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

Sunday, October 07, 2007

20071006 Katie Couric praises Attila


Katie Couric praises Attila

October 6th, 2007

“Happy Anniversary Attila! Luv ya man,” praised an effusive Ms. Couric as news of the Pillage Idiot’s third anniversary was received with accolades from all over the globe.

Attila over at the Pillage Idiot has been enlightening readers now since October 5th, 2004. We have now delightfully enjoyed his work for three years.

Accolades have poured-in from all over the universe, but here at Soundtrack, we were especially touched by Katie Couric’s heartfelt best wishes…

Happy Birthday Attila.

####

20071006 Scrappleface: CIA May Threaten Detainees with Senate Hearings

Scott Ott – Scrappleface: CIA May Threaten Detainees with Senate Hearings



by Scott Ott (2007-10-06)



According a newly-leaked top-secret document published in The New York Times ‘Classified’ section today, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has employed controversial methods to extract information from terror suspects, including threats to put the detainee in front of a Senate committee for further interrogation.


If true, it means that U.S. agents may be using a technique “tantamount to torture,” an unnamed source told the Times.


“I’ve seen those Senate hearings on TV,” the source said. “I’d rather be waterboarded, slapped about the head and assaulted with high-volume Britney Spears music while confined to a meat locker.




20071008 CCBOC Agenda for the week of October 8, 2007

Carroll County Board of Commissioners Agenda for the Week of October 8, 2007

Please Note: This weekly agenda is subject to change. Please call 410-386-2043 to confirm a meeting you plan to attend. All meetings will be held at the Carroll County Office Building

Room 311. (Unless otherwise noted)

  • Indicates Outside Activities

Monday – October 8, 2007

Columbus Day Holiday ~ County Offices Closed

5:00 p.m. 30th Annual Continuing Education Fair

Westminster High School

Commissioner Zimmer

Tuesday – October 9, 2007

9:00 a.m. Grand Re-Opening of the Hap Baker Firearms Facility

Westminster, MD

Commissioners Gouge, Minnich & Zimmer

10:00 a.m. Board of County Commissioners Open Session

Fall 2007 Amendment Cycle ~ Carroll County Master Plan for Water & Sewerage

Department of Planning ~ Mr. Steve Horn

Proposed Amendments to Chapter 103, Development and Subdivision

of Land Section 19 ~ Site Plan Requirements Regarding Requirement for Architectural Elements

