August 2008 – Page 3

Frank Kratovil responds on the airwaves

Last week Andy Harris moved his Congressional campaign back to the airwaves with his first commercial and yesterday opponent Frank Kratovil responded in kind:

Of course, the Harris side didn’t waste any time coming up with a pithy reply, billing it as the Extreme Makeover: Kratovil Edition.

In his first television ad, Frank Kratovil has had an extreme makeover showing he will do or say anything to get elected.

“Either Kratovil has a short-term memory, or he is intentionally misleading the voters in the first district.” said Campaign Manager Chris Meekins. “The reason Kratovil is trying to have an extreme makeover in his first ad is because he knows voters in the first district won’t embrace his radical liberal Washington agenda.”

Kratovil makes numerous misleading statements in his first campaign ad. See examples below:

Wasteful Spending

Claim: “decrease wasteful spending”

Fact: In an interview with WYPR, Kratovil stated he supports earmarks. Earmarks lead to billions of dollars in wasteful spending like the “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska, and to corruption in government. (Source: Transcript of Kratovil Interview on WYPR in Salisbury on 6/13/2008)

Illegal Immigration

Claim: “Crack down on illegal immigration”

Fact: At a debate in January, Kratovil stated he would have supported the “Amnesty” bill before Congress last year. Supporting Amnesty is not cracking down on illegal immigration. (Source: Star Democrat 1/13/2008

Energy

Claim: “Decrease our dependence on Middle East Oil”

Fact: By refusing to support off-shore drilling, the United States economy will not be able to stop buying oil from the Middle East. Expanding domestic oil production is necessary to decreasing our dependence on foreign oil. (Source: Transcript of Kratovil Interview on WYPR in Salisbury on 6/13/2008)

Representation

Claim: “Independent. On Our Side”

Fact: Frank Kratovil has registered as a Democrat for Congress not as an independent. He has stated, “I want to be an ally of the Governor (Martin O’Malley) in Washington.” Being an ally does not mean you are independent, it means Kratovil wants to go to Washington to be on Martin O’Malley’s side, not ours. (Source: Maryland State Board of Elections and the Star Democrat 6/5/2007)

The theme of Kratovil’s ad is “Protect”. My question is, protect us from what? Is Frank assuming that we need protection from someone or something, and that only he can provide it? That seems like a very nanny-like attitude to me.

As far as I can tell, the external threat that we need protection from the most is Islamofascism, yet Frank wants to pull our troops out of Iraq – one of the very places we’ve been engaging that threat. Moreover, by not wanting to drill for our own domestic supplies of oil, Kratovil is encouraging us to give some part of our gasoline dollar to those very same Islamofascists.

Perhaps it’s an internal threat that Frank is referring to. At the moment, what threatens us most in an economic sense is the high cost of energy (see above) with second place being the huge tax bite being taken out of our wallets by Frank’s buddy Martin O’Malley. Andy Harris has stood foursquare against those tax increases, but what my instinct guided by experience tells me is that Frank Kratovil would gleefully allow the Bush tax cuts to expire (in the name of balancing the budget, which wouldn’t happen) and thus proceed to take even more money out of the wallets of working Maryland families.

Maybe Frank is referring to protecting Chesapeake Bay, which is an admirable goal. But with so many restrictions already in place, we have no idea if all of the barriers to enjoying one’s private property and freedom are having any effect – impatient environmentalists seem to think that decades’ worth of what they consider damage can be reversed overnight. If anything, the rights of those who have property in the Chesapeake watershed are what need more protection.

Ultimately, the best person to protect one’s self is him- or herself. Part of that is embodied in our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. While I can’t say for sure that Frank Kratovil would be a gun-grabber, the fact that Andy Harris has the endorsements of both the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America leads me to believe he would be better at upholding this right, and less likely to be seduced by the anti-gun siren song of Nancy Pelosi and company.

Shorebird of the Week – August 14, 2008

In their recent seven-game roadtrip, Shorebirds infielder and this week’s SotW Ryan Adams smoked the ball around the home parks of division-leading West Virginia and Lake County to the tune of a .500 mark (15-for-30) with 2 home runs and 10 runs knocked in. Ryan has become the leading Delmarva hitter during the second half of the season, bringing a batting average which was an anemic .243 at the end of April up to .313 for the year since then. For the month of August, Ryan is batting a scorching .404 (19-for-47.)

