Make Your Next Crab Dinner A Fancy Feast

Roll up that newspaper and spread out some creativity

Newspaper. A roll of paper towels. Wooden mallets and plastic pitchers for cold drinks. The elements of a traditional Maryland crab feast could not be simpler to gather.

Or more uninspired.

Crab feasts are family affairs in Maryland. The adults linger at the table, talking and picking, while the kids play in the yard. Dusk arrives and empty crab shells and corn husks are rolled up in the soiled newspaper and dropped neatly in the garbage.

"You are meant to get your hands dirty," said Andrew Zill, design director for Feats Inc., an event-planning company in Baltimore. "But that doesn't mean there can't be some refinement. That you can't bring the indoors out."

More

Walter Reed Army Medical Center Is Closing

The storied Walter Reed Army Medical Center is closing its doors after providing care to privates and presidents for more than a century.
 
Patients and staff will say goodbye to the facility in the nation's capital at a ceremony Wednesday. It will be turned over to the State Department and District of Columbia in September.
More

Some Fliers May Not See Savings From Expired Taxes

DALLAS-- Some airline customers won't see savings this weekend even though several federal taxes on tickets have expired.

US Airways and American Airlines raised fares to offset the tax savings.

That means instead of passing along the savings from expired taxes, the carriers are pocketing the money while customers pay the same amount as before.

More 

Report: Obamacare Almost Instantly Halted Private Sector Job Creation

A new report from The Heritage Foundation shows private sector job creation dropped dramatically almost immediately after President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) into law.

From the recession’s low point in January 2009 until April 2010, when Obamacare went into effect, the private sector created about 67,600 jobs a month. After the president signed PPACA into law, that number slowed to a meager 6,400 jobs a month — a more than 90 percent decrease or less than one-tenth the previous rate.

As the report states, correlation cannot prove causation — but the change in course is statistically measurable and testing reveals a structural break between April and May of 2010. Moreover, small-business owners have said Obamacare is a deterrent to hiring. Take Scott Womack, the owner of 12 IHOP restaurants in Indiana and Ohio, as just one example. Before Obamacare became law, he had development plans in Ohio. Now, he’s worried he won’t be able to carry out his original plans unless Obamacare is repealed. Those restaurants he planned to open would provide jobs not only for his future employees, but also for everyone involved in the construction of the restaurant buildings themselves.

As the Heritage report explains, Obamacare discourages hiring in three important ways:

BREAKING NEWS

Boehner says leaders hope to have plan within 24 hours to avert default.

THE 2011 REPUBLICAN CLUB CRAB FEAST

Saturday, August 27, 2011 Schumaker Park Pavillion 1019 South Schumaker Drive Salisbury, MD 21804 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. All you can eat steamed crabs, steamed corn, hotdogs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, chicken, an assortment of soft drinks and draft beer Silent Auction, 50/50 Raffle, Activities/games for children & more. Ages 19 and up: $25.00 Ages 7 – 18: $8.00 6 and Under: Free Tickets at the Door: $30.00

States Try To Squeeze Taxes Out Of Online Travel Sites

For years, Expedia, Orbitz and the like have avoided paying most state sales taxes because their businesses aren’t physically located in those states. But now legislatures and courts are cracking down on online retailers. Will that mean higher costs for travelers?

Online retailers have started running into problems in a number of states in the last few months as courts and state legislatures try to squeeze sales taxes out of them. So far, only five states (Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island) require Internet retailers to collect sales tax. But according to Forbes, 12 other states are considering it.

Some sales taxes are paid when a traveler books through an online travel site, but not as much tax is collected as when travelers book directly through a hotel. When you use a travel site, a service charge is taken out of the total amount paid, and taxes are generally assessed on the rate the hotel gets from that travel site, not on the total amount. So states have been largely missing out on a small percentage of those taxes thanks those service fees and middlemen.

More

Students Sue Minnesota District Over Gay Policy

(CHAMPLIN, Minn.) — Several current and former students sued Minnesota's largest school district Thursday, saying its policy requiring staff to remain neutral when sexual orientation is discussed in the classroom prevents teachers from effectively protecting kids perceived as gay from bullying and harassment.

The five plaintiffs contend the Anoka-Hennepin School District failed to protect them from severe bullying and harassment, including physical abuse and verbal slurs. Three of the plaintiffs identify themselves as gay or bisexual and two do not.

"This policy sends the message to kids that who they are is not OK," said Mary Bauer, legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, one of two advocacy groups that filed the lawsuit in federal court in Minnesota.

More

Top 10 Obama Lies

President Obama is becoming a veritable Pinocchio by stretching the truth on a regular basis.

The President's schnoz keeps growing and growing, from his description of Americans as tax-friendly to the rich mythology of ObamaCare.

Here are the Top 10 Obama Lies.

