Month: May 2014

Running out of steam?

I don’t think anyone else has picked up on this, but in the middle of an otherwise boilerplate appeal for donations I came across this tidbit, from May 8:

The incredible response our campaign has already received demonstrates that Marylanders are ready for a change.

In our first 100 days, we have raised over $533,000 from more than 2,400 donors, raising more — with three times more contributors — than one of the leading Democrats in the race, Attorney General Doug Gansler who raised just $306,000 in the first 100 days of his campaign.

In fact, we have over twice as many donors in our first 100 days than Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown did – proving that with broad grassroots fundraising support, this race can be won.

Let’s roll the tape, shall we? Here was Hogan on April 11:

In the first reporting period of his campaign for governor, Larry Hogan raised $422,000 in mostly small donations from more than 1,800 individuals. The sheer amount of money raised puts the Anne Arundel County business owner and grassroots leader on par with where Lt. Governor Anthony Brown was at this stage of his campaign but with nearly twice the number of donors.

The early haul puts Hogan ahead of where Attorney General Doug Gansler was 68 days after his announcement and approaches the combined amount raised by his Republican challengers in the last calendar year.

If you translate the message as I do, this means he’s still behind Brown and ahead of Gansler. But the latter isn’t as relevant because Doug had much more money available to him when he formally launched a gubernatorial campaign because he was unopposed in 2010.

More importantly, I’ll remind you that Hogan actually raised nearly $454,000 in the first 68 days, according to a published report. (His campaign finance form shows total receipts at just over $487,000, which includes a $100,000 loan to himself and over $30,000 from various other internal sources.) That translates to just under $6,700 per day and makes the income rate over the last month of about $2,500 per day look fairly weak. One would think the frontrunner would be doing better in fundraising per diem as the election gets closer.

This is particularly true because the social media end of Hogan’s campaign continues on its 2014 pace of about 130 new “likes” a day. But those social media accolades aren’t translating as well into checks. And considering Larry spent far more on the race than anyone else during the early days of the campaign, to a point where his cash on hand was probably equal to or somewhat behind David Craig’s, one has to wonder if the wave has crested. Some of the discussion we had on Saturday pondered that very point.

It will be most helpful once we get “apples-to-apples” financial statements at the end of the month. But not participating in debates and assuming all of your grassroots will be covered by social media seems to me an odd method of running a serious campaign. It would be interesting to see the internal polls of the candidates because I’m not convinced that Hogan remains the frontrunner after such a lackluster month.

A day in a campaign

It wasn’t my personal campaign, but having a couple political events scheduled the same day and a few extra dollars in my bank account (thanks to new advertisers) allowed me to make some of these gatherings and assist these great candidates.

District 38B candidate Carl Anderton, Jr.

For example, District 38B candidate Carl Anderton, Jr. held court downtown at Main Roots Coffee with a few supporters and friends. It was a relatively intimate gathering as it served as a way station between a parade in Mardela and door knocking in the morning and an afternoon Vietnam veterans event in Salisbury.

The parade was the beginning of the day for these two candidates, Christopher Adams of District 37B (holding the Coke) and District 2 County Council candidate Marc Kilmer. You’ll see Marc again in a few paragraphs.

Carl made sure to thank me for telling the truth about the MSEA Conway/Mathias flyer, although another attendee brought up the irony that the budget Conway and Mathias voted for also robbed millions promised to teacher pensions. The discussion was interesting and it allowed me to meet and speak with a person I’d not previously met who is a fan of this site.

I also spoke to Jackie Wellfonder, who introduced me to Tweetdeck. Maybe I’ll start making heads and tails of Twitter now, although the 140 characters is a problem for me. Consider that the previous sentence was just a little over 140 characters by itself and you’ll see my issue.

This afternoon’s event was the latest of a series of coffees Anderton has had at Main Roots, which ironically lies a short distance outside Carl’s crazy-quilt gerrymandered district.

But the story isn’t over yet, as I went home for a couple hours before heading over to my Central Committee cohort Bob Laun’s new place to be greeted by this spread.

I’m told that Bob and his lady friend prepared it all themselves. Complements to the chefs – it sure beat rubber chicken.

The event was on behalf of Marc Kilmer and drew about 30 people. It would have drawn one more but he couldn’t make it and I was told to relay a message to Marc and crew, which I did. (I know the sender reads this site, so I can be cryptic like that and know it was received.)

Unlike some other fundraising events, there weren’t formal remarks by the host – instead, Marc smartly circulated between the gatherings which naturally sprung up in various areas inside and outside the house. Having two young children to look out for helps in that regard as well.

I did catch up to Kilmer, who’s on the left in this photo, with host Laun in the center and Delmar Commissioner Bunky Luffman on the right. Bunky is Anderton’s campaign manager so I saw him at both events, too – same goes for Anderton, Shawn Jester, Jackie Wellfonder, Christopher Adams, and Muir Boda.

