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
Showing posts with label 20080730 Berwyn Hghts home invaded. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 20080730 Berwyn Hghts home invaded. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: TOM RAUM, Associated Press: Higher Gas Prices Clou...

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: TOM RAUM, Associated Press: Higher Gas Prices Clou...: Higher Gas Prices Cloud Obama's Re-Election Hopes By TOM RAUM, Associated Press February 24, 2012 http://cnsnews.com/news/article/hig...



Update - Related: http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5018 Wednesday, April 4, 2012 Four is the loneliest number Kevin E. Dayhoff: After former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s likely primary victories in Tuesday’s contests in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Wisconsin, look for establishment Republicans to start looking for a running mate and the establishment media to focus its attention on getting President Barack Obama re-elected… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5018


*****

Thursday, March 22, 2012

When Vampire Squids Become Cannibals – by Kevin Dayhoff – The Tentacle March 21, 2012

March 21, 2012



In case you missed it, last Wednesday Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs executive, resigned. Actually it was really no big deal, except while he was on his way out the door, he burned his bridges and then strafed the wounded.

Mr. Smith publicly nuked Goldman Sachs in a scathing op-ed article in The New York Times that left many holding their hands up high and shouting “Alleluia.”

Last Wednesday began the same as many of the most recent monotonous mid-week editions of the end of winter blues as our nation’s wounded business and financial community continues to snort and bellow while it tries to extricate itself from an economic tar pit and in the process, try not to pee all over itself anymore than it already has.

The European sovereign debt crisis continues to languish in the markets like a bad hangover and economic public policy, especially unchecked profligate U.S. sovereign spending and debt, continue as troublesome issues. And where there is a financial cesspool, one can count on Goldman Sachs merrily swimming with the rest of the bottom-feeders and leaches.

So, as one may imagine, a headline like “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” caught my eye.

Goldman Sachs, the venerable ginormous, intergalactic investment banking, financial services and securities firm has arguably found itself in the caustic crosshairs of public scrutiny more in the past several years than at any other time in its storied history that goes back to 1869… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4986

++++++++

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






*****

Wendell Potter: Goldman Sach's Greg Smith Could Just Have Easily Been Telling the Truth About Health Insurers

Goldman Sach's Greg Smith Could Just Have Easily Been Telling the Truth About Health Insurers


Wendell Potter 03/19/2012


As I was reading former Wall Street executive Greg Smith's bombshell of an Op-Ed in the New York Times last week, I mentally inserted the names of the big for-profit health insurers -- two of which I worked for -- in place of Goldman Sachs, where Smith worked until resigning on the day his column was published.

Smith wrote that he decided to leave Goldman-Sachs because it had veered so far from the company he had joined straight out of college that he could no longer say in good conscience "that I identify with what it stands for."

He put the blame squarely on Goldman's current CEO and president. It was during their watch, he wrote, that "the firm changed the very way it thought about leadership."

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics





*****

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Grea...: The Great American Bubble Machine http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405 From tech ...


July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine


“… Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid…”

April 5, 2010 This article appeared in the July 9, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available in the online archive.



20090709 Taibbi The Great American Bubble Machine




*****

Sunday, March 18, 2012

GOLDMAN SACHS' RESPONSE TO MARCH 14, 2012 NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED


GOLDMAN SACHS' RESPONSE TO MARCH 14, 2012 NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED

The following is the message Lloyd C. Blankfein and Gary D. Cohn sent March 14, 2012 to the people of Goldman Sachs.



By now, many of you have read the submission in today’s New York Times by a former employee of the firm. Needless to say, we were disappointed to read the assertions made by this individual that do not reflect our values, our culture and how the vast majority of people at Goldman Sachs think about the firm and the work it does on behalf of our clients.

In a company of our size, it is not shocking that some people could feel disgruntled. But that does not and should not represent our firm of more than 30,000 people. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. But, it is unfortunate that an individual opinion about Goldman Sachs is amplified in a newspaper and speaks louder than the regular, detailed and intensive feedback you have provided the firm and independent, public surveys of workplace environments.

While we expect you find the words you read today foreign from your own day-to-day experiences, we wanted to remind you what we, as a firm – individually and collectively – think about Goldman Sachs and our client-driven culture.
First, 85 percent of the firm responded to our recent People Survey, which provides the most detailed and comprehensive review to determine how our people feel about Goldman Sachs and the work they do… http://www.goldmansachs.com/media-relations/comments-and-responses/current/nyt-op-ed-response.html

UPDATE: ++++++++++


March 21, 2012



So, as one may imagine, a headline like “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” caught my eye.

Goldman Sachs, the venerable ginormous, intergalactic investment banking, financial services and securities firm has arguably found itself in the caustic crosshairs of public scrutiny more in the past several years than at any other time in its storied history that goes back to 1869… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4986

++++++++

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






________




*****

Saturday, October 02, 2010

The real story about combat troops in Iraq from someone who is deployed

The real story about combat troops in Iraq from someone who is deployed


Date: Friday, August 20, 2010, 5:41 PM


http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/10/real-story-about-combat-troops-in-iraq.html

Hey everybody I just wanted to send a quick update and give Yall the REAL story on what's going on over here with the troop withdrawal.  

