June 2011 – Page 3

Friday night videos – episode 67

At the end I debut the videos I shot at the Concert for a Random Soldier over Memorial Day weekend. In the meantime, let’s throw out some jams with covers first.

This is a mid-Shore band called Blitzed who’s playing up at Marina’s in Blades as I write. It’s their take on Pink Floyd’s ‘Young Lust.’

Outdoor parties tend to make for fun (if raw) videos, and that was the case with this one from Freshly Squeezed. I’m guessing they closed out their summer with this Sublime cover.

Lower Class Citizens checks in with this Live Lixx performance from last November. Haven’t heard a lot from them lately; hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come.

Interesting thing about that video – normally there’s much more natural light in that studio but recording that in late November meant that Live Lixx at Six was well after dark.

It was quite light when I recorded these following videos; in fact almost too much. First in chronological order is the Mari Hill Band, doing their version of ZZ Top’s ‘Sharp Dressed Man.’

I’m not sure how old Mari Hill is, but she has plenty of moves. It’s interesting to hear that song played as a four-piece outfit (five if you count Mari’s percussion.)

The next pair of songs are a live staple from Semiblind, who maybe skips just a beat before transitioning from Santana to Heart. Don’t mind the little bit of wind noise.

That makes for a long video, so I have time for only one more. From the same show, here’s The Saints of Chaos doing an original called ‘Temptation and Regret.’

Those boys were driving some wattage through the overburdened Post 28 pavilion’s electrical system. It was loud and it was good. Hopefully you thought the sounds were as well, even if the video was a little bleached out because of the light background.

Until next time, rock on!

Shorebird of the Week – June 9, 2011

Is Michael Ohlman's future so bright he has to wear shades? We don't know, but he is a SAL All-Star for 2011.

It’s traditional that I award a league All-Star the coveted Shorebird of the Week tag as soon as I can. Having picked four of the five All-Stars for SotW honors already, the last holdout was catcher Michael Ohlman.

Now Michael’s not been as much of an offensive threat as the other two Shorebird position players (Manny Machado and Ty Kelly) but when compared to Shorebird catchers of recent vintage Ohlman is head and shoulders above the pack. The 20 year old product of Lakewood Ranch High School in Florida is hitting .242 with a pair of home runs and 20 runs batted in. His .691 OPS is reasonably decent, too.

Ohlman is a Shorebird veteran, having spent part of the 2010 season here before being reassigned to Bluefield for the short-season summer. Michael was a little overmatched last time he was here at Delmarva, since he hit just .174 in 34 games here before turning in a .233/0/20 line with Bluefield.

Michael’s numbers this year, though, may represent a sign that he’s “getting it” because the 2009 11th round pick hasn’t hit much – his career average coming into 2011 was an anemic .207 mark. With this being only his second full season of play it’s hard to compare numbers but Ohlman should set a number of offensive highs for himself if he stays healthy. And he has that All-Star selection to help boost his confidence.

That double standard

I have reserved comment on this through all the sordid details, and I’m not going to rehash the particulars now, either.

But it’s clear that Rep. Anthony Weiner has violated the trust voters placed in him since he first won election to Congress in 1998. And unlike his New York counterpart, former Rep. Christopher Lee, he didn’t immediately resign once he admitted those Twitter pictures were his. (Lee left office after sending a shirtless photo of himself to a woman he met through Craigslist.) In the end, this cost the GOP a Congressional seat as a liberal Democrat won the special election to fill Lee’s 26th District seat.

In this case, it’s doubtful the Democrats would lose the Congressional seat since Weiner has won elections handily since his first one in 1998. While his closest brush was 2010, where he won 60.8% of the vote, no Republican has represented the area in decades.

So why is Weiner staying on? One can only speculate, of course, but perhaps it has something to do with that old adage, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And he’s going to stay in the news because it was learned his wife, who he married just last summer, is now pregnant with their first child. (He’s married to an aide to Hillary Clinton.)

Yet it’s a sad statement on American life that this sensationalized story became front page news. Otherwise Weiner’s a relatively obscure back-bencher from America’s largest city who is as liberal as the day is long. And perhaps that’s the biggest problem – many of the liberal persuasion can’t understand what all the fuss is about. They equate it with the saga of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

The issue in both cases, though, isn’t what these men did in the privacy of their own lives – the issue is that both men denied the facts at first before finally admitting the truth. In other words, they lied to save their hide but didn’t need to because their hide was saved anyway and their behavior excused.

