Another Great Success

Folks, we just can't thank you enough. I am pleased, (once again) to announce this dog has been returned to its owner. I want to thank Dianne Wagner for sitting up through the night last night keeping this animal company as it missed its owner horribly. They were reunited this morning. I have been away all day in Annapolis today and this has been my first opportunity to share the news.

Repeal the Revenue Cap in Wicomico County

Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt wants to end the revenue cap.  His staunchest ally – councilman Bill McCain – is not seeking re-election (nor could he be re-elected without a “one shot”).  Councilowman Sheree Sample-Hughes is on record as an opponent of the cap, but lacks the intestinal fortitude to fight the popular measure.  But, things are looking up for Pollitt’s merry band of tax and spend wannabes.

Former councilman Ed Taylor has decided to come out of retirement to seek an At Large seat on the Wicomico County Council.  His platform?  REPEAL THE REVENUE CAP!

That’s right folks, you need to be taxed more:

Taylor said he felt compelled to return to office because of the problems the county has with the economy and crime. He said he would do everything in his power to help eliminate the county's revenue cap, a provision that restricts how much new property tax revenue the county can collect.

"I'm a strong advocate for the removal of the revenue cap," Taylor said.

This is typical of so many Democrats in Wicomico County.  If only we could spend more …  If only we could tax more …

While Board of Ed employees fly around the country and eat out on the taxpayers’ dime, Taylor evidently thinks the solution is to spend more.  While taxpayers are struggling to pay their bills, Taylor evidently thinks we should be taxed more.  While Wicomico citizens lose their jobs, Taylor evidently thinks county government should grow.

Thanks Ed.  It seems that the only difference between you and Bill McCain is the hair style.  I’m sure that voters will be very receptive to your message.

from Delmarva Dealings

West Side Collector – Much Ado About Nothing

Today’s Daily Times op-ed chastising Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt for delaying the opening of the new West Side Collector Road is truly much ado about nothing.  As someone who seldom hesitates to criticize Pollitt, I believe that running an editorial on this issue is little more than a waste of ink.  The guy tried to do the right thing AND the public isn’t really being harmed by his action (or inaction).

The road is in Prettyman’s district.  She worked hard for its construction.  Pollitt thought that it would be appropriate for Prettyman to be present at its official opening.

Yes, it would be nice to have the road open.  Yes, councilwoman Stevie Prettyman (R-2) never requested that Pollitt delay the opening because she was out of town.  Yes, Pollitt should probably open the road for use and wait for Prettyman to return for the “official” opening.

However, opening the road from US 50 to Brick Kiln Road isn’t going to relieve much congestion from Nanticoke Road.  If it was actually going to provide some relief, both Levin Dashiell and Brick Kiln Roads would be saddled with far more traffic than either road was intended to carry.

I am confident that Wicomico citizens living down Nanticoke Road will be pleased with the COMPLETION of the West Side Collector.  However, to criticize Pollitt (or Prettyman) on this matter simply does not pass muster.

Idiots

Those of you that have nothing better to do than send in comments pertaining to the death of the president and then turn around and want to report Joe to the Secret Service, you really need to get a life. Go ahead and turn him in to the Secret Service because once Google gives them the IP address from your computer it will be YOU that has to deal with them, NOT JOE.

And you wonder why people refer to you as idiots.

Updates to Jessica's Law Passes Unanimously

Joe is in Annapolis this morning. He just reported that the updates to Jessica's law has passed unanimously 136-0. Now if they would rewrite the death penalty laws so animals like Thomas Leggs would be guaranteed lethal injection once proven guilty, then they could say they accomplished something.

Sunday And Holiday Sessions Of Congress

Does it bother anybody else that we have had two if not three sessions of Congress on Sundays and holidays? With Cap and Trade there was a long weekend push for a Sunday vote, then there was a push for a vote Christmas Eve and yesterday there was a weekend push again culminating on another vote on Sunday.

