Because this will be the last edition of FNV for 2009 (yes, Virginia, next Friday is Christmas and I’m taking the day off) this episode is subtitled, “The Year in Review.” Yep, it’s a best-of FNV and this will feature my ten favorite videos of those I featured in 2009.
Let’s [...]
Unless some other blogger watched it on PAC-14, this may be the first in-depth analysis you get of the 2009 State of the County address delivered by Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt.
Upon arrival, I found a 20-page “County Executive’s Report to the People” placed on each chair. As expected, it was [...]
As the debate over nationalizing health care moved to the Senate, it was clear that the biggest procedural hurdle to its passage would be getting all 60 Democrats to agree on cloture as a means of starting and ending debate. Obviously, that meant some give-and-take on various portions of the [...]
Since I’m sitting here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, perhaps this means that Vince Haley at American Solutions attended the Tim Kaine School of Geography, but I suppose we could imagine him talking about Senators Mikulski and Cardin. Wait, no we can’t.
The fate of government run healthcare may be decided by [...]
You know, Governor Martin O’Malley could really do himself a lot of good if he’d just get to work and give up on that musical gig. Oh wait – Larry Hogan didn’t mention the band this time? Dude, you’re slipping.
Larry does make the obvious point here:
Today, the Board of Revenue [...]
I just approved this comment from Chuck Cook on my recent post “A tale of two meetings” - nice to have Progressive Delmarva come over and play in my sandbox.
I’m pretty sure the AFP is having their discussion guided just fine. Bachmann, Ingraham, et al will be doing the “guiding”, with FreedomWorks [...]
Another poll, another winner advances. Alive in the Chesapeake moves on along with previous round winners Twirling, Twirling, Twirling Towards Freedom and Salisbury News. They’ll join the winner of the next round and two second-place finisher wild cards in the semifinals next week.
AitC captured a record 42 votes in the contest (58%) [...]
It seems to me that the county and state do what they can to maintain a good bond rating, so why not the federal government? It’s part of this missive from the folks at Americans for Limited Government:
Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today in a letter urged members [...]
It’s funny how things sometimes work out. I’ll leave it to you to decide which is grassroots and which is Astroturf, beginning with the Americans for Prosperity group.
Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) have called for an emergency rally at the United States Capitol on Tuesday, [...]
This came to my e-mail box today and I’ll dutifully report it too. But then, as a value-added service, you get insight and analysis.
Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr. will deliver his fourth “State of the County” address on Friday, December 18th, at 10:00 A.M. in the Council Chambers of [...]
After the disastrous Christmas shopping season of 2008, it’s understandable that retailers desire 2009 to be a makeup year. They’re hoping that pent-up demand for “must have” electronic items and less pricey gifts catering to those desiring creature comforts like sweaters and other clothing items will place their bottom line [...]
Leave it to Democrats to play on emotion. In part, this is the latest missive I got from Organizing Against America.
My name is Suzanne. I’m a legal secretary and an OFA volunteer here in New Mexico, and this is a bittersweet holiday season for me.
While I have some good news [...]
This is fun to watch. For some reason my 2nd poll didn’t close when intended, but the overall result didn’t change. Twirling, Twirling, Twirling Toward Freedom won the 2nd round with 33 votes (63%) and moves on, with Salisbury Soapbox coming in second by grabbing 19 votes (36%) and On [...]
Well, whadda you know, it’s back. Let’s see what fun stuff I can dredge up tonight.
I’ll start with Nancy Pelosi – this was in another folder and I happened to stumble back upon it. The words “tax increase” just can’t seem to escape her lips, even if you try to [...]
I like this. Not sure it’s going to do a lot of good or get a lot of play, but it’s good discussion fodder for a Friday afternoon:
Maryland Republican Party Chair Audrey Scott released the following statement in response to Governor Martin O’Malley’s virtual town hall taking place (yesterday) evening:
“It is [...]
If nothing else, this post allows me to use the nifty image pictured on your right.
