UPDATE: Fernando Guerrero just knocked out his opponent in the 5th round. Congratulations Fernando, welcome back!
Live Photo from Washington. D.C. as Fernando is getting ready to get into the ring tonight.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Fernando Guerrero Knocks Out Opponent In 5th Round
UPDATE: Fernando Guerrero just knocked out his opponent in the 5th round. Congratulations Fernando, welcome back!
Live Photo from Washington. D.C. as Fernando is getting ready to get into the ring tonight.
Jolly Jack Update
I read the story about Jolly Jack in today's SbyNews. Johnny Rae was Jolly Jack (when we were kids in the '50's). He and I worked together at WBOC from 1965-67 and we often talked about "those days." It's possible Carroll Long could have filled in a time or two but Johnny was the main JJ.
As you know my computer skills are horrible and I don't quite understand about leaving a comment. So if you could pass this info along to Joe Albero I'd appreciate it. I see in the comment section that Jack Richards has said Carroll Long was Jolly Jack. He emailed me last year asking who Jolly Jack was and even after I told him it was Johnny Rae he still thinks it was Carroll Long.......
Still enjoy and look forward to your column each Saturday. Very interesting today about your grandfather's coffin!
C.R.
As you know my computer skills are horrible and I don't quite understand about leaving a comment. So if you could pass this info along to Joe Albero I'd appreciate it. I see in the comment section that Jack Richards has said Carroll Long was Jolly Jack. He emailed me last year asking who Jolly Jack was and even after I told him it was Johnny Rae he still thinks it was Carroll Long.......
Still enjoy and look forward to your column each Saturday. Very interesting today about your grandfather's coffin!
C.R.
FLASH – PAUL WILBER FINDS A GOLDMINE IN SALISBURY!
Here’s the rest of the story that we broke yesterday. WARNING: if you’re a Salisbury resident or taxpayer, take a deep breath before proceeding.
At the City Council on Monday, Mayor Ireton will ask that funds for attorney’s fees and costs of the City’s lawsuit about the wastewater treatment plant be increased by $667,500 (yes, that’s correct) in this year’s budget. The estimate that he made in his budget proposal “will not be sufficient” by at least that amount.
Because the trial won’t occur until the next fiscal year, in November, there will even more funding for the lawsuit – probably at least that much – in the next budget if the case is not settled before then. As we predicted early on, this case could make Mr. Wilber a millionaire, even if the fees he got for negotiating the contract are not included.
This matter is rapidly spinning out of the City’s control as the legal fees and costs skyrocket, as they will continue to do now that the City has found it necessary to retain a Baltimore law firm to represent it along with Mr. Wilber. The engineering firm that the City has sued recently filed a suit against the City under the Public Information Act for disclosure of its internal dealings and also has filed a complaint against the City for violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Looks like the All-American City is about to get its clock cleaned . . . again!
Delmar Juvenile Charged With Arson
While we cannot expose a minors name, we can tell you through reliable sources that someone VERY close within the McGuire Family has been charged for the arson next door to their property.
Another reliable source told me that Tom McGuire has been quoted as saying he wished that house would just burn to the ground. Was someone listening?
McGuire now hosts a swingers blog and has formerly run for Mayor and Town Council but lost dramatically in both races. The McGuire's also wished little Brooke Mulford dead and insisted I publish a letter stating such. Tom McGuire is also the individual that called corporate WalMart and stated I called an interracical couple a N-Word loving whore while ringing the bell at Sam's Club for the Salvation Army. He, along with JT were relentlessly calling our advertisers demanding they stop running ads with Salisbury News.
Unstable is putting it mildly with this Family. Mind you, these are charges and in America you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
What goes around, comes around.
Some Questions That Donald Trump Might Ask
Upon hearing that Donald Trump will interview his fellow neocons at another GOP debate in late December, I recalled that Trump gave the Republican nomination a shot himself in 2000, and of course again briefly in the past year. A quick Web search unearthed quite a few of Trump’s political opinions on topics ranging from civil rights to war. After reading through some of these Trumpisms I thought I’d attempt to anticipate some questions that "The Donald," as he is sometimes called, would ask his fellow neocons who are seeking the Republican nomination. So here goes.
"Mr. Gingrich, when I sought the nomination in 2000 I asked the question, ‘Who else has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?’ Would you agree with me that we should start another war with North Korea?"
