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 Media The Tentacle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media The Tentacle. Show all posts

Thursday, November 06, 2014

The Tentacle November 6, 2014 Harry M. Covert: Righting the Ship of State

The Tentacle November 6, 2014 Harry M. Covert: Righting the Ship of State

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=6507


Mr. Harry Covert writes in The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com:

There is no such thing as a morning after pill for election results. Life goes on. For a while the general public may have a short respite before the next cycle invades daily stresses and strains.


A question arises: Will the ship be righted? Another question is: Can the ship be straightened?


Maybe time has arrived to turn off news purveyors. Seems like the people really knew all the facts and took to heart that old admonition, enough is enough.


It’s easy as pie to figure out the trauma. The world is going to “Hell in a hand basket.” There is a “fiddler-n-chief” not even strumming pleasing strings. There have been an over-whelming number of do-nothings more interested in scribbling in coloring books, usually reserved for not-of-age youngsters. They are officially called senators.


Let’s go back to the first Tuesday of this month, two days ago. A big and good old dose of “Black Draught” struck, and, sort of, cleaned out the building on Constitution Avenue. It was an evacuant for those who like to call themselves progressives. This latter word supposedly is proof they are good people, but they don’t do good for the 50 states.


In Maryland, the governor’s mansion got a good brisk scouring, too... 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Kevin E. Dayhoff wrote for The Tentacle from June 2005 to July 2013


June 2005 to July 2013, Kevin Dayhoff wrote, http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?myauthor=41, for The Tentacle, http://www.thetentacle.com/, a Frederick County, Maryland based news, opinion, commentary, and public affairs online magazine edited and published by John Ashbury. 

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Kevin Dayhoff is a freelance journalist and artist who was born and raised in Westminster, Carroll County. He is a retired landscape designer, property management consultant and nursery stock farmer. He has served on numerous county and state boards and commissioners since the 1970s as well as six years as an elected official of the City of Westminster, 1999 – 2005.

He has written for The Tentacle since June 22, 2005 and also writes for a number of publications including ExploreCarroll.com, the Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun.


He writes about government, the environment, art and culture, business, military and agricultural issues.

*****

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Common Core Assaults “Freedom” by Cindy A. Rose July 8, 2013 The Tentacle

Common Core Assaults “Freedom” by Cindy A. Rose July 8, 2013 The Tentacle


So, you’re not worried about the “metadata” the government is collecting on you? You hear it is benign information that won’t tell anyone anything specific about you.

[…]

What is "sue and settle," you ask? An interested group, usually environmental, files a lawsuit accusing the federal government of failing to meet a regulation or requirement. The federal government can either sue or settle. More times than not the EPA will settle by giving the environmental group what they desired, i.e., writing regulations and without public knowledge or consent. Hundreds of new regulations have been imposed via sue and settle. Oh, and the EPA has been accused of "encouraging" such law suits so it can create the new regulations laws "it" knows won't make it through Congress because the public would be enraged.

[…]



[20130708 TT CRose Common Core]
*****

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Harford Co Exe David Craig announces bid for governor’s office http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5816

Harford Co Exe David Craig announces bid for governor’s office http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5816 by Kevin E. Dayhoff Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Photo courtesy of http://www.davidcraig.com/



Although the Maryland gubernatorial primary is over a year away, last Monday morning the 2014 contest began to take shape in earnest with Harford County Executive David Craig announcing his candidacy for the Maryland State House.

Outside of Saint Patrick's Hall in Havre de Grace, dark clouds formed and it threatened to rain. Inside, there was no doubt that Mr. Craig’s formal announcement has threatened to shake up the contest for governor by launching what many political insiders consider to be a serious and credible Republican bid to regain the governor’s office after eight-years of liberal governance by Democrat Governor Martin O’Malley.

I felt badly that I was not able to make my way to Harford County last Monday. Mr. Craig went out of his way to visit Carroll County on several occasions to lend me a hand when I was an elected official. Over the years Mr. Craig has been a perfect host for a number of my sojourns to Harford County.

When I served for many years on the Maryland Municipal League board of directors, then-Havre de Grace Mayor Craig, along with many others such as then-Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley and then Ocean City Mayor Jim Mathias were a constant source of help with the many difficult challenges facing municipalities throughout the state.

