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 People Agnew-Spiro qv Gov Vice-pres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People Agnew-Spiro qv Gov Vice-pres. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

20080123 This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Iron Chef Maryland

Kevin E. Dayhoff

As members of the Maryland General Assembly prepare a menu of legislative edicts that will save the world from global warming, the weather feels rather chilly for State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.

Never fear, Mrs. Grasmick, word in the airways is that Gov. Martin O’Malley is breaking out the large backyard crab pot and the sharp knives – and you, my dear, are to be served for dinner.

Fellow Maryland crab aficionados are aware that crabs are put in water, in a large pot – alive. Heat is slowly applied and before you know it, after a brief kerfuffle, the tasty crustaceans are boiled alive. Of course, at first the crabs just think they have escaped the bushel basket to go for a swim.

In December, the state school board voted to extend Mrs. Grasmick’s contract. Ah, the cruelest hoax of all is the hope for safety. The Democrat leadership of the General Assembly and the governor’s office were less than pleased.

The program in Annapolis is really called “Iron Chef Maryland,” with all appropriate apologies to any reference to the hit “Food Channel” program “Iron Chef America.”

Today, the governor will utter the opening battle cry – and serve his State of the State “appetizer” to the legislature assembled jointly in the kitchen-chamber of the House of Delegates.

Sure to be included in the annual address will be… Read the rest of the column here: Iron Chef Maryland


A Funny Thing Happened on The Way…..

Farrell Keough

A funny thing happened to the Resource Conservation Zoning areas the other day – they got a reprieve from potential damage by the Board of County Commissioners. But, only a reprieve. These zoned areas and the rules surrounding them are still on the altar of political distortion.


Tuesday, January 22, 2008

All Over But...

Roy Meachum

Marylanders' primary vote in three weeks could mean bupkus (less than nothing). Nothing will probably matter after a whole passel of states square off the week before, February 5. It looks to me like the traditional Democratic bosses want Bill Clinton's former first lady. After the Iowa surprise, that's what we have seen. They took over in New Hampshire and Nevada.


Teaching is Not Telling

Nick Diaz

“Teaching is not telling.” Wise words spoken many years ago by a well-known Frederick County Public Schools administrator. This man is still working in the trenches, down at the school level, where he continues to make things happen.


The President Visits Frederick – Chapter Two

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

Once the other greeters had arrived, a member of the White House advance team called us together for a briefing. Nothing is left to chance, and every single movement is scripted. You’re told where to stand, how to line up, and where to go once you’re spoken to and shaken hands with the president.


Monday, January 21, 2008

The President In Frederick, Chapter 1

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

Okay, having the President of the United States in Frederick isn’t really such a big deal. In case you didn’t know, he spends many weekends up at Camp David. In fact, I think at the end of his two terms, he will have spent more time in the Catoctin Mountains than any previous president.


From Walkersville With Bias

Steven R. Berryman

Advice from the publisher of The Tentacle, John W. Ashbury given to me recently correctly told me that “A pancake, however thin, always has 2 sides,” in reminding me to consider the aspects of perspective and fairness in my columns.


Dr. King’s Call

Derek Shackelford

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is arguably the greatest orator of the last 50 years in America. Today portions of some of his Speeches will be played to celebrate the federal holiday celebrating his birth.


Friday, January 18, 2008

Governing by Fiat

Roy Meachum

Back on October 26, I offered TheTentacle.com readers this observation: "From here the omens are not good for the governor's session that opens Monday. Martin O'Malley hoped calling the legislature in would lead to answers for Maryland's staggering deficits. I don't think it's going to happen." I was wrong.


My world turned upside down

Edward Lulie III

It is amazing, as many people know, how one day can turn your life upside down with no way possible to upright it.


Thursday, January 17, 2008

How Quickly We Forget

Chris Cavey

What a difference a few years make. It seems like it was just 2004 and The Sun of Baltimore commissioned a poll where, oddly enough, a Republican governor – after his first year in office – scored a rating of 56% popularity from the citizens of Maryland. The press and media were in disbelief.


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

“When all else fails, read the Constitution”

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Thursday, Carroll County Circuit Court Judge Thomas F. Stansfield delivered a decision in the lawsuit filed by Republicans, which sought to overturn more than $1.3 billion in new taxes passed in the special session of the Maryland General Assembly in November.


Joining The Great Society

Norman M. Covert

Whether one likes it or not, this is the moment when the reality of socialism strikes my generation in the face. We cannot avoid it. All manner of protestations about the rightness of conservative values cannot compete with the reality of Big Government – and truly this is not George Bush’s fault.


Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Elitist Commissioners

Roy Meachum

John "Lennie" Thompson and the commissioners he continues to dominate see Frederick's development strictly in terms of profit hungry and all-powerful builders.


What’s Behind This Moratorium?

Farrell Keough

To moratorium or not to moratorium; that is not necessarily the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the traffic jams and loss of beautiful landscape, or take action against our development issues and end them…


Monday, January 14, 2008

Lessons Learned

Steven R. Berryman

I consider myself fortunate to have witnessed the quasi-legal proceedings of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Inc.’s (AMC) hearings to obtain approval of a special exception that would allow them to build a 43,000 square foot convention building in Walkersville.


General Assembly Journal 2008 – Volume 1

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

With the tension of the recently completed special session still hanging thick in the Annapolis air, and the unusual spring-like warmth banishing the normal overcoats and gloves, 188 legislators again descended on the state capitol to begin the 425th session of the Maryland General Assembly.

