Month: February 2011

Friday night videos – episode 58

A few things for yet another Friday evening.

This is pretty interesting stuff from 1979. If you recall the old Phil Donahue Show, you may recall this discussion he had with economist Milton Friedman on greed.

If you can get by the obvious differences in fashion style, it’s interesting to note how attentive both the host and audience were – now it’s doubtful Friedman could get a word in edgewise on the talk shows of this era.

Especially when you come across this Common Cause bunch.

Granted, the interviewer asked a bunch of leading questions and could use the footage he wanted but this is still a crowd much different than the Donahue one.

Then again, union bosses aren’t all that politically correct either.

Again, a bit of ‘gotcha’ journalism that’s being used as an Americans for Prosperity fundraiser. But, as this upcoming video shows, Big Labor has its powerful friends too. Americans for Limited Government has this to add.

And we still have the Reagan hangover, as this Freedom Minute shows.Reagan’s worth celebrating for a little extra time, though.

I debuted this video back in October but felt like using it again. This is the local pop-rock group Naylor Mill.

In a few weeks I’ll do my regular all-music edition, but for now this will have to suffice.

Questioning the Salisbury City Council candidates – part 4

The last part of the four; here are Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you want to catch up. To wrap this we talk about the nuts and bolts of city finance then the candidates make their closing arguments.

The city seems to depend a great deal on help from the federal and state levels to pay its bills – for example, we always seem to be on the hunt for grant money to address some issue, such as the recently-purchased fire boat. Do you think there is a way to wean ourselves off this dependence on state and federal dollars (which are in short supply) and is there some other method of financing we could explore?

Boda: Grants are not something we should be depending on for our day to day expenses.  It is not free money. Private, non-government grants I feel are more fiscally responsible for certain projects, such as for the Zoo, Dog Park, Skate Parks, etc.  

The city government should be focusing on maintaining our basic services as efficient and cost effective as possible. Often times we need new ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, dump trucks and other day to day items our city employees need to carry out their duties.  

I do feel the acquisition of the new Fire Boat is one that should have been looked into more.  We were recommended this particular boat because the Coast Guard wanted one with it’s capabilities in this region. Certainly there is a boat with the capabilities that we require that could have cost us less.  

I certainly respect the fact that we are the second busiest port in Maryland and there are tremendous amounts of fuel that move up and down the Wicomico River.  I trust the fact that we need a new boat with better capabilities than what we have now.  However, the boat that is currently being purchased would be better suited for Crisfield or Ocean City, not Salisbury.

Ford: First, let’s delineate between “bills” and “one-time purchases.”  Bills to me are the expenses related to operating the city; salaries, benefits, daily operations, utilities, etc.  I feel strongly that true bills should be paid for by steady, dependable revenue sources.  

However projects like the fire boat are not in my mind “bills.”  These are purchases that would not be purchased at all without the granted money.  Granted projects enhance safety, infrastructure and quality of life by addressing needs far beyond the city’s financial capacity.

My second thought is that federal and state aid is in fact our own tax dollars returning to us, so we should continue to aggressively seek grants lest other communities get them instead.  We paid the taxes, we should receive the grants.

With that said, free money is not free money.  When seeking granted money, we should always address our highest priorities first as identified by the community vision. 

While I am a career Paramedic/Firefighter in Berlin, I actually do not participate in the Salisbury Fire Department’s operations or administration.  Salisbury Fire Department is a combination career and volunteer department which makes it complicated to judge how grant monies are applied to specific projects.  For example, many fire companies across the Lower Shore have received Homeland Security or FEMA grants for specific one-time equipment requests, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Without these grants, many communities would lack modern fire and rescue equipment. 

Beyond what I have read in the media, I am not familiar with the project proposal for the Salisbury Fire Boat.  I know that other jurisdictions use fire boats for fire suppression of other vessels in harbor and at sea, for fire suppression in buildings near or on the water, and for search and rescue missions.  Salisbury is Maryland’s second busiest commercial port and enjoys heavy barge traffic including petroleum barges.  A fire on a floating petroleum barge could present an incredible hazard to a large portion of the city.  A fire boat would allow for fire suppression before the barge reached land. 

With that said, I feel that grant money in general should be used either for one-time expenses (the purchase of a specific piece of equipment) or to start a project that will sustain itself through other sources of revenue (creating a promenade around the waterfront which would attract taxpaying businesses.)  Depending on grants from year to year to pay for “bills” is fraught with peril. 

I would also ask any recipient of grant money to spend that money as if they had earned it through sweat and labor.  Grant money is too often taken for granted.

Mitchell: State and Federal grant money is a return of our citizens’ tax dollars to their community on a competitive basis. I do not feel that we could or should eliminate grant funding, as we are reclaiming our State and Federal tax dollars to put them to work for us in our community. The caveat there is that we must ensure that we are not dependent upon that funding for normal operating or capital improvement expenses. We must make sure that we are consistently funding routine maintenance and growth from local funding sources. That means that we must be diligent in reducing expenses not only to match revenue, but below our expected revenue levels. The annual difference should be added to a “rainy day fund” for emergencies and to level out the economic peaks and valleys we invariably experience in our economy.

Ideally, I prefer a codified requirement that a percentage (at least 2%) of all General Fund revenues be committed to the contingency fund in years where revenue exceeds the previous year’s revenue by 4% or more. Further, that a percentage (not more than 3% annually) be withdrawn from the fund to be added to the budget in years where revenues are 4% less than in the previous year. This will avoid situations where any sitting Mayor and Council do not use contingency funds, even when they are needed, for fear of political ramifications. Using those funds will help fill in some of the deficits that could cause the delay of routine equipment maintenance, infrastructure preservation, or cuts of critical personnel. Additional debt is undesirable and improbable as we are currently at 67% of our debt threshold, meaning that we cannot borrow much more. Instead we must strive to reduce our debt. One thing that we should pursue more vehemently is payment in lieu of taxes from the County and the State for those properties that are exempt from property tax by virtue of being government owned. That is nearly 6% of our total land area.

Cohen: Early in my council term, I was shocked to learn the City invested no local dollars in our road maintenance program. When our state Highway User Funds were cut last year, we as citizens all got a bigger shock. Steps were taken to cope, so we know we can and must “get weaned” or suffer “cold turkey.”

We can and should continue to “hunt” for grant money, but not for non-necessities like the fire boat that, like some donations (“Bricks,” Linens of the Week), could cost us dearly in the long run. Instead, we should focus on our priorities with a zero-based budget process with the dollars we have, then identify projects with real potential for a return on investment of grant dollars – there’s nothing wrong with getting our share of that pooled taxed money if it is for a community-valued effort.

There is also private foundation money available that could be leveraged for such projects by partnering with non-profit entities. That would help return the city to its municipal mission of providing core services.

