DATE & TIME: 11/14/2010 @ 1615 hrs C C. CARD NUMBER: 10-54-01-0092
Driver # 1/ Veh #1: Justin Michael Hickman, 18 YOA of Salisbury, Md.
1999 Mercury Sable, White
Injured-Transported to PRMC
Driver # 2/ Veh # 2: Cheon Joo Jang, 51 YOA of Salisbury, Md
2004 Chevrolet Van, White
Injured-Transported to PRMC
Driver #3/ Veh #3: Benjamin Ewing 2nd, 55 YOA of Georgetown, DE
2001 Mercury Grand Marquise, Silver
LOCATION: Gumboro Rd @ Rt. 54, Parsonsburg, MD
BRIEF RESUME: On November 14, 2010 at approximately 1615 hours, Troopers from the Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack were dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle collision involving personal injury. Initial investigation revealed that Vehicle #2 driven by Cheon Joo Jang was traveling Southbound GumBoro Rd in the area of Rt. 54. Vehicel #3 driven by Benjamin Ewing was traveling north bound on Gumboro Rd in the area of Rt. 54. Vehicle #1 driven by Justin Michael Hickman was traveling east bound on Rt. 54 at Gumboro Rd and attempting to make a left turn onto Rt. 54. Vehicle #1 failed to yield intersection right of way to Vehicle #2. As a result, Vehicle #2 struck Vehicle #1 and Vehicle #3 causing Vehicle #2 to collide with a ditch. Hickman and Jang were transported to PRMC for their injuries. The roadway in that area was temporary shut down for the safety of emergency personal. All events occurred in Wicomico County, MD.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Big Accident
Joe,
There is a major accident on 13 and Brideview. Sounded like an explosion when it happened while I was sitting in my living room several blocks away. Listening to the scanner on Radio Reference, it is a rescue having to cut the occupant/s out of the vehicle. Firetrucks, police and ambulances everywhere.
Phil
Mosque Opposition Moves From Ground Zero To Tennessee
Residents in Rutherford County, Tennessee are gearing up for a battle against the expansion of a local mosque, which they fear will become a spawning ground for promulgation of Shariah law and ultimately, terrorism.
The people who live in the city of Murfreesboro, a suburb of Nashville, have been fighting the construction of the Islamic Center in their midst since the summer, when plans for the mosque and community center were to get underway.
The opponents to the mosque contend that at least one board member, Mosaad Rowash, is a supporter of the Hamas terrorist organization, evidence of which was seen in postings on his MySpace social networking website page. The mosque’s leaders have not denied the charge, which interfaith groups have said is irrelevant to the issue.
Deborah Lauter, director of civil rights for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which sponsors a newly-formed Interfaith Coalition on Mosques, is one of those who maintain that Rowash’s political preference is irrelevant.
Lauter allegedly told the Los Angeles Times that if all the members of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro were public cheerleaders for Hamas, it would still be illegal to discriminate against them because the First Amendment protects freedom of worship.
Rowash himself has not been called to testify in court, nor has he commented publicly on the case.
The Islamic Center had been operating for 30 years without incident in Murfreesboro. But as workers began building the new structure, a large “Not Welcome” message was spray-painted on the site, and building materials were torched.
Rutherford County officials approved plans to expand the mosque, but opponents have charged that officials did not sufficiently meet the criteria of the state’s open meetings law, thereby invalidating the approval. The matter has now gone to court, but the question being debated doe not really appear to be about whether the mosque should be built, but rather more about what the mosque stands for.
Opponents fear an expanded Islamic Center will promote a culture of Sharia law (Islamic religious law), and terrorism in their community, rather than a legitimate religion.
The Justice Department (DOJ), meanwhile, filed a brief supporting construction of the new mosque. Writing for the DOJ, U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin wrote that Islam is a legitimate religion and thus entitled to freedom of expression. He added that although its construction was a “local matter,” the department wished to “vigorously support” a ruling that would grant the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro its building permits.
More from INN
The people who live in the city of Murfreesboro, a suburb of Nashville, have been fighting the construction of the Islamic Center in their midst since the summer, when plans for the mosque and community center were to get underway.
The opponents to the mosque contend that at least one board member, Mosaad Rowash, is a supporter of the Hamas terrorist organization, evidence of which was seen in postings on his MySpace social networking website page. The mosque’s leaders have not denied the charge, which interfaith groups have said is irrelevant to the issue.
Deborah Lauter, director of civil rights for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which sponsors a newly-formed Interfaith Coalition on Mosques, is one of those who maintain that Rowash’s political preference is irrelevant.
Lauter allegedly told the Los Angeles Times that if all the members of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro were public cheerleaders for Hamas, it would still be illegal to discriminate against them because the First Amendment protects freedom of worship.
Rowash himself has not been called to testify in court, nor has he commented publicly on the case.