No one, including me, is perfect. But when we place people in a position of public trust we should expect them to be leaders and set an example. The only example Weiner has set is what not to do on Twitter.

Wicomico GOP looking for a few good men (or women)

The release is short, sweet, and to the point:

The Wicomico County Republican Central Committee is accepting applications for two Republican positions on the Wicomico County Board of Education. Appointments are by the Governor for five-year terms, beginning in July. Those interested should submit a completed Request for Appointment Consideration Biographical Information Form (which includes a resume) to the Governor’s Appointments Office with a copy to Wicomico County Republican Central Committee, P.O Box 252, Salisbury, MD 21803. The Form and additional information is available by calling 410-974-2611 or by email at WiCoGOPChair@Yahoo.com . Applicants will be contacted concerning interviews beginning at 7:00 pm on June 20.

So far I’m aware of two people who are seeking appointment, with the one Republican member eligible for re-appointment being one of the two.

Yet this is an opportunity for conservative members of the community to step up and attempt to get an handle on the school board’s budget. Certainly you may get frustrated at times because the majority appointed by the other party doesn’t always work in a manner which exhibits common sense, but this is also an opportunity to get acquainted with the inner workings of the board at a time when it may be in transition if we on the right side have our way and it becomes an elected body. (I would imagine the local GOP would at least tacitly support those we nominated for appointment should they decide to seek an elected school board office.)

If we can get a number of solid conservative candidates on the list we send to the Governor’s office, one of two things will happen: either our picks will get on the school board and improve the body as a whole, or, if they’re not selected despite our expressed wish it’s more ammunition to convince voters that they need to have a say in the referendum that will come to pass. (This despite the best efforts of Norm Conway and Mary Ashanti of the local NAACP, who have their own reasons for supporting the status quo. Hint: they are liberals and think they know better than the people.)

So, if you are interested in serving your fellow man in this way I encourage you to send in an application. As I recall, the last time we did this we had four or five hopefuls so it may be a relatively long meeting for us on June 20. But that’s part of our job.

And, by the way, I’m hearing this rumor that the local Democrats are getting involved in the process of picking our nominees. Three words to them: go pound sand.

I think we can pick some good candidates on our own, thank you. You may not like who we pick (because Lord knows you’ve picked some real winners in the past for various positions) and the job-killing creep you helped elect as governor may not select them off our list, but it’s our job to send the best possible candidates to Annapolis. So let us do our job.

Speed cameras – a revenue-extracting scam

Since I can’t keep my comments to five minutes and the Fruitland City Council member I’m watching right now is basically feeding us a line of bullshit, here is the REAL truth: it’s all about the Benjamins.

First of all, these cameras aren’t necessarily accurate. Secondly, they are rife for abuse as “school zones” magically expand to areas well beyond the posted zones.

But the scenarios presented seem to ignore some other realities.

To start, let’s assume the cameras are vehicle-mounted. How much cost will it be to send out a deputy to fetch the vehicle and bring it back to the home base? Someone in Fruitland has to do this, but the county will have a much larger area to cover. Meanwhile, static cameras are subject to vandalism.

Secondly, the target is certain to be a moving target. Right now it’s 12 miles per hour over, in school zones during certain time periods. But once the camel’s nose under the tent it’s certain that the usage will be expanded, the allowable overage will be reduced, and the fine will be increased – particularly when revenues fall short of expectations.

Normally I agree with Mike Lewis, but he’s wrong on this one. Hopefully the County Council resists the temptation to allow Big Brother a little larger slice of our life.

Final thoughts: Yes, our County Council was gutless and rolled over. But here’s the question that should be paramount:

If the concept of safety in school zones is so important, why aren’t deputies and officers enforcing the law there on a daily basis despite the fact the county gets nothing from those fines? Since they don’t currently make this a part of their daily routine, it seems to me that placing a camera there now, when a financial incentive is being dangled in front of them, shows the real reason they’re backing it.

Speak now or forever pay more

Now through August 1, concerned Maryland citizens can have their say on the proposed toll increases for the Bay Bridge and other Maryland toll roads and bridges via a web form at www.mdta.maryland.gov or by writing to MDTA Toll Comments, 2310 Broening Highway, Baltimore, MD 21224. There will also be a series of public hearings beginning June 9:

June 9 (Montgomery County)
June 13 (Baltimore City)
June 14 (Prince George’s County)
June 15 (Queen Anne’s County)
June 16 (Cecil County)
June 20 (Anne Arundel County)
June 21 (Baltimore County)
June 22 (Charles County)
June 27 (Harford County)

Obviously they’re not soliciting the input of the Lower Eastern Shore, so the best route may be to send a comment directly to MDTA.

