Many years ago, I learned of an episode in the life of a promising young black man that is relevant to things happening now. He had been educated at a good school, and went on to receive degrees at good colleges and universities. Then he went for a Ph.D. in mathematics at one of the leading departments in that field.
When he encountered difficulties, his professors essentially wrote his doctoral thesis for him. No doubt they felt good about doing something to help a promising young black man, and perhaps took pride in doing so. But what about his pride?
This young man ended up joining an extremist group that hated white people.
Would it have been worse if he had not gotten a Ph.D. in math? Probably 99 percent of the people in this country, regardless of race, could not get a Ph.D. in math – and yet they can still live happy and fulfilling lives.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Friday, March 16, 2012
Buying Girl Scout Cookies With Fake Money Is The Lowest Of The Low
So you're jonesing for some Thin Mints and hey, a Girl Scout comes around willing to sell you some. It doesn't matter if you need those cookies like Jersey Shore needs canceling, it is very bad form, not to mention illegal, to give a girl in green counterfeit money.
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Gettysburg Gift Shop Decides Against John Wilkes Booth Bobbleheads
Doesn't matter if it's a silly bobblehead doll, it seems some might find it odd to buy a figurine of the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. The Gettysburg National Military Park visitors' center removed the John Wilkes Booth bobblehead from its shelves recently, after a reporter asked about them.
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Nutrients That Make You More Fertile
Superstition and junk science will recommend all sorts of foods to aid in female fertility. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that some of these will work, the best way for to increase your babymaking capabilities is probably to eat healthily.
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TSA To Take It Easy On Elderly Terrorists
The terror threat from septuagenarians is apparently not as high as those young whippersnappers who are merely of retirement age. At least according to the Transportation Security Administration, which next week will begin testing new, less-intrusive, screening procedures for travelers 75 years of age and older.
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Is Our Radioactive Material Being Handled Properly?
The government may be leaving the safeguarding of radioactive materials in the hands of unqualified people. The Government Accountability Office said that could leave some materials at hospitals and other facilities more vulnerable to tampering, sabotage or theft. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees security of radiological sources. But GAO said the agency's requirements don't prescribe specific measures. It said the NRC leaves too much up to individual states. The congressional watchdog testified at a Senate subcommittee hearing yesterday. NRC commissioners go before another committee today.
Congress Demands USPS Reveal Results Of Study
Congress is demanding that the Postal Service reveal the results of a study that showed what would happen if it cut service. GovExec reported, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) filed a motion with the Postal Regulatory Commission to make the study public. He said the report projected how much of an impact closing mail facilities, cutting delivery from six to five days a week and other proposals would have on the agency's bottom line. The Postal Service is lobbying for those changes as it stands to lose $14 billion this year. The agency has told the Commission that it wants to keep the findings secret because they were of a commercial nature.
The Parties
(March 16, 2012) A sea of green will take over the resort on Saturday when all things Irish will be celebrated as Ocean City’s 31st annual St. Patrick’s Day parade makes its way along Coastal Highway, from 61st Street to the 45th Street Village, where an Irish festival will take place.
Additional celebrations will be held all over town and beyond, as restaurants and bars honor the Irish saint with green beer, Guinness and whiskey, not to mention corned beef and cabbage.
Here are a few of the events set to take place Saturday:
Panetta Wasn't The Target
Defense officials said the Afghan man who crashed a stolen truck at an airfield yesterday was trying to run down U.S. Marines, the Associated Press reported. The Marines were assembled there waiting for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's plane to arrive. Since the secretary's trip hadn't been announced in advance, DoD officials don't think the man was targeting Panetta himself. They said Panetta was never in danger. The driver, who was working as an interpreter for U.S. forces, died later in the day after suffering extensive burns. A British soldier was injured when he tried to stop the driver from stealing the truck on the base. The Afghan man hit the British soldier with the truck as he was driving away.
Obama Discovers a Problem With Marxism
In an interview with WFTV, President Obama suddenly discovered what it is that has troubled Americans about Marxism for well over a century. The crucial exchange occurred when Obama was asked about gas prices. “Well, as long as gas prices are going up, people are going to feel like I’m not doing enough, and I understand that,” Obama observed. “Ultimately, though, there’s no silver bullet.”
Then came the critical question. “Your opponents say they can get gas to the $2.50 range,” said the interviewer. “What do you think Americans should be OK with?” Obama, avoiding the question, shrugged, “First of all, nobody believes that. They know that’s just politics. Anybody who says we can get gas down to two bucks a gallon just isn’t telling the truth.”
But President Obama didn’t answer the question.
The real question is why he couldn’t. After all, this is a president who has stated over and over that prices and wages should be set on the basis of fairness. He tried to claw back Wall Street bonuses because investment bankers were making more than they “deserved” to make; he says the rich should pay their “fair share.”
Please Read This Story, Thank You
Listen to the conversations around you — colleagues at the office, customers in the coffeehouse line, those who serve you, those you serve, the people you meet each day. "Give me a tall latte." "Hand me that hammer." "Have a good one."
Notice anything missing? The traditional magic words "please" and "thank you" that many people learn as children appear to be disappearing.
Lisa Gache, co-founder of Beverly Hills Manners in Los Angeles, has noticed the gradual vanishing of courteous language. She blames the casualty on the casual. "The slow erosion of the 'magic words' in our everyday vernacular," says Gache, who coaches people to be more civil, "has to do with the predilection toward all things casual in our society today. Casual conversation, casual dress and casual behavior have hijacked practically all areas of life, and I do not think it is doing anyone a service."
Other polite phrases also seem to be falling by the wayside. "You're welcome," for instance. Say "thank you" to someone these days, and instead of hearing "you're welcome," you're more liable to hear: "Sure." "No problem." "You bet." "Enjoy." Or a long list of replies that replace the traditional "you're welcome."
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Notice anything missing? The traditional magic words "please" and "thank you" that many people learn as children appear to be disappearing.
Lisa Gache, co-founder of Beverly Hills Manners in Los Angeles, has noticed the gradual vanishing of courteous language. She blames the casualty on the casual. "The slow erosion of the 'magic words' in our everyday vernacular," says Gache, who coaches people to be more civil, "has to do with the predilection toward all things casual in our society today. Casual conversation, casual dress and casual behavior have hijacked practically all areas of life, and I do not think it is doing anyone a service."
Other polite phrases also seem to be falling by the wayside. "You're welcome," for instance. Say "thank you" to someone these days, and instead of hearing "you're welcome," you're more liable to hear: "Sure." "No problem." "You bet." "Enjoy." Or a long list of replies that replace the traditional "you're welcome."
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Troopers Seek Public’s Help In Locating A Wanted Subject
Location: Parking Lot of Carvel Gardens Apartments, Laurel, DE
Date of Occurrence: Wednesday March 14, 2012 at approximately 4:20 p.m.
Suspect and Charges:
Darron J. Hines, 27, of Dover, DE (Photo Attached)
Attempted Murder 1st (2 counts)
Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
Resume:
Laurel, DE- The Delaware State Police have identified Darron J. Hines, 27, of Dover as the suspect involved in the shooting of two victims in Carvel Gardens on Wednesday March 14, 2012. An active arrest warrant for Hines has been issued including two counts of Attempted Murder 1st Degree and a single count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
If anyone has any information on Darron Hines whereabouts, they are asked to contact Troop 4 Major Crimes at 302-856-5850 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."
Darron J. Hines
Released: 031612 1805
***Original Release***
DSP News Release: Two People Shot in Laurel
Location: Parking Lot of Carvel Gardens Apartments, Laurel, DE
Date of Occurrence: Wednesday March 14, 2012 at approximately 4:20 p.m.
Victims:
20 year old male from Delmar, DE
21 year old female from Laurel, DE
Suspect:
Male suspect – No further information
Resume:
Laurel, DE- The Delaware State Police are currently investigating a shooting in Laurel that left two people injured.
The incident occurred on Wednesday March 14th at approximately 4:20 p.m. when the two victims were sitting in a car out in front of the #500 apartment building of Carvel Gardens in Laurel. A male suspect approached the vehicle on the driver’s side window and produced a handgun. The 20 year old male victim, who was in the driver’s seat, and the 21 year old female victim, who was in the passenger’s seat, attempted to exit the vehicle through the passenger’s side door as the suspect began firing the handgun through the open window. The male victim was struck in the back and ankle, and the female was struck once in the lower back by numerous rounds fired from the suspect.
The suspect then fled the area in an unknown direction.
The female victim was removed from the scene by State Police Helicopter and flown to Christiana Emergency Room where she is being treated for the injury she sustained from the gun shot. The male victim was transported by EMS to Nanticoke Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to stabilize his wounds.
The investigation into this incident is continuing and there is no suspect information available.
If anyone has any information on this incident, they are asked to contact Troop 4 at 302-856-5850 ext. 255 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."
HEAD OF WORCESTER SCHOOLS ‘BEGS’ FOR FULLY FUNDED BUDGET
(March 16, 2012) Going item by item, Worcester County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jon Andes pleaded and “begged” the Worcester County Board of Commissioners to approve the 2013 Worcester County Board of Education operating budget.
During Tuesday’s work session, Andes said the total 2.5 percent increase over the 2012 budget brings it from the current $91.4 million to $93.3 million. This is the second of three steps before approval. A public hearing will be held May 1 at Snow Hill High School.
In an otherwise level-funded budget, the proposal includes a small increase for teachers’ salaries. There have been no salary increases since 2008. The board is requesting $1,500 annually or about $8 a day per teacher. Worcester County teachers’ starting salaries range from $41,377 to $51,298 depending on their educational degree.
Does Meat Kill More Americans Than Cigarettes Do?
The West's three biggest killers -- heart disease, cancer, and stroke -- are linked to excessive animal product consumption.
For many years, tobacco companies were able to maintain a strong pro-tobacco façade. Smoking focuses the mind. It's good for you (doctors smoke!). It's great for weight loss. It's sexy. It's cool. The tobacco industry spent big bucks to keep these ideas in the mind of the public for as long as it could.
And for many years after the lethal effects were universally known and undeniable, some of our nation's smartest and most successful businessmen continued to believe, because it was in their interest to believe, that "nicotine is not addictive." (Watch the seven most powerful tobacco executives of 1994 make exactly that statement, under oath, to Congress -- not even two decades ago.)
I was reminded of how far tobacco has fallen reading the New York Times magazine interview with perhaps the most successful screenplay writer in history, Joe Eszterhas, who has lost 80 percent of his larynx to tobacco, and has apologized for his glamorization of smoking in such films as Basic Instinct.
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For many years, tobacco companies were able to maintain a strong pro-tobacco façade. Smoking focuses the mind. It's good for you (doctors smoke!). It's great for weight loss. It's sexy. It's cool. The tobacco industry spent big bucks to keep these ideas in the mind of the public for as long as it could.
And for many years after the lethal effects were universally known and undeniable, some of our nation's smartest and most successful businessmen continued to believe, because it was in their interest to believe, that "nicotine is not addictive." (Watch the seven most powerful tobacco executives of 1994 make exactly that statement, under oath, to Congress -- not even two decades ago.)
