20080118 Westminster Eagle column: Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words

Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words

Westminster Eagle

01/18/08 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote in a book, "Strength to Love," published in 1963:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. ..."

Those words are as enduring today as when written 45 years ago.

The year 1963 was a long time ago and we, as a society, have come along way toward social justice since the days of legally-sanctioned segregation.

And yet we must be constantly vigilant, as new challenges are always on the horizon.

This is especially true today as our nation continues to wallow in a political tar pit like some bellowing mastodon with a hangover. It seems these days that all issues of community, race relations, the environment and public policy quickly deteriorate into a "red versus blue" coarsening of dialogue promoted by a lack of humanity and the intellectually challenged.

Here's a well-kept secret for you -- the red versus blue thing isn't real, except as promoted by pundits and cable television stations that wish to have their way with you.

Leadership is about bringing folks together -- not promoting division.

We could use a few national leaders like Dr. King these days and it's only appropriate that we set aside time every year to attempt to reacquaint ourselves with the practice of solving our problems by cultivating nonviolence and compassion.

Because I haven't taken enough abuse recently, I'll venture to share my view that the recent discussion about Taneytown not being a "Sanctuary City" would be boring if it didn't give us a massive headache.

Please re-read the first two paragraphs.

The resolution of Taneytown is a stick in the eye for those of us who are trying to promote Carroll County as a welcoming community and family-friendly place to live and prosper.

It does little, if nothing, to address the problems of illegal immigration.

The societal and economic cost of illegal immigration is certainly a fair discussion. I mean, what part of illegal is not understood?

Nevertheless, the overall solution needs to occur in Congress, a body politic that, unfortunately, gives new meaning to "pathological dysfunctia."

Furthermore, the resolution coming at a time of the year when we celebrate Dr. King could not be more ironic.

Take a memo: xenophobia as an approach to solving complicated immigration problems is interesting in the way a septic truck running off the road, through your front flower bed and ending up on your front porch is interesting.

The resulting rhetoric, gnashing of teeth and collective hand-wringing only promotes myths and misinformation that distort meaningful debate and mute the questions that demand carefully thought-out solutions.

At this point, the only "sanctuary" I'm interested in is a sanctuary from stories like this one that will only go down as indictments of community leaders who have spent years offering solutions in search of a problem in an attempt to gain political advantage by populism.

This year we commemorate the life and work of Dr. King on Jan. 21, but he was born in Atlanta on Jan. 15, 1929.

Much of our community will come together to celebrate him this Saturday when the Carroll County NAACP will hold the fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at Martin's Westminster at 8 a.m. (If you'd like to go, call the NAACP office at 410-751-7667.)

Meanwhile, what I really wanted to write about is a persistent and perennial question from many young readers and new folks in our community:

"Who was Robert Moton?"

If you have any memories about the old Robert Moton School in Carroll County, please share them with me, so that I may include them in a future column.

Considering how angry and passionate folks are about the sanctuary city discussion, my next column may very well be written from an undisclosed location.

Hopefully it is a place that serves grits and has a good stereo system so that I can play Led Zeppelin's remake of Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie's "When the Levee Breaks."

Anybody know what that song has to do with Robert Moton?

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kdayhoff@carr.org.

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=978&NewsID=869869&CategoryID=18317&on=1

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Courthouse history seems to match theatrical flair of current case
The eyes of Maryland were on the Carroll County Courthouse last Friday as oral arguments were heard in the case of Michael D. Smigiel Sr., et al, v. Peter Franchot, et al.

This, of course, is the historic constitutional test case pertaining to alleged constitutional and procedural irregularities i...
[Read full story]

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Something we really must talk about
On Christmas Eve, while many friends and families were preparing to get together and celebrate the holidays, the friends, colleagues and loved ones of Smithsburg police officer Christopher Nicholson, 25, gathered to bury him.

