OMG: Tea Party Delegate Don Dwyer Arrested (Again) for DUI // The Same Guy Crashed a Boat Into Kids While Drinking

Maryland's Tea Party Delegate Don Dwyer may have a drinking problem. Eye on Annapolis reports that this morning, Dwyer was arrested for driving under the influence (excerpt below):

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS: Early this morning Anne Arundel County police pulled over a vehicle for suspected driving while intoxicated....

The driver of the vehicle was Anne Arundel County delegate Don Dwyer. Dwyer identified himself as a member of the House of delegates and failed several field sobriety tests....

Dwyer was arrested and brought back to the Eastern District for processing. The delegate refused to submit to a breath test.

You may recall that Del. Don Dwyer was involved in a drunk-boating accident last year that resulted in injuries to several children. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Dwyer entered a guilty plea in the resulting criminal investigation, with his fate to be decided by a judge next month (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: In a renewed bid to avoid jail time, Maryland Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. pleaded guilty Tuesday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to a drunken boating charge stemming from a collision last year that injured seven people.

It will be up to a visiting judge, however, to decide in October whether to accept the plea deal that Dwyer (R-Anne Arundel) reached with prosecutors, which calls for no additional incarceration....

Because all of the charges filed against Dwyer were misdemeanors and none were directly related to his job as a state legislator, he has not been under threat of automatic expulsion from the General Assembly.

But House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) has said that he expects that a legislative ethics committee will examine the episode. That panel could recommend disciplinary actions ranging up to expulsion to the full House of Delegates.

I think it's game over for GOP Delegate Don Dwyer!

JuiceBlender: Don Dwyer Blames Boating Accident on Gay Marriage, O'Malley Prioritizes Death Penalty, Greg Hall Update

Below Maryland Juice highlights a few articles that may be of interest to Free State politicos, starting with some amazingly disingenuous excuses from Tea Party lawmaker Don Dwyer:

JUICE #1: MARYLAND GOP LAWMAKER DON DWYER BLAMES DRUNK BOATING ACCIDENT ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY - Media figures are beginning to highlight (and deride) amazing comments that Delegate Don Dwyer made about his drunk boating accident. As you may recall, Dwyer (a supposed "family values" -- read: anti-gay -- politician) admitted being trashed on booze when he crashed his boat, resulting in an accident that left several children seriously injured. Now he's blaming the accident on marriage equality (translation: blaming it on the gays): The Washington Blade reported on Dwyer's outrageous comments (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BLADE: A Maryland lawmaker told a local newspaper last week that legislators who voted for the state’s same-sex marriage bill contributed to his alcohol abuse. Delegate Don Dwyer (R-Anne Arundel County) told the Maryland Gazette in an interview the newspaper posted to its website on Saturday that he felt “betrayed” when Dels. Wade Koch (R-Baltimore County) and Robert Costa (R-Anne Arundel County) and then-Del. Tiffany Alston (D-Prince George’s County) in Feb. 2012 backed for the measure that Gov. Martin O’Malley eventually signed into law....

Dwyer's attempt to blame his drunk boating accident on marriage equality was met with derision on the Internet, as best represented by the following headline on the Wonkette blog: Drunky Maryland Pol: Gay Marriage Crashed That Boat, Injured That 5-Year-Old Girl (excerpt below):

WONKETTE: It is not funny that Maryland Delegate Don Dwyer drunkenly crashed his boat last year, fracturing the skull of a five-year-old girl. But it is funny that he is blaming gay marriage for the alcoholism that made him drunkenly crash his boat last year, fracturing the skull of a five-year-old girl! Oh, did we say “funny”?...

DC101 DJ Mike Jones commented on the radio station's Facebook page: "The Maryland gay marriage vote caused him to drink. Could be the biggest BS politician excuse I've ever heard. -mike jones"

SOURCE: Facebook.

JUICE #2: O'MALLEY TO MAKE DEATH PENALTY REPEAL A LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY - The likelihood of finally banning government executions in Maryland increased greatly this week. News outlets and advocates are reporting that Gov. Martin O’Malley will sponsor death penalty repeal legislation and put the weight of his office behind the effort in Annapolis. Check out the following report from The Death Penalty Information Center (excerpt below):

DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTER: On January 15 at a press conference with leaders of the NAACP, Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley announced he will be making the repeal of capital punishment a priority in the upcoming legislative session and will submit a repeal bill to the legislature later this week. Among the concerns about the death penalty expressed by the governor were its high costs and the lack of any benefit to society: "Is it worth wasting taxpayer dollars on a policy that does not work?" Senate President Mike Miller, who supports the death penalty, said the bill will be given a vote in the full Senate and will likely pass this year. Maryland has not had an execution or death sentence since 2005, and the state's lethal injection procedures have not been approved by the courts.

