STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR MARTIN O'MALLEY ON THE RELEASE OF THE PROPOSED CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING MAP

ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 15, 2011) – Governor Martin O’Malley today issued the following statement on the release of the proposed Congressional redistricting map:

“After serious consideration and a review of all input from citizens across the State and discussions with members of our Congressional delegation and the General Assembly, I will be submitting a proposed map, substantially similar to the map developed by the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Committee, for consideration during the start of Special Session on Monday.

“I’d like to thank the Committee for their hard work throughout this process, as well as the citizens who have submitted their comments and suggestions and all of the members of the General Assembly. I am looking forward to working with our legislature next week as we ensure that every citizen is fairly and accurately represented.”

As the Governor indicated on October 3, the map that will be introduced Monday, October 17 is substantially similar to the map recommended by the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee (GRAC). Minor changes involving the unification of communities, the retention of federal facilities, and marginally adjusting the percentage of people retained in certain districts were made to the Governor's map.

Kenneth T. Matthews - Former Wicomico County Councilman - Has Passed Away

Kenneth T. Matthews passed away just a few hours ago. He had been ill for the past few months.

Kenneth Matthews served on the Wicomico County Council, District 5, and also served on the Wicomico County Charter Review committee. He also served as an Administrator for the Delmar School District.

Mr. Matthews strived to make Wicomico County a better place for people to live and enjoy and his absence will be greatly missed on the eastern shore.

The Supreme Court: When Double Jeopardy Isn't Double Jeopardy

Even Americans who know very little about the U.S. Constitution know this much: once a jury decides you are innocent of a crime, the government can't keep hauling you back into court to try your case over again. It's called the prohibition on double jeopardy, and it's in the Bill of Rights because the Founding Fathers thought it was an essential bulwark against tyranny. But like most truisms in American law — that the police have to read you your rights before they question you, that it takes a unanimous verdict to be convicted, or that the police need a warrant to search your house — there are exceptions large enough to drive a prison bus through.

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Funniest Hotel Signs

If you’re pregnant and looking for a parking spot, head to Punta Cana Resort & Club for some VIP parking rights. If you’re looking for a private, romantic night in your hotel room, just hang the “Fuhgettaboudit” sign on your door knob at Le Parker Meridien in New York. Whether intentional or not, these hotel signs hit the funny bone.

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Obama Recruits More Big Money 'Bundlers'

2012 presidential election is expected to be the costliest ever

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO — The number of donors who raise big money for President Barack Obama jumped in the last three months as he builds a war chest for what will likely be the costliest presidential election ever.

At least forty-one people have raised at least half a million dollars for the president, compared to 27 in Obama's first report, according to an analysis of campaign data released Friday.

The big donors, known as "bundlers," are typically well-connected people who pledge to gather tens of thousands of dollars for a candidate.

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HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 10-15-11

The Blacksmiths

In the days before the automobile, the main mode of transportation was the horse. Just as we have to perform periodic maintenance on our cars today, the people had to take care of their horses back then. The occasional task of applying new shoes had to be done. I don’t know if the blacksmiths of the day had any knowledge of veterinary medicine, but they probably could make suggestions to the owner because of his extensive experience with horses.

         

The earliest listing I have for blacksmiths in Salisbury shows we had six people making a living at it in 1878. Most of the names are familiar locally – names like Gordy, Gray, Mitchell, Sirman, Thoroughgood and Venables. I wonder if the Wm. H. Thoroughgood listed was the father of Lacy Thoroughgood, a longtime Main St. merchant in Salisbury.

         

By 1891 we only had three listed and they are not any of the ones listed previously. They were C. E. Duffy, J. Duffy and G. E. Marvel. You would think that a blacksmith was a profession that someone would continue for many years, but the name changes tell a different story.

         

In 1899, the names of Adkins, Lorimer, Morris, Price, Sirman, Twilley & Pollitt and Peter Venables (an Afro-American who had his shop on Lake St.) are listed.

         

A blacksmith was also a wheelwright. He serviced the many forms of wheeled transportation that people had. This was before the days of the automobile. There was quite a transition when the car became popular and affordable. There were new things to learn and most of the blacksmiths didn’t learn the necessary repairs to cars.

