Odds and ends number 33

Hey, a Thursday night without some sort of Shorebirds update – whatever shall I do?

You know the drill: ‘odds and ends’ are those items I can’t justify a full post for, but are important enough for a paragraph or three.

Didn’t we already go through this whole government shutdown thing not that long ago? Well, here we go again.

Democrats in the Senate want to spend $6.9 billion on disaster relief, simply adding to the deficit. Meanwhile, the House rejected a plan which would have allocated $3.6 billion to disaster relief, part of which would be offset by cutting federal subsidies for electric cars. (This is the version Andy Harris voted for, although 48 conservative Republicans did not.)

I can understand where Harris is coming from, since some portion of that aid would likely come back to the northern reaches of our Congressional district. But I think the more conservative members who are holding out for more cuts are right, and Harris is wrong in this instance. I’m curious to know – how many of my readers are looking for a federal handout to assist them through cleaning up from Irene and Lee? Anyone? Bueller?

Let’s work our way back to the state level with a story told before – former beauty queen decides to get involved in politics decades after her days as a pageant contestant are over. If you answered “Sarah Palin” you would be correct but she’s not the subject of this brief portion of my post. Instead, this young lady was once Miss Delaware and was a semi-finalist for the Miss America crown in 1976. She now is Associate Director of the National Pro-Life Action Center in Washington, D.C.

Did I mention she is black? Or a Republican running for a vacated County Council seat in Prince George’s County?

Her name is Day Gardner, and she indeed fits all these categories. One thing I didn’t realize is that I have heard her speak at this rally, as she was also a Brian Murphy supporter. I remember she was a quite eloquent speaker, which makes sense if she was a pageant contestant in the old, pre-politically correct days. She’s even run for office before in 2002, finishing fourth of four in a House of Delegates race for District 23A.

Needless to say, when she gets 97 Republican votes in a primary that sees the Democratic winner pick up 3,570 – and he’s the near-namesake of a current member of the House of Delegates (Derrick Leon Davis as opposed to Delegate Dereck E. Davis)  – Day Gardner has an uphill battle. But stranger things have happened, and it’s good to see Republicans competing in PG County. I admire her tenacity and willingness to avoid political platitudes to get elected; she can plant the seed for future GOP success there.

Next, October 18th will bring all of us another opportunity to have our voices heard. Plans are in the works for a TEA Party Caucus Rally on Lawyer’s Mall from noon to 2 p.m. Constitutional Conservatives for Maryland is sponsoring a bus trip there for local participants – the tickets are $30 and can be purchased here. (And maybe they’re worried about union thugs?)

The rally’s purpose is “to protest gerrymandering our districts and raising taxes – including gas taxes. Constitutional Conservatives for Maryland PAC is chartering buses from both the eastern and western sides of the state to bring people to the Tea Party Caucus rally in Annapolis.”

In addition, local participants will ask for “accurate fair redistricting, an elected school board for Wicomico County, oppos(ing) tax hikes, overregulation, (and) toll hikes, and demand to be represented by our elected officials in Annapolis.”

A portion of the proceeds will go to Constitutional Conservatives for Maryland PAC.

While there is no official list of speakers, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a number of those who make up the state’s TEA Party Caucus in the House of Delegates drop by to say a few words. But I wouldn’t look for Governor O’Malley, since the last time he spoke to a rally (among his friends!) he was booed.

Finally, I haven’t heard much about Tuesday’s County Council meeting where they were slated to hear public comment about the elected school board issue, an issue which drew a Daily Times editorial Sunday. Perhaps more will be made at the next meeting October 4th, which will be an evening meeting.

This is a teaser, since I plan on discussing the matter further as the time gets closer. You already know which side I’m on, but there’s some who I thought were on my side that may be wavering, or not, depending on who you believe.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.

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