Krauthammer: The Half-Trillion Plan

The debt ceiling looms. Confusion reigns. Schemes abound. We are deep in a hole with, as of now, only three ways out: the McConnell plan, the G6 plan and the Half-Trillion plan.
  
-- The McConnell essentially punts the issue till after Election Day 2012. A good last resort if nothing else works.
  
-- The G6, proposed by the bipartisan Gang of Six senators, reduces 10-year debt by roughly $4 trillion. It has some advantages, even larger flaws.
  
-- The Half-Trillion raises the debt ceiling by that amount in return for an equal amount of spending cuts. At the current obscene rate of deficit spending -- about $100 billion a month -- it yields about five months respite before the debt ceiling is reached again.
  
In my view, the Half-Trillion is best: It is clean, straightforward, yields real cuts, averts the current crisis and provides until year-end to negotiate a bigger deal. At the same time, it punctures President Obama's thus far politically successful strategy of proposing nothing in public, nothing in writing, nothing with numbers, while leaking through a pliant press supposed offers of surpassing scope and reasonableness.
  
As part of this pose, Obama had threatened to veto any short-term debt-ceiling hike. Which has become Obama's most vulnerable point. Is the catastrophe of default preferable to a deal that gives us, say, five months to negotiate something more significant -- because it doesn't get Obama through Election Day?
  
Which is why Obama is already in retreat. On Wednesday, press secretary Jay Carney showed the first crack by saying the president would accept an extension of a few days if needed to complete an already agreed upon long-term deal.
  
Meaning that he would exercise his veto if that larger deal required several months rather than several days? Call his bluff. Let the House pass the Half-Trillion. Dare him to put America into default because he deems a short-term deal insufficiently grand. After all, it dovetails perfectly with parts of the G6, for which the president has expressed support and which explicitly allocates roughly the same amount of time -- six months -- to work out the grander $3-$4 trillion deal. Read more

Drunk Driving Checkpoint On Bridge Tonight

Police plan to make traffic stops at the Bay Bridge tonight to check for drinking and driving.

Maryland Transportation Authority officials said officers will be positioned at the toll plaza, which funnels eastbound traffic, and are on the lookout for impaired motorists.Intoxicated drivers will be arrested and prosecuted, they said.The agency did not specify the times of this evening's checkpoint operations.

In addition to sobriety tests, officers plan to distribute literature about the laws and consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Officials said the purpose of the event is to inform motorists that driving drunk or high isn't a victimless traffic offense.

More

Detectives Probe Robbery With Shots Fired

Location: Fairways Inn, 4167 S. DuPont Parkway, Smyrna, DE

Date of Occurrence: Saturday, July 23, 2011 at 2:00 a.m.

Suspects:  Five black males with white hoods covering their heads. No further description is available. All were armed with handguns.

Victim:

-52 year old Dover, DE man

-22 year old Dover, DE female

-31 year old Smyrna, DE male

Resume:  

Smyrna- Delaware State Police detectives are currently investigating the robbery of the Fairways Inn in which numerous shots were fired that occurred early this morning.

The incident happened at approximately 2:00 a.m. this morning as a 52 year old male victim was exiting the Fairways Inn located in the 4100 block of S. DuPont Parkway in Smyrna, after closing up for the night. As the victim, who was carrying the night’s proceeds from the business, was walking to his car parked in the lot, he was confronted by a male suspect who began firing a gun at him. The victim dropped the money that he was carrying and ran for cover behind several parked cars in the lot. The victim, who was also armed, produced his own handgun and began shooting back at the male suspect. It was then that four other male suspects, all with hoods covering their heads, also began shooting at the victim. As this was occurring the first suspect picked up the money that the victim had dropped. All five suspects then fled on foot and were last seen running northbound on Rt. 13.

It was learned that a projectile fired by one of the suspects had struck a vehicle in the parking lot that was occupied by a 22 year old Dover female and a 31 year old Smyrna male. They were not injured, however. The 52 year old male victim was also not injured. 

The investigation into this incident is on-going at this time.

Anyone who may have any information in reference to this incident is asked to contact Detective Jackson at Troop 3 at 302-697-4454. Citizens may also provide a tip by texting keyword “DSP” plus your message to 274637 (CRIMES).  Tipsters may also provide information through lines maintained by Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333. Callers can also submit information via the internet at www.tipsubmit.com.

Pension System Gains $6 Billion On Investments, 20% Rate Of Return

Thanks to an improving national economy and careful portfolio management, the State Retirement and Pension System blew past its estimates and gained $6 billion in fiscal 2011, a 20% rate of return. The performance was nearly three times the benchmark rate of return of 7.75%, set by the system’s board of trustees.

Continue Reading...

