He'll address Republicans in Baltimore speech, unveil stimulus details
TAMPA, Fla. - Trying to bury a year of polarization, President Barack Obama on Thursday escalated his appeal for politicians and voters alike to settle differences without tearing each other apart. His plea: "Let's start thinking of each other as Americans first."
Obama made sure to weave that message throughout his stop in Florida, one otherwise intended to promote his economic agenda by announcing $8 billion in high-speed rail awards.
Coming one day after his State of the Union address, and one day before meeting with House Republican leaders with whom he continues to battle, Obama's emphasis on civility was a nod to political reality. He needs Republicans more than ever to get his agenda passed, and he is getting saddled with more public blame for the partisanship he promised to change.
GO HERE to read more from MSNBC.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Fox News Blacks Out?
Joe, didn't know where I should put this. You may want to use your investigative skills and find out why Mediacom has shown a blank screen on the Fox news station one night a week for the past three weeks and coincidentally it always happens somewhere between 8-11, primetime hours.
Also 'coincidentally' it went off the air tonight right at 9:00p.m. just when Hannity was coming on when everyone knew he was going to go off on Obama's speech last night. Don't want to read conspiracy into it but it does seem strange. Have you heard of anyone with other cable companies having the same problem?
Also 'coincidentally' it went off the air tonight right at 9:00p.m. just when Hannity was coming on when everyone knew he was going to go off on Obama's speech last night. Don't want to read conspiracy into it but it does seem strange. Have you heard of anyone with other cable companies having the same problem?
Anne Arundel Backs Down On Taxing Short Sales
State attorney general's office opinion leads to reversal
Anne Arundel County said it will no longer tax short sales on more than a home's purchase price, reacting to an opinion from the Maryland attorney general's office Wednesday that the practice isn't supported by state law.
Richard Drain, the county comptroller, said Anne Arundel will collect recordation tax on the sales price, rather than the sales price plus any debt forgiven by the lender. Drain said five homes were taxed at the higher amount, and the money - less than $4,000 total - would be refunded.
In short sales, homes change hands for less than the seller owes, with the lender's permission. The lender can forgive some or all of the difference, though real estate professionals say it's frequently unclear at settlement whether that will happen.
Realtors said the county began collecting on forgiven debt without advance warning this month, though Drain said that had always been the policy. Officials with the Maryland Association of Realtors, who feared other counties would follow suit, cheered the attorney general's opinion and the county's swift reversal.
GO HERE to read more.
Obama To Visit Baltimore Tomorrow
President Barack Obama will be paying a visit to Baltimore Friday. Obama is scheduled to visit an unidentified small business and address a retreat of House Republicans. Given that Congressional Dems seem to lock the GOP out of everything meaningful going on in Congress, I thought it was mighty kind of the Republicans to invite the left’s once upon a time messiah.
I was wondering if Obama was going to hand out any “cash from his stash” while visiting Charm City.
Another Success Story, One After The Other
Hi Joe,
Yes, the owner came this morning and the pooch is safe and sound back home.
Linda
Obama vs. Constitution
State of the Union: Obama v. Constitution
"The duty imposed upon him to take care, that the laws be faithfully executed, follows out the strong injunctions of his oath of office, that he will 'preserve, protect, and defend the constitution.' The great object of the executive department is to accomplish this purpose; and without it, be the form of government whatever it may, it will be utterly worthless for offence, or defence; for the redress of grievances, or the protection of rights; for the happiness, or good order, or safety of the people." --Justice Joseph Story
The ObamaPrompterIn the wake of Barack Hussein Obama's first State of the Union address, much of the critical analysis from Republicans posited that he should do "this" instead of "that."
Unfortunately, when there is no more constitutional authority for a president to do this rather than that, Republicans fail to distinguish themselves from Democrats since both parties are then advocating unlawful extra-constitutional policies.
Obama's SOTU teleprompters fed him a steady stream of poll-tested rhetoric, none of which comports with the authority granted the Executive Branch, unless, of course, one subscribes to the adulterated "living constitution" as amended by judicial diktat.
Predictably, Obama offered only Socialist solutions to all ills, and not a single suggestion that individual responsibility or the private sector economy should shoulder that burden, at least not without government "incentives," a.k.a. centralized social and economic planning.
In 6,200 words (second longest SOTU after Bill Clinton -- two narcissists who just can't hear enough of themselves), Obama referred to himself repeatedly, and alleged that he was the anointed spokesman for "we," the American people, more than 100 times.
On the other hand, he mentioned the Constitution only twice.
First, in his opening remarks Obama said, "Our Constitution declares that from time to time the president shall give to Congress information about the state of our union."
Correct.
Second, he asserted, "We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution, the notion that we're all created equal..."
As the Internet meme goes these days: FAIL! Uh, uh, uh, -- that "notion" was enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, third paragraph, first sentence. One would think that this alleged professor of "Constitutional Law" at the University of Chicago Law School would have noticed such a simple, yet substantial, error.
Our Constitution is devoted to clearly delineating the limited role of the central government from the unlimited rights of the states and the people.
To that end, James Madison, author of our Constitution, wrote, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite."
Accordingly, Obama mentions freedom only once, and made absolutely no reference to liberty.
Nowhere in our Constitution is there any authority or provision for these key proposals from Obama's SOTU:
1. The power to further centralize regulation of our economy.
2. The power to completely regulate our national health care system. (Note: both the Democrat and Republican proposals lack constitutional authority). Obama even repeated his claim that the American people are just not smart enough to get on board: "I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people."
3. The power to further regulate and tax the production of CO2.
Obama reiterated his claims that the current recession was caused by "Wall Street," and then went on to insist that the only hope for ending the recession was government "investment," a euphemism for taxing money out of the private sector, taking bureaucratic handling fees out, then giving it to political constituencies.
To correctly interpret Obama's SOTU, you need only filter everything he says through his foremost pledge that the his administration's charge is the "fundamental transformation of the United States of America."
That is a line Obama lifted from the primary architect of his Socialist platform, Robert Creamer, who had earlier proclaimed, "If Barack Obama is elected president, then we have the opportunity to fundamentally transform American politics and the economy."
It's likely that you've never heard of Bob Creamer, because Barack Obama is very adept at concealing his association with his Marxist patrons.
In his younger days, Obama was not concerned about such associations: "I chose my friends carefully," he wrote. "The more politically active black students; the foreign students; the Chicanos; the Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets."
But when he announced his aspirations to become a U.S. senator in 2004, Obama began to cover his tracks. He stopped associating publicly with Leftist colleagues and mentors such as Jeremiah Wright, Michael Pfleger, William Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Khalid al-Mansour, Rashid Khalidi, Bob Creamer and others.
Creamer is a member of Obama's Chicago mob, a fellow "community organizer" and disciple of Saul Alinsky. Like all of Obama's Chicago benefactors, Creamer believes that he is above the law, or, more appropriately, that he is the law in today's age of the rule of men. But like Tony Rezko, another of Obama's slick Chicago political backers, Creamer was caught with his hand in the till and was convicted of a felony (bank fraud) back in 2004 when Obama was a state senator. Creamer got a softball sentence, though: five months in a minimum-security facility for white-collar criminals and another 11 months of house arrest.
With all that time on his hands, Creamer authored a book, "How Progressives Can Win," which, along with Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals," serves as the template for Obama's campaign to "fundamentally transform" America.
Obama didn't use the word "transform" in his SOTU, but he did insist that government must "lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth," under the pretense of "reform," in order to "give our people the government they deserve."
"I campaigned on the promise of change, change we can believe in. I know there are many Americans who aren't sure if they still believe that I can deliver it. I never suggested that change would be easy ... and when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy."
And well, it should.
Though Obama's efforts to nationalize the nation's health care sector have been temporarily stalled, he has no intention of giving up, announcing that he is redoubling his efforts to expand central government controls over the private sector under cover of "economic crisis." As White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste."
Leading up to his SOTU, Obama endeavored to portray himself as a fiscal conservative: "We can't continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences, as if waste doesn't matter, as if the hard earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like monopoly money, that's what we've seen time and time again, Washington has become more concerned about the next election than the next generation."
This is subterfuge.
Obama endeavors to portray himself as a constitutional conservative: "We will lead in the observance of ... the rule of law. ... Don't mock the Constitution. Don't make fun of it. Don't suggest that it's not American to abide by what the Founding Fathers set up. It's worked pretty well for over 200 years."
This is deception.
Obama endeavors to portray himself as a resolute commander in chief. Regarding Operation Iraqi Freedom he decreed, "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31st, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end." On Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, he declared, "After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home." On the treatment of captive terrorists, he says, "I will restore America's moral standing." On the Long War with Jihadistan, Obama claims, "The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam."
This is farce.
Obama is a dangerous neophyte in matters of national security, and he shows no signs of improving.
If Republicans really want to defeat Obama's Leftist agenda, they need to adopt the tried and true conservative message founded on Essential Liberty. Only then can they truly take control of the debate.
And while Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's response to Obama's SOTU address was encouraging, the current crop of Republican leaders continues to play by Democrat rules, attempting to sell a dangerous and debilitating elixir: "We don't offend the Constitution as bad as they do."
Bottom line: Republicans must refocus on First Principles and govern accordingly.
Republicans can best distinguish themselves from Democrats by, first and foremost, honoring their sacred oath to "support and defend" our Constitution.
To that end, Obama declared, "If you abide by the law, you should be protected by it."
True, but on the other hand, if you are not going to abide by the law, you should be impeached.
