Archive for the 'Commentary' 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?’
Well, it’s over. Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) will be leaving office next month; ending the embarrassment of a city that has been scrutinized enough. This certainly closes a chapter on another dark chapter in the city, but yet a few more pages are needed to complete. The sad part in this is that Dixon seemed to be one who was starting to make a difference in how to run a city, at least from what I have seen as an outsider and as one who is now next door to the city. But there are some unanswered questions that should be discussed. Continue reading ‘And Now What?’
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’
Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael A. Jackson has lost his mind. I would also like to add that if you are a Prince George’s County Democrat considering giving him your vote next September, you are crazy.
In the past few years, we have seen that Jackson (D) has run a sheriff’s department which has officially gained the cowboy reputation. In addition to the SWAT team performing a botched raid on the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, the department recently had to pay over a quarter million dollars ($261,000 to be exact) to a woman who was pepper sprayed and punched by sheriff deputies. In addition, there is an Accokeek couple that also claimed that their dogs were shot by deputies. Despite past history and all evidence from outside sources pointing to his department screwing up, Jackson acts as if his men did not mess up.
I would think that after eight years of County Executive Jack Johnson (D), the county would want hope and change of its own. Mr. Johnson has not handled crime very well; in addition to the countless ethical questions involving hiring his friends for positions they were not qualified for, giving sweetheart land deals to another set of friends and let’s not forget his attempt to pass off a tax without putting it to ballot.
The county police department has just came off of a U.S. Justice Department oversight and shortly thereafter a man who was accused of killing a police officer with a vehicle was murdered in a holding cell before he was charged with anything. The officers on duty in the county jail were allowed to maintain silence for a couple for days before they talked, when they should have been interviewed on the spot. Overall, you have to ask if the county would benefit from having a chief executive who sees no problem with situations that have been ruled unlawful by impartial third parties?
Maryland Politics Today has a long standing editorial policy of not endorsing any political candidates. However, if there is a politician that has shown himself as unethical or dishonorable, this blog has an obligation to point out the bad behavior regardless of party. Mr. Jackson has proven this many times over. The Prince George’s County Police Department has recognized that something went wrong in regards to the raid last month. Why can’t Jackson admit that his department has screwed up? My guess is that previous similar incidents would show a pattern of screwing up, hence why the state passed a law requiring SWAT team reports (thanks to Calvo).
Prince George’s County officials had their ethics in question for a long time. The residents in the county of which I grew up and spent 26 years as a resident would be good to send a strong message and not elect Mr. Jackson as County Executive.
P. Kenneth Burns is the Editor of Maryland Politics Today and the President/Executive Content Producer for The Maryland News Company. His email is kburns@themdnews.com.
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’
Gazette Columnist Blair Lee says that the media is applying the same tactics it used against Sarah Palin, against the protesters of health care reform currently being proposed by Congress. He explains the process of “Palinization.”
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.
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’
Talking with Black Republicans is a moving experience—the more I talk to them, the more I want to move away! The caricature of most Black Republicans is that they are not connected with the Black community and are constantly seeking the approval of the powers that be within the party.
Well, I have been Black most of my life and would posit this question: “if Black Republicans were taken to a court of law and accused of being connected, involved and making a difference in the Black community, would there be enough evidence to convict them?”
I think the obvious answer is a resounding NO! The only time you see or hear Black Republicans is when they are paraded in front of the media to oppose affirmative action, oppose abortion, or oppose minority set-asides for small business. You never see or hear them talking about the problems facing Blacks in being under represented in various facets of American life or the problems entrepreneurs have doing business with the federal government or the private sector.
Continue reading ‘Talking with Black Republicans is a Moving Experience’
(also posted at kennyburns.com/podcast)
It’s clear that BMORENEWS.com Publisher Doni Glover read my recent BurnsNotes column at Maryland Politics Today taking him to task on what are his solutions to the issues that he feels that are being ignored by Maryland Democrats, while saying that he is “not feeling” conservatism.
Glover has posted a response in his recent “Glover Report,” so to speak.
I will be giving you some of my thoughts in the next Kenny Burns Podcast.
