Brian Griffiths

• Memo for Democrats

  As we celebrate what we are most thankful for, here's a reminder about the Pilgrims and why they didn't eventually wind up starving to death (H/T Instapundit):
  

  In 1620 Plymouth Plantation was founded with a system of communal property rights. Food and supplies were held' [...]

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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 8:49am EST
  

• Lines in the Sand

  My RedMaryland colleague Michael Swartz has done some excellent analysis about the likely prospects of Congressional and Legislative reapportionment here in Maryland following the 2010 election. And some of it is not pretty. Based on some of the potential redistricting plans Michael found floated by "silver spring" [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 1:18pm EST
  

• The Brian Griffiths Minute: 11-09-2009

  [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 8:19pm EST
  

• And Jim Zorn is the NFL Coach of the Year....

  Four-and-a-half years ago, Time magazine named then-Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley as one of America's five best big city mayors. I noted at the time that Time must be setting low standards to credit O'Malley as being good at his job.
  
  Fast forward back to today, and you would' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 7:45pm EST
  

• The Battle Continues

  The saga over the Obama Worship in Howard County continues to percolate, with WUSA TV-9 doing a story on it last night featuring Delegate Warren Miller (who was able to step in for me at the last second). And Howard County continues to either deny it, refuse to [...]
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  Posted: October 20, 2009, 6:28pm EDT
  

• Choosing a Carpetbagger

  Anne Arundel County Democrats must be real hard-up for candidates if this is being taken seriously:
  An Annapolis-area Democrat and business executive announced Thursday that she is exploring a run for Anne Arundel County Executive.
  
  Joanna Conti, who said she has run businesses in five different [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2009, 3:05pm EDT
  

• Other People's Money

  Who else is stunned by this development?
  A union representing more than 30,000 Maryland state employees asked Gov. Martin O'Malley on Thursday to tap into the state's $750 million rainy day fund to help avoid deeper cuts to state services. Patrick Moran, executive director of the' [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2009, 2:53pm EDT
  

• Mission Creep

  A Wall Street Journal editorial from Friday notes the problems with mandated insurance, particularly when it comes to health care in Massachusetts:
  

  My husband retired from IBM about a decade ago, and as we aren't old enough for Medicare we still buy our health insurance through the company. But' [...]

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  Posted: October 12, 2009, 8:00am EDT
  

• Fitting

  Adam Pagnucco reported on Friday about Governor O'Malley's fundraiser that was scheduled for today...........in South Beach...........at a place called "The Meat Market."
  
  The jokes just write themselves at this point.
  
  What's not quite as funny, though, is this thought: what is Governor O'Malley doing going to South [...]
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  Posted: October 11, 2009, 10:41pm EDT
  

• Talking Bollocks

  Jeff Quinton has one of the more amazingly deluded "clarifications" I have ever read in my life, this one coming from Howard County Public Schools PIO Patti Caplan regarding the Obama Sing-a-long fiasco. Here it is in entirety, with some commentary interspersed.
  Several weeks ago, all Longfellow Elementary [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 8:31pm EDT
  

• Health care reform through policy, not pandering

  Back in August, I noted that Republicans needed to come up with a health care plan of our own. Fortunately, Governor Bobby Jindal was listening.
  
  Gov. Jindal has to be considered one of the leading Republican authorities on health care, given his support for common sense budgeting and [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 9:25pm EDT
  

• "Sure Maryland's economy is in the crapper, but who needs to worry about that? Now watch me play this riff"

  Hey, remember back when Martin O'Malley was running for Governor back in 2006 and he talked about giving up his side gig in a crappy band in order to focus on his day job. Well, neither does he:
  O'Malley's March, the governor's semi-retired Celtic rock [...]
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  Posted: October 03, 2009, 9:09am EDT
  

• Death, Taxes, Earmarking

  Is anybody terribly surprised that Maryland's Senior Senator seems to be shutting money to her campaign donors?
  Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski has added tens of millions of dollars to a defense spending measure in earmarked grants for her top campaign donors, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.[...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 10:13pm EDT
  

• The Brian Griffiths Minute: 09-30-2009

  [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 11:45pm EDT
  

• Borrowing Other People's Posts

  H/T Erick Erickson....too good not to share:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 8:51pm EDT
  

• Obama Worship comes to Howard County

  Well, it looks like the worship of his holiness Barack Obama has infected Longfellow Elementary in Howard County. See this email below, and get ready to be disgusted. Because no President, Republican or Democrat, should be glorified like this.
  
