SURVIVOR OF MEDEVAC CRASH FILES $50M SUIT

The Gazette: "The sole survivor of a 2008 Maryland State Police helicopter crash in District Heights has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration, alleging negligence on the part of air traffic controllers.

Jordan Wells, 20, of Waldorf filed the suit Dec. 7 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt.

The suit states that before the Sept. 27, 2008, crash, the FAA traffic controllers who were based at Joint Base Andrews gave Maryland State Police pilot Stephen J. Bunker dated information on weather conditions, failed to guide him in the Trooper 2 helicopter to a safe landing as navigation equipment began to falter and did not alert paramedics to the scene of the crash."

Hoyer Out-Of-Touch With Poisonous Remark

ANNAPOLIS – Maryland Republican Party Chairman Alex X. Mooney issued the following statement today in response to outgoing Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s claim that the Tea Party Movement is “poisonous” to our future:

 

“Clearly Steny Hoyer did not get the message in November when concerned Americans, led by the Tea Party Movement, swept historic numbers of Republicans into office. The Tea Party Movement represents the mindset of a majority of Americans who believe in reducing government spending and cutting taxes. It is utterly irresponsible and disgraceful for Congressman Hoyer to brand an entire movement of concerned citizens as ‘poisonous’ to our future.  

 

“The real poison pill to our future is the Obama, Hoyer, and Pelosi, tax-and-spend agenda. From overreaching on health care legislation to failed bailouts, Washington liberals continue to impede on our personal freedoms, while saddling future generations with more debt. If Democrat leader Hoyer had spent more time standing up to the poisonous agenda of the liberal special interest groups who have hijacked his Democrat Party, perhaps they wouldn’t have been swept out of power last month.”

Army Birther Enters Guilty Plea

An Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questions President Barack Obama's citizenship pleaded guilty Tuesday to one of two charges against him.

GO HERE to read more.

More Teens Smoking Pot Than Cigarettes

Drug survey finds US teens are smoking more but binge drinking less

WASHINGTON — More U.S. teens may be smoking marijuana than cigarettes but fewer are binge-drinking, federal health officials said Tuesday.

An annual survey on drug use found increases in marijuana use among all age groups but showed slightly fewer high school seniors were smoking than in recent years.

"These high rates of marijuana use during the teen and pre-teen years, when the brain continues to develop, place our young people at particular risk," National Institute for Drug Abuse director Dr. Nora Volkow said in a statement.

"Not only does marijuana affect learning, judgment, and motor skills, but research tells us that about one in six people who start using it as adolescents become addicted."

The survey of 46,482 students from 396 schools found that 16 percent of eighth-graders, typically 13 and 14 years old, admitted to using marijuana, up from 14.5 percent in 2009.

GO HERE to read more.

Have Down Payment, But Stuck In Appraisal Hell

Sales being lost as lenders adopt much tougher rules for homes' worth

WASHINGTON — Aaron and Beth Stiner are renters, but not by choice and not because they can't afford to buy a house. They had a move-up home in Phoenix selected and good credit scores. They even had buyers lined up for the home they were selling. Then they entered appraisal hell.

The first appraisal on their chosen home came in at $295,000, a figure that both the Stiners and the sellers agreed upon. The lender didn't like it, and ordered up a second appraisal. Based on comparable homes that were in a different neighborhood, the new appraisal came in $25,000 lower — too low to allow the loan to go through.

They switched lenders and got another appraisal that, at $290,000, would have allowed the deal to go through. Their new lender was skeptical, and ordered up another appraisal. At the same time, the home they were selling was appraised three times, with each subsequent valuation falling.

Four months later, the Stiners and their buyer both gave up. Together, they were out $1,600 for seven appraisals. "As a result, we are now renting our home out, and renting the home we wanted to buy," says Beth. "We were frustrated and we weren't going to keep doling out cash for new appraisals. It felt like a game."

But not a fun game. There are problems in appraisal land that transcend weak housing markets and debt-ridden borrowers, and that are causing home buyers and would-be refinancers to miss out on low rates and dream houses.

GO HERE to read more.

