Archive for the 'BurnsNotes' Category
The start of the general assembly session had the usual features which include selecting presiding officers, meeting people that we have not seen in a while and the annual call for bi-partisanship and looking to reach across the aisle and blah blah blah. If it seems that I am cynical about this tradition of singing kumbya between Democrats and Republicans…all I will say is that I have been writing about state politics on this blog for four years, you would be cynical too.
Despite U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) urging state lawmakers to follow the lead of President Barack Obama (D) of more citizenship and less partisanship, the air was thick with the latter. This was apparent when I spoke with state Democratic chairwoman Susan Turnball, it was kind of a surprise that after pushing for citizenship, she quickly reverted to partisanship when she said that the economic woes were due to eight years of bad management; blaming President George W. Bush (R) for deficits and unemployment.
Continue reading ‘Are they scared?’
Like you, I was shocked to hear that Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) was found guilty of embezzling gift cards. As you have read over the past year, I did not have a lot of confidence in the case that state prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh, but he did get a misdemeanor on the mayor’s record…scoreboard. You have to give him credit for not doing the grandstanding that prosecutors normally do after a case that they won. He was honest in saying that it’s always a sad day when a Mayor gets convicted.
Continue reading ‘Dixon Outcome: Shocked and Scared’
Make no bones about it. Despite the sluggish economy which every other state had to deal with, this budget is solely on the shoulders of one Governor Martin J. O’Malley. The democratic governor who said that our problems would be solved if the General Assembly raised taxes in addition to selling a bad slots plan which is turning out to cost more than planned. He has just trimmed the budget for the third time this year…this is called a sign that maybe the state government is just too big for its britches.
Continue reading ‘It’s All O’Malley’
With no apologies to Glenn Beck, I would like to start off with what I know. I know that health care reform is sorely needed in these United States of America. This is something that is absolutely clear and the one thing that both sides of the aisle agree on. Right now, companies are being charged more and more for health care which is causing employees to pay more and more out of their pocket. In the case of small businesses, they have thrown their hands in the air saying that they cannot offer it because they cannot afford.
The health insurance companies as well as drug makers are being over-run by pencil pushers who are only looking out to make sure that the investors into the company are able to take something home at the end of the day. Slimy lawyers prey on people who already feel that they are taken advantage of, giving them lofty promises of millions of dollars because the doctor is not able to cure them or treat them and they are lied to when the victims of these ambulance chasers are told “the doctor did not do his job, he is suppose to make you better, right? Come on, let’s go to circuit court.”
Then there are the doctors themselves, who are paying out the ying yang for the few bad doctors who are giving a black eye to the good doctors, who honor their oaths and are bending over backwards to give their patients the proper care. Those doctors have to pay insane amounts of money to play defense against malpractice suits that should not even be apart of the equation. Many of these doctors are forced to leave the profession that they have taken years to study because of scenarios like these. The flip side to this, doctors are not able to make medical decisions to help their patients, because the pencil pushers mentioned earlier are making decisions to fill the pockets of their bosses.
This is a vicious and unhealthy merry-go-round that we have been dealt here at the reform carnevil #9. These are serious issues that need to be discussed, yet the very person that should be leading the charge has done nothing but wax philosophical while at the same time allowing the insane clown posse propose whatever they want in a bid to try and one up places where nationalized health care has yet to bring a ringing endorsement.
Continue reading ‘Unhealthy Environment’
For once, I will not give Governor Martin O’Malley (D) the hard time that I have in the past, at least not in the conventional way. As a matter of fact, I am going to take this opportunity to give him some advice. Governor, you have $700 million that will need to be cut and going into an election year to boot…wow. You have been doing budget cuts through the Board of Public Works, similar to what you have been doing for the past two years. I know myself and fellow conservatives have been pounding on you for not doing any real budget cuts.
Now we are at a crossroads situation when it comes to the budget. From the looks of things, the stimulus money which the Federal Government pushed onto everyone will not get anyone through the midterm elections, not even Republican Governor’s who did not want any part of it. The slots bill which you convinced most people to vote for is in a situation equivalent to couples and creepers on the Jerry Springer Show, dysfunctional. The main benefactor of the constitutional amendment could not even follow the rules and everything is now in the hands of a judge. However, do not take away the fact that most Marylanders showed that they wanted slots despite your earlier frustration in dealing with the issue.
Governor, it’s time to cut the budget and put the false piety’s aside. Now for the advice, just do it. Just go ahead and cut the budget because someone is not going to be happy about what is cut. As you learned recently in West Baltimore, not many people in the neighborhood were not happy with your decision to endorse and submit plans to build a light rail through their neighborhood. You were convinced that it is the right way to go and you tried to sell them on it. Just between you and I (and the people reading this,) you probably did not sell them on the fact that this light rail plan you are proposing is not shiny, new or faster than Light Rail 92. However, you made a tough decision on a transportation issue, which you are to be commended for. Now is high time for you to do the same when it comes to the budget.
Whether you cut a useless bureaucratic department or a vital function of either education or public safety, some people will not be happy about the decision you make. If you did not learn that with your light rail announcements, well, I guess that I should look for something to go up in the future. Just keep in mind the last Governor who decided to raise taxes.