As I noted, many of those there had also been at the Mardela parade in the morning, so we were regaled by tales of several candidates and how they fared there.

While there wasn’t anything earth-shattering said at either event, I did get a good quote from Anderton at his coffee. We were discussing how I was frustrated about Larry Hogan’s reticence to address more than a few issues, and I noted I wasn’t a one-issue guy. Carl isn’t either: “I’m not a one-issue guy, I’m an eighty-issue guy,” he said, referring to the number of tax and fee increases we’ve endured over the last several years.

And while it’s not necessarily related, watch me tie this in to my point. I was walking over to Main Roots from where I parked down Main Street, when I saw this development.

If that building looks familiar to my readers, let me remind you of where I was on a Third Friday two years ago. Ironically, I wrote then about another failed restaurant that begat yet another failure before its current iteration as Roadie Joe’s.

But we face a choice this year. Surely the owner of this new enterprise has tied his dreams – and probably a fair share of borrowed money – into this forthcoming restaurant, slated to open in June per this piece at the One Salisbury blog. (That’s how I knew to look for it.) There’s no doubt the business will sink or swim on the quality of its food and service, but the question is how much of an incentive or boost can the state and local government give this entrepreneur by assisting him as needed, staying out of the way the rest of the time, and not penalizing him if he’s successful by punitive taxation? After all, he could have just as easily opened in Delaware.

If we stay on the same old path we’ve trod over the last eight years, it’s likely to act as an economic headwind which will make success far more elusive. But going in a different direction might just open the door enough for him to break through and make Echelon a success. Those candidates I supported today – and other conservatives of like mind – will be the ones who can help him be successful if the other ingredients are present.

Weekend of local rock volume 59

Normally I do things in a different order when I cover multifaceted events, but this week I found myself in a little bit of a quandry with no new release to review from my musical patron and some thoughts on what I heard last night. So instead of saving the “weekend of local rock” feature to fall a few days after the main coverage of Pork in the Park, this time I will lead with it.

Last night I heard two of the many bands slated for this weekend at Winterplace Park – since the forecast for today was iffy, my list of things to do this weekend was rather long, and we had a somewhat rare evening sans a 14-year-old, we decided to instead make a Friday night of it. Ironically, our teenager’s musical tastes would have made the night’s headliner very palatable to her, but let’s talk about the Bonedaddies first.

The Bonedaddies play at Pork in the Park, May 9, 2014.

These guys are like a comfortable pair of old shoes – you know what to expect when you put them on. In the case of the Bonedaddies, it’s a steady diet of classic rock stretching from ZZ Top (they were playing “I Thank You” as we walked in) to their closing number from Tom Petty, “Runnin’ Down A Dream.” And there must be a law which now states any cover band must play Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally.”

So we caught perhaps the last 45 minutes of their show, which had some interest but a lot of empty space in front of the stage. One thing which is different about Pork in the Park this year is the lack of any seating close to the stage – in years prior the stage was set up perhaps 25 to 30 yards from a pavilion, but not this year. Most people who wanted to sit either had to bring their own chairs or sit about 50-60 yards away.

A good portion of the open space filled for the headliner, as you’ll see.

First of all, if you wonder why the photos are so dark, this is what happened when I set my night setting.

So deal with the dark. Anyway, Charlie Worsham is an up-and-coming country artist who is doing one last weekend of shows before a tour opening for Brad Paisley.

I will gladly admit country music is not my cup of tea, so suffice to say I didn’t really recognize Worsham’s originals – but they were well-received by the several hundred people around the stage.

Unfortunately, having just one album to his credit and about 90 minutes of stage time to fill meant that he had to play a few covers. So can I ask a question – why is it that country artists feel the need to cover rock songs?

I will grant that my friends from Semiblind, who have graced many a WLR volume, can take a country song they like and supercharge it to make it listenable and sometimes even really enjoyable for a metalhead like me. But it doesn’t work as well the other way – no country singer can be as urban as “Billie Jean” needs to sound nor can “Crazy Train” have justice done to it with a banjo. Cover Lynard Skynard or the Allman Brothers – no problem for a country band. Surely they can even pull off “Mustang Sally.” So while I hate to be so critical, I must say that version of “Crazy Train” was brutal.

On the other hand, working as an opening act will give them a chance to write and perform what they’re best at, leaving “Crazy Train” for someone else. Their mini-tour began in Houston yesterday in a performance for a local radio station before coming to Salisbury and moving on to Chesterfield, Virginia tomorrow before joining up with Paisley later next week. Those sorts of logistics are fascinating to me.

Assuming the weather doesn’t intervene, the lineup for today is rather promising. If you hurry, you can catch the Barren Creek Band at 10, with Picnic following at 12.

