They Have Begun Impeachment Proceedings Against Obama

Joe,

Bastiat Institute
Rep. Walter Jones introduces House Concurrent Resolution 107, in order to begin impeachment process of Barack Obama. Reason: use of offensive military force by a President without prior and clear authorization. What do you think?

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hconres107ih/pdf/BILLS-112hconres107ih.pdf
Bill Text - 112th Congress (2011-2012) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
thomas.loc.gov

This is the first part of the short document:

112TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 107
Expressing the sense of Congress that the use of offensive military force by a President without prior and clear authorization of an Act of Congress constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 7, 2012
Mr. JONES submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

New Posts to fall below.

America's Divorce

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, regressive, Marxists, and Obama supporters, et. al.:

We have stuck together since the late 1950s for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.

Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

1. Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by land mass, each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy. Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides had such distinct and disparate tastes.

2. We don't like redistributive taxes, so you can keep them.

3. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.

4. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA, and the military.

5. We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar, and bio-diesel.

6. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore, and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.

7. We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart, and Wall Street.

8. You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless homeboys, hippies, druggies, and illegal aliens.

9. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks.

10. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

11. You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.

12. You can have the peace-niks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

13. We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.

14. You are welcome to Islam,Humanism, political correctness, and Shirley McLain. You can also have the U.N., but we will no longer be paying the bill.

15. We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks, and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

16. You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors..

17. We'll continue to believe healthcare is an earned luxury and not a right.

18. We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."

19. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine", "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "Kum Ba Ya," or "We Are the World".

20. We'll practice trickledown economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.

21. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our constitution and our flag.

22. Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,
John J. Wall
Law Student and an American

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office Files A Motion for Stay In The Woollard Case!

GO HERE to read the motion.

Busting One Myth Behind The Unemployment Rate

As the economy improves, an abundance of unemployed people once frustrated by the depressed job market will jump back into the hunt all at once, causing the unemployment rate to rise, right?

Not necessarily.

That scenario is a myth, says Barclays (BCS: 15.08, -0.29, -1.89%), which predicts the unemployment rate will actually continue to recede despite an influx of new job hunters.

Sure, many workers saw fewer job opportunities, became discouraged and exited the labor market, causing labor participation rates over the last few years to fall. But a large number of people who have exited the job market were baby boomers retiring for good, meaning fewer people will be fighting for new positions as the economy heals.

Barclays expects the unemployment rate will fall below the Federal Open Market Committee’s 2012 and 2013 projections or 8.2% to 8.5%, and 7.4% to 8.1%, respectively. Goldman Sachs (GS: 117.33, +0.16, +0.14%) predicts it will drift slightly lower this year, ending 2012 at 8.2%.

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Colleges Find Ways To Foil Pro-Gun Rulings

Courts are ruling in favor of allowing those with concealed-carry permits to bring their handguns on campus, but universities are figuring out ways to keep the guns out.

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Va. Senate Kills McDonnell-Backed Teacher Tenure Bill

A significant piece of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s 2012 education agenda died at the hands of the Virginia Senate Thursday as the body voted 23-17 to send a bill that would make it easier to fire new teachers and principals back to committee, killing it for the year.

Teachers spend three years on probationary status and then are eligible for continuing contracts, more commonly referred to as tenure. The bill from Delegate Richard P. “Dickie” Bell, Staunton Republican, would increase the probationary period to five years for new teachers and principals starting in the 2013-14 school year, after which they would be eligible for three-year term contracts.

In a statement, Mr. McDonnell said the Thursday vote was a “delay, not a defeat,” and that his office would continue to strongly advocate for the legislation in the future.

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More Would Share Pain Of Maryland Tax Increase

Senate panel reworks governor’s plan

ANNAPOLIS — A Senate committee agreed Thursday to rework Gov. Martin O'Malley’s proposed budget, installing an alternative set of tax hikes and a more gradual shift in teacher-pension costs while avoiding any additional spending cuts.

The spending plan by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee would rely on an across-the-board income-tax increase rather than the Democratic governor’s targeted hikes on the top 20 percent of earners to help balance the budget and trim more than half of the state’s $1.1-billion structural deficit.

