From the office of Del. Glen Glass:
Maryland State Delegate Glen Glass, (R-Harford, Cecil), announced today he will Boycott the proposed Special Session to take up the expansion of gambling. Governor O’Malley (D) indicated that a Special Session could be held even though a work group on gambling could not reach an agreement. Republicans in the House of Delegates are opposed to the Special Session, and have already sent letters to the Legislature’s presiding officers and the Governor’s office. The session is tentatively set to take place the week of July 9 at the State Capitol.
The Maryland Constitution dictates that a special session should only be called in times of a true crisis. “Gambling expansion does not justify a taxpayer funded Special Session, for summer 2012 when it can and should be discussed in 2013,” said Delegate Glass. “If we are called back into session, I will be working in my district and spending time with my constituents instead of blowing taxpayer money on this nonsense.”
Constitutional provisions for special sessions were established when the Maryland General Assembly held sessions once every two years. Since 2007, Governor O’Malley has called three special sessions, the most recent adjourning on May 16th. The Maryland General Assembly’s special session could cost over $20,000 a day to state taxpayers.
“This is nothing more than a ‘get-it-done-quick’ Special Session to avoid a full and thoughtful vetting through the regular legislative process. Certainly Democrats and some members of my own party will nevertheless choose to participate. However, I will not be in attendance even if I am the only member that will be absent,” said Delegate Glass.
The original slots program was established in Maryland during the 2007 Special Session. “If Maryland’s slots program had been crafted in a more deliberative and thoughtful fashion, rather than in a chaotic frenzy, we would be in a very different position today. We do not need a repeat of past mistakes, the citizens of Maryland deserve better,” said the Harford and Cecil County representative, who is also a member of the Ways and Means Committee and Gaming Subcommittee.
Delegate Glass has served as a member of the House of Delegates since January, 2011. In addition to serving on the Ways and Means Committee and Gaming Subcommittee, he is also a member of the Maryland Veterans Caucus.
Thank you Glen, I agree gambling definitely does not rank up there in the emergency category and in light of the recent tax hikes it does not sound like the goose that laid the golden egg either so lets pluck it and be done.God bless,
What is the penelty for an unexcused abscence in the general assembly?
In this specific situation, and only in this situation, he gets my vote.
Maryland is now the fourth highest taxed state in the country. I guess you will see more and more cars going down I-83 in the morning toward Maryland with PA plates on them. I have talked to people who are planning to move out. The politicians must think the citizens are really stupid as Maryland is such a small state that one can move to PA, VA, DE and even WVA and still work in Maryland.
High taxes don’t work. Many of the Wall Street firms are moving out of NY to places like Texas and Florida where they don’t have income taxes. CA is losing businesses due their high taxation. Liberals don’t seem to understand that high taxes drive people and businesses away. Airbus just announced they will be building a plant in Alabama which will hire over 1,000 people. Guess what folks! Alabama’s taxes are low, and they are a Right to Work state. That means people don’t have to belong to a union. Maybe they will wake up when they realize the only people left are the bottom feeders, and there is no one left to pay the taxes.
Cathy, you may be surprised to learn that New York State is still an economic powerhouse as compared to Maryland. Your sympathy for them is touching but unnecessary. As for the ones that want greener pastures, I remind you of the Ambassador to the UN’s comments to the Russians when Aeroflot was no longer allowed to land at Kennedy after KAL007: “We will put no impediment in your way. The members of the US mission to the United Nations will be down at the dockside waving you a fond farewell as you sail off into the sunset.”
You are a moron! she is correct
“I have talked to people”
Great empirical study Cathy!
Data shows Maryland is both gaining people and jobs, and at a rate higher than PA, DE, and WV.
So the IRS data of net loss of 31,000 Maryland population going to other states is what? Wishful thinking? I know MOM is squirming about the number because it came from the Obama administration so it absolutely has to be correct.
Yes, Maryland lost 31,000 to other states from 2007-2010. However, and feel free to send me a link if I am wrong here, it doesn’t say that those people were millionaires, yet simply assumes correlation to the millionaire’s tax.
Said study was done by Change Maryland, an anti-tax group, by the way.
Maryland gained ~200,000 people in that same period of time. So what if 31,000 moved? People move all the time. Maryland isn’t exactly losing population here, and is still growing at a faster rate than our neighboring states. Exception is Virginia, and I’m sure you will make the argument that they are growing faster due to lower taxes/business friendliness, which is totally true.
Well if Virginia is growing faster then we have a ‘regional win’.
The study was done by Change Maryland. Using data from the IRS.
Alex,
I thought you said Maryland had a “net loss” of 31,000. What am I missing?
Yo, you right, it is a net loss.
The nation as a whole is trending from people moving from Northeast and Midwestern states to the Sunbelt.
So Maryland had a net loss of 31,000 people during a time of a tax; that doesn’t mean those people moved because of the tax, or that they were millionaires.
Correlation does not equal causation.
SNSD,
Correct. Does not mean many of them were millionaires, but it could very well be that many of them were millionaires, you just don’t know for sure. If millionaires were going to change their legal residence from Maryland to another state, that would have been the time to do it.
I hope the residents of District 34A will remember that one of their delegates vowed not to represent their interests during a legisaltive session when he comes up for re-election in 2014.
Tom Myers
President, Young Democrats of Harford County
I’ll just vote for a republican with a brain in the next election. Del. Glass is not that republican.
I’ll vote for any politician with a brain but first I need to find one that doesn’t keep his brain up his behind.
Tell us how upset you were when Pelosi and her co-harts walked out on the Holder vote.
It was a show full of sound a fury signifying nothing. Everyone knew that he Justice Department would be assigned the task of prosecuting the Attorney General, and just like before under Bush, when a complaint was lodged about his Attorney General Gonzalez, they did nothing also. Boy I wish you guys could have seen the Live Fire show we put on for you at Aberdeen Test Center. They practiced for a couple days blew a bunch of expensive rounds down range – all while they were laying off contract employees because there is less work for them. Personally I still would have laid them off, but I wouldn’t have celebrated the arrogance by putting on a show on tax payer dollars.
And you would have shown good judgment by not spending the money. But the commander-in-chief has money to burn.
Tom,
You darn well can bet that I will remember it. And I will make sure that I get out there and vote for him to be re-elected. And make sure I encourage all of my friends to do the same. And contribute to his campaign.
Count me in that number.
What a wonderful way to be represented by my delegate: AWOL.
Never seemed to bother you when the DEMs walk out of chambers and refuse to vote (Wisconsin, Holder’s Contempt).
If he is unwilling to work with the people he is required to work with, why exactly does anyone elect him? I wish I could collect my same pay and stay home from my job because I disagree with people there.
See above. Never heard you guys complain about the legislators that walked out on there job in Wisconsin and refused to do their job.
I agree with taxpayer. Where is the outrage when the democrats walked out on the Holder vote.
