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Will New Council Rubber Stamp Ireton FY 2014 Budget Folly?

April 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We’re Glad Jim Ireton Isn’t a Math Teacher

The newly elected Salisbury city council is on its way to adopting a budget for FY 2014.  Included is a tax rate hike of nearly 8% coupled with a DROP in water and sewer rates.  One thing that appears to be missing is mayor Jim Ireton’s promised “storm water authority”, now laughingly referred to across the country as the “Rain Tax”.

Newly minted council president Jake Day is backpedaling on his campaign commitment not to support a tax hike.  He now claims that he won’t support a tax hike above constant yield.  We’ll give him that one (on style) since the net affect of the rate increase should be revenue neutral.  We wonder if the people who stayed home at the last election will be as forgiving since a sizable number of them will see their taxes rise?

The section of Ireton’s proposed budget that disturbs us most is a cut in the water and sewer rates.  WHAT?  A self-identified conservative is against a cut in government fees (water and sewer fees are not really a tax)?  Sorry to disappoint, but … YES!

Here’s the problem.  Salisbury is showing a sizable surplus in its Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund.  HOWEVER, Salisbury is having to PAY TWICE for its failed waste water treatment plant (WWTP).  By cutting rates now, the city will have to raise them that much more in the future.  The problem is simple.  Ireton hopes to justify future general fund tax hikes because he’s decreased the water and sewer rates.  Given that Ireton makes Barack Obama look like a Reaganite, he just can’t sit idly by and watch tens of millions sit unspent, even if it is in Salisbury’s best interest.  That money needs to be SPENT!  Sadly for Ireton, he can’t spend water and sewer money for every fly by night leftist scheme that comes down the pike, even if he thinks that Jake Day will rubber stamp Ireton’s every whim. (The jury is still out on Day, we all know that Laura Mitchell and Shanie Shields will rubber stamp all sorts of craziness.)

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Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Wicomico, Opinion / Editorial, Salisbury Tagged With: , , ,

Probably The BEST Argument Ever Offered Against Gun Control

April 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We dare any gun control proponent to attempt to refute this.

Transcript PDF

H/T – David Anderson @ DelawarePolitics.net

Filed Under: Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , ,

Can Romney Make It Over the Top?

September 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

MITT’S ROMNEY’S EGO COULD COST OUR NATION DEARLY

Despite a lack of economic growth and continuing unemployment, President Barack Obama continues to run even with GOP nominee Mitt Romney in the polls.  Can Romney pull ahead and take the White House from the second coming of Jimmy Carter?  We hope so.  Deposing Barack Obama will certainly be better for the nation and our economy.  Will he?

It is almost certain that the race will be decided in a few key states:  Virginia, Ohio, and Florida to name a few.  Polling is expected to be tight.  Why then did the Romney campaign choose to throw away the potential support of libertarian leaning conservatives at the recent Republican National Convention?  By passing rules which are arrogant at best, despotic at worst, movement conservatives, Tea Partiers, and Paulistas are seriously questioning the wisdom of voting Romney / Ryan on November 6th.  Many of these same activists are just as, if not more, furious over the Romney campaign’s decision to strip legally elected Ron Paul delegates of their credentials to prevent Paul’s name from being placed in nomination.

In Delaware we could also see viable candidates like state senate candidate Ernest Lopez fall in a close race because of Romney’s actions (Lopez, like Romney, is viewed as an “establishment Republican”).  In Virginia, former governor and senator George Allen could pay the cost of Romney’s folly.  It is ironic that Dan Bongino could benefit from the active participation of disaffected conservatives in Maryland.  Unfortunately, Maryland is not likely to overthrow Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) any more than it is likely to give its 10 electoral votes to Mitt Romney.

If Romney loses any of these swing states by a few thousand votes, he can blame no one but himself.  Sending Ron Paul supporters to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson or Constitution candidate Virgil Goode could cost Romney and this nation mightily.  Keeping them within the GOP fold would have cost his campaign nothing other than showing them the respect they are do.

Our view is simple – do what is best for the country and vote Mitt Romney.  In four years liberty loving conservatives can reevaluate.  Objectively there is no question – Mitt Romney would make a better president than Barack Obama.  Working hard for candidates, and letting them know that you are supporting them and NOT the GOP, is the best message you can send.  Merely sitting on your hands and hoping for what might have been is not serving your country; it simply helps extreme leftist Democrats to maintain effective control.

