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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Whitney Houston Dead at Age 48

Cause of death still unkown.

Female Teacher Gets Beat Up At WiHi By 9th Grader

Two students got into a fight at WiHi last Wednesday. The Teacher broke up the fight and then one of the students tackled the teacher to the ground and was repeatedly punching her in the stomach. She refused to go by ambulance to the Hospital but did eventually go to the Hospital. We are told she is on leave for two weeks.

How much longer will Fredericksen continue to sweep things like this under the rug? Hopefully this Teacher is OK and recovering.

BREAKING NEWS: Mitt Romney Wins Maine Caucuses

GOP hopeful Mitt Romney wins the Republican presidential Maine caucuses, as Ron Paul finishes second, Rick Santorum third and Newt Gingrich fourth.

From Fox News

Thank You For Your Comments


Over the past few days you have done one heck of a job keeping me busy, which is a great thing. As I stated last week, the ONLY way our local leaders are ever going to listen, the only way they are going to feel the immense pressure of "We the People" is through comments.

When you speak up and voice your opinion on different topics, our local leaders watch what is said on Salisbury News and over the past month, (I don't know if you're aware of this, or not) many of those leaders have been quite vocal about the articles and comments.

That being said, I thought I'd share the last three days worth of numbers.

Wednesday, 504 comments
Thursday, 300 comments
Friday, 410 comments

These are numbers our local MSM have never seen. I'm not talking about the DT's switching to Facebook either. I mean it when I say they have never seen this kind of volume of comments in ALL of the years they have been on line.

Together we will make a difference. Just remember that you finally have a source that isn't controlled by special interests. In order to remain respected by these leaders you truly need to participate and voice your opinion.

Wicomico County Elected School Board Legislation Sponsored in House and Senate

Finally - after several years of trying to find a resolution on how to go about getting our school board elected - a measure is at hand. Last night HB-966 and SB-99 was filed in the Maryland Legislature that might enable our County to finally allow our community to choose its leaders as opposed to special interest. It could not come at a better time as public pressure is mounting for close scrutiny of the entire educational establishment. Almost everything in the educational gambit is in play this year - (i.e. teachers pensions, elected school board, re-employment of the Superintendent, school budgets, school construction, firings, sexual harrassment, incest - you name it). In this authors humble opinion - this legislation is long, long, overdue.

Spare Change

Hi, My name Is Jakob and I am a Fifth Grade Student at Pittsville Elementary School. As many of you know One of my best buddies lost his home and everything in it to a fire that someone started. My friend Walker and his mom and dad were lucky that they got out of the house and didn't die. I had to do something to help my friend so I have decided to do a "Spare Change" fundraiser at my school. I will be asking all of my classmates to Spare some change and help our friend. If you dont know Walker he is really cool and a good friend, I know he would do this for me. He is just a kid and doesnt deserve this. I know not everyone can afford to donate dollars so I am asking that we put our spare change together and make dollars to help my friend replace some of the things he lost, like his sports stuff and games. I am making donation cans and will be putting them around. Thank you very much! If you would like to ask me questions please contact me at 443-523-0789 Jakob

C/O Jakob
7349 Market Street
Willards, Md
21874

It's Not Looking Good For Tom & Nikki McGuire Of Delmar, Maryland



Charging documents are claiming a minor was having sex with the step mother while Tom McGuire watched.

McGuire also admitted he caught the two having sex a few weeks ago, hence the domestic arrest.

You can count on additional charges against Tom McGuire in reference to the arson arrest a few weeks ago as well. I'm not at liberty to explain any further but just expect to hear more soon.

These two perverted people need to stay in jail and away from our communities. Some are saying Nikki cut and died her hair because she was going to run. The McGuire's absolutely knew this was coming. In recent weeks they sold their vehicles and had been seen loading furniture into an old pickup truck. Police wasted no time locking the two up before they hit the road.