Department of the County Attorney ~ Ms. Kimberly Millender

Department of Planning ~ Mr. Steve Horn

Acceptance of Award for Carroll County Sheriff's Office

Domestic Violence Unit of Violence Against Women Act Grant

Department of Management & Budget ~ Mr. Ted Zaleski

Carroll County Sheriff's Office ~ Sheriff Kenneth Tregoning

Tuesday – October 9, 2007 ~ Continued

Acceptance of Award ~ Violence Against Women Act ~ State's Attorney Office

Department of Management & Budget ~ Mr. Ted Zaleski

State's Attorney Office ~ Mr. Jerry Barnes

Bid Approval

Virtualization of File Servers

Bureau of Purchasing ~ Mr. Rich Shelton

Office of Information & Technology Services ~ Mr. Mark Ripper

Request Approval of the County Health Plan Proposals for 2008

Department of Human Resources ~ Mrs. Carole V. Hammen

Request Approval of Certified Officer's Pension Plan

Department of Human Resources ~ Mrs. Carole V. Hammen

Chief of Staff Time ~ Mr. Steve Powell

11:30 a.m. Resource Assessment with Mr. Rick Anthony

County Office Building ~ Room 105

Commissioners Gouge, Minnich & Zimmer

Wednesday – October 10, 2007

10:00 a.m. Issues and Insights

Community Media Center

Commissioner Gouge

5:00 p.m. Board of Education Meeting

Board of Education Offices

Commissioner Zimmer

Thursday – October 11, 2007

National Federation of Women Legislators Conference

Kentucky

Commissioner Gouge

Friday – October 12, 2007

National Federation of Women Legislators Conference

Kentucky

Commissioner Gouge

7:30 a.m. Taneytown Business Breakfast

Thunderhead Bowling Center ~ Taneytown, MD

Commissioners Minnich & Zimmer

Friday – October 12, 2007 ~ Continued

7:00 p.m. Shining Star Tribute Gala

Carroll County Public Schools Education Foundation

Martin’s ~ Westminster, MD

Commissioner Zimmer

Saturday – October 13, 2007

National Federation of Women Legislators Conference

Kentucky

Commissioner Gouge

6:00 p.m. South Carroll Senior Activities Center ~ Autumn Leaves Dance

Eldersburg, MD

Commissioner Zimmer

Sunday – October 14, 2007

8:05 a.m. “The Commissioners’ Report” – WTTR

Commissioner Gouge

National Federation of Women Legislators Conference

Kentucky

Commissioner Gouge

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the Carroll County Government and its programs, services, activities, and facilities. If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints, please contact Ms. Jolene Sullivan, the Carroll County Government Americans With Disabilities Act Coordinator, at 410-386-3600/1-888-302-8978 or TTY No. 410-848-9747. The mailing address is 225 North Center Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157.

Posted: 07/07/06

CARROLL COUNTY

a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to play

Saturday, October 06, 2007

20071004 Opinion by Don Surber: Is cutting health spending a good idea?

From last Thursday October 04, 2007

UNDER a Democratic president, look for Democrats to revive their efforts to have the government take over the health insurance business.

This is scary. Putting my life in the hands of a private insurance bureaucracy is bad enough.

Putting my life in the hands of the government bureaucracy is worse. I keep thinking of Hurricane Katrina.

[…]

Of course, we men are disposable after 50.

[…]

It gets even better. Read the entire column here: Opinion by Don Surber: Is cutting health spending a good idea?

####

20071005 Duke University Medical School: Appendix May Have A Purpose After All

AP: Appendix May Have A Purpose After All

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2007 (AP) Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut.

That's the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School, published online in a scientific journal this week.

For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous. Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely. People live fine without them.

And when infected the appendix can turn deadly. It gets inflamed quickly and some people die if it isn't removed in time. Two years ago, 321,000 Americans were hospitalized with appendicitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read the rest here: AP: Appendix May Have A Purpose After All

Friday, October 05, 2007

20071005 Great answer to a dumb question!!

Great answer to a dumb question!!

October 5th, 2007

Thank goodness it’s Friday:

Hat Tip: Grammy

I just received this in an e-mail. I am not aware of the particulars, but I am predisposed to believe it…

Katie Couric, while interviewing a Marine sniper, asked:

"What do you feel when you shoot an Arab Terrorist?"

The Marine shrugged and replied, "A slight recoil."

Hard to fault a Marine that is that eloquent!!

For corps and country

Check six.

20071002 Scientists Amazed at Fish Tag Journey

20071002 Scientists Amazed at Fish Tag Journey

Scientists Amazed at Fish Tag Journey

Oct 2, 2007

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - In 2005, a 2.9-inch steelhead left a Washington state hatchery in 2005 with a tiny implanted electronic tag. In April, Maori hunter Dale Whaitiri on Big Moggy Island off Southern New Zealand killed a young sooty shearwater chick, and found the tag.

It had traveled 7,700 miles, fascinating scientists an ocean apart who are trying to figure out how it got there.

The answer may reveal ecological connections stretching across the Pacific and illuminate the value Northwest salmon carry even thousands of miles away.

"It is amazing it made it all that way," said Jen Zamon, a research fisheries biologist with the NOAA Fisheries in Hammond, near Astoria. "It's even more sort of miraculous that someone noticed it."

Scientists believe the fish was eaten by an adult sooty shearwater, and have two theories about the tag:

- That a shearwater off Oregon ate the young steelhead as it headed to sea, and the electronic tag from the fish lodged in the bird's stomach. There it remained for more than a year, until the bird, in New Zealand, regurgitated its stomach contents to feed its chick.

That the steelhead was inadvertently caught in a fishing net, perhaps near Japan or Russia, cut up on a factory ship or another fishing boat, and its remains and the tag were tossed overboard, to be eaten one of the masses of shearwaters that follow fishing vessels.

Read the rest here: Scientists Amazed at Fish Tag Journey

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

20071003 AP: West Virginia Man Tries to Flee Police on Lawnmower

AP: West Virginia Man Tries to Flee Police on Lawnmower



Wednesday, October 03, 2007 - posted Oct. 5th, 2007


I saw this the other day – and I was wondering if Don Surber had caught it also. I just checked and – of course he caught it. Nothing gets by Mr. Surber. Nevertheless, he seems to have a bit of additional information… here.


