Japan had come into the tournament as sentimental favorites, helping rally a nation that had been devastated by a March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami and nuclear disaster. For the United States, it was more a disappointment -- especially considering that the team twice relinquished leads.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Japan Wins Women's World Cup Over U.S. On Penalty Kicks
Frankfurt, Germany (CNN) -- The Japanese women's soccer team won the World Cup after defeating the United States on penalty kicks Sunday night, rallying from a pair of one-goal deficits to capture its first-ever world title.
'Potter' takes down Batman with $168.6M
'Deathly Hallows 2' weekend box office haul eclipses record held by 'Dark Knight'
LOS ANGELES — The boy wizard has vanquished the dark knight and a band of pirates with a record-setting magic act at both the domestic and international box office.
Warner Bros. estimates that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" took in $168.6 million domestically from Friday to Sunday. That beats the previous best opening weekend of $158.4 million, also held by Warner Bros. for 2008's Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight."
Overseas, the film added $307 million in 59 countries since it began rolling out Wednesday, topping the previous best international debut of $260.4 million set in May by Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."
BREAKING NEWS: Former Egyptian President Mubarak In Coma
Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is in a coma after suffering a stroke, his lawyer says.
Taxes Are Like Insurance
Whether locally, at the state level, or even at the federal level, we’re seeing a trend that an increasing number of Americans don’t want to pay taxes. Whether it’s retirees who resent supporting their public schools to young people who resent paying the payroll tax because they feel that they’ll never see any of it, more and more people don’t want to pay any tax UNLESS they believe they will see some immediate (and usually direct) benefit from it. Simply put, this is a wrongheaded view of taxation.
In part, we should view taxes as insurance should be viewed. NOTICE that I said SHOULD be viewed. Unfortunately, we have come to view insurance in much the same way as we view taxes. We can blame this on the modern system of paying for health care.
Modern health insurance is a misnomer. There is very little insurance. It’s part savings plan, part transfer, mostly a third party payment system, but very little insurance. One thing is for sure, most people are hell bent on deriving the greatest possible benefit (which is simply human nature) and have no desire to take on most of the cost themselves.
So what is insurance supposed to be? The idea behind insurance is fairly simple. A large pool of entities (they could be individuals or businesses, or both, depending on what you are insuring) pool their money. IF one or more members suffers a catastrophic loss those funds are available to pay off the claim(s). That is what insurance is SUPPOSED to be!
What has it become? In the health care market “insurance” has ceased to insure and instead is nothing more than a third party arrangement to pay for services. We even see it in auto insurance: people seem to want immediate and direct benefit from the premiums they pay. That is not insurance!
With taxes we are seeing much the same thing. People seem to view taxes as user fees. If they don’t derive a DIRECT benefit, somehow the tax is unjustified. With local taxes, this is evidenced by resentment of monies spent on education while monies spent for garbage pick-up or law enforcement are OK (I can only speculate that the DIRECT benefit of law enforcement expenditure is peace of mind).
In a recent column I offered the idea of providing limited free parking downtown as one part of a solution to help revitalize downtown. Commenters argued that this was a subsidy for downtown business (translation – no direct benefit to the commenters).
Taxes should not be viewed this way. Unlike user fees (like tolls), not every citizen paying taxes will (nor should they) derive a direct benefit from those taxes. The “benefit(s)” are indirect. As an example, a revitalized downtown would boost employment and raises / broadens the tax base.
As I await the accusations of RINO or liberal to come pouring in, I want to remind you that conservatives are not anti-tax. We are proponents of limited government. We are proponents of efficient government. We are proponents of ordered liberty (the big difference between a conservative and a libertarian). We oppose the rationalistic attempts by the left to turn America into some sort of materialistic “workers’ paradise”. We also accept that we will not necessarily derive DIRECT benefit from the taxes we pay into the system.
If this is what I really believe, why would I oppose projects such as acquiring park land in Wicomico County? That’s simple. Between the revenue cap and poor management from the County Executive, there is no money to develop new parks. Why should we take property off of the tax rolls when we know that it will probably never be put to a useful purpose?
You attack the school board all the time. Yes I do! In fact, I will continue to do so as long as the WCBOE continues to treat the taxpayer like a piece of fruit, existing only to be squeezed. That does not mean that I don’t support quality public schools. That doesn’t mean that most conservatives don’t support quality public schools. It simply means that we believe that our tax dollars should be spent wisely.