The Washington Post highlighted the potential impact of O'Malley's leadership on the issue (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Though the governor’s decision does not guarantee passage, “it makes a huge difference,” said Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, where repeal bills have stalled in past years....

A repeal “can’t get done without the governor, and having his active engagement will be vital,” said Frosh, who favors the abolishment of capital punishment.

With O’Malley’s name on the bill, it is certain to get heightened media attention, as well as the focus of a team of lobbyists employed by the governor’s office and personal attention from O’Malley himself....

JUICE #3: PRINCE GEORGE'S DEMOCRATS RETRACT GREG HALL'S NOMINATION FOR TIFFANY ALSTON'S DELEGATE SEAT  //  3 NEW NAMES SUBMITTED - The unusual saga surrounding efforts to appoint a replacement for former Delegate Tiffany Alston (District 24) lurched forward today. As you may recall, the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee's (PGDCC) choice for the seat was activist Greg Hall. But news of Hall's dark past gave some PGDCC members pause and last night they voted to revoke his nomination. The Prince George's Democrats also forwarded three new names to Gov. O'Malley. Check out the report from The Gazette (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee revoked its nominee to fill a vacant delegate seat Tuesday night, leaving the task of filling the seat firmly in the hands of the governor.

In a contentious meeting that saw Greg Hall, the committee's original choice, trading barbs with committee Chair Terry Speigner, the committee put forward three non-binding recommendations that Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is free to disregard if he chooses....

"At the end of the day, the governor gets what he wants, and Prince George's County once again gets screwed," Hall said....

The Washington Post described the three new nominees for the District 24 seat as follows (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: O'Malley's spokeswoman Raquel Guillory said the governor "will take into consideration" the panel's recommendations. They are: Vicky L. Orem, an orphans' court judge; Clayton Aarons, an attorney; and Phillip Raines, a defense contractor.

Photo Sources: Gazette, Twitter

SARCASM // Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin: Death Penalty for Adulterers More Effective than Opposing Marriage Equality

Maryland Juice just caught a debate between Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin and a bunch of conservatives on Facebook. Mr. Slavin (a Montgomery County Democrat) proposed an interesting (tongue-in-cheek) policy solution for those who are concerned about the state of marriage and therefore opposing marriage equality (Question 6). The Somerset Mayor suggested that if folks are concerned about marriage, they should support the death penalty for adulterers rather than oppose marriage equality. Catch the amusing filibuster below, but note that the key passage states:

JEFFREY SLAVIN: I am pro-marriage.. I think adultery should be prosecuted and perhaps adulterers should be given the death penalty. That would be the best way to SAVE MARRIAGE

Hilarious stuff from the Mayor of Somerset!

BOOK OF REVELATIONS: Reports Reveal Anti-Marriage Equality Donors // Ehrlich Robocall Consultant Cuts Big Checks

The latest campaign finance filings have been released regarding Maryland's marriage equality battle, and there are several newsworthy items in the disclosures. Below Maryland Juice provides comment from anonymous readers, as well as a press release from the Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign:

REVELATION #1: EHRLICH'S VOTER SUPPRESSION GURU IS SINGLE-HANDEDLY FINANCING A GROUP OPPOSED TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY - The most interesting tidbit from the campaign finance reports is that a new anti-civil rights group called "Jump the Broom for Marriage" (aka JTBM) is receiving almost all of its financing from Julius Henson, who was recently convicted of voter suppression efforts for GOP Governor Bob Ehrlich. Indeed, $21,000 of the $21,881 raised by JTBM is from Mr. Henson. In 2010, Henson taped a robocall telling African American voters they didn't need to turn out for the  election. Now he is trying to mislead Maryland's voters (and cowboys) into thinking their children will somehow be harmed by the passage of marriage equality:

ANONYMOUS READER: You may have already followed up on this -- but see attached for the campaign finance report from Jump the Broom for Marriages. Of the $21,881 in contribution the campaign took in -- $21,000 were from Julius Henson (Ehrlich's robo call campaign flak). Henson also donated another $7k in-kind, so this "ballot committee" is really just a wholly owned hobby of Julius Henson.

