Should State Have Taken Kids from Parents?

As a family law attorney, Julie Ketterman has worked countless cases in which Child Protective Services took children away from parents for reasons that range from a family using an outhouse instead of indoor plumbing to keeping clothes in boxes instead of dressers.

Ketterman said CPS caseworkers deem those instances as unsafe and cramped living conditions, which is grounds for removal by the agency's standards.

"But to me, they are being picked up because they are poor," she said.

Legally, CPS cannot cite poverty as a reason to remove children from parental custody.

"But do they do it? Absolutely, all the time," said Ketterman, who has worked as a defense attorney in CPS cases in Houston for more than five years.

The case of Prince and Charlomane Leonard and their children is similar to many Ketterman said she has handled. Last month, CPS removed the couple's six children after agency caseworkers said that the small storage shed in east Houston the family was staying in contained unsafe living conditions.

The family lived inside the 12-by-25-foot shed for nearly four years, outfitting it with a wood-burning heater, AC unit and compost toilet while fetching water from a nearby spigot.

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NY Archbishop Worried That Polygamy May Be Next Battle

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan says he's worried that the next step in the marriage debate will be another redefinition to allow multiple partners and infidelity.

Writing on his blog Thursday, Dolan also lamented the anti-Catholic venom that surfaced in the gay marriage battle, saying he's worried that "believers will soon be harassed, threatened, and hauled into court" for their convictions.

He also apologized to those in the gay community who may have been offended by the church's stance, saying he's honored that so many gays are at home in the Catholic Church and that his goal from the start was "pro-marriage, never anti-gay."

New York became the sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage on June 24.

from the Associated Press

UCLA Hospitals Fined $865,500 for Breaching Privacy of Celebrity Patients

UCLA Health System has agreed to pay $865,500 as part of a settlement with federal regulators announced Thursday after two celebrity patients alleged that hospital employees broke the law and reviewed their medical records without authorization.

Federal and hospital officials declined to identify the celebrities involved. The complaints cover 2005 to 2009, a time during which hospital employees were repeatedly caught and fired for peeping at the medical records of dozens of celebrities, including Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett and then-California First Lady Maria Shriver.

Violations allegedly occurred at all three UCLA Health System hospitals — Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, according to UCLA spokeswoman Dale Tate.
The security breaches were first reported in The Times in 2008.

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Congress Wants Automatic Wage Deductions To Pay Down The Debt

Folks… you just can’t make this stuff up.

On July 6th, just two days ago, at least a dozen busybody Congressmen sponsored the introduction of HR 2411 [1], the “Reduce America’s Debt Now Act of 2011.” They always come up with fantastic names for these pieces of legislation… and rest assured, the better/more patriotic the name, the more ominous the bill.

This one follows the pattern.

HR 2411 states that every worker in America should be able to voluntarily have a portion of his/her wages automatically withheld and sent directly to the Treasury Department for the purposes of paying down the federal debt.

“Every employer making payment of wages shall deduct and withhold upon such wages any amounts so elected, and shall pay such amounts over to the Secretary of the Treasury…”

That’s right. Uncle Sam is so broke that he wants to give all the good little Americans out there the opportunity to contribute an even greater portion of their paychecks to finance government largess.
Desperate? Hmmm…. Don’t worry, it gets better.

Obviously, if an employee feels so compelled and should elect to have a portion of his/her paycheck withheld, the onus of responsibility is now on the employer to make it happen. The employer has to do all the paperwork, withhold the money, send the payment to the Treasury, maintain the account records, and probably submit to all kinds of new filing requirements.

You can imagine that, if passed, the bill will result in a host of new IRS regulations, complete with a battery of penalties for employers who don’t fill out the paperwork properly, submit filings on time, or make some administrative mistake.

Think about it: if a small business owner has one single employee who is dumb enough to think that it’s his patriotic duty to pay down the debt and decides to contribute $1/month, that owner will have the responsibility for all kinds of new forms and filings, plus submit to new ‘debt reduction audits.’
But don’t worry, it gets even better.

So let’s say there are millions of sheep out there who elect to donate a portion of their toil and sweat so that the Chinese and big financial institutions don’t have to worry about an American default. How does Congress plan on rewarding its most patriotic citizens? By sticking it to them on their taxes, of course.

HR 2411 stipulates that any contribution made to the Treasury in order to pay down the federal debt IS NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

“The [Treasury] Secretary shall include. . . a reasonably conspicuous statement that any amounts deducted and withheld from wages. . . are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.”

Imagine this scenario: You make $100,000/year. In a fit of complete insanity, you decide that you want to withhold your entire annual salary to pay down the debt. Hey, you can always move in with mom for the next year, right?

Well guess what– Uncle Sam will gladly take your money… and then STILL expect you to pay taxes on the $100,000 that you earned, so you’d have to come out of pocket with an additional $40,000 or so.

Don’t worry, though. The Social Security and Medicare wages are reduced by the amount that you withhold, making you only liable for state and federal taxes. Seems like a good deal, eh comrades?

There are so many things utterly wrong with his piece of legislation, it’s hard to know where to begin other than by saying that such intellectual and philosophical perversion is only capable of springing from unprincipled sociopaths whose sole capability is the destruction of value.

There’s a great quote from Atlas Shrugged that comes to mind which sums this all up:

“[W]hen you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you. . . you may know that your society is doomed.”

We’ve discussed the story of the boiling frog so many times before– a frog, when put into a pot of water and slowly brought to a boil, doesn’t realize that he’s in danger until its too late. I think the boiling frog just got a little hotter. Have you hit your breaking point yet?

Source

Mike Krieger Explains Why QE 3 Will Merely Keep The Lights On

This is a piece that has been festering in my head for quite some time now and I was waiting for the right moment to pen it.  That time is now.  In some ways The Bernank made a huge mistake by not launching QE3 right away when he had the chance.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am not in favor of any of this nonsense and I think The Bernank’s profession needs to go the way of the dodo bird, but I mean from the perspective of a Central Banker I think he made a big mistake by taking a breather from at least the printing and manipulations that they admit to.  The reason I say this is because up until the last month or so The Fed had been essentially telling the American sheeple that all was under control and that since The Bernank had studied the Great Depression and Japan he could save us from all the mistakes that were made back in those less enlightened times.  The Fed was saying that they could pull off the equivalent of preventing a serious hangover for someone that chugged an entire bottle of tequila.  They basically claimed to have found a way to break the laws of the universe. 
   
Unfortunately for them, the cruel forces of reality have intervened and proven that they actually did not figure out how to change the immutable laws of physics.  This truth became abundantly clear at The Bernank’s most recent press conference (which if he is smart will be his last) where it became all too clear that even he comprehends on some level that his theories and in fact his entire life has been a complete waste of time and energy.  That would be ok if he were confined to some University lecture hall; however, his lunacy was unleashed on the entire planet and we will all suffer the dire consequences of it for many years to come.  He has basically shoved another bottle of tequila down the throat of the already passed out drunkard and now he not just unconscious but is DYING. 

