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Monday, January 09, 2012
Williams: I Love Greed
This winter, Texas ranchers may have to fight the cold of night, perhaps blizzards, to run down, feed and care for stray cattle. They make the personal sacrifice of caring for their animals to ensure that New Yorkers can enjoy beef. Last summer, Idaho potato farmers toiled in blazing sun, in dust and dirt, and maybe being bitten by insects to ensure that New Yorkers had potatoes to go with their beef.
Here’s my question: Do you think that Texas ranchers and Idaho potato farmers make these personal sacrifices because they love or care about the well-being of New Yorkers? The fact is whether they like New Yorkers or not, they make sure that New Yorkers are supplied with beef and potatoes every day of the week. Why? It’s because ranchers and farmers want more for themselves.
In a free market system, in order for one to get more for himself, he must serve his fellow man. This is precisely what Adam Smith, the father of economics, meant when he said in his classic “An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (1776), “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."
By the way, how much beef and potatoes do you think New Yorkers would enjoy if it all depended upon the politically correct notions of human love and kindness? Personally, I’d grieve for New Yorkers. Some have suggested that instead of greed, I use “enlightened self-interest.” That’s OK, but I prefer greed.
Free market capitalism is relatively new in human history. Prior to the rise of capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering and enslaving their fellow man. Capitalism made it possible to become wealthy by serving one's fellow man. Capitalists seek to discover what people want and then produce it as efficiently as possible. Free market capitalism is ruthless in its profit and loss discipline.
This explains much of the hostility toward free market capitalism; some of it is held by businessmen. Smith recognized this hostility when he said, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." He was hinting at government-backed crony capitalism, which has come to characterize much of today’s businesses.
Free market capitalism has other enemies -- mostly among the intellectual elite and political tyrants. These are people who believe that they have superior wisdom to the masses and that God has ordained them to forcibly impose that wisdom on the rest of us. Of course, they have what they consider to be good reasons for restricting liberty, but every tyrant who has ever lived has had what he considered good reason for restricting liberty. A tyrant’s agenda calls for the attenuation or the elimination of the market and what is implied by it -- voluntary exchange. Tyrants do not trust that people acting voluntarily will do what the tyrant thinks they should do. They want to replace the market with economic planning and regulation.
The Wall Street occupiers and their media and political allies are not against the principle of crony capitalism, bailouts and government special privileges and intervention. They share the same hostility to free market capitalism and peaceable voluntary exchange as tyrants. What they really want is congressional permission to share in the booty from looting their fellow man.
More here
[Dr. Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University.]
Police Smuggle Fake Bomb Onto Olympic Site
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WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
Looking behind the headlines:
The people pushing for war against Iran are the same neocons who pushed for war against Iraq. See this and this.
China and Russia have warned that attacking Iran could lead to World War III.
War against Iran was planned at least 20 years ago.
The U.S. has been claiming for more than 30 years that Iran was on the verge of nuclear capability (and the U.S. apparently helped fund the Iranian nuclear program.)
Good Samaritan Fighting For Life After Rescuing Drunken Man From Train Tracks
QUOTE OF THE DAY 1-9-12
Hindu proverb
Donating Your Body To Science? Nobody Wants A Chubby Corpse
2012 - THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY
But, as Strauss and Howe point out, the core elements that created this Crisis and the reaction of generational cohorts to the implications of debt, civic decay and global disorder will drive all the events that will occur in 2012 and for as far as the eye can see. Linear thinkers in mega-corporations, mainstream media and Washington D.C. focus on retaining the status quo, their power and their wealth. They believe an economic recovery can be manufactured through monetary manipulation and Keynesian borrowing and spending. They are blind to the fact that history is cyclical, not linear. In order to have an understanding of what could happen in the coming year, it is essential to keep the big picture in focus. As we enter the fifth year of this twenty year Crisis period, there is absolutely no chance that 2012 will see an improvement in our economy, political atmosphere or world situation. Fourth Turnings never de-intensify. They exhaust themselves after years of chaos, conflict and turmoil. I can guarantee you that 2012 will see increased mayhem, riots, violent protests, recessions, bear markets, and a presidential election that will confound the establishment. All the episodes which will occur in 2012 will have at their core one of the three elements described by Strauss & Howe in 1997: Debt, Civic Decay, or Global Disorder.
