November 2009 – Page 3

A true stimulus

The recent history of stimulus programs suggests that at least two ideas thought at first to be surefire winners left a lot to be desired once the results came in.

We all know that the nearly $800 billion package of government spending which was supposed to keep unemployment under 8 percent has instead led to near-double digit joblessness – at least that’s according to the “official” rate, which doesn’t count those who have given up the job search. Factor that group in and the true number is roughly 1 in 6 workers who are jobless.

The second idea of direct cash payments, hatched in 2008 under the Bush administration, cost another $150 billion and barely made a dent in the economic decline as most saved the lump-sum payment or used it to catch up with bills. That initial stimulus turned out to be a short-term boon to creditors but did little to forestall the inevitable economic catastrophe.

So, after trying two “top-down” approaches which cost American taxpayers almost $1 trillion – funding, by the way, that the government didn’t have – perhaps a better idea would be one which keeps money in the pockets of hard-working Americans (at least those who have jobs), allowing them to direct their investment where they see fit. Moreover, it’s an idea already employed by millions of producers and entrepreneurs who aren’t among those receiving a regular paycheck but make their living as independent contractors or via commissions.

Earlier this year Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) advocated a two-month suspension of backup withholding by introducing legislation in the House. The reasoning behind his effort was to jumpstart the economy by keeping more money in the hands of working people and allowing them to choose whether they invested or spent what they earned.

Given our troubled economic times it makes sense to take a fresh look at the usefulness of backup withholding.

The practice came from the necessity of fighting World War II, and was billed as a temporary solution to the problem of keeping the federal coffers filled and maintaining our war effort against two far-flung enemies. Americans sacrificed in numerous ways during the wartime period but little by little those restrictions were phased out once hostilities ended – all except backup withholding.

Soon the working class deceived itself, embracing the method of taking a little extra out of each check to ensure a bigger refund from the IRS the next spring. The politicians shrewdly calculated this was the way to exact a loan for their spending from the American worker – a loan repaid, without interest, with the check grateful Americans saw as manna from Heaven.

On the other hand, making Americans pay taxes quarterly to the federal government places them in a position where they see the impact on their bank account frivolous federal spending makes. Because of this awareness, allowing wage earners to keep and control their money until the quarterly payment would come due is a benefit Uncle Sam is loath to provide, and they fret about having a shortfall in a time of need.

Yet the idea of trying the same old failed, budget-busting programs for any further stimulus seems like a continuation of Washington’s collective insanity, and given the choice of who controls the purse strings it’s far better to leave the individual in charge than to let Congress determine who wins and loses. Their track record in that regard is not very good.

Let’s follow Gohmert’s lead and put an end to backup withholding once and for all.

Michael Swartz is a Liberty Featured Syndicated writer.

Yet another installment of my op-eds for LFS, this cleared back on October 29. Now we indeed have the double-digit unemployment.

Friday night videos episode 13

Having the 13th installment of this series on Friday the 13th might just be pressing my luck. That and taking a week away gives me a larger number of videos to feature. Maybe I’ll feature 13? You’ll just have to see.

Let’s start with the inspirational. Earlier this week we celebrated two holidays of sorts. On Monday Germans (and others around the world) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Just think, kids who are entering college now have no memory of a time when the Germans were separated (and few would remember there being both an East Germany and West Germany aside from reading that in history books.)

On Wednesday, Americans paused to remember our nation’s veterans. This is a short but fitting tribute from a group who actually supports the military.

Speaking of Republicans, I wanted to showcase their big health care shindig by what was really said instead of some sign a non-affiliated group chose to display. Here are two of the speakers who happen to be two of my favorite members of Congress: Michele Bachmann and Mike Pence.

While I’m busy getting the lefties all pissed off, why not add Rep. Joe “you lie” Wilson to the mix? He says passing Obamacare will cost 1.6 million jobs, and I don’t think he’s lying.

Then we have a number of other perspectives – I presume this is the trailer and teaser for a longer series of videos.

But this may be the mother of all protest films. Who knows, I may have a cameo in this one since I was there.

The hat tip for that goes to Bob McCarty. Guess I owe him for not using one of his videos this week.

Shifting gears, the health care debate may be over for the moment but the thug politics continues on – at least if you believe this account.

This one is a little different and focuses on education, or the lack thereof. In some respects, the thug politics is played out on a slightly different field.

Lastly, I chose this video simply because it’s Friday the 13th – but it has a good message.

Sorry, just 10 videos this week. But as always this was fun to put together and next week promises to be just as entertaining. (Just fewer health care items, probably.)

It’s spooky to mention though that if you add up all the running times, the videos go 31:13. Cue the Twilight Zone music and out…

The GOP choice in Maryland

Tonight and tomorrow I’ll be attending the Fall Convention of the Maryland Republican Party. This morning I finally received the video of the second announced contender for the Chair slot being vacated by Dr. Jim Pelura.

So we have a video smackdown between Audrey Scott and Daniel Vovak – these are the two who want to run the Maryland GOP over the next year in a critical election cycle. Ladies first…

Both make good points, although Scott addresses the issue of fundraising to a larger extent than Vovak does. Daniel counters with expertise in media relations.

