Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan, right, greets Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, at a candi- dates’ forum in Anne Arundel Co., near Riva, Md., in August.

BROWN IS SMART TO CAPITALIZE
ON O’MALLEY’S POLITICAL MACHINE;
OBAMA HEALTHCARE NOT AN ISSUE

Voters deserve option of a strong candidate
like former Sen. Webb to challenge Hillary

BIDEN BECOMES MORE IRRELEVANT
EVERY TIME HE OPENS HIS MOUTH
AND FIRMLY PUTS HIS FOOT IN IT
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering why the National Football League has managed to be classified as a nonprofit organization while the other professional sports aren’t, it’s interesting to note the following:

  How many Maryland voters would like to see the two major party candidates for governor focus, with specifics, on more of what they offer if elected instead of simply slugging away at each other?

Lt. Gov. Anthony G .Brown has done little to get out of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s shadow. And maybe, politically in Maryland, that’s a smart move. But it doesn’t help the voters.

Although some observers are surprised more hasn’t been made in the campaign, of Brown’s connection to all the problems in implementing Obamacare throughout the state, it is pretty much a non-issue.

Maryland was not alone in running up huge bills because of website flaws. This turned out to be more of a national issue than simply a case of Brown not getting the job done as the state official supposedly assigned to supervise the implementation.

On the other side, Republican Larry Hogan isn’t conveying he has enough of an appeal as a moderate, which is what it takes to win a statewide election in Maryland if you want enough voters from the majority party to cross over.

For example, he hasn’t won over many Democrats in the middle because of his negativity toward public transportation.

  Our state casino owners will probably tell you that the reason gambling revenue in Connecticut is down 35 percent since 2007 and New Jersey is off by 50 percent since 2006, is because of the competition from the new gambling places here in Maryland.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan, right, greets Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, at a candi- dates’ forum in Anne Arundel Co., near Riva, Md., in August.

SURPRISING TURNABOUT IN ELECTION
PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED ‘DECIDED’;
DEBATE SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY

The ‘most incompetent’ lieutenant governor?
Own man? or outgoing governor’s puppet?

POLLS PUT RACE WITHIN REACH BY GOP
 
By Alan Z. Forman
 
UPDATE (Tues. Oct. 21st @ 2:30 AM):  Don’t miss Maryland Reporter‘s diversified and well- balanced debate analysis, featuring nine mostly independent commentaries, focused mainly on the third and final Hogan-Brown encounter that was televised live Saturday night:  click here.  Then watch the full debate  by clicking here.
 
UPDATE (Mon. Oct. 13th @ 1 AM):  “Democrat Anthony G. Brown holds a modest lead over Republican Larry Hogan in Maryland’s race for governor, but many voters have not firmly made up their minds and the outcome is far from certain, according to a new poll conducted for The Baltimore Sun,” the state’s largest newspaper reported Sunday.

“The poll by OpinionWorks of Annapolis found Brown leading Hogan 49 percent to 42 percent,” The Sun declared in a Page 1 news story. (To read the article in its entirety, along with video featuring OpinionWorks President Steve Raabe explaining the poll’s results,  click here.)

Following an initial debate last Tuesday on WJZ-TV (Channel 13), the candidates will hold two additional debates: an hourlong encounter to be aired live at 10 a.m. today on Arlington, Va.’s 24-hour cable NewsChannel 8 TV show “NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt,” co-hosted by WTOP-Radio (103.5FM) and the Washington Post — which will be streamed live at news8.net, wjla.com, wtop.com and washingtonpost.com — and a final debate Saturday at 7 p.m., to be hosted by WBAL-TV (Channel 11) and several other media outlets around the state, including Baltimore’s WBAL-Radio (1090AM), Maryland Public Television (WMPT: Channels 67 and 22) and TV stations in Salisbury and Hagerstown.

A debate between the two major candidates for lieutenant governor — Democrat Kenneth Ulman, the current Howard County Executive, and Republican Boyd Rutherford, a former Maryland Secretary of General Services in the administration of ex-Gov. Robert Ehrlich — will take place Thursday at 1 p.m. on Washington’s WAMU-Radio (88.5FM).

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PBS documentarian Ken Burns overdoes “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History” with too-familiar favorite talking heads.

PBS’S OWN ‘WALT DISNEY’ — A/K/A KEN BURNS —
OVER-UTILIZES TRIED & TIRED COMMENTATORS
GEORGE WILL AND DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN

Documentary on FDR, Teddy et al. is well-made
but offers little new information or insights

REPEATS SUCCESSFUL FORMAT DEVELOPED BY BURNS
FOR HIS SERIES ON ‘BASEBALL’ AND ‘THE CIVIL WAR’
 
By David Maril
 
Here’s a question for you:

If PBS filmmaker Ken Burns decided to do a multi-part documentary on the Baltimore Orioles’ return to playoff competition, would he bother to interview any of the players, coaches, front office people or Manager Buck Showalter?

