Montgomery vs. Fairfax: Montgomery County Planning Board Member Casey Anderson Weighs In

CASEY AT THE BAT: Montgomery County Planning Board member Casey Anderson recently forwarded Maryland Juice a series of articles regarding the ongoing Internet and media discussions comparing Montgomery County & Fairfax County (or Maryland & Virginia). His primary point in forwarding the news items appears to be to respond to a recent Washington Post editorial jumping in on the side of the Chamber of Commerce, Republicans, and business lobbyists:

The growing breach between Fairfax and Montgomery — which together account for 2 million people, more than a third of the region’s population — is laid bare by new federal data. The data were the centerpiece of an eye-opening presentation to the Montgomery County Council this month by Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University....

Elected officials — some of them, at least — have at last concluded that ever-spiraling taxes and bloated budgets, driven largely by the county’s powerful and aggressive public-employee unions, are not conducive to attracting major employers and high-end, knowledge-based jobs. 

Mr. Anderson questions this framing of the issues. He sent the following explanation to place his three news snippets in context:

My main concern is not so much whether Fairfax is in fact "ahead" or "behind."  It is the (way overdone, in my view) idea that Fairfax is the only or at least most relevant benchmark for where Montgomery County should be.  Montgomery County is not perfect, but when I think about how it might be different I don't say to myself, "Gee, if only we could be more like Fairfax County, this place would be fantastic!"

Maryland Millionaire to Rep. Chris Van Hollen & Deficit Supercommittee // Tax Me, Roll Back Bush Tax Cuts

UPDATE:  Through a message sent to Maryland Juice on Twitter, Netrino President Michael Barr confirms that he is indeed the Maryland millionaire in question.

The LA Times ran an eye-grabbing headline earlier this week: "Millionaires group to lobby for higher taxes -- on themselves." Their article was about a renewed push by politically active millionaires to persuade Congress to roll back the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. This week the millionaires, operating under the name "Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength," focused on members of the "Deficit Super-Committee," like Maryland's Rep. Chris Van Hollen:

As the deadline nears for the congressional “super committee” to come up with a deficit-slashing plan, a group of people who have made $1 million a year or more is pressing lawmakers to raise tax rates on the nation’s highest income earners.

Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, an organization formed in 2010, said it’s sending a delegation of 21 members to Washington on Wednesday to seek meetings with super committee senators and representatives.

The group’s message: “Any super committee deal that does not include higher taxes for millionaires should be killed....”

Patriotic Millionaires was formed a year ago as Congress debated whether to extend the personal income tax cuts that took effect during President George W. Bush’s first term. Ultimately, Congress and President Obama agreed on a two-year extension of the cuts.

But Obama in September called for a new tax on millionaires as a way to raise revenue.

At a minimum, the millionaires group wants the top tax rate for the highest earners to return to 39.6%, from the current 35%, according to Erica Payne, a spokeswoman for the organization....

The group says it has about 200 members in all, including more than a dozen current and former Google employees, actress Edie Falco and economist Nouriel Roubini.

Maryland Juice checked out the millionaires' website and noted that the group's public signers include 5 Virginia millionaires, 3 District of Columbia millionaires and only 1 Maryland millionaire....

NOT COOL: Opponents of Maryland's Redistricting Plan Hire Rightwing Extremist Lawyers

Maryland's 2012 redistricting plan has been the subject of sometimes loud controversy, especially given the vocal complaints of some elected officials and organizations representing communities of color.  As I previously mentioned though, it is very difficult to balance fair racial representation with the need to counter the GOP's aggressive national gerrymandering program. Even still, it seemed inevitable that the new redistricting plan would lead to a lawsuit of some sort -- after all a coveted Congressional seat is at stake. But the alliance that has formed in the courts is downright disgraceful.

Maryland Juice Cracks Baltimore Sun Readers' Top 10 for Best News Blog // Propaganda on the Right is Flagging

I don't know why I posted this photo. But it just came through my email box. :)

Maryland Juice started ranting in August of this year, so we are totally psyched by the results of this year's Baltimore Sun's Mobbie's awards. Indeed, a blog whose primary articles are about censorship, demographic changes, tax policy and redistricting -- is thrilled to already make Maryland's Top 10 for Best News Blog and Best New Blog. Here's to next year!

