This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Pallywood – When Pictures Lie
Kevin E. Dayhoff
After Hamas, the terrorist organization that has controlled the Gaza Strip since June 2007, unilaterally broke a cease-fire on December 19 and resumed shelling southern Israel, Israeli warplanes sprang to Israel’s defense December 27 by attacking Hamas throughout Gaza. Hamas responded immediately with “Pallywood.”


Land Below The Wind
Tom McLaughlin
Santubong, Borneo – The Israeli incursion into Gaza has been met with indifference here in this Moslem land. The news has been buried in the second sections or on pages 14-15 in The Borneo Post, the local English language daily.


Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Kingdom of Jerusalem Redux
Roy Meachum
Once there was a Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem. The men who founded it wore a huge cross from their shoulders down to their knees. Many did not always do Christian things. They judged the natives as infidels. They killed many. Random cruelties were allowable on those worthless. That was anybody who did not bow to the cross. They moved right in.


Dumbing Down Mathematics – Part 1
Nick Diaz
Since the 1980's, there have been substantial efforts nation wide to weaken mathematics education in America, and, unfortunately, these efforts have largely been successful.


Monday, January 5, 2009
This Shakeout Year
Steven R. Berryman
There is really nothing overtly negative about encountering an economic shakeout period such as the one we have entered. In fact, what we will discover this New Year is that long-term national prosperity for America herself depends on a boom and bust cycle.

Friday, January 2, 2009
Welcome, Stranger, Welcome
Roy Meachum
Moving to Frederick can be traumatic. This is such a friendly city. The old buildings radiate comforting warmth. "Good morning" is freely offered and returned.


For Old Times’ Sake
Joe Charlebois
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne?


Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Obsession In Washington
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Obsession, the new fragrance from the elite media for 2009… As we await the dawn of a New Year, we look forward to many questions and challenges. However the subplot for 2009 has got to be how long the obsessive, passionate love affair between the press and President-elect Barack Obama will last.


Through the Gazing Ball…
Chris Cavey
A few days ago in the quiet of the night, I sat alone in a dimly lighted room, referred to as my office, wondering what would be in store for the citizens of Maryland in 2009. Summoning all my strength, I once again gazed into my wife’s jet-black bowling ball seeking a glimpse into the future of Maryland politics.


Fun A World Away
Tom McLaughlin
Santubong, Borneo – Getting used to some things here in Borneo takes time. I need to be careful with the traffic, a life threatening situation.


Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Most Celebrated "Angry Young Man" Dies
Roy Meachum
Sir Harold Pinter may not have been the leader of Britain's "Angry Young Men" playwrights and novelists, but he was certainly the most prominent. He died last week, on Christmas Day.


Terminology and Political Correctness
Farrell Keough
This is the time of year when resolutions are made and broken. I shall attempt to follow in that hallowed tradition. “Eat and drink whatever you want.” The beauty of this resolution is that soon you will not be able to afford it, hence you will diet and sober up whether you want to or not.


Monday, December 29, 2008
General Assembly Journal 2009 – Volume 1
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
In a nod to my Navy submarine background, a common countdown tool was the number of days and a wake-up call until some significant milestone.


What’s in and What’s out for 2009
Steven R. Berryman
Every year we have major shifts in trends, policy, attitudes, and happenings. The 2008 / 2009 transition is no different, and is more important than usual.


December 24, 2008
Keeping Christmas
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Tomorrow we celebrate Christmas. The pageantry, art, decorations, traditions, and music of the season – especially the music – have all the ingredients for great family memories.


December 17, 2008
Time flies like an arrow
Kevin E. Dayhoff
As I’ve grown older, the joy of the Christmas season has slowly but surely become overshadowed with pressure and chaos. Certainly not to be overlooked is the emphasis on the materialism and over-consumption that has insidiously eroded the joys of the season.


December 10, 2008
In Your “Koobface”
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last week I had all the pleasure and honor to be among the 120 million users of the social networking web site “Facebook” who were targeted by a computer virus known by the unusual name of “Koobface.”


December 3, 2008
When cupcakes grow on trees
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It was serendipitous Monday evening, the day that President-elect Barack Obama unveiled his national security team, that I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Melvin A. Goodman, a former CIA analyst, discuss his latest book, The Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA, during the ninth annual Resnick Lecture at McDaniel College.

20090107 This week in The Tentacle

Kevin Dayhoff E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr DOT org His columns appear in The Tentacle, www.thetentacle.com; The Westminster Eagle /Eldersburg Eagle The Sunday Carroll Eagle - Opinion: http://explorecarroll.com/opinion-talk/ www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ http://www.youtube.com/user/kevindayhoff http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1040426835 http://picasaweb.google.com/kevindayhoff