Agree 100 percent. OWEMalley will leave Maryland broke for generations to come. He is beyond a doubt the worst governor the state has ever had.

I was shocked to see that O'malley was in Maryland. He said on national television that his #1 priority was getting Democratic governors elected in the fall. He didn't say his own state was his priority!

now is not the time to be selfish buddie, give the government a break, believe me they will get a grip on it. right now people need to empathic towards each other okay, will pray for you...

Boy do I agree with you, just want to smack that smile off his face. He is positively the worst Gov. we've ever had. And he wants to run for President?! Someone shoot me now!

not everyone abuses the system. i am a young crippled widow of two children and coudl not survive without help. i only use that free cellphone for emergencies and i still anm behind on my bills. my son is sick needs special food and i cant get child support from his frogeign father. i cant even afford to feed myself . u guys are fascist pigs. why dont u just join the SS Germany and company. nazi america. this is teh land of teh free home of teh brave and if u dont like it PLEAS ELEAVE AN DGO TO GERMANY OR SWEDEN OR ANY OTHER FSCIST LOVING COUNTRIES OUT THERE GOOD RIDDENCE. ps my family wa shere before Columbus ever got here so why the HELL DONT YOU GET OF MY LAND ALREADY theives na dliars killed all teh animals an dtreses and most of us well u didnt kil me nad my kin.

That's right. This morning when he should have been working on the serious situation in this state from the storms, he instead got his ugly mug on CNN debating with Scott Walker about healthcare. He came across as his usual arrogant self referring to Walker as an idealogue- as though he's not a leftist idealogue himself. I laughed when he was asked about the obamacare tax. If there's one thing this leftist knows it's how to raise taxes.

Actually per my previous post it wasn't CNN I saw Owe'malley on today, it was Deface the Nation.

Get out of Maryland with your bull, Mike P. I'm sure there's room for you in some right-wing dictatorship somewhere. Your story is phony. Your "emergency" is bogus. You're a pest. Get out of America. This country is too good for you.

@Mike P - your co-worker who lives across the state line in PA doesn't pay Maryland taxes, that's why he moved there. His income tax, school tax, and real estate taxes are paid to PA. Anything he buys in PA the taxes are also paid to PA. You bet his kids should pay out-of state rates.

The child of that "illegal immigrant" got here through no fault of their own. To qualify for in-state rates they have to prove they have been paying taxes to Maryland.

I am going to cut your PA co-worker a break? Absolutely not!

@amark - you are so funny with your names. Here are some more, Faux Noise, Bonehead Boehner, Can't Cantor, Etch-a-sketch, Bomb'em McCain, etc, etc.

Grow up.

@Judy - "BANG" - one less uninformed voter.

FIFA, your ignorance is surpassed only by your non funny jokes.

amark, small "a".

Your obvious Tea Party nonsensical sniveling responses show us your aptitude for learning anything other than repeating what you hear. Think for yourself, madam/sir. I assure you ignorance is not a trait I have.

Don't like my humor, then don't read it?

I'm right there with you and for all of those reasons and more! I don't even want to get started on the welfare system - it's a sham! Those who REALLY need it don't qualify and those who are capable of working (but too %!@# lazy to do so) get cash benefits AND food stamps and then drive around in Lexus's (true story - witnessed it first hand in Reisterstown just last week!)
As for the education - I'm all for state college tuition... for those legal citizens in the US who can't afford to go to college but WANT to.

Chelle Martz - why is it you don't like welfare for "poor" people, but you don't seem to mind welfare for rich people and large corporations? Can you explain that to the rest of us? Is it easier to rail against defenseless poor people than to do the same about the wealthy?

FIFA (is that like the FIFA World Cup)? Unlike you leftists, I don't have a problem with the Tea Party. Although it was you that mentioned them, what is wrong with people who want this out of control govt to live within it's means and respect the constitution? People like you who continue to misrepresent them (call them racist, etc) are wrong. I haven't been to any Tea Party rallies but I do support their message. You are probably more in line with the Occupy Wall Street thugs.

small "a" amark, there you go. So easy to get those of limited intellectual capacity to get to the name calling. "Leftist", and I now call you "racist"? Where did that come from?