I was reminded of how far tobacco has fallen reading the New York Times magazine interview with perhaps the most successful screenplay writer in history, Joe Eszterhas, who has lost 80 percent of his larynx to tobacco, and has apologized for his glamorization of smoking in such films as Basic Instinct.
More
Why Afghans Get Angrier About Burned Qur'ans Than About Murdered Civilians
"To Muslims, and especially to Afghans, religion is much higher a concern than civilian or human casualties." This is very hard for non-Muslims to understand, even those who are devoutly religious. After all, isn't each human being valuable as a work of the Creator and irreplaceable as an individual, while copies of a book that exists in plentiful copies are obviously more expendable? That's obvious, but it depends upon the assumption that human life is valuable in the first place, while in the Islamic schema, Allah creates some people only to torture them in hellfire (cf. Qur'an 32:13) and directs believers to murder those who don't believe in him (cf. Qur'an 2:190-193; 4:89; 9:5). Clearly human life is not as important in Islam as it is in Judaism and Christianity, in which each person is a unique being made in the image of God.
"In Reactions to Two Incidents, a U.S.-Afghan Disconnect," by Rod Nordland for the New York Times, March 14 (thanks to Anne Crockett):
Buzzed Driving Could Cost You $10,000
St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and driving buzzed on the holiday could cost you a pot of leprechaun’s gold – like up to $10,000 in legal fees, court costs, and increased insurance rates.
For many Americans, St. Patrick’s Day has become a popular night out to celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, due to the large number of drunk drivers, the night out has also become very dangerous.
Before drinking, plan ahead and designate a sober driver
If you’re impaired, call a taxi, sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely
Use your community’s sober ride program
If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate, contact local law enforcement
Remember, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving. If you know people who are about to drive or ride with someone who is impaired, take the driver’s keys and help them make other arrangements to get to their destination safely
NHTSA needs your help in keeping the roads safe for everyone this St. Patrick’s Day by spreading the word that Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving.
OC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Returns Saturday
OCEAN CITY – This weekend will be the largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Ocean City’s history, and event organizers reflected this week on how the day has grown over the years.
The 31st Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival, sponsored by the Delmarva Irish-American Club (DIAC), returns to the streets of Ocean City on Saturday, March 17.
“It starts at high noon and we’re never late,” said parade organizer Buck Mann.Mann said that the parade first started out with two or three cars and a handful of participants. At the time, the DIAC had a few members and agreed to hold the parade on St. Patrick’s Day every day no matter what day it fell on.
According to Dennis Roarty, member of the Board of Directors and past president of the DIAC, Mann and Mayor Rick Meehan took over the parade in its second year and have grown it into an enormous event today. At the time, Mann owned an Irish bar on the Boardwalk, McGee’s (now Shenanigan’s), and convinced the club to have the parade on a Saturday, and with Meehan’s help they secured the 45th Street Village parking lot for the festival grounds.
QUOTES OF THE DAY - COMING WAR EDITION
“God created war so that Americans would learn geography.”
― Mark Twain
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
― Albert Einstein
“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”
― George Orwell, 1984
“Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.”
― Herbert Hoover
“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
― Voltaire
“There are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for.”
― Albert Camus
“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?”
― Mahatma Gandhi
“Dad, how do soldiers killing each other solve the world’s problems?”
― Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995
“All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.”
― John Steinbeck
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
― Ernest Hemingway
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
― Plato
“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.”
― Bertrand Russell
“When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre, Le Diable Et Le Bon Dieu
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”
― Dwight D. Eisenhower
― Mark Twain
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
― Albert Einstein
“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”
― George Orwell, 1984
“Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.”
― Herbert Hoover
“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
― Voltaire
“There are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for.”
― Albert Camus
“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?”
― Mahatma Gandhi
“Dad, how do soldiers killing each other solve the world’s problems?”
― Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995
“All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.”
― John Steinbeck
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
― Ernest Hemingway
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
― Plato
“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.”
― Bertrand Russell
“When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre, Le Diable Et Le Bon Dieu
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”
― Dwight D. Eisenhower
Three in 10 Young Adults Live With Parents, Highest Level Since 1950s
A weak economy and high debt levels are prompting more young adults to return to the family nest, a new survey shows. Perhaps surprisingly, most are happy with their living arrangements.
After graduating from Brown University in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature and completing a Fulbright scholarship in Brazil, Cassie Owens was left with a few dollars on her stipend and no job in sight. So, Ms. Owens returned home to her mother in Philadelphia.
“I moved back home pretty much for lack of money and prospects,” she says. Owens’s cousin, Evon Burton, who also returned home after graduating from Morehouse College in 2009, adds, “The choice is to go out and be in debt or to pursue your dreams and save up money at home, in a safe, stable environment.”
Lost Dogs: UPDATE
Mastiff lost in Mardela/ Sharptown Md. / Delmar Del. Area. She and her sister
dug out of their kennel. We live on Norris Twilley Rd. If you see her please
call Sherry. Very shy.
Why The Racist History Of The Charter School Movement Is Never Discussed
Touted as the cure for what ails public education, charter schools have historical roots that are rarely discussed.
As a parent I find it easy to understand the appeal of charter schools, especially for parents and students who feel that traditional public schools have failed them. As a historical sociologist who studies race and politics, however, I am disturbed both by the significant challenges that plague the contemporary charter school movement, and by the ugly history of segregationist tactics that link past educational practices to the troubling present.
The now-popular idea of offering public education dollars to private entrepreneurs has historical roots in white resistance to school desegregation after Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The desired outcome was few or, better yet, no black students in white schools. In Prince Edward County, Virginia, one of the five cases decided in Brown, segregationist whites sought to outwit integration by directing taxpayer funds to segregated private schools.
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As a parent I find it easy to understand the appeal of charter schools, especially for parents and students who feel that traditional public schools have failed them. As a historical sociologist who studies race and politics, however, I am disturbed both by the significant challenges that plague the contemporary charter school movement, and by the ugly history of segregationist tactics that link past educational practices to the troubling present.
The now-popular idea of offering public education dollars to private entrepreneurs has historical roots in white resistance to school desegregation after Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The desired outcome was few or, better yet, no black students in white schools. In Prince Edward County, Virginia, one of the five cases decided in Brown, segregationist whites sought to outwit integration by directing taxpayer funds to segregated private schools.
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Going Bald For A Cause In Pittsville
PITTSVILLE -- Heads are going bare in the name of charity this weekend when the Delmarva Emerald Society hosts its 2nd Annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation head-shaving on Saturday.
“It just struck my eye,” said Emerald Society President James Jester in reference to St. Baldrick’s unique approach to raising money and awareness for childhood cancer, which involves volunteers raising donations while shaving their hair.
Since its origin, the foundation has spread and formed new partnerships across the country. The Delmarva Emerald Society, a non-profit group of firefighters from across the peninsula with a focus on the contributions of Irish-Americans to the fire service, became involved with the foundation toward the end of 2010 and hosted its own head-shaving party last St. Patrick’s Day.
“This is just the coolest thing in the world,” said Jester, who pointed out that the head-shaving, while all done in good fun, is a stark visual reminder of what children going through cancer treatment have to face every day.
The Biggest Engine Of Economic Growth? 8 Ways Taxpayers And The Government Are Necessary To Capitalism
Dating back to Ronald Reagan, and even before, conservatives have constantly attacked government. The drumbeat repeats the notion that the private sector can do everything better. “Privatize everything" is the mantra. It’s hard to imagine anything more destructive to our economy.
This presidential season, GOP candidates have revved up the maligning of government, and even liberals and Democrats join in the chorus, spreading the big lie that government is too big, corrupt and wasteful without understanding just what government provides the economy and society.
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This presidential season, GOP candidates have revved up the maligning of government, and even liberals and Democrats join in the chorus, spreading the big lie that government is too big, corrupt and wasteful without understanding just what government provides the economy and society.
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A Heinous Crime and a Double Standard
An American soldier has committed a heinous crime in Afghanistan, entering the homes of Afghan civilians, murdering at least 16 people, and wounding five. Barack Obama immediately called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to offer his condolences, said that he was “deeply saddened,” and announced that he was launching an investigation “to get the facts as quickly as possible and to hold accountable anyone responsible.”
Obama also said in a statement: “I offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and to the people of Afghanistan, who have endured too much violence and suffering. This incident is tragic and shocking and does not represent the exceptional character of our military.”
Indeed it does not, and the soldier, reportedly a staff sergeant, should be prosecuted and punished as severely as military justice allows: he has brought shame and discredit upon the U.S. military at a particularly delicate time in Afghanistan, when tempers are running high after the Qur’an-burning incident. And Karzai was in no mood to accept American assurances that the crime would be investigated and the perpetrator punished, saying in a statement of his own: “This is an assassination, an intentional killing of innocent civilians and cannot be forgiven.”
It is noteworthy, however, that in the riots and rage that followed the discovery of the burned Qur’ans at Bagram Airfield, Afghan Muslims have murdered numerous civilians. Just last Monday, a jihad-martyrdom suicide bomber murdered at least two civilians at the gates of the airfield. Thirty people have now been killed in protests over the burning of the Qur’ans, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that Obama and other American officials have apologized repeatedly, profusely, and abjectly for the burning of the Muslim holy book.
OCPD & FOP LODGE 10 PARTICIPATE IN 5th ANNUAL MARCH MADNESS MINI-GOLF FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT PLAY IT SAFE
The Ocean City Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Committee sponsored its 5th annual “March Madness Mini-Golf” fundraiser on Monday, March 12, 2012 at Old Pro Golf on 136th Street and Coastal Highway. The fundraiser, which benefits Play It Safe, had an estimated turnout of nearly 50 people, with the Ocean City Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 10, making up five participating teams.
Also in attendance, were members from the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department, the Worcester County Health Department, Ocean City Special Events,AtlanticGeneralHospitaland several volunteers from the Ocean City Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Committee. In addition, golf pros from Glen Riddle and Ocean City Golf and Yacht were in attendance.
Play It Safe will be celebrating its 23rd year in Ocean City in 2011. Play It Safe began in 1989 as a program for the latest high school graduates. Play It Safe joins several Town of Ocean City departments, as well as local businesses and organizations, to encourage high school graduates to make informed, healthy choices while having responsible fun without the use of alcohol and other drugs.
To find out how you can volunteer or donate to Play It Safe, please contact Ocean City Police Public Affairs Specialist Jessica Waters at 410.520.5395 or visit www.playitsafeoceancity.com.
Also in attendance, were members from the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department, the Worcester County Health Department, Ocean City Special Events,AtlanticGeneralHospitaland several volunteers from the Ocean City Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Committee. In addition, golf pros from Glen Riddle and Ocean City Golf and Yacht were in attendance.
Play It Safe will be celebrating its 23rd year in Ocean City in 2011. Play It Safe began in 1989 as a program for the latest high school graduates. Play It Safe joins several Town of Ocean City departments, as well as local businesses and organizations, to encourage high school graduates to make informed, healthy choices while having responsible fun without the use of alcohol and other drugs.
To find out how you can volunteer or donate to Play It Safe, please contact Ocean City Police Public Affairs Specialist Jessica Waters at 410.520.5395 or visit www.playitsafeoceancity.com.