"Senator Santorum, when I was running I said that Israel is "our unsinkable Mideast aircraft carrier" that "is there for us." But, well, not exactly. There are no Israeli soldiers fighting side-by-side with "us" in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you become president, would you pressure Israel to supply soldiers for our Mideast wars?"
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"Mr. Gingrich, when I sought the nomination in 2000 I asked the question, ‘Who else has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?’ Would you agree with me that we should start another war with North Korea?"
"Senator Santorum, when I was running I said that Israel is "our unsinkable Mideast aircraft carrier" that "is there for us." But, well, not exactly. There are no Israeli soldiers fighting side-by-side with "us" in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you become president, would you pressure Israel to supply soldiers for our Mideast wars?"
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Senate Panel Discusses Veteran Mental Health Access
A recent Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing focused on the long wait for mental health care at some Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities across the country. The hearing comes at a time when as many as 18 veterans are committing suicide daily. Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (Wash.) questioned the VA on a survey of mental health providers that reveals that in many areas of the country wait times far exceeded the VA's mandated 14-day window. The survey indicated that 70 percent of providers said they did not have adequate staff or space to meet the mental health care needs of the veterans, and 46 percent of respondents said the lack of off-hour appointments prevented veterans from accessing care. Murray pointed out that 33,000 more troops are returning from Afghanistan next year and demands on the VA mental health program will only increase.
Ranking Member Senator Richard Burr (N.C.) expressed disappointment with the VA mental health program even though the program funding has increased by 136 percent and staffing has increased by 47 percent since FY 2006. Burr explained that 70-80 percent of PTS patients will recover if they get adequate and timely treatment.
After hearing testimony on the long waits and bureaucratic mismanagement, the committee called for an investigation and audit of the VA mental health program.
Ranking Member Senator Richard Burr (N.C.) expressed disappointment with the VA mental health program even though the program funding has increased by 136 percent and staffing has increased by 47 percent since FY 2006. Burr explained that 70-80 percent of PTS patients will recover if they get adequate and timely treatment.
After hearing testimony on the long waits and bureaucratic mismanagement, the committee called for an investigation and audit of the VA mental health program.
Sex Or Generosity? Study Finds What Counts Most In Marriage
Generosity between spouses is a key element to a happy marriage, a new study says.
In essence, generosity is the amount of giving that goes on within a relationship, which can mean anything from making your spouse a cup of coffee, to ordering flowers or providing a backrub.
In the study, couples who reported a high amount of generosity in their relationship were five times more likely to say their marriage was "very happy," compared with those who reported a low amount of generosity. All couples in the report had children.
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In essence, generosity is the amount of giving that goes on within a relationship, which can mean anything from making your spouse a cup of coffee, to ordering flowers or providing a backrub.
In the study, couples who reported a high amount of generosity in their relationship were five times more likely to say their marriage was "very happy," compared with those who reported a low amount of generosity. All couples in the report had children.
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Rocket Fire Continues As Terrorists Discuss Ceasefire
The rockets and missiles from Gaza continued to fly on Friday afternoon and early evening (Israel time), as it became clear that residents of southern Israel will have to spend their Sabbath in protected spaces and shelters.
Shortly before 8:00 p.m. (Israel time), terrorists fired two Grad missiles from Gaza at the city of Ashdod. Channel 2 News is reporting that the Iron Dome anti-missile system was able to shoot down one of the missiles, while the second one exploded in an open space near the city. There were no physical injuries or damages.
Earlier, five Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Israel. The rockets landed in open areas in the Ashkelon Coast, Sha’ar Hanegev and Eshkol Regional Councils. In all cases there were no reports of physical injuries or damage.
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Patrice Lewis: Peace On Earth, Now Buy Gun
As you've doubtless gathered, I normally don't care for Black Friday shopping binges. I dislike the animalistic behavior people exhibit as they trample other shoppers on their way to grab cheap electronics or other unnecessary junk.
But there was one statistic that came out of this year's Black Friday that pleased me immensely: gun sales were up. Way up. Crazily up.
FBI background checks for that day smashed all previous one-day sales by 32 percent. Background checks totaled 129,166 on this year's Black Friday, compared to the next closest record of 97,848 on Black Friday of 2008. And the actual number of firearms sold, let it be known, was even higher for two reasons: one, background checks are not performed during transactions between individuals (i.e. someone buying a surplus gun from a friend); and two, a buyer can purchase multiple firearms under the clearance of a single background check. So altogether as many as a quarter to a half million MORE guns may now be in the hands of private citizens. Whoo-hoo!