On Dec. 19, Officer Nicholson and the stranger he tried to help, Alison ...
[Read full story]

20080117 O’Malley: Slow To Govern, Quick To Make Mistakes by Maryland Republican Party Chairman Jim Pelura

O’Malley: Slow To Govern, Quick To Make Mistakes

An Op-Ed by Maryland Republican Party Chairman Jim Pelura

January 17, 2008

Democrat Gov. Martin O’Malley was inaugurated one year ago today. What a difference a year makes! We started 2007 with his do-nothing Regular Session of the General Assembly and ended with his rush-to-do-everything Special Session.

Early in 2007, Martin O’Malley was criticized for being “slow to govern.” Democrats were complaining that O’Malley had no legislative agenda and that he had not filled vacancies within his Cabinet. When O’Malley did come up with legislative priorities, he failed to build majority support for a repeal of the death penalty or granting in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants.

After the Regular Session ended, editorial boards took note of the unfinished business and what would need to wait until the next Session. In particular, O’Malley pushed through a $30 billion budget without the necessary revenue to fund it. The Republicans, on the other hand, put forth a fiscally responsible, budget alternative that would have balanced the budget without raising taxes. Indeed, O’Malley was “slow to govern” and was not “ready for primetime.”

One month after his do-nothing Regular Session concluded, O’Malley’s Public Service Commission dropped a bomb shell. They announced they were approving a request by BGE to raise utility rates. Candidate O’Malley promised on the campaign trail to “stop the rate hike.” As a candidate, he blamed Governor Ehrlich for the proposed rate hike a year before and claimed Ehrlich could act, but wouldn’t. Now, O’Malley was claiming that he, as Governor, had no authority to stop the rate hike. In fact, his hand-picked Public Service Commission was approving a rate hike higher than what Ehrlich’s PSC approved. This would be just one of many campaign promises O’Malley would break within his first year in office.

O’Malley then spent the summer trying to convince Marylanders that they should pay more in taxes. He tried every angle – “the rich need to pay more of their share,” “vital services will need to be cut,” and “I inherited this big deficit from Governor Ehrlich.” Nobody was buying it. They knew O’Malley, a tax-and-spend liberal, was raiding the wallets of working families to deliver political favors to his left-wing allies.

Martin O’Malley was even forced to backtrack on his quest to raise the gas tax. With record gas prices, O’Malley wanted to increase the burden on working families so he would have more money in the transportation slush fund to use for his left-wing agenda. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse last summer, O’Malley even tried to make the case that he needed to raise the gas tax to address the state’s infrastructure needs. In particular, his Administration revealed that the Bay Bridge was built similarly to the Minneapolis Bridge that collapsed. The Maryland Republican Party put out information showing that the Bay Bridge and many of the state’s major bridges and tunnels were self-funded by tolls collected and were not permitted to receive gas tax money. We called on O’Malley to be honest in his dealings with Marylanders, and he eventually gave up on the gas tax increase.

Martin O’Malley then called a rush-to-do-everything Special Session, since he failed to lead earlier in the year. He did so without the agreement of Speaker Mike Busch, Senate President Mike Miller, or the Republican Caucus. Republican and Democrat leaders and editorial boards of several newspapers cautioned against calling a Special Session. The Maryland GOP predicted that if a Special Session occurred, legislators would not be able to fully deliberate over the details of legislation and that members of the public would not be given adequate notice and time to voice their opposition. Unfortunately, our predictions proved to be true.

On the first day of the Special Session, the Maryland Republican Party organized the largest anti-tax rally in Maryland history and brought the message directly to the Democrat leadership. Marylanders saw the Special Session as the sham that it was. O’Malley’s disapproval numbers jumped by ten points and a majority of the coveted unaffiliated voters indicated that they believe that Maryland is going in the wrong direction under Governor Martin O’Malley. In recent weeks, O’Malley’s approval rating has dropped even further to among the lowest in ten years.

Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters flooded their legislators’ phones and e-mail accounts with outrage that the largest tax increase in Maryland history was occurring in the dark of night. Everyone but O’Malley and the Democrat leadership knew that there was a spending problem, not a revenue problem. They understood that the tax increases being proposed were extremely regressive and would hurt those least able to pay. They also knew that if their own families had to work within a budget so should the state government.

Every day of Special Session, O’Malley and the Democrats targeted another group of Marylanders for higher taxes. They hit a wall of opposition everywhere they turned. In the end, they shifted their tax increase to computer services without any public hearings or debate. Many legislators who supported this tax increase now realize that they acted rashly and that the tax will be difficult to enforce and will cripple the high-tech sector in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., which competes with Northern Virginia. Republican legislators are putting forth legislation for a full repeal of the computer services tax.

O’Malley’s do-nothing Regular Session and his rush-to-do-everything Special Session demonstrate that he is slow to govern and quick to make mistakes. He is ill-equipped to lead and has made errors in judgment that will have long-term ramifications for the state’s economy and the freedoms of our citizenry.

###

Related:

1/17/2008 Chairman Pelura: O'Malley - Slow To Govern, Quick To Make Mistakes

1/16/2008 Maryland GOP Wins First Battle Of '08 Over Illegal Immigration

1/14/2008 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - Taxes Fuel Discontent - O'Malley's Approval Rating Plummets in Survey

1/9/2008 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - O'Malley's Job Approval Rating Hits New Low

1/3/2008 Republicans Call on Attorney General to Request Investigation of Special Session Actions

20080117 Power outage affects web site

Power outage affects web site

Carroll County agencies' web sites, email service affected by power outage

Thursday, received 5:10 PM January 17^th, 2008

The web sites of Carroll County Government, Carroll County Public Library, and Carroll County Public Schools are currently unavailable because of a power outage. Some email service to employees also is affected. In addition, the library headquarters and its branches in Taneytown, Mount Airy and North Carroll are without telephone service.

It is uncertain when service will be restored.

# # #

20080119 Public Hearing on Carroll County Local Bill Requests

CARROLL COUNTY DELEGATION

PUBLIC HEARING ON LOCAL BILL REQUESTS

Editor’s note: The public hearing on local bills proposed for the 2008 General Assembly is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Jan. 19, in Room 003 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster.

JANUARY 19, 2008

AGENDA ITEMS

Commissioners and Allied Agencies Bills

• Public Facilities Bond

• Distribution of Tobacco Products to Minors – Prohibition & Penalties

• Green Building Tax Credit

• Regulation of Domestic Animals – Fine & Penalty Increase

• Alcoholic Beverages – Increase Fees

• Alcoholic Beverages – Sunday Sales

• Alcoholic Beverages – Arts Council

· Exempt Carroll County Public Schools from all State and local noise ordinances

· Salary Increase for Board Members & Board President

Other Items for Discussion

· Election of County Commissioners Four by District, One at Large

· Creation of a County Police Department – Should it go to referendum?

20080109 Westminster Eagle: Districting plan faces hearing in January by Bob Allen

Westminster Eagle: Districting plan faces hearing in January by Bob Allen

Posted January 17, 2008

01/09/08 By Bob Allen

Bill would create four districts, one at-large

The latest proposal to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three to five members will be open for public comment at a hearing set for Jan. 19 in Westminster.

State Del. Donald Elliott (R-Dist. 4B) said he co-created the plan with State Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Dist. 9). It calls for four commissioners to be elected by districts with a fifth elected at-large, or county-wide.

The at-large commissioner would serve as president of the Board of Commissioners.

Under the plan, Carroll voters would vote for two commissioner candidates, one running in their district and one at-large.

On the eve of the General Assembly opening in Annapolis this week, Elliott said he believes his proposal has enough bipartisan support to get it through the assembly. A similar plan failed to make it to the floor in 2006, mostly because of disagreement over how and where district lines should be drawn.