Committee members also rejected Mr. O'Malley’s plan to immediately push $239 million in pension costs onto counties, instead phasing in a shift over four years. They also are requiring more education funding from counties but allowing them to foot the bill by raising local income-tax rates above their current caps.

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WE WILL NOT BE SILENT

On 22 February 1943, Scholl, her brother Hans and their friend Christoph Probst were found guilty of treason and condemned to death. They were all beheaded by executioner Johann Reichhart in Munich’s Stadelheim Prison only a few hours later, at 17:00 hrs. The execution was supervised by Walter Roemer, the enforcement chief of the Munich district court. Prison officials, in later describing the scene, emphasized the courage with which she walked to her execution. Her last words were:

“How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to offer themselves up individually for a righteous cause?

Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go.”

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Seven Reasons Why Newt Won’t Quit

In the wake of the Super Tuesday results that saw Newt Gingrich get beaten badly in every state but Georgia, more conservatives are talking about the necessity of the former House speaker dropping out of the presidential race if Mitt Romney is to be prevented from becoming the Republican nominee. Because Rick Santorum’s support was a multiple of his in every state but Georgia, the argument goes that it is incumbent on Gingrich to withdraw and allow Santorum to face Romney in a one-on-one battle in which the more conservative Pennsylvanian might be favored to win. Indeed, it can be argued that Gingrich’s presence on the ballot was the only reason why Santorum lost narrowly in both Michigan and Ohio in the last two weeks. If the sole object of conservatives is to nominate someone other than Romney, then Gingrich’s withdrawal appears to be not only logical but an imperative. However, the assumption that Gingrich will bow to these arguments ignores everything we know about him. Here are seven reasons why Newt isn’t likely to heed the call to withdraw:

1. He’s still holding on to hope of winning in other southern states. Gingrich’s camp is claiming he lost Tennessee because he’s concentrating on winning Alabama and Mississippi next week. But we were also told he was passing on some February contests to concentrate on Ohio where he turned out to be a non-factor this week. If there are any states where Gingrich does have a chance, it is in the Deep South, but given Santorum’s strength among evangelicals, the odds of him prevailing in either or both are dwindling. After another round of defeats, this excuse won’t hold much water.

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Will Home Prices Fall 20% More?

Despite some encouraging signs, there's ample reason to believe the housing market will take another hit as banks resume foreclosures.

Ask the average guy on the street about things like European Central Bank support for Greece or the intricacies of the deficit debate in Washington, and watch his eyes glaze over.

You might hear something like "those euro-socialists deserve it" or "politicians can't get anything done" -- but the topic will quickly shift to something more aligned to the national interest. Even if it's the Rush Limbaugh contraceptives furor.

For most Americans, there are only two economic data points that matter: the unemployment rate and the strength of the housing market. Both have been showing signs of life, with the jobless rate dropping to 8.3% while home sales, builder confidence and home inventory-for-sale have all improved.

Time to pop the confetti and buy a few Miami condos?

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Caption This Photo 3-10-12

What Is "Pink Slime" And Why Is It In 70% Of Supermarket Ground Beef?

Earlier this year, McDonald's made headlines when it said it would stop using ammonia-treated beef trimmings lovingly known as "pink slime" in its burgers. Now the former USDA scientist who coined the phrase is speaking out against the widespread use of the stuff — not because it's unsafe, but because he feels like consumers are being deceived into paying for cheap filler.

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Santorum Wins Kansas GOP Caucuses

Rick Santorum projected winner of Kansas Republican presidential caucuses.

Join Us March 14 For Our Annual Stakeholders Meeting

Coke Clarifies That It Is Not Changing Its Recipe In Wake Of Study

Quit your whining, Coca-Cola aficionados — the company is not changing its recipe for Coke after a consumer group study claimed the caramel color they use causes cancer. While they're disputing the study, they are also clarifying that they're just asking caramel suppliers to modify their processes in making the color.

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An American Auto Bailout – For France?

Attention U.S. taxpayers: You now own a piece of a French car company that is drowning in red ink.

That’s right. In a move little noticed outside of the business pages, General Motors last week bought more than $400 million in shares of PSA Peugeot Citroen – a 7 percent stake in the company.

Because U.S. taxpayers still own roughly one-quarter of GM, they now own a piece of Peugeot.