I realize there are lots of other campaign finance stories today -- but just thought to follow up on this to show that along with Frank Schubert (the Karl Rove of marriage ballot initiatives), the folks who are working to defeat marriage equality are a compromised bunch. Harry Jackson, Derek McCoy and Julius Henson are all cut from the same cloth -- they have multiple judgments against them in the court system, mostly for failure to pay their debts, and they make a living spreading invective and lies. Birds of a feather, really.

REVELATION #2: LEADER OF MARYLAND'S BIGGEST ANTI-MARRIAGE EQUALITY GROUP DODGES TAXES - In yet another sign of moral hypocrisy from Maryland's preachy stone-throwers, The Washington Blade reported this week that the head of the Maryland Marriage Alliance (aka MMA) doesn't like to pay taxes. Derek McCoy is the leader of MMA, which is the main group organizing opposition to civil rights in Maryland. Marylander's anti-civil rights leaders recently placed a "curse" on The Washington Blade (good luck with that one). See an excerpt from the Blade's report below:

WASHINGTON BLADE: The Washngton Blade has learned that the Internal Revenue Service in 2011 filed a lien against the executive director of the group challenging Maryland’s same-sex marriage law for more than $32,000 in unpaid taxes.. The filing notes he had an unpaid balance of $22,940.32 for the tax period that ended on Dec. 31, 2002. The document further indicates that McCoy had an unpaid balance of $9,646.07 for the tax period that ended on Dec. 31, 2003.

McCoy, who is executive director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance, is an associate pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, the same congregation headed by Bishop  Harry Jackson who claimed late last month he placed a “curse” on the Blade two months before the newspaper’s parent company’s Nov. 2009 bankruptcy forced it to temporarily shut down.

REVELATION #3: MARRIAGE EQUALITY SUPPORTERS RAISE MONEY FROM THOUSANDS OF DONORS // OPPONENTS FUNDED BY HANDFUL OF RICH EXTREMISTS - A press release from Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the group pushing a "vote for" marriage equality (Question 6), shows a stark contrast between supporters and opponents of civil rights. The pro-marriage equality side counts over 9,000 donors, while the haters are being funded by a small group of 300 wealthy haters and religious extremists. See the press release below:

PRESS RELEASE

Campaign Filings Show Stark Differences Between Supporters, Foes of Question 6

BALTIMORE - Both sides of the Question 6 referendum in Maryland submitted their campaign funding reports yesterday, revealing a significant difference in the number of individual donors to the two camps. Marylanders for Marriage Equality, which raised $3.2 million to date, produced 950 pages of contributions in a report that includes over 9,000 donors. The Maryland Marriage Alliance raised $830,000 and filed a 40-page report including just 300 donors.

"We'll let the massive gap between our number of individual donors and theirs speak for itself," said Josh Levin. "Our opponents raised almost 80% of their funds from two secretive organizations that don't disclose their donors, yet we've still raised more from Maryland residents alone than they have overall. The campaign for marriage equality is powered by Marylanders who are giving their time and dollars to protect fairness and equality under the law.”

MMA's primary funding came from the National Organization for Marriage at $400,000, Knights of Columbus at $250,000, and MMA itself at $151,000 (in un-itemized funds raised before its ballot committee was established). These three account for $801,000 of the total 838,000 in contributions. The remaining $37,000 is from about 300 donors. Maryland Catholic Conference made about $11,500 in in-kind contributions.

The MMA’s Derek McCoy has frequently claimed Marylanders for Marriage Equality receives "millions" from "movie stars."

"The disclosure highlights a larger point: our opponents are misinforming - and sometimes outright lying to - voters,” said Levin.

Marylanders for Marriage Equality is the diverse coalition made up of 1199 SEIU of Maryland, NAACP Baltimore, ACLU of Maryland, Equality Maryland, the Human Rights Campaign and more working to protect marriage on the November ballot.

###

MORE ON MD'S BATTLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS SOON!

SNEAK PREVIEW: Divisive Direct Mail Propaganda & Lawnsigns From MD Marriage Equality Opponents // SCANNED IMAGES

An anonymous source reveals that the obsessive, anti-LGBT lobby in Maryland is continuing to use divisive, hate-mongering tactics to try and stop marriage equality at the ballot this November. They have formed a new ballot issue committee called Jump the Broom for Marriages, which appears to be run by relatives of Bob Ehrlich's disgraced robocall consultant, Julius Henson (see filing documents at bottom of post). Our source provides the following commentary about this group and their disgraceful new propaganda campaign:

ANONYMOUS SOURCE: See attached files for materials from the press packet being prepared by an anti-marriage equality group - Jump the Broom for Marriages.  They have filed with MD Board of Elections as a Ballot Issue Committee.  Interesting to note that the Treasurer for the Committee is Raymond Henson, who I was told is a relative of Julius Henson (who worked for Ehrlich's 2010 gubernatorial campaign and was responsible for the "stay at home" robocall on election night). 