The Islamic Center had been operating for 30 years without incident in Murfreesboro. But as workers began building the new structure, a large “Not Welcome” message was spray-painted on the site, and building materials were torched.
Rutherford County officials approved plans to expand the mosque, but opponents have charged that officials did not sufficiently meet the criteria of the state’s open meetings law, thereby invalidating the approval. The matter has now gone to court, but the question being debated doe not really appear to be about whether the mosque should be built, but rather more about what the mosque stands for.
Opponents fear an expanded Islamic Center will promote a culture of Sharia law (Islamic religious law), and terrorism in their community, rather than a legitimate religion.
The Justice Department (DOJ), meanwhile, filed a brief supporting construction of the new mosque. Writing for the DOJ, U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin wrote that Islam is a legitimate religion and thus entitled to freedom of expression. He added that although its construction was a “local matter,” the department wished to “vigorously support” a ruling that would grant the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro its building permits.
More from INN
Radical Islam Targeting America
The US has been targeted as a scapegoat by autocratic Muslim regimes, blaming the US – along with the West and the Jewish State – for the humiliation, frustration and rage over the failure to reclaim the glory of ancient Islam.
Since the 7th century, the vision of Islam has been the gradual domination of the globe. According to Prof. Bernard Lewis, the leading expert on Islam, Muslims believe that their victory in Afghanistan, over the USSR, caused the fall of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, they are convinced that defeating the US would be less difficult, in view of American retreats from Vietnam (1973), the US Embassy in Teheran (1979/1980), Beirut (1983) and Somalia (1993) and the expected evacuation/retreat from Iraq and Afghanistan.
They assume that anti-US terrorism (e.g. 1995/6, 1998 and 2000 anti-US Islamic terrorism in Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen, culminating in 9/11) entails sustained punishment, while yielding US concessions and retreats overseas and eventually on the US mainland.
Anti-US Islamic terrorism has been emboldened by counter-terrorism officials – such as John Brennan and Eric Holder, President Obama's Advisor on Countering Terrorism and Attorney General respectively - who claim that there is no military solution to terrorism, that there is no global terrorism, that there is no Jihadist terrorism, since "Jihad is a process which purifies the soul" and that terrorism is largely a law-enforcement challenge rather than a military issue. Such deficient moral clarity breeds a deficient operational clarity, emboldening further terrorism.
Rogue/autocratic Muslim regimes have realized that terror is the most effective anti-US weapon, increasingly on the American mainland. They assume that Western leaders have reconciled themselves to engagement and coexistence with terrorism, rather than endeavor to devastate terror regimes through a systematic series of disproportionate traumatic blows.
Terrorism provides the element of deniability, while eroding the confidence of Americans in the capability of their government to maintain homeland security. Terrorists are convinced that they can get away with murder, and even be rewarded. They have concluded that the pen and the tongue are extremely effective in complementing the sword in the battle against Western civilization, led by the US.
The current Islamic assault on the US mainland, through the proliferation of many dormant terror cells and a campaign of conversion to Islam - largely funded by Saudi Arabia - is presented by Yehudit Barsky, Director of Middle East and International Terrorism Division of the American Jewish Congress:
* Omar Ahmed, co-founder of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), which has been connected to Hamas and other Islamic terror organizations: "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant…The Koran should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on earth."
* US-born Imam Zaid Shakir, a frequent participant at CAIR's seminars, is a co-founder of the Muslim Zaytuna College, Berkeley, California, which aims at producing Islamic scholars, who will entrench Islam in the US: "Every Muslim who is honest would like to see America become a Muslim country. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be a Muslim." Zaytuna College highlights the supposed relevance of the Sharia laws to the US legal system.
* US-born Al-Qaeda operative, Anwar al-Awlaki, inspired US-born Nidal Malik Hasan, who murdered 13 American soldiers on November 9, 2009 at Ft. Hood, Texas. He trained Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, who attempted to detonate explosives on December 25, 2009 in Northwest Airlines flight on route from Amsterdam to Detroit.
* US citizen Faisal Shahzad was trained by Taliban and inspired by Anwar Al-Awlaki, attempted the May 1, 2010 Times Square car bombing.
* The Al Shabaab, "Holy Warrior Youth Movement," is recruiting in the US via Internet. Eight Al Shabaab recruits – including converts to Islam - were arrested in Minnesota.
Is it realistic to assume that rogue Muslim regimes, which have employed terrorism since the 7th century in order to settle intra-Muslim conflicts, would not employ terrorism in order to settle their conflicts with the US – the "Big Satan"?!
Islamic terrorism constitutes a clear and present danger to the US and to the Free World, irrespective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, independent of the Palestinian issue and regardless of Israel's policies or even the very existence of Jewish State – the "Little Satan."
