Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label 20080900 Fall Franke McDaniel BioTerror Exerercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 20080900 Fall Franke McDaniel BioTerror Exerercise. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Washington Post: Affordable Care Act enrollment drops off in February

BY JASON MILLMAN March 11, 2014

About 4.2 million people have signed up for health plans on Obamacare exchanges through the end of February. That makes it unlikely that the Obama administration will hit the estimate of 6 million enrollees by the end of March.

Whatever momentum was building in January appeared to drop off in February. The numbers -- which were released a day before Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on the Hill -- also show young people aren't enrolling at rates officials had predicted. That group is key because they are generally presumed to be healthier and less costly.

Read more at: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/11/obamacare-bummer-enrollment-drops-off-in-february/ 
*****

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: TOM RAUM, Associated Press: Higher Gas Prices Clou...

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: TOM RAUM, Associated Press: Higher Gas Prices Clou...: Higher Gas Prices Cloud Obama's Re-Election Hopes By TOM RAUM, Associated Press February 24, 2012 http://cnsnews.com/news/article/hig...



Update - Related: http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5018 Wednesday, April 4, 2012 Four is the loneliest number Kevin E. Dayhoff: After former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s likely primary victories in Tuesday’s contests in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Wisconsin, look for establishment Republicans to start looking for a running mate and the establishment media to focus its attention on getting President Barack Obama re-elected… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5018


*****

Thursday, March 22, 2012

When Vampire Squids Become Cannibals – by Kevin Dayhoff – The Tentacle March 21, 2012

March 21, 2012



In case you missed it, last Wednesday Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs executive, resigned. Actually it was really no big deal, except while he was on his way out the door, he burned his bridges and then strafed the wounded.

Mr. Smith publicly nuked Goldman Sachs in a scathing op-ed article in The New York Times that left many holding their hands up high and shouting “Alleluia.”

Last Wednesday began the same as many of the most recent monotonous mid-week editions of the end of winter blues as our nation’s wounded business and financial community continues to snort and bellow while it tries to extricate itself from an economic tar pit and in the process, try not to pee all over itself anymore than it already has.

The European sovereign debt crisis continues to languish in the markets like a bad hangover and economic public policy, especially unchecked profligate U.S. sovereign spending and debt, continue as troublesome issues. And where there is a financial cesspool, one can count on Goldman Sachs merrily swimming with the rest of the bottom-feeders and leaches.

So, as one may imagine, a headline like “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” caught my eye.

Goldman Sachs, the venerable ginormous, intergalactic investment banking, financial services and securities firm has arguably found itself in the caustic crosshairs of public scrutiny more in the past several years than at any other time in its storied history that goes back to 1869… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4986

++++++++

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






*****

Wendell Potter: Goldman Sach's Greg Smith Could Just Have Easily Been Telling the Truth About Health Insurers

Goldman Sach's Greg Smith Could Just Have Easily Been Telling the Truth About Health Insurers


Wendell Potter 03/19/2012


As I was reading former Wall Street executive Greg Smith's bombshell of an Op-Ed in the New York Times last week, I mentally inserted the names of the big for-profit health insurers -- two of which I worked for -- in place of Goldman Sachs, where Smith worked until resigning on the day his column was published.

Smith wrote that he decided to leave Goldman-Sachs because it had veered so far from the company he had joined straight out of college that he could no longer say in good conscience "that I identify with what it stands for."

He put the blame squarely on Goldman's current CEO and president. It was during their watch, he wrote, that "the firm changed the very way it thought about leadership."

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics





*****

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Grea...: The Great American Bubble Machine http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405 From tech ...


July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine


“… Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid…”

April 5, 2010 This article appeared in the July 9, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available in the online archive.



20090709 Taibbi The Great American Bubble Machine




*****

Sunday, March 18, 2012

GOLDMAN SACHS' RESPONSE TO MARCH 14, 2012 NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED


GOLDMAN SACHS' RESPONSE TO MARCH 14, 2012 NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED

The following is the message Lloyd C. Blankfein and Gary D. Cohn sent March 14, 2012 to the people of Goldman Sachs.