These kinds of statistics always bring about a spate of excuses from those who wish people weren't armed. It couldn't possibly be that Americans are awakening to the possibility of anything from higher crime threats to an economic collapse. No, increased gun sales must be due to … lying.
Yes, really. According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, there is "no significance" to this surge in gun sales. Acting president Dennis Henigan is "skeptical" of the numbers and postulated that "… gun companies are just catching on to creating a Black Friday frenzy for themselves." The scum.
As for the large number of first-time women buying guns, well, it must be due to a (cough) sudden and unprecedented interest in "sport shooting" or "hunting." It certainly couldn't be due to an interest in women protecting themselves. No indeedy.
Speaking from a gun-owning woman's perspective, I can testify that most women don't "suddenly" develop an interest in hunting. Women who hunt usually do so from an early age, not as an abrupt mid-life event. But many, many women develop a "sudden" interest in personal and familial protection, as well as defending their Second Amendment rights. At any age.
What progressive analysts like the Brady Center are reluctant to admit is the Second Amendment is deeply ingrained in the American psyche. Progressives have tried to discourage the relevance of gun ownership, believing that in our civilized age, we don't "need" guns. But when the chips are down, people know what's important. They know they need to protect themselves – not just from the threat of crime, but more importantly from the threat of an unconstitutional government determined to disarm its citizens by whatever means possible.
America has been watching Europe implode. We all know what happened the last time Europe had a financial meltdown. If the euro collapses, it will plunge that continent into an economic depression of massive proportions – with dire consequences here in the United States as well. And what happened during the last time an economic depression hit Europe, specifically Germany?
More here
But there was one statistic that came out of this year's Black Friday that pleased me immensely: gun sales were up. Way up. Crazily up.
FBI background checks for that day smashed all previous one-day sales by 32 percent. Background checks totaled 129,166 on this year's Black Friday, compared to the next closest record of 97,848 on Black Friday of 2008. And the actual number of firearms sold, let it be known, was even higher for two reasons: one, background checks are not performed during transactions between individuals (i.e. someone buying a surplus gun from a friend); and two, a buyer can purchase multiple firearms under the clearance of a single background check. So altogether as many as a quarter to a half million MORE guns may now be in the hands of private citizens. Whoo-hoo!
These kinds of statistics always bring about a spate of excuses from those who wish people weren't armed. It couldn't possibly be that Americans are awakening to the possibility of anything from higher crime threats to an economic collapse. No, increased gun sales must be due to … lying.
Yes, really. According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, there is "no significance" to this surge in gun sales. Acting president Dennis Henigan is "skeptical" of the numbers and postulated that "… gun companies are just catching on to creating a Black Friday frenzy for themselves." The scum.
As for the large number of first-time women buying guns, well, it must be due to a (cough) sudden and unprecedented interest in "sport shooting" or "hunting." It certainly couldn't be due to an interest in women protecting themselves. No indeedy.
Speaking from a gun-owning woman's perspective, I can testify that most women don't "suddenly" develop an interest in hunting. Women who hunt usually do so from an early age, not as an abrupt mid-life event. But many, many women develop a "sudden" interest in personal and familial protection, as well as defending their Second Amendment rights. At any age.
What progressive analysts like the Brady Center are reluctant to admit is the Second Amendment is deeply ingrained in the American psyche. Progressives have tried to discourage the relevance of gun ownership, believing that in our civilized age, we don't "need" guns. But when the chips are down, people know what's important. They know they need to protect themselves – not just from the threat of crime, but more importantly from the threat of an unconstitutional government determined to disarm its citizens by whatever means possible.
America has been watching Europe implode. We all know what happened the last time Europe had a financial meltdown. If the euro collapses, it will plunge that continent into an economic depression of massive proportions – with dire consequences here in the United States as well. And what happened during the last time an economic depression hit Europe, specifically Germany?
More here
Obama Rejects Republican Payroll Tax Proposal
The White House rejected Friday the latest proposal from Republicans in Congress on a payroll tax cut, saying its costs needed to be offset in a balanced away and not with budget cuts exempting the rich.