Mayor Of Springfield, Ill., Found Dead At Home

No confirmation of report that he killed himself

The mayor of Springfield, Ill., was found dead in his home on Tuesday after failing to show up for a court-ordered appearance in a pending estate case.

Tim Davlin was found dead about 9:10 a.m. local time, the State Journal-Register reported police as saying.

Police would not confirm a report that Davlin died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Illinois State Police is handling the investigation.

Davlin, who was the trustee for a late cousin's $845,000 estate, was supposed to have appeared at a court-ordered meeting on Tuesday after failing to earlier provide a financial accounting.

GO HERE to read more.

Poll: Most Want Easier Way To Fire Bad Teachers

ATLANTA — An overwhelming majority of Americans are frustrated that it's too difficult to get rid of bad teachers, while most also believe that teachers aren't paid enough, a new poll shows.

The Associated Press-Stanford University poll found that 78 percent think it should be easier for school administrators to fire poorly performing teachers. Yet overall, the public wants to reward teachers — 57 percent say they are paid too little, with just 7 percent believing they are overpaid and most of the rest saying they're paid about right.

School districts have struggled for years over how to keep good teachers. This has led to controversial techniques like using standardized test scores to measure how much a student has learned in a teacher's class. Some districts, like New York City schools, are considering making the data public so parents know how teachers rate.

GO HERE to read more.

BREAKING NEWS:

Gunman opens fire at Panama City, Fla., school board meeting


UPDATE:

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — A gunman has opened fire during a Florida Panhandle school board meeting. Police say one person has been shot, but they won't say if it was the gunman or someone else.

A WMBB television reporter at Tuesday's meeting says the man came up to the podium at the Bay District School Board meeting and said he had a motion. He then pulled out a can of red spray paint and painted a "V" with a circle around it.

Reporter Nadeen Yanes tells her station he pulled out a handgun and started talking.

Yanes says a school board member hit the gunman with her purse and he pushed her to the ground and started firing randomly. According to wjhg.com, it's believed the man fired blanks at school board members, and was then shot by authorities, or may have shot himself, though that is unclear at this time.

Yanes and others ran outside. Police released no further information.

SOURCE

Naked Came The Mail Carrier

Wisconsin postal worker arrested after delivering mail in the nude to cheer up woman

WHITEFISH BAY, Wis. — A Wisconsin postal carrier says he simply wanted to cheer up a woman on his rounds who seemed "stressed out" when he decided to deliver mail in the buff. But upon further review, the worker told police that delivering mail while completely naked probably wasn't a good idea.


GO HERE to read more.

The Very Best Way To End Your Holiday Season Work Day

''O Holy Night''

A Letter To The Editor

Where is AFP and all the other splinter groups that oppose wasteful government? They put their 2 cents into everything state or national but never come out to voice their opinion on local issues, unless of course it is something important in the county, such as down zoning of farm land or night time meetings. Don't they know the city is within the county boundary lines? Is it because they won't get any national attention for their efforts? I have never understood their thought processes. How do they expect to affect change on a national level if they won't make any attempt to affect change on their own local level? Do none of them live in city limits? This is a possibility considering anyone that could has moved out of the city.

Criminal Arrest 2nd Degree Assault

Date & Time:      10/21/10                                       Case #: 
10-0249
Location Occurred:   Ocean Gateway and Racetrack Rd, Berlin, MD
Crime or Violation:  2nd Degree Assault
Victim:  State of Maryland (Undercover Police Officer)

Arrested:
1.Marqui D. Henry, 33yrs, of Berlin, MD
Charges:  2nd Degree Assault (3counts)

Narrative: 
   
On 10-21-10, Investigators from the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation
were notified of an Assault involving a motor vehicle, which occurred on Ocean
Gateway, near Racetrack Rd.  Investigation revealed that Marqui Henry of Berlin,
and a male victim, were traveling east on Ocean Gateway in their respective
motor vehicles.  Henry is accused of attempting to run the victim’s motor
vehicle off the road, and attempting to deliberately collide with the victim’s
motor vehicle.
   
