Salisbury News: 11/28/11

Monday, November 28, 2011

Above The Law?

One of the things I take pride in with Salisbury News is producing articles in which the Main Stream media is too afraid to go after. This story is one of them. However, I also take pride in leading stories such as this one to allow the local MSM to use the excuse, well, it was on the Blog, now they can report it. That is, IF they're willing to truly do their job.

Here's the deal. You know those speed cameras that are up in Salisbury. Well, what if I were to tell you that the most serious offenders have actually been Police Officers.

Not City of Salisbury Police Officers but the top offenders have been the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, the Maryland State Police and the Fruitland Police Department, ALL lead by and or former State Troopers.

The first set of tickets and images came in and get this, the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office had FIFTEEN tickets. The Maryland State Police had FIVE tickets and Fruitland had only ONE.

OK, if that isn't bad enough, (Officers speeding MORE than 12 miles per hour in a School Zone, how about if I were to tell you that FIVE of the FIFTEEN WCSO offenders are REPEAT Offenders. That's right, FIVE of the very same Officers were caught repeatedly.

There were NO City of Salisbury Officers, yet Chief Duncan told each Officer, flat out, you get caught, you get a ticket and you pay the fine. Clearly the leader of the SPD has been taken seriously.

Salisbury News learned that while former Sheriff Hunter Nelms was in Office, IF an Officer had been caught and even reported it was automatically assumed the caller was accurate and the Officer would be written up.

Now, you have to wonder, will outside agencies be held accountable for these fines. At this point the SPD is expecting revenues above $20,000.00 a month from these speed cameras. I was driving into the Office the other day and watched one of these Officers flying down Rt. 50 heading towards Salisbury at a very high rate of speed with a child in the car. It seemed to me he was taking his child to school, but I can't be positive about that.

Nevertheless, there's clearly a problem with Police Officers speeding in this area and especially on Rt. 50. Most would not publish such an article in fear of retaliation. Yeah, I might have some issues in the near future but what's right here Folks?

Should the local media clam up and keep quiet about such matters because they're afraid they might get snagged slightly speeding? I guess time will tell. I'm not trying to be a rebel. I'm simply telling the facts. Yeah, we'll get 150 to 200 comments stating they were on calls and yeah, we'll reject those comments, unless they have names to them.

In the mean time we'd like to know your thoughts. Are Police Officers and Agencies above the law? We already know they can by law use their cell phones because they have been trained to do so. Its called multitasking. I'm cool with that.

HOWEVER, I have seen the Sheriff's Office fighting for speed cameras in their school districts, as if the people speeding are criminals and they must be stopped. Can a police cruiser stop any faster than other vehicles while speeding, talking on a cell phone multitasking in a school district?
This should get VERY interesting as I look forward to your replies/comments.

New Posts to fall below.

U.S. Seizes 150 Websites In Cyber Monday Counterfeit Crackdown

The Department of Justice used blockbuster shopping event Cyber Monday to announce the blockbuster seizure of 150 websites that had been selling counterfeit goods, the agency announced Monday.

The seizure was a joint operation that united the DoJ with several groups, including the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations group and the FBI's Washington field office.

STATE POLICE HOLIDAY ENFORCEMENT RESULTS

(PIKESVILLE, MD) – Maryland state troopers issued more than 10,000 traffic citations and warnings as part of a variety of increased enforcement efforts that ranged from DUI patrols to cargo theft prevention during the Thanksgiving holiday period.

Maryland State Police increased patrols throughout the holiday period and focused enforcement efforts on drunk driving, aggressive driving and speeding. Troopers issued 5,231 citations and 5,009 warnings for traffic violations from Wednesday, November 23rd through Sunday, November 27th. Troopers also made 156 criminal arrests during that period.

Troopers worked special drunk driving saturation patrols throughout Maryland and arrested 113 suspected drunk drivers. Cooperative patrols with other law enforcement agencies were conducted in several parts of the state, including Prince George’s, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Kent, and Queen Anne’s counties. Troopers at the Golden Ring Barrack in Baltimore County, led the state in DUI arrests with 13, followed by troopers at the Prince Frederick Barrack in Calvert County and the Leonardtown Barrack in St. Mary’s County with 12 and 11 DUI arrests, respectively.

Troopers responded to 284 traffic crashes statewide. Maryland State Police investigated five fatal crashes in which six people were killed. Two of those crashes occurred in Frederick County and the others occurred in Washington, Harford, and Queen Anne’s counties.

The Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (CVED) was busy in the days leading up to the holiday. CVED troopers conducted “Operation Night Owl,” which was extra enforcement aimed at preventing cargo theft and reducing the number of unsafe commercial vehicle operating during the period of increased travel.

From November 18th through November 23rd, CVED troopers conducted 1,260 commercial vehicle inspections. Troopers placed 133 commercial vehicles out of service for serious equipment violations and placed 137 commercial drivers out of service for being unqualified, exceeding drive hours, or other safety regulation violations.

Working in weigh stations and using portable scales, troopers found 205 of the trucks they checked to be overweight. In total during this period, CVED troopers issued 746 citations and 644 warnings.

Maryland State Police traffic safety efforts will be continuing through the New Year holiday. Initiatives will be worked in cooperation with local law enforcement, the Maryland Highway Safety Office, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NYC Judge Rejects $285M SEC-Citigroup Agreement

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - A federal judge on Monday struck down a $285 million settlement that Citigroup reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he couldn't tell whether the deal was fair and criticizing regulators for shielding the public from the details of what the firm did wrong.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said the public has a right to know what happens in cases that touch on "the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives." In such cases, the SEC has a responsibility to ensure that the truth emerges, he wrote.

Woman Alleges Long Affair With Cain

A Georgia businesswoman said Monday she and Herman Cain had a 13-year extramarital affair, an allegation the Republican presidential hopeful denied as strongly as earlier allegations of sexual harassment.

Full Story

Syracuse Coach Fired Amid Sex Abuse Investigation

Syracuse, New York (CNN) -- The wife of former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine will make a statement Tuesday challenging the implications of a tape recording of a 2002 telephone conversation with her husband's accuser that appears to show she knew of alleged sexual abuse of boys, her nephew said Monday.

"She'll even say that's her voice," nephew Matt Govendo said, but that the sections of the tape -- excerpts of which were made public Sunday by the Syracuse-based Post-Standard newspaper and ESPN -- "are all tampered with."

Robespierre's War On Terror

Preparing for the Final Takedown? ... There is a shocking piece of legislation working its way through Congress. A Defense Authorization bill for 2012 allows for military detentions of American citizens on American soil. These can be indefinite detentions, with no trial. The American Civil Liberties Union statement (more of an alert) on November 23, 2011 deserves special attention: "The U.S. Senate is considering the unthinkable: changing detention laws to imprison people — including Americans living in the United States itself — indefinitely and without charge." ... "The Defense Authorization bill — a "must-pass" piece of legislation — is headed to the Senate floor with troubling provisions that would give the President — and all future presidents — the authority to indefinitely imprison people, without charge or trial, both abroad and inside the United States." – GlobalResearch.ca, Dr. Andrew Bosworth

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Hand Sanitizers: Protection From Mall's Germiest Spots

While the health hazards of increasingly competitive holiday shopping now include stampedes and pepper-spraying, bargain hunters can help assure that all they bring home from the mall are good deals, not other people's cold and flu viruses.

