VIDEOS: Out-of-State Casinos Launch War Over Gambling Expansion in Maryland // WATCH QUESTION 7 TV ADS

Maryland Juice has been following the heated debate over whether to expand gambling and add table games to Free State casinos. Indeed, this November Maryland voters will be asked to decide on the fate of gambling expansion through "Question 7" (a vote "FOR" would expand gambling, while a vote "AGAINST" would limit gambling to the currently approved slot machine sites). In an editorial piece, The Washington Post recently noted that the media war over the issue has already begun -- to the tune of millions of dollars in advertising by non-Maryland casino interests (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: A pitched TV ad war is underway in Maryland, pitting one out-of-state ­gaming-industry behemoth against another. At last count, the two firms had spent $15 million in the fight to influence voters, who will cast ballots in November on an expansion of gambling in Maryland that would authorize a sixth casino and add table games such as poker at all venues....

The main combatants — though the ads don’t name them — are Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International and Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming. If voters approve the expansion, MGM has the inside track to build what could be an $800 million casino at National Harbor in Prince George’s County; unsurprisingly, it is behind the pro-expansion ads. Penn National is worried that the new casino would sap profits at its own marquee property 90 minutes away, Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, W.Va.; it has paid for the ads against expansion....

Copies of many of these advertisements are available online (Hat tip: Maryland's rightwing Monoblogue). I've included a few examples below, so that you can see what the propaganda looks like surrounding Question 7. The ads below are being promoted by the campaign websites for the casino operators (VoteForSeven.com and FactsOn7.com):

PRO-GAMBLING AD #1 URGING VOTE "FOR" QUESTION 7:

 
PRO-GAMBLING AD #2 URGING VOTE "FOR" QUESTION 7:

  ANTI-GAMBLING AD #1 URGING VOTE "AGAINST" QUESTION 7:        

UNMANNED DRONE in College Park Causes UFO Scare // Time for Maryland to RESTRICT Drones in the Free State (Seriously)

It is Maryland Juice's understanding that state and local governments may be able to restrict unmanned drones from flying in their air space. I think it is time for Free State policymakers to begin curtailing the intrusion of these insane inventions in Maryland. In the last month we reported that Queen Anne's County received authorization to fly drones from the FAA (lord knows why). We also reported this week that an unmanned drone (which cost $176 million!) crashed on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The latest drone madness in Maryland occurred last night. Maryland Juice happened to be checking his Tweet feed and caught the bizarre report below:

DCist today reported that the "UFO" was in fact a "U.S. Navy X-46B." Folks, that is code for unmanned aerial attack drone. See the excerpt below:

DCIST: Late Wednesday evening, some drivers on the Beltway near College Park peered out their windows and saw something odd: An oddly shaped flying machine being hauled down the highway on a flatbed truck.

A couple of tweets later, people started to freak the hell out and the hashtag "#beltwayufo" surged atop the trending topics. Seriously, just conduct the search yourself....

The aircraft, a U.S. Navy X-46B, was being transported from West Virginia to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in southern Maryland, WTOP reported last night.....

A Twitter user posted the following photo of the Predator Drone on the highway:

Predator Drone spotted in College Park, Maryland (source)

Come on people, are we really going to let spy DRONES become a normal feature of Maryland's airspace???

I know Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger loves Drones (he gets hundreds of thousands in contributions from Drone manufacturers), but let's get real.

Untangling the Casino Industry Spin Machine: The Shifting Arguments for Gambling in MD // ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

BACKGROUND: For several months now, Maryland Juice has been concerned with the increasingly obvious influence of the gambling industry on Free State policymakers. Its not that I am some Puritan about gambling; rather, I have a real problem when I see a single industry able to dictate how so many of our policymakers' hours are spent.

It seems that many years ago, the casino industry decided that they wanted to bring gambling to Maryland, and ever since then they've just made up reason after reason why we need slots and table games. The argument changes depending on the season. All along, our politicians just repeat the industry spin like a bunch of sock-puppets.

First, the slot machine industry claimed we needed to save the horseracing industry. After slots revenues fell short, they argued we needed more. Moreover, we needed more money for things like education. Later came arguments about residents spending money in Delaware and West Virginia. Now, the argument is simply money (ie: greed). For policymakers to so willingly engage in this race to the bottom is a bit disturbing.