Mike,
You just don’t get it. See, the Dems had to get out before the microphones and TV cameras because they had a higher calling. They had to defend Holder before the world and let everyone know that the one and only reason he was being ‘persecuted’ is because he is not white.
See, Mike, if I am not white I can do whatever I darn well please and I get to skate. Anyone who calls me on it is a racist. Unless, of course, I am Mike Steele or Juan Williams or some other non-white who is not ultra-lib. Then I am only non-white on the outside which is different than being non-white thru and thru. You might wonder how to tell the difference between a non-white thru and thru and one who is just non-white on the outside. Easy, really. Just ask yourself are they a Dem/Lib, or not? Now do you get it?
I always got it. I continue to get it. I also understand that more and more people are beginning to get it, and that disturbs some folks. Too bad.
Fox talking points.
@Proud to be Liberal
Where can I sign up to receive Fox Talking Points?
Are there daily email alerts too?
PTBL,
Brian Terry, a duly sworn law enforcement officer, was killed while on duty by a gun “walked back” under the Fast and Furious fiasco that Eric Holder is hiding from Congress and lying about under oath. I don’t think his family is taking much comfort from your cavalier response of “Fox talking points”. You might want to keep that in mind. Apparently he is not the only one to be killed by one of these guns. And maybe you want to try to explain to all of us why it is okay for Holder to lie to Congress under oath.
PTBL sure spends a lot of time watching Fox. Guess I can’t fault him/her for that. At least he/she will get some balance with regard to current affairs, unlike the other cable outlets. Stay tuned PTBL.
ALEX: So you’re saying that the lack of gun controls that allow criminals to buy assault weapons are just part of your “second amendment” rights. I am certain Brian Terry’s family takes great comfort from the NRA’s death by guns propaganda. Allow anyone to buy anything, even nuts like the VaTech shooter who bought his guns legally. When you people complain about crime, you must take ownership of it due to your guns for anyone policies. As far as Holder lying, prove it. This is the type of Fox talking point I’m referring. They say he’s lying and naturally Fox ditto heads say the same thing.
What more proof do you need that he lied, Holder retracted multiple statements to congress himself already.
Let me be more clear about the point you failed to construe from my comment. Boycotts are stupid for elected officials or countries where a portion of the citizenry doesn’t feel like participating because of fraud. Glad you all hated my comment…. I never tendered a comment about Wisconsin (I don’t live there) … but I feel this sentiment applies universally to all people that believe by ignoring something or protesting by your absence that anything will become better. Now let the thumbs downs begin just because of who I am and not what I say.
Is abstaining from votes as a senator considered boycotting?
In a way. It is also cowardice.
How about just voting present
Voting present is a way of abstaining or not voting. Just symantics to me.
David, he wasn’t elected to work with people who say “my way or the highway” which is what the Dem/Libs are always saying. He was elected to stop the foolish spending. And he, and others like him, will continue to be elected to do the same. He was elected to do all that he can do to require government to stop running up huge deficits and create/pass a budget that is within existing revenues. He was elected to say “no more”. The answer to “can’t we all just get along and work together?” is No! Getting anlong and working together has meant rolling over for the Dem/Libs and that is stopping.
He is aware the Dems have already said there will be no special session right?
But we don’t ever believe what they say, do we? And with very good reason.
What,
On July 4 you asked if Del Glass was aware that the Dems said there would be no special session.
You must really be embarrassed today. Let this be a lesson to you. A perfect example of why we never believe what the Dems say. As I write this O’Malley, Miller and Busch are sitting in Annapolis trying very hard to orchestrate a special session. That would be the special session you reported that the Dems said wouldn’t happen.
Hey, WHAT!
O’Malley is announcing the special legislative session tomorrow. Remember, the one that Del. Glass predicted and said he wouldn’t attend. The one that you said on July 4 at 2:40 pm that wasn’t going to happen. Stay tuned. Mark your calendar, my friend. And start writing your apology to Del. Glass. Maybe you could post it here on Dagger.
No actually,he is aware of very little.
But he was apparently aware enough to figure out that O’Malley and his mob won’t rest until they get the special session. Stand by. It’s coming.
Please don’t tell me that you believed the Democrats who said there wouldn’t be a special session. Poor you.
O’Malley will announce details of special session tomorrow. Apparently Del. Glass is quite aware.
Glen Glass = Pandering Embarassment (’nuff said)!
This is nothing but a publicity stunt, similar to McDonough’s recent antics about Baltimore. I totally don’t get our elected officials.
Stunt,
I noticed that the mayor of Baltimore immediately refuted McDonough’s suggestion of beefed up policing during events saying that Baltimore City was more than capable. I also noticed that during the 4th of July celebration that the Maryland State Police (as suggested by McDonough and slammed by the mayor) were requested to be present to assist as well as other non-city agencies. Looks like McDonough was right.
ALEX R: “…McDonough was right…..” Yes, right of Attila the Hun. BTW the State Police have been patrolling in Baltimore for at least 10 years: that pre-dates McDonough’s stunt.
Sheesh, PTBL. I didn’t realize McDonough was that conservative. Too bad I can’t vote for him. Maybe I will send his campaign a check anyway.
Whenever even you stoop so low as to defend Baltimore City elected leaders I am stunned. Well, maybe only partly stunned.
Well Alex R I guess you just hate everyone and everything in Baltimore City. Why is that, I wonder? It couldn’t be because they aren’t your type of people? How very tea baggish of you.
How much does it cost the taxpayer a day to have his hunk of crap rolling billboards take up space in a public park and ride?
Loved the article in the Aegis today where Glass called out Nancy Jacobs and Mary-Dulany James over their lack of support for the congressional redistricting and same-sex marriage petitions. I get that James wouldn’t support these petitions because she is a Democrat. That Nancy Jacobs wouldn’t seriously get involved is unfortunately also understandable. Nancy is too busy chasing a congressional seat and certainly would not want to offend the majority of Democrat voters living there that she would have to steal away from Dutch. So she says nothing or just gives lip-service to these issues which resound with Republicans. Some may not think much of Glass but at least he has the courage to stand behind his beliefs and not play it safe all the time like Jacobs does or align herself with Democrat candidates in a calculated move just to get their votes. Nancy will lose to Dutch and hopefully retire so a real Republican can represent her district.
PTBL,
I don’t hate anyone. The people in Baltimore City are fine and some day they hopefully will get a city government that will really help them move forward. The elected leaders and their followers and appointees are a disgrace. People who disgrace themselves by what they say and what they do as elected leaders are never going to be my kind of people. No matter where they live. By the way, did you ever live in Baltimore City or are you just spouting off at arms length? I lived there 10 years.
Alex: Define what you mean by “…get a city government that will really help them move forward….” Do you mean like the deep South Redland where they have initiated voter repression?
No, I mean like spending money on jobs programs and education and law enforcement and fixing the water delivery system rather than $600 video phones. Or do you agree that the mayor and a lot of her staff really needed $600 video phones?