Republicans have proposed that the payroll tax cut be paid for with an extension of a pay freeze for federal workers, changes to civilian federal retiree benefits and other reforms, including gradual increases in Medicare health premiums for the elderly and a clampdown on assistance to illegal immigrants.
They have also sought to tie the payroll tax extension - a key component of President Barack Obama's $447 billion set of proposals to boost hiring - to the approval of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport Canadian oil to Texas.
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Republicans have proposed that the payroll tax cut be paid for with an extension of a pay freeze for federal workers, changes to civilian federal retiree benefits and other reforms, including gradual increases in Medicare health premiums for the elderly and a clampdown on assistance to illegal immigrants.
They have also sought to tie the payroll tax extension - a key component of President Barack Obama's $447 billion set of proposals to boost hiring - to the approval of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport Canadian oil to Texas.
More
Immigration Is A Top Issue For Voters
Immigration issues are getting traction from voters in the GOP presidential primary, surprising some in Washington who thought the sagging economy would overshadow it and other topics.
GOP presidential hopefuls remain hesitant to talk about it.
“I think the candidates are beginning to wake up,” says Bob Dane, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), adding that the most recent debates have elicited “more clarity” from the Republican candidates on the immigration issue.
“If you ask people their top priorities, they’re going to say jobs, wages, the economy,” Roy Beck of Numbers USA tells USA Today.
“But what a lot of poll readers don’t understand is that immigration is intertwined with those economic issues for a lot of Americans. That’s why it keeps popping up.”
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has distinguished himself from the candidates with a specific solution for the problem of what to do about the 11-14 million illegal immigrants now here, advocating for those who’ve lived in this country 25 years or more to be allowed to stay.
But what to do about the illegal immigrants now living here is not the most important question to be asked of the candidates, according to Dane. The key question, he said, is: “Will you enforce the laws of the land if you become president?”
Dane says President Obama is now pushing a “back-door amnesty” through a series of memos issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that articulate broader and broader classes of citizens who should be deported.
The policy that has taken shape through these memos, most of them released just this year, has been that only those illegal immigrants who have committed felonies are being deported. All others, including those who have been turned over to ICE by law enforcement officers in Arizona under that state’s new law, are being released.
Read more
GOP presidential hopefuls remain hesitant to talk about it.
“I think the candidates are beginning to wake up,” says Bob Dane, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), adding that the most recent debates have elicited “more clarity” from the Republican candidates on the immigration issue.
“If you ask people their top priorities, they’re going to say jobs, wages, the economy,” Roy Beck of Numbers USA tells USA Today.
“But what a lot of poll readers don’t understand is that immigration is intertwined with those economic issues for a lot of Americans. That’s why it keeps popping up.”
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has distinguished himself from the candidates with a specific solution for the problem of what to do about the 11-14 million illegal immigrants now here, advocating for those who’ve lived in this country 25 years or more to be allowed to stay.
But what to do about the illegal immigrants now living here is not the most important question to be asked of the candidates, according to Dane. The key question, he said, is: “Will you enforce the laws of the land if you become president?”
Dane says President Obama is now pushing a “back-door amnesty” through a series of memos issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that articulate broader and broader classes of citizens who should be deported.
The policy that has taken shape through these memos, most of them released just this year, has been that only those illegal immigrants who have committed felonies are being deported. All others, including those who have been turned over to ICE by law enforcement officers in Arizona under that state’s new law, are being released.
Read more
Top Nuke Regulators Tell WH Of ‘Grave Concerns’
Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have told the White House that NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is causing “serious damage” to the agency that could harm the body’s ability to protect health and safety.
An Oct. 13 letter from Jaczko’s four NRC colleagues to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is a powerful, unified rebuke of the agency’s leader by his fellow commissioners, who cite “grave concerns” about his conduct and allege it’s increasingly “erratic.”
“We believe that his actions and behavior are causing serious damage to this institution and are creating a chilled work environment at the NRC,” states the letter to Daley from NRC commissioners Kristine L. Svinicki, George Apostolakis, William D. Magwood, IV, and William C. Ostendorff.
“We are concerned that this will adversely affect the NRC’s central mission to protect the health, safety and security of the American people,” the letter adds.
The NRC is the independent agency that regulates the country’s 104 nuclear power reactors.