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Bloggers: TSA "Strongly Cautions" Against Writing About Security Loophole

It seems the TSA isn't so happy about the dissemination of a blogger's contention that you can sneak dangerous stuff through security by placing it along the side of your body. The blogger says reporters complained that the TSA tried to get them not to write about the story.

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Georgia Senate OKs Drug Tests For Welfare Applicants

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Adults applying for welfare in Georgia would have to pass a drug test before receiving benefits under a bill approved by the state Senate late on Wednesday.

The legislation, called the Social Responsibility and Accountability Act, is designed to ensure that welfare payments, called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, are not diverted to illicit drug use."

The legislation, which now goes to the Georgia House, would not affect welfare payments to children. Under the bill, if a parent failed a drug test, children could still receive payments through another person designated by the state.

Two states, Michigan and Florida, have adopted similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Michigan Court of Appeals in 2003 ruled that state's law unconstitutional. Florida's law has been temporarily blocked by a federal lawsuit.

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Obama Signs Anti-Protest Trespass Bill

Only days after clearing Congress, US President Barack Obama signed his name to H.R. 347 on Thursday, officially making it a federal offense to cause a disturbance at certain political events — essentially criminalizing protest in the States.

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FTC Being Evicted

Federal Trade Commission members objected to a plan to force the agency out of its historic building. The four members, two from each party, wrote to John Mica, chairman of the House committee on transportation and infrastructure, calling the plan a $100 million giveaway. Mica wants to move the FTC to leased space and the National Gallery of Art into the FTC building. FTC Commissioner Jon Liebovitz said it would be the first time an agency was evicted from a federally-owned building that suits it. The structure at 600 Pennsylvania Ave. was built during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration specifically for the FTC.

No Brainer Liberals Resist Because They’re Idiots #528: Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients

You don’t have a right to food stamps, welfare, or any other program in our social safety net. However, because we’re a forgiving and compassionate society, we’ve chosen to put programs in place to help those who’re having a tough time. Of course, if you’re going to ask people who are working for a living to pay other people’s bills, then they have a right to demand that their money is well spent. Their money shouldn’t be given to people who are just lazy or who are going to waste the money. That’s why limiting the amount of time people can be on welfare during their life makes sense. You don’t want people turning welfare into a lifestyle. It’s why making people work to get their welfare makes sense — because if people are working, they have the opportunity to improve work skills and at least prove that they’re not lazy.

It’s also why this makes sense.

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Delegate Mike McDermott Press Release: HB366

HB366: “We should allow the counties to choose their own regulations.”

Today, Delegate Michael A. McDermott proposed amendments to HB 366- Public Safety - Building Performance Standards - Automatic Fire Sprinkler, a bill which would prohibit Maryland counties from adopting local amendments that would “weaken fire and life safety provisions” in the Maryland Building Performance Standards. This bill would also require that all newly constructed residential homes be equipped with sprinkler systems.

“Sixteen of our counties want to opt out of this bill... This isn’t about fire safety because many of these counties that want to opt out of this bill have already adopted ordinances that address this issue. This is about the sovereignty of the counties we represent and their ability to tailor legislation to address the specific issues that affect their own towns and their own neighborhoods. It’s not about fire suppression, it’s not about fire codes - because there are really good reasons for why these counties have chosen another path.” stated Delegate McDermott when discussing his amendment on the House Floor.

“Many counties have modified their own regulations because of the building codes. We all want safe buildings and no one is standing in the one way of fire suppression codes - but developers in rural Maryland are suffering. The people in rural Maryland want to manage their own trades and their own regulations when it comes to building, safety, and fire codes.” continued Delegate McDermott.

Delegate McDermott’s amendment that would have allowed fifteen counties to opt out of this bill failed with a 48-80 vote. “Once again, we see the tyranny of the majority - and it represents a failure, when a minority number of counties dictate to a majority of the counties how they choose to live.” responded Delegate McDermott.

Federal Workers Offered Part Time Work Before Retirement

The Senate passed a provision to let federal workers go part time as they near retirement. The reduced pay would help offset rural development costs contained in the Surface Transportation Bill. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) offered the amendment, which passed 82 to 16. The amendment drew the ire of two federal employee unions. The National Treasury Employees Union said it supported phased retirements, but objected to having the savings used in a way that doesn't benefit federal employees. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) opposed the amendment, saying the Senate is using federal employees as a piggy bank.