Filed Under: Delaware, DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, National, Opinion / Editorial, Virginia Tagged With:

How Will Dems Spin Their Convention?

August 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

CHARLOTTE, NC – As Democrats pray that the Romney-Ryan ticket will not benefit from a post-convention bounce, they have other problems facing them as they head to Charlotte.  As Gary Robertson reports for the AP:

Gay rights activists, for example, plan to protest for same-sex marriage in a state where North Carolina voters easily passed a constitutional amendment banning it. Members of another key Democratic group, organized labor, intend to picket, too, in part because union leaders are unhappy Democrats picked a state long viewed as hostile to them.

Even North Carolina Democrats have found the state to be cooler lately, with Republicans winning control of the state legislature in 2010 and considered favorites to capture the governor’s mansion this year.

And if Democrats were hoping that North Carolina would provide a narrative to support the president’s case that the economy is on the rebound, they must be disappointed.

The state has an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent — one of the highest in the country. The Charlotte metro rate is even higher at 10 percent, making it more difficult to portray the city of 750,000 as on the cusp of recovery after its once-soaring banking industry tumbled.

Will the “lamestream media” actually give Americans “the rest of the story”?  We’ll have to wait … and watch.

READ MORE …

Filed Under: Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With:

News-Post Calls O’Malley Out on Record and RNC Performance

August 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

FREDERICK, MD – Frederick’s News-Post doesn’t think much of Maryland governor Martin O’Malley’s recent performance in Tampa.  Kudos to one of the few print organs in the Once Free State that dares to say, “The Emperor has no clothes.”:

As outrageous as this was, it comes as little surprise in a political era when running the other guy or party down is the name of the game. Never mind trying to get the current national economic mess straightened out by — bite our tongue — actually working together for solutions.

Maryland Sen. E. J. Pipkin (R-36) hit the nail right on the head:

Gov. O’Malley crashing our convention is a waste of time. And he should not be talking about jobs after the dismal performance over the last few months." State House of Delegates Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell got even more personal, saying, "The country deserves to know what a fraud O’Malley is. We have a structural deficit of over $1 billion, we’re losing jobs at a higher rate than anyone else in the country and we have an underfunded pension system. There’s much to do in our state. The Democratic folks are very desperate to hold on to their national power.

Over the last few months O’Malley has proven what many of us already believed – his future political ambitions far outweigh the problems facing Maryland and our nation.  We almost feel guilty about our recent criticism of Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton.  While guilty of the same sins, what should we expect given the behavior of two of Ireton’s heroes – Barack Obama and Martin O’Malley?  We all learn from example.

 

READ MORE …

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Wicomico, National, Opinion / Editorial, Salisbury Tagged With:

We Hope Anthony Brown Does A Better Job of Running Maryland

August 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It looks like Maryland lieutenant governor Anthony Brown will be getting a lot of on the job training in his quest to succeed Gov. Martin O’Malley.  From the Baltimore Sun:

Gov. Martin O’Malley is looking to strike gold this weekend in Boulder Colorado where he will give a keynote address at a Democratic county fundraiser.

O’Malley — who was just in San Francisco to raise money for same-sex marriage, the Dream Act and Democratic governors — will squeeze in the Colorado trip before making an appearance in Tampa. He’ll be there as a Democratic surrogate to provide on-site rapid response at the Republican National Convention.

The itinerary keeps moving from there … as the governor is also set to give a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

Expect more, not less, of the same for the next two years.  O’Malley has squeezed most of what he can from the citizens of Maryland.  It’s time to squeeze a larger constituency.  For that, O’Malley needs to raise money from every lefty group he can lay his hands on.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Maryland, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With:

How Could You Possibly Question Climate Change?

August 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

That seems to be the question being asked with dismay by our friends at the Chestertown Spy.  Why are only 20% of Americans between the ages of 32 and 52 concerned about climate change?  Perhaps it’s because people over the age of 30 have acquired enough wisdom to understand that global climate has historically run in cycles and that every time we have a hot summer or a cold winter it isn’t because of a right-wing capitalist plot to destroy our environment?  Perhaps it’s because climate change advocates keep getting caught promoting “science” that defies common sense or that those same “scientists” seem more concerned with promoting an agenda than finding the truth?

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Kent, National, News Analysis Tagged With: , ,

Should Taxpayers Pay to Send Police on Baltimore Mayor’s Vacation?