Wallops Launching Five Rockets In Five Minutes Tonight
WALLOPS -- Residents and visitors could see a rare spectacle across the sky late tonight and early tomorrow morning as NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility plans to launch five suborbital rockets within a span of five minutes as part of a jet stream wind study.
With a little cooperation from the weather and a resolution of some minor technical issues, Wallops officials are expected to launch five suborbital rockets within a span of about five minutes late tonight or early tomorrow morning. NASA’s facility in Virginia originally planned the unique launch for late Thursday night or early Friday morning, but the mission was scrubbed after an internal radio frequency interference issue was discovered with one of the rockets.
Wallops officials corrected the issue and rescheduled the launch for tonight or early tomorrow morning with a launch window of 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. If all goes according to plan, the five rockets will launch within a span of about five minutes and each will release a chemical tracer that will form milky, white clouds that will allow scientists and the public to actually see high speed, high altitude winds in space.
DELEGATE MIKE MCDERMOTT PRESS RELEASE
HB1349: University of Maryland, Baltimore - Environmental Law Clinic - Reimbursement of Lawsuit Expenses
Yesterday, March 15th, Delegate Mike McDermott spoke at an Appropriations Committee hearing in favor of House Bill 1349 - University of Maryland, Baltimore - Environmental Law Clinic - Reimbursement of Lawsuit Expenses.
“The State of Maryland can no longer stand idly by as our farm families are attacked for a student project at a publicly funded university.” replied Delegate Michael A. McDermott (Worcester and Wicomico Counties) when asked about the situation with the Hudson family. The Hudson’s are a small farming family from lower Eastern Shore who have been targeted for punishing litigation by the group, Waterkeeper Alliance. Waterkeeper Alliance is working in conjunction with the University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic who is providing this multi-million dollar corporation with tax payer funded attorneys while the farm family struggles. After targeting the family for allegedly allowing chicken litter to seep into local waterways, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) investigated the farm and found the suspected chicken litter to be bio-solids from Ocean City for a program to recycle municipal bio-solids for agricultural purposes. Despite the MDE’s dismissal of any environmental offenses, the Waterkeepers, in conjunction with University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic, have continued to pursue legal action against the Hudson family. Delegate McDermott explained that his bill would require the University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic to pay up to $500,000 in legal fees incurred by the Hudson family during this frivolous lawsuit.
“It is a duty of our elected officials to protect agriculture in Maryland as well as the family farmers who comprise a $17 billion industry in Maryland” stated Delegate McDermott. He argued that even at the request of Governor O’Malley, the Dean of the law school refused to intervene and end the schools involvement in the lawsuit. He urged the General Assembly to send a stronger message to the school that frivolous lawsuits against our own farm families will not be tolerated.
“I’m begging you to take a stand for all your brethren across this state who are providing us agriculturally what we need to sustain ourselves.” concluded Delegate McDermott during the Appropriations Hearing on March 15th.
The bill was received well by the Appropriations Committee and Delegate McDermott is hopeful that it will pass.
Yesterday, March 15th, Delegate Mike McDermott spoke at an Appropriations Committee hearing in favor of House Bill 1349 - University of Maryland, Baltimore - Environmental Law Clinic - Reimbursement of Lawsuit Expenses.
“The State of Maryland can no longer stand idly by as our farm families are attacked for a student project at a publicly funded university.” replied Delegate Michael A. McDermott (Worcester and Wicomico Counties) when asked about the situation with the Hudson family. The Hudson’s are a small farming family from lower Eastern Shore who have been targeted for punishing litigation by the group, Waterkeeper Alliance. Waterkeeper Alliance is working in conjunction with the University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic who is providing this multi-million dollar corporation with tax payer funded attorneys while the farm family struggles. After targeting the family for allegedly allowing chicken litter to seep into local waterways, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) investigated the farm and found the suspected chicken litter to be bio-solids from Ocean City for a program to recycle municipal bio-solids for agricultural purposes. Despite the MDE’s dismissal of any environmental offenses, the Waterkeepers, in conjunction with University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic, have continued to pursue legal action against the Hudson family. Delegate McDermott explained that his bill would require the University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic to pay up to $500,000 in legal fees incurred by the Hudson family during this frivolous lawsuit.
“It is a duty of our elected officials to protect agriculture in Maryland as well as the family farmers who comprise a $17 billion industry in Maryland” stated Delegate McDermott. He argued that even at the request of Governor O’Malley, the Dean of the law school refused to intervene and end the schools involvement in the lawsuit. He urged the General Assembly to send a stronger message to the school that frivolous lawsuits against our own farm families will not be tolerated.
“I’m begging you to take a stand for all your brethren across this state who are providing us agriculturally what we need to sustain ourselves.” concluded Delegate McDermott during the Appropriations Hearing on March 15th.
The bill was received well by the Appropriations Committee and Delegate McDermott is hopeful that it will pass.
Former Kent County Sheriff Arrested
Location: Parking Lot of Walgreens, 648 NW Front Street, Milford, DE
Date of Occurrence: Wednesday March 14, 2012 at approximately 8:55 p.m.
Defendants, Charges, and Bail Information:
James A. Higdon Jr., 59, of Dover, DE (Photo Attached taken Sept 2011)
Stalking (3 counts)
Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon
Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited
Breach of Release
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Other Traffic Related Offenses
Arraignment on charges above are pending.
Resume:
Milford, DE- The Delaware State Police have arrested a former Kent County Sheriff after he violated a court order.
James A. Higdon Jr., 59, of Dover was arrested Wednesday evening after he called a former family member and threatened to do harm to them. This was a direct violation of a court order that was issued by Kent County Court of Common Pleas on March 8, 2012. Higdon had also made comments about harming two other people during this account.
Higdon was located by members of the State Police Kent County Governors Task Force sitting alone in his vehicle while parked in the parking lot of Walgreens off North West Front Street in Milford. Upon taking him into custody, detectives located a loaded handgun inside the vehicle. Higdon is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition after having been committed to a psychiatric facility for a mental disorder back on March of 2011.
Higdon was transported back to Troop 3 in Camden where warrants were obtained for his arrest. While in custody, Higdon required medical treatment, which was unrelated to his arrest, and was transported to Kent General Hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, he was turned over to the Department of Corrections due to a violation of probation and will be arraigned on the additional charges listed above at a later date.
WalMart North Being Evacuated NOW
The fire alarm in Walmart is going off as we speak and they are evacuating the entire store. More to come...
CONNECTING THE DOTS
There is one thing most TBP members have in common. They reach logical conclusions based upon the facts. The reason we find ourselves constantly frustrated by everything going on around us is that the world is not functioning logically. We see a world drowning in debt and our political and financial leaders’ solution to this issue is to create more debt, pretend things are getting better, and further enriching themselves at the expense of a dying middle class. It’s clear to any critical thinking person that peak oil has arrived. This chart proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Supply did not and cannot respond to higher prices.
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Fossil Fuel Production on Federal Lands at a Nine-Year Low
The Energy Information Administration—a federal agency—just released a report titled, "Sales of Fossil Fuels Produced on Federal and Indian Lands, FY 2003 Through FY 2011." The Institute for Energy Research summarizes the report's major findings:
-Fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) production on Federal and Indian lands is the lowest in the 9 years EIA reports data and is 6 percent less than in fiscal year 2010.
-Crude oil and lease condensate production on Federal and Indian lands is 13 percent lower than in fiscal year 2010.
-Natural gas production on Federal and Indian lands is the lowest in the 9 years that EIA reports data and is 10 percent lower than in fiscal year 2010.
-Natural gas plant liquids production on Federal and Indian lands is 3 percent lower than in fiscal year 2010.
-Coal production on Federal and Indian lands is the lowest in the 9 years of data that EIA reported and is 2 percent lower than in fiscal year 2010.
Donald Trump: Say It Is So, Sheriff Joe
Billionaire back into eligibility, encourages Arpaio probe
NEW YORK – Billionaire Donald Trump is heaping praise and encouragement on Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the Arizona lawman’s probe into the authenticity of President Obama’s purported birth certificate and his eligibility for office.
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The Myth of "Middle-Class" Uncle Joe
This has got to be the bazooka of all Joe Biden blowhardisms. The nation's vice campaigner in chief went on the attack against Republicans this week, clad in full populist armor. "These guys don't have a sense of the average folks out there," said The Everyman. "They don't know what it means to be middle class." But who was his audience?
Nope, not blue-collar workers in Allentown, Pa. Biden was speaking to an exclusive club of $10,000-per-couple campaign donors gathered at the home of the Senate's $200 million man, Democratic Mass. Sen. John Kerry, in Georgetown, D.C.
That's smack dab in the middle of Beltway America, where they like a twist of cognitive dissonance with their aperitifs.
The White House is once again drawing on the fantastical myth of middle-class Joe to portray Republicans as out-of-touch elitists. A Washington Post headline described Biden "digging back into his roots to move Obama forward." But the administration's leading populist poster child is a wretched symbol of entrenched Washington power. And his fables are getting oldy-moldy.
On This Day In History.... Gas Prices Have Never Been Higher
Presented with little comment except to remind all those newly refreshed consumers that for every penny rise in pump prices, more than $1bn is added to the hoousehold spending bill (assuming driving habits are unaffected - which brings its own set of unintended consequential events). And in the past month alone, gas prices have increased by precisely 30 cents [2].
For this week of the year, we have never seen higher prices of Gasoline...
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For this week of the year, we have never seen higher prices of Gasoline...
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Lawyer Represented Bundy, 'Barefoot Bandit'
SEATTLE (AP) - The Seattle lawyer representing a U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians has only appeared in military court a handful of times in a career spanning 40-plus years, but he's no stranger to high-profile clients.
John Henry Browne has tried over 250 criminal cases to verdict, representing clients ranging from serial killer Ted Bundy to Colton Harris-Moore, known as the "Barefoot Bandit."
The 65-year-old said he has only handled three or four military cases. The soldier will also have at least one military lawyer.
Arizona Bill Would Allow Employers To Ask Why You're On The Pill
Does it matter why you're on the pill? An Arizona Senate committee seems to think so, as they're endorsing a bill that would let employers ask their workers whether or not their prescription birth control pills are for medical, non-sexual reasons.
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20 Obvious Truths That Will Shock Liberals
1) The Founding Fathers were generally religious, gun-toting small government fanatics who were so far to the Right that they'd make Ann Coulter look like Jimmy Carter.
2) The greatest evil this country has ever committed isn't slavery; it's killing more than 50 million innocent children via abortion.
3) Conservatives are much more compassionate than liberals and all you have to do to prove it is look at all the studies showing that conservatives give more of their money to charity than liberals do.
4) When the Founding Fathers were actually around, there were official state religions and the Bible was used as a textbook in schools. The so-called "wall of separation between church and state" has absolutely nothing to do with the Constitution and everything to do with liberal hostility to Christianity.
5) The biggest problem with our economy today is Barack Obama. His demonization of successful people, his driving up gas prices, his regulatory overload and threats to increase taxes have terrified businesses into hunkering down, refusing to spend money, and declining to hire new people. Replacing him would do more than any government policy to spur economic growth.