  * * * * *
  

  From: (Removed)

  Sent: Tuesday, [...]

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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 10:42pm EDT
  

• Sin Wagon

  Once again it looks like some Democrats are going to go into the 2010 General Assembly session hellbent on raising your taxes. And once again these Democrats are going to try to take their pound of fresh from the poor:
  

  Legislators are not ruling out increases in so-called [...]

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  Posted: September 20, 2009, 8:00pm EDT
  

• Rumor: Mike Busch, Democratic Establishment Tried to Force Pierre from Mayoral Race

  Rumor has it that the relationship between liberal factions in Annapolis may be completely breaking down over the Zina Pierre fiasco. A well-placed anonymous source sent me this note about the situation:
  We are hearing that zina was strongarmed by Mike Busch and and DCC, and that’s why she backed [...]
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  Posted: September 20, 2009, 10:18am EDT
  

• You Make the Call

  Now it's your turn to decided who should be the next Maryland Republican Party Chairman:
  
  Free Blog Poll' [...]
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  Posted: September 20, 2009, 12:00am EDT
  

• What....the....Hell?

  So apparently that whole Zina Pierre withdrawing from the Annapolis Mayoral Election? Well......nevermind:
  The Annapolis mayoral candidate, whose spokesperson announced her withdrawal from the race Friday amid revelations of personal financial problems, said Saturday that she is staying in the contest.
  
  Zina C. Pierre won the [...]
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  Posted: September 19, 2009, 8:59pm EDT
  

• Hope and Shame

  If as to prove that most local Democrats do in fact make up the gang that couldn't shoot straight, Annapolis Democrats lost their Mayoral nominee tonight:
  Zina C. Pierre, a virtual unknown in Annapolis politics whose primary victory this week put her on track to become the city's first [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 8:27pm EDT
  

• Now and Then

  Remember the good old days, say about 2006, when Bob Ehrlich was in the process of leaving Maryland with a $1.2 billion budget surplus at the end of his term? You're right, it wasn't that long ago, and it really just emphasizes how bad of a steward Martin O'Malley is' [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2009, 11:03pm EDT
  

• If you build it, they won't come

  For all of the people who seem to think that all of our nation's health care problems will magically disappear once socialized medicine is on the scene, I give you this:
  

  Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of' [...]

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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 10:27pm EDT
  

• Get Ready for Silly Season

  I'll post more thoughts about the upcoming GOP Chairman's election later but it looks like silly season is upon us. And the first candidate officially into the pool is......
  BETHESDA, MARYLAND ­ Historically, Maryland has had three governors and
  seven senators who were members of the Whig Party, with [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2009, 10:55pm EDT
  

• 2009 NFL Predictions

  Every year I come back for more, knowing damn well that I really have no prayer of even being close in predicting the right outcome (hey, a Patriots/Cowboys Super Bowl seemed plausible at the time).
  
  Nevertheless.....
  

  AFC East: New England, Miami, NY Jets, Buffalo,
  AFC North: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, [...]

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  Posted: September 07, 2009, 12:00pm EDT
  

• Hope and Change Pain

  It is obvious to everybody that President Obama's handling of the economy leaves much to be desired. With monetary giveaways to any company with their handout, our "investment" in the auto industry, and record deficits on the way, Obama's fiscal policy seems more like a call for the limbo than [...]
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  Posted: September 07, 2009, 10:29am EDT
  

• Memo to Governor O'Malley

  Your counterpart in Indiana, Mitch Daniels is a pretty smart guy. Read this. You might learn something. [...]
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  Posted: September 06, 2009, 11:18am EDT
  

• Never Ceasing to Amaze

  This is not the first time we have heard Democrats float this idea, but it never ceases to amaze me that in the middle of a recession that has seen Democrats continue to put the financial hammer to middle and working class families, they want to tax us [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2009, 9:56pm EDT
  

• Maybe they get it?

