<div align="center"><center><table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="400"><tr><td width="10" bgcolor="#CC3300">&nbsp;</td><td width="380" align="center" bgcolor="#0033CC"><font color="#FFFFFF"><font size="6" face="Impact">Coming From The Left</font><br><b><font face="Arial">By Tim McNeil</font></b></font></td><td width="10" bgcolor="#CC3300">&nbsp;</td></tr></table></center></div>
Conservatives and Republicans throughout the state are ecstatic that the GOP has captured the statehouse here in Maryland after over thirty years of Democratic dominance. The state GOP has gone from a pointless minority to a force to be reckoned with. As Governor Bob Ehrlich assumes power, I would like to reflect on and assess the tenure of his predecessor Parris Glendening, an unpopular figure that many analysts believed caused the defeat of his anointed successor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Glendening leaves office on markedly bad terms and questions about just what his legacy for Maryland is.

Of course, Republicans would like the people in this state to believe that the November election was a referendum on Glendening and his "failed liberal policies" but to say such represents a lack of deep thought. Much good was done under Glendening, especially from the viewpoints of liberals.

Governor Ehrlich and his Republican allies will point to the $1.2 billion deficit as a sign that liberal taxing and spending is detrimental to a state's budget and its economy. Such a simplification also does not grasp the complete depth of this complex issue. At the end of eight years, Governor Glendening did much more for this state than he harmed it. His accomplishments in the environmental and social area stand out as his proudest ones as well as the notable for fellow progressives.

Glendening may be the most remembered for his landmark environmental policies. Many throughout the state, including fellow Democrats, criticized his land preservation spending. Yet under Glendening, the Sierra Club rated our state as the most environmental- friendly state in the nation. Maryland ranks in the top five when it comes to the rate of pollution and the Chesapeake Bay is safe for another generation thanks largely to the efforts of Glendening. Thousands of open space will not be developed and Maryland's natural heritage will be preserved. He also created Smart Growth that prevented sprawl from the cities. Urban renewal exploded in Baltimore and Prince George's County during the 1990s thanks largely to Glendening's initiative.

Another one of Glendening's initiatives that was highly controversial yet ultimately beneficial to the state was the tobacco buy-out. Glendening took office as an enemy of tobacco companies due to cigarettes' terrible effects on the body. Merely suing the companies was and is not enough to stop the epidemic of smoking from continuing. The production of tobacco had to be halted in order to ensure that those with breast cancer decreases in our state. Conservatives criticized the plan as one that kills Maryland's heritage. I have to admit the conservatives have a point here; it did kill Maryland's heritage as a tobacco state. But these same conservatives said one hundred and fifty years ago that the cessation of slavery killed our heritage. Smoking kills people and needs to be stopped.

The buy-out was pro-farm and pro-health in that it provided farmers an option and protected thousands from starting to smoke. The progressive also addressed the issue of equal rights. He was able to pass through the statehouse a landmark bill that provided equal rights to gays and lesbians. Christian conservatives hate such a measure because of the sins of such people, but guess what, gays and lesbians are people too. As such, they are entitled to equal rights just as straight people are. It is about time that the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness occurs for all people regardless of their sexual orientation.

Glendening took on the National Rifle Association and defeated them with the help of the legislature. All guns manufactured starting in 2003 must contain a built-in trigger lock. Conservatives blast this as contrary to their 2nd Amendment civil rights, but once again they are wrong on this issue. They still have the right to own a gun just now it has to have a trigger lock. How is that contrary to the 2nd Amendment? Now our children will be safer from gun violence as will our neighborhoods. The murder rate in Maryland declined during Glendening's tenure, as did armed robbery.

A more conservative accomplishment of the Glendening era was the reduction of income taxes across the board by ten percent. So much for the whole out-of-touch liberal mentality. Other accomplishments included the acceptance of Cleveland Browns to play here in Baltimore and the construction of FedEx Field in Prince George's County. The list here is endless, but Glendening definitely had his shortfalls.

