Wednesday evening we laid out a chronology of events which lead to Thursday’s Daily Times article about 38-B House candidate Mike McDermott receiving an “emergency suspension” from his boss – Worcester County Sheriff, and big Norm Conway supporter, Chuck Martin.  Thursday morning Daily Times reporter Jenny Hopkinson provided her take on the brewing Scandal in 38-B.  This morning, DT Opinion Editor Susan Parker weighs in.  We sincerely hope that Sheriff Martin takes the advice of both Parker and Delmarva Dealings – wrap this affair up promptly and fairly.  While we never hesitate to criticize the DT if we find fault, neither should we hold back applause for a job well done.  In this case, both Hopkinson and Parker deserve such applause.

More Questions?

Hopkinson’s piece was fair and well written.  I can’t imagine either McDermott or Martin having any serious concerns.  Our only criticism isn’t really a criticism. We understand that Hopkinson spoke with Martin prior to contacting McDermott and his attorney, Michael Davey.  We only wish that Hopkinson had gone back to Martin with a few additional questions:

• Is it true that Martin suspended McDermott over a secondary service weapon that Martin himself had removed from McDermott’s locked office?
• Is it true that a review board had determined that McDermott should have been returned to full duty?
• Why was McDermott suspended with a formal charge or “Notification of Complain”?

If Martin refused to answer “because it is a personnel matter”, that begs the question as to why Martin saw fit to comment in the first place.  Claiming that this is privileged is like taking the 5th; you don’t get to tell your side of the story and then duck behind the privilege when things become uncomfortable.

If Hopkinson chooses to do a follow-up, perhaps she can ask the above questions along with this:

• In his four terms as Sheriff, how many instances have been logged of a deputy misplacing a weapon assigned to him or her?  What was the punishment meted out?

A Prompt Conclusion

As Parker noted in her op-ed:

… the bottom line is this: McDermott’s reputation before the electorate might be damaged by a sheriff whose twin interests — running a smooth police department and helping his political allies get elected — are in conflict.

As we noted Wednesday:

If McDermott is returned to duty (per the review board), the matter dropped or a formal complaint filed, and promptly investigated (if a formal complaint is filed), then the entire affair could simply be chocked up to a misunderstanding.  Each day that this affair continues without an objective conclusion in sight makes the matter appear more and more sordid.  This does not bode well for either Conway’s candidacy or the last few months of Sheriff Martin’s distinguished career.

No bringing this matter to a speedy end serves no one well.  The longer this drags on, the more it resembles a political vendetta than an HR matter.  While McDermott’s candidacy may be harmed in the short term, the reputations of both Martin and Conway face long term damage.  Whether I’ve supported these men (Martin) or not (Conway), it serves neither them nor the public by allowing this matter to fester any longer than absolutely necessary.

Thursday night I was traveling through eastern Virginia and picked up a copy of my old hometown paper – the Daily Press.  Low and behold, there was an editorial claiming that the salaries and benefits paid to government employees are OUT OF CONTROL.

Some of you may wonder why this is so significant.  Many of us have known for years that the incessant whining of government workers – that they are overworked and underpaid – is so much hogwash.  However Hampton Roads, the primary market of the Daily Press, is a blood relative of Washington, DC.  There are military bases every few miles; with not only uniformed personnel, but tens of thousands of civilian employees.  Large pockets of non-military federal, state, and local employees also run around numerous bureaucratic hives.  Besides those that DIRECTLY feed at the taxpayer funded trough, there are tens, hundreds, of thousands more who work for government contractors.  Without the taxpayers’ largesse, these nominally private sector employees would be out of work.  Therefore, you may understand why I was surprised to read such an op-ed in THIS PARTICULAR paper.

Here is a copy of the editorial in Thursday’s edition:

At one time, being a public servant included the likely sacrifice of not being paid as well as those in private industry. The calling to public service — and the prospect of job security — offset the sacrifice.

The calling is still there for many. But it abides in the hearts of workers, so it isn’t something economists can measure.

But they can get at the economic sacrifice. And it no longer exists.

Government workers out-earn private sector workers.

