Sunday Roundup

The Baltimore Sun had a lot to write about today. Good! So now I do too.

Democrats' bill-killing causes some GOP testiness

Originally published February 19, 2006

Howard County's 11 state legislators have been especially polite to each other in delegation meetings this election year, but after a final voting session Wednesday in Annapolis in which Democrats killed three Republican-sponsored local bills, a few verbal talons emerged.

Who can blame them. All three were good bills.

Bates argued that her bills would help taxpayers while Democrats said they would pre-empt county government tax-cut initiatives and cost millions of dollars in revenue.

And she is right and the democrats position is misleading at best. Just because the delegation approves the measure doesn't mean that it will pass the entire geneneral assembly. It also would have been a great prod to use against the County Executive and the County Council in order to get them to move on the issue.

Who could blame Del. Miller for hard feelings especially after his equally good bill was shot down by the delegation and earlier his Gasoline Bill has shot down in committee.

Sign Waiving

Come on. Please! A distraction for drivers? One accident since 1998? What was the source of this article? What prompted it?

I sign wave for candidates. It is effective and not a distraction. I went out to Patuxent and Brokenland with friends on Friday, in the rain for about 1 hour. We just put signs in the ground and watched over them. We got great visibility, a lot of car horns and waving (a few fingers), and generally got out message out.

Robey comments:

"I see people on cell phones, putting on makeup, eating their breakfast and reading the paper while driving," Robey said. "The last thing I want to do is have them looking over at me."

Made my day. Present legislation enforcing the use of headsets for cellphones when driving, and ticket the rest of these idiots. Don't attack free speach.

The real problem here is that Republicans love sign waving, are good at organizing the events, and they are effective. When the Democrats catch up we won't hear about this again. This issue is also reminicent of Ulman's earlier attempt to surpress sign waiving through his roadside vendor bill.

Ken Ulman Announcement

A letter appeared in the Sun complaining that The Sun didn't give Ulman's announcement adequate coverage, which amounted to an early endorsement for an unnamed Ulman opponent. Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Frankly, I think that it got any coverage at all ... (never mind).

Mr. Ulman's letter on Doughoregan Manor, which also appeared in the HoCo Times, appeared in the Sunday Edition of the Baltimore Sun. I have nothing further to add than my earlier post and the "Me Too Kid".