         

We had a high of eight blacksmiths in 1908, seven in 1916 and none by 1921. One of the early blacksmiths was Charles T. Bradley. He was not listed in 1921, but he showed up again in 1940. Like today, perhaps the cost of inclusion in the directory prevented someone from being listed.

         

The listing for Twilley & Pollitt in 1899 was the earliest reference to Pollitt I can find. That is also the last blacksmith in Salisbury. I imagine it was his son who kept the business going well into the 1950’s. I remember the shop on Davis Street just off Church Street being there in the 1950’s. By this time it was owned by a Nick Kieffer and advertised that the business had been there for forty years. He was listed in the 1961 phone book at 217 Davis Street. The building is gone now and only a memory exists.

         

These days they are called farriers and most of them travel from farm to farm with their tools of the trade. There isn’t enough business to set up a company and it would be impossible for someone to ride a horse into town.

         

Soon after the arrival of the automobile, businesses called service stations started popping up and blacksmiths started disappearing. Sign of the times – End of an era.

Random Thoughts:

· Why on earth are we now sending troops to Uganda? The Lord's Resistance Army has been terrorizing and destroying villages, slaughtering people and kidnapping children and turning them into child soldiers and sex slaves since the 1980s, with the conflict spreading from Uganda, to Southern Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Congo. When I was at the State Department I visited Uganda and met with President Museveni. We were attempting to work with Uganda to provide humanitarian assistance, to isolate the LRA leader, Joseph Kony, and to achieve a peace deal. And the U.S. has provided support to the Ugandan military. You may recall reading about the Ugandan "night walkers" - some 40000 children would leave home every night and trek to the safety of special night shelters for protection against being kidnapped by the LRA. There is not a doubt that this small rebel group has created a humanitarian disaster in the region. However, there are humanitarian disasters all over the world and it would be hard to demonstrate that this group of several hundred fighters is increasing in strength or capability, thus triggering this sudden U.S. action. In fact Joseph Kony has been in hiding for years. This is a tribal battle and for the President to say that putting American boots on the ground is important to US national security, is completely absurd.

· While the media is focused on Solyndra, the Tonopah Solar company in Harry Reid's Nevada is getting a $737 million loan from Obama's DOE. The project will produce a 110 megawatt power system and employ 45 permanent workers. costing us sixteen million dollars per job. One of the investment partners in this endeavor is Pacific Corporate Group (PCG). The PCG executive director is Ron Pelosi who is the Nancy's brother-in-law. But I am sure there is no connection. Right?

· Solyndra funder Kaiser paid zero taxes for years

· And what do the Wall Street Occupiers, embraced by leading Democrats want? "Demands posted in OWS's name include a 'guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment'; a $20-an-hour minimum wage…; ending 'the fossil fuel economy'; 'open borders' so 'anyone can travel anywhere to work and live'; $1 trillion for infrastructure; $1 trillion for 'ecological restoration' (e.g., re-establishing 'the natural flow of river systems'); 'free college education.' And forgiveness of 'all debt on the entire planet period.'"

· I am home from two days of Heritage President's Club with my batteries fully charged. Charles Krauthammer was yesterday's lunch speaker. Vice President Chaney the dinner speaker. And today we heard from Paul Ryan on tax and budget efforts to address the deficit. The final speaker today was South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. After hearing her story and what she has accomplished already, she is clearly one of our brightest rising stars.

· How do the leading Republican candidates fare against Barack Obama? According to Rasmussen, Obama leads Romney 43%-to-41%. He leads Herman Cain 42%-to-39%, and he leads Rick Perry 49%-to-35%. So even as bad as Obama's ratings are, our leading candidates at best only tie Obama right now. Clearly we cannot take this election for granted. We still have a lot of work to do to make sure we prevail in November 2012.

The Obama Problem

By Monty Pelerin

The Obama Problem is simple to explain but impossible to solve. The problem is Obama himself, and most people not named Barack or Michelle understand that.

President Obama's political career is in free-fall. He will not be reelected. Many Democrats and media personalities now understand what appeared impossible even mere months ago.