Meanwhile, the gist of the matter is:


MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A man accused of drunken driving tried to outrun the police but his vehicle wasn't up to the task.


Michael Ginevan of Bunker Hill was driving a riding lawnmower on Runnymeade Road about a mile from his home when a Berkeley County sheriff's deputy attempted to pull him over. Ginevan, 39, allegedly sped away and Deputy J.H. Jenkins stopped his cruiser and gave chase on foot, according to magistrate court records.


Jenkins caught up to the lawnmower after a short chase but Ginevan allegedly wouldn't stop so the deputy pulled him off the machine. Ginevan refused to take a field sobriety test and was arrested. Jenkins then found a case of beer strapped to the lawnmower's front, court records show.


Ginevan was charged with fleeing while driving under the influence and obstructing an officer. He was being held Tuesday at the Eastern Regional Jail on $7,500 bond.


A person who answered the phone at the jail did not know whether Ginevan had hired an attorney. There was no telephone listing for Ginevan in the Bunker Hill area.

####

20070928 Unreal Video


Unreal Video by way of WorcesterRight

Back on September 28th, 2007 WorcesterRight called to our attention this Unreal Video. It was posted by Caughtit at 8:20 AM who said, “You have to watch this.” (http://www.breitbart.tv/html/6068.html)

I just watched it again and I’m still shaking my head… If you missed the Worcester Right’s post the first time around, here’s a second chance – don’t blow it.

It reminded me of a photo - posted above - that made the e-mail rounds a number of years ago. I have it in my files from September of 2000 – and I just found it: “Winner of the Not My Job Award.”

Thanks a bunch for the Hat Tip: Unreal Video.

#### 20070928 Unreal Video ####

20071003 Kathryn Leiter watch

20071003 Kathryn Leiter watch

Kathryn Leiter watch


October 3rd, 2007


Recently folks around town have taken notice of one of the several talented writers for the Carroll County Times - Kathryn Leiter.


I’d post her web site picture, but when I had a chance to talk with her at a community function some time ago, she told me she hates the picture…


I just checked the web site and the same photo she hates is still up on the site…


If I am not mistaken, I was told that she is a former copy editor. Which may explain why her pieces are written so tightly? As opposed to that of an old short story writer such as myself, who all too often goes rambling-on in this and that direction. (There’s a reason I write columns – and only a few articles…)


And – as an added bonus, she is from the area - Catonsville, so she knows the lay of the land and has some insight into our community traditions – and history…


I’m not quite sure when she first started writing articles, but recently many appreciated her articles on disaster preparedness, local governments’ web sites becoming more customer-friendly, the Monarch butterflies, or the non-profits – a subject near and dear to the hearts of many Carroll Countians.


And who can forget the great piece on the vaccination clinic at the Ag Center:


“It’s raining cats and dogs and ferrets. The Carroll County Agriculture Center’s riding barn was filled with hundreds of cats, dogs and ferrets, as owners took advantage of the Anti-Rabies Vaccination Clinic Sunday….”


But her recent “Sunday package” published in the Sunday, September 30th, 2007 edition of the paper, on our youngest generation beginning to assume leadership roles in the community, really caught the attention of the community.


Ultimately, if one is not academically schooled in the matter of “community leadership succession”; even the most unsophisticated in our community understands that our youth are the folks who will need to take over the reins one day.

If not for any other reason than the fact that at some point, us older folks want to retire and let someone else take on the responsibilities (read: headaches and opportunities) of maintaining our community as a great place to live – and grow old.

Moreover, there are those of us, this writer in particular, who feel that the current 18 to 30 year-olds have a great deal of promise. See also: 20050713 Today’s Youth – They are Fantastic and 20070601 Out of the mouths of today’s future leaders

Personally I have had the pleasure of working with Manchester town councilmember Ryan Warner for several years and it is about time he got the attention that he deserves. Whether one agrees with him or disagrees with him – and I have done both over the years – he is a perfect gentleman and always has what is in the best interests of the community at heart.

