Right up front, I'm going to say this - pray for the situation in the UK. There are riots and violence on the streets. Pray for healing of the nation and healing for any injured in the chaos.
Now, on to the links:
- A partially elected school board appears to be the proposal being discussed for Baltimore County. The idea is that there are two appointed members and one member elected from each County Councilmanic district. I'd be very okay with that. It makes sense for the school board to be actually beholden to the people they represent. Maybe it's me.
- Former Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel (D) and former Delegate and two time gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbrey (R) wrote an article about business friendliness in Maryland and other states. Check it out - worth reviewing and comparing to the anti-growth policies of our current governor.
- Baltimore County GOP Chair Steve Kolbe is criticizing the redistricting hearings, a few of which locally are held during the Jewish Sabbath. He says that local Jewish and Adventist citizens will not be able to attend these hearings because of the time.
- The Gazette talked to Harford County Executive David S. Craig. I still say he's one to watch for 2014 and this article confirms that. He's considering bids for Governor or Comptroller in 2014 effectively saying to not be surprised when he runs statewide.
- RightKlik has a nice, short piece in defense of the Tea Party.
- Michele Bachmann received a surprising 2012 endorsement. I was shocked when I heard it myself. No, but seriously - Bachmann received some critical endorsements recently from former Huckabee camp members and the Iowa Tea Party's founder.
- R.S. McCain is on the ground in Iowa. In this piece he references Star Wars and talks about Rick Perry's supporters there, unaffiliated with the Governor.
- US Senate candidate Dan Bongino (R-MD) says that he will be releasing a detailed economics plan soon for his US Senate bid. I, for one, am excited to hear about it.
- Have you forgotten about Alvin Greene (D-SC)? Most people had, he was the unemployed vet from South Carolina who lived in his Dad's basement and shocked the world with a primary win for US Senate in 2010. Here's a video that will haunt you and be stuck in your head forever.
- The greatest stache in America says that he's still considering a bid for President. John Bolton has some interesting and biting commentary on our President showing that he's not just a one-trick foreign policy pony.
- Anthropocon has an excellent video about Obama's best skill - passing the buck.
Any news or blogs I missed? Let me know in the comments section.
For my 200th post at Old Line Elephant - I plan to post up my usual, weekly link roundup. That's right, nothing fancy, nothing special - no extra fanfare. Last week I missed writing one of these, so I'll try to beef this one up with additional commentary. On to the news!
- Baltimore County's GOP has formed a group that's "United for Fair Redistricting" in Baltimore County. They plan to hold hearings regarding redistricting in the county to find out people's ideas and real thoughts on the matter. Hopefully they'll have some good suggestions for the two Republican members of the County Council.
- Right before writing this, I wrote a brief piece on the MD DREAM Act. Check it out and feel free to comment.
- As a reminder, a few weeks ago illegal gambling was uncovered at a bar owned by Delegate Sonny Minnick (D). His brother's name is on the permit for the electronic devices in question and so far, the Delegate has not been charged. In a letter to the editor at the Baltimore Sun, J. Michael Collins points out the obvious - they're treating the Delegate with kid gloves. He's just as culpable as his brother as a co-owner of that bar, I'm sure. He should receive the same penalties as his brother.
- In Dan Bongino news, Anthoropocon met him recently and wrote a brief summary / created a fan web-ad for him. It's excellent, so check it out. Len Lazarick of Maryland Reporter wrote a detailed piece about Bongino's background and why he has an interesting story to tell on the campaign trail. Bongino will also be traveling to Israel as part of Glenn Beck's big pro-Israel rally on August 24, 2011.
- Matt C of Race42012 sees some writing on the wall for Herman Cain and suspects that his campaign is winding down to end post-Ames. He suspects that when Cain drops out, he'll endorse Romney just as he did in 2008.
- Have liberal friends who complain about people not paying enough taxes? RightKlik offers a friendly reminder and points them in the direction on where they can voluntarily pay more in taxes. Until rich liberals actually start doing that, they're comments about how the rich need to be taxed more is just rhetoric with no meat behind it.
- Regarding the debt ceiling, Jimmie from Sundries Shack has some good commentary on the topic. It was written pre-Obama's speech last night, but it's still valid. Also, here you can read John Boehner's speech responding to the President. My favorite line?
President Obama came to Congress in January and requested business as usual — yet another routine increase in the national debt limit — we in the House said ‘not so fast.’ Here was the president, asking for the largest debt increase in American history, on the heels of the largest spending binge in American history.
Here’s what we got for that spending binge: a massive health care bill that most Americans never asked for. A ‘stimulus’ bill that was more effective in producing material for late-night comedians than it was in producing jobs. And a national debt that has gotten so out of hand it has sparked a crisis without precedent in my lifetime or yours.
- Former US Senator, Law & Order actor, and the guy I voted for in the 2008 primary, Fred Thompson, wrote an open letter to the House GOP regarding the debt ceiling showdown that I generally agree with. Then again, until I know the full details of Boehner's plan, I'm still holding out all my judgement.
- I found a Star Wars themed shirt I want for Christmas. Anyone willing to get it for me may be my new best friend...or at least will get profusely thanked.