You are probably a "Birther" too, did you graduate from middle school? Elementary school? Were you paying any attention at all?

Regarding the World Cup, sorry you missed the message. I am Wilson!

People who have cell phone contracts pay the tax. It is one of the taxes listed on your phone bill. This is one of the reasons i switched over to pay-as-you-go.

Thank you Steve ... finally someone with common sense! Isn’t interesting how some people like to blame things on the less fortunate.

What difference does it make who pays for it and what tax money is used. It's still a tax coming out of my pocket to pay for it. Cell phones are not a right extended by the Constitution. People survived just fine for decades without them.

Even worse, the program was originally established under that commie Ronald Reagan.

No one's blaming anything on the "less fortunate." I am personally speaking of those who DO abuse the system. I am well aware that not everyone does so, and there are those who need that assistance. There are also those who need that assistance that don't get it and are given a million different reasons why they're "not eligible" and it's crap. Before ranting and pointing fingers, READ what is being written. And don't be hypocritical either because you can't tell me it wouldn't irk the crap out of you to see someone use the system at a grocery store and then load 100-something dollars worth of groceries into a brand new $30,000 car.

FiFA either your lying or Al Gore is Lying .He started the tax to help rural people get phone service said it while running for President then morphed into how it was to pay for the internet that he started getting it to poor areas and would expand to cell phones. I bet you HATE when people know history and you just can't just blurt out lies.Like Sara singing owl post what a crock either a family member of O'Malley or his staff wrote that .

Hey FIFA .... I never said I don't like welfare for the poor. I said I'm against welfare for those who are absolutely CAPABLE of working and take advantage of the system because they continue to procreate and use that as a reason to gain benefits that SHOULD Be going to those poor who DO need it. I happen to know someone who has been out of work for FIVE years, has lost her house, her car, has medical issues and NO insurance and despite her trying to get work is constantly being told she's "not qualified." Funny....she gets the same run around from the welfare system. A system that for FIFTY years she's paid into and now they're telling her she's not worthy of their help.
Pay attention FIFA. AND ... I am for large corporations because they offer JOBS! Seriously.... no argument there. I'm not aware of any rich people on welfare. Are you? And if so...please, name some. I'd love to know how they're managing that one.

@kevin, what are yelling about. My lies? Please point one out for me above. I have made no comments about cell phones. Wake up.

@Chelle - your BFF the large international corporations that ship the jobs overseas to foreigners, then keeps the profits there so they wan't be taxed. Your new BFF owns the tax system and games it to their advantage. Romney pays a tax rate of 15%, I wish mine was that low and I had a Swiss bank account like him too.. Who do you think got those tax laws passed, the poor. Go to school and get an education, your lack of knowledge is showing through.

Brook and I agree. People with pre-conceived non-changeable positions yelling at each other. Sounds like the old CNN Crossfire program.

Yeah brook lol
I think Bge needs to address their continued failures

Brook sounds to me like he hit the nail on the head. OweMalley is a natural disaster, the people of this state will survive a storm on their own but OweMalley's storm is a constant battering ram on our freedoms and liberties. We can't get out of the way of the constant taxes this jack wipe keeps ramming down our throats. It amazes me how people ignore the truth about the man just because they agree with him. Wake Up before it's too late.

The last time I heard, burying power lines costs 10x what it costs for above-ground power. Since it usually changes the manner in which the lines enter your house, how much of that are you willing to pay for?

Wow. That's planning.

Hal you have that completely backwards. Buried power lines require far less labor and equipment such as poles than above ground ones do and once the power lines are underground they are nearly maintenance free.

That's incorrect. You need a fairly sophisticated drainage system for underground electric, and water related issues are a constant problem.

You're an idiot if you actually believe that.

The Governor really performs well under crisis. He handles things seamlessly.

No, he actually doesn't....

Thank you Mr. O’Malley I think you’re doing the best you can for our state.

Uncle Martin thanks you, Larry in Cumberland.

are you on drugs or just plain stupid?