Fiscal responsibility in our government has been a primary pursuit of mine on council. We don’t need glitz, our names on a legacy, status symbol pictures on magazines – we need common sense and to do the basics well so that we have a strong foundation upon which a good quality of life can be built.

Spies: Wise local governments use grant funds to improve their infrastructure so that business can be more easily attracted and accommodated; to provide adequate health and sanitation, public safety, and roadway maintenance; to ensure a level of education that can best deliver a ready and able next generation workforce, and; to provide for a continuous enhancement of quality of life of their citizens and marketability of their counties, cities and towns.

Far too many take any money that comes down the pike, regardless of implications for increased responsibility and expense. This is often foolish and self-defeating. Many municipalities have bankrupted themselves by taking on too many responsibilities coming with grants with too few resources to afterwards manage them. The days of accepting grants based on thinking “we have to get it before somebody else does, no matter what it is” and “it’s free money” without determining actual needs and closely weighing future obligations should come to a close here and elsewhere. 

Some solutions to reducing grant dependency, while still maintaining and improving an infrastructure are not attractive: large tax increases; new taxes; a city going into private enterprise’s territories for profit; large fee increases. I don’t recommend any of these.

The only wholly acceptable solution for us is to make Salisbury once again a city home to industry. Real industry, with jobs that pay a living and not just subsistence wage, industry that provides careers and futures. With the increased tax revenue and good wages that industry provides, the needs of our infrastructure and city’s needs can be more easily achieved without the level of dependence on federal and state money that we now have.

Dryden: I think it is more important than ever to work towards needing less State and Federal dollars. Fiscal responsibility is extremely important to me. It was in my career with the federal government as well as my personal finances. I feel that government needs to operate within it means. Consistent management of taxpayer dollars is a top priority.

Dixon: The City of Salisbury does apply for multiple grants that help the City’s various departments with their needs that would otherwise be cut from the budget. I would rather see the City apply for grants then entertain the idea of a possible tax increase. The atmosphere of funding and providing grants comes from the federal and state level and until this attitude is changed on a higher level, our tax money will continued to be used for grants, whether they are needed or not. All citizens pay taxes at a multitude of levels; on the local, state, and federal level, and I would rather recoup the money through grants for local improvements than have the available grants be paid out to another part of the country. However, I would like to see Salisbury eventually become more self-sufficient, although I do not feel that higher taxes are the solution. I feel that all avenues need to be explored to include continuing to cut unnecessary expenses from the budget.

Taylor: No response at this time.

What aspect of your background or experience sets you apart from the competition?

Boda: I believe my experience of working with hundreds of different people and encountering thousands of people over my 18 years at Walmart brings a unique skill set to the Council.  I currently work as an Asset Protection Coordinator which requires management of shrinkage, risk control, OSHA regulations, auditing and a variety of issues that require us to work with law enforcement on a daily basis.  

Our three basic beliefs at Walmart are Respect for the Individual, Service to our Customers and Striving for Excellence are values that I have lived and worked by for the past 18 years.  Those values have served me well in the many experiences I have gone through in the many positions I have held there.

I was the Tire and Lube Express Manager in very busy and very diverse automotive center at Sterling, VA Walmart.  I had individuals from Somalia, Jordan, Iran, Israel, India, Pakistan, and Latin America working for me.  The biggest issue was the different religions working together, there were Christians, Muslims, Jews, Singhs, and Hindus all working together. It was a very contentious work environment to say the least.  

Using the Three Basic Beliefs and focusing on Respect for the Individual, we were able to put aside our differences, focus on the task and job at hand and develop some very strong friendships.  When the most difficult part of your job in that environment is ordering pizza, we realized we can accomplish anything.

Ford: I want the voters to know this; this is not a win-at-all-costs election for me.  I have a wife of 13 years and four daughters that I have to look in the eye when this election is over.  For this reason, I have not accepted campaign contributions from any special or vested interests and I will continue to answer questions openly and frankly.  I don’t expect everyone to agree with all of my feelings and ideas but I do want to emphasize that I will vote in the best interest of the citizens of Salisbury and not in the best interest of any special interest group.  I will give my full effort to the City if elected, but I want the voters to know that I am not willing to compromise my principles to win this seat.

I am running for City Council because I truly care about the future of the city that my family calls home.  A couple months ago, my daughter left me a drawing of some buildings with the words, “Together We Can Build a City.”  It was such a simple idea, but it got me thinking…what if Salisbury created a vision and community roadmap?  It’s been done before, here and in other communities, but those plans get dusty and forgotten.  I want to see the community create a vibrant, living vision that guides the most active citizens of the city to work in the same direction and I will fight to keep that vision in the forefront of Salisbury civic efforts for many years to come.

Together we can build one Salisbury.

Mitchell: I have a wide variety of work experiences including waiting tables, retail sales and management, municipal accounting software training, and adult education. I have undergraduate degrees in accounting and business management and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and I am a C.P.A. exam candidate, which I plan to complete in 2011. Perhaps the thing that sets me apart is that I have governmental accounting experience. As a municipal Finance Officer, I was responsible for the preparation of the budget from creation to presentation to the Mayor and Council, as well as day to day administration and compliance after adoption. I believe that gives me unique insight into municipal financial operations which could be useful in identifying ways that the City of Salisbury can maximize the return on each taxpayer dollar.

Finally, I am open to hearing, not just voters, but all stakeholders in the community to find the answers we need to diminish our crime, retain existing and attract new businesses, improve our infrastructure, and restore our sense of community. I believe that, collectively, our community has the solutions to many of our problems but we must be able to bring those stakeholders together to have civil conversations to identify and implement those solutions. I have already begun to establish the lines of communication with each of the candidates by initiating meetings to discuss our motivations and aspirations. I am also doing riding tours of Salisbury with various stakeholders and community leaders asking them to “Show me YOUR Salisbury”, so that I may see the issues from their perspective. This process continues to be very enlightening.

Cohen: Given that I am answering this just a couple of weeks past the filing deadline and we are all just getting to know what the candidates offer, I’ll leave the comparison making to the voters. However, aside from the obvious fact that, as an incumbent, I have direct experience the other candidates do not have, I offer the following for consideration.
Long before I even thought of running for council the first time, I was involved with legislative issues and visibly speaking up for people, both locally and throughout Maryland. I have a valuable combination of experience in government, business and nonprofit sectors, so that broad background gives me a good sense of the “big picture,” in addition to my reputation for paying attention to important details.

As a small business owner, I know the agony of a contract opportunity going to India and the joy of success in seeing a software program or a training session help a company, agency or military installation work more productively. My prior work with Fortune 500 companies and other large corporations in developing profitability through customer service technology increased my analytical skills and experience for application to what I do on council. Having worked with thousands of diverse people in the workforce gives me an incredible perspective on a variety of problems and solutions.