Republicans in Maryland love to point to the $1.2 billion deficit. This does provide incredibly negative press as it has in many other states. Across America, state budgets are in decline as nearly 40 states faced a budget crisis this year. Many governors, Republican and Democrat alike, had to resort to raising taxes rather than cutting social programs. The budget shortfall in Annapolis (as well as throughout the nation) has as much do with a poor stock market and overall revenue decreases due to increased unemployment and lower economic prosperity as it has to do with Glendening's increased spending initiatives. There is a national trend that shows that budget deficits are not necessarily the faults of the Governor but the fault of a less prosperous economy and a less productive stock market. To place the complete blame for the budget on Glendening is irresponsible and false.

More troubling though for me and other liberals like me is that Glendening was so impersonal and so stiff. A serious policy wonk but with no personal appeal is not the best combination. His low approval ratings are more due to the fact that he cannot sell his positions rather than their wrongness. His very public divorce and remarriage also cast a large shadow over Glendening's legacy as well as his seclusion during that time. Governor Glendening may have had the most misunderstood tenure as chief executive in the state of Maryland as any other.

Originally posted by bluto
The board gun nuts have really been letting me down lately. I read IN THE POST of all places that only ONE death last year would have been prevented if the trigger lock law had been in place. Sounds like typical big-government overkill to me.
:frown: Mr. McNeil needs to review the threads concerning gun safety/ownership we discussed last month or possibly in November. Many people own a fiearm(re; pistol), for home protection. If you've got to fiddle around with an intricate safety lock, you might well be dead by the time you've un-safed the weapon and can bring it to bear on an intruder. And that was just one arguement.

penn

To date the only gun manufacturer meeting the Maryland NAZI gun law is Taurus. Today, after waiting a month for them to deliver one of these new law abiding guns with the built in lock, I cancelled my order and will pick up one of the currently available in-stock weapons next week.

Yeah, Parris did real good, NOT.

Originally posted by penncam
:frown: Mr. McNeil needs to review the threads concerning gun safety/ownership we discussed last month or possibly in November. Many people own a fiearm(re; pistol), for home protection. If you've got to fiddle around with an intricate safety lock, you might well be dead by the time you've un-safed the weapon and can bring it to bear on an intruder. And that was just one arguement.

penn

Wow, I get a mister? :biggrin: May I ask sir where you keep your gun? Do you have any children?

To show that gun control prevents a large contingent of murders, I have researched the murder rates in both Britain and the United States. In the UK, it is virtually illegal for citizens to own guns (something that I most definitely do not support) and as such their murder rate per 1,000 is much lower than the United States' murder rate per a 1,000. Here is a graph that relates the two nations' murder rates.

Ok, how to post a picture? lol.

Originally posted by Tim Mcneil
Wow, I get a mister? :biggrin: May I ask sir where you keep your gun? Do you have any children?
:cool: It was just a common courtesy, Tim. Am I to assume you are not accustomed to that favor?
But further, no, my kids are gone and I live without children. My 9mm is in the drawer of my dresser next to the bed. I
don't have the clip in the weapon, it is safed. As a matter of fact the clip is in another drawer; and I've never had an incident in this house yet. But who knows, it's just comforting knowing it's there in case I need to have use of it.

penn

Did Terry Mcauliffe and Tom Daschle send you here as a Liberal Alternative to Rush Limbaugh?...*LOL*

Oops...I'm missing Rush's Show...Gotta go

Glendening is a fiscal moron. He picked the pockets of Marylanders to aimlessly throw dollars at any project that he hoped would create a "legacy" for himself. Being rated #1 by Sierra Club isn't necessarily a good thing. IMHO. He is a perfect example of why some people shouldn't have credit cards.

I think that it is wrong to call Glendenning a fiscal moron when the Republican governor that many on this board appear to have voted for says that we must live within our means and then does not advocate serious budget cuts. No, instead of cuts, Mr. Ehrlich has proposed slots, job freezes, and raiding the transportation fund. If Glendenning was such a fiscal moron, why isn't the new Republican administration rescinding spending for most of his initiatives?

