You used to be able to see this clock, along with the rest of the city's skyline, from Camden Yards. This was before Peter Angelos built that heinous hotel that blocked the world-class view.