State: Maryland

Type of election: Primary

How it works: 37 delegates are at stake, 13 are awarded on a winner-take all basis to the statewide winner. The remaining 24 are awarded on a winner-take-all basis at the congressional district level. The election is a closed primary.

Official election results: Maryland State Board of Elections

Republican candidates: Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum (all others have dropped out or are polling at less than 1 percent)

Democratic candidates: There is no competitive Democratic primary.

Previous performance: In 2008, Romney withdrew before the Maryland primary. Paul finished fourth, with just under six percent, behind Romney. Obama won the Democratic primary with more than 60 percent of the vote.

Newspapers: Baltimore Sun, full list

Television stations: Full list

Progressive blogs: Maryland Juice, Progressive Maryland

Latest polling: New York Times:

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President Obama had some fun in his energy speech this morning, poking gently at Republican candidates who seem to think oil is the be-all and end-all of energy without alternatives by characterizing them as "founding members of the Flat Earth Society."

He specifically took aim at Newt Gingrich, who has repeatedly ridiculed the President for his stance on algae as an alternative fuel.

I've always thought it odd that Gingrich would call algae biofuel investments "cloud cuckoo land," but no low is too low for Newtie, I guess. Only, he might want to rethink that line of attack, given that ExxonMobil and Chevron have substantial investments and relationships in algae fuel development startups.

Oops, and as it turns out, it seems Newtie himself had an investment in "cloud cuckoo land."

You know what's coming next: Gingrich used to hold interests in a company that developed algae-based biofuels.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based startup was called GreenFuel Technologies Corp., which raised more than $70 million in venture capital funding before closing its doors in 2009. Among its largest backers was Draper Fisher Jurvetson, through a fund in which Gingrich was a limited partner.

It certainly is true that Gingrich didn't personally make the GreenFuel investment decision, but he did choose to back the DFJ management team that believed in GreenFuel. Does that mean Gingrich now believes folks like Tim Draper and Steve Jurvetson are "intellectually incoherent?" And, if so, doesn't that throw Gingrich's own judgment into doubt?

Might be time for Newtie to sail off the edge of that flat earth into the sunset.

Last Monday, attorney Barbara Arnwine was rudely awakened by the sounds of a police raid on her home. Arnwine is not really the type you'd expect SWAT teams to be targeting. She's the Executive Director for the Lawyers' Committee on Civil Rights and is actively challenging Voter ID laws around the country, as depicted in the video at the top.

Via Politics on Point:

While Arnwine and members of the Lawyers Committee are calling for the Department of Justice to stop what she, and others call ‘assaults’ on voters, she found her and own family under assault.

She, her son, and nephew were all held at gun point while the officers raided her home.

The reason has yet to be determined.

According to Arnwine, it appears that they were randomly fishing, possibly as an intimidation tactic. Here's audio of an interview she did with a local radio station:

Barbara Arnwine by politicsonpoint

Arnwine said the officers even went as far as to demean her education asking her in derogatory fashion, where did she go to school and the year she graduated as to suggest she wasn’t properly credentialed. When she told the officers that their actions weren’t warranted and she knew her constitutional rights she was met with ‘they don’t apply here today’.

The officers, with guns drawn, challenged Arnwine and her family, suggesting that if they made one wrong move, she and her family would be met with a unfavorable-like fate.

“Don’t make me hurt you” seemed to be the order of the day, recounted Arnwine.

Arnwine later said after the police failed to produce a warrant, and acted as though they didn’t know who she was, misspelling her name, that she thinks the swat team had the wrong house. She called the ordeal a “fishing exposition”.

The timing certainly seems suspect:

On November 16, Arwine testified at a voter voter suppression summit to House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), CBC Chair Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and several other members of Congress alongside ACLU Legislative Director Laura Murphy. On June 13, Arnwine appeared with other civil rights leaders, including Wade Henderson and Rev. Jackson, at the National Press Club on voter suppression. On July 13, she appeared with Rev. Jackson Jr, and eight members of Congress on issues surrounding new Voter ID laws passed in several states. Reps. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Betty Sutton (D-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) spoke at the press conference along with Arnwine.

Arwine informed Rev. Sharpton that one of the members of the Prince George’s County Police Department was “taken aback” when she informed them she was an attorney and of basic fourth 4th Amendment rights. Arnwine claims the officer responded that “the fourth Amendment doesn’t apply here.” She also said they didn’t believe she was an attorney and asked what school she attended and what year she graduated. Arnwine is a graduate of Duke University School of Law.

These tactics aren't new. They're used routinely, especially with people of color. But they are egregious, particularly when Arnwine's line of work is taken into account. It does appear to be what she says: An effort to intimidate and demean her.