Shopping centers that teem with people also teem with their germs. Butalcohol-based hand sanitizers and good hand-washing can defeat most common microbes.

Secrets From The Bailout--What The Fed Knew And Didn't Tell

Bloomberg News is out with an important new study of the financial crisis and government actions to "battle" the crisis. Based on Bloomberg’s examination of 29,000 pages of Fed documents obtained under a FOIA request and central bank databases detailing more than 21,000 transactions, Bloomberg writes:

• Taxpayers paid a price beyond dollars as the secret loans helped preserve a broken status quo and enabled the biggest banks to grow even bigger.

• Challenges the view championed by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and others that saving the banks meant saving the economy.

• Brings to light that bankers used the money to lobby against reforms, a job made easier by the Fed, which never disclosed the details of the rescue to lawmakers, even as Congress doled out more money and debated new rules aimed at preventing the next collapse.

• Banks likely have earned an estimated $12.9 billion in profit by taking advantage of the Fed's below-market rates.

The full story is here.

Just How Powerful IS Positive Thinking?

Rookie New York Giants Mark Herzlich was on top of the world last weekend - starting for the very first time.

But Two years ago, Herzlich was facing a much bigger challenge than winning a football game - he was diagnosed with bone cancer.

"My doctor at the time had told me not only would I never play football again, I'd probably never be able to run again," Herzlich said.

Herzlich had been an All American linebacker at Boston College, a fierce competitor on the field and off.

"I made a goal in my mind," he said. "It was that I was going to beat the cancer and come back and play football."

Former US Treasury Official: German Bond Auction Failure Likely Orchestrated By US And EU

Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, writes today at LewRockwell.com:

The day prior to Thanksgiving also brought another extraordinary development--the failure of a German government bond auction, an unparalleled event.

Why would Germany, the only member of the EU with financial rectitude, not be able to sell 35% of its offerings of 10-year bonds? Germany has no debt problems, and its economy is expected by EU and US authorities to bear the lion’s share of the bailout of the EU member countries that do lack financial rectitude.

I suspect that the answer to this question is that the failure of the German government’s bond auction was orchestrated by the US, by EU authorities, especially the European Central Bank, and private banks in order to punish Germany for obstructing the purchase of EU member countries’ sovereign debt by the European Central Bank.

The German government has been trying to defend the terms on which Germany gave up control over its own currency and joined the EU. By insisting on the legality of the agreements, Germany has been standing in the way of the ECB behaving as the US Federal Reserve and monetizing the debt of member governments.

From the beginning the EU was a conspiracy against Germany. If Germany remains in the EU, Germany will be destroyed. It will lose its political and economic sovereignty, and its economy will be bled in behalf of the fiscally irresponsible members of the EU.

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Top Marine Says Service Embracing Gay Ban Repeal

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- Since the lifting two months ago of a longstanding U.S. ban on gays serving openly in the military, U.S. Marines across the globe have adapted smoothly and embraced the change, says their top officer, Gen. James F. Amos, who previously had argued against repealing the ban during wartime.

"I'm very pleased with how it has gone," Amos said in an Associated Press interview during a week-long trip that included four days in Afghanistan, where he held more than a dozen town hall-style meetings with Marines of virtually every rank. He was asked about a wide range of issues, from his view of the Marine Corps' future to more mundane matters such as why he recently decided to stop allowing Marines to wear their uniform with the sleeves rolled up.

Foreclosure Fraud In A Nutshell

and How Newt Gingrich Abetted the Theft of Average Joe’s Home

The untold story in the foreclosure crisis unfolding across America is that, following a foreclosure perpetrated by one of the October 2008 Bailout Banks (e.g. Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo) Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac suddenly appear as the record owner of Average Joe’s home. These federal government sponsored entities then go into local housing court and get a court order authorizing them to evict Joe. If Joe resists, these supposedly charitable institutions obtain a writ ordering the local sheriff to forcibly remove Joe from his home.

Newt Gingrich recently admitted to accepting $1.8 million from Freddie Mac ($25,0000 to $30,000 a month during one span of time) for advising this proto-fascist entity. Gingrich claims that he supports Fannie and Freddie because he believes the federal government "should have programs to help low income people acquire the ability to buy homes." But Fannie and Freddie don’t do this and never have. When government "helps" someone by subsidizing the purchase of something (through easy credit or lower-than-market rates), it makes that something more expensive. Helping someone buy something that is overpriced because of your help is not help. Fannie/Freddie subsidies not only hurt the low income people they intend to help, they hurt everyone by subsidizing, and therefore distorting, the entire housing market. Fannie/Freddie’s charity has now taken a dark turn. Like their Depression-era New Deal predecessor the Regional Agricultural Credit Corp., Fannie/Freddie are now repossessing homes at an increasing and alarming rate.

Mr. Gingrich either does not understand economics – government subsidies make things more expensive, not less expensive, and therefore hurt their intended beneficiaries – or he is a vain, selfish, and cynical man with no interest in actually helping his neighbor.

You decide.

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Winning? Ron Paul Helps Lead Mounting Opposition To SOPA Internet Censorship

Against the Blacklist Bills: Congressmen and Senators Speak Up ... Citizens nationwide have spoken out against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP, its counterpart in the Senate — and they're not alone. A large and growing bi-partisan group of legislators have told their colleagues in the Capitol that Internet censorship is a very bad idea ... Since the House Judiciary Committee hearing on SOPA last Tuesday, Rep. Nancy Pelosi has come out against the bill, tweeting "#DontBreakTheInternet." In opposing the bill, she stands alongside Representative Darrel Issa and the ten congressmen who submitted a letter to their colleagues: Representatives Anna Eshoo, Jared Polis, Mike Doyle, Doris Matsui, Mike Thompson, Zoe Lofgren, Ron Paul, Lloyd Doggett, Mike Honda, and George Miller. – Electronic Frontier Foundation

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Troopers Investigate Robbery/Assault Claymont

Location:
Rear parking lot of the Claymont Elementary School, 3401 Green Street, Claymont, DE

Date of Occurrence:
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 9:45 p.m.

Victim:
33 year old male from New Castle, De

Suspects:
5 black males, 19-25 years of age. (No further description)

Resume:
Claymont-Troopers are investigating the robbery and assault of a 33 year old man that occurred Saturday evening in the rear parking lot of the Claymont Elementary School.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:45 p.m. as the victim was walking on the elevated pedestrian crosswalk over I-95 towards the Claymont Elementary School. The victim had just exited the crosswalk and was walking in the rear of the school when he was approached from behind by the five suspects. The suspects knocked the victim to the ground, kicked him in the head and body, and demanded his property. The suspects rifled through his pockets removing his wallet, and removed his backpack that he was carrying that contained personal property. The suspects fled westbound, across the pedestrian crosswalk towards the Ashbourne Hills development. The victim was transported to Christiana Hospital where he was treated for multiple injuries received during the assault. The hospital status and disposition of the victim is unknown at the time of this release.

