Instead of running for Congress, maybe Garagiola should go back to school

Originally Published in the Baltimore Sun

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Senator Garagiola's failure to report outside income blamed on confusion over language.

When Government Makes Your Health Care Choices

Originally Published in the Herald-Mail

By Thomas A. Firey
Posted on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
In September 1999, Jim and Donna Navarro received some of the worst news that parents can hear: their four-year-old son Thomas had a virulent form of brain cancer called medulloblastoma. The following months would subject them to the heart-wrenching pain that only parents of a very sick child can understand. But the Navarros would suffer additional torment from a clash of politics and medicine. Such clashes will become more common in the future as the nation implements its new health care law.

Maryland's Radical-in-Chief

Originally Published in the American Spectator

By Matt Naugle, the American Spectator
Posted on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Taxes and presidential aspirations are inflating in Maryland.

Md. Governor Wants More Road Money—After Diverting $1 Billion

Originally Published in the Heartlander

By Phil Britt, the Heartland Institute
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2012
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is seeking to raise revenue by applying the state’s 6 percent sales tax to motor fuel purchases. O’Malley and other proponents of the tax expansion say it would provide funding to help with road repairs and other transportation needs.

O'Malley pushes wind farms, citing cheap costs

Originally Published in the Examiner

By Rachel Baye, the Washington Examiner
Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Requiring electric utilities to rely more on wind power, as Gov. Martin O'Malley is pushing, will not cost Maryland ratepayers anything for the next five years, and will cost them at most an extra $2 on their monthly electric bills, state lawmakers said at a rally in Annapolis Wednesday.

Casa's bad dream

Originally Published in the Frederick News-Post

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Intolerance is a cardinal sin for believers in the progressive faith. But the actions of the taxpayer-funded immigrant advocacy group Casa de Maryland (Casa) show that progressives willingly violate their own rules to force others to abide by their beliefs.

Maryland drivers fired up over proposed gas tax

Originally Published in the Washington Examiner

By Hayley Peterson, the Washington Examiner
Posted on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed gasoline tax would cost two-car families roughly $400 a year once fully implemented, if drivers are filling an 18-gallon tank five times a month and the cost of gas never rises.

Erosion of values, not economics, to blame for social dislocation

Originally Published in the Baltimore Sun

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Marta Mossburg says Charles Murray's theory can be seen at work in Maryland.

O'Malley's cigar tax is a smokescreen

Originally Published in the Examiner

By Marc Kilmer
Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Hidden among the various tax and fee hikes in Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's budget is a proposal to dramatically increase the tax on "other tobacco products." Advocates of this tax hike say it's necessary to decrease teen cigar use, but both the facts about youth cigar use and the tax design indicate this rationale is simply a smokescreen.

Myths and Facts about Tobacco Taxes

Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
  In Governor O’Malley’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget proposal, he recommends raising the tax on “other tobacco products” from its current rate of 15% of wholesale price to 70% of wholesale price. Advocates for this tax say it is necessary to stop teenagers from smoking cigars. These advocates claim that teenagers switched from smoking cigarettes to smoking cigars because of the recent increase in the cigarette tax, and now it’s time to increase the tax on cigars. While this narrative may make for good press conferences, it is based on faulty assumptions both about youth cigar usage and on how this tax will affect the sale of the small cigars preferred by youth.