Found Dog In Berlin UPDATE

Mr. Albero,

I work for the Berlin Police Department in Worcester County.  Today, during my shift, a concerned citizen brought a dog to our station that had been running down the side of US Route 50.  The dog is obviously well cared for.  The dog  looked like a golden retriever / yellow lab mix, between 60 and 80 pounds, wearing a blue collar with no tag.  He was located in the area of US Route 50 and Main Street in Berlin.  I took the dog to the Worcester County Humane Society in West Ocean City, they have the dog and are waiting to see if anyone contacts them.  If you could just post a quick description of the dog and where he was located, that would be great.

Council Candidates

Joe,

Here’s what my internet search turned up…

From the Daily Times article…

“Dixon said the current council approaches spending in a way they feel is in the best interest of the city. As a volunteer member of the Salisbury Fire Department, Dixon points to the purchase of a new fireboat as a smart investment.

The fire department, he said, is a risk management organization that pursued the fireboat to address potential hazards along the Wicomico River.”

And…

Laura Mitchell, LCSW-C, Licensing Coordinator

(410) 767-7483

E-Mail: Lmitchel@dhr.state.md.us

For…

Alternatives For Youth & Families, Inc.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, Inc.

Challengers Independent Living, Inc.

Hearts and Homes for Youth, Inc.

STARTING OVER

Jumoke, Inc.

King Edwards’ Inc.

Martin Pollak Project, Inc.

Mentor Maryland, Inc. (formerly Family Advocacy Services)

Mosaic Community Services, Inc.

National Center for Children and Families, Inc. (Future Bound)

New Pathways, Inc.

(Will admit pregnant teenagers)

SECOND GENERATIONS

Transition Living Services, Inc.

(Will admit pregnant teenagers)

Umbrella Therapeutic Services, Inc.

Wellington Incorporated (Kindness House)

Helping you spend your tax money…..

And we heard Muir Boda’s platform last time around and voted him down.

Pay attention, Folks!

Orsonwells

Today's Survey Question

How Will You Celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday Today?

Going, Going, Gone!

Two going and one gone. I watched the on line edition of the Daily Times just to see how the citizens would react to Gary Comegys and Louise Smith's decision to step down and not run for re-election. I even went so far as posted a comment on the DT's but as expected the comment was removed. No, there was no cursing. However, the article drew only 5 or 6 comments and most were not favorable towards Gary. From what I saw on the Louise Smith article, no one seemed to care because no one was commenting.

It looks like the old Tilghman Administration has finally seen its last days. All the advantages are pretty much dried up and like an exiting President, the Council did their friends final favors and will now part their ways, leaving those greedy ones in charge of putting their own Dream Team together to retake the City Council in the future.

It's unfortunate we have to live in such a selfish society where people need to use each other for financial gain, instead of earning it. However, somewhere along the line this is how American politics has become. However, there are ways to fix such problems that politicians have left behind.

A perfect example of a good thing is Volunteer Fire Departments. The Eastern Shore used to be loaded with so many fine men and women who were community oriented. America should follow their lead and start running America the same way the Volunteers would run their business. Follow me for a minute.

Let's look at Linen's of the Week property. Heck, let's even throw in "The Bricks." Since these properties have been taken off the tax roll and are now a part of the list of City owned properties, how about we ask those communities to step forward, create a volunteer group who believe in these project and get them to start fundraising to help support such projects within their communities. Now, fair needs to be fair. That mans that ANY community that traditionally expected their government to step in and fund projects in ANY neighborhood, it needs to be done by fundraising and NOT out of the taxpayers pockets. If the community REALLY wants it, they will support it and maintain it.

Oh, some might say that some communities would then get more than others. This is true. However, this is also America. If you WANT the finer things in life, WORK FOR IT AND EARN IT. No one is stopping anyone from advancing themselves and moving up to a better neighborhood. It happens all the time in Police Departments, (for example). When you work for a municipal police department your more than likely to get less pay. When you get a few years under your belt and you prove to be a good cop, you apply elsewhere and move up.

If you get Big Brother out of the way, guess what, your taxes DECREASE! This is one way we can take back America and our communities. Go back to the basics. I have always felt this way about the Zoo, (as another example). Why burden everyone for something only a select group enjoy.  Let people take pride once again by getting involved in projects that are meaningful to them and leave Big Brother and our tax dollars out of it.

Lord knows the three above did enough damage. Now let's see what the new Candidates have to offer as their solutions.