And what else can be said about Dr. Herb Smith, he has now been selflessly tutoring future leaders for several decades and it was nice to see him get the attention he deserves.


So the next time you go to the Carroll County Times web site or pick up a copy of the newspaper at the newsstand, be sure to look for her byline, along with my other favorites these days, Ryan Marshall, Carrie Ann Knauer and Jordan Bartel – to mention a few.


Kathryn Leiter watch


Four under 40

Alexander Hamilton hadn’t even reached 20 when he first showed interest in politics. James Madison and Edmund Randolph joined the political arena in their early 20s. Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth held political office in their early 30s.... Sep. 30, 2007;


Starting young

Many Carroll County council members are retired from their careers, giving them the time to put in to the community. When Ryan Warner was 24, he decided he didn’t want to wait until he retired. Warner was first elected to the Manchester Town Co... Sep. 30, 2007;


Prof: Interest in activism steadily rising

Herb Smith has been a political science professor at McDaniel College in Westminster since 1971 and has been involved in politics since he was 14 years old. Q: What do you think attracts younger people to politics? A: Well, there’s always the a... Sep. 30, 2007;


Hampstead moves to online bill payments

Hampstead residents will be able to save their stamps the next time their water bills arrive as the town becomes the first in the county to allow residents to pay their water bills online. The addition to the town’s Web site launched Tuesday, a... Oct. 1, 2007;


Protection for pets: Owners bring animals to Ag Center for Anti-Rabies Vaccination Clinic

It’s raining cats and dogs and ferrets. The Carroll County Agriculture Center’s riding barn was filled with hundreds of cats, dogs and ferrets, as owners took advantage of the Anti-Rabies Vaccination Clinic Sunday. “It’s a g... Oct. 1, 2007;


Learning lessons in lemon lore

When life handed them lemons, even the Victorians made lemonade. At the Carroll County Farm Museum’s final Learning Lunch for the year, food historian Pat Reber gave a group of 17 the history on the summertime drink. The British or European ver.. Oct. 2, 2007;


Fallfest-ivities: Part of food sales go toward selected groups

The carnival rides don’t open until Thursday, but Westminster Fall-fest starts today with a fundraising event. Festivities officially begin with Dine Out Westminster, an event where 10 percent of all food sales benefit four Fallfest groups: Car... Sep. 25, 2007;


Ready to take flight: Youths prepare butterflies for migration at Monarch Madness

Jennifer Jaco delicately handles a monarch butterfly, placing it on the tip of a child’s nose. As the butterfly flutters away, children cheer and parents take pictures. However, this isn’t your average butterfly. This butterfly has a smal...
Sep. 24, 2007;


Goodwill, Salvation Army preparing for busy season

As fall approaches, residents will delve into their wardrobes and don warmer clothes. With the switch from shorts to jeans, residents are cleaning out their closets and donating more to area charity organizations, according to Wayne Hatcher, director...Sep. 20, 2007;


Carroll News Briefs for Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007

Public input sought for emergency plans The public will soon get an opportunity to weigh in on county plans to prevent and manage disasters. A public hearing on a revised Emergency Operations Plan and new Hazard Mitigation Plan is expected to be sche... Sep. 26, 2007; scored 249.0

Labels: Kathryn Leiter watch; Art Writing Essays and articles, Carroll County Times

20071004 The upcoming Presidency and the Supreme Court conference info


The upcoming Presidency and the Supreme Court conference info

October 4, 2007

http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/PSChome.html

AGENDA | FLYER

The Presidency and the Supreme Court conference brings together a wide range of speakers, including scholars, policymakers, and journalists to deliberate on the complex relationship between the Court and the Presidency and the impact of that interaction on American society. Panels focus not only on the political process of Supreme Court nominations and confirmations, but examines the Court's influence on social issues, civil rights and governmental power in times of crisis. The conference also includes a keynote address by former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

To register call (845) 486-1966.


This conference is sponsored by the nation's twelve Presidential Libraries, their foundations, the National Archives, the Foundation for the National Archives, and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute with generous support from:

Thomson West

Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP

Frederick P. Furth

Wiley Rein LLP

CONFERENCE HOME | AGENDA | FLYER

Thursday, October 04, 2007

20071003 This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, 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.

