Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Saturday, May 31, 2008

20080530 Tobacco use among Carroll youths on the rise by Erica Kritt

Tobacco use among Carroll youths on the rise


By Erica Kritt, Carroll County Times Staff Writer


Friday, May 30, 2008


The use of smokeless tobacco in Carroll County for people younger than 18 has increased significantly since 2000, according to state statistics.


According to statistics from the Maryland Adult Tobacco Surveys and Maryland Youth Tobacco Surveys conducted by the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Carroll saw an 18.7 percent increase in tobacco use among underage youths between 2000 and 2006.


Barbara White, coordinator for the Carroll County Health Department’s Cigarette Restitution Fund Program, said the program is working to address the problem.


[…]


White and her co-workers presented the latest statistics at a meeting Thursday in Westminster.


[…]


Hegg had Caroline Babylon make a presentation about how she used a grant from CRFP at the event Thursday morning in Westminster.


Babylon, who is treasurer at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, was given a grant to provide anti-chewing information at the Ag Center this year.


Babylon set up a table with candy for children and tobacco-free products that resemble smokeless tobacco for those who chewed tobacco. The information was available at bull riding events and a tractor pull.


The nontobacco products were meant to be used as a way to satisfy the habit of chewing without the dangers of tobacco for people attempting to quit, Babylon said.


“On an average night, 100 to 140 people saw the display,” she said. “I think we at least planted the seed and gave people a tool [to quit].”


White said she hopes to have more programs like Babylon’s that focused on smokeless tobacco in the coming years.


Reach staff writer Erica Kritt at 410-857-7876 or erica.kritt@carrollcountytimes.com.


http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/05/30/news/local_news/newsstory3.txt


20080530 Tobacco use among Carroll youths on the rise by Erica Kritt

20080529 Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower

20080529 Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower


Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

Released US September 21, 1968

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RD7s4i_X-p0

Music Hendrix – Jimi Hendrix

Book of Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5-9, "Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise ye princes, and prepare the shield./For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth./And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with such heed./...And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground."

####

20080529 Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower

20080530 Cows, Lies and Videotape

Cows, Lies and Videotape

May 10th, 2008 by Westminster Eagle columnist Kevin Dayhoff (1,997 words)

May 30, 2008

Author’s note: A shorter version of the following was published on May 14, 2008 in the Westminster Eagle newspaper and The Tentacle – an online magazine.

For other posts about this mater, click on: Agriculture Cows Lies and Videotape

On May 7, the Humane Society of the United States – HSUS - released videotape of an “undercover investigation” which claimed to show the “shocking abuse of ‘downer’ cows occurs not just at slaughter plants but … at livestock auctions and stockyards around the country.”

One of the stockyards “investigated” was the Westminster Livestock Auction (WLA.)

The event was to serve as a follow-up to the sensational video the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) released last January which “documented” an undercover investigation of conditions at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Company of Chino, California.

The HSUS had hoped, in January, to stimulate some action on an initiative that began in earnest in 2002 which, according to a HSUS press release, resulted in Congress directing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) “to investigate the question of downed animals at livestock auctions and markets.”

The investigation was to include “the scope of problems, the causes, and the resulting cruel treatment of animals,” and follow up with “regulations to provide for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by stockyards, market agencies, and dealers.”

Last February, shortly after the HSUS released the video of its “undercover investigation” of the Chino meat packing facility the USDA ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef that came from that California processing plant. As a consequence of the recall, the facility closed and has yet to re-open.

The HSUS had hoped “the largest meat recall in U.S. history,” would get Congress moving. It did not.

If anything, the video released in January further called in question the tactics of the HSUS. The video in question “documented” an incident at the Chino plant that was alleged to have happened four months earlier in October 2007.

In spite of the suggestion by Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS, that the video depicted, “torture … right out of the waterboarding manual,” and that the video “must serve as a five-alarm call to action for Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” the HSUS – curiously - sat on the video for four months before releasing it.

After four months more product was introduced into our nation’s food supply, the HSUS exclaimed, “Our government simply must act quickly both to guarantee the most basic level of humane treatment for farm animals and to protect America's most vulnerable people, our children, needy families and the elderly from potentially dangerous food.”

The 143 million pounds of beef recalled amounted to the volume of product processed in the four months the HSUS failed to produce the video.