It’s widely accepted that the choice poses an “establishment” Republican against an upstart, but I’m going into this with an open mind. Whoever wins has a lot of work to do and elections to win, with the first order of business being to kick Bob Ehrlich until he says “uncle” and decides whether to run or not. Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day once the convention officially begins at 9:00 a.m.

By the way, I do have a full episode of FNV already set for tonight so consider this a bonus, brought to you in the name of campaign information.

Term limits: the next litmus test?

I got this the other day in praise of Senator Jim DeMint’s introduction of legislation calling for Congressional term limits. If there can be a limit on presidential terms (22nd Amendment) I think this ought to be the 28th. From U.S. Term Limits:

U.S. Term Limits President Philip Blumel today praised Senator Jim DeMint’s proposed amendment to the Constitution imposing 6-year and 12-year terms on Representatives and Senators as “an historic opportunity to bring an end to an era of oppressive political oligarchy that threatens the very fabric of representative government.”

Blumel urged Americans nationwide to support what he said was a “non-partisan, widely popular proposal.” He said the term limits amendment “would bring an end to the aura of insularity that prevails in Washington today, ushering in a new era of citizen legislators.”

According to DeMint’s proposed amendment, which is cosponsored by Senators Tom Coburn, Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Sam Brownback, U.S. Representatives would be limited to three, two-year terms, and Senators two, six-year terms.

Said DeMint, “Term limits will increase legislative turnover, expand the field of candidates who run for office, and instill transparency and accountability in our public officials,” saying that the power of incumbency had created “an almost insurmountable advantage for Washington politicians.”

Blumel agreed, pointing out that, according to the Globe and Mail, the incumbency advantage for Representatives running for re-election is 96 percent. For Senators, 88 percent. “Barring death, indictment or the rare retirement, the incumbent reelection rate approaches 100 percent,” Blumel said.

“The Constitution is needed to rein in the powers of members of Congress, and the perfect place to start is term limits,” Blumel added.

“Today, the U.S. has the longest serving members in Congress in its history. And as a result of these out-of-touch career politicians, the fiscal house is on the brink of ruin,” said Blumel, “The national debt has never been larger nor the electorate more discontented with Congress.”

A recent Pulse Opinion Research poll that found that 83 percent of likely voters believe that elected officials should have their terms of office limited, including 86 percent of Republicans, 77 percent of Democrats, and 87 percent of Independents.

“Support for term limits is at an all-time high. And it’s no wonder. There is no accountability,” Blumel explained. “The reason the nation is faced with such irresponsible politicians is because the ballot box has become increasingly ineffective at getting rid of incumbents in gerrymandered-Congressional districts.”

“But with Congressional term limits, Washington could be cleaned up with new generations of politicians who are closer to the people. They will spend less time getting re-elected and more time attending to the work of the American people. Therefore, all Americans and every member of Congress should support amending the Constitution to include term limits for members of Congress,” Blumel concluded.

It’s widely conceded that, in this Congress, term limits are going nowhere. While it’s not necessarily a partisan issue, most of those who have made Congress their life’s work by having careers spanning 20, 30, or more years are Democrats who hail from safe districts or states. Obviously the argument is that those residents like their representation, but as the release points out the electorate as a whole is disgusted with the doings on Capitol Hill.

Another aspect of the question concerns pensions. It’s my understanding that full pensions for Congress do not kick in until 18 to 20 years’ service. Perhaps a sweetener for compromise would be to allow pensions to vest after a shorter time period in exchange for those currently in office leaving sooner.

When he was running for Congress last year, I asked Andy Harris about whether he would term-limit himself and the reply was 12 years is long enough to be in any office to get things done. Sure enough, by running in 2010 he’s ending his 12-year tenure in the Maryland Senate. Whether Frank Kratovil plans on making the same sort of promise is unknown, but in the recent call for fiscal conservatism from TEA Partiers and others interested in limiting the size and reach of government there is room for a litmus test on whether they’re interested in truly serving the people or enriching themselves by being career politicians.

Another point made by the release is about the gerrymandering of districts. Next week I have a post which will explain the sinister intent of some to disenfranchise conservative voters – be on the watch for it.

Bursting the bubble

This post is just for a little bit of fun.

There’s another blogger in town who likes to think of himself as a prime source of news and touts his Alexa rating – once he gets down under 100,000 he’ll be in the “big leagues” with the likes of Fox News, CNN, etc.

So I thought I’d see just where the big leagues are with Alexa ranks and compare his number with some other sites. The first number is world rank and the second number is U.S. rank.

CNN.com ranks 59 overall and 17 in the United States.
FoxNews.com is 224 and 38.
ABCNews.com ranks 467 and 139.
CBSNews.com currently stands at 1,329 and 347.

Here’s the standing of some of the national commentary sites.

HuffingtonPost.com leads at 246 and 44 world and U.S. respectively.
DailyKos.com is next at 3,866 and 1,018.
Townhall.com is 5,020 worldwide and 1,360 in the United States.
HumanEvents.com ranks 17,122 and 4,465 respectively.
RedCounty.com is 73,213 and 17,854. I added that in because it’s a site I contribute to.

How about local and regional media?