August 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

BALTIMORE, MD – The Baltimore Sun reports that taxpayers are picking up the tab to send police protection with Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on her recent vacation to San Diego?  Should they?  If Rawlings-Blake wants to government to cover the costs of her entourage on vacation, perhaps she should pick a spot closer to home.

The most amusing part of the her justification:

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi acknowledged the mayor could decline to use executive protection, but said the police department’s intelligence section determines how much security is needed for public officials.

"We have a very high-profile mayor," he said. "Baltimore has issues of violence. We all saw what happened with Congresswoman [Gabrielle] Giffords."

Please.  Horrible things will always occur.  Does this mean that the taxpayer should pony up for every possibility, no matter how remote?  We certainly do not wish the Mayor any harm.  We also do not believe that holding elective office equates to entitlement.  Unfortunately, the age of Obama is fast proving us wrong.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Maryland, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: ,

DON’T FORGET–Eat at Chick-Fil-A

August 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Today is an opportunity.  With one simple act – patronizing your local Chick-Fil-A – you can stand up for free speech, the traditional American family, and your own individual liberty.  The same people that want to curtail your liberty are, by and large, the same individuals and groups who wish to dismantle the traditional family.

They wish to punish Christian and family-owned businesses like Chick-Fil-A.  By voting with your dollars today, you are saying no to the leftist bullies.

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , ,

Del. Mike McDermott Stands Up for Second Amendment

July 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

POCOMOKE, MD – Not every elected official in the Once Free State is opposed to allowing law abiding citizens to exercise their right to keep and bear arms.  While Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler is spending our tax dollars attempting to overturn US District Judge Benson Legg’s ruling that Maryland’s “good and substantial cause” in issuing carry permits is unconstitutional, Delegate Mike McDermott (R-38B) acknowledges that this right should carry the same weight as other enumerated rights such as freedom of the press:

The court has clearly stated our people do not need a "good and substantial" reason to exercise their God-given and constitutionally recognized right to protect themselves and their loved ones with a firearm at all times. The burden does not rest on the individual to prove they have a need and this ruling will require the Maryland State Police to come up with new standards when it comes to the issuance of carry permits. States that have trusted their citizens with the right to carry firearms have benefitted from lower murder rates and fewer violent crimes. States that have stood in the way of their people continue to struggle.

Kudos to McDermott and the minority of Maryland legislators who recognize that exercising our God-given liberty, not the extremes of the nanny state, is the best solution to protect our persons, our property, and our economy.  It is our hope that eligible citizens take up McDermott’s rallying cry and apply for carry permits.  Only criminals, and the statists in control of Annapolis, have anything to fear.

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: ,

Can You Imagine This in Salisbury?

July 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

SALISBURY, MD – We are constantly told that Salisbury city government is unique because of its ineptitude.  Really?

Let’s go a few hours south to the city of Chesapeake, VA.  In this sprawling city almost ten times larger than Salisbury, the Virginian-Pilot has been examining the cost overruns at a newly constructed jail.  City Council was never notified until AFTER the money had been expended.

The reasoning being this abuse of the taxpayer?  The city manager and his staff didn’t have a “mechanism” to adequately inform council.  Ever heard of email?

No, the problem doesn’t lie with Salisbury.  The problem lies with a seemingly lazy press in the Once Free State.  I may not like the editorial policies of papers like the Virginian-Pilot, the Daily Press, or the Richmond Times-Dispatch, but they report the news.  In Salisbury the press stayed silent while their pals in city government handed out millions in developer reimbursements and approved every cost overrun on the WWTP.  Yet, Mayor Barrie Tilghman and council members like Mike Dunn, Gary Comegys, and Lynn Cathcart were held up by the press as paragons of virtue.

Who are the bad guys?  People like Joe Albero for reporting this information; and elected officials like Debbie Campbell because they dared to ask questions.

Shame on them.  I guess the people of Salisbury would prefer a system like Chesapeake’s.

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Wicomico, Opinion / Editorial, Salisbury, Virginia Tagged With: ,

DelMarVa Municipalities Need to Act on Pension Reform

July 12, 2012 by 2 Comments

While Scranton, PA has been forced to reduce city worker salaries to minimum wage and San Bernadino, CA is the latest city to file for bankruptcy, cities and counties on the Delmarva peninsula continue to behave as if economic reality will never cross the Chesapeake Bay or jump the C&D canal.  As the population ages and more Delmarva taxpayers rely on fixed incomes, no municipality seems willing to acknowledge that future pension and medical costs simply cannot be funded forever.  Nowhere is this more obvious than in Wicomico County.

