Bad Governance
The House finally passed the lousy two-month extension of payroll tax breaks. The CBO scored the Bill that is now law. The costs for 59 days (and annualized if extended for all of 2012):
Social Security....................$19.8B........Annualized $119.B
Extended Unemployment.....$8.4B........Annualized $50.4B
Medicare...............................$3.4B........Annualized $20.4B
Totals........(two months).....$31.2B........Annualized $181.8B
The total cost of $31B is paid for with an increase in mortgage fees to be charged by Fannie and Freddie. Given that these two are providing 90% of new mortgages, most folks who buy a home or refi an old mortgage will get hit with these fees. CBO estimates when these fees will come into the Treasury.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Friday, December 23, 2011
Egyptians Rally After Days Of Deadly Clashes
(AP)
CAIRO - Several thousand Egyptians rallied in Cairo's central Tahrir Square Friday to denounce violence against protesters, especially outraged by images of women protesters dragged by their hair, beaten and kicked by troops.
The rally marked a week after deadly clashes erupted near Tahrir Square between protesters and the military, which took power after longtime President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising in February. Seventeen protesters were killed over the past week.
Last week's violence erupted when military forces guarding the Cabinet building near the square tried to forcibly disperse a 3-week-old sit-in demanding that the ruling generals hand over power to a civilian authority.
National Review's Racist Rants
The whole world should know by now that the neocons at National Review magazine, the War Street Journal, and elsewhere will tell any lie in pursuit of political power. Lying the nation into war with Iraq by spreading the falsehood of "weapons of mass destruction" that were supposedly headed our way was the most atrociously evil act perpetrated by the U.S government and its propaganda organs in decades, having led to the senseless death of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
No one should be surprised that National Review is now engaged in a spectacular act of chutzpah, to put it mildly, by smearing Ron Paul as being insensitive on matters of race. Before anyone gives any credence to the latest smear campaign against Congressman Paul it would be useful to take a look at National Review’s own record of publications on the issue of race relations. It is not a pretty picture.
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No one should be surprised that National Review is now engaged in a spectacular act of chutzpah, to put it mildly, by smearing Ron Paul as being insensitive on matters of race. Before anyone gives any credence to the latest smear campaign against Congressman Paul it would be useful to take a look at National Review’s own record of publications on the issue of race relations. It is not a pretty picture.
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Michaele And Tareq Salahi Divorce: Former 'Real Housewife' Lied To Everyone, Says Estranged Husband
Former "Real Housewives of D.C." star Michaele Salahi has been busy throwing out some ugly allegationsagainst her estranged husband, Tareq Salahi. However, Taraq isn't staying quiet about his soon-to-be ex, and told me that her lastest accusations are just the latest in a string of lies.
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Another Nuke Scientist Exchange With China Planned
Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman is working on a major Obama administration initiative that would renew scientist exchanges between U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories and Chinese nuclear facilities.
The idea is aimed at promoting openness and transparency by China’s military about its secret, large-scale buildup of nuclear weapons, according to U.S. officials.
Critics say the plan is similar to an exchange program in the 1990s that sent U.S. nuclear scientists to China and produced one of the worst cases of nuclear espionage. Secrets about every deployed warhead in the U.S. arsenal were compromised, including the W-88 small nuclear warhead deployed on submarine-launched missiles.
“We’ve seen this movie before, and it has a bad ending,” one official said.
Officials familiar with the plan told Inside the Ring that the initiative was discussed during a recent policy committee meeting of senior national security officials at the White House.
The initiative is part of the administration’s arms-control-centered security policies. According to the officials, the administration hopes to coax the reluctant Chinese communist leadership and its military into engaging the United States in strategic nuclear talks, something China so far has refused.
“This is a way to reach out to [the Chinese] with multilateral arms-control programs,” said a second U.S. official familiar with the plan.
The initiative likely will face opposition from Congress.
House Republicans added language to the 2012 Defense Authorization Act that restricts the Pentagon and Energy department from cooperating with Beijing in setting up a nuclear security center in China. The provision, when signed into law, will block funding for the center until the secretary of defense certifies that China has halted nuclear proliferation and that the center will be in line with U.S. interests.
U.S. intelligence has linked China to nuclear arms proliferation in Pakistan and other emerging nuclear states.
The second official said the plan evokes memories of the 1990s case of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Wen Ho Lee.
Former Energy Department intelligence chief Notra Trulock stated in his 2003 book that Lee, a scientist at Los Alamos’ weapons-designing X Division, provided sensitive nuclear weapons data to China during unreported meetings with nuclear weapons scientists as part of Energy’s exchange programs.
Lee was the U.S. government’s chief suspect in the compromise of W-88 warhead secrets to China.
The FBI, however, mishandled the case against him, and he was never charged with espionage. Instead, he pleaded guilty in September 2001 to a felony charge of mishandling classified information.
Lee denied being a spy and said he was targeted by the FBI because he is Chinese-American.
The FBI has said as recently as last year that it is still investigating the theft of U.S. nuclear secrets by China from the 1990s. But no one has been arrested for the crime since the Lee case.
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The idea is aimed at promoting openness and transparency by China’s military about its secret, large-scale buildup of nuclear weapons, according to U.S. officials.
Critics say the plan is similar to an exchange program in the 1990s that sent U.S. nuclear scientists to China and produced one of the worst cases of nuclear espionage. Secrets about every deployed warhead in the U.S. arsenal were compromised, including the W-88 small nuclear warhead deployed on submarine-launched missiles.
“We’ve seen this movie before, and it has a bad ending,” one official said.
Officials familiar with the plan told Inside the Ring that the initiative was discussed during a recent policy committee meeting of senior national security officials at the White House.
The initiative is part of the administration’s arms-control-centered security policies. According to the officials, the administration hopes to coax the reluctant Chinese communist leadership and its military into engaging the United States in strategic nuclear talks, something China so far has refused.
“This is a way to reach out to [the Chinese] with multilateral arms-control programs,” said a second U.S. official familiar with the plan.
The initiative likely will face opposition from Congress.
House Republicans added language to the 2012 Defense Authorization Act that restricts the Pentagon and Energy department from cooperating with Beijing in setting up a nuclear security center in China. The provision, when signed into law, will block funding for the center until the secretary of defense certifies that China has halted nuclear proliferation and that the center will be in line with U.S. interests.
U.S. intelligence has linked China to nuclear arms proliferation in Pakistan and other emerging nuclear states.
The second official said the plan evokes memories of the 1990s case of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Wen Ho Lee.
Former Energy Department intelligence chief Notra Trulock stated in his 2003 book that Lee, a scientist at Los Alamos’ weapons-designing X Division, provided sensitive nuclear weapons data to China during unreported meetings with nuclear weapons scientists as part of Energy’s exchange programs.
Lee was the U.S. government’s chief suspect in the compromise of W-88 warhead secrets to China.
The FBI, however, mishandled the case against him, and he was never charged with espionage. Instead, he pleaded guilty in September 2001 to a felony charge of mishandling classified information.
Lee denied being a spy and said he was targeted by the FBI because he is Chinese-American.