However, for better or worse, Maryland political campaigns are more often than not insufferably long and I am only sure that I will be able to see my old friend Mr. Craig on several occasions before the voters have their say on the day of the Maryland primary election on June 24, 2014. (The general election next is scheduled for November 4, 2014.)

Mr. Craig’s candidacy raises many questions for political junkies…. http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5816

 The next year ought to have plenty of fodder for political writers and armchair political pundits.

Mr. Craig’s quest for the governor’s office has been one the worse-kept secrets in Maryland politics for years. Although I never wanted to ask the obvious and put a friend in an awkward position, even I figured it out several years ago and I can sometimes be the most inept and oblivious political junkie in the room.

As recently as January 4, 2012, I wrote in TheTentacle.com, a reference to liberal-governance fatigue… As much I admire my old friend Governor O’Malley’s accomplishments, one may actively debate whether or not he went way too far with Maryland voters with his uber-liberal approach to government and how much will O’Malley-fatigue will plague the uphill candidacy of Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, D, who was the first to formally announce his candidacy - on May 10.

In that January 4, 2012 column, “Scenarios Abound,” I observed, “The next big political roundelay in Maryland will not take place until 2014 and by then chances are most Marylanders – read Democrats – will have long gotten over any tax increases…

“That is, unless current Harford County Executive and likely 2014 Maryland gubernatorial candidate, David Craig, can remind voters of their pain...”

On September 10, 2011, Richard J. Cross, III, wisely noted, “If history is any guide, 2014 looks like it will be an anti-establishment year. Maryland voters will be restless after eight years of Martin O’Malley, just as they were after eight years of William Donald Schaefer and Parris Glendening.

“Plus, if President Obama is reelected in 2012 and experiencing the traditional mid-term slump that most presidents do, a Republican like Craig could benefit from these anti-incumbent forces.”

Another of the many questions is whether or not the consistent and steady-as-you-go political leadership of Mr. Craig can overcome the two-to-one lead Democrats hold in the voter rolls.

Mr. Craig, an accomplished historian and an academic, is well-known for his measured, thoughtful, and scholarly approach to government. Other than Maryland State Senator Joe Getty, R-Carroll and Baltimore Counties, and Senate President Mike Miller, D-Anne Arundel County; few in Maryland state politics today are as knowledgeable as Mr. Craig about the mysteries of formulating public policy and how government works.

Whether or not Mr. Craig’s comfortable and easily-accessible personality, his decades of qualifications and experience, and his government acumen are enough to overcome the hyper-partisan politics of Maryland will remain to be seen.

Then again, there are always the bizarre byzantine voodoo mysteries of Republican primaries. Specifically there is the not-so-small matter that the hard right wing of the Republican Party hardly ever resists an opportunity to pee on its own leg and tell you that it is raining. Never in my 60-years have I ever seen an organization snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as well as the hard right wing of the Republican Party.

If you will recall; towards the end of the Ellen Sauerbrey (R) campaign for Maryland governor in 1994 - the hard right wing of the Republican Party decided that Ellen Sauerbrey was moderating on some core conservative values. Ultimately this resulted in the hard, uncompromising and inflexible elements of the right wing of the Republican Party electing Governor Parris Glendening (D) for 8 years.

And the uncompromising and inflexible elements of the right wing of the Republican Party worked hard for Governor O’Malley in his gubernatorial contests with former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich.

Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat - you have to admit that this is quite a paradox. I recall that in one of David Horowitz's books a number of years ago, “The Art of Political War and other Radical Pursuits,” it begins by saying: "Politics is war, but in America the left is doing all the shooting.  Shell-shocked conservatives blame their failures on the media or unscrupulous opponents, but they refuse to name the real culprit – themselves…”

To loosely paraphrase an old partisan aphorism; these days, the only difference between a Republican and a cannibal is that the cannibal only eats its enemies.

. . . . . I’m just saying…



+++++++++++++++
June 5, 2013
Craig Steps to the Bottom of The Mountain 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Although the Maryland gubernatorial primary is over a year away, on Monday the 2014 contest began to take shape in earnest with Harford County Executive David Craig announcing his candidacy for the Maryland State House.

May 29, 2013
A Fallen Son of Carroll County 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The weather was perfect for the 146th Memorial Day exercises at the Westminster Cemetery on Monday. The keynote address speaker for the community ritual of spring was Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph T. Schultz, a North Carroll High School graduate.

