20080625 This week in The Tentacle

20080625 This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The MML and the COPS Program
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The annual Maryland Municipal League summer convention in Ocean City wraps up four days of seminars and meetings at the Ocean City Convention Center today.

Greasing the Wheels
Tom McLaughlin
We purchase billions upon billions of dollars of goods from the Chinese. They, in turn, take those dollars and invest in conservative and safe instruments like American T-Bills. This circular path has caused alarm among some that they have the power to wreck our economy and bring America to its knees. However, to destroy our economy would also mean wrecking theirs.


Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Political Street Gossip – Part 5
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Yesterday, we ended our discussion of Frederick’s delegation races in 2010 with an observation about Sen. Alex Mooney's vulnerabilities. Here's some proof of that.

What War?
Roy Meachum
Reasonable doubt exists that most readers do not know that a week ago 50 Shiite Iraqis died in a tremendous blast, engineered by al-Qaeda Sunnis. In the same forgotten category: Afghanistan's Taliban seized and held a series of towns and villages.

Enjoying What Life Brings on Two Wheels
Nick Diaz
You’ve seen them on the road – all those guys on motorcycles, parading down the boulevard, on Saturdays or Sundays. Where are they going? I’m sure many of you have wondered the same thing.


Monday, June 23, 2008
Political Street Gossip – Part 4
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
We've looked at federal, city, and county upcoming election cycles. The 6th District congressional race is upon us, the others are more distant and definitely less clear.

Ear to the Ground
Steven R. Berryman
Once again, awash in too much real news, here is a smorgasbord of the events I witnessed last week. You may call it “Short Takes 2,” as I keep my ears to the ground for The Tentacle and Frederick County.


Friday, June 20, 2008
Goodbye, Beautiful Long Legs
Roy Meachum
She danced while others simply walked. Parts of two days I spent with Cyd Charisse; the night belonged to her new husband, Tony Martin. He did all the talking, as I recall. She satisfied herself with smiles and a quiet but fiercely radiated warmth.

Before and After November 4, 2008
Edward Lulie III
I have to concede that my regard for President Bush have been on a sliding scale downwards for several years. I believe going into Iraq was the right thing to do; but we never should have based the reason on weapons of mass destruction without solid proof. He also wasted effort and prestige trying to convince the European Union (EU) to go along when half of its leaders were in bed with Saddam Hussein anyway. It was a waste of time.


Thursday, June 19, 2008
For Freedom and Liberty
Chris Cavey
Last week was Flag Week; Saturday, June 14, was Flag Day. It’s a shame that many Americans take this symbol of our freedom for granted. Here at the “Cavey Compound” Old Glory flies everyday because we are free…and my Dad makes sure it happens.

The Death Toll for the DRRA
Joan McIntyre

Well, it seems the Developers Rights and Responsibility Agreement (DRRA), is about to receive last rites. The county is trying to give it CPR but the family, Land Stewards, has said pull the plug, there are no signs of life. It’s heading to the incinerator; this isn’t recyclable.


Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Holes in Our Safety Net
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Tim Russert, “a giant in journalism and in politics” passed away unexpectedly last Friday. It followed by less than a week the death of ABC’s Jim McKay.

Quantity vs. Quality
Tom McLaughlin
For the first time, it was announced recently, the life expectancy in the United States reached above 78 years old. Some may rejoice at this news, but one must be very careful because the quantity of life may have increased but the quality of life has decreased. This quality not only affects the individual who has reached the golden age mark, but the many people who care for him or her.


Tuesday, June 17, 2008
So Be It
Roy Meachum
Iraq was never about military success; the war has always been a political mess: unwinnable at its best. That truth trumped all American pretensions from the start. But U.S. deaths settled down to a point when the casualties could be tolerated by the public. More or less.