Carnival of Maryland -- 40th edition

The number 40 is a nice, large, round number. In fact it's a number that's literally of biblical proportions. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai. (He wasn't able to check out earlier, because the computer at the front desk was out.) The Children of Israel spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. (Guys refuse to ask for directions, you know.)

So I figured it was nice for me to be hosting the 40th edition of the Carnival of Maryland.

For those of you who are new to this, the Carnival appears every other week. It's hosted by members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance, but it's open to anyone who's written about something having to do with Maryland. You can submit Maryland-related writings at this Blog Carnival submission form.

Humor

I'm going to start this edition with a couple of posts from members of the Alliance who have proven to me that I'm not the only one who laughs at juvenile humor.

At That's What I Think, Jen posts a video of something unusual washing up on the shore.

And mad anthony gives us another conversation with co-workers that made me laugh.

Nature

The Ridger, at The Greenbelt, graces the Carnival, as she so often does, with her excellent nature photography, herein Sunrises in August, Contrast and complements, and my personal favorite of the three, Burnished by the Sun (trumpet flowers in sunlight). PLUS: A last-minute addition, A morning moon.

The River Mud Blog has some photos, too, in a post called "Paddling in the Land of Pleasant Living."

Julie, at Pines Above Snow, has photos from a tree house at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, which technically isn't in Maryland, but it's only about 20 miles or so from the state boundary. I liked the photos, so I'm adding her post here on my own. The photos remind me a little of Myst, that old computer game that had me enthralled for hours.

Soccer Dad grows tomatoes in his back yard. (He also asks you to send him a photo if you have a crape myrtle tree.)

And don't miss "The Curiosity of Cows" in photo form, by Donna, at Chestertown, Quaintest Town in America.

Local Events

Julie, at On The Red Line, tells us that Garrison Keillor will be at the National Cathedral on September 29.

Michelle Voorhies, of Young & Married in DC, was unhappy with the Bethesda Art Walk, as you can tell from the title of her post: Bethesda Art Walk = Disaster.

Food

Kumama tells us all how to save money on vegetables, which is actually a good thing to know.

Sports

Cheryl, at The Spewker, wonders whether the M tattoo on a certain famous Olympic swimmer might stand for Maryland. And see here for an update, or something.

And speaking of that certain famous Olympic swimmer, I laughed at this item in Insane Baltimore.

Oriole Post notes that the Orioles are about to welcome their 50 millionth fan at Camden Yards, who will receive "$50,000, season tickets for five years and a VIP package that includes seat upgrades, a commemorative jersey and participation in an on-field check presentation."

Also, Michael, at monoblogue, names pitcher Brian Parker the "Shorebird of the Week."

Transportation

Mike Netherland complains about the service on MARC and seeks co-bloggers for a new blog about the rail service. I think Mike would put the word "service" in quotation marks.

Jeff, at Inside Charm City, covers a story about an Amtrak train that struck and killed an Amtrak employee who was on the track.

Meanwhile, I had a post, myself, about a couple who were caught by a speed camera in Silver Spring, allegedly going 100 MPH -- in a Toyota Echo. Spoiler alert: They weren't actually going 100 MPH.

Economics

This doesn't have to do specifically with Maryland, but I'm including it, anyway, because I thought it was interesting -- the huge taxes already paid by Exxon, as discussed in The Political Octagon.

Red Maryland analyzes Governor O'Malley's energy plan.

Education

Matt, at Going to the Mat, writes in support of the EACH! charter school in Frederick County.

Law

Bruce Godfrey writes at Fort Totten Weekly (né Maryland Weekly), a part of the Crablaw empire, that two defense attorneys have been accused of attempting to influence witnesses.

Kevin Dayhoff writes about the history and current controversies over policing in Carroll County.

Local politics

At Annapolis Politics, Brian Gill points out a local alderman who failed to file his campaign finance report because of flooding -- at his house. Brian uses this as a jumping off point for a further discussion of local politics.