State Police Investigate Officer Involved Shooting (Laurel PD)

Location:
Hollybrook Apartments, Laurel, DE

Date of Occurrence:
Friday, March 9, 2012 at 10:35 p.m.

Suspect:
Black male, unknown age, 5’10”-6’0” tall, thin to stocky build. No further description.

Resume:

Laurel-Delaware State Police Detectives have been requested by the Laurel Police Department to investigate an officer involved shooting that occurred last night in Laurel, DE.

The following information outlines the initial investigation into the officer involved shooting involving a stolen vehicle that occurred last evening.

The incident occurred on Friday, March 9, 2012 at approximately 10:35 p.m. as a Laurel Police Officer on routine patrol in the area of Little Creek Apartments, Laurel, attempted to conduct a vehicle stop on a Chevrolet Suburban for a traffic violation. As the Laurel Police Officer in an unmarked patrol vehicle activated the emergency equipment to conduct the vehicle stop, the Suburban’s driver disregarded the attempt and fled and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The Suburban continued to flee and entered the Hollybrook Apartments from Discount Land Road and left the roadway, circling an apartment building and traveling along the edge of a storm water retention pond before returning back to the entrance roadway of the Hollybrook Apartments, where the Laurel Police Officer had stopped and positioned his vehicle. After reentering the roadway, the driver of the Suburban drove directly at the officer’s vehicle with the officer seated inside. The Suburban rammed the patrol vehicle in a head on collision. After the impact the officer exited his patrol vehicle and began to give the operator verbal commands. The driver reversed away and then accelerated forward directly towards the officer. The Laurel Police Officer discharged several rounds from his department issued weapon striking the front and passenger side of the Suburban multiple times. The Suburban continued forward driving around the officer, continuing across Discount Land Road into a field. The Suburban collided with a tree and fence adjacent to Carvel Garden Apartments, coming to a stop. The driver and passenger abandoned the stolen vehicle and fled on foot under a fence into the Carvel Garden Apartments. The passenger of the stolen vehicle was apprehended after a brief foot pursuit in Carvel Gardens. The driver of the stolen vehicle was not located.

The Chevrolet Suburban was reported stolen from New Jersey (no further details on the vehicle theft are available at the time of this release).

The Laurel Police Officer was not injured during this incident.

The passenger of the suburban was not injured and it is not believed that the driver was struck by the officer’s discharged rounds. The passenger has not been charged with any crimes at the time of this release pending further investigation.

The Laurel Police Officer involved in this incident is a 10 year veteran of the Laurel Police Department. He has been placed on administrative duty as per departmental policy, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene and are conducting the investigation at the request of the Laurel Police Department. This is an active investigation with detectives continuing their investigation, evidence processing, and interviews today.

If anyone has any information in reference to this incident or can identify the fleeing driver of the Suburban, are asked to contact the Sergeant Millard Greer of the State Police Homicide Unit at 302-922-0190 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333. Information may also be provided via the internet at www.tipsubmit.com

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

Obama Bails Out Irresponsible Housing Speculators

At the peak of the housing bubble, a number of reality shows appeared on cable television that featured real-estate speculators who bought distressed properties and made enough improvements to sell them quickly at a sharp profit.

Called “flipping,” the entertainment industry glamorized the quick-profit practice that helped fuel a spectacular rise in housing values – and made the crash worse than it otherwise might have been. Flipping has since become a reviled practice, a symptom of an irrational and irresponsible market, not to mention the negative political connotations of speculators in general as gas prices rise rapidly yet again.

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Preppers View - Advantage Arms .22 Glock conversion review

Understanding that prepping and the training that goes along with it can be expensive, I thought it would be prudent to do articles and reviews on products we can buy that will actually save us money in the long run and help us prepare more effectively.

