20060706 KDDC Blog mentions my April 12 Tentacle column

The Sun Lies mentions my April 12 Tentacle column

July 5^th, 2006

The blog, “The Sun Lies,” refers to my column in The Tentacle on April 12, 2006.

The Sun Lies post can be found here.

A list of my columns in The Tentacle can be found here.

If you are not familiar with “The Sun Lies,” you ought to remedy that right away. In a massive undertaking of keeping the Baltimore Sun honest about its biased, agenda driven reporting, The Sun Lies gives one the rest of the story.

It’s actually a shame. The talent at the Baltimore Sun is simply enormous. If they channeled that talent to being fair, balanced and accurate in their reporting, the subscription rate would be on the increase.

Meanwhile, the stock of the owners of the Baltimore Sun continues on a downward freefall. Many folks are beginning to whisper about the ultimate fate of newspapers in general and the Baltimore Sun, in particular.

As it is, the venerable old paper is on the ropes and quickly losing its status as the heretofore “paper of record.” That role is quickly being taken over by The Gazette – and the Washington Post.

For those of us who grew up reading the Baltimore Sun, the sadness is profound as in article after article, one picks up another newspaper or reads a blog, only to find out that any given Baltimore Sun article, simply gives slanted view, which often allows the reader to be ill-informed, if not misinformed.

Many folks blame the lost focus and misdirection by the Baltimore Sun on the takeover of the paper by Tribune, a number of years ago.

For the moment, the Baltimore Sun continues to arrogantly brush off protests that the paper is ipso facto the website for the Maryland Democratic Party and continues to believe that it is unaccountable for its collective lack of journalistic integrity.

This is a disservice to the many talented individuals and professionals who work at the paper and strive to get it right and ultimately, a profound breach of public trust.

Until things get turned around, most political reporting by the Baltimore Sun can be taken with a grain of salt and everything you read must be “fact-checked” by reading the Washington Post, The Gazette and the Sun Lies.

_________________

The Sun Lies’ complete post is pasted here:

Going Back A Little Bit, Dan Rodrick’s Logic Examined

July 5th, 2006

Governor Crothers, Meet Dan Rodricks

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Recently Baltimore Sun columnist Dan Rodricks wrote a remarkable column that may earn itself an Olympic honorable mention in the annals of populist political propaganda: “Legislators grabbed power to put public back in Public Service Commission (PSC).”

Mr. Rodricks’ erudite moment in journalistic rhetoric highlighted cherry picked, out-of-context tidbits of 1910 Maryland history in order to historically legitimatize the Maryland General Assembly’s sacking of the current Public Service Commission for following regulations promulgated by a previous slate of Democrat-appointed PSC commissioners, at the behest of a law passed by the Maryland General Assembly.

Huh?

All right, let’s try and explain it this way. Let’s start at the beginning.

One of the main architects of the 1999 electric industry deregulation legislation was Senate President Thomas V. (Mike) Miller (D. Anne Arundel). Seven years later, legislation that was once thought of as brilliant – has failed miserably. Stuff happens.

So, you are Senate President Miller. What do you do?

One option is to say: “Hey, it unexpectedly went south on us, but we are going to roll up our sleeves, work together and make it right.”

That would have been the statesman-like thing to do.

Or, are you going to triangulate and blame something – or someone – innocent, which has a relative inability to defend itself?

Hey, it’s Maryland; the party in power is a propaganda machine of unlimited supremacy along with the allied political writers of Baltimore’s Sun, which has approximately 1.2 million readers at its disposal.

Eureka. Let’s blame it on the PSC. Its role in this matter is little known or understood and its function is complex. We’ll reduce this to the simplistic and blame it.

The first act in this opera is for The Sun to introduce the PSC to the public and demonize it and its five commissioners.

Piece of cake: character assassination is a cottage industry with the political writers of The Sun. (”The PSC and the Office of the People’s Counsel are set up to be independent agencies,” Speaker of The House of Delegates Michael Busch {D., Anne Arundel} said. “And this dialogue from a lobbyist from the utilities company and the constant inferences to the administration continues to bring into question the agency’s independence.” March 18: “Schisler, industry advocate exchanged e-mails last year,” The Sun) {Editor’s Note: Kenneth Schisler is the chairman of the PSC.}

The next act is to verbalize that the PSC is to blame and to repeat it so often so that it has the imprimatur of actually being true. (“’The customers have to feel, however the rates are being set, that they are getting a fair shot and have confidence in the people who are setting the rates,’ said Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, a Baltimore County Democrat who sponsored the bill.” March 28: “Panel acts to oust PSC members,” The Sun.)

