Slave trade elicits call for apology, The Baltimore Sun 

Why are state governments and local governments now apologizing for their involvement in the slave trade?  I can't say I am opposed to it but I fail to see the purpose.  If states and local governments want to apologize, go for it.  This is a tough issue because many on the conservative side are opposed to any form or reparations including affirmative action which is a form of reparation.  Reparations are simply the making right of past wrongs.  Slavery was wrong and it still impacts African-Americans to this day.  I don't buy the line, "It was 150 years ago."  Slavery ended in the 1950's and 60's and has gradually declined ever since.  The Black community does not need an apology.  They may want one but they don't need one.  They needed access to public education, they needed access to voting booths, they needed equal protection, etc…  Now that this has become a reality, the Black community needs fathers and moral national leaders (not democratic lackeys), both of which are desperately lacking.  If you don't want to listen to me listen to Bill Cosby.  He says it like it is for the most part.

I want to avoid this turning into a money grab.  I think that would actually cheapen the issue.  There are many Blacks who are already opposed to affirmative action because it cheapens the achievements of African-Americans who do not need preferential treatment based on the color of their skin.  That being said, there are many, many more who are grateful to receive a much deserved break in life.  Our African-American population is stuck in de-industrialized cities that continue to decline.  The jobs are no longer there and crime is often seen as the only option.  If an apology helps kids get away from all that, then I say apologize away.  However, the reality is that an apology won't do a darn thing for a single person.  I kind of hope I'm wrong.

Today's headlines in the Baltimore Sun are further proof that their are democrats in this land, Smoking ban wins City Council approval and Tax-increase discussions under way in Annapolis.  There is another issue that will be coming up in the news in the next month or so, gay marriage.

There are few other topics that are as controversial as gay marriage.  A majority of our delegation has sponsored two bills, SB 564 which states,

"Adding a new section to the Maryland Constitution to establish that only a marriage between a man and a woman is a valid marriage in the State; and submitting the amendment to the qualified voters of the State of Maryland for their adoption or rejection,"

and HB 919 which states,

"Adding a new section to the Maryland Constitution to establish that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in the State; establishing that specified unions or relationships between individuals of the same sex are not valid in the State and are against the public policy of the State; and submitting the amendment to the qualified voters of the State of Maryland for their adoption or rejection."

The only people not to sponsor the legislation are Senator Harris, Delegate Impallaria, Delegate Dulany-James, and Delegate B. Dan Riley.  This is one of those issues that may never fly in Maryland.  We are one of the most liberal states in the country.  So, what should opponents do?  Should opponents keep opposing?  Should we work for a compromise like civil unions?  Civil Unions are fairly weak because they are typically not recognized outside of the issuing state.  How strong is the push for gay marriage in Maryland?  These are all questions that I do not have answers for.  One thing I do know is that this is one issue that leaves little room for compromise.  Much like abortion, you are either for it or against it and there is not much room in the middle.

Another thing I know, the hardcore liberal agenda is on a full court press in Annapolis.  Higher taxes, ending capital punishment, and soon to be, gay marriage. 

Martin O'Malley is a failure.  He should keep his mouth shut when it comes to issues of murder and capital punishment.  He was embarrassingly ineffective in Baltimore City (in more areas than murder).

The full liberal agenda is being put forth in Annapolis this year.  O'Malley has said that he will sign any legislation ending the death penalty in Maryland.  He is actually going to testify against it.  In this state abolishing the death penalty is kind of like selling your fifth house.  You have it but you don't get there that often and it only costs you money.  Maryland has executed 10 people since 1976.  Maryland currently has 16 people on death row (as of October 2006).  With state's attorneys like Jessamy who refuse to seek the death penalty it is no wonder Baltimore City has a murder rate of 300+ year in and year out.  I am one of those crazy conservatives that could care less about the deterrent effect of the death penalty.  I want the death penalty as pure punishment.  If it deters others from killing then that's great but that is not the purpose of the death penalty.  The purpose of the death penalty is to punish for the taking of another life. 

The anti-death penalty folks always throw the "deterrent card" and the "race card."  I have looked into the statistics on the death penalty and it does appear that there are some racial problems.  When the victim is white the death penalty is sought at a higher rate.  This is wrong.  Conservatives need to see that, admit that, and work with democrats to fix that.  However, abolition is not the right way to fix it.  