More at Ynet
Since the 7th century, the vision of Islam has been the gradual domination of the globe. According to Prof. Bernard Lewis, the leading expert on Islam, Muslims believe that their victory in Afghanistan, over the USSR, caused the fall of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, they are convinced that defeating the US would be less difficult, in view of American retreats from Vietnam (1973), the US Embassy in Teheran (1979/1980), Beirut (1983) and Somalia (1993) and the expected evacuation/retreat from Iraq and Afghanistan.
They assume that anti-US terrorism (e.g. 1995/6, 1998 and 2000 anti-US Islamic terrorism in Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen, culminating in 9/11) entails sustained punishment, while yielding US concessions and retreats overseas and eventually on the US mainland.
Anti-US Islamic terrorism has been emboldened by counter-terrorism officials – such as John Brennan and Eric Holder, President Obama's Advisor on Countering Terrorism and Attorney General respectively - who claim that there is no military solution to terrorism, that there is no global terrorism, that there is no Jihadist terrorism, since "Jihad is a process which purifies the soul" and that terrorism is largely a law-enforcement challenge rather than a military issue. Such deficient moral clarity breeds a deficient operational clarity, emboldening further terrorism.
Rogue/autocratic Muslim regimes have realized that terror is the most effective anti-US weapon, increasingly on the American mainland. They assume that Western leaders have reconciled themselves to engagement and coexistence with terrorism, rather than endeavor to devastate terror regimes through a systematic series of disproportionate traumatic blows.
Terrorism provides the element of deniability, while eroding the confidence of Americans in the capability of their government to maintain homeland security. Terrorists are convinced that they can get away with murder, and even be rewarded. They have concluded that the pen and the tongue are extremely effective in complementing the sword in the battle against Western civilization, led by the US.
The current Islamic assault on the US mainland, through the proliferation of many dormant terror cells and a campaign of conversion to Islam - largely funded by Saudi Arabia - is presented by Yehudit Barsky, Director of Middle East and International Terrorism Division of the American Jewish Congress:
* Omar Ahmed, co-founder of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), which has been connected to Hamas and other Islamic terror organizations: "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant…The Koran should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on earth."
* US-born Imam Zaid Shakir, a frequent participant at CAIR's seminars, is a co-founder of the Muslim Zaytuna College, Berkeley, California, which aims at producing Islamic scholars, who will entrench Islam in the US: "Every Muslim who is honest would like to see America become a Muslim country. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be a Muslim." Zaytuna College highlights the supposed relevance of the Sharia laws to the US legal system.
* US-born Al-Qaeda operative, Anwar al-Awlaki, inspired US-born Nidal Malik Hasan, who murdered 13 American soldiers on November 9, 2009 at Ft. Hood, Texas. He trained Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, who attempted to detonate explosives on December 25, 2009 in Northwest Airlines flight on route from Amsterdam to Detroit.
* US citizen Faisal Shahzad was trained by Taliban and inspired by Anwar Al-Awlaki, attempted the May 1, 2010 Times Square car bombing.
* The Al Shabaab, "Holy Warrior Youth Movement," is recruiting in the US via Internet. Eight Al Shabaab recruits – including converts to Islam - were arrested in Minnesota.
Is it realistic to assume that rogue Muslim regimes, which have employed terrorism since the 7th century in order to settle intra-Muslim conflicts, would not employ terrorism in order to settle their conflicts with the US – the "Big Satan"?!
Islamic terrorism constitutes a clear and present danger to the US and to the Free World, irrespective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, independent of the Palestinian issue and regardless of Israel's policies or even the very existence of Jewish State – the "Little Satan."
More at Ynet
Gangster Government And The Gulf Oil Spill
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal claims in his new book -- titled "Leadership and Crisis" -- that President Obama threatened him after he asked the White House to expedite approval of Food Stamp benefits for Gulf Coast residents left homeless by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
"Careful, this is going to get bad for everyone," he quoted Obama as saying. Standing nearby, according to Jindal, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was throwing around F-bombs while chewing out the governor's chief of staff: "If you have a problem, pick up the f---ing phone." When Jindal later expressed worries that a White House-imposed moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would drive up joblessness in his state, Jindal claims Obama was more concerned about standing in the polls. "The human element seemed invisible to the White House," Jindal said in his book.
The Louisiana governor is anything but a disinterested observer in these matters, to be sure, but neither are Republicans like Jindal the only critics of Obama's seeming distance from the harsh economic realities of the spill and his obliviousness to how federal policies compounded the misery. Even hyper-Democratic partisan James Carville lamented the tardiness of Obama's response to the spill, calling it "one of the greatest lost political opportunities I've ever seen."
The political fallout from Jindal's book is likely to be magnified by an Interior Department inspector general report. Interior IG Mary Kendall investigated claims that the White House misrepresented the views of seven scientists who had been asked to assess the effect of a six-month moratorium on drilling in the Gulf.
