Civil Rights

Lobbying / Representation

   There will be no lobbying in the County for my district and I would urge the board to make that for the county as a whole. Private and special interests have no place making deals and having talks behind closed doors with any politician at any level of government. Government officials represent and serve the people and voters that elected them and not some lawyer from a nameless (or named) private entity.

   Does this mean a voter or person cannot see or speak with their officials ? Of course not, I would see any voter or citizen of the county to discuss any matter or problem they might be having. I would not close any meeting to the public unless it involved personnel matters (as they have to be closed to protect the employees rights and privacy).

   The relatively small size of Carroll County means we should be able to meet with constituents without requiring a representative for the constituents, especially for the even smaller Commissioner Districts.

Corporation != Person

   A company is not a person, period. They have no rights to speech, press or any other constitutional right not expressly given to a corporation. A person within a corporation can exercise their individual rights but not the corporation itself. An officer or executive of a corporation must explicitly state they are invoking their individual rights, this leaves other officials in a corporation available to provide any service or product.

   This right was granted to corporations by a court clerk in the Supreme Court almost a hundred years ago who disagreed with or misread a decision and wrote the right exists in a memo which to this day has not been rescinded. A clerk has no authority to grant such rights and is therefore void.

Prayer @ meetings

   The right and freedom of religion, like most of the First Amendment, is an individual right. There will be no prayer or ceremony of a specific denomination or faith at any meeting I attend and I would urge the board to remove any such procedures from any policy or County Code.

   You have a right to your own expression of faith but as a private corporation, the County does not. Also the State (as in government) cannot establish or force you to participate in any belief system or religious ceremony. The entire idea of asking a deity to influence another person's life and destiny is a violation of the First Amendment. If a person chooses not to accept your faith, you cannot force it upon them.

   This is a violation the Mormons continue to practice as they perform Proxy Baptisms using children to bless your ancestors. Survivors of the Holocaust and relatives continue to fight the practice as they make clear they are Jews and members of that faith. But the Mormons don't care and continue the ceremony to this day. Not only is this a First Amendment violation but their use of children specifically for the procedure should also be investigated.

Gun Rights

   You have a right to self-defense. This isn't a statement regarding what is considered "regulated" or what should be allowed as a weapon. But this notion that you cannot prevent harm to yourself or family and property is a tool to erode your other rights regarding property. If a person fears for themselves and believes there is threat, of course you do something about it. You don't let someone hit you because of some ill-conceived notion that someone else will protect you. Who will protect you when No One is allowed to defend themselves and others ? Doesn't this fly in the face of Good Samaritan Laws ? Leaving aside the question of guns for now, what if I punch someone in defense of a third party ? One law says I committed battery while another says I have to help; which is it ?

   You have no right to own anything. Around the mid-90's, private corporations starting to erode your rights and claimed that products are 'licensed' and not sold, rescinding an American right since the foundation of this country. This idea has now wormed its way into the police in the form of Civil Asset Forfeiture. For anything minor, like parking fines, the police will now arrive at your door in Mine Resistant Vehicles and take your property. This is already happening throughout the country. Even locally, there has been Legal Notices in our local 'newspaper' of the Sheriff's Office using CAF to take money from a property and not the individuals. You see, they claimed the 'house' committed the crime and forfeited the 44,000 dollar proceeds. There will be no Civil Asset Forfeiture anymore and law enforcement will be required to return all funds and property.

   There is also this stupid idea floating around that Medical Marijuana recipients cannot have guns. Really, who says ? There isn't a single law regarding intoxication and firearms. If a person can be drunk and shoot things, why can't they be high on pot ? Hell, a pot head would be mellow (if we believe stereotypes) and rather not shoot things; might be a great way to reduce gun violence. I want all gun nuts to smoke weed.

Financial Disclosures

   On one hand, the idea of a public official revealing investments or property sounds like a good idea. However, the state of Maryland has really screwed this up. Their Ethics Rules that are being pushed on counties includes the requirement to disclose family finances. I don't know my family's finances and I don't what to know. Baltimore has had problems with their mayors giving no-bid contracts to family and I understand that the idea to prevent any conflict of interest or similar shady dealings but a candidate's or office holder's family is not running for or holds an office. There are times when Maryland needs to mind their own business and leave affairs to the local officials.

   Just take a look at Baltimore's problems. Five corrupt mayors and now a State's Attorney ? Why does Maryland and Baltimore think everyone should be like them ? Why are still described as being part of the Greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area ? We are not Baltimore and shouldn't try to be.

   I don't oppose transparency but I do oppose violating a third party's privacy.