Defunct Firm Still Donating To D.C. Politicians
RapidTrans Inc., a medical transportation company that gave up its license to drive passengers in 2008 and later lost its incorporation status, continues to deliver one thing: campaign cash to D.C. politicians.
The company — which in 2007 listed as its president Jeffrey E. Thompson, the D.C. power broker whose offices and home were raided by federal agents earlier this month — has given thousands of dollars to city politicians since 2010, with donations frequently coming on the same day as maximum contributions from Mr. Thompson, his business interests or associates.
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The company — which in 2007 listed as its president Jeffrey E. Thompson, the D.C. power broker whose offices and home were raided by federal agents earlier this month — has given thousands of dollars to city politicians since 2010, with donations frequently coming on the same day as maximum contributions from Mr. Thompson, his business interests or associates.
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Therapists No Longer Allowed In Wicomico County Schools
As of today, John Fredericksen has informed local Therapists they are no longer allowed to see students on school property. Yes, some agencies actually pay these Therapists to visit children at their schools.
Fredericksen stated that it takes away from the students instructional time. That is their excuse, anyway. Nevertheless, the way we see it is, if a Parent has to take off from work, go to the school and pick up their child to go to a Therapist, (who do work 9-5 for the most part) they're not only inconveniencing the Parents, they're also allowing the student to leave school for probably 1.5 hours while they go to and from the school to visit the Doctor.
Wicomico County isn't paying for the Therapist, insurance is. The normal length of a meeting at the school is 30 minutes.
No "school based therapy" will be allowed any longer in Wicomico County.
Fredericksen stated that it takes away from the students instructional time. That is their excuse, anyway. Nevertheless, the way we see it is, if a Parent has to take off from work, go to the school and pick up their child to go to a Therapist, (who do work 9-5 for the most part) they're not only inconveniencing the Parents, they're also allowing the student to leave school for probably 1.5 hours while they go to and from the school to visit the Doctor.
Wicomico County isn't paying for the Therapist, insurance is. The normal length of a meeting at the school is 30 minutes.
No "school based therapy" will be allowed any longer in Wicomico County.
Early Bloom vs. Metro Work to Cause Cherry Blossom Headaches
WASHINGTON -- Metro riders can usually expect a break from track work during the cherry blossom's peak, but following this year's early bloom, don't expect the transit agency to adjust its plans.
"Unfortunately, because a lot of this track work is planned so far in advance, it involves contractors and supplies and materials. It is really difficult to pull back once you have committed to it," Metro Chief Spokesperson Dan Stessel tells WTOP.
There are already some pops of pink around the Tidal Basin, but the National Park Service says the true blooming period will start this weekend on March 18. Peak bloom is expected between March 20 and 23.
Salisbury Taxi Robbed At Knife Point Last Night
A Salisbury Taxi Driver was robbed last night at knife point. As we understand it, they called on a restricted phone number and dispatch sent a driver to their location, Homer and Johnson Street.
They took the driver's keys, wallet and money at knife point. Cab Companies are now on high alert.
They took the driver's keys, wallet and money at knife point. Cab Companies are now on high alert.
Shock Poll: Online Liberals Most Intolerant
Let’s face it, most people on-line can get a bit nasty at times, especially when discussing politics. I remember my first foray into on-line politics, where I skirted the rules at NJ.com discussing 9/11 with a liberals who thought we not only deserved it, but that 9/11 was no big deal. We all get snippy. A new Pew poll, though, shows that those on the Left are the ones who aren’t able to deal with opposing viewpoints the most (via Hot Air)
Politics can be a sensitive subject and a number of SNS [social networking sites] users have decided to block, unfriend, or hide someone because of their politics or posting activities. In all, 18% of social networking site users have taken one of those steps by doing at least one of the following:
10% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because that person posted too frequently about political subjects
9% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they posted something about politics or issues that they disagreed with or found offensive
8% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they argued about political issues on the site with the user or someone the user knows
5% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they posted something about politics that the user worried would offend other friends
4% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they disagreed with something the user posted about politics
Of course, that means that 82% of SNS users have not taken any steps to ignore or disconnect from someone whose views are different – or have not encountered any views that would prompt such a move.
Liberals are the most likely to have taken each of these steps to block, unfriend, or hide. In all, 28% of liberals have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on SNS because of one of these reasons, compared with 16% of conservatives and 14% of moderates.
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Politics can be a sensitive subject and a number of SNS [social networking sites] users have decided to block, unfriend, or hide someone because of their politics or posting activities. In all, 18% of social networking site users have taken one of those steps by doing at least one of the following:
10% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because that person posted too frequently about political subjects
9% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they posted something about politics or issues that they disagreed with or found offensive
8% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they argued about political issues on the site with the user or someone the user knows
5% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they posted something about politics that the user worried would offend other friends
4% of SNS users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they disagreed with something the user posted about politics
Of course, that means that 82% of SNS users have not taken any steps to ignore or disconnect from someone whose views are different – or have not encountered any views that would prompt such a move.
Liberals are the most likely to have taken each of these steps to block, unfriend, or hide. In all, 28% of liberals have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on SNS because of one of these reasons, compared with 16% of conservatives and 14% of moderates.
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Verdict In Rutgers Spycam Case
Jury finds ex-Rutgers student guilty of invasion of privacy in use of webcam to
spy on roommate's tryst with another man.
spy on roommate's tryst with another man.
Assateague Welcomes New Filly
ASSATEAGUE -- Spring seems to be showing signs of new life everywhere, including on Assateague Island.
A new wild horse foal was born into the herd at Assateague Island on Friday March 9. A young filly, with pinto coloration showing mostly white hair with brown patches was born to 8-year-old mare April Star (also known by the alpha numeric name N2BHS-C).
The gangly long-legged newborn has been seen by many park visitors enjoying Assateague Island within the past week. She is one of the 114 horses that live wild and free on the barrier island. Park visitors Carol and Joshua Harmon of Salisbury were delighted to observe the new foal on Wednesday.
Wouldn’t It Make More Sense To Mine Our Own Minerals?
The United States teamed up with the European Union and Japan in a complaint to the World Trade Organization against China over its rare earth export (REE) policies. While it would be nice if China would stop hoarding their minerals, wouldn’t it make more sense to start doing more mining of our own resources? At The Enterprise Blog, Michael Mazza and Lara Crouch pointed out something that’s worthy of attention. [Emphasis added]
Spring flooding? Not This Year, US Forecasters Say
WASHINGTON (AP) - At least it's a dry heat.
The federal government's spring weather forecast offers no respite from warmer weather, but the country should get a break from the spring flooding that's hit the last four years.
The National Weather Service's outlook for spring, which arrived early with 577 warm temperature records broken Wednesday, predicts mostly warmer and drier-than-normal weather, except in the Northwest. The current summer-like weather _ with some temperatures as much as 35 degrees above normal _ is expected to stick around through next week.
All or parts of 36 states are forecast to be warmer than normal April through June, with only Alaska, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon and the tip of Idaho forecast to be cooler than normal. Every state east of the Mississippi River, except Wisconsin, and most of the Southwest should be warmer than normal this spring, the weather service predicts.
Canada’s Tax Revenues Steady As They Lowered Corporate Tax Rates
The chart shows Canada’s federal corporate tax revenues as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) and the federal corporate tax rate. The tax rate plunged from 38 percent in 1980 to just 15 percent by 2012. Amazingly, there has been no obvious drop in tax revenues over the period.
Canadian corporate tax revenues have fluctuated, but the changes are correlated with economic growth, not the tax rate. In the late 1980s, a tax rate cut was followed by three years of stable revenues. In the early 1990s, a plunge in revenues was caused by a recession, and then in the late 1990s revenues soared as the economy grew.
In 2000, Canadian policymakers enacted another round of corporate tax rate cuts, which were phased in gradually. Corporate tax revenues initially dipped, but then they rebounded strongly in the late 2000s.
The rate cuts enacted in 2000 were projected to cause substantial revenue losses to the Canadian government. That projection indicates that the reform didn’t have much in the way of legislated loophole closing. But the chart shows that the positive taxpayer response to the rate cut was apparently so large that the government did not lose much, if any, revenue at all.
In 2009, Canada was dragged into a recession by the elephant economy next door, and that knocked the wind out of corporate tax revenues. However, it is remarkable that even with a recession and a tax rate under 20 percent, tax revenues as a share of GDP have been roughly as high in recent years as they were during the 1980s, when there was a much higher rate. Jason Clemens of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute notes that Canadian corporate tax revenues have been correlated with corporate profits, not the tax rate.
If a corporate tax rate is high, there is a “Laffer effect” when the rate is cut, meaning that the tax base expands so much that the government doesn’t lose any money. Estimates from Jack Mintz and other tax experts show that cutting corporate tax rates when they are above about 25 percent won’t lose governments any revenues over the long run.
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Canadian corporate tax revenues have fluctuated, but the changes are correlated with economic growth, not the tax rate. In the late 1980s, a tax rate cut was followed by three years of stable revenues. In the early 1990s, a plunge in revenues was caused by a recession, and then in the late 1990s revenues soared as the economy grew.
In 2000, Canadian policymakers enacted another round of corporate tax rate cuts, which were phased in gradually. Corporate tax revenues initially dipped, but then they rebounded strongly in the late 2000s.
The rate cuts enacted in 2000 were projected to cause substantial revenue losses to the Canadian government. That projection indicates that the reform didn’t have much in the way of legislated loophole closing. But the chart shows that the positive taxpayer response to the rate cut was apparently so large that the government did not lose much, if any, revenue at all.
In 2009, Canada was dragged into a recession by the elephant economy next door, and that knocked the wind out of corporate tax revenues. However, it is remarkable that even with a recession and a tax rate under 20 percent, tax revenues as a share of GDP have been roughly as high in recent years as they were during the 1980s, when there was a much higher rate. Jason Clemens of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute notes that Canadian corporate tax revenues have been correlated with corporate profits, not the tax rate.
If a corporate tax rate is high, there is a “Laffer effect” when the rate is cut, meaning that the tax base expands so much that the government doesn’t lose any money. Estimates from Jack Mintz and other tax experts show that cutting corporate tax rates when they are above about 25 percent won’t lose governments any revenues over the long run.
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The New York Times: It’s Fine To Tell People To Quit The Catholic Church, But You Can’t Say The Same Thing About Islam
Isn’t that how the Left looks at it? It’s certainly how the New York Times seems to view it.
They ran an ad on March 9th that encouraged Catholics, who are now being relentlessly demonized by the Christian hating left for daring to stand up to Barack Obama’s anti-Catholic bigotry, to quit the Catholic Church.
Certainly, it’s a free country, and that’s their right. However, that ad stuck in Pamela Geller’s craw, so she was willing to pay $39,000 to run an almost identical ad — except this one encouraged people to quit ISLAM.
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They ran an ad on March 9th that encouraged Catholics, who are now being relentlessly demonized by the Christian hating left for daring to stand up to Barack Obama’s anti-Catholic bigotry, to quit the Catholic Church.
Certainly, it’s a free country, and that’s their right. However, that ad stuck in Pamela Geller’s craw, so she was willing to pay $39,000 to run an almost identical ad — except this one encouraged people to quit ISLAM.
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Who’s Really Bashing Women?