The Washington Post ranks 381 worldwide and 97th nationally.
Baltimore’s Sun is 3,470 and 960.
Washington Times ranks 4,736 and 1,107.
WBOC.com (Channel 16 locally) comes in at 101,466 and 22,437.
Delmarvanow.com (the Salisbury Daily Times) is 105,556 and 26,680.
The website in question (local readers know who it is) is 339,103 and 122,926.
He does beat WMDT.com (Channel 47 locally) which ranks 1,143,577 and 293,809.

Okay, so where do I come in? I have nothing to hide: my ranks are 2,985,720 and 761,846. It ain’t great but I’m not ashamed to put it out there (or my Site Meter for that matter.) It is what it is. All I can do is put the best content I can on this site and that’s what I try to do.

But I thought I’d have a little fun with the guy and give the rest of you a little perspective. Obviously he’s found a way to get pretty good readership but he has a LONG way to go to get to the major leagues – even with getting his mug on television once a week.

A not-so-delicious irony

Haven’t heard much lately from the Institute for Justice, but earlier this week they weighed in on a case of irony:

Pfizer, Inc., announced today that the company will be closing its former research and development headquarters in New London, Conn. This was a project that involved massive corporate welfare and led to the abuse of eminent domain that ultimately bulldozed the home of Susette Kelo and her neighbors in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Kelo v. City of New London.

This was the same bogus development plan that five justices of the U.S. Supreme Court refused to question when the property owners of New London pleaded to have their homes spared from the wrecking ball. Justices mentioned that there was a plan in place, and that so long as lawmakers who are looking to use eminent domain for someone’s private gain had a plan, the courts would wash their hands. Now, more than four years after the redevelopment scheme passed constitutional muster—allowing government to take land from one private owner only to hand that land over to another private party who happens to have more political influence—the plant that had been the magnet for the development is closing its doors and the very land where Susette Kelo’s home once stood remains barren to all but feral cats, seagulls and weeds.

Scott Bullock, who argued the Kelo case for the Institute for Justice on behalf of the New London homeowners, said, “Today’s announcement that Pfizer is closing its research facility in New London demonstrates the folly of government plans that involve massive corporate welfare and that abuse eminent domain for private development. The majority opinion in Kelo v. New London described the Fort Trumbull project as a ‘carefully considered’ plan, but it has been an unmitigated disaster from start—and now—to finish.”

Bullock continued, “Project supporters blame the economic downturn for this turn of events. That is all the more reason why taxpayer dollars should not be put at risk in speculative and risky development schemes.”

Despite the Court’s Kelo ruling, much change for the good has occurred.

Dana Berliner, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice and co-counsel in the Kelo case, said, “In the face of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo ruling, 43 states have now reformed their laws to better protect property owners. What’s more, seven state high courts have stepped in post-Kelo to protect the rights of homeowners against eminent domain abuse. The high courts of Hawaii, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Missouri, New Jersey and Rhode Island have all ruled in favor of property owners and against eminent domain for private gain. None has made Kelo the rule under their own state constitutions.”

It is unfortunate that the economy has come to this point where the development could not continue, not because I agree with the Kelo decision, but because this empty lot will be a testament to dreams dashed – not just those of the developers, but those of the displaced homeowners who simply wanted to invest in their piece of the American Dream. Yes, most have started over in different locations but the cohesiveness they enjoyed in their neighborhood has gone by the wayside. And the city of New London has taken a loss because a vacant lot isn’t nearly as lucrative in terms of tax revenue than an improved neighborhood full of working people.

But the same argument can be made in a lot of cases where government purchases private property for their own use. In many cases it’s done simply to preserve open space, which is fine to a point but can be overdone to the detriment of the local community. Too much space placed off-limits to development places a premium on remaining space, driving prices upward and choking off the opportunity for regional growth and job creation.

Obviously the writers of the release get the point, and I’m pleased to extend it to the logical conclusion.

Wicomico addresses its shortfall

Last night a packed house in the Midway Room of the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center made their case to create or save budget cuts for a county which finds itself millions short on revenue needed to fund the budget they intended when it was passed over the summer. Well over 200 people were present, with a total of 25 getting to speak.

The Wicomico County Council set up shop in the Civic Center to hear citizen comments about this year's budget shortfall.

Some of the public which came up to speak. In all, 25 speakers addressed the crowd on various topics; indeed I was number 18.

The problem is easy to explain – Wicomico County is taking in less than they thought they would be so in order to maintain the balanced budget as they are required the county is making cuts to most areas and services.

As County Council President John Cannon explained, though, Wicomico County is not alone in facing this reality – lots of other counties also have to make stark choices due to the sluggish economy.

Yet it was also pointed out that county departments which make up 54% of the budget are undergoing 100% of the cuts. Left unsaid in that remark is the fact education makes up 46% of the county budget, so the math is easy to do. In theory, then, public safety and health suffers half the cuts because that comprises 27% of the overall budget.

The recently-passed furlough days address a small portion of the shortfall (about $725,000 out of roughly $6.3 million) and the 4,092 furlough days make up 3.6% of the total employee days for all county employees. I presume this is because we can’t touch 46% of the budget and it’s difficult for teachers to take a day off anyway. Regardless, aside from education each department takes a cut ranging from 1.4% to public health to 79.5% on pensions. Among the effects of cuts will be the main library ceasing Sunday hours, the update to our county’s comprehensive zoning plan will take longer, and the increase in enrollment at Wor-Wic Community College will be greeted with no additional staff.