P.S. If you are going to seat two police officers next to your wife in the gallery, the two who brought down the Ft. Hood jihadi terrorist, you might at least acknowledge them.
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Mark Alexander
Publisher, PatriotPost.US
Mike Dunn Crony to Challenge Colburn
Chris Jakubiak, the man who gets a cut out of every Salisbury annexation, has decided to run for the Maryland Senate. Jakubiak, 42 and a resident of Wye Mills, will run as a Democrat against Maryland Sen. Richard Colburn (R-37).
Jakubiak is a planner and “negotiates” annexation agreements between the city of Salisbury and developers. He obtained this contract after he established ties with then council president Mike Dunn and began patronizing the radio stations Dunn sell “underwriting” (advertising) for. I’m reminded of those “high ethical standards” promised by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.
Why Scott Brown Should Run For President
Of all the ridiculous things that have been said about incoming Sen. Scott Brown (R) in the wake of his surprising win in true-blue Massachusetts last Tuesday—like that Brown somehow represents a nationwide repudiation of universal health care even though he voted for it and was elected by people who already enjoy it—perhaps the most ridiculous is the suggestion that he should immediately pass go, collect $200 million, and start running against Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election.
Or is it?
The"Brown 4 Prez" speculation started as soon as the results rolled in. The morning after the election, reporters were already asking the senator-elect if he saw himself as "presidential timber."Matt Drudge led his site for days with the headline "NOW . . . WILL HE RUN FOR PRESIDENT?"—in giant red type. Conservative talk-show host Jesse Lee Peterson predicted that Brown " will be the next president of the United States." Darrell Delamaide of The Wall Street Journal wrote that Brown "is to the Republicans now what Barack Obama was to the Democrats in 2004—a fresh face, a new voice, an 'overnight success 'who has been working in politics for years." And the scottbrown2012.com domain name was, of course, instantly snatched up.
Ask any liberal about this whole Brown Fever thing, and she will dutifully recite the reasons why it is completely and utterly preposterous. Brown is way too inexperienced to hold the highest office in the land, she'd say. And even if he weren't, his pro-choice, pro-civil-union views would doom him with the evangelicals and social conservatives who makeup the most energetic segment of the GOP's base, possibly depressing turnout and swinging states with large black populations that were close in 2008—like Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia—in Obama's direction. What's more, she'd add, Republicans always gravitate toward former presidential candidates and familiar faces when choosing a standard bearer—not untested newcomers. Then she'd tell you again how inexperienced Brown is.
But are those arguments convincing? After listening to naysayers on the left (and right) for the past week, I'm inclined to say no.
GO HERE to read more from Newsweek.
Justice Openly Disagrees With Obama In Speech
Alito visibly responds negatively when president mentions recent decision
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito didn't like hearing President Barack Obama publicly criticize the high court's ruling removing corporate campaign spending limits — and he didn't try to hide it.
Alito made a dismissive face, shook his head repeatedly and appeared to mouth the words "not true" or possibly "simply not true" when Obama asailed the decision Wednesday night in his State of the Union address.
The president had taken the unusual step of publicly scolding the high court, with some of its members in robes seated before him in the House. "With all due deference to the separation of powers," he said, the court last week "reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections."
GO HERE to read more.
Troopers Searching For Robbery Suspect
Troopers Searching for Robbery Suspect Who Used a Hypodermic Needle as a Hold-up Weapon
Location:
Casapulla’s SR 1, Lighthouse Plaza, north of Rehoboth, Sussex County, DE
Saturday January 23, 2010
Supercuts Hair Salon, 1732 Marsh Road, Shops of Graylyn, New Castle County, DE Monday January 25, 2010
Suspect:
Kevin M. Cox, 37, 5’08” 150 lbs and has green eyes
Resume:
State troopers are searching for a suspect wanted in connection with a robbery in Sussex County and an attempted robbery in New Castle County.
Troopers have linked Cox to a robbery which occurred in Rehoboth that occurred on Saturday and an attempted robbery which occurred on Monday at a Brandywine Hundred hair salon. In both crimes Cox displayed a hypodermic needle to the victims while stating the syringe was tainted with the AIDS virus.
Cox is also a suspect in two robberies in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
He was last seen driving a 2002 Lexus RX-3 SUV, silver in color, displaying a PA registration of EMD 6030.
Anyone who has any information on the whereabouts of Cox is asked to contact the Delaware State Police:
New Castle County- Troop – 2 302-834-2630 ext 2
Sussex County – Troop – 4 302-856-5850 ext 222
Cox is considered dangerous and should not be approached.
Let's Have A Fleet Of 15 Hospital Ships
By Lieutenant Jim Dolbow,
U.S. Coast Guard Reserve
Let’s Have a Fleet of 15 Hospital Ships
Each one of the Department of Defense’s five regional combatant commands should have three hospital ships permanently assigned to their respective areas of responsibility. Why so many, you ask?
It’s so simple that it can be summed up in two words: medical diplomacy. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson (who coined that term) was right on target when he said, “medical diplomacy is the winning of hearts and minds of people in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere by exporting medical care, expertise, and personnel to help those who need it most.” Moreover, according to Thompson, “What better way to knock down the hatred, the barriers of ethnic and religious groups that are afraid of America, and hate America, than to offer good medical policy and good health to these countries?”
Between Secretary Thompson’s wisdom and the fact that the Navy’s two hospital ships, USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) and Mercy (T-AH-19), have proved themselves to be outstanding ambassadors of good will during their recent deployments, I say the Navy should go to the Office of Management and Budget and Capitol Hill and ask for the funds to begin laying the keels for an additional 13 hospital ships. The pros strongly outweigh the cons on this issue. For example:
•It would be a great boon for the shipbuilding industry that so desperately needs some work to remain afloat;
•There’s no shortage of hearts and minds to win in any of the regional combatant commands;
•Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said when he was CNO that he’d hand a part of his budget to the State Department “in a heartbeat,” assuming it was spent in the right place. These additional platforms in a medical diplomacy role would remedy the need to transfer funds from DOD to bolster the diplomacy efforts of the State Department;
• The wrath of Mother Nature is not projected by the experts to lessen any time soon. Additional hospital ships would speed up the U.S. response to natural disasters around the globe, saving lives in the process. Gone would be the lengthy transit times from San Diego or Baltimore. (emphasis added)
Unfortunately, the same people who several years ago wanted to decommission both the Mercy and the Comfort have now been diagnosed with advanced bureaucratic arteriosclerosis. Besides needing some follow-up care after reading this article, they will most likely use some red herrings to argue against expanding the size of the Navy’s hospital fleet, including: money is tight, other assets could perform the same mission, and there is not enough personnel to sail them. To borrow a line from U.S. Army Brigadier General Anthony G. McAuliffe of Bastogne fame, I say “Nuts.”
First, for less than one day’s cost of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, a tanker could be built and equipped to be a state-of-the-art floating medical facility. The potential dividends would be similar to the huge favorable swing in public opinion enjoyed by the United States after the Mercy’s 2005 humanitarian mission. According to Kenneth Ballen of Terror Free Tomorrow, “nationwide polls of Indonesia and Bangladesh conducted in August 2006, following the Mercy’s visit, suggest that a remarkable 85 percent of Indonesians and 95 percent of the people of Bangladesh were favorable to the Mercy’s mission.” No small feat indeed.
Second, manning the ships will not be a problem given proper recruitment and retention efforts. The new ships could sail with an expanded hybrid crew of civilian mariners, joint forces and coalition medical personnel, non-governmental organizations, and civilian volunteers to include retired military personnel. Also, instead of reducing the Navy’s end-strength as currently envisioned, some Sailors could be retrained as corpsmen. Contractors could also be hired. Headhunters could recruit plenty of doctors that would want to serve their country while at the same time getting a reprieve from insurance paperwork, TRICARE, and Medicare, etc.
“Let’s roll” by building a fleet of 15 hospital ships. We have some hearts and minds to win.
(From The United States Naval Institute.)
Let’s Have a Fleet of 15 Hospital Ships
Each one of the Department of Defense’s five regional combatant commands should have three hospital ships permanently assigned to their respective areas of responsibility. Why so many, you ask?
It’s so simple that it can be summed up in two words: medical diplomacy. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson (who coined that term) was right on target when he said, “medical diplomacy is the winning of hearts and minds of people in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere by exporting medical care, expertise, and personnel to help those who need it most.” Moreover, according to Thompson, “What better way to knock down the hatred, the barriers of ethnic and religious groups that are afraid of America, and hate America, than to offer good medical policy and good health to these countries?”
Between Secretary Thompson’s wisdom and the fact that the Navy’s two hospital ships, USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) and Mercy (T-AH-19), have proved themselves to be outstanding ambassadors of good will during their recent deployments, I say the Navy should go to the Office of Management and Budget and Capitol Hill and ask for the funds to begin laying the keels for an additional 13 hospital ships. The pros strongly outweigh the cons on this issue. For example:
•It would be a great boon for the shipbuilding industry that so desperately needs some work to remain afloat;
•There’s no shortage of hearts and minds to win in any of the regional combatant commands;
•Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said when he was CNO that he’d hand a part of his budget to the State Department “in a heartbeat,” assuming it was spent in the right place. These additional platforms in a medical diplomacy role would remedy the need to transfer funds from DOD to bolster the diplomacy efforts of the State Department;
• The wrath of Mother Nature is not projected by the experts to lessen any time soon. Additional hospital ships would speed up the U.S. response to natural disasters around the globe, saving lives in the process. Gone would be the lengthy transit times from San Diego or Baltimore. (emphasis added)
Unfortunately, the same people who several years ago wanted to decommission both the Mercy and the Comfort have now been diagnosed with advanced bureaucratic arteriosclerosis. Besides needing some follow-up care after reading this article, they will most likely use some red herrings to argue against expanding the size of the Navy’s hospital fleet, including: money is tight, other assets could perform the same mission, and there is not enough personnel to sail them. To borrow a line from U.S. Army Brigadier General Anthony G. McAuliffe of Bastogne fame, I say “Nuts.”