Act 3 came April 6, when Dan Rodricks keyboards into gear with historical context to further legitimatize the blame-game, by invoking the name of “a progressive Democratic governor (from 1910) … named Austin Crothers.”

The final act is for The Sun to follow-it-up until it sticks. (“But Miller said Maryland residents ‘have no confidence in the PSC,’” April 9: “Leaders dispute news of BGE pact,” The Sun)

All brings to mind the introduction of Volume 1 of the “Tercentenary History of Maryland,” which says: “History is not an exact science and cannot be. Man simply does not know enough to tell everything about anything… Documents do not necessarily tell the whole story about anything, or even the truth about it… Strangely enough, a great deal of the most sedate American narrative is unconsciously but none the less thoroughly permeated with the heroics of a past emotionalism…”

And so it is with Mr. Rodricks’ use of Maryland Gov. Arthur Lane Crothers (1908 to 1912.)

For decades before the 1907 election of Governor Crothers, Maryland was ruled by a ruthless Democrat political machine. That rule, considered at the time to be among the most powerful in the United States, essentially ended with the deaths of the Maryland legislature boss, Arthur Pue Gorman on June 4, 1906; and Baltimore City boss Issac Freeman Rasin in 1907.

It was in the resulting power vacuum – the duopoly bosses’ deaths – that Mr. Crothers was chosen as a compromise candidate for governor, chiefly because of the powerful Eastern Shore Senator John Walter Smith.

During the reign of this “progressive Democrat political machine,” Maryland resisted many of the social and regulatory reforms that were sweeping the country.

As far as Governor Crothers’ reforms, Robert J. Brugger, author of the same history of Maryland cited by Mr. Rodricks, writes, “… Crothers as a reformer profited from circumstance.”

When Mr. Rodricks refers in his column, to “The General Assembly of 1910 kept it simple and put “public” and “service” in the name from the start,” he fails to mention just which members of the public the Maryland Democratic machine had in mind at the time.

Oh, that’s right, Mr. Rodricks failed to mention the other “legacies” of the “progressive Democrats” at the time: the “Poe Amendment” and the “Digges Amendment.”

These two initiatives attempted to systematically and methodically disenfranchise African-Americans of their right to vote. They were both explored extensively on the same pages (420-426) in which Dr. Brugger also discusses Governor Crothers in his history of Maryland, cited by Mr. Rodricks.

Oops!

Even Dr. Brugger remarked: “It testified to the ambiguity in Maryland that the Crothers administration both emitted the Digges amendment and left behind a series of important reform acts.”

Back to the future; if the Democratic leadership disagrees with the law, rules and regulations put into place, that the PSC followed in making the decisions of which the same leadership disagrees, then change the law.

Sacking the PSC is not the way to do it. One can imagine that unambiguous history will not be too kind to the 421st session of the Maryland General Assembly, no matter what has transpired in this opera, by the time you read this.

And, oh – after the turmoil of the Democratic machine years and the Crothers administration, a progressive Republican governor, (Phillips Lee Goldsborough,) was elected. Conventional wisdom is that history will repeat itself.

Isn’t that special?

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=1552

We’d particularly highlight Mr. Dayhoff’s point that The Sun was setting the stage to demonize the PSC on behalf of a certain political agenda they have been pushing. Now is a good time to also suggest reviewing our PSC commentary such as happy endings’ and other demonstrated bias by The Sun in their coverage. If The Sun will not monitor its own bias then those of us in the blogging community will.

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North China Restaurant July 6, 2006

North China Restaurant

July 6, 2006

Miss Caroline and I had dinner Thursday evening at North China Restaurant in the Cranberry Square Shopping Center in Westminster. (Many folks are not aware that the Cranberry Square Shopping Center is owned by the Maryland Pension System…)

I had Sushi, of course. (Top picture.) Lui, the North China Restaurant sushi chef always makes me whatever he wants… I figure that he’s the artist, so just let him be as creative as he pleases and I’m never disappointed…

Miss Caroline had the Crispy Sesame Eggplant, Hunan Style.

If you haven’t had a chance to have dinner at the North China Restaurant, give it a try the next chance you get. The host’s name is Jack. Tell him “the chairman,” as he refers to me, sent you.