Maryland Juice believes it is time to stop the madness, because if we let slots and tables games move across the state, it will be impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Below, you can see a brief review of the insanity:

SPIN #1: SLOTS NEEDED TO SAVE THE PREAKNESS: When slots were first proposed in Maryland, proponents of gambling claimed they were needed to save our majestic history of horse-racing. Indeed, today The Daily Record's Alexander Pyles reminded readers of this phony-baloney argument to bring gambling to Maryland:

DAILY RECORD: There’s little doubt that legalizing slots gambling was first proposed as a method to prop up the state’s flagging race horse industry. Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich made it one of his legislative priorities each year he was in office....

In 2006, The Washington Post reported that then-Gov.-elect Martin O’Malley also called for slots to be placed at racetracks in the state. The reason? The money would help prevent the “collapse” of the the racing industry....

THE PREAKNESS? ISN'T THAT KINDA RANDOM? - Indeed, Maryland Juice has been to the Preakness, and its lovely! The annual event gives attendees a wonderful excuse to wear lavish hats to the racetracks, while sippin' on "black eyed susans."

Take, for example, the image to the right from the 2011 Preakness. Baltimore Sun photographer Monica Lopossay captured this dapper couple decked out in elegant Preakness fashion.

An interesting question, however, is out of all the booze-filled parties in Maryland, why does this one in particular warrant statewide referenda, subsidies, and gambling? Is any one-day party really worth pushing residents to mindlessly drop millions of dollars worth of quarters into Caesars' slot machines?

Moreover, using the Preakness as an argument to promote gambling was always fishy. Indeed, it is quite manipulative to conjure up state pride and fond memories of ye olden times. But have you been to the Preakness lately? If not, here are a few photos The Baltimore Sun didn't include. They are from the 2010 Preakness and were posted by Chiara Atik at the Guest of a Guest blog:

YAY! WE SAVED THE PREAKNESS! - I don't mean to bash on The Preakness or booze-filled partiers per se, but I DO mean to bash on the idea that we should pull millions of dollars out of Maryland consumers' pockets in order to save the party above. But it is sort of a moot point now, because the horsetracks now have slot revenues pouring in, with millions more coming online soon. Last month, Barry Rascovar noted in the Carroll County Times (excerpt below):

Gov. Martin O'Malley Signs Nation's First Law Banning Arsenic in Our Chicken // Four Democrats Voted to ALLOW Arsenic!

UPDATE:  A reader notes that the bill banning arsenic in our chicken was sponsored in the Senate by Paul Pinsky, and co-sponsored by Senators Frosh, Madaleno, Raskin, Rosapepe, and Stone.  In the comments below, a second reader urges us to check out unfavorable amendments to the arsenic ban that were offered by Senator Mac Middleton (Charles County Democrat). He appears to have an arsenic fetish.

Below Maryland Juice highlights a noteworthy bill that was signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday. The bill in question bans arsenic from chicken feed, and surprisingly, this was both a first in the nation law and a bit controversial. Really???

The arsenic ban was sponsored by Del. Tom Hucker in the House (with co-sponsors Anderson, Arora, Barve, Bobo, Carr, Carter, Conaway, Cullison, Frush, Gilchrist, Holmes, Howard, A. Kelly, Lafferty, Luedtke, Oaks, Reznik, S. Robinson, Stein, Waldstreicher, and Washington). In the Senate, Paul Pinsky lead the charge. Notably, four Democrats voted to allow arsenic in our chicken. Check out the excerpt below from Mr. Hucker's press release on the matter (excerpt below):

O'Malley Signs Arsenic Ban 5/22/12 (Source)

TOM HUCKER: With the stroke of a pen today, Maryland will become the first state in the nation to ban arsenic additives widely used in the chicken industry.

The ban, HB 167, comes after three years of sustained advocacy by public safety and environmental advocates — and opposition by Pfizer and the poultry industry, which hired some of the top lobbying firms in Annapolis. Now environmental and food safety advocates are reaching out to other states, including neighboring Virginia, to introduce similar legislation.