At some point PTBL even you aren’t going to be able to keep defending the arrogant and the hypocritical. But I am constantly amazed at how far you are willing to stretch.
ALEX: The Baltimore budget FY 2012 includes:
• Schools $347,899,345
• Safety $658,826,836
• Neighborhoods (parks, rec centers, etc.)$171,634,626
• Growing Economy $124,217,665
• Government $187,608,358
• Health $516,231,137
• Other $373,924,222 (general expenses, debt service, etc.)
Total $2,380,332,189
If you had any idea about which you are so ready to trash, I would be shocked. But then you just listen to Fox to get you opinions and then treat them as facts.
PTBL,
Not sure what yur point is. The City spent $2.38 billion and it is still in a big mess? I would have thought they would have gotten more for their money.
And you forgot to list the $600,000 for video phones. I know that $600K video phones are an inconvenient truth for you but it is indicative of the mind set and priorities of the political leadership of Baltimore City. Schools are falling down around their ears but the mayor and her staff at least got their video phones.
What voter repression? No state I know of, north or south, has a voter repression law.
Mike: Allow me to enlighten you about voter repression in this country, this year. “Over thirty states considered laws that would require voters to present government-issued photo ID in order to vote. Studies suggest that up to 11 percent of American citizens lack such ID, and would be required to navigate the administrative burdens to obtain it or forego the right to vote entirely.” This includes red states such as: SD, IA, KS, TX, TN, MS, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, WV, and PA.
I would say you need to get away from Alex’s habit of trating opinions as facts.
@Proud to be Liberal,
Most states that have voter ID laws either make it very easy for people to get an ID or provide IDs for free.
What you are telling me is that at least 89% or more have already navigated the system to obtain proper ID. Must not be that difficult. Liberals always seem to want to find a victim. The people who have not obtained proper ID are not victims, they just need to get an ID, I will be happy to help them navigate the system, and so should you.
I live in PA and it is not considered a red state. I guess you don’t have to present a picture ID when you go to the doctor’s office as I did yesterday even though they know me. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having to show a picture ID when one goes to vote. If you don’t have an ID, the state will help you obtain one. You may complain about it now but when the US becomes a socialist country under Obama, everyone will have to carry an ID card. Count on it!
“Most states that have voter ID laws either make it very easy for people to get an ID or provide IDs for free.” Unless you’re old or poor or black or Hispanic; then you must show your birth certificate to get the photo ID which, of course, you must have a photo ID to get the birth certificate. This is known as Jim Crow for which red states are infamous.
Everyone is equally inconvienced if they do not have their birth certificate or photo identification. The rules for replacement documents prevent identity theft, and are applied equally to all persons regardless of age or origin.
I say require a photo id (driver’s license, handgun permit or state resident id, to establish identity and residency) and a birth certificate (to establish eligibility to vote), or a passport (identity and eligibility to vote) and a recent utility bill or first class mail (residency). I also say ink the fingers of every voter. If even Mexico, Iraq and Afghanistan can figure out inking fingers is a sure way to prevent vote fraud, why can’t we do it?
PTBL,
The black elderly couple who live across the street from me have photo ID. The Hispanic man I take my car to for repair has photo ID. The poor man holding a sign asking for money along the road in Aberdeen had a photo ID.
Why don’t you join us in helping people obtain photo ID? Do something proactive instead of just complaining.
So the next time someone must provide a photo ID they can accuse the requester of oppressing them? This is a ridiculous argument. Considering the level of proven voter fraud by ACORN represeentatives in the last election, adding phantom voters to the roles, it is imperative MY right to vote and be heard is not negated by a fraudulent vote. Proving your identification is not a hardship. Everyone must do it as a normal life practice.
Well, Proud, I checked 4 states that were infamous for Jim Crow laws – South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama. All 4 were solidly in the Democratic party during that time.
So I guess it was your party that were giving blacks a difficult time? Why would the Democratic Party do that?
@ Alex R
That was the old Democratic party which is now essentially the new Republican party. LBJ caused a paradigm shift in the South with his ‘Great Society’.
And what a Great Society it is! Look at where we have come.
CaptnObvious,
So if the Democratic Party did something stupid then it was the Old Democratic Party which were actually Republicans masquerading as Democrats. And the current Democratic Party is what? A different Party that just happened coincidentally to decide to use the same name? And anything that they did we can lay at the feet of the Republicans?
Let me summarize. If the Democrats did it and it was wrong then it was actually the Republicans. If the Democrats did it and it was actually right it was the Democrats. And if the Republicans did it and it was actually right . . . wait for it . . . it was actually Democrats! Wow! So it is really a license for the Democratic Party to say and do all of the immoral, unethical, illegal and just plain stupid stuff they want to and then say that it wasn’t really them it was someone else?
What’s next? The devil made me do it?
Don’t be a pandering party defending a$$. Both parties currently suck but only slightly less so than the tea party. I was just pointing out the fact that the actons of the Southern states that instituted Jim Crow laws were independent of the party affilliations at that time. The mindset of the people who backed such laws was governed by thier geography and history but not political ideaology which shifted in response to LBJ’s ‘Great Society’.
Your kneejerk defense by attack response is indicative of what is so fu(ked up in this country right now.
The ‘Great Society’ has become the ‘Great Divide’
Welcome to the handbasket.
“If even Mexico, Iraq and Afghanistan can figure out inking fingers is a sure way to prevent vote fraud, why can’t we do it?”
Because we are not a third world country.
Mike: “The black elderly couple who live across the street from me have photo ID. The Hispanic man I take my car to for repair has photo ID. The poor man holding a sign asking for money along the road in Aberdeen had a photo ID.” So you’re saying those three examples, if true and I can’t imagine how you would know it, means every single minority has a photo ID. Do you know how simplistic that sounds? BTW I spend a lot of time registering voters and it is beside the point.
PTLB,
No, the examples I used does not mean every single minority has an ID. It means each and every person who is an actual citizen of this country can get an ID if they want one.
so why don’t we use the forthcoming proof of healthcare coverage as our new national id card…
Brianczaw,
Would you have to be a citizen of this country to get health coverage in this country?
CaptnObvious, you must excuse Alex as he does not understand that the Republican Party and the Democratic Party have evolved over the years. Gone is the party of Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Lafollette and Dwight D Eisenhower as well as the Dixiecrats of the South. That would require him to read history rather than watch Fox for his talking points.
TAXPAYER: “…Considering the level of proven voter fraud by ACORN representatives (sic) in the last election, adding phantom voters to the roles…” Proven by whom? Fox does not count.
In one instance ACORN was convicted for felony compensation of voter canvassers. This was on April 6, 2011 in Las Vagas. It is easy to look up, just goggle ACORN voter fraud convictions.
Allow me to reference just two of over 30 I found with a quick search:
Three ACORN employees pleaded guilty, and four more were charged, in the worst case of voter registration fraud in Washington state history. More than 2,000 fraudulent voter registration cards were submitted by the group during a voter registration drive.