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Three Types Of People To Fire Immediately
“I wanted a happy culture. So I fired all the unhappy people.”—A very successful CEO (who asked not to be named)
We (your authors) teach our children to work hard and never, ever give up. We teach them to be grateful, to be full of wonder, to expect good things to happen, and to search for literal and figurative treasure on every beach, in every room, and in every person.
But some day, when the treasure hunt is over, we’ll also teach them to fire people. Why? After working with the most inventive people in the world for two decades, we’ve discovered the value of a certain item in the leadership toolbox: the pink slip.
Show of hands: How many of you out there in Innovationland have gotten the “what took you so long?” question from your staff when you finally said goodbye to a teammate who was seemingly always part of problems instead of solutions?
We imagine a whole bunch of hands. (Yep, ours went up, too.)
These people—and we’re going to talk about three specific types in a minute—passive-aggressively block innovation from happening and will suck the energy out of any organization.
When confronted with any of the following three people—and you have found it impossible to change their ways, say goodbye.
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Results Of Hamas ‘Ceasefires’ In 2011: 680 Attacks
The IDF reports that 680 rockets, mortars and Grad missiles were fired at southern Israel in 2011, according to data compiled by the Home Front Command.
The military is preparing for a wide range of future scenarios, including the firing of longer-range missiles at Israel while Hamas continues to build a large arsenal of advanced weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles that can down a commercial airliner.
Last year, 80 Grad missiles were fired at Israel, compared with only two the previous year. Grads have a longer range and more lethal explosive payload than other rockets fired at Israel.
However, as recently as last week – December 30 – the Associated Press told its readers worldwide, “After suffering heavy losses in the fighting, Hamas has largely maintained a cease-fire with Israel.”
The report followed an Israel counter terrorist attack on a terrorist and noted that Hamas has built up a huge arsenal of weapons.
Three days later, two mortar shells containing phosphorous were fired from Gaza on a southern Israeli farming area, a violation of international laws against using the material in attacks on civilians.
Nearly one-third of all rocket strikes in 2011 took place during three periods of escalation, totaling around 15 days overall. Five rockets exploded on or near buildings in Israel.
More here
Advice To A Generic Candidate
To save the republic, if any, from another routine military disaster, I offer the following thoughts.
To begin, I will ask the following questions of the candidates, and for that matter of Mr. Obama, and of the Secretary of Defense, a generic bureaucrat.
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ANOTHER community asking for martial law!
Sadly, the idea that the military needs to police any American city smacks the Constitution in the face and is surely a recipe for disaster.
To see more go here:
http://theintelhub.com/2012/01/09/residents-in-belle-glade-florida-call-for-martial-law-after-months-of-increasing-violence/
Israeli Casino Tycoon Adelson Bets $5 Million On Gingrich
Adelson, owner of the free Yisrael HaYom Hebrew-language newspaper, is known to be a strong supporter of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He also is a large contributor to the Birthright program that brings young Jews for their first-ever trip to Israel.
Gingrich recently aroused ire from the Palestinian Authority by stating that the concept of a “Palestinian people” is an invention and that all of the Land of Israel belongs to Israel.
Adelson, who grew up poor and made a fortune in the casino business, donated his money to Winning Our Future, a PAC that backs Gingrich. The Washington-based Politico website, which singlehandedly broke the campaign of Herman Cain by exposing alleged sexual harassment, reported that Adelson might be willing to increase his cash injection to as much as $20 million.
Adelson’s worth is estimated at more than $20 billion.
However, sources said that if Gingrich does not win the GOP nomination this summer, he will back the winning nominee.
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Washington Wades Deeper into Housing
Lawmakers began 2011 with sweeping ambitions to shrink the U.S. government’s involvement in mortgage finance. They ended the year enacting policies that increase it. An 11th-hour extension of the payroll tax cut, signed into law on Dec. 23, will for the first time divert funds from Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC), the two mortgage finance companies under U.S. conservatorship, to pay for general government expenses. Congress also took steps that are likely to increase the role of the Federal Housing Administration in the market—at the same time that the agency’s reserves hit a record low. And some economists are charging that the FHA’s finances are even worse than they appear.