Veterans of Pork in the Park and a welcome Pennsylvania import follow at 2:30.

Smokin’ Gunnz is always a crowd favorite, as evidenced by the number of views this four-year-old video still gets on a monthly basis.

Another local favorite is bluesman Tom Larsen, who will serve as the opening act for Jimmie Van Zandt once the awards are over around 5:30 or so.

Front Page News is the final band to take the stage early Sunday afternoon, as that day is mainly given over to the wing-eating contest.

So music fans aren’t left wanting by the lineup – the question becomes whether Mother Nature will cooperate today.

Champions or chumps?

Apparently the Maryland State Education Association has some worries about the prospects of two of our local candidates. Almost six months out from the elections and look what I got in the mail yesterday:

Given that, out of over 150 MSEA-endorsed candidates across the state, the body only “recommended” five Republicans (including Christopher Adams locally) one can come to the conclusion the MSEA is pretty much a shill group for liberals. Although Chris is a fine candidate, the fact that the MSEA endorsed a Wicomico Republican could perhaps be traced to the ongoing fight about disassociation by the local bargaining unit. Nor was an MSEA mailing put out on his behalf, at least not that I’m aware of.

There are a couple things I can tell from this mailer: one is that it came from Board of Election records based on the fact it has my full name like my voter registration does. And it’s bipartisan, as a number of Republicans I know have reported receiving it; most likely it went to the truly consistent voters. Something tells me that various groups are going to try and convince voters that Mathias and Conway are practically the second and third comings of Ronald Reagan, but with a softer side – that’s why the MSEA is stressing how these two are backing education. That is, though, if you consider throwing money at the issue as backing education.

For example, let’s consider that first claim about “record investments in our schools.” In Conway’s case, let’s not forget that he was a prime mover back in 2012 behind legislation to circumvent Wicomico County’s revenue cap in order to increase the county’s share of education funding. (Conway was a co-sponsor of a similar House bill.) This had the potential of leaving the county $14 million short in their FY2013 budget, and directly led to an income tax increase reluctantly passed by our County Council. Norm voted for both versions of the bill in the House. (Mathias was absent when the Senate bill was voted on.) Those “record investments” had to come from somewhere and a large share came from the pockets of those in District 38 here in Wicomico County. Overturning the will of county voters? Way to be “standing up for Wicomico County,” Norm.

And then we have the aspect of pre-kindergarten. While the state’s goal seems to be cradle-to-grave control, the bill in question only expands pre-kindergarten to those who meet certain income guidelines, at an annual cost of no less than $4.3 million. Moreover, there is no guarantee that any local children would be impacted – but it provides 160 more potential MSEA union members because the bill mandates an average 1 teacher to 10 student ratio. Of course, both Conway and Mathias voted for the bill – what’s a little $4.3 million mandate in the grand scheme of things?

While it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison to some extent, the question of the effectiveness of Head Start also leads to questioning whether a formalized school setting does much good for four-year-olds. I guess we’ll spend lots of taxpayer dollars to find out.

Scrutiny is also due regarding the “larger voice in how new curriculum is implemented,” a claim based on passage of HB1164. It doesn’t matter how loud we speak, because money is talking louder – and there’s going to be a lot of it needed to enact Common Core standards and testing. This is from the fiscal note for HB1164:

Finally, the full cost to administer PARCC is still unknown. In July 2013, PARCC announced that the summative math and reading tests would cost $29.50 per student. This is a little less than the $32 per student Maryland currently spends on assessments, but it does not reflect several other formative tests PARCC is developing that Maryland may select or the technology infrastructure required in every school to handle the capacity and network requirements to administer the computer-based assessments. Many schools do not have sufficient technology infrastructure to meet these requirements. MSDE is in the process of assessing the technology readiness of Maryland’s schools. The local school systems identified over $100 million in needed technology improvements to implement PARCC online. MSDE has contracted with Education Superhighway, a consulting firm, to evaluate the technology gap to implement PARCC online by the 2016-2017 school year. Several states, most recently Georgia and Oklahoma, have recently left the PARCC consortium over cost concerns. There are also long-term budget implications for maintenance and operational costs of assessment administration upon the termination of federal RTTT grant funds to the State and to PARCC. (Emphasis mine.)

In other words, we are once again buying a pig in a poke. Note also that the phrase “Common Core” was excised from the bill after first reading because its reputation precedes it now.

Basically what this bill did was allow Martin O’Malley (and his House and Senate minions) to designate a number of “yes men” who will invariably come to the conclusion that we need more money to throw at the problem. But in reading the bill I fail to see how we in Wicomico County will get a “larger voice,” even if one of those appointed happens to be, say, a Norm Conway or Jim Mathias. It won’t help.

