Back To Ridgely -- The Carraige House Is Saved At No Expense To Taxpayers, The Growing Ridgely Budget Mess, And Thursday's Closed Budget Meeting

Monday night Buck Herzog's carriage house was saved and will be moved temporarily to Carol Dorr's property. NO RIDGELY TAX MONEY WILL USED TO MOVE IT. THE DEVELOPER WILL PAY THE MOVER DIRECTLY. Thanks to Commissioner Smith and former Commissioner Gearhart for all their hard work to save the carriage house and save expense to the Ridgely taxpayers. Thanks to Commissioner Hunter for having the common sense to vote for the authorization to proceed.

Meanwhile, the Ridgely financial fiasco is growing. No one likes to place blame, but it is very necessary because someone is going to have to pay for the mess we are in. The Ridgely financial fiasco could have been avoided. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WORLD FINANCIAL MARKET MELTDOWN. RIDGELY HAS LED THE WAY!

Do you want the newest numbers? According to the Town Manager himself (October 20th workshop), there has been $178,000.00 added to the already existing deficit. Despite MANY warnings to the contrary, the town administration spent money from developers that it did not have. There is no restraint on all kinds of spending. Where else have employees filled the tanks of the town cars they take home without accountability? Where else does a town not own an employee time clock? Where else does a town pay for what developers failed to do in a development? The bill from Lister Estates keeps growing and growing. The Town Manager's explanation that the cause for our problems was the trash fee removal and no tax increases, he's wrong. (Hmm...anyhow, I seem to recall that the "budget" flyer proclaiming "no new taxes" was kind of popular with some of the Town Manager's friends last town election.) There is no excuse. THE HIGHER HOME TAX ASSESSMENTS BROUGHT IN A HUGE INCREASE IN REVENUE. For us to be in such debt, clearly, somebody isn't doing their job on behalf of the Ridgley taxpayers.

Commissioner Hunter said at the October town meeting that this is the Commissioners fault. Sorry Chuck, I'm going to have to let you off the hook on this one. YOU AND ALL THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS PASSED BALANCED BUDGETS. HOWEVER, YOUR BUDGETS WEREN'T ADHERED TO. I think two of the Commissioners don't want to deal with reality. IF POSSIBLE, the simplest solution would be for the Town Manager to admit what's wrong, ISSUE A HEART FELT mea culpa, and come up with a plan that puts the Ridgely residents first. What is unacceptable is for business as usual to continue and we the residents foot the bill. Someone will have to pay. The red ink will not magically disappear. Do we keep on the wasteful way we've been going, or do we change? Do we increase our tax bills and water bills, or do we change the way the town administration does business? The town must stop it's wasteful spending instead!

Finally, Monday night it was announced at the town meeting that there will be a closed budget meeting this Thursday. This action will violate the Maryland Open Meetings Act. THE WHOLE MEETING CAN'T BE CLOSED. ONLY A PORTION CAN BE CLOSED TO DEAL WITH SPECIFIC PERSONNEL MATTERS OF A PERSONAL NATURE. More Fundamentally, why should a small town meeting be closed anyhow? At a national level, meetings are closed for national security reasons. However, it's not exactly like our Town Manager is fighting Al Qaeda here. Closed meetings will only increase growing citizen suspicions about the town administration. This is a Budget meeting and BUDGETS ARE PUBLIC INFORMATION. IT'S TAXPAYER MONEY AND WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW HOW IT'S SPENT. We also need to know who is going to have their wages frozen and who may even be laid off. Loyal long term Ridgely town employees should not be victims of this fiscal failure. Services that benefit Ridgely residents should not be cut, and back door tax increases such as even higher town service fees should not be instituted. Stop the waste and start being accountable with the people's money. If layoffs and salary cuts are needed, the place to start is at the top. The town administration should never have allowed this to happen.

Paul Watson Satterfield - May 13, 1927 - October 26, 2008

Paul Satterfield left this earth today after a full life. He was a farmer from a family of farmers who have worked the land of Caroline County for generations.

