Quote of the Day
Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.
AR Ammons
Maryland Politics: NO on Question 7
i personally don't like gambling and have only rarely participated in the occasional pool or so--I recall a Powerball craze in 2001 while on a project in Wisconsin. I recall being in Vegas a couple of times for academic conferences in the 80's. I remember making a quarter last for an hour on a poker machine (and I had never played poker)
I don't know the history of how states got involved in the marketing of vices, I remember when I went on a campus visit to Bowling Green in Ohio I heard that Ohio was an alcohol beverage control state, an artifact of the 21st Amendment (repealing Prohibition) Texas has its own share of blue laws (I remember roped off supermarket aisle beer and wine sections on Sundays) and dry counties (I remember having to stop off at a package store before visiting my married sister in Plano to buy a 6-pack as the country was about to elect President Zipper in 1992 Beer is not enough to forget a national tragedy.)
Likewise, as a libertarian, I also have little tolerance of government monopolies or control over betting or variations, even over innocuous forms like lotteries or parish fundraisers like Bingo night or raffles. The politicians saw revenues pulled in casinos located in Vegas,Atlantic City, reservations and elsewhere and looking for their "fair share" of tax loot, which they see as being lost to neighboring states, and to sell it to citizens with moral concerns about sanctioning questionable behavior. Typically politicians tried to win support by linking revenue to ideal public funding--in particular there are sacred cows of public spending: public education. I have not disguised my utter contempt for chronic tax-and-spending Governor Martin O'Malley, whom has Presidential aspirations. Casino-expanding question 7 is being sold on relevant revenues dedicated to increases in education funding. This is really no more than cronyism as usual and a fiscal shell game we've constantly seen in Obama's repeated attempts to bail out state/local funding (e.g., teachers or public safety) It really becomes a shell game e.g, you can offset spending cuts elsewhere from general revenue outlays for education which will be replenished by dedicated funding ,e.g., gaming tax revenue.
I think education, if and when it is funded, should not be funded by exploiting those with gambling addictions. it's bad enough we have people addicted to government spending, legalized plunder, out of other people's pockets--including taxes of their children and grandchildren, i.e., registered Democrats. but giving Maryland's spendthrift legislature more play money to fritter away would be morally irresponsible.
Why I'm not supporting Gary Johnson
It' a fair question; his positions are close to mine, and unlike Ron Paul, he has a decent track record as a public sector executive . He also has experience building a real business.
I wrote a recent post explaining that my support for Romney has less to do with what he says as much as what he's done. Romney has been a management consultant and turnaround specialist. if anyone is capable of re engineering this albatross of a government it's Romney. Job #1 is defeating the worst President in American history, and Romney is the only viable opponent to the Empty Suit; Johnson was barely registering within statistical error for the GOP nomination Johnson also led a small state, has little federal experience and last served a decade ago One could argue Romney's federal experience is limited, too. But Romney has proven himself to be a quick study, e.g., the Winter
Olympics turnaround.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Commodores, 'Night Shift". Well-done tribute to then recently murdered soul great Marvin Gaye (one of my sisters hated his song "Sexual Healing") and Jackie Wilson. Probably the best single in the post-Richie era. This ends my Commodores' series; my next group is ZZ Top.