Does anybody out there remember a little phrase from Article 1 Section 7 of the Constitution which states "Sundays excepted". Another reference to people's memories is the fact that during William Jefferson Clinton's impeachment hearings, they met on Saturday but did not meet on Sunday.

Why is this Congress pushing for not just weekend but having Sunday and holidays as their objective for pushing major votes?

States Move To Block Obamacare's Unfunded Mandate

Less than 24 hours after the House gave final approval to a sweeping overhaul of healthcare, attorneys general from several states on Monday said they will sue to block the plan on constitutional grounds.

Republican attorneys general in 11 states warned that lawsuits will be filed to stop the federal government overstepping its constitutional powers and usurping states' sovereignty.

States are concerned the burden of providing healthcare will fall on them without enough federal support.

Ten of the attorneys general plan to band together in a collective lawsuit on behalf of Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

"To protect all Texans' constitutional rights, preserve the constitutional framework intended by our nation's founders, and defend our state from further infringement by the federal government, the State of Texas and other states will legally challenge the federal health care legislation," said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, in a statement.

The Republican attorneys general say the reforms infringe on state powers under the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights.

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, who plans to file a suit in federal court in Richmond, said Congress lacks authority under its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce to force people to buy insurance. The bill also conflicts with a state law that says Virginians cannot be required to buy insurance, he said.

"If a person decides not to buy health insurance, that person by definition is not engaging in commerce," Cuccinelli said in recorded comments. "If you are not engaging in commerce, how can the federal government regulate you?"

In addition to the pending lawsuits, bills and resolutions have been introduced in at least 36 state legislatures seeking to limit or oppose various aspects of the reform plan through laws or state constitutional amendments, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

So far, only two states, Idaho and Virginia, have enacted laws, while an Arizona constitutional amendment is seeking voter approval on the November ballot. But the actual enactment of the bill by President Barack Obama could spur more movement on the measures by state lawmakers.

More

Worthy Post

The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.? -- Author Unknown

White House Plans Propaganda Blitz To Boost Acceptance Of Health Care Bill

It's not enough for Democrats to have passed their health care "reform" bill. Now they want everyone to like the bill that was rammed through Congress without a single Republican vote.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that President Obama will begin an "immediate public relations blitz aimed at turning around Americans' opinion of the health-care bill."

The newspaper said the P.R. effort will proceed in three stages: the immediate aftermath of passage, the months leading up to the midterm election in November; and the next few years leading up to the 2012 presidential election.

"The Republicans have way overshot the runway in their criticism of health reform," the Post quoted White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer as saying.

On Monday morning, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius she believes people who dislike the bill will feel better as they learn more about it.

But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday denounced what he called the "government takeover" of health care.

McCain said Republicans "will challenge it every place we can," and he called the legislation "terribly wrong for America." McCain said he was repulsed by "all this euphoria going on" and argued that "outside the Beltway, the American people are very angry. They don't like it and we're going to repeal this."

More

We’ve Crossed The Rubicon

by Victor Davis Hanson

Pajamas Media

President Obama has crossed the Rubicon with the healthcare vote. The bill was not really about medicine; after all, a moderately priced, relatively small federal program could offer the poorer not now insured, presently not on Medicare or state programs like Medicaid or Medical, a basic medical plan.

We have no interest in stopping trial lawyers from milking the system for billions. And we don’t want to address in any meaningful way the individual’s responsibility in some cases (drink, drugs, violence, dangerous sex, bad diet, sloth, etc.) for costly and chronic health procedures.

No, instead, the bill was about assuming a massive portion of the private sector, hiring tens of thousands of loyal, compliant new employees, staffing new departments with new technocrats, and feeling wonderful that we “are leveling the playing field” and have achieved another Civil Rights landmark law. (NB: do the math: add higher state income taxes in most states; the new Clinton-era federal income tax rates to come; the proposed lifting of limits on income exposed to FICA taxes; and now new healthcare charges — and I think you can reach in some cases a bite of 65%to 70% of one’s income.)

