Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Iron Chef Maryland
Kevin E. Dayhoff
As members of the Maryland General Assembly prepare a menu of legislative edicts that will save the world from global warming, the weather feels rather chilly for State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.
Never fear, Mrs. Grasmick, word in the airways is that Gov. Martin O’Malley is breaking out the large backyard crab pot and the sharp knives – and you, my dear, are to be served for dinner.
Fellow Maryland crab aficionados are aware that crabs are put in water, in a large pot – alive. Heat is slowly applied and before you know it, after a brief kerfuffle, the tasty crustaceans are boiled alive. Of course, at first the crabs just think they have escaped the bushel basket to go for a swim.
In December, the state school board voted to extend Mrs. Grasmick’s contract. Ah, the cruelest hoax of all is the hope for safety. The Democrat leadership of the General Assembly and the governor’s office were less than pleased.
The program in Annapolis is really called “Iron Chef Maryland,” with all appropriate apologies to any reference to the hit “Food Channel” program “Iron Chef America.”
Today, the governor will utter the opening battle cry – and serve his State of the State “appetizer” to the legislature assembled jointly in the kitchen-chamber of the House of Delegates.
Sure to be included in the annual address will be… Read the rest of the column here: Iron Chef Maryland
A Funny Thing Happened on The Way…..
Farrell Keough
A funny thing happened to the Resource Conservation Zoning areas the other day – they got a reprieve from potential damage by the Board of County Commissioners. But, only a reprieve. These zoned areas and the rules surrounding them are still on the altar of political distortion.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
All Over But...
Roy Meachum
Marylanders' primary vote in three weeks could mean bupkus (less than nothing). Nothing will probably matter after a whole passel of states square off the week before, February 5. It looks to me like the traditional Democratic bosses want Bill Clinton's former first lady. After the Iowa surprise, that's what we have seen. They took over in New Hampshire and Nevada.
Teaching is Not Telling
Nick Diaz
“Teaching is not telling.” Wise words spoken many years ago by a well-known Frederick County Public Schools administrator. This man is still working in the trenches, down at the school level, where he continues to make things happen.
The President Visits Frederick – Chapter Two
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Once the other greeters had arrived, a member of the White House advance team called us together for a briefing. Nothing is left to chance, and every single movement is scripted. You’re told where to stand, how to line up, and where to go once you’re spoken to and shaken hands with the president.
Monday, January 21, 2008
The President In Frederick, Chapter 1
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Okay, having the President of the United States in Frederick isn’t really such a big deal. In case you didn’t know, he spends many weekends up at Camp David. In fact, I think at the end of his two terms, he will have spent more time in the Catoctin Mountains than any previous president.
From Walkersville With Bias
Steven R. Berryman
Advice from the publisher of The Tentacle, John W. Ashbury given to me recently correctly told me that “A pancake, however thin, always has 2 sides,” in reminding me to consider the aspects of perspective and fairness in my columns.
Dr. King’s Call
Derek Shackelford
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is arguably the greatest orator of the last 50 years in America. Today portions of some of his Speeches will be played to celebrate the federal holiday celebrating his birth.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Governing by Fiat
Roy Meachum
Back on October 26, I offered TheTentacle.com readers this observation: "From here the omens are not good for the governor's session that opens Monday. Martin O'Malley hoped calling the legislature in would lead to answers for Maryland's staggering deficits. I don't think it's going to happen." I was wrong.
My world turned upside down
Edward Lulie III
It is amazing, as many people know, how one day can turn your life upside down with no way possible to upright it.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
How Quickly We Forget
Chris Cavey
What a difference a few years make. It seems like it was just 2004 and The Sun of Baltimore commissioned a poll where, oddly enough, a Republican governor – after his first year in office – scored a rating of 56% popularity from the citizens of Maryland. The press and media were in disbelief.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
“When all else fails, read the Constitution”
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Thursday, Carroll County Circuit Court Judge Thomas F. Stansfield delivered a decision in the lawsuit filed by Republicans, which sought to overturn more than $1.3 billion in new taxes passed in the special session of the Maryland General Assembly in November.
Joining The Great Society
Norman M. Covert
Whether one likes it or not, this is the moment when the reality of socialism strikes my generation in the face. We cannot avoid it. All manner of protestations about the rightness of conservative values cannot compete with the reality of Big Government – and truly this is not George Bush’s fault.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Elitist Commissioners
Roy Meachum
John "Lennie" Thompson and the commissioners he continues to dominate see Frederick's development strictly in terms of profit hungry and all-powerful builders.
What’s Behind This Moratorium?
Farrell Keough
To moratorium or not to moratorium; that is not necessarily the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the traffic jams and loss of beautiful landscape, or take action against our development issues and end them…
Monday, January 14, 2008
Lessons Learned
Steven R. Berryman
I consider myself fortunate to have witnessed the quasi-legal proceedings of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Inc.’s (AMC) hearings to obtain approval of a special exception that would allow them to build a 43,000 square foot convention building in Walkersville.
General Assembly Journal 2008 – Volume 1
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
With the tension of the recently completed special session still hanging thick in the Annapolis air, and the unusual spring-like warmth banishing the normal overcoats and gloves, 188 legislators again descended on the state capitol to begin the 425th session of the Maryland General Assembly.
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January 16, 2008
“When all else fails, read the Constitution”
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Thursday, Carroll County Circuit Court Judge Thomas F. Stansfield delivered a decision in the lawsuit filed by Republicans, which sought to overturn more than $1.3 billion in new taxes passed in the special session of the Maryland General Assembly in November.
January 9, 2008
The Special Session Lawsuit
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The 425th session of the Maryland General Assembly begins today. Hopefully, the first order of business for that august body will be to re-visit and fix all the problems created during the special taxing session last November.
January 2, 2008
Spiro Agnew: Patron Saint of Alaska
Kevin E. Dayhoff
I was treated to a white Christmas last week. It snowed everyday the entire week I stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, which is incidentally the same hotel where the patron saint of Alaska, Maryland’s own Spiro Agnew, stayed on an impromptu stopover in 1981.
20080123 This week in The Tentacle