More scary is the prospect of having these meetings again and again, year after year. It’s predicted that the budget gap will be $33 million from FY11-FY14, so next spring will likely find us doing the same sort of thing as the wild guess that is the FY11 budget will be shaped. Yet the county will only have $17 million in its reserve funds at the close of FY10 next year.

As Pollitt’s report concluded:

The time has come for our community to consider the quality of public services we expect and demand from our county and then make the necessary commitment to pay for them.

Yep, repeal the revenue cap. Unfortunately for that idea most of the public comments thought that there were more cuts which could be made.

Wicomico County resident Johnnie Miller makes his pitch at the County Council budget meeting, November 10, 2009. Two representatives of the group VOICE, John Palmer and Johnnie Miller, had several suggestions for tightening the county’s belt and restructuring government:

Consolidate the local police departments and Sheriff’s Department
Privatize the function of the Civic Center in a new location and renovate the existing building to house county offices, rather than having them spread out and paying rent
Privatize the county’s liquor board
Take land off the public rolls and restore it to taxpaying private property – Miller stated we have a “diminishing private sector and growing public sector.”
Amend the county’s charter by reducing County Council from 7 members to 5, placing all capital projects before the voters for approval, and reducing the piggyback tax from 60 percent back to 55 percent.

Citizen Dave Gladden chipped in that having a public information officer to speak from Pollitt is “ridiculous” and we needed to stop the practice of “double-dipping” where county retirees are rehired in different positions.

Marc Kilmer of Salisbury states his case at the County Council's budget meeting, November 10, 2009. Marc Kilmer made the points that online information is difficult to come by, but from what he could glean he saw the issue as “more of a spending problem than a revenue problem.” Perhaps one answer lay in encouraging volunteerism – a solution I just thought of sitting here writing this would be one of “adopting a park” like groups and businesses adopt a road to cut down on litter.

Telling the County Council that “you work for us (and) we’re gonna tell you how to legislate”, Ken Nichols opined that it was time for “serious, unpopular cuts.” He suggested a privatization of services like road grading on unimproved roads, roadside mowing, and animal pickup. I can agree with this idea, as it would be an opportunity to create private-sector jobs and those who no longer work for the county in those functions theoretically would be the best to fill them, but at a reduced cost to the county.

One option not on the table, according to Mary Gibson, is raising taxes. She told those gathered about living on a fixed income and said, “one option that’s not open is increasing taxes.” It was time for the county to make the “uncomfortable decisions” she’s had to make for her finances.

Don Coffin made the statement that if he’d done his finances like the government did, he’d be bankrupt by now. Much of the problem was corruption and greed at all levels of government, but the adversity we were undergoing was also an opportunity to prioritize, streamline, and restructure county government.

However, there were speakers who pleaded to preserve their cherished government service. Six of them were advocating on the behalf of the Westside Community Center, while Ray Hoy, president of Wor-Wic Community College, outlined the effect county cuts would have on their bottom line. These included an increase in tuition costs from $81 to $89 per credit hour for Wicomico County residents and a proportional cut in contribution from Worcester County – apparently their contribution is set by statute as a percentage of ours.

One other caution was expressed by resident Patrick Doyle, who called the county’s plan to defer $800,000 to retirement and pension accounts a “ticking time bomb” which could eventually bankrupt the county if deferrments continue to stack up.

Ed Urban from the Wicomico Recreation Commission claimed they’ve “already cut all they can cut” but would do the job of cutting a $1.9 million budget to $700,000. Parks and recreation were both a “quality of life issue” and a revenue producer, as Ed claimed a $19 million rollover from tourism in Wicomico County. An immediate $300,000 boost was possible by simply allowing alcohol sales at the Civic Center. (Alcohol sales are prohibited there due to a stipulation in the original grant of the land where the Civic Center sits to the county, which dates from the 1940’s.)

And then we have what I like to call blogger’s row. As you can see by the list above I was number 18 on the speaking list. Three of the next four speakers after me were also local bloggers: G.A. Harrison of Delmarva Dealings, Julie Brewington, the Right Coast Girl, and Joe Albero of Salisbury News.

All of us made the case for not raising taxes and budget prudence. But Harrison called the county’s approach a “band-aid solution” which was simply “nibbling around the edges.” We could take a look at the Board of Education’s rate stabilization fund or not taking property off the tax rolls for public usage, but G.A. looked at the situation as one leading up to a call for a tax increase – we could “fix government or own up to repealing the revenue cap.”

After praising the County Council for having an evening meeting where she didn’t have to take off work to attend – we “deserve transparency” as she put it – Julie questioned the wisdom of drawing down reserves so heavily and asked what we would fall back on next year. She also asked why we needed a new library.

The library was one of two subjects Albero addressed after asking John Cannon if he had a gavel, citing his recent “bad experience with a gavel.” Albero claimed the main library was built for a 50-year lifespan, so it had many years of use left in an era where a library didn’t need to be so large with the advent of the internet. One plan for a new library wiped out a large swath of downtown parking and the revenue stream from removed parking meters, claimed Joe.

Meanwhile, crime was rampant as Salisbury was the second most crime-ridden city per capita in the country. Investing in the Sheriff’s Department would be “good money after good money”, opined Joe.