But I thought today’s essay by Patriot Post’s Mark Alexander was a keeper. In “Job Creation for Dummies” he outlines five basic tenets of economic prosperity that Barack [...]
Normally I add this to my monoblogue Accountability Project page once it’s clear that no Special Sessions would be called to change the rankings. This post will similarly be added to the page (which includes links to the monoblogue Accountability Project rating files) upon publication. But it’s time to [...]
Andy Harris is at it again, as he’s piled up endorsements from his fellows in the Maryland General Assembly who live in the First District:
Andy Harris for Congress today announced that it has received the endorsement of 26 members of the General Assembly from Congressional District 1. The endorsements demonstrate [...]
According to a recent Politico story, National Public Radio reporter Mara Liasson was asked to “reconsider” her regular appearances on Fox News programming. Liasson, whose most recent duties have involved commentary on the “Special Report” and “Fox News Sunday” programs, has worked for the network since 1997 but NPR executives [...]
I want to keep this short because I think the post underneath is important.
The first round is complete, and Salisbury News advances to the next round as it narrowly eked out a win over afterthegoldrush 47%-39%, with Progressive Delmarva bringing up the rear at 14 percent.
At the suggestion of the [...]
According to WBOC-TV, Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton has asked longtime Salisbury Police Department Chief Allan Webster to step down. Since Ireton was elected last spring, the issue of crime in Salisbury has been a contentious one, with statistics suggesting that Salisbury is one of the most dangerous cities per [...]
Well, I think I know one guy who might not vote for Pat McDonough should he decide to run for governor. But Pat’s vowing to crack down on illegal aliens and he’s got numbers backing him up on their negative economic impact:
Maryland has the unfortunate designation of being a “sanctuary [...]
I’m going to let Bill Wilson of the group Americans for Limited Government begin the discussion and set up the premise; after all that’s what alerted me to the Rasmussen poll:
“The stunning Rasmussen Poll showing the Republican Party finishing a decided third to a hypothetical ‘Tea Party’ candidate should send [...]
For a long time, I’ve contended that one piece of solving the puzzle of energy independence is getting to our own supply of oil and natural gas – supplies we have but are locked away by federal regulations.
An ancilliary benefit of domestic oil and natural gas exploration is the creation [...]
The health care bill being debated in the Senate joins the one in the House as including benefits for illegal aliens, despite the assurances of Congressional Democrats that this isn’t so. At least that’s the contention of James R. Edwards, Jr. of the Center for Immigration Studies. This came to [...]
Lost in the Democratic euphoria over the passage of H.R. 3962, the House health care bill, is that the 220-215 vote was aided by two House members hastily sworn in after special elections earlier in the week. Moreover, the lone Republican who voted for the bill, Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao [...]
We really need more of this: people on the right calling b.s. against the people on the left. This tussle is between People for the American Socialist Way and Americans for Limited Government and the subject is President Obama’s close aide Valerie Jarrett. Here’s ALG’s side:
Americans for Limited Government (ALG) [...]
Actually, the last poll was there to make a point and I think it was made. But I did find it interesting that one competitor was way ahead initially then another suddenly surged to the front after a day or so of almost continuous gains. When the ballot box is [...]
Since I skipped the weekend of Thanksgiving the return episode is bursting at the seams with stuff, so let’s get cracking!
This one is short, sweet, and to the point. It could be the theme for most of my FNV episodes and it comes from one of my favorite Senators, Jim [...]
Yep, leave it to House Democrats – they must figure there’s no rest for the weary, so no tax relief for the dying.
Yesterday, the House voted 225-200 (with 26 Democrats joining the GOP) to shelve the one-year moratorium on the 45% estate tax currently in place, which was enacted [...]
Well, that was a fun 40 minutes. Earlier this moring I listened to a conference call with Maryland’s Senator Ben Cardin promoted by the folks at Organizing Against America. It was sort of like sneaking behind enemy lines.