This time we will evaluate the Advantage Arms .22 caliber conversion kit for the Glock 21. It's no secret that the Glock 21 in .45 caliber is a reliable combat weapon but it is extremely expensive to shoot. $20.00 or more for a box of 50 rounds (50 rounds can be used in a few minutes). Oh, you can buy a reloader for about $300.00 and then spend more on primers, powder, bullets, a tumbler, scales, etc., to produce safe, consistent .45 caliber reloads, or you can spend $275.00 on an Advantage Arms .22 caliber conversion kit. The kit includes a replacement slide, barrel, magazine, and cleaning kit. It assembles in exactly the same way the original parts assemble after cleaning and it can be ordered through the mail without all the traditional background checks and waiting periods normally associated with the purchase of a complete handgun. Once you pay the initial $275.00 you remove the .45 cal. magazine, barrel, slide and buffer spring, replace it with those from the conversion kit and the training begins - so do the savings. If your anything like me, you will shoot 250 to 300 rounds each time you go to the range. Thats at least $120 in .45 ammo. Since .22 ammo can be purchased for less than $20.00 for 525 rounds it's easy to see that the initial investment can be recouped with the first two trips to the range.

We found the Advantage Arms kit to be as reliable as it was fun (and cheap) to shoot. It was accurate at distances normally associated with pistol combat, and didn't cause the fatigue that some experience with heavier, large caliber pistols. It was also noticibly easier to get past the anticipation of recoil blamed for most instances where the trigger is pulled quickly rather than squeezed. Shooting scores will undoubtedly go up for those who take advantage of this valuable training tool. The fit and finish of this product is first rate. Machining marks are minimal and it fit as well as those coming directly from Glock. Shipping took 3 days from the date of order and it came with it's own storage case. An outstanding product overall and one that we recommend.

China Sending Counterfeit IDs To US

China is sending a flood of counterfeit IDs to the United States, creating havoc for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. NextGov reported the IDs include drivers licenses, Social Security numbers and fake identity papers. ICE Director John Morton told a congressional committee the phony IDs can be downloaded from the Internet. ICE is seeking more money in 2013 for cyber forensics and information sharing with the Justice Department.

Obama Unveils "Clean" Vehicle Initiative

Mount Holly, North Carolina - Mixing politics with policy, President Barack Obama returned to North Carolina on Wednesday to step up his wooing of this key election-year swing state and to propose new federal incentives to spur "clean energy" vehicles.

In a spirited speech at the Daimler Trucks manufacturing plant - a rare union shop in right-to-work North Carolina - Obama announced a $1 billion challenge to communities that, he said, could eventually reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and consumers' exposure to sticker-shock prices at the gas pump.

Those willing to shift to more energy-efficient vehicles, the president said, would be rewarded with bigger tax breaks of up to $10,000 as well as other federal assistance.

"To cities and towns all across the country, what we're going to say is: If you make a commitment to buy more advanced vehicles for your community - whether they run on electricity or biofuels or natural gas - we'll help you cut through the red tape and build fueling stations nearby," he told a crowd that included 450 of the Daimler plant's 1,450 employees.

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No Pay If You Owe Back Taxes

Two senators said the Pentagon should garnish payments to contractors who owe back taxes. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta this week that said servicemembers who owe back taxes already can have their wages garnished. They said the same rules should apply to contractors. Their concern was sparked by a recent media report that DoD had awarded a $20 million information operations contract to a vendor whose owners owed $4.5 million in delinquent taxes.

Forced Ultrasound, "Informed Consent," and Women's Health In Texas: The Sad State Of The State

Last month, when news spread that Virginia legislators were considering a forced trans-vaginal ultrasound bill, the uproar was loud, clear and immediate: women would never stand for this invasive and unnecessary law. Politicos and pop-culture icons alike spoke out against the Republican-led legislation. What kind of world are we living in, reasonable people wondered, when "informed consent" is tantamount to state-sanctioned rape?

Here's what kind of world: the kind wherein a mandatory ultrasound law scads worse than the proposed Virginia bill has already been in place for five months. In Texas.

"Texas has the most extreme law that's being enforced right now," says the Center For Reproductive Rights' Julie Rikelman, the lead attorney on the CRR's lawsuit filed against the Texas legislation. Despite the sympathetic leanings of a federal district judge who initially ruled on the case, the suit has more or less been stalled by a vehemently anti-choice Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied the CRR's requested injunction against enforcement last month. Now, that means that all aspects of the law--mandated ultrasounds, 24-hour waiting periods, and forced speech--are now in full force in Texas.