The letter comes at a time when the NRC is grappling with issues including safety upgrades in the wake of the disaster at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant and weighing industry applications to build the first new U.S. reactors in decades.
The four commissioners say Jaczko, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), has “intimidated and bullied” senior staff; ordered staff to withhold information meant for NRC members; and tried to “intimidate” an independent NRC committee from reviewing aspects of the NRC’s analysis of the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The letter also alleges that Jaczko has “ignored the will” of the majority of the commission and treated his fellow commissioners with such “intemperance and disrespect” that the commission no longer functions as effectively as it should.
More
An Oct. 13 letter from Jaczko’s four NRC colleagues to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is a powerful, unified rebuke of the agency’s leader by his fellow commissioners, who cite “grave concerns” about his conduct and allege it’s increasingly “erratic.”
“We believe that his actions and behavior are causing serious damage to this institution and are creating a chilled work environment at the NRC,” states the letter to Daley from NRC commissioners Kristine L. Svinicki, George Apostolakis, William D. Magwood, IV, and William C. Ostendorff.
“We are concerned that this will adversely affect the NRC’s central mission to protect the health, safety and security of the American people,” the letter adds.
The NRC is the independent agency that regulates the country’s 104 nuclear power reactors.
The letter comes at a time when the NRC is grappling with issues including safety upgrades in the wake of the disaster at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant and weighing industry applications to build the first new U.S. reactors in decades.
The four commissioners say Jaczko, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), has “intimidated and bullied” senior staff; ordered staff to withhold information meant for NRC members; and tried to “intimidate” an independent NRC committee from reviewing aspects of the NRC’s analysis of the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The letter also alleges that Jaczko has “ignored the will” of the majority of the commission and treated his fellow commissioners with such “intemperance and disrespect” that the commission no longer functions as effectively as it should.
More
Holder Threatened With Impeachment, Contempt
Attorney General Eric Holder admitted on Thursday that e-mails from his computer were withheld from a congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, angering lawmakers who threatened the nation’s top cop with impeachment and contempt charges.
“These are materials we have not and will not produce,” Holder testified during the combative day-long hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) compared Holder to disgraced Attorney General John Mitchell of Watergate infamy, as he threatened to bring contempt charges against him for refusing to divulge the documents.
“Have you no shame?” Holder snapped at Issa, likening the questioning to Sen. Joe McCarthy’s hearings held to expose Communists in the '50s.
Issa criticized Holder for dodging any blame in the operation’s failure, and demanded that everyone implicated in the matter be terminated.
“I have no confidence in a President who has full confidence in an attorney general who has in fact not terminated,” or reprimanded, department officials involved, Issa said.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R.-Wis.) suggested impeachment is lawmakers' only remaining option for Holder if he continues to withhold information. Still Holder insisted he knew nothing about Fast and Furious until months after the death of a federal agent.
“The wagons down the street are in a pretty tight circle, Mr. Attorney General,” Sensenbrenner said. “The American people need the truth. They haven’t gotten the truth from what has been coming out of the Justice Department in the last year, and they are relying on Congress to get the truth. The answers that you have given so far, are basically saying somebody else did it.”
“The thing is, if we don’t get to the bottom of this, and that requires your assistance on that, there is only one alternative that Congress has. And it is called impeachment,” Sensenbrenner said.
“I have no intention of resigning,” Holder told the panel.
More
“These are materials we have not and will not produce,” Holder testified during the combative day-long hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) compared Holder to disgraced Attorney General John Mitchell of Watergate infamy, as he threatened to bring contempt charges against him for refusing to divulge the documents.
“Have you no shame?” Holder snapped at Issa, likening the questioning to Sen. Joe McCarthy’s hearings held to expose Communists in the '50s.
Issa criticized Holder for dodging any blame in the operation’s failure, and demanded that everyone implicated in the matter be terminated.
“I have no confidence in a President who has full confidence in an attorney general who has in fact not terminated,” or reprimanded, department officials involved, Issa said.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R.-Wis.) suggested impeachment is lawmakers' only remaining option for Holder if he continues to withhold information. Still Holder insisted he knew nothing about Fast and Furious until months after the death of a federal agent.
“The wagons down the street are in a pretty tight circle, Mr. Attorney General,” Sensenbrenner said. “The American people need the truth. They haven’t gotten the truth from what has been coming out of the Justice Department in the last year, and they are relying on Congress to get the truth. The answers that you have given so far, are basically saying somebody else did it.”