Joyce Dowling writes about the drug raid on the mayor of Berwyn Heights and advocates ending the drug war.

State politics

On a subject of interest to me personally, Maryland Chesapeake Blog has an item about the Maryland death-penalty commission hearings: "Killing the Death Penalty."

I'm glad someone blogged about this story -- the woman whom the state won't allow to massage horses, at Faster, Better...

P. Kenneth Burns, at Maryland Politics Today, tells us that Comptroller Peter Franchot is going out to Denver and will blog from the Democratic convention.

National politics

Zinzidor, at Leviathan Montgomery, notes that Senator Cardin is up in arms over a proposed reduction in payments to farmers to "to reduce the runoff of phosphorus and nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers into the bay" and asks why, when we don't pay other polluters to clean up, we should have to pay farmers not to pollute.

David Wissing, master of political polling data, gives us the current presidential polling for Maryland at The Hedgehog Report.

History

Mark Newgent, writing at the Baltimore History Examiner, gives the Historical Context to the Maryland State Police Surveillance Operation. See here and here for parts 2 and 3.

A photo of Ocean City, Maryland, circa 1907, at The Shores of Delmarva.

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The 41st edition of the Carnival of Maryland is scheduled for Sunday, September 7, at a blog to be named later ROTUS, a blog run by Clark of Clark's Picks. You can submit your posts for that edition at this link.

Click here to read more . . .

Maryland blogger profile: Blogger1947

[Editor's note: This is the first of what I hope will be a series of profiles of members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance. For those of you who are old enough to remember, think "Dewar's Profiles."]

Blog name: Blogger1947

Location: Gwynn Oak, Maryland

Handle: Stan M

Real Name: Stan Modjesky

Age: 60, but feeling like 18

Political Orientation: Rabidly libertarian (lowercase "L," please!)

Favorite Major Blog: Page Nine (Alan Korwin as The Uninvited Ombudsman)

Favorite Philosophers: L. Neil Smith; Jeff Cooper; Eric Hoffer

Favorite Musician: Every great trumpeter in history

My Drink: Rum, the darker the better. Beer, ditto.

Favorite Foods: Anything spicy

Automobile: 3/4 ton Chevy Suburban, unapologetically

Hobbies: Music (trumpeter for 50+ years--traditional jazz is my favorite style); RV travel; target shooting

Reason for Blogging: To retain my sanity. There is more room outside my head for this stuff than inside. Once something is in writing, I can quit obssessing about it and go on to some new obssession.

Top Three Blog Posts: "Some Chuckles from the County Courthouse," "Obama sucks-up to George Soros," "Bally Fitness Bankrupt?"

Third-Party Quote about Me: "Often irritated, never duplicated." (courtesy of Don & Meg Jernigan, Shreveport, LA)

Approach to Life: Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.

Click here to read more . . .

Carnival of Maryland -- 29th edition

Welcome to the biweekly Carnival of Maryland, which is a production of the Maryland Blogger Alliance, an eclectic group of Maryland bloggers. If you're interested in joining us, check our FAQs at that link.

We have a lot of interesting writing for you. I usually try to keep things pretty tightly grouped by topic, but I'm going to be a little looser this time, because I want to start out by featuring two of our newest members.

Our newest member, Donna Whicher, has scientific evidence (her own perusal of travel brochures) that proves the name of her blog -- Chestertown, the Quaintest Town in America. Or as she puts it, The Quaintness-O-Meter Results Are In!

J.C. Nemecek, of On the Red Line, tells us a story of life on the Metro's Red Line in A Metro Moment. Have you ever wondered what would happen if the conductor forgot to open the doors before the train went into the tunnel at Grosvenor on its way to heading back to Washington? Wonder no more. By the way, J.C., I used to spend a lot of time on the subways in New York, and you're probably right that the riders wouldn't have been as polite.

And now, on to our regular programming.....

Nature

We have some great photos for your viewing.

