After failing to solve a single case in 15 years, Maryland shuts down “ballistic fingerprint” program

When will liberals understand criminals won't follow the law and buy their guns from legal places? You can pass all the gun control laws you want, but only law-abiding citizens will follow any of them. 

Since 2000, the state required that gun manufacturers fire every handgun to be sold here and send the spent bullet casing to authorities. The idea was to build a database of “ballistic fingerprints” to help solve future crimes.
But the system — plagued by technological problems — never solved a single case. Now the hundreds of thousands of accumulated casings could be sold for scrap.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” said former Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat whose administration pushed for the database to fulfill a campaign promise. “It’s a little unfortunate, in that logic and common sense suggest that it would be a good crime-fighting tool.”

Poll: 47% of Marylanders say they would move out of the state

I can't blame them. Years of control by Democrats and 40 tax increases in eight years, including taxing the rain, have destroyed a once great state.

Via CBS Baltimore:

In a poll of all 50 states, Maryland ranks third for people who say they would rather move somewhere else.
We’ve got the beach, the mountains, the O’s and Natty Boh, but some say they’re ready to break up with Maryland.
According to a new Gallup poll, 47 percent of Marylanders say they would move out of the state if they could. Only 17 percent are likely to leave.
The top reasons people want out–work or business.
“I think there’s better opportunity elsewhere,” one man said.
Other reasons are family and friends, plus the weather, which is not surprising after last winter.
“I just wish summer would be here,” a man shoveling snow said.
And, of course, there are taxes.
“Everybody’s paying more fees, more taxes, and I think, at some point, people get tired of it,” said Rep. Andy Harris, (R) Maryland.

Demo candidate for governor of Maryland: Serving in Iraq War Not a Real Job...

Douglas Gansler 

And sitting in the Maryland's AG office surrounded by armed security is? 

Via Fox News:

A Democratic candidate for governor of Maryland is defending comments he made Monday in which he suggested his opponent, an Iraq war veteran, was not up to the task of a “real job.”

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler drew ire from a veterans’ group after he made the comments about his opponent for the Democratic nomination, Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, at an event held by the Tech Council of Maryland.

During the event, Gansler was asked what the state had learned from the rollout of ObamaCare. Maryland’s state-run exchange has been particularly troubled, and earlier this month the exchange’s board of directors voted to replace technology in the system with one used in in Connecticut’s exchange instead of fixing its current system or partnering with the federal government.

Gansler said the website’s woes prove Maryland needs someone who has leadership experience and worked with budgets; someone, he claimed, unlike Brown.

“I’m running against somebody who has never managed anybody, never run anything, his ads are about how he’s a lawyer in Iraq, and that’s all fine and good but this is a real job,” Gansler said.

If you take the words "in Iraq" out of the last paragraph in bold, Gansler could have been talking about Barack Obama prior to 2009.

Blue-on-Blue action: Maryland Democrat attack each other Democrat over failed Obamacare roll out...

Popcorn anyone?

Via Politico Pro $:

Gansler has been attacking his Democratic rival Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown over his role in the state’s implementation.
“The Affordable Care Act was a great accomplishment, and Maryland should have led the way in implementing President [Barack] Obama’s legacy legislation,” Gansler said in a statement. “But in the nearly four months since the website launched, most Marylanders still are unable to use it to buy insurance.”
“It’s unfortunate that we have yet to hear any viable solutions proposed by Lt. Governor Brown to help uninsured Marylanders who can’t purchase coverage because of the broken website,” said Gansler’s running mate, Jolene Ivey. “We’re waiting for an explanation from him about how he spent $170 million in taxpayer dollars on a broken website,” said Ivey.

Not so shocking: Maryland signs up 82,473 residents for free Medicaid, 3,100 to pay for Obamacare

If this percentage (96% Medicaid) hold up nationally, Obamacare is dead. I wouldn't be surprised to see  similar numbers from other states. Free stuff is very popular. Having your health insurance premium doubled to pay part of someone else medical bills, not so much. 

This Friday night news dump via Hot Air: 

More than 3,100 Maryland households have chosen to enroll through the state’s online marketplace for health insurance…The state also says 82,473 residents are signed up to be automatically enrolled in Medicaid coverage on Jan. 1.

I would be very curious how many of those 3,100 who signed up through the state exchange got a subsidy and how much. My guess is most of them got a large subsidy.

Rick Perry to Maryland: “When you grow tired of Maryland taxes squeezing every dime out of your business, think Texas..."

Texas Governor Rick perry is setting his sights on  Maryland businesses...

Maryland is apparently the latest target in an ongoing campaign by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) to lure businesses and employees to the Lone Star State.
“When you grow tired of Maryland taxes squeezing every dime out of your business, think Texas, where we’ve created more jobs than all the other states combined,” Perry says in a new ad set to begin airing this week in the Washington region, according to WTOP radio.
Besides touting the economic advantages of his state, Perry also takes a shot at Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who is weighing a 2016 White House bid.
“Unfortunately, your governor has made Maryland the tax-and-fee state, where businesses and families are paying some of the highest taxes in America,” says Perry.

Demo Maryland Governor O'Malley on Rick Perry:

"Gov. Perry, frankly, has a lot more hat than cattle," O'Malley said told a crowd of Democrats Thursday night.

I have a newsflash for Governor O'Malley,  Rick Perry not only has more hat, he has more jobs...