Last February, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced three options for reducing government’s role in housing finance. Soon after, Republicans introduced bills to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have cost taxpayers about $153 billion since 2008 because of defaults on loans they guaranteed. The legislation never advanced because there was no agreement even among Republicans on the best way to proceed.
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Farah: Obama’s Militarization Of The Homefront
Apparently no one else in the national press found that promise newsworthy, because I was the first to call it to the attention of the public days later. Interestingly, the pledge had been stricken from transcripts of the speech handed out to media.
Whatever happened to the “civilian national security force” initiative? No one in the press has dared to ask that question.
But two recent developments suggest Obama may have found an innovative way to achieve his objectives to militarize the homefront without creating a new national security force:
In December, both houses of Congress passed the defense reauthorization bill that killed the concept of habeas corpus – legislation that authorized the president to use the U.S. military to arrest and indefinitely detain American citizens without charge or trial.
This week, over the objections of Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Guard’s top officer became the fifth member of that body that advises the president on national security matters.
“There is no compelling military need for this change,” said Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, during his congressional testimony on the bill. Nevertheless, Congress knew better. Obama knew better. In fact, all six four-star generals testified in a Nov. 10 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the idea of including the National Guard honcho as a member of the Joint Chiefs would create needless confusion and reduce the authority of the other military representatives.
But it gets even worse.
Even Obama’s own defense secretary, Leon Panetta, opposed the measure. He told reporters that membership on the Joint Chiefs should “be reserved for those who have direct command and direct budgets that deal with the military.”
It seems to me, Obama has, with the approval of Republicans in Congress, achieved his major goal of militarizing domestic civilian life in the U.S. The U.S. military has been authorized by Congress and Obama to arrest and detain indefinitely without charge or trial any U.S. citizen on suspicion of being a terrorist. The only one who can override the order is Obama himself. And now the National Guard has been deputized as a posse for Obama’s “non-civilian national security force.”
Keep reading..
Dropped Your Phone In The Toilet? No Problem!
Three start-ups aim to correct that this year, offering special, micro-thin coatings made of nanomaterials that can seamlessly and invisibly encase your next iPhone or Android phone and keep it safe from the rain -- or even a plunge in the potty.
HzO, P2i, and Liquipel are putting their technology on display this week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the world’s gadget makers unveil the latest and greatest goodies that will fill your pockets in the upcoming year. And that’s in the rain or out, explains Paul Clayson, president and CEO of nanotech firm HzO.
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Sheriff Joe's Deputy Shot To Death With Assault Rifle
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said 50-year-old deputy William Coleman and his partner found a suspect in a van at a medical building at about 4 a.m. Sunday.
The 40-year-old man got out of the van and opened fire with an assault rifle, striking Coleman under his bullet-proof vest.
The deputy was taken to a hospital, but doctors could not save him.
Other deputies shot the suspect to death. Investigators are trying to determine why he opened fire, Arpaio said.
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Hunter Rescued After Being Accidentally Shot In Prince George's County
It happened at around 1:15 p.m. about a half mile off the road in a "heavily wooded area," near Fort Washington, Brady said.
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Ohio Billion-Dollar Sewage Plan Is A Waste
While Columbus taxpayers will spend billions of dollars to stop sewage from spilling into the Scioto River and other waterways, the city could save money by investing in sand instead, according to an Ohio State University researcher.
A system using sand and the bacteria it contains could treat sewage before it hits water, Karen Mancl, the project’s lead researcher, told the Columbus Dispatch.
Mancl has spent more than three years studying bio-reactor systems, which date back to the 1800s. Through the system, sewage flows into sand, where bacteria digest ammonia, phosphorus, and other pollutants. The water flowing from the bio-reactor then contains only trace amounts of pollutants, she said.
The treatment system would be ideal for wastewater triggered by storms. “You get a very high burst of this wastewater and then long periods where you don’t have any at all,” Mancl noted.
Master Of Horror, Poe, Revisited
Thrust upon a middle class bleary, they were plundered, while weak and weary,Over many a tainted and spurious document came a forger’s reward.While they plotted, data mapping, predictably there came a trapping,And then someone stoutly rapping, rapping at my front door.“Tis the Sheriff,” he muttered, “taping an eviction notice on your front door -We’ll take this one and we’re serving more.”
