Carnival of Maryland -- 21st edition

It seems like just yesterday that I last hosted the Carnival of Maryland, but it actually was back in September (the 15th edition). Hello, again, and welcome.

This edition is just chock full of good stuff contributed mostly by members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance.

Although Maryland is a very blue state, and we have some liberal members in the Alliance, still a lot of our political writing tends to the right. There's a good deal of it this week, so I'm going to tackle the other subject matters first, to make sure they don't get lost in the blizzard of political writing.

So, without further introduction, let us proceed to the good stuff. We'll start with Miscellany for $200, Alex.

Miscellany

Chester Peake at the Maryland Chesapeake Blog defends the folks who hit the stores early on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving. He sees it as sort of an "event" and manages to have a good time. Me, I'd rather click away at deals on my computer, but then again, I'm a socially defective person.

Meanwhile, mad anthony, on the same subject, blasts an editorialist who attacks people who take advantage of "Black Friday" to get bargains.

Joyce Dowling of Creating a Jubilee County offers some important tips to help you avoiding falling victim to scams and theft, and if that were not enough, provides some links to charities that you can donate to. Joyce thinks the "Happy Thanksgiving" is a little late, but it's never too late to be thankful.

PG Chic says the time has come to have more high-end retail in Prince George's County -- "we want, need, and deserve more!"

Jen says: "Show Your Support to Our Troops Through Text Messaging" at That's What I Think.

Sports

At Oriole Post, Maryland Orioles' Fan writes about football, specifically about the murder of Redskins' player Sean Taylor, and is highly critical of Post columnist Michael Wilbon for dismissing Taylor as one who "up in a violent world, embraced it, claimed it, loved to run in it and refused to divorce himself from it." MOF gives a personal account of his own brother's problems and decision to get his life in order.

Local Events

Kevin Dayhoff, former mayor of Westminster, writes at Soundtrack Division of Old Silent Movies about the "Shop with a Cop" event at the Westminster Walmart, which helps needy families enjoy Christmas. Kevin even has a video posted.

Nature

The Ridger entices us at The Greenbelt with a series of beautiful photos that show that fall is really here. ("About time, too," she says.) The contrast between the first two photos is amazing.

Local Politics

The Patriot Sharpshooter discusses the need for term limits in his blog Common Sense. I've put this entry in local politics, but it applies to all offices at all levels, I would think. The Supreme Court, unfortunately, has put the kibosh on congressional term limits, even though the Arkansas law it was considering was really a ballot-access measure, not strictly a term limit.

Paul Foer, who runs Annapolis Capital Punishment, describes a meeting about local transportation options at which he spoke from the audience.

State Politics

Dave Wissing at The Hedgehog Report examines one cute little legislative change our friends in the General Assembly were trying to pass in the special session: a bill that would have designated unused gift certificates as abandoned property that would escheat to the state. As Dave says: "So in other words, if you don’t use your gift cards as fast as the State of Maryland would like you to, then as far as the State of Maryland is concerned, you should be forced to give an unsolicited donation of that that money to the State of Maryland."

Mark Newgent, a/k/a The Main Adversary, looks at Gov. O'Malley's Maryland Commission on Climate Change and the web of related organizations behind the Center for Climate Strategies, which the Commission has brought in for policy guidance and management help.

Bruce Godfrey, at Legal Contact, a part of the Crablaw empire, has some comments on the sentencing of former State Senator Thomas L. Bromwell following a guilty plea on corruption charges.

Brian Gill, at Annapolis Politics, regales us with his account of the presentations of Delegates Steve Schuh and James King at the Wednesday Morning Republican Breakfast Club, defending their actions in the special session.

National Politics

Cheryl at The Spewker, one of our Democratic members, writes at length about why she can't support Hillary for President. You really have to click through to the site where she originally posted her piece just to see how hostile the comments were. (Cheryl, I kind of like being called "Idiot" myself, but I guess I can understand why that would bother you.)

Soccer Dad writes about stem cells, and particularly about Charles Krauthammer's column on the announcement that stem cells can be created from ordinary adult skin cells. He notes that a politically charged issue has now become a success for the President.

David at abolitionofman.com writes about the 60th anniversary of the partition of Palestine and connects the history preceding and following the partition with the current peace efforts, which were going on this week in Annapolis.

Maryland Conservatarian notes that the renegade Republican congressman from Maryland, Wayne Gilchrest, is becoming a national story, with the Club for Growth now taking him on.

At Brian Griffiths, the eponymous author writes about the Second Amendment ("Misfiring on All Cylinders"), and takes on Professor Kenneth Lasson, who considered the topic in the Baltimore Sun.

Rachel, of Tinkerty Tonk fame, discusses the federal employee health benefit plan, which the major Democratic candidates for President all seem to love. She says it's been called the "Rolls Royce" of health plans, but she cites a source that says it's more like a well appointed family sedan. Go Chevrolet!

Mike, at Mike's Nether Land, wonders if people have lost sight of how to deal with the spouse of a possible woman president. Why not just "First Gentleman," to correspond to "First Lady"?

David K. Kyle, who writes at The Candid Truth, wonders where Congress gets the power to dictate what food is served at local public schools. Not to mention why Congress thinks this is an important enough subject matter for it to consider.

Matt Johnston, at Going to the Mat, says that, while he's not a fan of Barack Obama, he respects what Obama says about bare-knuckled politics.

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The 22nd edition of the Carnival of Maryland, on Sunday, December 16, is being hosted at Mike's Nether Land. Please submit your articles through the Blog Carnival form here.