Read the rest at the Washington Examiner >>
"Careful, this is going to get bad for everyone," he quoted Obama as saying. Standing nearby, according to Jindal, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was throwing around F-bombs while chewing out the governor's chief of staff: "If you have a problem, pick up the f---ing phone." When Jindal later expressed worries that a White House-imposed moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would drive up joblessness in his state, Jindal claims Obama was more concerned about standing in the polls. "The human element seemed invisible to the White House," Jindal said in his book.
The Louisiana governor is anything but a disinterested observer in these matters, to be sure, but neither are Republicans like Jindal the only critics of Obama's seeming distance from the harsh economic realities of the spill and his obliviousness to how federal policies compounded the misery. Even hyper-Democratic partisan James Carville lamented the tardiness of Obama's response to the spill, calling it "one of the greatest lost political opportunities I've ever seen."
The political fallout from Jindal's book is likely to be magnified by an Interior Department inspector general report. Interior IG Mary Kendall investigated claims that the White House misrepresented the views of seven scientists who had been asked to assess the effect of a six-month moratorium on drilling in the Gulf.
Read the rest at the Washington Examiner >>
Report: As U.S. Moves Out, Iran Moving Into Iraq
Iran has significantly expanded its intervention and is ready to transform Iraq into a proxy, a report said.
The Center for New Politics and Policy asserted that Iran was filling the vacuum left by the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq. In a report titled "Iraq's Shi'a Leadership Crisis and the Iranian End Game," the Washington-based center said Iran was using both Shi'ite and Sunni militias to destabilize Iraq to prevent the emergence of a pro-U.S. government in Baghdad.
"Teheran is now transitioning to a post-U.S. occupation end game strategy — the transformation of Iraq into an Iranian proxy state," the report, authored by senior fellow Webster Brooks, said.
The Iranian effort has been led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In June 2010, IRGC was said to have replaced its Quds Force commander Qassim Suleimani with Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani. IRGC also helped force the dismissal of Iranian ambassador Hassan Kazemi-Qomi and replaced him with former Quds commander Hassan Danafor.
The report said Iraq was likely to resolve its eight-month-old political stalemate by forming a non-Shi'ite government coalition led by Iyad Alawi, once deemed the most likely successor of then-President Saddam Hussein. Teheran was expected to pressure lame duck Prime Minister Nour Al Maliki to resign.
"The key to Iran's short-term success is removing Nouri Al Maliki as prime minister and coopting Iyad Alawi in a leadership role that minimizes his ability to threaten Iran's strategic interests," the report said.
[On Nov. 11, Iraqi parliamentarians agreed to support Al Maliki for another four-year term. Parliamentarians said Sunni groups would ensure that Al Maliki would achieve a majority for the proposed government.]
The report said Iran intended to shape Iraq's next coalition that would push Alawi or Al Maliki into an alliance. Another goal was for Iran to deploy its proxies to control what the report termed "critical areas of Iraq's new government." Alawi heads the Iraqiya party and Maliki leads the Shi'ite dominated Iraqi National Alliance (INA).
"While there are many contentious issues involving an alliance between the INA and Iraqiya, Iran's primary concern is who will control the military, internal security and intelligence forces," the report said.
More
The Center for New Politics and Policy asserted that Iran was filling the vacuum left by the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq. In a report titled "Iraq's Shi'a Leadership Crisis and the Iranian End Game," the Washington-based center said Iran was using both Shi'ite and Sunni militias to destabilize Iraq to prevent the emergence of a pro-U.S. government in Baghdad.
"Teheran is now transitioning to a post-U.S. occupation end game strategy — the transformation of Iraq into an Iranian proxy state," the report, authored by senior fellow Webster Brooks, said.
The Iranian effort has been led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In June 2010, IRGC was said to have replaced its Quds Force commander Qassim Suleimani with Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani. IRGC also helped force the dismissal of Iranian ambassador Hassan Kazemi-Qomi and replaced him with former Quds commander Hassan Danafor.
The report said Iraq was likely to resolve its eight-month-old political stalemate by forming a non-Shi'ite government coalition led by Iyad Alawi, once deemed the most likely successor of then-President Saddam Hussein. Teheran was expected to pressure lame duck Prime Minister Nour Al Maliki to resign.
"The key to Iran's short-term success is removing Nouri Al Maliki as prime minister and coopting Iyad Alawi in a leadership role that minimizes his ability to threaten Iran's strategic interests," the report said.
[On Nov. 11, Iraqi parliamentarians agreed to support Al Maliki for another four-year term. Parliamentarians said Sunni groups would ensure that Al Maliki would achieve a majority for the proposed government.]
The report said Iran intended to shape Iraq's next coalition that would push Alawi or Al Maliki into an alliance. Another goal was for Iran to deploy its proxies to control what the report termed "critical areas of Iraq's new government." Alawi heads the Iraqiya party and Maliki leads the Shi'ite dominated Iraqi National Alliance (INA).