Mr. Obama burst onto the political scene as a relatively unknown wunderkind. He could read a mean teleprompter and did so with fanfare at the 2004 Democrat Convention. He had good speechwriters, an intelligent and disciplined campaign strategy, a carefully crafted biography, and a highly compliant media. He was charismatic and eloquent. Joe Biden awkwardly described him as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

The Perfect Storm

The 2008 election was the political equivalent of a perfect storm." Two factors were key to Obama's election:

1. Americans were disgusted with Washington, and especially with George Bush. The media anointed Obama as their man. They publicized his strengths and hid his weaknesses. They painted him as an outsider, someone who could bridge the gap between political parties and make Washington function. The media engineered Obama into the nomination and threw Hillary Clinton overboard in the primary process.
2. The Republicans chose a sure loser to run -- shopworn Washington-establishment figure Senator John McCain. McCain offered nothing that had not already been rejected by the public. He was little more than an elderly George W. Bush who carried the additional baggage of a Washington insider. It is likely that any Democrat would have easily beaten McCain.

When the perfect storm cleared, Obama was president.

No president in recent history began his term with higher expectations and goodwill than Barack Obama, but the promise and exhilaration that accompanied his election was short-lived. In less than three years, Obama plummeted from the heights (his "Messiah" entry) to the depths (a "worse than Jimmy Carter" figure).

The turnaround was astonishing in its speed and magnitude. To put matters in perspective, it took George Bush almost eight years to hit bottom. And Bush always had little support from the media, a force that continues to protect Obama.

How Things Went So Wrong So Quickly

To understand Obama's loss in popularity, it is necessary to recognize that Barack Obama was a fluke. He was an unlikely candidate, pushed to his party's nomination as a result of the media. His election was another quirk, more aberration than achievement. The perfect storm virtually ensured that the Democrat candidate would win in 2008. It is not a strain to conclude that the mainstream media, rather than the electorate, put Obama into the highest office in the land.

In hindsight, a great mistake was made. Even the fawning media and the Democrat establishment now recognize that, although are unwilling to publicly admit it. Their behavior is analogous to refusing to discuss a friend's terminal illness in the hope that it will somehow go away.

The media and the Democratic Party are at risk if the tragedy they foisted on the nation continues. Their future is intertwined with the Obama Problem. Both sponsored him, and both may ultimately be held accountable. The battle so easily won in 2008 may cost them subsequent battles, if not the war itself.

Both know the risk. They just have no easy way of solving the problem.

Opinions regarding the factors responsible for Mr. Obama's political demise abound. A full menu is available -- the economy, broken promises, cronyism, socialism, bailouts, corruption, disillusionment, inexperience, incompetence, Chicago-style politics, etc. Pundits have a target-rich environment from which to approach the failure of the Obama presidency.

The factors above are relevant but one level removed from the root cause. The real problem is that there never was any substance to Obama. He was the political equivalent of a Potemkin village. There was nothing behind the façade. There was no "there" there. All of the problems arise from this obvious flaw.

President Obama is little more than a run-of-the-mill Hollywood extra hired to play president of the United States. A brilliant marketing campaign coupled with the perfect storm put him in office. The marketing campaign was so good that it merits a case study for the Harvard Business School.

The "man with no past" and a Hollywood veneer turned out to be a perfect candidate. "Sizzle" rather than substance was sold. Little was known about Obama and his past, allowing David Axelrod to market the political equivalent of a Rorschach blot.

Voters saw in Obama whatever they desired in a candidate. To some, Obama was a breath of fresh air, a man of principles. To others he was an outsider, not a crass politician. Others saw him as a chance to prove that they were not racists. Still others saw him as the reincarnation of Roosevelt or whomever else they admired.

Obama was a blank slate to be imagined or drawn upon by the voters. He was their chameleon, and each voter could use his or her imagination to create the ideal candidate. Not surprisingly, voters bought this product that existed only in their minds. They elected Chauncey Gardiner. Unfortunately, this fraud did not come with Peter Sellers' range or abilities.

A brilliant marketing strategy can make a first sale, but performance and satisfaction are required for the second. Axelrod's skill in marketing had no counterparty in production. No one seemed to be concerned about delivering a product that actually worked.