The picture is of my crew and I on a break during a mission.   The guy to the far left is my gunner (Burks) and the guy in the middle is my driver (Mizell).  They go with me on every mission and are great guys.  

The reason I'm sending this out is because I have had a few people ask if I left Iraq early because all of the combat troops are out of Iraq and I wanted to let everyone know the real deal.  

It's kind of ridiculous how the news is saying that the last of the "combat" troops are out of Iraq because of Pres Osama ( I mean Obama ).  He says that it was his campaign promise.  

Take our Brigade for example.  We were originally called a HBCT ( Heavy Brigade Combat Team).  Well since Obama said he would pull all of the "combat" troops out by Aug all they did before we left was change our name from a HBCT to a AAB ( Advise and Assist Brigade ).  

We have the same personnel/equipment layout as before and are doing the same missions.  The ONLY difference is that they changed our name from a HBCT to an AAB and that's how he is getting away with saying that he has pulled all of the "combat" troops out.  

It is really ridiculous what he's doing and he has ticked alot of people off.  And it's funny how the media is buying all of it to.  So no the last combat troops are not out of Iraq we are still here.  There are other Brigades just like ours that are doing the same missions that are still over here.  

Sorry for going on about it but we are just sitting over here watching it and are like "You've got to be kidding me!"  So anyway now you know the REAL story so that's why I'm not coming back early.  Anyways I hope everyone is doing well and I'll see you soon!

Travis


--
cid:898BA4A7036442A798EA84F410E26D45@homee1att2lw8b



from an e-mail source
*****

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine

The Great American Bubble Machine


From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression -- and they're about to do it again

by: Matt Taibbi

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindled dry American empire, reads like a Who's Who of Goldman Sachs graduates… http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405?print=true


+++++++++++++++
July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine


“… Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid…”

April 5, 2010 This article appeared in the July 9, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available in the online archive.



20090709 Taibbi The Great American Bubble Machine

*****

Monday, February 23, 2009

Rick Santelli and the "Rant of the Year"


Rick Santelli and the "Rant of the Year"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA



Transcript


Hat Tip: NewsBusters

(from start to about 2:33)

Becky Quick, in studio: …. Rick have you been listening (to the previous conversation)?

Rick Santelli, on trading floor: Listening to it? I’ve been just glued to it because Mr. Ross has nailed it. You know, the government is promoting bad behavior, because we certainly don’t want to put stimulus forth, and give people a whopping eight or ten dollars in their check, and think that they ought to save it.

And in terms of modifications, I’ll tell you what, I have an idea. You know the new administration’s big on computers and technology. How about this, (Mr.) President and new administration — Why don’t you put up a web site to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages, or would we like to, at least, buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people who might have a chance to actually prosper down the road, and reward people that could carry the water, instead of drink(ing) the water.

Trader sitting near by: What a novel idea! What? Who thought of that!

(traders in the pit start clapping and cheering)

Joe Kernen, in studio: Rick, they’re like putty in your hands. Did you hear –

Santelli: No they’re not, Joe. They’re not like putty in our hands! This is America! (turns around to address pit traders) How many of you people want to pay for your neighbors’ mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand. (traders boo; Santelli turns around to face CNBC camera) President Obama, are you listening?

Trader (sitting nearby, goes over to Santelli’s mike): How about we all stop paying our mortgage? It’s a moral hazard.

Kernen: It’s like mob rule here, I’m getting scared. I’m glad –

Santelli: Don’t get scared, Joe. They’re already scaring you. Y’know, Cuba used to have mansions and a relatively decent economy. They moved from the individual to the collective. Now they’re driving ‘54 Chevys, maybe the last great car to come out of Detroit.

Kernen: They’re driving ‘em on water too, which is a little strange to watch, at times.

Santelli: There you go.

Kernen: Hey Rick, how about the notion that Wilbur pointed out, you can go down to 2% on the mortgage …..

Santelli: You can go down to minus two percent, they can’t afford the house!

Kernen: ….. and still have 40% not be able to do it, so why are we trying to keep them in the house?

Santelli: I know Mr. Summers is a great economist, but boy I’d love the answer to that one.

(some cross-talk)

Quick: Wow. You get people fired up.

Santelli: We’re thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I’m going to start organizing.

Quick: What are you dumping in this time?

Santelli: We’re going to be dumping in some derivative securities. What do you think about that?

Wilbur Ross, in studio: Mayor Daley is marshalling the police right now.

Kernen: The rabble rousers.

Ross: …. the National Guard.