Swamp Thing, who writes River Mud Blog, has some photos of flowers in early spring at Early spring.

The Ridger, at The Greenbelt, who's our resident nature photographer, has two photographic entries for us: Here comes the sun and Some little birds. She writes, "Spring is the sun - spring is also the birds." True, that.

In the non-photo category, we have Audubon Arrivals, a post about book reviews in the current issue of Audubon magazine at Pines Above Snow.

Arts and Music

Clark has a post called Cab Calloway: Mini the Moocher at Clark's Picks. I confess I didn't realize this, but Cab Calloway was raised in Baltimore.

Charlie Dowd, of C. Dowd: Artist and Provocateur, has posted an Easter drawing, Happy Easter, which (if you check his comments section) has received quite a bit of attention.

Personal

On the subject of Easter, Stan Modjesky has a post called Easter Stew at blogger1947. It's a little bit of miscellany, but I was particularly interested in knowing that this is one of the earliest Easters in a long time. In the Jewish calendar, we have a leap month this year, so Easter and Passover are almost a full month apart, something that rarely happens.

Also on the same general subject, Mike Netherland has an unpleasant experience with his assistant pastor's Palm Sunday sermon. Take a look at Jeremiah Wright in Severna Park posted at Mike's Nether Land.

On a different subject, I got a submission from Anthony McCune, now living in Ohio Oregon, who once lived in Baltimore. He sent in an amusing story about getting an extension on his federal taxes during his Baltimore days: Resumania - Installment 1. Anthony, by the way, has another blog that features photos from people's windows. It's called What I See Out My Window, and he's asked that you send him your photos.

Humor

I don't know where else to put this, but anything having to do with fake testicles deserves a place in our Carnival. Click here for a tale from mad anthony, called Scenes from Relay For Life, nuts edition....

Sports

Did you realize that Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray are selling wine for charity? I didn't, until I read Brooks and Eddie Immortalized On Wine Bottles over at Oriole Post - The World of Baseball and Beyond.

Public Policy

Jeff Quinton discusses whether there really is a war-related ammunition shortage for law enforcement in Baltimore County PD claims war-related ammo shortage at his blog Inside Charm City.

Matt Johnston, of Going to the Mat, writes about the need for scientific research on education to test whether what we're doing actually works. The post is called Debating the Achievement Gap.

Eliot Spitzer

If you've read this far, you're saying to yourself right now, "What????" What's the former governor of my former home state got to do with Maryland?

I don't know either, although one of our submissions takes a crack at it. But what really got me was this: We had three submissions about him this week, and in my own tour of the Alliance, I found two more.

Not to mention my own wisecrack about what kind of dog Eliot Spitzer would be if he were a dog. (My answer: "My guess is a beagle. The beagle is number 9 in the list of least intelligent breeds, and Spitzer was Client 9, although that's obviously a coincidence. What I'm thinking is that beagles are considered to have an 'independent and willful nature.' Which describes Spitzer quite well.")

We'll start with Bruce Robinson at GOPinionPlus, who makes a connection between Spitzer and our own Governor O'Malley: O’Malley and Spitzer: Comeback chances compared.

Bruce also posts about Spitzer's hypocrisy in A fair shake of the stick. On that point, it seems, we have some agreement across the political spectrum, from both Stephanie Dray (Eliot Spitzer: Disappointment of the Decade posted at Jousting for Justice) and David Gerstman (Irony and the nyt posted at Soccer Dad).

Kevin Dayhoff writes about the lessons of the Spitzer incident in New York Governor Eliot “Mr Clean” Spitzer redux, at Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack Division of Old Silent Movies. Kevin says, "Governor Spitzer mercifully resigned on March 12 and ended a sensational 48 hours of salacious melodrama of position, power, greed, and human failings. It has probably ended the career that was considered so bright that his name was being bantered about as a 2012 or 2016 presidential candidate. There are many lessons to be learned by this sad, sordid saga."