The FBI has said as recently as last year that it is still investigating the theft of U.S. nuclear secrets by China from the 1990s. But no one has been arrested for the crime since the Lee case.
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Gray Pleads Not Guilty To Sex Charge
Former wrestling coach’s case review set for Jan. 17
GEORGETOWN — A registered sex offender charged with assaulting a 17-year-old boy says he is not guilty. Tyrone Gray, a former wrestling coach at Cape Henlopen, Seaford and Woodbridge high schools, entered a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial at his Dec. 22 arraignment.
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GEORGETOWN — A registered sex offender charged with assaulting a 17-year-old boy says he is not guilty. Tyrone Gray, a former wrestling coach at Cape Henlopen, Seaford and Woodbridge high schools, entered a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial at his Dec. 22 arraignment.
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US Intelligence Warned Of Strife After Iraq Pullout
U.S. intelligence agencies warned that security gains in Iraq could degenerate into sectarian violence after a troop pullout that some officials say left the United States with little leverage in a country it occupied for nearly nine years.
A wave of bombings that killed at least 72 people in Baghdad on Thursday provided further evidence of a deteriorating security situation just days after the last U.S. troops left Iraq.
"This should be a surprise to no one that this is happening," said House of Representatives intelligence committee chairman Mike Rogers.
"Most people believed, the assessments that were coming out believed, that the sudden rapid withdrawal with no troop presence on the ground was going to leave this vacuum that would be filled with the kind of problems that you're seeing," Rogers, a Republican, said in an interview with Reuters.
Rogers said the troop pullout reduced U.S. influence and that a chaotic Iraq plays into Iran's desire for increased influence in that region.
"There was plenty of advice and counsel and analytical product that said this was a bad idea and here's what's going to happen if you do it," he said. "We see the beginnings of what was predicted was going to happen."
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A wave of bombings that killed at least 72 people in Baghdad on Thursday provided further evidence of a deteriorating security situation just days after the last U.S. troops left Iraq.
"This should be a surprise to no one that this is happening," said House of Representatives intelligence committee chairman Mike Rogers.
"Most people believed, the assessments that were coming out believed, that the sudden rapid withdrawal with no troop presence on the ground was going to leave this vacuum that would be filled with the kind of problems that you're seeing," Rogers, a Republican, said in an interview with Reuters.
Rogers said the troop pullout reduced U.S. influence and that a chaotic Iraq plays into Iran's desire for increased influence in that region.
"There was plenty of advice and counsel and analytical product that said this was a bad idea and here's what's going to happen if you do it," he said. "We see the beginnings of what was predicted was going to happen."
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4 Ex-Players Sue NFL Alleging Brain Damage
Four former National Football League players, including two Pro Bowl players, sued the league over brain injuries that they say left them facing medical problems years after their careers ended.
Dorsey Levens and Jamal Lewis, both named to the annual All-Star Pro Bowl, as well as Fulton Kuykendall and Ryan Stewart, filed the lawsuit against the National Football League and NFL Properties LLC on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
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Property Rights And The Free Press
Not as if the point hasn't been made often by now, but repeating it may be of some benefit: Without a firm protection of the right to private property, the rights to freedom of speech, press, religious worship, etc., are under constant threat.
The most recent demonstration of this is happening in Argentina, although Venezuela has also served as a recent case in point. As reported by the BBC, "Argentina's government wins control of newsprint supplies, amid a long-running feud between the president and a major media group..." It appears that the legislature caved in to pressure from the president of Argentina and basically nationalized all the supplies that are needed to run an independent press. As the BBC put it, "The legislation, which passed in the lower house last week, says the production, sale and distribution of newsprint is of national interest."
Of course, even if true, nothing follows about how the government ought to wrest control of the "production, sale and distribution of newsprint." If anything, if it is true and "the production, sale and distribution of newsprint" is in the national interest – allowing that this means that it is generally an important part of the society – it is least secure when government takes control of these matters. The same principle holds for education. Its importance by no stretch of the imagination justifies placing it under government jurisdiction.
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The most recent demonstration of this is happening in Argentina, although Venezuela has also served as a recent case in point. As reported by the BBC, "Argentina's government wins control of newsprint supplies, amid a long-running feud between the president and a major media group..." It appears that the legislature caved in to pressure from the president of Argentina and basically nationalized all the supplies that are needed to run an independent press. As the BBC put it, "The legislation, which passed in the lower house last week, says the production, sale and distribution of newsprint is of national interest."
Of course, even if true, nothing follows about how the government ought to wrest control of the "production, sale and distribution of newsprint." If anything, if it is true and "the production, sale and distribution of newsprint" is in the national interest – allowing that this means that it is generally an important part of the society – it is least secure when government takes control of these matters. The same principle holds for education. Its importance by no stretch of the imagination justifies placing it under government jurisdiction.
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3 Astronauts Arrive At Space Station For The Holidays
Three astronauts arrived today (Dec. 23) at the International Space Station just in time for a zero gravity holiday party as they begin a five-month stay in orbit.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, and Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency (ESA), docked at the orbiting laboratory today at 10:19 a.m. EST (1519 GMT) as the two spacecraft sailed 240 miles over southern Russia. They arrived aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, whichlaunched Wednesday (Dec. 21) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Lotophagian Greed
In book nine of Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus tells of how he and his men came upon an island populated by the Lotophagians – people who do nothing but eat the Lotus plant, "which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home." Odysseus forced the three of his men who had eaten this plant back onto their boat, "though they wept bitterly."
These three men wanted to stay, to be forever under the effects of the illusion of the lotus, to the point that they would forget everything that thus far had given their lives meaning.
There is a desire indulged by many on the left to have all things taken care of, to be free of worry, free of hardship, free of stress, free of the toil and difficulty of life. It can be a wonderful thing to have abundance, to live a life where you are free to do as you please and where your needs and desires are taken care of.
But it can also be a gentle curse, as dangerous as the rocks to which the Sirens of that same Odyssey lured their prey.
It is this desire to which modern day liberals or progressives are appealing; it is this curse to which their agenda seeks to subject us, and it is this temptation that has drawn many supposed conservatives to also indulge in liberal programs and spending.
People often reflect longingly about a time in their past when everything seemed "simpler, people were healthier, air was cleaner, people were more prosperous on one income than they are now on two, morality was stronger, the world was more civilized."
That time is called childhood, a time when our parents were taking care of everything, worrying the great worries and providing us with what we needed.
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These three men wanted to stay, to be forever under the effects of the illusion of the lotus, to the point that they would forget everything that thus far had given their lives meaning.
There is a desire indulged by many on the left to have all things taken care of, to be free of worry, free of hardship, free of stress, free of the toil and difficulty of life. It can be a wonderful thing to have abundance, to live a life where you are free to do as you please and where your needs and desires are taken care of.
But it can also be a gentle curse, as dangerous as the rocks to which the Sirens of that same Odyssey lured their prey.
It is this desire to which modern day liberals or progressives are appealing; it is this curse to which their agenda seeks to subject us, and it is this temptation that has drawn many supposed conservatives to also indulge in liberal programs and spending.