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20060706 KDDC North China Restaurant

Food, Food Chinese, Restaurants Carroll County, Restaurants Westminster, Restaurants, Restaurants Chinese, Restaurants North China, World China, 

20060706 KDDC Baggy Pants and Crime Prevention

Baggy Pants and Crime Prevention

The July 6^th, 2006 Carroll County Times has a story by Ari Natter, entitled, “Carroll rated Md.'s second-safest county.” This is good news for Carroll countians and it affirms one of the main reasons we like living in Carroll County – overall quality of life.

A big hats off goes to all the various law enforcement agencies in Carroll County that work tirelessly for our safety.

The beginning of the story reads: “Despite a 7.7 percent increase in the county's crime rate last year, Carroll County remains the second-safest county in the state, according to an annual statewide crime report released last month by the FBI. Only Garrett County, with a rate of 1,742.8 victims of crime for every 100,000 people, had a lower crime rate than Carroll, which totaled 1,897.6 victims of crime per 100,000 people.”

For the rest of the story, click here.

But perhaps one thing missing in the story is the untold story - and that is; one thing that continues to work to our advantage is the dynamic that most criminals aren’t very bright.

ABC carried a story on June 20th, 2006 that helps shed some additional light on crime prevention: “Baggy Pants Can Trip Up Criminals, Say Police.”

I kid you not, next time you see some young men attempting to walk in the fashion craze that requires them to wear their pants around their knees – looking, like, totally ridiculous, smile, knowing that the stupid fashion is a great crime-fighting tool.

No word as to whether or not this has contributed to a lower crime rate in Carroll County. But we’re on the trail of this breaking story…

Meanwhile, the ABC story leads-off to say: “Any plumber could tell you droopy drawers tend to trip you up, but apparently a lot of crooks fail to listen. Loose-fitting, baggy jeans have been in fashion for years, but police officers say they can also help fight crime.

"When they run, it makes our job easier," said Jim Matheny, a lieutenant with the Stamford, Conn., police department. The 41-year-old told ABC News he has no trouble chasing down suspects who wear low-hanging pants.

"They go to take off and either they have to use their hands to hold their pants up or several times the pants just fell down around their knees and they had to stop running," Matheny said. "They spend all day thinking of ways to beat the police and then they go and put these pants on. It really handicaps them."

Matheny said that those considering a life of crime might want to take a look at their wardrobes first.

"It's hilarious to me if you think about it," he said. "This is what they do for a living. It's like when the big thing was not tying your shoes and we had kids running out of their shoes."Read the rest of the story here.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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20060706 KDDC A Picture of Community Policing in Westminster

A Picture of Community Policing in Westminster
July 7th, 2006

This is what community policing is all about. Westminster Police Sergeant Tom Kowalczyk stops for a moment to chat with Caroline Babylon and her Dad (my father-in-law,) David S. Babylon, Jr., at the May 20^th, 2006 Willis Street “Tag Sale” neighborhood event. Former Westminster Common Council President Babylon was a member of the Westminster Common Council from 1964 to 1989. © Kevin Dayhoff

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20070706 KDDC Happy Birthday Aunt Kay

Today is Aunt Kay's Birthday
July 6th, 2006

If you happen to be over in the Carroll County Office Building yet today - or tomorrow, for that matter, please remember to say Happy Birthday to the popular young lady who works at the reception desk. Earlier today, the Commissioners' took her a cake. I'll put some pictures up on the blog later.

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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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20060701 KDDC June 11 2006 Sen. Brinkley event

Two other pictures from the Senator Brinkley event. Top is Senator David Brinkley, R, Dist. 5, Carroll and Frederick Cos. Bottom is Delegate Richard Weldon, R, Dist. 3B, Frederick and Washington Cos.
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20060701 KDDC USS Wizbang Monitor Class Destroyer

Bubbleheads vs. Skimmers
July 1st, 2006

I thoroughly enjoyed the Wizbang post, "For Navy geeks only," about the "Navy's next-generation destroyer project, known over the last few years as DD-21 (21st-century destroyer), DDX (experimental destroyer), and currently DDG-1000..." He was able to obtain an obsolete artist's rendering, which is posted above.

For more informaton on the "Next-Generation Zumwalt Destroyer," go here.

I served in the jarhead reserves, but my Dad served in the Navy, in the Pacific on flattops during WWII. I was amused with the comments in the comment section. Be sure to see Wizbang's post and be double sure to read the comments.

As for the artist's rendering, I kinda thought it looked like the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack,) myself. You can find additional information here.