Henry was charged on a Criminal Summons with three counts of 2nd Degree
Assault.  Anyone any information in regards to this incident is asked to contact
the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation at (410) 352-3476 or Cpl. Seibert

It's So Easy...

...even a 4 year old can do it!!!

What a great opportunity we have to teach our children and grandchildren that there are friends that they go to school with, and families in our communities, that aren't as fortunate as others and we can help them have a great holiday!!! We had people doubling back to put money in her kettle.  Her 5 year old cousin was jealous, that she got to ring the bell, so we are ringing again this week so that she can ring too!

Merry Christmas to all!

Dawn Turner

 

NOTICE

HOLIDAY TRASH COLLECTION



THERE WILL BE NO TRASH OR RECYCLING PICK UP

ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24^TH

PICK UP REGULARLY SCHEDULED FOR THAT DAY

WILL BE MONDAY, DECEMBER 27^TH



THERE WILL BE NO TRASH OR RECYCLING PICK UP

ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31^ST

PICK UP REGULARLY SCHEDULED FOR THAT DAY

E-CYCLING PICK-UP DAY

JANUARY 8, 2011

THE CITY WILL BE PROVIDING AN ELECTRONIC RECYCLING PICKUP ON SATURDAY JANUARY 8, 2011. TO HAVE YOUR NAME PUT ON THE LIST, OR FOR ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS PICK-UP PLEASE CALL THE CITY SERVICE CENTER @ 410-548-3177 BEFORE NOON ON JANUARY 7^TH.

HEALTH & SAFETY ADVISORY

Wicomico County Health Department Issues Advisory To All Local Food Service Facilities
(Salisbury, MD) December 14, 2010 The Wicomico County Health Department is notifying local food service facilities of fraudulent callers impersonating health inspectors. These callers are stating they are health inspectors and will be coming to their facility at a certain time to conduct an inspection. These calls are not originating from any program within the Health Department and should be treated as a potential criminal act.  The Health Department is concerned these impersonators may be using the Agency name to gain access as an attempt at robbery. 

Please be advised the Wicomico County Health Department does notschedule routine inspections.  Each inspector of the Health Department is required to wear a State of Maryland issued photo identification card.  Owners of local restaurants should advise their managers not to allow inspectors into the establishment without a valid ID.  If a facility receives this type of call, please contact your local law enforcement authorities to assist us in apprehending the perpetrators. Any information that can be provided (name of caller, telephone number) would be of great assistance.

If, at any time, a facility employee is concerned about the legitimacy of an inspector, they should not hesitate to call 410-546-4446. 

Tammy L. Griffin
Prevention & Health Communications
Director/Public Information Officer
Wicomico County Health Department
108 East Main Street
Salisbury, MD 21801
410-219-7480
410-548-5184 (Fax)
Email: GriffinTL@dhmh.state.md.us

Pollitt’s Plan to Raise Taxes

Freshly sworn in for a second term, Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt now wants to get to work raising your taxes!  Pollitt has asked the county’s legislative delegation to put forward enabling legislation for a fire district tax and excise taxes.

Excise taxes can come in MANY forms, and we’re not quite sure what Pollitt is looking for … other than more money to spend.  One thing is for sure – Rick seems to have finally admitted to himself that the revenue cap is here to stay.  Now he is looking for ways to get around it.

I have supported certain excise taxes on development.  Pollitt could also ask for a sales tax on restaurant meals.  As the saying goes – the devil is in the details.  Unfortunately we don’t have those details yet.  However, one thing is for sure … Rick Pollitt is looking for more ways to get more money to spend.

What makes this latest attempt particularly egregious is the fact that Pollitt refuses to restructure the county government.  Wicomico County government must learn to function in a post revenue cap age.  For four years Pollitt’s approach to governing has been to cut government expenditures (because he must operate under a balanced budget), but not re-structure so that he can grow government IF revenues rise.  While Pollitt has appointed a “blue ribbon panel” to advise him on this, there has been not report to date.  Perhaps an excise tax, or other form of tax, might be necessary.  Sadly, by pushing for more taxes before he has put forward a plan to restructure the county government, Rick again shows himself to be someone who is more concerned with spending than in spending wisely.

