20060622 Maryland State House at night

Maryland State House in Annapolis at night
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
Picture date: June 20th, 2006

20060622 KDDC Sun Reports Duncan to drop out of governor's race

Sun Reports Duncan to drop out of governor's race

June 22, 2006, 11:04 AM EDT

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-duncan0622,0,3473550.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
From the Baltimore Sun
Developing story
Duncan to drop out of governor's race

Montgomery County executive, Democratic candidate plans afternoon news conference
From Sun staff reports

June 22, 2006, 11:04 AM EDT

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan plans to announce this afternoon that he is dropping out of the race for governor, sources close to his campaign said this morning.

Duncan, a Democrat, has recently been diagnosed with clinical depression, the sources said.

Duncan has scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference in his offices in Rockville, where more details will be disclosed.

_________________

Duncan withdraws from governor's race

Democratic candidate, Montgomery County executive bows out eight months into his campaign, saying he has been suffering from clinical depression

By John Fritze,Sun Reporter

Originally published June 22, 2006, 3:00 PM EDT

"ROCKVILLE // Douglas M. Duncan, the Montgomery County Executive who has been running an underdog but energetic campaign for governor, dropped out of the race this afternoon, saying he was suffering from clinical depression. "It's difficult for me to announce that I will no longer be a candidate for governor of Maryland, but it's the best decision for me, for my family and for our state," Duncan said at a 2 p.m. press conference with family members and his running mate, former Baltimore City State's Attorney Stuart O. Simms, at his side..."

Read the rest of the story here.

####

20060622 KDDC Washington Post writer Barry Svrluga handles a heckler

Washington Post writer Barry Svrluga handles a heckler – well sorta…
June 22, 2005

If you get into blogging (or being a columnist) to soothe your demons of terminal insecurity or prop-up and appease your ego, you’re in the wrong business…

Meanwhile, I found this post funny. It exemplifies one aspect of this great experiment we call “democracy leveling” in a contemporary Jeffersonian participatory democracy - - when a Blogger “takes questions from the masses.”

I like the way that Washington Post sportswriter, Barry Svrluga, handled it…

Oh what the heck, I’ll just paste it below:

(Hat Tip:Metroblogging DC and Wonkette: “Even the sports writers at the Post aren’t safe from digital harassment. Metroblogging DC:”

It's that time of the week again, when the Post's Barry Svrluga (said sver-loo-ga) takes questions from the masses. These chats often make for some funny moments, and today's chat was no disappointment. Today's Highlight? Priceless...

“Washington, D.C.: What a great time to be a Nationals fan! Zimmerman making a run at rookie of the year, Vidro rebounding nicely, Cordero, Patterson, some of the other young pitchers and a new park in a few years!

“But of course, the big question is whether to trade Soriano. I was wondering what people involved in baseball think. Any chance you will be bringing in someone who knows the game so we can ask their opinion?

“Thanks.

“Barry Svrluga: I am trying not to take this as an insult.

“Still trying. Not working.

“Nope, not going to work. Okay. Moving on.

“Nice, Barry.”

All good mothers warned us that there would be days like this…

####

20060622 KDDC The Democratic Plan for Iraq

David Lunde photoshop
Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin and here.
Jne 22, 2006

####

20060622 KDDC How Legislators voted on SB1 Electric Rate Restructuring

How Legislators voted on SB1 Electric Rate Restructuring

SB 1 Economic Matters Report No.2, The President,
"Public Service Commission - Electric Industry Restructuring"

Voting on ON THIRD READING (Rules Suspended) (Emerg) in the House. June 14th, 2006.

And in the Senate.

####

20060622 A picture suggestion for Jamie Kelly

A picture suggestion for Jamie Kelly

June 22, 2006

A picture suggestion for Jamie Kelly’s weekly blog spot on the Carroll County Times.

Jamie Kelly, over at the Carroll County Times, knows what he is doing and has been working hard at bring the Carroll County Times into the electronic media age.

