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"To call a spade a spade," a phrase whose origin can be traced back to Plutarch, is defined by Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable as to be "outspoken, blunt, even to the point of rudeness." The question of when Catholics should be outspoken, in this sense, has arisen over the heated reactions to the funeral of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.   A number of commentators took issue with the funeral, specifically over the participation of Sean Cardinal O'Malley of Boston and Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, retired, from Washington, D.C., who read from the letter written by Kennedy to...

The Kennedy Funeral: Boston's Latest Scandal t | t | t | t by Phil Lawler, September 3, 2009   A week after the death of Ted Kennedy, the relevant question is not whether the Massachusetts Senator deserved a Catholic funeral, but whether he deserved a ceremony of public acclamation so grand and sweeping that it might, to the untutored observer, have seemed more like an informal canonization. We cannot know the state of Ted Kennedy's soul when he finally succumbed to brain cancer. We are told that he was visited regularly by a priest in his last days; we...

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley last night issued a forceful defense of his decision to participate in the funeral of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, an appearance that has drawn sharp criticism from some conservative Catholics because of Kennedy’s ardent support for abortion rights. O’Malley, writing in his blog, also revealed the substance of a conversation he had with President Obama near the altar of the Mission Church as the congregation assembled for Saturday’s funeral. He said he told Obama that the Catholic bishops are “anxious to support a plan for universal health care, but we will not support a plan that...

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) on Wednesday said it was residents' "patriotic duty" to get seasonal flu shots in coming weeks to make it easier for health officials to determine if outbreaks are related to H1N1, or swine flu. If residents do not get vaccinated against seasonal strains and later get sickened by them as a result, there will be little way to determine if those falling ill this fall and winter have been infected by less worrisome strains, or by the more contagious H1N1 virus, O'Malley said. The governor characterized that scenario as serious because it could stress supplies...

SCANDAL AT MISSION CHURCH IN BOSTON The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today decried the scandal which occurred this morning at Boston's most historic Catholic shrine --- the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, known as Mission Church --- where a Mass of Christian Burial was used to “celebrate the life” of one of America's most notorious opponents of Catholic morality, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Senator Kennedy fought for more than three decades to keep the killing of pre-born children legal and unrestricted in the United States. Surgical abortion has claimed more than fifty-one million human...

For those of us on the O’Malley beat, there were lots of interesting moments yesterday, but none more so than the lengthy greeting that Cardinal Sean O’Malley had with PresidentObama. O’Malley, of course, is the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston and has been sharply critical of Obama’s support for abortion rights (“This man has a deplorable record when it comes to prolife issues,’’ O’Malley told me after the election). I asked O’Malley’s spokesman, Terry Donilon, what the two men talked about, and he e-mailed back, “If he chooses to speak about it, he will in the blog, but it was...

From Lifesite: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09082801.htmlTo respectfully contact Cardinal O'Malley with concerns: phone: 617 782-2544 email: sdiago@rcab.orgYou may also wish to consult: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042903.htmlPlease do it. Write a couple of paragraphs. If you're just WAY too busy, just write a line. Just don't remain silent. Phone calls are good, too. They get people's attention. Please pass this request on to all your sympathetic contacts-- you don't have to be Catholic to express concern.

WASHINGTON, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from American Life League president Judie Brown regarding Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley's announcement that archdiocese-affiliated Caritas Christi Healthcare has withdrawn ownership of CeltiCare Health Plan. The announcement comes only two days after A.L.L. announced it would launch an investigation into the scandal.(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081105/DC44231LOGO ) "Praise God! After months of tireless effort from American Life League and pro-life heroes in Boston and around the country to expose a potential scandal only days away from becoming a tragic betrayal of Catholicism's unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person, Cardinal Sean...