Our transparently feminist media are currently cranking their hyperbole machines in their War on Limbaugh. They are reporting — chortling, really — that Republicans have a huge problem with women voters. The Washington Post breathlessly reports that their poll found Democrats won by 25 points on “Cares more about issues that are especially important to women.”
But there’s an enormous, deliberate, daily oversight by most of these pro-Obama journalists. They are choosing to ignore the vicious way liberal talk show hosts and comedians talk about women — and not just conservative women — on a regular basis. Many of them come from NBC and MSNBC.
Take Ed Schultz in 2009 trashing Sen. Joe Lieberman’s wife for lobbying for health insurers: “Does the word ‘whore’ apply?” Try to find a single media outlet that considered that newsworthy.
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But there’s an enormous, deliberate, daily oversight by most of these pro-Obama journalists. They are choosing to ignore the vicious way liberal talk show hosts and comedians talk about women — and not just conservative women — on a regular basis. Many of them come from NBC and MSNBC.
Take Ed Schultz in 2009 trashing Sen. Joe Lieberman’s wife for lobbying for health insurers: “Does the word ‘whore’ apply?” Try to find a single media outlet that considered that newsworthy.
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Where’s Sharpton’s Apology For Accusing A White Man Of Raping A Black Teen?
“Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked his panel “where civility has gone in our public discourse.” Incredibly, one panelist urged people to be more “mature” and not “poison the atmosphere.”
I say “incredibly” because this panelist was none other than the race-hustling, anti-Semitic “civil rights activist” and MSNBC talk show host, Al Sharpton. For some reason, Sharpton’s own struggles with civility never came up. Nor did any panelist behave so rudely as to bring up Sharpton’s role in one of the most hideous, disgusting and cynical uses of the race card this side of the O.J. Simpson case. And Sharpton, unlike Rush Limbaugh, refuses to apologize.
While this raises little or no concern to MSNBC or its advertisers, Sharpton became famous by falsely accusing a white man of raping a black teenage girl. Tawana Brawley, then 15, told authorities that white racists abducted, raped and sodomized her — scrawling the initials “KKK” on her in human feces.
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I say “incredibly” because this panelist was none other than the race-hustling, anti-Semitic “civil rights activist” and MSNBC talk show host, Al Sharpton. For some reason, Sharpton’s own struggles with civility never came up. Nor did any panelist behave so rudely as to bring up Sharpton’s role in one of the most hideous, disgusting and cynical uses of the race card this side of the O.J. Simpson case. And Sharpton, unlike Rush Limbaugh, refuses to apologize.
While this raises little or no concern to MSNBC or its advertisers, Sharpton became famous by falsely accusing a white man of raping a black teenage girl. Tawana Brawley, then 15, told authorities that white racists abducted, raped and sodomized her — scrawling the initials “KKK” on her in human feces.
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7 Mistakes Women Make With Men
Women are complicated because they have a layer of logic, but laid across that is a mood, and then on top of that is a fluctuating steam of emotions. If men are like playing checkers, then women are like playing chess, but the pieces are all kittens hopped up on catnip with broken glass taped to their paws. This is why it’s so puzzling to hear my female friends tell me they don’t understand men. This is like a rocket scientist telling you she can’t figure out how a flush toilet works. Men are fairly simple; so how can we be so non-intuitive to such comparatively complex creatures? How can women not already know these things?
1) Be very careful about sleeping with a guy too early on. Setting aside moral concerns for the moment, let’s talk about when a woman should have sex with a man she views as long-term relationship material. There’s actually no wrong answer per se. If the guy is really clicking well enough with you, he’s probably going to stick around regardless of whether it happens on the first date or your wedding day.
However, women should understand that after just 3-4 dates, they probably don’t really have much of an idea of what’s going on in a guy’s head. He may be a player who’s saying what you want to hear in hopes of getting laid. Alternately, he may be perfectly sincere, but he’s just a lot more on the fence than you realize because he’s weighing the fact that he thinks you’re really hot and sweet to him against the fact that when you yelled at him last week, it reminded him of how things got before the end with his ex-girlfriend — and he’s bored to death with you monotonously reciting to him what you did today. Of course, he’s probably not going to come out and just say that and after just a few dates, you won’t know him well enough to know something’s wrong.
So, if he flees the relationship like you just contracted Ebola after you sleep with him and that’s going to upset you, well then, you should probably wait a little longer to make sure he intends to hang around. It’s also worth keeping in mind that to you, going out with a man three times, sleeping with him, and never hearing from him again may be a disaster, but to him it’s probably going to be viewed as a win. Not saying anyone’s right or anyone’s wrong with that approach, just noting there’s a big mentality difference.
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1) Be very careful about sleeping with a guy too early on. Setting aside moral concerns for the moment, let’s talk about when a woman should have sex with a man she views as long-term relationship material. There’s actually no wrong answer per se. If the guy is really clicking well enough with you, he’s probably going to stick around regardless of whether it happens on the first date or your wedding day.
However, women should understand that after just 3-4 dates, they probably don’t really have much of an idea of what’s going on in a guy’s head. He may be a player who’s saying what you want to hear in hopes of getting laid. Alternately, he may be perfectly sincere, but he’s just a lot more on the fence than you realize because he’s weighing the fact that he thinks you’re really hot and sweet to him against the fact that when you yelled at him last week, it reminded him of how things got before the end with his ex-girlfriend — and he’s bored to death with you monotonously reciting to him what you did today. Of course, he’s probably not going to come out and just say that and after just a few dates, you won’t know him well enough to know something’s wrong.
So, if he flees the relationship like you just contracted Ebola after you sleep with him and that’s going to upset you, well then, you should probably wait a little longer to make sure he intends to hang around. It’s also worth keeping in mind that to you, going out with a man three times, sleeping with him, and never hearing from him again may be a disaster, but to him it’s probably going to be viewed as a win. Not saying anyone’s right or anyone’s wrong with that approach, just noting there’s a big mentality difference.
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Broken Promises: Pensions All Over America
How would you feel if you worked for a state or local government for 20 or 30 years only to have your pension slashed dramatically or taken away entirely? Well, this exact scenario is playing out from coast to coast and in the years ahead millions of elderly Americans are going to be affected by broken promises and vanishing pensions.
In the old days, things were much different. You would get hired by a big company or a government institution and you knew that the retirement benefits that they were promising you would be there when you retired in a few decades. Unfortunately, we have now arrived at a time when government institutions and big companies have promised far more than they are able to deliver, and "pension reform" has become one of the hot button issues all over the nation.
Many Americans that have been basing their financial futures on their pensions are waking up one day and finding that their pensions are either gone or have been cut back dramatically. According to Northwestern University Professor John Rauh, the latest estimate of the total amount of unfunded pension and healthcare obligations for state and local governments across the United States is 4.4 trillion dollars [10]. America is continually becoming a poorer nation [11] and all of that money is simply not going to magically materialize somehow. So where is that 4.4 trillion dollars going to come from? Well, either pension benefits are going to have to be cut a lot more all over America or taxes will need to be raised dramatically. Either way, we are all going to feel the pain of these broken promises.
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In the old days, things were much different. You would get hired by a big company or a government institution and you knew that the retirement benefits that they were promising you would be there when you retired in a few decades. Unfortunately, we have now arrived at a time when government institutions and big companies have promised far more than they are able to deliver, and "pension reform" has become one of the hot button issues all over the nation.
Many Americans that have been basing their financial futures on their pensions are waking up one day and finding that their pensions are either gone or have been cut back dramatically. According to Northwestern University Professor John Rauh, the latest estimate of the total amount of unfunded pension and healthcare obligations for state and local governments across the United States is 4.4 trillion dollars [10]. America is continually becoming a poorer nation [11] and all of that money is simply not going to magically materialize somehow. So where is that 4.4 trillion dollars going to come from? Well, either pension benefits are going to have to be cut a lot more all over America or taxes will need to be raised dramatically. Either way, we are all going to feel the pain of these broken promises.
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Why Is President Obama Keeping A Journalist In Prison In Yemen?
On February 2, 2011, President Obama called Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The two discussed counterterrorism cooperation and the battle against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. At the end of the call, according to a White House read-out, Obama “expressed concern” over the release of a man named Abdulelah Haider Shaye, whom Obama said “had been sentenced to five years in prison for his association with AQAP.” It turned out that Shaye had not yet been released at the time of the call, but Saleh did have a pardon for him prepared and was ready to sign it. It would not have been unusual for the White House to express concern about Yemen’s allowing AQAP suspects to go free. Suspicious prison breaks of Islamist militants in Yemen had been a regular occurrence over the past decade, and Saleh has been known to exploit the threat of terrorism to leverage counterterrorism dollars from the United States. But this case was different. Abdulelah Haider Shaye is not an Islamist militant or an Al Qaeda operative. He is a journalist.
Unlike most journalists covering Al Qaeda, Shaye risked his life to travel to areas controlled by Al Qaeda and to interview its leaders. He also conducted several interviews with the radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. Shaye did the last known interview with Awlaki just before it was revealed that Awlaki, a US citizen, was on a CIA/JSOC hit list. “We were only exposed to Western media and Arab media funded by the West, which depicts only one image of Al Qaeda,” recalls his best friend Kamal Sharaf, a well-known dissident Yemeni political cartoonist. “But Abdulelah brought a different viewpoint.”
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Unlike most journalists covering Al Qaeda, Shaye risked his life to travel to areas controlled by Al Qaeda and to interview its leaders. He also conducted several interviews with the radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. Shaye did the last known interview with Awlaki just before it was revealed that Awlaki, a US citizen, was on a CIA/JSOC hit list. “We were only exposed to Western media and Arab media funded by the West, which depicts only one image of Al Qaeda,” recalls his best friend Kamal Sharaf, a well-known dissident Yemeni political cartoonist. “But Abdulelah brought a different viewpoint.”
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The Cost Of Going Solar Is Dropping Fast, State Study Finds
The price of solar energy systems dropped by 36 percent in North Carolina between 2006 and 2011, in a trend that is likely occuring across the U.S.
The cost of solar power in North Carolina is falling steeply, a state trade group reported, providing the first real evidence of a trend that is likely occurring in other states that are harnessing the power of the sun.
The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems dropped by 36 percent in North Carolina between 2006 and 2011, from $8.50 to $5.44 per watt. All the while, fossil fuel costs jumped three percent on average in the state every year of the past decade, the report found.
The national average for solar was $6.20 per watt in 2010, according to the most recent available data.
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The cost of solar power in North Carolina is falling steeply, a state trade group reported, providing the first real evidence of a trend that is likely occurring in other states that are harnessing the power of the sun.
The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems dropped by 36 percent in North Carolina between 2006 and 2011, from $8.50 to $5.44 per watt. All the while, fossil fuel costs jumped three percent on average in the state every year of the past decade, the report found.
The national average for solar was $6.20 per watt in 2010, according to the most recent available data.
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Owner Passes Away, Cat Need A Loving Home
Hi Joe:
I am trying desperately to find a friends cat a permanent home. The owner recently passed away & no famimembers want the cat. The cat is beautiful !! he's a blk & white , male---neutered. Neighbors have been going over to feed it for the past few months & told me , this week, they are going to have get rid of him. I ask them to please wait a few weeks & I would try to find him a home. They have most graciously agreed.