Jamie has been attempting to get a live blog thing going every Monday at 12 noon for an hour. Why not give it a try?

Meanwhile Jamie, lose the picture you have on the web-site. The Carroll County Times has some of the best photographers in the mid-Atlantic region, so what’s up with the ugly picture?

Attached above-right is an example of a better picture to put on your blog site.

Hey, just trying to be of some help.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

8:48 PM | Original KDDC Permalink

20060622 KDDC Gov Vetoes General Assemblys Electric Rate Hike Plan

Governor Ehrlich Vetoes General Assembly’s Electric Rate Hike Plan; Supports Consumer Choice Without Interest Charges

Thu 6/22/2006 3:31 PM

ANNAPOLIS – Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. today vetoed Senate Bill 1, the Maryland General Assembly’s electricity rate hike plan

####

20060622 KDDC Sun Reports Duncan to drop out of governor's race

Sun Reports Duncan to drop out of governor's race

June 22, 2006, 11:04 AM EDT

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-duncan0622,0,3473550.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
From the Baltimore Sun
Developing story
Duncan to drop out of governor's race

Montgomery County executive, Democratic candidate plans afternoon news conference
From Sun staff reports

June 22, 2006, 11:04 AM EDT

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan plans to announce this afternoon that he is dropping out of the race for governor, sources close to his campaign said this morning.

Duncan, a Democrat, has recently been diagnosed with clinical depression, the sources said.

Duncan has scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference in his offices in Rockville, where more details will be disclosed.

_________________

Duncan withdraws from governor's race

Democratic candidate, Montgomery County executive bows out eight months into his campaign, saying he has been suffering from clinical depression

By John Fritze,Sun Reporter

Originally published June 22, 2006, 3:00 PM EDT

"ROCKVILLE // Douglas M. Duncan, the Montgomery County Executive who has been running an underdog but energetic campaign for governor, dropped out of the race this afternoon, saying he was suffering from clinical depression. "It's difficult for me to announce that I will no longer be a candidate for governor of Maryland, but it's the best decision for me, for my family and for our state," Duncan said at a 2 p.m. press conference with family members and his running mate, former Baltimore City State's Attorney Stuart O. Simms, at his side..."

Read the rest of the story here.

####

20060622 KDDC MD State House

Maryland State House in Annapolis
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
June 22, 2006

20060622 KDDC MD State House at night

Maryland State House in Annapolis at night
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
Picture date: June 20th, 2006

20060621 KDDC Future issues and future elected officials in Carroll County

What are the candidates for elected office proposing for the future of Carroll County?

June 21, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

Considering that this is an election year, it looks like a portion of my social schedule will be attending political fundraisers.

I’m looking forward to attending as many political fundraisers as my pocketbook and time will allow. Besides it is well known that I like to eat.

For the most part you meet interesting folks who care about our community. I prefer to attend fundraisers as opposed to simply donating money to a particular candidate. Perhaps it is the frugal Carroll County farmer in me.

At a fundraiser I get to spend some time with exceptional community leaders who have decided to stick their necks out and give back to the community and ultimately, whether I support or not support the particular views of any specific candidate I applaud all candidates who leave the comfortable cocoon of their day-to-day lives and strive to contribute and make a difference.

Perhaps I am the eternal optimist, but I happen to think that there is no better place to live than Carroll County and things are only going to continue to get better.

The political season is young and we have time between now and the primary on September 12, 2006, however, many Carroll Countians are clamoring to hear discussions about plans and ideas about our future.

A word to the candidates, you lose me when you go negative. I don’t really care what went wrong last year or several years ago. I care about what are you going to do to continue to maintain our great Carroll County quality of life. I’m looking for the opportunities, the positive and a vision for the future.

I have no interest in personalities, although electing accessible, knowledgeable and friendly folks to be community leaders, who concentrate on the issues is always a plus.

So what are the issues? Okay, I’ll bite – here goes… Not in any particular order. And not necessarily as a function of what I agree with or disagree with for our future. Just to get the conversation started.