People often reflect longingly about a time in their past when everything seemed "simpler, people were healthier, air was cleaner, people were more prosperous on one income than they are now on two, morality was stronger, the world was more civilized."
That time is called childhood, a time when our parents were taking care of everything, worrying the great worries and providing us with what we needed.
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Gov. Rick Snyder Signs Domestic Partner Benefits Ban Into Law
Public employees, including state and local government workers and public school teachers, will no longer be allowed to extend their health care benefits to domestic partners.
It is unclear whether the bill applies to state universities, although Snyder asserts that it does not. House Republicans, meanwhile, say it does apply to university employees.
The move is a blow to gay and lesbian activists throughout the state.
Maryland Lottery ‘Believes It Is Time’ To Offer Its Game Online
Multi-million dollar jackpots could be just clicks and keystrokes away if the Maryland State Lottery Agency gets its way. The agency wrote in a report to the General Assembly that it “believes it is time” to offer its games online to capture a larger slice betting-age Marylanders.
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Rock Star Deaths: Is The 27 Club For Real?
The seeming spike in death risk at age 27 for rock superstars may just be legend, but the illusion itself is revealing.
The notable persistence of the so-called 27 Club — the group of rock stars who have all died at age 27, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones and, most recently, Amy Winehouse — makes it seem like more than mere coincidence. So a group of scientists decided to put the theory to the test.
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The notable persistence of the so-called 27 Club — the group of rock stars who have all died at age 27, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones and, most recently, Amy Winehouse — makes it seem like more than mere coincidence. So a group of scientists decided to put the theory to the test.
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Holiday Hazard: Kids Turning Into Spoiled Brats
Parents, do you ever get the feeling you've created a monster? Our TODAY Moms/Parenting.com survey shows that most parents fear their kids are spoiled.
Psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig shares tips for raising grateful children.
As parents, we want to be able to give our kids everything they want and need. We, of course, want them to be happy.
But what happens when this desire to make our kids happy produces a negative side effect? Instead of creating self-confident, self-satisfied kids, it creates spoiled and entitled children. Ugh. Certainly not the goal we want to achieve! And the holiday season doesn’t help. It can put parents in a shopping daze where buying more can feel like loving more.
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Publisher's Notes: The other day I asked my Grandson, is there anything special you'd like for Christmas? He replied, "nope". I said, come on now, there's nothing special you'd like for Christmas? He replied, "I got everything I wanted for my Birthday". LIFE IS GOOD!
Psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig shares tips for raising grateful children.
As parents, we want to be able to give our kids everything they want and need. We, of course, want them to be happy.
But what happens when this desire to make our kids happy produces a negative side effect? Instead of creating self-confident, self-satisfied kids, it creates spoiled and entitled children. Ugh. Certainly not the goal we want to achieve! And the holiday season doesn’t help. It can put parents in a shopping daze where buying more can feel like loving more.
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Publisher's Notes: The other day I asked my Grandson, is there anything special you'd like for Christmas? He replied, "nope". I said, come on now, there's nothing special you'd like for Christmas? He replied, "I got everything I wanted for my Birthday". LIFE IS GOOD!
French Muslim Jailed for Punching Nurse Who Removed His Wife's Burqa
PARIS – A Muslim man has been jailed in France for punching a nurse who tried to remove his wife's burqa during an emergency C-section.
Nassim Mimoune, 24, was earlier banned from the delivery room after calling a midwife a "rapist" when she tried to perform an intimate examination on his wife in a Marseille hospital on Monday, La Provence newspaper reported.
The pregnant woman, who had been having contractions for two days when she was admitted, begged her husband to allow the examination, but he threatened her with divorce.
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Democrats Are Still Compromising Away Women's Rights - What's Wrong With The Pro-Choice Movement's Strategy?
After the Obama administration's decision to overrule the FDA on the morning-after pill, activists are asking yet again, what went wrong?
On December 7, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made her decision to overrule the FDA's recommendation that Plan B One-Step, the morning-after contraceptive pill, should be available over the counter, I wasn't surprised to get an email from Planned Parenthood. After all, PP sends me lots of emails -- in November, calling for action on birth control's inclusion in healthcare reform, for instance, or earlier in the year when its own funding from the government was under attack.
But I was surprised at the subject line: “I've Never Been So Inspired.”
The email was a thank-you to supporters from the organization's president, Cecile Richards, for their contributions and help in the past year, when Planned Parenthood, a service provider as well as the largest advocacy group on women's health and contraceptive issues, faced unprecedented attacks, both from antichoicers in Congress and from groups on the outside.
It didn't mention Plan B. Nor was an email on Plan B forthcoming. When I asked why this issue didn't warrant a blast, Tait Sye, Planned Parenthood spokesperson, seemingly caught off guard, told me that email blasts are not the only way PP communicates with supporters and that there were lots of posts on Facebook and Twitter about Plan B.
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On December 7, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made her decision to overrule the FDA's recommendation that Plan B One-Step, the morning-after contraceptive pill, should be available over the counter, I wasn't surprised to get an email from Planned Parenthood. After all, PP sends me lots of emails -- in November, calling for action on birth control's inclusion in healthcare reform, for instance, or earlier in the year when its own funding from the government was under attack.
But I was surprised at the subject line: “I've Never Been So Inspired.”
The email was a thank-you to supporters from the organization's president, Cecile Richards, for their contributions and help in the past year, when Planned Parenthood, a service provider as well as the largest advocacy group on women's health and contraceptive issues, faced unprecedented attacks, both from antichoicers in Congress and from groups on the outside.
It didn't mention Plan B. Nor was an email on Plan B forthcoming. When I asked why this issue didn't warrant a blast, Tait Sye, Planned Parenthood spokesperson, seemingly caught off guard, told me that email blasts are not the only way PP communicates with supporters and that there were lots of posts on Facebook and Twitter about Plan B.
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BP Solar - Frederick, MD Announces Closure of Entire Plant In 2012
BP Solar announced yesterday that it will be shutting down all of its remaining operations by early next year - 2012 and that the last 80 employees may be without jobs.
The building at one time had as many as 500 employees.
Read What The Frederick Newspost Has To Say:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2462155
The building at one time had as many as 500 employees.
Read What The Frederick Newspost Has To Say:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2462155
Rep. Sensenbrenner Says Michelle Obama Has a ‘Big Butt.’ Really!!?
When a 17-term Republican congressman and former chair of the House Judiciary Committee says the First Lady has a “big butt,” there’s only one way to respond. So with apologies to Seth Myers (and Amy Poehler)…
Really, Jim Sensenbrenner? Really?! While speaking to a constituent–and one who has just expressed her admiration for Michelle Obama to you, no less–you decide it’s appropriate to slag the First Lady’s healthy eating initiative by saying she has “a big butt”? And then when it becomes clear that your impolitic remark might get you in some hot water, you repeat it loudly on the phone in an airport lounge and insist that you stand by your characterization?
MoreChanging The Way We Think, To Create The World We Want
“So where are we going? And why are we in a handbasket?”