For the commenter that mentioned a "Monitor Class" warship, please see here for more information. That was right on the money. The USS Monitor was the first and that class continued until 1937.

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20060701 A Deadline I Can Make

A Deadline I Can Make

Hat Tip: Grammy

This post is for all my editors...

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20060701 KDDC A Deadline I Can Make

A Deadline I Can Make

Hat Tip: Grammy

This post is for all my editors...

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20060630 KDDC Spin, slander, distort and repeat

Spin, slander, distort and repeat

In case you missed it, The Washington Times really took the gloves off over the hatchet job that Washington Post reporter Matthew Mosk, [that’s him → depicted as this week’s winner in the Democratic main stream media mouthpiece award: “June 30, 2006 DMSM Bias Mouthpiece winner Mosk” (© Kevin Dayhoff, June 30, 2006)] who editorialized in a particularly offensive piece last Monday, June 26th, 2006 entitled:

"Steele's Donor List Stirs Racial Questions"

Those Who Offended Blacks Contribute

By Matthew Mosk, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, June 26, 2006; Page B01

________________

Hang Right Politics has something to say about this in a post entitled, "Racist Press Target Black Republicans" - see here.

_________________

For those of us with the "1s and 0s." we were happy to have those with the "barrels of ink" join in the fray. But many key questions remain, including, but certainly not limited to, why would the Washington Post stoop so low as to allow such a blatantly bias and agenda driven article appear in the paper? Is Mr. Mosk going to review the campaign contributors of candidate Mr. Ben Cardin or Mr. Kweisi Mfume?

On April 17, 2006, Maryland Republican Party Chairman John M. Kane raised an interesting point:

“Ben Cardin has some explaining to do. Maryland voters deserve to know how he has managed to take more than $4.2 million from special interests while representing just one district in Maryland, topping Senator Sarbanes who has had to campaign several times statewide. More than that, Cardin needs to explain to Marylanders what his connections to some of these groups say about his own beliefs and how they could influence him in the United States Senate.”

Cardin Has Received $42,500 From The Association Of Trial Lawyers Of America (ATLA). (Federal Election Commission Website, www.fec.gov, April 7, 2006)

Cardin Has Received Over $830,000 From Big Labor Special Interest PACs. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed April 7, 2006)

It would seem that Mr. Mosk wrote his article with the the March 27 confidential report prepared for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by a top National Democratic Party strategist - Cornell Belcher - and paid for by the Democratic National Party - - at his side, for a template and guide.

Please review my posts; "20060419 Dems Smear Politics in Maryland" and

"20060417 Maryland Dems Smear Steele At Their Peril"

Read what Gregory Kane said here, and what the New York Post and the New York Sun have recently said…

Meanwhile, I have pasted the Washington Times Editorial here. Hats off to the Washington Times!

Democrats and name-calling

Washington Times Editorial

TODAY'S EDITORIAL
June 30, 2006

The Democratic strategy against black Republicans is easy enough to understand: Call them sellouts; label them dupes of the racist Republican machine; link them to as many white conservatives as possible; and repeat. Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is no stranger to this program ever since the Baltimore Sun editorialized that the only thing he brought to the gubernatorial ticket of Robert Ehrlich was "the color of his skin." Now, with Mr. Steele's Senate campaign scaring the wits out of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, The Washington Post saw reason to run a tidy little hit piece Monday headlined "Steele's Donor List Stirs Racial Questions."

With such an ominous sounding headline, you might think Mr. Steele accepted a donation from a known Klansman or skinhead. Alas, reporter Matthew Mosk digs so deep into the Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports -- available online to everyone -- he uncovers the astounding news that Mr. Steele has taken donations from Republicans. Adding insult to injury, they were white. It turns out that one of the donors, Floyd Brown, who produced the now-infamous "Willie Horton" ad in the 1988 presidential campaign, actually held a June 22 fundraiser for Mr. Steele.

Mr. Mosk doesn't enlighten his readers about what the "Willie Horton" ad was, but he writes that "it came to symbolize the cynical use of skin color as a political wedge." That's one way of putting it. Another, more accurate way is that the ad exposed the dangerous Massachusetts furlough program for felons that became a campaign issue between Vice President George H.W. Bush and Mass. Gov. Michael Dukakis.

The Bush campaign attacked Mr. Dukakis' support of the program, as Democratic candidates had similarly done during the primaries. Willie Horton, serving life in prison for murder, raped a woman while released on furlough. Mr. Brown produced an attack ad, featuring Horton as a poster child for the furlough policy. But because Horton is black, Democrats accused Republicans of using race as a wedge issue.

