It's ludicrous to charge Carroll residents a $25.00 fee when they are already using taxpayer funds for the summit. It's also outrageous that they are conducting the summit in Baltimore County giving Baltimore County our tax dollars to promote their businesses. Carroll County Business and residents should be outraged at this blatant abuse of power and our tax dollars. It's time for a recall election. Except for Commissioner Shoemaker, the rest of these Commissioners will put us on the path to dumb growth and rural sprawl. They want to do for Carroll County what Sarah Palin did for wassilla, AL, turn it into a wasteland for developers.

So the commissioners won't spend more than $10,000 to put on this parade of skeptics? That's exactly $10,000 too much of Carroll County taxpayers' money being spent on this ridiculously partisan event. Commissioner Frazer told me they hoped not to use any pubic monies for it. Well, what about the enormous amount of staff time and resources being used to plan, host and promote it? What about Simpson's $6,000 a month fees to pull it off? What about the cost of all the real work on meaningful issues that isn't getting done so the commissioners can host the Halloween party of freaks and phonies? And exactly who are these mysterious "donors"? Let's see a list. The 5 commissioners should be paying it out of their own campaign funds. It's nothing more than political grandstanding.

I'm embarrassed to be a Carroll-countian because of this mess. This forum is not ethical, valid, or productive, and will be laughed away by the state as they move forward with Plan MD and Smart Growth, as they should.

What isn't ethical is to initiate a secret plan for years that citizens were not privy to nor had a voice in, insert language based on a one-sided science that usurps the authority of local planning and zoning offices, and is signed into law without any scrutiny by legislators...Pretty sneaky....But I agree with you, the state will laugh away what the majority of Carroll County citizens, along with many other counties now joining in this uneasy feeling towards Plan Maryland, and they will shove it right down the throats of citizens just like your president and former speaker did with government mandated health care. A sad day for the state of Maryland and the United States. Railroaded by a handful of radical hard left who want it their way with absolutely NO counter argument or science.....Their way or the highway....Take your medicine and SHUT UP!!!! What puzzles me is this????? Why do they seem so threatened by men they claim to be fakes and frauds???.....Why not let the people decide????

Commissioner Howard said during open session that the Commissioners would be choosing the speakers by consensus, yet he was quoted over the weekend as saying he's had no input on any speakers and that Jim Simpson has arranged the entire circus. Ditto for Shoemaker. Simpson calls Lord Phony Baloney a "brilliant mathmatician", but he's got no such degree (journalism) and only made a fortune off of math puzzles. Like Rothschild and Simpson, he's a politician wannabe and just another right-wing extremist, nothing more. Why would MDP even legitimize this farce by sending a speaker to an event stacked with people unqualified to debate any of these issues? It's simply a publicity stunt for the Tea Party nuts and the state should demand that the Commissioners refrain from using the name "PlanMaryland" from the event's title as it's purposely misleading. This event is a Halloween $10,000 "trick" on Carroll tax payers and a $20,000 "treat" for the extremists. It has nothing to do with Maryland or responsible planning. It's false advertising at best and a ridiculous waste of tax payer money and a black-eye for the citizens of Carroll County at its worst. Is this all we've bought for $6,000 a month from Simpson? The Commissioners should be demanding a refund. A handpicked bunch of nuts, masquerading as scientific authorities? What's next debunking evolution with a sponsored debate on intelligent design and creationism?

This is a huge black eye and embarrassment for Carroll County. By defending these con men the Commissioners are only digging their holes deeper.

This is a Travelling road show of Buffoonery sponsored by the Tea Puppets.

http://mocotp.com/posts/war-on-the-american-dream-how-anti-sprawl-threatens-the-quality-of-life

I address my comment to Ms. Jefferson. Thank you so much for inviting folks to move to Baltimore City. It is indeed the place to be in this age of energy, creativity, and cooperation. The neighborhood in west Baltimore where I work is being invaded by young people who see the great advantage of buying a re-habbed house--or doing it themselves--and finding their workplace just moments away via the JFX or light rail/metro. There are avenues lined with trees and fountains, a farm (yes, really!), roadside vegetable stands, a completely revamped shopping mall, and flower gardens all around. A dog park is planned. Then there's beautiful Druid Hill park, the third largest city park in the country, with bicycle paths, the zoo, the arboretum, etc., etc. Once they get the Red Line put in over behind Social Security, I won't have to drive in all the way, although it's not such a bad trip since Gwynns Falls Prkway was repaved last year. Why don't I move there myself? I might just, once housing prices start to rise again.