That is part of the reason why the state, cities, counties and school boards are agonizing over how to bring their budgets in line with reduced tax revenues. Those budgets bear the pressure of salary scales for government workers that exceed those of the average private-sector worker/taxpayer.

This month, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual look at compensation by region, by employer, by occupation, by just about any way you want to slice or dice it. Here’s what it shows for Hampton Roads, as of July 2009:

The average full-time state and local government worker in our region earned $23.46 per hour. The average private sector worker made $18.87.

You might pass that off as an artifact of differences in the labor force of the two — that the private sector has, for example, more low-end service jobs. And there’s an element of that. But the BLS handily provides numbers by occupation, so you can line up apples with apples.

And when you look many of them, government workers have the advantage. Take secretaries and administrative assistants. In Hampton Roads, they make an average of $16.86 per hour in government offices, compared to $13.72 in the private sector. In our area, health workers get $29.63, on average, in government jobs and $23.80 in private industry. The one place government workers are at a disadvantage is in the top managerial ranks.

But wages don’t tell the whole story — about compensation, or about why governments are in financial distress.

It’s the benefits. The paid leave. The health insurance. And especially, the pensions.

The BLS estimates that nationally, private industry pays $8.03 per hour in benefits while state and local governments pay $13.65 per hour. Add together pay and benefits on that national scale, and government work earns a 45 percent premium over the private sector.

That helps explain the squeeze, as governments try to balance the promises they have made to workers against taxpayers’ ability and willingness to provide the money to honor those promises.

In Virginia, one of the most expensive of those promises has to do the retirement plan that covers state and local government workers and teachers. Because they don’t have to chip in at all and can retire early and collect for many years, that puts a huge obligation on state and local taxpayers and chews up state and local budgets. In Hampton, for example, it claims $19 million.

It’s difficult to dial back commitments already made, but these terms shouldn’t be granted to new employees. And even current employees could contribute something to their generous pensions.
The state and many school boards are deciding they can’t or won’t pay the full amount due their pension plans next year. That pay-me-later trick balances the budget, but it will bite the taxpayers who’ll have to make it up in the future because the pensions will be paid.

Rather than play budget tricks, state and local governments will get their compensation burden under control only if they use real tools and make real decisions. Stop giving raises that outpace inflation. Trim back health and retirement benefits. And require public workers to pay a fair share.

When the Daily Press argues that it’s time to cut back on government pay and benefits, we know that things have truly gotten out of control.  It’s time to force our elected officials at ALL levels of government to fix this problem NOW; or get new elected officials.

Attacking the grassroots conservative / libertarian coalition of Tea Party activists hasn’t worked after a year.  Calling us names or claiming that we’re bigots hasn’t worked.  Ridiculing us hasn’t worked.  So, the left (through their allies in the mainstream media) have found a new tactic – let us destroy ourselves.  Shamefully, the tactic just might work.

Can Tea Party activists band together around the issues which they agree on AND agree to disagree on others?  That is the core question facing us as the media attempts to prod Tea Partiers into an internecine war.  Their first target – former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, his FreedomWorks group, and the issue of immigration.

The success of the Tea Party movement has been that it is a loose coalition of individuals and groups focused around economic and tax issues.  We opposed the stimulus.  We opposed TARP.  We opposed “cap and trade”; not because we support pollution, but because we question the science upon which “climate change” is based and we are worried about the economic impact of such a measure.  We opposed ObamaCare.  Some of us opposed the measure solely because of its probable negative impact on the world’s greatest health care system and on our economy..  Others opposed it because of its assault on our individual and corporate liberty.  Many of us fought the measure for both of these reasons; and a few more.

To date, the Tea Party movement has not come together around social issues or other issues that don’t have a direct economic impact on our nation.  However, there is one issue which has an economic impact AND on which many of us within the Tea Party movement disagree.  That issue is ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

I, for one, oppose ANY immigration reform which provides amnesty or a “path to legalization” for aliens in this country who did not enter legally.  My reasons are simple – these people have BROKEN THE LAW and history (1986) has taught us that providing amnesty exacerbates the problem rather than fixes it.  If they want to live here, they need to GO BACK HOME and get at the back of the line.  I also believe that we should expand LEGAL immigration and make provisions for a “guest worker” program.

