Captain of the Black Sox One of the more curious and notable decisions rendered by the Maryland Court of Appeals in recent years is its short opinion in Ports v. Cowan, 426 Md.435 (2012) holding that Maryland, notwithstanding that it had an as yet unrepealed statute and public policy declaring marriage to be between […]
George Liebmann: Switzerland in America Gazette Newspapers, November 2, 2012 The ballot referendums are important since two cure-alls of the 1970s, campaign finance “reform” and strict reapportionment, have delivered the legislature to reliable partisans and ‘bundlers” of campaign contributions. Referendums have served the Swiss well. The casino bill and congressional redistricting reflect the culture […]
Marylanders get a taste of veto democracy Referendums allow voters to check Annapolis’ excesses 0 By George Liebmann 1:21 p.m. EDT, October 30, 2012 Marylanders will soon have an opportunity common in a country other than their own: the right to veto a legislature’s product. […]
SIGN UP CULTURE WARS AND HISTORY by George Liebmann Issue 213– October 10, 2012 The American political system as traditionally understood was described by Charles de Gaulle in the last volume of his memoirs published in 1971: a federation of states, each of which, with its governor, its representatives, its judges, and its officials–all, elected–takes upon itself responsibility […]
baltimoresun.com Reefer madness: Reform our crazy marijuana laws 750,000 marijuana arrests a year have gotten our society nowhere By George W. Liebmann 7:00 AM EDT, August 15, 2011 The militarization of the Mexican border is a new phenomenon for two nations whose militaries have traditionally been made to stay out of politics. There are constant […]
The Immigration Conundrum Chapter 191 of theActs of 2011 relating to college tuition has now been successfully petitioned to referendum. This is a welcomc development in that it curbs the increasing arrogance and lack of accountability of Maryland’s single-party government. Itis likely. however. to touch off an unedifying campaign between the self-righteously sentimental and the self-righteously parsimonious […]
For the vast majority of men, the basic pattern of life has not changed in 3,000 years. As young boys, males play, go to school; later, they get jobs, get married, raise families. Life is now more competitive than it used to be, and the rhythm of life accelerated as students learn computer science and […]
Tod Lindberg contends that the winning Republican coalition of the 1980s is cracking up. The state legislatures, the governorships, the Congress – all are increasingly Republican, while the presidency has now twice gone Democratic for the first time since FDR. Lindberg argues that practical Republicanism sells at the local level. But the Republicans’ ideology does […]