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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Puzzling Over Massachusetts Election Scenarios


Not since 1972 has a Republican won a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts. The state has no Republican House members. Nearly 90 percent of the state legislature is Democratic. In the past five presidential elections the Democratic candidate has won an average of 63 percent of the state’s vote.

Yet polls in this most Democratic of states show a tossup in Tuesday’s special Senate election between Democratic candidate Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown.

Massachusetts voters on Tuesday could change the American political landscape by putting at risk President Barack Obama’s signature first-term legislation — health insurance reform — which needs to get 60 votes in the Senate to pass.

GO HERE to read more.

APPARENT HOMICIDE VICTIM IN WICOMICO CO. IDENTIFIED


(Hebron, MD) – Police have identified the man found dead after an apparent shooting at a Wicomico County home early this morning.

The victim is identified as Preston Morehouse, 19. The victim’s body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner where an autopsy will be performed.

Morehouse apparently moved to Maryland within the last two weeks and had been staying with the residents of the home where the shooting occurred. Information indicates Morehouse has previously lived in Florida and Virginia.

Shortly after 4:30 a.m. today, Maryland State Police from the Salisbury Barracks responded to a 911 call in which the caller said a shooting had occurred at a residence in the 27000-block of Ocean Gateway, Hebron, Md. Arriving troopers found the victim lying just inside the front door of the single-family home.

Maryland State Police Homicide Unit investigators are leading the investigation, with assistance from members of the Wicomico County Bureau of Investigation. No one has been arrested at this time. A description of a suspect or suspects is also not yet available.

Anyone who may have information about this crime is urged to contact Maryland State Police at the Salisbury Barracks, at 410-749-3101. The identity of callers may be kept confidential.

APPARENT HOMICIDE IN WICOMICO CO. INVESTIGATED


(Hebron, MD) – State troopers and county deputies are continuing to investigate an apparent shooting that left one man dead at a home in Wicomico County early this morning.

The victim has not been positively identified at this time. He is believed to be a young adult male who may have recently moved to the Wicomico County area.

Shortly after 4:30 a.m. today, Maryland State Police from the Salisbury Barracks responded to a 911 call in which the caller said a shooting had occurred at a residence in the 27000-block of Ocean Gateway, Hebron, Md. Arriving troopers found the victim lying just inside the front door of the single-family home.

The victim had sustained obvious trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.

Maryland State Police Homicide Unit investigators are leading the investigation, with assistance from members of the Wicomico County Bureau of Investigation. Police are interviewing people found inside the home, as well as residents in the area. State police crime scene technicians are continuing to process the scene for evidence.

No one has been arrested at this time. A description of a suspect or suspects is also not yet available.

Anyone who may have information about this crime is urged to contact Maryland State Police at the Salisbury Barracks, at 410-749-3101. The identity of callers may be kept confidential.

Stabbing At Chef Fred's Last Night

Hi Joe.

I wanted to share this with you..but I dont want my name posted.

Last night I went out to Chef Fred's for a friends Birthday. When you walk in Chef Fred's you will notice the metal detectors and also when your showing your ID you will see a metal detector wand on the table. They didn't have the metal detectors on and they didn't use the wand either. Later on last night my friend Billy Morton was stabbed 3 times in his right side. Now if they would of use the metal detectors this might not of happened. I was told that the night before they had some problems outside the bar with some guys throwing gang signs and trying to fight people. I have also been informed that a lady was raped in the parking lot not too long ago.