Host Jason Waskey (the State Director)Â briefly went through the history of OAA, which changed over from [...]
Because I would normally choose this timeslot during the baseball season to honor my Shorebird of the Week, it’s only natural that I inaugurate the newly-created Hall of Fame page at this very moment.
Tonight I celebrate two of those who arose from the comparatively humble beginnings of Delmarva (this [...]
What radio and television could not do – despite the dire predictions of observers at the time - the Internet is poised to achieve. That was the description made by many who testified this week at a Federal Trade Commission workshop which pondered “How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?”
While many [...]
Nick Loffer was there and he forwarded me this report:
Yesterday, Tuesday, December 1, 2009, may go down as one of the landmark days in AFP-Maryland’s still-young history. About 75 members traveled to Annapolis to participate in a public discussion about the upcoming legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly, featuring [...]
So sayeth candidate for Governor Larry Hogan. I can just picture him tapping his foot expectantly and saying, “Well…”
Obviously he makes some good points or I would have skipped making the post, so here goes:
Martin O’Malley’s latest stunt designed to mask his failed record on jobs and small business, elicited a [...]
Once again, December 1st (and 8:54 p.m.) has rolled around and it’s time for my annual exercise in navel-gazing. Unlike last year, when I made this into a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at “great moments in monoblogue history“, this will be a little more serious. Perhaps that reflects the national mood.
On a [...]
I don’t know if I have a cameo in this or not, but TEA Party: The Documentary Film makes its premiere tomorrow in Washington, D.C. With all of the videotaping going on during that historic day, the film certainly will be interesting. I can guarantee this because I saw a [...]
As Yogi Berra most famously said, this is a case of deja vu all over again:
There is great news in my race to take the First Congresssional seat back from the tax-and-spend party of Pelosi.
Likely voters in the First District were polled the week before Thanksgiving. Like all Americans, they were [...]
Earlier this month it was announced the unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent, reaching double-digits for the first time in 26 years. Though the rate had been expected to top 10 percent for some time due to our anemic economic recovery – and despite billions of dollars in stimulus money – [...]
I can’t figure out what the Washington Post was afraid of – diversity of thought? But they wouldn’t publish this, so it’s up to you to decide whether it was my mistake for submitting this there or theirs for not running it. I kept it right on their self-imposed 800 word limit.
Last [...]
Just so you know, I’m taking a couple days off from writing but there will be posts tomorrow and Sunday. Sunday brings the usual reprint of my latest released Liberty Features Syndicate article, but Saturday is a special treat – an op-ed the Washington Post was afraid to publish. (Hey, I [...]
Because of the ability for me to prewrite posts, I’m sitting here yesterday doing my Thanksgiving message for today. This way I get a day off to visit friends and share in their Thanksgiving.
Given the fact that I lost the job I moved here to take a year ago and [...]
We’re coming into a slow news period, so it’s time for some thought provocation as we glide into the Thanksgiving holiday (not to mention Christmas and New Years’ Day right on its heels.)Â A lot of people are writing off the remainder of 2009 as a lost cause and looking forward [...]
Well, they have a candidate now at least:
On November 21, 2009 the Central Committee of the Libertarian Party of Maryland selected Susan Gaztañaga as their candidate for Governor and Doug McNeil as their candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
In a speech on November 21st, Susan Gaztañaga stated, “A Gaztañaga administration will be [...]
At the next RNC annual meeting in January there could be a resolution introduced to address the Scozzafava problem, defined as throwing party support behind a candidate better suited to be a Democrat philosophically.
According to the Washington Post, James Bopp, Jr. of Indiana is introducing this draft resolution, the “Proposed RNC Resolution [...]
This month’s WCRC meeting featured a speaker well known to most of those attending, State Senator Richard Colburn.
But first we had to take care of the usual business, and for the most part it went as normal (our secretary was again missing, and he had the copy of the minutes.) [...]
