November 24, 2004. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett supports HASC Chairman Hunter re: 9/11 Intelligence Conference, reports Patrick O'Connor in the Hill. "Members of the Armed Services Committee - echoing the concerns of their chairman - do not want to relinquish budgetary authority to a national intelligence director for fear that it would interrupt the flow of intelligence data to troops in a war zone, imperiling those "war fighters" on the ground. 'If the military is stripped of their ability to control their own intelligence lines, it could prove to be a deadly mistake,'said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), a member of the Armed Services Committee. "

November 23, 2004. Md. Land Sell-Off Proposals Resisted; Lawmakers Oppose Ehrlich Team's Plan, writes Matthew Mosk in the Washington Post. "Ehrlich (R) is considering creation of a centralized real estate office to handle all state land transactions. His agency heads have submitted inventories of every parcel of land under their control. And this summer, Ehrlich's administration hired a real estate consulting firm owned by football great Roger Staubach to prepare a central database that, among other things, would help officials identify state properties that could be sold to developers."

November 21, 2004. Democrats may use results in Colorado as Primer reports T.R.Reid in the Washington Post. "Ciruli noted that the sense of Republican inaction on the fiscal crisis was a key motivator for four wealthy Democrats -- high-tech entrepreneurs Jared Polis, Tim Gill, and Rutt Bridges, and medical-equipment heiress Pat Stryker -- who poured $1.6 million into a Democratic fund for state legislative races that are usually run on the cheap."

November 19, 2004. Wall Street Journal celebrates Web Tax Holiday. "More important is that the renewed ban makes explicit that the moratorium covers broadband. Under the old law, enterprising states had found a way to tax connections like DSL by labeling them "telecom services." The new law makes clear that any Internet access -- whether DSL, cable, satellite or regular old dial-up -- is tax free."

November 18, 2004. Maryland churches rally for marriage, reports S.A. Miller in the Washington Times. "A bipartisan group of Maryland lawmakers has organized more than 500 church congregations for a huge rally in Annapolis to lobby for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex 'marriage ' Church leaders expect that more than 100,000 demonstrators will march on the Capitol on Jan. 27 in what will be called the 'Defend Maryland Marriage Rally.' Supporters say the movement was buoyed by the passage of similar constitutional amendments in 11 states on Nov. 2. 'I've come to the realization that the churches must take a stand on this issue,' said Delegate Don Dwyer Jr., an Anne Arundel County Republican and one of the chief organizers of the march. 'The church has remained silent for far too long.'"

November 18, 2004. Doctors Rally As Insurance Talks Drag On, reports John Wagner in the Washington Post. "At yesterday's rally, organized by a group called Save Our Doctors, Protect Our Patients, doctors decked out in white lab coats argued that, without state intervention, they could be forced to quit practicing. Carol Ritter of Baltimore County said she had participated in a rally 10 months ago in which she told the audience of having given up her obstetrics practice because of rising insurance costs. Since then, calls to the legislature for help have gone unheeded, she said. 'When are you guys going to get to work?' Ritter asked. 'What's it going to take to convince you?'"

November 17, 2004. Don't bet North Carolina's tax policy on the lottery, warns Alicia Hansen of the Tax Foundation in the Charlotte Observer. "Voters might oppose the idea of a lottery for a number of reasons, including concerns that a lottery is an inefficient way to raise government revenue, worries about gambling addiction and moral qualms about state-sponsored gambling. They should add tax policy concerns to that list. A lottery would make their tax system more regressive, less neutral and less transparent -- in general, less principled."

November 15, 2004. Surplus yields workers a bonus; 550 county employees in Allegany to benefit, reports Stephanie Desmon in the Baltimore Sun. "In a move reminiscent of private sector profit sharing, Allegany County's 550 government employees will see something extra in their paychecks next week: a one-time, 1 percent across-the-board bonus. 'We came a little into the black for a change,' said Commissioner Barbara Roque, a Republican. "It is the very least we can do.'"TBN notes: The County decision to distribute any part of its $2 million surplus to its employees (reportedly already getting a 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise) does not pass TBN's "smell test." It makes no sense to feed local government with windfall revenues. The surplus should be refunded to County taxpayers. Moreover Allegany County has property-tax payers who are senior citizens on fixed incomes and struggling to keep homes they have held many years. Cynics might speculate that the good commissioners are more sensitive to the employee unions than to the county's citizens. MTA, however, urges a Taxpayer Bill of Rights as an amendment to the Maryland Constitution that would require state and local governments to refund excess collections.