The response by TPTB to the utter failure of QE2 and everything else these mad intellectually bankrupt central planners have done was to try to smash commodities.  First, they released oil from the SPR in an act that more than any other proved to me we are in now in the final stage of this thing.  Not only was it pathetic in its desperation to anyone that knows the commodity markets but it was an utter failure.  For example, wholesale gasoline prices are now 5% HIGHER than they were the day before the raid.  Then just last week there was the crop planting data, which everyone I talked to involved in the agricultural sector thought was a complete sham.  Nevertheless, the “data” was used to create a 10% plunge in corn and 9% smash in wheat.  Of course, China was reported to have been a size buyer on the weakness.  How convenient.  What a disgrace.  This thing had TPTB fingerprints all over it and that is exactly why I do not participate in futures markets at all.  It’s a giant controlled game in the short-term.  Nevertheless, grains prices are of course moving back up again and I expect a huge spike in food prices in the months ahead related to weather that has already occurred around the world and the dire flood situation on the Missouri river.  More importantly, if TPTB continue to play their little games in the commodities futures markets we are going to have actual shortages.  In oil and in food in particular.  They are playing with fire.  Big time.  Reread the quote at the top by Huxley.  Whenever anyone one claims they need to do something for the “general welfare” run the other way as far and as fast as humanly possible.  That is the line of every tyrant and wanna be dictator.

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Why the Budgetary Game is a BIG Taxpayer Scam

Here’s some friendly fiscal advice: Any time some Washington big shot like Ben Bernanke or Tim Geithner claims that immediate spending cuts in the debt deal will harm the economy — ignorethem. Completely. You know why? Because in this great country of ours, spending never goes down. Never.

Take a look at the following chart:

The blue line you see is President Obama’s budget. The green line is Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget.

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Phillips Seafood Giving $1,000 For Best Crab Recipe

Grandma’s crab dip may rival all others in your mind. But is it worth $1,000?

Phillips Foods will give you the chance to find out. The Baltimore company just launched “The Ultimate Crab Challenge,” a national recipe contest for crab lovers. The competition, which runs through Aug. 22, enables people to submit their favorite crab recipes online at www.UltimateCrabChallenge.com. The national grand prize winner will receive $1,000 and have the recipe featured on the menu at Phillips Seafood Phillips Seafood

Here are the rules:

Original recipes must include at least eight ounces or one pound of crab meat. Any grade of crab meat is acceptable, from claw meat to special, jumbo lump to backfin. Recipes may be a cold or hot item.

Source

Judge Rules GPS Tracker OK on Cheating Spouse

Beware, all you cheating husbands and wives.

The use of a GPS device to track your whereabouts is not an invasion of privacy in New Jersey, a state appellate court panel ruled today.

Based on the battle of a divorcing Gloucester County couple, the decision helps clarify the rules governing a technology increasingly employed by suspicious spouses — many of whom hire private investigators.

“For the appellate division to say that it’s not an invasion of privacy is a wonderful thing for the private investigation business,” said Lisa Reed, owner of LSR Investigations in Flemington. “It’s been something we’ve been haggling over for some period of time.”

No state law governs the use of GPS tracking devices, and the ruling, which does not affect police officers, is the first to address the issue, said Jimmie Mesis, past president of the New Jersey Licensed Private Investigators Association.

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Malls Even More Vacant Than They Were Three Months Ago

Following a first quarter of 2011 that saw mall vacancies rise to 9.1 percent, the second quarter was no kinder, with the vacancy rate inching up to 9.3 percent. Strip malls are having an even tougher time keeping tenants, with 11 percent of storefronts sitting empty.

More »

Sherwood Man Faces Sex Abuse Charges

Louie Barney Johnson, 70, of Sherwood, was arrested Friday by Talbot County Sheriff's Office deputies and faces multiple sex offense charges after he allegedly had inappropriate contact with a girl between 2001 and 2009.

Johnson is charged with sex abuse of a minor continuous course of conduct, second-degree sex offense, four counts each of third- and fourth-degree sex offense, three counts of sex abuse of a minor, and four counts of second-degree assault.

He was released from the Talbot County Detention Center on $150,000 bond.

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Fat Gets You High

A new study finds that eating fatty foods triggers the release of endocannabinoids in the body, which are marijuana-like chemicals. And the feeling they give you makes you want to continue eating more fatty food.

The study "Endocannabinoid signal in the gut controls dietary fat intake" was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
More »

Top Obama Advisors Says Voters Won’t Be Influenced By Unemployment Rate

President Obama’s senior political adviser David Plouffe said Wednesday that people won’t vote in 2012 based on the unemployment rate.

Plouffe should probably hope that’s the case, since dismal job figures aren’t expected to get any better for Obama and the economy on Friday.

Most economists expect a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to show that the nation added about 100,000 jobs in June. That’s not enough to keep up with population growth, let alone lower the unemployment rate or make a dent in the 9 million jobs lost during the so called Great Recession.

[UPDATED: The jobs report released on Friday showed the economy added only 18,000 jobs, much less than anticipated. The unemployment rate creeped up to 9.2 percent.]

It’s looking more and more like Obama will have to do something no president has done since Franklin Roosevelt: Win reelection with unemployment around 8 percent.

Ronald Reagan, another president Obama is sometimes compared with, was reelected in 1984 when unemployment was 7.2 percent. Obama isn’t likely to see a number that low.

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Legislators Approve New House And Senate Seat In Sussex

Redistricting legislation passes on deadline day

Dover — A bill that will change Delaware elections for the next decade passed both chambers of the 146th General Assembly in the closing days of session.  The legislation finalizes the reconfiguration of 21 Senatorial and 41 Representative districts to include a new district in the Cape Region in both houses.

Representative District 20 will move from Hockessin in northern New Castle County to Sussex County, where it will include Lewes, Milton and Harbeson.  The proposal will also change House District 37 to encompass all of Georgetown, meaning the Hispanic population will rise from more than 17 percent to more than 19 percent.

Senate District 6 will move from northern New Castle County to Sussex County.  The district will contain Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Henlopen Acres, Lewes and Milton.  None of Sussex County’s sitting Senators live in the area that will become the new district.

The Senate also modified Republican Sen. Joe Booth’s District 19 to include a Hispanic population of more than 15 percent.

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Constitutional Nonsense on Debt

Lo and behold! As we celebrated this Fourth of July amid the debt-ceiling fight, the netroots and progressive pundits suddenly discovered the Constitution’s relevance in fiscal matters. It doesn’t seem like that long ago — because it wasn’t that long ago — that they ridiculed the very idea of constitutional limits on Congress in economic policymaking, and even mocked the GOP’s public reading of the Constitution at the beginning of the current session.

Of the new House rule requiring a statement of the constitutional authority for bills, Ian Millhiser wrote at ThinkProgress that “the constitutional lunatics are now in charge of the GOP’s asylum.” It was completely unnecessary for Congress to cite constitutional justification for its actions, Millhiser proclaimed, because “Article I of the Constitution gives Congress broad authority” and “leaves budgeting decisions almost entirely to the judgment of Congress.”

But now that the GOP Congress is exercising this “broad authority” — or rather, what has always been its basic authority — over the nation’s purse strings to press for spending cuts as a condition of hiking the $14 trillion debt ceiling by another trillion or so, Millhiser, the Huffington Post, and The New Republic have suddenly discovered that in at least this one instance, the Constitution supposedly limits Congress’s economic powers. Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, which states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law . . . shall not be questioned,” makes the debt ceiling itself unconstitutional, their argument goes. Folks who were railing against the “unitary executive” a few years ago now argue that if Congress doesn’t give Obama what he wants, this section gives him the constitutional authority to issue new debt by himself; otherwise, there would not be enough money to pay the existing debt, and the 14th Amendment does not allow that.