May 23, 2013
A Renewed Purpose and Meaning for Pentecost 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Many believe that the current decline in church attendance directly contributes to the erosion of our quality of life, the deterioration of our sense of community and lack of confidence in the future.

May 22, 2013
Pentecost Sunday 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday; the 50 day after Easter and the birthday of the church. Along with Easter and Christmas, Pentecost is one of the three most important holidays in the church. It’s time to renew the spirit of Pentecost in our daily lives. Here’s why.

May 15, 2013
The Spiritual Practice of Shredding Stuff 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last month my wife and I left our house in the wee-hours of the morning and joined other households in Carroll County for the shared experience of putting box after box of old documents in a large ravenous shredder-truck which devoured the paper voraciously.

May 8, 2013
Another Boot on Your Neck 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On Monday the U.S. Senate voted 69-27 for the Marketplace Fairness Act, which allows states to collect sales taxes on certain online purchases.

May 1, 2013
Alvin Lee is coming home 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It has been almost two-months since British guitarist Alvin Lee, the legendary rock-blues master and lead singer of the band “Ten Years After,” passed away March 6.

April 24, 2013
The Presidents Club 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Thursday, Time magazine editors Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy provided a sneak peek into the most exclusive club in the world, “The Presidents Club,” to a crowd that filled McDanielCollege’s Decker Lecture Hall in Westminster.

April 17, 2013
Tragedy Strikes at Heart of America 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The cheers of joy and excitement quickly turned to screams of terror on Monday at 2:50 in the afternoonwhen an act of senseless horror shattered the 117th running of the Boston Marathon, arguable the world’s oldest and most prestigious endurance foot race.

April 10, 2013
March Job Creation Flatlines 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Friday the Labor Department announced the unemployment numbers for March and it was not a pretty picture. The Obama Administration quickly mustered the mainstream media and the party faithful spinmeisters to parrot that the numbers were as a result of the sequestration that only took effect at the beginning of the month.

April 3, 2013
Marissa Mayer: The Changing Face of Leadership 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In a recent ‘lean in’ story posted on the new website launched by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Google employee number 20, Marissa Mayer weighed on how she decided to accept the position of president and CEO of Yahoo!

March 27, 2013
Obamacare: The New Repetitive Stress Disorder 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On January 1, 2014, the revolutionary change in how we will receive our healthcare in the future will become fully implemented. Last Saturday was the third anniversary of the law and even the mainstream media, which coordinated its passage, cannot avoid reporting on how it is already making all of us sick.

March 20, 2013
The Economic Roots of Democracy 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On a recent trip to Europe, I found myself reading The Economist while standing on an ancient foundation that dated back to the Bronze Age. This gave me great pause when I considered that literally and figuratively, much of the economic basis of democracy that we enjoy today had its beginnings in ancient Greece.

March 13, 2013
President Obama: The sky is falling 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Almost two weeks have gone by since the so-called “sequester” of the federal budget went into effect and all indications lead us to believe that the Zombie Apocalypse has not happened. Nor has it otherwise resulted in the end of the world as we know it.

March 6, 2013
How I learned to love the sequester 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Friday, March 1, the much ballyhooed and overhyped “sequester” of the federal budget began. A key and critical provision of the Budget Control Act of 2011, sequestration was signed into law on August 2, 2011 by President Barack Obama.

February 27, 2013
The new Dali Museum in St. Pete 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The new Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, has now been open for over two-years. The much-anticipated fantastical $36 million, 66,450 square foot museum doubled the capacity of the previous 1982 building that I had the opportunity to in February 2009.

February 20, 2013
A Look Back At The War With Spain 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Early in the morning of last Friday, I found myself pondering a watershed moment in American history in the middle of a cemetery plot for the battleship U.S.S. Mainelocated in the Key West Cemetery, Key West, Florida.

February 13, 2013
A Visit to Ancient Olympia 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
A January tour of Greece included an opportunity to get away from the crowds, hectic tourist mainstays and urban landscape of Athens, to venture on the Peloponnesian Peninsula and visit many places, including Mycenae, Nafplion, Epidaurus, and one of the many highlights of the trip – ancient Olympia.

February 6, 2013
Commissioner John L Armacost – R.I.P. 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Many were saddened recently to learn that the well-respected longstanding community leader and former Carroll County commissioner, John L. Armacost, died January 13.