So we are in revolutionary times in which the government will grow to assume everything from energy use to student loans, while abroad we are a revolutionary sort of power, eager to mend fences with Syria and Iran, more eager still to distance ourselves from old Western allies like Israel and Britain.

There won’t be any more soaring rhetoric from Obama about purple-state America, “reaching across the aisle,” or healing our wounds. That was so 2008. Instead, we are in the most partisan age since Vietnam, ushered into it by the self-acclaimed “non-partisan.” But how could it be anything else?

Partisanship All the Time, Everywhere

GO HERE to read more.

Wargotz Not Surprised by Mikulski Vote, Disappointed By Duping Of Pro-life Democrats

Annapolis, MD (March 21, 2010) – Today Queen Anne's County Commissioner Eric Wargotz, candidate for U.S. Senate, expressed concern over the health care legislation the U.S. Congress passed today. Wargotz is a physician by profession.

After more than a generation of bad votes in the U.S. Senate, Commissioner Wargotz was not surprised by Senator Mikulski's previous vote in favor of one of the largest intrusions into the private lives of Americans in history. "The Senator failed to listen to the people of Maryland during the summer and even failed to listen to the voters of Massachusetts this past January. She apparently only listens to Harry Reid," he said, referring to the Senate Majority Leader.

The Commissioner agrees with most Americans and knows firsthand, as a physician, that we are in need of health care reform, but not as passed by the Democratic Majority in Congress. Wargotz believes that government reforms should provide for more options like health savings accounts, portability, the ability to purchase policies across state lines and tort reform. "Competition and flexibility will reduce cost and increase participation," Wargotz said. "The Democrat's plan is about mandates and consequences, which will be meted out by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), which is not known for having a compassionate bedside manner," he concluded.

Addressing what he called the biggest duping in history, Wargotz said, "At least native Americans received something of value for Manhattan. Pro-life Democrats only got a worthless piece of paper," he said, referring to the promise by the President to sign an executive order. "The executive order will not trump federal law," Wargotz continued.

Wargotz said, "Today's health care vote overrules long-standing settled law by gutting the Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of taxpayer funds to pay for elective abortions. Americans are split on the issue of abortion, but a large majority continue to support the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of taxpayer funds to pay for elective abortions.

Commissioner Eric Wargotz, M.D. is a candidate for U.S. Senate (Maryland). Dr. Wargotz and his wife Cheryl-Ann and their three children live in Queen Anne's County. Dr. Wargotz is the elected President of the Queen Anne's County Board of County Commissioners (2006) and practices medicine in Prince George's County.

Today's Nature Photo By Scott Phoebus

Taser "Victims" Yeah Right

Funny how they clean up their act

These videos were taken during the arrest of the suspects without their knowledge.
They are not the usual ones you see of a guy getting Tasered. The video is part of the Taser itself and it records what happens leading up to zapping the suspect.

Hard to dispute video evidence. Shave, haircut, shower, and new suit is what the public sees, the media reports, and the lawyers thrive on........

...sometimes it doesn't work.

Click Here

The Heat Is On: Congressman’s Office Says Constituent's Calls Are ‘Harassment’

by Capitol Confidential

Yesterday, I decided to call Rep. John Garamendi’s (CA-10) office in Washington , DC . He’s my representative and I wanted to voice my opposition to the Senate Health Care Bill. I spoke with a female staffer and politely told her that, while I support health care reform, I oppose the Senate Bill because it wasn’t true “reform.” She said the Congressman thinks it’s a good bill and that he campaigned on health care reform. I told her I knew that. I also mentioned that I voted for him. When I tried to give her specific reasons why the Senate Bill would harm our system rather than reform it, she refused to listen. She said she was very busy and hung up on me. Being the persistent person that I am, I kept calling back. Each time I tried to finish my point, she hung up.




