Thank you for helping me come in first in the Democratic Primary! As always, I am humbled and honored to have been chosen as the standard-bearer for the Democratic party in the Fighting 31st.
Republican voters, I'm confused. I appreciate that you sent Mr. Dwyer packing. That nightmare is ending. But of all the qualified and capable candidates who were seeking to replace him, why did you pick Ms. Simonaire? She seems nice enough but, as far as I know, she's never held a job, her life experiences are minimal and her "fresh" "new" ideas seem to be the same old stuff. What's the plan here?
I've heard that she's a hard-worker and that she was out campaigning for the previous two years. And that's great, because she's not working, she has the time to put into a campaign. If that was all there was to it, Craig Reynolds would be the top vote-getter every year. He knocked on every door in the district three times. I'm still in awe of how hard that guy worked. Kurtz and Chisholm both worked hard but they also had to work their day-jobs.
I recognize that my district is very conservative and that there seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to vote for the Republican. But I hope that the voters of all parties will at least hear me out and decide based on the merits of the candidates.
Thank you again for picking me in the primary and look for me to knock on your door between now and November.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Candidates Health Insurance
I had the opportunity to attend a candidate forum on Monday, May 12th. It ended up primarily being a chance for the candidates to speak to each other. One of the questions asked really opened my eyes and I wanted to share with everyone.
The question was in two parts: What is your day job and how do you have health insurance?
As it turns out, the majority of the candidates either already worked for the state or were retired. That explains how they have the time to campaign.
Interestingly enough, the vast majority of the candidates have their health insurance through the government. A lot were retired military with Tricare, another bunch had benefits from the state government and there were a smattering of Medicaid and state benefits through their spouses.
Four of us ran small businesses and had to pay health insurance. Although, to be fair, I switched to be covered by my wife's health insurance plan in January.
By my calculations then, the four of us who pay for our own health insurance and pay taxes are in essence paying for the health insurance for everyone in the room. You're welcome.
The question was in two parts: What is your day job and how do you have health insurance?
As it turns out, the majority of the candidates either already worked for the state or were retired. That explains how they have the time to campaign.
Interestingly enough, the vast majority of the candidates have their health insurance through the government. A lot were retired military with Tricare, another bunch had benefits from the state government and there were a smattering of Medicaid and state benefits through their spouses.
Four of us ran small businesses and had to pay health insurance. Although, to be fair, I switched to be covered by my wife's health insurance plan in January.
By my calculations then, the four of us who pay for our own health insurance and pay taxes are in essence paying for the health insurance for everyone in the room. You're welcome.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Look for the Helpers
I was looking over some of my old posts and I noticed that one of my posts in 2012 was called "Everything is Awesome". Yeah, I was saying that before it was cool.
Last week there was a lot of unawesome stuff happening in Pasadena. Four fatalities in a 24 hour period from a series of car accidents, fallings and shootings. From overheard conversations and on Facebook I heard several people say that things were getting bad around here and that they were going to move.
Seriously people? We remember the tragedies because they are so awful and because they are the headlines that we see in the papers and on television. The real story is that these tragedies are not common. Our society is moving in a positive direction where fatalities from car accidents are declining. Industrial accidents are declining. Murder-suicides are declining.
By focusing on the tragedies, we miss the bigger picture. In all cases, police and emergency personnel were on top of the situation. The neighborhood with the shooter was locked down and nobody else was hurt. Traffic...well, traffic was a mess but the police were there to manage the situation.
As the great man Mr. Rogers said, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers--so many caring people in this world."
Last week there was a lot of unawesome stuff happening in Pasadena. Four fatalities in a 24 hour period from a series of car accidents, fallings and shootings. From overheard conversations and on Facebook I heard several people say that things were getting bad around here and that they were going to move.
Seriously people? We remember the tragedies because they are so awful and because they are the headlines that we see in the papers and on television. The real story is that these tragedies are not common. Our society is moving in a positive direction where fatalities from car accidents are declining. Industrial accidents are declining. Murder-suicides are declining.
By focusing on the tragedies, we miss the bigger picture. In all cases, police and emergency personnel were on top of the situation. The neighborhood with the shooter was locked down and nobody else was hurt. Traffic...well, traffic was a mess but the police were there to manage the situation.
As the great man Mr. Rogers said, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers--so many caring people in this world."
Thursday, March 13, 2014
I'm Back!
The last couple years have been very busy for me. My son, Zander, is two and a half. His two older sisters are both in school. My law firm requires a lot of attention. My wife finished nursing school and has just started work as a labor and delivery nurse in Baltimore. All that did not leave a lot of time for campaigning.
I had pretty much resigned myself to not running this election cycle when I noticed something. There were approximately 8 people running on the Republican side and only one person running on the Democrat side. That left an opening that Don Dwyer could use to get re-elected. That is unacceptable.
If it is in my power (actually it's in the hands of the voters but you know what I mean) to stop Dwyer from being re-elected, then by gosh it is my responsibility to run.
If you are just tuning in, I campaigned against Dwyer last time on account of his terrible record and inability to get anything done in Annapolis. He has had a very busy four years since the last election with two criminal convictions. Once for drunk-driving a boat over some children and the second for plain old drunk-driving. I understand that he has some personal issues in his life as well that may have caused him to drink.
Let's stay positive: Dwyer needs a break. Let's send him home so he can take the time he needs to fix whatever he has going on in his life.