Eighteen years later, Mr. Mosk regurgitates the race angle without any of the above history. The article also slanders radio host William J. Bennett, who, Mr. Mosk tells readers, suggested "aborting black babies would help reduce crime." That's a complete distortion of Mr. Bennett's comments, which were actually meant to show the absurdity of a pro-choice argument, advanced by some liberals, that abortion helps reduce crime. The Post also names former first lady Barbara Bush, a Steele supporter, as another member of "Racists for Steele."

Such an article would never have been written were Mr. Steele a white Democrat. But there's a racially tinged strategy at work here: Spin, slander, distort and repeat.

Hat Tip: MS and Chairman DJ Thanks

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20060628 KDDC Two alarm fire at Westminster auto dealership

Pictures (c) Kevin Dayhoff and Westminster Fire Department

Two alarm fire at Westminster auto dealership

Wednesday evening, June 28^th, 2006

Len Stoler Auto Dealership, 343 Baltimore Boulevard (corner of Center Street and Rte. 140) (Box 0301) in Westminster.

For additional information contact:

Incident Commander: Westminster Fire Department Lieutenant

Bill Brehm; or Public Information Officer: Westminster Firefighter Kevin Utz at the Westminster Fire Department

_________________

Westminster, MD - Over 70 firefighters and public safety personnel responded Wednesday evening to a two alarm fire at the Len Stoler automobile dealership at 343 Baltimore Boulevard in Westminster.

According to Westminster Fire Department (WFD) public information officer (PIO),) Kevin Utz, the first call went out at 8:51 PM. Within a minute of Westminster Fire Department engine 32 arriving on the scene at 8:56 PM, Westminster Fire Department Lieutenant Bill Brehm, the incident commander, called in a second alarm.

Among the seventy public safety personnel who responded, twenty-five firefighters from Westminster responded to what was initially dispatched as a truck fire in the building. When firefighters arrived, they found a working vehicle fire in the auto dealership’s shop in a rear building.

Several teams of firefighters were necessary to fight the fire from the inside of the building, the back of the building, from the roof and the showroom approach. One team was assigned to maintain water supply. Additionally, safety, EMS and rehabilitation personnel were required.

Except for a minor case of heat exhaustion and a few scrapes, no firefighters were seriously injured. One person was treated on the scene for unknown injuries, immediately upon the arrival of the first responders to the incident. It was not known as to whether the person injured on the scene, was an employee of auto dealership.

As the evening wore on, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, police officers from thirteen agencies responded. Seven fire companies, including Westminster - Engines 32 and 33, Tower 3, Utility 3, Special Unity 3, Medic Units 39 and 37, and Brush 35; Pleasant Valley – Engines 61 and 63, Squad 6; Reese – Engines 91, 92 and 95, Medic 99, and Rescue 9, New Windsor – Engine 102 and Rescue Engine 101, Lineboro Air Unit 7; Mount Airy Duty 1 (Incident Safety Officer,) and Hampstead Truck 2; all sent a total of twenty-one fire fighting apparatuses to the fire.

Also responding was Maryland State Police, Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputies and Westminster Police Department officers. Traffic at on Center Street was closed off until midnight, although traffic on Rte. 140 was not affected.

The WFD “Canteen Unit” provided bottled water and Gatorade to help relieve firefighters throughout the warm and humid evening.

Baltimore Gas and Electric, the Maryland Department of the Environment Hazmat Response Team and the Maryland State Fire Marshall’s Office also were on location.

According WFD Lt. Brehm, “the incident is under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshall’s office.” The fire was under control within twenty minutes, said, Lt. Brehm. However, firefighters remained on the scene until midnight looking for extensions of the fire, smoke removal, safety review and clean-up – or what Lt. Brehm referred to as “extensive overhaul.”

About seventy-five bystanders gathered on the parking lot of the Seven-Eleven as the evening progressed.

Neither WFD Lt. Brehm or PIO Utz were able to place a figure on the amount of the property damage.

Soon after the fire erupted, employees and officials from the Len Stoler organization convened on the scene. Barry Stoler, vice-president of Len Stoler, was quick to praise the Carroll County firefighters who fought the blaze. “The fact is, that the fire departments were so attentive and responsive,” is why the fire was not worse than it was, remarked Mr. Stoler. “It is an old building... built in 1959. They saved the building. Their efforts made the difference.”