Obama entered office unorganized and unstructured. Nothing in his background suggested that he knew anything about management, organization, or leadership. Nor did anyone see the need for bringing in talent with these skills. As a result, the Hollywood mannequin was almost immediately exposed as nothing but flair, hype, and hot air. The public had bought a product that did not perform.

Marketing can do many things, but it cannot sell a product that people have tried and rejected. That is Obama's reelection problem. At the risk of being unsophisticated and abusing the concept of Occam's Razor, Obama's reelection problem can be expressed in one simple sentence: "Now, too many people know him."

Obama's only strength was Axelrod's ability to play on the imagination of voters. That strength no longer exists. People now know the product and have rejected it. They did not get even Chauncey Gardiner. Embarrassed and angry, the public is stuck with Chance the Gardener.

The irony is that Mr. Obama has not changed. He is the same man who was elected. His problem is not communicating, Republicans, George Bush, tsunamis, or anything else. His problem is the man in the mirror. There is no more there than an image.

Obama was all hype and no substance. That realization has dawned on voters, resulting in horrendous polling. Richard Nixon was never liked, but he was at least thought competent. Obama was liked but never competent. Now Obama is living proof of the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt. He is neither liked nor competent.

Even the hapless Jimmy Carter did not attain that status.

Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Press Release 10-15-11

Incident: Disorderly Conduct
Date of Incident: 13 October 2011
Location: South Salisbury Blvd. Salisbury, MD
Suspect: Marvelous Terrell, 23, Salisbury, MD

Narrative: On 13 October 2011 a deputy of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office observed the suspect, Marvelous Terrell, take a traffic cone from a construction site. The deputy also observed Terrell knock over a road sign, causing minor damage to the sign. Terrell refused to obey the deputy’s orders to stop, and he began yelling obscenities. Terrell was placed under arrest.

The deputy transported Terrell to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner placed a $5, 000 bond on Terrell.

Charges: Disturbance of the Peace
Disorderly Conduct
Fail to obey a lawful order
Destruction of property
Theft

A Few Thoughts On The Occupy Wall Street Movement

"The machinery by which Wall Street separates the opportunity to speculate from the unwanted returns and burdens of ownership is ingenious, precise and almost beautiful. Banks supply funds to brokers, brokers to customers, and the collateral goes back to banks in a smooth and all but automatic flow. Margins - the cash which the speculator must supply in addition to the securities to protect the loan and which he must augment if the value of the collateral securities should fall and so lower the protection they provide - are effortlessly calculated and watched. The interest rate moves quickly and easily to keep the supply of funds adjusted to the demand. Wall Street, however, has never been able to express its pride in these arrangements. They are admirable and even wonderful only in relation to the purpose they serve. The purpose is to accommodate the speculator and facilitate speculation. But the purposes cannot be admitted. If Wall Street confessed this purpose, many thousands of moral men and women would have no choice but to condemn it for nurturing an evil thing and call for reform. Margin trading must be defended not on the grounds that it efficiently and ingeniously assists the speculator, but that it encourages the extra trading which changes a thin and anemic market into a thick and healthy one. Wall Street, in these matters, is like a lovely and accomplished woman who must wear black cotton stockings, heavy woolen underwear, and parade her knowledge as a cook because, unhappily, her supreme accomplishment is as a harlot."

- The Great Crash: 1929, John Kenneth Galbraith, First Published 1955

The More Things Change…

It’s amazing to read the quote above from John Kenneth Galbraith’s great book on the stock market crash of 1929 and consider where we are today. Despite the fact that the events above happened over 80 years ago, it’s plain to see that the modus operandi of Wall Street writ large has changed little.
Smoke, mirrors and heavy doses of propaganda laden obfuscation are required to keep the masses complacent and ignorant of the dangers Wall Street places on the shoulders of ordinary people.
Virtually unlimited leverage for investment banks? Check. CDS markets traded over-the-counter and away from any transparent exchange? No problem. CMOs and CDOs as healthy vehicles to efficiently distribute and allocate risk? Foolproof. It all works fine until it doesn’t. Enter stage right, the crash of 2008.