O'Malley is using this issue to cater to African-Americans in preparation for his future political excursions.  The fact is, we do not execute people in Maryland.  We could not even execute the beltway snipers.  He has said that he is afraid that we may execute someone innocently.  Once again, we do not execute people in Maryland.  And if that is the problem why not fix that problem.  I am an advocate for a DNA requirement in capital crimes.  Rape and murder should equal the death penalty, Multiple murders should equal the death penalty, Gang style executions should equal the death penalty, etc…

The democrats once again appear to be anti-protection.  They want us to give up our right to protect ourselves by opposing the right to bare arms.  Now they want to take away a prosecutors ability to seek the death penalty.  Criminals by definition do not follow the law so the death penalty will not deter them.  But, it will punish them when they commit the ultimate, irreversible crime of murder.

I see the law of unintended consequences all over this one.  The thugs in Baltimore City already have a pass because of a failed judicial system.  O'Malley is  now trying to weaken the rest of the State so that we can all be like Baltimore.

Baltimore Sun: His faith, party put Mooney at crossroads, Conservative senator could decide death penalty issue

The Baltimore Sun had an article today titled O'Malley pledging a 'living wage'.  This legislation deals with companies who do business with the state, but do not be fooled.  This is just the beginning of more minimum wage increases applied to all businesses in the state.  It didn’t take him long to live up to the hype.  We have a true, hardcore liberal in the governor’s mansion.  Why the democrats would want someone to make a living flipping burgers or bagging groceries is beyond me.  We should encourage people to educate themselves and contribute to society.  Low pay is incentive to get a skill and move on to a job that has more purpose.  Do we need grocery baggers and fast food workers, absolutely.  Those jobs should be for our youth, or unskilled workers, immigrants, the uneducated, etc…  The motivation to move on is often found in the low pay.

 The Unions in the state are now enjoying the spoils of war.  They won the battle and are being rewarded accordingly.  Now the unskilled helper who sweeps the floor on the construction site is going to make a living wage.  I know a lot of people in the construction industry and they pay helpers minimum wage.  Why do they do that?  Because they don’t want them to sweep floors forever.  They want them to watch and learn the trade so they can contribute.  As the helper acquires his own tools and learns the trade, the company rewards him with pay raises.  That is how the real world works.  The democrats live in this fairytale land.  The harsh truth is that not everyone deserves a living wage.  It is harsh to say to someone that the skills they have are not enough to support their living.  Harsh, but true.

 One thing is for sure.  Martin O’Malley is anti-business.  Democrats simply do not get it.  On the other hand, I feel that Republicans do need to support slight raises in minimum wage.  $6.15 is not enough for someone to even begin getting their feet under them.  Here’s an idea.  Make minimum wage different based on age, dependents, education, experience, etc…  On second though, experience might not be necessary because you can make over $100,000 a year in Harford County with no experience at all (sorry I couldn’t resist).

Jacobs recently sent out a press release detailing the contents of her new gang legislation.  The legislation summary is as follows: 

• Amend Criminal Law, § 9-801 to include an expanded definition that makes it clear a gang is defined as such because its members have a pattern of committing certain criminal offenses, and their primary objective for associating is to commit additional criminal offenses.  The amendment also expands the commonality of the members beyond just signs, name, and symbols to include leadership and purpose.
• Allow State's Attorneys and other law enforcement to investigate and prosecute gang members as a group and across jurisdictional lines.
• Allow the State to charge anyone who actively participates in a criminal gang with a felony when they have knowledge that its’ members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity, and willfully participates or assists in any criminal offenses committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a gang.
• Allow all property, real or personal, including money, used in substantial connection with a criminal gang, to be subject to forfeiture.
• Amend Real Property Article § 14-120 to allow any real property used to facilitate criminal offenses by a criminal gang or as a meeting place for the criminal gang subject to abatement.

Nancy is showing that she is our most prized possession in Annapolis.  Legislation like this is so important as we take back the Rt. 40 corridor from these thugs.  I think the legislators are doing an excellent job creating a net to catch these losers in.  If you desire to associate with a group of people whose main purpose in life is to break the law then you will go to jail.  With nuisance laws, gang legislation, tough truancy laws, and a curfew, we may be able to stop gangs in Harford County.  Many of these kids probably do not have parents so the law may be required to parent them. 

We do need one more thing, a new Southern Precinct.  I have not heard much about this in quite some time.  We should follow up to make sure  those campaign promises were not campaign hot air.  We hear a lot about school construction, but nothing about building the Southern Precinct.  Hopefully that will change soon.

Good job Nancy!