January 30, 2013
Big fat Greek surprises 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In spite of the profoundly dulled senses that come as a result of a day of international travel, Greece takes hold of you the very moment you arrive at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport.

January 23, 2013
Is Charter Right for Carroll County? 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The decision last November by Frederick County voters to go to a Charter form of government has kept local political junkies preoccupied ever since the election results were announced.

January 16, 2013
Letters Reveal Divided Shriver Family 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
This Saturday the Historical Society of Carroll County will give a presentation on the letters and documents which shed additional light on the divided loyalties of the Shriver family of Carroll and Frederick counties during the Civil War.

January 15, 2013
Demonstrations in Athens 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Athens, Greece, January 12 – Demonstrators once again took to the streets in central Athens Saturday afternoon, in another of a long series of strikes, demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience that have rocked Greece since a worldwide economic downturn officially got underway in December 2007.

January 9, 2013
Colonial cooking was hard labor 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Cooking in pioneer and colonial Frederick and Carroll County was certainly not the romanticized picture of women wonderfully adorned in long dresses, hovering over large kettles of aromatic delights, cooking over an open fire with a loaf of bread or two strategically placed nearby.

January 2, 2013
Happy New Year – Past and Present 
Kevin E. Dayhoff
According to widespread superstition, evil spirits are frightened away by loud noise and this is why we have the tradition of using noisemakers to bring in the New Year.


*****

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Tentacle - Zachary Peters: Where’s the Interest? Why isn’t there more?

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5291 Please enjoy the son of The Honorable Wendi Peters, Mr. Zachary A. Peters' piece in The Tentacle. I'm looking for much more good work from Mr. Peters.


Zachary Peters Biography August 16, 2012
Where’s the Interest? Why isn’t there more? 

Teen Mom, Toddlers in Tiaras, 16 and Pregnant
, and the granddaddy of them all, Jersey Shore are just a few examples of the television shows that dominate the young adult generation these days... 
http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=71
The Tentacle - Zachary Peters: Where’s the Interest? Why isn’t there more?
*****

Monday, March 19, 2012

GOP still headed for a cliff and other stories of the coming Zombie Apocalypse by Kevin Dayhoff

GOP still headed for a cliff and other stories of the coming Zombie Apocalypse by Kevin Dayhoff


I'm still hearing from folks, literally, from all over the world about, "The kerfuffle was no fluke." It must have struck a nerve.

So far in the presidential election of 2012 the only debate among historians is just which national election in history has the opposition party collectively conducted a more inept campaign to unseat a sitting president?

One of the places i wanted to go when I wrote "The kerfuffle was no fluke," was the 1860 presidential election. Fortunately, on March 16, 2012, TheTentacle writer, Roy Meachum picked-up that portion of the story: “Inevitable GOP Tuesday,” “As Tuesday pointed out, Republicans seem headed for the fate that led to Abraham Lincoln’s election, establishing the party on the American political scene.
In 1860, Democrats ruled the land. Nomination on their ticket was tantamount to a key to the White House. The great favorite was Stephen Douglas, who had defeated Mr. Lincoln for the U.S. Senate two years before. At their convention in Charleston, South Carolina, they went through 55 ballots before adjourning to Baltimore. Mr. Douglas was the winner of a divided party. The pro-slavery Democrats chose Vice President John Breckenridge, of Kentucky…” http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4978

[…]

The idea that the Republican Party is on a great march, en masse, off a cliff, is starting to be discussed in a hushed tone of voice that is only growing louder as November approaches.

Apparently I am not the only political observer to ponder such matters. Nor I am the only person to have the temerity to actually put it in print. Washington Post writer Chris Cillizza wrote at length last Monday, “2012: The Republican party’s Gotham election.”

[…]

“That idea — that the only way to truly rebuild something is for it first bottom out — is one that some within the Republican party have begun to toy with privately as the divisions between its tea party wing and the more establishment/moderate side of the party become more and more apparent.”

Although Mr. Cillizza illustrated it better; every time you hear a Republican say that they will not support a ‘R.I.N.O.’ candidate, please understand that paradoxically you are hearing the voice of a foot soldier for the Democrats in the costume of a Republican. I mean, let me get this straight, you would really rather endure another four more years of President Obama than support a moderate candidate for office.

