Matt Mosk, please tell us more.

The way I read the article, Flanagan came of as an arrogant ass. Why wouldn't he say more?

Is this a part of King Ehrlich's plan for ruling the state--refusing to share information with our elected representatives?

Thanks to Peter Franchot. It would seem quite appropriate to understand the sale and its implications when trying to figure our security needs and how to pay for them.

This is kinda shocking...

How can an state administration official refuse to answer questions during a committee hearing without some kind of legal basis for his refusal?

America appears to be falling apart at the seams with this administration. This does not suprise me at all. Republican government officials tend to think that their unilateral decisions should be above reproach. Americans and Marylanders have to learn to live with the mistakes of the idiotic voters that put people like this President and this Governor is office, and pray every night that America is still America in the near future.

At the rate that we are going, terrorist will have unlimited access to our homeland through their "homeboys running" our Ports, but I'm sure that we can at least stop them from bombing us by giving them the cannabis that is being shuttled through tunnels running from Mexico to Texas, Arizona and California, or in the pockets and backpacks of every illegal immigrant day laborer that walks across the border to "work jobs that Americans' don't want".

Now, Dr. Q, that's just being rediculous - most illegal immigrants in this country have come here for one reason: to make a better living for themselves and their families. You even call them "day laborers" yourself, which implies they are here to work.

While the border is certainly a major security issue that this administration has failed to address in any adequate manner, what you've said borders on ignorant racism.

Its interesting that Erlich at first was opposed but is now coming around to accept the deal. And now his Transportation Secretary is not answering questions.

Its sounds a lot like Bush is twisting some arms to accept the deal and Erlich is following orders and twisting his subordinates to keep information from other elected officials. At least that the appearance. Lets not forget this is an election year and Erlich does not want to make the republican machine unhappy.

Funny how republicans, like vampires, do not like the light of day or the transaprancy that makes democracy work. Bring on November, I think America is ready to become a republic again.

Does that mean that the committee can't compel testimony under oath in any way?

Do they have the option of closed session should the material be classified?

Can they zero the budget of the port authority?

My correction to an above title of King Erlich, it should be either Price or Duke. That is the proper subdivision of King Bush's domain!

If the information that the Transportation Secretary has is classified (by State classification standards) or is proprietary information that shouldn't be released because it would provide competitors with information otherwise unavailable (although this seems difficult to understand since the contract has in theory been approved), the response of the Transportation Secretary should have been, "Mr. Chairman, I'm not in a position to say more in a public forum. I will be happy to address the question in private session."

To apparently blow off the concerns of the committee chairman seems to be both arrogant as well as showing contemt for the elected representatives of the state.

If anything, such arrogance could inflame the committee members (as well as pique the interest of others) as to what's being hidden, and if we find that out, what 'else' is being hidden. Granted, not every business transaction can or should be completely transparent, but considering the security concerns (valid or not, depending on your view), better to say 'I can't tell you here, let's talk off-line' than to simply say 'I ain't telling you anything". As a committee member or as a voter I would be saying, 'Wait a minute, Mr. Secretary, you're a representative of the state and responsible to the state. Let's start over with my same question."

Such arrogance only shows the voter, the constitutent, why they shouldn't have any respect or regard for government or government officials. Even if it's only a small minority that have such arrogance.

Poor Bobby Hairspray.
In politics, timimg is everything. First he was adamant in his outrage about the Duabai deal. Then no sooner does he cave into to clear pressure and who knows how much promised support , from the Bushies and say that he is now more inclined to support the deal, does the Dubai company say that it will back off for a while to let the US Congress and others review things. So there he stands-- opposed then maybe OK and now with the rug pulled out from under him. If only he had kept HIS mouth shut and not Flannagan's.Serves him
right.

I see the gov of Maryland has done an aboutface! Such political courage! Such cojones!

It's very easy to defeat this deal, just paint a mushroom cloud above the city of Baltimore the way Condi painted a mushroom cloud over America to sucker us into Iraq. And then ask the gov how he plans to deal with such scenario? If he has no plan that can deal with such catastrophic event then the port sale should be canned and the gov should be replaced in Nov.