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— John Berlau is director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. CEI counsel for special projects Hans Bader provided invaluable insights and assistance with this article.

The Housing Horror Show Is Worse Than You Think

Despite some upbeat news, key housing market statistics point to years of stagnation

You might be tempted to believe that after four years of brutal declines in home prices, the worst of the crisis is over. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index of prices has fallen back to where it was in 2003. Housing prices in Phoenix are at 2000 levels, and Las Vegas is revisiting 1999. Lower prices have made homes more affordable than they’ve been in a generation, and sales have gone up in six of the past nine months. “It’s very unlikely that we will see a significant further decline” in prices, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a July 3 appearance on (TWX)CNN. “The real question is, when will we start to see sustainable increases? Some think it will be as early as the end of this summer or this fall.”

Doug Ramsey of Minneapolis investment firm Leuthold Group is a student of asset bubbles, from tech stocks in the late ’90s to commodities in the late ’70s and railroads in the 19th century. His outlook is very different from the HUD Secretary’s. Ramsey calculates that single-family housing starts would have to soar an unprecedented 60 percent to 70 percent from their current half-century low of a 419,000 annual rate just to hit the average low of the past six housing busts since 1960 (650,000 to 700,000).

Ramsey says every housing statistic he tracks, including new and existing home prices and the performance of homebuilding stocks, has so far matched the pattern of prices after the bursting of other bubbles, including the Dow Jones industrial average following the crash of 1929 and Japan’s Nikkei after its 1989 peak. It starts with a steep decline lasting three or four years, followed by a brief rally that ends in years of stagnation. The Dow took 35 years to return to pre-crash levels. The Nikkei trades at less than a third of where it peaked 22 years ago. “The housing decline,” he says, “will be a long, multiyear process, and the multiplier effect across the economy will be enormous.”

Others are equally gloomy. “It’s still a vicious cycle of foreclosures, prices falling, and buyers remaining on the sidelines,” says Jonathan Smoke, head of research for Hanley Wood, a housing data company. With the homeownership rate possibly headed to its pre-bubble level of 64 percent from 69 percent at the peak, Smoke calculates that the nation needs 1.6 million fewer homes that it now has. “We’ve gone through a period when we should have been tearing down houses,” he says. “The supply of total housing stock is beyond what is necessary.”

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Newark City Council Requires Armed Guards for Late-Night Eating

The Newark City Council today approved legislation that calls for late-night eateries to post armed guards after 9 p.m. until they close.

The new ordinance, sponsored by South Ward Councilman Ras Baraka, comes roughly a month after South Ward resident and police officer William Johnson was shot and killed while waiting to buy a slice of pizza at Texas Fried Chicken and Pizza.

According to Baraka, the chicken shacks and pizza joints that stay open late do little to serve the community and encourage crime.

"Most of these stores provide security for themselves but not for the customers they bring in," Baraka said Wednesday, referring to the bulletproof glass and cameras common in the eateries.

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Permissive Parents: Curb Your Brats

Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- If you're the kind of parent who allows your 5-year-old to run rampant in public places like restaurants, I have what could be some rather disturbing news for you.

I do not love your child.

The rest of the country does not love your child either.

And the reason why we're staring at you every other bite is not because we're acknowledging some sort of mutual understanding that kids will be kids but rather we want to kill you for letting your brat ruin our dinner.

Or our plane ride.

Or trip to the grocery store.

Or the other adult-oriented establishments you've unilaterally decided will serve as an extension of your toddler's playpen because you lack the fortitude to properly discipline them, in public and at home.

And we know you don't discipline them at home because you don't possess "the look." If you had "the look," you wouldn't need to say "sit down" a thousand times.

If you had "the look," you wouldn't need to say much of anything at all. But this nonverbal cue needs to be introduced early and reinforced diligently with consequences for transgressions, just like potty training. And whenever a kid throws a temper tantrum in the middle of the shopping mall it's just as bad as his soiling his pants to spite his parents, and it stinks just as much.

Or the other adult-oriented establishments you've unilaterally decided will serve as an extension of your toddler's playpen because you lack the fortitude to properly discipline them, in public and at home.

And we know you don't discipline them at home because you don't possess "the look." If you had "the look," you wouldn't need to say "sit down" a thousand times.

If you had "the look," you wouldn't need to say much of anything at all. But this nonverbal cue needs to be introduced early and reinforced diligently with consequences for transgressions, just like potty training. And whenever a kid throws a temper tantrum in the middle of the shopping mall it's just as bad as his soiling his pants to spite his parents, and it stinks just as much.

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Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office – Press Releases (07/08/2011)

PRESS RELEASES

WICOMICO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Incident: Assault

Date of Incident: 6 July 2011

Location: 8700 block of Mar Lynn Drive, Delmar, MD

Suspect: Kelly Rommel, 48, Delmar, MD
                                
Narrative: On 6 July 2011 at 11:28 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate a reported altercation inside a residence in the 8700 block of Mar Lynn Drive in Delmar.  Upon arrival, the deputy met with a male victim who advised that he was assaulted  by his wife, Kelly Rommel, during an altercation. While on scene, the deputy observed signs of injury that corroborated that account.

The deputy placed Rommel under arrest and transported her to the Central Booking Unit where she was processed and taken in  front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner detained Rommel in the Detention Center in lieu of $7,500.00 bond.

Charges: Assault 2nd Degree

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Incident: Assault
Date of Incident: 6 July 2011
Location: 900 block of East Road, Salisbury, MD
Suspect:  1. Winston F. Bruce, 53, Salisbury, MD
                  2. Ellis Hutt, 51, Salisbury, MD
                                
Narrative: On 6 July 2011 at 8:07 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported altercation complaint at a residence in the 900 block of East Road. Upon arrival, the deputy met with Winston Bruce and  Ellis Hutt and learned that the two men, who share the residence, had become embroiled in an argument that escalated to a physical confrontation. Both subjects reported that they were assaulted by the other and the deputy saw evidence of physical injury to both.

The deputy placed both Bruce and Hutt under arrest and transported them to the Central Booking Unit where they were processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner released both on Personal Recognizance.

Charges: Assault 2nd Degree

This Time, Men Are Finding Jobs Faster Than Women

The Great Recession hit men especially hard. But in the long, shaky recovery, they’re now outpacing women in finding employment. That’s surprising because in past recoveries, women have tended to get re-employed faster than men — making this another of the many ways in which this recovery is different.

According to a new Pew Research Center survey, men gained 768,000 jobs and lowered their unemployment rate by 1.1 percentage points to 9.5% from June 2009 to May 2011. But women actually lost 218,000 jobs during the same period and increased their unemployment rate by 0.2 percentage points to 8.5%.

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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA

JULY 11, 2011 6:00 p.m.

Government Office Building Room 301

Times shown for agenda items are estimates only.