With policy-making experience before I even came to council, I understand why we must be diligent about precision in law making. When a missing comma can lose you a case in court, you not only don’t progress toward a goal, taxpayer money is lost.

Mine is a proven track record of common sense, fiscal responsibility and a focus on the citizens’ priorities, not those of special interests. After four years of some successes and of mitigating some damage, I hope to accomplish more in the next term in a council committed to getting the people’s work done, in an open environment that will exercise my versatile experience and organizational skills on behalf of the citizens we serve.

Spies: I have managed over a thousand people under some of the most stressful circumstances imaginable, moving them from a domestic peacetime to a foreign combat zone environment and back again. My performance was such that I was chosen to lead again and again by my peers and superiors.

I have been successfully responsible for the management of several public fund budgets, ranging from $1.2 million to $9 million.

I have been very active in Salisbury community affairs for over a decade, including those dealing with crime and law enforcement, city-university relations, city improvement, neighborhood advocacy, and health and welfare, among others.

I listen to people when they speak, and ask questions when I don’t have the full picture. I make my own decisions only after adequate information gathering and deliberation, and encourage others to do the same. I read, research, investigate. I look for answers, both inside and outside the box. I try to make things work as well as they possibly can. And along the way, I respect the thoughts and input of others and expect that they will return the courtesy.

Dryden: I feel that my over 40 years of experience in working with the public, handling budgets and managing revenue will benefit me as a council member. I further believe that my common sense approach to problem solving will appeal to the voters. I am not a person that is going to lie to you and say that I know every answer to every issue that the City of Salisbury currently has or ever will have. I am willing to listen, work hard and keep an open mind if you choose to elect me to City Council. It is my hope that by electing someone who is not a “politician” we can begin a new era that brings integrity, respect and prosperity back to the city of Salisbury.

Dixon: I feel my age sets me apart from the other candidates running for Salisbury City Council. I believe my age allows me to have a different perspective and present a different point of view, while representing a different part of Salisbury.

Taylor: No response at this time.

**********

In closing, I’d like to thank the seven candidates who participated in this question-and-answer session, and I’d like to thank you, the reader, for taking the time to be more informed. When I said 10,000 word post at the start I wasn’t kidding since the actual total is somewhere north of that.

We have critical choices to make on March 1, in order to weed two candidates out of the process, and April 5 to select the final three. I was made aware after a previous installment that the Chamber of Commerce forum is actually in two parts, so an updated forum list is here:

  • Friday, February 11, noon, Chamber of Commerce (144 E. Main Street) – 4 of 8 candidates are invited.
  • Friday, February 11, 6:30 p.m., Mallard Landing (1107 S. Schumaker Drive) – Laura Mitchell and Bruce Ford.
  • Wednesday, February 16, 6:30 p.m., Mallard Landing (1107 S. Schumaker Drive) – Terry Cohen and Tim Spies.
  • Friday, February 18, noon, Chamber of Commerce (144 E. Main Street) – remaining 4 of 8 candidates will be invited.
  • Wednesday, February 23, 7 p.m. at Brew River (502 W. Main Street) – the local Americans for Prosperity chapter is host, all 8 candidates are invited.
  • Thursday, February 24, 7 p.m. at the St. James AME Zion Church, 521 Mack Avenue – the NAACP invited all eight candidates.

Last night Muir Boda and Orville Dryden, Jr. participated in the first Mallard Landing session.

TEA Party Caucus: Maryland Democrats need not apply

I’ll state the news item first: a day after it was announced he had become vice-chairman of the nascent Maryland TEA Party Caucus in the House of Delegates, Baltimore City Delegate Curt Anderson withdrew from the group at the request of fellow Democrats.

Yeah, I bet it wasn’t fifteen minutes from the time the news hit the wire to Anderson being called on the carpet by his fellow Democrats. Perhaps Anderson forgot that bipartisanship only works one way in Annapolis.

Honestly, I was surprised Curt would be the one to cross the aisle considering he never scored well on the monoblogue Accountability Project – I would have picked a Delegate like Kevin Kelly or John F. Wood, Jr. as they were the top two most conservative Democrats during the last term. (Wood is a cosponsor of the sales tax relief bill, HB465, introduced by Delegate Justin Ready earlier this week.)

But the venom from his city cohorts, as noted in this Maryland Politics blog posting, is scathing. The TEA Party is the Anti-Christ to the Democratic party? Get a grip, Delegate Glenn. What a poor choice of words! Let me tell the Democrats I know who participate in the TEA Parties that they’re quite at home in your version of the party. </sarc>

This just goes further to show the arrogance and disrespect elected Maryland Democrats have for the common working person. But it also shows the character of Delegate Anderson that he returned to the plantation so soon – why stop now, when they’re still threatening to take away your delegation chairmanship despite the fact you stepped aside from the TEA Party Caucus? To me, principles matter.

And despite the best efforts to marginalize the TEA Party Caucus, they’ve scored a victory by attracting the attention of liberal Democrats. Delegate Maggie McIntosh is quoted in the Sun as saying, “(The caucus is) highly organized. We should take them seriously.”

Damn right you should take us seriously because now we have a full four-year cycle to recruit candidates and build a war chest to defeat the liberals who have taken Maryland a long way down a dead-end street of debt and overbearing government. We didn’t do too badly in basically one year of preparation and not a lot of help from the state Republican Party since we picked off six Democrats from the House and it took a ton of special interest money to eke out two of OUR Senate seats that are now simply on loan to their Democratic occupants. (Yes, that means you, Jim Mathias.)

Go ahead and try to redistrict us out of existence – it won’t work because there’s too many of us now. If they want war because they consider us in the TEA Party the Anti-Christ, well, I say give it to them.

But Delegate Curt Anderson’s not a victim of that war, nor is he even a casualty. He may be put in his place for a short while, but eventually he’ll be back in the fold because they’ll need his vote and all will be forgiven when he delivers. Most likely it won’t serve the rest of us well, but that’s how the game is played in Annapolis and that’s why it needs to change four years hence.

Pelura: lead through action, General Assembly Republicans

I told you earlier that Jim Pelura would be heard from later today. The other day he called on General Assembly Republicans to follow up what they said in this letter by withdrawing the bond bills they’ve already placed.

In part, Pelura noted:

Can the GOP in Maryland achieve relevency?

Throughout my years of being active in Maryland politics, I have always been very optimistic about the GOP message being accepted by Maryland voters.  That optimism remains even today.  

In spite of Republican legislators in the MD General Assembly being in such a minority, they can still be relevant.   Achieving this will, however, require a strong commitment by all Republican members to adhere to the basic Republican philosophy of smaller, more efficient government, low taxes, faith in the private sector and faith in the individual.

Republican members of the MD General Assembly must put aside their “every man for himself” attitude and unite in opposition to bad legislation put forth by Governor O’Malley and the Democrats.