“The thing is, if we don’t get to the bottom of this, and that requires your assistance on that, there is only one alternative that Congress has. And it is called impeachment,” Sensenbrenner said.
“I have no intention of resigning,” Holder told the panel.
More
Had Enough?
If you are worried about the direction of this Country you are not alone. As Gallup reports, "a record-high 81% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed, adding to negativity that has been building over the past 10 years."
Source: Gallup Polls.
Look at this chart. If you hold any political office in this country you should be ashamed. You should do as I have urged my Congressman, Barney Frank, to do, resign (perhaps he listened). These results are dreadful and I wonder how long it will be before we throw all the bums out and fix this? Consulting the words of our founding document, The Declaration of Independence, we seem to be getting pretty close to the breaking point:
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security
(exact quotation, underlining added by author of this paper)
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Source: Gallup Polls.
Look at this chart. If you hold any political office in this country you should be ashamed. You should do as I have urged my Congressman, Barney Frank, to do, resign (perhaps he listened). These results are dreadful and I wonder how long it will be before we throw all the bums out and fix this? Consulting the words of our founding document, The Declaration of Independence, we seem to be getting pretty close to the breaking point:
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security
(exact quotation, underlining added by author of this paper)
More
$29 TRILLION WALL STREET BAILOUT
Since the global financial crisis began in 2007, Chairman Bernanke has striven to save Wall Street’s biggest banks while concealing his actions from Congress by a thick veil of secrecy. It literally took an act of Congress plus a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Bloomberg to get him to finally release much of the information surrounding the Fed’s actions. Since that release, there have been several reports that tallied up the Fed’s largess. Most recently, Bloomberg provided an in-depth analysis of Fed lending to the biggest banks, reporting a sum of $7.77 trillion. On December 8, Bernanke struck back with a highly misleading and factually incorrect memo countering Bloomberg’s report. Bloomberg has—to my mind—completely vindicated its analysis; see here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/bloomberg-news-responds-to-bernanke-criticism.html.
Any fair-minded reader would conclude that Bernanke’s memo to Senators Johnson and Shelby and Representatives Bachus and Frank is misleading. One could even conclude that it is not just a veil of secrecy, but rather a fog of deceit that the Fed is trying to throw over Congress.
He argues that the sum total of the Fed’s lending was a mere $1.2 trillion, and that it was spread across financial and nonfinancial institutions of all sizes. Further, he asserts that the Fed never tried to hide the bail-outs from Congress. Both of these assertions fly in the face of the facts available (as the Bloomberg response makes clear).
More
Any fair-minded reader would conclude that Bernanke’s memo to Senators Johnson and Shelby and Representatives Bachus and Frank is misleading. One could even conclude that it is not just a veil of secrecy, but rather a fog of deceit that the Fed is trying to throw over Congress.
He argues that the sum total of the Fed’s lending was a mere $1.2 trillion, and that it was spread across financial and nonfinancial institutions of all sizes. Further, he asserts that the Fed never tried to hide the bail-outs from Congress. Both of these assertions fly in the face of the facts available (as the Bloomberg response makes clear).
More
How Playboy's Million-Dollar Lindsay Lohan Issue Was Scooped By Hacker
The December issue of Playboy magazine -- featuring a nude Lindsay Lohan and due to hit newsstands next week -- was leaked online Friday after copies of the photos were either hacked or stolen from the magazine and uploaded to a file-sharing website based in Russia, FoxNews.com has learned.
State Cuts Revenue Estimate By $120 Million
After a series of cheerful announcements about better-than-expected tax revenues, Maryland's Board of Revenue Estimates reversed that Friday, projecting that the state would take in $120 million less, mostly blaming weaker-than-expected sales tax figures.
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Good Morning JR or JT, This Is What We Deal With Every Single Day
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HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 12-10-11
The Cemetery Plot Most of us don’t give much thought as to where our bodies will spend eternity. The deed to the family plot in Parsons Cemetery has come down to me and there are still seven gravesites unused in Lot B202. My grandfather originally purchased this lot in 1967 and only he, my grandmother, my mother, my father and my nephew are interred there.