P. Kenneth Burns is the editor of Maryland Politics Today. His email is kennyburns@marylandpolitics.us.
One of my biggest criticisms of President Obama is that he and those around him are beholden to the 90s when President Clinton was in office. This group wants desperately to bring back the good times, to the point they have recently pulled out the playbook which included health care reform. By the way, if you really want to know the gist of government ran healthcare, I invite you to google the Randy Stroup story from last year.
But what the President and the rest of the Democrats have failed to realize the other part of the 90s…the Republican revolution. It was the Republicans who helped with bringing in those good times. Now, there are a couple of things you should probably know about me. For starters, I believe a good politician is a good politician, despite the letter. In addition, I also do not believe in one-party rule, especially when it’s Democrats. Sorry folks, but watching the fun here in Maryland will do that to you.
In any event, with people falling out of love with the President and the continuing disappointment with congress, everything is setting up nicely for Republican gains on Capitol Hill. While I do not think it will be a revolution, I would not be surprised if the Democrats will lose one side of the Capitol to the GOP. For that to happen though, the GOP needs start focusing and start screaming their ideas and platform.
The distraction of the left pushing Rush Limbaugh as the leader of the Republican Party is over. The self-righteous people in the Republican Party (Sarah Palin NOT included by the way) have gone on to green pastures. More importantly, people are starting to wake up. This is what a perfect storm looks like and it is not looking good for the Democrats and Obama.
Meantime in here in the free state, The GOP nationally does not seem to be making any significant investments which is a shame. The Democrats might control 75 percent of the House of Delegates and Senate, but do not think that the populous is happy. As evidenced by those who attended tea parties across the state, people are tired of the shenanigans of the O’Malley Administration as well as those of House Speaker Michael Busch (D-Dist. 30) and Senate President Thomas Mike Miller (D-Dist. 27). Despite the left’s assertion that the tea parties were largely attended by racists who hate the Black President, I saw differently. Watching the coverage on television, radio and online, I saw a diversified crowd who is fed up about being the ATM for the powers that be.
Right now, the GOP needs to see what is happening in Maryland and look at ways to reachout. This state desperately needs a two party system. With the exception of 2003-2007, the majority party has gone largely unchecked. It would be a shame that incumbents in the state would go unchecked next year, especially after such dismal performances of recent memory. It would be even sadder if the GOP did not take to great opportunity before them and run with it.
P. Kenneth Burns is the editor of Maryland Politics Today. His email is kennyburns@marylandpolitics.us.
from mdroads.com
WASHINGTON, DC — Because of recent events in my life, I find my days starting sometimes in the Baltimore area, which we call Central Maryland. By the end of my day, I return to my domicile in Prince George’s County, which is referred to on this blog as being apart of the Capital Region. You might see me flip flop which region I am in because I live in Laurel. In any event, I am a regular traveler of Interstate 95 because of my regular employment in the commonwealth of Virginia. I could not help noticing in the area arounf the construction of the I.C.C. a sign. There were a number of signs in that area, including the one telling drivers what the construction was for. Then underneath the sign for the I.C.C., was a smaller sign which said “Martin O’Malley, Governor.” I also noticed a similar sign on Route 29 in Montgomery County declaring the same thing.
At this point, the red flag was raised. It was last year when O’Malley (D) criticized former Governor Robert Ehrlich (R) for appearing in state-financed ads, while at the same time appearing in state-financed ads on radio and on the sides of buses advertising a hotline to help those with mortgage problems. Republicans at the time railed against O’Malley doing the double standard. O’Malley spokeman Rick Abbruzzese telling The Washington Post at the time that the difference between Ehrlich in a state ad and O’Malley in a state ad is that the O’Malley ad is an effort to educate the public.
Continue reading ‘Who’s Promoting Who?’
Let’s start off with some questions. Why does the Baltimore City Council feel the need to require licensing for entertainment? Why do they feel that licenses for live entertainment will make the city more attractive to entertainment dollars? Why isn’t the city council charging the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association with promoting entertainment more? If you go to their website, you will see a number of museums, sports history events and museum. You will also find a section dedicated to targeting the LGBT crowd.
The association’s central mission is to promote the many different sites and events in Baltimore, why is the council not telling them to promote entertainment? Instead of doing something I believe is common sense, the city council is going for the money. This legislation being proposed by the council, the Live Entertainment Bill, is nothing more than a money grab by the Baltimore City Council, who must not have been paying attention to the tea parties last week. Despite what some are portraying the tea parties as, EVERYONE ACROSS PARTY LINES IS TIRED OF BEING THE ATM FOR GOVERNMENT.
Continue reading ‘Entertainment Bureaucracy’
ARLINGTON, VA. — Today, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 5:00p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the good times ended for Oldies 970 WAMD-AM in Aberdeen, Maryland. The format flipped from it’s long-standing Oldies format to a Christian format by way of simulcast of WAVA-FM in Washington, DC thanks to the sale of the station by First Broadcasting to Salem Communications. For the record (and for full disclosure), I am an employee of Salem Communications, working at the very station which is playing right now in Harford County. Do not look for any swipes at my bosses in this column, that is stupid to begin with. The truth of the matter is that radio stations change formats all the time and personalities change. It’s the nature of the business as we learned last year with long time WMAL Radio host Chris Core was let go.