This is obviously a post designed to get people to respond, it's so illogical. Now look, I'm responding to it..........

If that's what you believe... At least you're secure in your naivety. I guess that's what matters.

Yes he does. He is in charge of all weather. After all he is GOD! Just ask him.

Steve for once you have hit the nail on the head! O'Malley has handled them all effortlessly, because he has put zero effort into leading the state through the numerous natural storms and natural disasters since he took office. Aside from his standard moments in the MEMA center or out surveying the damage he spends more time on the national Sunday news shows including his stint on Face The Nation just today than he ever has actually working as the Governor of the State of Maryland in times of crisis.

For starters, have more redundancy to the sole provider of water or such a large area. Secondly, add more pumping stations!!! One pumping station for 100k or so people is not enough. This is twice this year we've had a major outage. Kinda interesting to see how much BGE scrambles like the Three Stooges when a little thunderstorm comes through. I'd sure hate to see something very major come through here, like storms in the midwest. This was nothing, and they should have been better prepared. Not understaffed.

Wouldn't be a problem at all if people weren't so damn cheap in Maryland. Perfect example of I want it all for free state. Line maintenance is horrible in the entire southeastern seaboard. Lines running through trees with no trimming, residents not minding their own lots. Those of us from civilized states are disgusted by the south east's lack of responsibility. A disease spread from Florida and Louisiana methinks

Ounce of prevention. Reasonable tax, reduce corruption, drop the "I'm important because I live near DC". Kick NSA out of the middle of md and lose those tax dodgers and traffic creators. That storm was not horrible, long lived or unusual. You all just look away from things that might be uncomfortable so you can play partisan politics and blame... He said in a blaming tone...

People will vote for anybody with money.

They are all Republican programs. Nice try though.

Steve I believe your pants are on fire or at the very least smoldering.

Phone subsidies started under Reagan. Blame him if you've got a problem with it.

Way more than the current one. Your blind if you think otherwise. Put it out there tell us what this current idiot governor and president has done. I can't wait to read your response, and it doesn't have to be you any of you democrats can answer this I'm waiting...

Would that be the republican admin in this state? We've had one in 40 years so maybe it's the democrats you should blame.

LH would you have a problem with your tax dollars paying for an illegal immigrant to go to college while a legal immigrant is rejected because their spot was filled by the illegal immigrant? Not to mention the fact that legal immigrants are not even eligible for the so called DREAM Act. How would you feel if it was your own son or daughter that was told they could not attend a state college because their spot was filled by an illegal immigrant? If you really have no problem paying taxes that go towards the education of the youth of America then you should establish a scholarship fund and make your own pick of who is and is not eligible.

Just remember if they are illegal immigrants and you provide them aid or assistance of any kind technically you are an accessory to a federal crime. For the life of me I cannot see how the democrats running the state government are able to completely ignore a little thing called the United States Constitution fail to uphold and all the federal laws they violate with their ridiculously misguided liberal agenda.

"LH would you have a problem with your tax dollars paying for an illegal immigrant to go to college while a legal immigrant is rejected because their spot was filled by the illegal immigrant? Not to mention the fact that legal immigrants are not even eligible for the so called DREAM Act. How would you feel if it was your own son or daughter that was told they could not attend a state college because their spot was filled by an illegal immigrant?"

From http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/SB0167.htm on Page 6 (see the pdf)

"THE STUDENTS THAT ARE RECEIVING THE TUITION RATE IN SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION MAY NOT BE COUNTED AS IN–STATE STUDENTS FOR THE PURPOSES OF DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF MARYLAND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ENROLLED AT A PUBLIC SENIOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION."

The whole point is that there is no in state undergraduate displacement. That complaint came up, the legislators listened and responded by amending the law to ensure it. Not to mention that in order to qualify for this tuition rate in the first place the undocumented student would have to attend community college for two years first and obtain an Associates degree or 60 credits, so it isn't going to affect freshman acceptance rates whatsoever since these students will be essentially starting as juniors.

Legal immigrants would be residents of the state already and have access to in state tuition, they don't need this law.