- Lightsaber Rattling chronicled the lunch with Timothy Zahn at San Diego Comic Con...which sounded like it could have been awesome.
Any news that I missed? Let me know in the comments section.
Happy Tuesday. After the joys of Easter / Holy Week - it's back to the regular grind. And with that...here's some interesting links:
- First - Happy Birthday to the Sundries Shack. They're celebrating their 7th birthday on the blogosphere. Check out Jimmie's site and his link roundup.
- In Maryland, Tea Party activists are getting ready to fight against the MD DREAM Act. You can join in too, if you're interested, here.
- Late term abortionist LeRoy Carhart is being investigated by Maryland regulators. According to a complaint by Operation Rescue, Carhart did not list that he would be performing late term abortions on his application to the state of Maryland. Carhart left Nebraska for Maryland after Nebraska passed a law prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks.
- Am I the only one still morbidly curious about Jimmy McMillan? No? Good. Well, the 2001 and 2005 Rent is too Damn High candidate for Mayor of NY and 2006 / 2010 candidate for Gov is now a Republican and running for President. He stopped by Quinnipiac University and gave a talk to a group of students. You can check out some of the highlight videos / pictures here.
- Speaking of 2012, libertarian-leaning former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson answered a number of questions on Twitter the other day. Josiah Schmidt of Race42012 compiled all his responses with links. Check them out - Johnson's an interesting candidate and has stated on a few occasions that a) he supports repeal of Roe v. Wade and b) he'd support any efforts to remove federal funding of abortions, even though he's a more pro-choice leaning politician. Check out the post.
- RightKlik reports that there's a storm a brewing in Europe. What kind of storm? Their own kind of "Tea Party."
- R.S. McCain has an interesting take on Barbour deciding not to run for President - it helps Herman Cain. Read the whole post, it's an interesting point and Cain, as you know, is an interesting candidate.
- Troy Stouffer wrote a very heart-felt post on his faith entitled, "What Will Wake You Up" that I recommend for any person of faith to read.
- It's official - at E3 Nintendo will be unveiling their next console, following up on their highly successful Wii. The console is slated for a 2012 release date.
- Ever wondered how they filmed the opening crawl in Star Wars? Here's a quick picture taken from the film set that pretty much says it all.
- Did you read the excellent Star Wars novel Heir to the Empire? I only did recently and I love it. With its 20th anniversary coming up, they've been revealing some behind the scenes comments from author Timothy Zahn. The most recent comment is posted at Lightsaber Rattling.
Have other links to recommend? Post them in the comments section!
As I promised others last week, I'm going to try to make this a weekly occurrence. Here's some quick, bulleted items that I think should be on your radar from Maryland to a galaxy far, far away.
- Mandatory delivery of white pages to people's homes in Maryland seems to be going the way of the dodo. The State Senate just passed a bill ending the requirement. My State Senator, the 76 year old Norm Stone (D) voted against it. This won't impact delivery of the yellow pages to people's homes, so it's only a small step in the right direction. Mandatory requirements like this are silly, especially with widespread access to the internet / libraries who will have said information.
- The Maryland State Senate also looked to ease some restrictions on minority owned business requirements in State contracting. How much easing? Well, there are no longer hard and fast numbers for how many women owned or black owned businesses need to received contracts with the state. While I feel this is a step in the right direction, I honestly don't think we need any rules requiring a specific number of minority owned businesses for state contracting. Let the bidding begin with whatever business is most capable of doing the job - period.
- With all the most important issues already dealt with, the Maryland legislature has been pushing through new laws which would allow people to bring their pets to outdoor dining locations. I mean, really? This is more pressing then finding ways to close our budget gap? Or...frankly anything whatsoever? Seriously.
- When asked in a recent trip to Iowa whether he was thinking about running for President in 2012 what did John Bolton say? "Well, I'm here?" It's a big, potential step towards a run even showing up at a meet and greet like that for a man who's never ran for public office before. While I think that's fascinating, I still say he should run for US Senate in Maryland.
- Check out this editorial on Libya by the far more articulate than me, Brian Griffiths of Red Maryland. It does a great job of laying out the major concerns with the situation.
- Speaking of editorials, check out this one by RightKlik on Obamacare and..."Weiner Waivers."
- Our local, Christian radio station - 95.1 Shine FM - is having their annual fundraiser. Check it out and if you're in the Baltimore area...or even if you're not, consider throwing them a few dollars.
- If you're like me, you're a big dork who has fallen in love with Star Wars: Clone Wars (Fridays on Cartoon Network). This Friday is the season finale. Lightsaber Rattling has two, spoiler free reviews of the two part finale. Bottom Line: My son and I will be enjoying some awesome, Clone Wars era, Chewbacca action in the finale. I look forward to it!
- Speaking of Star Wars - these polygonal images of Star Wars characters are a site to behold. Very well crafted.
- Artist James Hance has created what looks to be a masterpiece - mashing Star Wars and A.A. Milne's classic Pooh stories into a book he calls, "Wookie the Chew: The House at Chew Corner." The artwork is spot on, looking much like what you saw in Milne's classic. Definitely worth checking out.
Feel free to leave suggested links for items that you find interesting in the comments on national / local politics or on items you find fascinating; and of course, comments on the links are encouraged.