I understand the arguments of many who support immigration reform that includes some form of amnesty (although many refuse to accept that term).  It’s an economic argument.  It’s a “justice” argument.  However, just because I understand (and even respect) their arguments does not mean that I will agree with them.  Some of these people are folk who I genuinely respect.  These include Dick Armey and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform.

SETTING US UP FOR FAILURE?

FreedomWorks has taken a leading role in sponsoring the Tea Party movement.  Since 1984, the group has focused on issues relating to fiscal policy and limited government.  This morning I came across a post by Richard Falknor, who chairs the Maryland Thursday Meeting, questioning Armey’s role in the Tea Party movement BECAUSE of his views on immigration reform.

Falknor appears to oppose amnesty.  However, he holds (at least some of) the same view towards the relationship of FreedomWorks to the Tea Party movement as I do:

Tea Partiers need to know exactly the policy priorities and advocacy records – - such as amnesty for illegals – - of people who, like Dick Armey,  are playing a visible role in the movement.  Then local, state, and regional Tea Partiers can make their own decisions on their agendas – - taking or leaving “guidance” from their “Beltway Betters” as they choose.

On this, we are in complete agreement.  I also support Falknor’s belief that “social, immigration, and national security concerns are a seamless web”.  However, Tea Party activists need to be politically savvy enough to understand that we are NEVER going to succeed on ANY issue if we will only ally ourselves with those that we are in 100% agreement.

What caused me great concern in Falknor’s post was a reference to an article in Politico:

Critics ranging from prominent conservatives to bloggers to grass-roots tea party activists have called into question whether Armey’s stances on illegal immigration and social issues, his candidate endorsements and his past lobbying work are fundamentally inconsistent with the tea party movement. They also have suggested he raised the white flag too early in the fight over the Democratic health care overhaul and is beholden to corporate benefactors, and have accused him of trying to hijack the tea parties to serve those benefactors or his own personal political ambitions.

Armey and FreedomWorks have been very helpful in assisting Tea Party activists.  Given the loose knit structure of the movement, this support is VERY HELPFUL and we should all be grateful.  Just because I disagree with Armey on the immigration issue does not mean that I shouldn’t want to work with him on others.  Yet, that is just what some activists are urging; with the helpful prodding of those in the media.

Some are asking the question, “Do we need to be organized by FreedomWorks?”.  No, but I don’t believe that is what is happening.  EVERYONE in the Tea Party movement has an agenda.  Some are just truly concerned about the direction our nation is moving.  Others may want to tap the grassroots fervor of the movement for specific electoral or policy purposes.  It is up to EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US to educate ourselves and then decide to what extent we wish to accept assistance (or take direction) from others.

If we can agree to support each other on certain issues, respectfully oppose our allies on other, AND decide not to argue over issues that may be important to some but not ourselves (but on which we have an opinion), THEN we can succeed.  IF we choose to take the path of some (such as ALIPAC, a group that I agree with on many things), we are doomed to divide just at the time when we need to come together on those issues which are most important to us:

Dick Armey of Freedomworks (The group trying to take control of the Tea Party Movement) supports AMNESTY for illegal aliens and Armey says the Tea Party movement is about "Free Markets" aka NAFTA and CAFTA.

Obviously he believes in free labor and consumer markets across OPEN BORDERS.

Do you agree with Dick Armey of Freedomworks? Does this explain why the DC insiders are trying to keep the illegal immigration issue out of the Tea Party movement?

I happen to think that Armey is wrong about immigration.  I do agree with him that free markets are key to our economic survival and that this is one of the core issues of the Tea Party movement.  However, because I believe he is wrong on immigration, does that mean that I should spurn Armey and refuse to work with FreedomWorks on issues involving free markets, lower taxes and limited government?

Ironically, many of the same activists attacking Armey have agendas of their own and wish to diminish whatever Armey and FreedomWorks may enjoy within the Tea Party movement:

Fire-breathing conservative blogger Michelle Malkin last week blasted Armey as an “amnesty stooge” and “a clueless promoter of bailout-happy, big government Republican Sen. John McCain.”