Ah, distinctly I remember that bleak September,And each chickenshit lying senator whose vote was bought before they hit the floor,Surely it could crash the morrow; - blamed on those who over-borrowedBut it was the banks who fleeced the borrower - then sought to borrow for the last big score -For the Brazen backed their trucks up to the Treasury doors -Lawlessness for evermore.
The bilkers were certain their hustling was hidden behind the theatre curtainSkillfully - they bilked me with fees and paperwork errors never seen before;So that now, my mod still pending, documents I faxed repeatedly,I heard a visitor entreating entrance at my front door -A “visitor” changing the locks on my front door! -Tis “property preservation” and nothing more.
Devilishly their souls grew darker; hesitating then no longer,“Your Honor, they said, “truly your forgiveness I implore.It is a paperwork issue and nothing more.”And then boldly, boldly they went rapping, rapping on his chamber doors,“That donation I’m sure has found you, here’s an envelope opened wide with more, -Greenbacks here, and there’s plenty more.”
Sheep that were ripe for shearing, into exotic loans banks were steering,Shouting, “The American Dream is on sale like never before!”Approval promises went unbroken, underwriting was just a token,And the only words spoken by brokers were the whispered words, “Buy more.”Then I whispered, “I have no income, no job, no assets and a poor credit score.”All technicalities, and nothing more.
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Report: 24 States Enacted 92 Abortion Restrictions In 2011
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Md. To Formally Recognize 2 American Indian Groups
O’Malley, a Democrat, will sign executive orders Monday formalizing the Maryland Indian Status of the two groups.
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America's Mental Health Industry Is A Threat To Our Sanity
The majority of psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals “go along to get along” and maintain a status quo that includes drug company corruption, pseudoscientific research and a “standard of care” that is routinely damaging and occasionally kills young children.
If that sounds hyperbolic, then you probably have not heard of Rebecca Riley, and how the highest levels of psychiatry described her treatment as “appropriate and within responsible professional standards.”
When Rebecca Riley was 28 months old, based primarily on the complaints of her mother that she was “hyper” and had difficulty sleeping, psychiatrist Kayoko Kifuji, at the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, diagnosed Rebecca with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Kifuji prescribed clonidine, a hypertensive drug with significant sedating properties, a drug Kifuji also prescribed to Rebecca’s older sister and brother. The goal of the Riley parents—obvious to many in their community and later to juries—was to attain psychiatric diagnoses for their children that would qualify them for disability payments and to sedate their children making them easy to manage.
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The Metastasis Of The Police State (Boston Edition)
Re your article on the DHS checkpoint- Here in Boston, the metastasis of the police state is in full bloom. Every night on my commute home out of Boston's Back Bay train station there are legions of militarized cops checking bags, scanning bags and walking their friendly German shepards right up to you.
Recently, however, I've noted two changes. First, they frequently have a blue shirted TSA Agent with them. And second, the police have gone from wearing blue uniforms, to black uniforms and are now almost all exclusively wearing green army fatigues. I'm not sure what the significance is other than to psychologically condition the cattle to accept another form of domination on their way to the slaughterhouse.
Source
Can Electric Cars Win Over Consumers In 2012?
Will 2012 be any better? Depends who you ask, but the general consensus in the first week of this year is probably not.
In a survey of global auto executives released Thursday by KPMG LLP, an audit, tax and advisory firm, nearly two thirds of respondents said plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars won't make a dent in car sales until at least 2025. By then E.V.'s could rise to 15 percent of total car sales, according to the most optimistic projections.
The main reason for the pessimism is low consumer demand. In the United States consumer interest is actually declining, according to Pike Research, which surveyed more than 1,000 Americans for a report published Thursday. Forty percent of respondents were "extremely" or "very" interested in buying an electric car in 2011, down from 44 percent in 2010 and 48 percent the year before.
The biggest deterrent, respondents said, is cost. The gas-electric Chevy Volt sells for roughly $40,000 and the all-electric Nissan Leaf starts around $35,000. By contrast, a fuel-efficient gas-powered compact car, like the Chevy Cruze, can cost half that.