Looking at two key stats though makes me wonder if the highest draft pick currently on the Shorebirds roster (drafted #2 in the 2006 draft) isn’t pressing just a little bit. Far and away, Ryan has committed the most errors of any Shorebirds defensive player – granted, he’s had more chances than most and seems to have very good range at his position but 47 errors for a second baseman is a truckload. This is a bit surprising because Ryan was drafted out of high school as a shortstop and second base is an easier position. His home/away batting splits are also wildly skewed in favor of playing well on the road – hitting .395/8/32 away from Perdue Stadium but just .222/2/16 within our not-so-friendly confines.

The 21-year-old Louisiana native obviously has high expectations placed on him, and these issues (particularly fielding) will take some work over the offseason to overcome. This is Ryan’s first full season experience after two seasons at Bluefield and Aberdeen so the Orioles brass is being a little cautious with this prospect. It’s more than apparent that Ryan has the batting stroke to progress through the organization, the question going forward appears to be whether he’ll be a position player or more strictly a designated hitter in the mold of current Oriole Aubrey Huff.

The slippery slope has a solar panel on it

While this isn’t the newest story, the New York Times and writer Nicholas Kulish recently told the tale of the small German city of Marburg and their efforts at greening the town through government regulation. I read it and thought to myself, “gee, this is something like Maryland would do” – definitely the story piqued my interest.

Probably the most intriguing parallel between the city of 80,000 and our state is that people tend to be in favor of the principles behind the ordinance, but think it goes too far because this is a dictate on what people can and cannot do with their private property. Witness the example of the homeowner who already has a small solar panel on his roof but would be forced to place a newer and larger one there as part of reinsulating his home. His point is that the regulation may discourage him from redoing his insulation (and it is a valid argument) but then again he could go ahead and pay the 1,000 euro fine, factoring it into the payback cost of the insulation. (However, at that point the city may amend the law as Maryland has with its new Critical Areas laws, making each day a nonconforming situation exists a separate offense.)

While the object in question isn’t solar panels the Marburg regulation reminds me of an idea, some form of which has been attempted in at least the last two General Assembly sessions, of charging homeowners who wish to improve their sites an impervious surface fee. (As I’ve blogged about several times before, the state of Maryland already subsidizes solar panel installation with grants and a sales tax waiver.) Not only does it satisfy the fringe environmentalists’ ideas about limiting development, it also satiates the liberal thirst for more dollars to redistribute because at one point the idea was floated as an annual fee on homeowners. Look for it to rear its ugly head once again in 2009.

As is generally the case with legislation which breaks new ground into usurping personal rights, there’s unintended consequences that I like to bring into the light. In the Marburg case, the regulations would prevent one homeowner from making the investment in reinsulating his house (and having a fairly short payback period on his investment) because he’d also have to pay for a solar panel which would be of dubious benefit to him because he already has similar technology in a smaller panel. Akin to this, all of the Critical Areas legislation and money invested in cleaning up Chesapeake Bay hasn’t shown itself in results which would satisfy the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other similar environmental groups because they’re not going to be happy until the Bay is restored to its pristine state circa 1600, when the only pollution in the Bay was from natural causes (read: poo from the few people and plentiful wild animals which were here then.) Those of us in Maryland are still paying plenty for the near-impossibility of trying to get the Bay back to that state in both money and personal freedom.

Fortunately for Marburg residents, it appears that the next level of government (equivalent to our state) will turn thumbs-down on the solar panel proposal, citing that it’s poorly written. In our case, I happen to think a self-imposed moratorium on new environmental regulations (and revenue generation) in Maryland is in order, this to give those regulations in force right now an opportunity to be studied to gauge their effectiveness. If Chesapeake Bay isn’t getting cleaner in five years’ time under the maze of regulations we already have in effect, then perhaps it’s time to see what can be done at that time in concert with the other states in its watershed. But we all need a breather – it took decades to place the Bay in its state, so how can we expect instant results?

Crossposted on Red Maryland.