(from about 3:10 to 3:35)

Ross: You know Rick, one of our producers says if Roland Burris steps down, man, Senator Santelli, the junior senator from Illinois. It’s a possibility. I’m just sayin’ –

Santelli: Do you think I want to take a shower every hour? The last place I’m ever going to live or work is DC.

Kernen: Have you raised any money for Blago?

(laughter)

Santelli: No, but I think that Somebody’s going to have to start raising money for us.

(go to 3:50 mark until almost the end)

Santelli: Listen, all I know is that there’s only about 5% of the floor population here right now, and I talk loud enough they can all hear me. So if you want to ask them anything, let me know. These guys are pretty straightforward, and my guess is, a pretty good statistical cross section of America, the silent majority.

Quick: Not so silent majority today.

Kernen: Yeah, not so silent.

Quick: So Rick, are they opposed to the housing thing, to the stimulus package, to everything out there?

Santelli: You know, they’re pretty much of the notion that you can’t buy your way into prosperity, and if the multiplier that all of these Washington economists are selling us is over one, that we never have to worry about the economy again. The government should spend a trillion dollars an hour because we’ll get $1.5 trillion back.

Quick: Wilbur?

Ross: Rick I congratulate you on your new incarnation as a revolutionary leader.

Santelli: Somebody needs one. I’ll tell you what, if you read our Founding Fathers, people like Benjamin Franklin and Jefferson, what we’re doing in this country now is making them roll over in their graves.


20090219 Rick Santelli and the Rant of the Year YT
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Monday, February 02, 2009

Deadly Farce

Deadly Farce

February 1, 2009

Read what happens when the police shoot your dogs, handcuffs your elderly Mom, and then lies about it all - - and gets away with it with no consequences. All in the name of protecting you…

WaPo mag Deadly Force http://tinyurl.com/ald8a6

What a SWAT team did to Cheye Calvo's family may seem extreme. But decades into America's war on drugs, it's business as usual.

Acting on a mistaken drug trafficking suspicion, a SWAT team broke down their door, shot beloved pets and shattered a happy home. Was it an extreme reaction, or business as usual in America's war on drugs?

LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

By April Witt Sunday, February 1, 2009; Page W08


Read the entire Washington Post magazine article here: Deadly Force

This is what I had to say in my August 13, 2008 The Tentacle column:
They shoot dogs, don’t they? http://tinyurl.com/8vjaaq By Kevin E. Dayhoff
In Prince Georges County on the evening of July 30, the home of the Berwyn Heights’ Mayor Cheye Calvo was the scene of a home invasion…

Also, be sure to watch: 20080729 SWAT Team honored for raiding wrong house
20080729 Minneapolis SWAT Team honored for raiding wrong house This is bizarre...

I'm NOT making this up!: WCCO-TV http://wcco.com/ Minneapolis MN: July 29, 2008 Minneapolis SWAT Team honored for raiding wrong house

http://wcco.com/iteam/swat.team.honored.2.783216.html WCCO-TV Minneapolis, MN: "On Monday, Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan handed out honors to a team of officers involved in a botched raid at an innocent family's home more than seven months ago...

*****

Hat Tip: P Kenneth Burns - MD Politics Today: “Inside the Botched Police Raid

Mr. Burns is “continuing to call for the apology and resignation of Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael A. Jackson (D) in addition to the apology of now former County Police Chief Melvin High (he retired,) but Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife Trinity Tomsic are continuing to leave their lives in the same home where officers from both agencies completely botched a raid where they did not have a no knock warrant as High and Jackson had originally claimed.”

And for good reason. It would appear that there essentially no consequences for the behavior of the police agencies involved or the leadership of those agencies.

Mr. Burns calls to our attention:

"In this week’s edition of The Washington Post Magazine, they are the cover story. It’s a look at before, during and after the raid on Calvo’s home.

"Also of note, a new facebook group “Friends of Cheye Calvo” started this weekend. In addition, Calvo and the writer of the Post Magazine article, April Witt, will be having an
online discussion tomorrow (Feb. 2) at 12noon to discuss the article."

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Our government's War on Dogs

"Nope. That's not a misprint. The POst today covers an incident of police incompetance, ineffectiveness, and lies in todays Magazine. It's just one example. The overuse of paramilitary forces occurs regularly in the US and our own neighborhoods - 16 botched raids in VA, 8 in MD, and 2 in DC.

"In this case, the government lied about having a no-knock warrant.

"They lied about having any warrant at all.

"They lied about killing the beloved pets that were running away from them. One of the two dead dogs was shot in the back.

"According to the report
"Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America," US police squads do this all the time, to people who are less photogenic, less rich, and less connected than the Mayor of Berwyn Heights. See how many raids went wrong in your neighborhood on this interactive map."