"Last (time) a lot of people felt the (commissioner) districts should align with state legislative districts," Elliott said. "This time, that has been done to the extent that it could be done."

The failed proposal also differed in that it called for five commissioners, all elected by district. That's what voters selected in a 2004 referendum.

Elliott said his four-district plan is a compromise that carves out districts as equitably as possible, based on population, a per capita balance between registered Republicans, Democrats and independents and geography.

"The bottom line is, we are trying to make a compromise with this," Elliott said. "I feel very strongly that with this county growing the way it is, a change in governance is in order."

Skeptics have said the new proposal should not go forward because it differs from the five-district plan chosen in the 2004 referendum -- and as a result may eventually be overturned in court.

Elliott says his proposal does not need to go to referendum and is on solid legal ground.

"We're not violating the public's wishes," he said. "We have checked with the Attorney General's office and we have a written opinion from them that this is not in violation of the referendum and that we are not doing anything illegal.

"For some of these people (who oppose his plan), they are using that (argument) as a way to try to kill this bill, as in the past," he added. "There are still people who want three commissioners and others who still want five at-large commissioners.

Janet Jump, former president of the Board of Elections who also served on the committee that drew up the initial districting plan, likes Elliott's revised plan and thinks a commissioner-by-district system is long overdue.

"Carroll County is very diverse; South Carroll is a world away from North Carroll," Jump said. "These (sectional) differences deserve to be honored and recognized in running the county government, and the present system doesn't do this."

"I think creating districts is the only way we can recognize these differences," she said.

Elliott said his plan is modeled after Charles County and it works effectively there.

"I've talked to people in Charles County and other counties (where the board of commissioners has been expanded) and they told me it does make a difference," he said.

The new five-commissioner plan has been submitted to members of Carroll's delegation to Annapolis. The delegation will vote on it sometime after taking public comment at the Jan. 19 hearing.

"If approved by the delegation, it will be dropped in the hopper and be voted on by the Maryland General Assembly," he said. "Hopefully this time we have bipartisan support we need."

The public hearing on the proposed five-commissioner plan and other local bills proposed for the 2008 General Assembly is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Jan. 19, in Room 003 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster.

####

20080116 Carroll County Times columnist will be missed

Carroll County Times columnist will be missed

Letters to the Editor for Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Carroll County Times

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Editor:

I was sad to read in the Neighbors of Central Carroll section of the paper on January 11 that Ruth Seitler has discontinued her column for health reasons.

Seitler has delighted readers, historians and fellow writers for almost 20 years with her column, "Of Times Past."

Charles Caleb Colton wrote in 1825: "Our admiration of fine writing will always be in proportion to its real difficulty and its apparent ease."

Seitler always made fine writing look easy and many readers were delighted with her insights and experiences.

Her column was comforting, and comfortable, and best read curled up on the couch with a warm cup of tea and honey. She always gave her readers a break from the hecticness of today as she took us on a journey back to times past.

Her son, Jim Seitler wrote the last column in which he noted that his mom "loved writing (the) column every week. She would often read it to me and tell me about the letters or calls she had received from 'her readers.'"

He wrote poignantly: "As children we think that time stands still and as adults we realize that it moves faster than we want."

Ruth Seitler wrote for so many years that many of us took it for granted that she would write forever. Obviously, time moves faster than we want.

It was apparent that she loved writing, and as one of her many dedicated readers I loved reading her writing. Her column will be missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to her and her family. Thank you for sharing the last 20 years.

Kevin Dayhoff

Westminster

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/01/16/news/opinion/letters/letters762.txt

20080117 Times Watch: Anger Continues Over the Times' Sleazy Story on Killer Veterans

Times Watch: Anger Continues Over the Times' Sleazy Story on Killer Veterans

Outrage over a sleazy Times story on U.S. veterans who come home and kill.