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Grave Marker Update

Veterans Affairs said it would change contractor procedures to prevent grave markers from being moved to the wrong spots. Undersecretary Steve Muro outlined the changes to members of Congress. Contractors would be told to leave stones nearby when renovating gravesites, and VA staff would conduct daily inspections. VA has found 249 mismarked graves among the 1.5 million it's inspected. Most mistakes occurred at San Francisco National Cemetery and Golden Gate National Cemetery in California

Justice Department Warns Apple, E-Book Publishers: We'll Sue You

The U.S. Justice Department is inching closer to legal action against Apple and five e-book publishers who are reportedly pricing books under an "agency model" that isn't the greatest for consumers. The government is threatening to take legal action if the issue isn't resolved soon.

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HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 3-10-12

Youthful Memories

How many of us have heard the children of today say they are bored? I guess the same boredom was around 50 years ago, but I don’t remember it. It seemed like there was always something to do, or learn how to do something better. We used to play baseball every day on a sand lot where the Post Office is now on Route 50. I can’t ever remember anyone hitting a home run every time they came to bat. So there was room for improvement. We would grab our gloves, bats and balls and head out to the field early in the morning and just play ball all day. I don’t even remember going home for lunch, even though I only lived two blocks away. There were many wild blackberry bushes growing there and we ate on them all day. Kids are different than adults. They haven’t gotten into the routine of breakfast, lunch and dinner yet. They just know when they are hungry. And clothes – a T-shirt sufficed from early April until the crisp winds of October would necessitate putting on a light jacket. Of course by October baseball season was over and there was no more thought of it until the next spring.

On rainy days, there were always plenty of different board games. Monopoly has been around since the 1930’s. Most of the games involved some measure of thought. Today, even the two and three year olds are walking around with some sort of electronic game. They may not have a grasp of the ultimate outcome but the flashing lights seem to have a mesmerizing effect on them. Even the old stand-bys such as Chutes and Ladders and Candyland are less visible than they were ten years ago. I’ll probably see teenagers in the doctor’s office where I go for my arthritis. Not to mention the eye problems they are going to have from viewing those tiny screens. When all is said and done, they will have solved their boredom problem with going to doctors, filling prescriptions, filling pill reminder cases and just be glad to sit painlessly for awhile.

Youth thinks it will go on forever, that they are invincible. As the old saying goes, “It’s a shame that youth is wasted on the young.” I am no different than my peers when it comes to how I’ve lived my life. Everybody goes through stages. First you are around ten and worry about nothing but what makes you happy. We fail to see how our parents have anything at all to do with it. We go through the “car stage”, the “dating stage” followed by side trips to the military or college. Somewhere in here we get married, start a family and lose track of all those things of our youth. Only after our own children are grown and gone do we regress back to the time in our life when we could anything we wanted. Only now the physical side of it plays a very important role. Things I did when I was twenty, I no longer have any desire to do. I know now that they are too dangerous.

We had no fear of our own mortality then and are only conscious of it in later life when our bodies give us gentle reminders to slow down. It is a tough place to be. But to override the loss of our youth, we gain the wisdom that only comes with time.

Teacher Pension Shift Would Cost Counties $500 Million Over Next Four Years

In the Senate’s proposed budget plan, some of the costs of teacher retirement would be shifted to county school boards over the next four years, not to the county governments next year, as Gov. Martin O’Malley had proposed. But the approved proposal would ultimately force counties to give their school boards $500 million more over the next four years.

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Smart Meters Are A Dumb Idea, Says One Delegate

Are smart meters for electric usage a dumb idea? Del. Glen Glass, R-Harford, has a bill to allow consumers to opt out of the smart meters, calling them intrusive and bad for your health.

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Senate Budget Plan Includes Tax Hikes For All, Pension Shift To Counties

The Senate Budget and Tax Committee on Thursday sent a $35 billion budget to the full Senate that includes income tax increases for almost everyone and $600 million in ongoing spending cuts. This fiscal 2013 spending plan includes a shift of teacher pension costs to county school boards, along with new requirements for county governments to fund public schools, allowing them to even disregard local property tax caps to do so.

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Caption This Photo 3-10-12