It should be noted, Jonathan Taylor and Howard, (a Delmar Blogger) both endorsed these two to run for Mayor and Town Council.

Dog Found




Joe,


I was wondering if you could do a post for me. My boyfriend found a dog at the Goose Creek Gas Station in Mardela, Saturday Feb. 4th. It is a female beagle with a black collar with no tags, and has no micro chip. I contacted the Humane Society the following Tuesday when it opened and have not gotten any calls for a possible owner. At this point, I would just like to find her a nice home. I honestly would keep her, but I have 2 dogs and a cat already. She seems to be a little older and very docile. She knows how to sit and give you her paw and is already housed trained. She is very sweet and basically naps most of the day.


‘Occupy CPAC’ Protesters Paid $60

Protesters at Friday’s “Occupy CPAC” event, organized by AFL-CIO and the Occupy DC movement, told The Daily Caller that they were paid “sixty bucks a head” to protest outside the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.


One protester told TheDC that all the “Occupy” activists were being paid to protest, and that his union, Sheet Metal Workers Local 100, approached him about the money-making opportunity.


More info and video

PHASE TWO WESTSIDE COLLECTOR CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

The Department of Public Works (DPW) announced that construction is currently underway on Phase II of the Westside Collector project. This 0.6 mile-long phase of work will run from Brick Kiln Road to Levin Dashiell Road.

For safety purposes, the Department of Public Works has placed stop signs on Brick Kiln Road. In order to provide additional traffic situational awareness, travelers will also notice “Stop Ahead” advance traffic control signs and advisories on the county’s traffic message boards.

During construction, traffic impacts are expected to be kept to a minimum. This roadway construction project, aimed at relieving congestion on Nanticoke Road, will also include a new bike path. The Department of Public Works expects construction to be completed by the end of the year.

How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy


Jaroslav Flegr is no kook. And yet, for years, he suspected his mind had been taken over by parasites that had invaded his brain. So the prolific biologist took his science-fiction hunch into the lab.

What he’s now discovering will startle you. Could tiny organisms carried by house cats be creeping into our brains, causing everything from car wrecks to schizophrenia? A biologist’s science- fiction hunch is gaining credence and shaping the emerging science of mind- controlling parasites.

No one would accuse Jaroslav Flegr of being a conformist. A self-described “sloppy dresser,” the 63-year-old Czech scientist has the contemplative air of someone habitually lost in thought, and his still-youthful, square-jawed face is framed by frizzy red hair that encircles his head like a ring of fire.

Certainly Flegr’s thinking is jarringly unconventional. Starting in the early 1990s, he began to suspect that a single-celled parasite in the protozoan family was subtly manipulating his personality, causing him to behave in strange, often self-destructive ways. And if it was messing with his mind, he reasoned, it was probably doing the same to others.

The parasite, which is excreted by cats in their feces, is called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii or Toxo for short) and is the microbe that causes toxoplasmosis—the reason pregnant women are told to avoid cats’ litter boxes. Since the 1920s, doctors have recognized that a woman who becomes infected during pregnancy can transmit the disease to the fetus, in some cases resulting in severe brain damage or death. T. gondii is also a major threat to people with weakened immunity: in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, before good antiretroviral drugs were developed, it was to blame for the dementia that afflicted many patients at the disease’s end stage. Healthy children and adults, however, usually experience nothing worse than brief flu-like symptoms before quickly fighting off the protozoan, which thereafter lies dormant inside brain cells—or at least that’s the standard medical wisdom.

But if Flegr is right, the “latent” parasite may be quietly tweaking the connections between our neurons, changing our response to frightening situations, our trust in others, how outgoing we are, and even our preference for certain scents. And that’s not all. He also believes that the organism contributes to car crashes, suicides, and mental disorders such as schizophrenia. When you add up all the different ways it can harm us, says Flegr, “Toxoplasma might even kill as many people as malaria, or at least a million people a year.”

