Bunker Hill: History and Myth and more this week in The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com/

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last week I picked-up a copy of “The Whites of Their Eyes,” by Dr. Paul Lockhart, a highly readable and entertaining socio-political – and military – study of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first American army, and the emergence of George Washington.

Box Seats & Hesitation Pitches

Norman M. Covert

I confess it has been a long hiatus from watching Frederick Keys baseball at Grove Stadium. All it takes, though, is the grandson’s cajoling to spring for box seat tickets – and a Keyote tee-shirt – near the visitor’s bullpen and third base.

Foul Odors and Sweet Sights

Tom McLaughlin

Mulu, Borneo – After a refreshing drink and rest at the jungle station, we walked a further kilometer to the first cave. Lang Cave, a small non-descript cavern which snaked back into the mountain.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Celebrity and Sex

Roy Meachum

The media flurry over New York Rep. Anthony Weiner barely ruffled a hair in my beard. The pregnancy of his high-profile wife might save his seat in Congress, at least at this writing. National commentaries exercise themselves violently over a victimless “crime.”

The Power of Power

Earl 'Rocky' Mackintosh

Is there an epidemic of power addiction among the politically powerful? For many Americans the recent rash of political sex scandals leaves them – once again – baffled by the incredible foolishness of powerful men, asking “what were they thinking?” Throughout the media we hear and read differing opinions.

No Winners in This Battle

Farrell Keough

Recent events have been used to portray the county commissioners as not caring about seniors or small towns. Why should the truth get in the way of a good story?

Monday, June 13, 2011

Packing or Unpacking Politically?

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

So, the county commissioners want to examine privatizing services. Nothing new here, governments at all levels have looked to shift certain services from the public to the private sector for decades.

QE-2 Runs Out of Gas…

Steven R. Berryman

No, not the ocean going cruise liner, I’m talking about the bail out of Wall Street called “Quantitative Easing Part 2,” likely about to end.

On Wegmans

Michael Kurtianyk

So, have you been to Wegmans yet? If you haven’t, then you have missed quite a bit, actually.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Heat in My Childhood

Roy Meachum

Is there any other topic? Yesterday’s forecast promised a hundred degrees and with humidity to match. Knowing I was brought up in New Orleans, people sometimes ask, “Does this make you homesick?” The unequivocal answer? No, not hardly.

Disrespecting Special Olympians

Joe Charlebois

The Special Olympics, which was born in the backyard of Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s Maryland home, is a thriving success nearly 50 years after starting as a novel summer camp for those with intellectual disabilities.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Trapped in a Metaphorical Cage

Patricia A. Kelly

I’ve been driving through downtown Baltimore a lot lately. I am perfectly capable of losing my own gas cap, but am quite sure it was stolen from the top of my car while I was prepaying for gas at a Hess station in an inner city neighborhood.

Changing The Game Plan

Chris Cavey

In the business world there are relatively few stories about people who became a success "overnight." Typically even businesses that are on the fast track to success have laid the ground work, done years of due diligence and secured a financial base before achieving public notoriety as the up and coming business.

Having It Both Ways

Blaine R. Young

It is a question which has been asked and debated seemingly everywhere, for many years: Does residential growth pay for itself or not?

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Lawrence Eagleburger: The Real Deal

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Many who have closely follow the intrigues and personalities of the United States Foreign Service and the implementation of American foreign policy for the last 50 years were saddened to learn of the death last Saturday of former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.

Scouting Legacy and Airport Farewells

Norman M. Covert

Boy Scouts of America (BSA) hasn’t strayed too far from its founding in the United States 100 years ago. Marketing strategies and media technologies have improved, but BOYS LIFE still arrives in my mail box each month. I’m clinging to my youth, the “groaner” jokes on the back page and those values I hold dear.

The World’s Largest Cavern

Tom McLaughlin

Mulu, Borneo – The 40-seat plane had about eight of us aboard as it banked toward the runway in the middle of the jungle. We slowly taxied to the terminal which was as large as my home in Middletown. The men unloaded the few bags from the craft onto a gurney and pulled it to the open luggage receiving counter.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Remember the Liberty!

Roy Meachum

The profuse apologetics for Israel’s performance in 1967’s Six Day War seek to derail attention from the sometimes brutal occupation of the West Bank; it’s lasted 44 years.

Good or Bad? At Least It’s A Start

Shawn Burns

To grow or not to grow? That is the question, one that the Frederick County commissioners are attempting to address with their proposed school mitigation fee.

Ride Like Plácido Sings

Nick Diaz

I sing. Music is in my mind and heart almost every moment of my day. I’ve sung practically all my life, interrupted here and there by concentrating on this or that recreational venture or professional interest.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Stop the NCAA Madness

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

Madness is an overused term that describes the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) annual basketball tournament in March of each year. Madness seems to be a fitting jump-off point for a discussion about the nature of amateur athletes and higher education.

Naked Radio WFMD

Steven R. Berryman

Okay, now that I have your attention, the rest should be easy. Getting people to read any more is quite the trick; the story of my recent airwaves weekend was fun to relive, though. It was naked. It was dirty. It was a dark and stormy night…

On Bob Dylan

Michael Kurtianyk

So, Bob Dylan recently turned 70 years old. It’s hard to believe for me, as I’ve listened to his words and songs my entire life.

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