State Police Refuse to Release "Terrorist" Files....now they appeal to "legality"?

Unbelievable--or perhaps I should say almost unbelievable. The ACLU of MD is calling upon the MD State Police to allow the 53 so-called "terrorists" who it illegally spied upon, to have a lawyer accompany them to see their files and to copy them. The police refuse. This is a grand display of audacity for the police to claim that the law permits them to do this to protect the innocent citizens who they infiltrated and upon whom they spied.

From the ACLU:

“This is not the way for the Maryland State Police to demonstrate that they ‘get it’ about the unconscionable spying on peaceful political activists that has taken place,” said David Rocah, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Maryland. “Innocent people are getting letters saying that they’ve been listed as terrorists in a government database, and they are understandably scared. This shouldn't all just disappear into the ether with the click of a delete button.” See: Spying

Creeping fascism. When police act like this without regard to the law or the constitutional rights of citizens, we are all endangered. If our police wish to have the respect and cooperation of the citizens who they supposedly serve, they will have to do better. I know that if I were on such a list, I'd want to have a lawyer or two or three with me and the right to copy and study my file. Send lawyers, guns and money....

As Warren Zevon sang
"Well, I went home with the waitress
The way I always do

How was I to know
She was with the Russians, too......

Send lawyers, guns and money."

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My Main Thing With Main Street

Most of us have heard by now that our Main Street has been honored as one of America's best streets by the American Planning Association (APA). Certainly it is a very nice street and we should be pleased to be so recognized. But as an observer of the urban scene I can't help but wonder if our street really is "great". It's got a great view across the Bay, is lined with and near plenty of important and pleasing if not "great" historic buildings. It is nice to stroll up and down, has a lovely church at its top and ever since we buried the utility lines and laid new brick and otherwise improved the streetscape, it's become even more attractive. I give credit to our local government for helping make many of these improvements.

Over the many years, I've enjoyed most of the restaurants when times are good, and it's nice to walk along the sidewalks of or ride my bike on Main Street. Once in a while I may be found in one of the coffee shops or bars and I often enjoy the Maryland Federation of Art's gallery openings on the circle from which one can overlook Main Street.

But there is a downside. For starters, as a local, I just don't see much reason to go there. It's for tourists and for those with money to spend. I question how much they serve locals. I did stop in for a watch battery at Ron George Jewelers recently (and to chat with the delegate for whom I also peddled gold and diamonds for a holiday season) and have been to Hard Bean (not actually on Main) a few times of late, but what really do the shops of Main Street have to offer locals?

Perhaps that was not part of the APA's criteria in choosing the best streets but I think it remains one of the fundamental concerns about our downtown. Certainly we have Steven's Hardware and a CVS store but it just seems that Main Street is more and more like, like, well like a tourist street--like Ocean City's BoardWalk. The city's own initiative to turn the once locally-oriented Market House into a food court--now empty of course, surely did not help to reverse that trend.

While there may be a lot of different flavors in the many ice cream shops downtown, there is just not much local flavor to many of the stores. I try to patronize the locally-owned shops but I guess what I am getting at is that if a street is really in the main, for tourists, how great a Main Street can it be? Perhaps it's more of a McMain Street. It seems that instead of "capitalizing" on what is unique, special and different about downtown--which of course is Main Street for the most part, we have somehow become more like other typical--and touristy shopping destinations. The big issue is what it will be like once the shops at Parole have been in place for a while. Will Main Street be able to maintain a sense of place, an identity and a mix of shops that will be different and compelling enough to maintain commercial interest?

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Ohhh.....I Am So Depressed and more economic news from outer space

Is bad economic and political news making you depressed? Just check out Marvin the Robot/Marvin Moments at Marvin. By the way, does the space girl in the beginning kind of remind you of, of, of, well... a younger Sarah Palin? And now for wisdom from Marvin:

"Ohh, I am so depressed....Now I'm feeling much better about our predicament....oh the computer hates me...right then, all of you lucky enough to have two arms, hold tight....incredible, it's even worse than I thought it would be...this will all end in tears, I just know it...I told you it would all end in tears...now I've got a headache...ooh I feel so depressed...."

Or try the original Marvin who says, "The best conversation I had was 34 million years ago...and that was with a coffee machine...Here I am with a brain the size of a planet and they ask me to pick up a piece of paper...."



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Dangerous Nuns and Other Terrorists

At yesterday's Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing on state police espionage activities against Maryland citizens, we learned that at least two state senators were arrested in their youth for civil disobedience. I liked how they brought that up to the crowd, sort of like it was a badge of honor. I like the fact that our lawmakers had brushes with the other side of the law (I did not say "wrong side")in their salad days. I would hope it gives them a healthy sense of respect for today's activists. Their activism probably spurred them on in their quest for political office--sort of like if you can't lick them, join them....But I digress....

We learned from former Attorney General Steve Sachs and the head of the State Police that our own law enforcement officers infiltrated and tracked peace groups and anti-capital punishment groups (No--not anti this blog!)in Maryland--including two nuns! No less than 53 individuals whose privacy and civil rights were violated have now been contacted and invited in to see their dossiers which they ensure us, will be deleted.

