Wealthy Can Afford Raise in Top Tax Rate

Gov. Martin O'Malley should be commended for the changes he's proposing to Maryland's income tax rates ("O'Malley details cut in income tax," Sept. 20).

Although the changes are relatively modest, Mr. O'Malley has approached income tax reform in a fair way.

Given Maryland's status as the richest state in the union, those earning salaries above $150,000 should be able to cough up an additional 1 percent of their income to continue to enjoy the services they receive from our government.

Most Republicans applauded President Bush when he implemented his devastating tax cuts.

Now Mr. O'Malley wants to give working families a break by making our tax code more progressive, and the Republicans are trying to find something wrong with the plan.

But the fact is that you can only cut so much from the budget while demanding road and bridge repairs, new schools, and better government services.

And since the changes in the income tax system are the fairest part of Mr. O'Malley's deficit-reduction plan, that proposal deserves a chance.

Aimee Darrow

Baltimore

This was published in today's Baltimore Sun

. What I can do now is add the parts the editor cut out. Most importantly, I pointed out that when Bush sent everyone those ridiculous $100 checks, the Republicans almost wet their pants telling us how fair he was to working families. O'Malley's new income tax plan will save most Marylanders about the same amount of money annually.

I also noted that the Republicans all support slot machine gambling to raise revenue, which is most devastating to low-income families. It seems like they want Maryland's low-income families to shoulder the burden of closing our deficit. It's only fair that wealthier Marylanders pay their fair share.

On to another topic, I've added some cool new links you should check out to further your knowledge of the great world of coffee. Check out Coffee Universe which should also be known as "Coffee University" for all the good information it has. I also added a link to Paul Krugman's blog, which I mentioned a couple posts ago. In the future, I'll be adding some GLBT parenting sites.

This Sunday is a beautiful day for that perfect cup of coffee and some knitting. Kick back and enjoy.

Don't read the message boards

Not only is this the week GLBT Marylanders were let down by our court system, but it is also the week of Jena 6. This is an amazing issue, especially considering the decades that have passed since segregation and Jim Crow. The injustice against these six kids in a small southern town has incensed most of us who believe in fairness, justice and equality. It makes me feel ashamed that our country can't let go of its racist roots. How far will we have to dig to rid ourselves of this blatant racism?

I hate to recap because I'm sure I'll miss important details, so be sure to check out the NAACP's website for the most up-to-date information on the case. Here's what I know - About a year ago, some black students in Jena, Louisiana, asked their principal if they could sit under a tree known to be the "white" tree. Of course they were granted permission (although why they even had to ask is beyond me). But the following day, three nooses were hung from the tree. Clearly this is a hate crime and an act of intimidation that hales back decades. The school administrators called it a prank and left it at that. The incident led to mutual aggressions between black and white students. One of those aggressions were these six students beating up a white student until he fell unconscious. That student was treated at a hospital and released after a couple of hours. I read somewhere that he attended a school event that same evening. The six black students were arrested and charged with attempted murder. Outrageous. After several incidents, these were the only students to be arrested and the charges brought against them clearly didn't match the crime. Anyway, what followed was a series of injustices against these six students, leading one to continue to be incarcerated to this day.

Yesterday, the NAACP and others organized a rally at Jena to protest the injustice that continues with their legal system. Similar protests were held all over the country, including Baltimore. It feels good that people are recognizing the injustice and not being complacent. These protests should really have an effect on the outcome of the pending cases and hopefully the prosecutor will be disciplined for his clearly racist agenda.

The Baltimore Sun covered the protests in Jena and locally. The Sun also printed coverage of the recent Court of Appeals case decided against gay marriage. Curiosity got the best of me and I peeked at the message boards that responded to the two articles. I wanted to see what regular people were saying about the various issues. What I found was really disturbing. It seems like people feel that they can be outwardly hateful on the boards.