And Tony Perkins, president of the socially conservative Family Research Council, said he has urged tea party activists to ignore FreedomWorks’ advice to minimize the profile of social and religious issues, which he charged the group was “intentionally avoiding, and that undermines the potential for success” in the tea party movement. Perkins said his staff has tried to discuss its concerns with FreedomWorks officials, but hasn’t been satisfied with their response.

This is reminiscent of problems within the GOP.  Establishment Republicans have been unwilling to reach out to the libertarian leaning supporters of Ron Paul just as they spurned and ridiculed social conservatives for many years; and the Goldwater / Reagan conservatives before that.

If they aren’t successful over the issue of immigration, expect them to start prodding us over social / religious issues such as abortion and marriage.  The left FEARS the Tea Party movement and grassroots groups such as AFP and the Club for Growth.  They realize that they can’t defeat our ideas.  Their best hope is to push us into destroying ourselves.

Like his pal Barack Obama, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley pledged to run the most transparent administration in history.  Well, we all saw those health care negotiations on C-SPAN – right?  Now the O’Governor is keeping media outlets that don’t tow the party line from attending State House press conferences. Oh yeah – WE THE PEOPLE are excluded as well.

As O’Malley’s poll numbers have dropped over the past year, the Governor’s press office has excluded media and citizens from press conferences in the Governor’s Reception Room. They have also established new barriers for obtaining press credentials for the State House press corps.

Reporter Hassan Giordano of the Baltimore Independent Examiner describes his frustration with the Governor’s interference of an open and transparent government in Maryland and, specifically, the lack of access to the Governor unless you are one of the few favored media representatives known to write or produce pro-Administration pieces:

"While certain members of the Press, including myself, have been stalled and consistently delayed our press credentials, due to some new process the O’Malley administration has put in place, many are questioning why now? As if not already known as the liberal oppressor of all things conservative, Governor O’Malley is now playing games with certain reporter’s credentials, who are too closely tied to conservative publications."

Maryland voters shouldn’t be surprised.  Sunlight has always been considered a powerful disinfectant.  When you are playing fast and loose with the taxpayers’ dollars, as O’Malley has been doing for three years, sunlight is the last thing you want.

What is really depressing is that the liberal Maryland media is putting up with this.

H/T:  Maryland Senate Republican Caucus

Tracey Sahler, “Public Information Liaison” (that’s “Spin Doctor at Taxpayer Expense” for you non-bureaucrats out there) for the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) really earned her pay this week.  She’s proving the old adage “It’s not what you know, but who you know” is definitely true when it comes to the WCBOE and the Daily Times.  Thanks to her relationship with the paper’s managing editor (her husband, Erick Sahler), Daily Times reporter Greg Latshaw will not only print the WCBOE’s spin, but their lies as well.

Sunday, the paper ran a front page story – “Wicomico School Travel Expenses Scrutinized”.  This piece was in obvious reaction to pieces ran last week by both Delmarva Dealings and Salisbury News outlining just a few of the abuses found by Wicomico County Councilman Joe Holloway.  Holloway has spent months attempting to get this information from the WCBOE and has been stonewalled every step of the way.  He has requested copies of the receipts for specific line items and has still not received those!  Yet, what was Mr. Latshaw’s lead for this puff piece?

The Wicomico County school system is viewing every out-of-town conference or business lunch with increased scrutiny as it prepares for big budget reductions.  "We would anticipate the (seminars and conferences) budget to be substantially and significantly reduced," said Superintendent John Fredericksen.

The WCBOE has refused to cut this year’s travel budget – instead choosing to cut from SPECIAL ED!  They have been caught using taxpayer funds for trips to Hooter’s, junkets to Vegas (including tickets to a Toby Keith concert), and dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse!  It appears that the taxpayers have even been charged for Superintendent John Fredericksen and Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt to have lunch.  Yet, Latshaw (and his boss Erick Sahler) want the public to believe that the WCBOE is attempting to be a faithful steward of the taxpayers’ money.

Fredericksen Lies … Again

Quite possibly the biggest whopper in this work of fiction is a quote from Fredericksen:

Fredericksen said the school system is pleased to comply with Holloway’s request for more detailed information and will likely have the information to him by the end of next week.