He married the love of his life, Mary Ida Rampmeyer, and had four children, Carolyn, Nancy, Paul "Buddy" and Edwin "Fred". He had eight grandchildren, Miles and Molly Garrett, Abigail Gearhart, Evie and Chelsie Satterfield, and Kyle, Cody and Samantha Satterfield, and most recently, a great-grandchild, Holland Garrett.

He started his dairy herd on rented farms, and when he bought his own farm on Downes Station Rd., he and his family and friends, saddled up, and drove the the herd to their new home down Rt. 404 and Holly Rd. (Imagine doing that today!)

A kind and very generous man, Paul was also a great harmonica player -- a natural musician. Another member of our Greatest Generation has left us and gone to his reward. God bless him.

Moose Rap Lyrics

By popular request, I'm posting the Moose Rap Lyrics.

Alaska Moose Rap Lyrics
From Saturday Night Live with Sarah Palin.

"one two three
My name is Sarah Palin you all know me,
Vice president nominee of the GOP
Gonna need your vote in the next election
Can I get a “what what” from the senior section
McCain got experience, McCain got style
But don’t let him freak you out when he tries to smile
Cause that smile be creepy
But when I be vp
All the leaders in the world gonna finally meet me
How’s it go Eskimo
Eskimos
Tell me what you know Eskimo
Eskimos
How you feel Eskimo
Ice cold
Tell me tell me what you feel Eskimo
Super cold
I’m Jeremiah Wright cause tonight I’m the preacha’
I got a bookish look and you’re all hot for teacha’
Todd lookin fine on his snow machine
So hot, boy gonna need a go-between
In Wasilla we just chill baby chilla
But when I see oil, let’s drill baby drill
My country tis of thee
From my porch I can see
Russia and such
All the mavericks in the house put your hands up
All the mavericks in the house put your hands up
All the plumbers in the house pull your pants up
All the plumbers in the house pull your pants up
When I say ‘Obama’ you say ‘Ayers’
Obama. Ayers.
Obama. Ayers.
I built me a bridge - it ain’t goin’ nowhere.
Ohhh
McCain, Palin, gonna put the nail in the coffin
Of the media elite
She likes red meat
Shoot a mull humpin’ moose, eight days of the week [gunshots]
Now ya dead, now ya dead
Cause I’m an animal, and I’m bigger than you
Holdin a shotgun walk in the pub
Everybody party, we’re goin on a hunt
la la la la la la la la [gunshots]
Yo Palin, I’m out!
Lyrics from Trendhunter
Via The Mountain Sage

Sarah Palin Meets Tina Fey And The Moose Rap

This visit to SNL has been removed from the Youtube sites within the last hour. Who knows why -- but our Sarah walked into the lion's den and did well. Here it is on Toblog -- Sarah Palin goes to SNL - NYC.

http://www.watchfreeepisodes.com/sarah-palin-on-snl-video-heres-sara-palin-on-snl-video-from-saturday-october-18-2008-watch-sarah-palin-on-snl-on-10182008-finally-sarah-palins-on/3880/

Mickey Mouse And His Dog Too

Voting fraud in urban America is a well established fact. With the reports yesterday that Obama supporters from ACORN had registered Mickey Mouse, I want to tell you a story about the voting dogs in my old hometown of Philadelphia.

In 1993, there was a special election for the Pennsylvania Senate, which pitted Republican Bruce Marks, against 33rd Democrat Ward leader Bill Stinson. Republicans had recently taken a local State Representative seat(won by John Taylor)and the odds were good the Republicans could take the empty Senate seat too. It was the first run for Bruce Marks, who was in for a Baptism by fire.

Back in Philly, I was an urban activist just like Barack Obama was in Chicago. There was one big difference, I was by then, a conservative Republican activist -- a very rare bird, indeed, in inner-city America. I volunteered for election day duty, and was assigned by the 33rd Ward Republican Ward leader, Mark Cumberland, to the polling place in the recreation center next to the Carl Mackley Homes housing project. I was a certified poll watcher for the party, with the legal right of entry to the entire polling place. Before leaving with another volunteer, Ken Bell, Mark gave us a phone number to call if "we had any trouble". I remember thinking --hmmm... OK!?