More here

Crowd Goes Wild For Santorum At CPAC

Rick Santorum gave one of the strongest speeches of his presidential campaign on Friday, repeatedly bringing a crowd of influential conservatives to its feet.

In his remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Santorum drew sharp contrasts between himself and both President Obama and Mitt Romney, although he didn't mention the former Massachusetts governor by name.

But he did attack Obama for his controversial mandate requiring religiously affiliated institutions to cover contraception — a move that infuriated conservatives.

“Government will own you because you will have to pay tribute to Washington in order to get the care you need for your children,” the former Pennsylvania senator said. “The major reason I’m in this race is because I believe ObamaCare is a game-changer for America.

“We've seen the president of the United States not only tell you what insurance coverage you should have, how much you’re going to pay, how much you’re going to be fined if you don’t, but now he's telling the Catholic Church that they are forced to pay for things that are against their basic tenets and teachings, against their First Amendment right,” he said, framing the issue not just as a religious one but one of personal freedom.

“This is the kind of coercion that we expect,” Santorum added. “It’s not about contraception. It's about economic liberty. It's about freedom of speech. It's about government coercion. It's about government control of your lives and it's got to stop!”

The audience roared to its feet — the standing ovation lasted a full 30 seconds.

The large banquet hall was at maximum capacity. Hundreds of people were stuck outside, leading to protestations as the crowd in the halls demanded to be let in to hear Santorum. Police had to tightly control the crowd in order to keep calm, blocking exits and forcing people out of doorframes as nervous volunteers looked on.

“A conservative, a liberal and a moderate walked into a bar. The bartender says, ‘Hi, Mitt!’ ” he joked in his introduction.

The line drew hearty laughs and applause with only scattered boos, indicating the former Massachusetts governor will likely have a hard sell with the crowd when he speaks later on Friday.

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Smithfield Foods Selects Pork In The Park For National Rib Competition


BBQ Festival Selected Amongst Top Three Nationwide

(Salisbury, MD)
The Pork in the Park BBQ Festival, sponsored by Wicomico County Recreation, Parks & Tourism, has been selected by Smithfield Foods to host the Smithfield Rib Shootout. To launch their new barbeque competition, Smithfield approached the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) and requested the top festivals in their major markets. Pork in the Park was amongst the top three in the nation and the only festival in the state of Maryland selected for this opportunity.

Pork in the Park will be the first barbeque festival to hold this new event. Hosting the Smithfield Rib Shootout will put Pork in the Park in the national spotlight, providing the festival with over 50 million traditional and social media impressions through local and national public relations efforts revolving around the event. Pork in the Park will also receive additional exposure on the barbeque circuit as KCBS competitors across the country will be notified of the event. In addition, Smithfield will provide additional prize money for the Grand Champion, Reserve Grand Champion and third place category winners at Pork in the Park.

Since its first year in 2003, the Pork in the Park BBQ Festival has grown in leaps and bounds with the support of the community, local businesses and sponsors. Now in its ninth year, the festival is recognized as the largest BBQ festival on the East Coast and second largest in the country. Recent events have attracted over 140 competitor teams and festival attendance exceeding 35,000. The Smithfield Rib Shootout is just one of the exciting new events Wicomico Tourism will to bring to Pork in the Park 2012.

The Pork in the Park BBQ Festival is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and presented by Gateway Subaru. This year’s festival will take place April 20-22 at WinterPlace Park in Salisbury. For more information about Pork in the Park, visit www.PorkinthePark.org. To learn more about Wicomico County Tourism and their other special events, visit www.WicomicoTourism.org.

Foreclosures To Climb Before Bank Deal Helps U.S. Housing Market

The $25 billion settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses may result in a wave of home seizures, inflicting short-term pain on delinquent U.S. borrowers while making a long-term housing recovery more likely.

Lenders slowed the pace of foreclosures as they negotiated with attorneys general in all 50 states for more than a year over allegations of faulty and fraudulent paperwork used to repossess homes. With yesterday’s agreement, banks are likely to resume property seizures.