Seven ACORN workers in the Pittsburgh area were indicted for submitting falsified voter registration forms. Six of the seven were also indicted for registering voters under an illegal quota system.
And it goes on and on. There are many documented cases of ACORN voter misdeeds.
PTBL,
What in the world do 2nd amendment rights have to do with Fast and Furious, a program conceived by and run by our own government, that gave guns to Mexican bandits who, in turn, used them to kill Brian Terry? Man, you are really out of it.
Holder is lying and covering up that program at the direction of the Oval Office. How do I know that? If the President was really for open government, as he said repeatedly in his campaign, then he would direct the Justice Department to comply with the lawful demands for information from the Congress. And if he was any kind of President he would have shut down Fast and Furious in the blink of an eye and fired those responsible.
ALEX: Sorry your proof does not hold up. That is you opinion, not facts, but then you people treat opinions as if they were facts.
Facts:
1. Brian Terry is dead. Source: medical examiner.
2. Brian Terry was killed by a gun walked back under a program called Fast and Furious which was conceived by and run by the US government. Source: US Department of Justice.
3. The Congress, our duly elected representatives, wants to know who, how and why and Eric Holder won’t tell them even though he is legally required to do so. Source: federal law.
Opinion:
1. PTBL says that’s okay, Holder doesn’t really have to comply with the law.
ALEX: Facts – The executive branch of the government is co-equal. Congress cannot compel it to testify. You need to go back to 10th grade civics.
I guess that is why he is being charged with Contempt. Congress has every right to investigate this.
Hey Proud,
“The executive branch of the government is co-equal. Congress cannot compel it to testify. You need to go back to 10th grade civics.” – This is not true. Congress can issue a subpoena to any person, requiring that person to testify. A person may then make a 5th Amendment plea against self-incrimination. Congress may then grant that person immunity, in which case, there would be no self-incrimination and therefore the person would then be compelled to testify. The president may claim executive privilege for himself and other members of the executive branch. The claiming of executive privilege is something that must be claimed, without it, any member of the executive branch, may be compelled.
So, to sum things up. Congress can compel, however, the executive branch may claim privilege.
Anyways, thank you for allowing me to give you a 10th grade civics lesson.
Oh, and have a nice day.
Paul Mc
PTBL, if BS were electricity you would be a human dynamo. Where did you get the idea that Congress cannot compel the Executive branch to testify? The Congress has that right, implicitly in the Constitution, and has exercised it on numerous occasions. “Executive Privilege” is reserved to the President alone, not his entire staff. You make things up and expect others to fall apart.
The Executive Branch can be compelled to testify and can be held in contempt… however the Legislative Branch does not have the responsibility to prosecute… only charge. The Executive Branch has the responsibility to prosecute. The same thing happened with Attorney General Gonzalez during Bush II. The case went no where because the Justice Department dropped the case. The same thing happens on a local level when law enforcement or the district commissioner charges someone with a crime and the States Attorney decides not to prosecute.
Hey David A. Porter,
There are actually three ways for a contempt of congress charge to be prosecuted and in only one does the executive branch handle the prosecution.
One, as you stated, is when congress charges and the justice department prosecutes.
The second is for Congress to try the contempt case itself. (I don’t think this has been done since the early 1900’s for some reason or another).
The third is the Senate or House can also file civil charges of contempt. Using this procedure, a federal judge determines whether a question asked by Congress was legitimate. If the judge orders a witness to answer and the witness refuses, then the witness would be in contempt of court and could be fined or imprisoned.
Anyways, have a nice day.
Paul… as always, your detailed explanations give insight into the machinations of your highly active, fertile and obsessed mind. When can we hope that you will run for a visible public office and give us a chance to evaluate your ability to do something other than your frequent pointlessly contradictory comments in this forum?
Anyways, have a nice day.
Hey David,
Did I post something here that is inaccurate? Was your post completely accurate? Or do you just feel the need to levy insults? Unless, of course, you not intend your words to be insults.
As for me running for office, that is highly doubtful.
Also, if my posts are so pointlessly contradictory, why do you feel the need to respond to them?
Anyways, have a nice day.
Your vapid point is taken Paul.
Anyway, have a nice day.
Hey David,
“Your vapid point is taken Paul.” – Again, the insults. It is a shame people can’t have a debate without having to resort to insulting one another.
Anyways, have a nice day.
Hazzard County: “All politicians and most people here talk out of both sides of their (sic) alimentary canal.”:Talk about a Hasty Generalization. Why don’t you try to add to the discussion instead of making aside comments that mean nothing?
You people are letting your tea bagishness show by touting out Fox talking points. Its a shame you have not a clue!
“In the United States government, executive privilege is the power claimed by the President of the United States and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government. The concept of executive privilege is not mentioned explicitly in the United States Constitution, but the Supreme Court of the United States ruled it to be an element of the separation of powers doctrine, and/or derived from the supremacy of executive branch in its own area of Constitutional activity.”
“A Republican-run House committee voted today to cite Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt after President Obama asserted executive privilege over documents in the “Fast and Furious” operation…House Republicans are on a “politically motivated, taxpayer-funded, election-year fishing expedition.”
How many times did Bush use Executive Privilege?
Hey Proud,
“You people are letting your tea bagishness show by touting out Fox talking points. Its a shame you have not a clue!” – Who are you referring to with this statement?
Proud is referring to everyone who does not think like him/her.
PMSNBC talking points.
I find the hunkering down and hiding behind executive privilege in this case beyond reprehensible. A man is dead because of guns that idiots in our government supplied in a plan that I can only refer to as the apex of stupidity – regardless of whose administration started or continued it. He is dead. His part is over and our government supplied the weapon to end it. How many other innocent victims who didn’t happen to be agents died because of this insanity? Obama and Holder should have been out in front of this thing from day one (as any right thinking human being would) demanding full disclosure and that whoever was responsible be at the very least fired – no matter who they were. The fact that they don’t care enough about the death of a border agent to allow – no, insist on a proper investigation (and not some farcical nonsense where the DOJ investigates itself) makes me wonder why they’re hiding.
Are any of you tea baggers offended by being labeled as such by a communist?
David A. Porter: As you may have noticed, Paul is a stalker of this site and only tries to make contradictory points for no other reason than to do it. My advice is to just ignore the fellow.
How many times did Bush use Executive Privilege? (“The Bush administration invoked executive privilege on six occasions… e.g., Bush invoked executive privilege in refusing to disclose the details of Vice President Dick Cheney’s meetings with energy executives….”
This forum conveniently forgets the hundred thousand or so lives lost in a pointless, off the books, war in Iraq. All they can do is attack whatever the Democrats do because then, perhaps, one will forget the total failure of the GOP/Tea Party and the lack of any meaningful legislation. It is the same for the representatives for Harford. Glass, McDonough and crew pull stunts to hide their total failure as legislators.
Proud are you saying that President Bush’s use of executive privilege was correct and appropriate therefore President Obama’s use is also correct and appropriate?