When we arrived, we were immediately "welcomed" by the Democrat committeeman and election judge, both of whom looked like they would have made excellent extras in a Fellini movie. They weren't going to let us in, period. The committeeman (who would later be convicted of absentee ballot voter fraud),was particularly obnoxious. At about five inches from my face, he boasted loudly that, "this is my neighborhood and I know everyone, their mothers, and their brothers. I even know their dogs, and they are going to vote too".

Ken and I reasoned that our "welcome" might be what Mark meant by "trouble". We called the number and explained about the recent events. Within 20 minutes, two 18 wheelers arrived. The trailers were painted with American eagles and flags and a loudspeaker system was blaring God Bless America. It was the Teamsters, who were in this election, a Republican union. Out of the trucks marched 8 men who looked like they meant business. One of them asked "where is Toby Gearhart?" and I was happy to step right up. In the next few minutes, without any problem, Ken and I were able to march right into to polling place and look wherever we wanted. Sometimes, the freedoms that we take for granted need to be backed up by a bit of muscle.

That afternoon, there was only one, almost comic incident, when the Democrat candidate himself showed up on the scene. As he was leaving he muttered to me, "you know, I know some tough guys too".

Well, they couldn't save him this time. Bill Stinson's election was overturned by the court, and a number of Democrat committeemen and campaign workers throughout the area were convicted of voter fraud.

With the Teamsters by our side, we didn't witness any voter fraud that day. However, there was fraud committed there, but BEFORE voting began, with absentee ballots. (Who knows what else was planned until we showed up.) Besides outright intimidation, illegal absentee ballots were the preferred method of election theft throughout the district.

How many canine names were involved in total is hard to say. Click on below for the complete legal conclusion of the story:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/1904058/Marks-v-Stinson

Stop A Ridgely Financial Fiasco Before It's Too Late

It's like watching a wreck about to happen. Ridgely's finances would be precarious even without the growing international financial meltdown. However, with the news today that American and world markets have put into question whether or not the bailout passed Friday will work, there is talk of complete collapse. We the residents of Ridgely will be hit with a double whammy if we go through with plans to build a new waste water treatment plant for the Ridgely Park development. We are depending on the developer to pay us back for this project. Does anyone really believe that there is now going to be a Ridgley Park?

We don't have to keep the $1.5 million loan and we don't have to continue soliciting bids for the work. And whatever the town does, it should not sign a contract for the work. We will be saddled with huge water bills and higher taxes as the world enters a time of financial meltdown.

I've sounded the alarm about how wrong this project has been from the start. A town should NEVER pave the way for development with tax dollars. The justification for it all came after the fact, after the letter from Maryland Department of Environment arrived, stating that the Ridgely Park project could not proceed until the $1.5 million portion of a waste water treatment plant upgrade was finished.

You don't have to take my my word for it. Read the report below. Of all the towns in Maryland, we are among the 6 listed with problems. The problems that the Auditors have pointed out can't be hidden with a smoke and mirrors budget. And, what does fiscal 2008 hold? Wake up Ridgely and make our elected officials take back the town government!

http://www.ola.state.md.us/Reports/Performance/Article19-2008.pdf

Political Prophets And The Bailout

Three former American Presidential candidates have consistently warned of the impending financial disaster facing America, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul. Only Buchanan grudgingly accepted the President's now defeated plan. In a September 23rd article titled "An Amnesty For Stupidity" he writes: "Paulson may be right. To save the sheep who might have been wiped out in a general financial panic, we may have to save the pigs." Ross Perot has submitted his own plan to the public and Ron Paul, a Congressman, has voted against the bailout.

I'm one of those who grudgingly accepts the need to do something ASAP. No matter who is to blame, if the "machine" grinds to a halt, it will never in our lifetime start again. We only have one shot and time is rapidly running out. Hopefully a new plan can be brought to the floor by Friday. Otherwise, it really will be the "end of the world as we know it".

The Blame Game And Great Depression II

There are plenty of reasons for the financial mess we are in. There is a long history behind the crisis with plenty of bipartisan blame for all to share. Hearing Nancy Pelosi blame the whole thing on the Bush administration is a dangerous lie. She was spinning away Wednesday before the particulars of the bailout were put forward casting Bush in a Herbert Hoover redux role.

