This week in The Tentacle
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Non-Answers and Squirrelly Financing
Farrell Keough
The Frederick County Board of Education had a televised meeting on June 10, 2009. During that meeting, many things were discussed including re-districting and the budget. It is the latter for which we will focus our discussion today.
Sacrifice in the Name of Freedom
Chris Cavey
This weekend there will be thousands of “Tea Parties” across the United States. In Maryland at least seven are planned, being diligently promoted and advertised. If you can attend a local Tea Party please do so. While you are there, take a little time and ponder these thoughts.
The Doers and the Talkers
Joan McIntyre
Will this subject ever die, ever be solved? No! As long as there are people, there will be waste and, of course, opinions aplenty on its disposal. There are those who do and those who just yammer about what others should do. Those who do, finally make a decision; those who talk, are still talking.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Zelaya has left the building
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Early Sunday morning four units, consisting of 200 soldiers of the military in Honduras, stormed the presidential palace in the capitol, Tegucigalpa, at 6, arrested and bundled-up their pajama-clad president, Manuel Zelaya, and carted him off to the airport and flew him to Costa Rica.
A Reunion
Tom McLaughlin
Kuala Pilah, Malaysia – My friend Dzul urged me to return to Kuala Pilah, a two-hour flight, for a reunion with his class. I had started teaching in 1974, just after his group had left; but some had returned for the next level of education (form six). The best and the brightest, they scored the highest on their exams. These were the former students who remembered me after 35 years.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
R.I.P. – For a Pair of Stars
Roy Meachum
Two celebrity deaths this past week brought an outpouring from the general public and the people who knew them. Farrah Fawcett's dying was both documented and expected. She bowed out with great grace. Although she came a great way professionally from the tousled-hair "Charlie's Angel" in the poster, she earned her greatest review on the manner of her passing.
Of Minnows and Whales
Michael Kurtianyk
I was thinking over the weekend how great it was that the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team made it to the finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. I remember when I was growing up that the biggest claim to fame for the team was a win over England in 1950. That was at the World Cup, which was played in Brazil. It was dubbed “The Miracle on Grass” (not to be confused, of course, with the “Miracle on Ice” in the 1980 Olympics).
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Bagel Master Burgermeister
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
So what is it about a very friendly and congenial local shop keeper that suggests he has the tools to the lead the City of Frederick? Only in City of Frederick politics could the phrase "He's a really nice guy" be considered pejorative.
Cap and Traitor
Steven R. Berryman
The House of Representatives barely passed the first stage in President Obama’s “Cap-and-Trade” energy/ecology legislation late Friday 219-212. This, with the help of eight Republican traitors crossing over to vote, and having not read the bill, hundreds of pages of which only just became available at 3 A.M. on the day of the vote.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Quran Doesn't Mention Democracy
Roy Meachum
Most media eyes-and voices-have been devoted to Iranians this week and they deserve the attention. However, Iraq simply cannot be ignored. Both countries are Muslim and bereft of any democratic tradition; that's what the fighting is about in Baghdad and Teheran.
Two Days with the Cowboy Cheerleaders.
Joe Charlebois
I once spent two days with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. What is this island I speak of?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
R.I.P. – Louise V. Snodgrass
John W. Ashbury
How does one begin to bring memories of a great friend to the attention of others? It’s not an easy task, but one that must be completed, else they may be forgotten forever.
Public Option: Good Solution
Tony Soltero
There is no issue that has exposed the ideological bankruptcy of the American right more than the debate over the inclusion of a public option as an integral part of health-insurance reform. With a straight face, conservatives have argued, sometimes within the same interview, that any health insurance program run and funded by the government is doomed to fail.
Public Service v. Politics
Patricia A. Kelly
There’s been a lot of local political fighting around here lately. It seems that Alderman Donna Kuzemchak decided to take on Mayor Jeff Holtzinger again, this time suggesting malfeasance on the part of his administration during the infamous retirement buyout, an endless source of conversation for his opponents during the last couple of years.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Irony Deficient
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Half-way across the globe on June 12, the volatile and enigmatic theocratic nation of Iran held elections in which the Iranian government counted 32 million hand-written paper ballots in about three hours and declared the incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad victorious.
The Plane Ride
Tom McLaughlin
Aboard a Malaysian Airlines Flight – “How do you spend 22 plus hours on an airplane and still stay sane” is the question I am often asked when I travel back and forth from Malaysia to the States. My reply: “I have never been sane in my life, so why would this make any difference?”
REVIEW – Finest Individual Performance I've Seen
Roy Meachum
When I first looked on actor Stacy Keach from a reviewer's seat, his white beard was fake. He played Wild Bill Cody in Arena Stage's "Indians," a somewhat bitter analogy for the very bitter protests against the raging Vietnam War. We were young men in our prime. Now the white beards are very real, on both sides of the lights.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Bureaucracy Run Amok
Roy Meachum
Twenty six years ago last March I moved into what was then called the Historic District, which was bound on the north by 4th Street; since that's where my house faced, the commission could only tell me what to do about the front; the rest of the place was unregulated.
The Ugly Head of Anti-Business
Michael Kurtianyk
I can’t believe that any of our county commissioners would vote against a request by Life Technologies, Corp. The company is simply looking for a $25,000 economic development grant as part of a larger grant from the State of Maryland.
Motorcycle Touring – Part 1
Nick Diaz
In my many years of traveling by motorcycle, I’ve encountered many people who ask me questions like, “Did you ride that thing all the way out here from Maryland?” The standard reply from this smart aleck is: “It’s better than pushing it all the way from Maryland…”
20090702 sdosm This week in The Tentacle
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Non-Answers and Squirrelly Financing
Farrell Keough
The Frederick County Board of Education had a televised meeting on June 10, 2009. During that meeting, many things were discussed including re-districting and the budget. It is the latter for which we will focus our discussion today.