Hey Proud,
Actually, I don’t stalk, I simply provide truth in an ocean full of lies. I can not help it that you are one of the worst at posting inaccurate information which really needs to be corrected.
And Proud, wouldn’t your post be a case of stalking? Sheesh, I guess as you say, hat’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Anyways, have a nice day, my little stalker.
Mike Welsh: I’m say what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
So your saying that both Bush and Obama are wrong?
PTBL,
Let’s keep Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann out of this. I never can remember. Which one is the goose and which is the gander?
No Mike, I am saying since your side conveniently forgets what Bush did, you should not talk out of both sides of your mouth about Obama.
All politicians and most people here talk out of both sides of thier alimentary canal.
Proud,
Because you refuse to say yes or no to both questions you are an shining example of what is wrong today with the political system.
MIKE Because you refuse to admit that the GOP/Tea Party has done much worse “you are a shining example of what is wrong today with the political system.” I just pointed out that Executive Privilege is an established precedent that both parties use.
PTBL wrote “Because you refuse to admit that the GOP/Tea Party has done much worse”.
Your facts for this. What I see from the current administration over the last few years –
A very-partisan Congress the first two years that passed a Health Care Act with no bipartisan support and no effort to seek any –
A Senate that has refused to pass a budget for three years –
Trillion dollar deficits with no end in sight –
An DOJ that refuses to hold people accountable for an operation that directly resulted in death of a border patrol agent and hundreds of Mexican citizens –
An abject refusal by the administration to enforce immigration laws, rather than change the law, they tell the DOJ not to enforce existing law even though their oath of office swore to do so.
I can go on and on……
Ok Taxpayer let’s review some of your talking points:
• “A very-partisan Congress the first two years that passed a Health Care Act with no bipartisan support and no effort to seek any…” The partisan politics was all in the GOP/Tea Party. The dems. tried many times to garner some support for the REPUBLICAN health care law but those folks were only interested in being the party of obstruction.
• “A Senate that has refused to pass a budget for three years…” unless it can have a tax break for under $250K families and cooperation from the House. I don’t see any give in your party. They are only interested in tax break for the very wealthiest Americans and rest of us can suck an egg.
• “Trillion dollar deficits with no end in sight –“ If the country does not have revenue it has to come from somewhere. Since your party refuses to add revenue from at least the corporate welfare and loopholes I referred to earlier, what do you expect?
• “An DOJ that refuses to hold people accountable for an operation that directly resulted in death of a border patrol agent and hundreds of Mexican citizens” As I stated, selling assault weapons is the real problem and not a sting that went bad. Perhaps there are confidential informants that the DOJ does not want compromised by the GOP fishing expedition.
• “An abject refusal by the administration to enforce immigration laws, rather than change the law, they tell the DOJ not to enforce existing law even though their oath of office swore to do so.” We would like to change the law by the Party of No refuses to govern. They are ONLY interested in removing Obama so that they can go back to sucking on that corporate teat and passing laws to help them while screwing the middle class.
And please do not forget that useless, off the books war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives and TRILLIONS of dollars so that Halliburton could get richer. No party has ever done worst in the history of the Republic.
Let’s not confuse PTBL’s opinions with facts. Actually they aren’t even a very good reflection of PMSNBC talking points.
Proud, I am going to respond to just one of the inane things you said. “If the country does not have revenue it has to come from somewhere. Since your party refuses to add revenue from at least the corporate welfare and loopholes I referred to earlier, what do you expect?”
Let me tell you once again what I expect since you can’t remember from day to day. I expect the government to live within the income it receives. Therefore I expect shortfalls of revenue to be met by spending cuts. Real honest-to-goodnes spending cuts, not the kind O’Malley talks about. Get it? Your party has said “We are going to spend the money whether we have it or not and if the country goes off a cliff financially then we don’t care.”
Proud, here is the ugly fact that you ignore – if this country goes off a cliff financially, you are going with it. And as you are in freefall it won’t matter who you try to blame it on.
ALEX: Allow me to remind YOU that you ignore essential facts about how this country works; the shortfall of revenue is due mostly to the gigantic waste of money poured into the rat hole of YOUR party’s special interests. You can be as cute as you want in your attempt to insult me but that does not lessen the TRILLIONS we waste on corporate welfare. Your party has said we are going to serve the special interests of the 1% “…and if the country goes off a cliff financially then we don’t care.” You just watch when the tea baggers in Congress will refuse to extend the tax break for the middle class (under $250K) unless the very wealthy, who do not need the money, also get to feed off the country’s teat (and I might add, my taxes would go up.) I understand that you are getting frustrated because you can’t convince me that your Fox talking points have ANY bases in reality but try to have just a tiny bit of decorum. You are embarrassing yourself. I notice that the GOP/Tea Party has not submitted a plan, has not voted of the President’s job bill but has beaten the dead horse of Obama care. Get it?
Your tantrums aren’t getting you anywhere. Grow up. NO MORE TAXES.
Cut anywhere and everywhere that a majority of the elected Congress can agree to cut. I don’t actually care where they cut as long as the majority agree on it.
You seem to think that I am in favor of protecting the wealthy because it makes your argument easier. Absolutely not true. Cut the mortgage deduction. Fine with me. Cut corporate welfare, fine with me. Cut medicare, fine with me. Cut funding to NPR. Stop subsidizing the arts. Cut defense. Cut farm subsidies that pay farmers not to plant. Cut the sugar subsidy. Cut oil industry perks. Let me repeat. As long as a majority of the Congress agrees I DON’T CARE!!!! They will be evaluated and re-evaluated by their constituents at election time. And the people will then finally speak.
But not another dime in new or higher taxes and fees.
Wow, what a rant based on emotion and void of any factual information.
I guess the liberals only watch the liberal media and don’t see what is happening in Greece and in Europe in general. This is what happens when spending gets out of control by a government, and we are running up trillion dollar deficits every year. The Senate hasn’t passed Obama’s budgets that were presented to them voting 99 to 0 on one of them. This had to garner Democratic votes as there are only 47 Republicans in the Senate.
Look at the cities in California who have declared bankruptcy. Scranton, PA just paid all their employees minimum wage as they have run out of money. Harrisburg, PA is in trouble and many more cities and municipalities will declare bankruptcy so they can get out from under their tremendous debt, much of it caused by union contracts for their public employees and spending.
People who are buying our debt at these unbelievably low interest rates will start demanding higher interest rates one of these days as we continue to pile up debt. As to taxing the millionaires, the revenue the government will receive would only pay for four days of government spending. So where else do they go for money? Right down the line to all the citizens who pay taxes. If you don’t believe this will happen, then people are living in a dream world perpetuated by all the lies Obama has told about not raising taxes and letting you keep your doctor and your insurance plan.
Cathy,
You misunderstood Mr. Obama. He said he was going to keep his insurance plan. See, what he forgets to mention is that he is not covered by Obamacare. His plan is different.
