July 2008 – Page 3

More whining about fund sources on tap…

This came to me from the Andy Harris campaign. Shill first and comment to follow:

The Kratovil campaign continued to show their lackluster fundraising ability with the announcement that for the 4th consecutive quarter the Harris campaign has outraised them. The Harris fundraising juggernaut has continued to post strong numbers from quarter to quarter.

Harris has continued to surpass all stated fundraising goal. Months ago, the Harris stated he wanted to be halfway to a $1.2million dollar budget. The campaign has brought in over $746,000 well above the $600,000 goal. “Andy’s message of lower taxes and less wasteful spending is generating the support allowing us to surpass every fundraising goal we have set,” said Campaign Manager Chris Meekins. “The Harris campaign clearly has the momentum, and the Kratovil campaign has once again come up short.”

Despite the influx of liberal special interest money from DC, Kratovil still cannot match the Harris fundraising juggernaut. “This is a clear sign Kratovil’s liberal message of higher taxes and more wasteful government spending is not resonating with donors.” Said Harris Campaign Manager Chris Meekins.

To help weed through the political spin typical of campaign seasons, here are some facts about the fundraising totals:

    Harris out-raised Kratovil for a 4th consecutive quarter.

    Harris well surpassed all stated fundraising goals.

    Harris has $150,000 more cash on hand than the Kratovil campaign.

Yes, yes, the cacophony of whining will begin shortly about Harris getting huge wads of money from favorite left-wing whipping boy the Club For Growth. In the meantime, Kratovil puts his own spin on things:

Campaign fundraising reports filed today with the Federal Election Committee showed a huge shift of momentum in the 1st District Congressional race, as Democratic nominee Frank Kratovil erased most of his opponent‟s previous fundraising advantage and finished the quarter just $60,000 back from Sen. Andy Harris in funds raised. Harris, struggling to meet the public fundraising goal he had announced earlier in the quarter, was forced to loan himself $100,000 on the final day of the quarter to inflate his sagging totals. Kratovil raised $375,985 between April 1 and June 30 and closed the period with $454,027 cash on hand. Andy Harris raised $431,550 for the quarter. Earlier in June, Harris had publicly stated that he was already “about halfway there” to banking the $1.2 million he thought he would need for the race.

In truth, he was still a good deal short of $600,000 cash on hand at the time he made that claim. Lagging far short of this public goal, Harris was forced to loan himself an additional $100,000 on June 30 to hit the $600,000 mark. “Momentum is shifting,” said Kratovil spokesman Tim McCann in response to the filings. “Frank raised more in the last quarter than he had raised in the previous 3 quarters combined. Meanwhile, Andy Harris was caught lying about his fundraising strength and needed a last-minute loan to bail himself out. He‟s starting to panic. When the so-called “favorite” in a top-tier race starts missing his fundraising goals, he‟s in real trouble.” McCann also pointed out that Kratovil wasn‟t even added to the DCCC‟s “Red to Blue” program until the final two weeks of the quarter. Being added to this list of top-tier competitive races will further aid Kratovil’s fundraising efforts moving forward.

That, then, is the spin from both sides. However, it is worthy of noting that, loan to himself or not, Harris still had more cash on hand than Kratovil. If Andy Harris believes in his chances enough to put his own money on the line I have no issue with that.

There is one other stealth factor at work here that could come into play. From PolitickerMD‘s “Wally Edge“:

On June 30, the last day of the second financial quarter, Victory Now/Kratovil Joint Fundraising Committee incorporated itself with the Federal Elections Commission.

Victory Now is the leadership PAC of Eighth District Democrat Chris Van Hollen. He and First district challenger Frank Kratovil opened the account to process donations and expenditures made from a joint event last month. (Emphasis in original.)

This clears the way for more joint Washington D.C. fundraisers with the DCCC head; or, put another way, another opportunity for special interests to contribute to Frank Kratovil without necessarily getting their hands dirty or as easily made public.

Overall, it’s a given that millions will be raised and spent on this Congressional seat. The question is whether you believe the rhetoric spewed forth by Frank Kratovil’s campaign or the record that Andy Harris has put together in the State Senate?

If the creek hasn’t risen by the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to see both candidates down in Crisfield along with a host of other politicians. I’m planning on providing pictures and text upon my return.