TROOPER ASSAULTED BY MAN WITH A KNIFE ON CAPITAL BELTWAY

(FOREST HEIGHTS, MD) – A Prince George’s County man is under police guard at a hospital after he attacked a Maryland state trooper who had responded to his call for a traffic crash this morning on the Capital Beltway, not far from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

The suspect is identified as James A. Howard, 54, of Hyattsville, Md. Criminal charges are pending against him and are expected to be filed later today. He is currently under guard by state troopers at Ft. Washington Hospital, where he was taken for an evaluation.

The state trooper is identified as Trooper Byron Tribue, who is assigned to the Forestville Barrack. He has been a state trooper for 1.5 years. Trooper Tribue sustained stab wounds to his hand and was treated at Ft. Washington Hospital. He was released from the hospital after treatment.

At about 6:30 a.m. today, the duty officer at the Forestville Barrack took a call from a man, later identified as Howard, who said he had been involved in a single-vehicle crash on the inner loop of I-495, just prior to I-295 on the southeast side of the Capital Beltway. Trooper Tribue had just started his shift and was dispatched to the call.

When he arrived, the trooper noticed Howard was already outside his car and walking toward him. Howard approached on the passenger side and Trooper Tribue, while still seated in his car, asked him if he was injured. As the trooper turned to retrieve his hat from the back seat, Howard ran around to the driver’s side of the patrol car, pulled what appears to be a kitchen-type knife with a seven inch blade, and immediately began attacking the trooper through the open window.

The trooper was able to radio an emergency call to the barrack and began fighting off the attack while still seated in his car. He was unable to get the door open to get out.

While the trooper was being attacked, an unknown citizen stopped and jumped on the back of the attacker. This gave the trooper the opportunity to get out of the car and escape further, and likely more serious, injury. Moments later, other state troopers and county police officers arrived on the scene and subdued the suspect. The assisting citizen left the scene without identifying himself.

Further investigation indicates Howard’s car had struck the guardrail at that location. State Police investigators have learned Howard may have initiated the attack in an attempt to get the trooper to use deadly force against him.

The investigation is continuing.

Sizing Up The Republican Field: Fascists, Clowns, And Creeps

This is not an exhaustive list of everyone who is running for the GOP nomination, or everyone who might. It is a sample of potential candidates comprehensive enough to demonstrate the utter futility of relying on the so-called Republican frontrunners or their carbon copies to pose any sort of principled opposition to Obama.

This article is also not thorough on all the problems with each of these men and women, but rather just gives a taste.

I do not include Ron Paul here, and it almost pains me to mention his name in the same article. I also am not including Gary Johnson, a candidate whose positions on some important issues are not as libertarian as Ron’s but who is nevertheless far better than anyone explored below. Johnson has been marginalized out of the debates, and I feel bad for that. They would do the same to Ron if they could get away with it.

I think there is at least a strong possibility one of the forthcoming names will be at the top of the ticket in 2012, and if that is the case, there will probably be no reason a fan of liberty should care much about who wins.

Romney the Health Care Commie

Mitt Romney frightened me in 2008 when he suggested we might want to "double Guantánamo." On all the issues where Republicans are bad, he is bad. On some issues where Republicans are not always horrible, like gun control, Romney’s record is spotty at best.

Most conspicuous is his failure to have a principled critique of Obama’s most significant policy achievement that the GOP opposed fairly consistently. Romney is on constitutionally legitimate ground when he mounts the federalism defense of Romneycare while still criticizing Obamacare. His point that in a free republic, the states should be laboratories of democracy and the federal government should butt out, is valid. American socialism is indeed more constitutionally sound and less damaging this way.

But socialized medicine is still bad policy, morally and economically, even if done on the state level. American conservatives deride "Taxachussetts" for its state-level government interventions all the time. What’s more, the constitutional argument carries no weight coming from a big-government Republican. Does Romney oppose Medicare, Social Security, national education standards, plenary federal regulation of industry, the Federal Reserve, the FDA, and the war on drugs? None of these programs are any more constitutionally sound than Obamacare.

More

Heat Wave Takes Toll On Family Pets, Too

WASHINGTON - If you're suffering in this heat wave, your pet probably is too.
 
The weather has prompted emergency animal protection rules in one part of the area.
 
In Montgomery County, it's illegal to leave your pet tied up outside unattended anytime between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. It's an executive regulation put in place by the county's Animal Services Division, and it expires tonight

More

2011: A DMV Odyssey

Big Brother’s doing a bit more than just watching you these days.


Remember the last time you got your driver’s license renewed? You may recall the procedure for taking your picture was a bit different than it used to be. Instead of the usual “smile”! you might have been told to do no such thing – very specifically. To be as expressionless as possible. And that the system seemed more “high-tech” than it used to be. Instead of receiving your new license on-site, it would be mailed to you in a week or so – from some unspecified “secure location,” perhaps. You may have been told or seen signs or been given literature explaining that the new way of taking your picture is part of new security measures designed to make it harder for people to manufacture fake IDs (since a driver’s license is the de facto national ID in this country).