“Today Maryland shows the nation how to stand up for food safety and the environment,” said Delegate Tom Hucker (D-Montgomery County), the main sponsor of the legislation. “There is no safe level of arsenic, and yet we’ve allowed the poultry and pharmaceutical industry to add 30,000 pounds of arsenic to Maryland’s soil, water, and food supply each year for over sixty years. McDonald’s and Perdue have been smart enough to avoid the use of arsenic additives for a long time. Yet we allow every child in our public schools and every consumer in our stores to be fed chicken that could not be served at McDonalds. I’m proud of my colleagues who stood up against the arsenic lobby to protect our environment and the public health.” Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) guided the bill to passage on the Senate floor with a vote of 32-14...

DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED TO ALLOW ARSENIC IN OUR CHICKEN: You can see the roll call votes on the arsenic ban at the General Assembly's website (House Roll Call & Senate Roll Call), but below we provide the list of Democrats who voted to allow arsenic in our chicken. I didn't even bother to list the Republicans who supported arsenic in our food, because it is practically all of them (seriously). Please send any corrections or omissions to david@marylandjuice.com.

Democrats Who Voted to Allow Arsenic in Maryland's Chicken:

• Del. Norman Conway (Wicomico & Worcester)
• Sen. Jim DeGrange (Anne Arundel)
• Sen. Roy Dyson (Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's)
• Sen. James Mathias (Somerset, Wicomico & Worcester)

JuiceBlender: Dead Body Found at Rep. Steny Hoyer Event // PLUS: Sen. Mike Miller Undermines Marriage Equality & More

Here's a random blend of political tidbits from recent news, starting with news of the weird regarding Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer:

LISTEN: Police Launch Radio Ads Against Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold // Disgraced GOP Leader Abused Power

Local news outlets are reporting that the labor union representing Anne Arundel County police is launching a radio campaign against disgraced County Executive John Leopold. The Republican County leader is currently under investigation after allegations emerged that he used County Police to spy on his political enemies, change his urinary catheters and aid in his sexual conquests - Read the Indictment Online.

Numerous groups have called on GOP Exec. John Leopold to resign, along with Police Chief James Teare. The union representing Anne Arundel's cops (IBPO) is now airing radio ads on the matter. Hometown Annapolis today reported:

The union that represents most of the county’s sergeants and lieutenants began running radio ads today in support of Anne Arundel County Deputy Police Chief Emerson Davis.

Davis, the department’s second-in-command, testified before the County Council last week on allegations related to the indictment of County Executive John R. Leopold.

Meghan Walsh, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C., office of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, or IBPO, said the ads will run several times a day for several days on three Baltimore-based radio stations: WPOC 93.1 FM, WQSR 102.7 FM and WCAO 600 AM....

Leopold was indicted last month on five counts of misappropriation and misconduct. The indictment alleged he used the police officers assigned to his security detail for personal and political reasons.

The indictment also alleges that police officers went to Police Chief James Teare Sr. with complaints, but Teare took “no effective action.” Teare has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

The Baltimore Sun shortly followed up, noting that IBPO replaced the original ad mentioned in Hometown Annapolis with a new version:

The union that represents high-ranking police officers in Anne Arundel County has dropped the name of the force's second-in-command from a radio ad that criticizes the county's executive and chief of police. 

The International Brotherhood of Police Officers, which represents Anne Arundel's police lieutenants and sergeants, originally planned to run an ad that promoted Deputy Police Chief Lt. Col. Emerson C. Davis as having taken a "brave stand" by testifying in front of the County Council about alleged improprieties by his superiors. 

The rewritten one-minute radio spot now calls for County Executive John Leopold and Police Chief Col. James E. Teare Sr. to vacate office until charges against Leopold are resolved, according to a statement Thursday from the union.

Maryland Juice has obtained copies of both radio ads, which we replay below. Note, we added some visuals to the raw audio tapes, using screencaps of the WILD indictment charges against John Leopold.

NEW RADIO AD


 ORIGINAL RADIO AD

Indicted Anne Arundel Exec John Leopold Spied on "Enemies" // Flashback to Ehrlich Spy Scandal, Democratic Complacency

The emerging story of Anne Arundel's recently indicted County Executive paints an embarrassing caricature of small-town political corruption in the Free State. Yesterday, we talked about how Anne Arundel's top Republican official John Leopold (aka "Indictment-Guy") allegedly forced on-duty police officers to:

1. deliver his campaign lawnsigns
2. aid and abet in his sexual conquests,
3. and even empty his urinary catheter bag (eww!)