My question is what is Chef Freds doing to stop things like this from happening? Absolutely nothing! When my friend realized he was stabbed he went up to the bouncers and told them he was stabbed ...They kicked him out.. That pissed him off a bit because he didn't understand why they were kicking him out when he had been the one stabbed. They then shut down the bar and kicked everyone out. The bouncers told the cops that it happened outside.. Witch is a lie because my husband was standing next to him talking to him on the dance floor when it happened. It was dark so we didn't see who did it and it all happened so fast. We believe that the reason that the bouncers kicked Billy out after he told them he had been stabbed was because they didn't use the metal detectors and they were trying to cover there asses so they wouldn't get sued! I think something needs to be done to Chef Fred's. They need to enforce there security ..why have the metal detectors if your not going to use them. And the disrespect Billy got from the bouncers was completely ignorant. You would think they would want to make sure he was ok and get him help so they wouldn't be sued but instead they threw him out like the trash. You would think that they would help him since he had been stabbed and lock the bar down and do a search on everyone maybe they would of found out who did it. Maybe if you bring some attention the the events that have been happening at Chef Fred's things will change. It looks like We are going to have to start going outta town to be able to go out and have some fun!

Raven's May Be Cursed for Maryland Legislature Action Against Colts?

For the seventh consecutive time - the Ravens came up short in their quest for a divisional title against the former Baltimore - now Indianapolis Colts.

If one were to wager a bet as to the Ravens dropping yesterday's game - the odds were statistically stacked against you.

Could it be that Maryland has been cursed for trying to obtain the Colts franchise through eminent domain against Robert Irsay? After all was it not the Maryland Legislature that drew 'first blood' by passing a law on March 27th, 1984 - allowing the City to seize the Colts through Eminent Domain. Remember, both, the city and county officials had previously threatened to do so. The next day, Irsay, decided to move the team to Indianapolis fearing a dawn raid on the team's Owings Mills headquarters.

As Michael Chernoff - then Baltimore Colts attorney - most eloquently stated when being interviewed;

"They (the Maryland state legislature and the city of Baltimore) not only threw down the gauntlet, but they put a gun to his head and cocked it and asked, ' want to see if it's loaded?".
"They forced him to make a decision on that day".

I can only speak for myself but I - among many others - know the full story as to how the Baltimore Colts ended-up in Indianapolis. Remember folks, the Internet was in its infancy back in 1984 and the news coming out of Annapolis and Baltimore was quite censored back then.

As Paul Harvey would say;

"Now you know the Rest of the Story"

*Please read Robert Irsay's obituary: Click Here



Think Again: U.S. Foreign Aid

Posted February 2005 on Foreign Policy website.

Shortly after a tsunami swept through the Indian Ocean last December, a U.N. official complained that the West was “stingy” with its relief donations. Stung by this criticism, the Bush administration increased its financial pledge tenfold overnight—while loudly asserting that the United States actually led the global pack in foreign aid. Is the world’s wealthiest country a scrooge or a savior?

“The U.S. Government Provides More Foreign Aid than Any Other Country.”
Yes. The United States gives more cash to developing countries than any other nation. Of the $69 billion in development assistance given by the world’s 22 top donors in 2003, the U.S. government contributed $16.3 billion, or just under 25 percent. But these sums mainly reflect that the United States is the largest and wealthiest donor country, accounting for 40 percent of the 22 donor countries’ total income. So, it should come as no surprise that the United States gives substantially more than, say Canada, which has one tenth the population and a much lower average income.

When U.S. foreign aid is measured on other scales, however, a different picture emerges. For example, the United States provided about $51 per citizen in official development assistance in 2002–03. That ranks it in 16th place among other major donors, behind Norway ($381 per citizen), the Netherlands ($203 per citizen), France ($96 per citizen), and the United Kingdom ($89 per citizen), among others. When aid is measured as a share of national income, the United States ranks dead last at 0.15 percent. Top givers include Norway (0.92), Denmark (0.84), Belgium (0.60), and Germany (0.28).

Moreover, foreign aid constitutes only a small share of the U.S. federal budget—much smaller than most Americans think. Surveys show that most Americans believe the federal government devotes 15 to 20 percent of the country’s expenditures to aid. The actual figure is far less than 1 percent; that’s less than one fourth of the budget share of 1965.

More.