6:00 p.m. MEDITATION – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
6:03 p.m. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
6:05 p.m. PROCLAMATIONS – Mayor James Ireton, Jr. Zookeeper Week Charlie Smith, Jr.
6:10 p.m. CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION – Mayor James Ireton, Jr.
EMS Provider of the Year – Rob Frampton Rookie Operator of the Year Award – Edward Watson
Salisbury Police Department Accreditation
6:15 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA – City Clerk Brenda Colegrove
May 16, 2011 work session minutes
May 24, 2011 budget work session minutes
May 31, 2011 budget work session minutes
June 6, 2011 work session minutes
June 9, 2011 minutes (advertised for closed)
June 13, 2011 regular meeting minutes
June 20, 2011 work session minutes
June 21, 2011 special meeting minutes

Resolution No. 2068 – approving a lease with Urban Salisbury, Inc. for the purpose of operating a Park and Flea Market in Downtown Salisbury

Resolution No. 2069 - authorizing residential handicap permit parking on Taylor Street between Alabama Avenue and Winder Street
6:20 p.m. AWARD OF BIDS – Internal Services Director Pam Oland
Declaration of Surplus – Vehicles
Declaration of Surplus – Lamp and Light Fixtures
Acquisition of Replacement Ambulances
6:30 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING – City Attorney Paul Wilber
Ordinance No. 2162 - amending Chapter 15 Housing of the Salisbury Municipal Code relating to the Housing Board of Adjustments and Appeals
Ordinance No. 2163 - amending Chapter 15.26 of the Salisbury Municipal Code, Rental of Residential Premises, to modify the fees for failure to renew, re-register or obtain a Rental Dwelling Unit Owners License and/or a Rental Dwelling Unit Registration
Ordinance No. 2164 - establishing a fee schedule to obtain a rental unit owner license, registration of a rental dwelling unit and non-compliance  or delinquency of such license or registration
7:15 p.m. RESOLUTIONS – Assistant City Administrator Loré Chambers
Resolution No. 2070 - accepting loan and loan forgiveness funds for the design and construction of water quality storm drain inlets through the Maryland Water Quality State Revolving Fund Program
Resolution No. 2071 – authorizing the mayor to enter into a memorandum Of Understanding with the Maryland Department of Corrections,Poplar Hill Pre-release Unit
7:25 p.m. RESOLUTION – Council President Terry E. Cohen
Resolution No. 2072 - amending the Salisbury City Council Regulations and Rules of Order
7:45 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS
8:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT

ARC Lower Shore PRESS RELEASE

 Mobile Home Fire, Parsonsburg, MD

8 July 2011

The American Red Cross Lower Shore Chapter Disaster Action Team #3 is responded to assist a family of 4 displaced early this morning by a fire in Frog Eye, Somerset County, MD. 

DART First State Service Changes

Wilmington -- Stephen B. Kingsberry, Executive Director of Delaware Transit Corporation, announced that changes to DART First State fixed route bus service will become effective July 17, 2011. New bus schedules are posted online at www.DartFirstState.com and will be available on buses this week.

Below are the changes by county. *** type indicates a change from or an addition to the original proposal based on public comments:

***New Castle County:
All routes originally proposed for switching to Shipley Street are now remaining at Rodney Square and will have minor time changes to reduce the number of buses at Rodney Square at one time.***

Route 16 - route path into downtown Wilmington will change, traveling up Walnut St., 8th St., French St., 10th St. to Rodney Square continuing to West St., 12th St., ending on Delaware Ave. at Adams St. The out of town path will come from Delaware Ave. serving the stop on 11th St. side of Rodney Square instead of the King St. side. Stops on Orange St. will no longer be served by this route.

Route 24 - new trip will be added leaving Kynlyn Drive at 6:28 a.m., arriving Rodney Square at 6:52 a.m.

***Route 25 - NEW SERVICE EXTENSION - The 1 year pilot service, made available through the DNREC Community Environmental Project Fund, will travel along DE 9 to Clinton Street to Canal Road ending at the existing parking area located on Washington Street. On the return, service will include Washington Street to DE 9 to the Tybouts Corner Park & Ride, then resumes its currently operated service to Wilmington. Service operates from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday.***

Route 55 - minor time adjustments will be made between Glasgow and Newark to improve on-time performance.

***Kent County: Booklets have a printed effective date of May 22, but do not become effective until July 17.***

Route 104 - All trips will leave Dover Transit Center on the hour instead of 15 minutes past the hour to improve on-time performance and provide better connections.

Route 106 - service to Dover Air Force Base will be discontinued due to Base Homeland Security measures. Stops will be added outside of the main gate and at the base housing gate.

Route 117 - All trips will operate 15 minutes earlier to maintain connections with Route 104.

Route 120 - the 6:10 p.m. trip from Smyrna to Dover will now allow passengers to board at the Dover Mall, Delaware State University and Dover Transit Center.

***Sussex County: Booklets have a printed effective date of May 22, but do not become effective until July 17.***
Minor time changes, where needed, to improve on-time performance or connections with other buses.

***Intercounty Service:
Route 301 - The first northbound morning trip will leave the DelDOT Administration Building in Dover 10 minutes earlier to ensure better connections with Amtrak and SEPTA train service; most other northbound morning trips will leave 5 minutes earlier from Scarborough Road; the southbound trip leaving Wilmington at 3:10 p.m. will leave 5 minutes later, allowing for better train connections.***

Hurlock Looks to Balance Budget

A week after approving its fiscal year 2012 budget, the Hurlock Town Council will have to make several future budget amendments to balance it after town officials discovered several revenue sources will be less than anticipated.

On June 30, the council approved a balanced FY12 budget at $4,787,984 with a 4-1 vote. Council President Charles Cephas voted against the budget. The FY12 budget is about $200,000 more than the town's FY11 budget.

Town Clerk and Treasurer Kathy Clough said after speaking with town auditors after the start of the new fiscal year, officials determined projected industrial revenues of $1,601,926 will be about $110,000 less than anticipated. Clough said the drop in revenue is associated with businesses paying corporate taxes this year rather than residential taxes last year.

Hurlock did not release its FY12 budget until six days after the new fiscal year began. Clough said a computer error caused the delay.

Clough said businesses switching from residential taxes to corporate taxes was anticipated to increase town revenue about $200,000, but will actually be about $90,000 extra in revenue.

"With revenues anticipated to be less than expected, we will have to go back and make some more cuts to make sure everything balances out," Clough said. "We have some places we are looking at that won't affect the service the town provides when we do some trimming. We are confident everything will work out."

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Lab-Made Organ Implanted For First Time

(CNN) -- For the first time, a patient has received a synthetic windpipe that was created in a lab with the patient's own stem cells and without using human donor tissue, researchers said Thursday.

Previous lab-generated transplants either used a segment of donor windpipe or involved tissue only, not an organ.

In a laboratory in London, scientists created a trachea, which is a tube-like airway that connects at the voice box and branches into both lungs.

On June 9, doctors implanted this synthetic windpipe into a 36-year-old man with late-stage tracheal cancer at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. The patient is doing well and is expected to be released from the hospital Friday, said Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, professor of regenerative medicine there.

Tracheal cancers are extremely rare, accounting for less than 1% of all cancers.

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Rep. Andy Harris, M.D., Statement On June Jobs Report

Job Growth is Still Job One

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today’s weak jobs report for June, along with a revision to the unemployment report from May which showed even worse figures than previously thought, indicates a stalled economy that has Maryland families, investors and businesses fearful of a possible double dip recession. With the national unemployment rate at 9.2%, and only 18,000 jobs added last month, it’s clear that a new fiscal policy course must be charted.

“It’s clear that job creators are concerned about the tax increases proposed by President Obama and Senator Reid,” said Rep. Andy Harris. “The President’s insistence on taxing and spending our way to prosperity doesn’t work and won’t create jobs.”