“Troopers urge the Public to BE ALERT, BE SAFE. Walk in pairs or groups, especially after dark. Avoid congregating or walking through dark or unlit areas. Be aware of your surroundings. Conceal your valuables.”

If anyone has any information in reference to this incident, they are asked to contact the Robbery Unit at Troop 2 at 302-834-2630 Extension #6 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333. Information may also be provided via the internet at www.tipsubmit.com

Send an anonymous tip by text to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword "DSP."

Local Pop Warner Football Team Wins Championship

One of our local Pop Warner teams the Wicomico Panthers Jr. Peewee team won the Eastern Region Championship yesterday in Rumson New Jersey over the Valley Stallions 19-7. They went 7-0 in their regular season and are now 12-0 only giving up 31 points all season long.

GOVERNOR O’MALLEY KICKS OFF HISTORIC INDIA TRADE MISSION

Four Maryland companies sign agreements with Indian partners

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 28, 2011) – Governor Martin O’Malley and First Lady Katie O’Malley today kicked off an historic trade mission to India, arriving earlier today in Hyderabad with a delegation of more than 100 Maryland business leaders, educators and elected officials – the largest-ever trade mission delegation from Maryland. Governor O’Malley and the delegation will spend two days in Hyderabad, then travel to Mumbai and New Delhi to boost two-way trade and investment and promote Maryland as an ideal location for Indian companies looking to establish U.S. operations, particularly in life sciences, technology and aerospace and defense. The six-day mission will wrap up with a visit to the Taj Mahal. Governor O’Malley is the first sitting Governor from Maryland to lead a trade mission to India.

“While Maryland and India have a long history of trade, this mission will help open new doors for investment, for both Maryland businesses looking to enter or expand in Indian markets, and for Indian companies looking to enter U.S. markets by locating in Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “We are pleased to promote our State as the gateway to doing business in the U.S. and to seek opportunities to partner in our innovation and technology sectors.”

As part of today's events, Governor O'Malley joined Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy to discuss their intentions to sign the first Sister State agreement between Maryland and India. Andhra Pradesh is India's fourth largest state and the country's center for information technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. An agreement would strengthen India's partnership with Maryland and commit the two regions to working together on matters of business and industry, culture and arts, and education and health.

The Governor also witnessed signings between four Maryland businesses and their Indian partners. ANGARAI, a Greenbelt-based management consulting firm specializing in project management, oversight and business transformation solutions and one of Prince George’s County’s fastest growing small businesses, signed an agreement with CI , a technology product development company based in Chennai, to pursue opportunities in mobile and web applications, potentially opening up an office in Maryland. The second signing was between Rockville-based Sheladia Associates, an engineering, architecture and development company and two Indian firms – M/S Sai Matarani Toll Ways Ltd. and Gayatri Projects Ltd. Sheladia will provide design and project management services valued at $3.7 million for upgrading the Panikoili – Rimouli Section of National Highway 215 to a 4 Lane facility in the State of Orissa. A third signing involved an MOU between Maryland-based DataNet Systems Corp. in and RT-MediBus Technologies and the Health Management and Research Institute in Hyderabad to create MediHelp, a 24-hour/seven day a week health care helpline that can help screen minor ailments and illnesses and reduce the overall cost of public healthcare. The call center would be located in Prince George’s County. In addition, Amarex, a Germantown-based clinical research organization, signed an agreement with Gaithersburg’s Shreis Scalene Sciences LLC to gain FDA approval for the medical device Cytotron, which uses a patented technology to treat regenerative and degenerative diseases such as cancer, osteoarthritis and multiple sclerosis. The device was invented and developed by Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar, Chairman of Scalene Cybernetics in Bangalore, a technology and equity partner of Shreis Scalene Sciences.

“It is an honor to represent the residents and businesses of Prince George’s County, Maryland on Governor O’Malley’s trade mission to India,” said Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III. “I am here alongside our County’s economic development experts and 12 County businesses to extend our collective hand to the Indian business community. We see this as a unique opportunity to promote Prince George’s County, Maryland as a ready business partner, a source of investment opportunities, and a gateway to the State of Maryland and our neighbor, Washington D.C.”

"This trip represents a continuation of Montgomery County's reaching out in the global economy," said Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. "Our emphasis remains on the cutting edge of biotechnology and the life sciences in terms of attracting investment, business, and good jobs."

“With the signing of the MOU with CI, ANGARAI has a great opportunity to make significant leap in the Project Management, Oversight & Business Transformation solutions that we offer by leveraging technology expertise and bandwidth that CI provides,” said Venkat Subramanian, President and CEO, ANGARAI. “This will bring significant value to our customers and would tremendous help in bringing efficiency and effectiveness to their processes. Further, it will help us to grow thus creating more job opportunities, development and growth for our country and Maryland and Prince George’s County in particular.”

Earlier today, Governor O’Malley also gave a keynote address at a meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industries, one of India’s oldest and largest business groups with a direct membership of more than 8,100 organizations from the private as well as public sectors, and an indirect membership of over 90,000 companies from around 400 national and regional associations. The First Lady met with the advocate general for Andhra Pradesh to discuss the possibility of establishing a Rule of Law partnership with Maryland.

In 2010, India was Maryland’s 12th largest export market with $233 million in goods and services, and was the State’s 13th largest import market, with more than $465 million. As of September, Maryland exports to India were valued at over $192 million, representing an 18 percent increase over the same period in 2010. In the first nine months of this year, the Port of Baltimore saw $341 million in trade to and from India compared with $229 million from the same time frame in 2010 – a 49 percent increase.

In addition to Maryland’s trade office in India, which opened in 2009, the State also recently opened foreign offices in Russia and Colombia to attract foreign-owned companies to Maryland and encourage trade opportunities. The offices, which are opened on a contingency basis with no up-front cost to taxpayers, are part of the State’s network of foreign offices which also include China (Shanghai), France (Paris), Israel (Haifa), South Korea (Seoul), Taiwan (Taipei), Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) and the Western Balkans (Montenegro).

Maryland’s Office of International Investment and Trade works to stimulate foreign direct investment in the State, offers export assistance for small and mid-sized Maryland companies and coordinates international trade and investment missions and trade show opportunities for Maryland companies. For more information on resources available to business that want to market their products or services globally, visit http://www.choosemaryland.org/

THERE IS NO UNDERAGE NIGHT CLUB IN DOWNTOWN SALISBURY

There's been a lot of talk in the last two weeks about an underage night club on the Plaza. This is not true.

There was one several months ago but they have been closed for months. The young man who had created the club even went so far as to look into a liquor license but he never followed up on it.

Now, that being said, last week there was an event in which some claimed there were about 300 people in a massive fight outside the building above. Some media sources jumped the gun by claiming it was an underage night club but this just isn't true.

A group of college students went to the owner of the building and asked if they could rent the space, (also shown above) that used to be a restaurant. Again, this is different space from the OLD underage club from months ago and also a completely different group of people.