Not everyone is pessimistic though. New models of E.V.'s are hitting showrooms, and that could be a sales catalyst, Rob Bailer of Leaf Clean Energy, a renewable energy and sustainable technology investment firm, told InsideClimate News. The all-electric Ford Focus rolled out in California, New York and New Jersey late last year, with 16 other states set to get the cars in the second quarter of 2012. Toyota's Prius Plug-in will be sold in 14 states in the first half of this year. California and Oregon residents will be able to buy the all-electric Honda Fit by summer.
"People are going to start to adopt more," Bailer predicted.
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Watch Yourselves, Moneybags: The IRS Says It It's Auditing More Of You Than Before
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The New York Times Is Lying About Iran's Nuclear Program
In an article attributed to Steven Erlanger on January 4 ("Europe Takes Bold Step Toward a Ban on Iranian Oil"), this paragraph appeared:
The threats from Iran, aimed both at the West and at Israel, combined with a recent assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran's nuclear program has a military objective, is becoming an important issue in the American presidential campaign. [my emphasis]
The claim that there is "a recent assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran's nuclear program has a military objective" is a lie.
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Microsoft Patents GPS Feature That Steers You Away From Slums
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The Year Of Voter Suppression
Voter suppression efforts take a variety of forms. Certainly there are the blatant efforts to legislatively restrict access to the franchise via legal barriers such as recent changes that require voter identification and documentation of citizenship, limit early and absentee voting, make voter registration more difficult and further restrict the voting rights of former felons. These tactics are favored by the right, and disproportionately impact communities of color particularly African Americans, Latino/as and American Indians. Recent research of felony disenfranchisement alone, for example, indicates thatfelony disenfranchisement and the over-representation by race has already and will continue to impact the outcome of both national and state-level elections. In all cases, Republicans benefit.
Voter suppression occurs in less direct ways as well, and again these tactics are primarily those of the right, but are occasionally stoked by the disaffected left. Examples here include relentlessly negative campaigning which reduces voter turn-out, thinly coded appeals to racial fears, and calls to sit out elections, or vote third party in protest.
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Salisbury Fire Department Leadership Changes
Mayor James Ireton, Jr. announced today the resignation of Chief Jeffrey Simpson of the Salisbury Fire Department. Deputy Chief Rick Hoppes will, again, assume the role of Acting Chief. Acting Chief Hoppes will begin serving on January 20, 2012.
In his short resignation letter Chief Simpson said, “Life circumstances are such that I am afforded the opportunity to pursue personal and professional interests and I kindly wish to take advantage of those opportunities at this time.”
During his tenure, Chief Simpson was able to secure the purchase of three new ambulances to replace three ambulances that were showing significant wear and tear.
The Chief also focused on developing recognition and training programs for the employees and volunteers in the department.
Businesses That Rip Off Poor People
Penis Tattoo Gives Guy Permanent Erection
He was left with a permanent semi-erection as a reminder of just how good the idea was.
His case raises a number of questions, not least whether the wish for good luck is directed to the penis or to the man, and if it’s to the penis, where, exactly, is it going? But, medically speaking, how could getting penis ink give make the organ go haywire?
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Records Fail To Disclose $235 Million In State Work Given To Officials’ Private Interests
GOVERNOR O’MALLEY SIGNS HISTORIC EXECUTIVE ORDERS OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZING INDIGINEOUS INDIAN TRIBES
“Within the heart of every individual, is a spirit that yearns to be recognized,” said Governor O’Malley. “Today is a day of recognition 380 years in the making. These Executive Orders formally reclaim for all of our children, and for generations to come, the human dignity, the common humanity, and the unity of spirit that we lacked the loving capacity to fully recognize seven generations ago.”
“I am of the belief that Governor O'Malley was our best hope to have the centuries of oppressive denial reversed. His values for civil and human rights, environmental recovery, cultural diversity, history, and community health are truly in accord with our perspectives,” said Billy Redwing Tayac, chief of the Piscataway Indian Nation. “This is righteousness in action. I would like to congratulate the Governor and the citizens of Maryland as well for making the choice to acknowledge the indigenous heritage and communities of our state.”
Recognizing the important contributions made by American Indians, the Maryland General Assembly enacted a law establishing a process under which an American Indian tribe, band, or clan could be formally recognized by the State. Any tribe that wishes to receive State recognition must submit a petition to the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs (MCIA). State law requires that petitioners must show through this documentation that the group has been identified as Native American from before 1790 until the present, part of a continuous Native American community from before 1790 until the present, and is indigenous to Maryland.