I've taken a picture of him today, however ----- I don't know how to get that to you via e-mail! I can send you the pic I just had developed ---if you can post that on your site with the following info. If you can----mail me your address & I'll get that right off to you!!
BLACK & WHITE CAT DESPERATELY NEEDS A "FUREVER HOME"-----OWNER RECENTLY DIED.
"TOM" IS A BEAUTIFUL LARGE, BLACK/WHITE MALE CAT. HE HAS BEEN NEUTERED. HE'S VERY FRIENDLY , ONCE HE GETS TO KNOW YOU. HE WAS RAISED BY A WIDOW LADY & THEREFORE HASN'T BEEN AROUND A LOT OF PEOPLE . "TOM" IS STRICTLY AN INSIDE CAT, HAVING BEEN RAISED THIS WAY HIS ENTIRE LIFE.
HIS VET HERE IN SALISBURY IS "JOHNSON/MCGEE". I WENT TO GET AN UPDATE ON HIM & GOT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
HE IS 12 YRS. OLD---------ISN'T UP TO DATE ON SHOTS----------HE IS ON A SPECIAL "HILLS" FOOD DUE TO CRYSTALS IN THE URINE.
MY FRIEND LOVED HER CAT ! I AM IN HOPES THERE'S SOMEONE WHO WILL TAKE HIM IN ----AND SAVE HIM FROM BEING "PUT DOWN."
TWO REFERANCES SUCH-- AS PREACHER, EMPLOYER, VET, WILL BE REQUIRED TO ADOPT TOM.
YOU MAY REACH ME AT : 410 742-5692 OR ednacarol@verizon.net
I am trying desperately to find a friends cat a permanent home. The owner recently passed away & no famimembers want the cat. The cat is beautiful !! he's a blk & white , male---neutered. Neighbors have been going over to feed it for the past few months & told me , this week, they are going to have get rid of him. I ask them to please wait a few weeks & I would try to find him a home. They have most graciously agreed.
I've taken a picture of him today, however ----- I don't know how to get that to you via e-mail! I can send you the pic I just had developed ---if you can post that on your site with the following info. If you can----mail me your address & I'll get that right off to you!!
BLACK & WHITE CAT DESPERATELY NEEDS A "FUREVER HOME"-----OWNER RECENTLY DIED.
"TOM" IS A BEAUTIFUL LARGE, BLACK/WHITE MALE CAT. HE HAS BEEN NEUTERED. HE'S VERY FRIENDLY , ONCE HE GETS TO KNOW YOU. HE WAS RAISED BY A WIDOW LADY & THEREFORE HASN'T BEEN AROUND A LOT OF PEOPLE . "TOM" IS STRICTLY AN INSIDE CAT, HAVING BEEN RAISED THIS WAY HIS ENTIRE LIFE.
HIS VET HERE IN SALISBURY IS "JOHNSON/MCGEE". I WENT TO GET AN UPDATE ON HIM & GOT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
HE IS 12 YRS. OLD---------ISN'T UP TO DATE ON SHOTS----------HE IS ON A SPECIAL "HILLS" FOOD DUE TO CRYSTALS IN THE URINE.
MY FRIEND LOVED HER CAT ! I AM IN HOPES THERE'S SOMEONE WHO WILL TAKE HIM IN ----AND SAVE HIM FROM BEING "PUT DOWN."
TWO REFERANCES SUCH-- AS PREACHER, EMPLOYER, VET, WILL BE REQUIRED TO ADOPT TOM.
YOU MAY REACH ME AT : 410 742-5692 OR ednacarol@verizon.net
Today's Survey Question 3-16-12
Why did Michael Steele go on Bill Maher’s show last Friday night, when Maher so viciously attacks Republican women?
Why I Am Leaving The Empire, By Darth Vader
TODAY is my last day at the Empire.
After almost 12 years, first as a summer intern, then in the Death Star and now in London, I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its massive, genocidal space machines. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.
To put the problem in the simplest terms, throttling people with your mind continues to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making people dead.
The Empire is one of the galaxy's largest and most important oppressive regimes and it is too integral to galactic murder to continue to act this way. The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of Yoda College that I can no longer in good conscience point menacingly and say that I identify with what it stands for.
For more than a decade I recruited and mentored candidates, some of whom were my secret children, through our gruelling interview process. In 2006 I managed the summer intern program in detecting strange disturbances in the Force for the 80 younglings who made the cut.
I knew it was time to leave when I realised I could no longer speak to these students inside their heads and tell them what a great place this was to work.
How did we get here? The Empire changed the way it thought about leadership. Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and killing your former mentor with a light sabre. Today, if you make enough money you will be promoted into a position of influence, even if you have a disturbing lack of faith.
What are three quick ways to become a leader? a) Execute on the firm's 'axes', which is Empire-speak for persuading your clients to invest in 'prime-quality' residential building plots on Alderaan that don't exist and have not existed since we blew it up. b) 'Hunt Elephants'. In English: get your clients - some of whom are sophisticated, and some of whom aren't - to tempt their friends to Cloud City and then betray them. c) Hand over rebel smugglers to an incredibly fat gangster.
When I was a first-year analyst I didn't know where the bathroom was, or how to tie my shoelaces telepathically. I was taught to be concerned with learning the ropes, finding out what a protocol droid was and putting my helmet on properly
so people could not see my badly damaged head.
My proudest moments in life - the pod race, being lured over to the Dark Side and winning a bronze medal for mind control ping-pong at the Midi-Chlorian Games - known as the Jedi Olympics - have all come through hard work, with no shortcuts.
The Empire today has become too much about shortcuts and not enough about remote strangulation. It just doesn’t feel right to me anymore.
I hope this can be a wake-up call. Make killing people in terrifying and unstoppable ways the focal point of your business again. Without it you will not exist. Weed out the morally bankrupt people, no matter how much non-existent Alderaan real estate they sell. And get the culture right again, so people want to make millions of voices cry out in terror before being suddenly silenced.
Source
LongHorn Steak House Is Not All That
Many have been talking about the new LongHorn Steak House in Salisbury at the Center Of Salisbury Mall.
We decided, what the heck, let's give it a shot. So we got on line and called ahead. When we arrived there was a decent amount of people waiting and we were told we'd still have a 15 minute wait before we were seated. I'm cool with that. The wait was a little longer but we were greeted by very kind people.
The layout and atmosphere is very nice. However, the decent experience stopped right there. We were seated and we immediately placed our order. I asked for a menu while we were waiting so we knew just what we wanted.
When the salad arrived, (at least 15 minutes later) there was barely any dressing on it at all. So we had to wait, (once again) for the waitress to come around and ask for more dressing. I set me salad aside and she delivered some bread. There was enough butter for maybe one slice of the bread and I'm not kidding. So when she returned 20 minutes later with the salad dressing I had to ask for more butter.
Our food finally arrived and as you can see from the prime rib above, it wasn't even cooked. If I had sliced open my arm and looked inside, that's pretty much what I got. So away it went, after waiting at the table for more than an hour for our food in the first place.
As we sat there we just kept watching the management going back and forth to the kitchen because just about every table we could see was disappointed in their food. When the manager came back with my steak he stood over top of me asking if it was cooked to my liking. I replied, well, it's warmer but its still not cooked. He asked if I'd like him to take it back and I replied, no thanks, I'm done here.
The mashed potatoes we ordered were runny and so loaded with butter it was pretty much disgusting. At this point, (you know it's bad when) my Wife said, we would have been better off with a Nathan's Hot Dog from Sam's Club. After spending $55.00 for our meal we both agreed, we will not be back.
My Wife had the chicken with mushrooms. She said it was two chicken strips, (very thin and tiny) with a portobello mushroom in between them and sliced mushrooms in the sauce. She went on to say, at least in Outback you get a decent size chicken breast with cheese melted on it and great mashed potatoes, I agree. I had a bite and very frankly the chicken was very dry as well.
Now I know many of you will say they just opened, give it a shot. They have had several dry runs before opening this restaurant and quite frankly Station 7 did a better job, (by far) during their dry run than this chain restaurant did with tons of experience.
While I'd truly like to say a new business in Salisbury is a great place to visit, it's my job to tell the truth. The picture above should clearly show you that wasn't the case. I asked the meat to be cooked a certain way and I even said to the waitress, if they do not know how to cook it that way let me know and I'll order it another way. As soon as the food arrived I immediately told her, that's not how I asked it to be cooked. She replied, oh, I know, they didn't know what you were talking about. Enough said. A steak house that doesn't know how to cook a steak Pittsburgh Style doesn't deserve my business ever again.
They made no offer to satisfy me other than to reheat it again for a third time. I didn't complain, I simply paid the bill, lesson learned.
Lefty Ethicists: Hey, What's So Bad About Fourth Trimester Abortions?
Yes, you read that right -- fourth trimester abortions. Outrage over the recent publication of this "ethics" report bubbled up when it was first published several weeks ago, but a piece entitled "Declaring War on Newborns" in the upcoming edition of The Weekly Standard ought to touch off a new round of calumny and horror. Truly appalling:
Last month...a pair of medical ethicists took to their profession’s bible, the Journal of Medical Ethics, and published an essay with a misleadingly inconclusive title: “After-birth Abortion: Why should the baby live?” It was a misleading title because the authors believe the answer to the question is: “Beats me.” Right at the top, the ethicists summarized the point of their article. “What we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled.”
The argument made by the authors?—?Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, both of them affliliated with prestigious universities in Australia and ethicists of pristine reputation?—?runs as follows. Let’s suppose a woman gets pregnant. She decides to go ahead and have the baby on the assumption that her personal circumstances, and her views on such things as baby-raising, will remain the same through the day she gives birth and beyond. Then she gives birth. Perhaps the baby is disabled or suffers a disease. Perhaps her boyfriend or (if she’s old-fashioned) her husband abandons her, leaving her in financial peril. Or perhaps she’s decided that she’s just not the mothering kind, for, as the authors write, “having a child can itself be an unbearable burden for the psychological health of the woman or for her already existing children, regardless of the condition of the fetus.”
Speed Cameras Bringing In Cash For Prince George's County
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) -- Prince George's County officials say the speed camera program is bringing in even more money than expected.
Tom Himler, the county's deputy chief administrative officer for budget, finance and administration, tells The Washington Examiner (http://bit.ly/yZYXvE ) that the program will generate an estimated $8 million to $9 million from citations issued by cameras in fiscal 2012. Officials had originally projected $4.3 million in the budget.
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Tom Himler, the county's deputy chief administrative officer for budget, finance and administration, tells The Washington Examiner (http://bit.ly/yZYXvE ) that the program will generate an estimated $8 million to $9 million from citations issued by cameras in fiscal 2012. Officials had originally projected $4.3 million in the budget.
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Public Hearing Set For March 21, 2012 On Delaware Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund Projects
DOVER – The Delaware Clean Water Advisory Council (CWAC) will hold a public hearing on the Delaware Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan program beginning 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at the Kent County Administrative Complex, Room 220, 555 South Bay Road, Dover.
