Sunday, March 13, 2011

DAYHOFF: Facing issues of the day, here's an ode to a little pain reliever

http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion/5244/facing-issues-day-heres-ode-little-pain-reliever/

@explorecarroll it was 112 yrs ago last Sun that aspirin 1 of the most widely used drugs in world was patented http://tinyurl.com/4vqxu89

Explore Carroll: DAYHOFF: Facing issues of the day, here's an ode to a little pain reliever http://t.co/IerBQoT via @Digg

DAYHOFF: Facing issues of the day, here's an ode to a little pain reliever

EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff Posted 3/13/11

It seems to be cold, flu and sinus season, compounded these days by state and local governments wrangling with budgets, controversial legislation, tax revenue declines and concerns about unemployment and the economy.

With all that in mind, I'm reminded that it was 112 years ago last Sunday that aspirin, one of the most widely used drugs in the world, was patented.

Actually, origins of this medicine, found in most everyone's medicine cabinet -- including our current Board of County Commissioners, I'd wager -- dates back to the beginnings of written history.

In an age when wonder drugs are being formulated in laboratories throughout the world, chances are you may not be aware the active ingredients of aspirin -- acetylsalicylic acid -- were originally discovered as a plant extract from willow and poplar trees, and the shrub spirea.

Ancient Sumerians and Egyptians used the plant extract as a remedy for pain, fever and inflammation.

The first modern-day clinical trial for aspirin was reported by… http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion/5244/facing-issues-day-heres-ode-little-pain-reliever/

[20110313 SCE Facing issues of the day aspirin sceked] http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2011/03/dayhoff-facing-issues-of-day-heres-ode.html

Labels: Bus Econ History, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, History, Medicine Health aspirin

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Carroll County Sheriff's Office: Westminster man dies while trimming tree

Major Phillip S. Kasten Carroll County Sheriff's Office 100 North Court Street Westminster, Maryland 21157 Office 410-386-2759 Fax 410-876-1152 pkasten@ccg.carr.org

“Westminster man dies while trimming tree”

Manchester, Carroll County, Maryland, March 12, 2011 ---- At approximately 11:15 a.m. this morning, Sheriff’s Deputies responded to reports of a critically injured man at a home in the 2300 block of Convey Drive. The man, 59 year old Sidney Wayne Diehl of Westminster, had been assisting friends with trimming the top of a large tree when the tree splintered and caused him to fall nearly ten feet before his safety harness stopped the fall. Although the harness stopped Diehl’s fall, the tree continued to separate over top of him as he hung nearly twenty feet from the ground.

Diehl was found dead by rescue teams from the Hampstead, Manchester and Pleasant Hill Fire Companies who had climbed the tree to free him. Diehl’s body has been transported to the State Medical Examiners Office for Autopsy, and sheriff’s investigators are examining the events leading to his death. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Doug Epperson of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office at 410-386-2574. The investigation continues…

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Also see: http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/5250/westminster-man-dies-after-tree-trimming-fall-manchester/

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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Donate to the American Red Cross: http://ow.ly/4daO8 Japan Earthquake Quake Tsunami

Donate to the American Red Cross: http://ow.ly/4daO8 Japan Earthquake Quake Tsunami JapanWeStandWithYou prayforjapan

https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052

http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/3824301093/themacexpert-donate-to-the-american-red-cross

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Reader question: Where did Sargent Shriver live on Willis St in Westminster Md

Reader question: Where did Sargent Shriver live on Willis St in Westminster Md http://tinyurl.com/459uoy3

March 10, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff

LABELS: People Shriver Eunice Kennedy, People Shriver Family, People Shriver-Sargent

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2011/03/reader-question-where-did-sargent.html http://tinyurl.com/459uoy3

Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/48zxdq

A reader was recently in touch and asked: Where did R. Sargent Shriver live on Willis Street in Westminster Maryland when he was a child.

I have always thought that Mr. Sargent Shriver grew-up in the large brick home at the northeast corner of Willis and Center Street that is now divided into apartments…

For your enjoyment, pasted below are the links to several stories I have written about Mr. Shriver and his family, in the past in www.ExploreCarroll.com:

The life, work, and wisdom of Sargent Shriver began in Westminster

Shriver lived several childhood years in Carroll County

By Kevin Dayhoff Posted 1/18/11

http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/5094/life-work-wisdom-sargent-shriver-began-westminster/

Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.'s life of spreading goodwill internationally started here on Westminster's Willis Street.

Shriver, who was born Nov. 9, 1915, lived several childhood years on Willis Street in Westminster. He died Tuesday at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.

Shriver was a member of the historic Shriver family in Carroll County, known as community, political and business leaders; whose heritage has been, in part, preserved by the Union Mills Homestead.

