A Rose By Any Other Name...

It never ceases to amaze me how the universe brings disparate ideas and things together, which leads to the inevitable creation of something new.  Take this blog post, for instance.

Recently, it seems, my mind has been pondering two completely unrelated thoughts - or so it seemed to me, anyway. Those thoughts being 1) The epidemic of Common Core in schools throughout Maryland, and 2) the idea of single shooting for a given/specific candidate this election day.

For the uninitiated, "single shooting" means - in those races where you may "vote for no more than three" or whatever the designated number may be, you only vote for one of the numerous candidates listed.  You vote for the candidate you most want to see win. You do because the last thing you want is to see your candidate finish 4th when only the top three get elected...and you happened to vote for one or two of the eventual winners, leaving your candidate in the dust, simply because you were told you may vote for "no more than" a given number of candidates.  Just because you "may" doesn't mean you must. For the record, I single shoot all the damned time and I will, in fact, do it when I go to vote on November 8th this year, as well.

But, I digress.

The thing, or person, that brought the ideas of "Common Core" and "Single Shooting" together in my mind and is, therefore, responsible for this blog is one Cindy Stickline-Rose, a candidate for the Board of Education from Frederick County.

Ms. Stickline-Rose is certainly no wall flower when it comes to stating her case as to why she doesn't favor Common Core (the thing is, I've yet to run across ANYONE who likes that Common Core crap being served up in schools) - despite the fact that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan had appointed and continues to appoint folks who are pro-Common Core "corporate reformers."  When I asked her why she is opposed to Common Core, Mrs. Stickline-Rose cut through all of the crap and got right to the chase:

"Common Core ushered in state and national control." she said. " Prior to Common Core and the privately owned Next Generation Science Standards we had the "Maryland Voluntary State Standards. Counties could adopt standards written at the state level or create their own. One of my main goals (in fighting Common Core) is restoring the local control."

You've got to love it.  Cindy Stickline-Rose wants to restore local control to the schools. Good for her - and imagine that!

But, how does Cindy Stickline-Rose's stand in strident opposition to Common Core tie in with "single shooting' for a particular candidate, you ask?

Well, a few days ago on a friend's Facebook page, a snide comment was made about single shooting being "unethical." I call bullshit. There is nothing even remotely unethical about engaging in that practice. The comment was made in relation to Cindy Stickline-Rose's campaign for the Board of Education, where her campaign is urging all of her supporters to single shoot on her behalf. 

The only thing that proves is how smart they are.

Whatever, if I lived in Frederick County, Mrs. Stickline-Rose wouldn't have to convince me to single shoot for her.  Her stance on Common Core would have already done that.

Welcome Me Back, Again.

Ominous and foreboding, isn't it, that I re-start - for the umpteenth time, no less - a new and improved blog just a few, short, days from Halloween?  I think so. 

This blog will be a slight bit different than my previous forays into blogging - many of which seemed so cynical and the like.  Not that this blog won't be without some cynicism - oh, no, far from THAT! But, this (final) attempt will also be cut with more humor, more personal asides and reflections.  Hell, some folks might even say that it's being used as a vehicle more than anything else. 

Whatever...

The other thing I'll do with this blog - as I very occasionally did in my past efforts - will be to oft-times include more than one item per blog.  Not that THAT means the blogs will be longer, on average, than were most of my previous ones.  Screw that.  I'm still a bit of a lazy bastard at heart - and I still have my other, fiction, writing to concern myself with.  You know, the writing I do for which I get paid.

But, blogging has its payments, too - the most important of these is the fact that you, dear reader, are even now reading this.  I'm honored and humbled to have your attention.  Thank you!

Anyway, onto my two topics of the day.  The first one is:

The 2016 Presidential Election.

You know, here I was, all ready to vote for the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, when two things happened.  The first is that, inexplicably, Johnson stated that he could/would support a "carbon tax." A goddamned carbon tax.  Are you kidding me?  The second thing that happened is that either the day after Johnson said that, or within a day or two, anyway, Donald Trump hired my friend, MD GOP National Committeeman, David Bossie, to be his Deputy Campaign Manager.  That's one Hell of a one-two punch, right there, I must say.

I've known David Bossie for 30 years now.  The man is positively brilliant and he's really a very cool and great guy. Couple that with Johnson supporting a carbon tax, and I'm in the Trump "camp" now.  Well, actually, I'm in the camp of the guy David Bossie is working for and that guy is Trump. A Trump win will help David out professionally - and I'm all about helping my friends in any way possible.  Especially when the "Libertarian" candidate supports a carbon tax.

Anyway...

I don't know what type of President Donald Trump will make or be...but I DO know what type of President Hillary Clinton will be - and that ain't good: Continued, or increased, bombing runs, bringing corruption and criminality to new, dizzying, levels in Washington DC as she ensconces her crime syndicate into the White House. She's sort of a combination of the CCCP (of which she should be a member) meets the KKK (who endorsed her) and the John Gotti family (without the charm) all rolled into one. 

Besides, as concerns Clinton (the Devil, we already well know) versus Trump (the Devil we've all heard a lot of nasty things about but don't really know), I'm pretty much fed up to the gills with opting for the devil we know over the devil we don't know.  This is especially true, considering the Libertarian candidate came out in support of a carbon tax and Donald Trump now has a friend in his direct employ.  So, my options came down to Trump, Johnson or don't vote for President...

The other topic, that I just want to touch on here is:

My possible run for Governor in the 2018 MDGOP primary.

Yeah, it's possible - and it's looking more and more likely every day.  I've received about 90% encouragement whenever the idea is discussed or from things I've overheard.  And some of the folks who have offered to run with me?! Wooo-Doggie! Now, can I win? Well, if my name is on the ballot, of course I CAN win - even if the chance of that happening is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 to 10%.  Perhaps, I should consult with the "should-be-disgraced" Nick Silver of 538 fame who'd given Anthony Brown a 94% chance of defeating MD Governor Larry Hogan by 10% back in 2014.  He could tell me, I'm sure!

Whatever, if I do run, I've already got my top three or four issues picked out.  Hot button? In a way, yeah - but they are all common-sense and true to my beliefs.  Every last one of them. And every one of them can be done by a GOP governor in a legislature controlled by Democrats.  Every. One. of. Them.

I'll be deciding for sure what I'm going to do between now and the end of the year.  If you give a damn, you can expect a final decision from me sometime after the first of the year.  Even if you don't give a damn, you can expect a final decision from me sometime after the first of the year.

And, there you have it.

And, as concerns my first volley into my return to the blog-o-sphere, well, there you have THAT, too.