What will you do to bring Wi-Fi internet service to Carroll County so that we have universal access to high speed internet from one end of the county to the other. It is no longer a luxury. It is a quality of life issue. It is an economic development issue.

What will you do to bring about cable competition, so that we may have a choice?

What will you do to facilitate all folks from every corner in Carroll County having a say in government? The South Carroll, Finksburg and Mt. Airy areas of the county has grown a great deal over the last decade or so, they need to be a part of the future. Northern Carroll County has a stake in our future also.

What is your position on the municipal incorporation of Finksburg and Eldersburg? The best government is that government that is closest to the people we serve and many feel it would be better if folks from the Finksburg and Eldersburg area made many of their own decisions.

What are your proposals about the ensuring future supplies of water and wastewater treatment facilities in the county?

What is the future of solid waste management? What are your thoughts about waste-to-energy and generating electricity with our trash as opposed to hauling it out of the county and dumping it into a landfill?

What is the future of taxation in Carroll County? As demands for services and infrastructure improvements continue to rise, how are we going to pay for it and what do you propose to do about the increasing burden of residential property taxes?

What are your proposals for attracting economic development and jobs to Carroll County? Not only for the tax base, but to provide local employment for Carroll Countians.

What are your thoughts about expanding the opportunities provided by the Carroll County Regional Airport?

What are your proposals for future recreation opportunities for Carroll Countians?

Most everyone agrees in the importance of agricultural land preservation but what are your proposals to sustain the viability and future success of agriculture?

What is the future of public safety? What are your proposals to ensure adequate fire, emergency medical and police protection?

What will you do to develop workforce – affordable housing?

What your thoughts on ensuring an appropriate social welfare safety net for our neighbors who hit a bump in the road on the highway of life? What will you do to prevent and treat drug and alcohol abuse?

Talk with us about the future of schools and education? What will you do ensure adequate classrooms and continue the high quality of our schools? Tell us your plans for Carroll Community College?

What is the best future government of our county? Code Home Rule? Five commissioners? Charter government? The same form of government we currently have?

What will you do to facilitate appropriate, inclusive, civil and productive dialogue about our future?

What are your thoughts? I am considering making the subject of the issues that need to be discussed in the upcoming election season to be the topic of an upcoming Westminster Eagle column and I will appreciate your feedback so that the column may be as comprehensive as possible.

One last word on fundraisers: Alright, two words: Ice Cream.

Oh, and a word to candidates, I’ll be more than happy to post your response to this blogpost on kevindayhoff.com. E-mail me your thoughts and visions for Carroll County and I will put them up on the web-site – unedited - regardless of political affiliation or whether I agree or disagree.

Thanks a bunch.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060621 Future issues and future elected officials in Carroll County

What are the candidates for elected office proposing for the future of Carroll County?

June 21, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

Considering that this is an election year, it looks like a portion of my social schedule will be attending political fundraisers.

I’m looking forward to attending as many political fundraisers as my pocketbook and time will allow. Besides it is well known that I like to eat.

For the most part you meet interesting folks who care about our community. I prefer to attend fundraisers as opposed to simply donating money to a particular candidate. Perhaps it is the frugal Carroll County farmer in me.

At a fundraiser I get to spend some time with exceptional community leaders who have decided to stick their necks out and give back to the community and ultimately, whether I support or not support the particular views of any specific candidate I applaud all candidates who leave the comfortable cocoon of their day-to-day lives and strive to contribute and make a difference.

Perhaps I am the eternal optimist, but I happen to think that there is no better place to live than Carroll County and things are only going to continue to get better.

The political season is young and we have time between now and the primary on September 12, 2006, however, many Carroll Countians are clamoring to hear discussions about plans and ideas about our future.

A word to the candidates, you lose me when you go negative. I don’t really care what went wrong last year or several years ago. I care about what are you going to do to continue to maintain our great Carroll County quality of life. I’m looking for the opportunities, the positive and a vision for the future.

I have no interest in personalities, although electing accessible, knowledgeable and friendly folks to be community leaders, who concentrate on the issues is always a plus.

