The Daily Times - Liberal Media Pushes Liberal Agenda

How many editions have you read The Daily Times publish information where they have touted the following agenda:

Public in need of more public facilities - (i.e. - Tri County Council Bldg)

Not enough public tax money to fund education

Increased taxes needed to make-up revenue shortfall

Budget deficiencies hamper education

It's as if one can almost predict precisely what will be reported before the next days DT edition. What ever happened to the traditional American values - (sweat, motivation, work + sacrifice = reward) - concepts. Seldom does the DT mention about the disparity in incomes from Maryland's counties located across the bay in comparison to the eastern shore counties. How about lack of adequate representation - after all we only have 9 elected Maryland eastern shore Delegates as opposed to 179 from across the Bay.

Where was the liberal press in reporting the disparities in representation. Maryland's eastern shore county revenues and incomes will continue to be dwarfed until such time as the collective action of Queen Anne, Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester have decided they have had enough - and secede. Maybe - then we can unshackle the 'ball and chain' that has historically restrained our economies.

County Councils & Elected Officials - I hope you are listening in!

Putting the budget impass in perspective

Click on image to enlarge.

Tea Party Movement Split On Budget Deal

National Tea Party movement leaders are divided when it comes to whether or not they support the 11th hour budget deal House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama cut late Friday night.

Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler came out in strong opposition to the deal.

“In the seven days preceding [this] deal, our nation’s debt increased by $54.1 billion. And now our ‘leaders’ are touting as ‘historic’ the $38.5 billion in spending cuts for the rest of fiscal year 2011,” Meckler said in a statement. “Leadership requires bold, visionary action in times of crisis. Are we getting bold, visionary leadership in Washington, DC?  We think the numbers speak for themselves.”

FreedomWorks president and CEO Matt Kibbe, on the other hand, told The Daily Caller he thinks the deal is a “victory in the sense that we are moving this massive stubborn Washington establishment in our direction.”

“I do think it is a profound shift in conversation in Washington, D.C., that has been forced by the Tea Party in that everybody is now stating how much to cut,” Kibbe said. “President Obama started off wanting to increase spending in FY 2011. Harry Reid sat on his hands saying, ‘I’m not going to cut any spending.’ We brought them in our direction. We’ve got a lot more work to do, but at least they’ve acknowledged we’ve got to cut.”

Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, told TheDC he’ll vote ‘no’ on the deal next week, but won’t cut into leadership’s efforts by trying to make a strategic block of the bill.

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Jail To House Transgender Men With Women Inmates

In a move the Illinois Family Institute suggests is more worthy of a skit on the television show "Saturday Night Live," Cook County Jail in Chicago has instituted a new policy that assigns men and women to cells based on their perceived gender.

The concept that a man believes he is a woman or a woman believes she is a man was in the news just days ago when lawmakers in Maryland considered a bill that would ban statewide "discrimination" based on the gender people feel.

Responding to Cook County's new policy, the Illinois Family Institute said "sexual anarchists" are seeking "to manipulate language in an attempt to convince the public that cross-dressing and elective amputations of healthy body parts are not signs of disordered thinking."

"These rhetorical stratagems must be opposed at every turn, whether they occur in anti-discrimination and anti-bullying laws and policies, comprehensive sex ed, or fatuous, costly jail policies," IFI commented.

Jail spokesman Steve Patterson told WND that the policy was put into use the week it was implemented.

"There was indeed a transgender detainee who came into our custody," he said.

Patterson said the person "had a lengthy arrest record and was unable to post bond while awaiting trial on her most recent charge."

"She had been through some surgical procedures already and self-identified as a woman," he said. "Because of the physical changes and self identity, she has been housed in our female rehabilitative unit, where she has access to existing programs and mental health services," Patterson wrote. "She is housed alone and showers alone, but otherwise interacts with the women in her unit."

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Preparing For Memorial Day

Rep. Allen West-- A Firm ' No' On Budget Deal

Rep. Allen West is against the bipartisan budget deal between Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the Obama administration.