Shriver spoke fondly of his Carroll roots over the years. A Nov. 30, 1988 newspaper account described that Shriver once spoke to “an audience of about 520 gathered at Martin’s Westminster about the Carroll County” in which he was raised.

“We really didn’t have to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day because we lived it and so did everyone in Westminster… The things I’ve learned here (in Westminster) are more important than what I’ve learned in all the other places I’ve lived since.”

He was preceded in death by his wife, Eunice Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy’s sister, and the daughter of Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy. They were married on May 23, 1953. Mrs. Shriver was the founder and chair of Special Olympics International and the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation.

The Shrivers had five children, one of whom, Maria Owings Shriver, is married to another well-known national personality, the former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger… http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/5094/life-work-wisdom-sargent-shriver-began-westminster/

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Life work of Sargent Shriver began in Westminster

Kevin Dayhoff Posted 11/12/08 http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/5094/life-work-wisdom-sargent-shriver-began-westminster/

Twenty years ago this week the community was abuzz in anticipation of one of Carroll County's most celebrated native sons, Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. returning to town to help celebrate the City of Westminster's 150th Anniversary Dinner on Nov. 18, 1988.

Shriver, who was born Nov. 9, 1915, lived several childhood years on Willis Street in Westminster.

He married Eunice Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy's sister and the daughter of Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy, on May 23, 1953. Mrs. Shriver is the founder and chair of Special Olympics International and the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation.

They have five children, one of whom, Maria Owings Shriver, is married to another well-known national personality, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The program for the 1988 event listed Shriver's "unparalleled record of public service at the local, national and international level: International lawyer ... advocate for the poor. ... He is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School and he served in the U.S. Navy for five years… http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/5094/life-work-wisdom-sargent-shriver-began-westminster/

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Shriver remembered for Special Olympics and also for a connection to Carroll

EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff Posted 8/16/09

http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/3295/shriver/

On Aug. 11, people all across the nation mourned the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died at a hospital on Cape Cod surrounded by several generations of her large family. She was 88.

Inspired by her sister, Rosemary Kennedy, who was born mentally retarded, Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968 for persons with intellectual disabilities. Rosemary died in 2005.

As children, Rosemary and Eunice Kennedy are reported to have spent a great deal of time together swimming and sailing.

Mrs. Shriver became known around the world, but here in Carroll County she's remembered as the wife of R. Sargent Shriver, who was raised on Willis Street, in Westminster. The two married in 1953.

Sargent is a member of the historic Shriver family in Carroll County, known as community, political and business leaders. Their heritage has been preserved, in part, at the Union Mills Homestead.

Sargent Shriver at one time was President Kennedy's first director of the Peace Corps. He was also Sen. George McGovern's running mate in 1972, and ran for president himself in 1976.

By all accounts, Eunice and Sargent were very close, and she was an integral part of her husband's political career… http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/3295/shriver/

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[20110310 sdosm A reader has asked Where did Shriver live on Willis]

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

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Friday, March 11, 2011

Tsunami Hits Japan After 8.8 Magnitude Earthquake Off Coast

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 struck off the coast of Japan on Friday afternoon local time, according the United States Geological Survey.

Local Japanese television broadcast images of cars, trucks and buildings being swept away by a tsunami in Onahama city in Fukushima prefecture, according to The Associated Press. Read More: http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na

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March 11, 2011

Huge Earthquake Triggers Tsunami Off Japan’s Coast

By MARTIN FACKLER and KEVIN DREW

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html?hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

TOKYO — A devastating tsunami hit the coast of northeast Japan on Friday in the aftermath of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake about 80 miles offshore, killing at least five people and injuring dozens. The earthquake triggered widespread power blackouts, and tsunami alerts were issued across the Pacific Ocean from Russia to Hawaii.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the disaster caused major damage across wide areas, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Kan added that nuclear power plants in the stricken area had not been affected… http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html?hp

20110311 NYT Huge EQ Triggers Tsunami Off Japan Coast

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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Sunshine Review Announces Maryland Winner of the Annual Sunny Awards

Award recognizes state, local governments with perfect transparency scores

ALEXANDRIA- The nation’s leading government transparency advocate, Sunshine Review, announced on Thursday the 112 winners of its 2^nd annual “Sunny Awards.” The 2011 awards, which more than double last year's number, recognize the best state and local government websites in America that exceeded transparency standards. The Sunny Awards announcement preludes the launch of “Sunshine Week,” a period nationally recognized by hundreds of media and civic organizations, that celebrates the efforts of activists and the strides taken towards open government.

“Sunny Award winners deserve recognition for making information available to citizens and for setting a transparency standard that all governments can, and should, meet,” said Mike Barnhart, President of Sunshine Review. “Access to information empowers every citizen to hold government officials accountable. Official accountability is the cornerstone of self government and liberty.”

The 2011 list of Maryland winners include:

Howard County Public Schools

For a full list of Sunny Award winners, visit here.