_____

January 16, 2008

“When all else fails, read the Constitution”

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Thursday, Carroll County Circuit Court Judge Thomas F. Stansfield delivered a decision in the lawsuit filed by Republicans, which sought to overturn more than $1.3 billion in new taxes passed in the special session of the Maryland General Assembly in November.

January 9, 2008

The Special Session Lawsuit

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The 425th session of the Maryland General Assembly begins today. Hopefully, the first order of business for that august body will be to re-visit and fix all the problems created during the special taxing session last November.

January 2, 2008

Spiro Agnew: Patron Saint of Alaska

Kevin E. Dayhoff

I was treated to a white Christmas last week. It snowed everyday the entire week I stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, which is incidentally the same hotel where the patron saint of Alaska, Maryland’s own Spiro Agnew, stayed on an impromptu stopover in 1981.

20080123 This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

20080102 This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The Tentacle posts on “Soundtrack.”

The Tentacle on “New Bedford Herald”

Spiro Agnew: Patron Saint of Alaska

Kevin E. Dayhoff

I was treated to a white Christmas last week. It snowed everyday the entire week I stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, which is incidentally the same hotel where the patron saint of Alaska, Maryland’s own Spiro Agnew, stayed on an impromptu stopover in 1981.

According to Anchorage Daily News columnist Mike Dunham, who wrote a tribute to Mr. Agnew on the anniversary of his birthday in 1996, he visit to Anchorage was not “on purpose.”

“In 1981, he and 180 other passengers on a commercial jet to Korea were detained in Anchorage after an engine conked out. Spotted at the Hotel Captain Cook, Agnew shied from questions – ‘I’m not in politics anymore. I just don’t have time to fool with this anymore’ – lit his Marlboro and puffed quietly into history.”

It is that “history” that fascinates an historian, in what is otherwise the sordid and conflicted saga of an American politician from Maryland, who irrevocably changed the future of Alaska just months before he resigned as the United States vice-president on October 10, 1973.

Read the entire column here: Spiro Agnew: Patron Saint of Alaska

Nostradamus Can Take A Back Seat, Please!

John W. Ashbury


How to Fix Your Life in 2008

Tom McLaughlin

The Wall Street Journal recently had a question and answer session on “How to Fix Your Life in 2008.” The problems are theirs; the answers mine.


Code Home Rule is half a cup

Linda & Tony Checchia


Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The City

Roy Meachum

As yet another year begins, I find again that I am the richest of men and in a way that counts better than money. I am, at times, overwhelmed by the lode of friends Frederick has given. In organizing a surprise October birthday lunch, Pat assembled a few among the handful who never questioned or tested our relationship, no matter the storms that raged around me.


Monday, December 31, 2007

Presidents, Priesthood, and Politics

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

Should a candidate for president have to explain their faith to the American voter? Do people who aspire to hold the highest elected office in our nation have an obligation to make each of us feel comfortable with their personal view of theology and how that faith influences their life and politics?


Citizens For Walkersville – Part 1

Steven R. Berryman

The true story of how a small agricultural town came together against a ridiculous land use proposition. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Inc., (AMC) chose my town of 5500 residents to build their International Convention Center, and upset our way of life.


Friday, December 28, 2007

Pushkin's Yule

Roy Meachum

The English pointer in my life still misses the Santa-red scarf he wore for years. En Masse's Pam left town a few Yuletides back, taking along her wonderful smile and great heart. The scarf was her project.

WE GET LETTERS!

WE GET LETTERS!!!!! A writer from Emmitsburg takes issue with the premise proposed by another letter writer earlier this week over who's to blame for our current infrastructure problems. CLICK HERE!


Thursday, December 27, 2007

Santa’s Doing His Job – Again.

John W. Ashbury

What a tiring trip Santa had. He was so beat after his 24-hour flight that he slept all of Christmas Day. But the day after, he returned the many calls left by the staff of The Tentacle.


Warring Cultures

Tony Soltero

Most of us remember the Terri Schiavo story, which raged three years ago or so. She was a woman whose life was hanging by a thread, and whose husband tried to honor her wishes by disconnecting the feeding tube that kept her barely alive. Her doctors had concluded that there was no remaining hope for her recovery.


Wednesday, December 26, 2007

A Christmas Tragedy

Kevin E. Dayhoff

We are all mourning this Christmas season after last Wednesday’s senseless death of Smithsburg police officer Christopher Shane Nicholson, 25.


The Joy and Sadness of Christmas

Tom McLaughlin

It’s almost over. I have just about cleaned out the four-story townhouse and have over 100 boxes of stuff. I say stuff because I was not sure what to throw out and what to keep. Most of the stuff was Mom’s and Dad’s.

WE GET LETTERS!

WE GET LETTERS!!! A Walkersville resident commiserates with Steve Berryman and his thoughts about I-270 and its effect on our community. CLICK HERE!!! CLICK HERE!


Monday, December 24, 2007

Frederick Children

Roy Meachum

These observations appeared in my Frederick News-Post column the December sleigh-bell-bedecked horses pulled wagons through downtown streets; a spectacle that had disappeared several decades before. It was also the season when my column first appeared.


Family Traditions – Old and New

Farrell Keough

Think back to those exhilarating days just prior to the big event; the chill in the air; the anticipatory extra step in your gait; the constant talk among your friends as to what you might find on that oh-so-special day.

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20080102 This week in The Tentacle

Tags/Labels: The Tentacle, Alaska, Governor - Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew, Energy Oil