Here's an example from the Jena 6 story:

This makes me sick. I am a minority and I completely disagree with this whole Jena Six nonsense. The student who did the "prank" was suspended from the school he was attending. Had those six black students protested back then, maybe they would have some leverage to say he should have charges agaisnt him. Instead they beat the kid unconscious. That's attempted murder. That is clearly defined in the law of our country. What black people are arguing is that serious violence is ok, so long as you are retaliating in response to a racial slur or a racial scene. Haning nooses on a tree was wrong, but who did it hurt? It hurt the student. The black kids could have gotten him back by desecrating a KKK hood or something similar. Instead they went way beyond what was necessary and almost killed him. I can't believe the so many people are so ignorant to this situation. Dr. MLK Jr. wouldn't even condone the actions of those black students. Racism is wrong... but physically attacking someone is worse. No Justice No Peace? Yea, take some of your own advice.

And from the gay marriage board:

It is about time that common sense prevailed. Men who want to marry men are perverts. Women who want to marry women are perverts.

I commend the court for upholding the ban on same sex marriages! Marriage is a sacred bond between a MAN & a WOMAN!! Personally, I think it should be banned in all 50 states! Hopefully other states will follow suit and follow MD down the non-rainbow road!

To all those that oppose gay marriage: I hope you have daughters, and that those daughters marry gay men that have been beaten back into the closet by your own ignorance and proselytism. (This guy really let the posters get to him. Why would anyone wish that on an innocent straight girl?)

So, is everyone in favor of letting bi-sexual polygamists marry multiple partners of different genders? How about a father marrying a consenting adult daughter? Are Homosexuals going to draw the line at their behavior or will they push the envelope for incestuous marriage, etc?

Wow, ignorance is powerful! We can't stop teaching people about our history. We're not ready to move on yet. For now, I've learned not to read the message boards.

The End of Times Select!

In the wake of a devastating decision by Maryland's highest court to reject equality, the New York Times makes a decision to embrace it. No, I'm not talking about GLBT equality. I'm talking about the end of Times Select, the members only section of NYTimes.com. All the best features were saved to those who subscribed, which I refused to do. Now, as of today, they've put and end to it and opened up the months of columns and features that have been denied to us. Archives are free to view.

I have a lot of catching up to do. My favorite columnist, Paul Krugman, is now available to preach to me twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. And he's got a blog! It's called The Conscience of a Liberal which is also the title of his latest book. I can't get into all the reasons I love Paul Krugman, but I assure you, he's worth the read.

I want to commend the New York Times for ending Times Select. I can now fully enjoy the NYTimes.com experience.

Bring on the coffee (still decaf)!

A sad day for GLBT Marylanders

Today, Maryland's Court of Appeals ruled against the 19 gay and lesbian couples who sued the state for the right to marry. I won't try to explain the legal issues argued because I'm no expert. The ACLU argued that Maryland's gay marriage ban was discriminatory based on sex and argued that gays and lesbians should have the right to marry under the state's Equal Rights Amendment. Our highest court rejected this argument. You can read the ruling here or excerpts of it here.

Our only recourse is to take our fight to the state legislature. After being flatly rejected by our court system, I don't have much faith that we can get the legislature to budge on this issue. We may have won the battle against a constitutional amendment, but that wasn't easy. The fight to actually gain rights will be much harder and there's little incentive for legislators to change the status quo.

And to make matters worse, the GLBT community is dependent on Equality Maryland to lead the charge for marriage rights. This effort will take a major feat in organizing, something Equality Maryland really sucks at doing. The Executive Director, who's been around for several years now, doesn't even know all the legislators' names, especially those from Baltimore City. He's shown a disdain for our city and tries to get everything done without stepping foot in it. Apparently, they recently hired a legislative coordinator who lives in the city. That's a step, but there's no time to waste now. Our legislative session starts in January. We need to have house parties and meet ups right away to create a coordinated campaign.