(Tom Hehman, Director of the Wicomico Public Library, rebutted Albero by saying the plan he referred to was “not sanctioned” by the WPL. He continued that this wasn’t the time to discuss the library’s building plans.)

If you’re curious about what I said, I made two main points.

I asked if any state officials were present. Considering they weren’t present, it was unfortunate because they created much of the problem so they needed to be part of the solution. One issue was having 46% of the budget be untouchable because of the state mandate called “maintenance of effort.” This can only be addressed at their level, as can making the state more job-friendly.

Having such a negative attitude toward business growth and expansion has cost the region jobs. While one observer complained about having too many retail jobs, we shouldn’t discount their importance as part of an overall strategy to bring manufacturing and well-paying white collar jobs to the area. If the area has more jobs, that brings in more revenue and we don’t have a large group of people fretting over the cuts to the Westside Community Center.

In conclusion, Council President Cannon called the meeting “excellent input from the community” in “a very challenging time.” I tend to agree on both counts, but the proof will be whether County Council and County Executive Rick Pollitt can make unpopular decisions leading up to an election year.

Is Frank being frank?

I came across an interesting article in yesterday’s Washington Post regarding some of the media buys which have occurred over the last couple days.

The piece by Aaron C. Davis and Ben Pershing features a number of House Democrats who voted on both sides of the bill. Obviously groups like Health Care for America Now and AFSCME are giving “attaboys” to those who voted yes and condemning those who properly voted no, with notable exceptions. Apparently Frank Kratovil is being spared their wrath – for the moment, anyway.

To me, though, this is the money part of the article, part of which quotes our plurality Congressman:

Rep. Frank M. Kratovil Jr. (Md.), who was one of 39 Democrats on the other side of Saturday’s vote, was spared in initial ads and protests. But he said that he expects criticism for his no vote to carry into the 2010 election.

“Some on the Democratic side think I should have blindly voted for it because it was a priority of the leadership, and some on the other side say don’t vote for it regardless of what’s in it,” Kratovil said in an interview Monday, noting that his vote on the final legislation could still be in play.

The freshman, among those who swelled the party’s majority in the House, initially voted against President Obama’s stimulus bill this year. Over the summer, he voted for climate-change legislation. Kratovil said he thinks his record adds up to a powerful case for independents — and maybe some Republicans in his Eastern Shore district– that he can base decisions on policy and not politics.

“I think I’ve demonstrated . . . that I won’t let pressure force me to go one way or another,” he said. (Emphasis mine.)

So his vote can still be in play, huh? Remember, folks, it’s all but certain that if the House bill survives in the Senate (or if a companion Senate bill passes) he’s going to have to vote on this again. Nor should we forget that, to Frank, “universal health care – means universal.” At least that’s what he campaigned on in 2008; then again, at the time he didn’t have a voting record to dissect.

Those who congratulated Frank for his wise vote against Pelosicare (probably knowing they had a vote or two to spare) might not be so pleased with him when he turns around again and votes for a “compromise” House-Senate bill. It’s been hard to figure out just what core principles Frank has and this subject muddies the waters even further.

A tale of three meetings

Sometimes one can go through a number of days having time to tend to personal affairs because the opportunity to engage officials isn’t particularly urgent – at least not in a public venue, anyway. Those of you who took a few minutes out of your day to contact Congressman Kratovil about Pelosicare should be commended regardless of which side you were on. In my case, the skirmish was won but we lost the overall battle. Next up will be our Senators, but the chances of winning that skirmish are far smaller because they make no pretense of being independent – they’re hardcore leftists.

But I digress. Today and tomorrow are two days where the calendar is filled with opportunities for civic engagement.

On Saturday I received a request to place a notice about tonight’s Salisbury City Council meeting and taking the opportunity to speak out during the public comment period; after all:

This is an urgent call to action because crime in Salisbury is out of control.

Crime doesn’t care if you’re conservative, liberal or middle of the road.

Crime doesn’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat or Independent.

Crime doesn’t care if you’re an employee or a business owner.

The question is…

Who DOES care about stopping the crime in Salisbury that threatens our lives and livelihoods, families, students, the elderly?

This Monday night, November 9th at 6 p.m., at the Government Office Building, face the Salisbury City Council and ask:

“Will you continue to support the rising crime rate or will you take action against crime, starting now?”

During Public Comment, state your name and full address, keep it civil, keep it brief, and speak from your heart.

Join Americans for Prosperity, Progressive Delmarva, and many other citizens in letting their voices be heard.

Don’t worry, I have my take on this and I’ll get to it before you know it. But tomorrow brings TWO meetings worth attending – unfortunately they happen at the same time.

First of all, there will be a public hearing of the Maryland Public Service Commission at Salisbury University. The hearing will be at 7:00 PM in the Nanticoke Room (Room 236) of the Guerrieri Center.

The purpose behind the hearing is to give Delmarva Power the opportunity to face their public regarding a proposed rate increase.

Then Wicomico County residents will have the chance to speak out on budget cuts at a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, November 10th at 7pm at the Wicomico Civic Center, in the Midway Room. Of course, the county Board of Education rescheduled their meeting to an early afternoon timeslot just so they can justify their existence and refusal to meaningfully partake in the sacrifice other county agencies must endure at the evening meeting.