This opposition must be backed up by legislation introduced and supported by all of the Republican members in both the House of Delegates and the Senate.  This legislation, based entirely on those Republican ideals will show Marylanders that Republicans have solutions to the major problems facing us today.

Recently, the House Republican Caucus voted to ask Speaker Busch not to fund the myriad of bond bills that are introduced each year…  As we all know, while this type of legislation may be good for a particular jurisdiction, it adds to the overall state debt and is thus bad for the state as a whole.

The House Republicans should be commended for this brave act and for understanding that accounting gimmicks, fund transfers, overspending and borrowing are the cause of Maryland ’s fiscal woes.  However, they must follow-up this request with action and withdraw the bond bills that they have requested.  All Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly, Delegates and Senators alike, must act as one and back those words with action.

The spending and borrowing must end.

Now is the time to show Marylanders that Republicans say what they mean and mean what they say!

The Democrats in the General Assembly are behaving like spoiled children.  They seem to have no idea what it is like in the “real world”, and have an unrealistic view that somehow things will work out.

It is time for the adults to take charge. (Emphasis in original.)

But it’s worthy to note that the House Republicans gave themselves an “out” in the letter:

We have all sponsored and advocated for bond bills in the past. This position reflects the will of the majority but does not bind individual members. (Emphasis mine.)

In reality, bond bills seldom progress beyond first reading but act as placeholders on the wish list each individual legislator has from his or her district. They’re only important for putting dibs on that $15 million the state splits among the dozens of requests placed annually.

Unfortunately, the letter came only after several bond bills sponsored by GOP members were already introduced; of course, the Baltimore Sun was quick to notice this particular piece of hypocrisy by local Republican Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, who signed the letter as Minority Whip. (I wish they’d work that quickly on Democrats’ foibles; then again, you’d see no other news in the Sun if they did.)

Obviously this blanket prohibition presents a problem to Republicans, as former Senator Lowell Stoltzfus pointed out sometime back:

There was another interesting query about state “pork”. The senator told us that this year’s capital budget statewide was about $800 million. Of that total, $20 million is reserved for legislative initiatives. So each district fights for their slice of that pie. And Lowell said that he was conflicted about that – on the one hand, it goes against his grain to spend this extra state money on items in the 38th District, but if we don’t get it, someone in another part of the state will be happy to grab it. He noted that one budget during the Ehrlich years did not have any money for legislative initiatives and he was quite happy about that fact back when it occurred. (Emphasis mine.)

While it’s great that Republicans are taking this stance the problem is, at least here on the Lower Shore, we have three Democrats representing the four counties who would gladly take the pork and all the credit which they can accrue to themselves for it. Perhaps a better strategy is to attempt to convince conservative Democrats behind the scenes that we need to swear off this addiction to pork and try to get the additional votes to stop it in the House and Senate.

Otherwise, the letter should have come out before the session even started. This would have allowed those Republicans like Haddaway-Riccio to explain to prospective bond bill recipients that they need to look to other sources rather than the state of Maryland (as they should, anyway.)

There’s no question that $15 million, while a large chunk of change to an individual, is a proverbial drop in the bucket when it comes to the state budget – about 1/10 of 1 percent. But it’s money we don’t have doing things that perhaps aren’t greatly needed, and because Martin O’Malley has made a habit of creating debt to pay the state’s current bills, these place us in even more financial trouble down the road.

So certainly, now that we’ve made this minor misstep, the situation can be at least symbolically corrected by withdrawing the bond bills. But next year they shouldn’t be introduced in the first place – let Democrats continue to prove they are fiscally irresponsible.

They don’t require any help in doing that.

Former Congressional candidate Lollar picked to head AFP Maryland

Once outgoing head Dave Schwartz accepted a position with Congressman Andy Harris, the top spot at Maryland’s Americans for Prosperity outpost became available. Earlier this week the group announced Charles Lollar, who ran in 2010 to unseat Steny Hoyer in Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District and briefly flirted before that with a run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, would take over as the state’s AFP head:

Grassroots free-market group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is pleased to welcome aboard Charles Lollar, Newburg resident, and Marine Corp Officer, as the new Maryland state director.

“Charles has stood alongside Americans fighting for free market ideas right here in the Maryland Free State, and he’s stood alongside American soldiers overseas serving in the US Marine Corp,” said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity. “We’re proud to welcome him as the leader of AFP’s Maryland state chapter.”

(snip)

“Maryland has the potential to be one of the most economically competitive states in the country,” said Lollar. “The Maryland chapter of Americans for Prosperity is ready to work with its members to urge the governor and legislature to rein in wasteful spending and get a hold of the state’s unsustainable budget.”

Lollar has been active in numerous community organizations. He served on the Executive Board of Directors for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the DC Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Leadership Maryland and Leadership Prince George’s County. ‘

He served as the Chairman of the Maryland Taxpayers Commission, fighting to protect the interests of Maryland taxpayers. Lollar currently lives in Charles County with his wife, Rosha, and their four children.

Certainly Lollar is a dynamic speaker and there’s no doubt he’s conservative. Perhaps the only fly in the ointment when it comes to those who criticize AFP for being too chummy with the Maryland GOP is that Lollar is also a former Charles County GOP Chair and served as the head of former State Chair Jim Pelura’s Commission for Citizen Tax Relief, which looked at state spending in 2009.

(Just as an aside, in re-reading that Ten Questions I had to shake my head at the statement Jim made in the interview, “the party will not endorse any candidate pre-primary.” Obviously that didn’t fly when Audrey Scott took over. You’ll hear more from Jim later today.)

For another vocal critic of the AFP it appears there’s cautious optimism. But I think Charles is going to have to play with the hand he’s dealt insofar as tax rules are concerned. That’s not to say he can’t be a forceful voice for fiscal conservatism and certainly he can use this position to build his statewide profile for a future political run  – as I recall, Charles is only in his early forties so he’s still a pretty young guy politically. We happen to be at a point in the political cycle where education is more important than campaigning.

In my estimation, perhaps the most important job for Charles in the near future is spreading the message of the benefits of fiscal conservatism. Get in front of the Maryland General Assembly and make sure there’s plenty of media in the joint when you speak. If you get the chance to show up to speak to Congress, make sure to say hi to Steny Hoyer (just don’t let him smack you around.)

And at least on a local level, the AFP could use a shot in the arm. Maybe Charles needs to take some time, come down here, and whip up the troops’ morale. He possesses the energy and exuberance that the organization needs in a leader, but time will tell if he was the right choice for what AFP Maryland wishes to accomplish.

Regardless, from what I know about Charles I think he’ll do just fine.

Questioning the Salisbury City Council candidates – part 3

If you’re new to the series, here are part 1 and part 2.

We pick up here with questions on development of jobs and of downtown Salisbury.