Oh, Michelle, you have spoiled my fun. And countered none of my arguments. But then I'm just a liver lilled Chicken poop, so why bother? Perhaps you should suggest that when I least expect it, I should expect it.

The current board of Commissioners waste our taxes by hiring a right wing friend to arrange a summit of pseudo experts that will accomplish nothing. They may as well hire one of their clones, like Michelle Jefferson to wave their banner of ignorance like a badge of honor. I have lived here for over 40 years and thought the ignorance openly exhibited by the klan had disappeared but, it is still alive and well here in this county. Will a cross burning be held on the Brauning farm after the summit? Shouldn't this show be held under a tent? It would be an opportunity for the "we the People" cult to sell some snake oil. What's next? Using taxpayer funds for the Commissioners to attend clown college?

It this Michelle Jefferson above the same one who chairs the We The People T party group? Is her thinking representative of We The People? How can anyone continue to take that group seriously?

No, this couldn't be that same Weeple's Michelle Jefferson. That one is a much nicer more erudite person, even if she did flip the bird at the MD Secretary of Planning when he was last here. Surely that Michelle Jefferson wouldn't provide these kind of nasty remarks. Why if that Michelle Jefferson had so much to say here and under my blog on this Phoney Forum, she'd put it in a letter to the editor or blog on it herself.

Dennis said above, "They may as well hire one of their clones, like Michelle Jefferson..."

Dennis, I think that's what all her noise is about. In my opinion, she wants to be on the taxpayers' payroll. She ran for State Senate against Larry Haines...and lost. She ran for County Commissioner against Dave Roush...and lost. It seems to me that if her business was such a screaming success, she wouldn't have time to hold a public office. And Michelle, once again, just what is your degree? And what was your major? And which college was that?

When liberals don't have facts to debate they ALWAYS resort to character assassination.
At least I tried which is more than I can say about you, Bonnie.
As for my business, it is a success-in my 25th year which is much more than we can say for you and your failures.
I have more ethics, compassion, kindness and intelligence in my pinkie finger than you hold in your entire self and you wouldn't make a pimple on my cute little behind!
Being an angry old woman doesn't wear well on you, Bonnie.

Michelle,once again, just what is your degree? And what was your major? And which college was that?

Many thanks to Patch for covering this (I think they did a better job than the CC Times). This is a clear case of the commissioners, spearheaded by Rothschild, setting out to provide a forum where they can "prove" their preconceived ideas about PlanMaryland. They've gathered so-called experts who will confirm that 1) global warming is a myth, 2) smart growth is a really bad idea, and 3) the originators of PlanMaryland want to take away our constitutional rights. I would be curious to know how many elected officials of other counties are attending this (aside from Frederick County's Blaine Young, who must be a given). That was the whole idea, right? That the CC BOC wanted to form a coalition of counties to stand against the overreaching of PlanMaryland. Is that working?

Oh wow, the fight's still going on. I would just like to say that I've met Bonnie three times and that she seems like a lovely person. She's kindhearted, concerned and intelligent, she expresses herself well, dances to the Time Warp at the Rocky Horror Picture show, has every Disney movie ever made, and takes very good care of her dog. Plus she's courageous and never makes fun of my Zorro cape, even when I trip over it.

Architectural design. I worked 3 jobs and put myself through night school at Johnstown Vo-Tech. And very proud of my career.
Your credentials are...?
What all of you seem to neglect is degrees aren't required in order to spot BS and government intrusion. However, some neurons are required to have an intelligent discussion which most of you severely lack.
Bet if you guys joined the snot nosed brats in NY you'd be right at home-its nothing more than Woodstock 2.0 and isn't that where you were indoctrinated, Bonnie? I heard the kids have resurrected the orgy tents-you better hurry before they're closed down.

Awe-dont like the taste of your own medicine? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Ok folks, thanks for your continued input on this obviously controversial topic. I hate deleting posts so please please please keep your comments geared towards the topic at hand and not at other individuals who are also expressing an opinion. It's clear that some people aren't huge fans of others, so let's just assume that knowledge is known and bring the discussion back to PlanMaryland, the commissioners and the panel of speakers at the upcoming forum. Thanks!