The owner agreed to rent them the space for one evening and things went perfectly fine, until the very end. A group of thugs had allegedly been waiting outside in the parking lot who had nothing to do with the students hosting the private party. They had targeted ONE individual and once that individual came outside they ganged up on him and beat the crap out of him.

The owner of the building met with States Attorney Matt Maciarello and Chief Barbara Duncan where they had told him there were some 300 people there. There was NOT 300 people there. There was about 80 people. There were not multiple fights.

This incident has been blown way out of proportion. Mind you, there may be some questions as to IF the owner can rent space to private parties and I'm actually pretty confident he will think twice about ever doing so again. The City needs to rethink how they allow businesses to operate in the City in order to clamp down on such practices.

In the mean time I wanted to clear the air about this topic.

Watch the video carefully and you will see a group of people going after one individual. It was NOT a massive brawl, as stated in the video. Notice the reporter stating they couldn't locate the VICTIM, (not victims). Maciarello stated there was some 300 people, again, not true. I'm NOT knocking Matt, I simply do not feel he was properly informed because the video proves different.

'Mahna Mahna' Came From A Porn Film

It might just be the catchiest Muppet song of them all, beating out "Rubber Duckie," "It's Not Easy Being Green," "Rainbow Connection" and all the rest.
But until reading this Slate article, I had no idea "Mahna Mahna" came from a softcore porn film.

BREAKING NEWS: Fitch Turns 'Negative' On U.S. Credit

Credit rating agency Fitch maintains AAA rating for U.S. but downgrades outlook to 'negative' from 'stable'

From Fox News

Salisbury Police Department Press Releases 11-28-11

On November 23, 2011 at approximately 2:25 pm, Officers of the
Salisbury Police were working in an undercover capacity in the area of Railroad Avenue and East Church Street on an operation targeting prostitution. During the investigation the undercover officer was contacted by the below listed suspect who solicited the officer. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.

ARRESTED: Annette Deloris Collins, 55 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES: Prostitution - General

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100046320

On November 24, 2011 at approximately 8:29 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police Department responded to the Walmart Department Store on North Salisbury Boulevard for the report of counterfeit currency. Upon arrival the officers met with store security who advised the officers that the below listed suspect had attempted to pay for store merchandise with six (6) bills of counterfeit U.S. Currency. The currency was seized and the suspect was taken into custody. A search of the suspect, incident to arrest, revealed seven (7) pills of a controlled substance without the prescription and related drug paraphernalia.

ARRESTED: Anthony Keith Johnson, 46 years of age Seaford, Delaware

CHARGES:
Possession of counterfeit currency
Possession of counterfeit currency to defraud
Passing counterfeit currency
Possession of controlled prescription
Possession of CDS without prescription
Possession of CDS/Paraphernalia (2 cts)

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100046484

On November 25, 2011 at approximately 9:29 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police arrested the below listed suspect on an outstanding arrest warrant for possession of a controlled dangerous substance on November 18. On that date Salisbury Officers responded to an apartment at University Terrace for the report of a loud party. Upon arrival the officers met with the residents of the apartment and detected the scent of suspected marijuana emanating from the residence. The investigation of the incident resulted in the identification of the below suspect as the person responsible for the suspected marijuana.

ARRESTED: Michael Joseph Gould, 19 years of Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES:
Possession of marijuana
Possession of CDS/Paraphernalia
Possession of marijuana w/intent to distribute

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100045642

On November 26, 2011 at approximately 8:40 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police Department were on routine patrol in the area of Delaware Avenue and U.S. Route 50 and stopped a vehicle operated by the below listed suspect for a traffic violation. During the stop the officer requested a K-9 to check the vehicle which was completed by Salisbury Police K-9 “Miso”. “Miso” gave a positive indication on the vehicle which led to the recovery of a quantity of suspected “crack”/cocaine and related paraphernalia containing suspected cocaine residue.

ARRESTED: Robert Lamont Butler, 41 years of age Baltimore, Maryland

CHARGES:
Possession of cocaine
Possession of CDS/Paraphernalia

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 201100046775

Miley Cyrus Suggests She’s A “Stoner” Who Smokes “Too Much Weed” In Video

UPDATE: Miley Cyrus’ rep called the singer’s “stoner” comment “sarcastic” today, telling “Access Hollywood,” “The cake was a joke and Miley was being sarcastic. It is being completely taken out of context.”

ORIGINAL POST: When a video emerged last year of Miley Cyrus apparently smoking from a bong, the teen star said she was smoking legal salvia, not marijuana.
Now the former “Hannah Montana” star has another video to spin. It was shot at the singer’s 19th birthday party in Hollywood last week. In the video, Miley is presented with a cake emblazoned with the image of Bob Marley by her friend Kelly Osbourne.

DATE: November 23, 2011
CBI Case # 10-0253
LOCATION: 10300 BLK Research Lane
Bishopville, MD

CHARGES:Burglary
Theft
MDOP

ACCUSED: Christopher Charles SIMONE, W/M 31yoa Berlin, MD.

NARRATIVE: On November 19, 2010 a Deputy of the Worcester County Sheriff’s
Office took an initial report of a Burglary, Theft and MDOP from a Perdue Facility. There are several chicken houses and an office building on the property. The report was forwarded to the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.

It was reported that entry was gained by forcing a door that secured the office
building. Once entry was gained, access to the entire building was possible. The
building was “gutted” for the valuable copper, aluminum and other precious metals. The interior walls and ceilings were damaged so that access could be gained these those metals.

SIMONE was immediately identified as a possible suspect after a neighbor reported seeing a vehicle registered to him in the immediate area. The same neighbor reported seeing a white male having similar physical characteristics to Simone walking across the Perdue property carrying buckets in the direction of where Simone’s vehicle was parked.

A lengthy and thorough search of invoices from area salvage yards where precious
metals can be taken for cash was completed. Simone had many invoices in his name for the week prior to the initial report and they were for cooper and aluminum. The amounts are consistent with the estimated loss.

Based upon the above facts and the detailed investigation an Application for Charges was prepared for a District Court Commissioner’s review and consideration. As a result an Arrest Warrant was issued for SIMONE on the above charges.

On Wednesday, November 23, 2011 a Deputy of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate SIMONE and place him in custody without incident. He was ultimately arraigned before a District Court Commissioner and released on his own recognizance pending a future court date.

Criminal Arrest

DATE & TIME: Nov 27th at 2004hrs
C C. CARD NUMBER: 1154-008309
LOCATION: 101 Montleau Avenue, Salisbury, Wicomico County, MD

CRIME: Assault 2nd Degree.
Accused: Renee Lynn Nicholson 38 YOA, Salisbury, MD

BRIEF RESUME:
On the above date and time Tfc Goldman responded to 101 Montleau Ave in Salisbury, MD. Investigation revealed Renee Lynn Nicholson had assaulted George Harrison and her 11 yr old son at the residence. Nicholson was placed under arrest and taken to WCDC for processing. She was charged with 2nd degree assault and 2nd degree child abuse.

Vaccines For Kids Shirked In Eight States

CBS/AP) Have parents given the cold shoulder to immunizations for their kids? In eight states, more than 1 in 20 public school kindergartners fail to get all the vaccines required for attendance, according to a new Associated Press analysis. That apparent trend has health officials worried about outbreaks of diseases that once were all but eliminated.