“The best thing about the settlement, frankly, is that it will be done,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist for Seattle-based Zillow Inc., a provider of home-sales data. “The shadow of the settlement hung over the market for a year now.”

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Heroes

I know a man. Call him Eddie. He’s African American, going on about 63. When he was a boy he had no real home or much education, so when he was eighteen he took the only option available to him. He joined the military. That was 1967.

He must have been a hell of a soldier. He ended up in the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. (One of the toughest outfits around.)

In February of 1968 he fought in the battle of Hue during the Tet offensive. He was in non-stop firefights for three weeks. He said half his platoon were killed or wounded. He told me about the time he held onto a fellow soldier, while he bled to death from a sniper round through the throat.

After the Tet Offensive his tour was up, but for some stupid reason (probably a few thousand dollars) he did a second tour. In April of 1968 he went back “up country” with the 1st Cav. This time he fought in the A Shau Valley. (This was referred to at the “Valley of Death". The fighting was as bad as any combat in history). He once talked of the time that he spent a night in a bomb crater with two dead comrades while the Viet Cong were shooting AK47s with green tracers over his head. He also talked about killing his enemy in hand-to-hand combat. His buddies did the same. For some reason, Eddie walked away from it.

But he was a broken man. He has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He has never been able to function properly. He is afraid of everything. On the Fourth of July he has to be sedated. He’s terrified by the noise of the fireworks.

The Army never questioned that he was damaged goods, and that it was his time in battle that was responsible. They gave him antidepressants; after a while he got a half disability pension. Life was just a struggle. Eight years ago I banged on a bunch of doors and helped him get a full disability pension. He’s okay these days, sort of.

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CHARLES HUGH SMITH CONFIRMS WHY MY COMMUTE IS GETTING BETTER

I love the blogosphere. Once you figure out who the truth tellers are, it is easy to stay a few steps ahead of the ignorant masses. I’ve been telling people for the last three months that the number of cars and trucks on the road every day has fallen dramatically. I rarely experience traffic jams going home at night. I’ve seen my commute time reduced by 20%. Last week Mish put out some startling gasoline usage data and today Charles Hugh Smith carries the ball across the goal line with a detailed analysis of the phenomenon. I agree with his conclusion. There are less people working and businesses are having less goods delivered. Businesses are slowing down. Consumers are operating on fumes. This debt racked mess of an economy is grinding to a halt. The Baltic Dry Index confirms this conclusion, as it has collapsed. Europe is in full blown crisis and isn’t buying nearly as much crap from China or the U.S.

So there is a silver lining to this devastation. The Administrator has a better commute. I can’t wait for the full blown Depression. I’ll be able to get home from work in 35 minutes.

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OBAMA'S CONTRACEPTIVE MANDATE

Bachus Under Investigation For Insider Trading - What About Nancy?

Yesterday the Washington Post reported that House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus (Ala.) is under investigation for possible insider-trading violations.

The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee over possible violations of insider-trading laws, according to individuals familiar with the case.

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who holds one of the most influential positions in the House, has been a frequent trader on Capitol Hill, buying stock options while overseeing the nation’s banking and financial services industries.

There can be no doubt that part of the impetus for this investigation was the 60 minutes investigation into Congressional insider trading and the book on soft corruption "Throw Them All Out" by Peter Schweizer.

One can’t help but wonder how Nancy Pelosi escaped a similar ethics investigation?

Three years ago, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, made Hillary Rodham Clinton’s success with cattle futures look like a child’s lemonade stand. The credit card giant Visa was holding an initial public offering, among the most lucrative ever seen. The Pelosis were granted early access to the IPO as “special customers” who received their shares at the opening price, $44. The lucky investors turned in a 50 percent profit in just two days.