Here’s an easy one, but you need to start someplace. It may anger the voters in Maryland’s 18th Congressional District but that’s the price paid for speaking out. Oh wait, Maryland has only 8 Congressional districts? Well then, carry on Jim:
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Rutledge today called for a [...]
Since the Maryland GOP made mention of various local chapters of Americans for Prosperity in their convention reports last week, this may perk up their ears when they find out what’s going on locally.
On Thursday the Wicomico AFP chapter met with about 40 people in attendance. They had a jam-packed [...]
For decades, the AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons; now they simply go by the acronym) has advocated for the interest of senior citizens. In the process they’ve become known both as a fearsome lobbying group for older Americans and as a marketing brand whose imprimatur [...]
Earlier this week I found this in my e-mail box. I’ll let the guy speak his piece but reserve the right of criticism.
Last weekend, the House of Representatives voted on comprehensive health care reform legislation. I believe that many of the measures included in this bill can play a part in [...]
You know, for someone who the loony left dares the Republicans to nominate in 2012 because she’s perceived to be the weakest candidate, they sure are running scared of Sarah Palin! This comes from Mitch Stewart at Organizing Against America, the Obama/DNC front group:
Right now, Sarah Palin is on a [...]
Yes, I survived the Friday the 13th episode 13 that ran 31:13. I make no predictions about this episode aside from it being enjoyable for me to put together and (hopefully) for you to watch.
I’m going to start with this one, which is even set to music – shades of [...]
If there was ever a good blackmail picture for Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton, holding a stuffed reindeer and coming out of Santa’s Workshop may take the prize. To wit:
Now, mind you, I don’t have any problem with the concept of “Third Friday”, which is why I posted the video now as [...]
Since he can’t get in to measure the drapes in Martin O’Malley’s office, I guess this will have to do for Pat McDonough as an announcement he’s in the race. Perhaps I missed the formal affair where he threw his hat in the ring for Governor?
Anyway, it’s good to know [...]
As most of my faithful readers know, last weekend marked the occurrence of our most recent state convention. During that convention, the state party adopted a “compromise” voting system solely for this convention and elected a new state chairman, Audrey Scott. Oddly enough, Wicomico County’s delegation had the distinction [...]
For the third time this fiscal year (which only started July 1st, so we’re 4 1/2 months in), the state of Maryland has been forced to make budget cuts. This $360 million in budget actions brings the total to over $1 billion.
Doing his best to make lemonade out of the [...]
Yesterday I posted on the gerrymandering “silver spring” of the Swing State Project proposed to wipe away the GOP from Maryland’s Congressional delegation. He (or she) also did the same for Maryland’s General Assembly.
At the moment the composition of the House of Delegates is 104 Democrats, 36 Republicans, and [...]
While I briefly covered what former governor Bob Ehrlich said on Saturday during his introduction of Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, Ehrlich mentioned what he termed the “10-0 project”. It’s an effort to place Democrats completely in charge of the Maryland Congressional delegation by owning all eight Congressional seats along with [...]
I’ve held this in my back pocket for a few days but since the second-to-last post featured GOP candidate for Governor Larry Hogan and the subject isn’t exactly stale, I’ll run it now. Hey, it even ties in with what I said at the county’s budget meeting last week. So [...]
In a policy reversal reminiscent of a tinhorn regime, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) distributed a memorandum last week subjecting certain political appointees to retroactive rules regarding OPM approval before taking a civil service job. While the policy has always been in place during election years [...]
Over the weekend Republicans in Maryland got together to conduct a little bit of business, enjoy each other’s company in a social setting, and elect a new Chairman. This is a first-person account of the proceedings.
[...]
The recent history of stimulus programs suggests that at least two ideas thought at first to be surefire winners left a lot to be desired once the results came in.
We all know that the nearly $800 billion package of government spending which was supposed to keep unemployment under 8 percent [...]
Having the 13th installment of this series on Friday the 13th might just be pressing my luck. That and taking a week away gives me a larger number of videos to feature. Maybe I’ll feature 13? You’ll just have to see.