SALISBURY: YOU NEED – AND WE WILL PRESENT – INFO ABOUT THE CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

The election scam episode of four years ago (yes, I mean Louise Smith) has made crystal clear why we cannot again allow someone to pull the wool over our eyes with a spiel that sounds good but does not reflect their attitude or personal agenda. This time we are going to reveal as much as possible that seems significant about each candidate, starting with their promotional literature as a free “infomercial.”

Eventually we hope to provide a detailed profile about each one, including their response to questions we are compiling. Our questions won’t be the mindless mush that the mainstream media puts to candidates – such as “goals,” “biggest problems,” etc. We want answers to specific questions about significant matters; here’s an example:

1. If you were living in Salisbury in the first half of 2007 did you support or did you oppose the double digit property tax increase that Barrie Tilghman demanded to balance the budget that she presented that year?

2. If you opposed that tax increase, did you sign the petition to require that the city charter amendment be put to a referendum of the City voters and help to circulate that petition to obtain signatures? And if you did not do so, please explain why.

And, of course, we will want to know whether a candidate supported some of the boneheaded moves that the City has made in recent years, such as those sweetheart “TIF” deals with developers, new firehouse, “the Bricks.” the new fireboat, Linens of the Week, etc. If they opposed something, we want to know whether they contacted the Mayor or Council members about it if they did not speak in opposition at a Council meeting.

As an example of the initial “infomercial” we are presenting literature that has been issued by Laura Mitchell and a link to her website. Please note that post is not intended to signify that we support her as a candidate.

**********************************************

PS to candidates: submit your material – literature, press releases, etc. -- to alberobutzo@wmconnect.com

Plain text can be in either .doc or .jpg format; graphics in jpg format only (nothing in pdf format will be posted). We reserve the right to limit the material that is posted and will not post screen shots of your website or anything else.

Obama's Push For China Currency Changes Could Cost U.S. Consumers

When President Obama meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao this week, one of the top items on the agenda will be resolving a dispute over how China sets the value of its currency. If Obama gets his way, it could spur U.S. exports, but it could also mean higher prices for American consumers.

For over a decade, China has held down the value of its currency, the Yuan, in relation to the dollar. That helps keep the cost of the goods Americans buy from China low and the price of American goods sold in China high. The cheap Chinese currency has helped open a wide trade imbalance between the two countries. In 2010, China’s trade advantage with the U.S. was more than $252 billion.

The Obama administration has made stopping China’s currency manipulation a central focus of the president’s push to increase American exports.

“China still closely manages the level of its exchange rate and restricts the ability of capital to move in and out of the country,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said is a speech last week. “As the [International Monetary Fund] has said consistently, these policies have the effect of keeping the Chinese currency substantially undervalued.”

On the surface, it’s a positive for American consumers. Nearly every product-- from candy to electronics to bicycles – is cheaper in the United States if it’s imported from China.

GO HERE to read more.

New GOP Lawmakers Want Action On China Currency

WASHINGTON -- Chinese President Hu Jintao's high-profile visit to Washington this week comes as newly elected Republican lawmakers are itching to act against what they see as an undervalued Chinese currency that is costing American jobs.

But they could run into resistance from their own party. In fact, Congress may be less likely to pass legislation on the issue than it had been last year, when both chambers were under Democratic Party control. A bill to give U.S. companies a means of challenging what they view as an unfair export subsidy sailed through the House of Representatives then, but died in the Senate.

The new House speaker, Rep. John Boehner, voted against the bill. Rep. Dave Camp, now chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee that would screen any such legislation, voted in favor, but has appeared unenthusiastic about focusing strictly on currency while ignoring trade barriers and other issues. Without the support of such senior Republicans, the bill may never reach the House floor for a vote.

GO HERE to read more.

Hu: Dollar Is 'The Past,' Yuan Is Today

Ahead of his visit to Washington this week, China's president calls the present U.S. dollar-dominated currency system a 'product of the past' and highlights moves to turn the yuan into a global currency.

GO HERE to read more.

Smoking At Towson University Will Cost You $75

TOWSON, Md, - Lighting up a smoke on the campus of Towson University can earn you a $75 fine.

Towson, Maryland' second-largest public university, is one of the first universities in the region to order a campuswide ban on smoking, The Washington Post reports.
 
Similar bans are gaining support on campuses across the country.
 
Some schools are trying to balance the rights of smokers and nonsmokers.
 
The Universities of Maryland and Virginia both allow campus smoking, but away from building entrances, windows and air ducts.

Source

The Stimlus Package

It is a slow day in the small Saskatchewan town of Pumphandle and streets are deserted.

Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.

A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.

As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op.

The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her services" on credit.

The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.

The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.

No one produced anything.

No one earned anything...

However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a "stimulus package" works.