I called one more time. This time she said, “If you call one more time, we will notify Capital Police.” I asked why my conduct warranted involving federal law enforcement agents. She said I was “harassing” her. I tried to explain that trying to convince a representative to change his or her vote didn’t constitute “harassment.” Before I could fully explain, she hung up again.

I called back. This time, I asked to speak to her supervisor in order to report her repeated hanging up as well as the threat she made. I was placed on hold. Thinking I was holding for her supervisor, I was shocked when a Federal Agent with the Capital Police picked-up the telephone.

At first, the Agent was curt with me. He claimed I was harassing Mr. Garamendi’s staff by continually calling after being told to stop calling. I asked him when it became a federal crime to lobby a congressman. He said that it wasn’t but it was a crime to “harass” congressional members and staff pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 223. I told him I was an attorney (which I am) and that I would research the statute he had cited.

After researching 47 U.S.C. 223, I called Mr. Garamendi’s office again and asked to be transferred back to the Capital Police Agent. The Agent picked up the phone and I explained to him that the statute he cited was not controlling since it only prohibits people from calling with the specific intent to harass. I further explained that I was simply trying to voice my concerns with the intent of getting Mr. Garamendi to change his mind, not to harass his staff. The Agent eventually agreed with my position and said he would call Mr. Garamendi’s office and instruct his staff that I was within my rights to call my congressman and voice my concerns.

After I hung up, I realized that this story should be told. Besides being an attorney, I’ve also had the privilege of serving this great country in the United States Marine Corps. Having seen the ugly legislative process the Senate Bill had been through, I saw this as not just another tactic to pass the Senate Bill at all costs, but also as an affront to our liberties.

While I’m fortunate enough to be able to legally challenge what happened today, others aren’t. The sad part is the democrats know this. They know that Americans unfamiliar with federal jurisprudence can easily be silenced when threats to involve federal agents are made. They know that most Americans don’t want trouble and they’ll go away rather than face the possibility of having to explain themselves to federal agents. That’s why I found this tactic appalling, as a Marine, as an attorney and as a proud American.

During my final contact with Mr. Garamendi’s staff, it was confirmed to me that he would vote for the Senate Bill no matter what. I was told that I was wasting my time by calling. Mr. Garamendi is a junior member of the House of Representatives. He was just elected via a special election last November. He has made it clear that he is willing to forsake his constituents in order to please the Speaker of the House.

Speaker Pelosi has said that she will stop at nothing to get the Senate Bill passed. She publicly stated that she would “pole vault over a wall” if barriers stood in her way. While that may be an amusing spectacle, it is indicative of what happened to me today. Apparently, threatening Americans with federal crimes to silence them is the latest tool in Speaker Pelosi’s dirty bag of tricks.

In the coming days, I’m sure more stories will develop illustrating the “win at all costs” tactics being employed by democrats. It’s these tactics that have appalled a majority of Americans to the point that the Senate Bill has overwhelmingly been rejected by the American people. When we try to explain that to Speaker Pelosi’s Caucus, we are threatened with criminal sanctions. We are told to shut up or face federal agents. Such treatment may be acceptable in the former Soviet Union , but it’s repulsive in the country I love and served. Is this hope and change? (It certainly isn't hope but it sure is change!!!)

Obama Praises Committee Vote On Wall St. Rules

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is praising the Democrats' massive Wall Street regulation bill as it heads to the full Senate.

The Senate Banking Committee approved the measure along party lines Monday.

The legislation would give the government unprecedented powers to split up firms considered a threat to the economy, put together a council of regulators to watch for risks in the financial system, and create an independent consumer watchdog.

Obama says in a statement that the nation is "one step closer" to passing financial reform that he contends will bring oversight and accountability to the U.S. financial system.

Obama says the proposal will ensure taxpayers don't have to pay the price for Wall Street's irresponsibility.