Blowing the whistle

In my recent post, Referee in a catfight, commenter Joe Albero smugly brags that Salisbury News has “always” been in the top 10 since becoming involved with the Blognetnews website. Unfortunately, Joe’s a little bit incorrect in that rash assertion because I have tracked the numbers since the Influence Ranking’s inception in June 2007. And the numbers don’t lie – there was a period of several weeks last fall when Joe’s site was outside the top 10 and one week it wasn’t even ranked. (On the other hand, I can correctly note that only two sites have been ranked in the top 20 each week since the ratings were introduced – mine and Brian Griffiths’.)

The other factoid I think is worth pointing out was following up on ShoreThings’ note about the conservative and liberal blog rankings. Joe can only dream about the streak of #1 ratings my readers and commentors have allowed me and my humble little monoblogue to compile in the conservative blog rankings – how about 14 times in 16 weeks?

While I hesitate to cast myself anywhere close to William F. Buckley, the comparison of National Review vs. National Enquirer comes to mind when I compare my site to Joe’s. Two different styles for two different audiences. (And we both read each other’s sites for different reasons too.) I just didn’t want to leave the loose end too long since I took my short vacation so soon after the catfight post came out.

So I ask the indulgence of my readership in setting this straight and thank them again for helping me to achieve the solid record I’ve compiled thus far. Because I did this post so late, you may get three today as it’s SotW night as well.

Waitin’ for the bus in Maryland

If Jesus had tried to leave Baltimore instead of Chicago, apparently He’d have a long wait. Most of this has made news over the summer, but Jim Pelura, Justin Ready, and the Maryland GOP decided it would be a nice subject to keep themselves in the limelight:

According to a recent Baltimore Sun report, the Maryland Transit Administration recalled 200 buses this past July after a series of recent bus fires. These bus recalls along with the news of massive delays in our state’s MARC train service show the failure of Martin O’Malley’s transportation policies, commented Maryland Republican Party Chairman James Pelura.

“Since he took office, Martin O’Malley has used the Maryland Department of Transportation for flashy environmental promises instead of providing core service to Maryland travelers,” Pelura noted. “The state’s MARC train service is breaking down, buses are being recalled, and Maryland drivers are still mired in horrific traffic jams on the state’s highways.” (Emphasis mine – just try driving into Ocean City in the summer or going west on I-70 between Frederick and Hagerstown on a weekend or rush hour.)

Under the Ehrlich administration, the Maryland Department of Transportation was making real progress. The Ehrlich administration reformed the state’s para-transit system for disabled Marylanders, broke ground on the long-delayed Inter-County Connector , and started construction on $1 billion widening of Interstate-95 northeast of Baltimore. It was Governor Ehrlich who started the conversion of the state’s bus fleet to hybrid buses, which now seems to be Martin O’Malley’s limited focus on transportation.

“What we have here is just another O’Malley broken promise. Maryland ’s mass transit systems are breaking down despite the governor’s campaign promise to make mass transit a priority. This comes at a time when Marylanders are turning to MARC trains and MTA buses more and more to get to work. Clearly, this record of failure indicates a need for change in 2010,” Pelura concluded. “ Maryland is in desperate need of competent, effective leadership.”

While it’s effective to point out these shortcomings of the O’Malley Administration, I can already hear the retort of the Annapolis liberals and their allies in the blogosphere that, “well, the reason all of this infrastructure is falling apart is because George W. Bush and his oil company cronies are cutting out federal subsidies to mass transit.” And as we use the issue to show another broken O’Malley promise, their side is likely going to use this same information as further buttressing their argument that Maryland’s gasoline tax needs to be increased, or, perhaps a Virginia-style car tax placed into effect.

Progressives have craved higher gasoline prices for some time as a trigger to finally wean us off what they consider an environmentally-unfriendly dependence on oil, but there’s two unintended consequences which have occurred once their dreams of European-style gas prices came to a pump near us. First of all, the mass transit infrastructure which was already in need of repair (as cited by Pelura and company) is falling apart even faster with increased ridership. Secondly, the decreased consumption of gasoline means fewer gallons sold; in turn, that’s less gasoline tax revenue coming into the coffers of Annapolis. While the federal solution to this is a bid to increase their chunk of the tax bite by a dime, the O’Malley Administration could well decide that taxation based on consumption isn’t working well enough as a revenue source and decide to tax the very auto and truck engines which burn gasoline, regardless of the rate they do so (or even if they don’t, unless they decide to exempt cars running on electricity or natural gas. I’ll bet they do, the left likes to use the tax code to reward/punish behavior.)