During the Health Care debate, the GOP was told, “We won, you lost” (Obama) and, “we will find out what is in the bill once we pass it” (Pelosi). That is not bi-partisan and is an idiotic way to make legislation.
Obama has put forth several budgets, as required, and has yet to have a single Senator from either party vote yes on them. That is pathetic leadership in a time when the budget, and deficits, are threatening the economy and damning the next generations with mountains of debt. Obama’s only answer is we need more money, then we will make spending cuts. Needs to be the other way around. Federal government spending needs a 20% reduction, period.
You speak of corporate welfare and loopholes, which I would like to see eliminated. Why did the Dems not attack this when they had Congress and the WH for two years? Answer – they really did not want to jeopardize the fund raising for the next election.
And also, stop blaming the TEA Party for everything. They formed just a few years ago and most of these problems were created in the last couple of decades. They are just trying to address them and fix them to prevent us from bankrupting the next several generations.
Try being part of the solution rather than a partisan roadblock.
TAXPAYER: Yes the Tea Party is only a few years old but they have dominated your party. That is tragic. Ronald Reagan would not qualify as a Republican these days and Eisenhower would be seen as a flaming liberal. I’m sorry you cannot see that your party is only a shell of its former shell and a slave to only the wealthiest of Americans. I’m sorry that the Tea Partiers vote against their own best interests and are trying to create a Plutocracy. You are really part of the problem and not part of the solution with your obsession to the Tea Party line. And by the way, we need a veto proof majority in the Senate to get anything done because of your party’s blind obedience to their Fox (and corporate, lobbyists) masters.
If it were me, I would require Senators to actually filibuster rather than just say they will do it to stop action on the floor. We would see a marked elimination of this tactic if they knew they had to actually talk, non-stop.
PTBL – I have been specific about my issues with the administration while you generally blame the TEA Party for the country’s problems. Can you be more specific what policies have been put in place by the TEA Party that have put us where we are now? At least make an attempt to substantiate your claims.
Proud,
Why did a democrat controlled senate all vote against President Obama’s annual budget? Why did a democrat controlled senate led by Harry Reid block a vote just last week on the Presidents budget? The answer is, if any budget passes the senate then the senate and house must get together and attempt to work out a compromise budget since the house has passed a budget. If that occurred the President would appear even more disingenuous than he already does when he talks about the party of NO. The real party of NO are the Democrats in the senate who have never passed a budget during the entire term of Obama, and then yell and scream about the GOP.
No Democrat will get my vote this time.
Thanks, Paul Mc, but you may have been casting pearls. Also, executive privilege does not extend to lying under oath.
Amazed,
You know very well why they are hiding. The failed policies of this administration and the lack of oversight by DOJ leadership got an innocent man killed with a gun supplied by them to Mexican bandits.
And what about the 200 plus Mexican citizens that were killed with these weapons?
The 200 plus Mexican citizens don’t mean anything. Collateral damage.
Yes, I am being sarcastic.
The people who planned, approved, implemented and are now covering up and perjuring themselves over Fast and Furious care only about the person they see in the mirror every morning. I’m stunned that Proud to be Liberal is so concerned over the well being of undocumented residents in the USA illegally but doesn’t care a fig about the same people being killed on the other side of the border by guns supplied by the current administration that he ardently supports and defends.
ALEX: Why is it you cannot bring yourself to condemn the death lobby and other gun nut GOP/Tea Party operatives for allowing assault weapons to be sold legally in the first place to Mexican gangs? Those are the failed policies you should be worried about.
PTBL:
The point of Fast & Furious was not to monitor legal sales, it was to track straw purchases, which are illegal. The ATF instructed the dealers to make the straw purchase sales even when the dealers would normally cancel them and report the buyer to the police for the attempted purchase. Some dealers were smart enough to record those conversations, knowing the ATF’s history of “forgetting” they had made special requests of dealers and arresting the dealers as scapegoats when the operations were less-than-successful.
The straw purchasers were also violating the laws against exportation without a permit from the US State Department and possession of military-caliber firearms in Mexico.
KHARN: Your point completely ignores the fact that ANY sale of military-caliber firearms should be illegal to ANYONE. The Death Lobby has the GOP/Tea Party in as much in thrall as do the 1% billionaire lobby. It is the average person, such as you and me, that mostly bear the brunt of their policies.
ALEX: The policy to which you refer. “…an incredibly stupid policy of selling guns to Mexican bandits…” is the policy of the Death Lobby. Why is it you cannot bring yourself to condemn the death lobby and other gun nut GOP/Tea Party operatives for allowing assault weapons to be sold in the first place? Those are the failed policies you should be worried about and not one failed sting the government did to try to stop this practice. Do you think every sting works? They don’t, but at least Obama is trying to stop it whereas Bush did nothing. This whole thing is just “politically motivated, taxpayer-funded, election-year fishing expedition.”
PTBL:
“Military caliber” firearms are actually less powerful than your average deer rifle that you can buy at Walmart. The Army found that most fire fights during WWII and Korea occured at <300m and humans are fragile animals, so why carry a rifle and ammo capable of 600+m shots against 500+lb elk?
The qualities that make a firearm perfect for Soldiers also make it great for home and farm defense: compact, light weight, designed for engagements at less than 300m against human-sized targets, easy to operate by 5th percentile females to 95th percentile males and quick follow-up shots. Trying to defend yourself against two guys kicking in your door is much more difficult with a manually-operated deer rifle than a semiautomatic carbine.
Mexico restricts military calibers from civilian ownership in an attempt to prevent insurrection, but given that cartels are now shooting at each other with anti-tank weapons and throwing grenades into cop bars, I would say that is a failed policy.
Yeah, I read that in the PMSNBC talking points. Can we expect an original thought any time soon?
KHRN: “…cartels are now shooting at each other with anti-tank weapons and throwing grenades into cop bars….” that are bought from us. Yes wecannot control this because of the death lobby.
But, Proud, they didn’t buy them from the NRA. They bought them from dealers who would not have sold them because it would have been illegal but then the US Government stepped in and directed them to ignore existing law and sell them anyway. And the government subsequently got caught with their pants on the ground and blood on their hands in the form of at least one dead officer and many dead Mexican citizens.
Please try to keep straight who actually directed the firearms dealers to break the law and who ended up dead because of it.
I’d love to know where you think someone can buy grenades or anti-tank weapons in the US without a serious stack of paperwork and large amount of taxes paid to the ATF.
The cartels are not sourcing their RPGs and grenades from the US, they’re buying them from Chavez, the ChiComs and Eastern Europe.
@PTBL
Obama and ATF have partnered with the southern border duty-free stores to sell surplus weaponry from grenades to tanks to bunker buster missiles.
All of which are not subject to taxes or tariffs going in to Mexico. You do have to use a third party carrier for tank shipments.
Kharn,
Please, please, please do not bring facts in to the discussion. PTBL says the death lobby is responsible for the cartels having RPGs and grenades and therefore it must be so.