But they probably didn’t mention that the pictures – digitized images, actually – were to be downloaded into a new database that uses facial recognition software to “scan” for (are you surprised?) Terrorists – among other things.


Only it’s ordinary Americans who are being terrorized.


As The Boston Globe reports, Massachussetts resident John H. Gass had his license revoked after the facial recognition Hive Mind deemed him an un-Person. Glass had done nothing, though – other than being tardy opening his mail, including a threatening letter from the Massachussetts Registry of Motor Vehicles demanding that he prove the guy pictured on his DL was, in fact, him.
Here’s where it gets interesting – and depressing.


Gass had already established his identity – apparently, to the satisfaction of the state motor vehicle authorities – at the time his license was originally issued. Just like everyone else who applies for a DL.
Now it – well, a computer – demanded he prove it again. On his nickel. On his own time.


Or else.


“Or else” being – no more driving privileges for you.


Gass tried to do so – for ten days, according to The Globe.


First, he called the Motor Vehicle Registry, explaining that he’d forgotten to open his mail, including the letter they’d sent dated March 22, which notified him his license had been revoked effective April 1. The bureaucrats at the registry advised him his digitized image had been “flagged” by the computer because it was similar in appearance to the image of someone else. Now it was up to him, said the Registry drone, to come to them with documents to prove his identity.


Again.


More

2010 U.S. CENSUS MAP

Just glide your cursor over the map and it displays every county.

Can't imagine how long it took to create this map!!

NOTE THE HISPANIC POPULATION IN THE BORDER STATES!

Amazzzzzing!!!

Click:    2010 U.S. CENSUS MAP

A FOURTH TURNING PROPHECY

Check out this passage from The Fourth Turning and tell me these guys aren’t brilliant.

Recall that a Crisis catalyst involves scenarios distinctly imaginable eight or ten years in advance. Based on recent Unraveling-era trends, the following circa-2005 scenarios might seem plausible:

• An impasse over the federal budget reaches a stalemate. The president and Congress both refuse to back down, triggering a near-total government shutdown. The president declares emergency powers. Congress rescinds his authority. Dollar and bond prices plummet. The president threatens to stop Social Security checks. Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling. Default looms. Wall Street panics.

The Fourth Turning - Strauss & Howe – Page 273 – Written in 1996

SAUERBREY: Forcing The Irresponsible To Act Responsibly

President Obama dismissed the House of Representatives‘ “Cut, Cap and Balance” plan by saying, “We don’t need a constitutional amendment to do our jobs. The Constitution already tells us to do our jobs - and to make sure that the government is living within its means and making responsible choices.”

The problem is that history shows elected officials are not doing their jobs ensuring that government makes responsible choices and lives within its means.Republicans under George W. Bush were not able to do the job. By the end of his first term, Mr. Obama is expected to have added as much debt as all the prior 43 presidents combined. The problem is bipartisan and structural.

As a Maryland legislator for 16 years and then minority leader, I watched the appropriations process and I can understand why politicians will never do the job without structural change. The pressures to spend will always outweigh the pressures not to spend. Legislators are confronted with a daily parade of interest groups begging for this new program or that spending increase, always with lofty motives of improving the well-being of someone or something. If a specific disadvantaged group is not readily identifiable, then programs are often vaguely positioned “for the children.” The bottom line is that legislators will spend every dime they can get their hands on in response to these spending pressures.

The taxpayer who must pay the freight is busy earning a living and does not have time to come to the capitol and plead the case for fiscal restraint. State legislators in 49 of the 50 states are somewhat constrained by constitutional requirements to balance the state budget. I say “somewhat” because state legislators can raise taxes to cover their excesses. When times are good, there is no thought of saving money for bad times and when the bad times come, there is a scramble for new taxes. But those who resort to the tax solution are held accountable at the next election.

Unlike their federal counterparts, state legislators cannot print money.

Members of Congress have no such constraints and have long thought that their job was to “bring home the bacon” to their district. They can hold press conferences back home bragging about the new project, knowing that the price tag is immaterial and that pork equates with votes. Like state legislatures, Congress will spend every dollar that it collects in revenue and bonds. Unlike state legislatures, Congress can depend on phony money to meet its insatiable demands. However, the day is approaching that the national credit card is so overextended that no one will want to loan us money.
More here

Cost of EZ-Pass Transponder to Drop by Half

The multistate consortium that runs the E-ZPass toll collection system has agreed to a deal that would cut the cost of each transponder issued by its member toll authorities, including Maryland's, by more than half.

TollRoadsnews reported that the E-ZPass Interagency Group has chosen Kapsch TrafficCom IVHS Inc. as its supplier for the next generation of toll-collection devices. The Frederick-based trade publication calculated that Kapsch's bid would lower the per-unit cost of transponders from $20.95 to $8.90.

The deal would presumably give the Maryland Transportation Authority some room to offer its customers a better deal starting next year, though the savings are unlikely to significantly offset the record-high toll increases now pending.

