The Tentacle year in review
Tentacle columns by Kevin E. Dayhoff in 2007
The Tentacle posts on “Soundtrack.”
The Tentacle on “New Bedford Herald”
December 31, 2007
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Biography
December 26, 2007
A Christmas Tragedy
Kevin E. Dayhoff
We are all mourning this Christmas season after last Wednesday’s senseless death of Smithsburg police officer Christopher Shane Nicholson, 25.
December 19, 2007
Playing “The War on Christmas” Card
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Fortunately, this year in “The War on Christmas,” no overwhelming weapons of mass Christmas destruction have materialized and it appears that Christmas is winning. And that’s a good thing.
December 12, 2007
The Writers Strike and Christmas
Kevin E. Dayhoff
For those who are fans of early television, especially old Christmas movies and holiday specials, the strike by The Writers Guild of America, which began November 5, may have a temporary silver lining.
December 7, 2007
Operation Christmas Tree
Kevin E. Dayhoff
How do you ship 5,000 two-foot live Christmas trees to a war zone? Early last Saturday morning over 300 volunteers figured it out as they braved the wind and cold and turned out for “Operation Christmas Tree” at the Carroll County Agriculture Center.
December 5, 2007
The President and Community Initiatives
Kevin E. Dayhoff
To commemorate World AIDS Day last Friday, President George W. Bush and his wife Laura met with representatives of faith-based groups in a roundtable discussion at Calvary United Methodist Church in Mount Airy.
November 29, 2007
What a Difference a Year Makes – Part 2
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In yesterday’s column I wrote that with the passage of this tax package by the General Assembly, there are now more than ever two Marylands: a rural Maryland that exists to provide quality of life and common sense for the other Maryland – the urbanized areas where reason and common sense have taken a holiday.
November 28, 2007
What a Difference a Year Makes – Part 1
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The ink had hardly dried on Gov. Martin O’Malley’s signature on November 19 when the peripatetic gerbils powering the Maryland media spin machines went into high gear.
November 21, 2007
Taxarians at the Gate
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Happy Thanksgiving. We have so many things for which to be thankful. The first of which is our men and women in uniform who continue to perform admirably in difficult circumstances.
November 14, 2007
Frederick and The Geography of Nowhere
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The alarm has been sounded, “Starbucks is coming. Starbucks is coming.” No word yet as to whether or not a “coffee party” has been organized to dump coffee grounds into Carroll Creek.
November 11, 2007
Veterans Day: “The Wall” at 25
Kevin E. Dayhoff
This year Veterans Day is also the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall in Washington. The Memorial, well known as “The Wall,” was dedicated November 13, 1982.
November 7, 2007
The Ever Green Fund
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Friday, the House Environmental Matters Committee in the Maryland General Assembly held a hearing on House Bill 23, the “Maryland Green Fund.”
October 31, 2007
Trick or Treat
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Happy Halloween! Of course, for Marylanders, Halloween came early this year when Gov. Martin O'Malley appeared Monday evening before a joint session of Maryland General Assembly with a very big trick or treat bag.
October 24, 2007
Blackwater USA
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The founder of Blackwater USA, Erik Prince, is famous for being media averse. However in the last year, especially since the Democratic Party achieved majority status in the United States Congress, Mr. Prince's name is slowly becoming a household word.
October 17, 2007
The Shipwreck Known as SCHIP
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In 1997 the Republican controlled Congress enacted the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) - a joint federal and state government initiative that provides low-cost health insurance for children of lower income families.
October 10, 2007
Citizen-Soldier Awarded Bronze Star
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Many of us are extremely proud to learn that Command Sergeant Major Tom Beyard, formerly of Hagerstown, was awarded the Bronze Star in a recent ceremony at the Task Force Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot in Kuwait.
October 3, 2007
It all began with President Harry Truman
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Sixty years ago, on October 5, 1947, an American president delivered a speech live on television.
September 26, 2007
The Priceless Right to Free Speech
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It has certainly been an interesting week for the exercise of our sacred right to freedom of speech in the United States. Various recent developments in this most cherished of rights provided a rich target environment for the news media, constitutional scholars, and pundits alike.
September 19, 2007
Iraq: Into the Heart of Darkness
Kevin E. Dayhoff
For those who have grown weary of the longest presidential campaign in history and the war in Iraq, last week was long and bewildering.