The list goes on and on.
Those that claim the mantle of conservatism, but argue that the government shouldn’t spend money on projects that don’t directly benefit them are not conservatives. These people are either ideologues or simply cheap. We should be willing to pay taxes for money that is efficiently spent and provides all of us a benefit – even if that benefit is indirect.
G. A. Harrison is the Managing Editor of “Salisbury News”. Delmarva Dealings appears each Wednesday and Sunday at SbyNEWS.com.
GOP Wants To Hurt Economy To Win In 2012
Hogwash, responded Republicans.
But the charge from Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is evidence of the political nervousness among Democratic governors looking ahead to 2012 after their ranks were thinned in the last election.
It also hints at the tenuous control the president has over jobs and the economy, the issues certain to dominate the elections.
At this weekend's meeting of the National Governors Association, O'Malley has said Republican governors should urge GOP lawmakers to make a deal with Obama to increase the government's borrowing limit before the Aug. 2 deadline when U.S. faces a financial default.
The Republicans seem to be led by uncompromising hard-liners, he said, singling out House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., for criticism.
"I think that there is an extreme wing within their party who have as their primary goal not the jobs recovery, but the defeat of President Obama in 2012," O'Malley said in an interview. "They know that their formulations, their policies of less revenues and less regulation badly failed our country and plunged us into this recession. So their only way of evening the playing field is to keep the president from being successful in the jobs recovery."
He contended that key Republican members of Congress, "through their intransigence, cleverly set up a situation for America's economy to fail, either by needlessly driving us to default, or needlessly driving us into massive public sector layoffs."
"I think that they are disgracefully cynical," said O'Malley, who has a prominent profile as head of the Democratic governors' group.
Woman Accused Of Groping TSA Agent At Phoenix Airport
Flier allegedly grabbed the breast of a security agent at an airport checkpoint
PHOENIX — Authorities say a Colorado woman who allegedly groped a female Transportation Security Administration agent at Phoenix's international airport is facing a felony count of sexual abuse.
TSA spokesperson Kawika Riley confirmed the altercation to msnbc.com in a statement: "On July 14 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, local law enforcement arrested a passenger for assaulting a TSA officer during the screening process."
More
'Cash Cab' strikes, kills pedestrian in Vancouver
TV game-show taxi knocks down 61-year-old Canadian after filming
VANCOUVER, Canada — The production company for a TV game-show filmed inside a fake taxi offered condolences Saturday after its vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian, The Canadian Press news agency reported.
Andrew Burnstein, president of Vancouver-based Castlewood Productions Inc., said the team with Discovery Channel's "Cash Cab" sends thoughts and prayers to the 61-year-old victim from Surrey, B.C., and his family.
OCEAN CITY, Md. - Families heading to area beaches have more to enjoy than sand and salty water.
Ocean City, Md. has the Jolly Roger Theme Park, complete with a farris wheel and roller coaster.
"You hear the sounds of the rides and get caught up in the excitement, but you also can move over to the bay side, walk over to sunset park or some of those very quiet areas and just take in a sunset," says Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.
There are movies on the beach.
"Some of us actually remember drive-in movie theaters and watching movies on a bigger screen outside."
Ocean City beach movies are on summer Mondays and Fridays at 27th Street. Enormous inflatable screens are erected "and when you're looking at the movies and you can hear the ocean in the background and see the big screen under the stars. It's a great experience for everybody."
"I think the parents enjoy it as much as the kids," Meehan says
The Delaware beaches also offer lots of options to lying in the sun. There's a big sandcastle contest coming up Aug. 6. There are art galleries and upscale boutiques. Don't forget tax- free shopping.
A ferry ride across Delaware Bay takes you to Cape May, N.J., a historic town filled with Victorian mansions. Just off shore, you can see an experimental ship from World War I that's made out of concrete.
More
Ocean City, Md. has the Jolly Roger Theme Park, complete with a farris wheel and roller coaster.
"You hear the sounds of the rides and get caught up in the excitement, but you also can move over to the bay side, walk over to sunset park or some of those very quiet areas and just take in a sunset," says Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.
There are movies on the beach.
"Some of us actually remember drive-in movie theaters and watching movies on a bigger screen outside."
Ocean City beach movies are on summer Mondays and Fridays at 27th Street. Enormous inflatable screens are erected "and when you're looking at the movies and you can hear the ocean in the background and see the big screen under the stars. It's a great experience for everybody."