Through state recognition, over $17 million in potential funding sources may now become available to the State of Maryland and the Piscataway. The funding will be available in the areas of education, minority business contracting, housing and public health. Also through recognition, the MCIA will be able to assist in the acquisition of federal funding for the re-establishment of the Title VII Indian Education program in Southern Maryland.
“Gaining Maryland Indian Status has specific meaning to the Piscataway,” said Mervin Savoy, tribal chair of the Piscataway Conoy Confederacy and Sub-tribes. “Central to motivating our young people is the sense of identity and pride that will encourage and provide motivation to achieve. Education is the key that unlocks doors that have served to bar progress for our people for decades. Our work now begins to insure this opportunity is infused in our students and our young adults looking to incubate a business and those looking to further their education to make a better life for their families.”
According to 2010 U.S. Census data, there are 23,162 Native Americans living in Maryland and a total of 58,000 people who claim Native American ancestry and another ethnicity.
The MCIA coordinates programs and projects to further the cultural, educational, economic and social development of Maryland’s diverse Indian communities. The Commission also works to promote public awareness and appreciation of the rich contributions American Indians have made to life in Maryland.
Copies of the Executive Orders can be found here:
http://www.governor.maryland.gov/executiveorders/01.01.2012.01.pdf
http://www.governor.maryland.gov/executiveorders/01.01.2012.02.pdf
Grocery Bills Make Dining Out Appear Affordable
But some prices are jumping. Meat prices jumped more than 8 percent in 2011, the USDA estimated. Eggs were up about the same amount. Fats and oils? Up close to 9 percent.
The rising cost of some grocery items can make one see financial sense in becoming a vegan, even with fresh fruit and vegetables climbing about 4 to 4.5 percent.
Overall, the Consumer Price Index for all food went up last year between 3.25 and 3.75 percent, with the forecast for 2012 looking slightly less steep, between 2.5 and 3.5 percent.
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Doubts Surface as Police Sharply Increase Taser Use
Teen Gunned Down For Tennis Shoes: Mayor
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Hospice Turns Months-To-Live Patient Into Years Of Abusing Drugs
A patient was given what his doctor said was the highest Oxycontin and oxycodone prescription he could write. After being admitted to hospice 11 months later, seemingly with just months to live, his prescription was increased to 14 times the previous level. Years later, he left still alive and addicted to the narcotics.
Air Force To Buy 2,800 iPad 2 Tablets
Bird-Dogging The New Hampshire Candidates
But this is capitalism after globalization, and the textile jobs that Granite Staters once worked in these factories have long since gone to countries the labor and environmental protections of which are so poor America can't compete without major domestic degradation of the same. New inhabitants of the Merrimack's banks include Texas Instruments; Northeast Delta Dental Stadium; and DEKA, the tech and engineering company founded by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway and the portable dialysis machine, who bought the old mill cheaply with federal urban renewal funds.
So informs my guide, unemployed tech worker Peter MacLellan, who, a career ago, owned MacLellan News Agency. Spending public cash on corporate ventures is as much a trend here in Manchester as anywhere else, the Verizon Wireless Arena having been built on city funds allocated by referendum. Says MacLellan, "That doesn't make the city money either, but at least we voted for it."
Voting is about all New Hampshire gets attention for in the other 49 states - specifically its primary, the first in the nation, which is set to take place on Tuesday. Candidates' placards line medians and lawns on this side of the railroad tracks - "Romney - Believe in America" and "Newt 2012 - Rebuilding the America We Love." These constitute an 11th-hour effort on behalf of a field of candidates who showed up to campaign in New Hampshire so much later than usual that MacLellan is moved to remark, "I don't remember a primary season this lame. Ever."
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The Fed's Sleazy Idea Of "Transparency"
"The Federal Reserve is preparing to open its kimono a bit wider in order to offer more information to investors, in an effort 'to magnify the power of those actions by shaping the expectations of investors,' The New York Times explains. Reporting on some details from an internal meeting in December that were made public on Tuesday afternoon, Benyamin Appelbaum offers the broad strokes of the Fed's plans 'to publish a forecast of its own actions:
'The change in communications policy is part of a broader effort by the Fed’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, to improve public understanding of the central bank’s goals and methodology. …The Fed said that it would now publish information about the expectations held by members of that committee for the future path of monetary policy over the current year and the following two years'..." Keep reading here.