Seeing this bumper sticker on my way home one evening, I chuckled aloud. “Wait,” I thought, “that’s what I’m trying to figure out.” It sure seems like the question we’d all want to answer.
After all, our earth is now warmer than it’s been in 650,000 years, and MIT scientists tell us that our planet’s future heating will likely be twice as severe as estimated less than a decade ago.
So, in this century, higher water temperatures and melting ice caps could raise the sea level by nearly three feet. That’s enough to flood many of the world’s great coastal cities and to inundate much of Bangladesh. A rise of six feet is possible—maybe even more.
But “warming” doesn’t really capture what’s happening. Our climate is becoming more chaotic. Think Los Angeles hitting a record 113 degrees in the fall of 2010, then a few months later Oklahoma’s wind chills sinking to 31 degrees below. Or monsoon rains swelling the Indus River in 2010 to forty times its normal volume, flooding one-fifth of Pakistan’s land and displacing millions. Or Australia in 2006 suffering its worst drought in 1,000 years, only to face flooding over an area the size of Texas just four years later.
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Seeing this bumper sticker on my way home one evening, I chuckled aloud. “Wait,” I thought, “that’s what I’m trying to figure out.” It sure seems like the question we’d all want to answer.
After all, our earth is now warmer than it’s been in 650,000 years, and MIT scientists tell us that our planet’s future heating will likely be twice as severe as estimated less than a decade ago.
So, in this century, higher water temperatures and melting ice caps could raise the sea level by nearly three feet. That’s enough to flood many of the world’s great coastal cities and to inundate much of Bangladesh. A rise of six feet is possible—maybe even more.
But “warming” doesn’t really capture what’s happening. Our climate is becoming more chaotic. Think Los Angeles hitting a record 113 degrees in the fall of 2010, then a few months later Oklahoma’s wind chills sinking to 31 degrees below. Or monsoon rains swelling the Indus River in 2010 to forty times its normal volume, flooding one-fifth of Pakistan’s land and displacing millions. Or Australia in 2006 suffering its worst drought in 1,000 years, only to face flooding over an area the size of Texas just four years later.
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Police: Man Injured, Cited After Parachute Jump From MPT Tower
A Virginia man was injured and cited with trespassing after he tried to parachute off the Maryland Public Television radio tower in Crownsville. A second man was also cited for trespassing.
According to the Anne Arundel County police department, Robert Scott Morgan, 25, of Fairfax, Va., sustained injuries when his parachute did not fully open before he hit the ground after jumping off the radio tower shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday.
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According to the Anne Arundel County police department, Robert Scott Morgan, 25, of Fairfax, Va., sustained injuries when his parachute did not fully open before he hit the ground after jumping off the radio tower shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday.
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Education Department Awards $200 Million
The Education Department has awarded seven states a total of $200 million in Race to the Top grants. Race to the Top is the department's signature program to improve K through 12 education. Pennsylvania received the biggest prize, $41 million. The other winners were Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and New Jersey. Winning states must show how they improved teacher evaluation and boosted science and math education. Last week, Education named nine states as winners of $500 million in grants under a competition focused on early learning programs
Get Your Children To Say “Thank You” And Actually Mean It!
How do we get our children to say “thank you” and actually mean it? Though the classic Christmas carol promises that the holidays are “the most wonderful time of the year,” holidays don’t always feel that way to a mom who has just watched her child open four presents without saying one “thank you.” While we wish our children would express thankfulness as freely as they express dissatisfaction, it’s especially hard for children to slow down to express gratitude in the middle of the tinsel-strewn excitement of December. With that in mind, here are five tips for getting children (and teens) to say “thank you.”
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Pilots Suing FAA
Pilots at a major cargo carrier are suing the FAA. United Parcel Service pilots want to force the agency to apply new fatigue rules to them. The rules, announced Monday, are mandatory only for passenger carriers. Members of the Independent Pilots Association don't buy the FAA's assessment that the cost of the rules would outweigh the benefits to cargo carriers. UPS pilots say the biggest contributors to fatigue, night flying and crossing time zones, are more common for them than for passenger carriers. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood plans to meet with cargo carriers to try and convince them to voluntarily follow the new rules.
Small Yorkie Found On Zion Road: UPDATE
Tiny Yorkie Running down Zion road east of the bridge over the bypass. Has a red collar with no tag.
Call DJ @ 443-614-9965
Reports Are In On Washington Monument
Remember those climbers repelling down the Washington Monument to inspect it? Well their reports are in, and it looks like the damage from August earthquake has left the monument vulnerable to rainfall and other weather conditions. The monument has extensive cracking and chipped stones near its peak and inspectors say they found cracks and loose stones along the entire length of the 555-foot structure. The report does not estimate how long repairs would take or how much they would cost. The federal spending bill approved last week allocates $7.5 million to fix the monument, with the understanding that the National Park Service will raise an equal amount through private donations. The 127-year-old monument has been closed to visitors since a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook the nation's capital on Aug. 23.
Parsonsburg Fire
Parsonsburg, Pittsville, & Salisbury at a working structure fire on Fred Adkins Rd in Parsonsburg.
Vehicle Gets Stuck In Car Wash
A vehicle was stuck inside an automatic car wash for more than 30 minutes and couldn't get out. 911 was called in and it seemed they were having a difficult time getting a hold of someone to turn the system off.Pocomoke Shooting
Date & Time: 12/22/2011 @ 4:00 P.M. Case #:11-0306
Location Occurred: Ninth Street, Pocomoke, Worcester County, Maryland
Crime or Violation: 1st Degree Attempted Murder, 2nd Degree Attempted Murder, 1st degree assault, 2nd degree assault.
Victim: (Juvenile)
Accused: Darius Tyrell Cotton B/M 18 years old, of 4th Street, Pocomoke, Worcester County, MD 21851
Narrative:
On Thursday, December 22, 2011 at approximately 4:00 P.M. a reported shooting had occurred at 700 block of 9th Street, Pocomoke, Maryland. The Pocomoke Police Department had arrived and secured the scene. A Juvenile victim had suffered a gunshot wound to the right leg. The juvenile was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center for treatment. The Pocomoke Police Department had requested the assistance of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigations (W.C.B.I.) and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office to assist with the additional support. Detectives from (W.C.B.I.) arrived on scene and began conducting interviews. A suspect was identified through numerous interviews. A photo line-up was used and a suspect was identified as Darius Tyrell Cotton, 18 years of age, of the 800 block of 4th street was identified as the shooter. An arrest warrant and a search and seizure warrant were obtained for him.
On Friday December 23, 2011 at approximately 3:00 P.M. the Pocomoke Police Department, along with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police and the Worcester County Bureau of Investigations had conducted a search and seizure warrant at Darius Tyrell Cotton’s residence. He was placed under arrest and taken before a District Court Commissioner where he was held without bond.
The juvenile has since been released from the hospital.
Location Occurred: Ninth Street, Pocomoke, Worcester County, Maryland
Crime or Violation: 1st Degree Attempted Murder, 2nd Degree Attempted Murder, 1st degree assault, 2nd degree assault.