First, for less than one day’s cost of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, a tanker could be built and equipped to be a state-of-the-art floating medical facility. The potential dividends would be similar to the huge favorable swing in public opinion enjoyed by the United States after the Mercy’s 2005 humanitarian mission. According to Kenneth Ballen of Terror Free Tomorrow, “nationwide polls of Indonesia and Bangladesh conducted in August 2006, following the Mercy’s visit, suggest that a remarkable 85 percent of Indonesians and 95 percent of the people of Bangladesh were favorable to the Mercy’s mission.” No small feat indeed.
Second, manning the ships will not be a problem given proper recruitment and retention efforts. The new ships could sail with an expanded hybrid crew of civilian mariners, joint forces and coalition medical personnel, non-governmental organizations, and civilian volunteers to include retired military personnel. Also, instead of reducing the Navy’s end-strength as currently envisioned, some Sailors could be retrained as corpsmen. Contractors could also be hired. Headhunters could recruit plenty of doctors that would want to serve their country while at the same time getting a reprieve from insurance paperwork, TRICARE, and Medicare, etc.
“Let’s roll” by building a fleet of 15 hospital ships. We have some hearts and minds to win.
(From The United States Naval Institute.)
SALISBURY CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AGENDA
FEBRUARY 1, 2010
CONFERENCE ROOM 306
GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDING
(Times shown for agenda items are estimates only)
4:30 p.m. Presentation – Police GIS/Crime Analysis Tools – Lt. John Moore
5:00 p.m. Budget amendment - lease/purchase vehicles – Pam Oland
5:30 p.m. Quarterly Financials – Pam Oland
6:00 p.m. Sidewalk Café Requirements – Bill Holland
6:30 p.m. Sidewalk Signs – Bill Holland
7:00 p.m. Amending Section 8.24 of the Salisbury Municipal Code for enforcing nuisance violations – Tom Stevenson
7:25 p.m. General discussion/upcoming agendas
7:30 p.m. Adjourn
AFP-Maryland Supports HB344
- Proposed bill promotes accountability, transparency –
ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland chapter of Americans for Prosperity supports HB344, the “Maryland Open Government Act.” The proposed bill promotes transparency and makes it easier for the general public to hold their elected officials accountable. Publishing committee votes online, allowing the public to sign-up for testimony on the legislative website, and streaming committee hearings on the web are practical, common sense ideas to further engage Marylanders in the legislative process.
“HB344 is not about left, right, Republican or Democrat,” stated Maryland state director Dave Schwartz. “This bill is about good government and making it easier Marylanders to hold their elected officials accountable. We thank Del. Mizeur for her introduction of this proposal, and will be encouraging our members to support HB344.”
Americans for Prosperity-Maryland is a free market, grassroots organization that also encourages good government policies. With the exploding popularity of social networking websites, we believe the internet is a cost effective tool to encourage transparency and accountability within state government. HB344 uses that technology in a way that promotes those virtues.
DIVORCE AGREEMENT
THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY WELL PUT AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT'S BY A YOUNG PERSON, A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I'LL VOTE FOR HIM.
American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:
We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce.... I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course.
Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.
Here is a model separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.
You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).
We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood ..
You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.
We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the bill.
We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find..
You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.
We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you Answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.
Sincerely,
John J. Wall
Law Student and an American
P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & Jane Fonda with you..
P. S. S. And we won't have to press 1 for English.
American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:
We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce.... I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course.
Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.
Here is a model separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.
You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).
We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood ..
You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.
We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the bill.
We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find..
You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.
We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you Answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.
Sincerely,
John J. Wall
Law Student and an American
P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & Jane Fonda with you..
P. S. S. And we won't have to press 1 for English.
Can We At Least Get A Toaster
In the wake of the Massachusetts Miracle last week ("The other Boston Massacre"), President Obama adopted a populist mantle, claiming he was going to "fight" Wall Street. It was either that or win another Nobel Peace Prize.
Now the only question is which Goldman Sachs crony he'll put in charge of this task.
If Obama plans to hold Wall Street accountable for its own bad decisions, it will be a first for the Democrats.
For the past two decades, Democrats have specialized in insulating financial giants from the consequences of their own high-risk bets. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs alone have been rescued from their risky bets by unwitting taxpayers four times in the last 15 years.
Bankers get all the profits, glory and bonuses when their flimflam bets pay off, but the taxpayers foot the bill when Wall Street firms' bets go bad on -- to name just three examples -- Mexican bonds (1995), Thai, Indonesian and South Korean bonds (1997), and Russian bonds (1998).
As Peter Schweizer writes in his magnificent book Architects of Ruin: "Wall Street is a very far cry from the arena of freewheeling capitalism most people recall from their history books." With their reverse-Midas touch, the execrable baby boom generation turned Wall Street into what Schweizer dubs "risk-free Clintonian state capitalism."
Apropos of the Clintonian No-Responsibility Era, Goldman Sachs and Citibank became heavily invested in Mexican bonds after a two-day bender in Tijuana in the early '90s. Any half-wit could see that "investing" in the dog track would be safer than investing in a corrupt Third World government controlled by drug lords.
But precisely because the bonds were so risky, bankers made money hand-over-fist on the scheme -- at least until Mexico defaulted.
With Mexico unable to pay the $25 billion it owed the big financial houses, Clinton's White House decided the banks shouldn't be on the hook for their own bad bets.
Clinton's Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin, former chairman of Goldman, demanded that the U.S. bail out Mexico to save his friends at Goldman. He said a failure to bail out Mexico would affect "everyone," by which I take it he meant "everyone in my building."
Larry Summers, currently Obama's National Economic Council director, warned that a failure to rescue Mexico would lead to another Great Depression. (Ironically, Summers' current position in the Obama administration is "Great Depression czar.")
Republicans in Congress said "no" to Clinton's Welfare-for-Wall-Street plan.
It's not as if this hadn't happened before: In 1981, Reagan allowed Mexico to default on tens of billions of dollars in debt -- Mexico claimed the money was "in my other pair of pants" -- leaving Wall Street to deal with its own bad bets.
As Larry Summers expected, this led like night into day to the Great Depression we experienced during the Reagan years ... Wait, that never happened.
At congressional hearings on Clinton's proposed Mexico bailout a decade later, Republicans Larry Kudlow, Bill Seidman and Steve Forbes all denounced the plan to save Goldman Sachs via a Mexican bailout.
So the Clinton administration did an end run around the Republicans in Congress and rescued improvident Wall Street bankers by giving Mexico a $20 billion line of credit directly from the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund.
Relieved of any responsibility for their losing bets, Wall Street firms leapt into buying other shaky foreign bonds. Soon the U.S. taxpayer, through the International Monetary Fund, was propping up bonds out of South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, then Russia -- all to save Goldman Sachs.
The IMF could have saved itself a lot of paperwork by just sending taxpayer money directly to Goldman, but I think they're saving that for Obama's second term.
Throughout every bailout, congressional Republicans were screaming from the rooftops that this wasn't capitalism. It was "Government Sachs." As Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) put it, the same rules that apply to welfare mothers "ought to apply to rich Greenwich, Conn., investors who are multimillionaires."
But Wall Street raised a lot of money for the Democrats, so Clinton bailed them out, over and over again.
Before you knew it, once-respectable Wall Street institutions were buying investment products even more ludicrous than Mexican bonds: They were buying the mortgages of Mexican strawberry-pickers.
Why shouldn't Wall Street trust in suicidal loans no sane person would ever imagine could be paid back? Time after time, when their bets paid off, they pocketed huge fees; when their bets failed, they sent the bill to the taxpayers.
With nothing to fear, the big financial houses bought, repackaged and resold investment products that included loans like the one issued by Washington Mutual to non-English-speaking strawberry pickers earning a combined $14,000 a year to purchase a $720,000 house.
But the financial wizards on Wall Street were trading these preposterous loans as if they were bars of gold. They may as well have bet the entire U.S. economy on a dice game in an alley off 44th Street.
Every mortgage-backed security bundle was infected with suicidal, politically correct loans that had been demanded by community organizers such as Barack Obama -- as is thoroughly documented in Schweizer's book.
On the off chance that mammoth mortgages to people who could barely afford food somehow went bad, Wall Street firms could be confident that their Democrat friends would bail them out.
Even the Republicans would have to bail them out this time: They had strapped the dynamite of toxic loans onto the entire economy and were threatening to pull the clip. Wall Street had infected every financial institution in the country, including completely innocent banks.
But now Obama says he's going to "fight" Wall Street, which is as plausible as claiming he'll "fight" the trial lawyers.
As Schweizer demonstrates, whenever the Democrats "regulate" Wall Street, the innocent pay through the nose, while Wall Street swine lower than drug dealers and pornographers end up with multimillion-dollar bonuses so they can run for governor of New Jersey and fund lavish Democratic fundraisers in the Hamptons.