There’s no question that a standard answer for making a community more business-friendly is to eliminate red tape – we all know that. But a better question is what sort of incentives can we bring to the table to attract businesses and what sort of businesses do you feel would be the best fit for the city given its location and workforce?

Boda: First, it begins with attitude and how we approach the situation.  Approaching the business community and asking “What can we do to help?”. Retaining business is priority one in my opinion.

Creating a clear, concise formula when presenting extraction or impact fees for new businesses will provide a clear understanding of what is expected.  Instead of demanding it all up front, create a flexible payment plan that offers options on how and when fees need to be paid.

Identify where we want growth, create a plan with developers and members of our business community, and execute it.  The execution of our plans are key, because we have had many studies and plans over the years with very little execution.

Ford: First, we must create a community vision plan.  My “Together We Can Build a City” initiative aims to bring together stakeholders from across the city in a professionally, independently facilitated forum to identify a common direction for the city.  As an example, I have heard a lot of discussion about the untapped potential of the waterfront, but over the last 20 years, disorganized, piecemeal development of properties on the water has created stagnation for the city and those that have invested in those properties. 

A community vision could serve as an encouraging roadmap for businesses around which to create their business plans.  If a business owner knows, for example, that the city is going to concentrate its efforts in the waterfront area, he or she will have incentive to fall in line with the collective progress and develop a business that fits in with the others around it. 

Individual businesses will not and have not succeeded in the downtown area.  It will take a joint effort of multiple forces to create the synergy needed to develop and revitalize the center city area. 

As far as businesses throughout the rest of Salisbury, we must create a level playing field between county and city tax rates.  The City of Salisbury is a checkerboard territory with pockets of county property scattered throughout its boundaries.  Literally, neighboring businesses pay significantly different taxes.  This is counterproductive, discourages businesses from locating within city limits and deserves discussion.

Salisbury’s unemployment rate is actually lower than the national average right now, but our economic challenges are a product of national and international forces. As such, our job is to prepare for the larger economic recovery and capitalize on its arrival.

As far as what types of businesses are best for the city, I believe fundamentally that a healthy economy requires diversity.  We have learned the hard way what it means to rely on one or two keystone businesses.  When those businesses leave or close, the whole community stagnates.  I would like to see Salisbury seek a combination of large businesses that employ many people and smaller businesses that can respond quickly to change.

I would like to see Salisbury capitalize on the bookends of the community, namely Salisbury University and Peninsula Regional Medical Center, to create a regional economic hub centered around medical and technological industries, including green technologies.  I would like to see manufacturers relocate to Salisbury.  While high tech and green jobs do not directly address the blue collar workforce of Salisbury, those industries do support the related service industries that support them…hotels, retail, hospitality and service jobs. 

Mitchell: It is good practice to eliminate unnecessary barriers to attracting and securing new businesses in Salisbury, as you said. The City now has an Information Technology department that is working to restructure the City’s official website and move it to a new server. These steps should make the site more operational, and with the input of the business community I believe we can make it more user friendly. I would like to see a site where prospective businesses could find access to most everything they need to establish a business in Salisbury, from licensing requirements and applications to scheduling inspections to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. The State of Maryland is also taking steps to improve access by restructuring the State website to allow more business startup transactions to be completed online.

As for the incentives, I like the program that Cambridge MainStreet conducted last fall. To attract new businesses to downtown, they held a contest to award the winners 2-3 months of rent free storefront downtown to allow them time to make a profit during the holidays. The hope is that those businesses will now have enough cash to operate through the leaner months until shopping (traditionally) rebounds in the spring. I will also refer back to the TIF, Enterprise Zone, and Invest Maryland Fund programs outlined in question four above. The State of Maryland is also taking steps to improve access by restructuring the State website to allow more business startup transactions to be completed online. These are by no means the only things we can do, but they are options we should carefully consider.

I feel that Salisbury can accommodate nearly any type of business. We need to entice businesses that can utilize the over 1,800 educated minds that Salisbury University graduates each year. Biotech, clean energy technology, green chemistry research firms, and pharmaceutical companies are some examples of high tech industries with well-paying jobs to which SU graduates could contribute. Manufacturing jobs are also important to employ both skilled (welders, electricians, etc.) and unskilled (assembly, maintenance, etc.) labor. The talents in this community are unlimited so we should not limit ourselves in the types of businesses we seek to utilize those talents.

Cohen: At a number of work sessions, I have raised these issues. We want to be careful with “incentives,” using them wisely and in a limited, targeted fashion. Otherwise, we end up with a mini-Chicago/Illinois version of a TIF nightmare (tax increment financing) and other fiscal problems.

Tailoring incentives to supportive locally born business in a fiscally responsible way would be one place to start. Rather than more giveaways, revolving loan funds and creative ways to help smaller businesses survive that crucial first one to three years of start-up or expansion should be considered, the latter already being the case with the reuse of the old Messick Ice Plant.

We can better attract businesses here by focusing on our assets and building our quality of life up. Businesses, while happy to take incentives or use them as a deciding point between two comparable locations, look for whether an area has a market for their product or service or a sustainable area for operations. Companies want to find locations with low crime, good schools, an educated labor force, housing availability and choices for their employees, and a community commitment to quality of life.

As I’ve noted before, among the types of businesses we should try to attract include those in the bio- and eco-research, product and service areas. With the natural assets of our region and demographics, companies in these fields should be attracted by those assets and would find a skilled labor force among our local college graduates, as well as offering a diverse set of jobs for those without higher educations. There are other “good fit” types of companies we can talk about, as well.

Spies: As we all know, well-paying jobs are necessary to our city’s growth and survival. One up and coming industry stands out in my mind as one that will remain vital and grow through upcoming decades and that would be an easy fit for Salisbury: the production of alternative energy source equipment, including, but not limited to solar panel and wind turbine technology.

Excellent and available manufacturing facilities lie within our city’s borders that can rapidly and easily be retooled to suit those industries’ needs. Attractive tax incentives are and can be can be at the forefront of the city’s encouragements to companies looking for an area with a moderate personal income levels, good transportation resources and a ready, well-educated and technologically experienced workforce.

Dryden: If it is decided that impact fees are necessary, then at a minimum, they should be set up in a way that would allow them to be staggered over time to avoid a business choosing a different town due to fees. We have the benefit of being at the intersection of two major highways so we will continue to experience retail growth in the future but we should continue to make every effort to attract manufacturing and technology employers to bring higher paying positions for our highly skilled workforce. In the end, changing our perception will be a good first step toward bringing in new business.