Read the entire post here: Our government's War on Dogs

20090201 Inside the Botched Police Raid

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

America's Founders' Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

America's Founders' Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

[…]

With small variances, our Founders agreed on five basic approaches to fiscal management, which I describe in far more detail in the third chapter ("Stop America's nightmare of debt") of my new New York Times best-seller (as of the list of Sept. 28), "Black Belt Patriotism," in which I resolve eight major problems facing America with our Founders' solutions. If we're going to awaken America from its economic slumber, then we must go back to those who discovered and established the American dream. Their financial principles were:

--Restrict spending within constitutional limits. The 10th Amendment restricts the size of government, and that always should bear out in spending and the federal budget. That means cutting hundreds of billions the Fed shouldn't be spending. That means following congressional protocol. That means understanding that income and export taxes were unconstitutional to our Founders.

--Don't bail out debt with more debt. George Washington wrote in 1799 to James Welch, "To contract new debts is not the way to pay for old ones." Thomas Jefferson similarly admonished Samuel Kercheval in 1816, "To preserve (the) independence (of the people), we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt." (Some are quick to point out that Thomas Jefferson financed the Louisiana Purchase with government loans, but they overlook the fact that Jefferson's administration lowered the federal deficit by nearly one-third during his eight years in office.)

--Have a pay-as-you-go government. If we don't have the money, we shouldn't spend it. Period. No more debt. No more bailouts. No more spending. As Thomas Jefferson wrote to Fulwar Skipwith in 1787, "The maxim of buying nothing but what we (have) money in our pockets to pay for … (is) a maxim which, of all others, lays the broadest foundation for happiness."

--Minimize taxes to citizens. Our earliest government's primary tool to raise revenue was from tariffs, not through the countless taxes placed upon citizens today. That is one reason I say to abolish the unconstitutional Internal Revenue Service and implement a "fair tax," which doesn't penalize productivity and will bring American manufacturing back within our borders. As James Madison said in 1783: "Taxes on consumption are always least burdensome because they are least felt and are borne, too, by those who are both willing and able to pay them; that of all taxes on consumption, those on foreign commerce are most compatible with the genius and policy of free states."

--Get over the greed. We're in this financial mess because of greed. Why is government spending out of control? Greed. Why do we, as individuals and as a nation, keep falling deeper into a pit of debt? Greed. Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the Treasury, believed that a government that could use greed to motivate its people would become powerful and wealthy. Unfortunately, we've taken it to the extreme. We've become a nation that confuses our needs and greeds, and we've got to get back to the basics if we're ever to understand and overcome the heart of this financial crisis.

[…]


Read the entire column here: America's Founders' Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

http://townhall.com/Columnists/ChuckNorris/2008/09/23/americas_founders_financial_advice

20080922 Americas Founders Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

Sunday, September 21, 2008

President Bush Discusses Economy


President Bush Discusses Economy

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary September 19, 2008

Rose Garden

Video (Windows) /news/releases/2008/09/20080919-2.wm.v.html
Presidential Remarks
Audio
En Español
Fact Sheet: Confronting Economic Challenges Head On
In Focus: Economy

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I thank Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman Chris Cox for joining me today.

This is a pivotal moment for America's economy. Problems that originated in the credit markets -- and first showed up in the area of subprime mortgages -- have spread throughout our financial system. This has led to an erosion of confidence that has frozen many financial transactions, including loans to consumers and to businesses seeking to expand and create jobs. As a result, we must act now to protect our nation's economic health from serious risk.

There will be ample opportunity to debate the origins of this problem. Now is the time to solve it. In our nation's history, there have been moments that require us to come together across party lines to address major challenges. This is such a moment. Last night, Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke and Chairman Cox met with congressional leaders of both parties -- and they had a very good meeting. I appreciate the willingness of congressional leaders to confront this situation head on.

Our system of free enterprise rests on the conviction that the federal government should interfere in the marketplace only when necessary. Given the precarious state of today's financial markets -- and their vital importance to the daily lives of the American people -- government intervention is not only warranted, it is essential.

In recent weeks, the federal government has taken a series of measures to help promote stability in the overall economy. To avoid severe disruptions in the financial markets and to support home financing, we took action to address the situation at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Reserve also acted to prevent the disorderly liquidation of the insurance company AIG. And in coordination with central banks around the world, the Fed has injected much-needed liquidity into our financial system.

These were targeted measures designed primarily to stop the problems of individual firms from spreading even more broadly. But more action is needed. We must address the root cause behind much of the instability in our markets -- the mortgage assets that have lost value during the housing decline and are now restricting the flow of credit. America's economy is facing unprecedented challenges, and we are responding with unprecedented action.

Secretary Paulson, Chairman Bernanke, and Chairman Cox have briefed leaders on Capitol Hill on the urgent need for Congress to pass legislation approving the federal government's purchase of illiquid assets, such as troubled mortgages, from banks and other financial institutions. This is a decisive step that will address underlying problems in our financial system. It will help take pressure off the balance sheets of banks and other financial institutions. It will allow them to resume lending and get our financial system moving again.

Additionally, the federal government is taking several other steps to address the trouble of our financial markets.

