Governor O'Malley: “ . . . the people of our state are supportive of protecting religious freedom and human dignity"

From this posting by the New York Times' By FRANK BRUNI:

[. . .]

"Martin O’Malley, the Democratic governor of Maryland, said on the phone last night [Aug 1 2012], that he expected Marylanders would indeed validate [Maryland's Civil Marriage Protection law], which he not only signed but campaigned vigorously for." 

"All along O’Malley sagely framed the issue not only in terms of basic human rights but also in terms of family values: specifically, the legal safeguards afforded children of same-sex couples, whose status as 'married' would be a force for stability."

Governor O'Malley: 

“I believe that the people of our state are supportive of protecting religious freedom and human dignity and protecting every child’s home equally under the law.”

"A new poll of Maryland voters, who will get to decide in November whether to overrule recently signed legislation establishing same-sex marriage in the state, shows that 54 percent favor the law, while 40 percent oppose it. These findings, by Hart Research Associates, will be released publicly later today [. . .].

"I’ve been watching this issue for years now, and I’ve never seen the pro-marriage-equality forces as determined and organized as they are now."

"It’s a big moment for them. It’s a big moment for all of us who believe that it’s only just and only fair for the law to recognize fully the unions of two men or two women who have a loving commitment to each other and aren’t doing anybody else one iota of harm."

Source:
Good news for Gay Marriage in Maryland - NYTimes.com

BOZO GETS A GAVEL

Who is the integrity terminator in Maryland?


It's a competition between Senate President Mike Miller and Chief Judge Robert Bell, with O'Malley and Gansler jostling for third and State Senators placing friendly bets. 


In March 2010, the Maryland Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve the O'Malley recommendation for a judgeship in Anne Arundel County for the son of Senate President Mike Miller. 


Recall that three lawyer members of the judicial appointments commission resigned, objecting to a lack of qualifications in the nominee and also to improper interference with their deliberations over Mike Miller III for a judgeship. When Miller III was not recommended at first, Governor O'Malley simply asked cronies on the commission for more names; Miller III appeared on the burnished new list. Presto! Brand new judge! 


Both before the Senate voted and subsequently, I asked a number of elected officials to look into the possibility of nepotism and other misconduct in this appointment.


Before the vote, I wrote, via their official e-mail, to members of the Maryland Senate. Not a single Senator acknowledged or responded. 


E-mail and Certified mail to Governor Martin O'Malley remains unanswered. 


E-mail to Lt. Governor Anthony G Brown remains unanswered.


Registered mail to Attorney General Douglas Gansler remains unanswered. 

E-mail to the Maryland ACLU remains unacknowledged. 


Public service in Maryland includes not responding to integrity-inquiries. This is necessary because office-holding in Maryland also includes getting your relatives and your political pals' relatives on to the public payroll.

Chief Judge Bell has written back that the appointment of Maryland judges is none of his business. 

Judge Bell did not offer to refer my inquiry to anyone whose business it might be to keep unqualified people off the bench in Maryland or to see that the judicial appointments process was not tainted by undue influence. 

Judge Bill did not indicate how officers of the courts Judge Bell is supposed to supervise are to balance their concerns for the integrity of the appointments process with the reality of appearing in the court of a judge the lawyer had declared was not qualified even to be a judge.


The Maryland judiciary, increasingly, is larded with the relatives of Maryland elected officials. Who cares? Whose job is it to put a stop to this? 


Are elected officials the custodians of judicial integrity in Maryland? 


Nope. The office-holders are the very ones elbowing others aside so their  children, spouses, in-laws, can suck the public teet.   


Is the Maryland State Bar Association the custodian of judicial integrity in Maryland? Forget about it. For the well-connected attorney, there is no better judge to stand before than one who is grateful to the lawyer who engineered the judicial appointment.


Is the Maryland ACLU the custodian of judicial integrity in Maryland? Naw. Why should the ACLU question the integrity of the judicial appointment process? After all, Senate President Miller, known as a vindictive shouter, can de-fund any number of projects and programs, that the ACLU wants to tout. Looking away while Bozo the Clown puts on judicial robes is a small price to pay . . . 


In Maryland, judicial integrity is a pretty low  priority for everyone, including, sadly, Chief Judge Robert Bell.