H1N1 Is 'Global Scam': Expert


LONDON - BRITISH media are reporting that a prominent health expert has claimed that the H1N1 flu scare was 'faked by drug companies'.


The Daily Star newspaper reports that Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, says the H1N1 scare was 'one of the greatest medical scandals of the century'.


Dr Wodarg also said that drug companies convinced the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a pandemic in order to increase profits. The newspaper also reports that the Council of Europe will be holding an emergency debate on the issue before the end of January.


'It's just a normal kind of flu. It does not cause a tenth of deaths caused by the classic seasonal flu,' Dr Wodarg told the Daily Star. 'The campaign of panic provided a golden opportunity for representatives from labs who knew they would hit the jackpot in the case of a pandemic being declared.'


Read more here..

SB 279

Gentlemen,

I will give you the opportunity, before I make my decision, to explain why you voted for this bill instead of against it with your fellow Republicans. Did you think the Eastern Shore wouldn't here about it? (But then we are the Out House of Maryland).

I will also let you know that at the end of Robert Leroy "Bob" Ehrlich1st year I told him that he needed to change his head, we don't need moderates in this state, or he would not have a 2nd term (actually I told him I would rather see a Kennedy (which I hate) in his seat and would work hard to get him out. If he didn't).
Well, You see what happened. ( Thank you God for not letting Katherine run)

Now Gentlemen, if you do review this and find that you were in error, I will except that, but I WILL be watching you. Time is a neat thing, I can Waite for the next Election, and if your response or lack of response does not suite me. Your time in office is done.

Thank you for your time. And thank you Salisbury News, A true Fox Affiliate, for Not letting this get by us.

Tom Sawyer

Sarah Foxwell Wakes Up A Community

Joe,

In light of all of recent events of little Sarah, I thought I'd share a story with you. Something that "could" have been potentially dangerous for me and my son had my friend and I not thought to do a little investigating of this.

I'm a professional single mother and dating at 40 is a nightmare. So out of curiosity, I recently responded to a craigslist personal ad, something I've NEVER done before...but the profile/ad for this particular guy seemed genuine, real, nice...too good to be true...and it was. I'm sending you the link to his ad...
http://easternshore.craigslist.org/m4w/1552889189.html

I thank God did NOT share ANY personal information with him, only saying he sounded interesting and we 'seemed' to have a lot of commonalities. Anyway, he responded back to me (via email at 1:53am) using his personal email address and real name, Walter Frick. So being the inquisitive people that we are, my friend and I pulled up his MD court case search file.....here's the link...http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquirySearch.jis .....check out in particular case #17K06006168. Wow...well, that only had me dig a little further to the MD sex offenders registry and there he was.... http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/sorSearch/search.do?searchType=detail&anchor=false&id=3127780

I want to thank you, and your diligence for making all of us more aware of how these predators are among us in so many different ways and we don't even know it. I was a repeated victim of abuse (sexual and otherwise) at the hands of my mother's boyfriends as a child, and I know that is something I would never want my child (or any other for that matter) to EVER endure. I can only imagine the nightmare that I may have inadvertently invited into my life.

My question is....he was given 25 years for his conviction, 16 years suspended, and was to serve 6. This was in 2006...HOW is he out of jail in 2009 (now 2010)????? This is crazy!! Laws have got to change....I can only hope he's not preying on other women with kids to get at them.

I am contacting craigslist to let them know this information as well, but I wanted to share this story with you. Oh...and can you please NOT share my name, for obvious reasons, I want to remain anonymous.

Thank you for all you do for our community's kids....I, for one, am certainly a grateful parent.

Lawyers Poised For Lawsuit In Senate Election


Lawyers are being positioned even over the weekend to file a legal action quickly in support of the GOP candidate in the Massachusetts special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy should he succeed in defeating a hand-picked Democratic successor.