Baretta leaving Maryland because of new restrictive gun laws...

Over 400 jobs and  $31 million in taxes will go to a more gun friendly state...

New legislation is forcing gun manufacturing company Beretta to uproot and take their business elsewhere.

Established in 1526, Beretta holds the distinction of being the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the world. The U.S. factory is located in Accokeek, Maryland, and has been a staple of the local economy for years.

Beretta warned that stricter gun control laws would push the company outside of state lines, but that didn’t stop Maryland legislators. Jeffrey Reh, a spokesman for Beretta who also serves as the President of Stoeger Industries under Beretta, announced that the company would begrudgingly uproot and take its business elsewhere. He said, “We don’t want to do this, we’re not willing to do this, but obviously this legislation has caused us a serious level of concern within our company.”

He added that Beretta paid approximately $31 million in taxes, employs 400 people, and had invested $73 million in the business over the past several decades. Despite being such a prominent player in the local economy, Beretta was unable to prevent legislators from passing tighter gun control laws. Ironically, Beretta manufactures some firearms that are now banned in Maryland.

Consequences: Gun manufacturer Beretta may leave Maryland over gun laws...

Texas is gun friendly...

Via WaPo:

On the production floor of Beretta USA sits a hulking new barrel-making machine ready to churn out the next object of obsession in America’s love-hate relationship with guns: a civilian version of a machine gun designed for special operations forces and popularized in the video game Call of Duty.

Beretta, the nearly 500-year-old family-owned company that made one of James Bond’s firearms, has already invested more than $1 million in the machine and has planned to expand its plant further in Prince George’s County to ramp up production.

But under an assault-weapons ban that advanced late last week in the Maryland General Assembly, experts say the gun would be illegal in the state where it is produced.

Now Beretta is weighing whether the rifle line, and perhaps the company itself, should stay in a place increasingly hostile toward its products. Its iconic 9mm pistol — carried by every U.S. soldier and scores of police departments — would also be banned with its high capacity, 13-bullet magazine.

“Why expand in a place where the people who built the gun couldn’t buy it?” said Jeffrey Reh, general counsel for Beretta.

Concern that the company will leave, and take its 300 jobs with it, is palpable among state lawmakers who worry it could be collateral damage from Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed gun-control bill.

Maryland will join Pennsylvania as the second state to use federal tax dollars to pay for abortions

President Obama owes Congress and the American people an apology for lying when he claimed, " “Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.”

CNS reported:

Maryland will join Pennsylvania as the second state to use federal tax dollars to pay for abortions under the new health care law signed by President Barack Obama in March, according to information released by Maryland’s State Health Insurance Plan.

Maryland will receive $85 million in federal funds for its federally mandated high-risk insurance pool, which will cover abortions. As CNSNews.com reported on July 14, Pennsylvania will receive $160 million in federal funds for its high-risk insurance pool, which will also cover abortions.

During the debate over the health-care bill, President Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress, saying: “Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.”

The day the House voted to pass that bill, President Obama also signed an executive order purporting to prevent federal funding of abortions in the programs it created.

Marylanders face felony charges for recording their arrests on camera

When you get pulled over by the police, you are likely being recorded on a dashcam. However, if you turn the tables and record the police in Maryland, you may be charged with a felony. Maryland State Police are are charging people with felonies for recording their arrests on camera. The video of one arrest MSP tried to stop from being recorded is embedded below.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―Several Marylanders face felony charges for recording their arrests on camera..

A man whose arrest was caught on video faces felony charges from Maryland State Police for recording it on camera.

"We are enforcing the law, and we don't make any apologies for that," said Greg Shipley, MSP. ..

Here is the Preakness video Maryland State police did not want you to see.

Taxing the wealthy in Maryland is working so well that affluent citizens are leaving in droves

A year ago, Maryland created a higher tax bracket for millionaires intended to help balance the state's finances and make the tax code more progressive. How is it working for them? In the last year the number of Marylanders with more than $1 million in taxable income who filed by the end of April has fallen by 1/3 to about 2,000. Taxes collected from those returns as of last month have declined by roughly $100 million. Increasing taxes on the rich has failed because the rich are mobile and can choose where they live. I am sure the states with lower tax rates, where they moved, appreciate the increased revenue. From glennbeck.com:

VOICE: The Glenn Beck program presents more truth behind America's March to Socialism.

GLENN: You know, there's a lot of things that just don't work. One of them is taxing the rich. What? Taxing the rich, no it doesn't does it work? Really? From the Baltimore Sun, one of Maryland's budget balancing tactics, asking millionaires to pay more money to the state this is from the Baltimore Sun appears to be backfiring. What? A year ago Maryland became one of the first states in the nation to create a higher tax bracket for millionaires intended to help balance the state's finances and make the tax code more progressive. But still quoting from the Sun it is finding that the number of Marylanders with more than $1 million in taxable income who filed by the end of April has fallen by 1/3 to about 2,000. Taxes collected from those returns as of last month have declined by roughly $100 million. Well, you need to tax the people who are left there even more! I can't really? You are saying that millionaires who can generally live wherever they want seem to be for attorneys and accountants and that their clients have moved out of state to avoid the new tax rate. Maryland is such a small state, it's so easy to move a few miles south to Virginia or a few miles north to Pennsylvania. So there are millionaires who are no longer going to be filing in Maryland and their tax returns.