Attached you will find correspondences and pics of the lawn signs they are offering and pics of the glossy 9" x 4"mailers that are targeted at various demographic groups.  Note that the mailers include some truly perjorative pitches -- one shows scantily clad marchers in a Pride parade, another shows a group of babies who seem confused about their parents' gender.  The others include a pitch to Afr Amer, Latinos; cowboys who love big busty women and young caucasians.

A press packet for the anti-civil rights group is included below (scroll to bottom), but it notes the following goals for Jump the Broom for Marriages (excerpt below):

JUMP THE BROOM FOR MARRIAGES: Jump the Broom for Marriages is a Maryland Ballot Issue Committee formed to run a political campaign to encourage Maryland voters to vote against--and defeat--the same-sex. marriage ballot referendum. The referendum will appear on the Maryland ballot as Question 6 in the 2012 Presidential Election. This referendum is titled "Marriage Equality," but we know that same-sex marriages are counterfeit marriages. You share our belief that this gay and lesbian agenda runs counter to God's intentions....

In order to successfully defeat the same-sex marriage ballot referendum, we need to mobilize voters, particularly the African American community in Maryland. While we believe that a concentrated campaign must be waged statewide to all voters, the final outcome-success or failure -- will be determined in the African American precincts of Baltimore City, and of Prince George's, Baltimore, Howard, Harford, and Charles Counties. Montgomery County, Prince George's County and Baltimore City comprise the largest population centers of liberal Democrats who are most likely to support same-sex marriage, or so called "Marriage Equality." The other twenty-one counties are smaller conservative population centers of Republicans, and they are the least likely to support same-sex marriage....

Our campaign budget is $2,500,000. We believe that our efforts will result in 250,000 more voters going to the polls to vote against the Question 6 ballot same-sex marriage referendum. Jump the Broom for Marriages is looking for funding for this campaign.

The materials being used by Maryland's civil rights opponents are particularly vile, because they are clearly attempting to stoke racial and religious divisions. Meanwhile, they are almost completely lacking in substance and the postcards instead using the mere sight of people to stoke opposition. All of this is a complete distraction from the unequal legal rights and protections facing families in Maryland. See what I mean below:


EXHIBIT 1: USING PHOTOS OF GAY PRIDE PARADES TO STOKE OPPOSITION -Here is a mailer that attempts to generate opposition to civil rights by simply showing photos of people at a gay pride parade. This non sequitur of a propaganda piece has no purpose other than to try and incite ungrounded negative feelings:

EXHIBIT 2: INVOKING CHILDREN TO STOKE OPPOSITION TO LGBT RIGHTS - It should come as no surprise to see the haters trying to mislead voters by vaguely invoking children. In fact, supporters of marriage equality have been warning that these images would be coming, given that the haters have been using such spurious arguments in other states:

EXHIBITS 3-4: STOKING RACIAL DIVISIONS TO GENERATE OPPOSITION - In another predictable move, civil rights opponents are attempting to divide and conquer various racial and demographic groups. The series of mail pieces below demonstrate an extremely cynical attempt to market bigotry to Maryland voters:

PROPAGANDA FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTERS

CD6: Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney Improperly Worked for Rep. Roscoe Bartlett // MD Dems Want Tax Dollars Returned

Yesterday, The Washington Post's Ben Pershing revealed that Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney may have been violating U.S. House ethics rules while working for Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's office (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: House ethics rules say an aide can’t run to succeed his or her boss and stay on the congressional payroll, but a staffer for Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) did so for the past four months.... Mooney, who also serves as chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, has been on Bartlett’s staff since June, according to House payroll records....

Reflections on the Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks // Are American Civil Liberties & Pentagon Budget Restraint Toast?

PLUS: Maryland politicians fundraising on 9/11

UPDATE: The ACLU of Maryland warns that tomorrow Congress is scheduled to vote on an extension of police powers allowing the government to wiretap American's communications without a search warrant. Use the ACLU's online action tool to send an email to your members of Congress today.

ANOTHER DAY OF 9/11 REMEMBRANCE: Today marks another anniversary of the tragic 9/11/01 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Indeed, I nearly forgot about this new American milestone, until I woke up and started reading the news coverage and alerts streaming through my email inbox. Of course, most news outlets are running the ordinary tributes and commentary on the event itself, and the victims deserve their moment of remembrance. It is, after all, tough to forget the jarring emotional period in American civic life that many of us lived through. It is harder still to forget the tragic imagery from that day and how it continues to impact the American policy mindset (both positively and negatively)....