"While there are many contentious issues involving an alliance between the INA and Iraqiya, Iran's primary concern is who will control the military, internal security and intelligence forces," the report said.
More
5 Dead In Crash Involving 7 Motorcycles
Five people were killed Saturday in a head-on crash involving seven motorcycles and two passenger cars on a rural road 80 miles east of San Diego, Calif.
Pacquiao Wins
Boxer wins record eighth belt in eighth different weight class in unanimous decision over Margarito
ARLINGTON, Texas - Manny Pacquiao more than made up with speed what he lacked in size.
Giving away both pounds and inches, boxing's little superstar turned Antonio Margarito into a bloody and nearly blind fighter with a dizzying array of punches Saturday night in a lopsided decision victory that wasn't close from the opening rounds on.
In a spectacular performance before a delighted crowd of 41,734 at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao cemented his claim to being the best fighter in the world by dominating the bigger but slower Margarito almost from the opening bell. Pacquiao won round after round, opening a cut on Margarito's cheek, closing his right eye, and turning his face into a bloody mess.
GO HERE to read more.
Rt. 50 Overhead Bridge Near Crack Royal
Joe:
Do you really want to know just how influential SBYnews is. Do you remember the Rt. 50 overhead bridge whereby you displayed photos of a hole that had formed and fell through the entire blacktop & pan decking below. Then - right after your posting - I called to your attention about how bad the road infrastructure was throughout the Country and used the example of my experience when I worked for a large A&E firm in Norfolk, VA. In the article I mentioned that a young engineer asked me to pull off the side of the road one day as he wanted to show me the underside of an underpass in Norfolk, VA. In the article I went on to describe how the VA Department of Transportation had received numerous calls from passing motorist about cracked windshields as a result of concrete falling from the overpasses and that as a temporary stopgap measure the VA Department of Transportation had installed plywood and just layer it across the steel eye beams to protect motorist from the disintegrating bridge.
Right after I posted the article one of SBYnews readers went back to the Rt. 50 drawbridge in Salisbury and took photographs of where the Maryland Department of Transportation had used the same technique and these were published on SBYnews. Some even said the homeless had made homes upthere.
Well after all of SBYnews publicity - within a month or two after your article was published the Maryland Department of Transportation initiated a huge bridge renovation which is still going on. The project has been going on for more than a year now at that exact location where SBYnews exposed - and is still going on. I get a chuckle every time I pass over the bridge and I inform my wife that if it wasn't for SBYnews the condition would most likely have still gone unchecked.
Thank you again SBYnews for helping to make Salisbury's roads much safer to traverse. I congratulate you on impeccable reporting.
Beazer
WICOMICO COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR RACE TIGHTER BUT MAY BE OVER
On Friday the Board of Elections issued unofficial data for the recent election that have a 2 vote margin for Bob Caldwell over David MacLeod – 2037 to 2035 – after the 2nd absentee count. The only remaining count will be on November 22 for military ballots and a few contested ballots. We understand that the Board thinks that, at most, only a few more ballots will be received by the 22nd.
Another unknown is why the mainstream media has not reported on this latest count and margin in the District Four race.
By the way, Rick Pollitt now has a margin of more than 900 votes over Joe Ollinger – slightly more than 3% of the votes in their race for County Exec.
Another unknown is why the mainstream media has not reported on this latest count and margin in the District Four race.
By the way, Rick Pollitt now has a margin of more than 900 votes over Joe Ollinger – slightly more than 3% of the votes in their race for County Exec.
Pelosi's New Position For Clyburn: 'Assistant Leader'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asked her colleagues Saturday to support Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) for "Assistant Leader," a newly created third-ranking position at the leadership table.
In a letter to her fellow Democrats, Pelosi wrote "should I receive the privilege of serving as House Democratic Leader, I will be very honored to nominate our outstanding colleague, Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, to serve in the number three House Democratic position. I will also ask the Caucus to designate that position as Assistant Leader."
House Democrats averted a nasty fight when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the creation of the new No. 3 ranking spot for Clyburn.
The late Friday night news ended an internecine battle between current Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Clyburn, both vying to be the No. 2 ranked House Dem in the 112th Congress.
According to a source close to Clyburn, the “solution” is to create a third-ranking Democratic leadership position that “would maintain the diversity of the Caucus as well as the wishes of a majority of the Caucus, that (Clyburn) remain in the number three leadership post.”
Sources in the caucus were convinced that Hoyer had the needed votes to win in a head-to-head with Clyburn -- a battle that pitted a Blue Dog moderate against the highest-ranking African-American lawmaker in the House.
The Congressional Black Caucus has intensified its lobbying for Clyburn, who has thus far rejected the idea of accepting a lower position or another offer such as a ranking membership on the Appropriations Committee or one of its subcommittees.