Posted by: Clay Waters 1/17/2008 11:21:07 AM

Outrage continues to boil over the Times' front-page story on veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and committing murders and was immediately discredited by cursory research as journalistically and statistically worthless. The Times' main finding, that 121 veterans either committed a killing in this country or are charged with one, was useless without context, which the Times either couldn't or didn't provide.

Armed Liberal tackled the story on that very point the day it appeared:

"I keep asking the simple question -- well, what does it mean? How do these 121 murderers compare with the base rate of murderers in the population? And the answer appears to be damn well."

Thursday's New York Post ran a scathing editorial on the Times' "Killer Vet Lie" and called on Public Editor Clark Hoyt to respond:

"Indeed, it's impossible to take issue with the statistics cited by reporters Deborah Sontag and Lizette Alvarez -- because their article doesn't have any.

"For most editors, that would be a red flag. Not at the Times, not in a piece that appealed to the editors' dearest prejudices."

…

"Is the number of killings by combat vets dramatically higher than the rate involving people of the same age who've never served in the military?

"It's a good question -- in fact, it's the key question. But the Times never asked it. Or, if it did, it never reported the answer.

"Perhaps for good reason -- because the statistics tell a far different tale than that appearing in the Times."

Indeed, those who've run the numbers on various sets of crime statistics finds that one is significantly safer around veterans than around same-aged peers. The Post's military correspondent Ralph Peters did some crunching:

"…to match the homicide rate of their [nonmilitary] peers, our troops would've had to come home and commit about 150 murders a year, for a total of 700 to 750 murders between 2003 and the end of 2007" -- six times the number the Times cited."

Bob Owens has a comprehensive piece at Pajamas Media, where he dug in further into the individual cases and found that "of those 121 summaries [in a sidebar story], 40 do not show direct ties between the stresses of deploying to combat zones and the homicides for which these veterans were charged, and of those, 14 were of highly dubious nature."

The Weekly Standard has a useful roundup of the most cogent criticism of the story, which doesn't seem to be getting much in the way of defense from the left wing of the blogosphere (except for the dead-enders at the Huffington Post, naturally).

####

20080116 This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

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…

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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.

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Friday, January 11, 2008

The Clinton Gimmick

Roy Meachum

Hillary Clinton won New Hampshire, in spite of polls – and there were more than several – that showed she was running 5-13 points behind Barack Obama. But they were all taken before she turned on tears in a Portsmouth diner.

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Thursday, January 10, 2008

Teenagers and Judges

Norman M. Covert

The “Help Wanted” Sign is on display at the Elections Board of Frederick County, which has put out a general plea to hire 17-year-olds as election judges for the February 12th Primary Election and the November 4 Presidential Election. Adults are welcome, too, but the teens would certainly be a plus, according to election officials.

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Wednesday, 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.

“The Worst of Times”

Tom McLaughlin

Let’s start the New Year again. Roll back the clock to December 31 and kiss one another at the stroke of midnight.

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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

The Obama Factor

Roy Meachum

One-time Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton goes into today's New Hampshire primary a surprising underdog.

Understanding Middle School Math

Nick Diaz

The job of the typical middle and high school mathematics teacher is a challenging one, as evidenced by the kinds of questions and statements made by students, parents, and school administrators; these are the people who comprise our “constituency”, if I may.

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Monday, January 7, 2008

Presidential Wannabes – The GOP Field

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

Since offering unwanted advice to national presidential candidates seems to be the new media cottage industry, here’s my attempt to play with the big boys.

20080114 Tom LoBianco’s initial blog post

More good news in the Maryland blogosphere; Tom LoBianco, the Maryland state politics reporter with the Washington Times has started a blog on the Washington Times’ website.

Check it out:

Main | With O'Malley, everyone's a critic »

Greetings and salutations

Posted on January 14, 2008 5:30 PM

Welcome to my blog, be sure to check in frequently for updates on Maryland politics.