Politics

First, we have to highlight Cheryl Taragin's interview of Phil Noble (the internet politics guy, for people like me who didn't know) at The Spewker. Cheryl says about her post A Rogue Interview with Phil Noble, Politics Online, "Attending the 2008 Politics Online Conference in Washington, D.C., I managed to snag a rogue interview with one of the political newsmakers of our time."

Now, on the local side of politics, we have The Patriot Sharpshooter lamenting the Washington County Board of Education's budget of $226.9 million ($10,800 a child) in So what if they can't read, write or add?, which he posted at Common Sense.

Two of our Annapolis-based members respectfully disagree about whether a homeowner in the Historic District should be allowed to use fiberglass for porch columns, instead of wood. The yes argument is found in Historic Construction at Annapolis Politics, and the no argument is found in Here's a Real Column for You....First It Was Bags, Now It's Porches at Capital Punishment.

Moving to state politics, Kenny Burns, the force behind Maryland Politics Today, makes the argument for a legislative ban on hand-held cell phone use in And You Thought Common Sense Had Returned?

Michael Swartz of monoblogue reminds us in Does the phrase 'do without' ring a bell? that spending cuts should be considered instead of only tax increases.

Soccer Dad says that the General Assembly has way too much time on its hands, if it's getting involved in all sorts of matters it shouldn't be involved in.

Bruce Robinson is indignant about the way Governor O'Malley has handled the budget and pay raises. He offers Fame & Fortune through Immorality and Corruption at GOPinionPlus.

Chester Peake, at Maryland Chesapeake Blog, writes ICC to be held hostage by EnviroMENTALists?. "A global-warming hearing on the ICC. 'Let's see... thousands of cars idling on (and therefore polluting) existing roads in back-ups, or being swiftly sped on their way, when (once at their destinations in a more reasonable time-frame) they can be turned OFF, thus cutting their greenhouse emissions! Hmmmm... what if they found out that building the road would actually help the environment?'"

As for national politics, I couldn't find a Maryland angle on this, but I found it interesting, anyway, so I pulled this post from The Hedgehog Report, called Could Ralph Nader Hand Election to McCain?

So long until next time. The 30th edition is scheduled for Sunday, April 6, to be hosted at Creating A Jubilee County.

Send in your submissions by using the Blog Carnival form.

Click here to read more . . .

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.

Click here to read more . . .

Keeping an eye on the scoundrels

I just want to give a shout-out to several members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance who have been doing a great job of covering the special session of the General Assembly. I hope I'm not missing anyone here, but I'm thinking specifically of Red Maryland, Annapolis Politics, and The Main Adversary.

I also want to congratulate Mark Newgent, of The Main Adversary, for drawing 196 votes in a race for Baltimore City Council as a Republican. The Democrat incumbent received 3,356 votes in what Mark admitted was an "ass kicking," but he holds his head up high.

Click here to read more . . .

Maryland Blogger Alliance FAQs

When I receive emails from people who would like to join the Maryland Blogger Alliance, I often hear the same questions.

So I decided to post some FAQs on a separate blog called (what else?) "Maryland Blogger Alliance."

If you click on the link, I think you'll get the answers to most of your questions. For any remaining questions, just email me.

Click here to read more . . .

Crablaw

Bruce Godfrey at Crablaw is what might be called an early adopter, in the sense that he was one of the early members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance. (He also has been a great audience for me, often being more amused than he should be by the stupidity I put forth at Pillage Idiot.)

Sadly for us, but happily for him, he is moving on from blogging to focus on professional development and family. I can't blame him, and I wish him the best of luck.

He will remain on the blogroll in case he changes his mind in the next six months or so. Best wishes, Bruce. Stay in touch.

Click here to read more . . .

Carnival of Maryland -- 15th edition

Here we are at Pillage Idiot, hosting the Carnival of Maryland, which I last hosted back in March.

