20060705 KDDC North Korea attacks the Sea of Japan

N. Korea Launches Attack Against Sea of Japan

July 5, 2006

by Scott Ott

(2006-07-05) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il today acknowledged that he had ordered yesterday’s missile strikes against the Sea of Japan in response to what he called “threatening and provocative movements” that the body of water had made against his nation’s coastline.

Read the rest here.

20060705 KDDC Fred goes to Baughers

"Fred and Baugher's"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
July 4th, 2006

20060701 KDDC Happy 4th of July

"20060701 Happy 4th of July"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
July 1st, 2006

20060704 KDDC Dembrow's wife passes away, he files for Commissioner race two days later

Dembrow's wife passes away, he files for Commissioner race ten days later

July 4th, 2006

No, I did not make this up. According to Kelsey Volkmann, writing for the Baltimore Examiner, Dana Dembrow, a trial lawyer from Gamber, filed as a candidate for the Carroll County Commissioners' race, ten days after his wife unexpectedly passed away.

Please, let there be "the rest of the story."

Otherwise, this is unbelievable. Ya gotta just shake your head at this one. Democrats, the family values people...

Read on, its gets better, if that were possible.

Meanwhile, our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Dembro's family.

Many of us could simply not serve as elected or appointed officials if it were not for the active or behind the scenes support of our spouses. For some of us, it would not be worth it if it were not for the support and help of our wives/husbands. Life is too short and a good marriage is far more important than being an elected official.

As for Mr. Dembrow, if this is representative of what the Carroll County Democratic party has to offer, and I must quickly add, it is NOT - then no wonder the plight of Carroll County Democrats is such that it is.

Many Carroll County Democrats must be muttering under their breath over this and those of us who like discussion, dialogue and different responsible ideas put forth in the best interests of the citizens we serve - - are muttering under our breaths with them.

Meanwhile, below please find posted, Kelsey Volkmann's entire article. Hats off and a big thank you for calling this to our attention.

____________________

Lone Democrat files for race days after wife’s death

Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
Jul 4, 2006 5:00 AM

Westminster - Ten days after his wife of 18 years died, a sole Democratic candidate filed to run for Carroll County commissioner Monday, the last possible day.

Dana Dembrow, a Gamber attorney and former Montgomery County state delegate for 16 years, visited the county Board of Elections to register to run against the 10 Republican candidates already filed in the race.

His wife, Suzette, 43, died June 24 at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage that occurred during a stroke she suffered two days earlier.

“I was bothered by the notion that there wouldn’t be an election,” Dembrow said, sitting with his two daughters, Crystal, 14, and Danielle, 7, in the hallway outside of the election office in Westminster. “And I decided that instead of moping in grief, I was going to run.”

But in a county where half of the active voters are Republicans and one-third are Democrats, according to statistics updated Saturday and provided by the Board of Elections, Dembrow acknowledged his chances of winning are unlikely.

“The current commissioners are doing an adequate job, but there is always room for fresh perspectives,” he said.

One such perspective, he said, would be a greater push to bring high-speed Internet access to all of Carroll County, where businesses and residents complain of patchy Verizon service and are forced to use dial-up.

“You need to have an ‘R’ next to your name to win in this county,” said Martin Radinsky, chairman of the county’s Democratic Central Committee.

Running as a Democrat in Carroll, he said, is like filing to run as a Republican for mayor in Baltimore City.

The majority of Carroll voters have been registered as Republicans since 1990, according to Board of Elections statistics.

But Democrats should still file as candidates so both sides can engage in dialogue about the future of the county, Radinsky said.

Dembrow was the original plaintiff in an April lawsuit against the Board of Elections that called for five commissioners elected by district rather than three elected at-large, as it had been.

Before he moved to Carroll County, Dembrow served four terms as a delegate to the General Assembly from Montgomery County.

In 2002, he was charged with hitting his wife, but she declined to testify against him and he was acquitted, according to the Associated Press. He lost the next election.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com

Examiner

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20060703 KDDC Judge Beck put on prospective list for Public Service Commission

Judge Beck placed on short list to be possibly appointed to the Public Service Commission

By Kevin Dayhoff

July 3^rd, 2006

Last Friday, when the Democratic leadership of the Maryland General Assembly forwarded a list of prospective members of the newly constituted Public Service Commission, prominent Carroll countian, former Judge Raymond E. Beck, Sr., was one of the names submitted.

Included in the list of 10 names are the nominations for commission chair: Baltimore Circuit Judge Joseph H.H. Kaplan; retired Baltimore Circuit Judge Thomas J.S. Waxter Jr.; and former Public Service Commission (PSC) member Susanne Brogan.