USDA Secretary Ed Schafer said the recall was the result of “one cow that we know of went down just before moving into the gate, and we were supposed to be notified and were not,” in spite of a 2004 government requirement, as a precaution to prevent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) from entering the food chain. The 2004 rule requires that livestock be able to walk after USDA inspection.

Speaking at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association conference shortly after the January HSUS video surfaced, Secretary Schafer, according the news reports, “condemned the treatment of the dairy cattle shown on the undercover video taken at a Hallmark Meat Packing Co. plant in Chino, Calif.

However, he added “that ‘The Humane Society, since late October, has been willing to let animals suffer out there,’ rather than notify USDA immediately of the abuses.”

Secretary Schafer “ordered a review of the plant's practices and an inspector general's investigation of the company. He said that investigation has already uncovered violations of federal regulations.”

In February, Secretary Schafer reiterated that, “for four months, theoretically, animals were not being properly treated, and the Humane Society stood by and allowed it to happen,” according to the New York Times.

Fast-forwarding to the recent HSUS investigation, which involved the WLA, The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association put the matter in an additional context in a statement released on May 7:

“At noon today, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a long-time critic of animal agriculture in this country, released a video and news release calling attention to the alleged mishandling of downer cattle at livestock auction markets in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Texas.”

Livestock Marketing Association President Jim Santomaso then pointed out, “America’s 1,200 livestock marketing businesses annually handle an astounding number of livestock. In 2006, according to government figures, 35.6 million head of cattle and calves moved through those markets. The overwhelming majority of those markets practice appropriate handling of all livestock moving through their businesses – because proper handling is both a humane and economic necessity.”

Undaunted, the HSUS’s next step was to prove that state regulations of the livestock industry are inadequate. On May 7, the HSUS asserted that the “video evidence produced by this (recent) investigation clearly demonstrates that dairy farmers and auction houses have not solved the problems on their own—far from it.”

Mr. Pacelle emphasized on May 7th: “These new video images show that the rot in the factory farming system of raising animals goes much deeper. The problems are systemic, the laws and regulations are inadequate, and the industry's resolve insufficient.”

A press release which accompanied the press conference, claimed that the released video of “undercover investigation,” which included the Westminster Livestock Auction (WLA,) showed the “shocking abuse of ‘downer’ cows occurs not just at slaughter plants but may be an everyday happening at livestock auctions and stockyards around the country… Animals are “left to suffer for hours and in one instance overnight.”

The media immediately pounced upon the story like so many aroused vultures. The headlines screamed: “Sick Cows Abandoned To Die At Auction Houses” – “WUSA News 9 Now”: and the “Maryland Daily Record” web site cried, “Video: Mistreated cows at Maryland auction house.”

In the carefully choreographed press conference on May 7, Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle played the “undercover” video shot at the WLA and exclaimed: “This is just pitiful… This poor creature, too weak to move, just left there to languish and to die…”

For the animal lovers among us, and those of us who actually know “where our food comes from”; we understand that the integrity of the food chain is only maintained in the real world by constant vigilance. In that capacity, the HSUS has historically played an important role. It is concurrently critical that the HSUS remain above reproach in their advocacy.

Having some background in livestock auctions and hauling livestock from when I was much younger, I was curious. And a review of the video indicated immediately that it just didn’t add up.

Every place we looked, we found problems with downed animals,” said Pacelle.

Well, everyplace I looked, I found problems with the HSUS’s allegations – and what may be “pitiful” is the HSUS’s “undercover investigation,” of the WLA on April 22. The more the “incident,” was looked into, the more the mysteries multiplied.

In the first seconds of the HSUS video, a cow that is unable to walk is filmed in the unloading gate at WLA.

In a follow up interview, Jim Horak Sr., the owner of the WLA since 2004, said that a hired trucker unloaded the cow at a busy moment that evening, just as “the man who handles the gate was (away) moving other cattle that had just been unloaded.” Please understand that this is occurring at a busy time at the stockyard, which handles as many as 800 or more head of livestock the evening of a sale.

When the “gatekeeper” returned just as the cow was unloaded, he found the cow “down.” Upon being told that the WLA did not accept livestock that cannot walk, the driver refused to take the cow back and quickly left.