Principle vs. politics

One of the source e-mails I receive from Patriot Post gave me this heads-up on an item that could be included Friday. Because this goes along with a pet peeve of mine, I realized pretty quickly that there was no way I could write this in a small enough word count for inclusion so I decided to bring the item here in a longer format.

It quoted John Fund of Opinionjournal.com:

Majority Leader Harry Reid has had it up to here with Tom Coburn, the Senate’s scourge of excessive spending and pork-barrel earmarks. Mr. Reid is telling reporters he will no longer tolerate the Oklahoma Republican blocking about 100 bills using the power Senate rules give individual member to stop legislation from coming to a floor vote. Mr. Coburn objects to many of the bills because he says they would enrich special interests and private developers at the expense of taxpayers.

So Mr. Reid is taking the unusual step of assembling a package of bills that Mr. Coburn has stopped, forming an omnibus bill and ramming them through the Senate before it leaves for its August break. “For those of you who may not know this, you cannot negotiate with Coburn,” Mr. Reid told reporters. “It’s something that you learn over the years, that it’s a waste of time.”

Mr. Reid’s decision now puts added pressure on Mr. Coburn’s fellow Republican senators. An omnibus bill can proceed to a floor vote if 60 Senators agree to cut off debate. With many GOP Senators having inserted provisions into the bills Mr. Coburn is blocking, they will be torn between supporting their colleague in his fight against excessive spending or risking losing projects for their state. Mr. Reid’s move is a clever way to force Republicans to choose between their self-proclaimed principles and pork. It will be interesting to see just how many side with Democrats in their effort to roll over Mr. Coburn.

Senator Coburn should be regarded as a hero for attempting to roll back the pork; unfortunately his fiscally-responsible stances tend to make him a pariah in the Senate – even (shamefully) among members of his own party. He brings up more and more proof that the Seventeenth Amendment was a mistake.

But it seems to me that, in the dim recesses of my memory, the Democrats ran a campaign in 2006 which pledged to clean up the “culture of corruption” that they blamed on the GOP majority in power at the time. And if you follow the argument to the logical conclusion, the cause of the corruption was in large part Senators being enriched financially by special interests in return for special favors from Congress, such as earmarks to benefit those who provided the cash!

So here we have a lone voice in the wilderness who won’t retreat from his principle of taxpayer money serving the public’s good and not particular special interests, and the Democrats won’t take advantage of a position they gave lip service to just 2 years ago and allow Senator Coburn’s objections to stand. After all, one could infer from Senator Reid’s comments that there are only a few small portions of each bill which draw Senator Coburn’s ire; therefore it should be fairly simple to drop those amendments and clauses to get the main bill passed. But instead Reid is going to use the Oklahoman’s objections to score political points.

It’s only natural that Democrats inside the Beltway would campaign by saying one thing and govern in a completely opposite manner, for that has been their modus operandi since at least the days of George McGovern. But Senate Republicans are placed in one serious pickle because a portion of their base is completely up in arms about earmarks and federal spending in general but as part of the minority their opportunities to secure re-election by bringing pork back to the home state voters – those who are gullible enough not to realize that their one pork project in their state begats 49 more in all the other Senators’ home states – are few and far between. Unfortunately my bet is this play by Senator Reid means that most Senate Republicans have to abandon their party’s principles once again and nullify Tom Coburn’s efforts at some measure of fiscal sanity in Washington, D.C.

Given Senator Coburn’s pledge to term-limit himself (as he did after three terms in the House of Representatives) we may only have another two to eight years of his principled fiscal conservatism in the Senate. Obviously the Democrats can’t be trusted to watch out for the taxpayer so those of Coburn’s ilk need all the support they can get as they travel the road less traveled in Washington.

Most of all, I’m pleased about Reid’s statement about negotiating with Tom Coburn – when it comes to principle, there should be no negotiation with one who would act completely counter with your desired action. Hopefully Senate Republicans will grow a pair and stop Reid’s omnibus bill dead in its tracks.

Another call for action

While Newt and his “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” campaign has created the most buzz, the folks at Freedom’s Watch are also on the petition bandwagon:

It’s now been two years since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Americans that Democrats had a commonsense solution to high gas prices. Average price per gallon when Democrats took control of Congress? $2.32. Now, as the price of gas reaches another record high of $4.11 per gallon (a 77% increase in the last two years!), Americans are growing tired of Congressional leaders twiddling their thumbs while drivers shell out more and more of their income at the pumps.