Barry Glassman appears to have jumped the gun on this elected school board bill.  I applaud his efforts though.  He clearly desires to be out in front on this issue.  However, I have to agree with Dulany-James on this one.  What exactly are the problems?  The “one failure and your out” policy sparked this debate.  The issues over the legislation appear to be many.  First is the blended school board.  If I were African-American I would be offended by this policy.  “Honey, it’s the Governor on the phone.  He wants you to be the token African-American on the school board so that they can say they have a diverse board.”  Politicians can’t say stuff like that.  Barry had to say that he has supported a blended school board for 10 years when in reality he has probably never even thought of the diversity of our school board.  Here are some things that should be in our elected school board legislation:

1.)    Non-Partisan:  we need to move toward getting political affiliation off the ballot when it doesn’t matter.  You can make a good argument that political affiliation does matter but ultimately morality in public education has lost.  Conservatives cannot even mention the word God in public schools without the ACLU crying foul (read David Limbaugh’s Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity).  Textbooks and buses are not really a partisan issue so I say leave it off the ballot

2.)    In-district elections based on Councilmatic districts:  this will not be difficult even with some schools crossing the Council district lines.  Even if schools are split 50-50 by Council lines, the School Board candidates still need the votes and thus need to listen to the constituents

3.)   Three appointments:  all by the County Executive; no appointment by Governor

4.)    Salaries:  pay them $5,000-$10,000 per year and reimburse their expenses if any (up to a limit)

5.)    Terms: 4 year terms, 2 term max.  Three elected members up every two years.

I am sure there are more, but that is what you and this site are for.  Again, I applaud Barry for taking this one by the horns.  Let’s get it right.

www.harfordrepublican.com/forum is here! 

I am writing to announce the opening of the HarfordRepublican.com Forum.  The Forum is a place where you can go and create your own discussion threads about topics that interest you.  It does require registration.  The comments are not approved by myself.  I will keep an eye on the discussion but will not be approving the comments like I have had to do on this site.  It is not pretty but it is very similar to other discussion boards that I have seen.  Registration is simple.  Click HERE to register.  If you have any questions about the forum write a comment to this post.

I was going to leave this one alone but I just can't.  Would you want a 24 year old boss?  I wouldn't.  It is not my intention to bash Scott Gibson.  I have had limited interaction with Scott and he seems to be ok.  However, just because he is ok in my book does not mean that I am ready to throw $100,000 dollars at him and place him in charge of 1,800 people.  I personally saw Scott door-knocking for Craig (and for himself) and in my opinion this appointment reeks of political patronage.  This may never happen again but I might have voted with Lisanti on this one.  Let's say I am fifty years old, got married young at age 20, and had a kid right away.  I've been working for the County for the past 20 years or so and I find out that my new boss is 24 years old.  My children are in their 30's and my boss is 24 years old.  My boss couldn't buy alcohol in the last County election.  Scott was in high school two election cycles ago.  Needless to say, I would be upset.  I would question the County Executive and ask him what he was thinking.  Just the fact that Craig had to go to Lisanti and Guthrie and tell them that Scott can learn on the job is slightly alarming.

Here is the problem with this one.  Craig barely beat Ann Helton.  He cannot afford to mess up.  Appointing a 24 year old to lead the County's employees is one slip up away from disaster.  What will happen if County employees strike.  A 24 year old who is learning on the job might not be able to handle the crisis.  I read that the Director of HR is actually in charge of the Sheriff's Office (employment issues not policy).  I think this was a bad move on Craig's part.  The only people I have seen defend it were also appointed by Craig.

Much like deer season the Republocrats on the County Council are hunting our money.  This last Friday's Aegis literally hurt my soul.  I was so proud of the Annapolis group's responses.  The rookie Delegate Donna Stifler was particularly impressive.  Her record "goes against it" and we can only hope it continues to go against it.  There is no way more taxes are getting through Jacobs, Hooper, and Harris.  Glassman clearly recognizes this.  Glassman stated that "citizens might not be receptive to higher transfer tax…"  Barry, it is safe for you to replace "might not" with "will not."  Everyone keeps throwing around this $500 million for school construction.  I want to know exactly where that $500 million is going and which contractors win these bids.  This is probably public information.  If we publicize this information in newspapers it might be an incentive for the companies to give the county the best deal possible.  I want to know if the contractors are wasting our County's tax dollars.

No one from the Council has mentioned, at least publicly, that Craig's $500 million is too much.  Everyone seems to be trying to figure out how to give it to him.  Chenowith said that increasing the transfer tax is "fair and equitable."  I think I will file that quote away for a rainy day.  David Craig was an administrator at Southampton Middle School and it seems like he is taking care of his own.  When it comes to education most are not willing to stand up and say what should be said, "Hold on here!"  With the bunch that we elected to the Council in November, with one of two exceptions, it is no wonder they are already acting the part as Republocrats.

Read this Op-Ed from the Baltimore Sun and then send an email to the County Exec. 

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