By now, many of you have read the submission in today’s New York Times by a former employee of the firm. Needless to say, we were disappointed to read the assertions made by this individual that do not reflect our values, our culture and how the vast majority of people at Goldman Sachs think about the firm and the work it does on behalf of our clients.

In a company of our size, it is not shocking that some people could feel disgruntled. But that does not and should not represent our firm of more than 30,000 people. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. But, it is unfortunate that an individual opinion about Goldman Sachs is amplified in a newspaper and speaks louder than the regular, detailed and intensive feedback you have provided the firm and independent, public surveys of workplace environments.

While we expect you find the words you read today foreign from your own day-to-day experiences, we wanted to remind you what we, as a firm – individually and collectively – think about Goldman Sachs and our client-driven culture.
First, 85 percent of the firm responded to our recent People Survey, which provides the most detailed and comprehensive review to determine how our people feel about Goldman Sachs and the work they do… http://www.goldmansachs.com/media-relations/comments-and-responses/current/nyt-op-ed-response.html

UPDATE: ++++++++++


March 21, 2012



So, as one may imagine, a headline like “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” caught my eye.

Goldman Sachs, the venerable ginormous, intergalactic investment banking, financial services and securities firm has arguably found itself in the caustic crosshairs of public scrutiny more in the past several years than at any other time in its storied history that goes back to 1869… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4986

++++++++

"Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence." … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/goldman-sachs-greg-smith_b_1362755.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics






________




*****

Saturday, October 02, 2010

The real story about combat troops in Iraq from someone who is deployed

The real story about combat troops in Iraq from someone who is deployed


Date: Friday, August 20, 2010, 5:41 PM


http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/10/real-story-about-combat-troops-in-iraq.html

Hey everybody I just wanted to send a quick update and give Yall the REAL story on what's going on over here with the troop withdrawal.  

The picture is of my crew and I on a break during a mission.   The guy to the far left is my gunner (Burks) and the guy in the middle is my driver (Mizell).  They go with me on every mission and are great guys.  

The reason I'm sending this out is because I have had a few people ask if I left Iraq early because all of the combat troops are out of Iraq and I wanted to let everyone know the real deal.  

It's kind of ridiculous how the news is saying that the last of the "combat" troops are out of Iraq because of Pres Osama ( I mean Obama ).  He says that it was his campaign promise.  

Take our Brigade for example.  We were originally called a HBCT ( Heavy Brigade Combat Team).  Well since Obama said he would pull all of the "combat" troops out by Aug all they did before we left was change our name from a HBCT to a AAB ( Advise and Assist Brigade ).  

We have the same personnel/equipment layout as before and are doing the same missions.  The ONLY difference is that they changed our name from a HBCT to an AAB and that's how he is getting away with saying that he has pulled all of the "combat" troops out.  

It is really ridiculous what he's doing and he has ticked alot of people off.  And it's funny how the media is buying all of it to.  So no the last combat troops are not out of Iraq we are still here.  There are other Brigades just like ours that are doing the same missions that are still over here.  

Sorry for going on about it but we are just sitting over here watching it and are like "You've got to be kidding me!"  So anyway now you know the REAL story so that's why I'm not coming back early.  Anyways I hope everyone is doing well and I'll see you soon!

Travis


--
cid:898BA4A7036442A798EA84F410E26D45@homee1att2lw8b



from an e-mail source
*****

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine

The Great American Bubble Machine


From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression -- and they're about to do it again

by: Matt Taibbi

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindled dry American empire, reads like a Who's Who of Goldman Sachs graduates… http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405?print=true


+++++++++++++++
July 9, 2009 Matt Taibbi - Rolling Stone: The Great American Bubble Machine


“… Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid…”

April 5, 2010 This article appeared in the July 9, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available in the online archive.



20090709 Taibbi The Great American Bubble Machine

*****

Monday, February 23, 2009

Rick Santelli and the "Rant of the Year"


Rick Santelli and the "Rant of the Year"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA



Transcript


Hat Tip: NewsBusters

(from start to about 2:33)

Becky Quick, in studio: …. Rick have you been listening (to the previous conversation)?