Background

Since its inception in 2008, Sunshine Review has analyzed the governmental transparency websites of all fifty states and 6,000 local governments. Last year, 41 websites earned grades of ”A” transparency grades. Grading takes into account the proactive disclosure of information regarding budgets, meetings, elected and administrative officials, permits and zoning, audits, contracts, lobbying, public records, and taxes, as well as the ease of use and availability of information.

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Sunshine Review is a non-profit organization dedicated to state and local government transparency. The Sunshine Review wiki collects and shares transparency information and uses a "10-point Transparency Checklist" to evaluate the content of every state and more than 5,000 local government websites. Sunshine Review collaborates with individuals and organizations throughout America in the cause of an informed citizenry and an accountable government.

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baltimoresun.com: The debate over prostate cancer tests

The debate over prostate cancer tests

baltimoresun.com www.baltimoresun.com/health/la-he-cancer-psa-test-20110307,0,7991881.story

It would seem all men should have PSA checks to detect cancer. But the medical community is divided. Some, even the scientist who discovered PSA, see more harm than good.

By Chris Woolston, Special to the Los Angeles Times

March 7, 2011

Men of a certain age have heard the pitch many times: If they care about their health, they really should get their PSA checked. The simple blood test, men are told, can help uncover hidden cases of prostate cancer and potentially save their lives.

More than 20 million American men get their PSA measured each year. Doctors often include the test as a routine part of checkups for men older than 40, and many insurance companies flat-out require it. Cancer awareness campaigns frequently tout PSA tests as an important weapon against the disease, something like a male version of mammograms. The fact that prostate cancer kills more than 27,000 men a year may make the test seem like a no-brainer.

But when it comes to cancer screening, few things are as simple as they seem at first.

The PSA test is currently under attack on many fronts. While some experts credit the test with saving tens of thousands of lives each year, others say the benefits are over-hyped and might just be an illusion. And because treatments for prostate cancer can cause complications such as impotence and incontinence, there's a growing fear that PSA testing ends up harming far more men than it helps.

A quick primer: Adult prostate glands make prostate specific antigen, or PSA, a protein that helps make semen. Healthy prostates tend to release only a trickle of the protein into the bloodstream, but cancer generally turns up the flow. Men with a PSA of more than 4 nanograms per milliliter of blood or with PSA readings that jump more than 0.35 ng/mL from one year to the next are usually offered a needle biopsy to check the prostate for cancer…. www.baltimoresun.com/health/la-he-cancer-psa-test-20110307,0,7991881.story

20110307 BaltoSun The debate over prostate cancer tests

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Washington Post: Republican Wisconsin senators bypass Democrats in vote on collective bargaining

Republican Wisconsin senators bypass Democrats in vote on collective bargaining By Michael A. Fletcher Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 9, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030900299.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert

Senate Republicans abruptly passed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's plan to sharply curtail collective-bargaining rights for public employees Wednesday night, using a legislative maneuver to approve the measure without 14 Democratic senators who fled the state in an effort to block it.

After stripping the bill of fiscal measures that require a 20-member quorum for action, the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate passed the collective-bargaining measure. Analysts say the legislation would cripple most of the state's public employee unions.

On Thursday, the slimmed-down bill is expected to go to the GOP-run state Assembly, which has already passed another version of it.

The standoff in Wisconsin has gone on for three weeks, thrusting public employee unions into a deep crisis. States are grappling with record budget deficits, which some governors have tried to close by trimming what they call the generous benefits public employees receive.

The measure to curtail union power has been followed similarly in other states, including Indiana and Ohio…http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030900299.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert

20110309 WaPo Rep WI sens bypass Dems in vote on collective bargaining

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This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com/

Thursday, March 10, 2011

That Rumbling is Just Gas!

Norman M. Covert

It isn’t love and certainly this “rumbly in my tumbly” can probably be attributed to gas. Not that kind, Bubba, it’s the stuff Jed Clampett found while shooting at some food. The voice-over called it “bubbling crude … black gold.”

To Agree or Not? – That’s The Question

Amanda Haddaway

The Supreme Court ruled on March 2, 2010, that members of the Westboro Baptist Church have a constitutionally-protected right to protest at military funerals. The vote was 8-1, with Justice Samuel Alito dissenting.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Charlie Sheen and Disposable Women

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The recent media frenzy over Hollywood idol and role model Charlie Sheen has once again moved my threshold of amazement for contemporary society’s ability to reward bad behavior.

Pay Attention to Your Body

Tom McLaughlin

Kuching, Malaysian Borneo – I knew something was wrong but I didn’t know what. My classrooms are located on the fourth floor and the climb up on the cement steps has been a bit rough. I know I am fit enough to wander the jungle. but cement and my feet just don’t mesh.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Eternal Catholic Scandal

Roy Meachum

My first Frederick column on sexual assaults in the Roman Catholic Church appeared 20 years ago. It was in defense of Archbishop Joseph Bernardin whom I knew in Washington.