In reality what PTBL wants to do is to change the focus from the current administration getting one of its own law enforcement officers killed (in addition to many innocent Mexican citizens) by a stupid policy planned and implemented by people in the DOJ organization and now being covered up by the same people and their leadership. They have the blood of Brian Terry and of many innocent Mexican men, women and children on their hands. And on their conscience if they have a conscience.
Alex: While I deplore the tragic death of any federal officer, you refuse to stop talking out of both sides of your tea party mouth. Do not berate the President until you have blamed the gang that could not shoot straight (Bush) for the useless, off the books war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives and TRILLIONS of dollars so that Halliburton could get richer. No party has ever done worst in the history of the Republic. Your complaints are lost on me due to your blind adherence to Tea Party talking points. If you had an ounce of objectivity in any of your posts I could respect you.
And you Sir would gain more respect if you didn’t defend every move by President Obama as though he were some kind of Saint. If the wars were so bad and useless then why are we still over there? Why has it taken Obama 3 1/2 years to start ending useless wars? Even Obama stated that Afghanistan was a war of necessity, not a war of choice, the term he used to describe the Iraq war. Apparently, Obama disagrees with you on the Afghanistan war! That’s why after he became President he sent an additional 100,000 troops over there to that “useless” war!!
All currently open contracts with Halliburton and with other contractors have been initiated by or renewed by the Obama Administration’s Defense Department. Each fiscal year the government has the option whether to renew, extend or even to fund any contract. The Obama Administration has chosen to do so in each of the fiscal years beginning October of 2009, 2010 and 2011. And I predict they will do it again in October of 2012.
You may be interested in Obama remarks as follows:
July 27, 2004. Obama tells Chicago Tribune that U.S. forces should remain in Iraq to stabilize the war-torn country. Says “there is not much difference between my position and George Bush’s position at this stage,”
Proud,
Don’t change the subject to avoid taking responsibility for the administration that you support on this site every day being responsible for hundreds of deaths of innocent people because of an incredibly stupid policy of selling guns to Mexican bandits just to see what would happen. Then covering it up when it became known.
Why don’t you, for once, just admit that they screwed up big time and a bunch of them need to be replaced and probably some prosecuted and convicted. If this were a Republican President and a Republican Attorney General there would be no end to your outrage. For once, why don’t you get behind what is right rather than what is politically expedient for your cause?
ALEX: When you “…get behind what is right rather than what is politically expedient for your cause…” you can ask that question dude.
I’m sure the family of Brian Terry takes a lot of comfort from your defense of what his own government did to him.
Alex, Fast and Furious was absurd. The people responsible for coming up with the scheme will likely never see the inside of a courtroom. That is because as policy makers they are immune to the laws that affect you, me and the other peons that we work alongside every day. The folks that want to trim waste fraud and abuse are the very ones that use waste fraud and abuse to satisfy their personal agendas. It has been this way everywhere I have worked in the government and it has been that way regardless of who is in power. The fact that it occurs is deplorable. Regrettably you and I can do nothing about it, because as people with convictions and integrity we will never hold elected office or be placed in positions of policy making.
So what you are saying is we should bury our heads in the sand and hope only good things happen to us.
You don’t speak for me… and if that is what you construed from my comment, there is no amount of effort on my part that will make you any less obtuse.
“Regrettably you and I can do nothing about it”
I don’t think there is anything to construe from your comments other then you witness fraud abuse and waste in all of your government positions, yet choose to look the other way to protect your cushy position instead of doing what is right. Some convictions and integrity.
B
That’s pretty much Mr. Porters bottom line.
Porter thinks that the governent should be able to do whatever. Porter argues everything bottomline. Porter liberal something. BOTTOM LINE.
Myself being in the netherworld of ‘personal’ government contractor has afforded me a view of the machinations of self entitlement that happens at the federal level.
I have too often had to place my family’s survival on the line to push back against the personal slush fund mentality that permeates the ego driven self promotion of management.
The workers are complacent automatons.
They fall in line to collect their pay and bonuses which amounts to hush money. As if the excess renumeration is not enough they get to surf the web for hours, take an hour or two of personal calls, go to the gym, sneak away to house shop for slum lord properties, take extended lunches, go to the movies(yes really), and take time off that is not accounted for as a way of adding yet more to their substantial compensation for a job ‘well done’.
I get to vent on a website during my lunch break for 50% less pay, insubstantial retirement, poor benefits, no security, and the ‘privelege’ of having a job doing the same and often more work than my federal counterparts. I should add that the multi-national corporation I’ve been relegated to contract through collects a check from the fed for my labors. It is a fantastic system…
Funny thing is I used to be very pro-government, but the government managed to beat that out of me.
you guys are really quite full of yourselves. I have actually been written up for calling someone incompetent. Because that is the mentality of the people I work for. Imagine that, telling someone to their face that they are unfit to do their job and then being told your remarks are inappropriate. I even had dialogue with the supervisor of the employee I offended. And when I described the sequence of events in his trouble shooting menu I heard a snick on the other end of the phone after step one. Go ahead… complain all day that I do nothing about the misuse and outright waste I see in my agency. Then ask me what good it does me to protest about flaws in policy and the workforce when management says we need a “Volunteer” for Lean Six Sigma Quality and then behaves the way they do. While you may live in an ideal world where your complaints on a website matter, my complaints at work have netted nothing but the impression that I am not a team player. Unfortunately, my team is often taking the ball towards the wrong end of the field. I’ll keep doing it… but it will go nowhere. Because it is policy.
Mr. Porter, perhaps you should quit and move on if your team does not want you, and refuses to listen to you.
I also thought the federal government had whistle blower protection for bringing to light waste, fraud, or abuse within the federal government.
I’ve been on official and unofficial probation for things I have said regarding the status quo. The only reason I still have a job is due to two reasons; one, I was right; two, I am cheap efficient skilled labor.
It is a combination of policy and personal dictate that determines the outcomes.
“what good it does me” – it’s not about what good it does you it’s about what good it does in reforming the system which unfortunately it does not often help. I don’t ask anyone to be a martyr but you also don’t have to be a willing participant.
@Porter – it seems you have at least stood your ground more than the people I work with.
As to whistleblower protection, that generally will only help when the sums of money are quite large lump sums and lawyers can get involved.
The waste flows at small enough levels to avoid outright public scrutiny but occurs at a high enough aggregate level to bring the sum total to ridiulous proportions.
Again the issue of personal and managerial accountability are a serious problem.
Michael…. I have worked 30 years in and around the government. My expectations are low based upon my experience there and my experience does not rise when I consider Private Industry which will not support my knowledge or skill set. It is like this everywhere. I remain here because my work is interesting although my management is not. The pay is good, although my management is not. My benefits and the ability to spend time away from the job with my son are good even though my management is not. My home that I live in, in Bel Air is in a nice neighborhood, and although the schools could be more responsive and my management could be better they are not. There is no greener side of anything – and you know this. Do not expect me to make things better, despite my complaints, when the people responsible for making things better have other priorities. My supervisor advised me that this is the way things are until you retire. I’m hoping he retires soon but for right now he is retired in place. And even then, retirement will only introduce new complications with their own set of lowered expectations. Criticize all you like, but if you can make better choices than I have, you are welcome to make them for yourself.