"I think the parents enjoy it as much as the kids," Meehan says
The Delaware beaches also offer lots of options to lying in the sun. There's a big sandcastle contest coming up Aug. 6. There are art galleries and upscale boutiques. Don't forget tax- free shopping.
A ferry ride across Delaware Bay takes you to Cape May, N.J., a historic town filled with Victorian mansions. Just off shore, you can see an experimental ship from World War I that's made out of concrete.
More
Your Share Of Uncle Sam's Debt: $534,000.00
Yes, trillions, and trillions. And that breaks down to a staggering $534,000 per U.S. household, USA Today's analysis finds. By the end of September, another $5,240 that has accumulated will push the household share to nearly $540,000.
Last year, the government incurred $1.5 trillion in new debt to cover budget deficits. Also last year, the government added $5.3 trillion to the amount it owes in new financial obligations.
Repeat such patterns year after year, and it's no wonder how these liabilities mount up. Most of those obligations are the result of programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
More here
Verizon Billing & Sales Practices Under Investigation In Maryland
While the folks in Washington, D.C., are proposing regulations to prevent bizarre, and often illegal, third-party charges from being buried on your phone bill, officials in a nearby Maryland county are actually investigating Verizon's billing practices following complaints that the phone company has been charging customers for services they didn't request.
More »
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J.Lo And Marc Anthony Call It Quits
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are splitting up after seven years of marriage.
We have come to amicable conclusion on all matters. It is a painful time for all involved and we appreciate the respect of our privacy at this time."
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Treasury To Stop Funding Its Market Manipulation Fund To Delay US Bankruptcy
Joe, many times we talked about the false economy we are now experiencing. We even talked about how the govt. actually manipulates the stock market. Well it would seem as though thats about to change - at least for now. It appears as though the government is being forced to discontinue it's practice of using a fund to keep the stock market stable in order to use the funds to pay other bills. I believe that this is merely another attempt to create another rough spot so that the people will beg the government for help. Check this article out.
Update: As Previously Announced, Treasury to Employ Final Extraordinary Measure to Extend U.S. Borrowing Authority Until August 2
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the following statement from Jeffrey Goldstein, Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, regarding the use of the last of the four previously announced measures available to keep our nation under the statutory debt limit, suspension of reinvestment of the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
“Today, as previously announced, the Treasury Department will suspend reinvestment of the Exchange Stabilization Fund, the last of the measures available to keep the nation under the statutory debt limit. In order to prevent a default on the nation’s obligations, Congress must enact a timely increase of the debt ceiling.”
The U.S. reached the debt limit on May 16, 2011, but the Treasury Department has employed three previous measures to temporarily extend our ability to meet the nation’s obligations. Those measures, in order taken, are (1) suspending issuance of State and Local Government Series (SLGS) Treasury securities; (2) declaring a “debt issuance suspension period” of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF); and (3) suspending reinvestment of the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund).
More
Update: As Previously Announced, Treasury to Employ Final Extraordinary Measure to Extend U.S. Borrowing Authority Until August 2
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the following statement from Jeffrey Goldstein, Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, regarding the use of the last of the four previously announced measures available to keep our nation under the statutory debt limit, suspension of reinvestment of the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
“Today, as previously announced, the Treasury Department will suspend reinvestment of the Exchange Stabilization Fund, the last of the measures available to keep the nation under the statutory debt limit. In order to prevent a default on the nation’s obligations, Congress must enact a timely increase of the debt ceiling.”
The U.S. reached the debt limit on May 16, 2011, but the Treasury Department has employed three previous measures to temporarily extend our ability to meet the nation’s obligations. Those measures, in order taken, are (1) suspending issuance of State and Local Government Series (SLGS) Treasury securities; (2) declaring a “debt issuance suspension period” of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF); and (3) suspending reinvestment of the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund).
More
Rebekah Brooks Reportedly Arrested In Hacking Scandal
ITN: Former top executive in Rupert Murdoch's media empire questioned by officers investigating allegations of corruption and phone hacking
LONDON — Rebekah Brooks, a former top executive in Rupert Murdoch's media empire, was arrested on Sunday by officers investigating allegations of corruption and phone hacking, sources told NBC News' international news partner ITN.
Brooks, 43, has said she was unaware of allegations that the News of the World tabloid hacked thousands of phones including that of a murdered schoolgirl.