The Department of the Treasury is acting to restore confidence in a key element of America's financial system -- money market mutual funds. In the past, government insurance was not available for these funds, and the recent stresses on the markets have caused some to question whether these investments are safe and accessible. The Treasury Department's actions address that concern by offering government insurance for money market mutual funds. For every dollar invested in an insured fund, you will be able to take a dollar out.

The Federal Reserve is also taking steps to provide additional liquidity to money market mutual funds, which will help ease pressure on our financial markets. These measures will act as grease for the gears of our financial system, which were at risk of grinding to a halt. They will support the flow of credit to households and businesses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new rules temporarily suspending the practice of short selling on the stocks of financial institutions. This is intended to prevent investors from intentionally driving down particular stocks for their own personal gain. The SEC is also requiring certain investors to disclose their short selling, and has launched rigorous enforcement actions to detect fraud and manipulation in the market. Anyone engaging in illegal financial transactions will be caught and persecuted [sic].

Finally, when we get past the immediate challenges, my administration looks forward to working with Congress on measures to bring greater long-term transparency and reliability to the financial system -- including those in the regulatory blueprint submitted by Secretary Paulson earlier this year. Many of the regulations governing the functioning of America's markets were written in a different era. It is vital that we update them to meet the realities of today's global financial system.

The actions I just outlined reflect the considered judgment of Secretary Paulson, Chairman Bernanke, and Chairman Cox. We believe that this decisive government action is needed to preserve America's financial system and sustain America's overall economy. These measures will require us to put a significant amount of taxpayer dollars on the line. This action does entail risk. But we expect that this money will eventually be paid back. The vast majority of assets the government is planning to purchase have good value over time, because the vast majority of homeowners continue to pay their mortgages. And the risk of not acting would be far higher. Further stress on our financial markets would cause massive job losses, devastate retirement accounts, and further erode housing values, as well as dry up loans for new homes and cars and college tuitions. These are risks that America cannot afford to take.

In this difficult time, I know many Americans are wondering about the security of their finances. Every American should know that the federal government continues to enforce laws and regulations protecting your money. Through the FDIC, every savings account, checking account, and certificate of deposit is insured by the federal government for up to $100,000. The FDIC has been in existence for 75 years, and no one has ever lost a penny on an insured deposit -- and this will not change.

America's financial system is intricate and complex. But behind all the technical terminology and statistics is a critical human factor -- confidence. Confidence in our financial system and in its institutions is essential to the smooth operation of our economy, and recently that confidence has been shaken. Investors should know that the United States government is taking action to restore confidence in America's financial markets so they can thrive again.

In the long run, Americans have good reason to be confident in our economic strength. America has the most talented, productive, and entrepreneurial workers in the world. This country is the best place in the world to invest and do business. Consumers around the world continue to seek out American products, as evidenced by record-high exports. We have a flexible and resilient system that absorbs challenges and makes corrections and bounces back.

We've seen that resilience over the past eight years. Since 2001, our economy has faced a recession, the bursting of the dot-com bubble, major corporate scandals, an unprecedented attack on our homeland, a global war on terror, a series of devastating natural disasters. Our economy has weathered every one of these challenges, and still managed to grow.

We will weather this challenge too, and we must do so together. This is no time for partisanship. We must join to move urgently needed legislation as quickly as possible, without adding controversial provisions that could delay action. I will work with Democrats and Republicans alike to steer our economy through these difficult times and get back to the path of long-term growth. Thank you very much.

END 10:54 A.M. EDT

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080919-2.html

20080919 President Bush Discusses Economy

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

PG Police overstep authority by Haven Shoemaker

Prince George's County Police overstep authority by Haven Shoemaker

Hampstead mayor Haven Shoemaker has weighed-in with his take on the home invasion by Prince George’s SWAT officers in the last days of July 2008.

If you will recall; after a small army of heavily armed SWAT team members attacked the home of Berwyn Height’s mayor Cheye Calvo, they tied the mayor and his mother-in-law up and shot and killed his two dogs - - only discover it was all mistake.

No word as to whether or not the Prince George's County SWAT team will get an award or not - as just occurred in a similar situation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, q.v.: 20080729 Minneapolis SWAT Team honored for raiding wrong house.

Mayor Shoemaker is an excellent writer and his recent column, in the “Other Voices” section of the
Carroll County Times is a must read:
*****

PG police overstep authority

By Haven Shoemaker, Other Voices Monday, August 25, 2008

On July 29, the Mayor of Berwyn Heights, Cheye Calvo, came home from work and saw a package addressed to his wife sitting on the front porch.

If he's anything like me, he probably assumed his wife had been watching the Home Shopping Network, so he brought the package in and put it on the table.

Unbeknownst to him, the box actually contained 32 pounds of marijuana, one of the few things you can't buy on QVC.

While changing his clothes, Calvo heard his mother-in-law scream. According to media reports, she saw and reacted to police officers rushing the house. The police burst into the home without warning. In the ensuing chaos, officers shot and killed the family's two dogs. According to Calvo, one of two black Labradors was running away from the officers when it was killed.