READ MORE …

BREAKING NEWS: Singer Amy Winehouse Found Dead

Singer Amy Winehouse is found dead in London, police tell Fox News.

Back-to-School Shopping Like “Christmas in July”

Ted Williams wasn't at the pool last week. Nor was he on the basketball court, polishing off an ice cream cone, sleeping in till noon or catching a movie.

One gloriously sunny midsummer day found him at Target, clutching a dictionary and gazing listlessly at three-ring binders. Though it felt as if vacation had barely begun, the Towson teenager was already back-to-school shopping with his mother and younger brother. He could almost hear the institutional bell cutting into his time off.

The shopping trip, he declared, was "a killjoy."

"School," said Ted, who will be a freshman at Calvert Hall College High School, "is the last thing you want to think about."

But for retailers, it's the only thing worth talking about.

READ MORE …

Johnson’s Term on Sussex Planning Commission Expires

GEORGETOWN, DE — Although Mike Johnson has been elected vice chairman of the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission, his term expired June 30, and county council has not reappointed him.

Johnson, who lives in Georgetown and represents District 2, was first appointed to the commission in 2005. District 2 Councilman Sam Wilson, R-Georgetown, said he has not made up his mind on Johnson’s re-nomination. “I want to wait awhile to make my decision, and in the meantime he can still serve,” Wilson said. “I want to do what is best for the public.”

Known for his colorful post-it-notes containing comments and questions attached to public hearing documents, Johnson is considered one of the most dedicated commission members.

Johnson is assigned applications in the Georgetown area and in the Cape Region, where most of the development has occurred since 2005.

READ MORE …

Ocean City Council Debates TimberSIL Lumber Claims

OCEAN CITY - When Ocean City’s Boardwalk gets its fresh new boards this fall, it will be for a new low price.

The Ocean City Council on Monday voted to grant Baltimore-based Grasmick Lumber the contract to supply more than 56,000 planks of wood for the reconstruction of the Boardwalk, which will begin in October. Grasmick has supplied wood for the Boardwalk in the past, but City Engineer Terry McGean said the deal before the council was “a historically low” bid, which came in at $602,650.

“In 1990, we paid 54 cents a foot for deck lumber. In 2008, we paid 84 cents per foot. The bid price today is 52 cents per foot,” McGean said.

The glasswood company TimberSIL was also granted a contract to supply approximately $40,000 of wood treated with new technology that would be used on one block of the Boardwalk to test its claims of durability and longevity.

Berlin Planning Commissioner Ron Cascio, who is also a builder, spoke to the council about the potential benefits of using the new product.

“If we got half of the wood lifespan that TimberSIL claims, which would be [20-40 years] instead of eight to 10 that is standard in our experience, that would save costs on longevity,” Cascio said. “It’s a new product, but in their North Carolina yard it has been under severe stress testing.”

READ MORE …

White House Operative Heading 'Birther' Smear Campaign?

This is the third in a series of continuing articles aimed at exposing the "OBOTs" – radical supporters of Barack Obama dedicated to disrupting people who question Obama's eligibility to be president.

The first article exposed former California lawyer William L. Bryan, aka "P.J. Foggy." The second article exposed Foggy's sidekick, Kurt Coleman, aka "Rikker."

NEW YORK – A top Democrat, apparently operating with the full approval and cooperation of the president, has been directing a team of up to 100 who are paid to publish disinformation on a wide variety of websites to discredit "birthers," according to anti-Obama researchers.

The radical supporters of the president, known as Obama robots, or "OBOTs" for short, have confirmed their White House-appointed ring leader is Democratic Party operative James A. Johnson, the former chairman of Fannie Mae.

Initially, the OBOTs attempted to mask their Internet identities by posting under usernames with avatars that suggest their personalities. But due largely to the efforts of anti-Obama researchers, including "birthers" vilified by the OBOTs, the true identities of key OBOT operatives have been revealed.

Remarkably, key OBOT operatives, including possibly Johnson himself, have tended over time to self-identify. Two OBOT usernames – "NeonZX" and "JimBot" – may have been usernames Johnson himself created to cover his tracks.

If "NeonZX" and "JimBot" are James A. Johnson, a link will have been established between the Obama White House at the topmost levels and a highly organized disinformation campaign, most likely financed by taxpayer funds. The campaign has been aimed at anyone who challenges Obama's eligibility to be president under Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution.

WND contacted Johnson's office for comment, but Johnson did not reply.

There's more here

BREAKING NEWS: 11 Reported Dead In China Train Derailment

China bullet train derails, partly falling off a bridge and reportedly killing at least 11.

From Fox News

Why Harley-Davidson's Earnings Are (Finally) Roaring

Amidst all the economic anxiety gripping Washington and the rest of the nation, more new Hogs are hitting the road.

