The 53

Tom???!!

Rare is it that I post on another local blog's posts, but I'm going to do so on this morning's post in HoCoRising.  HoCo Rising Guy himself, Tom Coale, who I still think looks like he could be Stephen Strasburg's older brother, is hosting a "Reception for Ellicott City"  on June 18.  I am going to attend!

From his post, this sounds, smells, tastes, feels and looks like a campaign kickoff of some sort.  But for what?

There are a number of interesting possibilities.  First off, Tom become a registered Democrat a couple of years ago, so that answers THAT question.  So I guess County Council could be one possibility.  If memory serves Tom lives in District 1, and that would prove a very interesting Democratic primary in Council District 1.  I also think he resides in the new State Legislative District, 9A.  Or, Tom is an attorney, so I suppose that there could possibly be a candidacy for State's Attorney or some courthouse slot in the offing. Or, as a very involved local activist, and with a base of support from Dorsey's Search, a very high-percentage turnout area, he could bring his CA Board experience to help solve some problems on the Howard County Board of Education.   There are several ways this thing could go.

I have not communicated with Tom about what this whole thing may be about, and certainly not what he may be running for.  But I think I know.  And I am not saying!  But when more is revealed, I shall opine on Mr. Coale's credentials, which are considerable.

Looking forward to the 18th!

Happy 5th Blogaversary to Me!!!!

Five years.  I have been writing this blog for five freaking years. 

Holy frejole.

So I wrote this post at this time last year.  Below is one of the comments I received to said post:

MM,

Congrats on four years and eight hundred plus posts. Most blogs flame out within a year. You're a survivor.

Here's to another Olympiad for the Marshmallow Man!

-wb

I kind of recently realized that Dennis wasn't simply making a pithy comment about the longevity of this blog.  He was talking about me.  He was paying me a compliment.  Dennis knew my life story (BTW, the small fact that I've been separated for over one year at the time, two years now, is a convenient factoid I left out of that post) and he knew that I've gone through a whole lot of crapola to become who I am.  And he was giving me props for it.  Thank you, sir, thank you.  And huzzah!!!

Does five years feel much different than four?  Not really.  There have been changes in my life.  I moved out of Dorsey's Search, was a nomad for a bit and came back to my house in Oakland Mills.  Been one hell of a year at my work, with insane former employees who hold grudges and much, much more!  Healthwise, I have stayed on the good side of my special condition, I completed my third half-marathon and broke my stupid ankle.  My son started college, came home from college, and my daughter has kicked ass her freshman year of high school.

Is life perfect for good ol' MM?  No!!!  Does MM have everything he wants?  Hell, No!  But MM has everything he needs.  And that is a wonderful thing.

And this blog has grown too.  We have seen the election of ADL (unfortunately-- whoever said Howard County voters were smart?) the impeachment of Allen Dyer (hooray!!!), this blog brought to you the Governors' Series (critically acclaimed statewide for insightful analysis) and locally, we have seen the possible sunrise, and sunset (or at least delay) of the Ulman for Governor campaign, and the pieces start to fall into place for the 2014 state and local elections in Howard County.

And through it all, the zesty topicality of this ring-dang-doo has brought it all with its typical flair and singular style.  Safe to say, there ain't a blog in the HoCo, I'd say at least the mid Atlantic, that looks at things like this one does.

This blog also looked at issues outside the HoCo, and on deeply personal issues.  Lots of fun posts about our buds in AA County, especially since AA County said hello to Neuman.  Would still like to write more about Baltimore County and Montgomery County, but those things have begun.  And of course, many other issues as well.  Some joyous, some sad.  All deserving comment, reflection, and respect.

And this year, we saw the dawning of the age of Marshmallow Man TV!  A YouTube channel unlike any other on the entire Internets.

So I thank you, gentle readers, for being along, jumping on, maybe even jumping off and jumping back on, this blog for the ride this year.  A lot to come in this busy next twelve months.  One year from now, when this blog's about to start it's first day of school, we will have the 2014 primary on our hands.  That will be fun.

Looking forward to y'all joining me for more of this mess.  Thank you for your support!

 

Why Moore?

Yesterday's tornado in Moore, Oklahoma that left dozens dead and likely billions of dollars in property damage is a national tragedy.    I wonder: did it really need to happen?

Severe, deadly tornadoes have hit the town of Moore before.  Here you can read about Moore's tornado history, including the last worst tornado ever, which hit on May 3, 1999.  And there have been others.  Apparently, FEMA has been helping homeowners rebuid and make their homes more tornado-proof, but is there really such a thing?  Is it really wise to keep rebuilding in such a dangerous area?