West (R-Fla.) told The Hill that $39 billion in cuts is insufficient.

Asked whether he was pleased with the agreement on policy riders, West responded, "It's all about the money."

The Hill

NPR Survives 11th Hour Spending Deal

Despite several ugly recent episodes and considerable movement by conservative activists to defund it, federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio survived an 11th hour deal on a spending bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.

The continuation of funding for public broadcasting is one of several significant victories for Democrats regarding the policy riders in the bill still emerging 12 hours after Democratic and Republican leaders struck a deal to avert government shutdown.

Another Democratic victory-- of dozens of riders included in a House-passed spending bill curtailing strict new environmental regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency, zero were included in the final deal.

Several other controversial policy riders, including one to defund Planned Parenthood, America’s leading abortion provider, were used by Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner to secure steeper spending cuts in negotiations.

“The Speaker fought for the largest spending cut possible, and he fought for every policy restriction included in H.R. 1,” said Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith.

But NPR surviving stands out given the considerable momentum held by its critics following two recent episodes that brought its alleged liberal bias to national attention.

Congressional sources said Democrats rallied behind federal funds for public broadcasting. A Democratic Hill aide said scores of voters from the district his boss represents called to advocate maintaining public funding.

One conservative activist closely following the debate said Democrats relied heavily on NPR to deliver political messages in their districts. In that sense, they were loathe to abandon a key communications platform.

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Shutdown Battle Only The Start

The battle over the U.S. budget has ended. Now the war begins.

The debate over this year's budget that took the U.S. government to within an hour of a shutdown is only a dress rehearsal for bigger spending clashes to come.

Within weeks, the government will bump up against the limits of its borrowing authority and will require congressional action to avoid a debt default that would roil financial markets.

At the same time, Republicans in the House are targeting bigger game in their budget plan for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

Their proposal would slash taxes and overhaul Medicaid and Medicare, government-run health programs for the poor and elderly. It is likely to be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate, setting up another showdown between the two chambers.

That fight could last well into the 2012 campaign season, when President Barack Obama, one-third of the U.S. Senate and the entire House will face voters.

The budget deal agreed on Friday, if it passes Congress next week, would amount to the largest domestic spending cut in U.S. history.

That's a victory for Republicans who won control of the House in November on a promise to scale back the government and take a bite out of recession-bloated budget deficits that have hovered around 10 percent of GDP in recent years.

But the size of that cut, $37.8 billion, is less than the amount the federal government spends in four days.

Even as the government stood on the brink of a shutdown markets largely shrugged, because the Treasury Department still would have been able to issue and service debt.

Investors will be watching the next fight more closely.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner estimates the government could hit its current debt limit of $14.3 trillion by mid-May and has warned failure to raise it would be "catastrophic." Treasury could employ a variety of tricks to avoid defaulting for several weeks, but eventually it would run out of options.

An increase of at least $1 trillion is needed to keep the government running through the end of fiscal year on Sept. 30, according to a Reuters analysis. To last until the November 2012 election, the increase would need to be well over $2 trillion.

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Big Winners Of Budget Battle? Conservatives

Republican conservatives were the chief winners in the budget deal that forced Democrats to accept historic spending cuts they strongly opposed.

Emboldened by last fall's election victories, fiscal conservatives have changed the debate in Washington. The question no longer is whether to cut spending, but how deeply. Rarely mentioned is the idea of higher taxes to lower the deficit.

Their success is all the more notable because Democrats control the Senate and White House.

But more difficult decisions lie ahead, and it's not clear whether GOP lawmakers can rely on their winning formula. They pushed Democrats to the brink, then gave in just enough to claim impressive achievements, rather than holding the line and triggering a government shutdown that might have yielded far less politically.

The GOP victories came on spending. Their concessions dealt mainly with social issues, where they tried to limit abortions and restrict environmental rules.