Starting on March 18, the speaker and her husband made

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The Daily Times - Flush Tax - 7 Days Late & A Dollar Short

The Daily Times feature article today, 'Is 7 Days Late & A Dollar Short'.
SBYnews covered this event over a week ago and gave a blow-by-blow description of the associated private & municipal costs.

Thank You SBYnews for reporting this information so quickly - if the reporting was up left to The Daily Times - the legislation would have already been enacted - and then the people would be reading about it.

HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 2-11-12

Fairs, Carnivals, etc.



It seems that there has always been some sort of summer entertainment from out of town. The Salisbury Fair was begun in 1911 along with the first Wicomico County Fair. I can imagine the Salisbury Fair was held downtown and I know the Wicomico County Fair was held on the old Fairgrounds on Parsons Road. The Fairgrounds were on the southeast corner of Pemberton and Parsons Road. They had food, exhibits and many horse races. There was an admission to the Fair and it was $.25 for adults and $.15 for children under 12. You also had to pay $.25 if you brought a horse and carriage or automobile on the premises.

The Wicomico County Fair is still with us although the horse races are not. There are still a lot of exhibits and the animals the children of the area have raised are well worth seeing. The women also put out some mighty fine examples of flower growing, canning and baking.

Other forms of out of town entertainment came with the many traveling carnivals that set up at many different locations. I remember going to my first one when all the land across from the present East Salisbury School was empty. The midway was set up and there were many rides. My mother took me on the Ferris wheel and I remember rocking the car as it was stopped at the top, scaring my mother half to death. At the time I thought it was great fun. They also had a game on the midway that was a bowling ball that you tried to hit on the back swing of a ball suspended by a chain. I couldn’t hit that pin for anything and lost most of my money. I’m sure everyone remembers that the “prizes”, if you won, were usually some sort of plaster of Paris junk or some sort of worthless merchandise, but you “won”.

Another carnival was set up where the old Northwood bar was located. I only remember that being there a year or two. They also had a “girlie” show to provide entertainment for lecherous old men (and a few curious younger men). The next one I remember was where the old Mall parking lot was across the street from where the Civic Center is now. I vividly remember one exhibit they had – the Viking Giant. He was advertised as being 9 feet tall although that is taller than the tallest man who ever lived. He looked 9 feet tall to little ol’me. He had this ring that he took off and he could drop a 50 cent piece through it. He sold plastic replicas of the ring for 50 cents and did quite well.

The Salisbury Fair of today is reminiscent of the Fairs of days gone by and could probably be just as much fun. There are rides, plenty of food and the companionship of many people just enjoying themselves. Go and bring back some of the feeling of yesteryear.

Will Iran Be Attacked?

Washington has made tremendous preparations for a military assault on Iran. There is speculation that Washington has called off its two longest running wars – Iraq and Afghanistan – in order to deploy forces against Iran. Two of Washington’s fleets have been assigned to the Persian Gulf along with NATO warships. Missiles have been spread amongst Washington’s Oil Emirate and Middle Eastern puppet states. US troops have been deployed in Israel and Kuwait.

Washington has presented Israel a gift from the hard-pressed american taxpayers of an expensive missile defense system, money spent for Israel when millions of unassisted americans have lost their homes. As no one expects Iran to attack Israel, except in retaliation for an Israeli attack on Iran, the purpose of the missile defense system is to protect Israel from an Iranian response to Israeli aggression against Iran.

Juan Cole has posted on his blog a map showing 44 US military bases surrounding Iran.

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You Didn't Think It Would End With Seat Belts. . . Right?

Mandatory buckle-up laws set the precedent: Even your own body in your own car is no longer your own personal space.

Here’s how it works: The government decides that whatever it is you’re doing is “unsafe” – not specifically in your case, just generally – maybe, might be, could be – then asserts the legal authority to criminalize whatever it is you’re doing. Which means, it asserts the right to arrest you at gunpoint and threaten you implicitly and perhaps explicitly with lethal violence in order to force you to submit and obey. That is, to comply with the order. Failure to do so being sufficient provocation for the unleashing of escalating levels of violent over-reaction. All the way to the end point of shooting you, if need be.