Senator Barack Obama would’ve preferred a more “gradual adjustment” in fuel prices. Senator Harry Reid believes all fossil fuels are “dirty” and need to be eliminated. But what these liberal leaders aren’t offering is a solution to skyrocketing fuel prices while alternative sources of energy can be developed – and their hand-wringing is having a devastating effect on the American economy.

The liberal ‘plan’ for alleviating fuel costs seems to be nothing more than twiddling their thumbs while Americans continue to suffer. Watch this video (that I embedded below) outlining their inaction, and then sign the petition urging Congressional leaders to stop twiddling their thumbs and take action to lower high fuel prices.

What makes their point especially well is pointing out that gas has increased by nearly $2 per gallon on average since the Democrats took over Congress after the 2006 temper tantrum by voters. I did sign the official-looking petition myself, but one thing I’d like to know is how many others have. Granted, this is also a way for the group to bolster its e-mail list but I’m already on it anyway.

Now, the video I promised.

It’s actually pretty humorous as these things go, and only 54 seconds long so it may just make it to network TV sometime, who knows.

By the way, yesterday President Bush undid what his father was responsible for and rescinded the Executive Order that prohibited oil exploration on the outer Continental Shelf. So the ball is now definitely bouncing around the court of Congress and every little bit of public pressure will help.

What truly would help is relief that cannot arrive until November, that being throwing out all of the obstructionists who are preventing us from securing our own energy. The message would be loud and clear if spoken at the ballot box.

Obamaites offended

When word got around about a magazine cover depicting Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama in Islamic garb and his wife Michelle, armed like a terrorist, doing a celebratory fist bump in the Oval Office as an American flag burns in the fireplace, obviously the Obama campaign was none too thrilled about what The New Yorker magazine termed a “satrical” cover for its July 21st issue. Howls of protest have come from others on the left side of the aisle as well.

Never mind that many of those protesting have characterized current President George W. Bush as everything from “Bushitler” to American terrorist to devil incarnate, when you pick on one of their own all is no longer fair in love or war.

More to the point, the cartoon by Barry Blitt is almost assuredly going to make this particular issue of the staid magazine that few in middle America have heard of, much less read, an instant hit. Despite their leanings far to the left, one has to assume that The New Yorker does operate under the profit motive and if a controversial cover helps move a few thousand extra issues that’s great for the bottom line. Let’s face it, we’re not talking about Playboy here so most regular readers are subscribing to the tome for the articles.

And perhaps what may have made those on the “progressive” side a little less hysterical about the Obama cover is if they placed it as part of a thought bubble, one which eminates from a redneck Southerner leaning on his pickup truck, gun rack and Confederate flag window decal in full view. Maybe for full effect they could put a NASCAR sticker on one side of the bumper (perhaps a #3 with wings) and a sticker of some sort proclaiming the driver is a dittohead on the other. It sounds a little busy for an average-sized magazine cover so perhaps just the part with Barack and Michelle Obama made the cut.

Rush Limbaugh is correct when he regularly opines that good comedy has an element of truth in it. What makes this cover so believable is that many Americans do look at Obama in just such a manner – witness the hullabaloo about his middle name or lack of a flag pin on his lapel until some of Barack’s most recent appearances. Throw in some of Michelle’s comments and it’s easy to see why this perception dogs both Obamas.

My contention is that this is yet another distraction from the real issues that separate Obama from GOP standardbearer John McCain – their differing stances on the Long War and negotiating foreign policy, McCain’s recently conversion to the concept of energy independence through drilling for our own oil in most areas rather than forced conservation and the far-off technology of alternative fuels, and the wallet-straining ambitions of an Obama presidency versus the more fiscally conservative John McCain are but three examples.

While I wouldn’t go so far to say that The New Yorker‘s cover is a calculated move in reverse psychology by the Obama camp, it does serve to establish yet another divide between perception and reality as far as GOP voters go, subtly branding those who would vote against Obama as racist, sexist, xenophobic, or a combination of the three. Personally, I don’t give a damn that Barack Obama is half-black, I just happen to think his policy ideas are half-witted.