Ask him also if he knows what stuffs are in those containers that go thru Baltimore days in and days out? If he doesn't know then ask him why an Arab company should be the one to know the exact moment of their coming and going? We are not talking about just nuke here but all sort of chemicals that can be hijacked and set ablaze. Can Baltimore handle a ship full of chlorine or fertilizer going up in smoke in its port or up and down the bay? Can Maryland or Virginia for that matter?

The Post editorials completely miss it in this case. Objections to this deal can have nothing to do with racism. Let this Dubai company buy Chrysler from Mercedes or Trump casino in Atlantic city instead. I'll have no problem with that. Jut like you don't put the brother of a known drug dealer in charge of our police department, you don't put a foreign company owned by the govt of a country with known sympathy for terrorists and terrorist states such as Iran and the Talibans in charge of our ports. It may not seem fair but fairness has nothing to do with this case that can have such dire security consequences regardless of promises by our 'officials' and experts. We've seen the results of their expertise in Iraq, New Orleans, and elsewhere.

It's also surprising Krauthammer caved in his latest piece and did not pull the same trick he did with the Hariet Miers case. Ask both the Bush and the Dubai govts to turn over all the documents dealing with this case and all the worldwide financial records of this Dubai company to congress for further investigations. Then they can withdraw this deal citing executive and sovereign privileges blah blah blah...

Erlich's against the deal, now he's inclined to be for it.

Steele compares stem cell research to the holocaust. Now he says its ok to do stem cell research.

These guys are ... dare I say it ... flip-floppers!!!

Corbett,

Say what you must but as a non-white american (minority who has been exposed to racism my entire life) I am not a racist and I do not believe that what I stated was racist.

Sarcastic tone....most definitely, but not racist (as I've never seen or heard of any muslim smoking weed [not to say that they don't] and most assuredly not all day workers come from Mexico and I specifically stated illegal immigrants). Secondly, you call it a statement boarding on ignorant racism? The truth of the matter is that that UAE is a sympathetic terrorist state......I guess you think that its ok to assume that terrorist will not have access to information that comes through those ports if the deal with UAE company goes through......that would be a foolish assumption. Another truth is that day laborers from Mexico are sometimes smuggled into the US along with drugs.....it also true that my tax dollars a) provide a day labor center for people that are not suppose to be here, b)reduce the amount of power my tax dollars have to help American's that belong here and need help, c)provide an education to kids here illegally that lowers the quality of education in the public schools and d)are thinned by the amount of additional cost of healthcare for people that are not here legally.

Simply put, ignorant racism....I think NOT. I believe that what I pointed out were two very similar albeit separate scenarios in which the GOP government has let allowed borders to be penetrated at will and to the detriment of a stronger, safer and more stable America.

Dr. Q, ignorant racism maybe not indeed, but I believe your post was ignorant. To review some of your finer points:

a) provide a day labor center for people that are not suppose[d] sic to be here

And where should we have them stand around? In the parking lot of 7-11's? They are not going anywhere and we have to face reality that they are here to stay. That said, we need constructive solutions instead of ignorning the problem and pointing fingers.

b)reduce the amount of power my tax dollars have to help American's that belong here and need help

If you haven't been paying attention, the Bush administration has been phasing out funds to social welfare programs. Illegal immigrants and legal immigrants have been getting less public services. Read the post, it's in there!

c)provide an education to kids here illegally that lowers the quality of education in the public schools.

I don't know where you got this information from. Underfunding of schools lowers education quality, not immigrants.

d)are thinned by the amount of additional cost of healthcare for people that are not here legally.

While illiegal immigrants are taking funds for health services, you can thank the Bush Administration for not using the bargaining power they wield due to the size of Medicare/Medicaid to negotiate lower drug prices. This would significantly lower the burden on states to come up with these funds.

Sir, please do some further reading before pointing the finger at a group of people who have hard lives and are trying to eek by.