September 12, 2007
Jack Molesworth touched many lives
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Jack Molesworth as FHS coach
Ever since John E. "Jack" Molesworth, 80, a Western Maryland College graduate, accomplished Frederick and Carroll County area football coach and educator, died August 31 at Frederick Memorial Hospital from injuries from a fall, accolades and tributes have poured in from community leaders about the life accomplishments of this great man.
September 5, 2007
Mount Airy: The Little Town That Could
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In the early morning hours of last Sunday, the town of Mount Airy was rudely awakened just past 4 A.M. to a three-alarm fire. Hardly anything strikes fear in the heart of a community as does a major fire.
August 29, 2007
"The Crocodile Dundee Factor"
Kevin E. Dayhoff
September 15 is fast approaching. That's when Gen. David H. Petraeus will give his report to Congress on the progress in the war in Iraq.
August 22, 2007
Edward Hopper: Poet of the ordinary
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks," 1942, oil on canvas, depicts a voyeuristic portrayal of ambiguous urban alienation and impersonalization as three customers and a soda jerk spend time together in the harsh glare of artificial light in the middle of the night.
The voyeuristic stark world of American Scene realist artist Edward Hopper was recently displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
August 15, 2007
The Subprime Mortgage Mania Mess
Kevin E. Dayhoff
After several weeks of Wall Street volatility, it appears that the market has hopefully finally exhaled and calmed down.
August 8, 2007
Playing Chess with God
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last week the world of cinematography lost two of its great artisans in one day. On July 30 Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and Italian modernist film director Michelangelo Antonioni passed away.
August 1, 2007
"They don't know what we did"
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Forty years ago local and national newspaper headlines leaped ominously from the page as Cambridge, Maryland, erupted in fire and violence.
July 25, 2007
Viva la bicyclette!
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Today, as you are reading this, over in France and a small portion of Spain, the 94th Tour de France is in Stage 16.
July 18, 2007
Lady Bird Johnson - Steel Magnolia
Kevin E. Dayhoff
A week ago today, Lady Bird Johnson, the celebrated wife of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, passed away at age 94.
July 11, 2007
"90 Seconds"
Kevin E. Dayhoff
It was nothing short of cruel irony that I happened to be on a guided tour of the United States Military Academy at West Point on the very day The New York Times editorialized for the United States to unconditionally surrender in Iraq. It was this past Sunday.
July 4, 2007
Happy Fourth of July
Kevin E. Dayhoff
As we spend time with friends and family to celebrate the Fourth of July today, take a moment to ponder just how fortunate we really are in our great nation.
June 27, 2007
Striking a Blow for Free Speech
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Many are singing high praise of the Supreme Court's decision handed down Monday which took a bite out of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.
June 20, 2007
Earmarks: A Bridge to Bankruptcy
Kevin E. Dayhoff
After months of bitter fighting, the surge on "earmarks," our own homegrown version of economic terrorism, continues to meet stiff resistance.
June 13, 2007
The Fragging of Gen. Peter Pace
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced last Friday that he will recommend Adm. Mike Mullen, the current chief of naval operations to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - and not Gen. Peter Pace.
June 6, 2007
Tomorrow's Leaders Today
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Graduation season is upon us and this is the time many of us get some emersion exposure in the values and attitudes of our youngest generation, who are about to assume future leadership positions.
May 30, 2007
A Pain in the Gas
Kevin E. Dayhoff
With the Memorial Day weekend behind us, so begins the summer driving season. Increasingly a critical part of the summer getaway calculus is congested roadways and the cost of gasoline.
May 28, 2007
The Silence of Joseph W. Blickenstaff
Kevin E. Dayhoff
For many people, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer. But hopefully you will take time out today to remember the greater meaning of Memorial Day - especially at a time when our great nation has more than 253,000 men and women in uniform deployed away from their families and loved ones - in nearly 80 countries oversees.
May 23, 2007
Gates Encourages Public Service
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In his keynote graduation address Sunday, U. S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates challenged the 2007 graduates of the College of William and Mary to serve the greater good of the nation by voting, volunteering, and participating in public service.
May 16, 2007
Hate Crimes' Slippery Slope
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On May 3rd the U. S. House of Representatives voted 237 to 180 to pass H.R. 1592, the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act."
May 9, 2007
Déjà Vu, All Over Again
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Our Congress is embarking on yet another curious and quixotic adventure, almost like the movie "Ground Hog Day." This time it is again delving into a perilous journey to develop a cogent approach to immigration reform.