Since the passage of President Obama’s cornerstone economic policy, the Stimulus package of 2009, about 1.8 million American jobs have been shed at a cost of $1.1 trillion and the federal debt has risen to $14.3 trillion. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 150,000 new jobs need to be created each month just to keep up with the population growth. The economy is not growing fast enough to employ the nearly 14 million Americans looking for jobs.

Casey Anthony Trial Juror No. 3, Jennifer Ford, ‘On The Record’

GO HERE if video does not work.

Not Worth a Dollar

Since 1913, the dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power. Why? Because the Federal Reserve, which Congress established that year, has printed more money than necessary.

Or so skeptics claim. Many tea partiers agree — so much so that they’re spearheading an effort to introduce two competing currencies into the money supply: gold and silver.

The Constitution forbids states to coin money. In Article I, Section 10, however, it reads, “No state shall . . . make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Jeff Bell, policy director of American Principles in Action, argues that this passage authorizes states to recognize gold and silver as legal tender.

Colorado was the last state to do so, in 1893. But Utah, taking “a precaution against further deterioration in the dollar,” has revived the endeavor, Bell says.

In March, Gov. Gary Herbert (R.) signed into law the “Utah Sound Money Act.” Drafted by attorney Larry Hilton, the statute declares gold and silver legal tender in the Beehive State, makes trading in these metals strictly voluntary (i.e., the state can’t force anyone to accept payment in them), and eliminates state capital-gains taxes on gold and silver coins used as currency. Now, Iowa and South Carolina are considering similar legislation.

READ MORE …

— Brian Bolduc is a William F. Buckley Fellow at the National Review Institute.

Why You Didn't Get To Ask Obama Anything On Twitter

(CNN) -- Is Twitter really the best way to talk to a president?

Tens of thousands of people submitted questions under the #AskObama Twitter hashtag on Wednesday, hoping the U.S. president would respond to their queries in what was billed as his first-ever Twitter Town Hall.

Of course, when you're president, time is limited. So the event's moderator, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, only was able to ask Obama 18 questions, followed by a few "suggestions" from the Twitter audience after that.

That's 0.045% of all questions that were posed online, according to raw numbers from a group called TwitSprout, which estimates Twitter users posted 40,000 questions for the president, both before and during the Q&A at the White House.

So, odds are, of course, your question didn't get asked -- much less answered.

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Three Men and a Gator

Authorities say three intoxicated men stole a 14-foot flattened and preserved alligator, strapped it to a pickup truck and took it off-roading.

The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus reports that 55-year-old Douglas Ward of Linden, 60-year-old Roy Griffith of Linden and 53-year-old John Sanborn of Harrison are charged with breaking and entering.

The charges stem from a June 25 theft from a barn in Hartland Township, about 40 miles northwest of Detroit. Sheriff Bob Bezotte says the alligator's owner found tire tracks near his barn and followed them to a party in Deerfield Township where the men were driving their vehicles around in the mud.

The men are due in Livingston County District Court July 20.

Take Me Out To The Old, Old Ball Game

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball’s All Stars will jet into Phoenix to play the old ball game.

But starting Friday, six teams from around the Midwest will be barnstorming French Lick, Ind., to play the old, old, old ball game.

It’s vintage "base ball" − a two-word construction purists will recognize as the proper way to address the then-nascent national pastime from circa 1864.

No mound. No designated hitter. No lights. No radar guns. No flashy three-story scoreboard. No Miley Cyrus blaring from the loudspeakers.

Is this heaven?

Nope, it’s the pastoral grounds of the French Lick Resort, a place that’s always bingeing on history (the acclaimed resort  hosts the throwback U.S. Hickory Open Golf Championship for vintage golfers on its Donald Ross course between July 11 and 13).

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40 + Artists to Paint Throughout Ocean City

Saturday and Sunday, July 16th and 17th fine artists will be painting up and down the streets, beaches and bays of Ocean City. On Sunday from 5-7:30 pm the paintings will be on exhibit and for sale on Somerset Street Plaza located just off the boardwalk downtown.

“We are excited about the number of artists who have signed up for this event and expect visitors as well as residents to take advantage of the opportunity to buy local artwork and meet the artists around town during the day and at the sale on Sunday. We are fortunate to have so many talented artists participating,” said ALOC president, Margaret Spurlock.

One Thousand Dollars will be awarded the winner of “Artists Paint Ocean City.” The second prize is $500 and third is $250. The Art League of Ocean City is sponsoring this event and the Ocean City Development Corporation is providing the prize money.

Obtain further information by calling the Art League at 410-524-9433 or online at www.artleagueofoceancity.org.

White House Prepares To Outline Steps On Gun Safety

Six months after Giffords shooting, activists press administration for a 'comprehensive background check system'

WASHINGTON — Six months after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot, the White House is preparing to propose some new steps on gun safety, though they're likely to fall short of the bold measures activists would like to see.

Anti-gun groups have been disappointed to see no action so far from President Barack Obama, who supported tough gun control measures earlier in his career but fell largely silent upon becoming president. Some activists were using the opportunity of the six-month anniversary of the Giffords shooting on Friday to speak up.

Spokesman Jay Carney said that the new steps would be made public "in the near future." He didn't offer details, but people involved in talks at the Justice Department to craft the new measures said they expected to see something in the next several weeks. Whatever is proposed is not expected to involve legislation or take on major issues like banning assault weapons but could include executive action to strengthen the background check system or other steps.

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Cambridge Man Given Five Years for Assault, Theft

Marcus Griffin, 26, was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in prison, with 6 years suspended, after he pleaded guilty in Dorchester County Circuit Court to second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and theft less than $1,000.

"There's nothing more important in this world than making sure you don't let other people get you into trouble," said Dorchester County Circuit Court Judge Brett Wilson after cautioning Marcus Griffin about the people he chooses to surround himself with. "There are a lot of reasons to think twice. It's a lot easier to get money legally."

Wilson handed down a sentence of 10 years, with five years suspended, for the second-degree assault conviction and an 18-month suspended sentence to be served consecutively for the theft less than $1,000 conviction. The reckless endangerment charge was merged into the second-degree assault charge.

Marcus Griffin of 825 Pine St. was placed on five years of supervised probation upon his release from prison.

Public defender David Pyle, Marcus Griffin's attorney, said Tuesday that Marcus Griffin wanted to enter a branch of the military and would be able to do so if he was not convicted of a felony.

READ MORE …

Figures On Government Spending And Debt

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

Total public debt subject to limit July 6 14,293,975

Statutory debt limit 14,294,000

Total public debt outstanding July 6 14,343,022

Operating balance July 6 74,288

Interest fiscal year 2011 through May 165,258

Interest same period 2010 145,415

Deficit fiscal year 2011 through May 927,444

Deficit same period 2010 935,606

Receipts fiscal year 2011 through May 1,484,350

Receipts same period 2010 1,345,947

Outlays fiscal year 2011 through May 2,411,794

Outlays same period 2010 2,281,553

Gold assets in June 11,041 Source

UN Eyes Playground for Expensive High Rise

The United Nations, which is already spending $1.9 billion to renovate its New York headquarters, hopes to build a second high-rise nearby on two-thirds of an acre that is currently used as a city playground.

The new building, which could be as much as 900,000 square feet in area, could rise as high as the U.N.’s landmark Secretariat building, and according to a  New York City real estate expert consulted by Fox News, could cost anywhere from $370 to $475 million—excluding land costs. Those figures do not include any additional costs for security features, which could hike the total much higher.

The United Nations hopes to build a second building in New York that could rise as high as its landmark Secretariat building.