Crossposted on Red Maryland and That’s Elbert With An E.

Putting the lie to Andy’s ratings

I don’t know if I inspired a Maryland blogosphere row by doing my own General Assembly rating system here on monoblogue, but late last week I came across a post on another site I occasionally contribute to called the Pro-Maryland Gazette. On that post, “Bud the blogger” made the claim that State Senator Andy Harris was the highest-rated Republican in the General Assembly by the Progressive Maryland group, arguably one of the farthest left bunches active in state politics. While a 44 rating doesn’t put Harris into moonbat territory by any means, it was an interesting tactic for a Kratovil supporter to point this out and possibly siphon a few of the more conservative voters into not showing up at the polls.

On the other hand, while I have some misgivings about the company he keeps, Nick Loffer picked apart the Progressive Maryland system with a post on the Salisbury News website. (It’s definitely a wheat post among all of the chaff.) Loffer notes that two of the Progressive Maryland votes were unanimous votes for a particular issue and another one wasn’t necessarily a clearly partisan issue as both parties split into factions. Loffer also points out that the Progressive Maryland ratings were weighted heavily toward their pet issues, and finally links to a file (as I do for this post) showing Harris’s much more believable 15% rating this year, a legislative year which also includes in their case votes for the 2007 Special Session.

(Local readers should note that I took the liberty of checking out their results for Districts 37 and 38. Most ironic is that “Republican” Page Elmore has a higher PM score than Democrat Jim Mathias among District 38 politicians – my ratings have results fairly close for the two during the Special Session, not so much in 2008. Not surprisingly, longtime District 38B representative Norm Conway talks conservative in the district but votes far-left in Annapolis.)

One flaw I see in the system is the dearth of votes that Progressive Maryland bases their rating scale on. In comparing theirs to mine, fewer than ten votes doesn’t hold a candle to the over 60 House votes and 70-plus Senate votes I have used. I also delve into amendments which were proposed but may not have survived the legislative process in order to show where one could be for an idea before being against the final bill, or vice versa. It was also a method I used to weight issues a little bit but the large number of votes should show a good pattern and as it turns out Andy Harris is one of the most conservative people in the Maryland General Assembly; in fact, based on the overall ratings he would probably be my body double in Congress since we agree on so much.

So it was a nice try Bud, but something tells me Progressive Maryland isn’t going to be placing its money or resources behind Andy Harris in the First District race.

Carnival of Maryland 37

Once again, I’m pleased to play host to the Carnival of Maryland, now well into its second year and going strong. The submissions this time were quite diverse and covered a number of subjects – I enjoyed reading them in order to compile this post and so should you.

Having the Independence Day holiday fall between Carnivals allowed me to make a look back with 6 Things To Consider and Steven Atkinson’s post on July 4th – not the most recent edition but the much more important one which occurred on July 4, 1776.

The history doesn’t stop there, though. Usually we have Maryland bloggers who expound about whichever subjects they wish, but in this case it’s a blogger of unknown origin who talks about a Maryland-related subject. This time it’s a site called Executed Today, and while Jason’s site sounds like it would be on the macabre side, Four For Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination is a fascinating read for Maryland history buffs – oh heck, you don’t have to be that parochial to enjoy it.

I’ll move the timeline up a little bit more with a post from Clark’s Picks taking a look at the life of a crooner of a bygone era – but you might be surprised at what two things entertainer Cliff Edwards claims the most fame with.

Of course, there are those who wish to create their own view of history past, present, and future in worlds we have yet to know. While they may seem a little on the odd side, that segment of society has plenty of money to spend and Randomonium author Cayusa discusses that side as well in May The Force Be With Us. Come to think of it, Baltimore would be a pretty good place for them to gather.

I’ll stay on the subject of fantasy a little longer because C of M regular (and benevolent headmaster) Attila has his idea for a new movie poster called Nino: First Blood Part 2 at Pillage Idiot. While Attila’s no PhotoShop maven, the idea comes across just fine and it also serves as a nice segue for me to look at the politics of the present day, a frequent subject in Maryland’s blogosphere.