Now they’re coming for your cigarettes.

A study just released by the CDC (see here) characterizes second-hand smoke as the latest threat to “safety” – and of course, “the children.” It urges what you’d expect: That it be made illegal to smoke in your own car, at least, if “the children” are present and possibly even if they’re not. For as any smoker knows – as anyone who has shopped for used cars knows – any car that has been smoked in retains the essence of the Marlboro Man for years, even decades after the last butt was crumpled in the ashtray. There is no way to objectively tell whether a car was smoked in last week – or 10 minutes ago. Hence, it is likely that any evidence of smoking – ever – will presently become sufficient excuse for the police to issue tickets, stop people at gunpoint and perhaps even confiscate their vehicles (as is routinely done when another form of smoke is discovered).

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How Professor Steven Jones Became A Conspiracy Theorist

For most of his career, Steven Jones, a Brigham Young University physics professor, was known mainly for his work on muon-catalyzed fusion. He conducted his Ph.D. research at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (from 1974 to 1977), and post-doctoral research at Cornell University and the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility.

In the fall of 2006, amid controversy surrounding his work on the collapse of the World Trade Center, he was relieved of his teaching duties and placed on paid leave from BYU. He retired on October 20, 2006 with the status of Professor Emeritus.

In the clip below, he talks about how he became a conspiracy theorist and what happened to his career.

Rep. Spencer Bachus Faces Insider-Trading Investigation

The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee over possible violations of insider-trading laws, according to individuals familiar with the case.

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who holds one of the most influential positions in the House, has been a frequent trader on Capitol Hill, buying stock options while overseeing the nation’s banking and financial services industries.

The Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent investigative agency, opened its probe late last year after focusing on numerous suspicious trades on Bachus’s annual financial disclosure forms, the individuals.

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Rick Santorum's Mad Obsession With Iran

According to Foreign Policy, he has written 40 articles on Iran and has concluded:
There may be no better window into Santorum's views on Iran than his writings as a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) -- a position he held between losing his Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2006 and entering the presidential race in June 2011. He joined the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, which aims to apply the "Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy," back in 2007 to establish and direct the "America's Enemies" program -- an initiative that, unlike America's adversaries, folded after Santorum's departure, according to the EPPC. And, for Santorum, Iran was Public Enemy No. 1. "I know that I'm not the foremost scholar in the world, but I can offer a lot of ideas," he told National Review as he settled in at the think tank.

So, just what were those ideas, and how do they compare to Santorum's rhetoric on the campaign trail today? Under the disquieting rubric "The Gathering Storm," Santorum penned roughly 40 articles on Iran during his EPPC stint...

Here's a look at some of what Santorum had to say on the subject...

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Ex Shell CEO: Get Ready For $5 Gas This Year

John Hofmeister, the former CEO of Shell Oil’s U.S. operations, is warning that there is a “better than 50 percent chance” the price of gas will spike on continued heavy demand in emerging markets.

He also sees West Texas crude prices touching “the midteens to $120 a barrel some time this year.” West Texas currently trades just under $100 per barrel.

Price inflation is about to accelerate because of Ben Bernanke money printing and oil will lead the way.

MF GLOBAL - CRIME OF THE CENTURY

I did predict something like this would happen in about the second week of the scandal, didn’t I?Did you ever imagine that in America a major brokerage firm would blazenly steal over a billion dollars in customer funds and assets, and that no one would even be prosecuted?

And that the financiers would use the courts to just keep the money, and basically tell the broker’s customers to eat shit?

The money? Oh no, that’s just vaporized. Just a freak accident, practically an act of God. Very mysterious, but could not happen again. Protection? Sorry don’t know anything about that.

No one knows anything. Except that the financial system can’t be trusted, and that nothing in it is safe. But they are afraid to admit it.

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