The proposed addition to the U.N. headquarters could also pose extensive new security concerns for the U.N. and for New York City. Only last February, the U.S. government agreed to foot the bill for $100 million in security improvements to the current U.N. headquarters campus, after city officials expressed intense behind-the-scenes frustration at the vulnerabilities of the existing U.N. complex.

The property transfer deal that would make the new construction possible has been tried before, and failed. In 2005, a similar proposal was voted down by the New York State Legislature, in the face of widespread local opposition, in part stirred up by the U.N.’s perceived anti-Israel stance.

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House Presses Ahead To Complete $649B Defense Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House is sending mixed signals on President Barack Obama's military action against Libya, voting to prohibit weapons and training to rebels looking to oust Moammar Gadhafi but stopping short of trying to cut off money for American participation in the NATO-led mission.

In a series of votes Thursday, Republicans and Democrats expressed their dissatisfaction with the Libya operation, now in its fourth month with no end in sight and waning support from some nations in the international coalition. The House voted to bar military aid to the rebels but moments later rejected efforts to prevent funding for the limited U.S. mission.

The votes mirrored the contradictory actions of the House last month, when lawmakers refused to approve the operation but declined to cut off the money.

The latest House votes came on amendments to a $649 billion defense spending bill that lawmakers hoped to finish on Friday. The overall measure covering weapons and warships, jet fighters and bombers, personnel and military pay is $9 billion less than Obama requested but $17 billion more than current levels.

It covers the Pentagon budget beginning Oct. 1 but must be reconciled with a still-to-be-completed Senate version.

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Tequila-Spiked Smoothies Served Up to Three Kids at Colorado Chili’s

Someone at a Chili's in Colorado made a big oopsy over the holiday weekend by serving up three fruit smoothies loaded with tequila to a trio of youngsters.

The kids' mom noticed something was amiss when her 8-year-old daughter began singing a medley of David Allan Coe songs complaining of dizziness. Mom took a sip of the smoothie, which she tells the local NBC affiliate was "loaded full of tequila.... If I would have had one then I know that would have been strong for me, and I can't imagine how strong that was for them."

She notified restaurant management and EMTs were called. Thankfully, nobody had to go to the hospital, though mom says her daughter did pass out during the fireworks show later that evening.

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JP Morgan Chase And Company To Pay $228 Million To Justice Department

JP Morgan Chase and Company has agreed to pay $228 million to settle a Justice Department case involving municipal bonds. Justice charged former JP Morgan employees with rigging bids for the bond investments of several cities and states. By agreeing to reimburse the affected cities, JP Morgan admits responsibility for those activities. In May, USB AG agreed to a $160 million settlement under the same investigation.

Florida Magistrate Busted for Being a “Peeping Tammy”

Investigators say she's a peeping Tammy.

Florida Law enforcement officials believe a female traffic magistrate walked into a Broward County courthouse bathroom and took a picture of a man at a urinal, then attempted to bite the finger of a deputy who was investigating the case.

Using a cellphone camera, Rhonda Hollander snapped a photo of a man getting ready to use a urinal at the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation on June 30, then took a second image of another man entering the restroom, according to a police report obtained by The Sun-Sentinel.

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FDA Approves More Drugs

The FDA has picked up the pace on drug approvals. The agency has already approved twenty new drugs this year. It approved twenty one in all of last year. The Wall Street Journal reports it is on pace to approve more new drugs than in recent years. Yet the agency is under fire from the pharmaceutical industry for an overly-strict approval process. The FDA says drug companies face high failure rates during the trial phase rather than in the approval process.

Staffer in Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Office Accused of Theft

An office worker has admitted to stealing thousands of dollars in cash from the Queen Anne's County State's Attorney's Office, police say in charging papers.

Melissa Ann Knotts, 34, of 112 Church Meadow Court, Chestertown, is charged with theft less than $1,000 and theft scheme between $1,000 and $10,000 in District Court for Queen Anne's County.

In a charging document, Det. Sgt. Bruce Layton of the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office said the state's attorney's office began conducting an investigation into the theft from an office operating account after learning of a discrepancy in the account balance.

The investigation included a review of the bank statements for the operating account and a review of internal case files in which currency passed through the office for restitution payment to the victim in a criminal case.

The investigation found that $750 in cash had been given to Knotts on or about Sept. 2 and was never deposited into the office bank account, but a restitution check had been written to the victim.

READ MORE …

YARD SALES

CLICK HERE

for upcoming yard sales!

If you have an upcoming yard sale you would like to post, please email me, SunnyInOC, at atlanticjw@aol.com. Please type "yard sale" in the subject of your email (as some get lost in spam).

Please include any/all info as date, time, address, directions, items for sale, etc. The more info, the better! FREE AD to make some $$$$. Please have all requests in by Thursday for Friday's post.

Two Senators Call For Progress Report On Underused An Unneeded Properties

Two senator call for progress reports on the government's efforts to get rid of unneeded or underused property. Tom Carper of Delaware and Rob Portman of Ohio have sent a letter to multiple agencies requesting status updates. They want agencies to describe their property and management efforts over the last five years. They also want information on strategies agencies are using to reduce property costs. The requests are part of the government's ongoing property reform efforts. Federal asset management falls under the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, which Carper chairs and Portman is a member.

Lawsuit Against Ocean Pines Association Dismissed

A civil lawsuit against the 2010 Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors and Tom Olson, the Ocean Pines general manager at that time, about flooded property was dismissed in late June.

Property owner Marsden Furlow filed suit in Circuit Court in Snow Hill on May 19, 2010, because he was fed up with the flooding at his property on Pinehurst Road in Section 3.

Furlow’s lawsuit said his property, which he purchased in October 2005, “Is subject to severe periodic flooding and constitutes a nuisance.” He first became aware of the problem Oct. 28, 2006, when it rained less than 3 inches during a 24- hour period. The small amount of rain, the lawsuit states, completely inundated his property, filled his crawl space and entered into his garage. Since then, the property had been flooded numerous times.

The last flood before the lawsuit was filed occurred March 14, 2010, when less than 2 inches of water fell in a 24-hour period.

Furlow said in the lawsuit that the flooding was a nuisance, posed a health and safety risk and caused the value of his property to drop $50,000.

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White House Calls On Federal Agencies To Cut Back 15% Spending By Next Year

The White House thinks federal agencies spend too much on management support contracts. It's calling on agencies to reduce support services spending by 15 percent next year. That move will save $6 billion. The latest rollback is part of the administration's Cut Government Waste program. It's spearheaded by Jeff Zients, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. And Dan Gordon, Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. They say spending on management support services has grown faster than any other contracting over the last ten years. It reached $40 billion in fiscal 2010. Agencies are already under orders to make inventories of their management support spending, so they'll know where to begin cutting.

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT?

An Emergency meeting of the County Council with the HS was held this week.  I am wondering if anything was resolved & if Council will be making that known to the citizens? I understood the HS euthanized an animal------ who was denied help from two Rescue Groups ----who'd agreed to take him. I cannot understand why this would happen IF the dog wasn't deemed terminal by written Vet report!

The County gives money to the HS & owns the bldg. in which they are housed. As a taxpayer & advocate for animals , I want to know exactly where my money is going for animal care & citizen protection. I have been told by the HS there was nothing they could do If an animal had food, air & shelter ---- even if tied to a 4 ft chain. Knowing a dog would then be walking in its own waste or its house , health & weather conditions may be unfit . I asked for a copy of County Laws and found , in print, what I felt were very lax Laws.