Did You Know The Old Firehouse Included WATERFRONT Property?

Gee, isn't it interesting how I personally confronted the Mayor and Council asking them IF the old Fire Station included the waterfront lots and they said NO. It's on the record, yet they scammed yet another deal with a FORMER City Council Member Palmer Gillis for $100,000.00, yet it was NEVER advertised as waterfront property and or with an additional two lots.

Mayor Ireton better start asking his Staff to go back and review that PAC14 disk because I'm telling you right here and now, my case is truly open and shut. NONE of the Press are talking about all of these things. That's OK because our local audience is larger than theirs anyway.

DELEGATE-ELECT MCDERMOTT TO SPEAK AT 17TH ANNUAL COLBURN BRUNCH

Salisbury, Maryland - Senator Richard F. Colburn (R-Mid Shore) announced today that Delegate-Elect Mike McDermott (R-Lower Shore) will speak at the Salisbury Holiday Inn (formally the Ramada Inn) on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at Colburn’s 17th Annual Brunch beginning at 11:00 A.M.

Senator Colburn stated “With the 2011 General Session set to begin in less than one month, Delegate-Elect McDermott and I plan to give a brief outlook of the issues facing the Maryland General Assembly in the 2011 Session.”

Delegate-Elect McDermott was recently elected to represent District 38B in the House of Delegates.  Mike is a career law enforcement officer having served for 30 years following his graduation from Wake Technical College in Raleigh, North Carolina with a degree in Criminal Justice. He is currently a Lieutenant with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office.  He believes in and practices open government and applies practical, conservative principles when addressing issues.

Seats are still seats available.  For more information about the brunch please call 410-924-0098. The cost of the fundraiser is $25.00 per person or five seats for $100.00.  All checks should be made payable to Citizens for Colburn Committee and mailed to: Citizens for Colburn Committee, 5210 Heron Road, Cambridge, MD 21613.  Reservations should be made by January 3rd.

Russia Decides To Search For Sodom And Gomorrah-- In Jordan

Russia and Jordan have signed an agreement to search the bottom of the Dead Sea for the remains of the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Arabic news media reported over the weekend. According to the report, a Russian company has agreed to conduct the search in cooperation with Jordanian authorities, picking up all costs – in exchange for exclusive rights to film a documentary of the search. The report quoted one of the Jordanian heads of the project, Zia Madani, as saying that the search would begin in late December.

The Russian company that was chosen as a partner for the search has special underwater exploration equipment that can stand up to the extreme salinity of the Dead Sea, the reports said.

Biblical archaeologists have several theories as to where the Sodom and its associated cities were located. According to the Torah, God overturned Sodom, Gomorrah, and three other cities because of their degeneration, sin and iniquity, turning a once fertile plain into a stark wasteland. Abraham, who prayed for the cities, was unable to prevent God from mandating their destruction.  Archaeologists and geologists have suggested that a major earthquake or meteor storm might have been the means by which it occurred. Research has centered on the area around the Dead Sea, and the modern city of Sodom, and nearby Mount Sodom, which is made almost completely of rock salt, is considered the most likely site of the ancient cities.

However, some archaeological evidence has emerged that indicates that the site could be on the east bank of the Dead Sea, with two sites in Jordan - Bab edh-Dhra, and Numeira, both considered viable candidates. The Jordanian-Russian search will center on Bab edh-Dhra, which also has several Christian monuments.

According to Madani, further evidence that the cities remains are located on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea came after recent NASA photographs of the area indicated that the bottom of the sea is littered with debris and objects not found in other bodies of water.                   

More from INN

Red Kettle Volunteer Charts

Thank you, for your continued support of the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign. To volunteer call the Salvation Army at 410-749-RING (7464)

Today's Survey Question

Do You Believe Mayor Ireton Will Serve His Full 4 Year Term?

NAACP Seemingly Abandons Tea Party Tracking Website

The NAACP hasn’t updated its teapartytracker.org  website since October 20, and hasn’t tweeted from its special TeaPartyTracker handle since August 30.