CD1 OMG: Rep. Andy Harris' Opponent Drops Out After Voting in 2 States // Dems to Write-In Replacement for Wendy Rosen

PLUS: Democratic runner-up John LaFerla is up for the challenge of waging a write-in campaign against Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris

Wendy Rosen: "Did I Do That?"

Wendy Rosen is causing chaos today, after abruptly resigning as the Democrats' 1st Congressional District nominee. Rosen, a former Republican, won the right to take on Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris for his Eastern Shore-anchored U.S. House seat after winning last April's Democratic Primary. But Delmarva Now reported on her resignation from the race earlier today, due to "personal issues:"

DELMARVA NOW: Wendy Rosen, the Democratic candidate challenging Andy Harris for the Eastern Shore’s congressional seat, has resigned from the race.

In an email sent to Yvette Lewis, chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party, Monday, Rosen said she regrets the decision to withdraw from the race, but believes Maryland’s 1st Congressional District still deserves a candidate to challenge incumbent Republican Congressman Andy Harris in November.

MARYLAND DEMS ASK WENDY ROSEN TO WITHDRAW FROM CD1 RACE AFTER DISCOVERING HER VOTER FRAUD (?!?) HISTORY: In a follow-up report to the story, The Associated Press divulged that Wendy Rosen's "personal issues" were that she has committed voter fraud. OMG! Talk about "off message" -- this is truly astonishing.

Maryland Lawmaker Emmett Burns Tells Baltimore Ravens to Silence Pro-Gay Rights Player // CONTROVERSY ERUPTS

UPDATE: A new Baltimore Sun editorial scorches Delegate Emmett Burns Jr. for his censorship effort. They think he's not fit for office (excerpt below): 

BALTIMORE SUN: That Mr. Burns had to reacquaint himself with the First Amendment ... suggests he has neither the temperament nor the basic understanding of government and law to continue in office. The fact that the use of his office letterhead for the purpose may have violated General Assembly ethics rules only underscores the point....

AN EMBARRASSMENT TO MARYLAND DEMOCRATS - If you haven't heard about the recent controversy surrounding Maryland lawmaker Emmett Burns Jr, you're missing out on one of the most idiotic stories of the year. Hat tip: Todd Eberly of the Free Stater blog. 

Delegate Burns, a Baltimore area Democrat, represents District 10 in the State House. He is also apparently against both free speech and marriage equality. Burns is now the subject of a national, viral news story after he tried to get the Baltimore Ravens to silence one of their players (linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo) for publicly endorsing marriage equality. See a synopsis of the story below.

Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo is Pro-LGBT rights (source: Instagram)

Here's a brief review of the controversy involving Maryland Delegate Emmett Burns Jr, the Baltimore Ravens, and linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo:

LISTEN: 911 Calls from Del. Don Dwyer's Drunk Boating Accident // Witnesses Say Boat "Flying" at "Full Throttle"

Maryland Juice has been following the developing story surrounding GOP lawmaker Don Dwyer's drunk boating accident. Today, WBAL released two tapes of 911 emergency calls made by witnesses to the incident, along with an Associated Press wire story about the calls (excerpt below):

AP: A witness to a boat collision told police a boat operated by a lawmaker was "flying" at "what seemed like full throttle" before a collision that injured seven people....

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department released the audio of six different 911 calls made after the crash which occurred last Wednesday night near Gibson Island....

You can listen to the two shocking calls posted by WBAL below (files in .mp3 format):

• LISTEN: 911 Call #1
• LISTEN: 911 Call #2

MORE ON THE INVESTIGATION OF DON DWYER SOON!

OUCH: Del. Don Dwyer's GOP Colleague Nic Kipke Calls on Him to Resign // PLUS: Readers Weigh In With Commentary

UPDATE: The Capital Gazette has an editorial about the Don Dwyer boating scandal, where they raise the same issues of moral hypocrisy pointed out by Maryland Juice (excerpt below):

CAPITAL GAZETTE: The delegate hasn’t been slow to condemn what he sees as the moral failings of others. Indeed, our problem with him has been not his politics, but that he has always seemed more interested in moralizing from the House floor than in legislating or fighting for his constituents’ interests.