Apparently, the officers did not believe that Calvo was the Mayor of Berwyn Heights. They kept him handcuffed for two hours, in his boxer shorts, lying next to his dead dogs. As it turns out, Calvo and his family were most likely the random victims of a scheme by real drug dealers.

Apparently, the police have already arrested people behind the plan to smuggle millions of dollars of marijuana via deliveries to unsuspecting citizens. Unfortunately, that little bit of law enforcement intelligence wasn't available to help Calvo or save his dogs.

[…]

But what bothers me the most about the Calvo mess is the dogs. If for the public good it becomes necessary to handcuff me in my briefs for two hours, well, OK. If the police want to take my mother-in-law into custody, I can promise my full cooperation.

[…]

It's not like the anyone was going to flush 32 pounds of dope down the toilet in the time it took for the police to announce the entry. I could add my thoughts on the modern low water capacity toilet, but as the kids today say, TMI, or "Too Much information."


Read Mayor Shoemaker’s entire column here:
PG police overstep authority

20080825 PG Police overstep authority by Haven Shoemaker

Thursday, August 14, 2008

This week in The Tentacle August 13 2008

This week in The Tentacle August 13 2008


Wednesday, August 13, 2008
They shoot dogs, don’t they?
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In Prince Georges County on the evening of July 30, the home of the Berwyn Heights’ Mayor Cheye Calvo was the scene of a home invasion.


Beer Olympics
Tom McLaughlin
They’re back! After watching the March Past during the opening of the games in Peking (old spelling), I settled in to watch some of the sports. And wonders of wonders who did I see? Those two great representatives of American dirty old men, Misty May and Kerri Walsh. They were playing the great American sport – beach volleyball.


Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Media Furies
Roy Meachum
The Bruce Ivins tragedy starkly revealed the trashy shape of America's media. Print and electronic alike, they have become modern versions of Greek playwright Aeschylus's Eumenides; the Furies of ancient Rome, they resound still in the Yiddish phrase: Kein eine horah. "Not one listening" is a prayerful cautionary against the 40,000 beasties that always hover waiting to strike all those who earn praise.


Perception Often Worse Than Truth
Farrell Keough
Perceptions are a tricky thing. There are times in life when a person can feel so strongly about a situation they are willing to suffer the consequences of people believing they are either wrong or have some nefarious intent.


Monday, August 11, 2008
Hanging it up…
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
…a stethoscope, that is. On August 8, Dr. Wayne Allgaier snapped the closure on his leather medical kit for the last time. Last Friday, he hung the stethoscope up for the last time.


T. Boone & Slim Pickens
Steven R. Berryman
What does a famous Texas oil baron do to ensure some personal legacy at age 80? He becomes an alternative energy activist, and starts a
web site with a link to his own MySpace page, of course!


They’re Not Just Athletes…
Derek Shackelford
Last Friday the 2008 Summer Olympics games opened in Beijing, China, where the government has come under scrutiny because of proclaimed human rights violations. The air quality – to some degree – has been deemed unhealthy. The government has been criticized for neglect of some of its citizens and the economic disparity is widely known. And its capital punishment policy has been questioned.


Friday, August 8, 2008
Greasepaint Missing
Roy Meachum
Not only the greasepaint was missing Wednesday from the justice department's dog-and-pony show. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's crew left behind their costumes. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor lacked the red bulb on his nose. The performance would have been hilarious except a Frederick man wound up dead.


Thursday, August 7, 2008
Breaching Our Security
Tony Soltero
"To protect and to serve." The venerable slogan of police forces nationwide. And, for the most part, law enforcement performs its duties professionally, effectively and within the constitutional bounds that distinguish America from repressive, totalitarian societies, such as the country currently hosting a major world sports event.


Obama vs. McCain
Patricia A. Kelly
I read and I listen. Answers are elusive, dandelion fluff on a summer breeze. One says the other said…the other says he didn’t, but that the other did….There are funny ads, outrageous ads. Always, politics, when something closer to the truth is so needed.


Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Insufficient Funds
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Recently the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Municipal League has been the focus of some unwanted and undesirable attention.


Voting White
Tom McLaughlin
Race is – and will continue to be – a very big factor in the presidential election. Sen. Barack Obama has called for change; however, his skin color will be too much of a change for many. White, not John McCain, will win the election.


Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Guilty or Not?
Roy Meachum
The apparent suicide of a Fort Detrick scientist was the weekend's conversational rage. Everyone knows someone who knows someone – that’s how it went.


One’s Inexperience and Immaturity
Joan McIntyre
Those aspiring to elected office need to learn before applying that it's a tough job and requires an equally tough skin. Do you question why I use the phase "applying?"


Monday, August 4, 2008
Who's watching the watchers?
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Picture a rally against the death penalty or a gathering of anti-war protesters. Peace signs, Grateful Dead music, chanting, tie-dyed clothing, and soap-box speeches about injustice, inequality, and corrupt abuse of power.