Republicans should respond the way they always have: Support the free market, not looters and welfare recipients on Wall Street, especially the Democrats' friends at Goldman
What A Crock Of Sh!t
How about that State of the Union Address last night, eh? Stand up, sit down. Stand up, sit down. Praise my Obama, for he is'ith the leader.
I about threw up twice and we only watched 10 minutes of his crap. I walked away thinking, I knew I didn't trust this guy before but now, I'll never trust this man because he is not only a puppet, he's an Idiot.
Leaders don't read teleprompters because they can't FEEL the message and own it. Obama read a speech that was drafted as a feel good, sucker the Americans because the government has sucked us dry of our bank accounts, our property values and buried us so deep in debt we can't even sell our most valuable possessions without having to owe an additional $100,000.00 to the bank that made us the loan on the piece of sh!t.
I walked downstairs and mentioned to my Wife that the freak show was on and she eagerly changed the channel. It didn't take 20 seconds and she was already spouting out, YEAH, RIGHT! Within no time she grew sick and tired of the other puppets standing, then sitting, over and over again. Within 10 minutes she had enough and asked if she could change the channel.
So did we watch the entire thing, hell no we didn't. You don't have to sit through an entire show like this to HOPE it will change direction and go back to what you want to hear. You know, things like, we're cutting 50,000 jobs in the federal government. You know, things that make sense. Things that make the GOVERNMENT hurt just as much as the American people who are now out of jobs. I mean, what do they think we want to hear. We have politicians like Rick Pollitt who actually get excited by crap like Obama just spit up. It supports keeping things the way they are and government will step in and fix things. WRONG! This is America, you A-Hole! We do NOT need one man grandstanding in front of millions of people telling us we need to produce more jobs. Well NO SH!T SHERLOCK!
Nevertheless, the Albero Household turned that load of crap off because we're not a stupid household. My Wife voted for Obama and she couldn't change the channel fast enough. Hopefully that tells you a whole lot about HOPE.
I am disgusted with this President. I am disgusted with Democrats who think that government can fix everything. Obama will NEVER get re-elected. He's another Jimmy Carter, who also had a fixation with beer and the White House.
Enjoy it while you're there Obama because your stay will fly by so fast it isn't funny. Sadly, (for people like me) the next 3 years will feel like 20! Sit, stand. Sit, stand. Give me a break. Freakin puppets on a string. Make me sick. ANY man that expected me to sit, then stand and if I didn't, felt I was being disrespectful can simply kiss my butt. He may be your Messiah but he sure isn't mine. He'd be two seconds into a new sentence and people would start standing. Sorry Folks, made me want to puke.
That being said, I'd sure enjoy hearing what you thought about last nights speech.
Another Accounting Nightmare
On Tuesday, February 2nd, the Finance office will be closed to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for the Munis upgrade. The system will be down for everyone, us included. However, Finance staff will be available to answer phones for non-Munis-related questions.
If you need to come to the Finance Dept that morning, please go to the door with the big "No Admittance" sign - it's the second door if you come in the front door of the building, the third door if you come into the building the back way.
Please knock LOUDLY and someone will let you in. Only if no one comes after knocking, please call us on your cell phone (410-548-4845). However, we ask that if it is at all possible, please postpone your visit until after 2:00 pm. when the public doors will be open once again.
Thank you for your understanding!
Editor's Note: The County is paying for upgrades to its accounting software that was supposed to make things easier for the finance department as well as the rest of the County. It was supposed to reduce man power in the finance department and allow easier access to financial information to all County department. However, it has yet to do hardly any of that! So far, the finance department has not reduced staff, in fact, it has requested more staff. A lot of the accounting responsibilities and procedures have been re-allocated to various department. So, essentially, this fancy expensive software has succeeded in creating more work for various department staff throughout the County, but has not alleviated the workload of finance personnel. Don't you find this to be a little strange-to purchase new software that spreads the workload to County employees that ARE NOT qualified accounts, but yet it does not reduce the workload or work force of the finance department? Part of the deal with this software was that it was supposed to make things easier and reduce manpower, but all it has managed to do is create more work for more employees and misplace $3 Million in roads funds!
If you need to come to the Finance Dept that morning, please go to the door with the big "No Admittance" sign - it's the second door if you come in the front door of the building, the third door if you come into the building the back way.
Please knock LOUDLY and someone will let you in. Only if no one comes after knocking, please call us on your cell phone (410-548-4845). However, we ask that if it is at all possible, please postpone your visit until after 2:00 pm. when the public doors will be open once again.
Thank you for your understanding!
Editor's Note: The County is paying for upgrades to its accounting software that was supposed to make things easier for the finance department as well as the rest of the County. It was supposed to reduce man power in the finance department and allow easier access to financial information to all County department. However, it has yet to do hardly any of that! So far, the finance department has not reduced staff, in fact, it has requested more staff. A lot of the accounting responsibilities and procedures have been re-allocated to various department. So, essentially, this fancy expensive software has succeeded in creating more work for various department staff throughout the County, but has not alleviated the workload of finance personnel. Don't you find this to be a little strange-to purchase new software that spreads the workload to County employees that ARE NOT qualified accounts, but yet it does not reduce the workload or work force of the finance department? Part of the deal with this software was that it was supposed to make things easier and reduce manpower, but all it has managed to do is create more work for more employees and misplace $3 Million in roads funds!
HOY TO BE HONORED AS BOY SCOUT DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN
The Tri-County District of the Del-Mar-Va Council, Boy Scouts of America (BSA), has announced that Wor-Wic Community College President, civic and community leader Dr. Ray Hoy has been selected to receive the 2010 Distinguished Citizen Award. Hoy will be honored at the annual awards dinner on April 17, 2010 at The University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
For 25 years, the Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner has been one of the Council’s premiere events. The award is an annual recognition of those who give freely of their time and talents to improve the quality of life on the lower shore. Selection criteria include how the community has benefited from the individual’s contributions and the lasting effects those contributions have left on the community. Past recipients have included Richard Henson, Frank Morris, Richard Hazel, Virginia Layfield, Paul Martin, Lewis Riley, Dr. William Hytche and Jim Perdue.
Ray became the second President of Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, Maryland in July 2000 after spending twenty-four years at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland where he had numerous positions including; Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Administrative and Financial Vice President, and Dean of Student Development.
Ray serves on numerous local boards and committees, including the Peninsula Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees (chair), Tri-County Council’s Health Council, ex-officio member of the Salisbury/Wicomico Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Greater Salisbury Committee, and has facilitated strategic planning for The Salvation Army and Salisbury Urban Ministries.
At the State level, Ray is the immediate past president of the Maryland Association of Community College Presidents and he serves on the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board (GWIB), the GWIB Healthcare Industry Sector Taskforce, Education Sector Taskforce, and the Maryland Adult Learning Oversight Committee.
“Ray is so well known across the Shore for his many contributions to Salisbury, Wicomico and Worcester Counties and the surrounding area,” said Bruce Patterson, event chairman. “We invite all of Ray’s many friends on the shore to join us for this exciting evening. This is an excellent opportunity to show our gratitude to him for his years of public service while supporting Scouting at the same time,” he concluded.
The purpose of Boy Scouts of America is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship and to develop personal fitness. Funds raised from the dinner will help fund Scouting programs including camp scholarships, recruitment efforts, supplies and adult leader training.
Tickets to the dinner are $100 each which includes a donation to the Boy Scouts. To reserve a table, learn more about sponsorship opportunities to support the dinner, or purchase an advertisement or congratulatory greeting in the program, please contact Kevin Les Callette, Finance Director, BSA, at klescallette@dmvc.org or call 443-523-7639. On line registration is available at www.delmarvacouncil.org/tc-dcad. Reservation deadline is April 10, 2010. Advertising deadline is April 1, 2010.
Update On Chessie Lab
Hi Joe -
Just talked to a dear friend at Animal Control. The Chesapeake has been adopted by a wonderful family. I was willing to give her a home if no one adopted her, but she was very adoptable.
Worcester County Animal Control is VERY upset with the Paws and Claws pet store, as they had NO business posting their phone number as a contact to adopt this dog, nor was this dog EVER a candidate for euthanasia. When they contacted Paws and Claws, the staff there denied ever posting anything on their Facebook or anywhere else.
Thanks for providing proof on your site that they did!
Some people . . .
Just talked to a dear friend at Animal Control. The Chesapeake has been adopted by a wonderful family. I was willing to give her a home if no one adopted her, but she was very adoptable.
Worcester County Animal Control is VERY upset with the Paws and Claws pet store, as they had NO business posting their phone number as a contact to adopt this dog, nor was this dog EVER a candidate for euthanasia. When they contacted Paws and Claws, the staff there denied ever posting anything on their Facebook or anywhere else.
Thanks for providing proof on your site that they did!
Some people . . .
Salisbury Police Department Press Releases
On January 27, 2010 at approximately 2:07 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the Breaktime bar and grill on South Salisbury Boulevard for the report of a disorderly subject. Upon arrival the officers observed the below listed suspect yelling at the security personnel. The security personnel advised that they were attempting to remove him from the property without success. The officers attempted several times to have the suspect leave the business peacefully however the subject refused and continued to yell profanities at the officers.
ARRESTED: Walter Wesley Hill, 29 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Trespassing
Failure to obey a lawful order
Disorderly conduct
Obstructing and hindering an investigation
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC # 201000004024
On January 27, 2010 at approximately 11:05 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police arrested the below listed suspect on an outstanding arrest warrant for assault. Officers obtained the arrest warrant following the investigation of the assault of an adult male victim known to the suspect. The suspect and the victim became involved in an argument on Waverly Drive which resulted in the suspect attempting to stab the victim with a knife.