Maybe they can add Reverend Fred Phelps and the Westboro people to the panel to give it a little more credibility.

Nope, sorry, not New York. I'm a native Marylander and a graduate of Western Maryland College. And as a native of this beautiful state and a resident of Carroll County for 28 years, I am really worried about the direction our community is headed. How will we ever be able to attract job-creating businesses if our commissioners continue to draw such negative attention? And the time they are wasting! As I told Commissioner Frazier recently, the election is over; it's time to stop campaigning and get down to the real business of running the county.

It's absolutely all negative and very embarrassing! MDP has endured too much abuse in Carroll County already as mentioned above with WTP and the whole Agenda 21 circus. I think being lectured to by a realtor elected Commissioner having no planning credentials is quite enough to ask of any civil servant. I might offer that having these international nuts is just a wee bit over the top, even for Rothschild. Couldn't Mr. Simpson find any fake scientists in this country that we wouldn't have had to pay as much money? That "balance" that the Commissioners promised? Hosting it out of the county and charging citizens? That's very poor form. I remember Doug Howard telling the public that they were selecting the speakers based on a consensus concerning their scientific qualifications, but I guess that never happened, since he claims he wasn't consulted about the speakers. So why exactly would MDP officials humor Carroll County by partipating in a purposely stilted fake science forum? Their comments will likely be edited out anyway before the propaganda piece is posted on the county site. My advice would be to stay away! The last thing that should be done is to give this charade any credibility as "balanced" or "scientific", when it's clearly neither. If this is all Simpson brings to the table, we need to stop wasting money on him and start buying more books on what science is really about. Kudos to Zorro for pointing out the difference between science and politics!

Gracias, amigo mío, Ross Dangel, algún día debemos reunirnos y tomar tequila, mientras que nuestros enemigos beber el Kool Aid.

Isn't it odd, Ross? If you stand up to the county government, you're a terrible person, but if you stand up to the state government, you are a great American patriot confronting tyranny? But what's even weirder is the near total absence of facts in these posts. Here are a few. In Dallas this year the temperature exceeded 100 for 40 straight days. For the summer the average temp was 86.8. That's the highest temperature ever recorded for an American city. What is the cause? I have no idea, but the first place I'd turn for an answer is the science community.

Spare us the lecture on the local business community.

As a long-time business and community proponent, I've had dozens of local business leaders and nonprofit professionals reach out to me in recent months.

They tell me they're worried about the direction the county is going. They're concerned about the lack of leadership ability on this board. They remember how retaliatory Frazier was in her first term. And they tell me they're afraid to speak out for fear of being blackballed or worse.

It's the same story at 225 N. Center Street. County employees speak in whispers. They do everything they can to stay under the radar. They see what's going on, but they don't dare speak out for fear of losing their jobs. It's the same as it was when Frazier was there before. You can feel the tension as soon as you walk into the building.

I tell these county employees, business leaders and nonprofit professionals that they have a voice in me. I will listen, I will believe what they say, and I will speak out on their behalf.

That is what drives me. That is why I stand up to the commissioners, and write letters to the local paper, and post comments on Patch and Facebook. And I will continue to do so.

If you listen, you can hear the voice of discontent. And it's growing.

This is finally getting interesting and substantive instead of childish. Joe Eldersburg makes a brilliant analogy about the Good Ship Carroll and Bonnie points out something very interesting, which I hadn't realized. Do the five actually represent a repressive regime? County workers afraid to speak out. Business people afraid to speak out. Is this really happening?

And what are the issues that the common people of the county face each day? What are the real problems? Why are we being constantly diverted with battling the state, with talk of UN takeovers, with silly science fairs and goofy British pseudo-lords? What does any of this have to do with actually running the county? And how is it in any way effective? If Bonny is right, they've alienated the people who provide our services, they've alienated business people, and now they're working as hard as they can to alienate the state. How is this good for anything?

No one voted for some absurd revolution. They voted for common sense government. What happened?

Yes, Jack, it is indeed true. I rarely go anywhere that someone doesn't pull me aside with questions. The first one is usually, "What is going on with these commissioners?"