The mailer urges us to call Senator Mathias and Delegate Conway to “thank them for their leadership on education issues and their work to keep our public schools #1 in the country.” It’s a way of skirting the election law since they’re not openly advocating a vote on their behalf – nothing new here, as conservatives use the same method.

But how about calling them and asking why they really aren’t supporting Maryland’s school-aged children? Why didn’t they advocate for parent empowerment bills which didn’t even sniff a real committee vote (it was withdrawn in 2012) in three consecutive sessions this term? Ask them if money shouldn’t be following the child regardless of where a parent decides to send them to school, or teach them at home? And while Senator Mathias has been of assistance in the matter, we all should ask Norm Conway why he won’t stand up for true accountability and support the right of Wicomico County voters to select their own Board of Education?

Ask yourself: are they protecting the schools as the mailer says, or protecting the children by allowing parents to do their job? There truly is a difference.

Shorebird of the Week – May 8, 2014

Remember Conor Bierfeldt's walkoff homer? Here's your winning pitcher.

Baseball sabermetricians tell us that pitching victories are a misleading statistic on judging the worth of a pitcher. But it’s not often that a Shorebird leads the league in a positive category, and since this April 27 appearance photographed above Dylan Rheault has led the South Atlantic League with five victories, which he garnered in five consecutive April appearances.

In a league where you may have a closer but starting pitchers rarely go more than six innings, the role of long relief is an important one and Rheault (whose last name is pronounced “row” as in “row your boat”) has excelled at the task, being unscored upon in six of his eight appearances thus far and picking up two three-inning saves along the way, including one last night in the Shorebirds’ 5-0 whitewashing of Augusta. Statistically, Dylan is 5-0 with a microscopic 0.98 ERA in 18 1/3 innings, allowing 20 hits but only four walks for a respectable 1.31 WHIP. Aside from giving up two runs in each of his first two appearances April 4th and 10th (the latter the first of his five straight wins), Rheault has remained basically unblemished. Only two of his four runs allowed were earned.

Intriguing because of his stature – Dylan is listed at 6′-9″ and 245 pounds – the Ontario native crossed the border and played for Central Michigan University. Given that he played for a mid-major school, Rheault lasted until the 19th round in last season’s draft but pitched well enough for Aberdeen (1-2 with a 3.57 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 40 1/3 innings) to merit the promotion this year. Rheault made four starts for the IronBirds but basically pitched out of the bullpen last season as well – he just wasn’t as fortunate as far as picking up victories went.

At just 22 years of age, Rheault is one of those guys who could end up being a sleeper prospect. It’s doubtful too many scouts find their way to the northern reaches of Ontario above Lake Huron, so it’s likely Dylan wasn’t on anyone’s radar until he went to college. But he’s a Shorebird now, and it’s possible by season’s end he could have double-digit wins if he keeps finding the right place to be at the right time.

The return

Picketers along Coastal Highway outside Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, May 7, 2014.

It’s getting to be as predictable as the swallows returning to Capistrano; in fact, I alluded to this occurring a few weeks ago but I didn’t know where it would be. Little did I know that traveling up Coastal Highway outside Rehoboth Beach I would see the friendly neighborhood Carpenters Local 2012 complaining once again about a company lowering area standards. I’m guessing that the realty company named actually owns the nearby building being renovated as their offices are in Rehoboth Beach proper.

I suppose it’s a good sign that only a couple of guys were manning the picket, and they weren’t going to be there much longer because it was about to rain – in fact, coming out of my next destination I was caught in a sudden shower. That was a minor slowdown in what seems to be quite a bit of construction going on around Sussex County, although Salisbury has its share of building right now as well; there are a couple of small retail projects being erected along North Salisbury Boulevard as well as two reasonably large apartment complexes in the same part of town and the new artists’ housing just outside downtown. It’s not looking like the peak of activity a decade ago, but at least there is some pent-up movement being made.

Naturally one can argue where the market for new housing and retail would come from given the number of vacant houses and storefronts around town, and the reality is that something that’s showing its age will probably lose its market share to the newer construction. It may be that the new retail construction being built adjacent to the current Greene Turtle location may have several vacancies next door as the Turtle was reportedly relocating down the road to the former Famous Dave’s restaurant and Barnes and Noble has been dogged by whispers about its demise. Even Sussex County acknowledges that abandoned properties are becoming an issue.

So where does the Carpenters Local fit in? Obviously they feel as if they’re not getting enough of a cut. Unfortunately for them, the construction market is not such that wages can be sought as they were during the boom times, plus they have a fairly new training center from which their graduates need work. (It goes back to the point I’ve made about the best aspect of union carpenters is their training.) If jobs can’t be had, there’s little point in setting aside time and effort to be trained in a trade.