Victim: (Juvenile)
Accused: Darius Tyrell Cotton B/M 18 years old, of 4th Street, Pocomoke, Worcester County, MD 21851
Narrative:
On Thursday, December 22, 2011 at approximately 4:00 P.M. a reported shooting had occurred at 700 block of 9th Street, Pocomoke, Maryland. The Pocomoke Police Department had arrived and secured the scene. A Juvenile victim had suffered a gunshot wound to the right leg. The juvenile was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center for treatment. The Pocomoke Police Department had requested the assistance of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigations (W.C.B.I.) and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office to assist with the additional support. Detectives from (W.C.B.I.) arrived on scene and began conducting interviews. A suspect was identified through numerous interviews. A photo line-up was used and a suspect was identified as Darius Tyrell Cotton, 18 years of age, of the 800 block of 4th street was identified as the shooter. An arrest warrant and a search and seizure warrant were obtained for him.
On Friday December 23, 2011 at approximately 3:00 P.M. the Pocomoke Police Department, along with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police and the Worcester County Bureau of Investigations had conducted a search and seizure warrant at Darius Tyrell Cotton’s residence. He was placed under arrest and taken before a District Court Commissioner where he was held without bond.
The juvenile has since been released from the hospital.
Cheezburger’s Ben Huh: If GoDaddy Supports SOPA, We’re Taking Our 1000+ Domains Elsewhere
And the anti-SOPA rallying of the tech world’s best continues.
Just minutes after Ycombinator’s Paul Graham disclosed that SOPA-friendly companies would be blacklisted from the YC Demo Day, Cheezburger (as in I Can Has Cheeseburger, FAIL Blog, Know Your Meme, etc.) CEO Ben Huh has announced that they will be moving their array of over 1,000 domains away from GoDaddy unless the registrar recants their support of the act.
The Payroll Tax Debate Is Over, For Now
After a tense week of gridlock, House Republican leaders accepted the Senate's two-month extension to the payroll tax reduction. The Senate bill does not include a federal pay freeze or an increase in employee contributions to the federal retirement system. Congress will convene today for a House and Senate conference to approve the plan. It will renew expiring payroll tax cuts for every worker, extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans and prevent doctors from absorbing cuts in Medicare payments. The temporary plan pays for the extensions with fees to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
School Accused Of Putting Autistic Boy In Bag
(AP)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A 9-year-old autistic boy who misbehaved at school was stuffed into a duffel bag and the drawstring pulled tight, according to his mother, who said she found him wiggling inside as a teacher's aide stood by.
The mother of fourth-grader Christopher Baker said her son called out to her when she walked up to him in the bag Dec. 14. The case has spurred an online petition calling for the firing of school employees responsible.
NASA Radio
Usually when you think of NASA radio, you think of the crackly conversations between astronauts and ground control during space missions. But these days, the national space agency is providing more cutting-edge music than tinny chats between space crews and their handlers on the ground. It's called Third Rock Radio and it launched about a week ago. It features new rock, independent and alternative music, and also gives young people leads on jobs and other ways to deal with the high-tech world.
Unemployment Benefits Extended Along With Payroll Tax Break
The payroll tax break compromise now up for a vote on Friday also extends unemployment benefits, but they may not be what the hardest hit need.
The 5 million people who would have lost unemployment benefits next year would likely benefit from job training more than anything, Welch Consulting’s chief economist Stephen Bronars, said.
“Job openings are way up and layoffs are down but people out of work are having a hard time finding it,” Stephen Bronars, chief economist with Welch Consulting said. “The people who have the least skills in vocation don’t really match up with the jobs advertised. Those people are having a really hard time.”
Bank Of America Decides To Let Foreclosed-Upon Family Stay In House Until Wife Dies
At the intersection where Foreclosure Ave. crosses Health Care Blvd. lives a California couple who had to choose between mortgage and the health insurance needed to cover the wife's late-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Until recently, it looked like they would be forced to vacate the house they'd bought 15 years ago, but Bank of America has decided to delay the eviction until after the wife's death.
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Postal Santa Clause Can Wear His Costume On Route
The postal Santa has regained his wings.
Letter carrier Bob McLean had been donning a Saint Nick costume for the holiday season while on his route in Bellevue, Wash., for over a decade. But a supervisor earlier this week told him that he was no longer allowed to spread his brand of holiday cheer, alleging that a complaint was filed that he was not wearing official post office attire.
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Letter carrier Bob McLean had been donning a Saint Nick costume for the holiday season while on his route in Bellevue, Wash., for over a decade. But a supervisor earlier this week told him that he was no longer allowed to spread his brand of holiday cheer, alleging that a complaint was filed that he was not wearing official post office attire.
More
Sleepwalking May Have Led To N.J. Woman's Drowning
It's not unusual for people to walk or talk in their sleep. But on Sunday morning, a New Jersey woman may have sleepwalked to her death.
The body of Charlene Ferrero, 55, was found Monday in Newton Lake near Oaklyn, N.J. Calls to the Oaklyn Police Department were not immediately returned, but WPVI in Philadelphia reports that police ruled her death an accidental drowning.
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The body of Charlene Ferrero, 55, was found Monday in Newton Lake near Oaklyn, N.J. Calls to the Oaklyn Police Department were not immediately returned, but WPVI in Philadelphia reports that police ruled her death an accidental drowning.
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Profiling Lawsuit Could Add To Sheriff's Troubles
PHOENIX (AP) - The self-described "America's toughest sheriff" has survived firestorms in the past, but none in the past decade have been as bad as what the lawman has been hit with in the past few weeks.
And in a few days, a federal judge could make things worse for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Murray Snow heard arguments over a lawsuit from a handful of Latino residents alleging racial profiling during Arpaio's immigration sweeps. He could send it to trial, throw it out, or declare that Arpaio uses racial profiling in his immigration enforcement.
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And in a few days, a federal judge could make things worse for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Murray Snow heard arguments over a lawsuit from a handful of Latino residents alleging racial profiling during Arpaio's immigration sweeps. He could send it to trial, throw it out, or declare that Arpaio uses racial profiling in his immigration enforcement.
More
SBYNews.com Surpasses 20,000 Articles In One Year
This Post represents the 20,000 Post mark for the year.
Barbour Files Suit For Travel Reimbusement
REHOBOTH BEACH — A Georgetown Justice of the Peace court will determine whether to grant Dennis Barbour more than $11,000 in travel expenses incurred while Barbour served as a Rehoboth Beach commissioner from January 2007 to July 2011.
Barbour, who served as a nonresident commissioner for two terms, commuted to Rehoboth from jobs in Cleveland and Washington, D.C., during his tenure.
City charter states nonresident commissioners are entitled to an allowance for every mile driven from the commissioner’s permanent residence to commissioner meetings and committee meetings.
Fastest Growing Mode Of Travel: Long Distance Buses
WASHINGTON -- There's something new to add to the list of things that are coming back in style: bus travel.
Carriers that pick-up and drop-off curbside -- such as BoltBus and Megabus -- boosted trips 32 percent in 2011, and intercity bus services were the sole major long-distance passenger mode that grew significantly, according to a new study released by researchers at DePaul University.