She resigned on Friday as chief executive of News International to try to deflect pressure from the media empire of Murdoch, whose News Corp has been rocked by the crisis.
More
S&P Report Vindicates House “Cut, Cap, And Balance” Plan
Standard & Poor’s issued a dire warning this week stating a 50 percent likelihood that the nation’s gold-plated Triple-A credit rating will be downgraded in the next 90 days.
Not because of any failure to increase the debt ceiling, but because it appears there will be no longer-term plan that substantially reduces the deficit.
S&P said that unless an agreement is reached that results in a fiscal consolidation plan of at least $4 trillion, that the nation’s debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will continue to increase over the next decade.
And, critically, according to the report, “We view an inability to timely agree and credibly implement medium-term fiscal consolidation policy as inconsistent with a 'AAA' sovereign rating, given the expected government debt trajectory noted above.”
S&P measures debt owned by the public at nearly 75 percent of GDP, rising to 84 percent by 2013. But, if one counts debt owed to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, the picture looks even worse.
Under that metric, total debt-to-GDP is already at 95 percent, and will likely top 100 percent within a year.
This makes an upcoming vote on Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives critical to restoring order to the nation’s fiscal house. Then, members will be voting on the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act.”
The legislation increases the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling, conditioned on hundreds of billions of immediate spending cuts, capping spending at 18 percent of GDP, and a Balanced Budget Amendment being sent to the states by both houses of Congress.
Because it includes a constitutional amendment, it may be the only proposal that would meet S&P’s criteria of an agreement that “would be enacted and maintained throughout the decade,” resulting in S&P reaffirming the nation’s Triple-A credit rating.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, one of the proposal’s architects, is to be praised for standing strong on real cuts. Achieving this vote was a hard-fought victory within his own conference.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, too, deserves credit for standing up to President Obama, and House Speaker John Boehner is to be praised for being a true representative of his conference in allowing the vote to take place. Boehner has since called the proposal a “solid plan.”
Supporters of the proposal are not at all enthusiastic about raising the debt ceiling. Instead, they have said they will only vote in favor if it means that it will not need to be increased again in the future. That’s a tall order. Ultimately, that will not be possible unless the budget is balanced and the debt begins to be paid down.
It means that in order to secure House Republican votes, there needs to be a real solution on the table that will rein in the federal Leviathan before any downgrade, default, or economic collapse ensues.
The S&P report vindicates observers who have been saying that the debt crisis is not a long-term problem, it is a problem now. Soon the national debt will become so large that it cannot possibly be repaid.
Read more here
Not because of any failure to increase the debt ceiling, but because it appears there will be no longer-term plan that substantially reduces the deficit.
S&P said that unless an agreement is reached that results in a fiscal consolidation plan of at least $4 trillion, that the nation’s debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will continue to increase over the next decade.
And, critically, according to the report, “We view an inability to timely agree and credibly implement medium-term fiscal consolidation policy as inconsistent with a 'AAA' sovereign rating, given the expected government debt trajectory noted above.”
S&P measures debt owned by the public at nearly 75 percent of GDP, rising to 84 percent by 2013. But, if one counts debt owed to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, the picture looks even worse.
Under that metric, total debt-to-GDP is already at 95 percent, and will likely top 100 percent within a year.
This makes an upcoming vote on Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives critical to restoring order to the nation’s fiscal house. Then, members will be voting on the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act.”
The legislation increases the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling, conditioned on hundreds of billions of immediate spending cuts, capping spending at 18 percent of GDP, and a Balanced Budget Amendment being sent to the states by both houses of Congress.
Because it includes a constitutional amendment, it may be the only proposal that would meet S&P’s criteria of an agreement that “would be enacted and maintained throughout the decade,” resulting in S&P reaffirming the nation’s Triple-A credit rating.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, one of the proposal’s architects, is to be praised for standing strong on real cuts. Achieving this vote was a hard-fought victory within his own conference.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, too, deserves credit for standing up to President Obama, and House Speaker John Boehner is to be praised for being a true representative of his conference in allowing the vote to take place. Boehner has since called the proposal a “solid plan.”
Supporters of the proposal are not at all enthusiastic about raising the debt ceiling. Instead, they have said they will only vote in favor if it means that it will not need to be increased again in the future. That’s a tall order. Ultimately, that will not be possible unless the budget is balanced and the debt begins to be paid down.