That’s right John, you’re PLEASED to comply.  That’s why you stonewalled Holloway for months in his attempt to receive a printout of WCBOE travel expenses.  The only reason he received those was because one of your bureaucrats let it slip (at a council meeting) that the only thing required to fulfill Holloway’s request was to enter the necessary codes for travel expenses into the computer and hit “PRINT”.  Fredericksen has previously issued a letter to Holloway claiming that it would cost thousands of dollars to provide the information.  I guess those folk over at the central office are getting paid $1million an hour.

Holloway requested copies of receipts of a small number of transactions WEEKS AGO.  If you are so PLEASED to comply with the request, why hasn’t he received them yet?  If you were so PLEASED to provide the information, why did you call Council President Gail Bartkovich and ask if Holloway’s request was JUST from Joe Holloway or was it from the entire council?  Why did Bartkovich consider it necessary to have the council hold a vote DEMANDING the information?

Sure John, you’re PLEASED to comply.

Fredericksen also claims that overnight travel has been “frozen”:

We’ve frozen all national travel.

Last year, Fredericksen told the county council the same thing.  Yet, when it was brought to the board’s attention that a few members of council had uncovered instances of overnight travel they were told that a “freeze” simply meant that all instances of overnight travel were being “scrutinized”.

THAT’S WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING ALL ALONG!  A “FREEZE” means that the practice has been stopped.  These bureaucrats just don’t get it.  The money they spend doesn’t fall from the sky.  Hard working men and women sweat and toil to provide those dollars.  The least these people can do is spend that money with some sense of respect as to where it came from.

Sadly, the board, Fredericksen, and his top bureaucrats seem to believe that taxpayers exist for one purpose – TO FUND THEIR FOLLY.

IT’S FOR THE CHILDREN

The WCBOE argues that their primary concern is “the children”.  Yet, as Holloway pointed out, teachers are being forced to spend their own money on supplies.  Taxpayer money is thrown away giving retirees INCREASED benefits.  Travel funds (whether needed or not) are being squandered.  Parents are denied school choice and the WCBOE’s four employee unions seem to dictate policy.

This problem is not unique to Wicomico County.  When the Washington Post, hardly a leader of conservative thought, admits that the MSEA (the state teachers’ union) is more concerned about lining their own pockets and featherbedding their own jobs than providing a quality education for Maryland’s children, then you know that things have really gotten bad in the Once Free State.

SPIN, SPIN, SPIN …

Latshaw’s article causes more questions to be asked than provides answers.  Why did Latshaw use up over 1/3 of his article attempting to defend training for WCBOE employees?  I don’t recall anyone saying that there shouldn’t be any training.  Why didn’t Latshaw address the questions that have been asked by some officials and the public, namely wasteful use of travel dollars (concert tickets, dinners at VERY expensive restaurants)?  Why did Latshaw print obviously false statements?

As the 2010 elections become closer, perhaps the WCBOE should give Tracey Sahler another pay increase.  As they become a leading issue of the county elections, they will need for the Daily Times to continue “getting their back”.  Taxpayers are tired of excuses.  They want to see our children educated.  They don’t want to see money wasted on junkets to Vegas.

While Maryland Sen. Andy Harris prepares to formally announce his candidacy to unseat freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD), the Daily Times has decided to get an early start in promoting Kratovil’s re-election.

Starting off with a front page puff piece by Greg Latshaw in Sunday’s edition, the Daily Times makes their strategy for 2010 clear.  Kratovil and his Gannett allies are having a tough time defending his voting record, so the decision has been made to promote Kratovil as “independent” and lowering expectations for Kratovil.  This was a dominant theme of his 2008 campaign and Kratovil and the media are hoping that it might work again.