The Fed, Housing and Stocks: The Chimera Of Middle Class Assets

The Fed, Housing and Stocks: The Chimera of Middle Class Assets
On the surface, the Fed's $2 trillion-dollar campaign to prop up housing and equities may look beneficial to (what's left of) the middle class. But that is more perception than reality.

The primary driver of Fed policy is of course rescuing and enriching the too-big-to-fail banks. But the politically viable cover is "saving" what's left of Middle Class assets: housing and stocks. This chart from David Rosenberg's recent column on the Wily E. Coyote economy on Zero Hedge tells an important story: by propping up housing and stocks, the Fed is providing political cover for the status quo by seemingly acting to preserve what's left of the Baby Boom's middle class assets, which are still concentrated in housing and stocks.

Of the 26% of assets in "other," i.e. pensions and life insurance, much of those underlying assets are in bonds and equities--so the middle class wealth is probably roughly 20% in bonds, 33% in equities (stocks, emerging-market mutual funds, etc.) and 26.5% in real estate (those Boomers who still own some equity).

But beneath the surface of these "middle class" assets lurks highly concentrated wealth. As we can see here, the vast majority of "middle class" wealth is concentrated in the top 15% of the "middle class"--the tranch beneath the top 5% which owns the bulk of the nation's financial and real estate assets.

GO HERE to read more.

The Financial Times Vindicates BoomBustBlog’s Stance On Goldman Sachs – Once Again!

I read this headline from the Financial Times and said to myself, “Okay Reg, Don’t say ‘I told you so’”. Thus, you won’t hear it from me, at least not this time. As reported today in the Financial Times: Goldman reveals fresh crisis losses and Goldman’s republished results present a new picture

Goldman Sachs has revealed details of about $5bn in investment losses suffered during the crisis for the first time this week, in a move that will deepen the debate over companies’ financial disclosures. The figures, issued as part of internal reforms aimed at silencing Goldman’s critics, show that the bank suffered $13.5bn in losses from “investing and lending” with its own funds in 2008. But Goldman’s regulatory filings and its executives’ comments to investors at the time pointed to about $8.5bn of losses arising from its investments in debt and equity, as markets were rocked by the turmoil.

Hmmmm! I walked through this in explicit detail in “When the Patina Fades… The Rise and Fall of Goldman Sachs???“ and I did it without being privvy to Goldman’s financial innards. It was more or less common damn sense. Goldman and its employees do not walk on water, they do not shit gold, and they cannot perform miracles. If one takes an objective approach to their equity analysis, and simple plug the numbers into a spreadsheet (objectively) you would have come up with the exact same conclusions that I gave my subscribers all of these years. Let’s reminisce, shall we?

GO HERE to read more.

MEET LAURA MITCHELL – CANDIDATE FOR SALISBURY’S CITY COUNCIL

The following literature has been issued by Ms. Mitchell, whose campaign website my be accessed at www.LauraMitchell.org

State Puts housing department's Crownsville Headquarters Up For Sale

The sale of the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Crownsville headquarters is being advertised online, and the deadline has been set for developers to voice their interest in building a new main office for the department near a Prince George’s County transit station to create more transit-oriented development. Bids are due Feb. 1 to purchase the current housing department headquarters at 100 Community Place, Crownsville. The same deadline applies to the requests for information to build a replacement headquarters in Prince George’s County.

Continue Reading...

New Mexico’s Governor Plans To Revoke Licenses Issued To Illegal Aliens

New Mexico’s newly elected Gov. Susana Martinez has come out swinging with a budget proposal that would cut spending and close the budget deficit without raising taxes or making cuts to classroom spending or health care for New Mexico’s most vulnerable.

Martinez also stated one of her first priorities is to revoke driver licenses issued to illegal aliens, pointing out since Arizona passed SB 1070, illegal aliens have been pouring in to New Mexico, which does not require proof of citizenship to obtain licenses.

Former Gov. Bill Richardson, an open borders advocate, further exacerbated the problem by banning Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) clerks from asking applicants if they were legally present.

New Mexico and a smattering of a few other states, which allow illegal aliens to obtain driver licenses, have become Meccas for human smugglers and those in the fraudulent ID business.

More here

House Panel Wants Homeland Security Documents

A House committee has asked the Homeland Security Department to provide documents about an agency policy that required political appointees to review many Freedom of Information Act requests, according to a letter obtained Sunday by The Associated Press.

The letter to Homeland Security was sent late Friday by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It represents an early move by House Republicans who have vowed to launch numerous probes of President Barack Obama's administration, ranging from its implementation of the new health care law to rules curbing air pollution to spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Associated Press reported in July that for at least a year, Homeland Security had sidetracked hundreds of requests for federal records to top political advisers to the department's secretary, Janet Napolitano. The political appointees wanted information about those requesting the materials, and in some cases the release of documents considered politically sensitive was delayed, according to numerous e-mails that were obtained by the AP.