Now--if you were a real terrorist looking to mess around in Maryland, wouldn't it make you smile and sratch your beard to know that the police were out spying on anti-war activists? It would be like winning on both accounts! Not only that, but things such as this should give us all pause to ask what kind of country we live in and what kind of government we have and what all this talk about fighting for freedom and individual rights is all about.

We can only hope that the system self-corrects. It remains to be seen whether any law enforcement officers will be punished for allowing this to happen but my money says it will happen.

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More Humorous Political Posters

It's time once again to bring you some terrific new poster art from www.oldamericancentury.org which we hope you'll enjoy. As if that does not drive the point home, try this one:

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Are You Registered to Vote? If So, Vote Early and Vote Often

You have until October 14 to register in MD. Go here to see if you are registered and to learn more:Vote

As always, the League of Women Voters provides a lot of helpful information: League

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Sailboats Here....Powerboats Next

THIS IS NOT POLITICAL...although I must admit that a "blue" state just sounds much more inviting to boaters than does a "red" state...but this is not political...It's just a reminder that the US Sailboat Show is here now and US Powerboat Show comes the following week. Even if you've seen enough boats, the seminars are worthwhile...and don't forget all the good beer and roast beef at the Fleet!

Here are this year's schedules for SAIL:
Thursday, Press/Trade/V.I.P. Day, Oct. 9, 2008 10 am - 6 pm
Friday, General Admission Day, Oct. 10, 2008 10 am - 7 pm
Saturday, Sunday Oct. 11-12, 2008 10 am - 7 pm
Monday, Oct. 13, 2008 10 am - 5 pm

And for POWER:
Thursday, Press/Trade/V.I.P. Day, Oct. 16, 2008 10 am - 6 pm
Friday, General Admission Day, Oct. 17, 2008 10 am - 7 pm
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 10 am - 7 pm
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008 10 am - 6 pm

For information, visit www.usboat.com/

And please, please come and spend lots of money...or at least get a parking ticket. NOT! (Plenty of parking and shuttles from the stadium...or walk...or ride your bike...). Let's just hope this year that responsible banks have money to lend to responsible boat buyers.

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Wild Coyote in Hillsmere?

According to a parent of a Key School student, as of 5 pm Tuesday, although I cannot confirm it, a coyote is on the loose in Hillsmere and the school has been locked down. Yup--a coyote. This is indeed an odd story. A coyote? Again, CP cannot confirm this, but it has been reported by a Key School parent. Ahhhh...wwooooooooo... call of the wild in our own backyard.

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Virtuoso Pianist Radoslav Kvapil to Perform FREE Concert October 21

INTERNATIONAL CRITICS RAVE that virtuoso Czech Pianist Radoslav Kvapil is the most important Czech Pianist and the finest proponent of Czech music. He specializes in the performance of the Czech repertoire worldwide and has recorded the complete works of Leos Janacek, Anonin Dvorak, J.H. Vorisek and Bohuslav Martinu. Kvapil’s knowledge and understanding of these works remain unrivaled. His specialty in Czech music grows from his roots. Born in Brno, Moravia, he studied at the Janacek Academy under the pupils of the famous Czech composer Leos Janacek. The program is part of the continuing series of the World Artists Experiences. Kvapil will perform at St John's College Key Auditorium at 7 pm for FREE. No tickets-first come--first served!

The concert is sponsored by World Artists Experiences. WAE is an Arnold, MD based group that envisions a world where its citizens dialogue and establish creative partnerships to foster mutual respect, trust and hope. For information, call 410-647-4482 or visit worldartists

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Alaska-A lot of Open Space...and little human diversity..like its governor

Matt Littman of The Huffington Post, poses a question about the still-unknown Sarah Palin, asking if she knows any Jews. It's a reasonable question, not so much because of its specific subject, but because based on what we know about her, which remains surprisingly little, many of us wonder what she knows at all beyond the bounds of her insular world. I joked that her name was really Sarah Palinski and she was descended from Russian-Jewish fur traders who landed in Alaska a hundred years ago. Some folks actually believed me.

But in all seriousness, does she know people who are not just like her? After all, part of her folksy appeal lies in the notion that regular folks see themselves in her. But if that is true, what exactly are regular folks? Are Jews, Blacks, immigrants, atheists, homosexuals, or any anyone else not just like her, known to her or even familiar to her? In other words, being an eastern-liberal, cosmopolitan, intellectual Jew, I believe that I know a heckuva lot more people like Sarah Palin than she knows people like me. She even said as much in the debate last week when she said she did not understand how people in Washington talked. Well I was born in Washington. Read matt-littman in The Huffington Post.

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More Sailors Enjoy Annapolis

Some recently arrived sailors are really enjoying Annapolis and lucky for them, they discovered Rams Head Tavern. Read about their stopover in America's Sailing Capital at: sailmarylee

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