A year ago, the conventional wisdom thought that the war in Iraq (part of what I call the Long War) would be the dominant issue in Campaign 2008. It always comes back to pocketbook issues, though, and this year all of us have seen that which was in our wallet now being handed over to those who extract black gold from the earth. On his site Annapolis Politics, Brian Gill distills a semester’s worth of Oil Economics 101 into a treatise appropriately named The Economics of Oil. The also suitably-named Mike’s Nether Land (hosted by Mike Netherland, naturally) also broaches the topic and ties it in to a local Congressional race with his post Dependence on Foreign Oil?

You can also have a second helping of Mike’s thoughts as he bids to direct the national Republican Party with Saving The Party, Part I. (Being a member of said party, I’m interested in where he goes with parts two, three, and so forth.)

Zinzindor shifts the political focus inward to the Free State most of us call home with what you could term an appropriately-timed post. (Usually after the post-July 4th summer clearance, the next big retail push is the “back to school” sales commencing in mid-July.) For a lot of parents, now is also the time tuition bills come due and his Leviathan Montgomery post on our state’s current tuition freeze takes a hard look at who really benefits.

Another point of political interest is explored by Joyce of Creating a Jubilee County. While the subject is her home county of Prince George’s, the topics she discusses can be applied to almost any other suburban county in America in one way or another. And so it is with my contribution for this Carnival.

Like Brian Gill did on his contribution, I spent several weeks studying for my submission this time around called A time to be accountable. It goes without saying that discussing the voting patterns of our General Assembly is a state-specific task, but the idea can and should be replicated wherever there are those like me who believe government needs to be limited in order to function most effectively and preserve the maximum possible amount of personal rights and freedom.

Perhaps the most freedom one can have is to be not even aware of possessing it; instead simply going about the functions and tasks necessary for survival and adapting to whatever conditions are placed in that path. A frequent contributor to our Carnivals is The Ridger and this one is no exception as she provides pictorial looks at some of what nature provides and the rest of us take for granted. I encourage you to check out and enjoy both Dance at Dawn and Images of a Maryland Dawn at her site The Greenbelt.

Normally when I put together the Carnival of Maryland I like to have about 10 to 15 submissions, as I’ve found that having that number presents the reader with plentiful and worthwhile reading options depending on their interest while providing me the opportunity to do a writeup of optimal length for my site – not too long (well, in the eyes of most people anyway) nor too short. In this case, counting mine I have 13. I could call it superstition, but in truth I wanted to bring up a couple other posts which weren’t submitted but I thought made for good reading as I perused the Maryland blogosphere.

One of these is actually a relatively brief but informative five-part series on Maryland political blogging by Adam Pagnucco, a contributor to the Maryland Politics Watch site. While he’s a participant on the opposite side from me, Adam does look at bloggers both conservative and liberal in his series.

The other post I’d like to highlight is one of many from a blogger who is also more or less my opposite politically but presents his arguments in such a way to promote thought, instead of the more prototypical liberal sites which seem to suffer from varying degrees of Bush Derangement Syndrome and serve just to lower the level of discourse. I’m happy to say that Lost on the Shore isn’t one of those and this post called A Wiser Choice is one of many there worth reading whether you agree with the argument or not.

So ends this edition of the Carnival of Maryland, number 37 in a continuing series. For the first time, the Carnival will remain here on the Eastern Shore for a second big show as the ROTUS blog hosts edition 38 on July 27th. It just moves from the lower part where I live to the upper part where ROTUS is written.

Thanks for stopping by and reading.

Something new on monoblogue

You will probably notice the large box on the right as you bring up my site.

Being a capitalist at heart, I decided to explore this option after being invited to join a similar network which wasn’t local enough for me. I’ll leave this up for awhile to see how it does in paying my server fee and other expenses I incur running this website. (Hell, I’d just love to make minimum wage at this!)

Unfortunately I don’t have control over the videos placed up or the advertiser so on occasion you may see something which goes against the political grain of the site. It’s why I’m not committing to leave this up forever, but I’m also hopeful that it drives a little more traffic my way and allows the real focus of this to reach more readers. Besides, in one respect I do a lot of preaching to the choir here so it would be interesting to have more on the left respond with their emotional outbursts. (I was originally going to say “thoughts” but stopped myself when I realized that the vast majority of those on the Left don’t have any – hence, they’re on the Left.) I also placed more sponsored links on the bottom of the right column, it appears they’re similar to the unobtrusive stuff I put along the bottom.