On Tuesday Harley-Davidson reported stellar growth: income for the second quarter was $190.6 million, up 36.8% compared with the second quarter of last year. In the U.S., unit sales of new motorcycles rose 7.5%, the first year-over-year quarterly rise since the fourth quarter of 2006.

Harley Davidson generated $1.34 billion in sales, well ahead of a consensus expectation of $1.263 billion in sales.

The company's second quarter earnings per share - $0.81 - also exceeded expectations ($0.71).

The company says it now expects to ship between 228,000 to 235,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles worldwide in 2011: in April, the company said it planned to ship between 215,000 and 228,000 bikes.

More

Cool Your Car Down Quickly

The summer sun has a way of transforming cars into ovens, and it's no fun sweating while you wait for the air conditioner to provide some relief. You can speed things up with a bizarre yet apparently effective little trick.

To pull off the magic, roll down a window on one side of the car, and open and close the door on the opposite side several times. The increased air circulation can drop your vehicle's overheated temperature by double digits.

Watch this Chinese-subtitled Japanese video for a demonstration:

 

from Phil Villarreal @ The Consumerist

Governor Signs Gun Safety Measures Into Law

With dozens of law enforcement officers from throughout the state gathered at New Castle County’s Police Public Safety building, Gov. Jack Markell signed into law four gun-safety bills that will help get illegal guns off the streets and make Delawareans safer.

The new laws:

• make illegal possession of a weapon in a public place while intoxicated;

• authorizes state agencies to report disqualifying mental health information to the federal background check database;

• provide a responsible procedure for law enforcement to dispose of unclaimed seized firearms; and

• establish a community gun buy-back program.

“In February of this year, when we stood with law enforcement to introduce our common-sense gun safety measures, many doubted that we could get so many of them done. But Delawareans spoke out in support, and - thanks to the leadership of many in the General Assembly - we have taken a great stride forward in the aim of reducing gun violence,” said Markell. “The bills I am signing will help make our communities safer.”

The four bills signed by Markell include:

READ MORE …

Partisan Dispute To Partially Shut Down FAA

Washington –  Efforts to avert a shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration failed Friday amid a disagreement over a $16.5 million cut in subsidies to 13 rural communities, ensuring that nearly 4,000 people will be temporarily out of work and federal airline ticket taxes will be suspended.

Lawmakers were unable to resolve a partisan dispute over an extension of the agency's operating authority, which expired at midnight Friday.

More

Urine Doesn't Ease Jellyfish Stings, After All

This could prevent some awkward beach encounters this summer: Turns out, urine does not ease the pain from jellyfish stings -- regardless of what your "Friends" told you.

More

Oslo Terror: Whose Agenda Does It Serve?

Bombing of government building and mass shooting arrive as establishment seeks to manufacture “white Al-Qaeda” myth.

UPDATE: Oslo Police Conducted Bombing Exercise Days Before Terrorist Blast

Today’s bombing in Oslo and a related mass shooting that occurred just outside the Norwegian capital are already replete with inconsistencies and questions that demand further inquiry into whose agenda this deadly attack serves.

Authorities have already said that the man who carried out the shootings at a youth camp in a nearby resort has direct ties to the earlier bombing in Oslo of a government building.

- An eyewitness to the blast who was just 200 feet away from the explosion called into the Alex Jones show and stated that there was a “bomb sweep” of the area the day before the attack. Norwegian television also reported this story.

- According to a Norwegian who emailed us, his father who is an explosives expert has analyzed the bombing scene and states that due to the pattern of the damage and debris, the blast was clearly underground. There are also reports that the road was closed off in recent days for underground sewer works. This is inconsistent with the official story that the blast was caused by a car bomb.

- Friday was a public holiday in Norway and the building that was bombed was largely empty, which is why only seven people died. The Daily Mail reports, “Fortunately, it is a public holiday in Norway and the offices are less busy than a normal weekday.” Why would “terrorists,” who presumably want to kill as many people as possible, choose to bomb the building on a day when they know it will be almost empty?

More

Soros Machine Steps Up Assault On Murdoch's Empire

A slew of organizations funded by billionaire George Soros have been utilizing the alleged News of the World phone hacking scandal in the U.K. to call for investigations of News Corporation's U.S. interests, particularly Fox News Channel.

The Center for American Progress, heavily financed by Soros, said it gathered 12,000 signatures demanding to know whether News Corp. reporters violated U.S. law by obtaining phone records in the U.S.

The center is reportedly highly influential in helping to craft White House policy. It is led by John Podesta, who served as co-chairman of Obama's presidential transition team.

Podesta this week told reporters his group wants the U.S. division of News Corp. probed for other possible offenses, including violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prosecutes for bribery of foreign officials.

"We've called attention to the fact that – News Corp. is a U.S.-based corporation; that could implicate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," he said.

Already, Podesta's signature drive was cited in part for Democratic Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Barbara Boxer sending a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting an investigation into claims News Corp. may have hacked the phones of 9/11 victims.