So what are the issues? Okay, I’ll bite – here goes… Not in any particular order. And not necessarily as a function of what I agree with or disagree with for our future. Just to get the conversation started.

What will you do to bring Wi-Fi internet service to Carroll County so that we have universal access to high speed internet from one end of the county to the other. It is no longer a luxury. It is a quality of life issue. It is an economic development issue.

What will you do to bring about cable competition, so that we may have a choice?

What will you do to facilitate all folks from every corner in Carroll County having a say in government? The South Carroll, Finksburg and Mt. Airy areas of the county has grown a great deal over the last decade or so, they need to be a part of the future. Northern Carroll County has a stake in our future also.

What is your position on the municipal incorporation of Finksburg and Eldersburg? The best government is that government that is closest to the people we serve and many feel it would be better if folks from the Finksburg and Eldersburg area made many of their own decisions.

What are your proposals about the ensuring future supplies of water and wastewater treatment facilities in the county?

What is the future of solid waste management? What are your thoughts about waste-to-energy and generating electricity with our trash as opposed to hauling it out of the county and dumping it into a landfill?

What is the future of taxation in Carroll County? As demands for services and infrastructure improvements continue to rise, how are we going to pay for it and what do you propose to do about the increasing burden of residential property taxes?

What are your proposals for attracting economic development and jobs to Carroll County? Not only for the tax base, but to provide local employment for Carroll Countians.

What are your thoughts about expanding the opportunities provided by the Carroll County Regional Airport?

What are your proposals for future recreation opportunities for Carroll Countians?

Most everyone agrees in the importance of agricultural land preservation but what are your proposals to sustain the viability and future success of agriculture?

What is the future of public safety? What are your proposals to ensure adequate fire, emergency medical and police protection?

What will you do to develop workforce – affordable housing?

What your thoughts on ensuring an appropriate social welfare safety net for our neighbors who hit a bump in the road on the highway of life? What will you do to prevent and treat drug and alcohol abuse?

Talk with us about the future of schools and education? What will you do ensure adequate classrooms and continue the high quality of our schools? Tell us your plans for Carroll Community College?

What is the best future government of our county? Code Home Rule? Five commissioners? Charter government? The same form of government we currently have?

What will you do to facilitate appropriate, inclusive, civil and productive dialogue about our future?

What are your thoughts? I am considering making the subject of the issues that need to be discussed in the upcoming election season to be the topic of an upcoming Westminster Eagle column and I will appreciate your feedback so that the column may be as comprehensive as possible.

One last word on fundraisers: Alright, two words: Ice Cream.

Oh, and a word to candidates, I’ll be more than happy to post your response to this blogpost on kevindayhoff.com. E-mail me your thoughts and visions for Carroll County and I will put them up on the web-site – unedited - regardless of political affiliation or whether I agree or disagree.

Thanks a bunch.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060620 KDDC Public Hearing Photo Gallery

20060620 KDDC Photo of the MGA’s attempts to mitigate the 72 % electric rate increase

June 20^th, 2006

This is a photograph of the Maryland General Assembly’s attempts to mitigate the 72 % electric rate increase as a result of the 1999 “Electric Utility Industry Restructuring” – SB 300.

The locomotive is named “Senate Bill 1.”

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060620 KDDC Pat Warren fails to come through with Food at Public hearing

Pat Warren fails to come through with Food at Public hearing

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Pat Warren at the press table, for part of Tuesday evening’s public hearing on the Maryland General Assembly’s attempt to mitigate electricity rates, June 20, 2006 from 3 p.m. until 9:15 p.m. in the Governor’s Reception Room in the Maryland State House.

It may silly to say, considering that it was, after-all, a six hour hearing, but it was a long hearing.

Ms. Warren, who has been with WJZ, Channel 13 in Baltimore, since 1993, was her usual very serious self, and very focused on listening intently to all 59 folks who testified at the hearing.

As all the lights for all the television cameras bore on, the room got hot...