History reflects that the speech delivered by President Harry S Truman was hardly memorable. According to an article on the event in "American Heritage," by Christine Gibson, "the October 5 broadcast did have a large effect on the free world, just not in a way Truman, or anyone at the time, could have predicted."

Today, most people take for granted a world dominated by cell phones, instant messaging, computers, and cable TV. News and entertainment travels around the world in minutes, if not seconds; but in 1947 much of the news was disseminated by way of the radio or newspapers.

Ever since, television has played an integral role in politics, especially presidential politics. By around 1960, more people got their news from television broadcasts than newspapers - or the radio.

It has only been as recent as the 2000 presidential election that television's stranglehold on maintaining the dominant narrative which shapes much of public opinion on national politics has been slowly but surely replaced by the Internet.

In a parallel dynamic, television and the Internet - and newspapers - are slowly but surely merging. However it was President Truman's 1947 speech which set the political landscape on its head.

Read the rest: It all began with President Harry Truman


Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Opposing Views, Good Policy

Farrell Keough

A funny thing happened on the way to the Editorial Store. I got replies to my inquiries and did not have to make a purchase. No really, there is an Editorial Store! But they are expensive and have terrible business hours.


Monday, October 1, 2007

Singapore

Tom McLaughlin

The place is like walking into a hospital. It is soooooooo clean. There is a hefty fine for depositing a piece of paper or cigarette remains. One cannot buy chewing gum. Drug runners receive the mandatory death sentence.


Friday, September 28, 2007

Thoreau & Winchester Hall

Norman M. Covert

One of the perquisites of being hors de combat for many months is preoccupation with what ails you. Henry David Thoreau would have penned his musings in solitude - not an option here. Somehow the recovery room's Zenith found the Frederick County Board of Commissioners on COMCAST.

Wait Until Next Year

George Wenschhof

The end of September brings a lot of excitement to major league baseball fans for the long (162 game) schedule is coming to an end. Wishful hopes abound that their team will win the division or capture the wild card slot. Their team would then make the play-offs with a chance to win the Fall Classic in Sports, the World Series.


Thursday, September 27, 2007

No Apology Needed

Chris Cavey

This evening is the "All-American Presidential Forum" at Morgan State University, hosted by Tavis Smiley and broadcast on PBS. Outside of those of us directly involved with this production, and the students at Morgan, the anticipation of the event is like waiting in line for a viewing at a funeral home.

Rearing Its Ugly Head Again

Derek Shackelford

Here we go again with the issue of race surfacing over the last couple of weeks. It is not enough that much attention was given to shock jock Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team. The outrage that those comments garnered caused Mr. Imus to lose his national morning radio program.


Wednesday, 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.


Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Peace Be Unto You

Roy Meachum

Our blue-eyed, blonde-hair culture becomes more antagonistic as our numbers decrease as a proportion of the population. There are those among us who hate all those darker-hair, brown-eyes who are popping up everywhere.

Both Sides Now

Farrell Keough

Global Warming, Global Cooling, Climate Change, et al are the headlines of the crisis de jour. Most people do not involve themselves in this debate as it seems too complicated and all the scientists agree, so it must be true.


Monday, September 24, 2007

Striking the Deal

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

I really wanted to write about the Great Frederick Fair, but Patricia Kelly did such a great job on last Thursday's Tentacle, I wouldn't pretend to try.

####

20071003 Living and loving in the age of asparagus

Living and loving in the age of asparagus

or

Mary Katherine Ham to Alicia Silverstone: Go Hunting

October 3rd, 2007

Although I have spent a large portion of my life as a vegetarian; as I grew older and life got particularly hectic, I gave it up – for now anyway. Who knows, tomorrow, I may go back. Whatever.

A number of years ago, as I was attempting to reason with an unreasonable person and losing miserably, a colleague said to me:

“You know what your problem is?”

“Ugh.” I really did not need advice at that particular moment; however, I prized his friendship and sheepishly asked: “What?”

“It's a dog eat dog world out there, and you're a vegetarian!"

We solved that by going out to a sub shop where I gave up the anorexic bliss of salads and voraciously scarfed down a cheese-steak sandwich.

It was a road to Damascus experience

I still lose miserably with folks who accept narcissistic fiction as fact, however, I am bigger now and I figure that if I am to be eaten alive, I might as well give folks a flavorful super-sized meal.