WASHINGTON, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from American Life League president Judie Brown regarding Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley's announcement that archdiocese-affiliated Caritas Christi Healthcare has withdrawn ownership of CeltiCare Health Plan. The announcement comes only two days after A.L.L. announced it would launch an investigation into the scandal. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081105/DC44231LOGO ) "Praise God! After months of tireless effort from American Life League and pro-life heroes in Boston and around the country to expose a potential scandal only days away from becoming a tragic betrayal of Catholicism's unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person, Cardinal...

A Maryland Senate budget panel approved a bill Thursday that will give Gov. Martin O'Malley the authority to assert eminent domain in an effort to keep horse racing's Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee voted 11-4 in favor of the legislation, which will allow the state to either purchase or exercise eminent domain over the rights to the Preakness and the race track on which it is run, the Pimlico Race Course. The bill would also extend the state's eminent domain authority over Laurel Park and the Bowie Race Course Training Center. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat,...

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford struck a feisty tone Saturday night, responding directly to Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley’s call earlier in the day for “fringe” Republican governors opposed to stimulus funds to "step aside." "I don't see folks [here], who are really wired to step aside," Sanford said to applause from the GOP crowd in "The Crystal Room," an ornate dining room, complete with cascading chandeliers and 15-foot high green marble columns, at the upscale Willard Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Washington, two blocks from the White House. At the Republican Governors Association dinner -- in part, a thank you to...

Do you support Gov. Martin O'Malley's reported proposal to save $34.4 million by temporarily furloughing state employees and shutting down state government operations for two days?

ANNAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that if a referendum on slot-machine gambling fails in November, "it'll be back to the drawing board with a lot of unpopular choices, and I don't think any of us wants to go there." Mr. O'Malley said during an interview on WCBC-AM in Cumberland, Md., that the money Maryland would eventually get from slot machines would constitute about 25 percent of what's needed to balance the state's budget in coming years. The rest of the money to handle Maryland's projected deficit comes from about $1.4 billion in tax increases approved last November...

ANNAPOLIS — A Senate committee voted yesterday to increase the income tax on Maryland's highest wage earners. Members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee voted 10-5 to increase the personal income tax on residents who earn $1 million or more, as part of a plan to repeal the tax on computer services they passed in November. "If you repeal the computer-services tax, you're going to have to backfill it with something," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., Southern Maryland Democrat. "It's political. It's a very political vote." Committee members rejected a proposal from Sen. Richard S. Madaleno...

DUNDALK, Md. (AP) — Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday he would support repealing a tax on computer services if an alternative is found, because he now thinks the tax could have repercussions on Maryland's economy. Instead, Mr. O'Malley said he supports a higher income tax on the very wealthy, which is closer to what he originally proposed during November's special legislative session to tackle the state's $1.7 billion structural deficit. "I've never been a big fan of the computer tax, and the more we look at it and the more we look at the potential downsides of the computer tax,...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Maryland Senate shot down a proposal to make room in the state's budget to repeal a highly criticized tax on computer services on Wednesday, but rising heat from the industry has lawmakers considering ways to soften the blow. On a day when opponents rallied against the so-called "Tech Tax," Sen. David Brinkley, R-Frederick, proposed an amendment to the Senate's budget bill to make up for an estimated $214 million the tax is estimated to generate.(snip) "This was a bad idea from the start," Brinkley said. "The question now is what do we do ... How do...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley created a new pay grade for top members of his administration, including Public Service Commission Chairman Steven B. Larsen, according to documents obtained by The Washington Times. The discovery follows recent findings that Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, gave more than $600,000 in pay raises to 47 of his top aides, even as state workers face potential cuts in pay raises. Under the new pay grade, EX91, Mr. O'Malley will pay four employees as much as $235,000. The previous cap for high-ranking employees of a Maryland governor was $159,632, but governors frequently exceeded the figure. "The...

