CD6 Media Advisory // NOON TODAY: AFSCME & State Senator Rob Garagiola to Meet the Press

* * * Media Advisory – Press Availability * * *

AFSCME & Rob Garagiola to Hold Media Availability After Endorsement Meeting

Toolbox1674 // Delegate Don Dwyer's Family Values

UPDATE: Maryland Juice sources seem to be confirming that Annapolis legislators have been aware of Delegate Dwyer's Match.com profile and have been calling him Toolbox. How appropriate for someone who throws stones while living in a glass house.

A Maryland Juice reader has forwarded us a very unusual online dating profile for a Match.com user named "Toolbox1674." The photo in the profile appears to be the same Glamourshot that appears on Delegate Don Dwyer's Facebook page. Mr. Dwyer happens to be a self-proclaimed defender of traditional marriage. He is also the leader of the anti-gay movement in Maryland and the lead sponsor of a Constitutional Amendment to ban marriage equality in the Free State.

Three options: 1) Someone is playing a hilarious joke on Maryland Juice, 2) Someone on Match.com stole Delegate Don Dwyer's Facebook profile photo, or 3) [Insert Third Guess Here]. Hmm.


Match.com Profile for User Toolbox1674

BREAKING: Maryland House Committees Approve Marriage Equality Bill 25-18 // NEXT STOP: House Floor Vote

UPDATE:  WBAL Radio reports that the marriage bill passed 25-18.

#HappyValentinesDay

PRESS RELEASE - Momentum: 
Maryland House Committees Approve Civil Marriage Bill

ANNAPOLIS – Today, two legislative committees in the Maryland House of Delegates voted to approve Governor Martin O’Malley’s Civil Marriage Protection Act, which allows committed gay and lesbian couples to marry while protecting religious liberty.  A statement by Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition leading the effort to help pass the Governor’s civil marriage bill, is below.

“The coalition applauds the Judiciary and Health and Government Operations Committees in the House of Delegates for voting ‘yes’ on allowing committed gay and lesbian couples to get a civil marriage license.  Members of the committee today voted to strengthen all Maryland families - and to protect religious liberty. We just took another step toward civil marriage equality becoming a reality in Maryland; the momentum is with us. We thank all supportive Delegates for their leadership on this very important issue that will improve the lives of thousands of Maryland families and help put the state on the right side of history.”

Marylanders for Marriage Equality is the coalition—including SEIU 1199, Equality Maryland, Progressive Maryland, Human Rights Campaign, ACLU of Maryland, and others-- working to bring civil marriage equality to Maryland.

###

BREAKING: Republican Delegate Bob Costa Supports Marriage Equality in Maryland

#COURAGE

PRESS RELEASE - More Momentum: Maryland Del. Bob Costa Is a ‘Yes’ on Marriage Equality
ANNAPOLIS – Del. Bob Costa, a Republican from Deale (Anne Arundel County), today announced he is supporting Governor O’Malley’s civil marriage bill. A statement by Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition leading the effort to help pass the civil marriage bill, is below.

“Del. Costa understands civil marriage equality is a bipartisan issue – it impacts all Maryland families and all of his constituents. Bravo to Del. Costa, who joins Republican Senator Allan Kittleman in doing the right thing for all families in the state. Momentum for the Governor’s bill, which protects religious liberty, is building – and quickly.”

Marylanders for Marriage Equality is the coalition—including SEIU 1199, Equality Maryland, Progressive Maryland, Human Rights Campaign, ACLU of Maryland, and others-- working to bring civil marriage equality to Maryland.

###

Q: Who Is Senate President Mike Miller // A: Just Another Human

Maryland Juice today presents another flashback to a different era in Maryland politics. Over a decade ago (ie: before Senate President Mike Miller began to overstay his welcome), The Baltimore Sun wrote about how it came to be that we all got stuck with King Miller:

Chances for governor vanish

A decade ago, Miller was considered a possible candidate for governor or perhaps Congress.

Then came the night in November 1989 when, just before his first major fund-raiser in Baltimore, Miller unleashed a harsh description of the city during a television interview, calling it "a goddamn ghetto" and worse.

Miller, who thought his comments were off the record, apologized. But he knew intuitively that his chances of running for governor had vanished.

So, the consolation prize for someone whose political career was ruined by racial insensitivity is infinite abuse of power as the Senate President? Look at King Miller's comments the last time someone challenged him (over ten years ago):

ABUSE OF POWER: More Evidence of Cops Thinking They Can Get Away With Anything // MD'ERS: CALL OUT Police Abuse

Hat tip to Charm City Now for flagging more evidence that cops in Maryland routinely abuse their power (and don't kid yourself that this is only a problem in Baltimore). CBS is reporting:

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore Police launch an investigation into another video that shows officers threatening to arrest a man who is recording them....

The man with the camera says he takes a lot of videos in his neighborhood. But his latest images are adding to the controversy over how city officers handle citizens with cameras.

The video shows officers making an arrest in Federal Hill— just one day after Baltimore’s police commissioner issued a new policy that says members of the public are allowed to videotape police officers in a public setting.

But that policy apparently had no effect Saturday as the video was being shot.

“Take a walk sir,” the officer said. “You’re loitering … Sir, you’re standing in front of the border. I’m asking you to leave.”

Officers never tell the man holding the camera to stop recording. Instead they tell him he’s loitering, threatening to arrest him if he doesn’t leave the scene immediately.

“Turn around and walk,” the officer continued. “Give me your ID.”

A police spokesman says the commissioner has ordered an investigation into the video, and the man who shot it has already filed a complaint against the department.

That complaint comes as a federal judge refuses to throw out a lawsuit over a similar incident in 2010 when officers confiscated a camera and deleted videos Christopher Sharp took as his friend was being arrested at Preakness.

“Do me a favor and turn that thing off,” an officer told Sharp. “It’s illegal to record anybody’s voice or anything else.”

“I was surrounded by police officers being told it was evidence, and I had to give it to them, so what else am I going to do,” Sharp said....

Hey cops, we will stand up for your wages and benefits if you'll stand up for our civil liberties and be proactive about racial profiling. You can't expect to keep abusing your power and then expect citizens to speak out when the politicians try to cut your wages and benefits. No deal!

See video footage below:

Why Is Rep. Steny Hoyer Meddling In an Illinois Democratic Primary?

For almost a year, Maryland Juice has been following the Democratic Primary battle in Illinois' 10th Congressional District. The seat is currently held by freshman GOP Rep. Robert Dold, who narrowly eked out a 2010 victory in this swing district.

Two Democrats are battling it out for the right to take on Mr. Dold, the incumbent Republican:

Ilya Sheyman: MoveOn's former National Mobilization Director, a jewish exile from the Soviet Union, and a Young Democrat.

Brad Schneider: A strategic management consultant who previously owned and managed a life insurance agency.