You could say the voters get exactly what they deserve. Massachusetts voters are probably embarrassed this morning to realize that they deserve Republican Sen. Scott Brown. That was my first reaction to the stunning defeat yesterday of the Democrat Martha Coakley, in the election for a successor to Sen. Ted Kennedy. But my first reaction… [Read more…]
January 19, 2010
Not a single slot machine has been put in service in Maryland, and already Senate President Mike Miller is suggesting adding a casino in his home county, Prince Georges, according to reports in the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. This is the latest development in the slots fiasco in Maryland. Voters OK’d 5 Slots Loations,… [Read more…]
December 31, 2009
It’s the last day of 2009, the last day of the decade. Let’s have some fun. Nobody can predict the future, but that’s not going to stop me from making a few wild speculations about things that might happen in 2010. Herewith, wild guesses based on nothing more than a hunch. No ambitious Republican is… [Read more…]
April 25, 2009
I’ve got the book! “The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It,” by Joshua Cooper Ramo, published March 2009 by Little Brown. I’ve only just started to read Unthinkable, but it’s already reinforced my cynical conclusion that the Maryland General Assembly is an… [Read more…]
January 27, 2009
It’s snowing in Ocean City, Maryland, this morning, steady but not too hard. The temperature is shivering right around freezing. In Washington and New York, this is the winter of economic uncertainty. Nationwide, unemployment is spreading week by week. Unemployment may hit 10 percent by spring, which seems far away right now but really isn’t.… [Read more…]
July 8, 2008
Adam Pagnucco, one of the best and most prolific bloggers in Maryland, is writing a great three-part series over at Maryland Politics Watch entitled “How to Get Clout in Annapolis.” This question about political clout is close to the heart of democracy. I have mixed feelings about the whole subject. A better word for “clout”… [Read more…]
June 19, 2008
The tide of purple clover has crested on Maryland hillsides, and is beginning to fade. The little white clover that thrives in mowed lawns will be with us through the dog days. The orange day lily arrived in mid-June. It will peak on July 4, and disappear before August. We have experienced one June heatwave;… [Read more…]
April 7, 2008
The question of how to raise enough money to pay for government services in Maryland has preoccupied the General Assembly for more than a year. The structural deficit had been an open secret in Annapolis for years, and there were loud calls for Gov. Martin O’Malley to push the issue last year, during the winter… [Read more…]
April 1, 2008
My hat is off to Adam Pagnucco for penning the best bumper sticker of the Maryland political season: “Mike Miller: Too Liberal for MOCO.” Read his analysis of the Maryland tax debate in his post, “In Defense of Taxing Millionaires.” Click on Maryland Politics Watch in the blogroll to the right. – Bernie Hayden
March 28, 2008
Some Democratic senators from Montgomery County are apparently in favor of spending cuts for education, health care and the environment. Anything, it seems, to avoid voting for a modest tax surcharge on a handful of constituents with incomes over $1 million a year. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee will have a work session on… [Read more…]
January 20, 2010
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