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland residents are worried about the economy and taxes, according to poll results to be released today that show Gov. Martin O'Malley's popularity continuing to slide. Marylanders gave Mr. O'Malley a 37 percent job-approval rating, down two points from January, while 48 percent said they disapprove of the job he's doing, according to the poll conducted by Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies of Annapolis. Mr. O'Malley's support among Democrats dropped slightly from January, from 52 to 48 percent. The number of independents disapproving of his performance jumped 12 points over the same time, to 51 percent, which carries...

(Here are the comments about Governor Martin Owe'Malley that follows the article ...) <><><><><><> Comments from Baltimore Examiner Readers - -> Examiner Reader said: 9:38 I hope the voters of Omalley get all that is coming to them. I love when they commplain about bills. Maybe next time they will be careful who they vote for. That will never happen because Baltimore City is going to vote for another Omalley feat they lose their free handouts. PG and Montgomery county will do the same thing in fear they will lose their government jobs and have to do real work Suffer...

ANNAPOLIS -- Frederick County's lawmakers serving on state budget committees are preparing for between $100 million and $300 million in cuts to the governor's proposed fiscal 2009 budget. The cuts come just a few months after lawmakers met in special session, passing tax increases and pushing for a skinnier budget as a way to address an anticipated $1.5 billion deficit. Delegate Galen Clagett, a Democrat representing Frederick County, attended a meeting with other leaders of the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday and said they plan to cut between $100 million and $300 million to make up for projections in revenue...

ANNAPOLIS — While Gov. Martin O'Malley is out stumping with other political leaders for their presidential picks today, lawmakers will be weighing some of the governor's top priorities in the Maryland Capitol. Senate and House committees will consider O'Malley administration proposals to curb energy use by 15 percent, crack down on mortgage lenders and increase state investments in renewable energy — hallmarks of the governor's second legislative package. The governor's proposals to conserve energy will be overshadowed by today's presidential primary, said Delegate Maggie McIntosh, Baltimore Democrat and chairman of the committee hearing Mr. O'Malley's energy legislation today. "This is...

Gov. Martin O'Malley's decision to cooperate with the Bush administration on Real ID is a mistake. The decision turns clerks at Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration into immigration officers, forcing them to ask prospective drivers about their immigration status and then assess the validity of documents - a troublesome chore even for well-trained immigration officers. Moreover, Real ID will push illegal immigrants further into the shadows, where they will be deterred from reporting crimes to police or using emergency rooms. Because those who drive will not have a license or liability insurance, the risk for all drivers will likely increase. Although...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley told lawmakers yesterday he hopes a Democrat will win the presidential election this fall, which will save him from implementing a federal law that allows only U.S. citizens to receive driver's licenses. "I was very pleased," said Sen. Jennie M. Forehand, Montgomery Democrat, who attended the Women's Legislative Caucus breakfast where Mr. O'Malley made the statement. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, said he is primarily concerned about the cost of the program, known as the Real ID Act, after saying last month he would implement the law by Jan. 1, 2010. Supporters of the federal program...

BALTIMORE (AP) — Constellation Energy frustrated Maryland regulators yesterday by skipping a hearing to discuss costs passed on to consumers because of deregulation, highlighting a standoff between the state and the utility over increasing energy costs. The state's Public Service Commission scheduled the hearing to address Constellation's complaints about recent commission reports on costs and decommissioning expenses for nuclear power plants at Calvert Cliffs, which were transferred to Constellation under a 1999 settlement. An order for the hearing specifically required the attendance of Constellation subsidiary Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (BGE) and "invited" Constellation to attend to answer questions more...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday said he plans to do all he can to restore state regulatory power over utilities, a day after Constellation Energy announced a lawsuit to recoup $386 million it says Maryland shouldn't have forced them to give customers. "I also want to add that we will spare no expense when it comes to investing in whatever additional legal help that we need, or whatever professional experts and consultants we need, or expert witnesses in order to stand up for the best interests for the people of our state," Mr. O'Malley said. The governor, who reconfigured...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley's top staffers pitched the governor's $1.4 billion tax plan passed during the recent special General Assembly session as a political effort akin to the one former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner passed in 2004, which elevated him to national political prominence. Mr. Warner was hailed in national Democratic circles for doing the near-impossible: increasing taxes and improving his approval rating. But after Maryland's special session closed in November, Mr. O'Malley's public-approval rating dropped — not the outcome called for in the Warner playbook. An analysis by The Washington Times and interviews with key Virginia leaders shows...