Dixon: Our City has gone from allowing new businesses to open with no fees or changes to demanding an outrageous amount for both. In order for the City to become more business-friendly, we need to take a more open and welcoming approach. The City needs to have a set and reasonable structure for all fees pertaining to all businesses. We need to regulate and revise those fees, consider short term moratoriums on certain fees and incentives (waivers) to bring businesses here. Many businesses do not start to turn a profit in their formative phases. I would like to implement a policy creating a reverse pyramid payment plan. Using this reverse pyramid scale allows the owner to know the amount due upfront, there by lowering the startup cost by paying a small payment in the early stages of the business. I also feel that by working in cooperation with the County Council, current businesses, prospective businesses, and area organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, we can work to streamline a variety of processes and duplication of services.

Taylor: No response at this time.

For decades, people have made grandiose plans to redevelop downtown Salisbury – closing the plaza blocks to vehicular traffic was one proposal which didn’t work so well. How would you propose to create a downtown area which is busy on a 24/7/365 basis and doesn’t roll up the sidewalks at 5 p.m.? And what steps can the city take to help private investors make the downtown a more active area?

Boda: Interestingly other Cities and Towns in our area have successfully revitalized their downtowns.  Cambridge and Berlin are two prime examples of success stories. Looking at what they did in specifics, is going to be key.  Mayor Gee Williams did a spectacular job of bringing in the business community and asking “What can we do to help you?”. I couldn’t agree more with his sentiment and their success, net loss of 9 businesses to a net gain of 16, sure says they did something right.

I do believe the mantra of beds and heads is only part of the plan. I believe we need to attract two to three anchors, national chains such as a Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Pottery Barn, Borders Bookstore, to complement the unique local businesses that are must. Working out waivers on extraction fees for businesses that wish to come in to the downtown is a must and working out deals to keep businesses already there.

Another idea is to expand Third Fridays from once a month to eventually every weekend. Making Downtown a destination point and generating traffic is what will attract the attention of businesses that will provide jobs and services to our community. 

Ford: I basically answered this question with my answer to number 5, so to recap, I feel that step one is to identify a community vision, step two is to use that vision to create a synergy of effort in the areas surrounding the plaza, and step three is to foster the actual realization of the vision plan.  Vision plans tend to arrive amid excitement and then fade away because no one protects them from obscurity.  I personally love the architecture of the Plaza, but realistically it may not be large enough to support itself.  Developing the waterfront would bring new life and energy into the city center area. 

Mitchell: It should be noted that some of the current programs downtown are working, such as Third Friday, and these programs need to be continued. We should encourage expansion of these programs along with scheduling more arts and cultural events downtown. I also agree with Chief Duncan and State’s Attorney Matt Maciarello’s proposal of installing safety cameras and motion activated lighting throughout the downtown district in an effort to deter crime and increase safety.

Parking on the Plaza is an issue; however, there is plenty of parking on either side of the buildings that line the plaza. There are some concerns about passage through to the plaza (depending on where you park) that may be helped with cameras and lighting in the passageways that lack those amenities. I do not believe that our downtown can or should be a 24/7 hub at this point because of the number of residents that live above the storefronts on the plaza. However, I do feel that we should encourage existing and future businesses to extend their hours to 9:00 p.m. so that visitors can come down after work to eat, play, and shop downtown. Public/private partnerships have great potential to revitalize much of our city, including the downtown area. The program that MainStreet Cambridge used downtown is a great example in that the private owners of the storefronts could waive the rental fee for a few months and may get long term tenants in return. The public part came from MainStreet Cambridge marketing the contest, accepting, reviewing, and selecting the applicants’ business plans to select the winners. Similar partnerships exist in Salisbury and can be expanded if we bring interested parties together for civil discussions to determine when and where to collaborate.

Cohen: In the short term, “busy on a 24/7/365 basis” is not likely to be a realistic goal. One factor is, a large portion of Downtown real estate is taken up by governmental entities, such as the state court building and the health department. Downtown faces other logistical obstacles as well.

One place to start is with code compliance and property standards. Poor property maintenance was a problem even before the economic nosedive, which is detrimental to those owners, managers and businesses making serious efforts.

The Town Gown Committee of Salisbury University formed an ad hoc group to take a look at what the University might do to foster revitalization of Downtown. They are thinking in terms of “baby steps” at this point.

Such involvement and “baby steps” are a good thing, but let’s think something in between “baby steps” and “grandiose,” too. When just one new business comes in at a time, there is often not enough activity around it to help it hold on until another arrives. Looking for ways to create a cluster of activity at once will help businesses sustain.

This question begs a comment about Old Station 16, the sale of which has served to further divide people rather than build a community. This is a perfect opportunity for the people of Salisbury to work together to develop “a sense of place” and create a real “public-private partnership.”

Soliciting thoughts from a wide spectrum of people, I found there is a lot of support for using the old firehouse as an open market showcasing local food, quality crafts and the arts. Instead of a “pennies on the dollar” giveaway involving Program Open Space riverfront property that was not surplused nor advertised for sale, the city taxpayers can hold onto their valuable asset during a recession – one that has historical value and great meaning to many — while private enterprise is nurtured in a mini-Reading Terminal Market.

This would serve a diverse market base, from upscale professionals to low-to-mod income area residents, and harness thousands of people who work downtown in the government buildings and at the hospital as an economic engine. This city needs a project everyone can be part of and this certainly would afford that opportunity.

Spies: Arts and entertainment are high on my list as those business types that can generate sufficient interest to a customer base that has money to spend and time to spend it. I also believe that the customer bases we need to greatly develop are family and youth oriented. With the library close at hand and hundreds of children and parents visiting each day, we should take advantage of the opportunity with restaurants and activities attractive to them. With our zoo and city park just blocks away, out of town visitors can be encouraged with signage, brochures and incentives to visit downtown with their children and to extend their stay with fun and affordable lunch, dinner, additional entertainment (live and other types) and retail. The marketing possibilities could be enormous. A possible slogan: Salisbury – Make a Kid’s Day!

The youth-oriented concept would also dovetail nicely with Salisbury’s 2010 designation as an All-America City®, which addressed, among the city’s most pressing challenges, youth issues. This retooling of downtown’s image would be an investment not only in our financial future, but also in the future of our youth.

The city can offer its assistance through additional advertising, promotion and tax incentives. With the theme of downtown being youth-oriented, especially if educational aspects are included, grant funding from state, federal and private sources will be more available than for many other types of projects.

Dryden: To begin with, I would like to get feedback from the downtown businesses to find out their concerns and recommendations. I would suggest considering the reduction or possible removal of parking meters and more convenient, well lit parking for business patrons. I would continue to encourage current activities such as the “Third Friday” events.

Dixon: I feel that in order for the Downtown Plaza to be a successful area 24/7/365, we as a community need to establish a welcoming atmosphere which includes residents feeling safe and secure. Furthermore, in order for the Plaza to generate more business, I feel that we need to attract multiple types of businesses, such as entertainment, restaurants, shops, and a variety of offices. The City can help with this by supporting Chief Duncan and her plan for the “Safety and Security of Downtown.” The City could also look into placing more lights in the area as well as making the plaza more accessible. The citizens of Salisbury and the surrounding areas can also take a stake in this process by taking the time to explore what the Downtown Plaza has to offer and stepping up to the plate. Rehabilitation of the downtown is a complex and difficult issue and requires a concentrated community effort to make it happen.