Sacrifice in the Name of Freedom
Chris Cavey
This weekend there will be thousands of “Tea Parties” across the United States. In Maryland at least seven are planned, being diligently promoted and advertised. If you can attend a local Tea Party please do so. While you are there, take a little time and ponder these thoughts.
The Doers and the Talkers
Joan McIntyre
Will this subject ever die, ever be solved? No! As long as there are people, there will be waste and, of course, opinions aplenty on its disposal. There are those who do and those who just yammer about what others should do. Those who do, finally make a decision; those who talk, are still talking.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Zelaya has left the building
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Early Sunday morning four units, consisting of 200 soldiers of the military in Honduras, stormed the presidential palace in the capitol, Tegucigalpa, at 6, arrested and bundled-up their pajama-clad president, Manuel Zelaya, and carted him off to the airport and flew him to Costa Rica.
A Reunion
Tom McLaughlin
Kuala Pilah, Malaysia – My friend Dzul urged me to return to Kuala Pilah, a two-hour flight, for a reunion with his class. I had started teaching in 1974, just after his group had left; but some had returned for the next level of education (form six). The best and the brightest, they scored the highest on their exams. These were the former students who remembered me after 35 years.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
R.I.P. – For a Pair of Stars
Roy Meachum
Two celebrity deaths this past week brought an outpouring from the general public and the people who knew them. Farrah Fawcett's dying was both documented and expected. She bowed out with great grace. Although she came a great way professionally from the tousled-hair "Charlie's Angel" in the poster, she earned her greatest review on the manner of her passing.
Of Minnows and Whales
Michael Kurtianyk
I was thinking over the weekend how great it was that the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team made it to the finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. I remember when I was growing up that the biggest claim to fame for the team was a win over England in 1950. That was at the World Cup, which was played in Brazil. It was dubbed “The Miracle on Grass” (not to be confused, of course, with the “Miracle on Ice” in the 1980 Olympics).
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Bagel Master Burgermeister
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
So what is it about a very friendly and congenial local shop keeper that suggests he has the tools to the lead the City of Frederick? Only in City of Frederick politics could the phrase "He's a really nice guy" be considered pejorative.
Cap and Traitor
Steven R. Berryman
The House of Representatives barely passed the first stage in President Obama’s “Cap-and-Trade” energy/ecology legislation late Friday 219-212. This, with the help of eight Republican traitors crossing over to vote, and having not read the bill, hundreds of pages of which only just became available at 3 A.M. on the day of the vote.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Quran Doesn't Mention Democracy
Roy Meachum
Most media eyes-and voices-have been devoted to Iranians this week and they deserve the attention. However, Iraq simply cannot be ignored. Both countries are Muslim and bereft of any democratic tradition; that's what the fighting is about in Baghdad and Teheran.
Two Days with the Cowboy Cheerleaders.
Joe Charlebois
I once spent two days with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. What is this island I speak of?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
R.I.P. – Louise V. Snodgrass
John W. Ashbury
How does one begin to bring memories of a great friend to the attention of others? It’s not an easy task, but one that must be completed, else they may be forgotten forever.
Public Option: Good Solution
Tony Soltero
There is no issue that has exposed the ideological bankruptcy of the American right more than the debate over the inclusion of a public option as an integral part of health-insurance reform. With a straight face, conservatives have argued, sometimes within the same interview, that any health insurance program run and funded by the government is doomed to fail.
Public Service v. Politics
Patricia A. Kelly
There’s been a lot of local political fighting around here lately. It seems that Alderman Donna Kuzemchak decided to take on Mayor Jeff Holtzinger again, this time suggesting malfeasance on the part of his administration during the infamous retirement buyout, an endless source of conversation for his opponents during the last couple of years.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Irony Deficient
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Half-way across the globe on June 12, the volatile and enigmatic theocratic nation of Iran held elections in which the Iranian government counted 32 million hand-written paper ballots in about three hours and declared the incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad victorious.
The Plane Ride
Tom McLaughlin
Aboard a Malaysian Airlines Flight – “How do you spend 22 plus hours on an airplane and still stay sane” is the question I am often asked when I travel back and forth from Malaysia to the States. My reply: “I have never been sane in my life, so why would this make any difference?”
REVIEW – Finest Individual Performance I've Seen
Roy Meachum
When I first looked on actor Stacy Keach from a reviewer's seat, his white beard was fake. He played Wild Bill Cody in Arena Stage's "Indians," a somewhat bitter analogy for the very bitter protests against the raging Vietnam War. We were young men in our prime. Now the white beards are very real, on both sides of the lights.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Bureaucracy Run Amok
Roy Meachum
Twenty six years ago last March I moved into what was then called the Historic District, which was bound on the north by 4th Street; since that's where my house faced, the commission could only tell me what to do about the front; the rest of the place was unregulated.
The Ugly Head of Anti-Business
Michael Kurtianyk
I can’t believe that any of our county commissioners would vote against a request by Life Technologies, Corp. The company is simply looking for a $25,000 economic development grant as part of a larger grant from the State of Maryland.
Motorcycle Touring – Part 1
Nick Diaz
In my many years of traveling by motorcycle, I’ve encountered many people who ask me questions like, “Did you ride that thing all the way out here from Maryland?” The standard reply from this smart aleck is: “It’s better than pushing it all the way from Maryland…”
20090702 sdosm This week in The Tentacle
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: www.kevindayhoff.net Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoffart.com Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: www.westgov.net Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1040426835
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