Since I’m sitting on the Eastern Shore, the trials of mass transit in the Baltimore and DC metro areas rarely affect me directly but the money I give to the state every time I fill up the tank at my local gas station goes into the pot where a significant share of both the highway construction and repair funding and the mass transit operating budget comes from. Unfortunately, the emphasis placed by Martin O’Malley on mass transit over highway construction means the roads where I live get a little less attention than perhaps they should. (As they work on the ICC project, I believe the state should start planning a new Bay Bridge connecting the Eastern Shore and southern Maryland, along with assisting in building a new interstate which would run along the U.S. 13 corridor through Delaware and the Eastern Shore. That may help to bring industry to our area.)

In all, energy-related issues have placed themselves at the forefront of the 2008 campaign and might also become a key issue for 2010. It would serve the Maryland GOP well to not just affix blame for broken promises and failed policies but to bring together our legislative caucus and think up solutions for consideration by the General Assembly when they meet in January. Obviously most will go nowhere but that will be more proof that true change (not Obama-style platitudes) is needed in Annapolis come November, 2010.

Crossposted (without Pelura’s text) on Red Maryland.

My city wasn’t gone…

Well folks, I’ve returned after four days of almost-complete absence from the blogosphere, since I did moderate comments twice during my leave from the state of Maryland. Since Sunday morning I hadn’t even looked on the internet until I came home from the Shorebirds game tonight, which explained the pile of e-mails I sifted through.

Adding in the fact that I prewrote the preceding four posts last week prior to leaving and it’s been six days where I managed to let this website go for the most part and recharge my batteries for the critical 10 weeks ahead leading up to the November elections. I have to tell you that it was wonderful to spend time with members of my immediate and extended families over the last four days.

During the midday part of Monday, I took the opportunity to spend some time walking through the neighborhood I spent part of my childhood in, a period that spanned 2nd to 6th grade. I noticed there were quite a few folks out at that time of day, which isn’t unusual in a lot of Midwestern city neighborhoods. When my brothers and I were growing up there, we walked about six blocks to the neighborhood school. Because of declining enrollment, that school closed over a decade ago and is now a part of the University of Toledo as a daycare center.

At least it’s still standing, though – I found out driving later that evening on my way downtown through the neighborhood my ex and I bought our first house in that my daughter’s grade school was demolished and a new school is being built on the site to replace it. (In fact, within the next half-decade the state of Ohio will have replaced all of the schools my daughter – who isn’t even 25 yet – attended, with two of them I saw already demolished for new buildings and a third slated to be – the new high school is being built on an adjacent block.) I contend that, regardless of the newness of the physical plant, the quality of education a student receives there isn’t going to be any better without some serious education reform. Hopefully you’ll pardon the little aside, now back to the main path.

The point I’m making is that the typical urban Rust Belt resident is getting older. As that happens and industry is driven out by a variety of market and non-market factors, the chances of a city to reinvent itself become less and less and local governments find themselves increasingly looking for handouts from the state and federal governments. In Toledo’s case, development seems to be concentrated in two areas – downtown (where a new hockey arena is being built close by the 6 year old Fifth Third Field) and south of the city, on the outskirts of suburban cities Maumee and Perrysburg. Those residential neighborhoods in the middle like the one I grew up in continue to age and eventually will depreciate into less-desirable areas, something not even brand-new schools can help.

It’s even worse when areas once vibrant with retail see themselves supplanted by newer and trendier stores farther out in the suburbs. I recall the former Southwyck Mall opening when I was a kid, 35 years later it’s vacant and so are a number of other nearby buildings that together used to comprise a thriving retail area along Reynolds Road. Certainly soon to follow into a decrepit state are the neighborhoods that surround the former mall, much of that area already rental property to begin with. Seemingly the area would almost be better suited returning to the cornfield that it once was not even 40 years ago.