The cow was immediately, “carefully,” moved outside of the gate and offered alfalfa hay, according to Horak. Meanwhile the owner of the cow was notified that the WLA would not accept delivery of the cow and that the owner had to come back and pick up the animal. The owner refused.

“They were not here to buy or sell anything – the cow was placed here to cause trouble,” concluded Horak.

Horak states he has handled thousands of animals and no one – until the HSUS - has ever questioned him before about how the yard handles animals.

Indeed, one of the immediate mysteries about this incident is how is it an HSUS undercover investigator just happened to be there for the “minutes” this one particular cow, out of hundreds of animals, was still in the unloading chute?

The fact that the cow was humanely moved is obvious. One of the most important advocacies of the HSUS is that diseased and sick cows - which the HSUS implies may even have “mad-cow disease” - are being inhumanely “dragged and prodded with inhumane handling methods, and increasing the threat of carrying and passing disease.”

One can be sure that if the cow had been handled inhumanely it would have appeared on the HSUS “undercover” video.

Later, “Fox 5” TV reported that it discovered the HSUS knew the cow was not sick or diseased and in fact knew the cow had just had an operation for a twisted stomach – and was in a post-surgical weakened state. Not only was that information not revealed by HSUS at the press conference - but one has to wonder just how the HSUS knew that information in the first place?

Another TV station, “WUSA,” said HSUS accused that “auction workers were unwilling to waste a bullet to shoot her, so she sat there all night, and into the next day, until investigators finally called local officials, and they euthanized her.”

An allegation vehemently denied by Mr. Horak, who noted that many of his employees have been with the stockyard for decades and are dedicated to the history and traditions of the livestock auction and are keenly aware of the proper handling of the animals. Moreover, none of his employees could recall talking with a representative of the HSUS or making any such remark.

The employees did recall feeding and looking after the welfare of the cow.

On May 2, a week before the press conference in which the video was shown, “The HSUS brought preliminary evidence of the abuse to the attention of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer … at a face-to-face meeting…”

In a letter handed to Secretary Schafer, HSUS claimed, “A downed cow left overnight at a Mid-Atlantic auction is shown. The day following the auction, she was filmed by HSUS investigators in an advanced state of physical distress. Her breathing was labored and she flailed helplessly on the ground. She had no protection from the elements and was without food or water for almost a day.”

However, Horak says that in spite of the fact that it could not stand (because of the surgery,) the cow not in distress. A fact of which is proven in the HSUS video, which one can be sure was edited to show the worse.

As far as the cow staying out overnight; that’s what cow’s do. They rarely if ever come into the farmhouse to watch TV at night. Furthermore, an employee checked on the cow at daybreak the next morning and gave it water and hay.

The cow died because hours later the HSUS called the local humane society which came out and shot the cow. The HSUS then put a picture of the dead cow on their press release.

If I ever have stomach surgery, please don’t take a video of me not being able to walk. Then claim “in distress,” and that I’ve been abused and have me shot by the local humane society so that a picture of my dead body can be put on a press release.

In a statement on May 7th, the Maryland Department of Agriculture said it is investigating. Perhaps what needs to be investigated is the HSUS’s “undercover investigations,” in its ongoing war on food.

Kevin Dayhoff is a retired nursery stock farmer and the former mayor of Westminster, whose family has farmed in Carroll and Fredrick County since the 1700s. He writes a regular column for the Westminster Eagle, the Sunday Carroll Eagle, and The Tentacle on current events, history, agriculture, and politics. He can be reached at: kdayhoff AT carr.org

Friday, May 30, 2008

20080530 Reminder SUPER Historical Society of Carroll County BUS TRIP TO LANCASTER & EPHRATA, PA

SUPER Historical Society of Carroll County BUS TRIP TO LANCASTER & EPHRATA, PA

A REMINDER

Friday, June 13 (Just a few seats left)

Learn to "Think Sculpture" during a unique visit to one of the largest fine arts foundries on the east coast -- A.R.T. Research Enterprises

Stroll, lunch on your own from a variety of offerings and stock up at this 30-acre site, one of the largest farmers' markets on the east coast

Tour Ephrata Cloister, one of America's earliest religious communities founded in 1732 by German settlers seeking spiritual goals rather than earthly rewards

The bus leaves from the parking lot on Ralph Street, behind the Church of the Ascension at 8:30 a.m. Cost for the trip (includes transportation and admissions) is $65 for Society members and $75 for non-members. Reservations are required by June 2. No refunds can be given for cancellations made after the reservation deadline.