Earlier in the week Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.) told the New York Observer: “If I had my druthers, I'd just put another chair up there. What the hell?"
More here
In a letter to her fellow Democrats, Pelosi wrote "should I receive the privilege of serving as House Democratic Leader, I will be very honored to nominate our outstanding colleague, Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, to serve in the number three House Democratic position. I will also ask the Caucus to designate that position as Assistant Leader."
House Democrats averted a nasty fight when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the creation of the new No. 3 ranking spot for Clyburn.
The late Friday night news ended an internecine battle between current Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Clyburn, both vying to be the No. 2 ranked House Dem in the 112th Congress.
According to a source close to Clyburn, the “solution” is to create a third-ranking Democratic leadership position that “would maintain the diversity of the Caucus as well as the wishes of a majority of the Caucus, that (Clyburn) remain in the number three leadership post.”
Sources in the caucus were convinced that Hoyer had the needed votes to win in a head-to-head with Clyburn -- a battle that pitted a Blue Dog moderate against the highest-ranking African-American lawmaker in the House.
The Congressional Black Caucus has intensified its lobbying for Clyburn, who has thus far rejected the idea of accepting a lower position or another offer such as a ranking membership on the Appropriations Committee or one of its subcommittees.
Earlier in the week Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.) told the New York Observer: “If I had my druthers, I'd just put another chair up there. What the hell?"
More here
Family Television? Better Think Again
Obscene language on primetime television, according to a new study, is on a meteoric rise in both frequency and intensity – with the 'f-word,' for example, being spoken or bleeped 25 times as often as it was only five years ago.
The "Habitat for Profanity" study, conducted by the Parents Television Council, compared primetime programming from the nation's top broadcast networks in the first two weeks of the 2010 and 2005 fall seasons.
The study found that not only has overall usage of obscene language increased by 69.3 percent since 2005, but also that harsh obscenities have increased most significantly in the first hour of prime time, the so-called "family hour" of 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. During that hour alone, the use of a bleeped "f-word" rose from 10 instances in 2005, to 111 instances in 2010.
"Our analysis of the first two weeks of this still-new fall television season shows a disturbing trend that shocked even us," said PTC President Tim Winter in a statement. "Profanity is far more frequent and the profanity itself is far harsher than just five years ago. Even worse, the most egregious language is being aired during the timeslots when children are most likely to be in the audience."
He continued, "While broadcasters continue to claim that they can regulate themselves, this type of increase in profane words aired on scripted programming - not on live broadcasts that are the subject of ongoing judicial review – suggests otherwise.
Winter also criticized TV broadcasters in light of a decision made last summer by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the ongoing Fox v. FCC case. In July, the court's three-judge panel tossed out the Federal Communications Commission's indecency rules, which had put limits on language and content in broadcast television programming. The court called the regulations "unconstitutionally vague and chilling."
"After the Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the FCC's congressionally-mandated authority to enforce the broadcast decency law," Winter said, "industry and media pundits predicted a sharp increase in the amount of profanity on television. Sadly, they were correct."
He continued, speaking of the recent increase in obsene language: "Is this a coincidence? Is it an aberration? Or is this exactly the path that broadcasters and the 'creative community' in Hollywood set out when they began launching their legal attacks against the broadcast decency law?"
More from WND
The "Habitat for Profanity" study, conducted by the Parents Television Council, compared primetime programming from the nation's top broadcast networks in the first two weeks of the 2010 and 2005 fall seasons.
The study found that not only has overall usage of obscene language increased by 69.3 percent since 2005, but also that harsh obscenities have increased most significantly in the first hour of prime time, the so-called "family hour" of 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. During that hour alone, the use of a bleeped "f-word" rose from 10 instances in 2005, to 111 instances in 2010.
"Our analysis of the first two weeks of this still-new fall television season shows a disturbing trend that shocked even us," said PTC President Tim Winter in a statement. "Profanity is far more frequent and the profanity itself is far harsher than just five years ago. Even worse, the most egregious language is being aired during the timeslots when children are most likely to be in the audience."
He continued, "While broadcasters continue to claim that they can regulate themselves, this type of increase in profane words aired on scripted programming - not on live broadcasts that are the subject of ongoing judicial review – suggests otherwise.
Winter also criticized TV broadcasters in light of a decision made last summer by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the ongoing Fox v. FCC case. In July, the court's three-judge panel tossed out the Federal Communications Commission's indecency rules, which had put limits on language and content in broadcast television programming. The court called the regulations "unconstitutionally vague and chilling."
"After the Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the FCC's congressionally-mandated authority to enforce the broadcast decency law," Winter said, "industry and media pundits predicted a sharp increase in the amount of profanity on television. Sadly, they were correct."