This might mean the NAACP has decided the Tea Party movement isn’t racist after all. When the NAACP launched the website, which was meant to monitor “racism and other forms of extremism within the Tea Party movement,” it said, “our hope is that this site remains empty—that the Tea Party’s initial steps toward monitoring extremism within their ranks bear fruit. But if not, the NAACP will be there, as we have for more than one hundred years, to expose racism where it exists, in whatever form it takes.”

Well, there haven’t been any updates to the site since mid-October, and the website’s main video, one from the misleading “journalistic” duo of New Left Media, has held its place at the top of the site since late August.

Since the NAACP said it will be there to “expose racism where it exists, in whatever form it takes,” when the organization is not producing that content, does that mean the NAACP is admitting there is no racism to be exposed, in any form, in the Tea Party?

The NAACP failed to respond to The Daily Caller’s request for comment or clarification.

Read more

California Teen Home Safe After Month In Shelters With Uncle

(CNN) -- A California man who spent a month on the run with his 15-year-old niece is now in a San Francisco jail, and the girl is back home with her parents, according to police and relatives.

Charles David Berlinghoff, 44, was caught this weekend, four weeks after the Shasta County Sheriff's office urged the public and law enforcement to be on the lookout for him. At that time, the police issued statements indicating his niece, Jean Marie Berlinghoff, was with him and "is believed to be endangered."

The girl, meanwhile, was reunited with her family at 8 a.m. Sunday, according to police. Her father called the meeting very emotional, full of hugs and tears.

"I was able to put my arms around her and hug her," Jake Berlinghoff told HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell on Monday. "Amazing is an understatement. I can't put to words how happy I was to see her again, and how happy her mom was to see her."

That feeling was the opposite of the parents' feelings in previous weeks, while their daughter's whereabouts and condition were unknown.

Charles Berlinghoff had been in and out of his extended family's life, even losing regular contact for a full decade, his brother told HLN..

In 1998, Charles Berlinghoff pleaded no-contest to one count of child molestation -- part of a deal in which three other child molesting counts were dropped, according to California court documents. But his brother said that the extended family didn't know about that sex offense, a charge that the judge in 2002 expunged from his record.

GO HERE to read more.

Who's Lying?

Have you noticed the latest sound bites coming from the punditry in the corporate mainstream media? Here is the latest wisdom flowing from the lying mouthpieces of the ruling oligarchy (Wall Street, Washington DC, Mega-corporations):

The economy is recovering and employment is growing.

Consumers are deleveraging, saving and using cash for purchases.

Retailers are doing fantastic as consumers increase spending.

These are the three themes being proclaimed simultaneously by the mainstream media. Every time I hear these themes proclaimed, I want to shout out like Joe Wilson – “YOU LIE!!!”

How can consumers be deleveraging, saving and increasing spending at the same time? Let’s examine the facts to see who is lying.

The fallacy that the economy is recovering and employment is growing can be put to rest by an examination of the BLS data accessed here: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/empsit.cpseea1.txt.

The number of Americans employed over the last few years is as follows:

• 2007 – 146.0 million
• 2008 – 145.5 million
• 2009 – 139.9 million
• 2010 – 138.9 million

It seems there are 7.1 million less employed people than there were three years ago. Contrary to the spin from the White House, there are 1 million less people employed today than during the horrific 2009 year. Luckily, another 6 million people left the work force, or we’d really have a problem. The truth is that if the government actually counted everyone in the country who wants a job, the unemployment rate is not 9.8%, but 23% and it continues to rise.

The economic recovery lie can be refuted by examining the data from the BEA located HERE and HERE.

The GDP of the US peaked at $14.5 trillion in the 3rd quarter of 2008. Today it stands at $14.8 trillion, two years later. GDP has gone up for one reason and one reason only – the Federal Government has borrowed trillions from future generations in order to artificially prop up a system already crumbling from the weight of too much debt. Highlights from the GDP calculation are:

• Private investment is $216 billion lower today than it was in the 3rd quarter of 2008.
• Exports are $80 billion lower today than they were in the 3rd quarter of 2008.