As the afternoon gave way to the evening and way past the dinner hour, my thoughts, of course, turned to food.

Knowing that Ms. Warren’s WJZ web site bio explains that for her, an ideal job would be a “cruise ship director,” that she likes to cook, and that her favorite food is “edible” - - I figured that she would be up for some tension-relieving, good natured ribbing.

Soooo, I suggested that she get food for all the press corps. That got a good natured rise out of her and I continued to ask for her food for the balance of the evening.

She was a great sport, but nevertheless, did not come through with food, even after I called Mike Schuh for back-up. He wasn’t available, but the above picture was taken in the middle of me razing her over food at a break in the action at the hearing.

Hey Mike, where were you when I needed ya?

Pat, you were fun. Keep up the great work. Next time, bring food.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060620 KDDC MGA Spec Session June 15 2006 - A review

MGA Spec Session June 15 2006

June 20^th, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

Unless you have been on vacation for several weeks, by now you are aware that the Maryland General Assembly met in Special Session on June Thursday, June 15^th, 2006 and passed Senate Bill 1: “Public Service Commission - Electric Industry Restructuring.”

The bill was introduced as emergency legislation, by the President of the Senate and the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, with little input from the governor’s administration, the Maryland Public Service Commission or Constellation Energy…

The introduction synopsis for the bill reads:

“Limiting the increase in electricity rates in a specified service territory for a specified period; requiring specified electric companies to obtain electricity supply for extended standard offer service to specified customers in specified manners; authorizing the Public Service Commission (PSC) to take specified actions concerning competitive auctions and implementation of electricity rates; altering the criteria for appointment to the PSC and the method of appointment of the People's Counsel; etc.”

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. announced on June 15^th, 2006, that he would hold a public hearing on the Maryland General Assembly’s attempt to mitigate rising electricity costs for Baltimore Gas & Electric customers.

I attended the public hearing this evening. All six hours of it. Now I’m trying to make sense out of 34 pages of notes and just as many pages of copies of written testimony.

I thought that I would start with information gathered on the special session and proceed from there. I figured that as long as I was going through this process, I would share it on “kevindayhoff.com.”

Persistently, throughout the testimony of 59 citizens, my thoughts drifted back to several pieces that I had read in recent weeks.

One place in which I started was: “20060614 KDDC Lights Out, the second shoe:”

If you have not had a chance to read Jamie Smith Hopkins' article in the Sun the other day; find time to read it. She covered how this Maryland General Assembly continues to be disastrous for Marylanders.

Jamie Smith Hopkins continues to be one of the Baltimore Sun's best writers.

Much of Maryland's "industry" and employment is government. However, not everyone can work for the government. Government pays no taxes, it only consumes taxes.

So who is left to pay the bills? The answer is you and me. And if Maryland continues to perpetuate its anti-business reputation, "you and me" are going to only have to pay higher and higher taxes as business continues to flee of find somewhere else to establish and grow.

---

Legislature makes businesses uneasy

Business leaders are concerned that lawmakers keep doing things to create an unfriendly climate

By Jamie Smith Hopkins

Sun reporter

Originally published June 14, 2006

Be sure to read the rest of Ms. Hopkins' article here.

The piece in the Wall Street Journal, to which Ms. Hopkins refers has been hard to find for me. However, I did manage to find it on the "Howard County Blog." I have pasted below the Howard County Blog's entry from April 18th, 2006:

_________________

S. A. Miller, who used to write for the Carroll County Times, a number of years ago; wrote another good article on the anti-business aspect of all of this in the Washington Times, on June 5^th, 2006: “Moves on BGE Wal-Mart bad for business.”

_________________

Also see: “20060523 KDDC BE editorial MD legislators fail basic economics.”

_________________

And: “20060405 Omnibus Rolling Blackout Acts of 2006.”

20060405 Omnibus Rolling Blackout Acts of 2006

April 5, 2006 By Kevin Dayhoff

“In my Tentacle columns of April 4^th, 2006 and April 5^th, 2006, I referred to the “recent surge of Maryland General Assembly legislative initiatives in response to the end of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s electric rate price freeze … as the “Omnibus Rolling Blackout Acts of 2006.”