POLICE MONITORING REVEALED: The Baltimore Sun today reports on more details within Mr. Leopold's indictment, including allegations that he used police to research and monitor his political enemies:

The indictment handed down Friday against Leopold, who is in his second term, accuses Leopold of requiring executive protection officers to assemble dossiers on people he considered to be political rivals. According to the document, those people included Joanna Conti, who unsuccessfully ran against him in 2010, Carl O. Snowden, who heads the state attorney general's civil rights office and is a local activist, and potentially others.

The indictment says Leopold's security detail "did not consider these people to be a security risk."

FLASHBACK TO THE EHRLICH ERA: This sounds eerily similar to GOP Governor Bob Ehrlich's spying scandal. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the details of that case, Adam Pagnucco of Maryland Politics Watch wrote a great deal about it. In short, during Mr. Ehrlich's tenure as one-term Governor of the Free State, State Police were used to spy on ordinary citizens engaged in ordinary political protest (ie: Quakers marching against the death penalty or young people protesting war). Only three-and-a-half years ago, Pagnucco commented on the need to reign in the government's abuses of power and willy-nilly attitude toward privacy:

Spygate is the ultimate example of big, arrogant government seeking power over law-abiding citizens. So we would expect the Free State’s conservatives to condemn it, right? Wrong....

Indicted Anne Arundel Exec. John Leopold's Aide Pushed Former Senator for Council Vacancy // Police Seek Resignations

BACKGROUND: Maryland Juice has written a great deal about Anne Arundel County politics lately. This is owing mainly to the pathetic controversy over how to fill a vacancy on the County Council. The Democrats and one Republican are pushing to appoint a young, qualified African American Marine Corps reservist, while the remaining Republicans are pushing Michael Wagner, a 70-year-old, white, former State Senator.

Recent news coverage makes it appear as though former Senator Wagner was pushed into the race by allies of Anne Arundel County's Republican Executive John Leopold. Strangely, Wagner also seems to describe himself as out-of-touch with the District's voters. Notably, Wagner's political benefactor -- County Exec. Leopold -- is currently under indictment for shocking misuse of his public office (see below). Yesterday, The Baltimore Sun provided additional context on the race:

The council has been deadlocked in a 3-3 tie between two candidates: Peter I. Smith, a Defense Department budget manager and a Marine reservist from Severn who is African-American, and Michael J. Wagner, a former state senator from Ferndale, who is white....

Smith said he became interested in politics when he worked as a volunteer for former county Sheriff George F. Johnson, who ran unsuccessfully against County Executive John R. Leopold in 2006....

In his pitch for the seat, Wagner has said he was encouraged to apply by a former top aide to Leopold....

"I probably wouldn't have thought of it, to tell you the truth," said Wagner.... "I'm a conservative Democrat. I know a lot of the regular Democrats wouldn't be jumping for joy with me in there. They'd rather have a person who's stepping to their tune."

Smith, meanwhile, said he's anxious to get the matter settled. "I wish they would just give me an opportunity."

Meanwhile, The Tri-City Herald recently reported on the ridiculous details of County Executive Leopold's misuse of taxpayer resources:

A Maryland official was indicted Friday for misusing his police protection squad, including making them wait while he had sex with a county employee in parking lots, using the officers to conceal his affair and having them do errands such as emptying his urinary catheter bag, prosecutors said.

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold was charged with four counts of misconduct in office and a count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary, state prosecutor Emmet Davitt announced Friday.

WJLA also notes that Leopold had police planting political lawnsigns for his campaign (really???):

Leopold, a Republican, allegedly used sworn, on-duty Anne Arundel County officers as political campaign workers who would regularly place and distribute campaign signs during the 2010 election, according to the state's attorney.

Today, the union representing Anne Arundel's police force is calling on John Leopold to resign. The Examiner's Jennifer Teates reports:

International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the union representing the sergeants and lieutenants of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, has followed up their recent “no confidence” vote with a call on Monday for County Executive John Leopold and Police Chief James Teare, Sr. to resign....

If county leaders do not take immediate action, officers fear a rise in crime and, according to the IBPO, “the waste of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to fix problems that could have been avoided with more prudent management....” 