In addition to Judge Beck Sr., a retired Carroll County Circuit Court judge and former Republican member of the House of Delegates and Senate; are J. Ernest Bell II, former St. Mary's County Democratic member of the House of Delegates; F. Vernon Boozer, former Republican member of the House of Delegates and Senate; Lawrence Brenner, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission administrative law judge; Paula M. Carmody, a former attorney in the Office of the People's Counsel; Michael J. Travieso, a former People's Counsel; and current member of the Public Service Commission, Democrat Harold D. Williams.

Approximately 40 candidates sent in resumes to be considered by Speaker Busch and President Miller, who apparently overcame their past differences to formulate a list of finalists for submission to the governor.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., has until July 15 to choose from the list of 10 names submitted or House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller will, by way of the recently enacted law, make the selection.

There have been suggestions that Gov. Ehrlich may not select the commissioners and allow Speaker Busch and President Miller to make the decision completing the Democratically controlled legislative body’s take over of the formerly independent regulatory body.

Late last week, aides for the governor said that it was premature to gauge what the governor will or will not do, in the face of yet another in a series of political squabbles over the unexpected negative outcome of the 1999 electric deregulation passed by the Democratically controlled Maryland General Assembly and signed by Democrat Gov. Parris Glendening.

In a special session of the Maryland General Assembly, called June 15, in a move many have criticized as politically motivated in lieu of the upcoming gubernatorial election this fall, the legislature fine tuned another in a series of electric rate relief packages designed to blunt the impact of the 72 percent increase in Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) bills beginning July 1.

The legislation adopted June 15^th, fired the current Public Service Commission, considered by many to be the scapegoats of the electric deregulation gone awry in the face of a difficult election year.

Under the plan adopted by the legislature, BGE consumers, who are located in the hotly contested Baltimore suburbs, consumers have no choice to opt-out of the plan.

However, in other parts of the state serviced by PEPCO and Delmarva Power customers have a choice on whether to participate in a rate plan, interest-free. Many political observers have mentioned that the area serviced by BGE, the Baltimore suburbs, will be hotly contested in the fall gubernatorial contest between Gov. Ehrlich and challenger Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley.

Judge Ray Beck has a long history of public service.

According to information on the Maryland State Archives, Judge Beck was born in Baltimore, Maryland, March 5, 1939 and attended Baltimore City and Baltimore County public schools.

From 1956 to 1959, he served in the U. S. Marine Corps. After his service in the Marines, he graduated from the University of Baltimore in 1964 and the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1967. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in1967.

Additionally he was a member of the American, Maryland State and Carroll County Bar Associations. He attained the rank of Brigadier General (Ret.), Maryland Army National Guard. He attended Judge Advocate Generals School, the basic & advanced courses, in 1986 and 1988; and U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1988. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law, from Western Maryland College now McDaniel College in 1988.

Judge Beck, a Republican, served Carroll County in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1972-82, where he was assigned to the Ways and Means Committee. He was the Minority Whip from 1974 to 78 and the Minority Leader from 1978 to 83.

He served in the Maryland State Senate from 1983 to 1989. In the Senate, he was a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee; and the Joint Budget and Audit Committee; Spending Affordability Committee; Special Joint Committee on Pensions; Joint Committee on State Government Revision; Special Joint Oversight Committee on Juvenile Services Initiative. In 1983, he was a member of the Joint Legislative and Executive Committee on Pensions. He also served in 1985 on the Task Force on the Administration of Human Services; the Task Force to Examine the School Construction Program in 1985; and the Task Force to Study Alternative College Financing Methods in 1987.

He as appointed to be Associate Judge, Carroll County Circuit Court, 5th Judicial Circuit, October 3, 1989, where he sat on the bench until he retired two years ago, on July 4^th, 2004. While on the bench, he was the County Administrative Judge from January 1991 to June 2, 2003. He also served as a member of the Civil Law and Procedure Committee from 1994 to 2000; Judicial Compensation Committee, from 2001 to 2004; and Legislative Subcommittee, Maryland Judicial Conference.

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20060703 KDDC Celebrating July 3rd

"20060703 Celebrating July 3rd"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
July 3rd, 2006

20060703 KDDC A Reid Pelosi 4th of July

"A Reid Pelosi 4th of July"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
July 3rd, 2006

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Harry Reid lead the Democrats in celebrating the 4th of July.

20060702 KDDC Yankee Doodle Baby

"20060702 Yankee Doodle Baby"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
July 2, 2006

20060701 KDDC Legs Medve

Former Mount Airy Council President "Legs" John "Hound Dog" Medve

Caroline and were pleased to attend Senator David Brinkley's campaign announcement on June 11, 2006, to be re-elected to represent Dist. 4, Frederick and Carroll Cos. It was class of Senator Brinkley to announce in Carroll County and the event was well attended, and as these events go, quite delightful. Lots of really friendly folks.

Pictured above, is one of the friendly folks, "Legs" Medve, hound-dogging it with my wife. She did come home with me, but kept talking about his legs!? What's up with that?

Posted July 1, 2006

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