Though I am no lawyer , it did appear a 4 ft chain would be justified as Animal Cruelty. I also found an animal could kill a person & still be allowed to live!! I contacted , then Council President, John Cannon to ask for review and revisions of our Laws. I asked for this just before the a boy was savagely attacked by two dogs a few years ago!! Council heard questions & complaints from many . A committee was formed to present newer Laws for Council approval. I believe it was almost a year before they were finalized.

We have State and County Laws for our Personal and Animal protection. Who is responsible for What at our Humane Society --- Who answers to Whom and

Who follows the money trail ?

I've written a letter to the Council asking for answers, making County & State Law visible for all to see , checks & balances so citizens can see where their moneys going. Hopefully an answer will be given soon!!

EDNA H. WALLS
S. KAYWOOD DR.
SALISBURY, MD

When America Went Crazy

America lost its mind 146 years ago and hasn’t been the same since. Or rather, it’s been a different country ever since.


A psychotic, self-referential, duplicitous country – largely ignorant of its own history and convinced of its messianic role in word affairs. A country not merely content to live – and let live. But one determined to to force others – everyone – to live its way.


At bayonet point, if need be,


It all goes back to the events of 1861-1865. The struggle for Southern independence, which the modern histories dishonestly – not merely mistakenly – call the “Civil War.”


Which it was not.


The Southern states had no desire to dominate the Northern states, nor to control the government of the North. (Which is what the “federal” government had become by 1861, as the Northern states and Northern corporatist cartels controlled it; Lincoln was the front man for these corporatist interests – a shyster lawyer and born grifter who would do anything – to anyone – in the service of his paymasters.)


No, the Southern states simply wished to exercise that right which the American colonists themselves had exercised in 1776 (and which some Northern states had themselves threatened to exercise on prior occasions, for similar reasons). The right to withdraw from the voluntary union entered into by each sovereign state at the time of the ratification of the federal Constitution. The motives were no different – and no less honorable or legitimate: The Southern states, like the American colonies, had come to regard the central authority as distant, unrepresentative and increasingly tyrannical. It no longer served their interests. It no longer represented them. And to paraphrase the author of the original Declaration of Independence, when a government no longer operates in the best interests of the people as they see those interests; when it no longer represents them; and when its actions evince a systematic effort to subjugate them, when other remedies have not proved fruitful, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish the government – and start over.


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Stop the Violence Kicks Off Program for Area Youth

Stop the Violence in Wicomico County (STV) kicked off its program for Salisbury youth Thursday evening.  Volunteers from all over Salisbury and Wicomico County showed their commitment to Salisbury’s young people by giving their time, talent, and treasure to make this program a success.

Nancy Rendine, President of STV, explained the premise behind STV and its programs:

This organization is volunteer based.  As we raise funds, our goal is to have a full time director, but 99% of the work with these kids is done through volunteers.  We’ve asked people to take what they’re passionate about and translate that passion to something that relates to the young people here.

We have people who are teaching the kids basketball, we have someone starting to teach soccer.  We have folks who are working with the kids in photography, crafts, music how to fix hair, you name it.  Rather than us trying to tell a volunteer what to do, we encourage them to take their skills, their passions, and use those to help our youth.

We have a great board that’s working hard to design programs plus raise money.  Our goal is to purchase this building (Calloway Street gym) and have a safe place for the youth to come to and be active.

Stop the Violence runs programs Monday – Thursday from 6PM – 8PM at the Calloway Gym.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“She saw that the people of this world moved about in an armor of egotism, drunk with self-gazing, athirst for compliments, hearing little of what was said to them, unmoved by the accidents that befell their closest friends, in dread of all appeals that might interrupt their long communion with their own desires.”

Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Don't Forget Your Local Farmers Market In Downtown Salisbury

Mikulski Takes Jobs Tour To Eastern Shore

EASTON, Md. (AP) -- Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski is taking her jobs tour to the Eastern Shore.

The senator is touring the state, talking with people about which parts of their government are working and which aren't.

She's expected to discuss access to credit and trade issues Friday when she meets with representatives of the seafood and poultry industries. Each is a $2-billion-a-year industry for the state. Maryland's 1,000 poultry farms create 14,700 jobs on the Delmarva peninsula, including about 8,000 jobs in Maryland.

Source

ACLU vs. the People?

I’ve been a member and financial supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union for 25 years despite opposing almost every cause it champions (abortion, gay marriage, death penalty repeal, higher taxes, etc.).

Yet, every year I stroke a check because the ACLU provides a vital service protecting my individual rights and liberties against majority infringement. Time and again the ACLU invokes the Constitution’s Bill of Rights on behalf of unpopular clients, pro bono, because all of us are only as free as the least of us is free.

That’s why it pains me to see the ACLU’s Maryland chapter go astray of this worthy mission by trying to block the people’s right to referendum.

Earlier this year, the legislature and Gov. O’Malley enacted the Dream Act extending in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities to illegal aliens who meet certain criteria.

Opponents passionately argue that rewarding illegal immigration encourages more of the same and punishes legal immigrants who played by the rules. Nor can we afford millions in tuition breaks to help illegals take our kids’ places in college.

READ MORE …

Blair Lee is CEO of the Lee Development Group in Silver Spring and a regular commentator for WBAL radio. His column appears Fridays in The Gazette. His e-mail address is blair@leedg.com.

Time To Ax Public Programs That Don't Yield Results

Barack Obama has been accused of "class warfare" because he favors closing several tax loopholes — socialism for the wealthy — as part of the deficit-cutting process. This is a curious charge: class warfare seems to be a one-way street in American politics. Over the past 30 years, the superwealthy have waged far more effective warfare against the poor and the middle class, via their tools in Congress, than the other way around. How else can one explain the fact that the oil companies, despite elephantine profits, are still subsidized by the federal government? How else can one explain the fact that hedge-fund managers pay lower tax rates than their file clerks? Or that farm subsidies originally meant for family farmers go to huge corporations that hardly need the help?

Actually, there is an additional explanation. Conservatives, like liberals, routinely take advantage of a structural flaw in the modern welfare state: there is no creative destruction when it comes to government programs. Both "liberal" and "conservative" subsidies linger in perpetuity, sometimes metastasizing into embarrassing giveaways. Even the best-intentioned programs are allowed to languish in waste and incompetence. Take, for example, the famed early-education program called Head Start.

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Atlantis Set For Final Shuttle Launch

Atlantis given go-ahead for launch of last shuttle mission.

GM Giving One Year of Car Insurance with New Car Purchase

To try to lure customers back into the dealership, GM is trying out a novel idea. They're giving new car buyers a free year of car insurance with their purchase.

CNN Money reports that the bailed-out American automaker is trying out the program in Oregon and Washington. If it does well, they'll roll it out nationally. Buyers can decline the insurance if they want but it won't affect the final price. The test runs through September 6.

Unfortunately there's no insurance plan to protect against GM cars sucking.

GM to offer free car insurance [CNN Money]

from Ben Popken @ The Consumerist

Want To Make More Than A Banker? Become A Farmer!