What this also did was push down my link list, which is fine because over the weekend I’ll put the political items in their own box in the left column. It’ll be similar in format to the little disclaimer box I have but with links and a title, maybe a heavier border if I can figure that out. I’ll expand the number of races I have up as well to place a little more regional interest in my site.

So look for these changes and, if you’re a Maryland blogger, I encourage last-minute submissions for Sunday’s Carnival of Maryland 37 being hosted here. Hopefully I’ll have those posts you wish to highlight by 5:00 p.m. tonight because afterward I have a ballgame calling my name.

By the way, speaking of ballgames I do have to say that there was a very nice young girl in front of me at last night’s game whose parents should be commended. This girl looked to be about 4-5 years old but I never heard her whine or complain like most kids that age do. The one thing I noticed the parents did was that once the game got to a certain point she was told that if they went up the steps they would leave, so she stayed right there. It’s a lesson to other parents who take their kids to Shorebirds games.

Social, but secure?

I’ve played on this field before, but the other day I received my annual Social Security statement. While they didn’t have my 2007 numbers figured out yet, I can safely say that over the course of my working life the government has confiscated over $40,000 of my money (along with a like amount from the several employers I’ve been with along the way) for Social Security and about $10,000 from each of us for Medicare. For all this, they calculate that if I should retire at the age of 62 (about 18 years hence) I’d get $1,259 per month.

The boilerplate letter I got talks “about Social Security’s future” as well, noting that, “(i)n 2017, we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will only be enough money to pay about 78 cents per dollar of scheduled benefits.” So when I turn 77 I’m really going to be caught short, which may explain why I’m not too secure about getting any of my money back. (In theory, it only takes me a couple years to get back what I put in – after that I’m on the dime of my kids and grandkids, as my parents are being paid for now by my brothers and I.)

Obviously I don’t know what the future will bring as far as either my income, my longevity, or what the government does with the money my employers and I chip in. But one does have to question the return on investment I’ll get and really ponder what my employers get from the deal. It’s something that doesn’t make a lot of headlines, but imagine the impact on businesses if Social Security was sunsetted as I’ve suggested. Certainly the additional capital would be helpful to any business who has employees and perhaps they can use the extra to entice workers by contributing more as a match to their private retirement plans.

My largest concern is just which generation gets stuck holding the bag on this nearly 75 year old Ponzi scheme. They’re going to be one upset bunch because they’ll be paying more and more to support a group who had the opportunity to address the problem but failed to do so. With the Boomers now advancing to an age where they’ll be cashing in on the generosity of Gen X’ers like myself, their incentive is gone and my generation is rapidly reaching a point where we’re getting too close to retirement to address the issue either. It may be the Millennial Generation (born after 1975) who blows up at the thought of supporting their elders through money confiscated from their labor.

While President Bush attempted to do a little bit about this problem by privatizing a small portion of the employee’s contribution, the outcry from the Democrats and AARP (but I repeat myself) forced Congress into inaction and the idea died. Instead, candidates this time around only intend to tinker around the edges a bit and possibly add another few years to the lifespan. In the meantime, I’ll continue to see these statements each year and grow more and more disillusioned about how that rapidly increasing figure is basically being thrown away instead of the pockets of both me and my employer.

Shorebird of the Week – July 10, 2008

If you look at this week’s SotW honoree Joe Mahoney, you think “this guy could hit one off Comcast.” Not the sign along the right field line in Perdue Stadium, but the cable company’s building across Hobbs Road. Yes, he’s a large young man, checking in at 6′-7″ and 260. When the Orioles drafted the 21 year old New Yorker out of the University of Richmond, they too were probably thinking about moon shots off the warehouse adjacent to Camden Yards.

Reality has proven a little more difficult for a guy who was drafted in the 6th round last year. In his first full season of pro ball, Joe’s been hot and cold throughout. A decent April was followed by a May swoon, only to recover in June but see his efforts thus far in July not be too successful. This has been his weakest month as he’s just 4-for-26 with one RBI in seven games. On the whole Joe’s hitting .230 with 7 homers and 49 runs batted in. However, while his OPS is a lackluster .672 for the campaign Joe’s RBI total is second only to Joe Nowicki’s among the Shorebirds so Mahoney is showing a knack for getting guys home in any way he can. Part of that is because of a low strikeout total for a prototypical slugger, just 62 K’s in 278 at-bats. I’ve also noticed that he puts the ball in left field a lot so Joe can go the opposite way and at least put a ball in play rather than strike out and not advance a runner.