It means that in order to secure House Republican votes, there needs to be a real solution on the table that will rein in the federal Leviathan before any downgrade, default, or economic collapse ensues.
The S&P report vindicates observers who have been saying that the debt crisis is not a long-term problem, it is a problem now. Soon the national debt will become so large that it cannot possibly be repaid.
Read more here
Cash for Clunkers – for Trucks
With more than a million miles on the road, Armand Patella's 19-year-old Ford 9000 truck has seen better days.
But he's hung onto it, because new trucks aren't cheap. Patella, the head of Picorp trucking service on East Lombard Street, still uses the 1992 vehicle to move empty or lightly loaded containers around the Port of Baltimore.
"It's had a new engine or two," Patella said last week, "but it's paid for."
Now, though, a program aimed at making the community's air healthier to breathe is encouraging Patella and other short-haul truck operators serving the port to trade in their soot-belching clunkers for newer, cleaner vehicles.
Bernanke Plots Further Stimulus
Says Fed Would Consider New Stimulus ... The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, gave a subdued account of the economy's health Wednesday and said that the Fed was prepared to expand its economic aid campaign once again, if necessary, though such a step was not imminent. Less than a month has passed since Mr. Bernanke said at a press conference that the central bank intended to stand back and take the measure of the nation's sluggish recovery. Wednesday's remarks amounted to acknowledgment that so far, the news has been almost uniformly bad. "I think we have to keep all the options on the table," Mr. Bernanke said in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. "We don't know where the economy is going to go." - The New York Times
Dominant Social Theme: The Federal Reserve will come up with another plan and it will be useful.
Free-Market Analysis: Ben Bernanke stumbles from one public relations disaster to another. Fresh off his ludicrous statement to Congressman Ron Paul (left) that gold is not money, he has indicated that he's ready to buy more of America's junk bonds using currency printed from nothing.
Will it help restore America's "greatness?" Nope. Essentially this is just another tax on the American people achieved by the roundabout method of price inflation. It may push prices of gold and silver through the roof, but it's not going to change anything about America's failing economy. In fact, it will make things worse. And perhaps that's just the point.
It's seems to us that it's Bernanke's job to make things worse. The Anglosphere power elites that apparently run much of the world want to run the rest of it and they are making an aggressive push early in the 21st century. Take a step back and the patterns seem increasingly apparent. A lot of it has to do with austerity.
More
Dominant Social Theme: The Federal Reserve will come up with another plan and it will be useful.
Free-Market Analysis: Ben Bernanke stumbles from one public relations disaster to another. Fresh off his ludicrous statement to Congressman Ron Paul (left) that gold is not money, he has indicated that he's ready to buy more of America's junk bonds using currency printed from nothing.
Will it help restore America's "greatness?" Nope. Essentially this is just another tax on the American people achieved by the roundabout method of price inflation. It may push prices of gold and silver through the roof, but it's not going to change anything about America's failing economy. In fact, it will make things worse. And perhaps that's just the point.
It's seems to us that it's Bernanke's job to make things worse. The Anglosphere power elites that apparently run much of the world want to run the rest of it and they are making an aggressive push early in the 21st century. Take a step back and the patterns seem increasingly apparent. A lot of it has to do with austerity.
More
For Whom the Toll Pays
With its regular commuters and weekend beach traffic, the Bay Bridge made more than enough money to pay for itself last year - $10 million more.
The tunnels under Baltimore waterways, too, made money: To the tune of $73.5 million after paying their bills.
Even so, state officials are finalizing a plan to nearly double and in some places more than triple the base rates charged at all Maryland toll facilities starting later this year.
Why?
On its surface, it appears the funds will go toward paying off the $2.56 billion Intercounty Connector between Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
Officials pushing for the toll increases won't say it quite so bluntly, instead saying the money also is needed for maintenance of all aging facilities.
But the numbers point directly at the Intercounty Connector.
Notice Of City Council Closed Session - July 25, 2011
PUBLIC NOTICE
THE CITY COUNCIL WILL HOLD AN OPEN SESSION ON MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011, AT 12:30 P.M. TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND AND OBSERVE THE COUNCIL’S VOTE ON CONVENING IN CLOSED SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECEIVING AN UPDATE FROM AND CONSULT WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY ON PENDING LITIGATION ISSUES AS PERMITTED UNDER THE ANNOTATED CODE OF MARYLAND SECTIONS 10-508(A)(7)(8).