With Wall Street on a slide, the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates, record numbers of homeowners facing foreclosure and economists talking recession, people might very well be wondering if the tax increases approved last November by the Maryland General Assembly were ill-timed. Yesterday, Gov. Martin O'Malley used his annual State of the State address to offer a spirited, if somewhat belated, defense of that decision. The governor's argument can be boiled down to two points. First, Maryland needed to correct a neglected structural budget deficit that spanned two previous administrations and was only going to get worse. That's a debilitating...

Trust But Verify by: Don Irvine, January 18, 2008 As the legislative session began in Maryland, Montgomery County officials were surprised to discover that the school construction funds that they were expecting from the state fell far short of expectations, about $35 million short to be exact. What happened? Well, apparently Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett brokered a deal with Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley to get some of his county’s lawmakers to support O’Malley’s special November session agenda which included the largest tax increase in Maryland history in return for increased school construction funding. Leggett was so sure of this...

We went to East Baltimore, an area thats home to a number of members of Baltimore's Latino Community.  Isaac Burak owns a store that's known to illegal immigrants. Burak says he knows many illegal immigrants who try to get fake id's to get a job.  So the proposal from Governor Martin O'Malley makes sense to him.  O'Malley is developing a two-tiered driver's license system that would provide undocumented immigrants with a separate license from those who can prove they're in the country legally.   The plan would put Maryland in compliance with new federal security regulations that are meant to avoid another terrorist attack. Undocumented...

WASHINGTON - Gov. Martin O’Malley’s tax increases have eroded his popularity statewide and are having a significant political effect in Montgomery County, officials said Sunday. Democrats in the county, which bears the heaviest burden under the new revenue-raising measures, say they will push for savings and cuts as a way to offset the impression that the state is trying to tax itself out of a budget hole. “We’re not going to be able to just raise taxes and solve our problems,” County Council President Mike Knapp, a Democrat, told The Examiner. A county budget shortfall and new local tax proposals...

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland residents say Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, is doing a worse job than President Bush, according to a new poll released yesterday. Marylanders gave Mr. Bush, a Republican, a 36 percent job-approval rating, just slightly more than the 33 percent they gave Mr. O'Malley, according to the Fox 5/The Washington Times/Rasmussen Reports poll. A separate poll in Virginia shows 51 percent of residents approved of the work Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, is doing, while 46 percent approved of Mr. Bush's work. The polls of 500 likely voters in each state have a margin of error of...

ANNAPOLIS — The chief clerk of the House says she was not responsible for altering a letter that has become a key piece of evidence in a lawsuit to invalidate the recent General Assembly special session in which billions in tax increases were passed. In a long-awaited deposition, Mary Monahan said she knew the document had been "backdated" and that she ordered her staff not to alert members of the House about the incident. Mrs. Monahan, in the deposition taken Wednesday and released yesterday, said her judgment was impaired by a 24-hour flu. A Carroll County judge is set to...

ANNAPOLIS — A package of taxes and fees passed during the recent General Assembly special session took effect yesterday after a Carroll County judge declined to impose a stay while a lawsuit challenging the validity of the session makes its way through the courts. Smokers yesterday started paying $1 more per pack of cigarettes, while taxes increased for car buyers, corporations and high-wage earners. A penny increase in the state sales tax is to take effect tomorrow. Republican legislative leaders are still awaiting the outcome of a long-shot legal case that could overturn the tax increases. Irwin Kramer, the lawyer...

ne of a variety of tax increases taking effect in Maryland on New Year's Day could help some smokers keep their resolutions to kick the habit this year--a doubling of the cigarette tax from $1 to $2 a pack. The vehicle titling tax also is going up from 5 to 6 percent, and the corporate income tax will rise from 7 percent to 8.25 percent. Other taxes, including a jump in the sales tax from 5 to 6 percent also are going up this week.