In 2011 the Wicomico County Council passed County Executive Rick Pollitt’s “early retirement” plan.  Under this boondoggle certain county employees have received larger pensions than they would have otherwise received.  In addition, others (such as the county’s former Public Information Officer) will receive lifetime medical benefits after only 5 years of service.  When this plan was adopted the council promised that they would look into reforming the county’s pension system.  While councilman Bob Culver has asked multiple times that the council fulfill their commitment to the voters, a majority has refused.

This year, the Wicomico Council used the Jim Mathias / Norm Conway / Rudy Cane mandated property tax hike to dole out raises to all county employees.  These raises increase the county’s future pension liabilities.  Maryland county governments are now on the hook for teacher pensions as well.

Pension and retiree medical benefits are the stealth costs which are bankrupting municipalities and crippling local economies across the country.  Our local governments don’t wish to address these issues because it’s too easy to ignore the problem and leave it for future generations (and future councils / commissioners) to address.  When local governments acknowledge that a problem exists, it can only be fixed by HUGE tax hikes, HEAVY benefit cuts, and often BANKRUPTCY.

These problems are easy to fix NOW.  Our local governments should do the responsible thing and ACT NOW.  Obviously, the states of Delaware, Maryland, and (and to a less extent) Virginia should act to reform their pension systems as well.  Unfortunately, we have no hope that these governments will act responsibly in the near future.

Filed Under: Delaware, DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Wicomico, Opinion / Editorial, Virginia Tagged With: , ,

O’Malley – Prince of the Sound Bite

July 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Maryland governor Martin O’Malley can’t run a state.  He never saw a tax hike that he didn’t love.  If it wasn’t for the largesse of China (for their willingness to buy US sovereign debt) and the federal taxpayer, O’Malley would be governing one of the poorer states in the Union rather than one of the wealthiest.  Martin O’Malley would be a pauper, rather than a prince.  Martin O’Malley does have one trait that has served him well … he is a prince of the sound bite.

Appearing on ABC’s This Week, O’Malley (following the Obama party line) accused presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney of “betting against America”:

“I’ve never known a Swiss bank account to build an American bridge, a Swiss bank account to create American jobs or Swiss bank accounts to build the levies to protect the people of New Orleans,” O’Malley said on ABC News’s “This Week.”

Granted, Romney should be shot for having the poor political acumen to have a Swiss bank account.  At least Romney doesn’t lack the requisite economic and financial skills to lead a country out of the Great Recession.

Even O’Malley should know that we live in a global financial market.  Swiss bank accounts do, in fact, create jobs.  They even build bridges.  As for the levies in New Orleans, money was available to build adequate levies but O’Malley’s corrupt Democrat pals used those funds to finance projects like marinas and sundry other projects where a better rake-off could be had.

photo courtesy of the Associated Press via the Washington Post

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Maryland, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , , ,

Protect the Vote

July 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell have released a video attacking the US Department of Justice and its politicizing of the voting process.

Thanks to Flint Engleman of Bearing Drift

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: ,

Letter to the Editor – June 27, 2012

June 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Deputy Torres’ Hearing

You had to be at the Hearing to hear the testimony of witnesses and evidence to know that the decision by the Sussex County Board of Personnel had observers shaking their heads at the total disregard of the testimony and evidence presented on behalf of Deputy Torres. The observers in the room were in palpable disbelief upon hearing the board’s verdict.

This board relied on gps readings from cars that frequently lose battery power, recorded 7 mph when the car was parked, didn’t consider that different deputies drove the same vehicles and they had an entirely incorrect home address for Mr. Torres. They bickered over his stopping by his wife’s office since she would buy his sandwiches for him and perhaps eat lunch together. The had her work address incorrect as well.  Hardly viable evidence.

Deputy Torres gave a full and complete accounting of his time on the records. Sheriff Christopher’s words described Deputy Torres as you would a consummate professional.

He served the largest area in the county. Rather than consider all of the testimony and evidence provided in the hearing, this Kangaroo Court instead determined to destroy Torres’ character, reputation and any ability to find future work. They are saddling the county with the cost of two lawsuits because of their actions. The County Council has refused to rehire either Mr. Torres and another deputy that left to take a police chief’s job. The Sheriff’s staff is cut down, he has one computer in a small office and cars that repeatedly break down. The county is grinding out the sheriff’s department. The quality of service provided to the courts will suffer with these cuts in staff.