The Freedom of Information Act is supposed to ensure the quick public release of requested government documents without political consideration. Obama has said his administration would emphasize openness in providing requested federal records.

According to Issa's letter, Homeland Security's chief privacy officer and FOIA official told committee staff in September that political appointees were simply made aware of "significant and potentially controversial requests."
More

GOP Leaders: Anti-immigration Stance Hurts Party

Republican speakers at a conference on reaching Hispanic voters urged the party to tone down its rhetoric on immigration and to take up comprehensive reform in Congress, warning that the party could lose ground with the country's increasingly diverse citizenry if it doesn't.

"(Hispanics) will be the swing voters as they are today in the swing states. If you want to elect a center-right president of the United States, it seems to me you should be concerned about places like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Texas, places where but for the Hispanic vote, elections are won and lost," said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who co-chaired the conference organized by the new Hispanic Leadership Network.

But those gathered at the South Florida conference seemed split over whether the GOP's lack of Hispanic support is simply because of the party's tone, or if there's a more substantive problem with the GOP's policies.

"If you think it's about tone, you have missed the point," independent columnist Ruben Navarette told the audience of more than 300 at the Biltmore Hotel in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables. Other speakers blamed a liberal bias in the media and a few extreme voices in the party.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, the Florida Republican who retired from Congress this year and has long championed immigration reform, suggested Republicans need to work their tone and message.

"The decibels have to be lower," he said. "It doesn't' matter how good are policy positions are, if we are perceived as being anti-immigrant, we cannot be the majority party."

Read more here

Salisbury Getting Tagged With Graffiti Again

In a brief tour around Salisbury this weekend I was able to collect the above images of graffiti. I also noticed several buildings with fresh paint over areas in which they had been tagged, so there's a lot more graffiti still going on that we were not aware of. Boy, I sure do hope we're not going to fall back into the mode we were in a few years ago. Folks, keep your eyes open and if you see suspicious activity call it into the police immediately.

The Town I Loved So Well

There was one thing I enjoyed hearing from Louise Smith's speech last week where she claimed she would spend one day a week traveling to different neighborhoods and taking notes of all the problems/violations she'd see along the way. Unfortunately, it would appear that Louise Smith was blind.

As you will see in the next Post, (above) that there's a whole lot more going on in which nothing is being done by those elected officials and or those employed within the City to make sure we taxpayers are protected.

As many of you saw a week ago, or so, my building Downtown was tagged and I took it very seriously. I made contact with Sparkle Wash immediately and the graffiti was removed immediately. I know there's been legislation passed to enforce fines for those who do not comply with such laws but the City, well, they seem to have their own set of rules for blight.

While Louise Smith made it sound like she was doing her job, well, you take a look yourself and decide. Do tell me why laws are created and put in place, yet they aren't enforced. Its time for some new leadership. Its time for representatives who want action and not speeches.

Herman Cain: Blacks Finally Hearing Truth About GOP

African-American voters are finally getting the facts about the Republican Party and beginning to turn away from their traditional pattern of voting for Democrats, Atlanta talk radio host Herman Cain tells Newsmax.TV. The former CEO said talk radio has been key to this transformation and that is why liberals are seeking to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine.

“I’ve had a lot of people tell me, and they would call my show and volunteer information as to the fact they were black, they were American and they were starting to see the light,” Cain said. “You see when people have the right information they will make the right decision. This is one of the reasons that the liberals continue to want to try to promote this unfair Fairness Doctrine.”

Cain, an African-American who recently formed a presidential campaign exploratory committee, said that liberals do not want blacks and minorities to know the truth about the Democratic Party or to know the truth about the Republican Party.

“Now that people are listening to talk radio and they’re getting the right facts about what the Republican Party stands for more and more people are beginning to vote Republican and align themselves with Republican values,” he said.

Read more

Camden, NJ Braces For Deep Police, Fire Cuts

Yet another crisis is upon this burdened city, among the most impoverished and crime-ridden in the country.

Deep layoffs of city workers go into effect on Tuesday - cutting up to 383 jobs, or one-fourth of the city's employees.

The exact number depends on whether public workers' unions make last-minute concessions. In any case, the cuts are likely to be deep - and could be a blow to the quality of life in a city where more than half the 80,000 residents, mostly black and Hispanic, live in poverty.

Worst case, the layoffs could slash half the police force and one-third of the fire department for this city just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. Practically every other job in the city is likely to be affected.