Originally posted by Tim Mcneil
I think that it is wrong to call Glendenning a fiscal moron when the Republican governor that many on this board appear to have voted for says that we must live within our means and then does not advocate serious budget cuts. No, instead of cuts, Mr. Ehrlich has proposed slots, job freezes, and raiding the transportation fund. If Glendenning was such a fiscal moron, why isn't the new Republican administration rescinding spending for most of his initiatives?
:cool: Tim, you present an arguement here, slamming the in-coming governor for policies yet to be implimented? Why hasn't he done this, or instead he proposes that policy, yada, yada, yada.
Your arguement still does not absolve Glendenning from being known as a fiscal moron. Is that the manner in which you run finances in your household? Overspending to point where your savings account is in the red? Wake up, man.
:frown: penn

Tim, I stand corrected, he is not a fiscal moron. He is an arrogant manipulator with zero conscience. He knew exactly what he was doing when he ransacked PG County and then then raped the State. When Katy Couric (sp) interviewed him I thought I would barf. He does qualify for moron status for not understanding why so many Marylanders despise him. It takes a real bad apple to make Maryland dump the Democratic Party. I've never understood how Maryland voters could vote someone back in after he has kicked them in the teeth for a term.

Sorry to get so hostile but Glendening isn't a Liberal vs. Conservative argument. This is runaway arrogance by an amoral person. :burning:

I just do not see it your way willie. I mean spending increased here in Maryland just as it did in New York, California, Virginia, the list goes on and on. Our nation experienced tremendous spending increases during the 1990s. Maryland is not the exception and as the column shows, there were many accomplishments from this increased funding. And still taxes here in Maryland are remarkably low. Our state ranks 37th in dependence on taxes from citizens. Maryland is not suffering due to a deficit because of Glendenning, it is because of 9/11, the economic slump, and thus reduced tax revenues. We could have reduced spending, cut services, anything, and we would still be in this mess today.

Originally posted by Tim Mcneil
I just do not see it your way willie.

I can usually have spirited go rounds with Liberals and get a good chuckle from the poor souls but Glendening takes it over the line. Forget political philosophies for a moment and ask yourself....would I want my Son/Daughter to grow into that kind of a person??? Jimmy Carter is a good example of (IMHO) a real ''head up the butt'' Democrat Ultra Ultra Liberal but he is a good man. The Liberal part is small stuff compared to being a good person.

No I would not want my children to grow up as little Glendenning's. He does have deplorable morals as do many politicians regardless of partisan affiliation. But despite his personal shortcomings (which include a serious lack of having an approachable personality) he provided much success to this state from a liberal perspective. Increased spending, overall tax reductions, liberal social policy, and more gun control are all the accomplishments of a truly progressive state. The budget as it is now would be fine had it not been for 9/11 or the recession that followed. I hate Glendenning's personality but his issue stands (which should dominate our voting patterns) dictated that he served a generally productive tenure.

Originally posted by Tim Mcneil
No I would not want my children to grow up as little Glendenning's.
He does have deplorable morals as do many politicians regardless of partisan affiliation.
Increased spending, overall tax reductions, liberal social policy, and more gun control are all the accomplishments of a truly progressive state.
I hate Glendenning's personality but his issue stands (which should dominate our voting patterns) dictated that he served a generally productive tenure.
:smile: I do think(dare I say it?) you are approaching reality. You make some valid points, and also admit some of his shortcomings(ahem - no pointy remarks, please), but do you not recall a major rift between the State Government(read: KKT and Parris) and the Dept of State Records which supply background information to the ATF for Individual (personal)Gun Licenses? Seems the budgeted monies ran out approximately SIX months prior to the budgeted fiscal timeframe allotted. End result: hundreds, HUNDREDS, of individuals may have purchased firearms illegally. There was no way to accurately track them because the records could not be accessed. So much for effective gun control practices.
I also find the "Increased Spending" issue interesting, but what good is a budget if you do not adhere to it? I asked you earlier, is that the way you manage finances in your home, in the red, but did not see a reply. If you've only got so much money in the coffers, and you overspend, you definitely need a new financial advisor.