At least Latshaw’s piece was factual, if a tad fawning.  Sunday’s inside piece by Nicole Guadiano simply re-wrote Kratovil’s voting record.  The three biggest votes that Kratovil has cast to date are on the Obama PORKULUS bill, Cap & Tax, and ObamaCare.  Guadiano claims that Kratovil voted against PORUKLUS.  This simply isn’t true.  Kratovil did vote against the original House version but VOTED FOR the bill that was actually adopted.  (I wonder if DT Managing Editor Erick Sahler will print a correction on that one?)  Kratovil’s vote on Cap & Tax was neatly buried in the middle of the article.  As for voting against ObamaCare, we’ll give Kratovil SOME credit for that vote.  However, voters know that it was their dedication (exhibited by attending town hall meetings and calling Kratovil’s office) which yielded that vote.  Besides, Kratovil still has an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama when the reconciliation bill is voted on.

To preface Harris’ announcement with a trifecta of pro-Kratovil propaganda we were treated to this morning’s lead editorial.  I’m all in favor of a vigorous op-ed page.  I just wish that the Daily Times wasn’t being so transparent.  Let’s face it, this morning’s piece read more like a sex act than a mere endorsement.

We know these folks loved Wayne Gilchrest.  Since Harris knocked Gilchrest out, they’ve decided that Kratovil is the second coming of Gilchrest – just cuter and more cuddly.  I don’t even have a problem with that; that’s what editorial pages are for.  I just expected them to not twist the truth so severely when discussing Kratovil’s record:

Kratovil was frequently among a minority of Democrats who voted with Republicans for or against various bills, including health care reform, the stimulus bill and more recently, a jobs package. He voted with Democrats on climate change and abortion issues.

As noted above, KRATOVIL VOTED FOR PORKULUS.  The ObamaCare bill that he voted against was quite similar to proposals he was hawking to various lefty groups in his 2008 campaign.  Let’s face it.  The only reason Frank Kratovil voted against ObamaCare was because voting for it would have been equivalent to standing on US 50 and cutting his own throat.  Kratovil’s fiscal recklessness to date made it politically impossible to vote for the jobs bill. (Plus, Little Tommy Pelosi didn’t HAVE to get his vote on that one)

Happy New Year.  Expect plenty more of the same from the Daily Times.  We can also expect justification for O’Malley’s record and plenty of defense for the profligacy of Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt and the Wicomico County Board of Education.

NOTE:  Before anyone gets their knickers in a twist and accuses me of calling the kettle black, remember that Delmarva Dealings is primarily a journal of opinion.  We have NEVER claimed to be an unbiased reporter of news.  While we pride ourselves on being able to back up statements reported as fact, we always have (and will) be a publisher of conservative opinion.

Bearing Drift’s Brian Kirwin hit the nail on the head – the Washington Post’s surprising (yeah, right!) endorsement of Democrat Creigh Deeds is BECAUSE Deeds promises to raise taxes.

The Delmarva blogosphere continues to grow.  Back in August we published a few statistics about blogs based in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.  We promised to start doing a quarterly report.  Here it is.

For each state we’ve listed a cross-section of blogs with their Alexa ranking and growth (or decline) in page views over the last 90 days.  We have also included info on several newspapers in each state.  Note that this listing is not comprehensive, but serves simply to give an overview.  If you are interested in seeing the Alexa statistics about a particular site that is not listed here, simply go to Alexa and enter the site’s URL under “Site Info”.  You can even compare up to four sites.

Here are the 3rd Quarter, 2009 Delmarva Blog Rankings:

Starting next quarter, we’ll list the previous quarter’s Alexa rank for comparison.

Salisbury has become one of the most dangerous cities in America.  The spendthrift policies of the Barrie Tilghman administration has led Salisbury to the its own fiscal crisis.  A newly elected mayor has shown an inability or unwillingness to control his own police chief.  You would think all of these would make important and interesting stories.  However, Salisbury’s own Daily Times (and one of its reporters) has become “the story”.