Joe,

The owner of the missing/found cat just came by to pick him up. The cat's name is Stripey. His owner is a little girl who was hysterically happy to have him back.

Judging by how the cat came running and purring, he was happy to go home. Thanks to your reader Sharon who spotted Stripey on the blog and the flyer and put the two together.

Great results!

Pakistan Says NATO Ignored Its Pleas During Two-Hour Attack

ISLAMABAD — NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers lasted almost two hours and continued even after Pakistani commanders had pleaded with coalition forces to stop, the army claimed Monday in charges that could further inflame anger in Pakistan.

DATE:November 25, 2011
CBI Case # 11-0176 (MSP-V 11-96-004489)
LOCATION: OC Paintball
12605 Ocean Gateway, West Ocean City, MD
CHARGES: Burglary, Conspiracy – Burglary and MDOP

ACCUSED:
1) Patrick M. SIMPSON,
Male 21yoa
Berlin, MD

2, Joseph GLENN,
Male - age 21
Berlin,MD

3. Juvenile -
Male 17 yoa
Salisbury, MD

NARRATIVE: On Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 11:52pm a Trooper of the Maryland State Police – Berlin Barrack was dispatched to a burglar alarm call at OC Paintball, 12605 Ocean Gateway, West Ocean City, Worcester County, Maryland.

Upon the troopers arrival observed that a window to the building had been broken. A perimeter was quickly secured and additional resources to include a K-9 unit from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office were requested. A thorough search of the building and area were conducted for suspects; to no avail.

Evidence recovered from the scene was sent to the Maryland State Police – Forensic Sciences Division for analysis and resulted in the positive identification of one of the known suspects. As a result of the analysis and confirmation of one of the suspects being involved interviews were begun. The interviews resulted in confessions being obtained from the three involved after being advised of their Miranda Rights.

The juvenile has been released into the custody of a parent and is awaiting the case review by Juvenile Justice. Both SIMPSON and GLENN have been arrested without incident and arraigned before a District Court Commissioner on the above charges. SIMPSON and GLENN have both been released on UNSECURED $10,000.00 bonds pending trial.

British Film Director Ken Russell Dies At 84

LONDON — Ken Russell, the British director whose daring and sometimes outrageous films often tested the patience of audiences and critics, has died at age 84.

Russell died in a hospital on Sunday following a series of strokes, his son Alex Verney-Elliott said Monday.

One of Russell's biggest successes came in 1969 with "Women in Love," based on the book by D.H. Lawrence, which earned Academy Award nominations for the director and for writer Larry Kramer, and an Oscar for the star, Glenda Jackson.

James Webb Space Telescope Moves Forward Costing Taxpayers Over $8 Billion

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope gets a reprieve on funding for 2012. The project had been zeroed out by the House because it is over-budget. But NextGov reports, the appropriations bill approved in House and Senate conference last week includes more than $500 million for the Webb Telescope. NASA hopes to launch the telescope in 2018. It it now projected to cost a total of $8 billion. In their report, conferees said they had to cut other NASA programs to keep the Webb Telescope alive.

What’s Missing For 2012: The Anger Gene

Let’s face it, Americans are angry. Whether they’re from the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, or even the silent majority, polls show they’re mad as hell with the political status quo. The problem is, if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee – as it’s looking increasingly likely he will be – the 2012 election will be a match between two men missing the anger gene.

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The Chevy Volt Might Be The Most Federally Subsidized Car Ever

Now it is under the microscope of The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At issue is whether crashes cause the car's lithium ion batteries to become fire prone. Earlier this year, the agency smashed up a Volt to test for passenger protection. The damaged battery caught fire three weeks later. In subsequent tests, batteries either got too hot or started sparking. Now the safety agency says it will dig deeper into the car's battery safety. NHTSA says it has no reports of roadway crashes causing battery fires.

Cop vs Cop - Arrested At Gun Point

UC English Department Calls For Resignation

The faculty of the UC Davis English Department supports the Board of the Davis Faculty Association in calling for Chancellor Katehi’s immediate resignation and for “a policy that will end the practice of forcibly removing non-violent student, faculty, staff, and community protesters by police on the UC Davis campus.” Further, given the demonstrable threat posed by the University of California Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to the safety of students, faculty, staff, and community members on our campus and others in the UC system, we propose that such a policy include the disbanding of the UCPD and the institution of an ordinance against the presence of police forces on the UC Davis campus, unless their presence is specifically requested by a member of the campus community. This will initiate a genuinely collective effort to determine how best to ensure the health and safety of the campus community at UC Davis.

Source

Can There Be Solidarity Between Movement Activists And Police Officers?

Recent days have seen the increasing use of police violence against peaceful Occupy demonstrators around the country, including the gone-viral merciless pepper-spraying of students at UC Davis as well as that of 84-year-old Dorli Rainey in Seattle, and the critical wounding of Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen at Occupy Oakland. Police often refer to such episodes as “non-lethal intervention” and “pain compliance.”

They are intended to make people respond to their demands in particular situations, and more broadly the notion can be expanded as an effective working label for the apparent overall strategy of police in relation to the Occupy Movement everywhere.

The basic idea is that if authorities apply enough force, fear will increase and people will stay home rather than mobilize.

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Good Op-Ed About The Attack By Environmentalists On The Hudson Family Farm

UM LAW SCHOOL FAIL: Gazette columnist Barry Rascovar lambasts the University of Maryland Law School for failing to do its homework before suing an Eastern Shore family farm.

One of Martin O’Malley’s endearing qualities is his willingness to occasionally ignore political correctness and speak out if he sees an inexcusable, misguided action by government officials.

As mayor of Baltimore, O’Malley excoriated the city’s black state’s attorney for blocking criminal justice reform.

He even sent her a letter with hand-drawn stick figures to illustrate how easy it would be to support constructive change.

On another occasion, he used scatological language to show his contempt for her habitual foot-dragging.

As a city councilman, he lacerated the police commissioner for his “soft on crime” policies.

As governor, he ripped into the Public Service Commission for permitting a 72 percent electric rate increase he considered an unconscionable money grab at the expense of working families.
Now O’Malley is at it again.

This time, the governor sent a searing letter to the dean of the University of Maryland Law School, accusing its Environmental Law Clinic of a “misuse of state resources” and an “injustice” that could destroy a family farm.

He may have been venting his anger, but O’Malley is getting dinged for his politically incorrect stance.

How dare the liberal governor criticize an environmental group and the law clinic for their anti-pollution lawsuit? How dare he mouth off while there’s a legal case pending?

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Occupy Protesters Defy Deadline To Leave Los Angeles Park

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Demonstrators held their ground in Los Angeles' City Hall Park early Monday morning, defying a 12:01 a.m. deadline to leave the encampment that had been in place for almost 60 days.

Protesters encouraged members who spilled into the streets to return to the park -- which some dubbed "Solidarity Park."
"Back to the park!" protesters chanted.

Police in helmets moved in on the scene, though it was not immediately clear whether anyone had been arrested.

Today as I was driving on Rt. 50 I spotted a lot of smoke on Seminole Blvd.