I had pretty much resigned myself to not running this election cycle when I noticed something. There were approximately 8 people running on the Republican side and only one person running on the Democrat side. That left an opening that Don Dwyer could use to get re-elected. That is unacceptable.
If it is in my power (actually it's in the hands of the voters but you know what I mean) to stop Dwyer from being re-elected, then by gosh it is my responsibility to run.
If you are just tuning in, I campaigned against Dwyer last time on account of his terrible record and inability to get anything done in Annapolis. He has had a very busy four years since the last election with two criminal convictions. Once for drunk-driving a boat over some children and the second for plain old drunk-driving. I understand that he has some personal issues in his life as well that may have caused him to drink.
Let's stay positive: Dwyer needs a break. Let's send him home so he can take the time he needs to fix whatever he has going on in his life.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Black Swan
I just finished the "Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb. The central premise is that uncertainty and unpredictability dominate our world much more than people like to admit.
The title comes from the idea that if your theory is that "all swans are white," you could see literally millions of white swans and have a lot of proof that your theory is right. But it would take only a single black swan to prove your theory wrong. In other words, we really can't know something is 100% right but we can prove that something is 100% wrong.
Applying this to government and public policy, we can find a very simple method to make our government better and more effective. If we pass a law that is supposed to do x, let's measure to see if it is actually doing x. If it is not, then we know that law is ineffective and should be repealed.
Two quick examples:
Premise: installing red-light cameras will increase driver safety and reduce accidents.
Reality: several studies have shown that these cameras actually increase accidents because of people who should have ran the red-light but instead slam on their brakes causing others to rear-end them.
If government made sense: those cameras would be uninstalled.
Premise: Outlawing marijuana will reduce people's usage of it.
Reality: Nope.
If government made sense: decriminalize it and look at other alternative to reduce usage.
The title comes from the idea that if your theory is that "all swans are white," you could see literally millions of white swans and have a lot of proof that your theory is right. But it would take only a single black swan to prove your theory wrong. In other words, we really can't know something is 100% right but we can prove that something is 100% wrong.
Applying this to government and public policy, we can find a very simple method to make our government better and more effective. If we pass a law that is supposed to do x, let's measure to see if it is actually doing x. If it is not, then we know that law is ineffective and should be repealed.
Two quick examples:
Premise: installing red-light cameras will increase driver safety and reduce accidents.
Reality: several studies have shown that these cameras actually increase accidents because of people who should have ran the red-light but instead slam on their brakes causing others to rear-end them.
If government made sense: those cameras would be uninstalled.
Premise: Outlawing marijuana will reduce people's usage of it.
Reality: Nope.
If government made sense: decriminalize it and look at other alternative to reduce usage.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Science Fiction
I'm a big fan of science fiction. I read a lot of it. I like the movies. I've even tried my hand at writing science fiction.
The problem I've been having lately is that science fact is moving too fast. I have started a number of short stories only to have new discoveries make them obsolete before I have a chance to finish the stories.
It's an amazing feeling.
I've been watching a lot of TedTalks recently (because they are streaming on Netflix). And I am amazed at what's coming. Self-aware robots, regenerating missing limbs, doubling lifespans, new ways to live, new planets to explore, etc., etc.
I'm particularly interested in how the government affects these developments. China has a very aggressive space program. Japan has a very ambitious medical program. Europe is developing the newest alternative energies. America....America pretty much lets private entities do what they want.
There's something to be said for all the approaches, but I'm rooting for the home team. I want America on top of the latest science breakthroughs. The latest space technologies are going to be expensive and complicated. The government may not have to do it alone, but it will need to lend a hand.
I also want science that is free from politics. Biotech is booming outside of America's borders because of politically motivated obstacles placed on stem cell research. Alternative energy policies change from year to year because of pressure from the oil industries, paving the way for Europe to claim the field.
The robots still worry me though. I don't quite trust them. Japan is welcome to them.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Grade Inflation
I was thinking about grade inflation the other day and it was bothering me. Then I read in the Maryland Gazette about the new county grading policy and it became relevant.
Why are we so afraid of failing people? Some people fail. That's the nature of life. Some people are smart and will get straight A's, other's will fail. We can't all be above-average.
I understand the pressures that the schools and teachers must be under. Every parent wants their kid to do well. If you're the teacher who is failing everyone, that brings down the statistics for the school and all of a sudden funding might be cut. That's pressure. If you give a kid an F, then you'll get flack from their family. If you give them a D or C-, then they can probably live with that. You won't hear complaints when you round up an 88 to an A.
The thing is, it's dishonest and insulting for everyone when you inflate grades. The whole point of grades is to establish whether you know the subject matter or not. If you send people into the world with an A in US history, I'm going to assume they know about the constitution and the Civil war. It's frustrating talking to people who have graduated high school and don't know how to read or what the Civil war was.
It's false advertising. When I hire someone with a high school degree, I expect them to know certain things. When I hire someone who received A's and B's in school, I have a higher expectation. When their grades are inflated, I don't know what to expect.
And that leads to degree inflation. It used to be that a person with a college degree was pretty assured of getting a job. A college degree meant something. But now, with grade inflation and degree inflation, a degree means that you paid money to a school for a couple years. College graduates are unemployed in record numbers. I place part of the blame on a system that has allowed unqualified people to obtain college degrees in order to make them feel good and generate student loan income.
Anyway, Kudos to all those teachers out there who still have the gumption to fail a kid who deserves it.
(disclaimer: I never failed a class, per se, I did fail to receive credit when I just stopped showing up to one elective. And my 88's were never rounded up to an A. I came by my B's honestly.)
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