At the hearing, the Council will accept public comments and input on the proposed Revised FY 2012 Project Priority List and FY 2012 Intended Use Plan for municipal wastewater and green project reserve requests. Copies of both documents will be available at the public hearing.
Written comments will also be accepted through April 19, 2012 by email to Jessica.Velazquez@state.de.us or by mail to DNREC, Financial Assistance Branch, 5 East Reed Street, Suite 200, Dover, DE 19901.
For more information on the hearing, contact Jessica Velazquez at 302-739-9941. For information on the CWAC and the Delaware Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund, visit Clean Water Advisory Council website.
At the hearing, the Council will accept public comments and input on the proposed Revised FY 2012 Project Priority List and FY 2012 Intended Use Plan for municipal wastewater and green project reserve requests. Copies of both documents will be available at the public hearing.
Written comments will also be accepted through April 19, 2012 by email to Jessica.Velazquez@state.de.us or by mail to DNREC, Financial Assistance Branch, 5 East Reed Street, Suite 200, Dover, DE 19901.
For more information on the hearing, contact Jessica Velazquez at 302-739-9941. For information on the CWAC and the Delaware Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund, visit Clean Water Advisory Council website.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
The Salisbury Police Department would like to advise motorists that speed cameras will soon be operational in the South Division Street area near the intersection of Onley Road. This is within the half mile radius of Bennett Middle & High Schools. THERE WILL BE NO WARNING PERIOD. Our first concern is the safety of the students, parents, and school buses that use Onley Rd to drop off and pick up students from the schools. We would like to remind drivers that utilize this street to Drive Alert-Slow Down-Be
Safe-Watch for Pedestrians.
Motorists should also be aware that the next location for speed cameras has been approved for the U.S. Rt 50 & Davis St area near Wicomico Middle School.
Safe-Watch for Pedestrians.
Motorists should also be aware that the next location for speed cameras has been approved for the U.S. Rt 50 & Davis St area near Wicomico Middle School.
Quiz: What the rich really pay in taxes
Many people think they know what the rich pay in taxes and have strong opinions about it. But the reality isn't always as black and white as they think.
Take the quiz here
DNREC To Hold Public Workshops On Commercial Pesticide
DNREC will hold a series of public workshops this month in each of the state’s three counties for commercial pesticide applicators in Delaware who spray in or near water. The workshops are in response to new emergency regulatory requirements administered through DNREC’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) which will now additionally permit aquatic pesticide applications.
The emergency Regulations Governing Discharges from the Application of Pesticides to Waters of the State will allow pesticide applicators to obtain the required NPDES permit coverage for applying aquatic pesticides from March through September, 2012. In Delaware, the regulation will apply only to commercial applicators (certified through the Delaware Department of Agriculture) within certain categories. The emergency regulation will be in place for a three-month period (with an additional three-month extension), with the final regulations expected in September, 2012. Much of the aquatic pesticide spraying during this timeframe is concentrated on eliminating mosquito populations, which are a significant risk to human health and welfare due to their ability to transmit diseases and other blood-borne vectors.
The workshops will present information about the emergency regulations and required permitting, and will assist DNREC in acquiring public input about the emergency regulations for moving toward completion of the final regulation. Workshop dates and locations are as follows:
· Thursday, March 15 (6 - 8 p.m.), DelTech Stanton Conference Center, 400 Stanton Christiana Road Newark, DE 19713
· Thursday, March 22 (6 - 8 p.m.), DNREC Auditorium, R&R Building, 89 Kings Hwy. Dover, DE 19901
· Thursday, March 29 (6 - 8 p.m.), Georgetown Library, 123 W. Pine St., Georgetown, DE 19947
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The emergency Regulations Governing Discharges from the Application of Pesticides to Waters of the State will allow pesticide applicators to obtain the required NPDES permit coverage for applying aquatic pesticides from March through September, 2012. In Delaware, the regulation will apply only to commercial applicators (certified through the Delaware Department of Agriculture) within certain categories. The emergency regulation will be in place for a three-month period (with an additional three-month extension), with the final regulations expected in September, 2012. Much of the aquatic pesticide spraying during this timeframe is concentrated on eliminating mosquito populations, which are a significant risk to human health and welfare due to their ability to transmit diseases and other blood-borne vectors.
The workshops will present information about the emergency regulations and required permitting, and will assist DNREC in acquiring public input about the emergency regulations for moving toward completion of the final regulation. Workshop dates and locations are as follows:
· Thursday, March 15 (6 - 8 p.m.), DelTech Stanton Conference Center, 400 Stanton Christiana Road Newark, DE 19713
· Thursday, March 22 (6 - 8 p.m.), DNREC Auditorium, R&R Building, 89 Kings Hwy. Dover, DE 19901
· Thursday, March 29 (6 - 8 p.m.), Georgetown Library, 123 W. Pine St., Georgetown, DE 19947
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Women Supporting Women Meeting
Senior care advisor to speak at WSW survivor meeting
The next survivor meeting for the Worcester County Chapter of Women Supporting Women is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m.. All breast cancer survivors, their families and members of the community are invited to attend.
The guest speaker will be Roxana C. Laguerre, senior care advisor with Family Tree Senior Care. Family Tree Senior Care, Inc. believes in "protecting your family with nurturing care." Its mission is to assist your family in finding the right solution for your loved ones' needs to match their medical, social, and financial profile. With 10 years of extensive geriatrics experience, and 8 years on the Eastern Shore, Family Tree Senior Care has maintained lasting relationships with local senior care providers. Now you can benefit from our expertise in navigating through the overwhelming maze of senior care options.
Please join us to learn more about the services Roxana provides and how she may be able to help out you, your family or friends. For more information about WSW or any of our events please call 410-641-2849, email rota@womensupportingwomen.org. The Berlin office is located at 10026 Old Ocean City Blvd., Suite 4.
The next survivor meeting for the Worcester County Chapter of Women Supporting Women is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m.. All breast cancer survivors, their families and members of the community are invited to attend.
The guest speaker will be Roxana C. Laguerre, senior care advisor with Family Tree Senior Care. Family Tree Senior Care, Inc. believes in "protecting your family with nurturing care." Its mission is to assist your family in finding the right solution for your loved ones' needs to match their medical, social, and financial profile. With 10 years of extensive geriatrics experience, and 8 years on the Eastern Shore, Family Tree Senior Care has maintained lasting relationships with local senior care providers. Now you can benefit from our expertise in navigating through the overwhelming maze of senior care options.
Please join us to learn more about the services Roxana provides and how she may be able to help out you, your family or friends. For more information about WSW or any of our events please call 410-641-2849, email rota@womensupportingwomen.org. The Berlin office is located at 10026 Old Ocean City Blvd., Suite 4.
Money From Nothing - A Primer On Fake Wealth Creation And Its Implications (Part 2)
Only in a debt-based money system could debt be curiously cast as an asset. We’ve made “extend and pretend” a quaint phrase for a burgeoning market for financial lying and profiteering aimed toward preventing the collapse of a debt- (or lack-) based system that was already doomed by its initial design to collapse. This primer will detail the major components and basic evolution of fake wealth creation, accelerating debt expansion, hollowing out of the economy, and inevitable financial implosion.
Implications:
The implications for this exponentially increasing dominance of fake wealth have only gotten more comprehensive and absurd since I last summarized them in an article two years ago. ( Unhinged: When Concrete Reality No Longer Matters to the Market (and What to Do About It [18]).
Apparently you only need a few things to make a mockery of the entire global economic system, and big banks garnered these few important things through “regulatory capture”:
1) Unregulated, unenforced rules (particularly for derivatives)
2) license to “mark to model” (assign your own values to your assets)
3) ability to peg present value to irrational expected future returns (based on unlimited, exponential growth)
4) infinite leverage (no effective requirements for reserve capital in unregulated “shadow” markets)
5) massive size, so that the bank or company is "too big to fail"
6) non-transparency and non-accountability.
So here we have a system where you can 1) make up your own rules, 2) establish any value for any asset you choose, 3) inflate that value a hundred fold based on ostensible future value and returns, 4) leverage that inflated value another thousand or a million fold simply on your say-so, enough to buy up multi-billion dollar firms if you choose, 5) lean on taxpayer bailouts when you get into trouble, and 6) do this without any disclosure or accountability, all based upon a self-interested formula you concoct to enrich yourself.
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Implications:
The implications for this exponentially increasing dominance of fake wealth have only gotten more comprehensive and absurd since I last summarized them in an article two years ago. ( Unhinged: When Concrete Reality No Longer Matters to the Market (and What to Do About It [18]).
Apparently you only need a few things to make a mockery of the entire global economic system, and big banks garnered these few important things through “regulatory capture”:
1) Unregulated, unenforced rules (particularly for derivatives)
2) license to “mark to model” (assign your own values to your assets)
3) ability to peg present value to irrational expected future returns (based on unlimited, exponential growth)
4) infinite leverage (no effective requirements for reserve capital in unregulated “shadow” markets)
5) massive size, so that the bank or company is "too big to fail"
6) non-transparency and non-accountability.
So here we have a system where you can 1) make up your own rules, 2) establish any value for any asset you choose, 3) inflate that value a hundred fold based on ostensible future value and returns, 4) leverage that inflated value another thousand or a million fold simply on your say-so, enough to buy up multi-billion dollar firms if you choose, 5) lean on taxpayer bailouts when you get into trouble, and 6) do this without any disclosure or accountability, all based upon a self-interested formula you concoct to enrich yourself.
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New Charges In Baby Ava Case
OCEAN CITY -- The proverbial other shoe dropped late last week for a local man now facing 11 additional charges, including two counts of causing a life-threatening injury by motor vehicle while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance, after plowing into the back of a passenger vehicle on Coastal Highway in mid-December.
The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office last Friday charged Andre Kaczynski, 48, of Ocean Pines, with 11 new counts including two counts of causing a life-threatening injury by motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance. Kaczynski was arrested on Dec. 16, 2011 after he ran into the back of a passenger vehicle stopped at a traffic light on Coastal Highway at 142nd Street at a high rate of speed while allegedly under the influence of Phencyclidine (PCP).
The passenger car, occupied by Ann Marie DelRicco and her then-18-month-old daughter Ava, was crumpled in the high-speed collision as emergency responders worked to extricate the victims from the wreckage. The child, Ava DelRicco, was flown to the Johns Hopkins Trauma Center in Baltimore with serious injuries and continues along a slow road to recovery. Ann Marie DelRicco also suffered serious injuries and was later released from the hospital.
Ladies, For The Last Time: That Bra Doesn't Fit You Right At All
We've heard it from Oprah Winfrey and your mother-in-law that 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size. Perhaps you've seen it in action when you just can't get the perfect fitting bra that makes everything lifty, happy and slenderizing. That's why Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine took statistics to the test and held a professional bra fitting.
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5 Mortal Sins Of Email Use
Email is magical for its amazing ability to get people to despise you through its misuse. It's rare that those who are offended by inappropriate emails call the abuser out on their foibles, so offenders often continue unchecked. But this has to stop. People need to slap some virtual hands to correct bad behavior.