Sometimes they call and just want to vent. For example, I had a 50-minute conversation with one of my former Chamber members a couple of weeks ago. He told me some things he had heard and was trying to make sense of it. He was flabbergasted when I told him about the Halloween freak party. (This was before the commissioners were forced into talking about it publicly.).

This small business friend said he really wanted to speak out, but he's related that he's afraid of how the commissioners might try to harm his business. It broke my heart when he told me that as soon as his son is out of high school, he and his wife will be moving their business to Howard County.

I've had similar conversations with nonprofit leaders. They are just as concerned. One thing I keep hearing from them is there doesn't appear to be any consistency with this board. And there's real fear here too, particularly on the part of those who rely on county funding. With state and federal budget cuts, they need the county's help more than ever.

(Continued)

Most folks seem perplexed. They can't figure out why things seem to be so "helter-skelter" as one put it. Several have expressed disappointment in Dave Roush, in particular, especially those who have known him for years and are familiar with his experience. Like me, they say they expected stronger leadership from him.

Some say they think Haven Shoemaker's occasional dissenting votes are disingenuous, part of his desire to move up to state office. I've heard the phrase, "He's just doing it for the record." I think they may be right, but I hope not.

Doug Howard is viewed by some I've talked with as a lesser disappointment, not because of anything good, but because of the CATS fiasco. One businessperson who served on the CATS board said her expectations of him were pretty low to begin with.

And Robin Frazier? Same old, same old, but sneakier and even less capable this time. And completely unoriginal. One person referred to her as "incapable of independent thought".

As for Rothschild...the same two words come up in every conversation: "crazy" and "dangerous". That's all I'm going to say about that.

So yes, Jack. Our business friends are watching. And listening. And waiting. And they are vowing they will be heard in 2014.

Though the issue of climate change is not the primary concern in PlanMD, it appears to be a priority of the forum. Please take a look at a change of heart by a former climate skeptic and physicist:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-scientific-finding-that-settles-the-climate-change-debate/2011/03/01/gIQAd6QfDM_story.html

One last question - where was your fained outrage when the previous board gave undeserved, tax payer golden parachutes, to the tune of just under $250,000, to Ridgely and 3 or 4 others who were 'laid off' before the new board took over?
$10,000 -which most if not all will be reimbursed by private donations, a fact convenietly not discussed- compared to $250,000 on washed up cronies. Isn't that something you guys typically go crazy over? the OWS kids are fussing about payoffs like these-so why aren't you?

The writing was on the wall, at least as far as Ridgely was concerned. It wasn't hard to predict that he would be axed by the new board. Giving him a six-month severance package was something that should happen with any professional position. I would imagine the others were also given the choice to continue in their positions and hope that the new board would either keep them on or give them a fair severance package. It didn't surprise me at all that they decided not to take their chances on the new board.

As a Carroll County taxpayer, I didn't begrudge any of those severance packages, but I do begrudge $6,000 a month for a media consultant who is nothing more than a mouthpiece for Richard Rothschild, and $10,000 for a summit to grandstand skepticism about global warming.

The more I read about these people the nuttier they become.

http://biggovernment.com/jmsimpson/2011/02/26/agenda-21-part-iii-maryland-county-abolishes-agenda-21-now-its-your-turn/

First he rants and raves about sustainability then he goes into a full foaming of the mouth anti Hispanic rant.

Hey ModerateinCC...get your facts straight....Ridgely was axed by the out going board..

Wrong, JoAnn. Payouts were offered to people in all 21 appointed positions. Only four people chose to accept. No one was "axed," they were all given the option to leave. This is common in political positions where it is likely that appointees will not be kept on by incoming officials. Here's the Carroll County Times article that describes this:

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/county-government-four-employees-take-severance-package/article_0e756932-fd57-11df-8757-001cc4c03286.html

Wrong Whoever you are...Their position was eliminated by the former Commissioners....

JoAnn, severance agreement buyouts are typically only done when a person is terminated, so technically you are half right. As Moderate in CC says, this is common in business. Had Ridgely and the others resigned, there would have been no severance benefits. Personally, I thought it was a bold act of loyalty on the part of the previous board. And I don't blame any of the four employees for taking the buyouts. But you are incorrect about the rest of it. It was this current board that eliminated the slots. They've bragged about it openly and it's been well-documented in the media.