House Republicans who care intensely about such social issues may fight harder next time, giving Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, fewer bargaining chips to appease Democrats. Tea party Republicans, some of whom found the cuts too small in Friday's last-minute agreement, might insist on deeper ones from now on.

Two fast-approaching debates could make this past week's showdown look like a preliminary skirmish.

Congress soon must vote to increase the government's borrowing limit to avoid the first-ever default on U.S. loan payments. With the 2011 budget battle still fresh, lawmakers are now focusing on the spending debate for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The House Budget Committee has approved, on a partisan vote, a bill that would cut spending by $5.8 trillion over 10 years and make major cost-saving changes to the Medicare and Medicaid health programs.

These are the big-picture, big-money issues that tea partyers have awaited eagerly. Many have pledged to vote against a higher debt ceiling without major give-backs from Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama. The 2012 spending blueprint written by the House Budget Committee chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is on a collision course with Democrats determined to allow only modest changes, if any, to Medicare, Medicaid and other programs.

"It will be much more difficult, with much higher stakes, with the debt ceiling and the 2012 budget," said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution, who co-wrote a book on Congress, "The Broken Branch."

Newsmax

Would You Like To Live Like This?

Thousands of residents of southern Israel spent the Sabbath in bomb shelters, as Hamas terrorists from Gaza continued firing rockets at Israeli targets in the Negev.

Since Thursday, Arab terrorists have fired over 100 mortar shells and Kassam rockets at Israeli targets, with fifty fired since early Saturday.

The rockets hit not only areas near the border, but areas further inside Israel, including the Ashkelon area.

Four Grad-style Katyusha rockets hit areas near the city, but there were no injuries or damage reported. However, several people were hospitalized for shock, and as of Saturday night, three were still in the hospital.

Damage was reported in several towns, and major damage was reported in a kibbutz in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, where a water pipe was destroyed. Residents said that they felt that the days of Operation Cast Lead, when Hamas fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians, had returned.

Other cities further inside Israel were also hit, with Ofakim absorbing hits from three Grad rockets. One rocket hit very close to a school, and city officials said that there would have been many injuries had the rocket hit when classes were in session.

The Iron Dome system registered a number of successes, intercepting several rockets aimed for Be'ersheva, Ofakim and Be'ersheva. The system has intercepted eight rockets since Thursday.

Meanwhile, Israel has struck back hard at Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza. Overnight Friday, IDF planes targeted several terror activity sites in Gaza, with precise targeting of several terror gangs who were in the midst of preparing to fire more rockets at Israel.

The IDF said that fifteen terrorists had been eliminated. Among them was a senior Hamas operative in the southern Gaza Strip, Tayser Abu Snima, along with two additional Hamas operatives. Snima held several major roles in the military wing of Hamas and was involved in many terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Most recently, he was in charge of executing a terror attack from Sinai, firing rockets at the city of Eilat. In addition, the IDF said, Snima was also directly involved in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Israeli officials

said that Hamas has asked for a ceasefire several times, and the Hamas website said that the terror group had declared a unilateral ceasefire on Thursday night. The terror group blamed the subsequent rockets on outside terror groups, saying that they were responding to Israeli attacks.

Meanwhile, the youth injured in the rocket attack on a school bus near Ashkelon on Thursday, Daniel Viflic, remained in critical condition. Doctors are continuing to work to save his life, and said that the next 24 hours would be “crucial.” The public was asked to continued to pray for Rafael Daniel Aryeh ben Tamar.

IsraelNationalNews

Who Is Herman Cain And Why Should Americans Care?

In the coming weeks and months the American public will hear more and more mention of the name Herman Cain as he embarks on a most important journey. 

The country he was born and raised in is in turmoil, facing crises of potentially insurmountable proportions on several levels.  Our overall economy is in shambles with the nation's debt level higher than any other nation in recorded history.

Born in Tennessee in 1945, many of Herman Cain's most formative years were during a time when American society viewed and treated its members quite differently based on their outward appearance. 