Curbside operators, which pick passengers up at a bus stop on the curb rather than at large bus stations, grew the fastest among all long distance travel modes, with the number of departures increasing and the number of passengers increasing, the report says.
Curbside long-distance bus operators first came on the scene in 2006, and while they have continued to gain popularity, they saw their greatest expansion this year.
More
Carriers that pick-up and drop-off curbside -- such as BoltBus and Megabus -- boosted trips 32 percent in 2011, and intercity bus services were the sole major long-distance passenger mode that grew significantly, according to a new study released by researchers at DePaul University.
Curbside operators, which pick passengers up at a bus stop on the curb rather than at large bus stations, grew the fastest among all long distance travel modes, with the number of departures increasing and the number of passengers increasing, the report says.
Curbside long-distance bus operators first came on the scene in 2006, and while they have continued to gain popularity, they saw their greatest expansion this year.
More
Minnesota Gay Community ‘Apologizes’ To GOP Adulteress For Ruining Her Marriage
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — As far right-wing and so-called Christian “family values” groups continue to insist that same-sex marriage is a force that is destroying the sanctity of marriage, one Minnesota resident “apologized” on behalf of the state’s LGBTQ community for causing anti-gay GOP state senator Amy Koch to have an extramarital affair.
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Racial Politics And Community Concerns Dominate Redistricting Hearing
Racial politics and concerns about commmunity cohesion dominated a three-hour hearing Thursday as scores of people from across Maryland came to Annapolis to condemn, offer suggestions and even praise the new legislative district map drawn by Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Redistricting Advisory Committee.
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Illegal Wolf-Dog Hybrid Caught Roaming Streets of New York
NEW YORK- An illegal wolf-dog hybrid was found roaming wild in a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, authorities said Thursday.
Police found the approximately three-year-old female wearing a collar and chain near Elton Street and Vandalia Avenue in East New York on Tuesday evening, said Richard Gentles, spokesperson for New York Animal Care and Control.
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Before All Of You Leave For The Holidays
Allow us to take this opportunity to Wish each and every one of you a Wonderful and Peaceful Merry Christmas.Salisbury News
Why We Must Stop the Blame Game
A U.S. Marine in Afghanistan wonders why the United States can't come together to overcome our nation's challenges
As a Marine serving a year-long deployment in Helmand province, Afghanistan, there are so many things that I miss about my home in Jacksonville, N.C. But I am just one of many service members who will not be spending the holidays with loved ones back home. For many Marines here, this is their third, fourth or fifth deployment — others have deployed even more. We chose to join the military to answer a calling to serve our fellow Americans or to make a difference in the world, despite the sacrifices required to do so.
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As a Marine serving a year-long deployment in Helmand province, Afghanistan, there are so many things that I miss about my home in Jacksonville, N.C. But I am just one of many service members who will not be spending the holidays with loved ones back home. For many Marines here, this is their third, fourth or fifth deployment — others have deployed even more. We chose to join the military to answer a calling to serve our fellow Americans or to make a difference in the world, despite the sacrifices required to do so.
More
THIS SUMS IT UP
WILL USA SURVIVE?
The folks who are getting the free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff, because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff.
The folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!
Now... The people who are forcing the people who pay for the free stuff have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, that the people who are PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.
So... The people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the free stuff in the first place.
We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.
Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason? The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.
The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 235 years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff. We have one chance to change that. In 2012. Failure to change that spells the end of the United States as we know it.
ELECTION 2012 IS COMING
A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!
The folks who are getting the free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff, because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff.
The folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!
Now... The people who are forcing the people who pay for the free stuff have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, that the people who are PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.
So... The people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the free stuff in the first place.
We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.
Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason? The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.
The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 235 years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff. We have one chance to change that. In 2012. Failure to change that spells the end of the United States as we know it.
ELECTION 2012 IS COMING
A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!
MARYLAND LAW ENFORCEMENT LAUNCHES ANNUAL CHIEFS’ CHALLENGE CAMPAIGN
Law Enforcement Officials Seek Community Participation in Lifesaving Initiative
Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack will join more than one hundred law enforcement agencies across the state in an effort to educate the public on the lifesaving and injury-reducing benefits of safety belt/child seat use. Additional attention will focus on the reduction of aggressive driving and driving while impaired. This campaign will take place from May through December 2011.
The Maryland Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, Campus Safety Directors, and Maryland State Police Barrack Commanders challenge their law enforcement personnel to design community-outreach programs and events to recruit community partners, and to conduct enhanced educational and enforcement initiatives. In Wicomico County, state and local law enforcement officials will be conducting an aggressive driving campaign, entitled Drunk Driving/Over the Limit, Under Arrest. This enforcement initiative will be from December 26, 2011 – January 2, 2012 (New Year’s)
Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack will join more than one hundred law enforcement agencies across the state in an effort to educate the public on the lifesaving and injury-reducing benefits of safety belt/child seat use. Additional attention will focus on the reduction of aggressive driving and driving while impaired. This campaign will take place from May through December 2011.
The Maryland Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, Campus Safety Directors, and Maryland State Police Barrack Commanders challenge their law enforcement personnel to design community-outreach programs and events to recruit community partners, and to conduct enhanced educational and enforcement initiatives. In Wicomico County, state and local law enforcement officials will be conducting an aggressive driving campaign, entitled Drunk Driving/Over the Limit, Under Arrest. This enforcement initiative will be from December 26, 2011 – January 2, 2012 (New Year’s)
Risk And The Indentured Servitude Of Student Loans
Students stuck with gargantuan loans for life are bound in a bank-dominated "improvement" of indentured servitude.
Yesterday (Risk is Necessary for Adaptation, Innovation and Success [7]) I discussed the inevitable failure of systems in which risk has been transferred from those who reap the gain to others. In the case of student loans, the risk has been transferred to students who enter decades of indentured servitude.
Indentured servitude has a long history in the U.S.; many immigrants accepted servitude of between two and seven years in exchange for passage to the New World. Orphans were indentured out of orphanages to the age of 21--potentially a much longer servitude. Indeed, the labor of anyone on the public dole could be auctioned off:
From Wilma A. Dunaway's Online Archive [8]:
By the time of the Revolutionary War, indentured servitude had been a common practice in the United States for 150 years.
Following British laws established during the colonial period, post-Revolutionary public authorities indentured the labor of those who were likely to fall upon the public dole. Appalachian county governments bound out indigent adults and children whose families could no longer care for them. The age, gender, and racial trends are clearly documented in early records of Appalachian poor houses, for women and orphans represented more than two-thirds of the individuals whose labor was auctioned off by county governments.
Isaac Miller of Anderson County, Tennessee, advertised in 1819 for the return of Margaret Hutcheson who had been bound to him by the county poor house. Obviously, the seventeen-year-old girl had tried the patience of her master, for he offered only "a reward of 6 1/4 cents to the person who w[ould] deliver her to [him]," caustically adding, "but I will not thank any person for doing so."
When an orphan was bound out by the county poor house, the child was legally tied to the master until the age of eighteen or twenty-one.