November 14, 2004. Fiscal '04 surplus a pleasant surprise for Harford County, $15 million more than expected, report Laura Cadiz and Larry Carson in the Baltimore Sun. "The surplus is $15 million more than county officials anticipated in September. A better economy means more people are working and paying taxes, resulting in Harford receiving $17.4 million more than projected from income tax revenue."

SPECIAL TO MTA!!! November 13, 2004. November 9 in Queen Anne's County, a proposal to lower the Homestead Act Property Tax Cap from 10% to 5% failed in a 3-2 vote by the County Commissioners, reports MTA's Lyle Seigel. "Commissioner Michael S. Koval had earlier signed the petition along with over 1,400 other residents to lower the cap, but then voted to defeat the tax cap proposal."

November 13, 2004. Ehrlich planning to sell off more land; discussions continue on thousands of acres, reports Matthew Mosk in the Washington Post. "We're absolutely looking at surplusing properties wherever we can," Ehrlich (R) said. "Just having government holding pieces of land that should be developed is a policy we want to confront."

November 12, 2004. Jacob Sullum criticizes the "phony economic case for taxpayer-funded stadiums" in Townhall.com. "If the local politicians who compete to attract teams by throwing other people's money at them were honest, they'd say they do it for the prestige, for the ego boost that comes from presiding over a city that has a Major League Baseball franchise. But that would be unseemly. So instead they insist building a stadium is a wise use of public money because it will generate jobs and tax revenue. Although economists have torn such claims to shreds, politicians still reach for them in an attempt to cover their naked baseball envy with something resembling the public interest. This pathetic masquerade is currently on display in Washington, D.C., where the city council is on the verge of approving plans for the luxurious new stadium that Major League Baseball has demanded in exchange for moving the Montreal Expos to the nation's capital."

November 11, 2004. Inflation Worriers, Dollar Pessimists; For too many on Wall Street the glass is always half empty, reports Larry Kudlow in the National Review. "First of all, the dollar is fundamentally undervalued right now. With the U.S. economic-recovery miracle continuing to build, and with the successful battle of Fallujah moving us closer to democratic elections in Iraq, the dollar is actually poised for a major rally. But perhaps only optimists can see this. For now, the real problem with the dollar is not so much that the Fed is too loose, but much more that the euro is way too tight. Just as with foreign policy, Old Europe has the monetary story wrong. The creation of new euros is way too stingy; it is in fact still deflationary."

November 10, 2004. Doctors turn up heat for reforms, reports Robert Redding Jr. in the Washington Times. "A group of Maryland doctors, using the Web site www.saveourdoctors.org, has begun to step up its lobbying efforts to persuade lawmakers to address the looming medical-insurance crisis. A 33 percent increase in insurance premiums is set to take effect by the end of the year."

November 10, 2004. Advocates for Bay to sue the EPA foot-dragging on cleanup, writes David A. Fahrenthold in the Washington Post. "Still, some observers, including Bill Matuszeski, who formerly oversaw the EPA's Chesapeake cleanup effort, worry that lawsuits might bog down the process further. 'Tying this whole issue up in court isn't going to move it forward at all,' he said."

MTA joins Coalition Against Eminent Domain Abuse, signs letter to the President. "The U.S. Supreme Court will decide this term whether state and local governments can use eminent domain to take non-blighted homes in the name of economic development... We urge the Administration NOT to file a brief in Kelo v. New London." See letter and news articles.

November 9, 2004. U-Md. students shed light on budget fears; Several hundred at vigil urge end to tuition increases, reports Nurith C. Aizenman in the Washington Post. "Several state senators, delegates and university officials addressed the students, urging them to lobby the General Assembly to override the governor's veto of a bill last spring that would have capped tuition increases at 5 percent a year for the next three years. That measure, which also would have restored some of the funding, would have been partly paid for through a temporary increase in the state corporate tax. Ehrlich objected that the plan was not fully funded and that further taxing businesses risked reducing the number of jobs available to students upon graduation."