Taylor: No response at this time.

The fourth and final part will be put up on Thursday night.

On his 100th birthday, Reagan stands alone

My latest for Pajamas Media, but I can’t take credit for the title – I’ll assume that’s my editor’s work.

Sometimes the world presents an odd confluence of events. On Sunday millions watched as the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers duked it out for the opportunity to crown themselves champions of the football world. Yet the 100th anniversary of the birth of a champion of the political world didn’t pass unnoticed, as a grand tribute to Ronald Reagan was presented just before the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLV.

There’s no question that President Reagan left a lasting legacy, and fortune continually smiled on him even in death. (What other president has had the good fortune of having his 100th birthday coincide with a sporting event that attracts the rapt attention of millions?) However, the Reagan centennial celebration has extended far beyond a simple three-minute tribute film as Republicans everywhere commemorate the milestone.

(continued at Pajamas Media…)

Arrogance and disrespect

Subtitled: one man’s tale of how Democrats run things in Annapolis.

I had heard some rumblings about funny business when it came to HB28, a bill to require proof of legal presence before receiving public benefits. There was a hearing last week but apparently only opponents of the bill were allowed to speak.

To give a little background, this is the fourth year in a row similar legislation has been introduced, and every time it has died in Delegate Norm Conway’s Appropriations Committee. Last year Conway voted against it, and presumably he’s done so in previous years as well (committee votes only went online in 2010.)

This account of the hearing comes from Howard County resident Tom Young, and although I’ve shortened it a little bit for brevity the conduct of Conway seems pretty shameful. Good thing I didn’t vote for him.

As an involved citizen in my community, I have attended and testified at Maryland House and Senate public hearings in Annapolis for almost ten years now.  On February 1, 2011, I drove in from Howard County to testify in favor of a bill submitted by Delegate Tony O’Donnell (R-Calvert/St. Mary’s) HB 28 – “Public Benefits – Requirement of Proof of Lawful Presence” – assigned to the Appropriations Committee.

It’s an important piece of legislation which would deny most non-emergency, taxpayer funded social services to those without lawful presence in our state.  In a time of economic hardship for many citizens and massive budget deficits at the state and county level, HB 28 holds the promise of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from overburdened public benefit programs.

Upon my arrival in Annapolis, I signed in to speak in support of HB 28 (and HB 34) as is proper procedure, along with others, and sat down in the hearing room to wait for my name to be called.  The hearing, chaired by Delegate Norman Conway (D-Wicomico/Worcester) started off like any other.  Delegate O’Donnell presented his bill to the committee, but instead of those in favor of HB 28 being called up to testify first, Delegate Conway changed standard protocol and immediately called up those opposed to HB 28 to appear at the witness table.  Clearly Delegate Conway had a personnel (sic) agenda to fulfill by slighting Delegate O’Donnell and those in the room supporting HB 28. 

For the next hour plus, I had to listen to the anti-citizen, pro-illegal alien nonsense espoused by groups such as CASA of Maryland, the ACLU and multiple Catholic and other ethnic/religious based groupsas to why it was “our moral duty” to provide taxpayer funded social services to illegal aliens, residents who clearly have no moral or legalright to be in Maryland. 

(snip)

When these groups where finished, Delegate Conway abruptly ended the hearing and quickly disappeared into the back of the hearing room.  At no time were those in the audience asked if there were any in attendance who wanted to testify in favor of HB 28.   I rose and voiced my protest of this violation of my rights to testify at this public hearing but no one listened, including my own Delegate Guy Guzzone (D-Howard County) who told me it was a “mistake”. 

I took time off from my struggling business to testify in favor of HB 28.  I properly signed in as did others to support HB 28.  Delegate Conway, a disciple of Governor O’Malley, obviously thinks that sincethe Democrats “won big” in the recent elections that opposing views by citizens on issues are no longer needed. 

(snip)

Delegate Conway’s office is now issuing statements that no one signed up to speak in favor of HB 28; that was quickly modified that citizens signed up for the wrong bill.  Tomorrow I sure it will be a different story.  Again this is not my first hearing.   I know the drill, and I signed in to provide oral testimony against HB 28 along with others. The bottom line is that my right to address the government and to free speech was blatantly violated by Conway and his Democratic committee cronies.

(snip)

On February 1, 2011, my Constitutional protections were violated in Annapolis. Where do I go now to have my voice heard on Maryland-wide issues?  Do Maryland’s elected officials, like Delegate Conway, now believe they can tell me when, where and what I can say?  I will return to Annapolis to give testimony throughout the current session, especially against proposed In-State Tuition for illegal aliens. I now know the levels the dominate (sic) party in office will go to in forcing their lawless agenda on our citizens.  I will not run nor hide.  I will dedicate myself to exposing their actions for all Marylanders to see.

One criticism I’ve leveled at Conway over the years was how he would talk like a conservative in the district but return to Annapolis and vote like a far-left liberal. Now it appears he’s learned the rest of the routine from special interests in the state capital.

And to think that last fall we could have installed a far better representative in Marty Pusey – sure, she wouldn’t lead the Appropriations Committee but she would have inched the GOP closer to the magic number of 47 needed to work around the committee process. I bet there’s a few Democrats not on the Appropriations Committee who would crap a brick if they actually had to return to their districts and explain why they voted against such a bill on the floor.

I’ll grant that I have never personally gone to Annapolis to testify for or against a bill although I have submitted written testimony on a previous occasion. However, it seems to me as a common man that theirs is already an intimidating process and those in the General Assembly’s majority would prefer to keep it that way. If you figure that Mr. Young, who only lives a relatively short distance from Annapolis, still had to spend the better part of an afternoon in vain, imagine what it’s like for someone on the Lower Shore or out in Garrett County. Most people who prefer limited government also have to work for a living and can’t take several days off work to address every pet issue; thus it falls into the hands of special interests local to the Annapolis area for the most part. (There are a few conservative groups who surely do a yeoman’s job at this too, but they are far outnumbered.)

Now if Delegate Conway has his side of the story I’ll gladly hear it, but based on his past record on this bill I doubt this bias was purely accidental and unintentional. He knows where his bread is buttered just as well as we do.

The only thing which would accrue to Norm’s credit, as opposed to the sales tax reduction I wrote on earlier, is that at least HB28 should get a committee vote and not be locked away in his desk drawer. Most likely it will split almost on party lines with Appropriations Committee Republicans voting in the state’s interest while those Democrats oppose.