Orphans were often bound to tradesmen or farmers until age 21, and indigent adults were typically bound for three to seven years. However, there is no way to document how many laborers were bound out by their own families. When parents indentured their own children, it was for "a usual term of seven years if a girl, or five if a boy."
More
Yesterday (Risk is Necessary for Adaptation, Innovation and Success [7]) I discussed the inevitable failure of systems in which risk has been transferred from those who reap the gain to others. In the case of student loans, the risk has been transferred to students who enter decades of indentured servitude.
Indentured servitude has a long history in the U.S.; many immigrants accepted servitude of between two and seven years in exchange for passage to the New World. Orphans were indentured out of orphanages to the age of 21--potentially a much longer servitude. Indeed, the labor of anyone on the public dole could be auctioned off:
From Wilma A. Dunaway's Online Archive [8]:
By the time of the Revolutionary War, indentured servitude had been a common practice in the United States for 150 years.
Following British laws established during the colonial period, post-Revolutionary public authorities indentured the labor of those who were likely to fall upon the public dole. Appalachian county governments bound out indigent adults and children whose families could no longer care for them. The age, gender, and racial trends are clearly documented in early records of Appalachian poor houses, for women and orphans represented more than two-thirds of the individuals whose labor was auctioned off by county governments.
Isaac Miller of Anderson County, Tennessee, advertised in 1819 for the return of Margaret Hutcheson who had been bound to him by the county poor house. Obviously, the seventeen-year-old girl had tried the patience of her master, for he offered only "a reward of 6 1/4 cents to the person who w[ould] deliver her to [him]," caustically adding, "but I will not thank any person for doing so."
When an orphan was bound out by the county poor house, the child was legally tied to the master until the age of eighteen or twenty-one.
Orphans were often bound to tradesmen or farmers until age 21, and indigent adults were typically bound for three to seven years. However, there is no way to document how many laborers were bound out by their own families. When parents indentured their own children, it was for "a usual term of seven years if a girl, or five if a boy."
More
Why Ron Paul Can Win
If you have been watching the news, you know that Ron Paul is now beating both Gingrich and Romney in the polls and could walk away with a win in Iowa.
Some say he could also walk away with a win in New Hampshire, and possibly even win the Republican (GOP) nomination.
For the Republican National Committee (RNC), this must be uncomfortable − the idea that they would be forced to nominate a principled, Constitutionalist just because WE THE PEOPLE demanded it.
But here's what really terrifies them: Ron Paul is in a position to hand the election of 2012 over to Barack Obama and the Democrats because he would be a "spoiler." But even more terrifying is the fact that Dr. Paul is in a position to be much more than a "spoiler" − he's in a position to be a "winner."
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Some say he could also walk away with a win in New Hampshire, and possibly even win the Republican (GOP) nomination.
For the Republican National Committee (RNC), this must be uncomfortable − the idea that they would be forced to nominate a principled, Constitutionalist just because WE THE PEOPLE demanded it.
But here's what really terrifies them: Ron Paul is in a position to hand the election of 2012 over to Barack Obama and the Democrats because he would be a "spoiler." But even more terrifying is the fact that Dr. Paul is in a position to be much more than a "spoiler" − he's in a position to be a "winner."
More
America On The Brink Of Anarchy
ARE THE STATES THE ANSWER?
When government leaders demonstrate a blatant disregard for the rule of law, the citizens soon follow that example. When justice becomes nothing more than a tool for socialist experiments known as social justice, no longer a system of equal protections guided by existing laws, the people will seek their own form of justice and anarchy will reign, until justice is restored.
Our federal government has refused to keep its Constitutional promise to the states and the people, to among other things, control and enforce our immigration laws, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the rule of law, the state and legal American citizens, not to mention their constitutional obligation.
Border States were left to enforce the law within their own states. But federal courts, which have no jurisdiction over the states, stepped in and blocked the states from enforcing the law and today, dozens of Sheriff Deputies turn in their federal credentials, refusing to abide by federal mandates to break existing immigration laws.
Meanwhile, the Democrat Mayor of D.C. announces his executive order to stand down on federal immigration laws in his city, and Democrat Connecticut Mayor of New Haven, already known as a sanctuary city for illegal activity, announces his intentions to allow illegal aliens to vote in the upcoming 2012 election cycle. The Obama Administration supports both illegal acts.
Democrat Mayors, Governors, law-makers, judges and the White House are living in blatant violation of the law, their oaths of office, the will of legal American citizens and their constitutional authority.
How much longer will the people sit quietly, before taking justice into their own hands, in what has clearly become a lawless society?
Clearly, government officials from the White House all the way down to your local town and all points in-between, have a total disregard for the rule of law and the Constitution of these once United States. Every day, we see government officials act beyond their authority, in direct violation of the law and their oaths of office – still, the American people sit silent, waiting… but for what?
The people allowed their Constitutional Representative Republic to be quietly replaced with a Marxist form of democracy (aka Democratic Socialism) and we are now witnessing simple democracy at its worst. Washington D.C. is the belly of the beast, in terms of political and judicial corruption and lawlessness. But that corruption and lawlessness has been systematically spread across the country, throughout the federal courts, all the way down to your local traffic court.
Judges are no longer restrained by the law. They operate as political tools for change – henchmen for a corrupt administration, federal, state and local. Our nation has been systematically pushed to the brink of anarchy, a lawless society wherein the people will have to exact justice themselves, or live under the boot of government tyranny.
The people have already been silent too long. What are they waiting for?
More
When government leaders demonstrate a blatant disregard for the rule of law, the citizens soon follow that example. When justice becomes nothing more than a tool for socialist experiments known as social justice, no longer a system of equal protections guided by existing laws, the people will seek their own form of justice and anarchy will reign, until justice is restored.
Our federal government has refused to keep its Constitutional promise to the states and the people, to among other things, control and enforce our immigration laws, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the rule of law, the state and legal American citizens, not to mention their constitutional obligation.
Border States were left to enforce the law within their own states. But federal courts, which have no jurisdiction over the states, stepped in and blocked the states from enforcing the law and today, dozens of Sheriff Deputies turn in their federal credentials, refusing to abide by federal mandates to break existing immigration laws.
Meanwhile, the Democrat Mayor of D.C. announces his executive order to stand down on federal immigration laws in his city, and Democrat Connecticut Mayor of New Haven, already known as a sanctuary city for illegal activity, announces his intentions to allow illegal aliens to vote in the upcoming 2012 election cycle. The Obama Administration supports both illegal acts.
Democrat Mayors, Governors, law-makers, judges and the White House are living in blatant violation of the law, their oaths of office, the will of legal American citizens and their constitutional authority.
How much longer will the people sit quietly, before taking justice into their own hands, in what has clearly become a lawless society?
Clearly, government officials from the White House all the way down to your local town and all points in-between, have a total disregard for the rule of law and the Constitution of these once United States. Every day, we see government officials act beyond their authority, in direct violation of the law and their oaths of office – still, the American people sit silent, waiting… but for what?