DEL. NIC KIPKE CALLS ON DWYER TO RESIGN: An elected official and Maryland Juice reader has forwarded us news that Delegate Don Dwyer's colleague Del. Nic Kipke is calling on the embattled lawmaker to resign. Dwyer and Kipke both represent legislative District 31, along with Del. Steven Schuh. Kipke's comments appeared in The Capital Gazette (excerpt below):

CAPITAL GAZETTE: One of Del. Don Dwyer’s closest colleagues is urging the Pasadena lawmaker to resign after admitting to consuming alcohol while operating a powerboat involved in a serious accident on the Magothy River on Wednesday.

Another Alleged Scandal w/ Del. Don Dwyer Emerges // GOP Drunk Driver Left Wife & Kids, Church Ex-Communicated Him?

UPDATE: A reader in the comments section explains the manner in which one can become excommunicated from Del. Don Dwyer's church. The alleged adultery was not the issue, rather Dwyer's refusal to explain the adultery potentially led to the church booting him. 

ANONYMOUS READER: Juice, just to make sure you understand what excommunication for contempt of church (or more likely, for leaving fellowship or refusing to obey presbytery leaders in their request for dialogue, is not the same thing as being excommunicated for unrepentant adultery. In th EP church, excommunication means removal from fellowship/membership of that local church. It can be for biblical reasons (i.e. unrepentant sin) or for breaking a covenant with other church members (e.g. Non-attendance). That is to say, your conclusions are making quite a leap.

IS DELEGATE DON DWYER DRUNK WITH POWER?

Pasadena Evangelical Presbyterian Church

MORE "FAMILY VALUES" HYPOCRISY REVEALED: A Maryland Juice reader has sent us allegations of further moral hypocrisy from GOP lawmaker Don Dwyer. Last night we discussed the drunk boating accident involving Maryland's Tea Party Delegate, and we even highlighted Dwyer's Match.com dating profile. But as it turns out, there may be a reason that the Republican hypocrite has been cruising the online dating scene. A member of Dwyer's former church, the Pasadena Evangelical Presbyterian Church, alleges that Dwyer left his wife and children, but was excommunicated after failing to explain the circumstances to his church:

ANONYMOUS READER #1: I'm a member at the Church which excommunicated him late Spring. I don't have access to the session minutes, but he was excommunicated for "contumacy" (contempt of church) after he refused to answer why he abandoned his wife and kids and started sleeping around.

Notably, the website for Dwyer's church highlights a focus on the family (excerpt below):

WASTED: Del. Don Dwyer Crashes Boat, Injures Children // MD Tea Party Official Admits Boating While Drinking, Sinks Vessel

Tea Party Del. Don Dwyer on a Boat (2009). Source: Facebook.

DELEGATE DWYER SINKS BOAT WITH 2.5 TIMES LEGAL BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT: Maryland politicos are buzzing with news that GOP Delegate Don Dwyer drove a boat while drunk last night, resulting in seven injured people -- including three children. According to WBAL, Del. Dwyer's blood alcohol content (BAC) was .2, which is two and a half times over the legal limit for Maryland automobile drivers. Driving with .08 BAC is per se illegal in Maryland, and Dwyer admits boating while boozing, so his actions likely constitute a criminal offense in the Free State. We first learned of the news from a report in the LGBT-oriented publication, The Metro Weekly (excerpt below):

CD6: Nuns to Protest at Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's Office // National Pundit Calls Sen. Rob Garagiola "The Most Arrogant" Candidate

UPDATE: A number of readers in the comments below, either defend Senator Garagiola or criticize John Delaney. Additionally, a few anonymous readers were baffled by Stu Rothenberg's comments. We print a few select responses below:

READER #1: That Rothenberg piece struck me as an amazing piece of Washington-elite disconnectedness.

Sam Arora's Wedding Photographer Complains of Infringement at SamAroraWeddingCard.com // GAY WEDDING PHOTOS

UPDATE: Maryland Juice previously displayed a photo album of parody photos from Sam Arora's wedding. Unfortunately, they've "mysteriously" disappeared from my Picasaweb account. While I am researching what happened, I've replaced the slideshow with a "censored" replica. See below:

Maryland lawmaker Sam Arora's wedding photographer has accused Maryland Juice of copyright infringement for our new website SamAroraWeddingCard.com.  We posted photos from Mr. Arora's wedding with a message asking people to sign a "congratulatory" wedding card for the marriage equality backstabber. The site also included a "gift registry" and other mocking items. But Sam's photographer, Sarah at Ampersand Photography, didn't see the humor in our work and left the following message at the wedding card website:

SAM'S PHOTOGRAPHER: you do not have permission to use these images, and are infringing on copyright agreements by displaying them here.