THE SESSION WILL BE HELD IN CONFERENCE ROOM 306 OF THE GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDING (125 N. DIVISION STREET).
McDonnell Urges Retirement System Change
On CNBC Wednesday, Gov. Bob McDonnell made his pitch for taking another crack at changes to the Virginia Retirement System.
"We have a very rich and generous defined benefit program, and that's almost a dinosaur now in the public and private sector," he said when asked about the health of the state workers pension program.
The state doesn't "have enough people paying in at reasonable rates to fund the outflows from the people who are retiring now."
Changes, he said, are "a top priority for the next session," he said. "And I've already told the General Assembly it's coming."
The General Assembly this year required state employees to pay 5 percent into the Virginia Retirement System, and reimbursed them for the entire amount with 5 percent pay raises.
Next Meeting Of The WCRC
July 25, 2011
Refreshments 6:30 pm Meeting Starts 7:00 pm
Location: Salisbury Chamber of Commerce
144 East Main Street, Salisbury, MD
Speaker: State's Attorney Matt Maciarello
O’Donnell Backers Take Aim at Group
Christine O'Donnell is fighting back against critics who have accused her of living off donations from her failed U.S. Senate campaigns.
Federal prosecutors have closed an investigation into allegations O'Donnell used campaign funds in 2009 to make $1,500 in rent payments to a former boyfriend who bought her Wilmington home.
U.S. Attorney Charles Oberly sent O'Donnell's attorney a letter Friday saying he was closing his investigation and "does not intend to pursue criminal charges at this time."
Oberly said his office would refer the matter to the Federal Elections Commission, which already has been investigating a similar complaint lodged by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Debt Crisis Could Have Outsized Effect on Maryland
Bracing for the loss of a steady paycheck is becoming something of a routine for Frank Silberstein.
A statistician for the U.S. Census Bureau and a union steward for the American Federation of Government Employees, Silberstein said the pitched battle in Washington over whether to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling has — for the second time this year — put federal workers in Maryland on edge about whether they'll still have a job in a few weeks.
"It feels like they're coming at us with an ax," said Silberstein, of Hyattsville. He notes that federal workers were caught in the political crossfire over deficit reduction just four months ago as Congress struggled to pass a budget to avoid a government shutdown.
"People are just hoping for the best," he said.
As Washington attempts to negotiate a deal to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2 or risk defaulting on the nation's financial obligations, hundreds of thousands of Maryland-based federal employees, contractors and Social Security beneficiaries are watching the political brinksmanship warily.
Five Pearls Of Wisdom
1. Money cannot buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes Benz than it is on a bicycle.
2. Forgive your enemy, but remember the bastard's name.
3. Help a man when he is in trouble & he will remember you when he is in trouble again.
4. Many people are alive only because it's illegal to shoot them.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problem, but then neither does milk.
2. Forgive your enemy, but remember the bastard's name.
3. Help a man when he is in trouble & he will remember you when he is in trouble again.
4. Many people are alive only because it's illegal to shoot them.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problem, but then neither does milk.
Same-Sex Marriage–Meet the DREAM Act
Maryland Republicans are looking at the upcoming Dream Act referendum and saying they see a way to block any same-sex marriage bill the General Assembly passes next session.
They also say petition drives have become a way to make the Democratic-controlled General Assembly give the minority party more respect.
This optimism is based on the tactics used this spring and summer to collect enough voters' signatures to delay implementation of the controversial 2011 Dream Act, which would have allowed some illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition rates.
The Dream Act now will go before voters in a referendum that could reverse the General Assembly.
"I think on a number of levels, it is going to have a much bigger impact" than just on the Dream Act, Del. Tony McConkey, a three-term Republican from Severna Park, said of the signature drive.
More Illegal Immigrants from India Crossing Border
Police wearing berets and bulletproof vests broke down the door of a Guatemala City apartment in February hunting for illegal drugs. Instead, they found a different kind of illicit shipment: 27 immigrants from India packed into two locked rooms.
The Indians, whose hiding space was furnished only with soiled mattresses, claimed to be on vacation. But authorities quickly concluded they were waiting to be smuggled into the United States via an 11,000-mile (17,700-kilometer) pipeline of human cargo -- the same network that has transported thousands of illegal immigrants from India, through Central America and Mexico and over the sandy banks of the Rio Grande during the past two years.