I wanted to take this time to share my recollection of the memories of the all to short time I spent at the station. My association with WAMD was connect to “Word on the Street” hosted by Warren Monks, a station veteran. At the end of his show, we would have a roundtable with myself, Brian Griffiths, Mark Newgent, Greg Line of Conservative Refuge fame, Joe Gagliardi, Paula Mullis from the Harford County Republican Women’s Club and others (if I cannot remember who all was there, please forgive me.) Not too many people can say this, but I really enjoyed spending the $4.00 a gallon in gas to make the trip up from South Laurel to Aberdeen.
Among the most notable moments from the show, was the debate about Ronald Reagan and whether the GOP was too beholden to him. That discussion led to Warren playing some of the gipper’s old speeches, in addition to my PolitickerMD column, “Ronald Reagan Is Dead.” My column later led to a rebuttal from the afformentioned Greg Kline. It was the kind of healthy debate that I wish would happen across the political spectrum. It was honest, it was direct and, ahem, IT WAS NOT PERSONAL.
Another moment that I remember in my association was being the solo in-studio guest last July. I was in Baltimore for the day and decided to drive up to Aberdeen. It was also the first time I was able to hear Aberdeen Ironbirds baseball. By the way, I plan on making the trip up to Aberdeen as part of my Minor League tour this summer. Then there was the number of times we all hung out after the show.
My only regret is that I was not able to make the trip for the last show, which happened on a Thursday evening when I had class. For those of you who do not know, I am working towards my undergrad degree. I thought about heading up north from Arnold at least see everyone one more time, but I knew it was not feasable because of what time class ended and the amount of time it takes to get to Aberdeen.
Here’s to good times, great oldies and great people. I had a lot of fun on those summer nights last year.
P. Kenneth Burns is the editor of Maryland Politics Today. His email is kennyburns@marylandpolitics.us.
I think that I made it known that myself and BMoreNews.com publisher Doni Glover do not really get along…ok, I have to be honest. I have zippy respect for him after our episode on election day 2008. However, in his first mention in this forum in the oh-nine, I think this one has merit enough NOT to be placed on the dishonor roll. In his recent edition of “The Glover Report,” not only does he finally mention that former Lt. Governor Michael Steele was elected RNC chairman, but he actually says that Steele was his homeboy when it comes to highlighting black issues. His conservatism, eh, not so much:
“As for the conservatism Steele represents – like his love for his mentor, Ronald Reagan, his support of Justice Clarence Thomas, and his admiration of his homeboy, George Walker Bush – I am still not feeling him. However, when it comes to bringing attention to issues, such as those in the black community that have been ignored by Democrats in Maryland for decades, I hope he continuously pushes the envelope in a monumental way – just as he did when he served under Ehrlich as the state’s first elected black statewide representative.”
This is a conflict for me because Glover lauded Steele for pushing the issues long ignored by the Democrats in Maryland concerning the Black community, including his alma mater, Coppin State University, receiving money which he says should have been had two decards ago. It was Steele being a conservative that pushed for those dollars. Without going real deep into it, you cannot separate Steele and conservatism because he would not be Michael Steele without it. In similar fashion, I would not me myself if I didn’t have my love of all music and interest in pop culture. Stuff like that is part of who I am. Without it, I would just be another bland conservative. So if you feel the person, you have to feel the entire person. Not saying that you have to agree with them in lock-step, but you at least have to respect their opinion by accepting that is what is apart of them.
Continue reading ‘What Do We Do Then?’
Believe it or not, I have to give Governor Martin O’Malley some credit. He is trying to do his best to try an spin his defeat into such a positive, bless his heart. Turning on that famous false piety, he told the paper, “I would have preferred that we repeal the death penalty, but we have made considerable progress with the Senate’s version. I plan to testify in favor of that rather than going back to a deadlock.”
Continue reading ‘A defeat is a defeat’
I can use two words to describe the fiscal health of the state of Maryland…roller coaster.
When Governor Martin O’Malley (D) decided to ram jam through the legislature the highest tax hike in Maryland history, he said that this will fix what is ailing the state’s fiscal woes. Not to long after that, the eocnomy was shrinking and the possibility of cutting 700 state jobs was growing. Shortly thereafter people voted for style over subtance (you know who I am talking about.) While people were hypnotized by the spector of hope and change, O’Malley announced that he would have to cut education funding from Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. After that taste of doom and gloom, President Barack Obama (D) saved O’Malley’s budget for funding everything under the sun (along with his contuned resume building for higher political aspirations.)
So here we are heading towards the middle of March and like clockwork, another doom and gloom financial forecast from Comptroller Peter Franchot (D). As tax revenues fall, the state must now deal with another budget shortfall for next year. The good news is that the amount is a little bit lower than what I was expecting. Annapolis now has to close a $515 million budget gap.
Continue reading ‘Haven’t We Been Here Before?’