You may ask yourself how can GDP be higher if private businesses are investing less and exporting less. The answer of course is your friendly neighborhood Feds. The Federal government is spending $128 billion more today than it was in 2008. The last piece to the puzzle is the beloved consumer, who accounts for 70% of GDP. Good old Joe Sixpack has ramped up his spending by a good $470 billion since the 1st quarter of 2009. With this figure, we must be in a strong recovery. Larry Kudlow says so.

A little more digging on the BEA website reveals some interesting data:

• Personal income has risen by $300 billion since the 1st quarter of 2008.
• Strangely, private industry wages have DECLINED by $213 billion since the 1st quarter of 2008.

It seems that personal income has risen due to two major items. You will be glad to know that government wages have risen by $58 billion and drum roll please: government entitlement transfers have increased by $523 billion since the 1st quarter of 2008. The Federal government has borrowed hundreds of billions from future generations and paid it out in the form of unemployment benefits and other social programs so that consumers would spend it today. This is how you generate a positive GDP, without generating a real recovery. And, of course, if the government used an honest CPI rate, GDP would still be negative, just as it has been for most of the past decade.

The great consumer deleveraging lie has been ongoing for the last six months. The savings rate has “surged” from 4.8% in the 2nd quarter of 2008 to 5.8% today. The savings rate is calculated as what is left over when you subtract personal consumption expenditures from disposable personal income. The surge in saving is the result of the Federal government borrowing from the Chinese and handing it to consumers to spend. If the government wasn’t transferring these funds from future generations to current generations, the savings rate would be 1.2%.

Revolving consumer debt (credit cards) has declined by $173 billion in the last two years. This must mean that consumers are deleveraging.

Total consumer credit peaked at $13.9 trillion in the 1st quarter of 2008 and currently stands at $13.4 trillion. It sure looks like consumer deleveraging. Consumers must have paid off $500 billion of debt. But, the facts obliterate this fallacy. The Wall Street banks have written off in excess of $600 billion since the 1st quarter of 2008, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. This means that consumers are actually charging more on their credit cards than they were in 2008. Having your debt written off, rather than paying it off says much about the great economic recovery of 2010.

The false reports circulating on network news programs is that Americans are paying cash, rather than using credit cards. This is completely false, as both Visa and Mastercard reported increases in transaction volumes in their last quarters. Having worked for a big box retailer, I know that the average credit card transaction is 50% to 70% higher than the average cash transaction. If people were truly charging less, the average ticket at the major retailers would be plunging. Retail sales would be plunging. They are not plunging, as the major US retailers report decent comparable store sales in the 2% to 5% range.

The National Retail Federation has forecast November- December holiday sales will rise by 2.3 percent from a year ago, the most since 2006. A Bloomberg survey taken Dec. 2 to Dec. 8 showed economists raised projections for consumer purchases, the biggest part of the economy, to 2.6 percent for next year, up from their 2.3 percent estimate the prior month.

A little reality check about retail sales is in order. According to the US Census Bureau, total retail sales over the last few years are as follows:

• 2007 – $4.5 trillion
• 2008 – $4.4 trillion
• 2009 – $4.1 trillion
• 2010 – $4.4 trillion (estimated)

The fact is that there are thousands more retail outlets today than there were in 2007, and total sales are still below the level reached in 2007. Not only that, but even using the government manipulated CPI, inflation has risen 8% since 2007. On an inflation adjusted basis, 2007 retail sales in today’s dollars would be $4.9 trillion. Using the real inflation rate of 20% over this time frame would generate an inflation adjusted retail sales figure of $5.4 trillion. As you can see, the great retail recovery of 2010 is a sham. Comparable store sales increases of 3% are inflation adjusted decreases of 5%. If you drive around with your eyes open, you would think the hot new retailer in America is called SPACE AVAILABLE. 