[…]

The regular session of Maryland's General Assembly runs through early April. So keep your eyes here for updates throughout the day on some of the frontburner topics this session: taxes, homosexual "marriage," energy policy, the state's death penalty and illegal immigration.

I'll also link my stories for the day here and try to work in some of the best of the Maryland blogosphere from the state's citizen journos.

So let's get kickin' with my story today on the lack of civility in Gov. Martin O'Malley's "One Maryland."

“LoBianco On Maryland”

20080115 Next Monday is Lyndon Baines Johnson Day

Next Monday is Lyndon Baines Johnson Day

January 15, 2008

Hat Tip: Delusional Duck

Don Surber has the story…

Hillary to celebrate Lyndon Baines Johnson Day instead.

[…]

But she did get booed in New York as she spoke at a birthday celebration for the slain civil rights leader, reported Fox News, the most trusted name in TV news…

It’s Hillary “Goldwater Girl” Clinton who has a dream – which includes reinventing history, including her own. Of course, there are two sides to the story. And I’m sure you are surprised that the “The Caucus (for Clinton)” blog on the New York Times web site has another take on the matter.

PS:

Sisu has the scoop the Goldwater Girl history and more: “Chatty Hillary”:

Goldwater Girl Hillary Rodham was the crème de la crème, smarter and savvier sis of two also-ran brothers from a wealthy Chicago suburban family. Hillary! quit the campus Republican party and got religion at Wellesley College, where she famously studied at Saul [ends justify the means] Alinsky's knee.

Her thesis, written under his tutelage, was suppressed by Wellesley at her request, and Alinsky is totally absent from her Wikipedia entry. Make of that what you will.

Above, in the flower of her youthful beauty (no attribution) left and right as a Wellesley senior in 1969, when her graduation speech made Time mag as she declared "We're searching for a more immediate, ecstatic and penetrating mode of living." Aren't we all? Then came Yale Law School and her destiny, Slick WIlly. Immediate, ecstatic and penetrating, indeed.

Sorta related: An interesting take on “Goldwater Girl.”

####

20080115 Next Monday is Lyndon Baines Johnson Day

20080114 Andy Green, Erin Sullivan, and Tom LoBianco talk with Marc Steiner on WYPR

Andy Green, Erin Sullivan, and Tom LoBianco talk with Marc Steiner on WYPR

The Marc Steiner Show

January 14^th through 18, 2008

Monday, January 14th, 2008

Noon-1:00 LISTEN HERE

The 425th legislative session of Maryland's General Assembly got underway last week. What are the biggest issues expected to be? Marc talks with Andy Green of the Baltimore Sun, Erin Sullivan of the Baltimore City Paper, and Tom LoBianco of the Washington Times.

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20080114 Special Session lawsuit appealed

Special Session lawsuit appealed

The Hat Tip goes to Beth Ward and the Carroll County Times who broke the story late Monday afternoon.

[…]

An appeal of Carroll County Circuit Judge Thomas Stansfield's dismissal of the lawsuit was filed Monday afternoon in Carroll County Circuit Court.

[…]

Five Republican legislators and a Carroll County businessman are appealing a judge's decision that there was no merit to a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of November's special session of the General Assembly.

[…]

I’ve pasted the Notice of Appeal below:

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR CARROLL COUNTY

MICHAEL D. SMIGIEL, SR., et al.

Plaintiffs

v.

PETER FRANCHOT, et al.

Defendants

Case No.: 06-C-07-049648

NOTICE OF APPEAL

Notice is hereby given that Plaintiffs Michael D. Smigiel, Sr., John C. Pardoe, David R. Brinkley, Allan H. Kittleman, Anthony O'Donnell, and Christopher Shank, by Irwin R. Kramer, their attorney, appeal to the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland from the judgment entered in favor of Defendants on January 10, 2008 by the Circuit Court for Carroll County, Maryland, as

reflected in the Circuit Court’s Opinion and in its Declaratory Judgment of that same date.