Congrats to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce blog for not coming in last place, by beating out the "Wilson Bros. Blog - Two brothers blogging the best of Odenton Town Center."

SIDEBAR: Our Republican counterparts at Red Maryland cleverly wrote a post criticizing the Mobbie's, but then linked to the voting page in their article for their readers. Yes, I know, The Sun is trying to build their data and online assets by hosting this contest, but who cares -- so is Facebook, Google, and every other service we all use. You gotta "pay" for news somehow. But not like the "Sun Block" -- that's bollocks.

VICTORY: Whistleblowers, LGBT Advocates, Journalists, ACLU & Juicers CRACK Chairman MoCo's Censorship Firewall

Change CAN happen // But only if you speak up....

UPDATE: LGBT-oriented news website Metro Weekly has follow-up coverage on Chairman MoCo's Internet censorship software. They were the original site that started this whole mess.

The most well-read series in Maryland Juice's short history has been our coverage of Internet censorship. To be clear, Maryland Juice is against all Internet filtering and thinks the Internet should be treated like a giant library (ie: with vast deference and respect to the free-flow of information).

In the course of our coverage, free speech advocates of all stripes came out of the woodwork. I would also like to point out that allegations of politically-motivated Internet censorship in Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties appear to merit further inquiry. I challenge area journalists to pry further into this issue. After all, the essence of their profession is under attack. Hat tip to Jed Millard (an aide to Montgomery Councilmember Nancy Floreen) for calling out Chairman MoCo.

Today's announcement by the ACLU is greeted with open arms by freedom-lovin' Americans of all stripes. See the victory announcement below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Web-Filter Company Acts to Address ACLU Complaints of 

LGBT Censorship in Montgomery County

Doug Duncan NOT Running for 6th Congressional District, Leaning Toward Delaney // GOP Senator Chris Shank Perks Up

Last month, Maryland Juice noted that former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan appeared to be floating trial balloons  for a potential Democratic Primary campaign in the State's 6th Congressional District. Numerous news outlets are now reporting that Duncan is NOT running. The Washington Post wrote today:

Former Montgomery County executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) said Tuesday that he had decided against making a run for the redrawn 6th District Congressional seat, and he is leaning toward backing financier John K. Delaney for the post instead....

“I looked at the race very closely and thought about it for some time,” Duncan said. “In the end I decided I’m an executive, not a legislator....”

“I think it’s going to be an interesting race,” Duncan said. “There is some resentment with how the district was set up, particularly in western Maryland, and I think Garagiola is going to have problems with that.”

So Duncan sounds likely to back Delaney, a wealthy political novice, instead.

“I’m talking with him,” Duncan said of Delaney. “There’s nothing formal but I’m looking to find a way to help him.”

There are several noteworthy items in the preceding article:

Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Maryland GOP Chair Overspends, Republican Party Can't Pay Rent

Over two months ago, Maryland Juice published an article titled "Maryland GOP Overspends, Can't Save Money." We noted how after losing his State Senate seat, Alex Mooney took over as GOP Chair and promised to raise hundreds of thousands for the party's candidates. More importantly, we noted that Mr. Mooney was not keeping his promises and had instead drained the party's coffers on administrative expenses and mysterious "Chairman's expenses." Now, The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the GOP can't even pay rent. To reiterate my past points, when Mooney campaigned for GOP activists' support, Red Maryland reported that he promised the following:

In addition to being a workhorse for the party, as Chairman I would commit to raising the money described in my attached proposal.

It is my understanding that the state party in 2011 will have to spend at least $25,000 per month to fund the needs of the small staff and overhead expenses, which is approximately $300,000 for the year.  The additional $200,000 would go toward helping elect candidates. 

In the election year of 2012, with eight U.S. House of Representative seats and one U.S. Senate seat up for election in Maryland, we should increase the net amount raised to at least $700,000.  While this is less than our Democrat opponents, it is a reasonable amount to expect our party leaders to raise and it is crucial to electing our candidates.

EPIC FAIL. The Republican blogosphere (as usual) refused to listen to the facts and instead blamed the messenger. Now the Baltimore Sun is reporting things have gotten so bad that the GOP has to move out of its offices:

Maryland's Republican Party is once again in the red and plans to move its party headquarters to cut costs, according to financial reports discussed Saturday at the party's annual convention.
The party owes $122,000, most of it to two vendors, and has $48,000 in its bank accounts....