Corbin, Since you have such a penchant for providing links and quotes can you please provide us all a link to the proof that ILLEGAL no longer means "against the law" or "NOT LEGAL" or perhaps a link that shows us how an ILLEGAL immigrant is somehow magically transformed into a citizen of the United States and the State of Maryland? Except for the links to Casa De Maryland's websites and pamphlets that showed illegal immigrants how to circumvent the system and even how to obtain illegal social security numbers. That is not the kind of magical transformation I am talking about. The point here is they are ILLEGAL and therefore should not be given one penny to attend college here or anywhere else in the country.

Not getting into it, not appropriate for this thread. I only wanted to correct blatant misinformation. I will point out you were either ignorant or dishonest about issues surrounding the DREAM act twice, and you don't seem to really care that you were unaware of those realities. People can take that into account when reading anything else you have to say.

Corbin, First of all I did not bring this issue into the thread and while I would agree it is not really appropriate content for this thread it is here now none the less. So I guess that means you realize the true point to the issue that not even a liberal word twister like yourself can avoid. ILLEGAL = Against The Law and thus is truly the end of the argument regarding providing state funded benefits for ILLEGAL immigrants.

Second, I never gave any misinformation or lied about the DREAM Act and you were good enough to prove it for me. I simply stated that LEGAL immigrants are not eligible for the so called Dream Act and as we ALL know it is solely for the benefit of ILLEGAL immigrants. You know what the word ILLEGAL means I assume and chose to avoid the issue considering that is the crux of the whole argument against the Dream Act. If the benefactors of the legislation are ILLEGAL then they should not be receiving anything from tax payers dollars besides a free trip home and I would even support giving them a spot at the front of the line for LEGAL immigration but only after they are back in their home country.

Now back to our regularly scheduled and well deserved BGE and Gov. Owe'Malley bashing.

"would you have a problem with your tax dollars paying for an illegal immigrant to go to college while a legal immigrant is rejected because their spot was filled by the illegal immigrant? Not to mention the fact that legal immigrants are not even eligible for the so called DREAM Act."

I point out this isn't possible and is a misrepresentation of the law in my response. I point to the section of the law which explicitly makes it clear. Then you now say:

"I never gave any misinformation or lied about the DREAM Act"

omg wtf bbq headasplode.

Ummm Corbin, I was asking LH a general question just to see where he or she draws the line on what is an acceptable use of his or her tax dollars going towards the education of youth in America. I did not say those specific examples are part of the Dream Act and as you already proved I was not wrong when I said that Legal immigrants are not even eligible for the Dream Act.

For the last time the issue is ILLEGAL vs. LEGAL immigration. I have several long time friends who went through the legal immigration process and they all have a serious disdain for how the democrats in the state and federal government are spending their hard earned tax dollars on illegal immigrants that did not go through all the years of time, frustration, and hard work to become actual American citizens as they did.

You also pointed out that one of the provisions in the Dream Act stipulates that before they can be eligible for in state tuition these ILLEGAL immigrants would have to attend community college for 2 years and get an associate degree. That would be another misuse of tax payer dollars and regardless of the provisions in the Dream Act they are still I-L-L-E-G-A-L!!!

Never heard that before. Can you provide any back-up? Even if it is true (which I highly doubt). it does not matter who said it first, it's still stupid!

http://www.ontheissues.org/2004/George_W__Bush_Immigration.htm

"Latinos have come to the US to seek the same dreams that have inspired millions of others: they want a better life for their children. Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande River. Latinos enrich our country with faith in God, a strong ethic of work and community and responsibility. Immigration is not a problem to be solved; it is the sign of a successful nation. New Americans are not to be feared as strangers; they are to be welcomed as neighbors."
Source: Reforming the INS, in “Renewing America’s Purpose” Feb 9, 2000 1

Thanks for the information. I stand corrected. It's still stupid. Very funny, too. Can't imagine our governor being happy about quoting George Bush.

L Stone, you have three of them, Steve, Robert and Adam. He swears he's Steve and or Robert. AdamBaum would be a stretch. A man of absolute integrity. He knows everything so be careful or he'll call you Bro. or Dude among other things. You can tell by his comment below he has command of the language. Did you know he speaks six languages and has three college degrees, so he says.