If you want to become rich, Jim Rogers, investment whiz, best-selling author and one of Wall Street's towering personalities, has this advice: Become a farmer. Food prices have been high recently. Some have questioned how long that can continue. Not Rogers. He predicts that farming incomes will rise dramatically in the next few decades, faster than those in most other industries — even Wall Street. The essence of his argument is this: We don't need more bankers. What we need are more farmers. The invisible hand will do its magic. "The world has got a serious food problem," says Rogers. "The only real way to solve it is to draw more people back to agriculture."

It's been decades since the American heartland has been a money pump and longer since farming was a major source of employment. Old rural towns have emptied as families — and the U.S. — have moved on. Technology, service jobs and finance have been the basis of the economy since at least the 1980s. Farming became the economic equivalent of a protected species — supported by a mix of government handouts, lax regulation (agriculture is one of the few industries shielded from certain child-labor laws) and charity concerts.

But in the past few years, thanks to a wealthier (and hungrier) emerging-market middle class and a boom in biofuels, the business of growing has once again become a growth business. At a time when the overall economy is limping along at an anemic growth rate of 1.9%, net farm income was up 27% last year and is expected to jump another 20% in 2011. Real estate prices in general are again falling this year. But according to the Federal Reserve, the average farm has doubled in value in the past six years. Farmland is quickly emerging as one of the year's hottest investments on Wall Street. "We've been doing this for a number of years, long before anyone thought this was sexy," says Jeff Conrad, who heads Hancock Agricultural Investment Group. "Now we are getting a lot of calls, and we are noticing more competition. There's a lot of interest in New York."

These days, a trip to Grand Island, Neb., a city of 48,500 surrounded by farms, is a trip to an economic bizarro land. Business is booming. None of the half-dozen or so local banks in town have failed or even come close to failing. In fact, profits are up. "A lot of local banks are sitting with a lot of cash," says Colby Collins, Grand Island branch manager for Five Points Bank. The largest local manufacturing plant, which makes combine harvesters, is at full capacity. Case IH plant manager Bill Baasch has hired 130 workers in the past nine months. Sales at Global Industries, a company based in Grand Island that makes grain-storage bins and other building materials, are up 130% since 2003. Tom Dinsdale, who owns the local General Motors car dealership, says 2010 was the best year he's ever had. Customers who would normally buy a Chevy Suburban are buying a Cadillac Escalade. Dinsdale is adding an infinity pool to his nearby riverfront second home. "Business is good," he says.

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Webb, Warner Introduce Offshore Drilling Bill

U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner, both Virginia Democrats, have introduced legislation to allow drilling for oil and natural gas off Virginia's coast.

If approved, the Virginia Outer Continental Shelf Energy Production Act of 2011 would provide that half of any leasing revenues be funneled to the state for land and water conservation efforts and development of clean energy resources as well as transportation and other infrastructure projects.

The legislation would also expand the federal government's map of the mid-Atlantic exploration area to more accurately reflect the extent of Virginia's coastal resources, the senators said.

Virginia's lease sale was originally scheduled for this year but delayed until at least 2017 after last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.

"We should not be sending hundreds of billions of dollars each year to oil-producing countries that do not like us," Warner said. "This legislation jump-starts a multiyear process that will include responsible environmental reviews, close consultations with NASA and our military partners in Hampton Roads, and this process will include multiple public hearings."

READ MORE …

The 1960's

An interesting video DEPICTING THE 60'S GENERATION

 click on the sixties

  
the sixties 

Today’s Survey Question – 07/08/2011

Do You Write in Cursive or Do You Print?

Delaware Man Charged With Dealing In Child Pornography

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- The Delaware Department of Justice says a Dover man has been charged with nine counts of dealing in child pornography.

Twenty-one-year-old Robert Gruber Jr. was arrested Wednesday. He is being held on $90,000 cash bail.

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Wallops Launch Re-Scheduled

NASA has rescheduled the launch of experimental rockets from its Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The agency says in a release that it has moved the launch attempt to today. Bad weather conditions prompted Wednesday's launch to be scrubbed.

The rockets are part of a project to study neutral and charged particles in the ionosphere where communications and global-positioning satellites send their signals.

from the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Man Secretly Recorded 260 Women

Crofton man sentenced to serve 10 years in prison

An Anne Arundel County prosecutor and judge both used the word "mind-boggling" in court this week to describe what they called methodical and well-documented secret video recordings of 260 women by a Crofton man.

"It's the most far-reaching case I've ever seen," Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Rogers told Judge Paul A. Hackner. "Frankly, I don't know how the defendant had time to hold down a job or even to sleep and eat because of the scope of his activities."

Rogers said the activities of 35-year-old Charles Dean Novak included learning the routines of some of the women he recorded, and returning to their homes to make multiple videos of them as they dressed and undressed in their bedrooms and showered in their bathrooms.

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Allen Family Foods Seeks Executive Bonuses

Allen Family Foods, the bankrupt Seaford-based poultry producer, is seeking a judge's permission to pay executives up to $200,000 in bonuses to complete a sale of the company that would result in 1,600 people losing their jobs.

The bonus-payment request surfaced in filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, with a hearing scheduled for July 15.

The executives who would be entitled to the bonuses under two incentives plans are not named in court documents.

Allen, which employs about 1,600 people in Delaware, has agreed to sell most of its assets to Millsboro-based poultry firm Mountaire Farms for $30 million. Mountaire plans to expand at its facility in Selbyville and might hire some Allen workers for that, but the laid off workers have no firm offers.

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Prince George's County Agrees To Pay $4M To Foreign Teachers

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - The public school system in Maryland's Prince George's County has agreed to pay $4 million to reimburse more than 1,000 foreign teachers it hired and required to pay fees the school system should have handled.

The teachers, the vast majority from the Philippines, were hired under a visa program for foreign workers. An investigation by the Department of Labor found the teachers were illegally required to pay fees that should have been covered by the school system.

The department announced the agreement with the school system Thursday. It said that the school system will also pay $100,000 in penalties and be barred for two years from hiring more foreign teachers. The school system, Maryland's second largest, said in a statement it was sorry not to be able to continue to hire foreign workers and it was "not the outcome we had hoped for."

"This decision is in the best interest of our school district," the statement said. "Now it is time for us to move forward and continue to place highly effective teachers in every classroom in order to provide our students with the necessary skills they need to be successful."

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Worcester County Beaches Earn High Marks

Worcester County’s beaches earned high marks for water quality, according to a national report released last week, but they fell behind two Delaware beaches that earned perfect scores.

The Natural Resources Defense Council on June 29 released its annual “Testing the Waters” report, which details the data gathered in 2010 regarding water quality testing and beach closures at public beaches throughout the country.

Maryland fared well in the report, ranking 16th out of 50 in the nation for the cleanest beaches. That was a drop from a seventh-place ranking last year. The ranking is based on the percentage of water samples exceeding the national standard for bacterial pollutants. Seventy Maryland beaches along were included in the report.

In Worcester County, the beach at Assateague State Park is monitored, as are two locations for the beach at Assateague Island National Seashore, six locations on Ocean City’s beach and one other ocean beach. The water is tested at each location once a week by the Health Department between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

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NASA's Future

With its last Shuttle flight scheduled for later this morning, NASA is already looking towards the future. The Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral has found some work for its work force, soon to be surplus. They'll provide launch and post-flight technical assistance to a Nevada company, Sierra Nevada Space Systems. The company has developed a reusable spacecraft called Dream Chaser. It's in the running to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. Sierra Nevada already has agreements with NASA's Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston and two other locations. The Dream Chaser looks like a shrunken version of the Shuttle.