/s/

_________________

Irwin R. Kramer

KRAMER & CONNOLLY

Suite 211

500 Redland Court

Owings Mills, Maryland 21117

(410) 581-0070

Counsel for Plaintiffs

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on January 14, 2008, a copy of the foregoing was sent via email attachment (by agreement of counsel) to:

Austin C. Schlick, Esquire

Assistant Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

200 Saint Paul Place

Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Terry A. Berger, Esquire

Suite 500

9141 Reisterstown Road

Owings Mills, Maryland

/s/

________________

Irwin R. Kramer

20080114 Maryland Blogger Alliance as of Jan 14th 2008

Maryland Blogger Alliance as of Jan 14^th 2008

Pillage Idiot (Rockville)
Soccer Dad (Baltimore)
Maryland Conservatarian (Rockville)
The Baltimore Reporter (Baltimore)
Technosailor (Woodlawn)
monoblogue (Salisbury)
Crablaw (Reisterstown)
Kevin Dayhoff (Westminster)
Politics, Hon (Baltimore)
blogger1947 (Gwynn Oak)
Jousting for Justice (Owings Mills)
The Voltage Gate (Frostburg)
Howard County Md. Blog (Ellicott City)
The Hedgehog Report (Columbia)
The Pubcrawler (Gaithersburg)
C. Dowd's Blog (Lansdowne)
Oriole Post (Silver Spring)
Escape from Pianosa (Baltimore)
Maryland Politics Today (Laurel)
The Greenbelt (Laurel)
Leviathan Montgomery (Silver Spring)
Going to the Mat (Frederick)
Pines Above Snow (Columbia)
Creating a Jubilee County (Pr George's)
Talk Lab (Columbia)
Inside Charm City (White Marsh)
The Candid Truth (Pasadena)
PG Chic (Pr. George's)
Mike's Nether Land (Severna Park)
Tinkerty Tonk (Abingdon)
It's Our Wits That Make Us Men (expat)
abolitionofman.com (Baltimore)
Red Maryland (Boonsboro)
Capital Punishment (Annapolis)
The Spewker (Pikesville)
The Main Adversary (Baltimore)
GOPinionPlus (Linover)
Annapolis Politics (Annapolis)
That's What I Think! (Columbia)
mad anthony (Nottingham)
Common Sense (Williamsport)
Maryland Chesapeake Blog (Annapolis)
PsychoPhil (expat)
Red Writes (Columbia)
Clark's Picks (Chestertown)

20080114 Westminster Mayor and Common Council Meeting Agenda

Westminster Mayor and Common Council Meeting Agenda City Council

City Council Members | Minutes of City Council Meetings

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND

Mayor and Common Council Meeting of January 14, 2008

AGENDA

1. CALL TO ORDER – 7:00 P.M.

Marriage Resource Center Presentation

2. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF NOVEMBER 12 (CLOSED SESSION)

AND DECEMBER 10, 2007

3. CONSENT CALENDAR:

November Departmental Operating Reports

Memorandum of Understanding with the Frederick Police Department

Withdrawal of Sectional Map Amendment No. SMA 07-1 – 59, 61, and 63 Union Street

Lease of Plaza in Front of Library from the Board of County Commissioners

City/County Medford Quarry Agreement

Appointment of Bond Counsel and Preston

4. REPORTS FROM THE MAYOR

5. REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES

6. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

Introduction of Ordinance No. 774 – Text Amendment No.

TA07-1 - Separation of the Department of Planning and Public Works

Resolution No. R08-2 – Designation of Library Plaza as Public Park

7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

a. None as of January 10, 2008

8. NEW BUSINESS:

a. None as of January 10, 2008

9. DEPARTMENT REPORTS

10. CITIZEN COMMENTS

11. ADJOURN

UPCOMING SPECIAL MEETINGS: TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2008 – GROWTH AND ANNEXATION COMMITTEE, CITY HALL AT 6:30 P.M.; AND TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2008 – STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION ROUTE 31 FOLLOW-UP MEETING, COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING BASEMENT AT 7:00 P.M.