Just as Martin O’Malley has JacketStat, we here also create multiple catchy names for the many scandals surrounding Martin O’Malley’s Administration and throw the word “Watch” at the end of them. Mark Newgent over at the Main Adversary got to the bottom (well not quite the bottom) of the sole source global warming commission that was given to a firm whose investors donated to Martin O’Malley’s campaign. Now we need to delve in to the other No Bid, Politically Connected Contracts given by the O’Malley Administration. In October, the O’Malley Administration gave a consulting contract, similar to the CSS Climate...

BALTIMORE — The O"Malley administration says it is considering leasing hundreds of forested acres atop two of Western Maryland"s highest ridges to wind-power developers to be cleared for giant turbines. The plan stirred fresh debate between those who favor wind power development and those who fear that the 40-story windmills will hurt the region"s ecology and tourist appeal. The proposal was initiated about two years ago by U.S. Wind Force, a private developer based near Pittsburgh that wants to lease about 400 acres in the Potomac and Savage River state forests so it can erect about 100 wind turbines. The...

BETHESDA - Saying there's no time to delay bold steps to prevent global warming, a Maryland commission on climate change is poised to propose the nation's toughest carbon cap when the legislature returns next month, along with a report calling climate change an immediate threat to the state. The report will suggest a law requiring carbon emissions to go down 25 percent by 2020, and 90 percent by 2050. If adopted, the goal would be the nation's most ambitious law to reduce emissions of carbon, a key component of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. New Jersey, California and...

Full-Fledged Mugging of Taxpayers Happens In Dark of Night ANNAPOLIS—At about 2:30am, the Maryland General Assembly concluded its Special “Tax Hike� Session with a nearly $7 billion tax hike on Maryland families over the course of the next four years. Following a pattern of operating in the shadows and out of the light of day, the Democrat leadership again conducted these important votes and backroom deals in the dark of night. The final tax package would increase the sales tax by 20%, would apply the sales tax to computer services, would significantly increase the income tax structure, would increase the...

BALTIMORE - Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, saying the Democratic Party has been persistently hostile to opponents of abortion rights, asserted yesterday that the support of many Catholics for Democratic candidates "borders on scandal." In his sharpest comments about the political landscape since he was installed as archbishop of Boston four years ago, O'Malley made clear that, despite his differences with the Republican Party over immigration policy, capital punishment, economic issues, and the war in Iraq, he views abortion as the most important moral issue facing policymakers. "I think the Democratic Party, which has been in many parts of...

ANNAPOLIS — House lawmakers passed a $1.4 billion tax plan early yesterday morning after long weekend debates in which leaders of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly scrambled to find support for the plan. The House version of Gov. Martin O'Malley's tax plan includes an increase in the sales tax, corporate income tax and restructuring of the personal income tax and a plan to spend more than $450 million on transportation projects. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, called state lawmakers back to Annapolis last month for a special Assembly session to pass his plan of tax increases and legalizing slot machines to generate...

The timing was exquisite, suspiciously so, coming as it did on the day before Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) warmly embraced the expansion of slot machine gambling in Maryland. It appeared, for all of Maryland to see, as if the oligarchs at Magna Entertainment, a Canadian firm, threw Joseph DeFrancis, a Maryland horseman, under an oncoming bus. Magna exercised its option, rapidly expiring by November, to buy out the remaining 49 percent interest in the Maryland Jockey Club from DeFrancis and his sister, Karin. Deliberate or not, Magna removed a major impediment to winning slots at racetracks and elsewhere in Maryland,...