November 8, 2004. The GOP's Blue-State Blues; Not everything came up roses for Republicans on Election Day, reports John Fund in the Wall Street Journal. "Last week, more than 80% of the roughly 7,300 partisan legislative seats in the country were up for grabs, as elections for state legislators took place in 44 states. Before the election, Republicans had a narrow 60-seat aggregate nationwide lead in seats, the smallest any party had held since statistics have been recorded. Now the margin is even smaller, but this time Democrats are on top. Pending recounts, they will have 3,658 legislative seats to 3,652 for Republicans. The GOP now controls both legislative chambers in 20 states. Democrats control both chambers in 19, and 10 are split, with Democrats holding one chamber and Republicans the other. But the GOP's dominance of the South, rural Midwest and Mountain states has come at a real price, one that was on clear display in this election. In 2000, George W. Bush won only one Northeastern state--tax-phobic New Hampshire--and that by a margin of only 1.3%. This year John Kerry won every single state north of Virginia and east of Ohio. Democrats have a major challenge in trying to find ways to communicate with Heartland voters, but Republicans shouldn't forget that their new dominance is tenuous and is unlikely to last if the party remains uncompetitive on both coasts."

November 8, 2004. Ehrlich eyes state general funds to solve malpractice insurance crisis, reports Robert Redding Jr. in the Washington Times. "The Republican governor has vowed not to raise taxes to pay for such a fund, and he would preserve that pledge by preserve that pledge by using existing reserves."

Small business favored Bush in the Presidential election, reports Karen Kerrigan of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. Of small business operator (SBO) men, 61% voted for George W. Bush, while 37% supported John Kerry. A majority of SBO women also gave President Bush “four more years” (53% for Bush and 47% for Kerry). SBOs decisively helped the GOP to maintain control in the House of Representatives. In fact, 53% of them voted for the Republican candidate for Congress, while 39% pulled the lever for Democrats. (More than half – 55%, of SBO men voted for the Republican candidate for Congress, as did 50% of SBO women. 41% of SBO women and 38% of SBO men supported the Democratic candidate.)

November 4, 2004. Challengers weigh options, despite lopsided Maryland Congressional defeats, writes Samson Habte in Capital News Service. Not one of them finished within 29 percentage points of the congressional incumbents on Election Day, but most of the nine major party candidates who lost in Maryland said they would consider running for office again.

November 3, 2004. Voters reject measures on tax limitations, report Tim Craig and Rebecca Dana in the Washington Post. "With all precincts reporting, measures to eliminate at-large County Council seats, prevent the council from overriding a property tax cap and limit the county executive and council to three four-year terms all went down to defeat." The tax cap (Question A) lost 59%-41%.

November 3, 2004. What an election, writes Tony Blankley in Townhall.com. "Tony Blankley. "Good government types have complained for decades about low-voter turnout. Well, now they have got their higher turnout. All it took was : 1) a previous election decided by a split Supreme Court decision, 2) an opposition party that spent the last four years nurturing a righteous hatred of the president, 3) an economy that could not protect our best manufacturing jobs and risks not being able to protect our best information technology jobs, 4) the slaughter of 3,000 American citizens on our own soil by foreign religious fanatics backed up by hundreds of millions of their co-religionists, 5) a bloody and inconclusive war fought for reasons that half the country couldn't understand, 6) a president who could not explain his vital war beyond the level of repeated slogans, 7) an anti-Christian bigoted cultural elite who run most of the national organs of communication (Hollywood, the music industry, New York publishing, the television networks, the major newspapers) joining with the opposition party in personally demeaning the president for three years, 8) a billion dollars spent by special interests and foreign billionaires, 9) a quarter billion dollar industrial-strength two-party voter registration and get out the vote effort, 10) a president with a stubborn, in-your-face, attitude about policy and values that maximized the frustration and anger of the opposition, 11) a verbally sneaky challenger who accused the incumbent of everything under the sun (and several things beyond the purview of our solar system) and 12) a level of European intervention not seen since the French and Indian War or the War of 1812 (in both of which, the level of intervention constituted a formal state of war with America."

November 1, 2004. Voters angered by international observers reports Jon Ward in The Washington Times. "The Maryland State Board of Elections last week rejected requests to allow observers into the polling places. But election boards in Montgomery County and Baltimore city voted to allow the observers into their polling places."