:cheers: penn

Originally posted by Tim Mcneil
Wow, I get a mister? :biggrin: May I ask sir where you keep your gun? Do you have any children?
I don't know about him but I have no children and I am a SWF who lives by herself, under 5' 2" with appropriate weight match. A man on average outweighs me by more than 60lbs, and is taller by at least 8". Why should I fiddle with a gun saftey lock when it is my saftey I am worried about - not the guy who has broken into my home late at night? After all, am I the criminal in this situation? Do you want me raped, murdered, abused?:confused:

Originally posted by migtig
I don't know about him but I have no children and I am a SWF who lives by herself, under 5' 2" with appropriate weight match. A man on average outweighs me by more than 60lbs, and is taller by at least 8". Why should I fiddle with a gun saftey lock when it is my saftey I am worried about - not the guy who has broken into my home late at night? After all, am I the criminal in this situation? Do you want me raped, murdered, abused?:confused: Of course he does! After all, statistically speaking, it'll be a loyal democrap that's perpetrating the crime!

Originally posted by migtig
I don't know about him but I have no children and I am a SWF who lives by herself, under 5' 2" with appropriate weight match. A man on average outweighs me by more than 60lbs, and is taller by at least 8". Why should I fiddle with a gun saftey lock when it is my saftey I am worried about - not the guy who has broken into my home late at night? After all, am I the criminal in this situation? Do you want me raped, murdered, abused?:confused:
:rolleyes: But, But, But - that isn't the point, don't you see? The Democratic party panders to the fears of our women, elderly, poor and dis-infranchised masses of the country. They would rather "sell" you on theory that guns inherently cause more problems than they're worth.
They refuse to believe that in the hands of most law-abiding citizens, guns are worth their weight in any currency you'd like to name. They'd also have you believe that firearms and their manufacturers, should be held liable when they're used in the commision of a crime. It isn't the gun, per se, that is at fault, it's the nutcase behind it.

penn

Yes - okay - but if you take the guns away from the law abiding - who then has the guns?! Criminals, right? So who protects the innocent? The criminals?! :confused:
Look at England where cops have to go into situations with armed criminals while the cops themselves are unarmed. Geesh, wouldn't want to live there. Actually, I don't live there.
So why shouldn't I feel safe in my own home? I am not a criminal, I have no record - always been a little bit to the side of goody two shoes than anything else. So why am I being made to feel unsafe, unprotected and unable to defend myself, while there is not anything more stringent or proactive being done against that REAL bad guy (not me) with the gun. After all since he is already a bad guy, he probably didn't get his gun legally, probably doesn't met the guidelines for the glendenning bill, and when he breaks into someone's home he probably doesn't have a saftey lock on it. Why isn't this person (not me) the one that gets punished with stricter penalties, punishments and laws?!

Originally posted by migtig
Yes - okay - but if you take the guns away from the law abiding - who then has the guns?! Criminals, right? So who protects the innocent? The criminals?! :confused:

:cheers: Migtig, I hope you don't think my last post was advocating guns be taken out of the hands of law-abiding citizens?
My post was meant to be sarcastic in view of the lefts' wishes to disarm people like you and me

:cheers: penn

Originally posted by penncam
:cheers: Migtig, I hope you don't think my last post was advocating guns be taken out of the hands of law-abiding citizens?
My post was meant to be sarcastic in view of the lefts' wishes to disarm people like you and me

:cheers: penn
I know about you Penn, I caught the sarcasm (and Kyle & Sharon too for that matter). But I guess my point is, that there are people out there who believe that!!! SCARY!