  I was surprised to read this:
  On every other measure, Fairfax residents and businesses pay lower taxes than their counterparts in Montgomery. The biggest gap is in income tax rates, especially at the top. We do not have the comparative tax burden between the two counties, but on the [...]
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  Posted: August 25, 2009, 6:36pm EDT
  

• Seeing the Light

  Who is surprised to read this:
  "...the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel has failed to live up to rosy predictions made in more robust times. The 757-room hotel, a block north of Camden Yards, has fallen short in a key measure of a hotel's performance - revenue earned per room." [...]
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  Posted: August 22, 2009, 9:22am EDT
  

• Maryland Democrats catch the Stupids

  We rail a lot about Maryland Democrats and their poor decision making, but nothing could possibly have prepared us for the nonstop festival of stupidity and lack of judgment that we have seen from Maryland's Democratic elite in the past week.
  
  First, it all started off with the [...]
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  Posted: August 20, 2009, 10:46pm EDT
  

• Riddle me This

  Senator Ben Cardin has had his well publicized town hall meetings. So did Congressman Frank Kratovil. Congressman John Sarbanes, not having the guts to hold a town hall in person, decided to have a telephone town hall. Sure, it's a chicken move, but at least we know where he stands [...]
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  Posted: August 15, 2009, 2:22pm EDT
  

• Comic Relief

  As part of Governor O'Malley's plan to pretend to listen to budget suggestions from Marylanders, his staff put forth some of the more commonly suggested ideas from the citizens and provided a response on the web. What's comical here is not the idea of becoming a "shall issue" state' [...]
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  Posted: August 15, 2009, 8:52am EDT
  

• Contract Matters

  You might have seen this story today regarding State GOP Chairman Jim Pelura's push to create a "Contract with Maryland." Amazingly, this actually create a large problem for the State Party. And I'm not even talking about the fact that Pelura is trying to dictate the legislative agendas of' [...]
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  Posted: August 13, 2009, 6:44pm EDT
  

• What's our Plan?

  You wouldn't necessarily expect the CEO of Whole Foods, possibly the official store of the crunchy granola left, would come out and provide us with a template for a common sense, free market approach to health care reform that makes far, far more sense than the socialized medicine seen in' [...]
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  Posted: August 13, 2009, 12:00am EDT
  

• C'mon Democrats, I'm begging you

  This might be one of the all time most amazing stories I have ever read about dumb ideas from Democrats in Annapolis:
  Annapolis is girding for a debate on taxes as the traditional election season stance of "no new taxes" is being worn down by seemingly endless bouts of [...]
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  Posted: August 12, 2009, 8:00pm EDT
  

• Golden Oldie

  I was just perusing the archives here and found this interesting little reminder about Democratic efforts last year (and I'm looking at you, FSP) to astroturf support of socialized health care about one year ago to the day.
  
  Just a reminder as to who is astroturfing whom these' [...]
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  Posted: August 10, 2009, 7:29pm EDT
  

• Cameras Present, but Victims Dead

  I have made the point before about how police surveillance cameras are not deterrents to crime, so this story touched a nerve for me this morning:
  Baltimore's expansive police surveillance network has led to a homicide arrest, after a downtown stabbing was captured in real-time by city cameras.
  [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 6:33pm EDT
  

• Dustup

  If you haven't noticed, a new an essentially anonymous blog called Maryland Politics Blog has been peddling a story about Queen Anne's County Central Committee Member Andrew Langer and his involvement in Pelurapalooza. The new blog, however, has refused to reprint Langer's response to his alleged involvement in this' [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 6:49pm EDT
  

• A Good Start

  While the President and the Democrats in Congress continue to move forth with their plan of impoverishing America's working and middle class families under the weight of government-run health care, Speaker Newt Gingrich is moving forth with a simple, common-sense plan to get the economy rolling:
  1. Cut the [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 9:48pm EDT
  

• Asking for It

  So Governor O'Malley, devoid of any ideas of his own in how to manage a budget responsibly, is asking the public for their ideas on how to cut spending.
  
  I have a funny feeling that I'm not the only conservative in Maryland who has ideas on [...]
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  Posted: July 25, 2009, 9:48am EDT
  

• Whoops

  This is just one of those moments where you just have to sit back and shake your head:
  A state constitutional requirement that a gubernatorial candidate must be a registered voter in Maryland for five years could prevent Charles County Republican Central Committee Chairman Charles J. Lollar from seeking [...]
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  Posted: July 23, 2009, 11:06pm EDT
  

• Protecting the Wrong Interests

  One of the reasons why charters schools have become so popular and so successful is because they were schools that go away from the typical school board bureaucracy, the typical school board issues, and became places that teachers could go to really teach and try to reach kids who may [...]
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  Posted: July 23, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• Alternative Funding