Dr. Q,

Yeah, I think I stand by my comment about racism. Somehow you've made the leap that every illegal Mexican that's come into the US has some association with marijuana. While it is true that people are, indeed, smuggled into the country with narcotics, it's completely off-base to say that a majority fit that bill. On that you are wrong.

I said I agree that this administration has done virtually nothing to stop illegal immigration. You're mixing some irrational fear that all illegal Mexicans are here because of drugs and to hang out outside your local 7-11 is way off base. Yes, yes, yes - they are illegal, everyone understands that, but what you are failing to grasp is why they came here in the first place: A better life.

We can fault them for not following the law and applying for legal immigration, but you are living in another universe if you think that the majority are here for anything other than supporting their families in ways that their native lands could not.

Mr. K and Corbett,

You two make too many assumptions. Number one: the finger pointing is at the Bush Administration.....I do not fault anyone for trying to better their lives LEGALLY. If someone were to break into your home and steal your belongings would you claim that they should not be prosecuted because they are just trying to eek by? or would you say that they should be sent to jail? My point exactly, those that are here ILLEGALLY are the ones for which I fault the administration.

Mr. K. you are right that they are here to stay but as long as people like yourself who hold onto this "they are down and just trying to eek by" attitude and believe that we must do things to accommodate them rather than ship their asses back if they are here ILLEGALLY, does nothing to stop the problem.....you are only facilitating and to a lesser degree encouraging the entry.

The US goverment and local goverment does nothing until the voting public gets so far into their asses that they have no choice but to act. This type of nonchalant attitude from the voting public is exactly why the government is setting up day labor centers (putting out the flame) rather than doing what needs to be done running the illegals out of the county/state/country (destroying the match).

Further, I have no idea where Corbett makes this leap to say that I associated all (any group) with drugs. Drugs are a serious problem that knows no racial boundaries. I poked fun at the tunnels between Mexico and America and I point out a very real application of smuggling (it could be people/dogs/guns and it could come through Canada and I would have many of the same issues that I have here) and you make that into some sort of all-inclusive statement?

While I do not have day workers on my street or in my neighborhood for that matter, and the center is several miles from my home, I would never hire one to work for me that was not here legally. And I do believe that just about all of them come here with their eyes on something bigger than what's possible in their native country so it's not about knocking them.

Now, I have absolutely no problem what-so-ever with using tax dollars for social programs to help those that need help, I very much believe in helping those in need. What I have a problem with is providing those benefits to people that are not here legally.

Mr. K. Yes public schools are under funded and many of our dedicated teachers spend their own money to try to make up for the shortfall. But believe it or not that has little if anything to do with the decline in the quality of education in Maryland....Montgomery county in particular. Taxes have gone up and conversely so has educational funding, but likewise so has the number of students that do not speak English as a first language. You can not teach and keep the quality of education high if half of your day is devoted to teaching kids the language or slowing down because you are losing some that are slow with the language. Its not the kids fault....they did not move here. It's not the parents fault for wanting more (although I have a enormous problem with people from other countries that benefit from living here, have no intention on returning to their native country.....but will have that country's flag [not a US flag] hanging from their rear-view mirror in their car.....if it were that great then they should go back), this is no one's fault but the spineless elected officials and the people that voted for them.

Lets face it - all of the hoopla over the port's security is a nice tool for the Bush administration to use to deflect the media and congress from looking into the financial deals that were made to attract the Dubai folk into the purchase in the first place. I believe one news report related that the Bush incentative was to let them "keep the books in Dubai." That is tatamont to saying to Ken Lay "If we get the right things from ENROON, then we'll allow ENROON to move offshore so nobody can look at your books and nobody goes to jail when you violate US law.

I supect that what Bush et all are banking on is that congress will stretch out the security hearings for so long that they will either give up from exaustion and approve the deal without examining the financial aspects, or that they'll kill the deal and no one will ever know that the Bush administration was going to approve of they're becoming another ENROON.

That's Bush's America.