Because Joe is only 21 and won’t turn 22 until just before spring training next season, he may be one who stays here at Delmarva for a portion of 2009 in order to master this level a little more before advancing to Frederick. However, a strong finish by Mahoney may influence the decision by the O’s minor league brass during the winter.

(S)lots of opinions wanted

This came up in my political mailbox and I thought it would be an interesting item to chew on for a midday post.

A group called “For Maryland – For Our Future” is looking for opinions on this November’s slots referendum, which calls for amending the Constitution of Maryland to allow video slot machines in ceratin designated locations. Fair enough – we all know opinions are like rectal cavities and everybody has one. But something tells me that there’s a bias afoot when I read this little “spread the word” message:

Facing a $700 million hole in the budget, Maryland has a new way to pay for our kids’ education without slashing vital state services or raising taxes. The Referendum for Maryland’s Future will keep Maryland’s money in Maryland with a limited expansion of video lottery machines in just five specified locations. It’s a responsible and reasonable approach to protecting our children’s and Maryland’s future.

They want my opinion? They got it – and so do you.

*****

Personally, I think it’s the right idea but the wrong approach. There was no need to amend the Constitution of Maryland to have slots happen; during the Ehrlich Administration a legislative effort was made and thwarted several times. Achieving slots in the manner advocated on this site will make it difficult to adjust for changing circumstances and limits the options on the table to just a few specific locations with a finite number of machines for the state as a whole. We won’t have the flexibility to compete with other states as easily if changes can only be made every two years at a General Election.

Moreover, the dollar figures that state beancounters have come up with of late seem to be rosily optimistic in a number of cases and I don’t see the massive amounts of money being devoted to all these causes actually being created as droves of thrillseekers flock to Maryland to play a few video games. Being a former beancounter himself under the Glendening Administration Mr. Puddester should know this! It almost seems like getting just video slots now is too little, too late. We need to vote NO on this amendment and think about different, bolder ideas for gambling, such as sports betting or full-fledged casinos like several other states have.

*****

So count me in as a NO but don’t tell me I’m against Maryland. I’m for fiscal sanity.

An issue sliding under the radar

I have to give a hat tip to PolitickerMD for uncovering this little article today – while I’m sure it’s a fine newspaper I don’t make a habit of reading the Carroll County Times. The story by writer Erica Kritt puts a local spin on the issue, and the paper should be commended for taking the time to look at this small protest and bringing it to light.

The article also brought up this fairly new website with the moniker Health Care For America Now. Of course, while they claim to be a “national grassroots campaign organizing millions of Americans to win a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all”, it’s the same old far-left organizations who have persisted in this effort for many moons. A list of “organizational members” goes like this:

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Americans United for Change, Campaign for America’s Future, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Center for Community Change, MoveOn.org, National Education Association, National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Service Employees International Union, United Food and Commercial Workers, and USAction.

You got it, mostly union thugs. Of course, they’ve couched their aim in much better language than simply saying “socialized health care” – now it’s a question of insurance:

We’re offering a bold new solution that gives you real choice and a guarantee of quality coverage you can afford: keep your current private insurance plan, pick a new private insurance plan, or join a public health insurance plan.

We’re also calling for regulation on health insurance companies. We need to set and enforce rules that quash health insurance companies’ greed once and for all. There is a huge divide between our plan and the insurance companies’ plan for healthcare reform. We want to make sure you have the quality coverage you need at the price you can afford. They want to leave you alone to fend for yourself in the unregulated, bureaucratic health insurance market.

Our plan is affordable for people and business. Their plan is profitable for them. With no regulation, health insurance companies can and will charge whatever they want, set high deductibles, and continue to drop coverage when you get sick. Now is the time to pick a side.

So the “real choice” I have would be to be insured by a company that will soon be bankrupted by the burden of additional regulation and taxation, another company that will follow a similar fate at some point either before or after my original choice, or be insured by the government and watch my taxes increase as more and more people are forced from the now-bankrupt private insurers and into the arms of government bureaucracy. Some choice.