  You know that I have gotten on my privatization high horse more than once before, but it looks like on the other side of the Potomac the idea might get put to good use in a very unusual way:
  Robert F. McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor of [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:00pm EDT
  

• Peanuts

  In Martin O'Malley's never ending quest to show he is incompetent when it comes to fiscal matters, he announced his plans to put a band-aid over a severed limb:
  Health care providers who serve Medicaid patients will get paid less, the University System of Maryland will hire [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 7:32pm EDT
  

• Pipe Dreams

  The Sun had a reasonably written editorial this morning encouraging action that will not likely occur in this or any other universe; spending cuts by Maryland Democrats, including cuts to legislative scholarships, a roll-back to the tuition freeze, and a reduction in aid to local governments.
  
  But [...]
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  Posted: July 20, 2009, 7:27pm EDT
  

• Inside the MDGOP Exec Board Meeting

  I received (and I'm sure others did as well) an anonymous email message from the email account "15westst@gmail.com" regarding yesterday's Maryland Republican Party Executive Board meeting. Since this jives with a lot of the things that I have already heard about yesterday's meeting, I'll repost it here completely unadulterated.
  On [...]
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  Posted: July 19, 2009, 12:45pm EDT
  

• The Governor needs to pay attention

  How come it only ever seems like Governor O'Malley and his administration are surprised at the need for fiscal restraint, most recently shown through the announcement of an impending $700 million in cuts for the current fiscal year that would be coming down the pike?
  
  How many times' [...]
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  Posted: July 17, 2009, 10:08pm EDT
  

• It's Johnson

  Tricia Johnson gets the vacancy on the Anne Arundel County Council. Fantastic. A Liberal Republican. Just what we needed. Good job County Council.
  
  Look for a bloody primary for this seat next year... [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 10:23pm EDT
  

• Follow YR Indy on Twitter

  I am trying to livetweet from the YR Convention at http://twitter.com/briangriffiths [...]
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  Posted: July 11, 2009, 12:05pm EDT
  

• Fighting the Wrong Enemy

  Well, it looks like we've got another self-made crisis in the Maryland Republican Party, as Jim Pelura fired Justin Ready this morning:
  

  Two staff members of the Maryland Republican Party have left, and the top officers of the GOP said they want the chairman to explain why, or' [...]

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  Posted: July 06, 2009, 11:24pm EDT
  

• Thoughts on RWAAC-Gate

  There was a story in the Capital yesterday about pressure on RWAAC President Joyce Thomann to resign in light of her comments. I don't think Joyce Thomann should resign. Resignation is the honorable way out, and there was absolutely nothing honorable about what she said. The RWAAC Board should' [...]
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  Posted: June 30, 2009, 6:00am EDT
  

• Fighting Crime with Stupidity

  You don't have to be paying too much attention to realize that you go to Arundel Mills these days at your own risk. Crime has become damn near commonplace at the sprawling mall complex that was (theoretically) designed to be a haven for tourists and for local commerce, not a' [...]
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  Posted: June 29, 2009, 10:10pm EDT
  

• MDE's Abuse of Power, Abuse of Reason

  One of the classic arguments that liberals like to put forth is that when disaster strikes, the government should be strong so it can "help," Ronald Reagan's words notwithstanding. However, here in Maryland, it seems like a certain government agency thinks that the when disaster strikes, your first responsibility' [...]
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  Posted: June 29, 2009, 6:42pm EDT
  

• The Impact of O'Malleynomics

  Governor's Martin O'Malley's seemingly neverending quest to destroy Maryland's middle and working class families looks like it is right on schedule:
  Unemployment in Maryland climbed to 7.2 percent in May, a more than 25-year-high, as joblessness rose in nearly all states, preliminary government statistics show.
  
  Compared [...]
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  Posted: June 19, 2009, 2:12pm EDT
  

• The End

  Well, the Maryland Young Republicans Convention was today. And I lost. But I wanted to share with you my "campaign speech" prior to the vote.....
  