Let’s start with the inspirational. Earlier this week we celebrated [...]
Tonight and tomorrow I’ll be attending the Fall Convention of the Maryland Republican Party. This morning I finally received the video of the second announced contender for the Chair slot being vacated by Dr. Jim Pelura.
So we have a video smackdown between Audrey Scott and Daniel Vovak – these are [...]
I got this the other day in praise of Senator Jim DeMint’s introduction of legislation calling for Congressional term limits. If there can be a limit on presidential terms (22nd Amendment) I think this ought to be the 28th. From U.S. Term Limits:
U.S. Term Limits President Philip Blumel today praised [...]
This post is just for a little bit of fun.
There’s another blogger in town who likes to think of himself as a prime source of news and touts his Alexa rating – once he gets down under 100,000 he’ll be in the “big leagues” with the likes of Fox News, [...]
Haven’t heard much lately from the Institute for Justice, but earlier this week they weighed in on a case of irony:
Pfizer, Inc., announced today that the company will be closing its former research and development headquarters in New London, Conn. This was a project that involved massive corporate welfare and [...]
Last night a packed house in the Midway Room of the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center made their case to create or save budget cuts for a county which finds itself millions short on revenue needed to fund the budget they intended when it was passed over the summer. Well over 200 [...]
I came across an interesting article in yesterday’s Washington Post regarding some of the media buys which have occurred over the last couple days.
The piece by Aaron C. Davis and Ben Pershing features a number of House Democrats who voted on both sides of the bill. Obviously groups like [...]
Sometimes one can go through a number of days having time to tend to personal affairs because the opportunity to engage officials isn’t particularly urgent – at least not in a public venue, anyway. Those of you who took a few minutes out of your day to contact Congressman Kratovil [...]
As one may guess, my e-mail has plenty of feedback on last night’s passage of Pelosicare. Here are three sample reactions, first from the desk of President Obama:
(Last)Â evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, [...]
Well, we tried as best we could but the bad guys prevailed 220-215.
Not that I didn’t expect Pelosicare to pass, but what pisses me off is they got the fig leaf of bipartisanship because of one Republican voting “yes” – Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana, a freshman who replaced [...]
I knew I would have a long pictorial post yesterday so I omitted a lot of the quotes I thought were notable.
In opening the program, Rep. Tom Price of Georgia (who also spoke at the 9-12 rally) called H.R. 3962 “legislative malpractice.”
The program began after Price, serving as master of [...]
Yesterday I was in Washington, D.C. because Michele Bachmann asked me to be. But I wasn’t the only one there.
Luckily it was a pleasant November' [...]
I was asked by the editors of Red County to speak to the freshman Congressman from the Keystone State yesterday. So while I’m away (quite possibly to speak with him again in person) I’ll bring this interview to you.
Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of speaking to the Pennsylvania Congressman, [...]
Well, chalk another one up to manmade climate change hysteria. From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
November 3, 2009
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
Chairman
Committee on Environment and Public Works
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable James Inhofe
Ranking Member
Committee on Environment and Public Works
United States Senate
Washington, [...]
Late this afternoon Mike Pappas dropped his nearly yearlong bid to become Maryland’s next Governor and threw his support behind fellow Republican Larry Hogan.
In his announcement, Pappas noted, “(a)fter considering all the challenges ahead and my personal requirements at home and in my law practice, I have determined that the [...]
There are four elections drawing nationwide attention today.
I put my 2 cents in on NY-23 yesterday as part of a longer post by selected Red County editors, which is found here. It’s interesting, though, that this race would simply replace a Republican with a somewhat more conservative Republican should [...]
This is a post I wrote for the Red County National page and was their featured article earlier this afternoon. It’s a reversal because generally my RC pieces start here and then go to that site. But I was asked to take on more reporterly assignments for the RC site and [...]
Normally I like to put up selected videos on my Friday Night Videos feature, but this one is both inspiring and time-sensitive.