Much is left to be accomplished with the time remaining in the tumultuous 421st legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly - now mercifully measured in days.

Although, for many, the 421st legislative session cannot end soon enough…”

_________________

Hagerstown Herald-Mail Editorial: Questions for Lawmakers

An editorial in the June 8^th, 2006 Hagerstown Herald-Mail correctly aims questions at Senate President Mike Miller, as well as members of the General Assembly, about Mike Miller and the General Assembly's responsibilities for Maryland's deregulation debacle. It begins:

“If the members of the Maryland General Assembly have any sense of responsibility to their constituents, they will answer the following questions before a special session opens next week:

If you were in the legislature in 1999, why did you believe electricity deregulation was a good idea?

And, if you have served in Annapolis since then, why did it take you so long to figure out that deregulation wasn't working out as planned?

The first person who should be called on to answer those questions is Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who was co-sponsor of his chamber's version of the electricity restructuring bill.”

Read the rest of the Hagerstown Herald-Mail’s editorial "Questions for Lawmakers" here:

_________________

And last, but certainly not least is Barry Rascovar’s column in the Gazette: “What a sham!”

This column appears in the Friday, June 16, 2006 edition of the Gazette.

“Legislators patted themselves on the back for a job well done. Yet the flimflam we witnessed this week doesn’t hold up under close inspection. The details and long-range impact of the Democratic legislature’s answer to the electric rate increase controversy show that consumers are being conned.”

Read the rest here.

_________________

I’ve got my work cut out for me…

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

####

20060619 KDDC The Zurich Television Commercials

The Zurich Television Commercials

I like television commercials. Consistently, some of the best art on TV is found in the commercials.

Recently I have noticed the commercials for Zurich insurance, “Because change happenz,” I finally found a still-detail from the video and I have pasted it above…

(The Zurich web site explains that “Zurich Financial Services Group go back to the 19th century. Founded in 1872…”)

The web site for Zurich reports that the “the theme of Zurich's latest TV and print advertising campaign, centers on Zurich's ability to actively evaluate change. Now and in the future customers know they will get more innovative, relevant, contemporary and secure solutions.”

The visual art is certainly well executed, but what has me really intrigued is the music. Recently I went on the web to see if I could out more about the music.

So far I have not found anything about the music, but I found the commercial in English - - and the German version of the commercial. The German version is even more fascinating visually.

Click here for the English version and click here for the German version. It will take you to a site called "vividas," where you can choose what bandwidth you are on...

The German version brought back memories of many years ago, the Black and Decker annual stockholder meetings were held in Hampstead and one of the highlights of the meeting was when they would play their latest foreign commercials.

“Visit4info.com,” a British web site explains the German ad: “As the narrator talks about what happens about change in different situations the images are show to represent what is happing. First a bizarre product launch is shown going global, then a snowboarder is shown to be an older man. Next cars are shown driving through a junction with out stopping, and avoiding each other all because they use a GPS system, and ends with a shop literally changing it's business model in front of your eyes.”

And the same web site gives some of the commercial’s credits: “Ad location Creative agency Publicis Creative Sacha Moser, Tim Hoppin TV Producer Daniela Berther Production Co Stink, Smuggler (USA) Director Stylewar Producer Mungo Maclagan Photography Mungo Maclagan Post Production Method (California) Uploaded 04 Mar 2006”

Another Zurich commercial for Britain features flying pigs. I kid you not. It is quite a hoot. Go here to view the video. (Oh, once you get to the web page, hit the “Play Ad” button. (There is a “Download button," but they want to charge you “£2 per download.”)

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060619 The Zurich Television Commercials

The Zurich Television Commercials

June 19, 2006 [Updated October 12^th, 2006]

I like television commercials. Consistently, some of the best art on TV is found in the commercials.