Looking at Moore's population, in 1999 it was 45,431.  In 2000, obviously due to the storm, it was 41,266.  By 2004, however, Moore's population was higher than ever, at 46,328.  And in 2011, the last recorded year, Moore's population continued to climb, to 56,315.  And after that 2000 dip, Moore's population never again has decreased, even in other years of tornadoes.  Again, I will ask.  Is it wise to establish such a large community in an area so prone to natural disasters?

There is precedence to leaving a town stricken by natural disaster.  Galveston was one of the nation's most productive seaports during the 19th century.  Then came the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, and Galveston became a relative ghost town, as business left and went elsewhere.  The city has never been the same since.

Seems to me to make sense.  I wonder who is really better off for the continuing rebuilding of Moore, Oklahoma.  Is it the citizens of the community?  Or is it the insurance companies who bankroll every storm and the accompanying rebuild?

There are some who claim that these hurricanes are a prime exhibit in opposition of suburban sprawl.  I'm not sure about that.  But these hurricanes, and the entire story of Moore, Oklahoma, is an interesting chapter in the development phoenomenon known as smart growth.  Seems to me that truly smart growth would be growth that stays away from situations where people may die.  And building and living in Tornado Alley, USA certainly qualifies.

I know a lot of people can't wait to see Moore rebuild.  I'd just as soon they rebuilt it somewhere else.

 

Say it ain't so, Ray

So anyone who's read this blog more than four times ever know I love me my Ravens.  And I love me my Ray Rice.  I wear Rice's jersey to the stadium a few times a year on Game Day.

And besides being tougher than a two-dollar steak, Ray does outstanding work in the community on the issue of bullying. He has done awesome stuff to support the anti-bullying cause.  He even came out to support downtown Ellicott City in the aftermath of last year's fatal train accident.

Imagine then my chagrin when finding out this news.  It's sad that Ray's house was invaded.  That's scary.  Does he have a security system though?  I have one and I'm the king of all zeroes.  He definitely should.

But, and sorry to sound preachy, but I'm not cool with the fact that he had at least two guns in his house.  Unlike what some may think, though, I'm not going to call him a hypocrite or decry his right to own a gun.  I do think private citizens have a right to own a gun.  Note my words.  A gun.

I think that when we get into multiple gun ownership by private citizens, I get less comfortable.  Because this sort of thing happens.  People get their guns stolen and then they go out into the community and are used for God knows what purpose.  It's frightening.

I could dig on the multiple gun ownership thing, though, if there were things like fingerprint locks that couldn't be removed without destroying the gun.  That way one would know that only the owner could use the weapon.

And we have no need for assault weapons ever.  Seriously, has the world gotten more dangerous than in 1994 when the assault weapons ban was passed?  So now semi-automatic weapons are awesome?  How insane is this thing?

Ray, I still love ya, I loved meeting you last year and I'll still have your number on my back when we defend our championship.  Just decide not to replace the firearms and call ADT instead.  And also, maybe buy a serious dog.  OK?

Star Trek: Into Darkness-- The Marshmallow Man Review

OK, so if you haven't seen the new Star Trek movie and don't want to know any of the details, then don't read this post.  Because it is full of spoilers aplenty.

 

Second to last chance!

 

Last chance!

 

Seriously!

 

OK, here you go.

I've read some reviews of "Star Trek: Into Darkness" that claim that this movie isn't true Star Trek.  That the great entries into the Star Trek canon always entailed some sort of social commentary, told metaphorically in the plot of a TV episode or movie.  Those negative reviews of this movie characterize it as a whiz-bang shoot 'em up that makes no sense.  Well, as to the makes no sense part, it's a damn science fiction movie!  Of course it makes no sense.

But as to the claims of vapidity of plot, I couldn't disagree more.  There's a lot of social commentary in this movie.  This movie is about the world during the era of the War on Terror.  To briefly summarize: former Starfleet operative John Harrison masterminds a bombing in London and then assassinated Starfleet leadership, including Kirk's mentor, Admiral Pike.  Kirk is allowed to take the Enterprise to Harrison's hideout on the Klingon homeworld and capture him (though he deviates from his original directive to kill him).  Through this deviation, he learns that Harrison is really Khan, a cryogenically preserved despot from the insane 20th century and that he is being used in a plot by Starfleet's commander to militarize Starfleet.  From there come twists and turns aplenty.

This movie is about the blurring of the lines between good and bad, about the decisions and consequences of getting involved with the wrong things and the wrong people, about the lengths we will go as a society, and as individuals, to exact revenge or ro right a perceived wrong, about getting in to deep and trying to get out.  And ultimately, it is about having the humility to make the right choice.  And the right choice is not always the choice that exerts your authority.