Rick Santelli, on trading floor: Listening to it? I’ve been just glued to it because Mr. Ross has nailed it. You know, the government is promoting bad behavior, because we certainly don’t want to put stimulus forth, and give people a whopping eight or ten dollars in their check, and think that they ought to save it.

And in terms of modifications, I’ll tell you what, I have an idea. You know the new administration’s big on computers and technology. How about this, (Mr.) President and new administration — Why don’t you put up a web site to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages, or would we like to, at least, buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people who might have a chance to actually prosper down the road, and reward people that could carry the water, instead of drink(ing) the water.

Trader sitting near by: What a novel idea! What? Who thought of that!

(traders in the pit start clapping and cheering)

Joe Kernen, in studio: Rick, they’re like putty in your hands. Did you hear –

Santelli: No they’re not, Joe. They’re not like putty in our hands! This is America! (turns around to address pit traders) How many of you people want to pay for your neighbors’ mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand. (traders boo; Santelli turns around to face CNBC camera) President Obama, are you listening?

Trader (sitting nearby, goes over to Santelli’s mike): How about we all stop paying our mortgage? It’s a moral hazard.

Kernen: It’s like mob rule here, I’m getting scared. I’m glad –

Santelli: Don’t get scared, Joe. They’re already scaring you. Y’know, Cuba used to have mansions and a relatively decent economy. They moved from the individual to the collective. Now they’re driving ‘54 Chevys, maybe the last great car to come out of Detroit.

Kernen: They’re driving ‘em on water too, which is a little strange to watch, at times.

Santelli: There you go.

Kernen: Hey Rick, how about the notion that Wilbur pointed out, you can go down to 2% on the mortgage …..

Santelli: You can go down to minus two percent, they can’t afford the house!

Kernen: ….. and still have 40% not be able to do it, so why are we trying to keep them in the house?

Santelli: I know Mr. Summers is a great economist, but boy I’d love the answer to that one.

(some cross-talk)

Quick: Wow. You get people fired up.

Santelli: We’re thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I’m going to start organizing.

Quick: What are you dumping in this time?

Santelli: We’re going to be dumping in some derivative securities. What do you think about that?

Wilbur Ross, in studio: Mayor Daley is marshalling the police right now.

Kernen: The rabble rousers.

Ross: …. the National Guard.

(from about 3:10 to 3:35)

Ross: You know Rick, one of our producers says if Roland Burris steps down, man, Senator Santelli, the junior senator from Illinois. It’s a possibility. I’m just sayin’ –

Santelli: Do you think I want to take a shower every hour? The last place I’m ever going to live or work is DC.

Kernen: Have you raised any money for Blago?

(laughter)

Santelli: No, but I think that Somebody’s going to have to start raising money for us.

(go to 3:50 mark until almost the end)

Santelli: Listen, all I know is that there’s only about 5% of the floor population here right now, and I talk loud enough they can all hear me. So if you want to ask them anything, let me know. These guys are pretty straightforward, and my guess is, a pretty good statistical cross section of America, the silent majority.

Quick: Not so silent majority today.

Kernen: Yeah, not so silent.

Quick: So Rick, are they opposed to the housing thing, to the stimulus package, to everything out there?

Santelli: You know, they’re pretty much of the notion that you can’t buy your way into prosperity, and if the multiplier that all of these Washington economists are selling us is over one, that we never have to worry about the economy again. The government should spend a trillion dollars an hour because we’ll get $1.5 trillion back.

Quick: Wilbur?

Ross: Rick I congratulate you on your new incarnation as a revolutionary leader.

Santelli: Somebody needs one. I’ll tell you what, if you read our Founding Fathers, people like Benjamin Franklin and Jefferson, what we’re doing in this country now is making them roll over in their graves.