They defend the toll increase as necessary:

Two key forces are driving the proposal — paying for major construction work needed to keep these large, aging and expensive facilities both safe and operational and paying for additional highway capacity now under construction in the Baltimore and Washington regions. MDTA’s tunnels, bridges and turnpikes are financially supported through tolls and not the State’s Transportation Trust Fund or General Fund. The additional revenue is needed to meet the current and future needs of these facilities. The plan allows Maryland to offer some of the most generous commuter discounts in the country and keeps overall toll rates comparable with those elsewhere in the region.

(snip)

Toll revenues fund safety, rehabilitation, customer-service and improvement projects Statewide, including $132 million in repairs for the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40); $121 million in work for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (I-95); $225 million in repairs to the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Bay) Bridge (US 50/301); $410 million in work for the three Baltimore Harbor crossings – the Fort McHenry (I-95, I-395) and Baltimore Harbor (I-895) tunnels and the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695); and $21 million in repairs to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge (US 301). In addition, the MDTA is constructing two major projects to address traffic congestion in Maryland. They include the Express Toll Lanes along I-95 in the Baltimore region and the Intercounty Connector in the Washington region.

It has been years, decades in some cases, since the MDTA raised many of its toll rates. The Bay Bridge toll rate for passenger vehicles is lower now than when the original span opened in 1952, when drivers of passenger cars paid $2.80 round trip, plus $.25 per passenger. Toll rates for passenger vehicles were last raised in 2003 at the Baltimore toll facilities, the Kennedy Highway and the Hatem Bridge and in 2001 at the Nice Bridge. Commuter toll rates were last raised in 1985 for Baltimore toll facilities and in 1983 for the Bay and Nice bridges. Toll rates for vehicles with three or more axles were last raised at all facilities in 2009.

The funds to finance, operate, preserve, maintain, improve and protect Maryland’s eight toll facilities come directly from the tolls that customers pay. The MDTA combines toll revenue from all facilities to pay operating costs and the debt on bonds that are issued to fund major projects. Revenue “pooling” makes the MDTA financially strong with top bond ratings that reduce borrowing costs.

It’s understandable that repairs need to be made on aging infrastructure, but the increases seem rather excessive to those of us on the Eastern Shore when we’re not getting any of the new work. Why not leave the tolls alone on the Bay Bridge (or perhaps enact a modest increase, maybe $1 total phased in over the two years) but ramp up tolls in the areas receiving the work? It’s worth mentioning the the Inter-County Connector between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties is exempt from the toll increases, yet much of the money extracted from other areas will go to finish that. Since Baltimore is getting the new express lanes, they can pay for that work with tolls increasing at a more modest pace.

In truth, the one thing which seems to upset people the most isn’t necessarily the rate hikes, but their scale. Just because tolls haven’t been raised in x number of years is no excuse to make it up all at once, but that’s what they wish to do. Others fret that the money will simply disappear into that giant black hole known as the state’s General Fund instead of funding the needed improvements. It’s not like we have a governor who would do such a thing, you know.

These fears are justified, particularly when this is couched as a continuation of the “War on the Shore.” Adding $20 or more per week to an Eastern Shore commuter’s toll is $1,000 per year less they can spend supporting local businesses. And don’t believe for a minute that those who oppose urban sprawl don’t support this move – it retards development on this side of the bridge and encourages mass transit. If a lane is ever added to the Bay Bridge, I can all but guarantee it will be one of those multi-passenger express lanes instead of one just anyone could use.

Make sure to make your voice heard!

A county coup

This is sort of what I envisioned for our Lincoln Day Dinner next year; of course the problem may be that our usual February date is too far away from the state’s primary date and by the time we get to the primary the field may be winnowed down to perhaps two or three contenders who will be looking for votes in larger counties.

But Howard County was fortunate enough to secure a presidential candidate for their Lincoln Day Dinner the other night. Herman Cain made an impassioned pitch in his stump speech.

What I’m sharing is parts 2 and 3 of a video produced by O.P. Ditch of Elkridge. The introduction of Cain in part 2 is by our state’s RNC national committeeman, Louis Pope.