It’s a long way to 2014, but surely there will be many more examples of arrogance and deceit to follow.

A new face leads a perennial movement

It’s been tried at least twice before in the previous two sessions, but a new leader has emerged in the fight to repeal the 2007 O’Malley sales tax increase.

With the ascension of J.B. Jennings to the Maryland Senate, a similar bill to the one he introduced in 2009 and 2010 is now being spearheaded by freshman Delegate Justin Ready of Carroll County. (Introduced today, the bill is HB465.) A good sign of progress is that Ready has gathered 32 other sponsors to the bill, a group made bipartisan by the inclusion of Democratic Delegate John F. Wood, Jr.

In a statement, Ready pointed out that Maryland is a state with relatively close borders. Thanks to the increased sales tax, “businesses in Carroll County are really taking it on the chin because of our close proximity to Pennsylvania,” said Ready.

However, Pennsylvania’s sales tax is 6 percent like Maryland’s – the key difference is in the services covered. In fact, three of the five states (or districts) surrounding Maryland match the state’s 6% rate – Virginia has a 5% rate and, of course, as we all know Delaware has no sales tax. So that portion of Ready’s argument vis-a-vis Pennsylvania may not hold water, but any advantage we can get here on the Eastern Shore means something to us.

A somewhat moderating feature of Ready’s plan is that we’d have to wait two years for tax relief, as the rate wouldn’t go into effect until 2013 – presumably the economy will be on more solid ground.

Passing sales tax relief will let Maryland families know that help is on the way while also giving the state three budget years to get our fiscal house in order. Taxpayers have sacrificed repeatedly over the past few years with higher taxes and fees. The sales tax hits poor and lower middle class people hardest of all.  Now is the time for government to sacrifice some spending and provide relief for our families and businesses.

(Yeesh…”help is on the way” – where have we heard this before? Obviously Justin doesn’t make the trip down here much or he’d know to avoid that phrase.)

Obviously I’m for the tax decrease, although the same idea didn’t do much to help Bob Ehrlich out. Still, I’m dismayed to see that two local representatives aren’t yet onboard as cosponsors. While Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio has lent her name to 32 bills thus far this session and cohort Delegate Charles Otto ten, neither have lent their backing to this common-sense bill as a cosponsor. One would assume they’d vote for the bill if it ever proceeds past the hearing stage (unlike the two predecessor bills) but I think that the party leadership – including the Minority Leader, Delegate Tony O’Donnell – needs to get behind this. So far he, too, is conspicuous in his absence.

If past history is any indication, the bill will get a hearing toward the end of the session in March and then be locked in the desk drawer of Ways and Means Committee head Sheila Hixson. It’s time to change that formula and give real tax relief to working Maryland families.

An observation

I’m considering expanding the point for a PJM post, but perhaps one point is worth pondering as we celebrate the centennial of Ronald Reagan’s birth today.

Just compare this to what you recall from any centennial celebration of the following Presidents:

  • The 100-year anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt’s birth was in 1982 (he died in office in 1945.)
  • For Harry Truman, it would have been 1984 (he passed away in 1972.)
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower would have turned 100 in 1990 (he died in 1969.)
  • The centennial of Lyndon Baines Johnson’s birth was just three years ago, in 2008. He succumbed in 1973, and I vaguely remember that when I was a kid. Oddly enough his was the last Presidential death for over two decades, until his successor Richard Nixon died.

And have you heard about any big plans for any of these men who served?

  • The centennial of the birth of both Richard Nixon and his successor Gerald Ford comes in 2013. Nixon died in 1994, while Ford is our longest-lived President – he was 93 when he died in 2006.
  • Both Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush would turn 100 in 2024 – just 13 years from now.
  • A similar pairing occurs when George W. Bush and Bill Clinton would both turn 100 in 2046.

My suspicion is that the next Presidential centennial to draw heavy interest will be John F. Kennedy’s in 2017. I imagine the media will push to have his celebration rival Reagan’s, with the additional factor of his ‘martyrdom’ due to assassination.

On the other hand, not all that many of us will be around when the 100-year anniversary of Barack Obama’s 1961 birth rolls around – I’ll be 96 when that happens!

Anyway, if I can inspire myself to fill in the blanks and make a decent post of it you may see this information again. If not, enjoy the Super Bowl. My pick: Green Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24. It’ll be one of those games where the Steelers keep trying to catch up but can never get over the hump – the Packers will win it on a late field goal.

Two former SotW players garner camp invites

Well, it’s about time. For some reason it seemed like the Orioles took forever to determine who was being invited to spring training – maybe it’s because of the question of signing Vladimir Guerrero. But Thursday they selected a total of 16 non-roster invitees and a pair of 2008 Shorebirds of the Week – picked just two weeks apart – were among them.

While Ryan Adams was an error-making machine in his season here, the guy could hit and that seems to be his ticket to the big leagues. Baseball America named him the 8th best prospect in the Orioles’ chain this year so apparently the fielding questions have been answered – of course, if nothing else the American League has the designated hitter.

On the other hand, I liked Tyler Henson‘s style of play when he was with Delmarva so I’m happy to see him latch onto the invite. He’s retreated a bit from the 20/20 I predicted he could have (just 12 homers and 7 steals at Bowie last year) but he gets his chance to shine nonetheless.

With the two additions to those already on the 40-man roster, there are ten players who at one time were Shorebirds of the Week in the Orioles’ big league camp this spring. Something tells me I may have more than one inductee to the Shorebird of the Week Hall of Fame next fall.

In the meantime, spring training starts on Valentine’s Day with the first exhibition game on February 28. Damn, I can’t wait!

Friday night videos – episode 57

The things I have sent to me…oh boy.

Of course, a sore subject on our side is President Obama’s State of the Union address, to which Renee Giachino of the Center for Individual Freedom responds.“Tired and disproven ideas.” Got that right. By the way, the owner of that building needs a handrail on that stair in the background.

But maybe the President was trying for one of these, great moments in liberal history.Let’s hope that works right or it’ll be a bad moment in monoblogue history.

Americans for Limited Government pays homage to Ronald Reagan by pointing out “taxes should hurt.”

Yes, he would have been 100 years old Sunday.

Since it was Groundhog Day earlier this week, the people at the Sunlight Foundation found it the ideal time to seek lobbying reform.

My idea of lobbying reform: get the money out of Washington through lower taxes! See how I tied those together?

The next video deserves a warning label for graphic violence, definitely NSFW. This is the punishment Islam metes out for adultery?

Since this is from Afghanistan, I would hope this is representative of the Taliban enemy and not our allies there – otherwise, there’s little point in staying.

I’d prefer a little more cheer in a war zone, and this video reminds us that making our soldiers laugh is important for morale.

To finish, here’s one from someone more representative of tolerance. Recorded at the Refuge, here’s Not My Own with “Giver Take.”

Until next time…