I see nothing in their plan about common-sense solutions like medical savings accounts or tort reform, which would bring down costs by reducing the liability insurance burden all physicians share. Nor is there room for fee-for-service, which some doctor offices are getting back into in order to avoid the paperwork hassles of insurance companies. (Do you honestly think there will be less paperwork if the government is in charge of your health insurance? Give me a break.)

This also leads into more ancilliary issues. Take illegal immigration, which drives up health care costs to varying degrees depending on the influx of undocumented workers in a particular area. Rarely do they pay for the services provided, and while some costs are passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices hospitals try to charge, more often it’s a loss to the hospital or clinic and too many losses force the facilities to close their doors permanently. While this may not be a total cause and effect, it bears noting that Prince George’s County here in Maryland is a safe haven in all but name for illegals and also has a hospital system which required a bailout in this year’s Maryland budget.

Another concern I have about the HCAN approach is the overabundance of regulations already in place and whether there would be any effort to streamline things. At least with a for-profit insurer there are efforts to control costs – and while the most egregious efforts grab headlines and make their industry appear even more cruel and heartless, on the whole the health care insurers are making an honest effort to make the system simpler despite the maze of regulations in place as lawmakers attempt to placate one group or another. Unfortunately, an approach that treats health insurers as the enemy leaves out an important portion of the equation that needs to be accounted.

It’s also worthy of note that HCAN gets a large share of funding from the Tides Foundation, “quickly becoming the 800-pound gorilla of radical activist funding, and this couldn’t happen without a nine-figure balance sheet” according to the website activistcash.com.

Of course, the HCAN website asks “which side are you on?” and offers only the chance to sign a petition showing your support. I’m on the side of personal choice myself, and if it means I’m allied with the so-called “greedy” health insurers I suppose I could think of worse company to be in.

Crossposted on Red Maryland and That’s Elbert With An E.

Disapproval

You know, I really wasn’t out to place items from Maryland GOP chair Dr. Jim Pelura back-to-back, but this is also worth commenting on – so you know I will:

Rasmussen today released a poll showing congressional approval ratings at a historical low of 9%. The Democrat-controlled Congress has seen the public approval ratings consistently fall since Nancy Pelosi became speaker.

“Voters clearly are not happy with the liberal Democrats who control Congress,” said Chairman Pelura. “A vote for Kratovil is a vote to send yet another liberal Democrat to Washington.”

The Democrat leadership in Washington has actively supported Frank Kratovil. Kratovil has had fundraisers in the district with DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen from Maryland. He has also held a fundraiser at a lobbyist’s office near Capitol Hill for a fundraiser sponsored by Senator Cardin, Senator Mikulski, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen, and other Democratic members from Maryland.

Kratovil says he is a moderate, but Steny Hoyer has stated that Kratovil will toe the party line with the Democrats if he is elected. “Why would Hoyer believe that?” Pelura asked. “Because Kratovil has promised to go to Washington and be an ‘ally of Governor O’Malley’.”

“Frank Kratovil will support the values of Liberal Democrats, not the voters in the 1st Congressional District,” concluded Chairman Pelura. “Kratovil is clearly part of the status quo,” said Chairman Pelura. “Andy Harris will be bring the refreshing change people desire in Washington.”

I know, I know, I can already hear the pro-Kratovil forces say, “no, you two, Frank is going to be a moderate Democrat who can reach across party lines and be more effective in the majority.” Mark my words, ain’t gonna happen. He’ll vote with the liberals at least 2/3 of the time.

I will concede that if you find the idea of pulling out most of our troops from Iraq in favor of a “multi-national force” and negotiating with our sworn enemies as moderate, then Frank’s your guy.

Or if you believe that having the federal government force everyone to have health insurance whether they need or desire it falls under the definition of “moderate”, again, we know who you should vote for.

Lastly, if you believe that to drill for oil in ANWR or in our waters well offshore won’t have an impact on gas prices for several years but making the effort to convert switchgrass to ethanol will be one which fills up your gas tank next week, you not only would be a Kratovil supporter but probably have sent him money and put signs in your yard.

I guess what it boils down to is that Congress has reached its lowest approval rating when it’s controlled by the party which Frank Kratovil proudly has pledged his allegiance to. Does it truly make sense to send someone in a party so reviled for how it’s running Congress when the incumbent Congressman has already been eliminated from the race?