ARRESTED: Antoinne Maurice Nicholson, 33 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Attempted first degree assault
Second degree assault
Possession of a dangerous and deadly weapon
Reckless endangerment
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC# 200900037670
On January 27, 2010 at approximately 5:02 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police arrested the below listed suspect on an active Baltimore County Circuit Court Body Attachment.
ARRESTED: Abraham Pettway, Jr., 47 years of age Baltimore, Maryland
CHARGES: Baltimore County Circuit Court
Bench Warrant – Failure to appear
DISPOSITION: Released to Baltimore County
CC# 20100000 4103
Fruitland Police Department Press Release
Accused: Breionia Letise Showell F/ B 21 yoa Salisbury, Maryland
Charges:
Assault in the First Degree CR 3-202
Assault in the Second Degree CR 3-203
Concealed weapon CR 4-101
Reckless conduct CR 3-204
Disorderly conduct CR 10-201
Disposition: Released to the custody of Central Booking
Accused: Derrick Greenleaf Harris M/B 19 yoa Salisbury, Maryland
Charges: Theft value $200.00 or less CR 7-104
Disposition: Released to the custody of Central Booking
Resume’:
On January 26, 2010 at approximately 6:05 p.m., Fruitland officers responded to the parking lot near the Dollar Tree and the Fruitland WalMart for a reported fight in progress. Upon arrival, the officers contacted three female subjects in the parking lot who apparently were involved. These subjects then pointed out two other subjects, a male and a female, walking across the parking lot away from them, who they indicated were involved in the altercation. Information provided revealed that the accused Showell instigated the altercation and attacked one of the three subjects with a stun gun, shocking her with it. Another of the subjects stated to the officers that during the altercation she had dropped her Iphone and observed the accused Harris pick it up and walk away with it. Having been identified by the subjects, officers then contacted Showell in the parking lot, recovered the stun gun from her person and placed her under arrest. Other officers contacted Harris in the parking lot, observing as they approached him, Harris placing an object near the rear tire of a passenger vehicle. The item turned out to be the Iphone reported taken by him moments earlier. Harris was subsequently placed under arrest.
Childbirth At 65
With all the new technology regarding fertility recently, a 65-year-old friend of mine was able to give birth. When she was discharged from the hospital and went home, I went to visit.
'May I see the new baby?' I asked
'Not yet,' She said 'I'll make coffee and we can chat for a while first.'
Thirty minutes had passed, and I asked, 'May I see the new baby now?'
'No, not yet,' She said.
After another few minutes had elapsed,
I asked again, 'May I see the baby now?'
'No, not yet,' replied my friend.
Growing very impatient, I asked, 'Well, when can I see the baby?'
'WHEN HE CRIES!' she told me.
'WHEN HE CRIES?' I demanded. 'Why do I have to wait until he CRIES?'
'BECAUSE I FORGOT WHERE I PUT HIM, O.K.?!!'
'May I see the new baby?' I asked
'Not yet,' She said 'I'll make coffee and we can chat for a while first.'
Thirty minutes had passed, and I asked, 'May I see the new baby now?'
'No, not yet,' She said.
After another few minutes had elapsed,
I asked again, 'May I see the baby now?'
'No, not yet,' replied my friend.
Growing very impatient, I asked, 'Well, when can I see the baby?'
'WHEN HE CRIES!' she told me.
'WHEN HE CRIES?' I demanded. 'Why do I have to wait until he CRIES?'
'BECAUSE I FORGOT WHERE I PUT HIM, O.K.?!!'
Ex-federal Prosecutor Launches Probe Of Holder
A former federal prosecutor and relentless litigator whose enemies in Washington include politicians on both sides of the aisle has announced he is launching an investigation of Attorney General Eric Holder.
Larry Klayman, founder of Freedom Watch USA, still is known in Washington as the biggest enemy of the city's elite, and his battles against corruption in the Clinton administration became so well known the "West Wing" character Harry Klaypool was based on his work.
"Eric Holder is typical of the corrupt establishment crowd that voters rebelled against last Tuesday when they voted to elect as senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts," Klayman told WND.
"In fact, the decision by the Obama administration to go soft on non-citizen terrorists was a key factor in this vote. Now, it is time to investigate and create the climate to get rid of Eric Holder, before lasting damage is done to our national security.
Klayman, a former Justice Department prosecutor and founder of both Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, said his new organization has launched an investigation of Holder.
"The attorney general's refusal to prosecute admitted terrorists, like the Christmas Day bomber and the infamous Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM), as so-called 'enemy combatants' has resulted in the hindrance of national security and law enforcement agencies," he said in a prepared statement. "This refusal by Holder not only resulted in Miranda rights being read to the Christmas Day bomber – preventing the FBI and other agencies from obtaining meaningful intelligence from him when his lawyer stopped the interrogation – but with regard to KSM, has also jeopardized the safety of New York City residents, due to the insistence of investigating an act of terror as if it were a common crime."
More..
2009 Luncheon Awards
Each year, members of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office recognize employees of the agency who best exemplify the qualities local law enforcement professionals aspire to. This honor is bestowed upon the most respected and valued members of the organization. Chosen among the most dedicated and accomplished employees, the recipients of these awards have attained an unmatched level of performance as well as a position of great esteem within the agency and the community. The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office recognizes these substantial achievements and congratulates these employees for their excellent work.
Awards and Recognition
Supervisor of the Year
The Supervisor of the Year Award is given to the supervisor assigned to the agency and performs their responsibilities in a dedicated, professional and dependable manner. The 2009 recipient is Corporal John Alessandrini.
Deputy of the Year
The Deputy of the Year Award is presented to the deputy who best represents the work ethic and attitude that our deputies exhibit, based on the opinion of his or her peers and supervisors. The 2009 recipient is Deputy Jeff Chase.
Communications Officer of the Year
The Communications Officer of the Year Award recipient is also chosen by peers and supervisors within the agency and recognizes the Communications employee who best represents the standards of the Communications Division. The 2009 recipient is Senior Police Communications Officer Brenda Covington.
Civilian Employee of the Year
The Civilian Employee of the Year Award is presented to the non-sworn civilian staff member selected by his or her peers for excellence in providing a number of functions that aren't always apparent on a daily basis. Jason White is the recipient of this award.
2009 Maryland Highway Safety Office Smooth Operator Awards
The Smooth Operator Program is a public safety initiative, which aims to provide education, information and solutions for the problem of aggressive driving. For nearly ten years, Law Enforcement Agencies from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have partnered through the Smooth Operator Program to combat aggressive driving. This award is for officers who provide high levels of Aggressive Driving Enforcement during specific “waves” for the heavily traveled summer months.
Sheriff Michael A. Lewis awarded Deputies Carl Kurten and Durban Smith with the Maryland Highway Safety Office’s Smooth Operator Award.
A Letter To The Editor
We all owe a debt of gratitude to the citizens of Massachusetts for election Sen. Scott Brown. Let's keep the momentum going until November. Perhaps then we can stop, and maybe reverse, the damage Obama and his henchmen have visited upon our nation.
Edwin B. Carneal
Edwin B. Carneal
Journalists Around Country Join Our Super Bowl Blitz
Journalism folks from California to New England are joining our Super Bowl Blitz. The effort, launched on Tuesday, aims to find out which members of Congress are attending this year’s Super Bowl and how they got their tickets. We know the NFL sets aside a large number of tickets for public officials and corporations to buy at face value. And those tickets can be used to give congressmen perks. But we don’t know yet who’s getting what. That’s where you come in.Over at California Watch reporter Chase Davis published the call-list for California, and is asking his readers to report in to him. Wisconsin representatives and senators will be dialed by folks at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Reporting. The New England Center for Investigative Reporting has almost made it through Massachusetts, thanks to the hard work of Lyle Moran and Sydney Lupkin. They’re still looking for an answer from Senator-elect Scott Brown.
GO HERE to read more.
Board of Education Defers Redistricting Recommendation
The Board of Education received and discussed several options from the Superintendent’s Redistricting Task Force at its work session on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. The options included changing boundaries that could affect up to 226 students in elementary schools. The options showed potential changes that could occur if magnet-type high performance learning was offered in all intermediate schools or remained in the current centers.
The Board deferred action upon receiving the recommendation from Superintendent Fredericksen to delay the process until after the Superintendent’s High Performance Learners Task Force had an opportunity to meet to determine what changes or expansion of program would best serve Wicomico’s high performance learners.
The primary goal of the Redistricting Task Force was to help ensure that all school buildings have optimum capacity of 90- 95% with no school more than 5% over capacity (based on the State-Rated Building Capacity). In the school system, several buildings are over capacity and a few schools are under capacity.
The Task Force looked at the possibility of changes in capacity based on residential home sales and examined ways to improve balance by ethnicity and for the numbers of students receiving free and reduced meals (FARM). No changes were proposed for the boundaries for middle and high schools; the optimum capacity rates could be met or maintained through current enrollment processes.
The Redistricting Task Force met for three months and was composed of nearly 30 parents, community members, and staff persons.
The Board deferred action upon receiving the recommendation from Superintendent Fredericksen to delay the process until after the Superintendent’s High Performance Learners Task Force had an opportunity to meet to determine what changes or expansion of program would best serve Wicomico’s high performance learners.
The primary goal of the Redistricting Task Force was to help ensure that all school buildings have optimum capacity of 90- 95% with no school more than 5% over capacity (based on the State-Rated Building Capacity). In the school system, several buildings are over capacity and a few schools are under capacity.
