20070516 This Week in The Tentacle

This Week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, May 16^th, 2007

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Hate Crimes' Slippery Slope

Kevin E. Dayhoff

On May 3rd the U. S. House of Representatives voted 237 to 180 to pass H.R. 1592, the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act."

The Lake Reflection

Patricia A. Kelly

I'm putting away my grandmother's dishes. There aren't many of them left, but, when I touch them, I can still see them in her kitchen and remember her "new" house and these "new" dishes. I'm at the lake, again.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Ailing Sport of Kings

Roy Meachum

Growing up in New Orleans horse racing simply could not be avoided. The bangtails ran for their prizes from about Thanksgiving until spring signaled colder climes were in the process of thawing out.

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Monday, May 14, 2007

Political Winners & Losers (Part Two)

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

In last Monday's entry, we analyzed federal and state politicos and organization on the winning and losing sides of the electoral and ideological battlefield. This week, in addition to a few statewide stragglers, we bring the focus a little closer to home.

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Sunday, May 13, 2007

The Woes of Jamestown

Tom McLaughlin

The royal hat lady (Queen Elizabeth) was in the United States celebrating the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. She said the history of Jamestown had undergone revisions and would continue to evolve. I have read everything about the new theories of the settlements' founding and am relating the following account.

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Political Lull

Roy Meachum

Matters have been reduced to muttering on the local political scene. For all its quietness, the atmosphere retains a charge that might bring a storm, in the media anyway. In my years as an observer, I have never seen or sniffed anything like this.

Downtown Parking Woes

George Wenschhof

We should stop tripping over dollars to pick up pennies and seriously consider making changes in parking policy for downtown Frederick.

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Thursday, May 10, 2007

"Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged"

John W. Ashbury

The rhetoric is getting out of hand. Pundits - and members of Congress - across the board are vilifying George W. Bush, almost to the point of comparing him with the most treacherous villains in history. It has to stop.

The Kobayashi Maru Test

Chris Cavey

Our forefathers were more advanced and truly beyond our modern scope of thought when it came to the importance of freedoms, liberty and the rights of individual citizens. They understood that government, meaning any government, is its own worst enemy.

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Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Déjà Vu, All Over Again

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Our Congress is embarking on yet another curious and quixotic adventure, almost like the movie "Ground Hog Day." This time it is again delving into a perilous journey to develop a cogent approach to immigration reform.

Safe Political Rhetoric

Katie Nash

Our Frederick County commissioners cite several reasons for refusing to appoint a charter writing board. Although all are inherently flawed in logic, one bizarre, albeit prominent, argument is that there should be a "groundswell" from charter advocates to convince the commissioners that this form of government is right for the county.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2007

May's First Weekend

Roy Meachum

With the sunshine and soft winds returned, this weekend past was almost normal, except for one significant factor: a dozen young Americans lost their lives in Iraq. The casualty rate among natives was the usual: scores wounded and mutilated and some 100 wasted.

"The Play's The Thing"

Farrell Keough

"These darts and arrows will pierce my outer shell, but will not disparage the contents within." Developcus from Shakeyspeare's Urbania, Act 17, Scene 11.

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Monday, May 7, 2007

Political Winners & Losers (Part One)

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

It's been an interesting year gone by for politics, from the federal to the local level. Since I'm sick of my work being picked apart by pundits possessing half-knowledge, it's only fair to provide my own questionable analysis.