To reserve your seat, contact the Society at 410-848-6494.

20080530 Elton John and Tupac Shakur

20080530 Elton John and Tupac Shakur

Elton John and Tupac Shakur

Elton John - Indian Sunset (Live in Tokyo 1971)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eCneCYAYqQU

Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album madman across the water

1971

As I awoke this evening with the smell of wood smoke clinging
Like a gentle cobweb hanging upon a painted tepee
Oh I went to see my chieftain with my warlance and my woman
For he told us that the yellow moon would very soon be leaving
This I cant believe I said, I cant believe our warlords dead
Oh he would not leave the chosen ones to the buzzards and the soldiers guns

Oh great father of the iroquois ever since I was young
Ive read the writing of the smoke and breast fed on the sound of drums
Ive learned to hurl the tomahawk and ride a painted pony wild
To run the gauntlet of the sioux, to make a chieftains daughter mine

And now you ask that I should watch
The red mans race be slowly crushed
What kind of words are these to hear
From yellow dog whom white man fears

I take only what is mine lord, my pony, my squaw, and my child
I cant stay to see you die along with my tribes pride
I go to search for the yellow moon and the fathers of our sons
Where the red sun sinks in the hills of gold and the healing waters run

Trampling down the prairie rose leaving hoof tracks in the sand
Those who wish to follow me I welcome with my hands
I heard from passing renegades geronimo was dead
Hed been laying down his weapons when they filled him full of lead

Now there seems no reason why I should carry on
In this land that once was my land I cant find a home
Its lonely and its quiet and the horse soldiers are coming
And I think its time I strung my bow and ceased my senseless running
For soon Ill find the yellow moon along with my loved ones
Where the buffalos graze in clover fields without the sound of guns

And the red sun sinks at last into the hills of gold
And peace to this young warrior comes with a bullet hole

*****

"Ghetto Gospel" by Tupac Shakur featuring Elton John

Released August 21, 2005

Tupac Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996)

[1984 to June 1988 lived in Baltimore]

More : Elton John and Tupac Shakur

Thursday, May 29, 2008

20080529 Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower


Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

Released US September 21, 1968

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RD7s4i_X-p0

Music Hendrix – Jimi Hendrix

Book of Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5-9, "Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise ye princes, and prepare the shield./For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth./And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with such heed./...And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground."

####

20080528 Ex Press Aide Writes Bush Misled US on Iraq by Michael D. Shear Washington Post

Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052703679_pf.html

By Michael D. Shear Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 28, 2008; A01

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated "political propaganda campaign" led by President Bush and aimed at "manipulating sources of public opinion" and "downplaying the major reason for going to war."

McClellan includes the charges in a 341-page book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," that delivers a harsh look at the White House and the man he served for close to a decade. He describes Bush as demonstrating a "lack of inquisitiveness," says the White House operated in "permanent campaign" mode, and admits to having been deceived by some in the president's inner circle about the leak of a CIA operative's name.

The book, coming from a man who was a tight-lipped defender of administration aides and policy, is certain to give fuel to critics of the administration, and McClellan has harsh words for many of his past colleagues. He accuses former White House adviser Karl Rove of misleading him about his role in the CIA case. He describes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as being deft at deflecting blame, and he calls Vice President Cheney "the magic man" who steered policy behind the scenes while leaving no fingerprints.

McClellan stops short of saying that Bush purposely lied about his reasons for invading Iraq, writing that he and his subordinates were not "employing out-and-out deception" to make their case for war in 2002.

But in a chapter titled "Selling the War," he alleges that the administration repeatedly shaded the truth and that Bush "managed the crisis in a way that almost guaranteed that the use of force would become the only feasible option."

Read the entire article here: Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq

20080528 Newt Gingrich: Drill Here Drill Now Pay Less


ACTION ALERT: Fight Back Against High Gas Prices And the Politicians Who Will Make them Higher Still

May 28, 2008 Vol. 3, No. 22 By Newt Gingrich

There must be something about springtime in Washington that makes Senators forget where they came from.