Don't get me wrong, this movie is great fun.  It is really interesting how the character of Khan is portrayed and how this movie borrows and riffs on the classic Star Trek episode "Space Seed" (the first appearance of the Khan character) and the great movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".  But if you think for 15 minutes about what you just saw when you leave the movie theater, you may get the message of the movie.  That these are dangerous times, that not everything is as it seems, and that the world no longer operates in terms of good and bad, but rather in terms of acceptable deviance from the norm. 

There is a suggestion at the end of the movie that future installments may go back to the spirit of exploration and truth-seeking that the 60s TV show did so well, but whether that happens may, in part, depend upon the composition of the society in which we live.

Maryland Will Be Drunk Today

Today could possibly be the greatest day of the abuse of alcohol in Maryland's history.  Here is your rundown of what's going on today:

The Preakness in Baltimore.

The Maryland Craft Beer Festival in Frederick.

The Warrior Dash in Budds Creek.

And, here in Columbia, Wine in the Woods.

As I have said on numerous occasions, I don't begrudge anyone their right or opportunity to drink alcohol.  I used to do it for a large part of my life.  And hell, for all I know, I might do it again.  But I'm not doing it right now.

All that said, how Maryland handles the problem of alcohol addiction is a joke.  Totally lacks courage, but I've come to expect that from this state.

Alcohol addiction brings in tons of cash for the state's trial lawyers in the form of legal fees, to insurance companies for higher rates, and to the state's coffers in terms of fines, penalties, and fees levied against violators.  And to local governments for those who can't afford private treatment centers or rehabs, who have to rely upon government programs for treatment.  Oh, and those private treatment centers make a killing too.

Where all of this falls short is that there is no way to measure the desired effect of all this punishment-- to cure all the ills that make the offender drink to excess and commit a crime.

For all alcohol offenders in whose cases do not involve any personal injury or property damage except to their own, the emphasis ought to be on treatment and rehabiliation instead of punishment.  Every such offender ought to go into a state-mandated program (at the state's cost), and evaluated after the program's end at regular and frequent intervals by a mental health provider in order to ascertain the maintenance of the lifestyle changes suggested to them in the aforementioned program.

In Maryland, of all agencies, the MVA is considered a rehabilitative agency through the state's interlock program.  Those are the little breathalyzers that are attached to offender's vehicle ignitions.

A state where the MVA is a rehabilitative agency?  Really?  What skill does ANY MVA employee have to counsel anyone about their use of alcohol?  Well, they don't.  All they do is collect data on the use of these devices and dole out further punishments against those who choose to continue to drink.  Not much rehabilitation there.  In fact, that's work pretty much anyone could do.

So, if you drink in Maryland, the state has you every possible way.  You pay taxes in purchasing alcohol.  And, should you choose to drink to excess and get caught-- well, that's like hitting Powerball.  Because you will owe the state court fees, fines, fees to the MVA to have your license restricted, pay for the interlock to be put on and removed, and, you also will get to pay a fee on a monthly basis to subsidize the state's monitoring program for alcohol offenders.  Oh, and that's all just the bare minimum of what will happen.

Just a little tonic (no pun intended) before you go fix that pitcher of Black Eyed Susans to take to your friends' house, or before you plunk down for that case at Symphony Woods today.  Have fun!

Homicide #3

I don't buy into the whole thing about things happening in threes except as a bit of a cute old wives' tale.  But I do tend to believe that sociopathic behavior can act sometimes in a "groupthink" sort of manner.  That is, in the perception that a certain type of behavior is acceptable, that such behavior becomes more prevalent.

The third homicide in Howard County has occurred.  There's an article about it here.

I'm getting tired of writing about homicides in Howard County.  Really, enough already.  It seems like Howard County is a community caught in some sort of community thinking that the behavior is OK.  I don't get it.  Guess I should be glad that I don't.

And of course, haters start hating now.  Already some fool on the comment section of the above article is talking about apartment complexes being the problem, because they house people who are low income, foreigners, and, heavens to Betsy, some of them might even be illegal aliens!  Dumbass.

How about that we have some bad people in Howard County who make some horrile decisions because they are sick and so they do really bad things?  Or do we throw out the case last week this time of the guy I know who was killed because that happened in a single family home? 

I get that there is a correlation between socioeconomic status and incidence of crime.  It's a centuries-old social ill.  But if you think the solution to this is for this community to become more classist and elitist, you are snorting the coke that your upper middle class lifestyle obviously affords you.