The center's offshoot, Think Progress, has been leading Twitter and Facebook campaigns calling for investigations into Rupert Murdoch's U.S. media empire.

Think Progress even alleged News Corp. could have been involved in the November 2009 email hacking of a climate research institute that showed climate scientists conspiring to rig data in the direction of so-called global warming.

Read more

STATE BY STATE TRIVIA

A Fun Fact For Each State !!!

ALABAMA .................. Was the first place to have 9-1-1, started in 1968.

ALASKA ..................... One out of every 64 people has a pilot's license.

ARIZONA .................... Is the only state in the continental U.S. that doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time.

ARKANSAS ................. Has the only active diamond mine in the U.S.

CALIFORNIA .............. Its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.

COLORADO ................ In 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics.

CONNECTICUT ............ The Frisbee was invented here at Yale University

DELAWARE ............... Has more scientists and engineers than any other state.

FLORIDA ..................... At 874.3 square miles, Jacksonville is the U.S. 's largest city.

GEORGIA .................... It was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola.

HAWAII ....................... Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents in any other state.

IDAHO ........................ TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922.

ILLINOIS...................Has a Governor in jail, one pending jail and is the most corrupt state in the union!

INDIANA ....Home to Santa Claus, Indiana , which get a half million letters to Santa every year.

IOWA.............Winnebago got their name from Winnebago County . Also, it is the only state that begins with two vowels.

KANSAS ..................... Liberal, Kansas, has an exact replica of the house in The Wizard of Oz.

KENTUCKY ................ Has more than $6 billion in gold underneath Fort Knox.

LOUISIANA ............... Has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish church units.

MAINE ....................... It's so big, it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.

MARYLAND .............. The Ouija board was created in Baltimore in 1892.

MASSACHUSETTS ....... The Fig Newton is named after Newton , Massachusetts.

MICHIGAN ................ Fremont, home to Gerber, is the baby food capital of the world.

MINNESOTA ............Bloomington's Mall of America is so big, if you spent 10 minutes in each store, you'd be there nearly four days.

MISSISSIPPI ............. President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear here ... that's how the teddy bear got its name.

MISSOURI ............... Is the birthplace of the ice cream cone.

MONTANA ................. A sapphire from Montana is in the Crown Jewels of England.

NEBRASKA ............... More triplets are born here than in any other
state.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ...... Birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper.

NEW JERSEY ............. Has the most shopping malls in one area in the world.

NEW MEXICO ............ Smokey Bear was rescued from a 1950 forest fire here.

NEW YORK ................ Is home to the nation's oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk.

NORTH CAROLINA ..... Home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.

NORTH DAKOTA ....... Rigby , North Dakota , is the exact geographic center of North America .

OHIO ......................... The hot dog was invented here in 1900.

OKLAHOMA ............... The grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.

OREGON .................... Has the most ghost towns in the country.

PENNSYLVANIA ......... The smiley, : ) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University ..

RHODE ISLAND ......... The nation's oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673.

SOUTH CAROLINA ..... Sumter County is home to the world's largest gingko farm.

SOUTH DAKOTA ........ Is the only state that's never had an earthquake.

TENNESSEE ................ Nashville 's Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world.

TEXAS ....................... Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco back in 1885. The Hamburger was invented in Arlington, Texas in 1906.

UTAH ....................... The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952.

VERMONT ................... Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's.

VIRGINIA ................. Home of the world's largest office building....The Pentagon.

WASHINGTON ........... Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.

WASHINGTON D.C. .... Was the first planned capital in the world. (And the most crooks per-capita)

WEST VIRGINIA ......... Had the world's first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in Charleston in 1870.

WISCONSIN ................ The ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being sold  on Sundays.

WYOMING ..................Was the first state to allow women to vote.

Angry Obama Demands Tax Increases Or No Deal

House Speaker John Boehner abruptly broke off talks with President Barack Obama Friday night on a deal to cut federal spending. A peeved Obama virtually ordered congressional leaders to the White House for a Saturday meeting. Boehner said he had withdrawn from the talks because "in the end, we couldn't connect." He said the president wanted to raise taxes, and was reluctant to agree to cuts in benefit programs.

Putting the onus on Obama, Boehner said: "The president is emphatic that taxes have to be raised. As a former small businessman, I know tax increases destroy jobs.


Read more on Newsmax

A Black Eye From BP Solar

Dear Solar Depot and DC Power customers,

BP Solar CEO, Mike Petrucci, announced that BP Solar will shift its strategic direction to focus on large-scale project development activities and will exit the distributed sales business by the end of 2011.  As module inventories sell-out, BP Solar modules will no longer be available through distributors or to independent sales or installation businesses.

This is a global decision, made after extensive study and consideration of how BP Solar can best achieve its long term goals. This initiative will provide a tighter focus on an important area of growth in the solar market, and one in which BP Solar has a distinct advantage due to its capability and expertise in large-scale design, development and project management.  