Next week, the Senate is set to begin debate on a bill that will raise the price of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and aviation fuel.(view this Heritage Foundation state-by-state breakdown to find out how much Warner Lieberman will cost you). It's the Warner-Lieberman global warming bill, and its supporters are as misguided and out-of-touch with the American people as the supporters of last spring's immigration amnesty bill - and we all remember how that turned out.

Our Goal: 100,000 Voices the Senate Can't Ignore

There are two things you can do now to fight back.

First, call or email your Senator and tell him or her to vote "no" on Warner-Lieberman - "no" on raising the cost of driving to work, heating your home, and feeding your family.

Second, visit americansolutions.com/drillnow and sign our "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" petition.

The petition is simple but powerful. It says:

We, therefore, the undersigned citizens of the United States, petition the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries.

In just a few short days, over 45,000 Americans have signed the pledge.

And with your help, as the Senate begins to debate Warner-Lieberman, American Solutions will present the names of 100,000 of their constituents who will hold them accountable if they fail to allow America the freedom to use its own energy resources instead of relying on foreign dictators.

Americans truly have a choice - a choice between the Pay More, Send More Money to Foreign Dictators and Cripple America Left and the Produce More, Enjoy More, Pay Less, Stengthen American Center-Right Majority.

Make your choice by visiting americansolutions.com/drillnow.

Kudos to Congressman Green

I also want to take the time to congratulate a principled Democratic Representative who had the courage to break with his party leadership last week on the issue of domestic energy production.

Congressman Gene Green (D-TX) told CNBC, "We also need more exploration. But we really need to get more oil to the market, particularly from our own country. The best signal we can send to OPEC and anywhere else in the world is maybe not filing a lawsuit against them but actually saying 'we are going to start producing in our own country.'"

All Americans who are concerned about out-of-control prices and our vulnerability to energy blackmail by foreign dictators should appreciate and acknowledge Congressman Green's stand. The only question left is the one posed to Green by the CNBC anchor: "Can you convince the other wings of your party to think like you do?"

####

And, as always, stay tuned to americansolutions.com for more updates!

Haz clic aquí para leer la Plataforma del Pueblo Estadounidense.

20080528 Recent Westminster Eagle columns by Kevin Dayhoff


Recent Westminster Eagle columns by Kevin Dayhoff

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Food, canning history and eating my way across Westminster
On May 3, 1946, a newspaper article carried a story that Carroll Countians opened "approximately 3,163,000 cans of food É annually."

"Citizens of Carroll County can anticipate dramatic developments in canned foods during 1946, many of these products having first been packaged for the armed forces...
[Read full story]


Pecoraro makes 'superdelegate' stand in advance of convention
Political and presidential historians are often quick to point out that the Democratic Party is the oldest political party in the Unites States.

However, many folks may not be aware that much of the roots of the party are arguably in Maryland.

The U.S. Democratic Party, and specifically, the Ma...
[Read full story]


Pictures are worth a thousand words, but not the whole picture
Last Wednesday, the Humane Society of the United States released videotape of an "undercover investigation" which claimed to show the "shocking abuse of 'downer' cows occurs not just at slaughter plants but É at livestock auctions and stockyards around the country," according to the humane society p...
[Read full story]


For this year's prom, 'Come as you are' ... and stay a while
May is prom season in Carroll County -- one of the most anticipated nights on a young adult's calendar.

It's also the time of the year when many young adults are looking forward to the end of the school year or graduation ceremonies and parties.

The celebrations bring another set of challenges ...
[Read full story]


College may be expensive, but the experiences are priceless
Any family with a high school senior is well aware that April is crunch time for the college selection process.