He continued, speaking of the recent increase in obsene language: "Is this a coincidence? Is it an aberration? Or is this exactly the path that broadcasters and the 'creative community' in Hollywood set out when they began launching their legal attacks against the broadcast decency law?"
More from WND
Netanyahu Presents US Demand For 3-Month Freeze
Saturday night: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has convened his top mini-Cabinet of seven ministers for an emergency meeting in which they will vote on the United States demand that Israel re-freeze Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria for another three months.
In exchange, the U.S. promises 20 jet fighters, as well as an automatic veto of any anti-Israel resolution or demand in the United Nations.
The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly demanded that Israel freeze all construction for the 320,000 Jews of Judea and Samaria, as well as for the 300,000 Jews of northern and eastern Jerusalem.
In fact, a year ago, Israel froze all construction for ten months, in the hopes that the PA would agree to negotiate with Israel. The PA refused to do so for nine months, but in September, as the freeze was winding down, abruptly agreed to negotiate - but only on condition that Israel extend the freeze.
The Yesha Council - the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria - issued the following statement on Saturday night:
"This is a critical test hour for the government ministers: Will they build, or will they cave in?
"The demand to renew the freeze is a trap that Israel must not enter. There has been no Israeli position expressed more clearly and unambiguously, [namely] that the freeze was a one-time, temporary episode. If even this position crumbles, Israel will not be able to retain any other of its positions."
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In exchange, the U.S. promises 20 jet fighters, as well as an automatic veto of any anti-Israel resolution or demand in the United Nations.
The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly demanded that Israel freeze all construction for the 320,000 Jews of Judea and Samaria, as well as for the 300,000 Jews of northern and eastern Jerusalem.
In fact, a year ago, Israel froze all construction for ten months, in the hopes that the PA would agree to negotiate with Israel. The PA refused to do so for nine months, but in September, as the freeze was winding down, abruptly agreed to negotiate - but only on condition that Israel extend the freeze.
The Yesha Council - the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria - issued the following statement on Saturday night:
"This is a critical test hour for the government ministers: Will they build, or will they cave in?
"The demand to renew the freeze is a trap that Israel must not enter. There has been no Israeli position expressed more clearly and unambiguously, [namely] that the freeze was a one-time, temporary episode. If even this position crumbles, Israel will not be able to retain any other of its positions."
More from INN
GOP Staking Claim To Obama's Coalition Of Voters
Near the midpoint of his presidency, Barack Obama's diverse voter coalition reveals giant cracks and he faces major work repairing his standing among independents in states crucial to his re-election chances.
Catholics. Older people. Women. Young adults. They shifted toward Republicans in this month's elections and failed to support Obama's Democratic Party as they did in 2008.
Two years before voters render judgment on his tenure, Obama's most critical task may be winning back those who aren't affiliated with a party but who hold enormous sway in close contests. National exit polls from the midterm elections show these voters broke heavily for Republicans after helping elect Obama and Democrats in the two previous elections.
The trouble with this constituency appears even deeper for Obama in places expected to be closely contested in the next White House race, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of exit polls in 26 states. It shows just how much ground Obama must make up with independents between now and November 2012.
Read more>>
Catholics. Older people. Women. Young adults. They shifted toward Republicans in this month's elections and failed to support Obama's Democratic Party as they did in 2008.
Two years before voters render judgment on his tenure, Obama's most critical task may be winning back those who aren't affiliated with a party but who hold enormous sway in close contests. National exit polls from the midterm elections show these voters broke heavily for Republicans after helping elect Obama and Democrats in the two previous elections.
The trouble with this constituency appears even deeper for Obama in places expected to be closely contested in the next White House race, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of exit polls in 26 states. It shows just how much ground Obama must make up with independents between now and November 2012.
Read more>>
Nearly $1 Trillion Net Tax Hike Proposed In Fiscal Commission’s ‘Tax Reform’ Plan
Over the next 10 years, Americans could see a net federal tax hike of $961 billion if the draft recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform are enacted. This proposed tax hike would include those earning below $250,000, the people that President Barack Obama has repeatedly pledged would not see a tax hike.
The draft of the National Commission’s report from co-chairmen Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and Alan Simpson, a Republican, talks about “lower rates” and “comprehensive tax reform.” But the lower rates in question do not offset the tax deductions and tax credits that are eliminated under the plan. Thus there would be a net tax increase.
The report projects $751 billion in revenue from changes to the tax code and another $210 billion from “other revenue.”
The hikes would encompass increased gasoline taxes, a change in the tax brackets and an automatic tax hike when the budget is not balanced. Along with significant spending cuts in the Defense Department, government personnel, eliminating congressional earmarks, and raising the age for collecting Social Security, the commission’s draft proposal is supposed to reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion in 2020.