I hate to be a wet blanket during this festive holiday season, but the truth is that there is no self sustaining recovery happening. The powers that be, with the help of their lackeys in the mainstream media are desperately trying to convince you that everything is alright. It is not alright. It is getting worse by the day. The only people spending are Lloyd Blankfein and his ilk, while middle class Americans sink further into despair and debt.

Who’s lying? You know.

Yahoo Expected To Cut 5 Percent Of Workforce

Yahoo is preparing to cut as many as 650 jobs, or almost 5 percent of its workforce, as early as

Tuesday, people familiar with the situation tell the Wall Street Journal.

The cuts are the latest effort by the struggling Internet media company to streamline operations 

and cut costs as it attempts a multiyear turnaround effort under Chief Executive Carol Bartz.

A spokeswoman for the Sunnyvale, Calif., company declined to comment.

GO HERE to read more.

The Worst-Selling Cars Of 2010

Informal survey shows Suzuki is pulling up the rear among automakers

After bottoming out in 2009, auto industry sales are slowly recovering. The U.S. will sell about 11.5 million cars and light trucks this year, up from 10.4 million in 2009. And the news only gets better: IHS Automotive forecasts sales of 12.8 million vehicles in 2011, and 17.1 million by 2015.

Total light vehicle sales are up 11.1% through November, with many brands beating the trend and gaining market share: Buick is up 53.5%, Cadillac is up 38%, Infiniti is up 26% and Ford, Hyundai and Jeep are each up 23%.

But while most carmakers are enjoying gains from last year's dismal sales levels, the bounce is not universal. Some models are just languishing on dealer lots, victims of outdated designs, lack of marketing support and intense competition.

GO HERE to read more.

Washington Post Cash-Cow Taking Advantage Of Veterans?

One of the most interesting battles in Washington, taking place mostly behind-the-scenes, involves The Washington Post, a long-time liberal paper backing Democratic Party policies, and a leading liberal Democratic senator.

Readers of the paper got a glimpse of the struggle on Dec. 10 on page 18 in a story headlined: “For-profit colleges get soaring amount of U.S. aid for military students.”

The article by Nick Anderson said: “The Washington Post Co. operates for-profit schools through its Kaplan subsidiary” and is among those getting huge sums of federal money supposedly to educate and find jobs for veterans.

What went unsaid is that Kaplan is the main money-maker of The Washington Post Company and keeps the money-losing Post newspaper afloat.

In other words, if it weren’t for Kaplan, the Post could go bankrupt.

Liberal Sen. Tom Harkin has been accusing the for-profit colleges of ripping off students, getting them hooked on federal loans for degrees that are mostly worthless and never land them good jobs. The result is that the colleges get paid but taxpayers pick up the bad loans, potentially costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Harkin is now focusing on the students who are veterans and getting educational money and loans through the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). His report found that:

Revenue from DoD educational programs at 18 for-profit education companies increased from $40 million in 2006 to an expected $175.1 million in 2010, a 337 percent increase.

Revenue from VA educational programs for the same 18 for-profit education companies increased from $26.3 million in 2006 to an expected $285.8 million for 2010, including a fivefold increase between 2009 and 2010.

In the ninth paragraph of the ten-paragraph Post story we read this: “On Thursday, a military veteran named Roger Betancourt joined Harkin on a conference call. Betancourt said a Kaplan University recruiter hounded him to enroll even though he was unsure about his eligibility for veterans’ aid. Betancourt said he wound up with $2,300 in debt and no benefits. ‘It’s been an overall bad experience,’ he said.”                                 There's more here

PAWLENTY: Government Unions Vs. Taxpayers

When Americans think of organized labor, they might think of images like I saw growing up in a blue-collar meatpacking town: hard hats, work boots, tough conditions and gritty jobs. While I didn't work in the slaughterhouses, I did become a union member when I worked at a grocery store to help put myself through school. I was grateful for the paycheck and proud of the work I did.

The rise of the labor movement in the early 20th century was a triumph for America's working class. In an era of deep economic anxiety, unions stood up for hard-working but vulnerable families, protecting them from physical and economic exploitation.