The Carnival of Maryland is a bi-weekly carnival run and hosted by members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance, an eclectic group of Maryland bloggers. You don't have to be a member to contribute to the carnival, but if you're a Maryland blogger, you have every reason to join. Just send me an email. In March, when I last hosted, we had 23 members. Now, we're at 34, which is almost a 50% increase.

Well, enough small talk. Here's the 15th Carnival of Maryland.

Sports

With fall around the corner, a young man's thoughts turn to baseball. Our very own loyal Orioles fan at Oriole Post went to an O's game at Fenway Park, only to find history being made. He writes an appreciative post about being a witness to Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz's no-hitter in only his second major league start: A Witness to History - the Orioles No Hit by Rookie Clay Buchholz. There's video at the link, too.

Needless to say, September also marks the beginning of the football season. Sadly, there seems to be an academic cheating scandal at the University of Maryland, involving a Terps football player. Inside Charm City reports on this scandal in Josh Portis, cheating, and a possible attempt at silencing the messenger?.

Arts

Charlie Dowd, artist and web designer, as well as blogger at C. Dowd's Blog, explains in Baltimore Sun Gameday Ads that his ads for "Baltimore Gameday Radio" on ESPN radio have appeared in the Baltimore Sun. Congratulations, Charlie!

Nature

The Ridger, at her blog, The Greenbelt, posts some great photos of the Japanese lantern trees in front of her apartment building. She complains, in Who speaks for the trees?, that the management company that runs her building has mutilated the trees without any real justification.

Marilyn Terrell, of Intelligent Travel, today's only non-member of the Alliance, cites a National Geographic editor's positive experience camping with the horses at Assateague, in Horsing Around on Assateague.

Personal

Mike Netherland, who runs the aptly named Mike's Nether Land, has a couple of gripes -- what he calls "peeves." He doesn't like clergy who preach political sermons, particularly from the political left, or for that matter, people who go to church in order to cough, and he really doesn't like karaoke "singers."

Stephanie Dray, whose Jousting for Justice has a great design, had to take her blog offline for a while because of "attacks by spammers and some other technical glitches." She originally came back online with a site design in basic blue. It was nice to have her back, but frankly, blue is blue. Now, she's back in full color: "We're Back In Color."

Local News and Events

Joyce Dowling, at Creating a Jubilee County, tells us what's happenin' in Prince George's County, where there is a lot taking place. Check out this list and see for yourself.

Politics

I've never really been satified with the "politics" category, so I've broken it down into local, state, and national politics. The trouble is that it's really broader than what's strictly politics -- the analysis of political candidates, which The Hedgehog Report, monoblogue, Maryland Politics Today, and Red Maryland, for example, do so well -- because it includes as well the relationship between people and their governments, which almost all of us write about. I'm going to need help reorganizing the categories in the future, but for now, let's treat the two facets together.

a. Local Politics

Wade Crodhil, at Politics, Hon, shows the latest poll results in the race for the nomination for Baltimore City Council President: Sarbanes Leading Princess Stephanie In Latest Sun Poll and offers the "Hon Endorsement" in the mayoral primary in Baltimore.

Bruce Godfrey, at Crablaw, really amused me with his non-endorsement of local politicians, Baltimore Elections 2007: No Endorsement from Crab Media. He writes: "My only regret is that I cannot vote for Mayor next week, in part because I am not a City resident and in part because I do not belong to the de facto single party of the City. My only wish is that everyone currently in elected City government - female or male, young or old, black or white, gay or straight, Democrat or Democrat - could be, somehow, caught in an embarrassing sexual act or solicitation inside a toilet, so all could depart in disgrace, yielding every office open for other City residents less obviously and immediately connected with machine politics, payoffs, financial misconduct and a sickening sense of inherited or other entitlement. Every last one of them." Tell us how you really feel, Bruce.

Over at Red Maryland, streiff looks at a bill introduced before the Baltimore County Council that, he says, is The Right Decision for the Wrong Reason. The bill requires that a "need" be shown before the county issues another license to a towing company, but the reason was that the sponsor, Councilman Kenneth Oliver, wanted to break up a "monopoly" of white-owned businesses.