In conversations with parents and students over the last several months, folks have told me that they are simply overwhelmed with myriad factors that must be considered in choosing a col...
[Read full story]


More Headlines Rhodes offers a helping hand to those in need
Dr. Herlocker set a pace in more ways than one
Days of bicycles, playgrounds, swamps and turkeys
Jeff Morse incident is a lost opportunity
Inns and hotels important in the early history of Carroll County
Hypocrisy and poor money management plague client No. 9
Beet juice, Romeo and Juliet and the 1856 Guano Islands Act
Trouble with trash is nothing new, but the technology may be
Don't let 'wrap rage' leave you in stitches
Looking at Bowling Brook one year later
'Tech Tax' will have crippling impact on Carroll
It's easy to demonstrate for peace; harder to work for it
How culture and song can save a nation
Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words
Courthouse history seems to match theatrical flair of current case
Something we really must talk about

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

20080528 Maryland Department of Agriculture: Westminster Livestock Auction Operator Charged with Violations of Maryland Animal Health Law

Westminster Livestock Auction Operator Charged with Violations of Maryland Animal Health Law

CONTACT: Sue duPont 410-841-5889 Julie Oberg 410-841-5888

May 28, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 28, 2008) – The Maryland Department of Agriculture has charged the operator of the Westminster Livestock Auction Market, Mr. James Horak, with four counts of violating State Animal Health regulations. The charges are a result of an investigation into reported inhumane treatment of a non-ambulatory cow at the auction on April 22 and 23.

“After investigating this matter, the agency believes that the market was not was not prepared to handle downer animals that night and as a result a ‘downer’ cow was not treated in a humane manner,” said Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson. “Mr. Horak has been charged with violating the State’s Animal Health Law.”

The violations are:

1.) two counts of failing to provide humane treatment [COMAR 15.11.17.03A] by improperly moving a downed animal and failing to euthanize in a timely manner an animal that was in obvious distress.

2) one count of failing to provide the needed equipment for handling, moving and if necessary euthanizing the animal [COMAR 15.11.17.03A].

3) one count of failing to euthanize the downed animal at the close of the sale or place her in the care of a licensed veterinarian on April 22 [COMAR 15.11.17.03C].

Mr. Horak has 15-days to respond to the charges. Persons charged in this manner under the Maryland Agriculture Law have a right to a hearing before an administrative law judge.

“Our goal is to ensure that an incident of the nature discovered on April 22 does not happen again,” said Maryland State Veterinarian Dr. Guy Hohenhaus. “The operator and his staff are cooperating fully with this investigation and have allowed us to close it quickly. This appears to be an unusual incident for the auction and the operator has already taken a number of steps to prevent such a situation from happening again.”

MDA has clear regulations governing the humane treatment of livestock at auction markets (COMAR 15.11.17) and each licensed market is provided a copy of the rules and protocols that they are required to follow. MDA has taken action to strengthen its penalties against anyone who violates state animal health laws and regulations.

House Bill 227, proposed by MDA and passed by the 2008 General Assembly, gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to issue administrative penalties (fines) of up to $10,000 in cases where these laws and regulations are broken. This law goes into affect on Oct. 1, 2008. In addition, MDA is currently reviewing its livestock market and dealer regulations to determine what actions are needed to strengthen them.

Specifically in response to the Westminster Livestock Auction Market situation, MDA has reviewed and revised its protocols for inspectors at livestock auctions to include: reporting and tracking downed animals; officially informing the livestock auction management of action that must be taken; and following up the day after a sale to make sure that the appropriate disposition of any downed animals has taken place.

###

20080529 AP: Westminster Livestock Auction faces state charges

Livestock auction operator faces state charges

Hat Tip: Carroll County Times

By The Associated Press Thursday, May 29, 2008

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Department of Agriculture has charged a livestock auction operator in connection with alleged inhumane treatment of a downed cow at auction last month.

James Horak, operator of the Westminster Livestock Auction Market, faces four counts of violating state animal health regulations, the department said in a news release.

State agriculture officials began investigating the market after the Humane Society of the United States released video footage in April of sick and injured livestock the group says were mistreated at auction sites and stockyards where cattle are sold for slaughter.

Horak could not be reached for comment. The department said he has 15 days to respond to the charges, which include failing to provide humane treatment and failing to euthanize in a timely manner an animal that was in obvious distress.

20080525 Stein: Stop Whining And Blaming Oil Cos.


Stein: Stop Whining And Blaming Oil Cos.

Worried About Gas Prices? Ben Stein Says Don’t Look To Government Or OPEC To Help

May 25, 2008

Related:

Gas Prices

State-by-state averages, tips to improve mileage and a look at what fuels prices at the pump.