“Mega Trends” Become Non-Sequiturs
Steven R. Berryman
Seems like chaos rules anymore when analyzing the changing trends in world happenings and trying to make things make sense. Much of it just doesn’t follow, as in non-sequiturs. There are just too many data points now for old method.

20080813 This week in The Tentacle August 13 2008

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

“Target practice for Prince George's police” By Rob Tornoe for PolitickerMD



August 11, 2008

You've probably already heard about the incident involving the Prince George's county police department raiding the home of Berwyn Heights mayor Cheye Calvo, shooting and killing his two dogs after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep…

[…]


20080811 “Target practice for Prince George's police” By Rob Tornoe for PolitickerMD

Sunday, August 10, 2008

20080810 I just noticed P. Kenneth Burns coverage of the home invasion of Mayor Calvo in Berwyn Heights

I just noticed P. Kenneth Burns coverage of the home invasion of Mayor Calvo in Berwyn Heights over at “Maryland Politics Today.”

August 10, 2008

Be sure to check it out:

The E List: Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson
August 9th, 2008 by P. Kenneth Burns
Now to the latest addition to our honor roll of people who disrespects the intelligence of the constituency….Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson.Jackson is being added for a number of reason, including not apologizing for the flawed drug bust on the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo.In his first interview with The Washington Post [...]

Calvo Exonerated
August 9th, 2008 by P. Kenneth Burns
Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his family was cleared of any wrong doing in regards to the package containing 32 pounds of weed inside. That package was set to go to a different destination and not to Calvo’s wife, Trinity Tomsic, as addressed on the package.The Washington Post reporting today that Prince George’s [...]

Prince George’s County: Calvo Deserves Respect
August 8th, 2008 by P. Kenneth Burns
As promised, the on going knowledge campaign to bring light to the arrogance and mismanagement of the Prince George’s County Police Department under chief Melvin High.On July 31, Prince George’s County Police Officers and the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s raided the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo after he signed for a package addressed [...]

The E-List : Prince George’s County Police Chief Melvin High
August 7th, 2008 by P. Kenneth Burns
And now for the continuing saga of people who give public service a bad name, the latest addition to MarylandPT’s E-List.Tonight it’s Prince George’s County Police Chief Melvin High who seems not to be leaving quietly, nevermind the fact that this guy was able to hold on to his job for five years despite the [...]


Berwyn Heights: Dogged
August 6th, 2008 by P. Kenneth Burns
Prince George’s County SWAT team and county narcotics officers burst into the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo last week after officers saw the mayor accept a package that was delivered by officers posing as delivery men. That package which was traced from Arizona contained just above 30 pounds in marijuana.Calvo in a [...]


20080810 I just noticed P. Kenneth Burns coverage of the home invasion of Mayor Calvo in Berwyn Heights

20080808 Baltimore Sun: Mayor Cheye Calvo describes raid in email to friends

20080808 Baltimore Sun: Mayor Cheye Calvo describes raid in email to friends

Baltimore Sun: Mayor Cheye Calvo describes raid in e-mail to friends

Retrieved Saturday, August 8, 2008

Related:
20080801 Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot

20080730 WJLA: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

20080731 Washington Post: Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayors Home Kill His 2 Dogs

20080807 ABC 7 News: “Statement of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo”

20080806 Calvo’s Counsel’s statement

20080730 Berwyn Heights Mayor suffers home invasion dogs shot, Law and Order Lunacy, MD municipality Berwyn Heights, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo

More:
Here, here, and here.

Web editor’s background note: The mayor of Berwyn Heights, Cheye Calvo, had his home invaded Wednesday evening, July 30, 2008.

I have briefly worked with Mayor Calvo in the past, but I do not know him well. What I do know is that he is a very soft-spoken, kind, conscientious and an extraordinarily capable and competent person, who loves his community and is extremely well-liked by everyone.

For this to happen to him is simply an outrage…

His front door was broken-through and heavily armed folks invaded his home. In the melee that ensued, his two black Labrador dogs were shot and killed and he and his mother-in-law were tied-up, while his home was ransacked.

The police did not have far to look for the folks who did this. It was the Prince Georges County Sheriff’s Department – who, oops, made a mistake. Oh, nevermind…

I retrieved the following from the Baltimore Sun on August 8th, 2008. It can be found here: “
Mayor Cheye Calvo describes raid in e-mail to friends

If you think that citizens are outraged, well, you are right.
Go here and read the comments… If you have a comment – go here and leave your comments.

For a timeline, this e-mail must have been distributed July 31, 2008?