20090219 Rick Santelli and the Rant of the Year YT
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

America's Founders' Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

America's Founders' Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

[…]

With small variances, our Founders agreed on five basic approaches to fiscal management, which I describe in far more detail in the third chapter ("Stop America's nightmare of debt") of my new New York Times best-seller (as of the list of Sept. 28), "Black Belt Patriotism," in which I resolve eight major problems facing America with our Founders' solutions. If we're going to awaken America from its economic slumber, then we must go back to those who discovered and established the American dream. Their financial principles were:

--Restrict spending within constitutional limits. The 10th Amendment restricts the size of government, and that always should bear out in spending and the federal budget. That means cutting hundreds of billions the Fed shouldn't be spending. That means following congressional protocol. That means understanding that income and export taxes were unconstitutional to our Founders.

--Don't bail out debt with more debt. George Washington wrote in 1799 to James Welch, "To contract new debts is not the way to pay for old ones." Thomas Jefferson similarly admonished Samuel Kercheval in 1816, "To preserve (the) independence (of the people), we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt." (Some are quick to point out that Thomas Jefferson financed the Louisiana Purchase with government loans, but they overlook the fact that Jefferson's administration lowered the federal deficit by nearly one-third during his eight years in office.)

--Have a pay-as-you-go government. If we don't have the money, we shouldn't spend it. Period. No more debt. No more bailouts. No more spending. As Thomas Jefferson wrote to Fulwar Skipwith in 1787, "The maxim of buying nothing but what we (have) money in our pockets to pay for … (is) a maxim which, of all others, lays the broadest foundation for happiness."

--Minimize taxes to citizens. Our earliest government's primary tool to raise revenue was from tariffs, not through the countless taxes placed upon citizens today. That is one reason I say to abolish the unconstitutional Internal Revenue Service and implement a "fair tax," which doesn't penalize productivity and will bring American manufacturing back within our borders. As James Madison said in 1783: "Taxes on consumption are always least burdensome because they are least felt and are borne, too, by those who are both willing and able to pay them; that of all taxes on consumption, those on foreign commerce are most compatible with the genius and policy of free states."

--Get over the greed. We're in this financial mess because of greed. Why is government spending out of control? Greed. Why do we, as individuals and as a nation, keep falling deeper into a pit of debt? Greed. Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the Treasury, believed that a government that could use greed to motivate its people would become powerful and wealthy. Unfortunately, we've taken it to the extreme. We've become a nation that confuses our needs and greeds, and we've got to get back to the basics if we're ever to understand and overcome the heart of this financial crisis.

[…]


Read the entire column here: America's Founders' Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

http://townhall.com/Columnists/ChuckNorris/2008/09/23/americas_founders_financial_advice

20080922 Americas Founders Financial Advice by Chuck Norris

Sunday, September 21, 2008

President Bush Discusses Economy


President Bush Discusses Economy

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary September 19, 2008

Rose Garden

Video (Windows) /news/releases/2008/09/20080919-2.wm.v.html
Presidential Remarks
Audio
En Español
Fact Sheet: Confronting Economic Challenges Head On
In Focus: Economy

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I thank Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman Chris Cox for joining me today.

This is a pivotal moment for America's economy. Problems that originated in the credit markets -- and first showed up in the area of subprime mortgages -- have spread throughout our financial system. This has led to an erosion of confidence that has frozen many financial transactions, including loans to consumers and to businesses seeking to expand and create jobs. As a result, we must act now to protect our nation's economic health from serious risk.

There will be ample opportunity to debate the origins of this problem. Now is the time to solve it. In our nation's history, there have been moments that require us to come together across party lines to address major challenges. This is such a moment. Last night, Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke and Chairman Cox met with congressional leaders of both parties -- and they had a very good meeting. I appreciate the willingness of congressional leaders to confront this situation head on.

Our system of free enterprise rests on the conviction that the federal government should interfere in the marketplace only when necessary. Given the precarious state of today's financial markets -- and their vital importance to the daily lives of the American people -- government intervention is not only warranted, it is essential.

In recent weeks, the federal government has taken a series of measures to help promote stability in the overall economy. To avoid severe disruptions in the financial markets and to support home financing, we took action to address the situation at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Reserve also acted to prevent the disorderly liquidation of the insurance company AIG. And in coordination with central banks around the world, the Fed has injected much-needed liquidity into our financial system.