To ensure enough work for everyone, we need to first grow good-paying jobs here – not through artificial means like raising the minimum wage, a tactic which only leads to inflation because no additional value is created from the labor, but by securing the means and methods to increase value. I like to use energy exploration as an example because there are private investors willing to create jobs where none existed in order to make a profit for themselves – of course, the workers are going to invest their wages into things they need, in turn creating new jobs. It’s how America was built.

Standing around holding up a picket sign really doesn’t create a lot of value.

Tough sledding

I know our Republican gubernatorial candidates have been talking at length about business climate in Maryland, but last night I saw a devastating chart which shows the result of bad national policy, compiled by the generally liberal Brookings Institution and found on the post at the Independent Journal Review.

When you open the chart up (because my links generally open in a new tab) you’ll notice that the firm entry line had been ahead of the firm exit line until they met in the latter part of 2008. And while the Brookings data only covers through the end of 2011, I’m pretty sure the situation is no better now given the situation with Obamacare.

In contrast, the chart seemed to have its widest positive gap in the mid-1980s, right in the sweet spot of the Reagan presidency and just after two tax cuts.

To be honest, there’s not a whole lot of incentive out there to create a business. It’s very hard to get capital because lenders are finding it more lucrative to play financial games among themselves to make a profit, and larger would-be competitors are busy trying to rewrite the rules to limit competition. For an example of this, study the story of ride-sharing service Uber and how it has to put up with the taxi cartels in large cities. The same might be said of e-cigarettes, which are being categorized (and banned) like regular cigarettes despite the fact the “smoke” is much less hazardous. Something tells me Big Tobacco is behind the scenes somewhere in this e-cig controversy and states will become much more amenable to the product once they receive a more hefty cut.

Finally, if you succeed all it gets you is a higher tax bracket. It’s like the old saying: no good deed goes unpunished. So the idea is to make being good less of a punishment, and perhaps a return to the successful policies of the Reagan era would be a beginning.

A cross is still a sign of the times

The wheels of justice slowly roll on. Back in February I noted that the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of the Bladensburg Peace Cross in Prince George’s County, and it came to my attention through the efforts of former Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Richard Douglas, who is acting as counsel for eleven Prince George’s County residents for whom he filed legal motions in late April.

Douglas was also kind enough to provide a timeline of how the case is proceeding:

Feb 25 — AHA and three individual plaintiffs filed a lawsuit to remove the memorial.

April 25 — Ten individuals and I filed a motion for leave to appear as friends of the court, along with a memorandum in support of defendants. I reached out to both the atheists and the MNCPPC — the atheists would not agree to our filing. The MNCPPC raised no objection. I was on the phone for a while with MNCPPC and came away with a positive impression. The Court said that answers to our motion must be filed by 12 May.

April 28 — The defendants/MNCPPC filed their answer to the complaint.

May 1 — The American Legion (represented by a Washington DC law firm) has filed a motion to intervene. Liberty Institute is also on that motion. The motion indicates that plaintiff atheists also oppose the American Legion intervention.

The court has scheduled a conference call for May 8, Thursday. I’m not sure we will be invited to participate. We’ll know more about whether our friend of the court motion will be accepted, and how the court will proceed. So far, we are the only ones to file a detailed memorandum on the law.

In case you’re curious about what the hubbub is about and not familiar with Prince George’s County, the town of Bladensburg prominently features the Peace Cross on its website. While it’s indeed a cross shape, to me it’s more in the vein of the crosses used as headstones than a religious symbol. It’s stood on the site for nearly ninety years, yet now three (!) plaintiffs have decided its offensive?

As Douglas points out, the battle has attracted the attention of the American Legion and Liberty Institute. The involvement of the American Legion is natural given their position as a veterans’ organization, but this release from the LI indicates they are acting on the American Legion’s behalf. (They are also trying to save a similar memorial in California.)

This seems to be another battle on a nationwide war on religious conscience. Obviously this local issue is of smaller scope than the argument whether it’s within the rights of a conscientious business owner to refuse service to gay couples or to not cover abortifacients on their health insurance plan, but on all fronts we seem to be laboring under a tyranny of an easily-offended atheist/agnostic minority. “Live and let live” only seems to work in one direction anymore.

I’m sure Richard will be keeping me updated on the progress of the suit, but it’s refreshing to find men of conscience who voluntarily labor to maintain that which is good about our society. Back in 1925, a cross seemed to be an ideal symbol for a memorial, even as the concept was bastardized by certain racist groups of the era. Anymore, it seems that those defending the symbol are being shunned by society like those who burned crosses in an earlier time, but only because they’re standing up for traditional values which made us a great and good nation.

American entrepreneurship (or is it entrepreneurshop?)

Regular readers know I’ve talked regularly about business and industry, particularly with an eye toward restoring manufacturing to our American shores. At one time our nation was the undisputed leader in the world when it came to making things, but now China is poised to overtake us as the world’s largest economy because we buy millions and millions of their exported items. This didn’t happen overnight, and the recovery won’t be a quick one, either. Still, there have been a number of websites and other retail endeavors which specialize in American-made products; however, a new regional player in the field is emerging and there’s a good reason I believe this is important.