Those 5,000 voters that elected the Sheriff need to once again give him their support.

R. Carol

Filed Under: DE - Sussex, DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: ,

Ollinger Has Solution to Save Taxpayers $11 Million

June 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

SALISBURY, MD – 2010 Wicomico County Executive candidate Joe Ollinger has proposed saving Wicomico, and Maryland, taxpayers approximately $11 million in the construction of a new James M. Bennett Middle School.  In a letter to the editor in today’s Daily Times, Ollinger argues that the county council should demand that the state allow the school to be built under a “competitive wage” rule rather than the normal “prevailing union wage” rule.

Will the state allow this?  Of course not!  However, Ollinger’s suggestion is feasible and the county council should demand that the state support it AND that incumbent County Executive Rick Pollitt endorse it.  Taxpayers have a right to know that that their tax dollars are being used to line the pockets of BIG LABOR.

Here is the text of Ollinger’s letter:

If the state of Virginia built a similarly designed school as Wicomico County’s proposed new Bennett Middle School, it would cost $11 million less than what we will pay in Maryland. Why? Virginia pays a "competitive wage" rate for such projects, while our state government mandates a much higher rate, called "union prevailing wage."

Therefore, we Wicomico County taxpayers have the privilege of forking over $73 million for the new BMS rather than $62 million.

The Wicomico County Council, for the benefit of its citizens, should courageously lead an effort to waive this "union prevailing wage" rate requirement for the BMS project. In pursuit of this waiver, it should rally support from our county executive and our Eastern Shore state delegation.

Governors, such as Chris Christie of New Jersey and Scott Walker of Wisconsin, have caught the attention of the entire nation with their successful battles with unions in lowering their states’ costs. Maybe our County Council, by fighting for this waiver, might ignite a statewide movement to stand against the unreasonable costly demands of unions.

Even if our council fails in this effort, it will expose to voters those elected state representatives who are more interested in wastefully pandering to unions rather than lowering the cost of government for their constituents.

Joe Ollinger
Salisbury

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Wicomico, News Tagged With: , , ,

Moving to Virginia?

June 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Larry Hogan, chairman of Change Maryland and possible 2014 gubernatorial candidate, has an interesting article over at Reason.com.  Hogan outlines the steady exodus of Maryland-based businesses from the Once Free State to points north, south, and west – particularly to Virginia.  Thanks to the policies of O’Malley administration, along with increases in the state’s income tax rates, this exodus includes small businesses as well as large.

READ MORE …

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Maryland, Opinion / Editorial, Virginia Tagged With: , , , ,

Test of Fire

May 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Obama administration wants to force Christian institutions, such as the Roman Catholic Church, to violate core doctrine.  For Christians, this is a violation of religious liberty.  For the left, opposition to these federal regulations constitutes a “war on women”.  Fortunately, the Catholic Church is fighting back:

As Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archibishop of Washington, explains, this is an issue of religious liberty.  While the Obama administration claims that an accommodation has been made to handle this issue, Cardinal Wuerl notes that many institutions are self-insured.


Besides this simple fact, it is laughable that forcing insurance companies to “provide contraception coverage for free” somehow keeps a Catholic institution from violating its doctrine.  Where does the money to provide this coverage come from?  If it’s a commercial insurer, the money comes from those that pay premiums.  If the institution is self-insured …

This is but one more problem with electing a president that has NO understanding of the free market … and who prays to the secular god statism.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , ,

How Do You Spell Irony? … P-E-L-O-S-I

May 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON, DC – As a child, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi prayed for religious liberty … in Hungary.  As a member of Congress Pelosi supports stripping Roman Catholics and other pro-life Christians of their religious liberty.

READ MORE …

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Voter Fraud Isn’t a Problem?

May 14, 2012 by 2 Comments

As more states across the nation pass voter ID requirements and other measures to help prevent voter fraud we are told by the mainstream media that there is no reason for such legislation since “there is no evidence that voter fraud is a problem”.

Really?  It’s interesting that the same media never seems to object when liberals pass laws regarding issues where no real problem exists.  However, attempting to enact something as common sense as voter ID is wrong?