These were targeted measures designed primarily to stop the problems of individual firms from spreading even more broadly. But more action is needed. We must address the root cause behind much of the instability in our markets -- the mortgage assets that have lost value during the housing decline and are now restricting the flow of credit. America's economy is facing unprecedented challenges, and we are responding with unprecedented action.

Secretary Paulson, Chairman Bernanke, and Chairman Cox have briefed leaders on Capitol Hill on the urgent need for Congress to pass legislation approving the federal government's purchase of illiquid assets, such as troubled mortgages, from banks and other financial institutions. This is a decisive step that will address underlying problems in our financial system. It will help take pressure off the balance sheets of banks and other financial institutions. It will allow them to resume lending and get our financial system moving again.

Additionally, the federal government is taking several other steps to address the trouble of our financial markets.

The Department of the Treasury is acting to restore confidence in a key element of America's financial system -- money market mutual funds. In the past, government insurance was not available for these funds, and the recent stresses on the markets have caused some to question whether these investments are safe and accessible. The Treasury Department's actions address that concern by offering government insurance for money market mutual funds. For every dollar invested in an insured fund, you will be able to take a dollar out.

The Federal Reserve is also taking steps to provide additional liquidity to money market mutual funds, which will help ease pressure on our financial markets. These measures will act as grease for the gears of our financial system, which were at risk of grinding to a halt. They will support the flow of credit to households and businesses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new rules temporarily suspending the practice of short selling on the stocks of financial institutions. This is intended to prevent investors from intentionally driving down particular stocks for their own personal gain. The SEC is also requiring certain investors to disclose their short selling, and has launched rigorous enforcement actions to detect fraud and manipulation in the market. Anyone engaging in illegal financial transactions will be caught and persecuted [sic].

Finally, when we get past the immediate challenges, my administration looks forward to working with Congress on measures to bring greater long-term transparency and reliability to the financial system -- including those in the regulatory blueprint submitted by Secretary Paulson earlier this year. Many of the regulations governing the functioning of America's markets were written in a different era. It is vital that we update them to meet the realities of today's global financial system.

The actions I just outlined reflect the considered judgment of Secretary Paulson, Chairman Bernanke, and Chairman Cox. We believe that this decisive government action is needed to preserve America's financial system and sustain America's overall economy. These measures will require us to put a significant amount of taxpayer dollars on the line. This action does entail risk. But we expect that this money will eventually be paid back. The vast majority of assets the government is planning to purchase have good value over time, because the vast majority of homeowners continue to pay their mortgages. And the risk of not acting would be far higher. Further stress on our financial markets would cause massive job losses, devastate retirement accounts, and further erode housing values, as well as dry up loans for new homes and cars and college tuitions. These are risks that America cannot afford to take.

In this difficult time, I know many Americans are wondering about the security of their finances. Every American should know that the federal government continues to enforce laws and regulations protecting your money. Through the FDIC, every savings account, checking account, and certificate of deposit is insured by the federal government for up to $100,000. The FDIC has been in existence for 75 years, and no one has ever lost a penny on an insured deposit -- and this will not change.

America's financial system is intricate and complex. But behind all the technical terminology and statistics is a critical human factor -- confidence. Confidence in our financial system and in its institutions is essential to the smooth operation of our economy, and recently that confidence has been shaken. Investors should know that the United States government is taking action to restore confidence in America's financial markets so they can thrive again.

In the long run, Americans have good reason to be confident in our economic strength. America has the most talented, productive, and entrepreneurial workers in the world. This country is the best place in the world to invest and do business. Consumers around the world continue to seek out American products, as evidenced by record-high exports. We have a flexible and resilient system that absorbs challenges and makes corrections and bounces back.

We've seen that resilience over the past eight years. Since 2001, our economy has faced a recession, the bursting of the dot-com bubble, major corporate scandals, an unprecedented attack on our homeland, a global war on terror, a series of devastating natural disasters. Our economy has weathered every one of these challenges, and still managed to grow.