Matt Johnston, at Going to the Mat, describes a 25-year-old 5-4 Supreme Court ruling requiring local communities to provide public education to children who are illegal immigrants and explains that Frederick, in an effort to force reconsideration of that ruling, is considering a bill that would deny funds to help them attend public schools.

Zinzidor writes at Leviathan Montgomery about the need to lower housing costs by permitting "self-housing" -- which means allowing people to build simple, functional houses for themselves, either literally by themselves or by barter with professionals, as opposed to forcing them to clear many regulatory hurdles.

Meanwhile, David K. Kyle, at The Candid Truth, cites the case of a homeowner in Anne Arundel County who built an addition to his house without obtaining the necessary permits. The county is seeking a court order requiring him to take it down. Here's a link to the column David refers to. (See? I provide full service writeups here.)

Stan Modjesky, at blogger 1947, says "In the Future, everyone will be declared a criminal" for relatively minor offenses. He starts with London -- that's in England, folks -- moves to Los Angeles, and then reaches Maryland with Caroline County and Annapolis.

On a more subdued note, Kevin Dayhoff posts a link to his column in The Tentacle about a fire in Mount Airy. Kevin discusses what the town that at one time was "the town that could" and has become "the town that fights." And he expresses hope that Mount Airy can regain its ability to cope.

b. State Politics

P. Kenneth "Kenny" Burns, at Maryland Politics Today, tells us that Franchot Should Have Stayed A Delegate: Peter Franchot, the Comptroller of Maryland, the official responsible for supervising the state's fiscal condition, has been advocating against slots. "Why," Kenny asks, "is the Comptroller of the state of Maryland doing something that is not in his job description?"

At Howard County Maryland Blog, Jim Walsh asks why, if Maryland has become the state with the highest median income, our state government is fighting large structural deficits: The Wealthiest State in the Nation.

Michael Swartz, at monoblogue, writes Rethinking O’Malley, which is an extended meditation on this same subject of high income and deficits. Michael looks at it from a personal perspective and concludes with the idea that education, which is the target of the largest statewide expenditure, could benefit from free-market reforms.

Soccer Dad, a/k/a David Gerstman, writes in amazement that Nancy Grasmick, the state superintendent of schools, has proposed that students who repeatedly fail the state tests required for high-school graduation be allowed to graduate without passing them, if the students do a project instead.

Finally, Rachel Sawyer, at Tinkerty Tonk, has a story that happened a few months ago, but it's really timeless: How just about everything can go wrong when you're dealing with the MVA, the sheriff's office, your insurance company, and the guy who's impounded your car. I had to close my jaw manually after reading it.

c. National Politics

Kevin Dayhoff, in Rashid Ari Rebellion and the Battle of Habbaniya, writes about the historical complexities in Iraq, and wonders whether our armed forces are given an historical primer of the region.

David Wissing, at The Hedgehog Report, writes that there was a Republican straw poll at the state fair, and Ron Paul won it: MD: Ron Paul Wins Straw Poll. How did he win? People could vote in the poll "regardless of party affiliation."

More Ron Paul: At Pillage Idiot, I wrote that I noticed Ron Paul signs on overpasses over I-95 northeast of Baltimore. In The reverse of love, I wondered why the signs, which read "Ron Paul Revolution," have the letters "evol" in the word revolution written backwards, as if it were an ambulance sign. I have a couple of frivolous ideas about that.

Conclusion

Well, that's all folks!

The 16th edition of the Carnival of Maryland is scheduled for Sunday, September 23, and is being hosted at abolitionofman.com. You can submit your posts through this convenient form at Blog Carnival.

Click here to read more . . .

Carnival of Maryland - second edition

Welcome to the second edition of the Carnival of Maryland, which is scheduled to run every other week. If you missed the stunning debut of the Carnival two weeks ago, please check it out at Crablaw.