Good lord, Buzz. Get a life. Your psychotic obsession with the guy is pathetic.

Steve I'm sick of BGE sucking off that "trying the best we can" BS
They fail on a corporate level. Stop acting like these people are soldiers. They get great pay and overtime, fix it. It's Bge on the corporate level failing to employ or maintain.

I find it amazing that some of the people on this, and other, website(s) can't seem to spell or use decent grammar, yet rail on about how bad the governor is. They don't even know who caused specific problems and/or what the solutions might be.

To blame this crisis on Governor O'Malley simply shows a stupid or narrow-minded outlook on the government's role in dealing with problems.

As for responsibility for this crisis, let's remind each other that it is man-made climate change (and that is what happens) that causes much more extreme temperature variations and more severe storms. Why don't we also remember that much of the problems that have occurred, in areas served by Pepco, Vepco, BGE, and Dominion, are caused by decades of delayed maintenance. The various CEOs, would much rather that their own bottom line look good and the heck with their successors than do the annual tree trimming, or putting in capital funds for underground lines, and the blame belongs with them, not either with O'Malley or Ehrlichman. Sure, it would be much better if the state government actually oversaw utilities and required them to do appropriate maintenance, but those who so hate anything to do with the Democratic Party would simply have a different type of fit.

Hi Jen, we have an article on this on Patch, which you can see here: http://catonsville.patch.com/articles/where-to-find-dry-ice

The only happy people associated with BGE are it's stockholders, corporate leaders such as CEO's and any overpaid (all of them) executives who work there. Oh and don't forget the politicians on the take.

yes and about the food that's gone bad, that is my loss and i do not get paid for another week.......

GB - my thoughts exactly. This was not a bad storm.
The executives at BG&E need to be held accountable for this. We need more than Rob Gould and his BS. Looks lile Mayo played us one last time.
Other people need to be accountable - Jim Johnson - where is the Baltimore County Police force? I was all over the county today and with all of these lights out, only 2 officers were seen - both in their vehicles with hazards on. Get out of your car!!
It is clear we were are own our own. I do believe conservatives and liberals agree - this is when we need our public servants. Weekend or not, this was your time to shine, and you did not. This will not help you when you look to upgrade/maintain your generous benefit package.
I am sure we will have three police officers at Rolling Road past CCBC Monday morning ready to pull over the unsuspecting speeder doing 42 in a 30 - but where were you today when we needed you?
Bad day for BG&E, O'Malley and the police force. Unfortunately, it will not matter.

Rare I'm an independent so your not so rare lol
BGE - big gargoyle of energy they just suck

This was a bad storm and anyone saying opposite is ignoring reality.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48023545/ns/local_news-baltimore_md/t/severe-storms-strong-winds-topple-trees-late-friday/#.T-_KiMVFq24

"Shortly after 10 p.m., a line of severe thunderstorms that developed in the Chicago area moved east and reached western Maryland, moving east at about 60 mph. The line of storms was capable of producing hail up to the size of quarters, along with winds in excess of 80 mph."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffir%E2%80%93Simpson_Hurricane_Scale shows that those gusts are category 1 hurricane strength.

"Despite the darkness of night, the storm system held together into the late evening hours thanks, in part, to the hot, humid air mass over the Mid-Atlantic that kept temperatures in the 90s during the 11 p.m. hour, 11 Insta-Weather PLUS Chief Meteorologist Tom Tasselmyer said. Overnight, the temperature dipped to 69 degrees and held steady around 70 degrees."

So storms that developed the same day in chicago made it to maryland, made the temp drop 20 degrees, and delivered category 1 strength hurricane winds should have been anticipated by gov officals?

Be happy you're not in Virginia:

"Northern Virginia was most affected by the hurricane-like storms, with 407,949 Dominion customers without power out of 831,912 customers served by the electric company, or roughly 49 percent of all Dominion customers in the area."

I'm with Elizabeth too.