The average American citizen is quickly falling behind their global peers in terms of education levels and many find the topics of economics and finance far too dense to comprehend. So it’s no small accomplishment that the enormous amount of taxpayer bailouts and Fed monetary injections have finally awoken the American middle and lower classes up to the reality of a terribly unbalanced financial system. This awakening is currently represented by the Occupy Wall Street protests. However, lest you think these protests will simply go away once winter sets in, think again. Even if the official Occupy Wall Street protest dissipates in the next few months, the word has gotten out and the message is finding an interested audience that fails to conform to traditional political boundaries.

How Occupy Wall Street Will Change Things

Suddenly, all over this country students are questioning their economics professors about the standard dogma they are being taught which is visibly failing all around them. How can the PhD.’s preparing tomorrow’s generation of finance and economic leaders continue to teach Keynesian doctrine with a straight face? How can they possibly defend the bailouts and the Fed’s enormous hand in manipulating asset prices as anything even remotely resembling capitalism?

As these students graduate and begin their own careers over the next few years (assuming they find jobs in the first place) they will enter the workforce much more aware of the slight of hand that has taken place whereby organic growth was replaced with extremely dangerous debt growth. Then they’ll stop and think about their own student loans and how the non-dischargeable nature of those loans chain them to the very system they are questioning. These students will be heavily in debt, face few good job prospects and will thus have plenty of time on their hands. Hello political volatility.

And what about the lower and middle classes? It really doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is, if you make less than some magic number defined as “rich”, say the $250k that is currently bandied about, neither political party is really working for you. Both parties have contributed wildly to the overspending that currently burdens our fiscal and monetary accounts. Both parties are deeply in bed with the banking industry. Arguing over who supports Wall Street more is simply a matter of degree.
Both parties support the monetary intervention of the Fed and the inflation that has slowly rendered our country uncompetitive since 1971, a role the Fed was never originally envisioned to play.

If you’re unemployed due to your job being shipped overseas, have been kicked out of your house by a robo-signing bank, worry about the tax burden your kids will face down the road, concerned that your public or private pension will be woefully inadequate to maintain your current living standards or have mountains of non-dischargeable students loans owed to Sallie Mae, you should be paying close attention to and likely supportive of the OWS movement.

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Salisbury Police Department Press Releases

On October 12, 2011 at approximately 4:32 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police were in the area of Riverside Drive and Crestview Lane and conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle operated by the below listed suspect for a traffic violation. During the traffic stop a K-9 was requested to check the vehicle which resulted in the response of Salisbury K-9 Miso, who gave a positive indication on the vehicle for the presence of controlled dangerous substances. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a number of syringes containing suspected heroin, two (2) baggies of suspected heroin and a quantity of prescription medication.

ARRESTED: Jaymi Kristen Turner, 24 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Possession of heroin
Possession of CDS/paraphernalia
Possession of controlled medication

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC # 201100040233

On October 12, 2011 at approximately 7:04 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police were on routine patrol on the eight hundred (800) block of Benny Street and observed the below listed suspect trespassing on posted business property. The officers met with the suspect and located a baggie of suspected marijuana in close proximity to the suspect. The suspect was checked further and was found to have a baggie containing suspected “crack”/cocaine in his pocket.

ARRESTED: Juvenile, 15 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
Possession of cocaine
Possession of marijuana
Possession of CDS/Paraphernalia
Trespassing

DISPOSITION: Released to parent
CC # 201100040120

On October 12, 2011 at approximately 9:35 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police were on routine patrol in the area of Baker Street and Anne Street and observed the below listed suspect trespassing on posted residential property. The officers approached the suspect who attempted to discard an item from his hand. The item was retrieved and was found to be a baggie of suspected “crack”/cocaine.