  
  
  .....and tomorrow is another day. Thanks for your support. [...]
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  Posted: June 13, 2009, 10:53pm EDT
  

• Double Take

  I had to do a double take when I saw this mini-editorial posted on the Sun website:
  The Maryland Public Service Commission's order Thursday concluding that it has the right to review Electricite de France's proposed purchase of part of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear business looks like nothing' [...]
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  Posted: June 11, 2009, 5:01pm EDT
  

• Eating their Money

  Every time Superintendent Kevin Maxwell kvetches about the lack of funding for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, remember this:
  

  Next year, parents won't have to ask. A feature of a new software system coming to county schools will allow parents to look online and see whether their children' [...]

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  Posted: June 03, 2009, 7:37pm EDT
  

• Squeezing for the Last Drops

  As if Governor Martin O'Malley hasn't spent enough money, hasn't raised enough taxes, and hasn't bloated the size of the Maryland state government enough, apparently he has decided to double down in advance of his re-election campaign:
  

  Drawing little public attention so far, a small team of aides [...]

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  Posted: June 01, 2009, 7:40pm EDT
  

• On State YR Issues

  Yes, the race for State YR Chairman is still going on. Here's a little more about what my priorities will be as Chairman:
  
  ' [...]
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  Posted: May 31, 2009, 6:55pm EDT
  

• The Brian Griffiths Minute: 05-27-2009

  [...]
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  Posted: May 27, 2009, 8:06pm EDT
  

• The Five in 33

  Surprisingly (at least to me) only five candidates applied to fill the State Senate vacancy created by the resignation of Janet Greenip in District 33. The candidates are:
  Tom Angelis: Baltimore City High School Teacher and Republican Candidate for County Executive in 2002 and 2006
  Dave Boschert: Former [...]
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  Posted: May 25, 2009, 8:02pm EDT
  

• Not All Numbers Mean Something

  Adam Pagnucco has spent this week trying to bury the State Republican Party due to changes in the voter registration numbers. The basic premise is that because the total number of registered Democrats in Maryland is increasing at a faster rate than the number of registered Republicans that the [...]
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  Posted: May 22, 2009, 10:35pm EDT
  

• The Brian Griffiths Minute: 05-14-2009

  
  
  For more info on this story, click here. [...]
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  Posted: May 14, 2009, 11:59pm EDT
  

• Where have I heard this before?

  Let's just say some of us saw this coming....
  One of Maryland's budget-balancing tactics - asking millionaires to pay more money to the state - appears to be backfiring as the number of the highest-earning taxpayers dwindles with the flagging economy....
  
  ....But as the state comptroller's office sifts through' [...]
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  Posted: May 14, 2009, 9:18pm EDT
  

• Don't Wince.....Act

  There is a piece by Dan Balz in the Post today nothing that some Republicans are "wincing" by the statements former Vice-President Dick Cheney has made criticizing the Obama Administration. A lot of the piece goes on to talk about the ever-popular "unnamed Republicans" who believe that Cheney is [...]
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  Posted: May 14, 2009, 8:31pm EDT
  

• Judd Legum: On $ale Now

  Well, if you had any preconceived notion that Judd Legum's campaign for the Maryland House of Delegates was about serving the people of District 30, you can forget about that. Looks like the truth-impaired Clintonista needs to go out of state to raise his money. Legum's ActBlue page (curiously [...]
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  Posted: May 11, 2009, 9:44pm EDT
  

• Shameless Plug

  Myself and the rest of the Anne Arundel Young Republicans are doing the Relay for Life at Anne Arundel Community College this week.
  
  Please consider visiting my participant page and dropping a few bucks to help fight cancer... [...]
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  Posted: May 09, 2009, 8:39am EDT
  

• Now it gets Interesting

  For a long time I was discussing the likelihood that Comptroller Peter Franchot would challenge Governor O'Malley in next year's Democratic primary. Well, it looks like the Governor is going to get a challenge.....not from the left, but from the right according to the Sun:
  George W. Owings III, [...]
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  Posted: May 06, 2009, 8:29pm EDT
  

• Bombastic Pomposity

  We all know and accept that Dan Rodricks cannot put a logical argument together if he saved his life. But please read his column on gun violence today and try to make some sense of his idiotic conclusions regarding how gun control impacts law abiding citizens.
  "REALITY killed the" [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 11:59pm EDT
  

• Hell Freezes Over

  I read the Baltimore Sun this morning and actually agreed with (most of) a column by Tom Schaller.
  The truth about speed cameras is that they are designed to generate revenue. If a driver can admit the violation and pay the fine with no points on his or her [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 11:11pm EDT
  

• Memo to Judd Legum

  All of those people you say allegedly support the President's economic policies.....yeah, where are they again?
  