Actually the wind shear from this storm was some of the worst I've seen in 40 years. Winds were sustained instead of coming in short blasts which does more damage. Fortunately most of the lightning was cloud to cloud - just saying from an Earth science perspective. By the way, BGE spends millions each year keeping trees trimmed away from power lines.

It wasn't a bad storm? You're out of your gourd. There's big trees down everywhere.

Yes! Since moving to Maryland I lose electric for an hour or more about 5 times every summer, and have quick outages much more than that. The storm was fairly bad but not unexpected this time of year. BGE and the State should be better prepared. Investing in underground power lines would help, but of course in "Oh No Not a 1 Cent Tax" Maryland, no one would want to pay for that.

Some states have newer infrastructure and run lines underground - this isthencase in much ofnthe west and midwest. Most states inthe mid-Atlantic have the same problem as Maryland with above ground lines.

moe green, yo are so right. Praise be to O'Malley. lol

The issue is simply accountability. This was not the storm of the century. Governor O'Malley was elected to protect the citizens of Maryland. It is his job to hold BG&E accountable for their inactions - he campaigned on this issue. Him now giving BG&E a pass because it works for him and hurts the state of Maryland is not acceptable. Allowing a police force to be invisible during this period is not acceptable. This is the point - we don't want a tragedy because those who we elected for this job and those who have been hired for issues like this (this is their job) did not do their job.

Don't forget that O'Malley wants to run for President of the US. That way he can do such wonderful things for the whole country as he has done for our little state of Maryland. Get your contributions ready for his run on the Presidency.
He is a lame duck governor now so what does he care about your little power failure.

Thanks, Larry!

Thank You Larry We try to help out during these times. Kathy from Charm City Ice

Tim, I have the utmost respect and appreciation for BGE. I know how 1 tree falling can disrupt the energy for an entire nieghborhood.
However.......
Last summer, and I can't remember which storm or hurricane it was, but a large tree in a wooded area behind our house fell, taking down 3 other trees. The power was out for days.
When the crews came out to cut branches that impinged on the power grid, I pointed otu a half dozen other trees which should be removed. They were also threatening to take down paower lines.
We have called repeatedly. Nothing done.

If people trimmed their own trees--or paid for a professional to do it--they wouldn't have to complain when BGE lopped off the branches OR when there was a storm. People are all for personal responsibility unless it actually costs them money. If a dead tree has been on your property more than 6 months and it falls and takes out power lines YOU should have to pay for the repair.

Kathy, I agree with you 100%. The trees I pointed out to the workers weren't on our property. The ones on our property were never a problem, we keep them trmmed.

Any tree on your property by law is 100% your responsibility. (Reminds me of all those people who complain they don't want any government company on their property, yet a storm hits and they complain.) BGE's tree cutting policy they started last summer was designed to cut branches away from over head power lines on or off your property as long as a power line went over, through or in front of your property. Obviously with over 100K miles of roads and power lines twisting through our state it takes a long time to get to everyone to clear branches. (Another point...People tend to think BGE is a tree removal service, LOL)

Baltihon, the heat makes it a life threatening situation for the elderly. I wonder how 911 calls are coming in. Someone on this site just spoke of one. Haven't heard a word from the county executive.

Buzz. Citizens need to act like responsible citizens and take care of their elderly neighbors and family when a catastrophe hits. We can't sit back and wait for government to come save us. I miss the days when government was small and we all took care of each other and looked in on our elderly ourselves. What a victimized, entitled society we have become.

Suffering, really? One day without power is not suffering. Its inconvenient. Who is attacking the company, they bust their asses every day for all of us. This was a quick hard hitting storm that knocked out many power lines, transformers and such. Give it a rest and let BGE do their jobs.

The run the traffic light right in front of the North Point precinct with a police car on the other side on a regular bases. I see it many times and just scratch my head.