In some ways my former hometown is a case study for what not to do to grow an urban area. (As a start, electing some Republicans would help.) For decades plan after plan was made to revitalize downtown but little materialized. It’s a story repeated with many cities in the region, with much work wasted in planning and not enough attention devoted to the principle of just getting out of the way as much as possible. It seems to me that, in order to feel like something is being done, those politicians who govern big cities like to create panels who either dream up their own grandiose plans or hire someone to do so – the trick is always in how to have their own palms greased as part of the process. That’s not to say planning doesn’t have its place, but there needs to be plenty of flexibility built in. What may seem like a perfect retail area now may be better as an office park when a new highway bypass is built, for example.

I think this is a subject I may touch on again; not necessarily in looking at my hometown but as part of planning for my adopted one. Obviously the problems aren’t the same, but I think many of the solutions would include a great deal of commonality.

I’m not sure when I’ll be heading that way next. Unfortunately it slipped my mind to check on those little oil wells, so it’s still a mystery to me whether we’re drilling here and now on that particular plot of northern Ohio. However, you can be sure I’ve returned and will get back to more regular posting again.

An ode to second season

I talked about politics all weekend, time for something different. After all I’m on vacation!

For those of you who aren’t from the Shore, we have a unique phenomenon we call “second season.” At the risk of revealing this not-so-secret part of Shore life, it’s the time when the kids go back to school so the tourists aren’t invading here in nearly the numbers that they do from Memorial Day through Labor Day. While there’s still fun events going on through September and October, we locals (I’ll lump myself into the group despite being a “come-here”) like the opportunity to enjoy the beaches in the nice late summer weather without the large crowds and traffic.

The other part of second season I enjoy comes from a perception I have based on a little observation. I know that a couple of the local clubs don’t have bands during the summer because everyone’s at the beach and most of the OC entertainment venues tend to hire either DJ’s or a fairly limited number of cover bands. Of course, they’re catering to the throngs who come down from PA or from the Western Shore and don’t want to be surprised when it comes to their entertainment.

After Labor Day though it seems like many of the local bands shake off the cobwebs of summer and start getting around again. The college kids that drive Salisbury clubs return from their summer break and look for a close and cheap place to take their girl and get drunk, and venues like the Monkey Barrel, Cactus Club, and Brew River are once again rocking to the sounds of original local music. It’s a good thing.

As you likely know from being a frquent reader, I’m one who gets out and supports local music when I can – of course summer also brings baseball season so my allegiances are split somewhat. It just seemed though that this summer was pretty much a dry spell for seeing many bands. (Of course, I did get to enjoy my friends in Semiblind a couple times at private parties, which helped ease the drought a bit.) Aside from the B.J. Mohr benefit show back in June, this summer didn’t feature much in the way of local music. (It occurs to me that I never did do a review of that show as I promised, so I’ll rectify that with observations and impressions rounded somewhat over time later on this week since I’m on vacation. And if Bill or “Average Girl” is reading this, hope your brother’s doing well.)

So once the Labor Day holiday has passed and the Shorebirds season most likely comes to an end that night, my life goes back to winter mode with bowling on Fridays and – hopefully – more trips around the area to see the best bands from near and far performing. I’m sort of looking forward to it and hopefully I’ll see you at some of the shows!

More land untaxed

One of my beefs with government, particularly in the state of Maryland, is that they possess much more land than they need to. Obviously there’s a need for government buildings to house the myriad agencies, departments, and other activities where the government has a legitimate reason for being, along with some parkland and recreational areas, but Maryland goes way overboard at times with its Program Open Space. In fact, POS (now is that a perfect acronym or what?) this week spent over $3 million buying 323 acres near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and purchasing the Nanticoke Inn in the town of Vienna.

While the Nanticoke Inn was purchased with an eye toward restoring it into a visitors’ center for the John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the land purchase was simply to keep it from being developed. Selling the 323 acres also fattened the coffers of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy by $2.8 million, after they previously acquired the land from various private owners. In short, that 323 acres goes off the tax rolls for both Dorchester County and the state. I’ll grant that the undeveloped land wasn’t much of a burden on services but it’s a sum of money that isn’t going to be collected anymore nonetheless. (It may be interesting to know how much the land was appraised for as well. By my calculator’s math that’s about $8,669 per acre for what I would assume is scrub and marshland.)

The news item I found tied in nicely with a Baltimore Sun article I came across last month that detailed how The Trust for Public Land is taking advantage of declining property values to buy up land along several Western Shore rivers and waterways. In essence, notes the story by Sun reporter Kevin Rector, the group acts as a holding company for plots of land until the state or federal government can come up with a fair purchase price to buy the land for themselves (and again take it off the taxation rolls.)