"Our members thought the county executive made unsafe decisions about public safety before the indictment," said Paul J. Birks, IBPO national vice president, referring to the vote of no confidence the sergeants and lieutenants took in Leopold’s performance a week before the release of the indictment. "We're even more concerned now that Mr. Leopold will have the distraction of such serious legal troubles."

"If officers cannot trust their chief to protect them from the alleged abuse by a public official, then how can citizens trust the chief to protect them?" asked Birks.

Can the Anne Arundel County Council really appoint the hand-picked choice of an indicted politician to fill a vacancy?

Juice Blender: MD House GOP Members Meeting to Discuss Leadership Future // Del. Tiffany Alston Faces More Charges

UPDATE: A Maryland Juice reader has written a rather feisty defense of Del. Tiffany Alston. Here is a short clip, but I urge you to read the full tirade: "Maybe House Seaker Busch could be a better mentor rather than attacking her though. When Sam Arora flipped on gay marriage, he got a stern talking to and a trip to India! Delegate Alston pissed off the speaker, she gots multiple indictments."

Here's a random blend of political tidbits starting with a development in Annapolis. Yesterday we wrote about MD House Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell's entry into the 5th Congressional District race. We also noted that Tea Party leader Del. Mike Smigiel called on Mr. O'Donnell to resign his GOP leadership position while campaigning for Congress. Today, a Maryland Juice reader who happens to work as a legislative aide in Annapolis sent us the following news:

Juice #1: The GOP House caucus is meeting right now. Potential leadership change. Smigiel is angling.... Also, Smigiel is running for a Judgeship, so I dont know what his deal is. http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2012/primary_candidates/statecandidateslist.aspx. Scroll down to "Circuit Court - Judicial Circuit 2."

Juice #2: Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports on another twist in the case against Del. Tiffany Alston:

GAY PARTY BOSS DEFENSE? MD Lawmaker Tiffany Alston Calls Criminal Charges Revenge for Marriage Equality Flip-Flop

Maryland Juice previously reported on the ironic story of Delegate Tiffany Alston facing criminal charges for allegedly using campaign funds on her wedding expenses. LGBT advocates noted that Ms. Alston was one of the reasons the marriage equality effort failed this year, as she sponsored the bill but then announced she would vote against it. Now The Gazette reports that Delegate Alston is blaming the criminal charges on her failure to support marriage equality:

The defense attorney for state Del. Tiffany Alston, who has been charged with misusing her 2010 campaign money, claims the charges against her are a backlash for Alston withdrawing support from a 2011 same-sex marriage bill....

VIDEO: Former Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson Receiving Cash Bribe

The Washington Times yesterday published an article about the criminal trial of former Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson. Their article was primarily about a newly released FBI surveillance video allegedly showing Mr. Johnson receiving a cash bribe. Hat tip to Maryland Reporter for pointing to the video footage, which the Times explained as follows:

Johnson is seen accepting a tightly rolled wad of cash passed to him by a county developer who was cooperating with investigators. Johnson, seated in the developer’s office and wearing the same clothes in which he would later be arrested, thumbed through the cash before getting up to leave.

It was then, according to prosecutors, that federal agents confronted Johnson about the $15,000 he was carrying. Authorities say the bribe was paid by Mirza Baig...

In exchange for other bribes, Baig received the county executive’s assistance on several development projects, including $1.7 million in federal block grants to pay for the renovations of 11 homes to be rented to low-income residents.

The Times article notes that Jack Johnson's sentence is expected to come down in early December, and his wife, former Councilmember Leslie Johnson, will receive her sentence a few days later. You can watch the FBI footage below:

Del. Tiffany Alston Indicted // Irony: Marriage Equality Opponent Steals To Pay for Wedding?

UPDATE: Del. Alston's marriage-hypocrisy story goes national. Check out this Mother Jones story.

Numerous people have emailed me with the unfortunate breaking news that Maryland Delegate Tiffany Alston has been indicted for theft of campaign funds. This story is amazing for two reasons: 1) Ms. Alston represents Prince George's, where voters just this week elected Derrick Leon Davis to replace scandal-ridden Councilmember Leslie Johnson, and 2) Ms. Alston is ironically charged with stealing campaign funds to pay for her own wedding, after voting down the marriage rights of same-sex couples.