It's time for me to discuss the news of the week that I feel you should know about. First, let us all pray for comfort for Rick Warren and his family in this their time of loss. Losing a loved one is hard enough. Losing one to suicide has to be incredibly difficult.
Now, let's jump right on into it, shall we?
You should read my piece on the PBS cartoon Super Why. No really, the show is awful.
The courts defied Health and Human Services on Plan B...actually proving to be to the left of the Obama administration. Now, this allows abortofacents to be purchased over the counter - regardless of your age. This is scary.
Ben Howe of RedState is reporting that Mitch McConnell is getting ready to do the right thing and filibuster Reid's gun control legislation. So...he's doing the right thing, must mean - reelection season is beginning.
Are you following @BarackObama on Twitter? Cause that's not actually Barack Obama's account. The Atlantic has more and how this could be a violation of election regulations.
Tim Challies wrote that Josh Harris slapped him in the face. Metaphorically speaking with his new book. Check out the quote, it is a slap in the face and a reminder on faith.
What group of people are 3 times more likely to be arrested than the average American? New York State Senators.
Maryland Reporter has a piece out on a recent forum of Maryland GOP candidates. It's an interesting look into the battle for the heart of the Republican Party in Maryland...plus Collins Bailey's gadfly campaign for chair. Realistically, it's a battle between Kline and Waterman. I'm on the side of Kline.
Mark Newgent at Red Maryland has a piece summarizing the damage done by the Maryland General Assembly this year. It's bad, really bad. Example? A rain tax, gun grabbing, higher gas tax, and a repeal of the death penalty. Read the piece for a good summary of the damage.
Yoda won this year's "This is Madness" tournament at Star Wars' website. I'll be honest, I voted for Vader.
Hot Air has some info on some Army Reserve training documentation. What does it say about religious extremists? Well, it lumps in Catholics and Evangelical Christians. So...there's that.
Any news I missed? Probably, but it's what I found interesting this week. I leave you with music from KB, his track "Brand New" from his "Who is KB?" mixtape:
Been a few weeks since I've rounded up the news. First, let me say congratulations to President Obama on the beginning of his second term. I disagree with him, but plan to be praying the Lord provides him the guidance he needs as he leads us. Second...let's get into the news items:
On the waste front, I've done 3 "Waste of the Week" pieces so far - you should read them all. Here's my most recent.
The O'Malley (D-MD) administration violated procurement laws in an attempt to strong arm things in Baltimore City. Red Maryland has more on it here.
Katy Perry performed at a children's inaugural event. Some found her attire inappropriate. I find the fact that a woman who's music is predominantly about sex would be selected to sing at a children's event to be inappropriate.
In light of the President's reelection, Erick Erickson of Red State calls for conservatives to be the loyal opposition / happy warriors. I tend to agree with him.
The Ravens are going to the Super Bowl, or as my wife likes to call it the Sup-Har-Bowl, as the two head coaches are the Harbaugh brothers. So, I'll be excited or super annoyed post-Super Bowl. Either way, let's rock this thing.
What US Governor has 60% of his staff being female with 2/3 of higher level staffers who are making decisions being ladies? None other than Texas Governor Rick Perry (R). Which is interesting, considering President Obama pays women staffers less and does not have close to that percentage of high level female staffers.
Breeanne Howe at Freedomworks wrote a piece on state income taxes. Bottom Lines: States without them are doing better than states which have them. Good to know.
"I think they are going to be able to sort it out, I am confident. I am all about bringing people together, working for the same cause. I think [they] are going to be able to make sure that they’re moving forward and not going backwards..."
-Barack Obama
What feuding peoples was the President talking about? Surely something of national importance during a Presidential campaign. Perhaps a crisis in the Middle East or partianship in Washington. Nope, Nicki Manaj & Mariah Carey's American Idol feud. What a waste of time.
The Baltimore Sun / Opinion Works released a poll on Friday of likely voters in Maryland and asked them specifically about the Presidential race and the big three ballot initiatives (same-sex marriage, expanded gambling, MD DREAM Act). Here's the breakdown:
President
Barack Obama (D) - 57%
Mitt Romney (R) - 34%
Undecided - 10%
MD Dream Act (Question 4)
For - 44%
Against - 41%
Undecided - 15%
Same-Sex Marriage (Question 6)
For - 49%
Against - 39%
Undecided - 12%
Gambling Expansion (Question 7)
For - 38%
Against - 53%
Undecided - 10%
The poll was taken from September 25-27, 2012 of 804 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.5%. Check the link above for cross-tabs. Between this and the Gonzales poll, it looks like Question 7 has a good chance of failing. Red Maryland's Mark Newgent seems to think so, and I tend to agree. On the MD DREAM Act, this is the closest poll I've seen of this, so I really don't know. Not a lot of discussion has been done on this one, most of the local attention has been kept on same-sex marriage and Question 7. It could pass, it could fail, we don't know at this point.
Same-sex marriage, I think could go either way. Polling on same-sex marriage has historically been wildly inaccurate as people want to tell pollsters they'll vote for it, then get into the booth and vote against. So, again - we won't know the answer on that one until election day.
I wish the Sun released more of the cross-tabs, like Gonzales did. It would be interesting to see in more detail who these likely voters really are (i.e. % women vs men, Dems vs Indy vs GOP, racial breakdown, etc).