And where does the group get its money? Rector writes:

The nonprofit trust says it has protected 2.5 million acres in 47 states since its inception in 1972. Its funding comes largely from grants from corporations and foundations, contributions of land and money from groups and individuals, and its own investments.

Because it does not buy land speculatively, the trust is able to maintain a high level of capital that allows it to compete for real estate at market value, said Susan David, the trust’s director of public affairs. The trust reported having more than $223 million in net assets in 2007. David declined to identify properties that the trust is pursuing, saying the negotiations are confidential.

In buying all of this property and attempting to create interconnected “greenways”, the group also contributes to some of the problems one would ordinarily think it would fight against. Taking developable land away from the housing market makes remaining land that much more expensive, and while we’re not in the same boat a place like California is, housing prices still take a big bite out of the middle-class wallet here in Maryland. As much as “smart growth” utopians would like to believe Americans would like to live cheek to jowl in mid- to high-rise townhouses and apartments, the reality is that as a society we tend to desire a nice big fenced suburban yard with room for the kids to play within. Of course it makes their acquisitions more expensive as well.

The other reality is that once the state gets its hands on land, they rarely let it go. Of course, when the attempt is made environmentalists scream bloody murder, as they did in 2005 when Governor Ehrlich attempted to sell surplus state land. The General Assembly made sure that sort of deal wouldn’t happen again right quickly.

Then again, in Maryland it’s almost to the point where the state may as well purchase your land because they’re regulating to death all those things you may want to do with it anyway. But that’s a fight for another post.

Hunter speaks out again

Since he dropped out of the Presidential race earlier this year, we hadn’t heard much from longtime California Congressman Duncan Hunter. Now in the homestretch of a 28-year House career (his son is running to succeed him), the elder Hunter has found himself as part of a little bit of history as one of those recalcitrant Republicans who wouldn’t go home when Nancy Pelosi told him to.

Thanks to my blogger ally The Waterman (Aquaman, Questing for Atlantis) for coming across this video spot featuring my originally chosen Presidential candidate:

While I think he somewhat overplays the Straits of Hormuz angle (since we get more oil from Canada and, at times, Mexico than from any particular Middle East nation) Rep. Hunter is right on the mark when he notes, “you can’t put wind in a gas tank.” Then again, with his defense background Duncan has always seen things in a little bit different light when it comes to domestic economic issues.

One reason to hope for a John McCain victory this fall is the hope that Duncan Hunter can be part of the administration, perhaps even as Secretary of Defense. I don’t think Barack Obama would care much for Hunter’s defensive-minded approach so if Obama wins, Duncan will just have to retire to San Diego and look back on a solid career in the House. If Hunter decides to run again for President in 2012 though, he’ll still be my early favorite until someone can top him on the issues I’m most passionate about.

Promise made, promise broken

I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning, and I think the wind’s emanating from Government House today:

On Wednesday, Governor Martin O’Malley was the lead presenter in a Washington D.C. press conference attacking John McCain’s position on energy independence. Apparently, O’Malley is going to be one of Barack Obama’s key energy policy surrogates.

“I have a hard time understanding where O’Malley gets the nerve to attack John McCain on energy policy,” said MDGOP Chairman Jim Pelura. “Electricity rates have risen exponentially during O’Malley’s governorship, despite his campaign promise to ‘take on BGE and stop the rate hikes’. This broken promise is just one of many examples of the failed leadership that Marylanders have grown accustomed to under O’Malley. Now it looks like O’Malley is on the road wholeheartedly backing Barack Obama’s energy plan,” Pelura continued.

“John McCain’s plan is to combine careful, domestic drilling with research and development of renewable energies like solar, wind, and biofuel. It’s a comprehensive plan that will give relief to working families now while securing our long-term energy future.”

“If Obama isn’t bothered by Martin O’Malley’s broken promises on energy, voters have to wonder if they can trust any of Obama’s promises on energy independence,” concluded Pelura.

Remember this O’Malley ad?

Yeah, Martin O’Malley was going to ride in on his white horse and save Maryland from those greedy utilities and their monster rate hikes. Too bad he failed at that and increased our taxes at the same time. Somehow that didn’t make it into the ad!

