The Gazette released its list of the 10 Most and Least Effective State Senators and 20 Most and Least Effective State Delegates. And here is my analysis.
You would expect that the list would be overwhelmingly in favor of Democrats being the most effective since they occupy an overwhelming majority of the seats in the legislature. And you would be right. When you have the most votes you get your way more often than not.
You would expect that the list would be overwhelmingly against Republicans since they are in the minority by an overwhelming disparity in the General Assembly. And you would be right. If you can't get the Democrats to agree to common sense legislation, then you'll never get anything passed and thus not be effective.
Kumar Barve proved that people with alcohol problems can still be considered influential leaders. He was selected as the 5th most influential delegate in spite of using his influence to get out of a DWI charge. Or maybe because of his influence.
Saqib Ali has a lot of friends. And a lot of haters. Not only did he make the list as the 17th most effective delegates, he is also the 3rd least influential delegate. Perhaps if he added some more pundits and political observers as friends on Facebook he would get a better ranking next year. Seriously - the guy is pretty darn funny. Don't always agree with him (he has a man-crush on Harry Reid), but he IS funny.
Curt Anderson went around and took pictures of everyone in the General Assembly and added their image to Wikipedia. He did this for both Democrats and Republicans - an admirable motion. And for this he was rewarded as the 12th most effective delegate. Is this one of those false positive correlations?
Mike Busch and Mike Miller were awarded for bullying everyone in the General Assembly and received number 1 slots on both lists of Most Influentials. I suspect Miller is influential by telling everyone that he'll retire if they pass such-and-such bill, only to recant later.
Despite Ulysses Currie's brushes with the law, marijuana, and raids of his home by the FBI, he was selected as the 4th most influential state senator. It pays to be a corrupt pot smoker!
Some Democrats, despite having the special wand to do practically anything they want, were selected as un-influential. You must really suck as a Democrat if you fall into this list in Maryland. The list includes James Brochin of Towson (has made this list before), Nathaniel Exum of PG County, Michael Lenett of Montgomery County, Frank Conaway, Jr. of Baltimore, Ana Sol Gutierrez (again, and who wants in-state tuition for illegal immigrants), Emmett "Illegal Campaign Contributions" Burns, Jr. of Baltimore County (again), Jill Carter of Baltimore, Charles Barkley (not that basketball player) of Montgomery County, Herman Taylor, Jr. of Washington County (who also wants in-state tuition for illegal immigrants), and finally Barbara Robinson of Baltimore.
Republicans on the Most Influential side of the list are Tony O'Donnell of Baltimore County and Christopher Shank of Washington County. I was a bit surprised not to see Allan Kittleman on the list, but then again he's the leader of the Republican Party in the State Senate, so naturally no one is going to like him.
So that's my take. Let me know what you think of this list.
Showing posts with label James Brochin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Brochin. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Friday, June 26, 2009
A Week of Potpourri
This post has nothing to do with potpourri, but do you remember watching the Joker's Wild as a kid (I'm dating myself) and as the cards spun and stopped you would hear Jack Berry say, "Joker. Joker! Potpourri." Never failed. And that category could be anything. Hence, this post.
Weight Loss
I am in a Biggest Loser Club at work and it has nothing to do with my personality. It does, however, have to do with losing weight. Just after I had my hernia surgery I weighed 180. When I began this competition I was 176. Today I'm right around 166. Losing weight is great. Except for the fact that I can now take off my pants without unbuttoning them.
Michael Jackson
Along with Martin O'Malley, I have lost my heart. And it's not at Wounded Knee. I must not have a heart because I'm not mourning the loss of Michael Jackson. Sure, he had some cool songs off of the Thriller album, the first album I ever got when I was a kid. But it's not like I just lost my mother. He was a mentally unbalanced pedophilic nut case devoid of any grip on reality.