Philadelphia, Pa. – On May 15th, americancertified.com will open its doors, finally making it easy to find the best American made products. American Certified (AC) provides motivated consumers with the information they need when it comes time to vote with their wallets.

In recent years, a trend has emerged; consumers have shown a preference toward “buying American.” A survey of one thousand statistically selected Americans conducted by AC shows nearly 80 percent of Americans prefer buying American products, with over half of respondents willing to go “out of their way” to buy American, while nearly 40 percent responded that they are willing to spend more to purchase an equivalent American product.

Serial entrepreneur and inventor, Marvin Weinberger, is launching American Certified to increase consumer awareness while encouraging the resurgence in American manufacturing.

“We started American Certified because we love this country and want to help producers connect with customers who share their unique interests and values,” said Weinberger. “This is good for business, good for the consumer and good for America.”

This press release came out last week, and American Certified will be featuring e-commerce through Amazon, with the added benefit of a directory of “makers” expected to eventually exceed 100,000:

In addition to the e-commerce store, American Certified is building a first of its kind directory of more than 100,000 “makers” (including farmers and manufacturers). The directory membership is free and open to all; participation in the AC store is not required.

Completing the voluntary, but comprehensive, certification provides makers with an official seal certifying the American content of their products. In addition, makers can specify other attributes about their business, including characteristics as varied as whether woman owned, a veteran employer or recognized for green practices. The directory will empower customers to make informed purchases, while at the same time providing qualified companies with a new channel to directly reach shoppers interested in purchasing their goods.

Perhaps you’re beginning to wonder just why I’m featuring this business. I’m hoping one day they’ll be a paying advertiser on this site, but my current interest is much simpler:

Finally, American Certified will feature news and blogs depicting thorough analysis and trends related to the most recent happenings in American manufacturing and consumption. Members of the press and AC shoppers can sign up for a free weekly news summary, reporting on the Buy American movement from all sides, without bias.

I’m pleased to announce I will be one of those writers, running a section I’m calling the Sausage Grinder. It will deal with how trade law and regulations are affecting the prospects of making things in America. (The name was inspired by the Otto von Bismarck quote: “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.”)

It may seem like an unusual combination, but in order to create a movement there has to be progress made on several fronts and apparently the fine folks at American Certified believed I’d be a good fit. I look forward to building this additional audience.

So this week I’ll begin putting together content for the site, as I already have a few story ideas to begin. On occasion I will be crossposting between this site and the Sausage Grinder, but if you have an interest in American jobs I would suggest bookmarking the site when it goes live May 15.

Ingenuity, made in America. By the way, “entrepreneurshop” was how I originally mistyped the title and I liked the Freudian slip enough to add it in.

Change Maryland, or pack up and go?

It seems to be the question on the minds of many people, including gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan. His campaign noted on Wednesday that:

Gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan this evening said the following of today’s Gallop (sic) poll that half of all Maryland residents would leave if they could, worse sentiment than all but two states.

“We know from Change Maryland’s Taxpayer Migration Study that under Martin O’Malley and Anthony Brown, more than 6,500 businesses and 31,000 residents fled Maryland’s crushing taxes, fees, tolls and regulations.  Now, we learn that nearly half of Maryland residents would leave our state if they could.

 This tragic situation is the direct result of the failed policies of Martin O’Malley, Anthony Brown and Doug Gansler and one-party control in Annapolis.  The only way to make Maryland a state where people not only want to live but can afford to live again is to end the reckless fiscal policies of the past eight years.”

The two states cited as being ahead of Maryland in this Gallup Poll were Illinois at 50% and Connecticut with 49% – Maryland was third at 47%. None of our neighboring states made the top or bottom 10 in the survey release.

So the logical next question I had was whether people are acting on this desire to vacate our premises, and in a number of areas they are. For the most part, what they have in common is that the nine counties where I found slow to nonexistent growth – or even a decline – is that they are among Maryland’s most rural. (Baltimore City also makes this list, and it shares many of the same economic problems as its rural brethren.) This data is gleaned from Census Bureau estimates of population in both 2012 and 2013, compared with the official 2010 count.

Out of 23 counties and Baltimore City, the state’s population grew at a modest 2.7% clip between 2010 and 2013. But five counties lost population overall: Allegany and Garrett in western Maryland, and Caroline, Kent, and Somerset on the Eastern Shore. Others which lost population between 2012 and 2013, according to Census estimates, were Baltimore City and Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on the Eastern Shore.