It gets me to wondering whether we’ll see any of the presidential contenders for our state convention this fall, wherever they decide it will be held. I’m not holding my breath that any of them will come to Salisbury, but you never know. (Historians: when was the last time a active Presidential candidate came to Salisbury? Ever?)

Obviously at this stage Cain wasn’t talking a whole lot about policy, but more about philosophy. And he knew he’d have a friendly crowd which isn’t too happy about the leadership in Washington. Fair enough. Given his rags to riches story, I think he’s a good addition to the race and perhaps we are seeing our next President in this video. But I’m chomping at the bit for more contenders to get into the race and start outlining their platforms so I can see who to get behind.

There is one other comparison to draw, though. Our state Red, White, and Blue Dinner on June 23 will feature Newt Gingrich for the second time in three years. The minimum charge there is $200, compared to the $75 minimum Howard County charged for hearing Cain speak. (In 2009 the state party charged $125 to see Gingrich.) I guess becoming a candidate means you cost more?

If our GOP gets more active thanks to the in-state tuition for illegal immigrants petition drive, perhaps we can see more candidates trolling for votes all over the state. I’m sure the folks out Garrett County way would like to see a little love from the GOP contenders too.

But kudos to Howard County for having the foresight to snag Cain as a speaker. I’ll bet they did quite well.

Weekend of local rock volume 38

Left over from last weekend’s photo was the musical part of the Concert for a Random Soldier held in Millsboro, Delaware. Yes, I promised to do this so here you go.

Kim and I arrived in the midst of act number two of nine featured bands, the outfit called 33 1/3. (Apparently we missed the acoustic stylings of one Matt Lafferty.)

With a cast of seven players and their various instruments, the band could pretty much cover the gamut of songs popularized in the golden era of album rock and Top 40 radio. And that’s what they did, placing a spin on a number of popular oldies.

The same could be said about the next band in line, 8 Track Flashback. The instrumentation was a little different, but they also set their stamp on the grooveyard of forgotten favorites.

It’s worth pointing out, though, that the set changes were not quiet. A second stage of sorts was set up for acoustic acts to play between band sets. One example of this was Jim and Shel, and another pictured below them was Adam Murray.

We had a definite change in tone with the fourth band of the nine-band lineup. The Mari Hill Band brought a sassier, bluesier feel to the proceedings as she and her band belted out a mix of old favorites along with an original or two.

And then things were shaken up even more by Ashley Mitchell and her acoustic partner, Donny Marvel. If you never thought of songs like ‘Rock the Casbah’ done as an acoustic duo, well, that’s one they tried. They succeeded rather well at it, too.

As veterans of several Concerts for a Random Soldier, Semiblind knew just what the crowd wanted, and they gave them doses of classic rock while trying out a few originals.

It was a trend that would be continued by the next band, which was the final band we saw at the show. By far it was the heaviest, too.

The Saints of Chaos were once known as Factor, and like Semiblind before them SOC has done a number of these shows. But it fell to them, as Chad Clifton’s favorite band (the one he snuck into bars to watch play) to play his favorite song – a high-powered version of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black.’ That was one of just a couple covers SOC tossed in their set – theirs were mostly originals.

The only drawback to SOC’s set (which also affected Semiblind to a slight extent) was the sound. While for Semiblind it was a matter of getting the proper instrument mix (the bass was apparently not going through the monitors loudly enough), the Saints of Chaos were simply too much wattage for the system to handle, as they blew out a breaker – twice (including on ‘Paint It Black,’ which was a bummer.) Yep, they were loud, but it was good.

Unfortunately, Kim and I couldn’t hang around for the final two bands – but Blind Willie should be back for next year’s rendition. Interestingly enough, the final act was a reunion of a band which played at the first Concert for a Random Soldier in 2006 called Lisa Says No. Perhaps they will make that an annual event as well.

In all, there were nine bands plus a number of acoustic acts in the space of nine hours – a veritable potpourri of music that one should check out next year. The Concert for a Random Soldier promises to be bigger and even better in 2012.

Interesting petition facts

As many of you should know, the effort to stop the ill-considered SB176, better known as the in-state tuition for illegal immigrants bill, has been a fairly resounding success so far – over 58,000 petition signatures were turned in by the May 31 progress deadline when only around 18,000 were needed. Proponents of illegal immigrants are already threatening legal action to allow the law to take effect.