They've got good reason to be afraid of Ms. Arnwine. She is well-known on Capitol Hill, has testified at many Congressional hearings, and is a fierce advocate for civil rights and economic justice. This year she was awarded the Gruber International Justice Prize for her work promoting equal justice.

The police may have chosen the wrong woman to harass and intimidate. Evidently they're claiming they had the wrong address, an excuse that sounds laughable and ridiculous. At the very least, it makes them look like buffoons and fools, which I suppose might be better than looking like evil thugs. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this. I'll update with any information available.

The violation of the no-fly zone Wednesday led more than 30,000 people to quickly leave the White House complex, the Capitol and the Supreme Court and triggered an eight-minute "red alert" at the White House.

At the time, Bush was riding a bicycle at a wildlife center in suburban Maryland and wasn't told of the alert until after he had completed his ride at 12:50

According to the latest campaign finance report, Wal-Mart has spent more than $280,000 trying to overturn one local ordinance. This makes this little local election the most expensive in Flagstaff's history. The Wal-Mart money is spent on full-page newspaper ads and mailings, both full of vicious Orwellian rhetoric implying that a zoning ordinance that limits store size is somehow the same as burning books. Yeah, go figure.

So, when H. Lee Scott Jr. says that Wal-Mart doesn't do that sort of thing anymore, he's a liar....I'm so surprised.

Stop me if you heard this one: A conservative GOP representative-elect, who trashed his opponent for his support of "Obamacare" and the "Obama/Pelosi/Hoyer agenda" is indignant that he doesn't get his government-paid health care plan immediately. And the punchline? He's a physician with one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country.

Irony meters everywhere just redlined:

Republican Andy Harris, an anesthesiologist who defeated freshman Democrat Frank Kratovil on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, reacted incredulously when informed that federal law mandated that his government-subsidized health care policy would take effect on Feb. 1 – 28 days after his Jan. 3rd swearing-in. “He stood up and asked the two ladies who were answering questions why it had to take so long, what he would do without 28 days of health care,” said a congressional staffer who saw the exchange. The benefits session, held behind closed doors, drew about 250 freshman members, staffers and family members to the Capitol Visitors Center auditorium late Monday morning,”.

“Harris then asked if he could purchase insurance from the government to cover the gap,” added the aide, who was struck by the similarity to Harris’s request and the public option he denounced as a gateway to socialized medicine.

Harris, a Maryland state senator who works at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and several hospitals on the Eastern Shore, also told the audience, “This is the only employer I’ve ever worked for where you don’t get coverage the first day you are employed,” his spokeswoman Anna Nix told POLITICO.

Cry me a river, Dr. Harris. Some of your constituents have had to struggle without health insurance at all, thanks to your party's demagoguery of health-care reform. Congratulations, teabaggers. You boneheads who want the government out of their Medicare now have an ally in Congress

No matter how much Alito may bobble his head in disagreement with the President over the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Citizens United v. FEC, this is the next logical step in affirming corporate personhood.

Corporation Murray Hill, Inc. has decided to run for the Maryland's 8th congressional district seat, one currently held by DCCC chief Chris Van Hollen. Murray Hill, Inc., will be running as a Republican(s?). From their corporate website:

Following the recent Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission to allow unlimited corporate funding of federal campaigns, Murray Hill Inc. today announced it was filing to run for U.S. Congress and released its first campaign video on www.youtube.com/user/murrayhillcongress

“Until now,” Murray Hill Inc. said in a statement, “corporate interests had to rely on campaign contributions and influence peddling to achieve their goals in Washington. But thanks to an enlightened Supreme Court, now we can eliminate the middle-man and run for office ourselves.”

Murray Hill Inc. is believed to be the first “corporate person” to exercise its constitutional right to run for office. As Supreme Court observer Lyle Denniston wrote in his SCOTUSblog, “If anything, the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission conferred new dignity on corporate “persons,” treating them — under the First Amendment free-speech clause — as the equal of human beings.”

Murray Hill Inc. agrees. “The strength of America,” Murray Hill Inc. says, “is in the boardrooms, country clubs and Lear jets of America’s great corporations. We’re saying to Wal-Mart, AIG and Pfizer, if not you, who? If not now, when?”

Murray Hill Inc. plans on spending “top dollar” to protect its investment. “It’s our democracy,” Murray Hill Inc. says, “We bought it, we paid for it, and we’re going to keep it.”