Much has changed. The majority of union members today no longer work in construction, manufacturing or "strong back" jobs. They work for government, which, thanks to President Obama, has become the only booming "industry" left in our economy. Since January 2008 the private sector has lost nearly eight million jobs while local, state and federal governments added 590,000.

Federal employees receive an average of $123,049 annually in pay and benefits, twice the average of the private sector. And across the country, at every level of government, the pattern is the same: Unionized public employees are making more money, receiving more generous benefits, and enjoying greater job security than the working families forced to pay for it with ever-higher taxes, deficits and debt.

How did this happen? Very quietly. The rise of government unions has been like a silent coup, an inside job engineered by self-interested politicians and fueled by campaign contributions.

Public employee unions contribute mightily to the campaigns of liberal politicians ($91 million in the midterm elections alone) who vote to increase government pay and workers. As more government employees join the unions and pay dues, the union bosses pour ever more money and energy into liberal campaigns. The result is that certain states are now approaching default. Decades of overpromising and fiscal malpractice by state and local officials have created unfunded public employee benefit liabilities of more than $3 trillion.                                

There's lots more here

A Comment Worthy Of A Post

It is the fleecing of America people. In May I purchased a warrenty/ protection planfor athletic shoes from Dick's. Sounded good, just like the clothing warrenty that Sears offers on childrens clothing. If the product has sole seperation, seam rips & seperation, fabric discoloration, broken fasteners, anyway you get the jist. So, my son's shoes are coming apart therefore I'm going to take them back to Dick's after all I have this protection. NOPE-I have to call an 800 number, put in a claim, pack up the shoes, send them in for some random person to determine if it is a "covered" claim then I will get my money back in the form of a Dicks gift card. In the meantime, I have to purchase yet another pair of shoes for my son to wear as I have sent his current pair away to be examined and MAYBE I will get my money back for the defective pair AND I asked the rep on the phone, if whomever determines that this is NOT covered, do I get my shoes back? He couldn't answer that. CRAZY!!! 

Half Of Teacher Pension Costs Would Shift To Counties Under Plan

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland counties would begin paying 50 percent of all teacher pension costs -- now paid for entirely by the state -- to the tune of $500 million in fiscal 2012 under a proposal the state's pension commission is reviewing this week.

The Washington suburbs, which house Maryland's largest school systems, would pick up 35 percent of the tab, according to figures provided by Maryland's Department of Legislative Services. Montgomery County would owe $99 million and Prince George's county would owe $71 million.

The rising cost of teacher pensions has been a scourge on the state's ailing pension system for years. The cost of teacher pensions has soared by 159 percent in the last eight years, while state revenues have grown by 39 percent.

In Maryland, local boards of education have the power to promise more expensive benefits, while the state is required to pick up the tab.

"Counties can decide to go for broke without taking any responsibility," commission member Barbara Hoffman said Monday.

Only Maryland and two other states, Texas and Kansas, pay for 100 percent of teacher pension costs.                   

Read more at the Washington Examiner

1.4 % Military Pay Raise Will Be Smallest Since 1962

There is no better sign of the ailing U.S. economy and the squeeze on federal spending than the 1.4 percent military pay raise for 2011 being proposed by the Obama administration.

It’s the smallest requested raise since 1993, when President Clinton unsuccessfully proposed a one-year government pay freeze. And if it is approved — and there are strong indications Congress could go along — it would be the smallest military raise since 1962.

Steve Strobridge of the Military Officers Association of America, a longtime advocate for bigger military raises, said that with all the wartime stress still being placed on the force, some troops might consider a 1.4 percent raise “a little insulting.”

He noted that for 11 years, military pay raises have been half a percentage point higher than average private-sector pay hikes under a bipartisan congressional initiative to close a perceived “pay gap” that peaked at 13.5 percent in 1999.

A 1.4 percent raise would be just enough to keep pace with the rising costs of goods and services, according to a Jan. 27 long-range federal budget outlook from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that projects a 1.6 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index this year.

That forecast is slightly good news for military retirees, who got no cost-of-living adjustment in retired pay for 2010 because the CPI actually declined during the economic crunch.

More from The Army Times here.

2011 Military Pay Chart here.