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The draft of the National Commission’s report from co-chairmen Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and Alan Simpson, a Republican, talks about “lower rates” and “comprehensive tax reform.” But the lower rates in question do not offset the tax deductions and tax credits that are eliminated under the plan. Thus there would be a net tax increase.
The report projects $751 billion in revenue from changes to the tax code and another $210 billion from “other revenue.”
The hikes would encompass increased gasoline taxes, a change in the tax brackets and an automatic tax hike when the budget is not balanced. Along with significant spending cuts in the Defense Department, government personnel, eliminating congressional earmarks, and raising the age for collecting Social Security, the commission’s draft proposal is supposed to reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion in 2020.
Read more
Bachmann's Run
On Wednesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.), founder of the Tea Party Caucus, dropped her long-shot bid for the chairmanship of the House Republican Conference. Her decision leaves Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, as the presumptive favorite for the No. 4 leadership spot.
“From what I hear, she stepped down on her own, once she realized that the numbers weren’t there as she made calls,” says one House GOP staffer familiar with the situation. A senior House aide says that’s probably right: “There are 240-plus members of the new House GOP, and according to her own staff, she secured the votes of five of them.”
Even though Bachmann took to the phones, and campaigned hard, another House GOP aide tells us that the Minnesota Republican never generated momentum in the caucus. “She is well known, but there was no real movement toward her. She is not everyone’s favorite. There were some concerns about how she’d handle the position, and whether she’d be focused on the actual conference committee, or on getting onto television.”
Another aide confides that Hensarling’s big-name endorsements — Rep. Paul Ryan, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, blogger Erick Erickson, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, among others — made the decision easy for conservative members.
Still, those in Bachmann’s orbit argue that she was running to give the Tea Party voice, not to woo cable bookers.
One of Bachmann’s key political allies, Rep. Steve King of Iowa, tells NRO that Bachmann’s decision to nix her leadership bid was far from a show of defeat. “She has not lost anything; she just did not gain,” King says. “She is brilliant woman with great political instincts, as well as a nationally-recognized face and voice. She may have put a marker down to be the next chair of the conference.”
King notes that Bachmann’s friends in the House remain miffed about how House GOP leadership handled the conference race following Rep. Mike Pence’s decision to step down from the position on Nov. 3, the day after Republicans were swept into the majority.
“Two minutes after Pence’s ‘dear colleague’ letter went out, Jeb Hensarling’s letter went out,” King sighs. “Then the endorsements came from Cantor and Pence, all within that first hour.”
For Team Bachmann, the impact was immediate: “If you don’t have it loaded up front, it’s really hard,” King says.
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“From what I hear, she stepped down on her own, once she realized that the numbers weren’t there as she made calls,” says one House GOP staffer familiar with the situation. A senior House aide says that’s probably right: “There are 240-plus members of the new House GOP, and according to her own staff, she secured the votes of five of them.”
Even though Bachmann took to the phones, and campaigned hard, another House GOP aide tells us that the Minnesota Republican never generated momentum in the caucus. “She is well known, but there was no real movement toward her. She is not everyone’s favorite. There were some concerns about how she’d handle the position, and whether she’d be focused on the actual conference committee, or on getting onto television.”
Another aide confides that Hensarling’s big-name endorsements — Rep. Paul Ryan, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, blogger Erick Erickson, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, among others — made the decision easy for conservative members.
Still, those in Bachmann’s orbit argue that she was running to give the Tea Party voice, not to woo cable bookers.
One of Bachmann’s key political allies, Rep. Steve King of Iowa, tells NRO that Bachmann’s decision to nix her leadership bid was far from a show of defeat. “She has not lost anything; she just did not gain,” King says. “She is brilliant woman with great political instincts, as well as a nationally-recognized face and voice. She may have put a marker down to be the next chair of the conference.”
King notes that Bachmann’s friends in the House remain miffed about how House GOP leadership handled the conference race following Rep. Mike Pence’s decision to step down from the position on Nov. 3, the day after Republicans were swept into the majority.
“Two minutes after Pence’s ‘dear colleague’ letter went out, Jeb Hensarling’s letter went out,” King sighs. “Then the endorsements came from Cantor and Pence, all within that first hour.”
For Team Bachmann, the impact was immediate: “If you don’t have it loaded up front, it’s really hard,” King says.
There's more here
TROOPERS CHARGE 2 MEN WITH CDS POSSESSION
On November 14, 2010 at 0210 hours, A Trooper from the Salisbury Barrack of the Maryland State Police stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation at the WA WA store on South Salisbury Blvd. in Salisbury. During the stop, the Trooper subsequently arrested the driver, John Robert Roseboro, 35, of New Church VA., for DUI. A search of the vehicle incident to arrest revealed a small amount of cocaine. Roseboro and his passenger, Rashaw Strand, 31, of New Church VA., were transported to WCDC and charged with Possession of cocaine and paraphernalia. They are awaiting a hearing with the District Court Commissioner.
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