Oh, and don’t forget the sure sob story from County Executive Rick Pollitt about laboring under a voter-imposed revenue cap.

So let’s return to the meeting of Salisbury City Council scheduled for tonight.

Obviously crime is a problem in Salisbury, as it is in a number of other locales. But the slant of the full message to me basically called for the dismissal of SPD Chief Allan Webster. Perhaps a fresh leader would help, but a changing of the guard at the top does little to address a number of other underlying problems which lie beyond the scope the SPD can work on – poor parenting, a subpar local economy, the glorification of the “thug culture”, and influx of illegal immigrants who are easy targets for criminal activity.

And then we have Delmarva Power. Unquestionably their costs are going up, particularly the price of purchasing the raw materials required to create electricity. But another component of their cost is conforming to the ever-expanding maze of regulations and mandates placed upon them by Fedzilla and the state governments – case in point, Maryland’s requirement for a percentage of generation to come from “renewable” sources. These generally cost more per kilowatt-hour than the standard fuels used for power generation. Coal and natural gas may be villified as fossil fuels but they’re also cheaper than getting electricity from renewable sources.

Wicomico County is a primary user of Delmarva Power’s services, and a rate increase would have to be factored into their next budget. It’s a scary prospect because a large portion of the county’s reserve funds are going to go into balancing this year’s ledger so they won’t have that cushion to fall back upon, made even more scary because next year is an election year for the entirety of county government.

Perhaps the largest problem Pollitt has in balancing his budget is a state mandate called “maintenance of effort.” That makes it most difficult to enact any cuts on the half of county expenditures going to educate Wicomico County’s public schoolchildren. Moreover, much of the education budget goes to labor and it’s mostly regulated by union contracts, so cutting there comes at the risk of a teachers’ strike.

Obviously it’s important to make our voices heard locally. But solving the underlying problems addressed by these meetings isn’t just something which can be done at a local level. The dependence of local governments on state and federal funding comes at a great cost in losing the ability to solve these dilemmas in-house.

Limiting the size and scope of government then, in effect, becomes a chicken-and-egg argument. It’s difficult to bring the federal government to its knees and much easier to achieve victories locally. But to achieve a more lasting solution to what ails our nation and economy, the federal beast has to be brought under control and relief given to state and local governments in the manner of cutting back on mandates and regulations on them. In turn, the states need to loosen their iron grip on local governments.

We can’t address these issues directly tonight and tomorrow. But it’s a point which deserves to be made.

Three reactions on health care

As one may guess, my e-mail has plenty of feedback on last night’s passage of Pelosicare. Here are three sample reactions, first from the desk of President Obama:

(Last) evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history.

But you and millions of your fellow Organizing for America supporters didn’t just witness history (last night) — you helped make it. Each “yes” vote was a brave stand, backed up by countless hours of knocking on doors, outreach in town halls and town squares, millions of signatures, and hundreds of thousands of calls. You stood up. You spoke up. And you were heard.

So this is a night to celebrate — but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun.

The final Senate bill hasn’t even been released yet, but the insurance companies are already pressing hard for a filibuster to bury it. OFA has built a massive neighborhood-by-neighborhood operation to bring people’s voices to Congress, and tonight we saw the results. But the coming days will put our efforts to the ultimate test. Winning will require each of us to give everything we can, starting right now.

(snipping out appeal for money)

(Last night’s) vote brought every American closer to the secure, affordable care we need. But it was also a watershed moment in how change is made.

Even after last year’s election, many insider lobbyists and partisan operatives really thought that the old formula of scare tactics, D.C. back-scratching and special-interest money would still be enough to block any idea they didn’t like. Now, they’re desperate. Because, tonight, you made it crystal clear: the old rules are changing — and the people will not be ignored.

In the final phases of last year’s election, I often reminded folks, “Don’t think for a minute that power concedes without a fight,” and it’s especially true today. But that’s okay — we’re not afraid of a fight. And as you continue to prove, when all of us work together, we have what it takes to win.

The folks on the TEA Party Express begged to differ:

The leadership of the Tea Party Express tonight denounced the vote by the House of Representatives (220-215) to pass a healthcare bill that includes a government-run component.

“Shame on them! Congress chose once again to defy the will of the people who have spoken out at tea parties and town halls against this big government plan, because the politicians cared more about growing the size, power and control of government than what the people wanted,” said Mark Williams, Co-Chair of the Tea Party Express.

“The politicians forget that the Constitution begins with the words, ‘We The People,’ not ‘We the Government.’ The people have made it clear they did not want this quasi-socialistic plan, and since they haven’t gotten the message then in 2010 we’re going to be handing out pink slips to these politicians. Enjoy your final days in office, and start searching the want-ads for a new job, because we’re going to vote you out of office,” said Deborah Johns, Co-Chair of the Tea Party Express.

The Tea Party Express is currently conducting a national cross-country tour holding tea party rallies in 40 cities across the country to defeat the efforts to impose a government-run healthcare plan and other related issues.

So did Americans for Limited Government:

Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the House of Representatives for voting to approve “$2.1 trillion takeover of the nation’s entire health care sector in spite of overwhelming public opposition to the measure.”