The Carnival was the brainchild of members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance (see sidebar). You don't have to be a member to contribute to our Carnival, but we strongly urge you to join if you're a blogger in Maryland. There's really no downside to it. We're an eclectic bunch. We have no political litmus tests for membership, and an increasing number of our members don't focus on politics at all.

Before I begin, I have one public service announcement for Maryland bloggers. Aaron Brazell, whose The Not So Free State has been quiet lately, has an invitation up at his other site for a Maryland Blogger Meetup in White Marsh on March 31. Check it out.

Given the eclectic nature of the Alliance, the submissions here have been rather eclectic, and I'm not going try to organize the round pegs in square holes. We're here. We're eclectic. Get used to it!

I'll start with submissions from our three newest members, two of whom, I'm pleased to report, have offered us photography.

Snail's Tales, based in Germantown, has a photo of what might be a beaver footprint in Little Seneca Lake, not far north of where I live.


The post also features a photo of a beaver dam, which seems to back up the idea that the footprint is a beaver.

The Greenbelt, from Laurel, provides several photos in a post called "Geese in Winter." One of them is this:


Our third new member, Maryland Politics Today, which (you will not be surprised to learn) is chock full of good stuff about Maryland politics, writes about the $1.5 billion structural budget facing Governor O'Malley in 2008 and argues, in "No Sense in Waiting," that "waiting a year will not do justice for anyone."

Our political leaders will need to learn that they have to make tough decisions. They cannot just put it off because they do not want to deal with the issue or send it to referendum. They also cannot cherry pick what decisions they need to make that benefits them. They will have to decide on slots, they will have to decide on budget cuts or giving up lofty promises made last year and yes, they will have to look at raising taxes and cutting budgets.

Over at Oriole Post, we read about Kris Benson and Curt Schilling. Regarding Kris Benson (formerly with my team, the Mets), Oriole Post hears that he's "trying to rehab in camp, and experienced more pain after he took a day off," and reports that there's a big question whether he'll be back this season. Extra: Don't miss the photo of Kris and his exhibitionist wife Anna. I can tell you the New York papers are convinced that Anna's antics in New York led to the trade of her husband from the Mets. Another extra: Oriole Post says that Curt Schilling has a blog: "I especially love that he keeps most comments up, good or bad, although he does not allow cursing…" (Also worth reading at Oriole Post: "A Few Words ... A Q&A with Orioles Legend and Hall of Famer, Brooks Robinson...")

The Hedgehog Report writes about the new dishwashing detergent bill: "Just when you thought the environmental extremism couldn’t get any wackier, Maryland Democrats are looking to make washing dishes much more difficult." The bill would all but eliminate the phosphorus in dishwashing detergent that supposedly depletes oxygen in the Bay, limiting content to 1/2 percent, down from 7 percent, as now permitted. The detergent industry says that low-phosphorus detergents don't get dishes as clean. THR wonders: "We already have the evil Big Tobacco and Big Oil. How long before we have Big Soap?"

At the Howard County MD Blog, co-blogger Cindy Vaillancourt has a post called Litigation Based Decisions - Myth?, which kicks off from a talk by author Richard Louv about what "Nature Deficit Disorder." Cindy argues that people mistakenly cite litigation risks to avoid taking actions that are otherwise desirable -- for example, building playgrounds that would encourage children and their parents to interact more closely with nature. Louv's view is that "choosing not to do certain things using fears of exposure to litigation is often a baseless excuse." Cindy concludes that Louv is right: "Heaven forbid we take a good look at the proposal, weigh the pros and cons, calculate the costs and the risks and make every effort to be reasonably cautious while living a full life."

Jeremy Bruno, at The Voltage Gate, attended a forum on religion at Frostburg State University. He found the experience rather unsatisfying, and he had a different reaction to concerns expressed there about the breakdown of religious community: "Regional tribalism is deteriorating, being replaced with the far reaching unity of online communities (with some exceptions of course). Generally, I think people are realizing their part in a global community."