May 2, 2007
The Legacy of Whittaker Chambers
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On Monday evening, a tragic fire destroyed a circa-1850 barn on the historic Whittaker Chambers "Pumpkin Patch" farm just north or Westminster in Carroll County.
April 25, 2007
Boris Yeltsin, Dead at 76
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Best known for standing on a tank in the middle of Moscow and almost single-handedly defying a coup in 1991, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin is the same person who just two years earlier had fished himself out of a river clad only in his underwear.
April 18, 2007
One Who Listens
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Demonstrators recently gathered at Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's Frederick office to theatrically illustrate their unhappiness over his vote on the emergency Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental funding legislation.
April 11, 2007
Press' Grand Dame Coming to McDaniel
Kevin E. Dayhoff
A curmudgeon without peer, a celebrated author, a reporter who covered the White House through nine presidents, and now a columnist with the Hearst organization, Helen Thomas could easily be called the press' grand dame.
April 4, 2007
Dems declare war on Mormon Crickets
Kevin E. Dayhoff
As a result of the Democrats' quick action in Congress in the last few weeks, Americans may soon rest easy in the knowledge that we will be saved from the true terrorists in our world today - Mormon crickets.
March 28, 2007
Diminished By Their Passing
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Conservative political commentator Cathy Seipp passed away a week ago at the far-too-young-age of 49. In a cruel irony, a non-smoker, she died of lung cancer after a five-year battle with the disease.
March 21, 2007
Crossing the River - Together
Kevin E. Dayhoff
At 2 o'clock on March 23, 1642, in "St. Maries," now known as St. Mary's City, Mathius de Sousa took his seat in the Maryland General Assembly along with Leonard Calvert, the first governor of Maryland, and 37 other distinguished gentlemen.
March 14, 2007
Bowling Brook: A Sad Tale
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On January 23 one of the very young men that Bowling Brook Preparatory Academy had tried so hard to mold into a lifetime of hope and a future, 17-year-old Isaiah Simmons III, died at the school.
March 7, 2007
Who is Leonard Peltier?
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Among all the recent breaking news as to who is the real father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby and Britney Spears' latest hairdo and tattoo, presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama, of Illinois, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, of New York, erupted into a major food fight of kindergarten proportions.
February 28, 2007
"Remember the Maine"
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Essentially unnoticed a couple of weeks ago was the anniversary of a dark day in American history that in its day was considered by our great grandparents as horrific as Pearl Harbor or 9/11.
February 21, 2007
Hanlon's Razor
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Friday and Saturday, the Democrats in Congress took another step in a desperate attempt to assure our defeat in Iraq and ultimately threaten our national security at home.
February 14, 2007
Gauging A Presidential Legacy
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Recently political pundits have spent a great deal of effort pondering the legacy of President George W. Bush. Of course, those of us who consider ourselves to be students of history understand that history needs much more time and distance in order to accurately gauge the legacy and historical impact of any particular president.
February 12, 2007
The Great Maryland Electric War
Kevin E. Dayhoff
With a Democratic governor in the statehouse, Ken Schisler out of the way, and the proposed merger of Constellation Energy and Florida Light and Power stopped, it would appear that the Democrat controlled Maryland General Assembly has succeeded with most of its election goals from last year's gubernatorial contest.
February 7, 2007
The Electrocution of Ken Schisler
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On January 29 Public Service Commission Chairman Ken Schisler resigned. Appointed just after the Ehrlich administration moved into the second floor of the statehouse, Mr. Schisler decided not to serve the remaining year of his five-year term.
January 31, 2007
Who was Deborah Orin-Eilbeck?
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Saturday, the New York Post's Washington bureau chief, Deborah Orin-Eilbeck, passed away. Published accounts noted that she died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of stomach cancer.
January 24, 2007
The State of the Union Address
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Perhaps not since Matt Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal a couple of days before President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address in January 1998 has there been such an anticipated annual address by an American president.
January 17, 2007
"NUTS!"
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Thursday President George W. Bush addressed the nation with his long awaited "New Way Forward in Iraq."
January 10, 2007
"A Message to Speaker Pelosi"
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Last Wednesday our nation witnessed an historic first when California Rep. Nancy Pelosi was elected to be the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives.
January 3, 2007
Castro Watch
Kevin E. Dayhoff
We have many things to look forward to in 2007 and certainly at the top of the list is the eventual demise of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
20071231 The Tentacle year in review: Tentacle columns by Kevin E. Dayhoff in 2007