We will weather this challenge too, and we must do so together. This is no time for partisanship. We must join to move urgently needed legislation as quickly as possible, without adding controversial provisions that could delay action. I will work with Democrats and Republicans alike to steer our economy through these difficult times and get back to the path of long-term growth. Thank you very much.

END 10:54 A.M. EDT

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080919-2.html

20080919 President Bush Discusses Economy

Thursday, December 15, 2005

20051214 McDaniel students tackle bioterrorism scenario by Heidi Schroeder for The Westminster Eagle

20051214 McDaniel students tackle bioterrorism scenario by Heidi Schroeder for The Westminster Eagle

McDaniel students tackle bioterrorism scenario

12/14/05, By Heidi Schroeder

Members of the Carroll County emergency response team gathered at McDaniel College last week to discuss the release of an aerosol of plague at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore.

But not to worry - there were no patients flooding area hospitals, nor emergency notices being released to the public.

Instead, experts gathered at McDaniel for a bioterrorism exercise in a class, "National Security in a Changing World," hosted by Dr. Volker Franke.

The exercise is a cumulative project for the 14 upperclassmen enrolled in Franke's class this semester. In the scenario, each student is assigned the role of a member of the county's emergency response team.

Members of the Carroll County emergency response team, including emergency management coordinator Bill Martin, health officer Larry Leitch, HAZMAT team chair Jeff Kreimer, hospital infection control coordinator Brenda Kitchen, and Westminster police chief Jeff Spaulding and public works assistant director Jeff Glass, also took part in the project, as students took those roles in the class.

Each student was assigned a role on the response team, and interviewed their corresponding official in preparation for the Dec. 7 exercise.

For the drill, students were broken into two teams of seven and asked to prepare for a briefing to the mayor of Westminster. Former mayor Kevin Dayhoff reprised his role for the exercise - becoming mayor again for the night.

After an initial briefing, each team was given two updates on the scenario and five minutes to strategize solutions to each.

Over the course of two presentations, each team created a response to the possible spread of the plague.

In the mock scenario, nearly 3,000 guests of the Meyerhoff are "exposed" to the aerosol during a sold-out performance.

Students proposed everything from road blocks and quarantines to hiding emergency responders in an underground bunker to avoid media scrutiny.

At the end of the evening, the officials in attendance credited the student for their research and solutions.

"I truly believe that scenarios are more difficult to deal with than the real thing," Spaulding said, explaining that there are hard facts in a real incident - which are not always evident in an exercise.

Senior Alicia Feuillet played the role of Carroll County Hospital Center's infection control coordinator. She complimented the members of the county's emergency response team on hand - including Martin, Leitch, Spaulding, Kreimer and Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association liaison Leon Fleming - on the challenges of their jobs.

"We definitely learned to respect what you guys do," Feuillet said after her team's presentation.

Class after Sept. 11

After teaching national security classes at George Washington University and having prepared national security case exercises for Syracuse University for years, Franke first offered his national security course at McDaniel in the fall semester of 2001.

But before the semester was a month under way, four planes were hijacked in real life, and Franke's class changed - along with the rest of the world.

"Sept. 11 made me change the class and focus on terrorism," he said.

With this new focus, Franke contacted Westminster's then-mayor Dayhoff about participating in and helping to prepare an emergency response exercise at a local level.

"I wanted to show (the students) that terrorism is not just important when you live in New York City or Washington, D.C.," Franke said.

Franke credited Dayhoff with sharing information about who would be involved in an emergency response and for his continued participation in the class each year.

"Now, we actually have a following," Franke said.

One of those participants is Spaulding, who said afterward that he was impressed with students' responses, given that they had only their research to rely on.

"I think that they did their homework and they were very analytical in their approach," Spaulding said. "It's always good to hear other people's ideas.

This was the first year for Martin to fully participate in the exercise - in the past he had only participated in interviews, not in the actual briefings - but said he is already looking forward to next year.

"Exercise is becoming the norm," Martin said of the county's own attempts at emergency preparedness.

He said the students performed well both in research and under pressure.