At the age of six, Herman Cain and his younger brother secretly challenged this societal segregation by quite literally testing the waters.  Watching out for the other as he took his turn, they each sampled the water from two public drinking fountains, each specified only for use by one of the two dominant races of American citizens at the time.  Herman Cain and his brother learned in that moment that the separation of the races was baseless.  The water from each fountain was exactly the same; each no different from the other. 

The burning question was planted in their young minds: ''What's the big deal?''

Herman Cain comes to us from humble beginnings.  His parents, Luther Cain, Jr. and Lenora Davis Cain, worked hard throughout their lives to ensure their sons would have a better start in life then they had.  Their work ethic and solid foundational rearing set both Herman and his brother upon a path toward achievement of their individual dreams.  In an October, 1995 Parade Magazine interview with Wallace Terry, Cain said of his parents,

"My father never looked for a government program, a government handout. I never heard my father complain about somebody owing him anything. All I ever saw was how hard my father worked to get what he wanted out of life. My mother was my spiritual light. Mom talked to me about God. She taught me that success was not a function of what you start out with materially, but what you start out with spiritually. Those were my beginnings. They have been with me ever since."

Herman Cain is the most viable candidate to defeat the machine that pushed Barack Obama into office.  Look at the man.  Listen to his ideas for reforming and repairing our nation.  Consider the alternatives and the disastrous outcome of allowing the current president with his ideology and history of deceptions and secrecy to remain at the helm for another term.  Educate yourself about Herman Cain and what he has to offer each of us as individual Americans. 

Vote responsibly, not emotionally.

There's lots more here

Border Tales

Border Security on the Mexican border does not receive the attention it should.  It must be considered a national security issue.  American Thinker interviewed border ranchers and law enforcement to understand their views regarding threats and solutions to America's security problem.

Many of the ranchers interviewed feel betrayed and abandoned.  They cite instances of illegals using their homes and territory.  Kelly Glenn-Kimbro, an Arizona rancher, told the story of a Mexican woman who had a baby in their ranch pasture and walked up to the house asking for help.  Dr. Gary Thrasher relayed the story that one day after coming home he went upstairs to find illegals who had gone through the doggy door.  As he was confronting them he heard his downstairs shower being used by two Mexican women.  There is the horror story of Robert Krentz who was murdered by an illegal shortly after his expressed his concern over his safety at a border security meeting.  A rancher from a family who were afraid to give their name concurred and told how they were threatened after putting up infra-red cameras, finding a picture of a masked man placing his gun in front of the camera.

They are telling their stories because of the belief that most Americans have no idea what is really happening at the border.  One solution would be having the Border Patrol and the ranchers work as a cohesive unit.  Instead of being told not to detain or hold the illegals, they want to be able to capture them once they trespass on their ranch until the Border Patrol can arrive.  It can take Border Patrol agents up to an hour depending on their location.  One rancher summarized everyone's feelings that "as American citizens we should have the right of self defense."

Other solutions include having more "boots on the ground," which should include the redeployment of the National Guard, more operating bases directly on the border, and a change of the mentality from a law enforcement philosophy to a military one.  According to the ranchers, the border should be viewed as an enemy line which at this time is not being protected.  Another rancher, John Ladd, would like to see the reinstatement of portable towers directly on the border.  He explained that they were removed because the Mexicans started shooting at them and they were not bulletproof.

All the ranchers interviewed agree that the number of illegals crossing the border has diminished, but view this as a misleading statistic.  They feel Border Patrol is trying to protect the border but is handicapped by the bureaucracy who want to show that the border is exponentially more secure.  For example, an area is secured, allowing the ranchers to see improvement, and then the manpower is pulled out for another area.  Anna, whose ranch is just a few miles from the border stated "of course things get better, people are there, but as the manpower leaves, the security actually gets worse over time." 