Stories

Pump Prices Creep Up As Oil Records Fall

Move Along, Scooter: Americans Save On Gas


(CBS) Like many of the rest of us this weekend, Contributor Ben Stein has his eye on the gas pump:


Topic A on everyone's mind these days is the amazing price rise of oil and gasoline by historical standards.

Herewith, some good news and some bad news.

First, the bad news: Nothing - and I mean nothing - the U.S. government does can stop the rise in the price of oil in the short run.

Stopping buys for the emergency stockpile will have no effect at all. These purchases are less than one-tenth of one percent of daily worldwide demand.

Cancelling the purchases is precisely the same as not paying life insurance premiums when you're worried about money. It is nonsense.

Laws taxing oil speculators will do nothing. Most of the speculation is going on outside of U.S. jurisdiction anyway.

And if we stopped having a free market in oil, it would go back to being an OPEC-fixed price. Do you think they would be kind to us? If so, why?

Taxing the oil companies is the worst possible idea. We should be giving them tax incentives to pump more oil, not punishing them for pumping oil … and their profits have absolutely zero to do with setting the price of gasoline at the pump.

Read the rest of his column here: Stein: Stop Whining And Blaming Oil Cos.

20080528 Fraternal Order of Eagles Grand Worthy President’s Tour

Fraternal Order of Eagles Grand Worthy President’s Tour

Grand Worthy President

The 2007 Fraternal Order of Eagles Grand Worthy President is John Potter. John joined the Calgary Aerie in 1997 and has been a very loyal and active member since, serving as Trustee, Chaplain and Conductor for the Grand Aerie. He was also Provincial Secretary for Alberta/Saskatchewan and President of the Mountain Region.

John's travel schedule is updated to the Web site on a monthly basis. For more information on John's travel, please contact Terry Mason, assistant to the grand worthy president at 614-883-2172 or at tmason@foe.com.

If you are interested in submitting photos or memories of GWP John Potter's trip to your aerie, please send memorabilia to John's historians:

Gayle Potter and Mikenzi Potter
33 Glen Eagles Close
Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1N8

Westminster Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #4378

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Aerie No. 4378
130 Airport Dr.
Westminster MD 21157
(410) 848-0668

Tour Schedule

Date

Event / Location

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Fly out of Detoit MI to Knoxville TN for TN State Convention

Friday, May 2, 2008

Tennessee State Convention
Knoxville TN
(hosted by the State)

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Tennessee State Convention
Knoxville TN
(hosted by the State)

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Fly to Kansas City for Board Meeting
Overland Park KS

Monday, May 5, 2008

Board Meeting
Overland Park KS

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Board Meeting
Overland Park KS

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Board Meeting Overland Park KS

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Board Meeting Overland Park KS

Friday, May 9, 2008

Aerie No. 2151
117 N.E. Roberts
Gresham OR 97030
(503) 667-3019
Evening Visit

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Aerie No. 275
1375 Irving Road

Eugene OR 97404
(541) 689-9371
1:00 p.m. lunch visit

Aerie No. 2817
106 E. Olive Street

Newport OR 97365

5:00 p.m. dinner visit

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Aerie No. 2144
209 Stillwell Ave.

Tillamook OR 97141
(503) 842-4101

Monday, May 12, 2008

Aerie No. 4
8845 S.W. Commercial St.

Tigard OR 97223
(503) 639-4480

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Fly out early morning to Missoula out of Portland or Salem then drive home

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Home

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Home

Friday, May 16, 2008

AB/SK Prov. Convention
Aerie No. 2098
9303 - 5th St., S.E.

Calgary AB

(403) 252-3349

Saturday, May 17, 2008

AB/SK Prov. Convention
Aerie No. 2098
9303 - 5th St., S.E.

Calgary AB

(403) 252-3349

Sunday, May 18, 2008

AB/SK Prov. Convention
Aerie No. 2098
9303 - 5th St., S.E.

Calgary AB

(403) 252-3349

Monday, May 19, 2008

Fly into Columbus OH
& head to West Virginia

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Aerie No. 344
944 Main St.

Wheeling WV 26003

(304) 232-0373
Early Evening Visit
6:00 p.m.

Aerie No. 1891
2153 National Rd.

Elm Grove WV 26003

(304) 242-4883
Evening Visit
7:30 or 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Washington D.C.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Aerie No. 1040
408 Ferry St.