The Task Force looked at the possibility of changes in capacity based on residential home sales and examined ways to improve balance by ethnicity and for the numbers of students receiving free and reduced meals (FARM). No changes were proposed for the boundaries for middle and high schools; the optimum capacity rates could be met or maintained through current enrollment processes.
The Redistricting Task Force met for three months and was composed of nearly 30 parents, community members, and staff persons.
Kratovil To Host “How To Pay For College” Forum
Washington, DC – Rep. Frank Kratovil will host two “How to Pay for College” forums for college bound High School Seniors in Maryland’s First Congressional District.
Saturday February 6th, 2010
9:30 am -12 pm
Chesapeake College
Rufus M. and Loraine Hall Todd Performing Arts Center
Maryland 213 & Route 50
Queenstown, MD
February 13th, 2010
9:30 am –12 pm
Perry Hall High School
Auditorium
4601 Ebenezer Road, Baltimore, MD
In addition to representatives from Rep. Kratovil’s outreach staff, representatives from The United States Service Academies, The Maryland Higher Education Commission, The Maryland Comptroller’s Office, The United States Department of Education as well as local colleges will be on hand to help seniors and their families better understand their educational options.
For more information please contact Karen Willis at (443) 262 -9136
Saturday February 6th, 2010
9:30 am -12 pm
Chesapeake College
Rufus M. and Loraine Hall Todd Performing Arts Center
Maryland 213 & Route 50
Queenstown, MD
February 13th, 2010
9:30 am –12 pm
Perry Hall High School
Auditorium
4601 Ebenezer Road, Baltimore, MD
In addition to representatives from Rep. Kratovil’s outreach staff, representatives from The United States Service Academies, The Maryland Higher Education Commission, The Maryland Comptroller’s Office, The United States Department of Education as well as local colleges will be on hand to help seniors and their families better understand their educational options.
For more information please contact Karen Willis at (443) 262 -9136
Uncle Steny: It's Good For People To Make Money Because Then They Can Pay Taxes
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D.-Md.) said in his weekly press briefing that it is good that Americans are making money again because it means they can pay taxes.Hoyer pointed to the fact that projected federal revenues have stopped declining and have stabilized as evidence that people must be making money in America.
More.
Kratovil Praises State Lawmakers
Kratovil Praises State Lawmakers for Protecting Maryland’s Children by Making Sexual Predators a Top Legislative Priority
Will continue to work closely with them on the federal level until fully compliant with the Adam Walsh Act
Washington, DC – Rep. Frank Kratovil praised Maryland State lawmakers for announcing a series of legislative initiatives targeted at protecting Maryland families from sexual predators and strict enforcement of sex offender laws, including lifetime supervision for certain sex offenses.
“I applaud these efforts to make Maryland’s children safer by making implementation of federal sex offender standards a top priority. I will continue to offer my full support and the resources of my office to help Maryland meet these federal standards in the fight against child predators,” said Rep. Kratovil.
On January 13th Kratovil sent a letter to Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and General Assembly leaders urging legislative action and offering his assistance to bring Maryland’s sex offender registration and notification laws into compliance with revised federal standards. Kratovil’s letter asked the leaders to make implementation of the revised federal sex offender registry standards a top priority for the new legislative session, and offered to work closely with state leaders in the effort to meet these federal standards. Click here to view a copy of the letter.
Senate President Mike Miller has since announced a bill to expand information contained on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry about the offender and require links and information contained on other states’ registries to connect to the Maryland site. Miller noted that many of the Bill’s requirements would ensure compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act. Governor O’Malley also announced a number of related legislative initiatives today, including a plan to reconstitute the Sexual Offender Advisory Board. O’Malley has asked former Maryland Attorney General Joseph Curran to serve as Chair.
“This is an issue on which state and federal lawmakers must work together to ensure that our law enforcement officers have the tools and resources necessary to keep dangerous predators away from our children and Maryland families have access to the tools that will make them more aware of sexual predators in their communities,” said Kratovil. “As a father, a former prosecutor, and now a Member of Congress, I’m proud to partner with leaders in Annapolis in this fight.”
Will continue to work closely with them on the federal level until fully compliant with the Adam Walsh Act
Washington, DC – Rep. Frank Kratovil praised Maryland State lawmakers for announcing a series of legislative initiatives targeted at protecting Maryland families from sexual predators and strict enforcement of sex offender laws, including lifetime supervision for certain sex offenses.
“I applaud these efforts to make Maryland’s children safer by making implementation of federal sex offender standards a top priority. I will continue to offer my full support and the resources of my office to help Maryland meet these federal standards in the fight against child predators,” said Rep. Kratovil.
On January 13th Kratovil sent a letter to Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and General Assembly leaders urging legislative action and offering his assistance to bring Maryland’s sex offender registration and notification laws into compliance with revised federal standards. Kratovil’s letter asked the leaders to make implementation of the revised federal sex offender registry standards a top priority for the new legislative session, and offered to work closely with state leaders in the effort to meet these federal standards. Click here to view a copy of the letter.
Senate President Mike Miller has since announced a bill to expand information contained on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry about the offender and require links and information contained on other states’ registries to connect to the Maryland site. Miller noted that many of the Bill’s requirements would ensure compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act. Governor O’Malley also announced a number of related legislative initiatives today, including a plan to reconstitute the Sexual Offender Advisory Board. O’Malley has asked former Maryland Attorney General Joseph Curran to serve as Chair.
“This is an issue on which state and federal lawmakers must work together to ensure that our law enforcement officers have the tools and resources necessary to keep dangerous predators away from our children and Maryland families have access to the tools that will make them more aware of sexual predators in their communities,” said Kratovil. “As a father, a former prosecutor, and now a Member of Congress, I’m proud to partner with leaders in Annapolis in this fight.”
News Release On Behalf Of The Pennsylvania State Police
This crime occurred on 12/08/09 at approximately 1547 hours. In the commission of this crime, a male caller contacted the Berks County District Attorney’s Office by telephone. He left a message on the voicemail of an Assistant District Attorney and identified himself as "Detective Dave" from the Delaware State Police. The caller alleged that he wanted assistance in expediting the release of a defendant named John VATTILANO because he works for or with the Delaware State Police. The Assistant District Attorney was prosecuting a case for which the defendant was currently held in Berks County Prison. The caller left a phone number to call back. The Assistant District Attorney returned the call and spoke to a legitimate DSP Trooper who indicated he had never called the DA’s office but he was familiar with the defendant. VATTILANO was immediately suspected of placing this call himself and impersonating a police officer in order to secure, expedite, or influence his release.
An investigation was initiated and evidence was obtained that indicated that VATTILANO had placed this phone call, misrepresented his identity, and impersonated a public servant – in that VATTILANO did falsely pretend to hold a position in the public service with intent to induce another to submit to such pretended official authority or otherwise to act in reliance upon that pretense to his prejudice, in violation of Section 4912 of the PA Crimes Code.
The accused was arrested by Criminal Complaint being filed with District Court 23-3-05 on 01/23/10 at the conclusion of the investigation.
It is strongly suspected that the accused has misrepresented himself via telephone on other occasions.
An investigation was initiated and evidence was obtained that indicated that VATTILANO had placed this phone call, misrepresented his identity, and impersonated a public servant – in that VATTILANO did falsely pretend to hold a position in the public service with intent to induce another to submit to such pretended official authority or otherwise to act in reliance upon that pretense to his prejudice, in violation of Section 4912 of the PA Crimes Code.
The accused was arrested by Criminal Complaint being filed with District Court 23-3-05 on 01/23/10 at the conclusion of the investigation.
It is strongly suspected that the accused has misrepresented himself via telephone on other occasions.
MARYLAND AIR NATIONAL GUARD AIRCRAFT HEADED TO HAITI
GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY TO SEND OFF CREW OF MARYLAND AIR NATIONAL GUARD AIRCRAFT HEADED TO HAITI
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley will greet the crew of a Maryland Air National Guard C-130K cargo aircraft which has been called to service to support the humanitarian mission to earthquake-devastated Haiti. The Governor will visit the crew tomorrow at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River.
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley will greet the crew of a Maryland Air National Guard C-130K cargo aircraft which has been called to service to support the humanitarian mission to earthquake-devastated Haiti. The Governor will visit the crew tomorrow at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River.
Journey To The Philadelphia Flower Show With Wicomico Recreation
Bus Trip Slated for Thursday, March 4
(Salisbury, MD) Journey around the globe with breathtaking stops in India, Brazil, the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand and Singapore at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show. Wicomico Recreation has scheduled a bus trip to Philadelphia for Thursday, March 4. The bus will depart from the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center at 9:30am.
Guests have the option to attend the Philadelphia Flower Show: A Passport to the World or can opt to spend the day exploring the sights of Philadelphia on their own. The cost per person is $64 or $42 for those not attending the Flower Show. Price includes transportation, flower show ticket (not included with bus ride only price) and gratuities.
Registration is currently being accepted. To register, visit the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Box Office Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm or visit www.WicomicoRecandParks.org to register online. For more information on this bus trip or to obtain a complete listing of upcoming bus trips please contact Karen McInturff at (410) 548-4900 ext. 113 or email kmcinturff@wicomicocounty.org.
(Salisbury, MD) Journey around the globe with breathtaking stops in India, Brazil, the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand and Singapore at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show. Wicomico Recreation has scheduled a bus trip to Philadelphia for Thursday, March 4. The bus will depart from the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center at 9:30am.