Indians have arrived in droves even as the overall number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. has dropped dramatically, in large part because of the sluggish American economy. And with fewer Mexicans and Central Americans crossing the border, smugglers are eager for more "high-value cargo" like Indians, some of whom are willing to pay more than $20,000 for the journey.
Late Night NATO Air Strikes Rock Tripoli
Tripoli was rocked by a series of airstrikes by NATO forces in the early hours of the morning Sunday.
Libyan television reported that the "NATO crusader forces" had hit civilian and military targets in the eastern suburb of Tajoura.
Just after midnight Sunday, a series of dull rumbles and flashes could be seen to the east of Tripoli, illuminating huge plumes of smoke and accompanied by the sporadic tracers of antiaircraft fire.
The distant rumbling blasts continued for at least an hour, suggesting some kind of facility with explosive materials had been hit.
Editor’s Choice – 07/17/2011
These were the five (5) best, or most important, posts for July 16th, as judged by the editors of Salisbury News.
Readers’ Choice – 07/17/2011
These were the most popular posts for July 16th, judged by the most approved comments.
- Today’s Survey Question – Will You Be Attending Church Tomorrow?
- United States Flag
- Historical Comments by George Chevallier – Hitting the Road
- Why 2012 Is Shaping Up To Be An “Anybody But Obama” Election
- Word of the Day
Police In Georgia Shut Down Girls' Lemonade Stand
MIDWAY, Ga. (AP) - Police in Georgia have shut down a lemonade stand run by three girls trying to save up for a trip to a water park, saying they didn't have a business license or the required permits.
Midway Police Chief Kelly Morningstar says police also didn't know how the lemonade was made, who made it or what was in it.
Word of the Day – 07/17/2011
ambagious
(am-BAY-juss)
(adj.) circuitous; roundabout; unnecessarily wordy.
from Rare Words II by Jan and Hallie Leighton; copyright 2008: Levenger Press
BREAKING NEWS: Casey Anthony Freed From Jail
AP reports that Casey Anthony has been freed from Fla. jail 12 days after being acquitted of murder in daughter's death.
Quote of the Day – 07/17/2011
Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.
- G. K. Chesterton (1874 – 1936)
from 
Today’s Weather – 07/17/2011
for Salisbury, MD -
Today -
Lots of sunshine. High 88F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight -
Mainly clear skies. Low 69F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tomorrow -
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Churches Debate Whether to Marry Gays
After same-sex marriage becomes legal here on July 24, gay priests with partners in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island will head to the altar. They have to. Their bishop set a nine-month deadline for them to marry or stop living together.
Next door, meanwhile, the Episcopal bishop of New York says he also expects gay clergy in committed relationships to wed "in due course." Still, this longtime supporter of gay rights says churches in his diocese are off limits for gay weddings until he receives clearer liturgical guidance from the national denomination.
As more states legalize same-sex marriage, religious groups with ambiguous policies on homosexuality are divided over whether they should allow the ceremonies in local congregations. The decision is especially complex in the mainline Protestant denominations that have yet to fully resolve their disagreements over the Bible and homosexuality. Many have taken steps toward acceptance of gay ordination and same-gender couples without changing the official definition of marriage in church constitutions and canons. With the exception of the United Church of Christ, which approved gay marriage six years ago, none of the larger mainline churches has a national liturgy for same-sex weddings or even blessing ceremonies.
Bachmann Left Church at Pastor’s Request
The conservative church that Michele Bachmann officially left days before launching her presidential campaign said Friday that the Minnesota congresswoman’s decision came at their request.
“The impetus came from the church,” said Joel Hochmuth, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the denominational organization that includes the church. “For the pastor’s sake, he wanted to know where he stood with the family.”
Michele Bachmann claims disaffected democrats make up a part of the tea party movement, which is generally associated with the far right. Is there truth to her claim?
Bachmann (R) had stopped attending Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church two years ago but did not formally end her membership until June 21, a date first reported by CNN. The timing raised questions because it came shortly before she formally kicked off her presidential campaign in Waterloo, Iowa, and because the church has taken controversial stands on Catholicism and homosexuality.
Candidates have often come under fire for the religious company they keep. During the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama was forced to disavow his affiliation with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright after videos emerged of Wright’s more controversial sermons, which included statements critical of the United States and what many considered to be slurs against white people.