"The fear quotient has been raised," said the Rev. Heyward Wiggins, pastor of Camden Bible Tabernacle in a rough neighborhood on the city's north side, who constantly hears from his congregants about the layoffs.

His Fellowship Choir of adults from their 20s to their 50s, used to practice on Thursday or Friday evenings. Now, Wiggins said, he's moving rehearsals to Sunday after worship services because members are afraid of being out after dark when the police force is cut.

Camden, rampant with open drug-dealing, prostitution and related crimes, was the nation's second-most-dangerous city based on 2009 data, according to CQ Press, which compiles such rankings. Camden ranked first the previous two years. The FBI said that in 2009, the city had 2,380 violent crimes per 100,000 residents - more than five times the national average.

Police Chief Scott Thomson has not made details of the cuts public, but has said the department will be reconfigured so that patrols won't be reduced. Other police agencies, such as the county sheriff's office, have agreed to help in the city.

A police union, meanwhile, took out a full page advertisement last week in the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill, warning that Camden would become a "living hell" if layoffs were not averted. Unions have been meeting with city officials, but no job-saving deals have been announced so far.

More here

Maine Governor Tells NAACP To 'Kiss My Butt'

Maine’s governor on Friday told a major African American organization to “kiss my butt” after the group complained he wasn’t taking part in Martin Luther King Day events next week.

Paul LePage, a newly elected Republican, is facing criticism from the NAACP for turning down invitations to events marking the MLK holiday on Monday.

“Tell them to kiss my butt,” the governor, who’s been in office two weeks, said in a local TV interview.

The NAACP said earlier this week that LePage had rejected invitations to attend its events while campaigning and since taking office earlier this month.

“We don’t want to misinterpret his intention, but the message we’re getting is that we’re not welcome and we’re not part of the Maine he’s preparing to lead for the next four years,” said Rachel Talbot Ross, state director of the NAACP and president of the NAACP Portland Branch, the Kennebec Journal reported.

LePage said he doesn’t cater to special interest groups and considers the NAACP to be one.

“They are a special interest - end of story,” he said. “And I’m not going to be held hostage by any special interests.”

He insisted that his decision to skip the MLK Day events had nothing to do with race.

LePage said he’s simply too busy to attend.

Read more

Christie Says Congress Shouldn’t ‘Paper Over’ State Deficits

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie urged Republicans in Congress not to “paper over” the problems facing deficit-wracked U.S. states with an additional round of stimulus spending.

Christie, a Republican entering his second year in office, said he has asked federal lawmakers not to approve additional money. Christie said states must cope with the expiration next year of funding under the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

“It’s time to make some tough decisions,” he said today in an interview on Fox News. “It’s time for us to belly up to the bar and make the tough decisions.”

Christie’s comments come as 40 states have projected deficits that may reach $140 billion in the 2012 fiscal year, according to a December report from the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contained $140 billion to help states cope with the recession, the group said.

Christie has warned of cuts to New Jersey’s Medicaid program as it faces a $1.4 billion deficit due to the loss of $900 million from the federal government and the requirement to maintain services at levels mandated by the U.S.

Here is more

Army Mulls Women In Combat Arms Units

The Army is studying whether to open combat arms units to female Soldiers, the Army's top officer said Jan. 6.
"We're looking at revising the policy," Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told a breakfast gathering of the Association of the U.S. Army in Arlington, Va. "We've had some work going on for a while, and that'll double back up to the secretary, I would think, in the next couple of months."
Women are currently barred from infantry, armor and Special Forces branches, Casey said. He did not say whether the Army is considering opening up all three areas to women, but he did say the study looked at the possibility of women in infantry

While female Soldiers have engaged in combat, they have done so as members of combat support units -- transportation, maintenance and military police -- not infantry. This was highlighted early in the invasion of Iraq when a convoy of the 507th Maintenance Battalion came under attack.
Three of those wounded and taken prisoner by Iraqi forces were women: Pfcs. Jessica Lynch and Lori Piestewa, and Spc. Shoshona Johnson. Piestewa died of her wounds while a prisoner; Lynch was rescued in a controversial, reportedly staged-for-the-camera mission; and Johnson was subsequently rescued along with other members of her unit.

More from Military.com

Fiscal Conservatism Is Alive And Well In Delaware

Despite what you may have heard from Christine O’Donnell, fiscal conservatism is alive and well in Delaware. Thursday, we had a special election (due to Chris Coons’ Senate election in November) for president of the New Castle County Council, and Tom Kovach, the winner, is a Republican who ran on a platform of accountability and tough fiscal responsibility.