Then again, to be candid, I was never good at being a vegetarian. I never stopped eating animal crackers and every once and awhile at Moms, I’d dive into a steak – and I can rarely remember missing turkey at Thanksgiving.

I have a number of colleagues and some family members who are, at the moment, practicing vegetarians - and I respect that choice. Besides, I really like vegetables. Then there are folks who don’t like vegetables or are otherwise broccoli intolerant. To them I say, ya really ought to “give peas a chance.”

A member of my family, who is an avid vegetarian, recently gave some seafood a try.

Bold.

Writing for the Washington Post, Joel Achenbach says:

“Certain kinds of seafood, such as lobster, clams and crabs, are honorary forms of meat, but a small filet of a low-fat white fish should be viewed as essentially a vegetable. Raw oysters are manfood, as is any fish served with the head on and the mouth gaping in horror.

Me, I could live off of Dr. Pepper, coffee and grits. Hey, don’t knock the cooking with Dr. Pepper book. There are some great recipes in there.

I never tried the “vegan” approach. I often wondered how the term came about. When I was quite young I had a great deal of confusion over the term “vegetarian.” If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

Mr. Achenbach calls to our attention a savior for vegans, who every once in awhile, go Jonesing for a milkshake – “soy cows.”

In the column he was initially singing the praises of his new “Fabulator 5000.”

What is a “Fabulator 5000?” I am so glad you asked. I was fascinated about this development since I am still using the Fabulator model No. 1953.

I’ll let Mr. Achenbach ‘splain:

“I love my new food printer, the Fabulator 5000, which makes the previous food printers look not just clunky but positively medieval. There's no more click-and-point nonsense on the screen, no more waiting five or six interminable minutes for the food to print. You just tell the Fab 5 what you want. The food comes out in about three or four seconds, complete with garnish and a complementary wine.”

Oh, the “soy cows?” Apparently Mr. Achenbach recently “took the kids … to Homewood Farm to see a good old-fashioned agricultural enterprise…”

“I got a look at the new soy cows, grazing in the large field just north of the orchard. The USDA apparently felt that soy milk could be produced much more efficiently if it came from cows made of soy. These cows are so green they nearly blend into the landscape. They say the soy milk is a lot better tasting (not as beany, somehow) than the stuff derived from plants, and the soy burgers are more tender. But you've probably read about how the soy cows dry up badly in drought conditions -- they literally wilt -- and even catch fire. Bored teenagers have been blamed for setting some of the cow fires.”

There is much to be appreciated by the vegetarian lifestyle; nevertheless my goal was to not be evangelical about it all.

But – and ya know there was going to be a “but” in here soon – I’ve never been fond of PETA’s Strindbergian gloom and bleakness approach to advocacy.

When I was a practicing vegetarian, invariably, some folks would suggest some linkage to me, a vegetarian, with PETA’s in-your-face humorless lactose intolerant militancy. An approach which often seems more oriented to being obnoxious and annoying instead of being compelling and persuasive to what is otherwise, a perfectly fine lifestyle, vegetarianism, for which PETA routinely does an injustice....

At a local government - social event, a local elected official’s wife was horrified that I was a vegetarian. “How can a big strapping former Marine be a vegetarian,” she gasped.

I solved that in quick order. She was a dog lover and the owner of a huge dog. I mean huge – about the size of a water buffalo.

I asked her if she had ever eaten dog. When I was in the Marines, a South Vietnamese ranger once cooked-up a mess of dog.

It tasted like chicken.

I suggested to my scowling friend that her St. Bernard could feed an entire village… And one wonders why I lost my last election?

Recently Alicia Silverstone did an ad for PETA that has garnered a great deal of attention. I can’t believe that it is winning over any converts to vegetarianism, but it has attracted attention to PETA.

Whether it is really the sort of attention that an advocacy organization wants is a bigger issue for which there is not right or wrong, it just isn’t my cup of tea.

Nevertheless, in age of so much strife and discord, I yearn for a time when peas will rule the planets, and love won’t be such a fuss. I long for the dawn of the age of asparagus.

Enter stage right, Mary Katherine Ham. Ms. Ham has done a spoof on the Ms. Silverstone ad that is a real crack-up.

Please enjoy it:

####

No animals were hurt in the writing of this column.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com and Winchester Report.