Salisbury councilwoman Debbie Campbell held a press conference Thursday afternoon to answer attacks by former(?) mayor Barrie Tilghman and Salisbury police chief Allan Webster.  As Campbell was preparing for the press conference she received an email from Tilghman Times reporter Laura D’Alessandro.  While the first half of D’Alessandro’s email sounded almost like a journalist, it was the last half that showed her true vocation – sleazy attack dog for the Barrie Comegys party :

According to a letter from Chief Allan Webster to former Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman on April 3, 2009, you told the Chief you didn’t know anything about the issue. This information is false.  Are you aware this is a misdemeanor under section 9-501 of Maryland state criminal law?  How and why were you able to install surveillance equipment in your office as a private citizen?  Is this a standard service offered by SPD?  What is on the tape?  Are you covering the burglary? (all emphasis mine)

How does D’Alessandro know that the information from Campbell is false?  If D’Alessandro is to be believed about the memo from SPD officer Mark Tyler then there is a sizable credibility gap between Campbell and Tyler.  Campbell has faithfully served the citizens of Salisbury while (again, according to D’Alessandro) Tyler has admitted to violating police procedure and possibly committing an illegal act.  Sorry Laura, the objective reader will have to side with Campbell on this one.

However, if you are the Tilghman Times you aren’t appealing to the objective reader.  In the case of D’Alessandro’s work I doubt that they are appealing to the literate.  Rather than report the news, the Tilghman Times has sought to shape the it.  In this case we are not talking about the bias which is, unfortunately, par for the course at the Tilghman Times.  In this case we see actual collusion between the Tilghman Times, Webster, and his allies.  Now, thanks to D’Alessandro, they ARE THE NEWS.

Throughout D’Alessandro’s tenure as the Tilghman Times city reporter we have documented work that can only be described (charitably) as shoddy.  Disgracefully biased is a kind description as well.  However, with her “coverage” of Webster’s whining and TapeGate, I can confidently state that D’Alessandro has hit a new low.  Given the notoriously low journalistic quality of Gannett, in general, and the Tilghman Times, in particular, that is quite a claim.  Regardless, it is a claim that I will back up if you continue reading.

Think this through logically

Webster called Campbell regarding this matter on April 3, 2009.  This is 11 years AFTER this incident supposedly occurred.  At the time, no mention is made of a memo supposedly written by Tyler that very same day.

In June, Campbell requested a copy of any police reports regarding this matter.  Webster replied, “Major Jeff Livingston researched the information you provided and found no report for the Baptist Street address.”  Notice that there is NO mention of Tyler’s memo.  Yet, this “memo” miraculously appeared yesterday.  If you didn’t know better, you would have thought that you were in Lourdes or Fatima rather that Salisbury, Maryland.

Webster might try to claim that this memo was “evidence” in his so-called investigation of Campbell.  There are just a few problems with that.  Police are supposed to investigate crimes.  Even if the evil Debbie Campbell did everything that Webster claims, waiting 11 years to “investigate” makes it a moot point.  There is no crime that could be prosecuted.  Remember, the impetus behind this phony “investigation” was so Webster could claim that he was a “whistle-blower” and cower Salisbury’s new mayor into letting Webster keep his job.

Back to the Tilghman Times

Using an obvious fiction (the Tyler memo) as its linchpin, D’Alessandro and her employers have attempted to weave a tale of intrigue.  In reality the facts are relatively simple:

• You have a councilwoman, recently re-elected by an overwhelming majority, who has been beyond reproach in the conduct of her public affairs, who claims that she never saw this tape.

• A police officer, Mark Tyler, who admits in writing to having violated police procedure and possibly having committed and illegal act, claims that (on his own volition) he handed over police evidence to a private citizen (Campbell was not on council at that time).

• Perhaps the police chief should be the tie-breaker?  Allan Webster has severe credibility issues of his own.  Webster has deliberately filed false information in court documents (no one would believe that he didn’t know where he lived) and has even made provable false claims to the very newspaper that holds him up a a credible source.

To date, the only persons publicly supporting the veracity of Tyler are D’Alessandro, the Tilghman Times, Webster, and Barrie Comegys party mouthpiece Jonathan Taylor.  If you were in a court you would rather have the leaders of the Crips, Bloods, and MS-13 as character witnesses.

In Friday’s article we see the bias and collusion between the Tilghman Times and Webster (Tyler is in all probability merely acting as a witless stooge for his boss):

Notice the headline.  The “Officer states” while Campbell “sticks to … claim”.  No Bias there!