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On His Own, Judge Demands Homeschool Student IDs

A Mississippi state judge has issued an order to public school attendance officers in his judicial district to provide the names of all homeschoolers there, prompting alarm at the Home School Legal Defense Association, which fights for the rights of homeschooling worldwide.
The order apparently is because the judge himself wants the information, as there appeared to be no case, motion or dispute prompting the request.
The HSLDA, which was alerted by its members in the 13th Chancery Court district in Mississippi, where Judge Joe Dale Walker issued the order, immediately sought and obtained a stay of the order from the state Supreme Court.
The judge's order noted that the "cause" for the order "came on for hearing on the court's own motion," but the HSLDA said apparently no hearing ever was held – and the order is the only document in the court file.

It also has no case number, the organization said.

Spokeswoman Beverly Kraft of the state court system told WND that the issue as it was presented to the state Supreme Court was a "confidential" case about which no documents, no information and no explanation was available.

The HSLDA said the order is highly unusual and could provide a "chilling" effect on not only homeschoolers but any group whose members' names may at some point be demanded by a judge.

The organization said the state Supreme Court ordered a stay in all proceedings in the case in which Walker demanded the names of all homeschoolers in his district. The order instructed Walker to explain to the higher court by April 18 exactly what's going on.

There was no explanation for why the judge issued the original demand for homeschoolers' information.

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The Tea Party Revolution Continues

It comes again to that time of year when individual citizens feel the chafe of their wallets emptying on tax day, April 15th.  In response, many will assemble peaceably at Tea Parties across the country in protest of this perennial redistribution of their wealth, as the worth of the money they have left is debased through intentional acts of national policy.

Taxation has been a prime focus of the Tea Party, but what is their real agenda?  By what standard do they judge our society?  How do they propose to fix the challenges we face?

There is a great deal of variation between groups, but on the whole their common core values are fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government, as originally defined in the US Constitution.  A recent Gallup Poll cited Tea Party demographics as "generally representative of the public at large," including 7 percent describing themselves as liberal and 8 percent as Democrat.  A remarkable change since 2009 -- from crazy racists to a mainstream plurality.

More precisely, they are individualists, of every race and creed, who go by many names and labels.  Though there are variations on the theme, they believe in the fundamental idea of our country's founding; individualism -- the idea that each individual has the inalienable right to their own life, liberty, and property, to use in pursuing their own happiness.  Contrast this view to the sacrificial nature of collectivism, where group rights trump individual rights -- the foul wind that has been blowing our national sails off course for over a century, now at a gale force.  This creates a people scorned by that "long train of abuses and usurpations."  As the first Tea Party was ignited by the tax policies of arrogant elite, it is fitting that the modern Tea Party sees taxation by a new aristocracy as their call to arms.

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ATF Blocking Senate Gun Probe?

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, who has questioned whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed suspected gun smugglers to purchase assault rifles that later may have been used in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, wants to know if ATF has ordered its agents not to cooperate in his investigation of the shooting.

In a letter Friday to ATF Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson, Sen. Charles E. Grassley said emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act “appear to contain proposed guidance” on how to respond to questions from the senator’s office, including instructions that agents were “in no way obligated to respond” and should refer inquiries in the matter to ATF’s office of congressional affairs.

The Iowa Republican described the emails as “further attempts to prevent direct communications with my office” by telling agents they were “not authorized to disclose non-public information.

“It is of grave concern because, as you know, such attempts to prevent direct communications with Congress are not a lawfully authorized activity of any officer or employee of the United States whose salary is paid with appropriated funds,” he wrote.

Mr. Grassley has raised questions on whether ATF allowed suspected gun smugglers to purchase and keep assault rifles that later were used to kill Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry, and if the agency allowed the sale of the weapons to “known and suspected straw purchasers for an illegal trafficking ring near the Southwest border.” He said two of those weapons reportedly were recovered at the site of the Terry shooting.

The senator said ATF agents told his staff the agency, as part of “Project Gunrunner” and its “Fast and Furious” component, allowed guns to “walk” across the border, despite warnings from agents in the field that the policy would result in somebody getting killed. “Fast and Furious” was a gunrunning sting set up by ATF that funneled more than 1,700 smuggled weapons from Arizona to Mexico.