ARRESTED: Trayonne Marterious Rodwell, 19 years of age
Salisbury, MD

CHARGES: Possession of cocaine
Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
Possession of CDS/Paraphernalia
Trespassing

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC # 201100040138

On October 13, 2011 at approximately 2:37 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police were on routine patrol in the area of the Holiday Inn and located a vehicle that exhibited signs of tampering. The officers were given a description of a possible suspect and while checking the area located the suspect, listed below. The suspect was stopped and while talking to the suspect the officers observed the suspect place an item into his mouth. The suspect then attempted to flee the area. The suspect was caught and attempted to discard the item from his mouth. The item was retrieved and was found to be a baggie containing smaller baggies of suspected marijuana. The suspect was also found in possession of controlled prescription medication.

ARRESTED: Alfred Lamont Dennis, 42 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Possession of marijuana
Possession controlled prescriptions (3 counts)
Possession of CDS/Paraphernalia (3 counts)
Obstructing and hindering
Resisting arrest

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC # 201100040166

You Don't Need A PhD In Economics- You Just Need To Understand Basic Arithmetic

We recently received a note from a German journalist writing for a national paper there. He asked, “Simon, German politicians swear to support the well-being of the German people. Given this, what would you advise the German government about the euro– keep saving it? Or let everything fail regardless of the consequences?”

Europe and the United States have much in common in that their sovereign debt problems are really quite simple to understand. You don’t need a PhD in economics– you just need to understand basic arithmetic.

In the US, for example, the government does not collect enough tax revenue to cover even the most basic services that society deems sacrosanct: defense [offense], social security, and Medicare.

In 2010, the federal government collected $2.2 trillion in tax revenue and spent north of $2.5 trillion just on those three programs– already $300 billion in the hole. Everything else– the post office, Homeland Security, the FAA, the FDIC, even the light bill at the White House– is funded by debt.

That includes the most peculiar debt-funded item– interest on the debt. The US government has to borrow money just to pay interest on the money it has already borrowed. This is unsustainable, it’s simple arithmetic.

Europe’s problems can also be explained as simply. Greece effectively has no money, and its only access to capital is continued bailouts. There are four options for the country being discussed:

1) Austerity. Not only is this politically unpopular, it causes social unrest. People won’t stand for it… nor will they be able to pay enough police officers to beat them back with batons. The populist uprising will squash any meaningful austerity plan.

2) “Grow its way out”. Not possible. When you count public and private debt together (roughly 260% of GDP), Greece is spending roughly 15% of its entire GDP just on interest payments. That’s an incredibly high barrier to growth.

3) Inflation. Ordinarily, governments would just print their way out… but this isn’t even possible right now because Greece doesn’t control its own printing press.

4) Default. Result? Set off a chain reaction of banking failures and a derivatives meltdown. Utter financial carnage. Nobody wants to see this.

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Bernanke Sympathises With The Protesters

File this under: Total Absurdity

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who is the man most responsible for the current crisis state of the economy as a result of his manipulations of the money supply, says he can't blame the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

During a hearing last week before the Joint Economic Committee, Bernanke was asked about the ongoing protests and said, “They blame, with some justification, the financial sector for getting us into this mess.”

Like a burglar playing it cool while being questioned by police in front of a building where the alarm is going off, Bernanke makes it sound as though the economy is some kind of machine and he is just some guy passing by. Ballsy man, ballsy.

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Mardela Springs Flack

Hey Joe

What is all this flack about the elections in Mardela Springs. Seems the ACLU is bringing up a law suit say the residents are being denied their rights to run for office and not being allowed to vote. Someone by the name
of Henry Osoweicki is behind it seeking retribution because he lost the electio he ran in August.

Did The Administration Break The The Law On Solyndra? Watch The Latest Hearing To Find Out

Just starting on C-SPAN 2 is a new hearing on Obama's Solargate, Solyndra, which today will focus on the question of whether the Solyndra loan restructuring broke the law. From CSM [6]: "Newly released emails show that the Treasury Department was concerned that the loan restructuring, approved earlier this year, could violate federal law. The deal was structured so that private investors moved ahead of taxpayers for repayment on part of the loan in case of a default by Solyndra. Administration officials have defended the loan restructuring, saying that without an infusion of cash earlier this year, Solyndra would likely have faced immediate bankruptcy, putting more than 1,000 people out of work. Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee say the hearing Friday will focus on whether the Energy Department broke the law when it agreed to restructure Solyndra' s debt in February. The lawmakers cite emails showing that Mary Miller, an assistant treasury secretary, said the deal could violate the law because it put investors' interests ahead of taxpayers. Miller told a top White House budget official that she had advised that any proposed restructuring be reviewed by the Justice Department before it was approved. "To our knowledge that has never happened," Miller wrote in an Aug. 17 memo to the White House Office of Management and Budget. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., called Miller's memo "startling" and said it appears that DOE violated "the plain letter of the law" in approving the restructuring. "We need insight into Treasury's role in reviewing this loan guarantee," said Stearns, chairman of the energy panel's subcommittee on oversight and investigations." Learn more in today's hearing.