I would not give a rat’s behind if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton changed parties and won the Republican nomination, the only criteria for the Republican nominee for the presidential election of November 2012 is that he or she have a chance at beating President Obama at the polls.

For pity sake, forget about all the hand wringing and Exorcist-gyrations about how the liberal media is in the tank for President Obama. We get it. Now get over it because there is not a darn thing you are going to do about it - - except message control and party discipline.

And speaking of that, please do not waste anyone’s time over whether or not the media treatment of Mr. Limbaugh utterly stupid attack on Ms. Fluke was fair or unfair.

Of course it is not fair to suggest that Mr. Limbaugh speaks for rank and file Republicans any more than it is fair to suggest that the crude and vulgar attacks on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin by Bill Maher are representative of the run of the mill Democrats.

[…]

The only thing I regret about the piece is that I did not emphasize enough that the entire kerfuffle had nothing to do with the Democrat Party – President Barack Obama talking point, the "war on women." This issue, as Ron Miller said better than me, “is manufactured out of whole cloth by a Leftist messaging apparatus that is breathtaking in its coordination, its scope, and its chutzpah."

This more about the war for the women’s vote…

Nevertheless, I’ve written it before and I will repeat it now: at this point, President Barack Obama could kill a puppy on national TV and still win the election this coming November… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4959

I stand in good company with columnist George Will and especially Peggy Noonan who recently observed, “… the Republican nominee will emerge so bloodied his victory will hardly be worth having; the Republicans are delving into areas so extreme and so off point that by the end Mr. Obama will look like the moderate.”

For other columns by Kevin Dayhoff:

March 14, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Weary taxpayers and consumers, who continue to be frustrated and exhausted by an uncertain future, the ongoing economic malaise, and a ‘new economic normal,’ are in the midst of perpetuating a sea change in how business is conducted in this country.

March 7, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Rush Limbaugh and conservatives could not have looked more like total and complete idiots in the recent national discussions over the private lives of individual Americans than if the liberal media and Democrats had written the script for this Kabuki circular firing squad.

February 29, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It was a warm day last Thursday as I took a left turn off Tuttle Avenue on to 12th Street in Sarasota (FL) and tried to remember how to get into the Baltimore Orioles spring training parking lot at Ed Smith Stadium.

February 22, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The first day of Baltimore Orioles’ spring training began Sunday when the pitchers and catchers reported for the annual ritual in Sarasota, Florida.

February 15, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
There have been many tragedies of economic malaise in the last five years. Kodak’s recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy seems especially sad; and it is only fitting that we pause for a moment to pay our respects.

February 8, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Now that the Super Bowl is over there may be no better time to focus some attention on the continuing Greek tragedy that is unfolding over in the economic Twilight Zone, known as the Eurozone.

February 1, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Legislation to address how Maryland estate taxes inhibit farmers from passing-down the family farm to succeeding generations has gained some much-needed interest in the current session of the Maryland General Assembly.

January 25, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal year 2013 state budget, released a week ago, is a full menu of difficult choices. However, one of the most troubling is the lack of funding for police protection and highway user revenue for municipalities.

January 18, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The consensus continues to gather steam that the GOP nomination to challenge President Barack Obama for president this fall will be former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Perhaps all the drama now moves to who will be his choice for vice president.

January 11, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It is fairly well accepted among keen observers of national politics that the Iowa caucuses of Tuesday a week ago are much more about political and media-theater than a prognosticator of who will vie for the Oval Office this fall.

January 4, 2012
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Next Wednesday, on January 11, the 430th taxing tradition of the Maryland General Assembly opera will once again take center stage.

+++++++++++++++++++

20120319 KED seo GOP still headed for a cliff

*****

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

This week in www.thetentacle.com

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Sad Times for Eastman Kodak
Kevin E. Dayhoff
There have been many tragedies of economic malaise in the last five years. Kodak’s recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy seems especially sad; and it is only fitting that we pause for a moment to pay our respects.

Adventures in Language and Television
Tom McLaughlin
Kuching Malaysian Borneo – “Sayang, Sayang!* Porn Stars are on! Come quick, you will miss porn stars,” my bride exclaimed.


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

“Once a Catholic, Always a Catholic”
Roy Meachum
Barack Obama caught hell at Washington’s Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend. That’s not news. But Saturday the right-wingers scoffed at the president’s shift on birth control insurance, away from the position the Tea Party is founded on.