Associated Press The Maryland Senate voted unanimously yesterday to override Gov. Martin O'Malley's veto of a bill that would let police departments dispose of their guns by selling them to a manufacturer. --snip-- O'Malley stated that "police weapons should not be potentially made available outside of the law enforcement community." The House of Delegates would need to get a three-fifths' vote for the General Assembly to override the veto.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will present an alternative personal income tax plan to Maryland lawmakers today that would tax the state's highest earners at a rate one percentage point lower than Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed. Lawmakers from Montgomery have voiced concern that O'Malley's proposal to redistribute the tax burden to Maryland's most affluent residents would affect Montgomery more than any other jurisdiction and threaten the economic interests of the state's largest and wealthiest county.... Under Leggett's alternative, single filers reporting taxable income above $500,000 and joint filers reporting a combined taxable income above $1 million would be taxed...

ANNAPOLIS — Hundreds of anti-tax demonstrators greeted lawmakers on their return yesterday for a special General Assembly session to consider Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to increase taxes and legalize slot machines to cut the state's $1.7 billion budget shortfall. Voters opposed to the plan by Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, began their protest in the early morning by flooding the state Capitol with nearly 1,000 phone calls before noon, then packing Lawyer's Mall in front of the State House to call state Democratic leaders the " 'Taxes' Axis of Evil." In his opening remarks last night, Mr. O'Malley implored lawmakers to...

ANNAPOLIS — Public support for Gov. Martin O'Malley has dropped sharply since he took office in January, according to a statewide poll released yesterday. Mr. O'Malley's approval rating dropped six points, to 46 percent, and his disapproval rating increased 10 points, to 31 percent, since the last statewide poll conducted in March by Gonzales Research and Marketing. The poll results were released on the same day Mr. O'Malley outlined his "doomsday budget" proposal, which includes $1.7 billion in cuts to education, health care and other state programs. Mr. O'Malley said he would be forced to introduce the budget, which he...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O’Malley on Monday formally called a potentially risky special session of the General Assembly to take up his proposal to solve Maryland’s projected $1.7 billion budget deficit. State lawmakers will reconvene in Annapolis on Oct. 29 to begin deliberating O’Malley’s multi-pronged plan that includes a slew of tax hikes and legalized gambling...

As Gov. Martin O'Malley unveiled his sweeping budget plan, he conducted a 10-day, whirlwind tour of the state, with stops from Glyndon to Gaithersburg and Ellicott City back to Annapolis. With the full package finally out there, the governor says the state can erase its $1.7 billion shortfall even as "the vast majority of Marylanders" pay less in taxes. But House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell said the governor is selling snake oil, proposing "a massive tax increase on the citizens of Maryland." The two sides do agree on one point. Single smokers making over $250,000 per year living in a...

Mayor Martin O'Malley had a principled position on slots. Legalized gambling might work to buck up Maryland's ailing horse industry, but slots, he said in 2005, are "a pretty morally bankrupt way" to fund education. Now, Gov. Martin O'Malley proposes to open slots palaces across the state to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for, um, education. A change of heart? Not really, the governor tells me: "I just don't see how I can ask the legislators to compromise if I'm not willing to do so myself."

Governor favors linking rate to cost of road work Maryland's gasoline tax would go up in 18 months -- and possibly sooner -- if Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to add $400 million a year in transportation funding is approved by the General Assembly. Although an immediate increase in the gas tax is not part of the $2 billion revenue plan the Democratic governor has been rolling out over the past week, he said Monday that he will push to tie future increases to the rising cost of road and bridge construction materials. At present rates of inflation, that would average...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley told legislative leaders yesterday he plans to raise almost $2 billion in new revenues through a mix of taxes, including sales taxes, and "gaming initiatives" to close the state's $1.5 billion budget shortfall. Mr. O'Malley met separately with House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., both Democrats, to discuss the details of his plan. He is set to meet with General Assembly budget leaders this morning at the governor's mansion. Mr. Busch confirmed the meeting and said the governor's plan also includes an increase in corporate income tax. "It's...