Editors note: Check out Westminster's new Downtown Business Guide

20080110 Singing Revolution Director James Tusty to Speak at Cinema Sundays this Sunday, January 13

Singing Revolution Director James Tusty to Speak at Cinema Sundays 1/13

January 10, 2007

Cinema Sundays is delighted to announce that not only will we be screening The Singing Revolution on Sunday 1/13 but we are thrilled that the Director and Producer of the film James Tusty will be joining us.

We are all looking forward to his insight into this well reviewed documentary. Following the film you can count on the usual stimulating Cinema Sundays Q & A. I look forward to seeing you for this special event this Sunday at 10.

Jonathan Palevsky, Cinema Sundays Host.

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20080108 “The (Estonia) Singing Revolution” documentary at the Charles Jan. 13, 2007

“The Singing Revolution”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9PmZo-2jo

A film by James and Maureen Trusty. It is the story of how culture saved a nation. http://www.singingrevolution.com/

For posts on “Soundtrack” about the Westminster Maryland – Paide Estonia Sister City partnership, click here: Estonia Paide Westminster Maryland Sister City Partnership For other posts on Estonia, click here: Europe Estonia EE

20080102 Carroll County NAACP annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast on January 19, 2008

Carroll County NAACP annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast on January 19, 2008

Wednesday, January 02, 2008 – Posted January 12, 2008

The Carroll County NAACP will hold our 5th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast on January 19th at Martins Westminster 8:00 a.m.

For tickets call the NAACP office # 410-751-7667

Thank you for your support.

Jean Lewis, President

Carroll County NAACP

20080104 “The Rosa Parks Story” to be shown at the Carroll Arts Center January 21, 2008

“The Rosa Parks Story” to be shown at the Carroll Arts Center January 21, 2008

MEDIA RELEASE January 4, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008

For more information contact: Sandy Oxx Sandyoxx1 AT earthlink.net or 410/848-7272

“The Rosa Parks Story” at the Carroll Arts Center

The Carroll County Arts Council continues its annual tradition of honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King with a day of family activities. On Monday, January 21, the Arts Center will host two free screenings of the made-for-tv movie “The Rosa Parks Story,” at 10:30 am and 2 pm. The 2002 film stars Academy Award nominee Angela Basset as Rosa McCauley Parks.

Parks, who was raised in the Deep South in the days of Jim Crow, when “separate but equal” was the law, but not a reality. Even at an early age, she refused to believe that she was inferior to anyone. Rosa is forced to cope with many degrading and humiliating situations, particularly a failed attempt at registering to vote.

She later goes on to work as a secretary at the NAACP and on their behalf, raises many questions on the position of Black people in society.

In 1955 she created the spark that ignited the modern Civil Rights Movement when, after a long day’s work, she took the only available seat in the first row of the bus. When the driver demanded that the Black passengers clear the row for a White woman, Rosa refused to comply. The resulting uproar in the South throws Rosa and her family into the Ku Klux Klan’s ring of hatred, but also into the NAACP’s limelight.

This compelling true story demonstrates the power a single act of defiance can have over an ancient tradition of injustice.

The film is Not Rated and runs 94 minutes.

From noon to 2 pm that day, youngsters and the parents are invited to attend a drop-in art workshop where together they can create a masterpiece inspired by the legendary words of Dr. King, “I have a dream……” Workshop leaders are Mahlia Joyce and Jose Flores.

For more information about the free events, call 410/848-7272 or visit www.carr.org/arts. The Carroll Arts Center is located at 91 W. Main Street in downtown Westminster.