Guests have the option to attend the Philadelphia Flower Show: A Passport to the World or can opt to spend the day exploring the sights of Philadelphia on their own. The cost per person is $64 or $42 for those not attending the Flower Show. Price includes transportation, flower show ticket (not included with bus ride only price) and gratuities.
Registration is currently being accepted. To register, visit the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Box Office Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm or visit www.WicomicoRecandParks.org to register online. For more information on this bus trip or to obtain a complete listing of upcoming bus trips please contact Karen McInturff at (410) 548-4900 ext. 113 or email kmcinturff@wicomicocounty.org.
Ponderisms
Can you cry under water?
How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. But it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?
Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
What disease did cured ham actually have?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.
Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ?
If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Why did you just try singing the two songs above?
Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. But it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?
Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
What disease did cured ham actually have?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.
Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ?
If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Why did you just try singing the two songs above?
Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
Camden Neighborhood Association Announcement
The Camden Neighborhood Association is pleased to announce the date of its next meeting and
an informal meet and greet for Salisbury's new Director of Public Works, Ms. Theresa Gardner,
and Salisbury Police Department Interim Chief Ivan Barclay.
Each of these highly qualified professionals brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to
their new positions, and are eager to meet the public that they serve.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, February 4th
at 809 Camden Avenue,
(Near the northeast corner of Camden Avenue and South Boulevard)
7:15 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served.
Please, bring a friend or neighbor!
an informal meet and greet for Salisbury's new Director of Public Works, Ms. Theresa Gardner,
and Salisbury Police Department Interim Chief Ivan Barclay.
Each of these highly qualified professionals brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to
their new positions, and are eager to meet the public that they serve.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, February 4th
at 809 Camden Avenue,
(Near the northeast corner of Camden Avenue and South Boulevard)
7:15 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served.
Please, bring a friend or neighbor!
Salvation Army Press Cookbook
Salisbury, MD….”Recipes from the Heart – From Our Heart to Yours”, is a collection of recipes from the volunteers, staff, members and friends of The Salvation Army’s Richard Hazel Youth Center. The cookbooks, which are filled with treasured Eastern Shore family recipes as well as other favorites, are on sale for just $10 each and will benefit sports and other programs at the Hazel Youth Center.
“We cannot thank the Hazel Center Advisory Council enough for their efforts in soliciting and collecting recipes for the book,” said Willie Downing, Center Director. “A lot of love and care by Ms. Sara Robinson, Mrs. Elaine Price and Ms. Deloris Watson went into its creation.”
Recipes include everything from Appetizers, Soups, Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Breads, Desserts, Candy and more. Food lovers will want to try the Jamaican Hot Wings, Bertie Mae’s Corn Pudding, Famous Head of the Creek Oyster Fritters, Mom’s Old Fashioned Corn Bread, Sara’s Sweet Potato Pie and so much more.
“This cookbook really is a treasure of so many old family recipes handed down from generation to generation. That is why we named it ‘Recipes from the Heart’, said Downing. “Every page has a dish you won’t be able to resist!”
The Richard Hazel Youth Center, located in the Billy Gene Jackson, Sr. Park, originally opened its doors in June 2001 as the West Salisbury Youth Club. The cost of construction was raised through generous donations from local corporations, civic groups, churches, individuals and the State of Maryland. In January, 2007, the club was renamed after local business leader and philanthropist Richard Hazel, who was a champion of youth in the local community.
The Center offers many positive activities for boys and girls ages 4 to 15. Sports programs include flag football, soccer, basketball and baseball. Other activities include after school educational programs, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Kids of Honor, Junior Achievement, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a model car building club. During the summer, the Center offers the only public pool on the west side of Salisbury.
The Salisbury Corps of The Salvation Army opened in 1913 as one of the first Corps established in the United States. The Corps now runs 4 youth clubs – two in Salisbury, one in Pocomoke and one in Crisfield, in addition to a host of other programs including a thrift store, senior center, day care, social services and learning centers.
Cookbooks can be purchased at the Hazel Youth Center, 429 North Lake Drive or at The Salvation Army Administrative Offices, 407 Oak Street, both in Salisbury. For more information, please call 410-546-7766.
“We cannot thank the Hazel Center Advisory Council enough for their efforts in soliciting and collecting recipes for the book,” said Willie Downing, Center Director. “A lot of love and care by Ms. Sara Robinson, Mrs. Elaine Price and Ms. Deloris Watson went into its creation.”
Recipes include everything from Appetizers, Soups, Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Breads, Desserts, Candy and more. Food lovers will want to try the Jamaican Hot Wings, Bertie Mae’s Corn Pudding, Famous Head of the Creek Oyster Fritters, Mom’s Old Fashioned Corn Bread, Sara’s Sweet Potato Pie and so much more.
“This cookbook really is a treasure of so many old family recipes handed down from generation to generation. That is why we named it ‘Recipes from the Heart’, said Downing. “Every page has a dish you won’t be able to resist!”
The Richard Hazel Youth Center, located in the Billy Gene Jackson, Sr. Park, originally opened its doors in June 2001 as the West Salisbury Youth Club. The cost of construction was raised through generous donations from local corporations, civic groups, churches, individuals and the State of Maryland. In January, 2007, the club was renamed after local business leader and philanthropist Richard Hazel, who was a champion of youth in the local community.
The Center offers many positive activities for boys and girls ages 4 to 15. Sports programs include flag football, soccer, basketball and baseball. Other activities include after school educational programs, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Kids of Honor, Junior Achievement, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a model car building club. During the summer, the Center offers the only public pool on the west side of Salisbury.
The Salisbury Corps of The Salvation Army opened in 1913 as one of the first Corps established in the United States. The Corps now runs 4 youth clubs – two in Salisbury, one in Pocomoke and one in Crisfield, in addition to a host of other programs including a thrift store, senior center, day care, social services and learning centers.
Cookbooks can be purchased at the Hazel Youth Center, 429 North Lake Drive or at The Salvation Army Administrative Offices, 407 Oak Street, both in Salisbury. For more information, please call 410-546-7766.
Dine Out To Support The National MS Society!
Dine out for MS
Join the movement of the National MS Society Maryland Chapter by dining out and spreading the word about Walk MS.
Dine out Tuesday, February 9 for lunch, happy hour or dinner! The Salisbury Greene Turtle will contribute 10% of their entire day’s sales to the National MS Society, Maryland Chapter.
Join us from 5 to 9 pm Tuesday evening for the Walk MS Team Rally. The rally will offer you the perfect opportunity to socialize and network with your fellow Walk team captains, members and participants. Team Captains and team members will be able to pick up information with tips on fundraising and recruiting team members. Interested in forming a team? Stop by to learn more about how to start your own team.
25 door prizes to be given throughout the evening including:
Complimentary stay at the Hilton Suites in Ocean City, MD
Two reserved box seats for any game within 2010 Shorebirds Season
$20 gift certificate to Famous Dave’s including a four sauce pack.
Help support MS research and dine out February 9. Enjoy the fun at the Walk MS Kick Off Rally-- Sherman the Shorebird will be signing autographs from 5 - 5:30pm and the team with the most members at the Rally will receive t-shirts.
If you have questions or you would like more information, please contact Whitney Pogwist at 443-641-1213 or whitney.pogwist@nmss.org.
We hope to see you there!
Obama In Free Fall
by Victor Davis Hanson
NRO's The Corner
A year ago, a number of "moderate" Republicans and Democratic stalwarts, in the gush of the inauguration, warned us of new Democratic majorities for years to come. A new race/class/gender dynamic would doom conservatives and their-old-white-guy party and its reactionary fellow-travelers. And, of course, the post-national, post-racial, post-modern president would hope and change his way to just about anything he wanted.
All of this was nonsense, but the narrative did mesmerize quite a lot of DC-NY pundits, who mistakenly fell for the Emanuel/Axelrod thesis that popular outrage at Wall Street banditry, weariness with Iraq, and the lackluster McCain campaign would translate into populist support for a kinder, gentler socialism.
And now? On every issue — more bailouts, more stimuli, more deficits, higher taxes, statist healthcare, cap and trade, diplomatic apologetics, the shunning of natural gas, oil, and nuclear in favor of "millions of green jobs" subsidized by billions in federal "stimulus" — the Obama position polls 5-15 points below 50 percent.
After Van Jones, Anita Dunn, the Skip Gates mess, the "tea-bagger" slurs, the attacks on Fox News, the Copenhagen dashes, the bowing, the apologizing, the reordering of creditors, the NEA obsequiousness, the lackluster overseas-contingency-operation front, the deer-in-the-headlights pause on Afghanistan, the pseudo-deadlines on Iran, Guantanamo, and healthcare, the transparency and bipartisanship fraud, and dozens of other things, Obama simply does not have the popularity to carry unpopular legislation forward. Indeed, he is reaching a point where he may poll more negatively than his agenda does. "Let me be perfectly clear" and "make no mistake about it" are now caricatures.
So where are we at twelve months? Obama showed the country his vision of where he wanted us to go; he had both houses of Congress, a toady media, and enormous personal popularity — and he is getting nowhere. Why? Because most Americans are vehemently opposed to taking their country in the direction that Obama, Pelosi, and Reid would prefer.