Americans for Limited Government estimates the legislation will cost $2.1 trillion over ten years once fully implemented, and “will drive millions Americans off of private, employer-based health care, on to substandard, below-average government-run care, and open the door for a single payer system,” said Wilson.

The final vote was 220 to 215.

“This Congress is rotten to its core,” said Wilson, adding, “Members no longer represent their constituents, they serve the Washington political elite. They have succumbed to the insider deals, handouts, and kickbacks Nancy Pelosi needed to secure the votes for the federal government to claim an iron grip of one-sixth of the nation’s economy.”

Citing the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of H.R. 3962, Wilson said, “This bill will raise taxes by more than $780 billion and cut Medicare by more than $450 billion. In the process, they are enraging political independents and seniors, both critical voting blocs for whom dozens of vulnerable members in the majority must answer to.”

“Members that voted for this abomination have signed a political suicide pact for which they will be held accountable,” Wilson declared. “They have gone against the express will of their constituents who opposed this legislation.”

The bill would force millions of uninsured Americans to obtain insurance or else pay a fine, includes employer mandates, and creates a national, government-run “public option.” Americans for Limited Government estimates more than 45 million Americans would ultimately be required to enroll in government care at an average cost of $4,700 per individual to taxpayers.

“As health care costs skyrocket because of the elimination of the private sector health options contained in this bill, so too will the costs owed by taxpayers, resulting in hundreds of billions of deficit-spending,” said Wilson. “Because insurance under the plan is mandatory, the more private insurers that are driven out of business by diminishing insurance pools, the more Americans who will be forced onto government-run and subsidized care.”

“This bill will ration care away from seniors, water down and reduce the quality of everyone’s care , increase health premiums, put bureaucrats between doctors and patients, break the public treasury, and leave taxpayers with a bill that cannot possibly be paid back,” Wilson added.

According to Rasmussen Reports, 54 percent of voters oppose the “public option” proposed, which only 42 percent support. In addition, James Carville’s Democracy Corps polls found a full 54 percent of seniors oppose the nationalized health care plan. According to the poll conducted in June, 41 percent of seniors strongly oppose the Obama plan and only 14 percent strongly favor it.

“To pass this monstrosity on the heels of Tuesday’s overwhelming election results against her party, Nancy Pelosi has clearly lost her mind and needs to check her meds. She doesn’t care if vulnerable members in her caucus are wiped out in 2010 or not,” Wilson said.

“Democrats are throwing away seniors as a political constituency,” Wilson added, stating in conclusion, “They are enraging independents, who see their children and children’s children being burdened with an unsustainable debt that will rise to $20 trillion in 2020 and top the Gross Domestic Product in 2011. And taking over health care against the express wishes of tens of millions of Americans who like their private health options and want to keep them.”

It’s worthy of note that President Obama’s appeal was the only one asking for money; then again, it wasn’t a true press release so perhaps the Democratic National Committee (which actually runs Organizing Against America) can have a pass for that.

When you think about it, though, which side tried to use its power to buy off particular interests? Obama bludgeoned Big Pharma to bring them on board, tried to do the same for the insurance industry, then Democrats in Congress did their part by adding little treats for Big Labor and the AARP to buy their support. Naturally he dubs the opposition as the insurance companies, who simply are fighting to maintain their very existence because it’s pretty difficult to compete in the market against an entity with much deeper pockets than yours (because they can print money.) It’s akin to a mom-and-pop shop competing against Wal-Mart, with the exception being Wal-Mart could only dream of having the power to regulate competition out of business as the government does.

On the other hand, both the TEA Party Express and ALG point out that the people don’t favor nationalizing health care.

One could dismiss the TEA Party Express in particular for having a small sample size, as each rally draws a few thousand people at each stop. Then again, I don’t recall any sort of pro-health care bus tour that drew average Americans from all walks of life without being paid to do so or manufactured as part of supporting Big Labor. I seem to recall over a million people came to Washington, D.C. to register their opposition a couple months ago! And something tells me that the number of calls against Pelosicare dwarfed the number in favor – most Congressmen refused to listen.

And ALG shrewdly brings in the polling data which proves the point that we don’t want to follow the trail blazed by Canada and Great Britain, where those who need care quickly hop on a plane and come here to get it or go to an underground network of private-sector doctors.

As I mentioned last night, now the fight moves to the Senate, where the last best hope is a filibuster stopping the bill in its tracks. But elections have consequences and right now the folly of continually electing Democrats who work against the interests of the people is rearing its ugly head.

We need to remember last night in about a year and make sure those who voted in favor of Pelosicare can’t make similar mistakes after 2010.

By the way, my weekly LFS column returns next week.

One step closer to losing more freedom

Well, we tried as best we could but the bad guys prevailed 220-215.

Not that I didn’t expect Pelosicare to pass, but what pisses me off is they got the fig leaf of bipartisanship because of one Republican voting “yes” – Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana, a freshman who replaced former Rep. William “Cold Cash” Jefferson. I presume he comes from an extremely Democrat district, but still that’s pretty inexcusable.

None of Delmarva’s representatives voted for final passage of H.R. 3962 as Castle, Kratovil, and Nye all voted no. However, only Castle voted for the motion to recommit, which would have killed the bill. Castle was also the only one on Delmarva to vote for the Stupak Amendment, which made abortion funding almost completely illegal. So Kratovil and Nye will have some explaining to do to pro-life residents of their districts.