The key in this fight is going to be Blue Dog Democrats. We need to make sure they realize that a vote for Obamacare comes at their electoral peril. [...]
A few weeks ago, the Washington Post decided to sponsor a contest to find “America’s Next Great Pundit.” Being one who likes to compare himself with others in his field and who likes to write anyway, I submitted an entry like about 4,800 other people did.
After reading the winning entries [...]
It was just over a year ago that Congress allowed a ban on offshore oil exploration to expire. In the wake of a summer featuring $4 a gallon gasoline and an angry public demanding we “drill here, drill now, and pay less” the time was ripe for increasing domestic exploration [...]
This just in from Americans for Prosperity…
Congressman Frank Kratovil will be at a Berlin Health Care Townhall sponsored by the NAACP on Monday, November 2 at 4 PM. If you’d like further info, or to make arrangements to attend with other public option opponents, contact Dennis Evans by clicking on the link. [...]
Here we are again. Think I’ll be talking about health care this time? You betcha!
But I wanted to start with a dedication to my friends over at Progressive Delmarva who like to put this facetious argument about my belief in limited government. This guy helps to put the lefties in [...]
An organized campaign to stop Waxman-Markey? Say it isn’t so!
Well, in order to stop what they termed “Fraudulent Letters Opposing Clean Energy Legislation” the Congressional Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing this morning, It was to investigate what they considered fraudulent letters sent by a [...]
Usually I don’t pay a lot of attention to those who teach the “dismal science”, but this morning’s testimony provided by Russell Roberts, a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, at a House hearing on executive compensation makes for interesting reading.
For example, check this passage out:
The executives at [...]
This evening Maryland First Vice-Chair Chris Cavey announced he was dropping out of the race to succeed Dr. Jim Pelura as state party chairman:
Over the past month I have traveled across Maryland speaking to Central Committees and Republican activists about the potential our party has in 2010. Most folks agree [...]
He’s not a Senator from Maryland (sucks to be us), but Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) came back on my radar screen last week when he promised to introduce a Constitutional amendment to establish Congressional term limits. Here, from his Senate website blog, he further explains his reasoning.
The people of South Carolina [...]
You may recall about a month ago I covered a drive to solicit comments on America’s oil drilling policy and allowing exploration in more offshore areas. Well, it seems the public comments didn’t go the Obama administration’s way so they’re less than forthcoming with the results. This from American [...]
We didn’t have our anticipated speaker, who had to bail out at the last minute due to unforseen circumstances, but two fill-in speakers backed up with a fill-in secretary (me) made this month’s WCRC meeting work nonetheless.
As usual we had the Lord’s Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, and various reports. Club [...]
A little-noticed aspect of Washington’s health care reform is the impact it will have on state spending. In this era where states find themselves behind the budgetary 8-ball because revenues constantly fall short of expectations, governors worry that assuming their share of the cost for an expanded Medicaid program could [...]
Just got home late this Saturday evening and was catching up with my pile of e-mail from today.
I have a lot of stuff about the NY-23 race, where the Republicans picked Dede Scozzafava (a liberal who would be the dictionary definition of Republican In Name Only), but a number of [...]
Yep, it’s back. And this time it goes to eleven.
I’m going to start with one of my favorite Congressmen, Mike Pence of Indiana. Here in a “one minute speech” he points out the folly of ignoring conservative commentary:
For all of the liberals attempting to demean “Faux News” they sure seem [...]
On Wednesday I received a message in my e-mail from Jake Brewer at the Sunlight Foundation, breathlessly telling me:
Exciting news.
At 11:30 this morning, we’re going to march up to Capitol Hill and hand over the signatures of more than 21,000 of you who have signed our Read the Bill petition.
For [...]
I’ve said this for a long time, but Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina wants to make it a reality. From today’s edition of his “Freedomcast” (h/t NetRightNation):
Hello again. I’m Senator Jim DeMint, and this is Freedomcast for October 22, 2009.
You know, the longer I stay in Washington, the more [...]