The immediate cause of our slow moving collapse, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the sub-prime mortgage crisis, can be laid directly on the Clinton administration's doorstep. It was that administration who through bureaucratic fiat, changed mortgage lending rules to the extent that they became non-existent. Race instead of credit worthiness became the top priority to qualify. The only good that might come from the massive sub-prime crisis will be that using race to qualify for a mortgage will now be discredited.

Also, on Capitol Hill, Republican Phil Gramm and his globalist, deregulation uber alles approach to markets opened the door to the gambling man ethic that seized Wall Street. And yes, John McCain, went along with him on this too(only the grace of Sara Palin and Obama's extreme Left record will protect him on this one come November).

All the above, doesn't let us off the hook. We the people are to blame for electing the leadership of this country. And, there have been voices crying out in the political wilderness. Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul have certainly been sounding the alarm for years(yours truly is now quite proud of himself for voting for each of them). Unfortunately, the fate of the old Biblical prophets was usually death, and in the modern political arena, all three of our contemporary political prophets have also met with the equivalent of political death.

Meanwhile, back in Ridgley, we at least won't all continue fighting over development. What's starting to look like Great Depression II will take care of that problem because there won't be anymore development. We will, however, have to figure figure out how to pay back all the money we just borrowed to pay for the ghost of development past, Lister Estates, as well as for the ghosts of the now dead future developments. Yes sir, I can hear it resonating in my mind like one of those commercial jingles that won't leave you alone: " we promise that the the taxpayers will never pay for development". Yup, and I have a "bridge to nowhere" to sell anyone who believes that one.

Frank Gearhart

Frank Gearhart walked this earth from 2/16/1924 until 10:00 PM 9/9/08. He was something. My father loved us and loved America. Every day there are fewer and fewer of this greatest generation left among us. He accomplished so much that I don't know where to begin -- from father to provider to patriot. He lined up to enlist the day after Pearl Harbor and fought for our country during the Second World War from D-Day to the liberation of Dachau. He never let me forget that our American freedoms were earned at great sacrifice, and always encouraged us to keep on fighting for the American dream. This Christian soldier is now with the God he served so well.

A memorial to my father is linked below right on my "Links To The World".

The Complete Cyber Gaming Parlor Story

I don't expect the "Times-Record" to take our side, but I do expect that the residents of Ridgely get the WHOLE story about a proposed cyber gaming parlor. Both recent articles in the "Times-Record" have missed huge parts of the story, making our Planning Commission look unreasonable.

First, the proposal for the parlor was received (via our meeting information packets) a couple of days before our July meeting, in the form of an advertisement for a business that was to open August 4th -- a done deal! The Planning Commission never heard of the proposal and the Town Manager has since said that he didn't see any problem with it. The ad was for a 24/7 cyber gaming parlor aimed at getting customers here from the Western Shore. A 24/7 ANYTHING would be controversial, but a cyber parlor where games might be played including virtual rape, and other extremely violent themes, would be about as welcome as a strip club or a toxic waste dump. Again, we knew nothing about the proposal or the businessman, except that he was the grandson of a developer who has been operating in Ridgely for about a year. The Town Manager does NOT have the authority to approve such ventures.

Second, this area in question is not your usual industrial zone. It's an area for light industrial activity that has been grandfathered into the surrounding residential area. This is why the planning commission has authority to regulate any activity that would do harm to the surrounding neighborhood. If we fail to do our jobs, our neighbors will suffer because of a diminished quality of life and declining home values. The Planning Commission members are members of the community and take their responsibility seriously. The developers and their administration supporters aren't from Ridgely; those of us who live here, and are real stakeholders in our community, need to be heard.

Because of the Planning Commission, community concerns have been heard. The original proposal has been altered. It is not going to be a 24/7 operation and violent sexual content will not be allowed. A security plan will be outlined so that our taxpayer supported police aren't stuck with babysitting this business. The proposal was tabled a second time because we want the business proposal in writing. This is normal procedure. Our town attorney and the developer's attorney are to get together and put together a written proposal that will address the legitimate community concerns. From this, the Planning Commission will have something concrete with which to work. We are simply doing our jobs on OUR community's behalf.


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