Terry, 40, was attempting to arrest bandits who prey on illegal aliens when he was fatally shot about 10 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.


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Buying A Buick In The South

Delegate Mike McDermott Field Notes

Field Notes

Observations and Reflections on Legislative Activities

By Delegate Mike McDermott

Mar 4th-April 9th, 2011

·             The debate and voting on Second Reader Amendments for the Capital Budget, HB-71, was largely partisan with a few exceptions on the Democrat side of the aisle. This is the nearly billion dollar bill addressing a myriad of statewide projects from the tens of millions to the tens of thousands. The budget office with the Department of Legislative Services had recommended a reduction of overall spending down to $825 million, but this bill comes in at $925 million. The following amendments were offered on the floor following debate:

1.           HB 71: (Delegate McDermott) {613721/1 Rejected (42-92): Would have reduced the overall Capital Budget by 5%

2.           Floor Amendment (Delegate Boteler) {253627/1 Rejected (43-95): Would have reduced the overall Capital Budget by 3%

3.           Floor Amendment (Delegate George) {143321/1 Rejected (45-93): Would have reduced the overall Capital Budget by a mere 1%

4.           Floor Amendment (Delegate Smigiel) {803720/1 Rejected (41-97): Would have stripped the $15 million in local bond bills from the Capital Budget in recognition of the Tea Party Caucus and Republican Caucus position taken at the beginning of session relative to spending.

·             The House debated HB-173, the Invest Maryland Bill, which seeks to create a $100 million dollar fund overseen by the Governor and his appointed committee. The fund is to be used as “venture capital” to invest in companies that would find private investors reluctant to take the risk.

There was a lot of debate over the need to create such a fund. Some have referred to it as “the Governor’s slush fund” as it will allow him to “pick the winners” and move money to various companies and projects that he favors or those that are deemed “politically correct”. One must ask the question…if the private sector is not willing to put their capital at risk, why should the taxpayer take that risk? This is what happens in government…many willing to spend and risk OPM (Other People’s Money). After all, if you lose the money and the venture fails, where are those who will complain?

·             On Tuesday afternoon, the Judiciary Committee heard the following Senate bills which had no matching bill in the House:

1.          SB-50: Would allow the use of Victim’s Compensation Funds for the temporary lodging of victims of domestic violence.

2.          SB-51: Would not allow for convicted felons to receive any compensation as a “victim” under the Victim’s Compensation Fund. We heard testimony that seemed to indicate that there would soon be audit revelations reflecting poorly on the process by which some individuals have been compensated.

3.          SB-138: Would allow certain records to be introduced at trial for motor vehicle accident damage repair estimates. This would eliminate the need that a body shop estimator is required to come to court and testify as to their opinion or how they arrived at the estimate.

4.          SB-142: Would require an insurance firm to provide last known address of a customer who is a defendant in a civil case if the information has not otherwise been provided.

5.          SB-200: Requires the reporting of Juvenile Recidivism rates from state facilities that serve the Juvenile Justice System. This data has not been collected and there is no way to properly evaluate certain program areas as to their effectiveness.

6.          SB-515: Sets the Federal Poverty Guidelines as the bar for determining eligibility of the services of the Public Defender. This would automatically provide a determination that someone qualified for the use of a Public Defender.

The committee voted “Favorable” on the following bills:

SB-599 (Requires pre litigation discovery of certain insurance coverage); SB-803 (The Senate version of the House bill increasing the use of ignition interlock systems in Maryland).

·             

On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee voted “Favorable” on the following bills:

SB-308 (Medical Marijuana); SB-139 (Changes grounds for an Absolute Divorce/reduces time of separation); SB-200 (Requires the Dept. of Juvenile Services to issue a report on the current recidivism rate in state run facilities); SB-374 (A technical change to the law governing Grand Jury Investigations in Baltimore City); SB-696 (A bill addressing technical changes to Estate and Trustee property law); SB-787 (Would require Juvenile Justice to provide similar programs for female detainees as they provide for males); SB-803 (This bill is now amended to resemble HB-1012 and addresses the new mandates for ignition interlock programs dealing with drunk drivers).