Kovach’s win is especially sweet as he got 57% of the vote against a high-ranking union official in a county with over 94,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. The lesson here is that a credible candidate whose solid fiscal conservative policies also address local concerns (combined with a robust get-out-the-vote effort) can carry the day.

This election matters because New Castle County (locally known as NCCo) has 60% of Delaware’s population, and is home to the state’s major business operations, such as DuPont and Astra Zeneca. Over the past few years, NCCo also experienced the closing of two major auto plants (Saturn and Chrysler), but a strong union presence remains.

Last November, Coons trounced O’Donnell by 66,000 votes in NCCo, overwhelming her modest gains in the much less-populated lower two counties, Kent and Sussex. Back then, voter distaste for O’Donnell caused a lot of collateral damage for down-ticket Republicans, including Kovach, who lost his seat in the state legislature. Fortunately, he didn’t let that defeat stop him from making the most of a special election opportunity.

Kovach employed a few simple themes — bringing accountability to county government, controlling spending, and not raising taxes. He successfully painted his opponent (a longtime council member) as a latecomer to the need for sunlight on the council’s business, especially when it involves real estate deals. It helped that Kovach’s opponent was hand-picked by the Democratic politician and NCCo county executive Paul Clark, who seems to be a bit ethically challenged in that area. Just last month, the NCCo ethics commission rebuked Clark for not recusing himself on a real estate matter involving a client of his wife’s law firm, which represents a developer.

More help came when Kovach’s opponent claimed the dubious achievement of nobody on the council having gone to jail during his six-year tenure.

Read more at the Daily Caller

Israel Tested Stuxnet Worm With US Cooperation, Says NY Times

Israel, with cooperation from the United States, reconstructed Iran’s centrifuges in Dimona, where it tested the Stuxnet worm that has set back Iran’s nuclear program at least five years, The New York Times reported Sunday. The wildly successful virus attack has virtually achieved the same time delay as those envisioned by various scenarios of military attacks.

The clandestine operation at the nuclear center in southern Israel began at least two years ago and has severely affected Iran’s uranium enrichment program far more than previously reported, the article stated, based on various sources from Israel, the United States and Britain.

One American intelligence expert told the Times, “To check out the worm, you have to know the machines. The reason the worm has been effective is that the Israelis tried it out.” Then-President George W. Bush gave the go-ahead for US-Israel cooperation for the project in 2008, sources said.

Israel apparently obtained the centrifuges used in uranium-enriching plants in Iran and successfully tested the Stuxnet virus. The worm is the most advanced Cybernet weapon ever known. It not only knocked Iran’s spinning centrifuges out of control, it also arranged that the computer feedback to engineers showed that everything was running as normal.

The success of the lethal worm appears to be far greater than previously estimated. "Israeli officials grin widely when asked about its effects,” the Times reported.

More from INN

The American Dream Triumphs Over Polarization With Rise Of Conservative Minorities

The 2010 midterm elections resulted in the victories of more conservative minority candidates than ever before. We have much to celebrate.

The American Dream consists of the notion that anyone — regardless of their origin or ethnicity — can rise to the highest levels of wealth and power. Yet, in practice, in the American political system, minorities and women have generally accepted the notion that they need legal and financial assistance — some kind of leveling of the playing field — to pursue the American Dream. Hence, our politics has been polarized: the majority of blacks, Hispanics and women have voted, by and large, for Democrats, whereas whites have swung among the two parties.

Lt. Col. Allen West of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina became the first Republican blacks elected in the South since Reconstruction. Moreover, they will be the only black conservatives in Congress since Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts resigned his seat in 2003. Both Mr. Scott and Mr. West were joined by a record-number of black conservatives seeking office: 40 in the primaries, out of which 15 candidates participated in the general election. It will be almost impossible to argue that a black conservative is an “Uncle Tom” in light of this number of black conservatives seeking office.

The most venomous tirades against conservative values have come from race-peddlers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton. The election of conservative blacks will act as an antidote. Both Mr. Scott and Mr. West stand as an example that it is possible to be black and to be conservative — and to be embraced by the electorate. How “inherently racist” is America if we elect blacks as our leaders? How “inherently racist” are conservative values if these values are championed by blacks, too?

The 2010 midterm elections were therefore one of the most consequential elections of the last few decades. I would argue it is even more important than the election of the nation’s first black president in 2008. For at last, we can detect the beginning of a new era wherein American politics — and one day our political parties — will not be divided according to race and gender, but exclusively according to the issues. At last, the message that the next generation will receive — in stark and visible fashion — is that one can indeed embrace conservative values and still be a model for one’s ethnic heritage, as well as all Americans. The phrase “black conservative” is as important in overcoming the legacy of slavery as was “black and proud” in the 1970s.

Read the rest here

Feds Threaten To Sue States Over Union Laws

The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah over constitutional amendments guaranteeing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections.

The agency's acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, said the amendments conflict with federal law, which gives employers the option of recognizing a union if a majority of workers sign cards that support unionizing.

The amendments, approved Nov. 2, have taken effect in South Dakota and Utah, and will do so soon in Arizona and South Carolina.

Business and anti-union groups sought the amendments, arguing that such secrecy is necessary to protect workers against union intimidation. They are concerned that Congress might enact legislation requiring employers to allow the "card check" process for forming unions instead of secret ballot elections.

In letters to the attorney general of each state, Solomon says the amendments are pre-empted by the supremacy clause of the Constitution because they conflict with employee rights laid out in the National Labor Relations Act. That clause says that when state and federal laws are at odds, federal law prevails.

Solomon is asking the attorneys general in South Dakota and Utah for official statements agreeing that their amendments are unconstitutional "to conserve state and federal resources."

In his letter to South Carolina's attorney general, Solomon asks the state to take measures that would prevent the Legislature from ratifying the amendment. Solomon requested that Arizona's governor decline to make the amendment official.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he believes the state is on solid ground. He plans to coordinate a response with the other three states.

"If they want to bring a lawsuit, then bring it," Shurtleff said. "We believe that a secret ballot is as fundamental a right as any American has had since the beginning of this country. We want to protect the constitutional rights of our citizens."

More here

O'Malley To 'Lure Investors' For Md. Wind Industry

Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to introduce legislation this week that requires big utilities such as Pepco and Baltimore Gas & Electric to buy wind power under long-term contracts. The legislation is aimed at luring investors into the state's budding wind energy industry by locking in long-term demand and price stability for the renewable power source, according to O'Malley spokesman Shaun Adamec.

"This will ensure that when Maryland is ready to invest -- to essentially develop a new industry -- that that industry has the backing of the utilities and public financing to make sure it is attractive to investors," Adamec said.

The Obama administration is developing an offshore wind farm with 300 turbines off the coast of Ocean City. The government opened Maryland's shore to the project in November.

Roughly 300 spinning turbines could power about 30 percent of Maryland's energy needs, according to the O'Malley administration. O'Malley says the wind farm, which spans 206-square-miles of the Atlantic, would employ 4,000 temporary manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as 800 permanent positions.

Eight companies, including two headquartered in Maryland, applied for commercial leases to develop the wind farm. The deadline to apply was Jan. 10.

A rough draft of O'Malley's wind energy legislation does not include any requirements that utilities buy their wind energy from Maryland sources, Adamec said. He emphasized that the bill's language has not been finalized.

Read more at the Washington Examiner

[How many of those 'temporary manufacturing' jobs will be in China? --Editor]

Ties Getting Tighter In Men's Shirts

WASHINGTON -- Most guys appreciate the kindness of a stranger who notices a hint of necktie peeking out beneath a collar, and tugs it a bit while saying "let me get that."
 
Such benevolence is in demand these days, as menswear designers have decided collars should be shorter and narrower.
 
Men still trying to wear the ties they wore under their 1980s power suits are out of luck.
 
A traditional Oxford button-down's collar generally measures about 3.5 inches. Some collars today are as small as 1 inch.
 
Fashion directors tell The Wall Street Journal collars are shrinking to match the silhouette of skinnier suits.
In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy often wore thin collars.

GO HERE to read more.

Sony Closes CD Factory In NJ, 300 Lose Jobs

Three hundred people in New Jersey are losing their jobs, and it's all our fault. Enough consumers prefer to buy digital downloads (when we buy music at all) that Sony is closing down their Pitman, NJ CD factory at the end of March.

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Banks To Start Paying Dividends For First Time In 3 Years

After a 3-year hiatus, banks, plumped up by big profits thanks to a dizzying array of federal aid programs, are ready to stay paying dividends again to investors. Before they can be restored, the government will conduct a round of secret "stress tests" to evaluate the banks' financial health. If all goes well, individual investors who had seen their dividends slashed to pennies, could start once again supping from the income stream.

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Ex-Credit Card Thief Recommends Making Up Fake Answers To Security Questions

In an interview, a former credit card thief talks about some of the scams he used to run on unwary consumers. It's got some good takeaways for protecting yourself, like the one where you make up fake answers to security questions. With all the info that can be found online now some of these security questions aren't that hard to figure out. So instead of putting down the real answer to "What's your mother's maiden name?" put down "unicorn princess."

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Now Banks Are Also Walking Away From Foreclosures, Just Leaving Them To Rot

It's not just underwater homeowners just flat out walking away from their houses. Now some mortgage servicers, having decided certain properties would be too expensive to try to foreclose, secure, maintain and market, are just abandoning the properties entirely, to let nature, and whatever else, take its course.

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School On MLK Day? Blame The Snow

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

School districts in North Carolina and Georgia are under fire for their decision to make up snow days on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

States Will Soon Have To Start Paying Interest On Their Massive Unemployment Borrowing

Sometimes it's time to pay the piper. And sometimes that piper is the federal government. And sometimes the piper wants more than $1 billion. Soon.

Because of the high jobless rate and past fiscal irresponsibility, 30 states have collectively had to borrow more than $40 billion from the federal government just to keep unemployment insurance checks in the mail. A provision in the stimulus bill made those loans interest-free for an extended grace period.

But no more. Efforts to include an extension of the grace period in Obama's tax cut extension enacted at the end of last year failed, and the first batch of 14 states will have to start paying interest before the end of this year. Given that state budgets need to be hammered out in advance, that means state legislatures will soon face tough choices as they come back in session.

The amounts due range from California and Michigan, which each face payments of more than $300 million dollars, to Kansas, which will owe about $6 million. (Fun fact: That's $2 for every Kansan.) And because of federal rules, states can't use unemployment insurance taxes to make interest payments, which means cash-strapped states will have to take that money from their general budgets, so there will be less money for roads, schools and other priorities.

Because of a historical compromise, each state operates its own unemployment insurance fund with wide latitude to set tax rates and benefits. While some states were careful to save up and build a cushion of reserves in good years, others got themselves into this mess by maintaining dangerously low levels of reserves for years before the Great Recession hit. (How is your state doing? Check out our Unemployment Insurance Tracker [1].)

The bill is coming due at a particularly bad time for state legislatures, which already face an $82 billion shortfall for 2012, said Arturo Perez, a fiscal analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

That budget crunch is the largest and deepest fiscal crisis states have faced since the end of the great depression, Perez said.

GO HERE to read more.

Justice Department Defends The Defense Of Marriage Act

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion Thursday to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that the definition of marriage between a man and a woman in the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Noting that President Obama thinks the law should be axed, Talking Points Memo reported that the DOJ has a policy of defending federal statutes that it considers to have reasonable arguments to support their constitutionality, even if the current administration disagrees with the statute itself. Obama has recently stated that his views on gay marriage were “evolving” and he may reconsider his opposition to it.

Source

New Gun Control Legislation Unlikely, And More …

New Gun Control Legislation Unlikely

Lawmakers are gloomy about the prospects of passing significant gun control legislation in a culture that has long been accepting of guns, reported The New York Times. A flurry of bills to create no-gun zones around members of Congress, ban big-volume magazines like that used by the Tucson gunman and step up background checks are being drafted, and the National Rifle Association has lain low since Saturday’s shooting. But even these measures have stirred up significant opposition. Rep. Peter King (R-New York), who is behind the proposal to ban firearms within 1,000 feet of members of Congress, has received “100 calls an hour from people who think I am trying to take away their Second Amendment rights,” he said.

Source

The Fed Has Spoken: No Bailout For Main Street

The Federal Reserve was set up by bankers, for bankers, and it has served them well. Out of the blue, the Fed came up with $12.3 trillion in nearly interest-free credit to bail the banks out of a credit crunch they created. That same credit crisis has plunged state and local governments into insolvency, but the Fed has now delivered its ultimatum: there will be no "quantitative easing" for municipal governments.

On January 7, according to The Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the Fed had ruled out a central bank bailout of state and local governments. "We have no expectation or intention to get involved in state and local finance," he said in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee. The states "should not expect loans from the Fed."

So much for the proposal of President Barack Obama, reported in Reuters a year ago, to have the Fed buy municipal bonds to cut the heavy borrowing costs of cash-strapped cities and states.

GO HERE to read more.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Events

WASHINGTON -- The legacy of civil rights leader and activist Martin Luther King, Jr. lives on due to his unwaivering dedication and sense of service.

Americans have honored King's societal contributions on this day, to coincide with his birthday, since 1986, when Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law.
 
Check out WTOP's list of service opportunities and events:
Film Viewing: 'King: A Filmed Record - Montgomery to Memphis'
(AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; 10 a.m.; Free)
 
A documentary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with narration and commentary from Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Clarence Williams III and others.
 
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, Md. 20910.
 
Marchers and Ballou H.S. Marching Band Parade
(Gather outside of the United Black Fund Office at Martin Luther King Jr Avenue and Howard Road SE; 10 a.m.; Free)

GO HERE to view much more.