Now, we learn that 180,000 persons may be illegally registered to vote in Florida.  180,000!  Of that number, many persons have been uncovered who did vote.

In the 2000 Presidential election, Florida was decided by less than 500 votes.

While the Democrat Party and their allies in the media, including Salisbury’s own Daily Times, decry that voter fraud doesn’t exist.  Well … it appears that it does.  Stopping people who don’t have the right to vote is just as important as making sure that lawful citizens are afforded that right.

H/T – Red State

Filed Under: Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With:

NFL Veteran Earns Degree

May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

LAS VEGAS, NV – Veteran NFL linebacker Andra Davis received his college degree from UNLV this past weekend.  The 33 year old free agent never graduated from the University of Florida after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2002.

Earlier this month we highlighted NBA great Shaquille O’Neal receiving his doctorate.  While current and former professional athletes returning to college and completing their education is still rare enough to be considered newsworthy, it is also something that we are seeing more of than in years past.

We commend people like Davis, NBA star Vince Carter, and Dr. O’Neal for setting a true example for America’s youth.

READ MORE …

Filed Under: Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: ,

What is Our Endurance?

May 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Thanks to Richard Ambrose for the graphic.

Filed Under: National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With:

Princess Anne Residents Want Cake

May 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

PRINCESS ANNE, MD – If the Princess Anne Town Commissioners adopt a new real property tax rate of $1.12 two things will have happened:

  1. Princess Anne will have the highest municipal tax rate in the state of Maryland. (as reported by Liz Holland in the Daily Times)
  2. The property tax bill of the average citizen will not rise 1 cent.

This is the problem facing county and municipal governments across the state.  Citizens want to have their cake and eat it too.

As someone who has attended countless budget work sessions and public hearings over the years, two issues always comes to the surface – citizens want their tax rates to fall as assessments rise, but don’t want their rates to rise if assessments fall; and very few citizens offer suggestions for specific cuts to permit towns and counties to operate on less.

All governments, large or small, waste money.  However, without specific suggestions to cut those costs, it’s simply not possible to provide the same level of services for less money.  Calls to “cut the waste” are meaningless.  If taxpayers want to oppose higher tax rates, they need to give specific examples of that waste … or pay a tax rate that provides their local government with at least the same amount of money as it received last year.

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Somerset, Opinion / Editorial, Princess Anne Tagged With: ,

Can You Be Liable for SENDING a Text?

May 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

MORRISTOWN, NJ – In one of the more bizarre examples of our legal system gone wrong, a New Jersey judge will decide this week whether or not a woman can be held liable for an accident caused by a man she sent a text message to.  The premise behind the lawsuit is that the woman should have known that the recipient was driving at the time she sent him a text message.  The driver injured two persons in an accident which occurred while he was reading the text message.

Texting while driving is dangerous.  I think everyone would agree with that.  Does that mean that you should have to read people’s minds to determine whether or not they are driving, or reckless enough to read a text message while driving?  That appears to be the position taken by a New Jersey ambulance chaser.

Hopefully the judge will see this suit for what it is – a brazen attempt to sue someone only tangentially related to the harm inflicted on his clients.  If not, there will be one more reason not to do business in New Jersey, or any other state where trial lawyers rather than common sense control a state’s legislature and / or judiciary.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With:

Obama Lies … You Are Deceived, Manipulated and Disrespected

May 1, 2012 by 1 Comment

In 2010, in order to get his healthcare bill passed, President Obama lied about and demonized doctors because the great majority of them opposed his healthcare bill.

Please review the document in this link.  This document is the actual web site posting by Trailblazer, a private company, which performs administrative functions for Medicare. This document simply shows the actual amount of the payment Medicare made to surgeons who performed foot or lower leg amputations back in 2010. The payment Medicare made to each surgeon for a foot or lower leg amputation was approximately $1000.

Now click the link below to watch our president give one of his crafty healthcare speeches in 2010:

Obama Lies About What Doctors Are Paid

Obama made the assertion that a surgeon was paid 30, 40 or 50 thousand dollars for amputation of a foot (lower leg)! However, you now know that the true figure is approximately $1,000. Clearly, Obama lied. The total cost of a lower leg amputation might be as high as 30 thousand dollars, but the great majority of the 30K or 40K or 50K goes to the hospital, not the surgeon.

[Read more...]

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Tom Carper – Is Senility Setting In?