There is concern that since a victory by Republican Scott Brown over Attorney General Martha Coakley in the battle to replace Kennedy would threaten President Obama's health care plan in the U.S. Senate – Brown has promised to be a key vote against the plan – Democrats in power would delay certifying the election and getting him seated in the Senate.

Officials with Gun Owners of America announced Saturday that they have instructed their attorneys to "prepare a lawsuit to force the Senate to seat Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown immediately should he, as seems increasingly likely, succeed in his Jan. 19 bid for the Senate seat."


The statement from Gun Owners executive officer Larry Pratt said, "Recent polls showing Brown pulling even with anti-gun zealot Martha Coakley have led to threats by current placeholder Paul Kirk and Democratic operatives to block the will of the people of Massachusetts until the Senate has adopted the ObamaCare bill."


"The Senate has finally descended to a moral cesspool which would embarrass a Third World despot," said Pratt. "But, if necessary, the Gun Owners Foundation will move to ensure that gun owners in Massachusetts and across the country are not victimized by this extreme exercise in vote fraud."


He said he's asked his legal counselors to review various civil rights and racketeering laws that could be applied in the case.


Caption These Photos


Reporting Points In Coldest Regions Simply Eliminated By U.S. Agencies

In a one-two series of Climategate aftershocks that assuredly will further rattle the global warming community, a report has been issued by U.S. researchers accusing government agencies of cherry-picking temperature readings used to assess global temperatures, and a series of embarrassing e-mails were released revealing what happened when a blogger dared to point out a mistake by NASA climate scientists.

The new report is from scientist Joseph D'Aleo and was highlighted in a report on global warming on KUSI television in San Diego.

It comes only weeks after the tumultuous climategate e-mail scandal in Britain erupted, proving top global warming scientists manipulated data there.

The report from D'Aleo, a retired climatologist who has been skeptical of global warming, contends climate data has been corrupted and skewed by "urbanization and other local factors such as land-use-land-cover changes and improper siting."

He blamed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which he described as "seriously complicit in data manipulation and fraud."

For example, the report said the number of reporting stations in Canada dropped from 600 to 35 with the percentage of stations at lower elevations tripling while the numbers of those at higher elevations plummeted.

Further, a vast majority of the climate stations reporting in the U.S. were either poorly or very poorly sited, taking temperature readings from paved driveways, in a waste treatment facility, on rooftops or near the exhaust from idling jet engines, rather than in open areas.

There's lots more here..

John Robinson Makes The News Again

"John coaches a U 16 soccer team at crown. He has coached out there for years and has never been a crowd favorite to say the least. During today's game one of his kids got hurt (hopefully he heals quickly), after the player was removed John ran onto the field and screamed at an opposing teams player.

Now I can understand being frustrated but to yell at a kid that is not on your team is wrong and completely uncalled for!!! The ref didn't as much as give john a card and no one from crown said a word! I see John puts all 10,000 he makes a year into the place but teaching kids bad sportsmanship is not what I pay top dollar for!

It bothers more than you can imagine. I coach multiple sports and feel John aka hothead should have taken his feelings up with the other coach and that coach should have handled from there.

Had he yelled at son I may have exploded. Please chime in if you witnessed this!!!!"

Special Protection For Black Panthers

Racial cowardice, thy name is Eric Holder.

For those who don't remember, Attorney General H. Holder Jr. had the gall last February to claim that Americans form "a nation of cowards" with regard to racial issues. Saying that this nation must examine its "racial soul" and that "we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race," Mr. Holder explicitly vowed to "have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us." In that same context, he also vowed repeatedly last year to "restore" the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to a supposedly renewed focus on protecting minority rights.

Yet Mr. Holder was far from explicit about exactly what he meant. Judging from the Civil Rights Division's actions - and now from a highly revealing speech by a newly exiled member of the division - it appears that the civil rights of blacks and Latinos will be protected but those of whites and Asians are treated as irrelevant.