After a closer look I could see two unattended fires burning in the street. Obviously one of the property owners decided rather than bagging up the leaves, why not burn them instead.

Folks, this is against the law in many different ways. With the winds like they have been lately, this is just plain stupid, especially being unattended.

Obama Pardons Dope Dealers

President Barack Obama on Monday pardoned five people convicted of charges ranging from intent to distribute marijuana to running an illegal gambling business.

And he issued his first commutation, ordering the release of a woman next month after serving 10 years on a 22-year sentence for cocaine distribution.

The actions mark Obama’s third set of pardons. He pardoned eight people earlier this year, and issued nine pardons in December 2010.

None of those pardoned was well-known, as was the case with the president’s previous orders. The cases date back to 1984, when Martin Kaprelian of Park Ridge, Ill., was sentenced to nine years in prison for conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce, and other related charges.

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Mother and Boyfriend Charged After Boy Killed On Fourth Birthday

A Chicago mother and her boyfriend were charged Sunday in connection with the beating death of her four-year-old son on his birthday.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Christopher Valdez died Friday afternoon from multiple blunt force injuries and ruled his death a homicide, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The boy's mother, 28-year-old Crystal Valdez, was charged with concealment of a homicide and child endangerment resulting in a death.

Bob Ehrlich’s New Book: Blunt And As Uncompromising As Ever

Bob Ehrlich's new book, “Turn This Car Around,” is vintage Ehrlich: blunt, uncompromising, plain spoken, politically incorrect, almost always “in the right” against the forces of the left.

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Why Pay More Somewhere Else, Visit Bailey Jewelers Today

Unhealthy Competition? Woman Roasts Six Guys In Turkey Eating Contest

A 105-pound woman literally devoured the myth that size matters on Tuesday, when she gobbled down a whole turkey in ten minutes to win a festive eating competition, leaving behind just a single bone.

Competitive eater Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, of Alexandria, Va. put her cavernous stomach to good use as she chewed out the male competition – including a man four times her size – to take top prize at the Manhattan turkey eating contest.

Lt. Governor Brown To Hold Press Call On Mitt v. Mitt

ANNAPOLIS – TODAY, November 28 at 2:00 p.m. EDT Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown and Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Brian Moran will hold a press conference call to announce a major new Democratic effort to hold Mitt Romney accountable for his record of flip-flops. The efforts include a TV ad entitled "Trapped" which will be running in a number of markets, including in Washington, DC. The spot is a trailer for a longer video that highlights Romney's lack of consistency and core convictions on a host of issues including the economy, immigration and a woman's right to choose. The video can be found on a new website MittvMitt.com.

Fill In The Blank 11-28-11

My Family is ____.

Want Cheaper Tuition? Find Religion

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- With church membership dwindling and more families struggling to afford the cost of college, many private religiously-affiliated colleges and universities are slashing tuition and offering incentives to attract new students -- and to stay afloat.

Some Christian colleges are cutting tuition by double-digit percentages, while others are capping the price of admission for all four years or offering huge discounts based on academic performance

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A Charitable Appeal: PLEASE Help The Needy This Holiday Season

Ultrabooks Could Save The PC

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As the iPad eats away at personal computer sales, the PC appears to have found a potential savior in ... Apple?

It's an unlikely source, but it's true. Ultrabooks, the ultra-thin notebook computers with no hard disk drive or slot for a DVD, are a category of PC that was essentially invented by Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) with its MacBook Air, which debuted in 2008. Now, PC makers are scrambling in their attempts to replicate Apple's secret sauce.

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Climategate Scientists Colluded With Government Officials

'The stink of intellectual corruption is overpowering'

More than 5,000 documents have been leaked online purporting to be the correspondence of climate scientists at the University of East Anglia who were previously accused of ‘massaging’ evidence of man-made climate change.

Following on from the original "climategate" emails of 2009, the new package appears to show systematic suppression of evidence, and even publication of reports that scientists knew to be based on flawed approaches.

And not only do the emails paint a picture of scientists manipulating data, government employees at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are also implicated.

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The Instant Gratification Generation

Call it an occupational hazard, but I can’t look at the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters without thinking, “Who parented these people?”

As a culture columnist, I’ve commented on the social and political ramifications of the “movement” – now known as “OWS” – whose fairyland agenda can be summarized by one of their placards: “Everything for everybody.”

Thanks to their pipe-dream platform, it’s clear there are people with serious designs on “transformational” change in America who are using the protesters like bedsprings in a brothel.

Yet it’s not my role as a commentator that prompts my parenting question, but rather the fact that I’m the mother of four teens and young adults. There are some crucial life lessons that the protesters’ moms clearly have not passed along. Here, then, are five things the OWS protesters’ mothers should have taught their children but obviously didn’t, so I will:

• Life isn’t fair. The concept of justice – that everyone should be treated fairly – is a worthy and worthwhile moral imperative on which our nation was founded. But justice and economic equality are not the same. Or, as Mick Jagger said, “You can’t always get what you want.”

No matter how you try to “level the playing field,” some people have better luck, skills, talents or connections that land them in better places. Some seem to have all the advantages in life but squander them, others play the modest hand they’re dealt and make up the difference in hard work and perseverance, and some find jobs on Wall Street and eventually buy houses in the Hamptons. Is it fair? Stupid question.

• Nothing is “free.” Protesting with signs that seek “free” college degrees and “free” health care make you look like idiots, because colleges and hospitals don’t operate on rainbows and sunshine. There is no magic money machine to tap for your meandering educational careers and “slow paths” to adulthood, and the 53 percent of taxpaying Americans owe you neither a degree nor an annual physical.

While I’m pointing out this obvious fact, here are a few other things that are not free: overtime for police officers and municipal workers, trash hauling, repairs to fixtures and property, condoms, Band-Aids and the food that inexplicably appears on the tables in your makeshift protest kitchens. Real people with real dollars are
underwriting your civic temper tantrum.

• Your word is your bond. When you demonstrate to eliminate student loan debt, you are advocating precisely the lack of integrity you decry in others. Loans are made based on solemn promises to repay them. No one forces you to borrow money; you are free to choose educational pursuits that don’t require loans, or to seek technical or vocational training that allows you to support yourself and your ongoing educational goals. Also, for the record, being a college student is not a state of victimization. It’s a privilege that billions of young people around the globe would die for – literally.

• A protest is not a party. On Saturday in New York, while making a mad dash from my cab to the door of my hotel to avoid you, I saw what isn’t evident in the newsreel footage of your demonstrations: Most of you are doing this only for attention and fun. Serious people in a sober pursuit of social and political change don’t dance jigs down Sixth Avenue like attendees of a Renaissance festival. You look foolish, you smell gross, you are clearly high and you don’t seem to realize that all around you are people who deem you irrelevant.

• There are reasons you haven’t found jobs. The truth? Your tattooed necks, gouged ears, facial piercings and dirty dreadlocks are off-putting. Nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity isn’t a virtue. Occupy reality: Only 4 percent of college
graduates are out of work. If you are among that 4 percent, find a mirror and face the problem. It’s not them. It’s you.