Source

THIS SHOULD MAKE YOUR DAY!

AMERICAN SPECTATOR
AmSpecBlog
Obama Restores Cash-Strapped ACORN's Funding As Reward For HealthCare Support

By Matthew Vadum President Obama has quietly moved behind the scenes to restore full funding to the radical group ACORN, which was his former employer and legal client.

In a move ignored by the media, OMB director Peter Orszag circulated a directive to federal agencies ordering them to begin funding ACORN again. ACORN is the hyperpartisan lead group in the Health Care for America Now (HCAN) coalition and has long supported a government takeover of the U.S. health care system.

The fiscal floodgates will soon re-open for ACORN despite a congressional ban on funding the activist group that has long been a practitioner of election fraud.

In a March 16 memo Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Peter Orszag ordered federal agencies to resume funding the group whose employees were caught on hidden camera videos last year condoning and encouraging a variety of crimes including child prostitution and tax evasion.

The memo came a week after renegade federal judge Nina Gershon of the Eastern District of New York made permanent her temporary injunction prohibiting Congress from cutting off funding for ACORN. The memo also came despite the fact that the Department of Justice is planning to appeal Gershon's ruling and seek a stay pending appeal.

ACORN is under indictment in Nevada for election fraud. Jury selection in set to begin in the summer in Las Vegas.

ACORN is also teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The New York Times noticed this fact only today and got around to reporting it four months after I reported it right here at TAS.

Brilliant Clock Design

A different way to display time on the green time line.. This is a really interesting clock! It comes from a Dutch web site. Here is what you will see when you look at this clock.

Don't do anything. It's automatically adjusted to your time zone. Just look at it and study it. It gives you the EXACT TIME of the DAY in seconds, minutes, hours, the day, month and year.
Just read the green line. Everything's there. Study it for a few seconds and it will all come clear to you.

Remember these definitions:
1st Line is Seconds
2nd Line is Minutes
3rd line is Hours..
4th Line is Days
5th Line is Months
6th Line is Years
This is the COOLEST clock

Click on:
http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf

Inacom Announces Delmarva Technology Expo

Salisbury, MD, March 10, 2010: Inacom Information Systems has announced that the 4th Annual Delmarva Technology Expo will take place on April 22, at the Fountains Wedding and Conference Center in Salisbury, MD from 10am – 4pm.

This 6 hour event will allow local business and technology decision makers to explore many technologies that are being used throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. These solutions offer a high return on investment, allowing organizations to significantly boost profitability by reducing expenses and increasing productivity, even in a down economy.

An expo-style trade floor will feature product information and demonstrations from a number of the Technology Expo’s co-sponsors, including Inacom, Sharp USA, Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard, Avaya, Comcast, and AT&T Wireless.

Breakout sessions on special topics include Internet marketing, network virtualization, IP telephony solutions, Microsoft software, and computer networking. By pre-registering for specific breakout sessions, attendees are provided the opportunity to explore specific technologies on individual topics.

A special appearance will be made by the Cisco Systems Network on Wheels (NOW) van, a mobile demonstration vehicle containing Cisco’s latest technology products that tours the country showcasing solutions created by the world’s largest networking company.
“Over the past three years, the Delmarva Technology Expo has provided more than 500 business leaders the opportunity to see real-world solutions to their IT challenges. Our Tech Expo sponsors look forward to another exciting event this year, as we continue to offer one of the top business technology events on the Delmarva Peninsula.” states Travis Fisher, Executive Vice President of Inacom.

To ensure adequate space for event attendees, registration to the Delmarva Technology Expo is required. Those persons interested in attending can find more information and complete their registration at http://www.delmarvatechexpo.com/.