Far from having a "frank conversation" about that highly problematic change in policy, Mr. Holder's Justice Department instead is hiding the change behind bureaucratic smokescreens, spurious claims of legal "privileges" and outright gag orders.

Mr. Holder knows that his sea change in law enforcement would be highly unpopular if discussed openly - and would be subject to serious legal challenge if openly tested in a court of law. Hence his fear, his cowardice, on the issue.

The smoking gun is the department's refusal to fully sanction members of the New Black Panther Party who were charged with voter intimidation for brandishing a nightstick and using threatening racial language at a polling place during the 2008 presidential election. In this case, Mr. Holder appeared to be undermining equal justice under the law by refusing to protect the civil rights of white voters. Now comes one of the key attorneys in that case to confirm that analysis.

The attorney in question, Christopher Coates, was transferred suddenly to South Carolina after the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights tried to subpoena his testimony with regard to the Black Panther case, which Mr. Coates helped oversee. Mr. Coates is known to have objected to the Obama-Holder team's decision to drop three of the four charges and play softball on the fourth.

Mr. Coates ought to have great credibility because nobody can accuse him of being a conservative ideologue. A former American Civil Liberties Union attorney who has won major awards from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Georgia Environmental Organization and the Justice Department itself, Mr. Coates has made a career of advocating for the rights of black Americans.

Yet when he tried to do the same for white voters (and some black ones, too) intimidated by the weapon-wielding Black Panthers, he was hounded, ordered to ignore a subpoena and ultimately exiled.

More from The Washington Times..

Brooke Mulford Update


As if I'm not tired enough, after writing this entry for the past 1 1/2 hours I became disconnected from the internet and hadn't saved my work! So here I go again...

After waiting a week to hear if Brooke's cancer had come back, which Praise God it hasn't, just a little over 24 hours later we had another terrifying night. Last night Brooke's blood pressure dropped dangerously low to 62/25. She was given 2 fluid boluses and a blood transfusion to try to bring it up with no success. The PICU team (doctor and 2 nurses) came to Brooke’s room to evaluate her and thought it would be best for her to get moved up to the PICU (which as a parent of a child with NB these are probably the second most dreaded words you could hear… often NB parents are told if their kids go to the ICU they most likely will not survive it). But as the room full of people were discussing what to do, Brooke woke up ticked off that everyone was talking and making so much noise. We left the room to finish the conversation in the hall when someone else came to the room to do a chest x-ray. Brooke became increasingly agitated that no one was letting her sleep and her blood pressure began to rise! I was afraid to let her go back to sleep so I asked her if she wanted to stay awake and do a craft. We wound up staying awake until 4am doing crafts & then watching a movie but her BP remained at a safer number. The PICU team came back around 12:30 last night to see how she was doing. After watching her going a mile a minute, doing craft after craft only stopping to take pictures of everyone in the room, they decided she was safe to stay on the oncology unit! More answered prayers! So even after not going to sleep until 4am she still woke up at 7:30am raring to go. I’m exhausted but so grateful that her vitals have stabilized and that we were able to stay in our little comfort zone of 3 central. Just to look at her now smiling and playing like nothing ever happened last night it such a miracle. Thank you Kellie, Liz, Dave & John for taking my late night and often frantic/tearful calls! Please pray we have an easier night tonight.

God Bless,

Amy (Brooke’s very tired mommy)

Only 37 Percent Approve, Says Gallup Poll

Fifty-eight percent of Americans now say they disapprove of the way President Barack Obama is handling the health-care issue, while only 37% say they approve, the lowest level of his presidency, according to a Gallup poll released today.

The 37 percent who still say they approve of Obama's handling of health care is buoyed by the fact that 64 percent of Democrats say they approve. Only 11 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of independents say they approve of the way the president is handling heath care.

The same Gallup poll indicates public approval of Obama’s handling of the economy has plummeted since last summer. Currently, only 40 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the economy.

Here's more..