My problem with raising taxes even higher is the excessive waste of the high taxes we already have. Fancy bridges over highways (York Road @ 695, Charles Road @ 695), huge walls all around all the highways in Maryland (they even have one protecting the parking lot of a church near Charles Street); fancy landscaping all along these walls, and then left to turn into weed infested plots; replacing the handicap ramps along the sidewalks near White Marsh Mall (there already were ramps. I guess somebody decided they weren't good enough); repaving streets that don't need it, while others are crumbling; in state tuition for illegals (not here yet, but coming; free health care, education, food stamps, housing assistance, etc. for illegals; free cell phones; food stamp abuse in general; I could go on forever. Stop the waste and inefficiencies and maybe people wouldn't mind paying a fair tax.

Buzz, attacking my education? Really? I just went on BGE site and of 1.2M customers 308K lost power and 271K have it back. That's pretty good in 30 hours since storm. As for the nursing homes they should have generators, just like hospitals.

Buzz, you brought up nursing homes to me......As for you links....LOL

With regard to the politics of bad storms....until campaign finance reform can be accomplished all parties will continue the downward corporate, greed driven spiral...

We should all begin to rely more on ourselves and less on the grid...it's antiquated, and will continue to fail because of the political storms that continue to hover over the heads of apathetic citizens...be better prepared for disaster...dumb not to...

This storm was unexpected and formed in a few hours and built steam fast, no time to prepare. Wind sheers were 80+ miles an hour = to a hurricane. This was a very rare anomaly.

Wow. Cool story! glad your grandmother is healthy and active. It's great what you're doing with the hotdogs and the water.
You'll bring a lot of smiles to some uncomfortable people.

Thanks Bart!

Thanks for yelling at us Ruby. We now all feel terrible for pointing out O'Malley and BGE's collective incompetence. Your husband may be a good worker bee, but he is apparently managed by idiots at BGE.

John, sir. You make a point separate from mine. But since you asked, what are you going to do about 11,000,000 illegal immigrants? Send them home?

My point is simple, the kid, yes kid, who has been here going to public schools for a long time, I would much rather have him/her go to college than not. Wouldn't you sir?

Paul, Paul, Paul. Such language! Do you email your mother with those fingers?

"Besides, if we just let them stay, what will ever stop the flow of illegals. In another decade or so we'll have 11 million more."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/historic-wave-of-mexican-migration-comes-to-a-standstill-report-says.html

The flow is basically stopped now, since it is small enough I'll just paste the article:

'“The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill,” the report says.

The downward trend in migration started about five years ago, according to the report.

During that time the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico residing in the U.S. fell sharply from 7 million to about 6.1 million. At the same time, the number of legal Mexican immigrants residing in the U.S. increased slightly from 5.6 million to 5.8 million. Those estimates are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The report attributes the changes to several factors, including the weakened economy, increased border enforcement, a rise in deportations, growing dangers at the border and a long-term decline in Mexican birth rates.'

Absolutely, send that 4 year old home who has now graduated from high school. Just where do you he/she think that is, sir?

Yes FIFA - I would sent the kid who has been here illegally since 4 and graduated high school back to whatever country they came from - with his parents and anyone else here illegally - and not lose any sleep over this. Here is why - we are a nation of laws. When those laws are not followed, the penalty for breaking those laws must be enforced. Period - end of story. Rules for entering the country must be obeyed. When the boy was 4 and it was determined his parents were here illegally, they all should have been send back immediately.
We can either raise the bar, and have those entering the country legally be the ONLY way to enter the country, or we can lower the bar, and come up with the - we did not catch you, or those who were supposed to enforce the laws did not do their job, so we will let you stay here illegally. But sorry for those trying to come here legally, back to the end of the line.
Some things must be non negotiable, our standards must stay high.

A CNN article, for what it's worth (and 5 years old). "Very rough calculation" = "wild ass guess". Average length of detention 32 days? Send them back immediately! $1,000 per person to send them back? Not even if they are from the other side of the world, but most are from this continent. What is the cost of letting them stay?

You do understand it's all our money, don't you? The "government" only has our money to spend.

"government picks up the tab"

And the government gets their money from WHO? How can anyone in this day of information overload think that the government has its own money to "pick up the tab"?

Other stores, like Pep Boys, Pete's Cycle and other small businesses had plenty of generators in stock Sunday. I found some for family members and picked one up for myself. I didn't even bother calling the big box places; they always go out first.