  As short-term optimism about the economy has grown in recent months, so has the concern that the federal governmentwill do too much in response to the nation’s recent economic challenges.

  ' [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 11:02pm EDT
  

• Genuflection? Yes We Can!

  It's not like we didn't already know that CNN is in the bag for Barack Obama. But I think this goes above and beyond the pale of expectations:
  CNN is marking President Barack Obama's 100th day in office with prime-time coverage that will recall' [...]
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  Posted: April 20, 2009, 9:54pm EDT
  

• In case you hadn't heard.....

  ......there is a new effort to bring the speed camera bill to referendum during the 2010 General Election.
  
  Learn more about how you can help at: http://www.mdscamera.com. [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 4:56am EDT
  

• The Brian Griffiths Minute: 04-16-2009

  [...]
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  Posted: April 16, 2009, 6:50pm EDT
  

• Thanks for playing along

  Republicans, conservatives, and sane people in the state of Maryland have been saying for some time now that fiscal policy during the the 2009 Legislative Session has been nothing like the common sense fiscal changes our state truly needs. We have been saying for some time (even going back to [...]
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  Posted: April 13, 2009, 7:25pm EDT
  

• Denial

  Our good friend Judd Legum is in complete denial about the anti-tax movement sweeping the country. Legum, who takes offense to the fact that somebody carried this sign around a tea party protest elsewhere, has this smart-ass comment:
  Those involved with organizing the protests appear to be a [...]
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  Posted: April 12, 2009, 12:28am EDT
  

• Do as I say, not as I do

  The "Progressive" blogosphere is all a flutter about the fact that ThinkProgress founder and former Hillary Clinton research director Judd Legum is running for the House of Delegates in Maryland, targeting conservative Republican incumbent Delegate Ron George. This of course has the folks at Kos, MyDD, [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2009, 10:20pm EDT
  

• Fool me once, shame on you....

  ....but apparently, you can get fooled again:
  Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to introduce emergency legislation Wednesday that would give the state authority to acquire Maryland's bankrupt horse racing tracks and the Preakness through eminent domain, officials confirmed.
  
  However, legal experts say the bankruptcy filing by the [...]
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  Posted: April 07, 2009, 11:16pm EDT
  

• At it Again

  Well, Judd Legum is at it again, and he's getting this lying thing down pretty pat, because he got caught in another bold-faced lie. Legum apparently is running for the House of Delegates here in Anne Arundel County in District 30 (as if the district couldn't be any more poorly [...]
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  Posted: April 06, 2009, 6:54pm EDT
  

• 2009 Baseball Predicitions

  With the season starting today, I'd figure I should make my picks now:
  
  AL East: Tampa Bay, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Toronto
  AL Central: Cleveland, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City
  AL West: Los Angeles, Oakland, Texas, Seattle
  
  NL East: Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Florida, Washington
  NL Central: Chicago,' [...]
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  Posted: April 05, 2009, 4:07am EDT
  

• Go Farther

  The Sun seems to be all a flutter regarding emergency legislation in the General Assembly that will make it easier to collect signatures when petitioning legislation to referendum. This is a good idea, and is a reasonable change to that already existing strict standards that were held up in [...]
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  Posted: April 02, 2009, 8:26pm EDT
  

• Meanwhile....

  More bad news in Washington, as Congressional Democrats are about to require national service from our children and, potentially, redefine how non-profit corporations are operated in America. As a small government conservative and a non-profit Board Chairman, color me less than enthusiastic about Washington determining how non-profit activities are [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2009, 4:44am EDT
  

• Next Job Up

  So, County Councilman Josh Cohen is running for Mayor of Annapolis. Cohen though seems to have a pretty disturbing trend happening when it comes to holding office and failing to finish what he starts.
  
  Cohen was elected as an Annapolis Alderman in 2001 and the re-elected in [...]
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  Posted: March 25, 2009, 8:59pm EDT
  

• Take the Hint

  So it looks like once again the School Board Nominating Commission is trying to hunt and peck to find people to apply for the School Board.
  