Great Bumper Sticker

Somerset County Sheriff's Office Press Release 11-28-11

Washington High School student arrested 11-16-11 regarding fighting on a school bus. Deputies investigated a fight that occurred on a Somerset County School bus as it was transporting students from the Tawes Campus, to the Crisfield High School. Deputies arrested and charged a male juvenile student with second degree assault, and disturbing school functions. The juvenile was released to parents pending juvenile court actions.

Stacey Lynn Ballard of Crisfield, arrested 11-17-11 on a warrant regarding failing to appear in court. Ballard was later released after posting a $250.00 bond.

Martell Lamel Coston of Pocomoke, arrested 11-18-11 on a warrants regarding violation of probation. Coston was later held on a $20,000 bond.

Charles Andrew Coulbourne of Salisbury, arrested 11-18-11 on a warrant regarding failing to appear in court. Coulbourne was later held on a $500.00 bond, and released to the Maryland State Police , Princess Anne Barrack regarding additional warrants.

Kyle Joseph Crozier of Virginia Beach, arrested 11-18-11 regarding possession of suspected illegal anabolic steroids. The arrests was the result of a traffic stop conducted by Deputies on Ocean Highway, Westover. Deputies later recovered multiple steroid tablets, suspected liquid animal steroids, and syringes. Crozier was later released on an unsecured bond pending court actions.

Montro Larell Tilghman Jr. of Delmar, arrested 11-21-11 on warrants regarding failing to appear in court. Tilghman was later held on a $1,000 bond.

Two male juveniles arrested at Washington High School on 11-22-11. Deputies were called to the school regarding a student possessing suspected marijuana. After a further investigation, two male students were detained. Deputies later recovered a small amount of suspected marijuana from one of the students, and a folding knife from another. The first student was charged with possessing suspected marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The second students was charged possession of a deadly weapon on school property. Both student were released to parents pending juvenile court actions.

Two female students arrested at the Washington High School for fighting, and assaulting school staff. On 11-22-11 Deputies were called to the school regarding a fight in progress. Deputies later learned that two female students assaulted each other, and later punched school staff members as they tried to break the fight up. Both students were arrested and charged with several counts of second degree assault, and disturbing school functions. Both students were released to parents pending juvenile court actions.

Juan Trejo of Marion, arrested 11-22-11 on a warrant regarding failing to pay court fines. Trejo was later held on a $2075.50 bond.

Keith Howard Gumby of Princess Anne, arrested 11-22-11 regarding a District Court body attachment. Gumby was later released on personal recognizance pending trial.

Erin Lynn Griffin of Princess Anne, arrested 11-22-11 on a warrant regarding failing to appear in court. Griffin was later held on a $500.00 bond.

Kenneth Joseph William Byrd of Crisfield, arrested 11-23-11 on a warrant regarding failing to appear in court. Byrd was later held on a $500.00 bond.

Leroy Hartford Cottman of Princess Anne, arrested 11-23-11 on a warrant regarding failing to appear in court. Cottman was later held on a $10,000 bond.

Today's Survey Question 11-28-11

Do plan to shop online while at work on Cyber Monday?

Police Swarming 300 W. Main Street

The Police presence on our corner this morning has been higher than we've ever seen????

Officers seem to be stopping people and asking for their license and registration, most of these Officers, (including one Sheriff's Deputy) are on foot. Things that make you go, Hmmmmmmm?

Update On NATO Airstrikes In Pakistan

U.S. Central Command will open its own investigation into the NATO airstrikes in Pakistan that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. NATO is already investigating. The incident has touched off a diplomatic and military emergency between the the United States and Pakistan. Gen. James Mattis, head of Centcom, is expected to name an investigating officer today. The main question is who authorized the helicopter strikes and why. In retaliation, Pakistan has cut off military supply routes into Afghanistan and called for the CIA to stop drone activity in the border area.

BREAKING NEWS: Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank To Retire

Longtime Democratic Rep. Barney Frank decides not to run for re-election in 2012, Fox News confirms.

Rike's Dept. Store Christmas Displays

The famous animated Christmas window displays that delighted children of all ages in the old Rike’s department store at Second and Main Streets in downtown Dayton actually migrated here from New York City.

The display, now shown each December at the Wintergarden in the Schuster Center, first appeared in the windows of the NCR offices in New York City in 1943.

According to research done by author Curt Dalton of Dayton, and one of the interesting stories in his latest book of little-known facts about Dayton, the display is based on the Charles Dicken’s story “A Christmas Carol.”

Dalton said each scene of the original display was painstakingly researched and the Dickens-like characters were dressed in period attire and set against three dimensional backgrounds built by carpenters of NCR here in Dayton.

The display was such a hit in New York that in 1945 Frederick Rike, owner of the Rike-Kumler store which later became Rike’s, negotiated and was given permission to erect the Christmas display, including the moving characters, in the windows of his store in Dayton.

It soon became the focal point of Christmas in downtown Dayton, and nearly every family would bring children downtown each December to enjoy the magnificent presentation with dancing elves, and starring Santa Claus.

When the complex that housed Rikes was eventually razed in November of 1999 many of the little figures of the display were placed in storage in an empty store. Eventually they were resurrected, repaired, and now are displayed each Christmas in the windows of the Wintergarden.

The story that explains the history of the Christmas windows at Rike's is one of about 80 interesting tidbits about Dayton’s history that are included in Dalton’s book which is titled “Gem City Jewels.”

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Federal Employees' Compensation Act

The House is preparing to vote on a bill to make changes to the Federal Employees' Compensation Act. Under the new bill medical assistants and nurses would be permitted to certify disability resulting from traumatic injury. The bill also extends compensation under FECA for death or disability caused by a terrorist attack. Benefit amounts for funereal expenses are also increased. The bill is scheduled for a vote tomorrow

MARYLAND CONSERVATIVES LAUNCH NEW FEDERAL PAC TO CHALLENGE STATE’S MACHINE

Kensington, MD — NOVEMBER 14, 2011 —CONSERVATIVE VICTORY PAC announces its launch as a Federal PAC; located in the State of Maryland.

Last year’s historic election in this country showed overwhelming support for conservative fiscal policies and practices. Everywhere conservatives pulled ahead as voters showed their support and confidence. But the machine politics incumbent in Maryland did not change. The State of Maryland remains almost the last outpost where liberal unfairness reigns at the hands of a politically ambitious Governor who seems immune to criticism and immune to prosperity. Last week additional businesses left Maryland in favor of better more profitable environments. This is happening in record proportions every week, every month and every year in the State of Maryland. Add to that the overwhelming taxes for absolutely everything in Maryland and Maryland comes in almost dead last in popularity. Who wants to come here? How can we prosper here?

Before you invest time and money defending political candidates for State or Federal offices in Maryland CONSERVATIVE VICTORY PAC wants to ask you WHY? If you live in Maryland, work in Maryland, rear children in Maryland, and own a Maryland business or property and you really don’t want to relocate, CONSERVATIVE VICTORY PAC is a clarion Call to action for you.