Since Obama is both inexperienced and apparently a stubborn ideologue, I think all we will be left with when the novelty wears off is rhetoric and euphemism. Obama will grow the deficit even larger and call it fiscal sobriety; he will push for higher taxes and suggest the entrepreneurial class is the same as the super-rich who "made out like bandits under Bush"; he will declare that his outreach to Chávez, Assad, Putin, and Ahmadinejad has been successful, even as those leaders incrementally and insidiously readjust their respective regional maps; he will borrow far more money than Bush did and copy his homeland-security protocols, while continuing to blame Bush for America's problems — hoping that $2 trillion of annual borrowing, along with a recovering world economy and the resilience of U.S. business, will bring a half-hearted recovery by November 2010.
That's about all you have, when you bet your holdings on European-style socialism and it proved a losing hand.
NRO's The Corner
A year ago, a number of "moderate" Republicans and Democratic stalwarts, in the gush of the inauguration, warned us of new Democratic majorities for years to come. A new race/class/gender dynamic would doom conservatives and their-old-white-guy party and its reactionary fellow-travelers. And, of course, the post-national, post-racial, post-modern president would hope and change his way to just about anything he wanted.
All of this was nonsense, but the narrative did mesmerize quite a lot of DC-NY pundits, who mistakenly fell for the Emanuel/Axelrod thesis that popular outrage at Wall Street banditry, weariness with Iraq, and the lackluster McCain campaign would translate into populist support for a kinder, gentler socialism.
And now? On every issue — more bailouts, more stimuli, more deficits, higher taxes, statist healthcare, cap and trade, diplomatic apologetics, the shunning of natural gas, oil, and nuclear in favor of "millions of green jobs" subsidized by billions in federal "stimulus" — the Obama position polls 5-15 points below 50 percent.
After Van Jones, Anita Dunn, the Skip Gates mess, the "tea-bagger" slurs, the attacks on Fox News, the Copenhagen dashes, the bowing, the apologizing, the reordering of creditors, the NEA obsequiousness, the lackluster overseas-contingency-operation front, the deer-in-the-headlights pause on Afghanistan, the pseudo-deadlines on Iran, Guantanamo, and healthcare, the transparency and bipartisanship fraud, and dozens of other things, Obama simply does not have the popularity to carry unpopular legislation forward. Indeed, he is reaching a point where he may poll more negatively than his agenda does. "Let me be perfectly clear" and "make no mistake about it" are now caricatures.
So where are we at twelve months? Obama showed the country his vision of where he wanted us to go; he had both houses of Congress, a toady media, and enormous personal popularity — and he is getting nowhere. Why? Because most Americans are vehemently opposed to taking their country in the direction that Obama, Pelosi, and Reid would prefer.
Since Obama is both inexperienced and apparently a stubborn ideologue, I think all we will be left with when the novelty wears off is rhetoric and euphemism. Obama will grow the deficit even larger and call it fiscal sobriety; he will push for higher taxes and suggest the entrepreneurial class is the same as the super-rich who "made out like bandits under Bush"; he will declare that his outreach to Chávez, Assad, Putin, and Ahmadinejad has been successful, even as those leaders incrementally and insidiously readjust their respective regional maps; he will borrow far more money than Bush did and copy his homeland-security protocols, while continuing to blame Bush for America's problems — hoping that $2 trillion of annual borrowing, along with a recovering world economy and the resilience of U.S. business, will bring a half-hearted recovery by November 2010.
That's about all you have, when you bet your holdings on European-style socialism and it proved a losing hand.
Prince George's Police Academy Director Replaced
Prince George's Community College has replaced the head of the police academy it runs for small departments and hired a consultant in an effort to meet state training standards.
But two months after assuring the state that it could certify that the academy meets those goals, the college still cannot produce records showing that its recent graduates all were taught, tested on and passed required areas, a state official said Tuesday. The academy is barred from offering new training classes until it can satisfy state auditors.
Thirty-five rookies from 21 police agencies who graduated in 2008 and 2009 already were forced to repeat some course work beginning in November after state officials could not find complete records during a routine audit. But the academy failed to keep solid records again, and those 35 face being recalled another time, said Albert Liebno, head of skills training for the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions.
The problems at the academy already have caused three officers -- in Hyattsville, Bladensburg and Laurel -- to be assigned desk duties while their academic records are sorted through, Liebno said. The trouble lies with the academy, not with the officers, he said.
"Academy records remain a mess," Liebno said. "There are documents missing, and others hopscotch around so much that we can see some people in classes who had grades recorded but others in the same class didn't. Some tests results are there, some aren't. But there is no pattern to it."
As of Friday, academy director Wendell Brantley "is no longer employed by the college," said Daniel Mosser, the college's vice president for workforce development and continuing education. Regina Taylor-White, a retired major with the Prince George's County Police Department and a former instructor at its academy, has been hired to remedy state concerns about the most recent graduates within 30 days. She also will come up with long-term improvements during the next three months, Mosser said.
GO HERE to read more.
President Says Demonstrate Fiscal Responsibility - Congress Votes To Buy Virgin Island Beach
Hours before President Obama urged members of Congress to show spending restraint Wednesday, the House voted to authorize spending as much as $50 million to create a national historic site in the U.S. Virgin Islands on beachfront land the National Park Service isn't yet sure it wants.
Republicans had blocked the bill last week, saying it was a bad use of money for a government bleeding cash, but Democrats pushed it through this week, saying they didn't want to lose the chance to acquire the land.
And in a show that partisanship abounds, the House also unanimously passed a bill sponsored by a Democrat that allow for repairs to waterways in Idaho wilderness lands - after Democrats last week voted down a bill with the exact same language that was sponsored by a Republican. Last week's vote was in retaliation for Republicans blocking the Virgin Islands bill.
"Payback time, I guess, is once again in order," said Rep. Pete Sessions, Texas Republican.
Both bills will still need Senate approval before going to the president.
The arcane maneuvers on the floor masked the fundamental battle between Democrats and Republicans over whether the federal government should be expanding its land, even as the National Park Service already has a $9 billion backlog of obligations.
The Virgin Islands project, on the island of St. Croix, would be called Castle Nugent National Historic Site. It's intended to preserve 2,900 acres of land and an additional 8,600 acres underwater that together include archeological sites, a barrier coral reef and historic cattle plantations.
The underwater lands are owned by the Virgin Islands, but the other lands are privately held and would have to be bought and managed, at an estimated cost of between $40 million and $50 million. That's what sparked the floor fight.
Three years ago Congress directed the National Park Service to do a study, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to see if it should acquire the land. That study is not yet completed, and the Park Service has asked that Congress delay the bill until that study is done.
But Democrats said developers are eyeing the land and could strike before the Park Service. They also mocked Republicans for wanting to wait, saying it wouldn't be the first time Congress has authorized sites without completed studies.
"This concern for NPS studies is newly discovered," said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall Jr., West Virginia Democrat.
He accused Republicans of "park-bashing" and said the service ran up a $9 billion backlog of spending because Republicans didn't fund the agency properly when they were in power.
The Park Service has said its draft conclusions suggest the land is a good candidate for preservation.
Democrats also said the bill doesn't actually spend any money, but allows Congress to spend that money in the future.
"This bill does not cost $50 million. It does not cost $40 million. It does not cost $30 million. It does not cost one penny. It is simply an authorization," said Rep. Jared Polis, Colorado Democrat.
The Castle Nugent bill passed 241-173, with four Democrats joining all Republicans in voting against it. The Idaho waterways bill passed 415-0.
From The Washington Times
Republicans had blocked the bill last week, saying it was a bad use of money for a government bleeding cash, but Democrats pushed it through this week, saying they didn't want to lose the chance to acquire the land.
And in a show that partisanship abounds, the House also unanimously passed a bill sponsored by a Democrat that allow for repairs to waterways in Idaho wilderness lands - after Democrats last week voted down a bill with the exact same language that was sponsored by a Republican. Last week's vote was in retaliation for Republicans blocking the Virgin Islands bill.
"Payback time, I guess, is once again in order," said Rep. Pete Sessions, Texas Republican.
Both bills will still need Senate approval before going to the president.
The arcane maneuvers on the floor masked the fundamental battle between Democrats and Republicans over whether the federal government should be expanding its land, even as the National Park Service already has a $9 billion backlog of obligations.
The Virgin Islands project, on the island of St. Croix, would be called Castle Nugent National Historic Site. It's intended to preserve 2,900 acres of land and an additional 8,600 acres underwater that together include archeological sites, a barrier coral reef and historic cattle plantations.
The underwater lands are owned by the Virgin Islands, but the other lands are privately held and would have to be bought and managed, at an estimated cost of between $40 million and $50 million. That's what sparked the floor fight.
Three years ago Congress directed the National Park Service to do a study, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to see if it should acquire the land. That study is not yet completed, and the Park Service has asked that Congress delay the bill until that study is done.
But Democrats said developers are eyeing the land and could strike before the Park Service. They also mocked Republicans for wanting to wait, saying it wouldn't be the first time Congress has authorized sites without completed studies.
"This concern for NPS studies is newly discovered," said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall Jr., West Virginia Democrat.
He accused Republicans of "park-bashing" and said the service ran up a $9 billion backlog of spending because Republicans didn't fund the agency properly when they were in power.
The Park Service has said its draft conclusions suggest the land is a good candidate for preservation.
Democrats also said the bill doesn't actually spend any money, but allows Congress to spend that money in the future.
"This bill does not cost $50 million. It does not cost $40 million. It does not cost $30 million. It does not cost one penny. It is simply an authorization," said Rep. Jared Polis, Colorado Democrat.
The Castle Nugent bill passed 241-173, with four Democrats joining all Republicans in voting against it. The Idaho waterways bill passed 415-0.
From The Washington Times