Baltimore Sun: Mayor Cheye Calvo describes raid in e-mail to friends

Dear Friends and Neighbors-

Yesterday evening, as my mother-in-law prepared dinner and I changed clothes hurrying to head to a community meeting, a heavily-armed county SWAT team burst through our living room door and shot and killed both of our dogs. There were loud voices. In the sights of two high-caliber weapons, I was ushered downstairs in only my boxer shorts before I was bound and forced to kneel on the floor. My mother-in-law was bound face down in the kitchen. The dead body of my bigger and older dog, Payton, laid in a pool of blood on the other side of the living room.

It was some time before someone spoke to me other than to yell orders. I was told there was a warrant but was never shown one. After many questions and much anger, I was told that they had intercepted a package addressed to our house that contained 32 pounds of marijuana. The large, white box, which I just had retrieved from the front porch, sat unopened on a living room table.

The county police then proceeded to turn our house upside-down. I was moved to the kitchen, where I could see my little dog, Chase, lying in his own pool of blood. My mother-in-law watched them shoot him while he was running away. After about 90 minutes, they finally removed my restraints, which tied my hands behind my back. About the same time, Animal Control came to remove our dogs. Emotions overtook me; I broke down and sobbed.

They asked questions. Through my anger, hurt, and confusion, I answered them. Trinity came home from work a little after 8:00 pm, and they questioned her outside. We both were and remain in shock. It does not make sense, but shared what we could. About three-and-a-half hours passed before they acknowledged that they had found nothing to connect us to the box, but could not be 100 certain whether or not we were involved. The package alone was enough to arrest us all, they said, but they would not so long as we continued to cooperate.

Then they left. The broken front door remained open and unsecured. Blood from my dogs was pooled and tracked throughout the house. Our belongings were pulled from drawers, closets, and trunks and tossed about, piled in the middle of rooms and on tables and beds.

A Berwyn Heights officer on the scene helped me get the door shut. Just after midnight, I began to clean up the blood. We put a few things back. Trinity and I tried to sleep. Instead, we both laid there through the night as disbelief, fear, and anger played off one another. We try to make sense of it. They invaded our home and killed our dogs! That, above all else, can't be undone.

A friend came this morning to secure the door. People have begun to call, and the outpouring of friendship and support brings tears to my eyes. The media calls have begun, as well.

I wanted to get this out so that you at least hear the story from me. This promises to be a lengthy process, which will involve telling and re-living this story time and again. Hopefully, the healing will begin soon.

Warm regards,

Cheye


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-mayoremail0808,0,4607054.story

Labels:
20080730 Berwyn Heights Mayor suffers home invasion dogs shot. MD municipality Berwyn Heights, Law and Order Lunacy, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo

For coverage of this outrage in the Baltimore Sun:

 1.
Police chief expresses regret over drug raid By Gus G. Sentementes ,Sun Reporter
August 9, 2008
news
...yesterday that a suburban Washington mayor and his wife were "innocent victims...into the house of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and shot the dogs. Calvo and his...package of marijuana addressed to the mayor's wife, Trinity Tomsic. This...
 2.
FBI opens probe into raid at home of Prince George's mayor By Gus G. Sentementes ,Sun reporter
August 8, 2008
news
...Friday that a suburban Washington mayor and his wife were "innocent victims...into the house of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and shot the dogs. Calvo and...relationship between Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and a woman handcuffed during...
 3.
Police clear names of Maryland mayor and his wife in drug raid that left their 2 dogs dead By BRETT ZONGKER ,Associated Press Writer
August 8, 2008
news
...HEIGHTS, Md. (AP) _ A small-town mayor whose dogs were killed in a drug...Friday he called Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic...scheme. A SWAT team raided the mayor's home July 29 after intercepting...
 4.
Mayor Cheye Calvo describes raid in e-mail to friends
August 8, 2008
news
...wanted to get this out so that you at least hear the story from me. This promises to be a lengthy process, which will involve telling and re-living this story time and again. Hopefully, the healing will begin soon. Warm regards, Cheye
 5.
Prince George's raid prompts call for probe By Doug Donovan ,Sun reporter
August 8, 2008
news
...stopped, two dogs lay dead. A mayor sat in his boxers, hands bound...into the home of Berwyn Heights' mayor last week seized the same unopened...found, and no one was arrested at Mayor Cheye Calvo's home in this small bedroom community...
 6.
Prince George's raid prompts call for probe By Doug Donovan ,Sun reporter
August 7, 2008
news
...stopped, two dogs lay dead. A mayor sat in his boxers, hands bound...into the home of Berwyn Heights' mayor last week seized the same unopened...found, and no one was arrested at Mayor Cheye Calvo's home in this small bedroom community...
 7.
Police: 2 arrested in marijuana-smuggling scheme that prompted raid on DC-area mayor's home By Associated Press
August 6, 2008
news
...marijuana to a Washington, D.C.-area mayor's wife. The home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic, was raided...Capital Beltway," gets a small stipend as mayor and works at the SEED Foundation, a nonprofit...
 8.
D.C.-area mayor's house is raided
August 1, 2008
news
...the home of a Washington-area mayor, killing his two black Labrador...County police said Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo brought a 32-pound packa