Montgomery WV 25136

(304) 442-8151
Early Evening Visit
6:00 p.m.

Aerie No. 519
404 Virginia St., W.

Charleston WV 25302

(304) 344-9181
Evening Visit
7:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Aerie No. 4123
21 Cool Spring Rd.

Fredericksburg VA 22405

(540) 371-6538

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Memorial Day Picnic
Aerie No.4391
5100 Jake McWhirt Lane
Spotsylvania VA 22408

(540) 981-1688

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Aerie No. 882
235 Franklin St.

Petersburg VA 23803

(804) 732-7161
11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Aerie No. 4513
(at the Rescue Squad)
Ashland VA 23005
"Stop in" visit only

Monday, May 26, 2008

Aerie No. 1067
216 East Patrick Street

Frederick, Maryland 21701

Ph: (301) 663-6281.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Aerie No. 3509
15966 Shady Grove Rd.
Gaithersburg MD 15966

(301) 258-9344

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Aerie No. 4378
130 Airport Dr.

Westminster MD 21157

(410) 848-0668

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Aerie No. 74
415 Philadelphia Pike
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
(302) 764-6100

Friday, May 30, 2008

Aerie No. 2127
98-100 Cohansey St.

Bridgeton NJ 08302

(609) 451-9845

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Aerie No. 2137
350 Woodside Lane

Somerset NJ 08807

(908) 526-9898

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Aerie No. 579
688 Main St.
Stamford CT
06902
(203) 323-0673
(Informal Afternoon Social)

Aerie No. 1820
156 Washington St.
Wallingford CT
06492
(203) 265-4366
(Informal Early Evening Buffet Dinner Social)

Monday, June 2, 2008

Aerie No. 1773
334 Waterman Ave.

East Providence RI 02914

(401)438-1557
(Lunchtime Visit)

Aerie No. 1248
129 Rumford Ave.

Rumford Maine 04276

(207) 364-3953
(Evening Visit)

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Aerie No. 565
184 St. John St.

Portland Maine 04102

(207) 773-9448

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Fly to British Columbia from Portland ME

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Aerie No. 3097
Campbell River BC
British Columbia
Provincial Convention

Friday, June 6, 2008

Aerie No. 3097
Campbell River BC
British Columbia
Provincial Convention

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Aerie No. 3097
Campbell River BC
British Columbia
Provincial Convention

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Aerie No. 576
635 Hemmert
Idaho Falls ID 83401
(208) 524-6274

Monday, June 9, 2008

Aerie No. 119
325 W. Benton
Pocatello ID 83204
(208) 232-0921
Early lunchtime visit
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Aerie No. 2103
118-11th Ave., N.

Nampa ID 83687

(208) 466-3151
Evening Visit

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Aerie No. 631
1304-1310 Main St.

Lewiston ID 83501

(208) 746-2971

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Travel to Montreal for PQ Provincial Convention

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Shawinigan PQ for PQ Provincial Convention

Friday, June 13, 2008

PQ Provincial Convention
Aerie No. 3810
774 - 4th Rue, C.P.4
Shawinigan PQ G9N 1H2
(819) 537-3849

Saturday, June 14, 2008

PQ Provincial Convention
Aerie No. 3810
774 - 4th Rue, C.P.4
Shawinigan PQ G9N 1H2
(819) 537-3849

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Aerie No. 3263
2500 - 10th Street, S.W.

Huntsville AL 35805

(256) 533-6089

Monday, June 16, 2008

Aerie No. 4185
602 - 14th St., SE

Decatur AL 35601

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Aerie No. 972
145 Persimmon St.

Birmingham AL 35214

(205) 798-5820

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Fly to Kalispell MT from Birmingham - Drive to Lewiston ID for Idaho State Convention

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Idaho State Convention
Aerie No. 631
Lewiston ID

Friday, June 20, 2008

Aerie No. 631
Lewiston ID
Idaho State Convention

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Fly to Columbus OH

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Columbus OH

Monday, June 23, 2008

Ohio State Convention
Columbus OH

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Ohio State Convention
Columbus OH

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Ohio State Convention
Columbus OH

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Ohio State Convention
Columbus OH

Friday, June 27, 2008

Ohio State Convention
Columbus OH

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Ohio

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Fly home

Monday, June 30, 2008

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