My grandfather was the first to be buried in the lot. My mother was handling the placement of the stone and had a large stone placed at his head with the names DISHAROON and CHEVALLIER prominently displayed and a small foot stone placed at his feet. She figured that since only those family members would be buried there, the large stone would identify them and subsequent foot stones would identify the individuals in each different gravesite. When it was in place, my mother took my grandmother out to Parsons Cemetery to see it. When my grandmother saw the stone, she was not pleased with the wording. Her comment was, “He wasn’t a CHEVALLIER”. And she promptly ordered another stone with just DISHAROON on it. This replaced the small foot stone and now my grandfather is the only grave in Parsons Cemetery with two large stones. He also has probably the most elaborate coffin. It is copper lined mahogany and hermetically sealed with a glass top inside the coffin for viewing. Some archaeologist will have a real surprise some day because the undertaker said he would look just the same 1,000 years from now. I always defended my decision to have done it this was by saying that it was his money and he should go through eternity traveling in style. To some this was a terrible waste of money, but if I had to do it all over, I would do the same thing. Good decisions don’t have to be second-guessed.
We haven’t had to do it here, but in some parts of the country, graves hold more than one coffin. I found this out when I went to a burial down south. I noticed that the grave was very deep and inquired why. That is when I was informed that some couples are buried that way to save cemetery space. Just think that which ever one of them dies first, they have to spent eternity looking at the other’s backside.
Cemetery deeds are given to the original purchaser of the lot. In our case there are twelve grave sites. As these are used the deed goes to the next family member, usually in chronological order. It is not considered real property in the estate and is registered with the undertaker, who just keeps filling it up until it is full and then the deed is retired.
Parsons Cemetery is owned by St. Peters Church and managed by Holloway Funeral Home. The history of it is quite fascinating and I have written about it before. The mystery of the horse buried there is just that – a mystery. It took four lots to fit him in, but there is no stone telling whose he was or anything else about him. Maybe somebody out there can fill in some of the blanks for me on this one. I will include the information in my history of Parsons Cemetery.
One plot – twelve gravesites – five used to this day. I hope I’m not number six.
Jolly Jack
QUESTION OF THE DAY—A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE ON SALISBURY’S DOWNTOWN AT CHRISTMAS TIM, BUT WHO KNOWS THE ANSWER?
When cars still rode down Main Street (before the large flower pots and vacant storefronts), one store stood out during the Christmas season as a place for kids to go and gaze at wished-for toys at Christmas. That store was White and Leonard’s in the middle of Downtown. There were all sorts of magical toys we could only imagine might land under our Christmas tree on Christmas morning.
Also before the high-tech ads of today, White & Leonard’s had a very inventive and fun advertising program to promote every kid demanding the toys which were being featured. This advertising was in the form of a WBOC (only t.v. station we had at that time) elf by the name of Jolly Jack, who began each show by jumping and popping out of a large box. The t.v. cameras would frantically try to keep up with him as Jolly Jack would then scamper all over the place opening up boxes and doors, inside of which were all manner of exciting toys which he constantly reminded viewers “you can find right here at White & Leonards”.
The question of the day is: Who played the strange little elf, Jolly Jack on these t.v. shows?
(if you wish to see a video of a long-forgotten Jolly Jack t.v. show, it can be seen at the Downtown Salisbury exhibit at the Nabb Center—it takes you back to a simpler time.)
When cars still rode down Main Street (before the large flower pots and vacant storefronts), one store stood out during the Christmas season as a place for kids to go and gaze at wished-for toys at Christmas. That store was White and Leonard’s in the middle of Downtown. There were all sorts of magical toys we could only imagine might land under our Christmas tree on Christmas morning.
Also before the high-tech ads of today, White & Leonard’s had a very inventive and fun advertising program to promote every kid demanding the toys which were being featured. This advertising was in the form of a WBOC (only t.v. station we had at that time) elf by the name of Jolly Jack, who began each show by jumping and popping out of a large box. The t.v. cameras would frantically try to keep up with him as Jolly Jack would then scamper all over the place opening up boxes and doors, inside of which were all manner of exciting toys which he constantly reminded viewers “you can find right here at White & Leonards”.
The question of the day is: Who played the strange little elf, Jolly Jack on these t.v. shows?
(if you wish to see a video of a long-forgotten Jolly Jack t.v. show, it can be seen at the Downtown Salisbury exhibit at the Nabb Center—it takes you back to a simpler time.)