After watching his seven-part PBS special entitled “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History,” which was aired locally on WMPT and WETA, I think the answer would be negative.

Perhaps he’d have a clip or two of Showalter talking. But for the most part, he’d wheel out the talking heads from his ivory tower personal hall of fame.

After all the closeups, with sentimental, nostalgic music in the background, and the camera zeroing in on the eyes of Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz and Zach Britton, we’d hear columnist George Will and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin pontificating away.

The most interesting aspect of “The Roosevelts” series was the early part focusing on Teddy Roosevelt:  Burns was able to convey what a larger-than-life figure TR was.

Burns effectively conveyed the 26th President’s contradictory nature of putting so little value on human life with his reckless battleground behavior leading the Rough Riders (the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry), in contrast to his obsession with government’s looking out for the interests of the people.

There was very little new material on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Their personal issues and difficulties have already been heavily documented and explored. The one very striking focus related to FDR is that Burns was able to reveal the struggles the 32nd President experienced making the public believe he was able to walk.

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Akbar Palace serves up Indian cuisine in Randallstown. (VoB photo/Eddie Applefeld)

OWNER C.K. NIGAM ANSWERS QUESTIONS,
REMOVES MYSTERY FROM INDIAN CUISINE
 
By Eddie Applefeld
 
Over the years the Akbar Palace restaurant in Randallstown has become one of my five favorite Baltimore area eateries. And it’s not what you might think.

You’re probably thinking, he likes the food, which admittedly is a very good reason.

And maybe it’s the location, close to his home. (It’s actually just four miles away — but that’s not the reason.)

Okay, so it must be the atmosphere, right? Another good reason, but not the right one here.

Give up? …proceed to the next paragraph.

It’s because of C.K. (Chandra) Nigam, president, owner and operator of the restaurant.

His wife Kalpana is of course also involved.

C.K. makes it a point to visit every table — and not just for the typical “Is everything okay?” question. If you’re willing, he’ll spend as much time with you as you might like.

It could be answering questions about the Indian cuisine. I’ve noticed diners not familiar with Indian cuisine asking him lots of questions.

I like to talk with him about almost anything, especially Indian traditions, customs and the history of not just the country but the entire region.

Akbar Palace is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner. I
definitely recommend the lunch buffet, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays ($8.95) and noon to 3 on weekends ($10.95).

You have your choice of about a dozen items on the buffet. My favorite is the tandoori chicken. There’s seating for over 100 diners and you’re surrounded by pictures and artifacts of India.

By the way, my favorite dish for dinner at Akbar is the shrimp jalfrezi.

The Nigam family is from Mumbai, the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra, and the most populous; at least C.K. is from there. He came to the U.S. in 1997 and opened the restaurant in Randallstown the next year.

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Lily Tomlin became famous playing uncaring telephone operator “Ernes- tine” on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In TV show of the late 1960s/early 70s. Customer service personnel in 2014 are required by current employers
to act even more detached than the oftentimes obnoxious Ernestine.

TURN TABLES ON CUSTOMERS
BY MAKING COMPANIES
INACCESSIBLE BY PHONE

Customer service people obsolete

TALK RADIO MAY BE LAST
— AND ONLY — INDUSTRY
TO WELCOME CALL-INS
 
By David Maril
 
I was listening to a Ravens’ post-game radio show on WBAL the other day and when the hosts started encouraging listeners to call in with comments, it hit me that talk radio is one of the few places where a business wants its telephone to ring.

Here’s a prediction:  In 10 years — no, make that five years — you will no longer be able to reach large-sized businesses or any companies of significant corporate size by telephone.

If you need to communicate with your bank, telephone company or insurance carrier you’ll either send them an email or leave some type of message on their website.

We are almost at that point now.

The business world is already cutting back, streamlining manpower; and  personalized customer service is going the way of the milkmen who used to deliver to your door.

What happens now when you try to call a company to complain about charges on a bill? Most statements don’t even have a phone number listed.

If you are fortunate enough to discover a number in fine-print on the reverse side of the last page, it’s a lesson in eyestrain and torture trying to decipher it.

Good luck if you think you can find a phone number on the company’s website. Most avoid including their corporate address and phone.

And, it turns out, the thing big companies detest almost as much as phone calls is mail. Hey, opening envelopes requires extra work and labor costs.

If your perseverance pays off enough to locate a number and you call, right off the bat you are told to “listen closely because some of our options have changed.”

Translation: “We want to make it even more difficult and time-consuming before you talk to a human being so you’ll think twice about ever calling us again.”

After being asked a dozen recorded questions — and you are out of luck if you have a rotary phone  —  to supposedly direct your call to the right customer-service person, you are advised that “due to an unusually high caller volume, you may have a longer waiting time on hold.”

This, despite the fact it’s 5 a.m. West Coast time.

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