Campbell “admitted during a news conference Wednesday that she did request that the Salisbury Police Department install surveillance equipment in her SNHS office, but denied any knowledge of a tape alleged to be in her possession.”

This is a complete fabrication on the part of D’Alessandro.  Campbell didn’t “admit” to anything.  Campbell clearly stated in her remarks (of which D’Alessandro has a verbatim copy):

When it became clear that my office had been broken into and my computer searched, I reported the matter to the police. After several break-ins, the investigating officers requested my consent to install video surveillance equipment in my office. It is important to note that I was not present when the Salisbury Police installed the camera. Frankly, I do not even know where the camera was, or what type of camera was used. (emphasis mine)

D’Alessandro was prodded, by me, to ask if Tyler had been disciplined for violating police procedure.  However she attempts to imply that Tyler did so at the directions of a superior -

Webster could not answer whether Tyler could face consequences for releasing police evidence to a private citizen, but Tyler’s memo said he was instructed to execute the investigation by former acting chief Ed Guthrie, who no longer works for the city and did not return calls for comment.

No it does not.  The Tyler memo clearly states that “The writer (Tyler) agreed and immediately returned the tape to Ms. Campbell unviewed.”  The memo only mentions Guthrie in the beginning of the memo, claiming that Guthrie told Tyler to meet with Campbell regarding the break-ins and to assist in the investigation.  Of course, even IF Guthrie had ordered Tyler to hand over the tape, that would have been an illegal order.  I guess “the writer” doesn’t understand that the Nuremburg defense isn’t very successful in the United States.

It should be noted that D’Alessandro gave very little coverage to Campbell’s press conference.  Why?  The reason is simple.  Half of Campbell’s statement was referring to the deplorable job D’Alessandro has done in writing about these matters, including discussion of D’Alessandro’s email where she called Campbell a liar and a criminal.

D’Alessandro and her employers at the Tilghman Times have gone from biased coverage to actually working with the Barrie Comegys party in an attempt to discredit those who are attempting to bring about positive change in Salisbury.  They already have Mayor Jim Ireton cowed.

They aren’t going to stop until their readers and advertisers let Gannett know what is going on.

If you live on the Northern Neck AND you oppose ObamaCare, you’re just dumber than a sack of hair.  At least that’s the view of certain members of Virginia’s lefty blogosphere.  Why not?  The Obamamaniacs can’t win the argument on merit, so let’s ridicule the good voters in Virginia’s First District.

It seems that Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) had a town hall meeting in Warsaw.  It appears that most of the overflow crowd was opposed to ObamaCare.  According to some probable “come here” on the Daily Kos (and repeated on Fred2Blue), these were just about the dumbest folk he’s ever come across:

Unbelievable.  My first exposure to true lunacy.

People who live in glass houses …

Were there a few people there who were a little misinformed?  Probably, but no more than you would find at your local Democrat committee meeting.  Sure, I’m a little dismayed when people take everything that Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or even Mark Levin say and treat it as gospel.  Unfortunately, that’s the way of world.  As an example, when Democrats attempt to argue that the “public option” isn’t a form of socialized medicine they are either lying, deluded, or simply parroting (the vast majority) what they have been told.  Yet, it would be rude for us to call them stupid.

It is, unfortunately, the reality of modern public discourse that too many of our fellow citizens are not sufficiently informed about Issue X or Bill Y.  I’m as guilty as the next guy.  In an age where our elected representatives don’t even have time to read the bills they are voting on, how can the average citizen?  Even if we did, you can’t understand most of them (which is, I believe, deliberate).

Back in the day, most engaged citizens relied on the media.  Perhaps the media was semi-objective back then.  However, in my nearly half-century the media has never been particularly objective.  Citizens realize this.  They now have options and tend to self-select media that has a bias most like their own.  Glenn Beck may be funnier than Katie Couric, but he certainly isn’t any more biased.  At least Beck is billed as “conservative”.  CBS makes the laughable claim that Couric is “objective”.

We can only hope that these people are critical in their interpretation of this information.  However, if / when they are not, there is little we can do.  However, to simply call citizens stupid because they MAY be misinformed or because you don’t like the source of their information simply gives evidence to the weakness of the left’s own arguments.