"You're taking a bunch of young adults who have more than likely not been exposed to problems of that nature, particularly to that depth," Martin said. "I thought they did very well."


E-mail Heidi Schroeder at
Heidi Schroeder@patuxent.com

WestGovNet: Colleges and schools McDaniel College, Colleges and schools McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff Kevin Dayhoff press clippings

KevinDayhoffNet: Colleges and Universities McDaniel College, Colleges and Universities McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff press clippings

NBH: colleges and universities mcdaniel, dayhoff press clippings, mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex]

Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51418.html

20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51508.html

20051211 McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack by Gina Davis for the Baltimore Sun
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51845.html

mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex
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Monday, December 12, 2005

20051211 McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack by Gina Davis for the Baltimore Sun

20051211 McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack by Gina Davis for the Baltimore Sun

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.bioterror11dec11,1,4787835.story?coll=bal-local-carroll

A practical exam for disaster

McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack

By Gina Davis, Sun Reporter, December 11, 2005

It's two days after a sold-out concert at the Joseph B. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, where more than 2,000 music lovers were serenaded - and, unwittingly, poisoned at the hands of a bioterrorist who had covertly released an aerosol of plague.

Members of a Westminster emergency response team are huddled with the local mayor, cobbling together the city's strategy to deal with a possible outbreak of the pneumonic plague. They must put their heads together to present a solid plan to community officials and to reassure a near-panicked public.

For a group of
McDaniel College students, the team effort is the culminating exercise of a class called National Security in a Changing World. It's their chance to put the book knowledge they have acquired during the past semester into practice.

"The goal is that students learn about national security and learn how to translate the classroom into a practical experience," says Volker Franke, a national security expert who has been teaching the course at McDaniel since 2001.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - which occurred during the course's first semester - Franke included further discussion about government response to terrorism.

"We had talked about terrorism, but it used to be two or so lectures," says Franke, who is also a case director for the National Security Studies program at Syracuse University in New York. "I revised the course to address those issues. Terrorism has become a bigger part of the course."

He says that in 2002 he incorporated a bioterrorism exercise in the class, but it was an ungraded discussion. Since then, he has developed a simulation exercise for students that takes them out of the classroom and engages them with community officials as they research the roles they must assume for the project.

Franke says he discussed his idea with then-Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and came up with a list of roles for the students.

"I asked him, 'Who would your team be?" Franke says. "That's how we came up with the list of emergency responders. Then [Dayhoff] contacted other agencies within the county."

Dayhoff enlisted volunteers from various Carroll County offices, such as the health and public works departments.

The roles that Franke and Dayhoff decided would be critical to an emergency response team included: county emergency management coordinator, county health officer, city police chief, fire department spokesman, hazardous materials team chairman, city public works director and Carroll County Hospital Center's infection control coordinator.

This semester, the 14 students in Franke's class were divided into two teams and each participant was assigned one of seven roles on the emergency response team. During the course, they interviewed their real-life counterparts to gain an understanding of their roles and prepared descriptions of what they would bring to the situation.

"National security is not just about missiles, tanks and Marines," Franke says as the students arrived last week at a lecture room in Hill Hall for their mock disaster response planning drill, which counts for 15 percent of their grade.
"It starts at the local level," he says. "We have to bring it down to the level that pertains to them on a daily basis."

The exercise focuses on public officials' response to a bioterrorism attack in a command-center style arrangement. The students - in their roles as emergency responders - are seated at a semicircular table on one side of the room, while the real-life emergency responders are seated at an identical table across from them.

As part of the exercise, the real-life emergency responders listen as the students brief them on the status of the bioterror attack and the ensuing panic. The students then field a volley of questions from the experts.

"Mr. Incident Commander, you have thousands of people waiting for antibiotics and now you don't have enough. What's your plan?" Jeff Spaulding, Westminster's police chief, asks Mike Habegger, who has assumed the role of county health officer and director of the emergency response team.

"This is kind of unexpected," Habegger answers. "We will urge people to stay out of public places. It's very disturbing that people have not heeded our messages to stay home."