It isn't the gun, per se, that is at fault, it's the nutcase behind it.[/B]
:confused: This is another goofy idea it seems to me: Going after a gun manufacturer because one of their firearms was used in a crime? "Oh, the pistol just sprouted a hand, and there was this
finger around the trigger, Your Honor, and the damned thing went off!"
In the most recent case I can think of, about the black
11 or 12 year old who shot his teacher on the last day of school, in Florida, I think: his family wants to sue the pistol manufacturer -
Ruger - for negligence! This pistol was in the posession of his grandfather, I believe, for something like 11 years. It never
shot at anybody in all that time!! Yet, Nathan Brazile got a hold of it , and the next thing you know, it finds it's way into a school, takes aim, and shoots someone! Well, fancy that?!?
penn:rolleyes:

Aww heck.. Everyone talking about how tough they would be if someone broke into your house with the intent to kill you and how you could defend yourself if you had a gun without a lock... Aside from maybe Ken King, the rest of you would be too busy peeing in your pants to even worry about a gun, lock or no lock.

Originally posted by SmallTown
Aww heck.. Everyone talking about how tough they would be if someone broke into your house with the intent to kill you and how you could defend yourself if you had a gun without a lock... Aside from maybe Ken King, the rest of you would be too busy peeing in your pants to even worry about a gun, lock or no lock.

:bawl: Oh yea you have pegged this female Veteran with a CMB ribbon to show for it on the head. Uh huh. Right. Wanna try me?:biggrin: Been there done that, got the t shirt - wanna try again? See this is what criminals do - they assume we are defenseless and scared and it sure is fun to prove them wrong. Plus if they write it up right you get in the NRA monthly mag.

Guns are good in the hands of law-abidding persons but that still doesn't change their damage and threat as a killer. Guns' sole purpose is to kill people and I am comforted to know that with gun locks, less children die from accidents. That's JMHO.

I have a very good savings program right now and when I retire, I won't need to collect Social Security.

Originally posted by Tim Mcneil
Guns are good in the hands of law-abidding persons but that still doesn't change their damage and threat as a killer.

Tim McNeil, repeat after me:

Guns don't kill people; People kill people.

A gun's sole purpose is NOT to kill people. Some folks hunt, thereby killing animals, but NOT people. Also, I know a zillion people who own guns and not a single one of them has ever killed anyone. Some people keep guns for self-protection; some people like to go to the shooting range.

If guns were the culprit, and gun owners always in danger of being involved in gun violence - why isn't the nation just awash in random gun killing? We have *hundreds* of *millions* of guns in this country. For every gun crime, there's thousands of guns never NEAR a crime.

Tim, I don't know where you are going with the gun control thing. Glendenning's position on that was a serious turn-off for me.

Originally posted by demsformd
Tim, I don't know where you are going with the gun control thing. Glendenning's position on that was a serious turn-off for me.

Yeah yeah. I gotcha. I just was using this as a sign of liberalism in action in the state of Maryland. Glendenning really did have a progressive thought pattern.

Originally posted by Tim Mcneil
Guns' sole purpose is to kill people and I am comforted to know that with gun locks, less children die from accidents. That's JMHO.

Okay, I'm bad with my stats/research/etc., and have no clue where to find it, but I'm venturing to guess that more criminals have killed innocent people in this country than children dying at the hands of an unlocked gun, am I right (quick -- someone tell me where to find this out)? :wink:

Of course no one wants a child killed by a gun, but I'm guessing the odds are better that a criminal will kill that kid with an illegal gun than the child dying in an accidental shooting by an unlocked gun. JMBEG :ohwell:

Originally posted by yakky doodle
Okay, I'm bad with my stats/research/etc., and have no clue where to find it, but I'm venturing to guess that more criminals have killed innocent people in this country than children dying at the hands of an unlocked gun, am I right


More kids drown in *bathtubs* than die because of unlocked guns. It's tragic, but it is NOT an epidemic.

Originally posted by Frank
More kids drown in *bathtubs* than die because of unlocked guns. It's tragic, but it is NOT an epidemic.

Educators often say "If we can help just one child, make a difference in that one child's life, then I have succeeded. If I help more, that is just icing on the cake"

I love gun control but I just hate Glendenning. He is the reason that the budget is soo messed up. That and after the same party controlling the statehouse for over thirty years, it was time for a change.