At Politics, Hon, Wade offers a balanced, two-part view of the controversy created several weeks ago by the removal of a show hosted by Tyrone Powers from the lineup at Morgan State University's radio station. Powers's supporters think Governor O'Malley was involved, and the governor's response seems somewhat less than candid. But Wade notes that it could be harmful if the accusations are false.

Matt Johnston, who's not yet a member of the MBA, writes about "helicopter parents," a term referring to the hovering that many parents engage in these days, which is made worse by technology. One of the culprits, according to Matt, is Edline, a system that allows parents of kids in the Montgomery County schools to see all their kids' grades online, even for homework assignments.

At blogger1947, Stan ponders Maryland and wonders why he stays. Back from a long trip across the South, he re-discovers that things in Maryland are, uh, different: "undirected public anger, crime, political corruption/ineptitude, and gridlocked traffic." It's a good read, and Stan seems irritated rather than angry.

Kevin Dayhoff has a lengthy discussion of a controversy in Carroll County about the Whittaker Chambers farm, where the famous "pumpkin papers" were buried. A news story began circulating that the county was planning to seize the farm as part of a reservoir project. Kevin shows that this is mistaken; the county has no plans to seize the farm.

Ray Lewis of the Ravens is going to be building a large project in downtown Baltimore. Lewis is not a blogger, as far as I know, but Bruce Godfrey is, and at Crablaw, Bruce analyzes the project -- in particular, the public-transportation issue it raises. I get the idea that Bruce is skeptical of the City's ability to deal with that issue: "my eternal hope that Baltimore will find the right crowbar to extract its head from the terminus of its alimentary canal on transit issues rivals the impossible dreams of Don Quixote."

In "Firing back at a white flag," at monoblogue, Michael publicly criticizes fellow Republican, Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, for voting in favor of the Democrats' anti-war resolution in the House. Michael reprints the letter he received from Gilchrest on the subject and offers a multi-point rebuttal. Gilchrest seems fixated on Vietnam, and Michael observes: "We fought and retreated from the Vietnam War in this manner."

Soccer Dad -- who, by the way, has a spanking new blog template -- posts "DiBiagio's baggage," which looks at the resignation of United States Attorney Thomas DiBiagio in 2005, an event that's become relevant again in light of the dismissal of eight U.S. Attorneys recently by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. DiBiagio now claims he was forced out to protect former governor Bob Ehrlich. Soccer Dad argues that this claim doesn't make sense.

Last, and possibly least, I've put up at Pillage Idiot another in my series about the new sex ed curriculum in Montgomery County's public schools: "Sex ed curriculum moves forward." Much of the series has made fun of the video showing how to put a condom on a cucumber (a video that's now been replaced), but my current post questions why the new segment on homosexuality -- which could be useful if based on factual information -- seems to omit any mention of HIV transmission.

Final note: The third edition of the Carnival of Maryland is scheduled for Sunday, March 25, at a host to be named later. Once we have a host, the information will be available at the submission form at Blog Carnival. Thanks for reading.

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New MBA membership announcement

Since the last time I introduced new members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance, we've expanded with four additional members, bringing us to a total of 19. To join the Alliance, email me: pillageidiot -at- hotmail -dot- com.

1. Rockin' Catoctin, based in Frederick County, has this motto: "Gently Mocking Monocacy So You Don't Have To." It's been a little quiet there for the past month, but I'm sure there will be mockable moments soon.

2. The Pubcrawler, located in nearby Gaithersburg (nearby to me, that is), looks at life from a generally libertarian perspective. At a pub near you.

3. C. Dowd's Blog, run by Charlie Dowd, is an art blog. Charlie is also a web designer.

4. Oriole Post is a blog chronicling the best major-league baseball team located in Maryland, which plays in the nicest stadium in the majors, and is owned by the majors' worst scoundrel. Lots of content here.

A belated welcome to all!

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