Mr. Stoler said that there was “no way to calculate the amount of the damage at this point in time,” as he was interviewed towards the end of the evening.

The Len Stoler organization purchased the dealership in 1997 said Dave Leibowitz, the Chief Financial Officer for the company. Operations manager Denver Huffman said that the dealership employs 65 at the Westminster auto facility.

Mr. Stoler remarked that (as a result of the quick actions by the firefighters) he “expected a minimum disruption to our operation” and “we’ll be open at 7 AM the next morning. Clean up crews and estimators will be on the site at 5 AM,” to get the business re-opened.

Mr. Stoler was also quick to praise his Carroll County employees as even he was “impressed by the number of employees from this dealership and others who arrived to help.” As a result, they were able to have a company meeting in the parking lot and arrive at working plan to address the results of the fire, beginning the very next morning.

As the firefighters were packing up fire hoses and equipment, Mr. Stoler was overheard to say that the response, efficiency and caring attitude of Carroll Countians is why his company has looked forward to expanding the dealership and bringing more business to Carroll County.

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20060628 KDDC Bring Back the Sun

"Bring Back the Sun"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
June 28th, 2006

20060628 KDDC Isrealis Move on Gaza to Rescue Soldier

The Israeli army faces off with Palestinian militants in Gaza over the fate of 2 kidnapped Israelis.
June 28th, 2006

I pulled thia picture off CNN this morning. The caption reads: "Masked Hamas militants demonstrate Tuesday in support of the Hamas-led government in the West Bank city of Nablus."

Check out the background in the picture. It seemed a little sureal.

Israeli forces attack power station, bridges in Gaza

"Israeli troops and armored vehicles crossed into southern Gaza in what the Israeli military says is an attempt to rescue a soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants. Israeli warplanes bombed bridges and a power station. Also, a militant group believed to be involved in the soldier's kidnapping, displayed the ID card of a Jewish settler the group says it kidnapped in the West Bank."

To read the rest of the story click "Militants threaten Israelis amid raids" Wednesday, June 28, 2006; Posted: 8:19 a.m. EDT (12:19 GMT). "JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian militants involved in the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in southern Israel said on Wednesday they had also abducted a Jewish settler in the West Bank."

I'll bet the Isrealis sure are glad that the New York Times was not aware of their troop maneuvers and plans.

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20060628 KDDC KAL show at the Walters

Mightier than the Sword
June 28th, 2006

I've always enjoyed the art of KAL (Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher.) He began his 17 year tenure as a political cartoonist at the Baltimore Sun on Dec. 7, 1988, and his last cartoon appeared in the paper on Jan. 15, 2006.

The Walters Art Museum has a show of over 200 of his cartoons beginning on June 18, 2006. The show continues until September 3, 2006. The exhibition hours are 10 AM to 5 PM, Wednesday through Sunday.

Tomorrow I am looking forward to seeing the show with Grammy, my wife Caroline and the Westminster Woman's Club and I can't wait.

The web site for the Walters says:

"World-renowned political cartoonist Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher has entertained and oftentimes enraged readers of the Baltimore Sun and The Economist for decades. This summer KAL brings his satirical drawings to the Walters Art Museum with the special exhibition, Mightier than the Sword: The Satirical Pen of KAL. Cartoons focusing on local, national, and international politics will be on view along with sculpture, animation, and an interactive gallery for kids. Mightier than the Sword now on view!"

Read more of the Walters Art Museum introduction to the show here.

The Baltimore City Paper has an article, by John Barry, about the show here. It is titled: "Powers of Pen" - "Political Cartoonist Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher Pushes His 19th Century Medium Into the 21st"

The introductory paragraph of the article reads:

"For someone who’s just lost his day job, editorial cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher—better known simply as KAL—isn’t doing at all badly. Snappily dressed in a cherry-red vest, the avuncular ex-Sun cartoonist is cheerfully shepherding reporters and admirers through a preview of Mightier Than the Sword: The Satirical Pen of KAL, his lifetime retrospective at the Walters Art Museum. Youthful at 51, white-haired, and with a thick mustache, he flourishes in the spotlight. He also has the sparkle in his eyes of someone who might be sizing you up—or at least deciding how big your ears are—while shaking your hand. And after his 17 years as a prize-winning cartoonist at The Sun, he’s got a lot of admirers."

Read the rest of the Baltimore City Paper article here.

To give you an idea of what his work is like, I have pasted an image of one of KAL's cartoons is above. I assume that the image belongs to KAL. I got the image from the Walter's web site here.

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