Importantly, you should feel confident that BP Solar warranties are unaffected and that BP Solar will continue to support their warranties within the restructured organization. BP Solar will meet all warranty obligations to distributors, installers and end customers.

The team at BP Solar would like to extend their gratitude and heartfelt thanks for all your support, your business, and your friendship.

Solar Depot & DC Power Systems, BP's largest distributor, has BP modules in stock to support all projects that have been designed with those modules.  New project orders will be fulfilled as long as stock remains.  Speak to your Solar Depot or DC Power salesperson to reserve the quantity you require.   

Daniel Marino

COO  

Solar Depot & DC Power Systems 

They are exiting the US market - so much for Obamaeconomics.- high tech future.

What a shame and a blackeye - especially for Marylanders.  They were a cornerstone industry for Frederick County, Maryland.

They had a presence in Frederick since 1980 - 31 years.  Another Maryland firm bites the dust!

HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER

THE EARLY YEARS

When my grandfather ran away from home in 1905, he ended up in Pee Dee, SC. He found work in one of the many lumber camps that were sprinkled throughout South Carolina. I’m sure that every job he had at first was manual in nature and hard. But, if he was anything like he was all the years I knew him, hard work was just something to do, not fret about.

         

His prime mode of transportation in those years was the railroad. He was quick to point out that he was a hobo – and not a bum. He said that a hobo would work for his keep and a bum just rode the rails and bummed around.

         

Two things were begun during his five years on the road that would never change during his entire life. The first was the growing of a moustache. He told me he grew it to look older and to my knowledge it was only removed once in his life. A nurse at Peninsula General Hospital in Salisbury removed it when she shaved him. He was at the end of his life and was in no condition to have a say in the matter. And, I guess at that point, it really didn’t matter.

         

The second was the beginning of his lifelong association with Prince Albert tobacco. He didn’t have much money in those days and, when a salesman gave him a free sample, he showed his gratitude by using a can of it every day for the rest of his life. I never saw my grandfather that he didn’t have a can of Prince Albert stuck in his hip pocket. In his latter years when he could afford them, he showed the same loyalty to Dunhill pipes. When he was finished smoking a bowl full, he would empty the bowl of burnt ashes by beating the pipe against the nearest hard object, usually the brick wall of whatever he was building. It didn’t matter whether the pipe was new or old, it received the same whack. One time, he broke a quarter-sized piece off the bowl and, since the pipe was fairly new and they were expensive, he decided to have it repaired. Not just any repair but an Albert Disharoon production. He put a little glue on the broken piece and reattached it to the bowl. He then took it to a jeweler and had him fashion a sterling silver band about ¾ inches wide, complete with his initials, to encircle the bowl, thus holding everything in place. He was so proud of that pipe until he lit it for the first time and it became red hot. It looked good, but he could never smoke it again.

(This is part 2 of a 7 part story of my grandfather’s life – part 3 next week)

Temperature Alert !!!

What's Wrong With This Picture

E. Snake Rd, newly tar & chipped.

State Certifies Anti-DREAM Act Petition for 2012 Ballot

Opponents of allowing in-state tuition for certain illegal immigrants have obtained enough signatures to put the measure on next year's ballot, a state board formally certified Friday.

The Maryland State Board of Elections validated 108,923 signatures in the petition drive, elections administrator Linda Lamone wrote in a letter posted on the board's website. Opponents needed 55,736 signatures to put the measure on the ballot. Elections officials rejected 23,148 signatures out of a total of 132,071 that were submitted.

"Today the voters of Maryland have achieved a huge victory," said Delegate Neil Parrott, R-Washington, who led the petition drive.

The successful petitioning of the measure to the ballot means the law is on hold until Maryland voters decide the matter in November 2012, or until a judge rules otherwise.

It will be Maryland's first referendum from a successful petition drive since 1992, when voters approved a bill guaranteeing abortion rights in the state.

READ MORE …

Word of the Day – 07/23/2011

murine

(noun) a rodent of the genus Mus.

(adj.) pertaining to mice, rats, and other rodents of the genus Mus.

from Rare Words II by Jan and Hallie Leighton; copyright 2008: Levenger Press

Quote of the Day – 07/23/2011

“Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man.”

- J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904 - 1967), (speaking of Albert Einstein)

from

Today’s Weather – 07/23/2011

for Salisbury, MD -

Today -
Some sunshine with a thunderstorm or two possible this afternoon. Hot and humid. Heat index near 115F. High 99F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Tonight -
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Humid. Low 78F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Tomorrow -
Variable clouds with scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon. Hot and humid. Heat index near 105F. High 93F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

from the Weather Channel

The Problems

"The problems we face today are there

Because the people

Who work for a living

Are outnumbered by those

Who vote for a living."