Obamacare Isn’t Inevitable

"Nil desperandum” — never despair. That is a sentiment that conservatives need to take to heart now that Congress has narrowly passed a bill that simultaneously undermines life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It takes some ingenuity to add to the costs, inefficiency, and dysfunctions that government has already bequeathed to our health-care system, but the Democrats have proven themselves up to the challenge. Almost nothing about this legislation is free of dispute, but we are convinced that it will increase taxes, increase premiums, and increase debt, while decreasing economic growth, job growth, and the quality of health care.

The Democrats had no mandate to take these steps. In 2008, the president campaigned both against forcing people to buy insurance and against taxing their benefits. The legislation runs counter to the campaign on both points. The president promised to change Washington. He has made its stench more noisome, winning this vote by using every kind of deceit and (legal) corruption, and over the objection of a bipartisan coalition representing most Americans.

We are now being told that the campaign to repeal this legislation is over before it has even begun, that Americans will come to appreciate the benefits that a bountiful government is giving them, and that the growth of the welfare state can never be reversed. We understand the odds against repeal. We understand, indeed, that complete repeal of every provision of the bill is impossible. The doughnut hole — a gap in Medicare’s prescription-drug coverage designed to encourage seniors to economize — has been filled, and it is not going to be re-opened.

But the larger thesis seems as superficially plausible, and as ultimately convincing, as were earlier predictions that state socialism or secularization were our inevitable future. It is quite possible that the majority of America that rejects this legislation will get its way in the next few years — if it is given the right leadership. And it is worth the effort to try.

Here's more

Repeal-- A One-Word Agenda For Republicans

By William Kristol, The Weekly Standard

The editors of National Review sensibly counsel conservatives, in the wake of last night’s victory for Obamacare: “‘Nil desperandum’--never despair.” I agree, though I’m more inclined to the mock-Latin motto of the Harvard band: “Illegitimi non carborundum”--don't let the bastards get you down.

Why not? Because we can repeal it.

As National Review’s editors explain, this legislation “will increase taxes, increase premiums, and increase debt, while decreasing economic growth, job growth, and the quality of health care.” So it will--if it is allowed to go into effect.

Luckily, key parts of Obamacare--especially the subsidies--don’t go into effect until 2014. So what Republicans have to do is to make the 2010 and the 2012 elections referenda on Obamacare, win those elections, and then repeal Obamacare.

Of course that can’t be the whole message in 2010 and 2012. Of course there will be other important issues. And even on this issue, the message will have to be not just repeal but also replace--replace Obamacare with sensible reforms. What’s more, working out exactly how to repeal and replace the parts of the legislation that will already be in effect is an important task, one to which I know Paul Ryan has already given some thought.

But the details of the replacing and reforming are secondary. Repeal is the heart of the matter. It should be the heart of the message. Think of it this way: This year Obama has handed Republicans a one-item Contract with America, an item a majority of the public supports--opposition to, and therefore repeal of, Obamacare.

Barack Obama was able to muscle his health care plan through, and therefore avoided a legislative defeat that Sen. Jim DeMint had said would be his Waterloo. But Waterloo was always an imperfect analogy. Leaving aside the injustice to Napoleon of comparing Obama to him, the better analogy is Borodino.

Napoleon invaded Russia in June of 1812. On September 7 of that year, the Grande Armée under Napoleon’s command attacked the Russian army near the village of Borodino. Napoleon won the battle, the greatest of the Russian campaign, but at a terrible cost--about a third of his soldiers were killed or wounded. The Russian army was not destroyed, and while Napoleon occupied an abandoned Moscow a week later, the French army was never the same. It soon had to begin its disastrous winter retreat from Russia, and Napoleon finally did meet his Waterloo almost three years later.

Last night’s victory was the culmination of Obama’s health care effort, which has been his version of Napoleon’s Russia campaign. He won a short-term victory, but one that will turn out to mark an inflection point on the road to defeat, and the beginning of the end of the Democratic party’s dominance over American politics. Last night was Obama’s Borodino. Obama’s Waterloo will be November 6, 2012.

And then comes repeal, and the opportunity for renewed and revitalized conservative governance.

(Source)