April 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON – Is Delaware’s senior senator ready for the home?  Watch this video and you decide.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) Babbling About Using Postal Service Trucks As Battery Farms

For those of you who actually think that Carper’s idea is a good one, think about this for a moment … Under Carper’s ridiculous babbling (we won’t even call it an idea) the US Postal Service’s fleet would either:

  1. Sit idle to let loose that electricity when it’s needed for the grid.  (That’s a pretty expensive battery farm) OR …
  2. The trucks could use the electricity stored in the batteries to deliver mail.  That’s hunky dory until the batteries run out and have to be charged with power from coal or nuclear powered generating plants.  That’s green alright.
Filed Under: Delaware, DelMarVa, Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , ,

If I Wanted America to Fail …

April 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
If I Wanted America to Fail … from FreeMarketAmerica.org

… I would do exactly what the Left has been doing in America for the last 40 years.

If you don’t believe in FREE MARKETS, don’t bother watching this video.  Just remember, it is only in societies with FREE MARKETS and the RULE OF LAW that the poor are able to rise to the middle and upper economic classes.

from Free Market America

Filed Under: Featured Posts, National, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , ,

Will the Last Taxpayer Leaving MD …

April 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In last week’s Star Democrat there appeared the following letter to the editor from a Mr. John Hyatt of Easton:

Recently there have been several newspaper articles about the (Democrat) governor and the (Democrat-controlled) legislature shifting fiscal responsibilities on to local jurisdictions and dictating local spending levels for numerous programs.

What the Maryland citizenry needs to understand is that liberals (Democrats) think they are much smarter and more intelligent than the rest of us. In their minds, they have to impose themselves upon us because our ability (conservatives) to make decisions is so poor. I am not sure what Maryland is going to do when all the taxpaying residents move out of here as fast as they can. Goodbye Maryland, my Maryland.

As Marylanders in general, and Eastern Shore residents in particular, are being pummeled by Gov. Martin O’Malley and his Democrat pals in the legislature, Mr. Hyatt’s comments are quite prescient.  It appears that neither the governor nor the legislature learned nothing from their last attempt at a “millionaire’s tax”.  A new version will almost surely pass this session.

Sadly, Maryland isn’t the only part of Delmarva that can’t understand some basic economic truths.  Over at the Blue Hen Conservative, Jason O’Neill expresses similar opinions regarding the tax and fiscal policies in the First State.

When will our politicians learn?  They won’t.  Instead of cutting spending, expect some attempt down the road to limit the economic mobility of our highest earners.  As more and more taxpayers choose to re-locate to lower tax states, that is the only option open to politicians who know nothing other than taxing, spending, and re-distributing the wealth of others.  The mere concept of competing is anathema to those who believe that the anvil of the state is supreme.

Filed Under: Delaware, DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , ,

Congratulations to Yesterday’s Winners

April 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We’ve been told that turnout was low. … What do you expect in a one party state with an incumbent Democrat President running for re-election?

We’ve been told that the GOP candidates don’t excite the masses.  What do you expect from a media that hypes every minor gaff from a GOP candidate or office holder but gives Barack “57 states” Obama a free pass on everything?

Despite the media hype that yesterday’s Maryland primary was much ado about nothing (compared to Wisconsin), Republicans ran hard to secure a place on the ballot in November’s election or represent their respective Congressional districts at the Republican National Convention.

Congratulations to our First District winners:

Dan Bongino – U.S. Senate

Rep. Andy Harris – U.S. House

Delegates to the Republican National Convention
Del. Addie Eckardt
Sen. Joe Getty
Audrey Scott

Alternate Delegates to the Republican National Convention
Bonnie Luna
Andi Morony
Michael Pappas

What about the Democrats?  Well, there really wasn’t much competition (their delegate slate was unopposed) except for the U.S. House primary.  In that race we have to wait for absentees to see who will challenge Andy Harris.  Only 124 votes separates Harris’ neighbor, Wendy Rosen, from Dr. John LaFerla.  Besides, while we try to be objective in our news reporting, there really isn’t much of secret as to where our sympathies lie.

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With:

What’s at Stake in ObamaCare Case

March 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Karen Harned of the  National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center believes that we stand to lose five (5) important freedoms if the US Supreme Court upholds ObamaCare:

  • The American ideal of freedom
  • The freedom to purchase whatever product you want with your own money
  • The right to own and operate your own small business
  • The power to decide what is medically best for our families and businesses
  • The economic future of this country

READ MORE …

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DMVO’s Crystal Ball – 2012

January 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

2012 will prove to be an interesting year.  Willing to open ourselves to ridicule, here are our predictions for 2012.  In December, we’ll review our predictions and see what our batting average was.