Some Groups That Threaten Domestic Security Are ‘Anti-A bortion’ And Have ‘Christian Identity’

Erroll Southers, who President Barack Obama has nominated to head the Transportation Security Administration, described groups that were a domestic security threat as being "anti-abortion" and “Christian-identity oriented."

The TSA, an element of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for the security of the nation's transportation systems, including commercial air travel. Southers made the remarks in question in a 2008 video interview with the Videojug.com Web site.

CNSNews story..

U.S. Considers D.C. For Gitmo Trial, Officials Say

Officials say an Indonesian linked to Usama bin Laden is one of several detainees being considered for Washington trials.

WASHINGTON
- The Obama administration is considering a criminal trial in Washington for the Guantanamo Bay detainee suspected of planning the bombing of a Bali nightclub that killed 202 people, a plan that would bring one of the world's most notorious terrorism suspects just steps from the U.S. Capitol, Fox News has confirmed.
Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, was allegedly Usama bin Laden's point man in Indonesia and, until his capture in August 2003, was believed to be the main link between Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, the terror group blamed for the 2002 bombing on the island of Bali.
More: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/15/considers-dc-gitmo-trial-officials-say/

Now is it just me or is this inviting terrorism not only in New York but now our nation’s capitol?

Democrats Reach Deal On 'Cadillac' Health Tax

Democrats Reach Deal on 'Cadillac' Health Tax President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats scored a victory in healthcare talks on Thursday, winning labor union support for a revised tax on high-cost insurance plans and possibly clearing the way for a final agreement.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/34874883/

Union members, comprising 12% of the US workforce, will be exempt from the tax until 2018.

According to the White House: “we don’t know where to make up the financial shortfall”
Remember this at re-election time!

Hammer Time!

JMB Graduate Derek Wu To Carry Olympic Torch Monday, Jan. 18

Derek Wu, a 2009 graduate of James M. Bennett High School and a freshman at Princeton University, will serve Monday as a torchbearer for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

He is scheduled to take the Olympic flame from Steven Lopez, an Olympic gold medalist in Taekwondo, at 6:57 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18. To see Wu run live, visit the Webcam at: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/torch/follow-torch/index.html.

Currently a student at Princeton, Derek is a graduate of James M. Bennett High in Salisbury. His parents, Drs. Ying Wu and Hong Yao, teach in the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University.

Dr. George Whitehead of SU’s Psychology Department worked with Wu through the Youth Leadership Academy and nominated him for the Olympic honor.

Coca-Cola selected 20 "inspiring young" people to serve in the honorary role. While a senior at JMB, Wu served as the student member of the Maryland State Board of Education and as SGA president for James M. Bennett High School. He is also an accomplished musician and mathematician.

Teacher Rick Seay Fondly Remembered By Wicomico High, Wicomico School Community

Rick Seay, a history teacher at Wicomico High School, is being mourned and remembered with fondness after passing away on Wednesday, Jan. 13.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Wicomico High School Auditorium.

One Person Murdered In Wicomico County Home Invasion

WBI is investigating a murder scene this morning in Hebron. A male victim was pronounced dead at the scene. More to come.

Baltimore 3, Indianapolis 20

INDIANAPOLIS -- Peyton Manning beat the Ravens and buried a myth.
Say goodbye to the bye-week blues.

In his first game since winning an unprecedented fourth NFL MVP award, Manning threw for two touchdowns Saturday night in the Indianapolis Colts' 20-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The decisive win came after a playoff bye, something that had been a plague, not a respite, for Manning and his teammates.

GO HERE to read more.

Still Hanging In There

52,891 Traffic Rank in US
SALISBURY NEWS

Baltimore Sun Article

Didn't know if you read the Baltimore Sun today. There was an article there concerning a teacher (female) who was arrested and charged with having sex with a teenage student (male).

The original bond was set at $500.000.00 but the Judge then released her on her personal recognizance. Another example of the liberal, lenient judiciary in the State of Maryland.