There was very slow growth (less than 1% between 2010 and 2013) in Carroll, Dorchester, and Worcester counties, the latter two also representing the Eastern Shore. While no county on the Eastern Shore matched Maryland’s overall growth, Wicomico came the closest at 2.2% and is now barely 1,000 citizens smaller than Cecil County, the largest of the nine Eastern Shore counties.

Perhaps it’s a little easier to see the reason if you compare unemployment data over the last several years with the growth (or loss) in population. All five counties which lost population overall have an unemployment rate persistently above state average, with most of the rest experiencing slow growth or a loss between 2012 and 2013 also suffering from above-average rates. (Carroll and Queen Anne’s counties are the two exceptions; however, other bedroom suburb counties such as Charles, Howard, and Harford counties are still growing.)

It all presents a sort of vicious cycle: people leave because they perceive a lack of opportunity, which leads to other employers closing up shop and people leaving as the economic pie shrinks yet again. It’s been my contention that the state’s onerous policies on growth and the environment, particularly in more or less undeveloped areas like the Eastern Shore, are retarding the potential of these areas to grow on their own so people look for greener pastures. Those who are raised in rural areas are either heading to the more developed areas of the state or abandoning it entirely.

One thing I haven’t heard a lot of discussion about during this gubernatorial campaign is the concept of local control. Maybe they haven’t expanded on this yet, but the range of solutions I hear from all of the candidates is one of a top-down nature. Certainly there is a place for action from the state, particularly on tax and fiscal policies. But where is the passion for restoring local control? I hear a lot about this on the educational front thanks to Common Core, but what about other areas like planning and zoning? Where is the push to let the counties be their own tiny laboratories of policy experiment such as the states were meant to be before the federal government decided to run the whole ball of wax over the last 20 to 25 years?

I know better than to expect such rhetoric from the Democratic side of the aisle, because their sole intention seems to be consolidating government at the expense of the common man, creating in average Joes the serf-like dependence on those for whom power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. So it’s up to the conservatives in the race to explain how they would have the state step aside and allow those rural counties which seem to be the biggest victims of state policy to flourish like some of their more urban counterparts.

Meanwhile, Richard Falknor at Blue Ridge Forum suggests his own bottoms-up approach.

monoblogue music: “Basquiat” by Mangoseed

Mangoseed's debut hits the market May 22.In my eyes, the upcoming release from south London’s Mangoseed, a new entrant in the world music genre, is either going to land with a resounding thud or set the world on fire – it seems like this edgy compilation isn’t just going to settle into mediocrity.

Pointing toward the former is the fact that the album is self-produced, and on first efforts the lack of professional guidance often shows. Because of this, you get seemingly aimless and filler tracks such as Bali Men, Bali Men Interrupted or Interruption (yes, all three are separate tracks on this 15-song compilation.) These almost seem as if they were recorded on a old cassette recorder, although that ambiance works surprisingly well on another brief tune, the almost bluesy I Shoot My Friends. At first listen, I thought The Soul Bird fell into this category but then realized it was intended as an intro of sorts to She Is All.

A second strike against them is the hard time they had finding a drummer – one track in particular, Rise And Shine, seems to my ear to be either a tad too fast or a touch too slow. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but the song just seems off somehow. Now that they’ve settled on Irishman Sam Campbell, that may be rectified in a future release or on live performances. (The remaining band consists of lead vocalist Nicholai La Barrie, guitarist Karlos Coleman, and bassist Richard Hardy. Sometimes it sounds like a lot more than four with the overdubbing, but the live shows have four guys.)

So now that I’ve gone through the half-dozen or so misses on the compilation that could doom a band to failure, let me tell you why they could succeed beyond their wildest dreams. Simply put, a lot of songs are very catchy, beginning with the album’s opening track Lioness. Yes, it has the oversampling common to dub music but its guitar-driven introduction showed these guys didn’t forget how to rock. That same complexity also drives the next song, Careful.

There’s more of a straight reggae influence in the band’s lead single from the album, Brix-Tone. It’s an homage to their hometown of Brixton, and makes for an interesting video.

Track number five, Devil In The Road, is the highlight of the album. To me, it’s the potential best live song, something the band can work onstage and extend to give the feel of a jam band. (Maybe they have in one of their frequent shows about London.) There’s also a high level of energy apparent in tracks like Army Of One, Standing On High, and Thief Head, which all feature a staccato chorus and, in the case of the latter, a bass line which at times I can really get into.

But the band also shows a little something different on certain songs, in particular a little bit of harmony on This Life, where the band sings about being “so far away from you/so far away from me/so far away from all I used to be.”

The overriding question is whether eight good songs are enough to take Mangoseed to the next level, or if they can at least give them some quality time with a producer who can smooth out some of the rougher edges while keeping their authentic sound. Unlike some others I’ve reviewed of late, Mangoseed is one band for whom it’s obvious they’ve grown together in front of live audiences as opposed to experimentation in the studio.