The answer is to do things as a society that lift all boats and give people of all levels and classes access to the help they need.  Whoever killed this man, something went on wrong in their life that made this an acceptable life choice.  The decision to commit violence needs to be one where the conditions to make the decision need to be eradicated.  And hell yeah, that's social engineering.  Got a problem with that?

Happy Friday.  Now, hit my music!!!

Building a Better Wilde Lake

Wilde Lake is such a mercurial place.  On one side, the community is home to some of the most forward-thinking people in the whole darn town of Columbia,  People like Compass Guy, for instance.  On the other hand, Wilde Lake also is home to some of the most ignorant, socially awkward, morally bankrupt and intellectually dull people I have ever had the displeasure of knowing.  And they're involved in their community.  I am especially sick of the couple where the wife has a loud mouth and can't stay off a computer, and the husband is a drooling narcoleptic. 

But, on the whole, and sometimes despite itself, I like Wilde Lake.  It's a great village.  And so it's awesome to see that in spite of the negativity of some, the Wilde Lake community is moving forward in rebuilding its village center.  There's a story about it here.

So this thing actually gives me hope for the Columbia redevelopment.  I am most hopeful that the CA Board can keep going forward and act progressively towards rethinking and redoing downtown.  But if the RVD (those are the Rouse Vision Drones) keep standing in the way, it may be the time to work around them where it makes sense to do so.

Many huzzahs to the fine folks of Wilde Lake who care about the future and who think forward.  And to the loudmouth and the narcoleptic--- if you don't like it, please move.  And don't let the door hit you on the way out.  We Marshmallow Men have a way of saying what we mean.

DUI to .05?

The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended reducing the blood alcohol content for a charge of driving under the influence to 0.05% from the current 0.08%.  The Sun brings you goodness all about it here.

I am in no way, shape or form, someone who things drunk driving is a good idea.  But for people who choose to go out and have two drinks in an hour, that should not put them at risk for criminal prosecution that can cost thousands of dollars and that can at the very least, damage a person's personal and professional reputation.  I do think that this proposal starts to push the bounds of reasonableness and I believe that that's the sentiment behind some of the pushback noted in the article.

And, as is also noted in the article, there are better ways to deal with the problem of drinking and driving.  Such as:

1. Fitting all new cars with technology that measure a driver's blood alcohol level.  Here is an article that talks about the technology in place and in development.

2. More funding for alcohol and drug addiction research, education and treatment on all levels of government.  We're not very good at that.

3.  The marketing and promotion of alcohol in this country is insane.  It needs to be brought into a more mature state.  For starters, hold bars and restaurants responsible for intoxicated patrons.  This happens in some states already and it doesn't hurt the small business owner.  Making establishments accountable for serving someone who clearly has had too much to drink would be a huge help.

The easy thing to do is to change the metric.  The hard thing to do is to change ways of looking at the problem.  When it comes to drunk driving, better benefits can be realized, IMHO, by doing the hard thing.

And if things couldn't get worse in DC....

Holy smokes, are things not good right now in DC for the Obama Administration.  The questions about Benghazi continue, there is this nonsensical targeting of conservative groups by the IRS, and now, the seizure of Associated Press phone records in a leak investigation.  Fantastic column about all this stuff can be found in the Washington Post, here.

All of this, of course, in a time when cooperation between the parties in DC is at a recent low, and when cooperation is sorely needed in order for the country to continue to get it's financial house in order.  Also, the suddenness of these three items-- Benghazi has been around for some time, but these other items have come to surface only over the last couple weeks.  Oh, and there's also a fourth major brouhaha on the horizon, and that would be the emerging sex scandals in the military.  Sex scandals involving service members responsible for educating and enforcing sexual harrassment policies in the military.  Classy.

I'm not one of those who sit behind a keyboard and cry outrage and for heads to roll.  That's not what I do.  I have a great deal of respect and a bit of admiration for this President.  And even if I didn't, that wouldn't be what I would do.

However, I do believe it is the President's MO to be thoughtful and deliberate and let the facts out before acting.  In this atmosphere, though, I would advise that he ought to get out in front of the curve and the news cycle on this.

This President also has an MO of not backing down from a damn thing and he needs to meet this thing head-on.  A comprehensive approach to self-cleansing the executive departments-- not just investigating these several incidences and circumstances-- should be introduced.  Whether this is the appointment of one or more independent counsuls, a commission of some sort, I don't know.  But give some group or some individuals six months to look under every rock in every department and see what they find.

This is a President who likes to challenge government and the American people to think differently.  That's why so many people hate him; they hate to be challenegd.  We need to see a great example of this thing immediately before the downward spiral accelerates and things get far worse than they already are.