GO HERE to view.

Friendship ~ None Of That Sissy Sh!t

 

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality?

Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.

You will see no cute little smiley faces on this ~Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

• When you are sad ~ I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.
• When you are blue ~I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
• When you smile ~ I will know you are thinking of something that I would probably want to be involved in.
• When you are scared ~ I will rag on you about it every chance I get until you're NOT.
• When you are worried~ I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.
• When you are confused ~ I will try to use only little words.
• When you are sick ~Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.
• When you fall ~ I will laugh at your clumsy ass, but I'll help you up.

This is my oath ..... I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask ~ because you are my friend.

Friendship is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

Opportunities To Support Our Students and Schools

Tuesday, Oct. 25
Halloween Carnival
Wicomico High School

The Wicomico High School Class of 2012 will host a Halloween Carnival at the school from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25 for anyone under age 12 (with chaperone). The carnival will feature face painting by WiHi student artists, Monster Freeze Dance, Halloween golf, ring toss, black cat craft, decorate a cupcake, and more. The carnival will take place in the Wicomico High Auditorium parking lot (rain location: WiHi cafeteria). Admission is $5, with proceeds supporting the WiHi senior class. 410-677-5146.

Looking Forward To Winter

Republicans Lack An Electable Candidate

There were still eight Republican presidential contenders on the Dartmouth College stage on Tuesday night, but this contest has clarified a great deal in recent weeks.

Looking at national and state poll standings, fundraising, endorsements by key leaders, and campaign organization, it’s pretty clear that Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Rep. Ron Paul, and former Sen. Rick Santorum will not win the GOP presidential nomination. Each can point to individual or sporadic successes — or positive talking points about their chances — but the fact is that if any were going to catch fire in this campaign, there would at least have been a spark by now. From the Oct. 15 date on this issue’s cover, there are 80 days until the probable Jan. 3 Iowa caucus. New Hampshire’s primary will come the next week, followed by an almost endless stream of contests.

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KC Bishop Charged With Not Alerting Police On Child Porn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A bishop has become the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official indicted on a charge of failing to protect children after he and his diocese waited five months to tell police about hundreds of images of child pornography discovered on a priest's computer, officials said Friday.
Bishop Robert Finn, the first U.S. bishop criminally charged with sheltering an abusive clergyman, and the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese have pleaded not guilty on one count each of failing to report suspected child abuse.
Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Finn and the diocese were required under state law to report the discovery to police because the images gave them reason to believe a child had been abused.

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Obama Sends U.S. Troops to Central Africa to Aid Campaign Against Rebel Group

WASHINGTON — President Obama is sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to help local forces battle the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that the administration says has waged a campaign of murder, rape and kidnapping for more than two decades.
Obama said Friday the troops will act as advisers in efforts to hunt down rebel leader Joseph Kony but will not engage in combat except in self-defense, according to a letter to Congress that was obtained by Fox News.

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Today's Weather- 10/15/11

Salisbury,Maryland

Today

High
72°F

Precip
0%

Windy

Tonight

Overnight Low
49°F

Precip

0%

Weather Channel

QUOTES OF THE DAY 10-14-11

“If you can do no good, at least do no harm.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Slapstick

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

“Perhaps, when we remember wars, we should take off our clothes and paint ourselves blue and go on all fours all day long and grunt like pigs. That would surely be more appropriate than noble oratory and shows of flags and well-oiled guns.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle

“There are too many of us and we are all too far apart.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

“All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

“Until you die .. it’s all life.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

“If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you’re a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.”
― Kurt Vonnegut