Like most Democrats, Governor O’Malley has continued to demonstrate that he has little grasp of market economics. Had deregulation been done properly, perhaps it would have attained the goals of increasing competition and lowering prices for all Maryland consumers as it was supposed to. I don’t think the answer is in reregulation, nor is it in the renewable portfolio mandates, grants for solar and geothermal power which warp the home heating market, or any of the other measures which were supposed to save the planet or Chesapeake Bay. But the O’Malley Administration is going to try all these and more to solve a problem that proper planning beforehand may have avoided.

I just hope that if it comes to pass, the McCain Administration doesn’t reach across the aisle to solve our energy problems – with examples like Martin O’Malley $4 a gallon gas and 10 cent per kilowatt electricity may be fond memories in the not-too-distant future.

Shorebird of the Week – August 7, 2008

Last Saturday night I was part of a Shorebirds Fan Club trip down to Norfolk to see the Tides play. Part of their game program was a reprint of a pre-season Baseball America article recounting the Orioles’ top 10 prospects. While none of them are playing for Delmarva this season, I think there’s a good possibilty my SotW pick this week will be on that list in 2009. Yes, Zach Britton is pitching that well.

Consider, for example, that of nine second-half starts Britton’s had a “quality” start (defined as 3 or fewer earned runs allowed in 6 or more innings) on seven of those occasions. In those nine starts batters are hitting an anemic .175 against the lefty, and his WHIP is a sick 0.95 for the second half (1.08 for the full season – outstanding.)

Then again, much was expected from the slender California native as he was picked in the 3rd round by the Orioles two years ago. If anything, he’s improved on his Aberdeen numbers from last season (6-4, 3.68 ERA in 15 starts covering 63 2/3 innings) and for this season ranks among the SAL leaders in innings pitched (5th with 123 2/3 entering tonight’s start against Lake County), wins (tied for fourth with 10, he’s lost 5), ERA (7th with a 2.77 mark), and WHIP (the 1.08 mark is 8th.) Certainly the 20 year old has shown enough stuff to advance to the next level in 2009.

So if the rotation holds true to form, you’ll only have 3 more chances to see Britton work his voodoo on opposition hitters before the season comes to a close and Zach likely packs up for Frederick next spring.

The 30 second war begins

Striking the airwaves first, First District Congressional hopeful Andy Harris went for the obvious issue on everyone’s minds: energy independence.

While I wholeheartedly support the idea of more domestic oil production, I’m slightly more hesitant about the alternative energy angle. As Harris puts it in his “Prescription for the Pain at the Pump”:

Provide incentives for technological innovations in alternative forms of energy like nuclear, cellulosic ethanol, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen cell.

I guess I think the opportunity to come up with an ingenious solution to the problem and make a fortune isn’t incentive enough? To me, it’s not the federal government’s place to reward or retard a particular solution, it’s the free market’s job. The reason that ethanol, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen cell aren’t already ingrained in the energy market is the expense necessary to use them, at least compared to oil. That’s not to say the situation will last forever, but I don’t believe the solution lies inside the Beltway. If anything, get them out of the way!

Opponent Frank Kratovil was certainly licking his chops and something tells me that his first commercial out of the gate is going to slam Harris on his General Assembly energy record – that is, if he continues with the script already laid out in his campaign’s response to the Harris TV spot. Personally, I happen to think Andy was correct in voting against most, if not all, of these market-bending, job-killing, expense-increasing garbage bills that eminated from Annapolis over the last four years. Descriptions of several of these and how I would have voted myself can be found on my General Assembly voting record pages. (Remember, Frank Kratovil has no voting record, so we’re led to assume he would have voted the opposite way on the measures.)

And while Frank Kratovil may suggest that Andy Harris is for dirty water, the water’s not bad enough in Chesapeake Bay to keep Andy’s supporters from hosting a Chesapeake Bay Cruise fundraiser on Friday, September 26th, a cruise that will originate in Crisfield. Dustin Mills is the guy with the full details on the cruise, and he can be reached via e-mail – dustin@andyharris08.com. (Bummer, I have a conflict that evening. Too bad it’s not that Saturday evening instead.) There’s not a lot of tickets available as I found out last night, so time is of the essence.