And I group Martin O'Malley with the heartless because I was watching Larry King last night and I think Martin O'Malley is the only person who didn't call in to offer respects. However, Randy Jackson called and said that 'dogg, MJ was an icon.' Al Sharpton, the Jew-hating pretend preacher ("If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house"[43] and referring to Jews as "diamond merchants."), called and said that Michael Jackson was the first great black in pop music. I guess Sharpton hates Donna Summers, Chuck Berry, and James Brown.
ABC Loves Obama
This week ABC gave Obama an open platform to promote his plan to socialize medicine. Obama denies that his plan it to socialize medicine. Instead of socialized medicine, he wants the government to be in charge of the healthcare system.
Republicans requested time with ABC to offer alternative viewpoints and to allow fair criticism of Obama's non-socialized medicine plan. They were denied. Obama was then showered with flowers and offered many soft pillows for his Town Hall talk. To help reinforce his plan, Obama avoided tough questions and offered long-winded popular rhetoric instead.
Additionally, Obama claims that it is not his intention to actively destroy the private healthcare system. Instead, the government will begin to offer healthcare and the private companies will go out of business on their own because they won't be able to compete. Unbeknownst to the people that will take the government's offer to use their healthcare system, they will be stuck in a bureaucratic mess when they need healthcare and will probably die before they get services.
In addition to the lowered level of healthcare, tax payers will be on the hook for an estimated $2 TRILLION to get this plan started. With an estimated 46 million working families in this country, this will cost the average family $44,000. If you estimate that 35% of them will not be subject to the costs because they are below middle income, then the working families will owe Obama $67,000 each for his nationalized healthcare plan.
The Cheating Politician
I know you're going to have a difficult time believing this, but another politician cheated on his wife. This time it was South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford. Once considered a front-runner for the Presidential nomination for 2012, there are now cries for his resignation.
I'm wondering how this is any different than when Bill Clinton cheated on Hillary (many times). It is well-documented that Clinton was busy sticking his Cuban cigar in Monica's vagina in the Oval Office during a conference call with the Senate. At least Sanford was having an affair with someone his own age.
A liberal college friend commented that Sanford did this on tax payer money, that's why it's different. I don't buy this argument. If Clinton was in the Oval Office, which is where he works, and he was on a conference call with the Senate, then he was working, and while he is working he is getting paid by taxpayers. Sure, he might not have flown to Argentina, but the President should be held to a higher morale standard, though Clinton never claimed to have any morals unlike the Republicans.
My opinion is that you need to argue consistently. If the liberals think that Clinton can have an affair and his personal life is none of our business, then Sanford's affair is none of our business, either. I, however, think Clinton should have been thrown out of office, and thus so should Sanford.
On a funny note, another friend commented that he just got back from walking the entire Appalachian Trail all the way to Argentina.
Maryland Hates Businesses
This is already well documented. However, this week Democrats Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County and James Brochin of Baltimore County filed a complaint with Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler about the compensation received by BGE CEO Mayo Shattuck. The last time I checked BGE, part of Constellation Energy, is a private company governed by a board of directors and shareholders and their compensation system is not regulated by the government.
However, this is another push by the O'Malley Administration and his minions in the General Assembly to argue that the government should be allowed to regulate and restrict the compensation of employees of private companies. Oh, it will eventually happen.
Why there are any remaining private companies in Maryland, let alone Constellation, is beyond my level of comprehension. The State of Maryland has been harassing Constellation for years with threats, political statements, and lawsuits with the obvious objective of eventually running the company at a state-level. My advice to Constellation - get out now!!! Move to Delaware!!!
Weight Loss
I am in a Biggest Loser Club at work and it has nothing to do with my personality. It does, however, have to do with losing weight. Just after I had my hernia surgery I weighed 180. When I began this competition I was 176. Today I'm right around 166. Losing weight is great. Except for the fact that I can now take off my pants without unbuttoning them.