Mr. Porter,
The next time you feel like taking some of the Deputies in the HCSO to the verbal woodshed think about what you have just said. Many of them feel that they are in the exact situation you are. When you complain and are told you are not a team player and, as a DOD employee have certain job protections, they do not. Kind of a sad in both situations.
Wipe the workforce clean and start over. Companies do it all the time.
Michael, which deputies have I taken to the woodshed? I have taken people to task for the things they express that I find repugnant and unprofessional. If you know they are deputies that is information I do not have and have not acted upon. Additionally, you will notice that while I complain about my manager, I have not mentioned his name, because to do so invites libel and brings unwanted scrutiny over an issue that should handled internally. Not by mob rule. He is not a criminal, he is simply bad at what he does.
Sorry, David, but you and I disagree on whether we can do anyting about it or not. We have to try.
Holder and the DOJ have to be made to release all of the information so this administration and the people involved can be held accountable. If this were a Republican administration I would say the same thing. The only thing these people understand is public scrutiny followed by public ridicule if warranted and also being charged with breaking any laws if laws were broken. Where is the President on this?
Here are the headlines: LAWS WERE BROKEN BY OUR GOVT, INNOCENT PEOPLE WERE KILLED, PRESIDENT CLAIMS EXEC PRIVILEGE.
You and I agree that it was wrong. Monday, my planner had a quote from Abraham Lincoln that reads: “Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.” I have felt this way about Bush and I feel this way about Obama. I also use the same decision making process when I post here with you and with PTBL.
Mike Welsh,
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48120446/
That is what CNBC reported and Neil Bergsman of the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute did not refute that but called the net loss “very small”. Note that he referred to an actual net loss and was referencing the same period as Change Maryland referenced – 2007 thru 2010. The same period that the ‘millionaire tax’ was in effect.
Alex R,
So it makes no difference if 200,000 moved into MD during the same time period, when 231,000 move out the net loss is 31,000.
The net loss in total numbers is not relevant. What is important is the dollar figure of personal and corporate income taxes that move with those numbers. The IRS figure was $28,000,000 in taxes that left Maryland. How much income tax did the 200,000 bring in with them? That would be the key number. If they only brought in $2 million then the net loss to Maryland is really significant. The other thing that is germane to this story is the number of jobs lost because a large number of those who crossed the river are small business owners who can set up shop in the new location and started hiring natives of the new state. The re-distributionists will not be able to fathom the unintended consequences of these Orwellian tax increases, however, no matter how many facts are presented.
Very true.
Mike,
To me what is important is that Maryland has a shrinking population because more people are leaving than are coming. That puts even more pressure on the budget to either cut expenditures (which I favor) or to raise taxes and fees (which, as you know, I do not). With the right leadership Maryland could see a net gain if it were attrative to businesses of all sizes. We have to ask ourselves each time a business does not decide to locate in Maryland (and Airbus is just one recent example of many) what it is about Maryland that makes them reject coming here. Our people need jobs. Jobs will always be better than handouts.
TAXPAYER, MIKE WELSH and ALEX: Researching Acorn voter fraud yielded hits from the Rotten Acorn, a front group funded by the right wing Berman & Co.; The Wall Street Journal, another right wing front; PJ Media, a media company and operator of an eponymous conservative opinion and commentary website founded in 2004 by a network primarily made up of conservatives and libertarians led by writer Roger L. Simon; Matthew Vadum, right wing pendant and other, what I consider as unreliable sources.
“The new report will no doubt underscore the belief among Fox News viewers that Obama was illegitimately elected in 2008. According to a 2009 poll by Public Policy Polling, “52% majority of GOP voters nationally think that ACORN stole the Presidential election for Barack Obama last year, with only 27% granting that he won it legitimately.”
There are at least two major problems with this argument: Number one: there’s no evidence that the alleged forgeries played a decisive role in getting the Democratic candidates on the Indiana ballot in 2008 or determining the outcome of the primary or general election….Number two: Indiana’s voter ID law, passed in 2008 and the model for the nine states that have adopted similar laws since the 2010 election, did nothing to prevent the alleged signature fraud, nor did it stop Indiana’s Republican Secretary of State, Charlie White, from committing felony voter fraud in the 2010 election. (White was sentenced to a year of home detention on felony fraud convictions.)… A major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop…Texas recently went looking for examples of voter fraud and found fewer than five incidents of ‘illegal voting’ out of more than 13 million votes cast in the 2008 and 2010 elections.”
What I found was “…neither ACORN nor its employees have been found guilty of, or even charged with, casting fraudulent votes. What a McCain-Palin Web ad calls “voter fraud” is actually voter registration fraud. Several ACORN canvassers have been found guilty of faking registration forms and others are being investigated. But the evidence that has surfaced so far shows they faked forms to get paid for work they didn’t do, not to stuff ballot boxes….” Now this is certainly wrong but does not rise to the level of elected Republican officials who are repressing voters.
This is a huge red herring (Ignoratio Elenchi) designed to muddy the waters. I am not convinced by you.
PTBL,
I wasn’t trying to convince you. I wouldn’t waste my time or my energy. ACORN broke the law. ACORN was convicted of breaking the law. Not once but multiple times in multiple places. End of story.
Only PTBL could defend ACORN.
PTBL,
And I don’t think ACORN stole the election in favor of Obama. Frankly they are not smart enough.
ALEX: Only you can be so moronic as to not read what I posted, or if you did read it, be so unaware of what was said. Where did I defend ACORN? What does this quote mean to you “…Now this is certainly wrong…?”
You are such an angry, bigoted man that I do not think you are capable of objective, cogent thought much less discussion.
PTBL,
Let’s go one more word in to you quoting yourself – my emphasis added:
“This is certainly wrong, BUT….” But what?
Anyway, I’m not the one that first brought up ACORN. The track record of ACORN and its multiple charges and multiple convictions speaks for itself. ACORN was the poster child for ultra Lib/Dem action groups.
Let’s not lose our focus on infractions such as Washington state, certainly very liberal leaning politically, who said the ACORN actions were the worst case of voter registration fraud in Washington state history.
These are the kind of folks that speak for your party.
ALEX: Since you are not able to find the quote yourself I will help you: “Now this is certainly wrong but does not rise to the level of elected Republican officials who are repressing voters.”
You keep jabbering away about ACORN but like all of you right wing folks, you are mum about the GOP/Tea Party. Now if you read something other than a tea party propaganda rag you would have seen, “The defendants, who were paid employees and supervisors of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, concocted the scheme as an easy way to get paid, not as an attempt to influence the outcome of elections, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg said.”
But I guess you are unable to see farther than the end of your nose.