By Brian J. Karem

You've got to be kidding me.

Way back in the special session the wonderful legislature, apparently riddled with the kind of people who took one too many blows to the head, passed a piece of legislation called the Tax Reform Act of 2007.

Passed in the dead of night, there's a surprise, it's now drawing harsh criticism from the computer service industry as well as some of the legislators who voted for it in the first place.

In the wonderful high-tech corridor of Montgomery County it could mean since the profit margin for most computer services companies is approximately the same as the tax being levied, most of these companies will in essence become non-profits.

Fat chance.

Say goodbye to a lot of high tech jobs. Those companies will quickly relocate out of Montgomery County and the rest of Maryland.

Unless things change the lemmings will be running for the cliffs when the measure takes effect this summer.

Of course now that the hangover has worn off, the legislators who got drunk on taxes during the special session are trying their hardest to repeal the measure.

Funny, maybe legislators should actually read the pieces of legislation they wish to pass before they vote on them.

Oh, who am I kidding. That'll never happen.

Speaking of reading, what is the chance we will actually take the chance to read a petition before we sign it?

Apparently the people at the Citizens for Responsible Government are counting on the fact that you won't because they've got more than 27,000 signatures (so they claim) to repeal a county ordinance that will - according to them - let transgender people as well as pedophiles and transvestites to enter whatever gender restroom they choose.

The only problem, of course, is that the legislation doesn't say anything like that.

Just read the legislation. It's in black and white.

When you bring this up to the good people of the CRG they will squint their eyes, rub their ears and say things like "Well the current law is vague."

No it isn't. The CRG and their pointy-head minions may have their collective hindquarters buried in the sand next to their faces, but the simple fact is that if you read the legislation there's no need for these people to be hassling voters trying to get a referendum on the November ballot.

I admire their pluck, being out there, but detest their questionable methods to promote their agenda.

Just read.

And speaking of reading, why couldn't the people who are so adamant about making sure we keep transgender people out of public bathrooms put their energy into something really worthwhile: killing the ICC?

No one, it seems, read the fine print about the InterCounty Connector when the state resurrected this road to nowhere.

Hello. Read. It's a toll road and it's going to cost a pretty penny to drive from Derwood to Laurel on this wonderful road.

People I've spoken to about this always seem to be surprised when I mention this little detail to them. "I didn't know we had to pay," people will say as they screw their faces up and seem confused.

Did you read the plan? I've asked. Of course not.

I guess we just don't have time in this fast-pace life of ours to read any more.

But we should.

Think of all that energy the CRG is putting into saving the sanctity of our public bathrooms and apply that to the ICC.

Boy that would be nice.

This wonderful state of ours which pretends to be "going green" to try and curb global warming, might then actually do something about the problem if all of those wonderfully misguided people of the CRG put their energy into stopping the ICC.

Everytime I see all the trees being destroyed to build this road I cringe and wish the people of the CRG cared as much about the environment as they do public toilets.