CONSERVATIVE VICTORY PAC President, Chuck Floyd, “I am a Maryland business owner and home owner rearing my children here. Every election year politicians come to us asking for support. In return these politicians tell us they can guarantee security in our jobs, our businesses, and even in all of our basic human needs. Then the Aha-moment strikes: we pay more to the politicians, more to the government that they operate and yet every year we are poorer and less secure in all of these things they have promised to do for us. Look around; who is getting richer and living it up? The politicians, their families, and friends are living it up. Something is wrong with this picture.”

Join the fight of a lifetime to keep what you hold dear and hard earned: Our Maryland values and our Maryland way of life. Join us to raise public awareness of the plight of Maryland locked in the stranglehold of machine politics. Join us to support high-caliber Conservative challengers to the incumbent monopoly in Annapolis and in Washington, DC. Join us to win and overturn this Goliath machine of destruction.

Join CONSERVATIVE VICTORY PAC: Volunteer advocate, participate, and contribute. Take back the life that you have earned and the life that all Marylanders are proud of.

Neoconservatives Planned Regime Change Throughout The Middle East And North Africa 20 Years Ago

I've repeatedly documented that the Neocons planned regime change in Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria and a host of other countries right after 9/11 [8] ... if not before [9].

And that Obama is implementing these same plans [8] - just with a "kindler, gentler" face.

Glenn Greenwald provides further documentation that the various Middle Eastern and North African wars were planned before 9/11 [10]:

General Wesley Clark ... said the aim of this plot [to "destroy the governments in ... Iraq, ... Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran”] was this: “They wanted us to destabilize the Middle East, turn it upside down, make it under our control.” He then recounted a conversation he had had ten years earlier with Paul Wolfowitz — back in 1991 — in which the then-number-3-Pentagon-official, after criticizing Bush 41 for not toppling Saddam, told Clark: “But one thing we did learn [from the Persian Gulf War] is that we can use our military in the region – in the Middle East – and the Soviets won’t stop us. And we’ve got about 5 or 10 years to clean up those old Soviet regimes – Syria, Iran [sic], Iraq – before the next great superpower comes on to challenge us.” Clark said he was shocked by Wolfowitz’s desires because, as Clark put it: “the purpose of the military is to start wars and change governments? It’s not to deter conflicts?”

[I]n the aftermath of military-caused regime change in Iraq and Libya ... with concerted regime change efforts now underway aimed at Syria and Iran, with active and escalating proxy fighting [11] in Somalia, with a modest military deployment [12] to South Sudan [13], and the active use of drones in six — count ‘em: six [14] — different Muslim countries, it is worth asking whether the neocon dream as laid out by Clark is dead or is being actively pursued and fulfilled, albeit with means more subtle and multilateral than full-on military invasions (it’s worth remembering that neocons specialized in dressing up their wars in humanitarian packaging: Saddam’s rape rooms! Gassed his own people!). As Jonathan Schwarz ... put it about the supposedly contentious national security factions:

As far as I can tell, there’s barely any difference in goals within the foreign policy establishment. They just disagree on the best methods to achieve the goals. My guess is that everyone agrees we have to continue defending the mideast from outside interference (I love that Hillary line), and the [Democrats] just think that best path is four overt wars and three covert actions, while the neocons want to jump straight to seven wars.

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Ohio Puts 200-Pound Third-Grader In Foster Care

CLEVELAND (AP) - An Ohio third-grader who weighs more than 200 pounds has been taken from his family and placed into foster care after county social workers said his mother wasn't doing enough to control his weight.

The Plain Dealer reports ( http://bit.ly/t68M7D) that the Cleveland 8-year-old is considered severely obese and at risk for such diseases as diabetes and hypertension.

The case is the first state officials can recall of a child being put in foster care strictly for a weight-related issue.

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Multi-Trillion Bank Bailout Leads To Multi-Billion Bank Profit Bloomberg Finds

Back in August when Bloomberg first scoured the depraved depths of the almost-30,000 pages of FOIA-released Fed documentation surrounding the biggest ever bailout in history, the sheer volume of the loans, ultra-low cost of funds, and lying-through-their-teeth nature of the bank CEOs was enough for some vindication of tin-foil-hat-wearing fringe blogs [3]. In this month's Bloomberg Markets magazine [4], much of this is rehashed but the truly incredible part - though not entirely shocking to us - is the magnitude of the profits that the banks amassed directly as a result of these 'secret' bailouts. Almost a quarter of their entire income was generated during this period from bailout-related sub-market funds. Over $13bn profit was 'appropriated' during the crisis with Citi and BofA among the largest profiteers.

For those with the stomach for what is the highest form of crony capitalism writ large and explained in its clearest and most egregious manner yet, the article also has an interactive chart of the banks' profit-gains direct from the Fed's bailouts [4] during this period. Dean Baker's quote from the article perhaps sums up our perspective at the time and now:

"banks were either in bad shape or taking advantage of the Fed giving them a good deal. The former contradicts their public statements. The latter - getting loans at below-market rates during a financial crisis -- is quite a gift."

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Michael Phelps Spreads Word To Save Maryland Swimming

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WUSA) -- The most decorated athlete in Olympic history is among those calling foul over a proposal to cut 8 varsity sports at the University of Maryland, including men's and women's swimming and diving.

Michael Phelps is using Twitter to weigh in saying: "Please help spread the word #savemarylandswimming."

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Broadband Internet Could Bring A Half-Million Jobs

The Federal Communications Commission says the plan to bring broadband Internet to rural America could produce a half-million jobs. NextGov reports that the FCC is looking to create more than 111,000 jobs per $1 billion spent. The agency plans to redirect $4.5 billion from landline operations at rural phone companies toward broadband. They believe it'll take about six years to create more than 500,000 jobs.

O’Malley Has A Busy Day In Doha, Qatar

Gov. Martin O’Malley and his wife, Judge Catherine Curran O’Malley, took off Friday night from Dulles Airport on Qatar Airlines daily flight to Doha, capital of the small kingdom on the Persian Gulf. The stop in Doha got virtually no advanced publicity as part of O’Malley’s six-day trip to India, but he appears to have had a busy day there, according to tweets from the governor and Christian Johansson, secretary of Business and Economic Development.

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The Jobs Crisis: What Did Roosevelt Do That Obama Should?

The nation is experiencing the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression. Princeton economist and former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, Alan Blinder, calls the current crisis a "national jobs emergency."

The official unemployment rate in September was 9.1 percent - nearly twice the rate a decade ago - leaving 14 million people out of work.

It's not just the financial meltdown of 2008 and the Great Recession. The American economy has been underperforming for years. Business Week calls 1999-2009 "The Lost Decade for Jobs" as private-sector employment grew by a paltry net 1.1 percent - the lowest increase for any ten-year period since the 1930s.

The original version of President Obama's increasingly embattled jobs plan aimed to provide a much-needed extension of unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut for working Americans, but outlined only scarce measures to dent the catastrophic rate of unemployment. What we need today is a massive jobs program like the Works Progress Administration (WPA) launched by President Franklin Roosevelt. The WPA put millions of people back to work in the midst of the Great Depression, restoring their dignity, putting money in their pockets and quite literally saving lives.

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Attention

Monday, November 28, 2011