Maryland Juice disagrees with Sarah, and we think that our use of the doctored photos was in a protected context. Nevertheless, we have decided to remove the photos and assist Sarah by using her work in a much more clear parody. So, we grabbed a few photos from the wedding and re-imagined Sam Arora in a Big Gay Wedding. See our results temporary replacement photo below:

Spoof Source: Sarah @ Ampersand Photography

This is the second time in a month that someone has contacted us to complain of supposed copyright infringement. Last week, AOL-Huffington Post sent big-time hack attorneys from DLA Piper after our blog for supposedly infringing on their "intellectual" property rights. Doh!

WEDDING PHOTOS: Sam Arora Got Married // Sign a Card for the Marriage Equality Backstabber: SamAroraWeddingCard.Com

Maryland lawmaker Sam Arora got married (to a woman) this weekend. Ironically, the marriage equality backstabber's lavish affair took place during DC's annual Capital Pride Parade. Below, you can see a slideshow of photos from the wedding. His interracial union would've been illegal in 1967 -- fancy that. But he's still okay subjecting other families' marriages to a "popular vote" this November.

"Congratulate" Sam on his recent wedding. 

Sign a wedding card at: www.SamAroraWeddingCard.com
(We'll deliver the card to him with the list of signers)

VIDEO: Maryland Juice Asks Huffington Post to Apologize for Hypocritical Legal Threats // PLUS: Read The Gazette's Take

Maryland Juice spent the last few days at the annual Netroots Nation conference. The gathering of progressive organizers, Netizens, and politicos drew a surprising number of Marylanders. But not surprisingly, in attendance were a number of staff and writers for Arianna Huffington's blogging platform, The Huffington Post.

I used the opportunity to find a Huffington Post writer and see if I could extract an apology on behalf of Arianna Huffington. After all, her company (AOL-Huffington Post) recently unleashed corporate attorneys from mega-law firm DLA Piper to threaten legal action against Maryland Juice. They claimed I was infringing on their "intellectual" property rights by excerpting an article and photo from Patch.com. The national blogs TechDirt and Above the Law cried foul, noting that The Huffington Post itself engaged in exactly the same type of blogging that they were complaining about.

The Gazette's Daniel Leaderman recently picked up on the controversy and noted (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: State politics blog Maryland Juice (marylandjuice.com) found itself under legal attack last week from no less of a media giant than AOL, owner of both Patch.com and the Huffington Post....

....blogger David Moon posted a rebuttal explaining that not only did AOL rely on free writing from bloggers, but his actions were well within the scope of fair use provisions in U.S. copyright law....

Your move, AOL.

Maryland Juice is still awaiting that apology from Arianna Huffington....

Anti-Marriage Equality Lawmaker Sam Arora is Getting Married (To a Woman) // Double-Standard for Maryland Politician?

UPDATE: A number of readers are pointing out that Sam Arora's wedding would've been illegal in 1967 (especially if Maryland Senator Norm Stone would've prevailed in outlawing interracial marriage). Additionally, in the comments section below a reader points out that Sam's wedding in DC is ironically on the same day as DC's annual pride parade.

Congratulations are in order for Maryland lawmaker Sam Arora! After breaking a campaign promise to support marriage equality, Montgomery County's lone state legislator to oppose equal rights is now getting married himself. Though he won't allow others to get married, Sam Arora and his bride to be (yes, he is marrying a woman), apparently submitted their announcement to the Washington Post's Express newspaper (hat tip to an anonymous source):

Notably, Sam Arora is a member of Washington, DC's Capitol Hill Baptist Church and is therefore holding his wedding in the District of Columbia. The current state of the law in Maryland allows same-sex couples to get married in DC too, and to have those marriages recognized in Maryland. I guess Sam now has something in common with the LGBT families he has discriminated against. The main difference could be that Sam might pay his wedding license fees to Maryland (where he lives), whereas Maryland's LGBT couples will hand that revenue to DC -- unless Maryland voters approve marriage equality this November.

You can congratulate Del. Sam Arora on his forthcoming wedding at the following email addresses:

sam.arora@house.state.md.us
info@samarora.com

Washington Post: Maryland Missed An Opportunity to Abolish the Death Penalty // Connecticut Set to End State Killings

RETWEET

The Washington Post yesterday issued an editorial lamenting that lawmakers once again failed to abolish the death penalty in "The Free State." Maryland Juice seconds their motion for action to end the practice. Their commentary flags many of the major policy problems that arise when allowing the state to execute people (see excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Connecticut is set to become what Maryland should have been: the most recent state to abolish capital punishment.