The people allowed their Constitutional Representative Republic to be quietly replaced with a Marxist form of democracy (aka Democratic Socialism) and we are now witnessing simple democracy at its worst. Washington D.C. is the belly of the beast, in terms of political and judicial corruption and lawlessness. But that corruption and lawlessness has been systematically spread across the country, throughout the federal courts, all the way down to your local traffic court.
Judges are no longer restrained by the law. They operate as political tools for change – henchmen for a corrupt administration, federal, state and local. Our nation has been systematically pushed to the brink of anarchy, a lawless society wherein the people will have to exact justice themselves, or live under the boot of government tyranny.
The people have already been silent too long. What are they waiting for?
More
Gingrich: Ron Paul's Base Is "People Who Want To Legalize Drugs"
Despite his mantra to stay "positive," Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich took a swipe at rival Ron Paul on Thursday, suggesting that the Texas congressman's political base consists of "people who want to legalize drugs."
During a radio interview with conservative commentator John McCaslin, the former House speaker also said Paul is naive about the war on terrorism and Iran's nuclear program. "This is a guy who basically says, if the United States were only nice, it wouldn't have had 9/11. He doesn't want to blame the bad guys. ... He dismisses the danger of Iranian nuclear weapon and seems to be indifferent to the idea that Israel could be wiped out. And as I said, I think the key to his volunteer base is people who want to legalize drugs."
Soldier Pawns Purple Heart For Christmas
WASHINGTON – Here’s a harsh reminder that yellow ribbons and care packages aren’t always enough support for the troops: A soldier on leave from Afghanistan walked into a Michigan consignment shop last week to pawn a Purple Heart to help cover his Christmas bills. From the Holland Sentinel:
Writ Of Habeas Corpus Filed In Reponse To National Defense Authorization Act
A Writ of Habeas Corpus has been filed with the Alaska Supreme Court seeking an injunction against the National Defense Authorization Act which was rammed through Congress in less than a week and signed by President Obama yesterday, December 8, 2011. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski are named as Respondents.
This unusual step was taken by Anna von Reitz, of Big Lake, Alaska.
"The dangers inherent in this Act are so great, so overwhelmingly damaging to individual liberty, and so very much in contradiction with the Bill of Rights and all three versions of the Constitution (for and of) the United States of America----that I felt such action was necessary," said von Reitz, commenting from her home on Friday.
What began as a request from the Obama Administration to the Senate Armed Services Committee quickly ballooned in a bill, S. 1867, which was passed by the US Senate on December 1. With lightning speed, it also passed the House of Representatives, and was signed into law by President Obama on December 8, the same day von Reitz made public record of her action.
Among other things, the National Defense Authorization Act claims that the government has the right to arrest any American citizen on "suspicion" and to detain them indefinitely without being charged, without access to counsel or the courts, and even if they come to trial and are found "not guilty" by a jury.
See more http://alaskapatriotnews.ning.com/forum/topics/writ-of-habeas-corpus-filed-in-reponse-to-national-defense-author
This unusual step was taken by Anna von Reitz, of Big Lake, Alaska.
"The dangers inherent in this Act are so great, so overwhelmingly damaging to individual liberty, and so very much in contradiction with the Bill of Rights and all three versions of the Constitution (for and of) the United States of America----that I felt such action was necessary," said von Reitz, commenting from her home on Friday.
What began as a request from the Obama Administration to the Senate Armed Services Committee quickly ballooned in a bill, S. 1867, which was passed by the US Senate on December 1. With lightning speed, it also passed the House of Representatives, and was signed into law by President Obama on December 8, the same day von Reitz made public record of her action.
Among other things, the National Defense Authorization Act claims that the government has the right to arrest any American citizen on "suspicion" and to detain them indefinitely without being charged, without access to counsel or the courts, and even if they come to trial and are found "not guilty" by a jury.
See more http://alaskapatriotnews.ning.com/forum/topics/writ-of-habeas-corpus-filed-in-reponse-to-national-defense-author
Today's Survey Question 12-23-11
Have you ever loaned money to a friend or family and never got repaid?
Maryland Fuel Tax Revenues Decline
Over the past few days SBYnews has performed an analysis on Maryland's finances and have been posting some of its key economic indicators. Today, we give our readers an overview as to help explain why our Counties roads and bridges are in such disrepair.
At the end of 2010 - Maryland's fuel consumption continued its downward spiral for the 4Th consecutive year. Maryland's fuel consumption peaked in 2007 - (2.73 billion gallons) and continued to decline to its present level of 2010 - (2.65 billion gallons).
In an attempt to try and balance Maryland's Budget - our officials in Annapolis have decided to transfer some of these funds to Maryland's general account and thus reduce significant funding amounts to the counties and municipalities.
Bottom line -
Recent History: Previously, Gasoline and Motor Vehicle Revenue Account revenues, otherwise known as HUR, had been distributed to MDOT (70%) and local jurisdictions (30%). The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2009 (Chapter 487) reduced the local share of HUR by $161.9 million in fiscal 2010 and $101.9 million in fiscal 2011 and transferred that revenue to the general fund. The Budget and Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Chapter 484) further altered the allocations to provide for an ongoing distribution of revenues from the local share of HUR to the general fund. Under Chapter 484, for fiscal 2012, HUR would have been distributed as follows: (1) 20.4% to the general fund; (2) 71.5% to TTF; and (3) the balance to the counties, municipalities, and Baltimore City.
*Source: Maryland Department of Legislative Services Fiscal Note
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/fnotes/bil_0002/hb0072.pdf
At the end of 2010 - Maryland's fuel consumption continued its downward spiral for the 4Th consecutive year. Maryland's fuel consumption peaked in 2007 - (2.73 billion gallons) and continued to decline to its present level of 2010 - (2.65 billion gallons).
In an attempt to try and balance Maryland's Budget - our officials in Annapolis have decided to transfer some of these funds to Maryland's general account and thus reduce significant funding amounts to the counties and municipalities.
Bottom line -Recent History: Previously, Gasoline and Motor Vehicle Revenue Account revenues, otherwise known as HUR, had been distributed to MDOT (70%) and local jurisdictions (30%). The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2009 (Chapter 487) reduced the local share of HUR by $161.9 million in fiscal 2010 and $101.9 million in fiscal 2011 and transferred that revenue to the general fund. The Budget and Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Chapter 484) further altered the allocations to provide for an ongoing distribution of revenues from the local share of HUR to the general fund. Under Chapter 484, for fiscal 2012, HUR would have been distributed as follows: (1) 20.4% to the general fund; (2) 71.5% to TTF; and (3) the balance to the counties, municipalities, and Baltimore City.
*Source: Maryland Department of Legislative Services Fiscal Note
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/fnotes/bil_0002/hb0072.pdf
Colbert Offering $500K To Pay For SC GOP Primary
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Comedian Stephen Colbert is offering to pay half a million dollars to help subsidize South Carolina's first-in-the-South GOP presidential primary, as state officials struggle to pay for it, but there's doubt whether it would even be legal.
The Charleston native wrote in an op-ed Thursday in The State newspaper in Columbia that Colbert Super PAC - a type of political action committee that allows him to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions and individuals - will bridge the gap after state Republicans refused to contribute anything above $180,000 collected in candidates' filing fees.
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