On the other hand, if you’re a student of the dub style and don’t mind the short tracks, you may find that “Basquiat” is just the British import you’ve been waiting for. The last decade or so has been kind to bands who run in that sort of vein, so they may just find a willing audience on this side of the pond. As always, I encourage you to judge for yourself and if it suits your fancy, buy “Basquiat” when it comes out May 22. Enough sales across the Atlantic and the band might follow.

Afraid to face up

I have to admit something: I missed a series of events which probably belonged in the “should have known better” department.

On Sunday I posted an article about the upcoming Wicomico County Education Association balloting on the question of whether they would disassociate from the Maryland State Education Association, one which I actually wrote several days ahead of time in order to post closer to the actual balloting date. I have no idea how many Wicomico teachers actually read my site – although my updates are occasionally linked from various outlets – but I felt it was important to note that this separation has been completed before.

Obviously other events have interceded in my life so last night I was curious to see how the vote went down, particularly since I was surprised to hear nothing about it. Where I should have known better is that the MSEA and its minions surely had no intention of letting the WCEA speak in any sort of secret ballot which may not have gone their way; in fact, the events of the last two weeks would seem surreal to the outside observer but predictable to one familiar with the political power game. It all played out in the 24 hours or so following the original writing of my Sunday post, for which I used the delayed publishing feature I employ for scheduling posts.

In covering the “palace coup” which occurred on April 15, I wondered if the members would even be allowed to vote. Turns out the answer was no. In fact, not only had the MSEA fans of the rump directorate scrubbed the vote, but they’ve cleansed the WCEA website of any of the information the local union put out to promote their pro-local side. Instead, there’s a message on the front page of the site:

On April 15 a majority of the members of the Wicomico County Education Association stood together and took necessary steps to prevent a small minority of members from dismantling the union with attempts to disaffiliate from our state and national Associations. The members have spoken and have declared that we are stronger together, and the support we have from the Maryland State Education and National Education Association adds to that strength. We have collected the necessary signatures to recall the officers of WCEA and have put an interim board of managers in place, effective immediately. This board will assume day to day operations of the Association and will move to conduct an election of a new slate of officers. These actions clearly reflect the wishes of the majority of our members who are anxious to move forward and who remain committed to giving Wicomico County’s public school students the excellent instruction and service they deserve.

So if it were truly a majority, why not have the vote and prove it? Ah, that’s the beauty of a “palace coup” – they leave nothing to chance. Far from dismantling the WCEA union – which was never at question – the vote would have only changed the bylaws so members need not be members of MSEA if they wished to simply be in the local union. But when $537,000 is at stake – or perhaps more, as the local union backers suggest based on recent state law – the truth can be a casualty.

Fortunately, the vote may go on soon, as a local court ordered yesterday that control be restored to the elected leadership.

On that note, it was amusing to see a Facebook comment stating “If you took half the effort to educate us on your side as you do bashing the other, maybe you’d get somewhere.” But if the website was scrubbed of that educational information it would sure make learning difficult, would it not? (This is a screen shot of how the WCEA website looked pre-coup, although it doesn’t link to the information which was placed on it during March.)

Perhaps this a good reminder of the points originally made. Somehow the rump directorate didn’t get hold of the WCEA Youtube page.

This struggle has achieved national notoriety for our small corner of the world, with the rump committee posting an update on Salisbury News. It appears the superintendent had recognized the coup; fortunately the legitimately elected board of directors had at least one information outlet available to them before the court ruling. WCEA President Kelly Stephenson wrote there:

Dear Respected WCEA Members:

There will be an all-member vote on the proposed WCEA Bylaws amendments, however, the vote will be postponed for a short duration, for the following reasons:

1. This vote will be overseen by Certified Public Accounting firm Pigg, Krahl and Stern, to ensure the validity and anonymity, so that no side has a role in the execution or calculation of the results of the vote. They will be providing additional information, including voting instructions, in coming days.

2. The duly elected WCEA leadership has been forced to file a lawsuit in the Wicomico County court system as a result of the unlawful and inappropriate actions of the “Interim Managers.” It is unfortunate that these measures must be taken, however, the duly elected WCEA leadership is confident that the results of the initial hearing will demonstrate the truth in this issue, verify who is rightfully in control and enable members to have a say in the future of this organization.

It is clear the seizure of the WCEA office and assets in the middle of the night through unauthorized measures was only an attempt to intimidate your elected leaders and to prevent your voting voice for the future of WCEA. The duly elected WCEA leadership continues to believe that all members have the right to express their opinion and will hold the all-member vote to enable you the opportunity to state your choice.

Please make your voice be heard: vote!

Kelly Stephenson, WCEA President

While the court has spoken, the battle is not likely to be over until voting commences. This exercise was obviously meant as a lesson to other counties which could consider the same action that dissent will not be tolerated.