On a more personal note, as Caroline and I begin our family, this decision personally affects me more than ever. We have to jump through legal hoops just to make sure our child's parents will be recognized as the family we are. Wills, powers of attorney, second parent adoption, and others I haven't thought of yet. Ironically, one of the first statements of the ruling starts with, "In declaring that the State's legitimate interests in fostering procreation and encouraging the traditional family structure...." (emphasis mine) Are these two things completely intertwined? I'm procreating. Doesn't that count? I guess not because we don't have a "traditional" family structure. Well, I'm glad my family isn't traditional. My child will grow up with three loving parents. How could that be bad? Unfortunately, he or she will have to explain over and over again to friends and adults what our family looks like and how it's just as great as anyone else's.

The court ignored the reality that science has created. Anyone can become a parent through the miracle of modern science. Our laws and legal system need to recognize the reality of today's society. There is such thing as a "traditional" family, but there's no justifiable reason to cater to that family structure. No one suffers by being more inclusive.

If you want to learn more about the case, visit the ACLU website here. I think this is significant enough to require more blogging, so I will continue the discussion in future blogs.

Confessions

Well, since starting my blog earlier this summer, I have been writing about the joys of caffeine, the greatest nectar of the morning. However, it is time for me to confess... I have been decaffeinated since early spring. Please don't think me deceitful. I love caffeine and I miss it dearly. But since April, I have been trying to conceive my first child, and the news is good! I'm three months pregnant. I hope by now, I've told you personally. If not, I swear I was going to. Anyway, that's two confessions for you. Here's one of my all time favorite Dilbert cartoons to mark the occasion (of my decaffeinating).

The baby is due March 16, 2008 and Caroline and I are totally thrilled. We don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl, but we should be finding out sometime in October. I will slowly begin enjoying the sweet nectar of caffeine after that date (meaning March). It's been challenging. I'm taking classes and the one thing I truly enjoy while sitting in a classroom is coffee. Especially after a long workday. But there is a greater good.

On to this Tuesday's municipal election. Vote! This election is often overlooked. Heck, we're only voting for Mayor, City Council President and some lame city councilman, right? Hello??? What election could be more important to your day to day? Here's my list of endorsements:

Mayor: Don't bother. I know you're going to be there anyway, but I can't bring myself to vote for any of our candidates. If you trust the polls, Sheila's got this wrapped anyway. We'll see how it goes.

City Council President: MICHAEL SARBANES. He has real world experience in tackling the problems our city grapples with. We need someone with the commitment to try new ways to make our city better. This is the only race that will truly be decided Tuesday, by your votes. It's a close one, but get to the polls, and vote Sarbanes.

Councilfolk: We've got fourteen districts, but I don't know who's running in all of them. I do know a couple of candidates that I'll plug here. BILL HENRY is running in the 4th. He, too, actually has worked in this city and directly on building on its strengths. His work at Patterson Park CDC proves it. FRED MASON is running in the 11th. This is his first run for office and our first opportunity to elect a gay candidate to the council. I think we need one. It's shameful that more gay folks don't run for office so we have to snatch up this opportunity. Also, Fred is a really smart guy who will add to the city council's new creative team. Finally, although there's no chance of this woman losing, I've got to give a shout out for MARY PAT CLARKE. She's in the 14th and she's a workhorse. She gives so much to the city and she serves her constituents well.

One last note before I go. A final farewell to a great man, Alfred H. Peet. He died August 29th at the age of 87. His dedication to good coffee, from beans to brew, was the impetus of the coffee revolution in the U.S. Learn more about the man and read testimonials here.

Rich state can afford greater tax burden

Letters to the Editor
September 2, 2007

Rich state can afford greater tax burden

With Maryland now the richest state in the country, I can't understand why citizens have such an aversion to helping the needy by paying more taxes ("Maryland is ranked as richest state," Aug. 29).

Even increasing taxes by a tiny fraction would raise a significant amount of state revenue. And there clearly are a large number of people in the state earning a decent income, even as a significant minority live in poverty and lack health insurance.

We should do the right thing and take advantage of our prosperity to help our fellow citizens who need a safety net.

Slot machines are not the answer to our fiscal problems.

Instead, let's all dig a little deeper to pay for the things we value, including health care and education. They are worthwhile investments for the wealthiest state in the union.

Aimee Darrow

Baltimore