·            

 On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee voted “Favorable” on the following bills:

SB-196 (Increases the Statute of Limitations on 4th Degree Sex Offenses when the victim is a juvenile); SB-281 (Would require Prince George County Orphans Court Judges to be members of the MD bar); SB-327 (The Human Trafficking Protection Act); SB-515 (Changes the income eligibility requirements to qualify for a Public Defender); SB-747 (Creates a provision to address cruelty toward a pet in domestic violence cases).

·            

 Friday, while many Senate bills moved through the House, the big debate was on HB-470 which provides in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens. This will cost the state tens of millions of dollars and will make it more difficult for American citizens from neighboring states to attend our colleges and universities. It was interesting that none of the supporters disagreed with the cost associated with providing these reduced rates. We heard many argue in favor of the bill while using legal immigrants as their back drop. It truly was an outrage when one considers the time and effort a legal immigrant to our country must invest to become a resident alien, let alone a US citizen.

We heard that the discussion should not be about immigration, but “about education”. It should have been a debate about the rule of law and the cost of these benefits. By way of example, Montgomery County (that bastion of liberalism) has illegally offered these benefits at their community college for the past three years at a cost of millions in taxpayer dollars. It is a Federal offense to do what Montgomery County is doing in Maryland (and it is currently being litigated). There were amendments offered which would have limited the fiscal impact on our budget and to allow counties to opt out of providing this benefit at community colleges. All of these were resisted by the ruling party. This bill was amended on the floor and must be sent to the Senate before it can be finalized. The vote was close at 74-66.

·             

On Saturday, we faced another full day of bills moving back and forth between the House and Senate. The Senate pulled a fast one on the Medical Marijuana bill, SB-308, which had been amended to simply be a study. The senate amended the bill to include an “Affirmative Defense” for those who are caught in possession of 1-ounce or less of marijuana so they can avoid prosecution if they can provide evidence that they were using marijuana for medicinal reasons. I tried to amend this in Committee when it came back over to place the “affirmative defense” issue in the study as well, but this was rejected on a divided vote. This would have been a better approach as the study is set to provide many answers for the 2012 session, but many in the General Assembly seem intent on putting the cart before the horse. (Later during the late Saturday session, the bill was passed by the House on a vote of 82-54 after several amendments failed).

We took a break for the printing office to get cranked up and the arms to be twisted in the Democratic Caucus before coming back into session after 5pm. The dreaded tax on alcohol has been forced to the floor out of Ways and Means and we will be debating fiercely the merits of raising a tax by 50% on the consumers of Maryland. Alcohol is currently taxed at 6% above the 6% Retail Sales Tax already imposed. They want to raise the 6% to 9% immediately.

The Fiscal Note attached to this bill shows job losses in the industry if it is passed and a loss of revenues from diminished sales in the state. This is typical of any tax passed. In fact, if you want less of something, just tax it. The secondary issue of this tax is where the new found money will go. The budget was approved by the House without the additional revenue and there is no need to pass this tax in order to balance the budget; but this will not stop them from forcing through a tax in order to garner more spoil for Baltimore City, Prince Georges County, and Montgomery Counties. The hands are outstretched and there is a line outside the Speaker’s door a mile long.

To say this is disgusting is putting it mildly. This tax was being pushed for during session by the developmentally disabled and Mental Health lobby. They wanted the money to be directly assigned to filling the gaping holes in the Mental Health community created over the past few budget cycles by transfers, etc. I passed these folks and heard them in the Lawyer’s Mall shouting loudly, “Dime a drink, with a link” as they demanded an increased alcohol tax. So now it appears they will get a tax with little, if any, relief.

I’m sure we will be here till late tonight (Saturday). Take a deep breath Eastern Shore; Monday (Sine Die) will not be pretty fiscally or socially.