Michael Jackson
Along with Martin O'Malley, I have lost my heart. And it's not at Wounded Knee. I must not have a heart because I'm not mourning the loss of Michael Jackson. Sure, he had some cool songs off of the Thriller album, the first album I ever got when I was a kid. But it's not like I just lost my mother. He was a mentally unbalanced pedophilic nut case devoid of any grip on reality.
And I group Martin O'Malley with the heartless because I was watching Larry King last night and I think Martin O'Malley is the only person who didn't call in to offer respects. However, Randy Jackson called and said that 'dogg, MJ was an icon.' Al Sharpton, the Jew-hating pretend preacher ("If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house"[43] and referring to Jews as "diamond merchants."), called and said that Michael Jackson was the first great black in pop music. I guess Sharpton hates Donna Summers, Chuck Berry, and James Brown.
ABC Loves Obama
This week ABC gave Obama an open platform to promote his plan to socialize medicine. Obama denies that his plan it to socialize medicine. Instead of socialized medicine, he wants the government to be in charge of the healthcare system.
Republicans requested time with ABC to offer alternative viewpoints and to allow fair criticism of Obama's non-socialized medicine plan. They were denied. Obama was then showered with flowers and offered many soft pillows for his Town Hall talk. To help reinforce his plan, Obama avoided tough questions and offered long-winded popular rhetoric instead.
Additionally, Obama claims that it is not his intention to actively destroy the private healthcare system. Instead, the government will begin to offer healthcare and the private companies will go out of business on their own because they won't be able to compete. Unbeknownst to the people that will take the government's offer to use their healthcare system, they will be stuck in a bureaucratic mess when they need healthcare and will probably die before they get services.
In addition to the lowered level of healthcare, tax payers will be on the hook for an estimated $2 TRILLION to get this plan started. With an estimated 46 million working families in this country, this will cost the average family $44,000. If you estimate that 35% of them will not be subject to the costs because they are below middle income, then the working families will owe Obama $67,000 each for his nationalized healthcare plan.
The Cheating Politician
I know you're going to have a difficult time believing this, but another politician cheated on his wife. This time it was South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford. Once considered a front-runner for the Presidential nomination for 2012, there are now cries for his resignation.
I'm wondering how this is any different than when Bill Clinton cheated on Hillary (many times). It is well-documented that Clinton was busy sticking his Cuban cigar in Monica's vagina in the Oval Office during a conference call with the Senate. At least Sanford was having an affair with someone his own age.
A liberal college friend commented that Sanford did this on tax payer money, that's why it's different. I don't buy this argument. If Clinton was in the Oval Office, which is where he works, and he was on a conference call with the Senate, then he was working, and while he is working he is getting paid by taxpayers. Sure, he might not have flown to Argentina, but the President should be held to a higher morale standard, though Clinton never claimed to have any morals unlike the Republicans.
My opinion is that you need to argue consistently. If the liberals think that Clinton can have an affair and his personal life is none of our business, then Sanford's affair is none of our business, either. I, however, think Clinton should have been thrown out of office, and thus so should Sanford.
On a funny note, another friend commented that he just got back from walking the entire Appalachian Trail all the way to Argentina.
Maryland Hates Businesses
This is already well documented. However, this week Democrats Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County and James Brochin of Baltimore County filed a complaint with Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler about the compensation received by BGE CEO Mayo Shattuck. The last time I checked BGE, part of Constellation Energy, is a private company governed by a board of directors and shareholders and their compensation system is not regulated by the government.
However, this is another push by the O'Malley Administration and his minions in the General Assembly to argue that the government should be allowed to regulate and restrict the compensation of employees of private companies. Oh, it will eventually happen.
Why there are any remaining private companies in Maryland, let alone Constellation, is beyond my level of comprehension. The State of Maryland has been harassing Constellation for years with threats, political statements, and lawsuits with the obvious objective of eventually running the company at a state-level. My advice to Constellation - get out now!!! Move to Delaware!!!
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