Feel free to submit your own predictions … or comment on ours.

DELAWARE -

  • With little accomplishment and an ability to straddle the fence that is nearly unrivaled, even among his fellow politicians, Gov. Jack Markell will skate to a second term.
  • New Castle County Council President Tom Kovach will give freshman Rep. John Carney (D-DE) a run for his money.  However, in the end Carney will win re-election.
  • After the New Year’s implementation of Delaware’s same-sex civil union law, a hard, and successful, push to enact a same-sex MARRIAGE law will be undertaken in the Delaware legislature.
  • The antics of professional candidate Christine O’Donnell and a few of her acolytes, along with an obstinate Delaware GOP establishment, will continue to insure that the First State remains a ONE PARTY state at all but the local level.

 

MARYLAND -

  • Gov. Martin O’Malley will experience his greatest legislative defeat when his proposal for same-sex marriage goes down in flames.  The conventional wisdom is that it will be close.  We predict that loud opposition from African-American churches in the Baltimore – DC corridor, coupled with solid opposition from the eastern and western ends of the state will prevent the proposal from even getting a final floor vote in one or both houses.
  • Marylanders will suffer a hike in the gas tax.
  • Despite protestations from a majority of legislators, O’Malley’s PlanMD will be allowed to be implemented.
  • The November elections will solidify Maryland’s status as a Democrat party fiefdom.  The only congress member from the once-Free State will be the First District’s Andy Harris.

 

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Delaware, DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, National, Opinion / Editorial, Virginia Tagged With:

Fourth Greatest President?

December 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Fifteen Trillion in Debt!

Real Unemployment in the Teens!

Our Fourth Greatest President?

Barack Obama … Our FOURTH GREATEST President?
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Too Many Police in Ocean City?

December 24, 2011 by 1 Comment

It seems that the taxpayers of Ocean City are paying for a little too much police protection.  Judging from Brian Shane’s article in this morning’s Daily Times, OCPD chief Bernadette DiPino has way too much money to spend and too many officers on the payroll.

How can we say that?

It’s simple.  If DiPino has enough personnel at her disposal to call veterinarians in THREE STATES to track down a bill, when NO CRIME has been committed, it’s pretty obvious that the Ocean City Police don’t have enough to do.

It’s possible that police officers were taken off of real duty, investigating real crimes.  If that is the case, DiPino should be dismissed immediately.  If there are enough officers on the town’s payroll to go on DiPino’s snipe hunt, without sacrificing public safety for the citizens of Ocean City, her budget needs to be trimmed.

We should note that we are not claiming that former OCPD officer Earl Campbell’s claims are all true.  Our knowledge of the situation is based solely on what has been published in the Daily Times and SbyNEWS.

While Mr. Campbell does not appear to be under any legal obligation to produce copies of the bills for his dog’s surgery, he does have a moral obligation to do so.  Campbell stirred up this hornets’ nest.  If he cannot produce proof that he paid for the dog’s surgery, his credibility is shot and the public should be made aware of that.  However, IF Campbell does produce proof to the Ocean City town council, they should severely discipline Chief DiPino.  Proof from Campbell is also proof that DiPino misused taxpayer dollars by investigating something that is not within her jurisdiction.  It is also evidence that DiPino is attempting to persecute and discredit Campbell to draw attention away from other charges that have been leveled during the course of this brouhaha.

For his sake, and the sake of the public, we encourage Mr. Campbell to produce proof.  I’m sure that Chief DiPino hopes he does not.

Filed Under: DelMarVa, Featured Posts, Maryland, MD - Worcester, Ocean City, Opinion / Editorial Tagged With: , ,

Have a Meaningful Thanksgiving

November 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I know that this is sacrilege to some, but …

It’s not about turkey.  It’s not about football.  It’s not even about spending time with family and friends.

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men; [*particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them.] We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen
- Book of Common Prayer, 1662.

We hope that you enjoy your dinner.  We hope that your football team wins.  We hope that you enjoy and appreciate the time spent with family and friends.  But most of all we hope that you remember WHY we celebrate this day and give thanks to our Lord for all that He has provided.

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