But thanks to the advocacy group Help Save Maryland, here are some interesting petition facts:

The top five jurisdictions for signing are Baltimore County with 14,307, Anne Arundel County with 8,586, Harford County with 5,922, Carroll County with 5,820, and Washington County with 3,310.
The county with the largest number of registered voters is Montgomery County, but unsurprisingly the liberal bastion has contributed just 2,301 signatures to the effort.
Locally among Lower Shore counties Dorchester leads with 587 collected, with Wicomico County second at 383, Worcester at 305, and Somerset the lowest in the state with just 50. But on the Eastern Shore we are pikers – Cecil checks in with 1,830, Talbot has 1,218, Caroline has 1,164, Queen Anne’s has 1,114, and even little Kent County has 435. Clearly we have some work to do!
According to petition drive leader Delegate Neil Parrott, “(P)lease note that over 25% of the signatures have come from Democrats, 15% from Unaffiliated voters, and the remainder from Republicans and 3rd party voters.” So it’s not just a Republican issue.

Between the Lower Shore counties there are 121,281 registered voters – at least that was the last report. We have signed up barely 1% of the voters in a conservative area where we should get AT LEAST 10 to 15 percent. If we hit the 10% threshold here, that would be about 20 percent of the total needed for the state.

It’s time to get to work.

Shorebird of the Week – June 2, 2011

In his last start against West Virginia, Jacob got off to a rough start but righted the ship for an effective seven innings.

Unlike a lot of previous campaigns, this year the Shorebirds’ strength is on the offensive end rather than on the mound.

But one of the more effective starters has amassed 5 quality starts, including shutting out the opposition for seven and eight innings at a time. It’s no wonder Jacob Pettit sports a 5-0 record, with the Shorebirds holding an 8-2 record in his 10 starts thus far. (In the two losses the bullpen lost one-run leads in the ninth inning; otherwise we could be a perfect 10-0 in games Pettit started.)

His success may be a little startling when you notice he wasn’t drafted until the 42nd round by the Orioles last year. But with the rookie team in Bluefield, Jacob anchored their starting rotation with a 2.68 ERA that belied his 3-5 won-lost record. More amazingly, Jacob walked but four batters in 57 innings pitched. Add one base on balls in a late-season five-inning Aberdeen appearance and that’s still walking less than one batter per nine innings and a dominating 1.03 WHIP.

Pettit has come down to earth a little bit as he faces more discerning hitters at a higher level; still, he’s only allowed 21 walks in 59 2/3 innings and that’s about a respectable three per nine inning clip. (Five of those free passes were in his last start, where he gutted out a seven-inning stint, giving up two runs on three hits.)

Obviously the 24 year old Washington native who played at Division II Western Oregon State didn’t attract a lot of notice from the scouts, and was probably seen by the Orioles as an organization player. But Jacob is taking advantage of the opportunity presented to him as a member of the Shorebirds’ starting rotation and has done his part to keep the team successful.

Two thousand five hundred

It was almost a year ago that I hit my last ‘milestone’ post, and as part of that I outlined some of the websites that I’ve outlasted in the time that I’ve been online. Five hundred posts later, I’m still here as others fade into the woodwork.

But tonight I managed to hit a daily double, getting to another half a thousand posts on the half-year anniversary of my site. And after all the work outside the home and my various writing assignments that I complete each Wednesday, I finally have the chance to sit down and write about the most important aspect of this website: my readers.

Some may have ‘record days’ on a regular basis, but I’ve found over time that I have a loyal base of readers who come back day after day to partake in my opinion, news gathering, and photography. At times I do have more readers than others, as is often the case with a website that’s politically oriented, but many have come once and stuck around to be regular consumers of my writing.

So where do I go from here? Well, I have a lot on my plate these days but I plan on keeping on keeping on, grinding out posts on a daily basis. I still enjoy writing, and it’s good practice for my paying assignments. And with advertisers coming on board in recent months, what began as a hobby and creative outlet now makes me enough to pay for the server, anyway. (There’s always room for more, though!)

And don’t look now, but the 2012 campaign is slowly kicking into gear as more candidates enter various races. The bread and butter of this site is political coverage and comment, so I’ll have plenty to do.

So just keep coming back, and who knows – that 3,000th post might be here before we all know it. Thanks to each and every one of you for hanging here for some part of the first 2,500.

Update: Apparently mine isn’t the only local blogging milestone today. But I’d say this change is more like version 1.21 (rather than the version 1.5 claimed) since G.A. has been there quite awhile – about 4 years if memory serves. My advice for G.A. Harrison: just go back to what made the site good in the first place (original content) and it may become relevant again.