With the expected signature of Gov. Dan Malloy (D) within the next few days, Connecticut would become the 17th state to repeal the death penalty and the fifth in the past five years....

Liberal Group Condemns Sen. Anthony Muse's Divisive Campaign Flyer // Marriage Equality Foes Admit Division is Goal

UPDATE: The national progressive blog Daily Kos has picked up the story of State Senator Anthony Muse's divisive flyer.

This week, Maryland Juice posted campaign flyers from State Senator Anthony Muse, who is currently trying to replace U.S. Senator Ben Cardin in the April Democratic Primary. We noted that Mr. Muse's literature may mislead voters into thinking that President Barack Obama had endorsed Muse, when in fact he had endorsed Senator Cardin for re-election. We also noted that Mr. Muse voted against the Dream Act and was a leading opponent of marriage equality in Maryland.

A number of readers, however, have also pointed out that Mr. Muse's literature seems to pit voters against Maryland's Jewish community. They point to the following portion of his literature:

One Maryland Juice reader commented:

...the anti-Semitism of that palm card just leaps off the page. Let's not forget that Ben Cardin is (ahem) Jewish. 

I particularly like the "subtle as a sledgehammer" use of "Jewish" alongside white, black, Hispanic and Asian, and the doubly insulting insinuation that Jews are something other than white. You stay classy, Anthony Muse. 

The overall thrust of this palm card, again beyond the lie, is Muse's completely transparent attempt to empower the African-American community by appealing to blatant bias against Jews. "Hey, look, THOSE people are overrepresented. That should be OUR Senate seat." Disgusting.

PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY CONDEMNS MUSE LIT: The liberal advocacy group People for the American Way (PFAW) picked up on the story and is condemning Sen. Anthony Muse's literature. Trivia: PFAW's former head was Ralph Neas - the 1998 Democratic nominee for the 8th Congressional District.

Disturbing Campaign Literature in Maryland

...Muse, an African American minister in the Washington suburbs, is challenging Sen. Ben Cardin in a Democratic primary election next week. Cardin is Jewish. Maryland Juice has posted a copy of a Muse sample ballot reportedly being distributed at some early voting centers that seems to indirectly make Cardin's religion an issue. The second page notes the underrepresentation of African Americans and other people of color, but also seems to go out of its way to imply there are too many Jews in the Senate.

What legitimate reason is there to include a count of Jews in this tally, when there is no count of any other religious group? Noting that Jews are 12% of the Senate but only 1.8% of the population seems designed to stoke unwarranted and dangerous resentment among voters who are justifiably frustrated that there are no African Americans in the U.S. Senate today.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY OPPONENTS ADMIT GOAL IS TO TURN COMMUNITIES AGAINST EACH OTHER: Notably, PFAW's piece recent post about Muse also notes that the anti-LGBT group, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), has also admitted that its goal is to stoke divisions between African American and Latino voters and other Democratic constituencies. Does this sound familiar to you? (Ahem  *cough* - Archbishop O'Brien & Anthony Muse).

PFAW commented:

The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage is being widely condemned as Americans learn from previously secret organizational documents the lengths it is willing to go in order to turn one community of Americans against another. This week, campaign literature from one of NOM's allies in the fight against equality, Maryland state senator Anthony Muse, is raising questions as to whether he is using similar methods himself.

HRC EXPOSES DIVISIVE TACTICS: If you haven't been following the new revelations about the disgusting, divisive tactics that are being employed by anti-LGBT activists, check out this recent article from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). They obtained copies of strategy documents, where the anti-marriage organizers detail the very strategies we are watching unfold in Maryland:

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MARRIAGE: “The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage, develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots…” 

Another passage: 

"The Latino vote in America is a key swing vote, and will be so even more so in the future, both because of demographic growth and inherent uncertainty: Will the process of assimilation to the dominant Anglo culture lead Hispanics to abandon traditional family values? We must interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity - a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation." 

On PDF page 12, it talks about “sideswiping Obama,” painting him as a “social radical” and talking about “side issues” like pornography.

MARYLAND JUICE CONCLUSION: Wow. So Sen. Anthony Muse -- who has appeared at Tea Party rallies to fire up the anti-LGBT base -- is playing directly into rightwing divide-and-conquer activist tactics (see their playbook here). NICE!

This is what happens when one part of the Democratic base tries to capitalize on hatred towards another part of the Democratic base. That's why we all need to hang together, and its why Sen. Anthony Muse has no future as a statewide candidate in Maryland or in national Democratic politics.

Sorry, but its the truth!