The Maryland Public Service Commission is notorious for its fundamental inability to effectively regulate the energy business in Maryland.  And O'Guvnah O'Malley's inability to move beyond Progressive/Fascist mandates -- like compulsory subsidies for the sales of compact fluorescent bulbs -- is legion.

Government is lousy at picking winners and losers.  And the insistence that we all throw our incandescent bulbs in favor of mercury-laden CFLs is just another perfect example.  Why?  Because private industry is working hard to create another alternative:  LED-based light bulbs.

As Brian Griffiths has already noted over at Red Maryland, O'Guvnah has pledged to spend $1.1 billion of your hard-earned money on new biotechnology research initiatives in order to make the state of Maryland a "hub" for this kind of work.

But what Brian doesn't get into, is why are we spending even more money when we already have a large and established set of incubators at Maryland's premier research institution -- the University of Maryland, Baltimore?

Are you familiar with the Peter Principle, the certain people rise to their own level of incompetence?  Well, in Maryland we have the Porcari Principle, where certain politicians rise to an even higher level of incompetence.

It is named after Maryland Secretary of Transportation John D. Porcari, whose fundamental incompetence has been on full display these many months since O'Guvnah kissed the Blarney Stone and suckered the state into electing him Governor.

Remember how O'Guvnah promised us in his 2006 campaign how the O'Guvnah era in Maryland Politics would usher in a brand new Public Service Commission... one not "so connected" with power utilities that they regulated?  How rate increases would be rolled back?  How electricity would be made affordable again?

Of course, the rest of Maryland now knows what Conservatives were saying all along:  O'Guvnah's gift of gab from kissing the Blarney stone was producing rhetoric his capabilities couldn't match.  (In other words, he was lying his ass off.)

And PEPCO has just given us proof.

The Maryland Senate, who takes no pain in soddomizing the citizenry of Maryland on a daily basis, continues to throw us all under the bus when it comes to energy policy.  Today, they gave us the glorious right of being informed when utilitiy companies up and decide to add a surcharge to our bills to pay for "energy efficiency programs".

I have a question:  whatever happened to contract law in this state?  With an entire chamber all but filled with whoring, ambulance chasing attorneys, you would think that tort and contract law would be something they might be concerned about.

Apparently, no.  Because the Maryland Senate is not smarter than a 5th grader.  Or a five year old.

On Red Maryland, my fellow contributor Brian Griffiths points out an article on Hometown Annapolis that Kevin Clarke's attorneys plan to depose O'Guvnah as Clarke's lawsuit against the City of Baltimore moves forward.

Depositions are very interesting, because in most cases -- as Brian points out -- nothing is out of bounds.

Which leads to the possibility that we may finally be able to prove what intelligent people have known all along:  the Ehrlich campaign in general, and Joe Steffen in particular, were not responsible for starting the rumors about O'Guvnah being a tomcat.  In fact, the rumors started in O'Guvnah's own pool of sycophant supporters.

This is only the beginning.

Hypocrites live large in the Maryland State House.  O'Guvnah and the Wannabee (that would be Comptroller Peter Franchot) are two of the biggest, most substantial lying sacks of putrifying human flesh in the state.  Liberal lefties like these two -- joined by Man Perm Mike Miller, Mikey "Double Dipping" Busch and their hordes of ignorant sycophants in the General Politburo always tow the "party line" about the evils of companies that outsource jobs to foreign countries.

But what do they say when IT IS THEIR FAULT?

The Wild Turkey Phone was ringing off the hook this morning, as the Grim Reaper was in Annapolis knocking on O'Guvnah's door.  It turns out there was a Maryland Department of Transportation pre-bid meeting on a massive technology project today (as the Anti-Computer Services Sales Tax Rally was going on).

And guess who showed up?  Representatives from Pennsylvania's Department of Economic Development, inviting all those companies attending to come on up to PA for a meeting on how they could relocate to Pennsylvania -- because Pennsylvania is pro-business, pro-technology, and low tax.

That's right.  Pennsylvania set representatives of their Department of Economic Development to a Maryland STATE GOVERNMENT pre-bid meeting to recruit companies to move to Pennsylvania.

Well played, Pennsylvania.  Screw you, O'Guvnah.

The speed camera bill is moving forward in the General Politburo this week, which would allow the use of speed cameras in work zones.  They did amend it so that volunteer firefighters were exempted, but the bill moves forward.

And the question is: why?

Will they or won't they repeal the computer services sales tax?  It's an important question, because Comptroller Peter Franchot will face an enforcement nightmare on July 1 if the legislature doesn't step up to do the right thing.

Why?  Well, that's simple.  Because a group of jackassess wrote the law.