The following appeared in the "Letters to the Editor" section of the Baltimore Sun
 
 April 20, 2002
 
 The beginning of the baseball season and the end of the state legislative session bring to mind the old baseball expression "throw the bums out."
 
 This expression comes to mind because, in this time of lower state revenues -- when full-time state employees didn't get a raise, then had their 2 percent cost-of-living increase delayed a year as their pension plan was not fully funded -- the politicians in Annapolis were so arrogant as to vote themselves a $3,000-a-year pay raise and give the new governor a $7,500 raise.
 
 These leaders have lived up to the reputation that politicians have for being interested only in lining their pockets with taxpayers' money.
 
 And House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. and his buddies found the millions needed to continue the state subsidy for the under-used, scheduled airline service from Cumberland to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. If they could find that money, why couldn't they fund state employees' cost-of-living hike, or at least fully fund our pensions?
 
 If Mr. Taylor and his buddies were really interested in Maryland and its citizens during this budget crunch, they would have joined the rest of our state employees and not taken any pay raises.
 
 Come the fall, as baseball season ends and election day arrives, I will vote to throw the bums out.
 
 
 
 David C. Delisio
 Walkersville