Two Out of Three IS Bad
Farrell Keough
Three candidates of interest are running for the Maryland 6th District: Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, State Del. Kathy Afzali, and State Sen. David Brinkley. Two of these candidates are running on platforms describing themselves as Constitutional Conservatives, while the third is actually running on his own record.


Monday, February 13, 2012

Health vs. Religion
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Service Kathleen Sebilius announced recently the Obama Administration's rollout of the regulations regarding the national healthcare initiative.

Fed Up? Become a Watchdog
Jill King
Is the media biased, or just getting lazy? With a new world of technology, it doesn’t take much to get the story; all you have to do is be there. Camera’s, recording devices, and flip cams are now all the rage, along with tweeting, social media, and the word press.

Too Little, Too Late
Michael Kurtianyk
Last week, the five largest providers – JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Ally Financial, Wells Fargo and Bank of America – agreed on a deal with 49 states (not Oklahoma) to settle charges of “abusive and negligent” foreclosure practices dating back to 2008.


Friday, February 10, 2012

Black Tuesday for This Democracy
Roy Meachum
Nobody expected it, especially Donald Trump. On Tuesday the week before, the super developer popped his buttons at the Nevada GOP presidential primary victory, claiming his late endorsement of ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made the sterling difference.

Obfuscation and Broken Promises
Joe Charlebois
A death sentence has been handed down this week by President Barack Obama’s administration. The United States Constitution’s First Amendment was sentenced to death.

Preparing Students for the Real World – Part 2
Amanda Haddaway
Today we continue with the responses of candidates for the Frederick County Board of Education in this year’s election to a basic question. Yesterday we posted the responses of three of them.


Thursday, February 9, 2012

Questioning the Liquor Board Request to Raise Fees
Joan Marie Aquilino
After reading a recent article titled, “Frederick police chief wants second liquor inspector” by Katherine Heerbrandt in The Gazette, it just made me wonder if we’ll ever get the full story from the Frederick Liquor Board.

Preparing Students for the Real World – Part 1
Amanda Haddaway
The race for the Frederick County Board of Education is heating up and there’s a crowded candidate field with 12 people vying for three seats. Over the next few months, candidates will be asked a variety of questions about their positions on various topics associated with Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS).

English Officially? The Debate Begins Anew
Blaine R. Young
We have heard a lot of discussion, and I am sure we will hear more, about a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to establish English as the official language for Frederick County. The Board of County Commissioners will conduct this hearing on February 21 at Winchester Hall.


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Eurozone Crisis: It is all Greek to me!
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Now that the Super Bowl is over there may be no better time to focus some attention on the continuing Greek tragedy that is unfolding over in the economic Twilight Zone, known as the Eurozone.

Mardi Gras: A Hot Date
Norman M. Covert
“It cannot be,” a learned student of pagan and religious rites said with fervor. “Mardi Gras cannot be celebrated after Fat Tuesday and ‘Trash’ Wednesday!”

Sliced Bread
Tom McLaughlin
Kuching, Malaysian Borneo – There are no “amber waves of grain” here in tropical Borneo, hence, no bread. The white air sold as “bread” in the very few stores that carry it does not even stand up to a knife spreading melted butter. It usually tears becoming an orb of gob.


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

“Carpetbagger”
Roy Meachum
Maryland Senate President Mike Miller is a piece of work. I’ve observed him since he climbed into the “upper chamber” top seat in 1987. The electoral process that year was my introduction to how brutal state politics can be.

Contradictory Evidence on Bay Pollution
Shawn Burns
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley regularly says that septic systems are “one of the biggest causes of pollution in the bay.”

Land Use Cage Match: Are You Ready for This?
Earl 'Rocky' Mackintosh
The fight rages on as the Frederick Board of County Commissioners press forward with the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Review.


Monday, February 6, 2012

The Foundering GOP Message
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus was being interviewed by CBS News Bob Schieffer on the Sunday morning political talk-fest a week ago yesterday.

Sick and Tired of Politics
Cindy A. Rose
When former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made the unrehearsed comment that he wasn’t worried about the poor, did anyone really think that’s exactly what he meant?

From a First Visit, A Lifelong Appreciation
Michael Kurtianyk
My first experience visiting a public library occurred when I was in the first grade in Syracuse, NY. I was fortunate enough to go with the second graders to our local library.

*****