  But can you really blame people for not wanting to be part of this convoluted, undemocratic process? A process that [...]
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  Posted: March 25, 2009, 7:01pm EDT
  

• Not the very model of a modern Money Manager

  By now you are probably familiar with the fact that I don't find Dan Rodricks to be particularly bright, insightful, or generally having any grasp of common sense. And while today's column does not rival his several treatises on involuntary servitude, Rodricks again shows his complete lack [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 11:20pm EDT
  

• The Next Bailouts

  So it has finally come to this. Newspapers are hemorrhaging readership due to shoddy performance and political bias. And now, it looks like Maryland's own Ben Cardin wants to throw them a lifeboat:
  Struggling newspapers should be allowed to operate as nonprofits similar to public broadcasting stations, Sen. Benjamin' [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 10:25pm EDT
  

• Double Standards

  Dontcha find it a touch ex post facto for Speaker Busch to suddenly discover ethical concerns with this?:
  Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch moved yesterday to ban lobbyist-sponsored receptions on legislative property after a St. Patrick's Day party was thrown last week by two horse-racing interests in the [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 8:00pm EDT
  

• A Less than Stunning Development

  Didn't catch this on Sunday, but to the surprise of absolutely no one the Free State came in dead last in personal freedom:
  It's no shock that Maryland falls on the nanny state side of the ledger.
  

  But it was still a surprise to hear the finding in a' [...]

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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 6:39pm EDT
  

• Cold Hard Truth

  Want to know the real reason why we cannot throw money at "alternative fuels" indiscriminately? Do you remember twenty years ago that scientists had discovered Cold Fusion? That Cold Fusion was going to revolutionize everything we knew about energy consumption? Well, the results couldn't be duplicated and scientists [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 6:36pm EDT
  

• The Rats are fleeing the Titanic

  Wow, President Obama must be doing a historically bad job if the New York Times editorial page is writing about how bad of a President he is:
  The leading liberal voices of the New York Times editorial pages all criticized—and, in some cases, clobbered—President Obama on Sunday for his [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 10:24pm EDT
  

• No Surprises

  It was bound to come to this. It always does. Instead of responsibly cutting spending in order to protect what spending is necessary, the State of Maryland is going back to the well:
  Getting to work on a big budget gap, House subcommittees voted to cut $102 million in [...]
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  Posted: March 19, 2009, 7:22pm EDT
  

• MYR Campaign Update

  Sorry that I have been off the grid on the blogs recently, a lot of things going on with my campaign for Chairman of the Maryland Young Republicans.
  
  I am fortunate to have received unanimous endorsements from both the Maryland Teenage Republicans and my home club, the Anne Arundel [...]
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  Posted: March 19, 2009, 11:56am EDT
  

• Brian on The Kenny Burns Podcast

  I got the chance to be the guest on the very first Kenny Burns Podcast, the new venture from my friend and RedMaryland colleague. We talk about the Death Penalty, Slots, and briefly my campaign for Statewide YR Chair.
  
  You can listen online over at Kenny's site at: [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• The Negative Nicolee

  I went to the Montgomery County YR's Charity Ball this evening in Bethesda. It was a great event with a great turnout and raised money for a good cause. Now, I went to this event this evening to support the MoCo YR's club in their endeavors. [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2009, 12:26am EST
  

• Once and Again and Again

  Last year I wrote this:
  No matter how bad the budget deficit gets, leftists in Annapolis still always come back the bad idea of public campaign financing:
  So guess what bad idea just got a major boost?
  Prospects for public financing of General Assembly campaigns should get a [...]
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  Posted: March 06, 2009, 5:55am EST
  

• An Announcement

  I am running for Chairman of the Maryland Federation of Young Republicans:
  
  
  
  More info is available at my main site. [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 9:25pm EST
  

• The Gig is up

  John Leopold's alleged backseat tryst keeps looking worse and worse for him:
  Two Anne Arundel County councilmen said yesterday that, until County Executive John R. Leopold explains his actions on the evening that a police officer responding to a report of possible sexual activity in' [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 7:53pm EST
  

• Letdown

  As the Senate GOP Caucus notes, we had a chance to shut down debate on the Death Penalty today:
  After about an hour of tumoil on the Senate floor, Senator EJ Pipkin (R - Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's & Caroline) move to recommit the bill back to the Judicial' [...]
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  Posted: March 03, 2009, 6:41pm EST
  

• Dog Bites Man

  In one of the least surprising things around you'll find, taxpayers aren't exactly enamored with bigger and badder government:
  In early October, as the meltdown of the financial industry gained momentum following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 59% [...]
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  Posted: February 26, 2009, 9:36pm EST