Recently I have noticed the commercials for Zurich insurance, “Because change happenz,” I finally found a still-detail from the video and I have pasted it above…

(The Zurich web site explains that “Zurich Financial Services Group go back to the 19th century. Founded in 1872…”)

The web site for Zurich reports that the “the theme of Zurich's latest TV and print advertising campaign, centers on Zurich's ability to actively evaluate change. Now and in the future customers know they will get more innovative, relevant, contemporary and secure solutions.”

The visual art is certainly well executed, but what has me really intrigued is the music. Recently I went on the web to see if I could out more about the music.

So far I have not found anything about the music, but I found the commercial in English - - and the German version of the commercial. The German version is even more fascinating visually.

Click here for the English version and click here for the German version. It will take you to a site called "vividas," where you can choose what bandwidth you are on...

The German version brought back memories of many years ago, the Black and Decker annual stockholder meetings were held in Hampstead and one of the highlights of the meeting was when they would play their latest foreign commercials.

“Visit4info.com,” a British web site explains the German ad: “As the narrator talks about what happens about change in different situations the images are show to represent what is happing. First a bizarre product launch is shown going global, then a snowboarder is shown to be an older man. Next cars are shown driving through a junction with out stopping, and avoiding each other all because they use a GPS system, and ends with a shop literally changing it's business model in front of your eyes.”

And the same web site gives some of the commercial’s credits: “Ad location Creative agency Publicis Creative Sacha Moser, Tim Hoppin TV Producer Daniela Berther Production Co Stink, Smuggler (USA) Director Stylewar Producer Mungo Maclagan Photography Mungo Maclagan Post Production Method (California) Uploaded 04 Mar 2006”

Another Zurich commercial for Britain features flying pigs. I kid you not. It is quite a hoot. Go here to view the video. (Oh, once you get to the web page, hit the “Play Ad” button. (There is a “Download button," but they want to charge you “£2 per download.”)

Because … happens: Warum verarbeitet mein Gehirn bei diesem Werbespruch der Zürich-Versicherung nur jedes Mal genau ein Wort falsch anders?

Auf der Zürich-Webseite gibt es die (wie ich finde recht gelungene) Printwerbung sowie den TV-Spot (auch auf englisch).

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org http://www.thetentacle.com/ Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/ www.kevindayhoff.com has moved to http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20060618 KDDC Mary Cheney Robert Smith and DC Metro Trains

Mary Cheney Robert Smith and DC Metro Trains

June 18^th, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

What in the world does Mary Cheney, former Washington Area Transit Authority board member Robert J. Smith, the planet Romulax, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and running trains have to do with one another?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Let’s edge into this to bizarre story slowly and ever so carefully. Playing the song, "Sinking," by "The Cure," while you read this, is optional.

First off; “Dick Cheney's daughter (Mary Cheney) was a campaign aide for her father during the 2000 and 2004 elections. The fact that she is a lesbian put a distinctive spin on the experience. She has a new memoir: Now It's My Turn.” (Fresh Air from WHYY, June 13, 2006)

On Sunday, June 11, Robert J. Smith referred to homosexuality as ‘‘social deviancy” during a political round-table discussion on a Montgomery County Channel 21 cable show.

I’m not making this up…

Mr. Smith, an architect from Gaithersburg is a regular panelist for 12 years on the Access Montgomery cable show, “21 This Week.” The show’s producer, Rodney Bryant, identified him as the “Republican activist” representative on the program.

Mr. Smith, (no relation to Ann Coulter, the scream Howard Dean, the Dixie Chicks or the Robert Smith that is in “The Cure,”) is also a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board member. (“The Cure” is a band “made up of 5 aliens from the planet Romulax.”)

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich appointed Mr. Smith to the board in 2003.

The Maryland and Virginia governor and the Washington D.C. mayor each get to appoint two voting members to the Metro board. They are paid $21,000 a year.