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Billboard Warns Processed Meat Lovers: Hot Dogs Are Bad For Your Butt
Baseball's Opening Day is upon us, the weather is warming up enough so that the smell of grilled meats is already wafting on the air, and yet a billboard in Chicago decides it's a great time for a wiener buzzkill, warning, "Hot Dogs Cause Butt Cancer." Sigh, health experts. Big ol' sigh to you for ruining everything with your serious health messages.More »
Change In Fireworks Provider Splits City Council
OCEAN CITY – This summer’s 4th of July fireworks displays were in question this week with the City Council deciding to go in a different direction with providers.
Recreation and Parks Director Tom Shuster explained that the Independence Day fireworks bids were opened on Feb. 14 and set at a budget amount of $62,500.
Since then, city staff has narrowed it down to the lowest bid offered by American Fireworks of Hudson, Ohio submitted in the amount of $20,000 for each of Ocean City’s two shows, one downtown and one at Northside Park, totaling $40,000. There was a second piece to American Fireworks bid for an improved show for $5,000 more. The third option offered to the council was to accept Zambelli’s bid of $28,750 per show.
“We have been using the Zambelli fireworks from Pennsylvania for a number of years,” Shuster said.
Shuster explained that it is difficult to foretell the entertainment value when it comes to pyrotechnics. Firework companies are offering bids on certain size shells but it is unknown what the town will receive on the inside of the shell.
GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES $84 MILLION IN INVESTMENT FOR MARYLAND’S INNOVATION ECONOMY
Maryland first state in the nation to use online auction to raise funds for venture capital program
InvestMaryland will deploy first round of funds to seed early stage companies this summer
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley and Peter Greenleaf, chairman of the Maryland Venture Fund Authority, today announced that $84 million has been raised for Maryland’s Innovation Economy through InvestMaryland – an historic initiative created by the Governor and passed by the General Assembly last year to invest in the State’s promising start-up and early stage companies. The $84 million raised far exceeds a goal of $70 million and was generated through an online auction of premium tax credits to insurance companies with operations in Maryland. While other states have sold tax credits to fund similar venture capital initiatives, Maryland is the first state to use an online auction to raise the capital for such a program. The inaugural round of investments will be made in innovative companies this summer through several private venture capital firms and the State’s successful Maryland Venture Fund (MVF).
“Today, we are pleased to announce that Maryland has taken a significant step forward in generating capital for our businesses and creating jobs,” said Governor O’Malley. “For the first time in our nation’s history, a state has successfully held an online auction to raise funds for a venture capital program and as a result, Maryland will infuse $84 million in venture capital into our Innovation Economy to create jobs. Our State is well-positioned to be a leader in the new economy as a global hub of innovation – a leader in science, security, health, discovery and information technology. That’s why last year, together with business leaders from across the State and the General Assembly, we chose to invest in our diverse and highly-educated workforce and the skills and talents of our people for the jobs and opportunity of tomorrow.”
InvestMaryland is the largest venture capital investment in history by the State. The program is being implemented through the Venture Fund Authority and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED).
“I am thrilled with the auction’s success in not only raising $84 million for InvestMaryland in this difficult economic environment, but also by far exceeding our $70 million goal. I’d like to thank our many partners in this effort – Grant Street Group, DBED staff, my colleagues on the Maryland Venture Fund Authority and the participating insurance companies for helping to make this auction a success,” said Greenleaf, who is also President of Gaithersburg-based MedImmune. “I now look forward to putting this capital to work by making initial investments this summer to help build new businesses and create jobs in Maryland.”
“Working together with our stakeholders and insurance companies, we were able to raise $84 million and far exceed our goal to fuel innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland,” said Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) Secretary Christian S. Johansson. “This program brings maximum benefit for taxpayers, helps create the jobs and companies of tomorrow and builds an economic climate where the most promising ideas and innovations have a chance to mature.”
Today’s online auction attracted more than two dozen insurance companies with operations in Maryland, who bid on the tax credits with a floor of $.70 on the dollar. The 11 companies awarded the credits are Agency Insurance, Chubb, GEICO, Hartford Insurance, IWIF, Med Mutual, Met Life, NY York Life, Selective and Traveler’s. Insurance companies can claim tax credits beginning in 2015.
“GEICO is pleased to work with the State on the InvestMaryland program and participate in today’s successful tax credit auction,” said Mike Campbell, Chief Financial Officer of Maryland-based GEICO. “Our company is in full support of the positive impact that InvestMaryland will have on companies throughout Maryland in terms of job creation, stimulating private investment and moving our Innovation Economy forward."
Key tenets of InvestMaryland, Governor O’Malley’s signature economic development proposal last year, have been implemented over the past nine months. In August, the Governor named the Venture Fund Authority, a nine-member panel that oversees the administration and operation of the program. Earlier this year, the Authority selected Grant Street Group to prepare for and run the tax credit auction and also recently selected Altius Associates, a London-based firm, to oversee the selection of three to four private venture firms to invest the InvestMaryland funds.
The private venture firms will be responsible for investing two-thirds of the funds, which will return 100 percent of the principal and 80 percent of the profits to the State’s general fund. The remaining 33 percent will be invested by 17-year-old Maryland Venture Fund (MVF). Over its life, the MVF has invested $25 million into hundreds of start-up and early stage technology and life sciences companies, generating a $61 million return, 2,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in private investment. The Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority (MSBDFA) will also receive a portion of funds for investment. Returns on the funds invested through the MVF will be reinvested in the program.
Among its benefits, InvestMaryland has the potential to create thousands of jobs in Innovation Economy sectors – life sciences and biotechnology, cyber security/IT and clean/green tech and attract billions of follow on capital. It mirrors many aspects of a federal program to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship nationwide, The Startup America Partnership, which President Barack Obama launched year.
The program is one of a number of initiatives Governor O’Malley has introduced to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland. Earlier this year, the Governor announced a legislative proposal to create the Maryland Innovation Initiative, an historic partnership between the State and its research universities to advance cutting-edge research to the commercial marketplace.
Maryland has an outstanding infrastructure to support an Innovation Economy. The Milken Institute ranks Maryland #2 in the nation for technology and science assets. According to study results, while Maryland received high rankings in human capital investment, research and development inputs, technology and science workforce, and technology concentration and dynamism, it lagged behind other states in risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, demonstrating the need for InvestMaryland and other programs. The Index provides measurements of the technology and science assets for states, ranking them on their ability to foster and sustain a technology sector, which research has shown is a crucial factor in determining a region's future economic success.
InvestMaryland will deploy first round of funds to seed early stage companies this summer
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley and Peter Greenleaf, chairman of the Maryland Venture Fund Authority, today announced that $84 million has been raised for Maryland’s Innovation Economy through InvestMaryland – an historic initiative created by the Governor and passed by the General Assembly last year to invest in the State’s promising start-up and early stage companies. The $84 million raised far exceeds a goal of $70 million and was generated through an online auction of premium tax credits to insurance companies with operations in Maryland. While other states have sold tax credits to fund similar venture capital initiatives, Maryland is the first state to use an online auction to raise the capital for such a program. The inaugural round of investments will be made in innovative companies this summer through several private venture capital firms and the State’s successful Maryland Venture Fund (MVF).
“Today, we are pleased to announce that Maryland has taken a significant step forward in generating capital for our businesses and creating jobs,” said Governor O’Malley. “For the first time in our nation’s history, a state has successfully held an online auction to raise funds for a venture capital program and as a result, Maryland will infuse $84 million in venture capital into our Innovation Economy to create jobs. Our State is well-positioned to be a leader in the new economy as a global hub of innovation – a leader in science, security, health, discovery and information technology. That’s why last year, together with business leaders from across the State and the General Assembly, we chose to invest in our diverse and highly-educated workforce and the skills and talents of our people for the jobs and opportunity of tomorrow.”
InvestMaryland is the largest venture capital investment in history by the State. The program is being implemented through the Venture Fund Authority and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED).
“I am thrilled with the auction’s success in not only raising $84 million for InvestMaryland in this difficult economic environment, but also by far exceeding our $70 million goal. I’d like to thank our many partners in this effort – Grant Street Group, DBED staff, my colleagues on the Maryland Venture Fund Authority and the participating insurance companies for helping to make this auction a success,” said Greenleaf, who is also President of Gaithersburg-based MedImmune. “I now look forward to putting this capital to work by making initial investments this summer to help build new businesses and create jobs in Maryland.”
“Working together with our stakeholders and insurance companies, we were able to raise $84 million and far exceed our goal to fuel innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland,” said Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) Secretary Christian S. Johansson. “This program brings maximum benefit for taxpayers, helps create the jobs and companies of tomorrow and builds an economic climate where the most promising ideas and innovations have a chance to mature.”
Today’s online auction attracted more than two dozen insurance companies with operations in Maryland, who bid on the tax credits with a floor of $.70 on the dollar. The 11 companies awarded the credits are Agency Insurance, Chubb, GEICO, Hartford Insurance, IWIF, Med Mutual, Met Life, NY York Life, Selective and Traveler’s. Insurance companies can claim tax credits beginning in 2015.
“GEICO is pleased to work with the State on the InvestMaryland program and participate in today’s successful tax credit auction,” said Mike Campbell, Chief Financial Officer of Maryland-based GEICO. “Our company is in full support of the positive impact that InvestMaryland will have on companies throughout Maryland in terms of job creation, stimulating private investment and moving our Innovation Economy forward."
Key tenets of InvestMaryland, Governor O’Malley’s signature economic development proposal last year, have been implemented over the past nine months. In August, the Governor named the Venture Fund Authority, a nine-member panel that oversees the administration and operation of the program. Earlier this year, the Authority selected Grant Street Group to prepare for and run the tax credit auction and also recently selected Altius Associates, a London-based firm, to oversee the selection of three to four private venture firms to invest the InvestMaryland funds.
The private venture firms will be responsible for investing two-thirds of the funds, which will return 100 percent of the principal and 80 percent of the profits to the State’s general fund. The remaining 33 percent will be invested by 17-year-old Maryland Venture Fund (MVF). Over its life, the MVF has invested $25 million into hundreds of start-up and early stage technology and life sciences companies, generating a $61 million return, 2,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in private investment. The Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority (MSBDFA) will also receive a portion of funds for investment. Returns on the funds invested through the MVF will be reinvested in the program.
Among its benefits, InvestMaryland has the potential to create thousands of jobs in Innovation Economy sectors – life sciences and biotechnology, cyber security/IT and clean/green tech and attract billions of follow on capital. It mirrors many aspects of a federal program to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship nationwide, The Startup America Partnership, which President Barack Obama launched year.
The program is one of a number of initiatives Governor O’Malley has introduced to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland. Earlier this year, the Governor announced a legislative proposal to create the Maryland Innovation Initiative, an historic partnership between the State and its research universities to advance cutting-edge research to the commercial marketplace.
Maryland has an outstanding infrastructure to support an Innovation Economy. The Milken Institute ranks Maryland #2 in the nation for technology and science assets. According to study results, while Maryland received high rankings in human capital investment, research and development inputs, technology and science workforce, and technology concentration and dynamism, it lagged behind other states in risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, demonstrating the need for InvestMaryland and other programs. The Index provides measurements of the technology and science assets for states, ranking them on their ability to foster and sustain a technology sector, which research has shown is a crucial factor in determining a region's future economic success.