How about these tax increases that the Dems are offering. I can take raising the income tax and cutting corporate loopholes but raising the sales tax? Hell no.

Originally posted by kelley
I love gun control Me too! :cheers:

http://www.a-human-right.com/RKBA/_target.GIF

Originally posted by Sharon
Me too! :cheers:

http://www.a-human-right.com/RKBA/_target.GIF
Great shooting, Sharon! Was that with the .44 mag or the .22LR?

:razz2: penn

You are right, I still don't pay income taxes but I do not support having the legislature increasing taxes across the board. But I am not exactly sure just how the state income tax is set up. Is there a progressive tax here or is it a flat tax? If it is a progressive one, then I would definitely support raising the income tax on the top bracket. If it is a flat tax then I definitely would not support increasing the tax.

Originally posted by kelley
I would definitely support raising the income tax on the top bracket. If it is a flat tax then I definitely would not support increasing the tax. :roflmao: Bluto shoots....and...he....SCORES!!!!

Going out duck hunting in the morning, your welcome to come along, need to bring gun make sure you don't have trigger locked these critters tend to fly a little fast, dress warm don't intend to shoot anyone, well maybe if there breaking into my house threatening my wife, kids or dog, boy" if that were to happen I sure hope that darn tigger lock works, cause I don't think parris would be to happy knowing it didn't or would he really even care, I don't know, sure glad I can still rely on my old pals mr. smith & wesson or my new italian freind bennelli, well anyway ,maybe when were done we can chow down if were lucky or if your liberal butt can hit anything, or we could take a quick peak in the old gun cabinet, maybe shoot a few rounds of skeet. P. S the greatest thing about parris he has fine taste in women, and he's no longer bleeding our great state.

Originally posted by chrislong200
Going out duck hunting in the morning, your welcome to come along, need to bring gun make sure you don't have trigger locked these critters tend to fly a little fast, dress warm don't intend to shoot anyone, well maybe if there breaking into my house threatening my wife, kids or dog, boy" if that were to happen I sure hope that darn tigger lock works, cause I don't think parris would be to happy knowing it didn't or would he really even care, I don't know, sure glad I can still rely on my old pals mr. smith & wesson or my new italian freind bennelli, well anyway ,maybe when were done we can chow down if were lucky or if your liberal butt can hit anything, or we could take a quick peak in the old gun cabinet, maybe shoot a few rounds of skeet. P. S the greatest thing about parris he has fine taste in women, and he's no longer bleeding our great state.
:razz2: Sheeeiitt, chris, you don't really think 'ol parris gives a hoot at this very moment do ya? He's most likely hunkered down with some high doller hooker from the south east side, in front of an old fire he had his man make up for him. I say the last thing he be thinkin' bout is some old boy like you 'an his dawg, and huntin' no fast flyin' critters. Amen annd God Bless.

:cool: penn

The Glendening Legacy is nothing more than a chain of "feel good" initiatives.

Has the reduction of tobacco grown in Maryland reduced the number of smokers, the availability of cigarettes, or the price of cigarettes in Maryland? No. All it did was pay farmers to grow something else. More tax dollars wasted to make the Governor and state Democrats feel good.

His passage of the internal lock bill, while knowing full well that no guns met the requirement, was a blatant attempt to circumvent the second ammendment rights of Marylanders. Also, you failed to mention the Governor's veto of an NRA-sponsored program to teach firearms safety to school kids. His stated reason of "he was concerned about school liability issues" was quickly unmasked when he was recorded saying "I'll never support an NRA program." So much for putting the safety of children first.

His passage of open land bills, and limits on urban sprawl, resulted in the spending of tax dollars to restrict the availability of affordabel housing for thousands of Marylanders. I guess the sight of homeless people sleeping in a park or in their cars is better than the site of townhouses.

Smoking kills people and needs to be stopped.

Maybe Admin would have us stop EATING too since heart-disease is the #1 killer. Or how about putting a huge tax for all over-eaters.

Or how about Maryland MVA with it's many ways to get your money? Could the State be any more oppresive? What a legacy indeed.

:mad: