President Obama decides not to release any photos of Usama bin Laden's death, citing concerns it would threaten national security interests.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
'Superman' Actor Jackie Cooper Dies At 88
Former child star 'just kinda died of old age,' attorney says
LOS ANGELES — Actor Jackie Cooper, the former child star who enjoyed renewed fame years later as Daily Planet editor Perry White in the Christopher Reeve "Superman" movies, has died near Los Angeles, his attorney said on Wednesday. He was 88.
Cooper died on Tuesday at a convalescent home in the coastal city of Santa Monica. "He just kinda died of old age," attorney Roger Licht told Reuters. "He wore out."
He rose to fame as a prominent cast member of Hal Roach's "Our Gang" short comedy films, appearing in such notable releases as "Teacher's Pet" and "Love Business."
Fruitland Police Department Press Release
DATE & TIME: May 1, 2011 @ 8:38 p.m.
INCIDENT: Possession of CDS
LOCATION: N. Fruitland Blvd. & Clyde Avenue Fruitland, Maryland
CASE NO.: 2011-468
INCIDENT: Possession of CDS
LOCATION: N. Fruitland Blvd. & Clyde Avenue Fruitland, Maryland
CASE NO.: 2011-468
PERSON CHARGED: KAREN MERCADEZE BLANCO
AGE: 29
ADDRESS: BRONX, NEW YORK
PERSON CHARGED: CINDY LEE ALVES
AGE: 26
ADDRESS: ELMONT, NEW YORK
PERSON CHARGED: TERION ASHANI WILLIAMS
AGE: 24
ADDRESS: BRONX, NEW YORK
CHARGES:
POSSESSION OF CDS – MARIJUANA
POSSESSION W/INTENT TO USE PARAPHERNALIA
POSSESSION W/ INTENT TO USE PARAPHERNALIA
DISPOSITION: Remanded to custody of Central Booking, WCDC
Resume:
On the above time, date and location, Fruitland officers conducted a traffic stop on a Mitsubishi Galant which displayed a single operating headlight.
Observation by the officers revealed the presence of loose tobacco throughout the vehicle and a K9 unit was contacted to respond for a scan. The K9-scan resulted in a positive alert and a search was conducted of the vehicle. CDS and CDS paraphernalia was located within the vehicle and the above named subjects were susequently charged.
Salisbury Police Department Press Releases
On May 2, 2011 at approximately 4:38 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to a residence on the thirteen hundred (1300) block of Aspen Drive for the report of a domestic assault. Upon arrival the officers met with an adult female victim who advised that she and the below listed suspect had been involved in a domestic argument. During the argument, the suspect struck the victim in the left eye with a closed fist. The suspect was taken into custody without incident. The victim did not require medical treatment.
ARRESTED: Joseph Vincent Price, 39 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Second degree assault
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100016789
On May 3, 2011 at approximately 7:30 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the Walmart Department Store on North Salisbury Boulevard for the report of a shoplifter. Upon arrival, the officers met with store security who advised that store employees had observed the below listed suspect take clothing from the store without attempting to make payment. The clothing was recovered and returned to the store.
ARRESTED: Kim Michel Deyunn, 28 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Theft (under $ 1,000)
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100016975
On May 3, 2011 at approximately 9:00 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police were received a call to respond to the Walmart Department Store on North Salisbury Boulevard for the report of a shoplifter. Upon arrival the officers met with store security who advised that store employees had observed the below listed suspect take clothing from the store without making any attempts at payment. The property was recovered and returned to the store.
ARRESTED: William Michael Morris, 19 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Theft (under $ 100)
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100016982
ARRESTED: Joseph Vincent Price, 39 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Second degree assault
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100016789
On May 3, 2011 at approximately 7:30 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the Walmart Department Store on North Salisbury Boulevard for the report of a shoplifter. Upon arrival, the officers met with store security who advised that store employees had observed the below listed suspect take clothing from the store without attempting to make payment. The clothing was recovered and returned to the store.
ARRESTED: Kim Michel Deyunn, 28 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Theft (under $ 1,000)
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100016975
On May 3, 2011 at approximately 9:00 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police were received a call to respond to the Walmart Department Store on North Salisbury Boulevard for the report of a shoplifter. Upon arrival the officers met with store security who advised that store employees had observed the below listed suspect take clothing from the store without making any attempts at payment. The property was recovered and returned to the store.
ARRESTED: William Michael Morris, 19 years of age Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Theft (under $ 100)
DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100016982
WCSO Press Releases
Incident: CDS Possession with the Intent to Distribute
Date of Incident: 29 April 2011
Location: Jersey Road, Salisbury, MD
Suspects:
1. Dontrell D. White, 22, Salisbury, MD
2. Latonya J. Thompson, 34, Salisbury, MD
3. Deandre T. Ames, 20, Salisbury, MD
4. Samuel C. Russ, 21, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 29 April 2011 at 10:10 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office attempted to pull over a vehicle for speeding on Jersey Road in Salisbury. Prior to the vehicle stopping, the deputy observed that a clear plastic baggie was thrown from the vehicle by a passenger. After this item was discarded from the vehicle, the operator pulled to the side of the road. Upon approaching the operator, identified as Samuel Russ, the deputy discovered that Russ was operating the vehicle on a Learner’s Permit only. While the deputy spoke with the occupants about the stop and what was seen thrown from the vehicle, another deputy recovered the thrown item, a baggie of what was determined to be crack cocaine. The crack cocaine was in an amount that was indicative it was intended for distribution.
The deputy arrested the driver, Russ and his three passengers. A search of the vehicle revealed an additional baggie that held marijuana.
All four were transported to the Central Booking Unit where they were processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance the four were detained by the Commissioner in the Detention Center on the following bonds:
Dontrell White: $100,000.00\
Latonya J. Thompson - $25,000.00
Deandre T. Ames - $25,000.00
Samuel C. Russ - $25,000.00
Charges: Possession of CDS with the Intent to Distribute
Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: Rt. 50 Bypass at Jersey Road, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: Dana L. Chamberlin, 32, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 1:17 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle on Rt. 50 for erratic driving. Upon approach to the vehicle, the driver and passenger, Dana Chamberlin appeared overly nervous about being in the presence of a law enforcement officer. A drug K9 team arrived to scan the vehicle which resulted in a positive alert for the presence of the odor of illegal drugs. A search of the vehicle revealed a crack cocaine smoking device where Chamberlin had been sitting. An examination of the device revealed the remnants of crack cocaine.
The Delmar Police Drug K9 Team assisted with this incident.
Chamberlin was arrested and transported to the Central Booking Unit where she was processed and brought before the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner held her in the Detention Center in lieu of $25,000.00 bond.
Charges: Possession of CDS
Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: 1. Juvenile Female, 14 YOA, Berlin, MD
2. Juvenile Male, 16 YOA, Snow Hill, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 8:13 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate an assault complaint at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Upon arrival, the deputy learned that two juveniles became embroiled in a verbal altercation that turned into a mutual physical altercation between the pair.
Both juveniles were charged on a Juvenile Referral that will be sent to the Department of Juvenile Services for adjudication.
Charges: Assault 2nd
Date of Incident: 1 May 2011
Location: 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: Pending
Narrative: On 1 May 2011 at 2:19 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate a theft that occurred in the parking lot of the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Investigation revealed that an unknown suspect broke out a passenger side window of a vehicle and took a GPS device, DVD’s and a Playstation 3 from inside the vehicle.
At this time the Sheriff’s Office in actively investigating this case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office at 410-548-4891 or Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776.
Please refer to case 11-1702
Charges: Pending
Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: Pending
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 1:00 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office investigated the theft of a wallet from inside a vehicle that was parked at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. During the ensuing investigation, the deputy learned that the credit cards contained in the wallet were used at local businesses in Salisbury immediately following the theft.
The investigation into this theft and the subsequent use of the credit cards is continuing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office at 410-548-4891 or Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776.
Refer to case 11-1696
Charges: Pending
Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: S/B Salisbury Blvd. at College Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspect: Entienne NMN Saintfleur, 32, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 2:30 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle for speeding and erratic driving on Salisbury Boulevard in Salisbury. Upon approach to the vehicle operated by Entienne Saintfleur, the deputy detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from within the passenger compartment. Upon stepping from the vehicle, Saintfleur stumbled and swayed while following the deputy’s instructions. After a battery of Field Sobriety Tests, the deputy concluded that Saintfleur was operating his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Post arrest, Saintfleur was transported to the Maryland State Police barrack where a breath test confirmed that conclusion.
Saintfleur was released upon signing his citations.
Charges: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: 20000 block of Jackson Road, Fruitland, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 11:00 PM, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Central 911 that they had a distraught caller on the line who claimed that he was armed with a handgun. Based on the information received, deputies responded to the residence and placed themselves in safe positions where they could observe both the residence and the caller. Communication was facilitated between the subject and the Sheriff’s Office via Central 911 and he ultimately came to the rear door and made contact with the deputies. No one was injured in this incident and the responding deputies were able to render the assistance needed to the subject.
Releasing Authority: 1st SGT Tim Robinson
Date: 3 May 2011
Date of Incident: 1 May 2011
Location: 4000 block of Skylar Drive, Eden, MD
Suspects: Charles R. Tingle, 55, Eden, MD
Narrative: On 1 May 2011 at 9:17 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate an altercation inside a residence in the 4000 block of Skylar Drive in Eden. Upon arrival, the deputy met with a female subject who told the deputy that her boyfriend became enraged while watching the hockey game because his favorite team was losing. The female advised that Tingle began throwing furniture around the house and one of the chairs struck her causing injuries, which were visible to the deputy.
The deputy attempted to enter the residence to contact Tingle but he locked the door and began yelling expletives at the deputy. Once provided with a key, the deputy entered and located Tingle in a rear bedroom, brandishing a knife. After Tingle refused multiple demands to drop the weapon and instead cursed at the deputy, the deputy took action to make Tingle compliant and subsequently took him into custody.
During the arrest the deputy became contaminated with bodily fluids from Tingle and was subsequently treated at PRMC.
Tingle was detained by the District Court Commissioner in the Detention Center in lieu of $25,000.00 bond.
Charges: Assault 2nd Degree
Resisting Arrest
Date of Incident: 29 April 2011
Location: Jersey Road, Salisbury, MD
Suspects:
1. Dontrell D. White, 22, Salisbury, MD
2. Latonya J. Thompson, 34, Salisbury, MD
3. Deandre T. Ames, 20, Salisbury, MD
4. Samuel C. Russ, 21, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 29 April 2011 at 10:10 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office attempted to pull over a vehicle for speeding on Jersey Road in Salisbury. Prior to the vehicle stopping, the deputy observed that a clear plastic baggie was thrown from the vehicle by a passenger. After this item was discarded from the vehicle, the operator pulled to the side of the road. Upon approaching the operator, identified as Samuel Russ, the deputy discovered that Russ was operating the vehicle on a Learner’s Permit only. While the deputy spoke with the occupants about the stop and what was seen thrown from the vehicle, another deputy recovered the thrown item, a baggie of what was determined to be crack cocaine. The crack cocaine was in an amount that was indicative it was intended for distribution.
The deputy arrested the driver, Russ and his three passengers. A search of the vehicle revealed an additional baggie that held marijuana.
All four were transported to the Central Booking Unit where they were processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance the four were detained by the Commissioner in the Detention Center on the following bonds:
Dontrell White: $100,000.00\
Latonya J. Thompson - $25,000.00
Deandre T. Ames - $25,000.00
Samuel C. Russ - $25,000.00
Charges: Possession of CDS with the Intent to Distribute
****************************************************
Incident: CDS Possession Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: Rt. 50 Bypass at Jersey Road, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: Dana L. Chamberlin, 32, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 1:17 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle on Rt. 50 for erratic driving. Upon approach to the vehicle, the driver and passenger, Dana Chamberlin appeared overly nervous about being in the presence of a law enforcement officer. A drug K9 team arrived to scan the vehicle which resulted in a positive alert for the presence of the odor of illegal drugs. A search of the vehicle revealed a crack cocaine smoking device where Chamberlin had been sitting. An examination of the device revealed the remnants of crack cocaine.
The Delmar Police Drug K9 Team assisted with this incident.
Chamberlin was arrested and transported to the Central Booking Unit where she was processed and brought before the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner held her in the Detention Center in lieu of $25,000.00 bond.
Charges: Possession of CDS
****************************************************
Incident: Assault Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: 1. Juvenile Female, 14 YOA, Berlin, MD
2. Juvenile Male, 16 YOA, Snow Hill, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 8:13 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate an assault complaint at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Upon arrival, the deputy learned that two juveniles became embroiled in a verbal altercation that turned into a mutual physical altercation between the pair.
Both juveniles were charged on a Juvenile Referral that will be sent to the Department of Juvenile Services for adjudication.
Charges: Assault 2nd
****************************************************
Incident: Theft Investigation Date of Incident: 1 May 2011
Location: 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: Pending
Narrative: On 1 May 2011 at 2:19 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate a theft that occurred in the parking lot of the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Investigation revealed that an unknown suspect broke out a passenger side window of a vehicle and took a GPS device, DVD’s and a Playstation 3 from inside the vehicle.
At this time the Sheriff’s Office in actively investigating this case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office at 410-548-4891 or Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776.
Please refer to case 11-1702
Charges: Pending
****************************************************
Incident: Theft Investigation Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: 500 Glen Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspects: Pending
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 1:00 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office investigated the theft of a wallet from inside a vehicle that was parked at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. During the ensuing investigation, the deputy learned that the credit cards contained in the wallet were used at local businesses in Salisbury immediately following the theft.
The investigation into this theft and the subsequent use of the credit cards is continuing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office at 410-548-4891 or Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776.
Refer to case 11-1696
Charges: Pending
****************************************************
Incident: DUI Arrest Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: S/B Salisbury Blvd. at College Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspect: Entienne NMN Saintfleur, 32, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 2:30 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle for speeding and erratic driving on Salisbury Boulevard in Salisbury. Upon approach to the vehicle operated by Entienne Saintfleur, the deputy detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from within the passenger compartment. Upon stepping from the vehicle, Saintfleur stumbled and swayed while following the deputy’s instructions. After a battery of Field Sobriety Tests, the deputy concluded that Saintfleur was operating his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Post arrest, Saintfleur was transported to the Maryland State Police barrack where a breath test confirmed that conclusion.
Saintfleur was released upon signing his citations.
Charges: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
****************************************************
Incident: Check Welfare Date of Incident: 30 April 2011
Location: 20000 block of Jackson Road, Fruitland, MD
Narrative: On 30 April 2011 at 11:00 PM, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Central 911 that they had a distraught caller on the line who claimed that he was armed with a handgun. Based on the information received, deputies responded to the residence and placed themselves in safe positions where they could observe both the residence and the caller. Communication was facilitated between the subject and the Sheriff’s Office via Central 911 and he ultimately came to the rear door and made contact with the deputies. No one was injured in this incident and the responding deputies were able to render the assistance needed to the subject.
Releasing Authority: 1st SGT Tim Robinson
Date: 3 May 2011
****************************************************
Incident: Assault on a Deputy Date of Incident: 1 May 2011
Location: 4000 block of Skylar Drive, Eden, MD
Suspects: Charles R. Tingle, 55, Eden, MD
Narrative: On 1 May 2011 at 9:17 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate an altercation inside a residence in the 4000 block of Skylar Drive in Eden. Upon arrival, the deputy met with a female subject who told the deputy that her boyfriend became enraged while watching the hockey game because his favorite team was losing. The female advised that Tingle began throwing furniture around the house and one of the chairs struck her causing injuries, which were visible to the deputy.
The deputy attempted to enter the residence to contact Tingle but he locked the door and began yelling expletives at the deputy. Once provided with a key, the deputy entered and located Tingle in a rear bedroom, brandishing a knife. After Tingle refused multiple demands to drop the weapon and instead cursed at the deputy, the deputy took action to make Tingle compliant and subsequently took him into custody.
During the arrest the deputy became contaminated with bodily fluids from Tingle and was subsequently treated at PRMC.
Tingle was detained by the District Court Commissioner in the Detention Center in lieu of $25,000.00 bond.
Charges: Assault 2nd Degree
Resisting Arrest
GOVERNOR MARTIN O'MALLEY TO ADDRESS MARYLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 3, 2011) – TODAY, Governor Martin O'Malley will address Maryland business leaders at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Membership Meeting and Business Hall of Fame Awards Dinner.
The Governor will discuss economic development and transportation priorities. The Annual Meeting is the Maryland Chamber’s largest networking event of the year. Attendees will also honor the achievements of three outstanding business leaders as they are inducted into the Maryland Business Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees are R. Neal Black, President & CEO of JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc.; Thomas S. Bozzuto, Chairman & CEO of The Bozzuto Group; and Maurice B. Tosé, Chairman, President & CEO of TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.
MARYLAND RECOGNIZED BY HARVARD UNIVERSITY AS A NATIONAL LEADER IN GOVERNMENT INNOVATION
The Maryland Energy Administration’s ‘Generating Clean Horizons’ initiative to compete for the Kennedy School of Government’s ‘Innovations in American Government’ Award
ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 4, 2011) – Governor O’Malley today announced that Maryland has been recognized by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University for developing one of the most innovative public sector programs in the nation. The announcement comes as the Kennedy School names the top twenty-five innovations in government, representing the best in creative problem solving of local, state, and federal municipalities around the country, as part of the competition for the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award.
“In times when governments must do more with less, Maryland is leading by example: using its increasingly limited resources to make the right choices and investments in the future,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “By investing in smart, creative solutions like Generating Clean Horizons, Maryland is creating jobs through innovation and making real progress towards our goal of generating twenty-percent of our state’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2022.”
The Generating Clean Horizons initiative was launched in 2008 in an effort to ‘kick-start’ utility-scale clean power generation in Maryland. The initiative, which is administered by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) in partnership with the Department of General Services (DGS) and the University of Maryland Systems (UMDS), was designed to leverage the State of Maryland’s purchasing power by offering twenty-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) to developers of new, renewable energy facilities. The state solicited proposals from developers of renewable energy technologies (biomass, solar and wind), ultimately signing agreements with two commercial scale onshore wind farms and one of the nation’s largest solar farms. As a result, the Generating Clean Horizons program has spurred the creation of 78 MW of new renewable energy generation – enough to power nearly 20,000 average Maryland homes per year – while also creating new 'green' jobs and saving Maryland millions of dollars each year in energy costs.
The Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Innovations in American Government Award was created in 1985 by the Ford Foundation in response to widespread pessimism and distrust in government’s effectiveness. In the time since, Maryland governments have been honored with the award four times, most recently in 2004 for the City of Baltimore’s CitiStat program: a data-driven management tool developed by then-Mayor Martin O’Malley to encourage personal accountability and focus attention on results. The CitiStat program serves as the model for Maryland’s innovative StateStat program, and has been studied and emulated by countless jurisdictions from around the globe.
In addition to receiving recognition as one of the most innovative governmental programs in the nation, the Generating Clean Horizons initiative served as the model for the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2011, which sought to leverage long-term PPAs to kick-start offshore wind development in the waters off of Maryland’s Atlantic coast. The resulting offshore wind development is expected generate much needed clean, renewable energy, create new ‘green’ jobs, and promote long-term price stability. The Obama Administration and the US Defense Department are also evaluating the initiative as a way to promote offshore wind to enhance national energy security and economic competitiveness.
“I’m proud that Maryland has, yet again, been recognized as a national leader in government innovation,” said Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration. “We know that to compete in this global economy, innovation is key. Despite fiscal constraints, we will continue to find ways to accelerate our progress towards a clean energy future.”
Today’s announcement by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government marks the end of the second round of the Innovations Awards cycle, in which the nation’s top twenty-five most innovative programs are selected from a pool of more than 500 qualified applicants. The winner of the Award, along with five finalists, will be announced this fall. The winner is eligible to receive a grant of $100,000, and each finalist receives a $10,000 grant.
For more information, visit the Maryland Energy Administration.
Today’s National Research Council Report On The Chesapeake Bay
Today the National Research Council of the National Academies issued a report “Achieving Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: An Evaluation of Program Strategies and Implementation.” In response, Environment Maryland Policy Advocate Tommy Landers issued this response:
“Today’s report is an important reminder that Maryland needs to carefully track our Chesapeake Bay cleanup actions, and that we need to get ahead of the curve in meeting our water quality goals. The report notes that many of our current measures are ‘low-hanging fruit,’ like cover crops and treatment plant upgrades. Very soon, we need to start implementing more innovative approaches.
“One of the most important things Gov. O’Malley can do is to reduce the amount of manure applied to farm land. Decades of over-application of manure have left many of our lands saturated with phosphorus, a key pollutant in the bay. The problem stems from a flawed test farmers use to determine when to apply manure, the so-called Phosphorus Site Index.
“Gov. O’Malley should prohibit manure application on soils that are already full of pollution. That would make him a leader in the Chesapeake Bay region in addressing one of the biggest, but least accounted for, impacts of industrial animal agriculture on our waterways.
“The report says that throughout the watershed ‘current accounting [of cleanup practices] cannot on the whole be viewed as accurate.’ A clear example of that is Maryland’s nutrient management plan for farmers. The program is a step above many other states. But more important than simply having a plan is first, ensuring those plans are strong enough to protect water quality and second, making sure farmers actually stick to them.”
Mid Day SBYNews
Shorebirds Pitcher Arrested Last Night For A DUI.
It has been reported that one of the Shorebirds pitchers was arrested at Brew River last night for driving under the influence of alcohol. We were told there was some kind of motor vehicle accident involved as well.
Lankford Sysco to lay off employees.
It has also been reported that Lankford Sysco will lay off some of its employees due to the economy.
OCEAN CITY POLICE INVESTIGATING MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
The Ocean City Police Department is currently investigating the theft of a box trailer
containing two Harley Davidson motorcycles and one Iron Horse motorcycle. On May 2,
2011, Ocean City Police responded to the area of 409 Baltimore Avenue in reference to a report of a motor vehicle theft. The trailer and motorcycles, which were stolen between 1 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on May 2, 2011 in the Tidelands auxiliary parking lot on the west side of Baltimore Avenue, were taken by an unknown suspect.
The trailer, which is 16 feet long, is painted black. “S.R. Bressler” is painted on the side of
the trailer in white cursive lettering with “Welding and Fabrication” also painted on the
side in black and orange lettering. The wheels of the trailer are described to have tandem wheels on each side.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Ocean City
Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 410-723-6604. Anonymous tips may
also be made via email to ocpd@oceancitymd.gov.
A Letter To The Editor
Elected Official Doesn't Care what the Constitution Says?
|
GOP Begins To Unravel Unfunded Medicaid Mandates To States
House GOP conference vice chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State, Georgia Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey, and Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch introduced legislation on Tuesday that they say will remove “onerous” Medicaid funding requirements for the states.
They say Medicaid spending “ties the hands of states,” consuming, according to a fiscal survey of the states, an average of 22 percent of state budgets.
The bipartisan National Governors Association says that governors nationwide aren’t asking for a bailout fix from the Treasury Department. “In fact, we encourage the federal government to follow the lead of states and make the tough decisions necessary to get its fiscal house in order,” the NGA said. “Federal fiscal stability is critical to the long-term strength of states and the country.”
Hatch, McMorris Rodgers and Gingrey expect the proposal to get broad bipartisan support. “If they [Democrats] care for their citizens and they care for their budgets, they’re going to be with us on this,” Hatch told reporters at a Tuesday press conference. “This is not a partisan bill.”
The sponsors already have significant Republican support for the bill in both the House and Senate. At the press conference, House Energy and Commerce chairman Rep. Fred Upton, Wyoming Sen. John Barasso, House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander joined in introducing the legislation and have each signed on as co-sponsors.
“The federal government has literally said the states have to spend money the states don’t have,” Alexander said at the Tuesday press conference. “The end result of that? They have to find it somewhere else.”
Here is more
They say Medicaid spending “ties the hands of states,” consuming, according to a fiscal survey of the states, an average of 22 percent of state budgets.
The bipartisan National Governors Association says that governors nationwide aren’t asking for a bailout fix from the Treasury Department. “In fact, we encourage the federal government to follow the lead of states and make the tough decisions necessary to get its fiscal house in order,” the NGA said. “Federal fiscal stability is critical to the long-term strength of states and the country.”
Hatch, McMorris Rodgers and Gingrey expect the proposal to get broad bipartisan support. “If they [Democrats] care for their citizens and they care for their budgets, they’re going to be with us on this,” Hatch told reporters at a Tuesday press conference. “This is not a partisan bill.”
The sponsors already have significant Republican support for the bill in both the House and Senate. At the press conference, House Energy and Commerce chairman Rep. Fred Upton, Wyoming Sen. John Barasso, House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander joined in introducing the legislation and have each signed on as co-sponsors.
“The federal government has literally said the states have to spend money the states don’t have,” Alexander said at the Tuesday press conference. “The end result of that? They have to find it somewhere else.”
Here is more
51% See Free Market As Better Way To Reduce Health Care Costs
While support for repeal of the national health care law has fallen to its lowest level yet, most voters still believe free market competition rather than more government is the better way to reduce the cost of health care in America.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely Voters say free market competition between insurance companies will do more to bring down health care costs than more government regulation. Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree and feel increased government regulation is the better way to go. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Still, the number of voters who favor free market competition is down 15 points from late October 2009, when two-out-of-three voters (66%) felt that way.
Republican Congressman Paul Ryan's long-term budget-cutting plan features a radical reworking of Medicare that includes the creation of health insurance exchanges that he contends would drive down prices due to free market competition. But opposition to Ryan's budget plan is growing.
Rasmussen
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely Voters say free market competition between insurance companies will do more to bring down health care costs than more government regulation. Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree and feel increased government regulation is the better way to go. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Still, the number of voters who favor free market competition is down 15 points from late October 2009, when two-out-of-three voters (66%) felt that way.
Republican Congressman Paul Ryan's long-term budget-cutting plan features a radical reworking of Medicare that includes the creation of health insurance exchanges that he contends would drive down prices due to free market competition. But opposition to Ryan's budget plan is growing.
Rasmussen
Avoiding Double Standards On Osama Bin Laden
Former IDF chief of staff and foreign minister Shaul Mofaz has some advice for the United States, now that international al Qaeda terror chief Osama Bin Laden is dead.
Following Bin Laden's assassination last weekend by U.S. special forces in Pakistan, Mofaz has suggested the U.S. refrain in future from criticizing Israel for taking similar action.
Mofaz, currently head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, added he would like to see targeted killings used more often.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the U.S. for its determined war on terror, calling the successful operation a “resounding victory for justice.”
In the past, U.S. leaders and international heads of state have frequently criticized Israel when it has eliminated terrorists responsible for major attacks against its citizens.
One of the most recent examples of such criticism came after the January 2010 targeted killing of senior Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, one of the group's founders and its top weapons buyer.
Israel was vilified by numerous countries around the world for the killing, although its foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, has neither confirmed nor denied any connection with the operation. More
Following Bin Laden's assassination last weekend by U.S. special forces in Pakistan, Mofaz has suggested the U.S. refrain in future from criticizing Israel for taking similar action.
Mofaz, currently head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, added he would like to see targeted killings used more often.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the U.S. for its determined war on terror, calling the successful operation a “resounding victory for justice.”
In the past, U.S. leaders and international heads of state have frequently criticized Israel when it has eliminated terrorists responsible for major attacks against its citizens.
One of the most recent examples of such criticism came after the January 2010 targeted killing of senior Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, one of the group's founders and its top weapons buyer.
Israel was vilified by numerous countries around the world for the killing, although its foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, has neither confirmed nor denied any connection with the operation. More
Safe Kids Day Is This Saturday!
Safe Kids Day this Saturday, May 7th from 12:30 - 3 p.m. at the Mid Shore YMCA in Salisbury.
The event is free, and fun for the whole family. Meet Safety Pup, Sunguard Man, Sunshine the Clown, the Comedy Princess and more!
USPS Reduction
The Postal Service is moving past voluntary buyouts and preparing managers for firings. Reduction-in-force notices have already gone out to administrative employees likely to be affected. This month specific employees will find out whether their job will be eliminated. Some may keep their jobs, but at lower ranks. In March, USPS offered $25,000 buyout incentives, but only 2,000 non-union employees signed up. USPS's goal is to eliminate 7,500 jobs.
White House Lies About California Newspaper Request?
A small weekly paper in California claims that a White House official asked it to remove a sentence from a “benign” feature about Marine One because it reflected poorly on first lady Michelle Obama.
In an email to The Daily Caller, Gina Channell-Allen, president of the Pleasanton Weekly in Pleasanton, California, said that her paper “received a call from the White House asking us to take out part of the story because it reflected poorly on the First Lady.”
The story in question was a soft feature about Marine One titled, “Inside Marine One, President Obama’s Helicopter,” that ran in the paper on April 20.
Pleasanton staffer Amory Gutierrez “didn’t get to ride in ‘Marine One,’” she wrote in her story, “but I did get the VIP tour and took photographs of the otherwise unseen aircraft.”
She also wrote a sentence that the White House thought made FLOTUS look snooty.
“Basically the reporter said that the First Lady didn’t speak to the pilots but acknowledged them by making eye contact,” Allen wrote in her email.
Allen says she “complied” with the White House’s request “because it was not worth making a fuss over.”
UPDATE: Katie McCormick Lelyveld, FLOTUS’ press secretary, wrote the following in an email: “Our office has never interacted with the Pleasanton paper, and not knowing the story existed, we never asked for such a line to be removed.”
Daily Caller
In an email to The Daily Caller, Gina Channell-Allen, president of the Pleasanton Weekly in Pleasanton, California, said that her paper “received a call from the White House asking us to take out part of the story because it reflected poorly on the First Lady.”
The story in question was a soft feature about Marine One titled, “Inside Marine One, President Obama’s Helicopter,” that ran in the paper on April 20.
Pleasanton staffer Amory Gutierrez “didn’t get to ride in ‘Marine One,’” she wrote in her story, “but I did get the VIP tour and took photographs of the otherwise unseen aircraft.”
She also wrote a sentence that the White House thought made FLOTUS look snooty.
“Basically the reporter said that the First Lady didn’t speak to the pilots but acknowledged them by making eye contact,” Allen wrote in her email.
Allen says she “complied” with the White House’s request “because it was not worth making a fuss over.”
UPDATE: Katie McCormick Lelyveld, FLOTUS’ press secretary, wrote the following in an email: “Our office has never interacted with the Pleasanton paper, and not knowing the story existed, we never asked for such a line to be removed.”
Daily Caller
Sowell: Fed Up With The Fed?
When people in Washington start creating fancy new phrases, instead of using plain English, you know they are doing something they don't want us to understand.
It was an act of war when we started bombing Libya. But the administration chose to call it "kinetic military action." When the Federal Reserve System started creating hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air, they called it "quantitative easing" of the money supply.
When that didn't work, they created more money and called it "quantitative easing 2" or "QE2," instead of saying: "We are going to print more dollars-- and hope it works this time." But there is already plenty of money sitting around idle in banks and businesses.
The policies of this administration make it risky to lend money, with Washington politicians coming up with one reason after another why borrowers shouldn't have to pay it back when it is due, or perhaps not pay it all back at all. That's called "loan modification" or various other fancy names for welching on debts. Is it surprising that lenders have become reluctant to lend?
Private businesses have amassed record amounts of cash, which they could use to hire more people-- if this administration were not generating vast amounts of uncertainty about what the costs are going to be for ObamaCare, among other unpredictable employer costs, from a government heedless or hostile toward business.
As a result, it is often cheaper or less risky for employers to work the existing employees overtime, or to hire temporary workers, who are not eligible for employee benefits. But lack of money is not the problem.
Those who are true believers in the old-time Keynesian economic religion will always say that the only reason creating more money hasn't worked is because there has not yet been enough money created. To them, if QE2 hasn't worked, then we need QE3. And if that doesn't work, then we will need QE4, etc.
Like most of the mistakes being made in Washington today, this dogmatic faith in government spending is something that has been tried before-- and failed before.
Henry Morgenthau, Secretary of the Treasury under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, said confidentially to fellow Democrats in 1939: "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work."
As for the Federal Reserve today, a headline in the Wall Street Journal of April 25th said, "Fed Searches for Next Step."
That is a big part of the problem. It is not politically possible for either the Federal Reserve or the Obama administration to leave the economy alone and let it recover on its own.
Both are under pressure to "do something." If one thing doesn't work, then they have to try something else. And if that doesn't work, they have to come up with yet another gimmick.
All this constant experimentation by the government makes it more risky for investors to invest or employers to employ, when neither of them knows when the government's rules of the game are going to change again. Whatever the merits or demerits of particular government policies, the uncertainty that such ever- changing policies generate can paralyze an economy today, just as it did back in the days of FDR.
More here
It was an act of war when we started bombing Libya. But the administration chose to call it "kinetic military action." When the Federal Reserve System started creating hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air, they called it "quantitative easing" of the money supply.
When that didn't work, they created more money and called it "quantitative easing 2" or "QE2," instead of saying: "We are going to print more dollars-- and hope it works this time." But there is already plenty of money sitting around idle in banks and businesses.
The policies of this administration make it risky to lend money, with Washington politicians coming up with one reason after another why borrowers shouldn't have to pay it back when it is due, or perhaps not pay it all back at all. That's called "loan modification" or various other fancy names for welching on debts. Is it surprising that lenders have become reluctant to lend?
Private businesses have amassed record amounts of cash, which they could use to hire more people-- if this administration were not generating vast amounts of uncertainty about what the costs are going to be for ObamaCare, among other unpredictable employer costs, from a government heedless or hostile toward business.
As a result, it is often cheaper or less risky for employers to work the existing employees overtime, or to hire temporary workers, who are not eligible for employee benefits. But lack of money is not the problem.
Those who are true believers in the old-time Keynesian economic religion will always say that the only reason creating more money hasn't worked is because there has not yet been enough money created. To them, if QE2 hasn't worked, then we need QE3. And if that doesn't work, then we will need QE4, etc.
Like most of the mistakes being made in Washington today, this dogmatic faith in government spending is something that has been tried before-- and failed before.
Henry Morgenthau, Secretary of the Treasury under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, said confidentially to fellow Democrats in 1939: "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work."
As for the Federal Reserve today, a headline in the Wall Street Journal of April 25th said, "Fed Searches for Next Step."
That is a big part of the problem. It is not politically possible for either the Federal Reserve or the Obama administration to leave the economy alone and let it recover on its own.
Both are under pressure to "do something." If one thing doesn't work, then they have to try something else. And if that doesn't work, they have to come up with yet another gimmick.
All this constant experimentation by the government makes it more risky for investors to invest or employers to employ, when neither of them knows when the government's rules of the game are going to change again. Whatever the merits or demerits of particular government policies, the uncertainty that such ever- changing policies generate can paralyze an economy today, just as it did back in the days of FDR.
More here
Florida Joins States Calling For Parental Rights Amendment
Florida has become the fifth state to pass a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to send the Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to the states for ratification. The Florida Senate voted 38–0 in favor of SM 954 after the Florida House passed its companion (HM 557) by a voice vote.
Florida becomes the third state this year to call for the amendment; Idaho and Montana both passed similar measures in early March. Both South Dakota and Louisiana passed similar resolutions in 2010.Louisiana’s resolution last year was accepted unanimously in both houses, with a Democrat plurality in the House (then made up of 52 Democrats, 50 Republicans, and 3 Independents) and a Democrat majority in the Senate. Florida’s resolution enjoyed a Republican majority in both houses, but was also bipartisan with 10 of 12 Senate Democrats voting in favor (1 was absent, and 1 did not vote). In all, Florida Democrats on record voted 17–3, or 85%, in favor of this memorial (resolution). Republican support was 98%.
“I applaud the Florida legislature for their vote,” said Michael Farris, president of ParentalRights.org. “Florida’s bipartisan vote shows that preserving parental rights is not a Democrat or Republican issue—it is an American issue.
I call on the U.S. Congress to pass the Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and send it to the states for ratification.”
Information about the Parental Rights Amendment is available online at ParentalRights.org.
(Source)
Outsider Hired For Obama Speeches
The White House is spending tens of thousands of dollars on a public relations firm headed by Democratic image maker Michael Sheehan - once dubbed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as an “extraordinary media coach” who helped her master the teleprompter.
Mr. Sheehan’s firm, Sheehan Associates, could receive more than $100,000 under a current contract and has been providing occasional speech and consulting services to the White House since 2009, federal purchasing records show.
Although Mr. Sheehan has a reputation of helping politicians look good speaking in public, neither his firm nor its White House client has anything to say about the contracting arrangement. Sheehan Associates failed to respond to telephone and email inquiries about the hiring arrangement this week and last, as did the White House press office.
Spending records show that the company was hired under three contracts since late 2009 and has received a total of $60,000. The records variously describe the company as providing “speech preparation training,” “speech writing services” and “speech coaching services.”
It’s unclear what speeches the firm was assigned, but its hiring marks the second time that the White House has paid for outside public relations help. It approved contract work for up to $100,000 for Jeff Nussbaum, a speechwriting aide to vice-presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden during the 2008 election campaign, The Washington Times reported last year.
More
Mr. Sheehan’s firm, Sheehan Associates, could receive more than $100,000 under a current contract and has been providing occasional speech and consulting services to the White House since 2009, federal purchasing records show.
Although Mr. Sheehan has a reputation of helping politicians look good speaking in public, neither his firm nor its White House client has anything to say about the contracting arrangement. Sheehan Associates failed to respond to telephone and email inquiries about the hiring arrangement this week and last, as did the White House press office.
Spending records show that the company was hired under three contracts since late 2009 and has received a total of $60,000. The records variously describe the company as providing “speech preparation training,” “speech writing services” and “speech coaching services.”
It’s unclear what speeches the firm was assigned, but its hiring marks the second time that the White House has paid for outside public relations help. It approved contract work for up to $100,000 for Jeff Nussbaum, a speechwriting aide to vice-presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden during the 2008 election campaign, The Washington Times reported last year.
More
Widely Distributed Death Photo Of Osama bin Laden Is Fake
(CNN) -- A graphic image of what was reported to be Osama bin Laden's bloodied face, which went viral on the Internet and was plastered on the front page of newspapers around the world, is a fake.
The lower part of the photograph, which shows his partially opened mouth and graying beard, is almost identical to another image of bin Laden published years ago. The upper half shows his wounds in detail greater than that of the rest of the photo and there are unusual and abrupt shifts in the coloration of his skin.
A photographer consulted by CNN said the gruesome photograph is most definitely not real.
"I have seen a great number of poorly Photoshopped images in my time as a photographer and I can tell by the pixels that it is a fake," said Kenna Lindsay, a New York-based photographer who works with composite images.
More
Twitter Users: Who's Osama? Why Is It Good He Died?
The ignorance of some Twitter users about Osama bin Laden was nothing short of astounding after news that the No. 1 terrorist in the world had been killed at the hands of U.S. special forces.
After the raid in Abbotabad, a spike of Tweets came out from people who acknowledged that they had no idea who he was, the man who masterminded the 9/11 plot that ended up murdering nearly 3,000 innocent people, the Toronto Sun reports.
“Who is osama?! & why is it so good he died?” wrote one user of the social network site. Another wrote: “Who is Osama Bin Laden? Is he in a band as well?”
Newsmax
After the raid in Abbotabad, a spike of Tweets came out from people who acknowledged that they had no idea who he was, the man who masterminded the 9/11 plot that ended up murdering nearly 3,000 innocent people, the Toronto Sun reports.
“Who is osama?! & why is it so good he died?” wrote one user of the social network site. Another wrote: “Who is Osama Bin Laden? Is he in a band as well?”
Newsmax
Congressman Outraged That 3 Convicts In Terror-Related Cases Were Granted U.S. Citizenship
The granting of U.S. citizenship to three individuals who were convicted as a result of a terrorism-related investigation was “outrageous,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), chairman of the House Judiciary immigration policy and enforcement subcommittee, told CNSNews.com.
King was commenting on a key finding in a recently-released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report (PDF, 6.7 MB) on criminal aliens, which he had requested.
The report showed that the three people were among “defendants where the investigation involved an identified link to international terrorism but they were charged with violating other statutes, including fraud, immigration, drugs, false statements, and general conspiracy charges.”
The three became naturalized American citizens under the Obama administration, two in late 2009 and one in 2010.
“It’s outrageous that you can have people under your very nose and adjudicate them through the process and convict them and then turn around and grant them citizenship,” King said in response to inquiries from CNSNews.com.
He said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should be conducting background checks on all citizenship applications.
“Nobody should be getting citizenship that has been adjudicated in this fashion. It’s something that we’re going to have to take up with USCIS, and I just think it’s outrageous.”
More here
King was commenting on a key finding in a recently-released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report (PDF, 6.7 MB) on criminal aliens, which he had requested.
The report showed that the three people were among “defendants where the investigation involved an identified link to international terrorism but they were charged with violating other statutes, including fraud, immigration, drugs, false statements, and general conspiracy charges.”
The three became naturalized American citizens under the Obama administration, two in late 2009 and one in 2010.
“It’s outrageous that you can have people under your very nose and adjudicate them through the process and convict them and then turn around and grant them citizenship,” King said in response to inquiries from CNSNews.com.
He said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should be conducting background checks on all citizenship applications.
“Nobody should be getting citizenship that has been adjudicated in this fashion. It’s something that we’re going to have to take up with USCIS, and I just think it’s outrageous.”
More here
Pakistan & Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden died on Walpurgisnacht, the night of black sabbaths and bonfires. Not an inappropriate night for the Chief Witch to fall off his broomstick and perish in a fierce firefight. One of the most common status updates on Facebook after the news broke was “Ding, Dong, the witch is dead,” and that spirit of Munchkin celebration was apparent in the faces of the crowds chanting “U-S-A!” last night outside the White House and at ground zero and elsewhere. Almost a decade after the horror of 9/11, the long manhunt had found its quarry, and Americans will be feeling less helpless this morning, and pleased at the message that his death sends: “Attack us and we will hunt you down, and you will not escape.”
Many of us didn’t believe in the image of bin Laden as a wandering Old Man of the Mountains, living on plants and insects in an inhospitable cave somewhere on the porous Pakistan-Afghan border. An extremely big man, 6-foot 4-inches tall in a country where the average male height is around 5-foot 8, wandering around unnoticed for ten years while half the satellites above the earth were looking for him? It didn’t make sense. Bin Laden was born filthy rich and died in a rich man’s house, which he had painstakingly built to the highest specifications. The U.S. administration confesses it was “shocked” by the elaborate nature of the compound.
We had heard—I certainly had, from more than one Pakistani journalist—that Mullah Omar was (is) being protected in a safe house run by the powerful and feared Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) somewhere in the vicinity of the city of Quetta in Baluchistan, and it seemed likely that bin Laden, too, would acquire a home of his own.
In the aftermath of the raid on Abbottabad, the old flim-flam (“Who, us? We knew nothing!”) just isn’t going to wash.
In the aftermath of the raid on Abbottabad, all the big questions need to be answered by Pakistan. The old flim-flam (“Who, us? We knew nothing!”) just isn’t going to wash, must not be allowed to wash by countries such as the United States that have persisted in treating Pakistan as an ally even though they have long known about the Pakistani double game—its support, for example, for the Haqqani network that has killed hundreds of Americans in Afghanistan.
This time the facts speak too loudly to be hushed up. Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, was found living at the end of a dirt road 800 yards from the Abbottabad military academy, Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point or Sandhurst, in a military cantonment where soldiers are on every street corner, just about 80 miles from the Pakistani capital Islamabad. This extremely large house had neither a telephone nor an Internet connection. And in spite of this we are supposed to believe that Pakistan didn’t know he was there, and that the Pakistani intelligence, and/or military, and/or civilian authorities did nothing to facilitate his presence in Abbottabad, while he ran al Qaeda, with couriers coming and going, for five years?
Pakistan’s neighbor India, badly wounded by the November 26, 2008, terrorist attacks on Mumbai, is already demanding answers. As far as the anti-Indian jihadist groups are concerned—Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad—Pakistan’s support for such groups, its willingness to provide them with safe havens, its encouragement of such groups as a means of waging a proxy war in Kashmir and, of course, in Mumbai—is established beyond all argument. In recent years these groups have been reaching out to the so-called Pakistani Taliban to form new networks of violence, and it is worth noting that the first threats of retaliation for bin Laden’s death have been made by the Pakistani Taliban, not by any al Qaeda spokesman.
India, as always Pakistan’s unhealthy obsession, is the reason for the double game. Pakistan is alarmed by the rising Indian influence in Afghanistan, and fears that an Afghanistan cleansed of the Taliban would be an Indian client state, thus sandwiching Pakistan between two hostile countries. The paranoia of Pakistan about India’s supposed dark machinations should never be underestimated.
For a long time now America has been tolerating the Pakistani double game in the knowledge that it needs Pakistani support in its Afghan enterprise, and in the hope that Pakistan’s leaders will understand that they are miscalculating badly, that the jihadists want their jobs. Pakistan, with its nuclear weapons, is a far greater prize than poor Afghanistan, and the generals and spymasters who are playing al Qaeda’s game today may, if the worst were to happen, become the extremists’ victims tomorrow.
There is not very much evidence that the Pakistani power elite is likely to come to its senses any time soon. Osama bin Laden’s compound provides further proof of Pakistan’s dangerous folly.
As the world braces for the terrorists’ response to the death of their leader, it should also demand that Pakistan give satisfactory answers to the very tough questions it must now be asked. If it does not provide those answers, perhaps the time has come to declare it a terrorist state and expel it from the comity of nations.
9 Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime….
1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.
2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.
3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.
4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read apreview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're
holding a gadget instead of a book.
5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.
8. The "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, - the Internet will be built into the operating system.
2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.
3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.
4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read apreview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're
holding a gadget instead of a book.
5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.
8. The "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, - the Internet will be built into the operating system.
So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever, from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?"
Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical?
It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.
9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway.. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that - 24/7 - "They" know Who you are and Where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and the ads to your PC, will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.
9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway.. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that - 24/7 - "They" know Who you are and Where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and the ads to your PC, will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again.
Chuck Campbell Will Return Home For Good TODAY!
I know this is kind of short notice, but I wanted to let you know that I'll be coming home TODAY for good. I will be going to my last rehab session here at Inova this morning at 11:00 and will be leaving for home immediately afterwards. That should put us in Milford right around 2:00 PM.
Thank you very much for everything and I'm sure we'll talk soon. :)))))
~Chuck~
Osama bin Laden Stands Before God...
So Bin laden is standing before God waiting to hear his punishment, when God gets a tap on the shoulder. There behind him stand 343 firemen, 72 police officers, one k9 officer, 3,000 American citizens & over 6,000 soldiers. "Don't worry God we got this !!. How ya like us now!!
Gasoline Cost May Ease For Obama's 2012 Campaign
Soaring gas prices have eroded the President's job-approval ratings even as futures markets, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, and some analysts say prices may soon peak.
More
More
Social Security Phases Out Paper Checks
Planning to save $1 billion over the next decade by eliminating the costs of printing, handling and sending paper checks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will require all new Social Security applicants to set up direct deposit. Those who have always received Social Security checks will be able to continue doing so until March 2013, when the organization will eliminate paper checks entirely.
More »
More »
Washington Already Considering Ways To Ruin Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The still nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already on its way to becoming the latest victim in Washington's efforts to make sure American consumers have their voice taken away. Tomorrow, the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is scheduled to consider a number of bills that, if passed, would undermine the CFPB's ability to protect consumers.
More »
More »
Call Every Time To Make Sure Extra Payments Go To Paying Down Principal
People trying to get ahead on their car and house payments are sometimes shocked to discover the default way that banks handle their extra payments. Instead of paying down the existing principal, they apply it to the future interest. Not only that, but you can't just call them up one time and ask for them to change how they handle your payments. You need to call them every month you make a payment. Here's a tale from reader Katherine:
More »
More »
Why Don't People Share Lawnmowers?
Let us disrupt the otherwise normal bucolic sight of everyone in the neighborhood out on a warm afternoon, mowing away at their green lawns. Why does each house need to own their own lawnmower? At around $300 a pop for a new one, they're not cheap, and households could cut costs drastically if they shared them, but negotiating that can lead to arguments over how much each borrower should chip in, if any, and when. So the Eschaton blog muses on this and wonders, why couldn't there be a Zipcar for tools? Well there is! They're called tool rental libraries.
More »
More »
Feds Gave $220 Million In Bailout Bucks To Two Morgan Stanley Wives For Some Reason
Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi - the guy who famously referred to Goldman Sachs as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money" - has an interesting expose of how the wives of two Morgan Stanley hot shots, though they had no previous financial experience, set up their own investing initiative and got $220 million in bailout funds.
More »
More »
Reading Guide: How to Cut Through The Coverage
We've pulled together some of the clearest coverage of bin Laden's death—noting what's been said, what’s already being disputed, and what’s still unknown.
Read more»
Read more»