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As Home Prices Fall, More Borrowers Walk Away
Now, with the property worth roughly $60,000 less than the balance of their mortgage, Martin, 68, has been giving serious thought to just walking away, a process lenders call "strategic default."
"Guilt and morality are one side, and objective financial analysis are on the other side," Martin said. "They're coming to two opposite conclusions. I wonder how many other people are struggling with the same question."
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Greece Spends Bailout Cash On European Military Purchases
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BREAKING NEWS: Daley Stepping Down As Obama Chief Of Staff
From Fox News
Governor O'Malley Yet To Accept Responsibility For Stewart Debacle
If O'Malley was indeed clueless, as he claimed, then how come not one of the eight people in his office charged with overseeing appointments made him aware of the situation? Was it due to the fact that Mr. Stewart's qualifications did not matter because the appointment was made as a quid pro quo or, did the Governor's staff fail to properly vet Mr. Stewart?
Unless Governor O'Malley is willing to accept the blame for the failed Stewart appointment, the Maryland Republican Party thinks Governor O'Malley should fire the individuals within his administration who failed to conduct a proper investigation into Richard Stewart's background and qualifications.
David Ferguson, Executive Director of the Maryland Republican Party, commented by saying, "Is the single-most important appointment in the state for sale? Especially when the appointed one has no experience and no knowledge of drawing legislative districts. The Democrats continue to follow their version of the Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules."
Potentially Responsible Staffers:
Rick Abbruzzese, Director of Public Affairs
Matthew D. Gallagher, Chief of Staff
John D. Ratliff, Director of Policy
Joseph C. Bryce, Chief Legislative Officer
Colin Taylor, Research Manager & Speech Coordinator
Elizabeth F. Harris, Chief Legal Counsel
Jeanne D. Hitchcock, Esq, Secretary of Appointments
http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/08conoff/html/01govf.html#appointments
PUBLIC NOTICE
More On Federal Pay Increase
BREAKING NEWS: SALISBURY FIRE CHIEF QUITS
Chief Simpson has turned in his two week notice.
Hoppes takes trip to Canada at taxpayers expense to visit Fire Boat. This will come back and bite the SFD in a very big way.
Will Mayor Ireton start pushing for Hoppes to be the next Fire Chief, AGAIN? Stay tuned Folks, it's about to hit the fan and you read it here first on Salisbury News.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The City Council has scheduled an additional work session for Monday, January 9, 2012, following the conclusion of the Council’s 6:00 p.m. legislative meeting. The work session will be held in Council Chambers (Room 301 of the Government Office Building - 125 N. Division Street) for the purpose of discussing the city clerk selection process.
'Healthy' Diet Best For ADHD Kids
According to two researchers from Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, a relatively simple diet low in fats and high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is one of the best alternatives to drug therapy for ADHD. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements have also been shown to help in some controlled studies, they noted.
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ICE Wants To Train 7,000 Officers
U.S. Moves Toward Legal Action Against Swiss Bank: Sources
Why You Should Consider Advertising With Salisbury News
Hi Joe,
I was wondering if you wouldn't mind posting a special thank you from me to the community of Delmarva?
I want to thank everyone who downloaded a copy of my book, "When the Heart Falls", from the bottom of my heart! Your support means so much to me and I am truly grateful. When I decided to do this free promotion, I never expected to see the results that I have received so far. I was hoping for at least a couple hundred downloads, and that was setting the bar high. Much to my surprise, I have far exceeded that goal having received over 50,000 downloads in the US alone! My book is currently holding the #2 spot in Amazon's Top 100 Free Contemporary Romance and I'm hoping that I make it to that #1 spot by the end of the day:) My book has also received five 5 Star reviews! Thank you again Delmarva for supporting an unknown author and giving me a chance! And if you haven't had a chance to download your free copy you still have till midnight.
Thank you!
Kimberly Lewis
When the Heart Falls available for FREE download this week only (Jan 2-Jan 6) on Amazon.com.
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My Guantánamo Nightmare
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Source Fox News
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Iran Sentences U.S. 'Spy' To Death
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