So now the fight moves to the Senate, with their first hurdle being to secure cloture or finding some shady manner of getting around that requirement. Again, with 60 votes against them there the GOP need have only stood back and watched Democrats write their political suicide note but now that stain of “bipartisan” support is indelibly etched upon this bill.

In all, it’s apparent that Congress doesn’t listen to the people anymore. But we figured that from the start.

Notable quotables from the ’emergency House call’

I knew I would have a long pictorial post yesterday so I omitted a lot of the quotes I thought were notable.

In opening the program, Rep. Tom Price of Georgia (who also spoke at the 9-12 rally) called H.R. 3962 “legislative malpractice.”

The program began after Price, serving as master of ceremonies, spoke. Before beginning the Pledge of Allegiance. Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri referred to the Pledge as something which “drives liberals crazy.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota was one of three featured speakers. She had several good lines.

Referring to the gathering she helped organize, she exclaimed, “You came! And you came to your House!”

Being on Capitol Hill: “You stand with us on the hallowed ground of freedom…we are the privileged generation.”

While Republicans are the minority, “your voice of persuasion is unlimited.”

Even Jon Voight called Bachmann “a true American patriot.”

Actor John Ratzenberger called the Democratic leadership “Woodstock Democrats” as opposed to earlier party members like Tip O’Neill and John F. Kennedy, and noted that it was the National Guard who came to help build the Woodstock stage, even as most of the attendees didn’t support the military.

Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey called the crowd “awe-inspiring” and reminded us the first passage of the Hippocratic oath is to “do no harm” – yet the bill does serious harm.

“There is no greater fight than the fight for freedom,” Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona reminded us, “and with your help, freedom will win.”

Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio was more direct: “Your voice is critical today…(Pelosicare) is the greatest threat to freedom I’ve seen in my 19 years in D.C.”

Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia: “Your efforts to stop this bill are being heard loud and clear.”

Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra pointed out the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were 39 pages combined, while the Pelosicare bill was over 2,000 pages: 39 pages to grant freedom and 2,000 to take it away.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council: H.R. 3962 is “radical social policy dressed up in a hospital gown…and we all know that a hospital gown doesn’t cover everything.” Perkins blasted the “radical anti-life agenda” of the bill and called it a “bailout for the abortion industry.”

Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee (who also spoke at 9-12) called the bill “bad medicine” and wanted the GOP to be known as the “party of know.”

Texas Rep. Mike Burgess told the crowd they “have to keep being heard this weekend” and categorized this gathering as a “booster shot” after the outcry in August and September.

Congress is “on a collision course with freedom” if they pass this bill, said Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina.

Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina was a crowd favorite. He pointed out that H.R. 3400 is the GOP alternate plan. By the way, it’s only 230 pages.

Since he’s running for Governor of his home state, Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee is aware of H.R. 3962 and its possible affect on states. He called this “the mother of all unfunded mandates.”

Finally, Rep. Paul Fleming of Louisiana, sponsor of an unsuccessful resolution to remove the exemption Congress will enjoy from any health care fill, told the crowd that he “underestimated the arrogance” of Congressional Democrats when he arrived earlier this year.

I’m saving the best for last. According to the latest whip count (updated at 9:45 this morning) in The Hill, Frank Kratovil is a “firm no.” This jibes with what I was told by those who met with Kratovil after Thursday’s rally, so obviously either Nancy Pelosi didn’t put enough sweetener in the bill to buy his vote (like was done on cap-and-tax) or Kratovil is fearing for his electoral life given the sentiment of the district outside the limited confines of those who contribute to Progressive Delmarva. Maybe those folks can see about a Green Party challenger to Kratovil.

So let me be the first to congratulate and appreciate Frank’s vote. However, he’s certainly not out of the electoral woods by any stretch of the imagination, nor are we assured of victory. Remember, Nancy can sacrifice a goodly number of votes and still pass this over unified GOP opposition.

Finally, a little video. I skipped my usual FNV for the week, but here are three videos I took at the event.

This man was encouraging protestors to have a good old-fashioned sit-in at Nancy Pelosi’s office.

And we were having fun calling out Nancy Pelosi.

Best of all was getting to hear Mark Levin off the radio.

I tell you, it was a fun day. But to be honest I liked the 9-12 rally better because it didn’t seem to be as self-serving politically. Had they limited the speakers to maybe 6 to 8 and the program to an hour, I think it would have been more effective as far as the main goal of engaging recalcitrant Congressmen. Given the extremely long security lines, I’m certain a number of people who stuck around to hear the entire program probably didn’t stay to engage their representative, particularly if they had to return home on a bus.

But as long as we win on this bill, it can serve as a template for further activism in the future – even for those on the other side. Perhaps this is the end of political complacency – at least I hope so.

Update: From USA Today (h/t Michelle Malkin):

“After months of thoroughly reviewing legislative proposals and speaking with constituents and stakeholders, I am not satisfied that this bill before us is a sustainable solution,” said Rep. Frank Kratovil, D-Md. Alert readers will remember that he was the congressman hung in effigy during the height of the August town hall meeting uproar.

Maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate means of expressing opposition, but looks like it worked!