Damn straight. I think this is an excellent way to illustrate just how short-sighted and dangerous the SCOTUS decision was. Campaign manager William Klein will be updating the status of the campaign on HuffPo:

Corporations are people too--with the same rights and privileges enjoyed by humans. The Supreme Court says so! The courts have devoted endless attention to the rights of the "unborn," but finally, they are recognizing the rights of the never born.

Murray Hill, Inc.'s run for Congress is, therefore, a milestone in the struggle for civil rights.

And the Murray Hill for Congress campaign is drawing support from all over. Our YouTube video is spreading through the Internet, our Facebook page brings in new Friends and Fans every hour, and and Designated Human Eric Hensal appeared on the Thom Hartmann show as well as Russian TV. (How's that for a juxtaposition?)

And now, we're even selling mousepads. Our message?

Corporations are people too!

Thom Hartmann interviewed Murray Hill Inc.'s designated human, Eric Hensel earlier this week about their campaign..

We have been documenting the increasingly violent and threatening protests at Democratic town hall events around the country, and now it seems things are reaching the boiling point. The Secret Service has finally gotten involved:

There were signs comparing President Barack Obama to a Nazi and showing him with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache, but federal officials believe another sign referencing the president and his family went too far.

A man who was holding a sign reading "Death to Obama" Wednesday outside a town hall meeting on health care reform in Hagerstown, Md., has been turned over to the Secret Service.

Washington County Sheriff's Capt. Peter Lazich said the sign also read, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids." Read on...

As many have said on blogs and the tee vee, these protests have nothing to do with health care reform, and they never did. They are temper tantrums being thrown by small minded, uneducated, racist white people who are angry about having a black Democrat in the White House. I'm encouraged to finally see the Secret Service getting involved in a public way.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) on Tuesday sought to fine 169 Fox television stations a total of $1.18 million for violating decency standards when they aired an episode of "Married by America."

The FCC (news - web sites) said it proposed fining the stations $7,000 each for airing in April 2003 an episode of the matchmaking reality program that showed sexually explicit and graphic scenes at a time when children were likely to be watching.

The agency voted 5-0 in favor of fining the stations after receiving 159 complaints. Not all Fox affiliates aired the episode.

Email Sinclair Broadcasting Group and urge them not to broadcast the anti-Kerry attack film Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal between now and the Nov. 2 presidential election

David D. Smith
President and Chief Executive Officer
E-mail: comments@sbgi.net

Contact your local Sinclair station

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030
410-568-1500 (Main Telephone)
410-568-1533 (Main Fax)

Topeka Capital Journal: (h/t J & BillW)

A federal judge in Maryland on Thursday ordered liens on the Westboro Baptist Church building and the Phelps-Chartered Law office.

If the case presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett is upheld by an appeals court, the church, at 3701 S.W. 12th, and the office building, at 1414 S.W. Topeka Blvd., could be obtained by the court and sold, with the proceeds being applied toward $5 million in damages Bennett imposed on church members for picketing a military funeral.

The $5 million penalty is the result of a lawsuit filed against three of the church's principals by Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, whose funeral was picketed by church members. Read on...

It's too early to know how this will be resolved, but I'm hoping the appeals court upholds the ruling and the family of the fallen soldier prevails. These vile people drag their kids along to picket soldier's funerals and spread hatred around the country. For a good laugh check out this brave dude who Rick Roll'd the Phelps clan as they attempted to get their hate on.

Robert Somma (pictured left) a Bush-appointed federal judge was in full drag when he was arrested for DUI after rear ending a pickup truck in New Hampshire on February 6th:

"He had a difficult time locating his license in his purse. He passed over it multiple times before removing it," officer Paul J. Thompson wrote in his report.

Local news reports mention that Judge Somma resigned after pleading guilty to drunken driving. Other than the gay press, no one mentioned the black evening gown and fishnet stockings. Read on...

Howie was all over another story that isn't so lighthearted. Robert McKee(pictured right), a Maryland Republican Delegate, anti-child porn crusader and former bigwig in Mitt Romney's MD campaign was arrested after police found kiddie porn at his Hagerstown home:

Law enforcement authorities, both the FBI and county sheriff's office, who are conducting a child pornography investigation, seized two computers, videotapes and printed materials when they searched the Republican's home in Hagerstown 2 weeks ago.

You think? McKee was sponsored Maryland's Child Protection From Predators Act and a proposal to collect DNA samples from sexual predators. He also sponsored several other sexual offender and child abduction bills in the past. None of the reports coming out of Maryland so far have indicated whether it was little girls or little boys-- or both-- who the Republican was interested in. He's been very active in the Little League and, predictably, was a chaplain for the First Christian Church, a position Republican child predators often use to seduce young children. Read on...