When one student suggests that local officials use a school as a quarantine site, the county's real health officer, Larry Leitch, questions that advice.

"Do you think it's wise to use a school building as a quarantine site?" Leitch asks. "Don't you think parents will be afraid to send their children back into that school?"

Students, undeterred, say they could use a large area, such as the gym, and install filters that would prevent bacteria from spreading to other parts of the building.
At two points in the exercise, students are given new information that they must quickly assess to reformulate their response plans.

In the end, the real-life emergency responders critique the students' response plans and their reactions to the evolving crisis. They tell the students how they would've responded had the exercise been real.

The students describe the exercise as eye-opening.

"With national security, you usually think, 'What can we do to prevent terrorism?' " says student Donnie Bell. "But there's really not much we can do other than try to stop it. What we have to do is figure out how to react."

gina.davis@baltsun.com

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Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack
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20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism
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Tuesday, December 09, 2003

20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism



20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism

http://www.mcdaniel.edu/news/archive03/bioterror2.shtml

Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism

December 8, 2003

Consider this scenario: Pneumonic plague has hit Baltimore, and city leaders suspect bioterrorism.

Bracing for the disease to spread across county lines, the Westminster mayor convenes a team of advisers.

Tension runs high. Not only are Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and other local leaders asking difficult questions; this new team of advisers has never handled an emergency plan – never mind one for a bioterrorist attack.

They are McDaniel students in a political science class, "National Security in a Changing World."

And when the students met with local emergency responders Dec. 3 to lay out their strategy, their real-life counterparts were quick to complete their plans with advice – from critique to praise for the students' creativity.

As two groups of students presented their proposals to local leaders, they offered a range of ideas. They discussed aspects of their plans, from blocking main roads and screening entrants to quarantining people who had been exposed, offering treatment for patients at the former Lowe's building and area schools, and even shuttling the sick so they wouldn't create extra traffic on area roads.

"Mostly what we're trying to do is prevent the spread and go a little overboard," said Nate Getchell '05, acting as the health officer for one of the groups. "Offense is your best defense."

The students proposed developing hotlines for people seeking information and spreading the news via local TV and radio stations. One of the groups wanted to broadcast the hotline information from police cruisers.

"Has the mayor declared marshal law?" Dayhoff asked.

Without hesitation, Jon Fitzgerald '06, serving as the public information officer for his group, responded. "No, the mayor has not. Quite frankly, we are trying to remain as calm as possible."

Looking ahead, the students even tried to find solutions such as sending contaminated hospital materials to an incinerator in York, Pa., and storing dead bodies in refrigerators at a meatpacking plant.

"I think the identification of a temporary morgue is a great thing," said Mike Webster, director of Campus Safety. But be prepared, he told the students, for the liability issues after destroying a local business's reputation.

Dayhoff complimented the students on their plans, which they developed after interviewing their real-life counterparts and then grappling with the scenario, created by their instructor, Volker Franke, assistant professor of political science and international relations.

"Some of those things that you didn't get right … you didn't get it right with a lot of depth and a lot of thought and a lot of integrity, and that never bothers me," Dayhoff said.

In a real incident, Dayhoff said he would have declared marshal law – as he did during Hurricane Isabel – along with turning to the National Guard and Maryland Emergency Management Agency for extra support.

"You're going to be absolutely amazed at how much of your future roles will be absorbed with public health, safety, and welfare," Dayhoff told the students. "I wish I had taken this class when I was your age. I've just had to put it together over the years."

For Leon Checca '05, acting as public information officer for one of the groups gave him a glimpse into what he might like to do after college, possibly working for the National Security Agency.

"It was definitely really interesting," he said. "We didn't really think anything would happen in Westminster. We thought it would happen elsewhere."

But if it does happen in Westminster, Dayhoff may have a few extra advisers.

"There were no incorrect or wrong decisions. What's really important is that you planned," he said. "I would go into any emergency response with you all."

For more information, contact Rita Beyer, associate director of media relations, at 410-857-2294.


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