Just Who Is A Stakeholder Here?

Farrell Keough

So, what is going on in Annapolis these days? Most people know the budget is in desperate straits. Some people are even aware there were votes on Gay Marriage recently.

Can The Hopefuls Take The Heat?

Earl 'Rocky' Mackintosh

This past week the Frederick Board of County Commissioners whittled the list of 50 applicants for the proposed charter government writing board down to 15 people.

Monday, March 7, 2011

The Death of Common Sense

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

It starts with a few silly reactions and stupid statements. Left unchallenged, the makers of those remarks are emboldened to expand the reach of the inane and inappropriate. The rest of us start off laughing, but end up regretting having allowed it to become the new normal.

Absent A “Balance of Power”

Steven R. Berryman

Is the Middle East on fire with revolution simply as a domino effect born of circumstances? Are public labor unions suddenly at odds with their government simply because of some newly empowering force? There are greater, overarching factors in play in both cases, not fully recognized.

On Books and Music

Michael Kurtianyk

The other day, I stopped for dinner at my brother-in-law’s house. I saw that there was a copy of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” on the kitchen counter.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Wrong Anger

Roy Meachum

Much of my thinking time recently, as TheTentacle.com readers know, has gone to the anger underlying politics.

News You May Have Missed!

Joe Charlebois

Madison WI – Proctor & Gamble senior management – including CEO Robert McDonald – toured downtown Madison this past week, visiting with the regional vice president of the Household Care division. They are expected to submit revised earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2011.

A Victory for Free Speech?

Kevin E. Dayhoff

By a vote of 8-1, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long awaited decision Wednesday over the collision of free speech, common sense and decency and our right to privacy in the case of Albert Snyder v. Fred W. Phelps, Sr., and the Westboro Baptist Church.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Paying the Bills

Patricia A. Kelly

We all have to do it if we want to live in a house, have groceries, electricity, heat, air conditioning, a car. We can finagle for awhile without paying the bills, but the bank will show up eventually.

Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows

Chris Cavey

Many of my conservative brethren are a little wrapped around the axle about the rapidity and lack of resistance incurred in the Maryland General Assembly by the Civil Marriage Protection Act. They are not looking at the broader picture and the overall direction which is to be Maryland’s future and the alliances which must take place.

When Winning Is A Loss

Adam Avery

I have long been a fan of team-oriented youth sports. Life lessons learned from participation are at times immediate, at times not realized until decades later.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Humble Patriot

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, from nearby Jefferson County, W. Va., died Sunday. He was 110 years old.

Annapolis – Business as Unusual

Norman M. Covert

People are bitter, rumor has it. They are clinging to their guns and/or religion or “antipathy to people who aren’t like them…” to paraphrase candidate Barack Hussein Obama.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

“Mad Dog” Gadhafi

Roy Meachum

In the tens of thousands of words I’ve read or heard since revolution came to Libya, there’s been no mention of attempted assassination plots against Egypt’s late president Anwar Sadat by Muammar Gadhafi.

Charities – To Fund or Not

Shawn Burns

Frederick County is fortunate to have such a wide range of non-profit and charitable organization that work for the benefit of the community. These groups here at home and across the country are faced with the reality that government is reducing or completely eliminating funding for many of these programs.

A New Path for Teachers?

Nick Diaz

Amid the debates about bargaining rights for public employees’ and teachers’ unions, this question remains: What is the best way to improve teacher quality?

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Wednesday, March 09, 2011

NPR Muslim Brotherhood Investigation Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd9OYJMX9t4&feature=player_embedded

From the Video:

On the Republican Party, Tea Partiers and Conservatives...

"They're seriously racist, racist people."

"Fanatically involved in people's personal lives, and very fundamental Christian -- it's this weird Evangelical kind of move(ment)."

"(They) sort of believe (in) white, middle America, gun-toting...I mean, it's scary."

"Liberals today might be more educated, fair and balanced than conservatives."

On Americans' negative view of Radical Islam...

"The educated, so-called elite in this country is too small a percentage of the population, so that you have this very large uneducated part of the population that carries these ideas."

"It's much more about anti-intellectualism than it is about a political (philosophy)."

On Jews and Palestine...

"Many Jewish organizations are not looking for a fair point of view."

Our undercover reporters said they refer to NPR as "National Palestinian Radio." After laughing, Liley said, "That's good, I like that!"

"That is the commitment," added Schiller.

And on the Juan Williams firing...

"What NPR did, I'm very proud of and what NPR stood for is non-racist, non-bigoted, straightforward telling of the news."

"He lost all credibility, and that breaks your basic ethics as a journalist."

NPR Muslim Brotherhood Investigation Part I

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