Dayhoff Westminster Soundtrack: This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com/

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
“We are done”
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On March 23 President Barack Obama signed into law the obese 2,032-page, 25-pound “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”

Orangutans on the Market
Tom McLaughlin
Traveling the Little Sambas River, Borneo, Indonesia – We had hoped to view orangutans. We did. But, it wasn’t what we expected.

The History of Health Insurance – Part 2
Farrell Keough
Yesterday we reviewed both the government and private market responses to the nation’s insurance needs. Now we shall see if the actions of the past are a precursor to the present and future happenings with our new healthcare law.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
How Long?
Roy Meachum
You might think the Vatican’s role in sexual scandals is the result of an eager-beaver press, intent on bringing down the Roman Catholic Church. That is neither true nor necessary.

A New Approach for Frederick County
Nick Diaz
Imagine that you could send your child to a school that reflected your aspirations for your child's education. Imagine not worrying whether your child was adequately challenged in the classroom, and feeling confident that he or she was truly prepared for college and beyond. Now imagine not going into debt to pay for this, since you are already paying taxes to fund this.

The History of Health Insurance – Part 1
Farrell Keough
Many articles and commentaries are floating around about the newly passed healthcare law. It is worth our time to review how we got to this point and what the pitfalls were in the creation of insurance programs in the United States.

Monday, March 29, 2010
A Love Letter
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
If he were still here, I’d ask Tom “Petey” Nuse if it was okay to write a love letter to his wife, Wanda. He’s no longer with us, but I suspect he might grant his approval. My wife won’t mind, either. She has always referred to Wanda as my girlfriend.

Campaign Diary – A Potpourri
Michael Kurtianyk
Saturday, March 20 – FCBA Home Show – I had the opportunity to take my family to the Fairgrounds today for the Frederick County Builders’ Association Home Show. It was a beautiful day, and when I was there, the booths were busy.

Friday, March 26, 2010
Don’t Blame Karl Marx
Roy Meachum
In these social and political circles, my attitude is apparently peculiar. While the left cheers and the right fulminates – or worse – I do neither. Blame it on my years spent in Washington, when various motions and movements threatened the civilized world, as we know it – “but waking no such matter.” (The quote comes from a Shakespearean sonnet the last line of which goes: “In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.”)

Great Physician Exodus?
Joe Charlebois
If a recent survey is accurate, then the eventual care of patients will fall more and more upon the shoulders of physician assistants, nurse practitioners and far fewer doctors.

Thursday, March 25, 2010
Maryland, My Maryland
Chris Cavey
Three hundred seventy-six years ago on this day passengers disembarked from two small wooden ships, set foot in a new land; on that day Maryland was born.

There are solutions!
Joan McIntyre
What is the real definition of the word budget? Is it to decide what government wants and then find the money or tax to pay for it? Or is it to figure out exactly what government needs to do for basic services and then find the money to cover that.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Mount Airy Lottery
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The “awful aughts” were not kind to Mount Airy. The last decade seemed to have been on the minds of citizens who crowded into the Mount Airy town hall on March 8 to nominate candidates to vie for elected offices in the upcoming election.

The Seven Cannons of Sambas
Tom McLaughlin
Royal Palace, Sambas, Indonesia – Startled, Putri, the Sultan’s mother and caretaker, wondered how I knew about the seven cannons of Sambas. I told her my wife, of royal lineage, had heard stories handed down through her family.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Variety Show
Roy Meachum
John “Lennie” Thompson probably got it wrong again! As usual. He may have thought his motion for Frederick County to secede from the state has historical precedence. Legendary Jones County did not withdraw from Mississippi during the Civil War. Never happened. The phrase, “The Free State of Jones,” was casually tossed around way before what my ancestors called “The War for Southern Independence.”

A Sad Truth – A Day of Mourning
Farrell Keough
Sunday’s vote on healthcare, not only screwed up our capitalist system, but it also wreaked havoc on my intended topic for a column!

Monday, March 22, 2010
Spoiling a journey
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
They say a journey begins with the first step. This little essay describes a journey that began with a dinner conversation.

Campaign Diary – A New County?
Michael Kurtianyk
Tuesday, March 16 – Morning View – This was quite a day. The morning was spent watching the Board of County Commissioners proceedings on television.

20100331 sdosm This week in The Tentacle