According to a published article in the Baltimore Sun, Mr. Smith hid behind his religion as an excuse for his inappropriate outburst: “…Smith said that he stood by his beliefs, which he said stemmed from his Roman Catholic faith, and insisted that he would not resign unless ordered by the governor…”

Ay caramba, hasn’t there been enough intolerance and injustice committed in the name of religion…

Oh, Robert Smith of “The Cure,” was also raised Catholic… I wonder if he shares Robert J. Smith’s views?

Anyway, last Thursday, June 15^th, 2006, Governor Ehrlich fired him. File this under stupid career moves for Mr. Smith, who has in the past, been an “unsuccessful Republican candidate for the General Assembly from Montgomery County,” according to published accounts.

The governor is to be applauded for swiftly taking action. Hopefully, this moment of dyspepsia will have the shelf-life of a carton of milk.

Mr. Smith’s rights to free speech have not been trampled. The governor merely afforded Mr. Smith the chance to spew his venom as a private citizen, free from the encumbrances of public office.

According to an account by the Washington Post, on the Sunday, June 11 show, Mr. Smith worked hard to be obnoxious with his intolerant views.

“… Smith interrupted another speaker who was talking about federalism and Vice President Cheney's daughter. The speaker said Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, would not want the government interfering in her life, according to a recording of that portion of the show… ‘That's fine, that's fine,’ Smith interrupted. ‘But that doesn't mean that government should proffer a special place of entitlement within the laws of the United States for persons of sexual deviancy.’”

Only the Good Lord knows why people need to bring up the vice-president’s daughter. She holds no public office, elected or appointed and she does not make public policy.

And can someone puh-leeze explain to me why I should care that Mary Cheney is gay?

When vice presidential candidate North Caroline Senator John Edwards raised the issue of the vice president’s daughter in the 2004 presidential election debates, many rolled their eyes. The rule of classier political practitioners is leave the family out of it.

But apparently Mary Cheney doesn’t need anyone to chivalrously come to her defense. She can do that quite well on her own. According to May 10, 2006 article in “Canada.com,” Ms. Cheney refers to the “former Vice presidential candidate John Edwards a "total slimeball" for mentioning her sexuality during the vice presidential debates.”

As reported on the blog, “Raw Story,” “According to Canada.com's account of Mary Cheney's book: ‘Sitting in the studio audience when Edwards mentioned her sexual orientation, Cheney said she looked at the vice-presidential candidate and mouthed the words 'Go (*) Yourself' a phrase her father had earlier employed against Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy.’”

Considering the recent racist remarks about MD Lt. Governor Michael Steele and the subsequent profound silence of the Democratic leadership, it’s good to see this governor, stand up for the right thing and state that Mr. Smith’s comments are unacceptable in his administration.

As far as Mary Cheney; it would appear that she can defend herself, perfectly fine.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

For a profile of Mary Cheney by Hank Stuever, Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Page C01: “What Everybody Doesn't Know About Mary Cheney,” go here.

The entire post from the Raw Story is pasted below:

After Cheney's daughter calls Edwards 'slimeball,' Edwards spokeswoman says Cheneys are 'wonderful role models'

RAW STORY

Published: Wednesday May 10, 2006

After Vice President Cheney's daughter dubbed former Vice presidential candidate John Edwards a "total slimeball" for mentioning her sexuality during the vice presidential debates, Edwards' spokeswoman responded to RAW STORY, calling the Cheneys "wonderful role models."

"Senator Edwards continues to believe, as he said in the vice presidential debate when the issue was raised, that the Cheneys have been wonderful role models for the millions of parents around the country who love their children unconditionally," Kim Rubey, Edwards' spokeswoman for his One America political action committee said.

The scathing comments by Mary Cheney, Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, were published in a Canada.com article and caught by Washington blogger John Aravosis.

According to Canada.com's account of Mary Cheney's book: "Sitting in the studio audience when Edwards mentioned her sexual orientation, Cheney said she looked at the vice-presidential candidate and mouthed the words 'Go F* Yourself' a phrase her father had earlier employed against Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy."

READ THE FULL CANADA.COM ARTICLE HERE, and ARAVOSIS' COMMENTS HERE.