DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Government Shutdown?
A vote to avoid a government shutdown is likely today on Capitol Hill. As they head out of town for their August recess, members of Congress are nowhere near a budget agreement for fiscal 2013, which starts Oct. 1. So Democratic and Republican leaders are close to an agreement on a continuing resolution. That would keep the government operating at spending levels equal to this year's budget. The CR could be as long as six months. But members still have to deal with how to avoid sequestration, set to occur January 3. That debate is unlikely before the November elections.
Robbing Peter To Pay Paul
The Treasury inspector general is urging the IRS to collect money owed to it by other federal agencies. In one case, the Treasury Department itself never paid the IRS $26 million. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration looked at interagency work done by IRS. It found IRS officials didn't always get an accurate count on their overhead costs. So they didn't always charge other agencies the right amount. The IG says that runs against the IRS' own regulations. In 2011, the IRS took on 89 jobs for other agencies.
Tractor-trailer Dumps Cucumbers On Inner Loop
WASHINGTON - Call the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway the fruit loop after a tractor-trailer accident dumped produce onto the highway and slowed traffic Tuesday morning.
Four vehicles collided around 8 a.m. in the westbound lanes of Interstate 495 just west of the Van Dorn Street exit.
The accident occurred when a Ford Fusion crashed into a tree-trimming truck while attempting to change lanes. The driver of the truck lost control and hit a tractor-trailer, which then ran off the left side of the road and eventually hit an SUV.
Feds: Calif. Man Attempts To Smuggle Meth As Candy
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man faces federal drug charges for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 4 pounds of methamphetamine to Japan in what looked like dozens of Snickers bars.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Monday that 34-year-old Rogelio Mauricio Harris of Long Beach was arrested last week at Los Angeles International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Japan.
Olympics Fans Find Ways to Circumvent NBC's Online Control
It took Jason Legate, a Walnut Creek,
California-resident, all of 10 minutes to connect his computer to a
London-based server and access BBC's coverage of the Olympics Saturday,
thereby circumventing NBC's lock on coverage in the United States.
The 31-year-old system administrator said he has watched at least 12 hours of live BBC coverage (his favorite sport so far - judo) since he set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection to send all his Internet traffic to a server in London.
Legate is one of many viewers who, turned off by NBC's ironclad control of access to Olympics coverage in the United States and spotty online streaming, has resorted to a workaround--sometimes legal, sometimes not--to watch the Games when and how they want on feeds from countries such as the UK and Canada.
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The 31-year-old system administrator said he has watched at least 12 hours of live BBC coverage (his favorite sport so far - judo) since he set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection to send all his Internet traffic to a server in London.
Legate is one of many viewers who, turned off by NBC's ironclad control of access to Olympics coverage in the United States and spotty online streaming, has resorted to a workaround--sometimes legal, sometimes not--to watch the Games when and how they want on feeds from countries such as the UK and Canada.
More
THIEVES STEAL 15 METAL STORM GRATES IN CALIF. CITY
Officials in Union City, Calif., have dealt with theft before, but they’ve rarely had to deal with people stealing storm drain grates.
“People are coming out in the middle of the night, prying them up and are stealing them,” Cmdr. Ben Horner of the Union City Police told CBS San Francisco .
A total of 15 metal grates have been stolen in the past three weeks, according to city officials.
12-Year-Old Girl Steers to Safety After Grandpa Dies While Driving
Without so much as a driver’s license — or even a foot on the gas
pedal — 12-year-old Miranda Bowman managed to drive off the road to
safety after her grandfather died behind the wheel. Driving on a rural
road in Burlington Township, N.J., last Tuesday, Paul Parker suffered
what seemed to be heart failure.
According to family members, Bowman’s 63-year-old grandfather had been suffering from a heart condition. Bowman told reporters that her grandfather said he wasn’t feeling well: “[He] told me to just keep talking to him. Then he said he was scared, closed his eyes, and put his head on the glass. That’s when I knew he was dead.”
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According to family members, Bowman’s 63-year-old grandfather had been suffering from a heart condition. Bowman told reporters that her grandfather said he wasn’t feeling well: “[He] told me to just keep talking to him. Then he said he was scared, closed his eyes, and put his head on the glass. That’s when I knew he was dead.”
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Charlie Daniels: Hillary Would Have Been a Better President Than Obama
Country music star Charlie Daniels told The Daily Caller on Monday he thinks Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would have been a better president than Barack Obama, even though he’s hardly a fan of either.
Daniels said he thinks Obama has surrounded himself with an inner circle of policy and political novices, something that isn’t conducive to running a tight ship inside the White House.
The fiddler — famous for his “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” hit and others — added that while he’s no fan of the policies pushed by the former first lady and New York Democratic senator, he thinks Clinton would at least have run a productive White House.
Chaffetz Wants To Fire Federal Employees Who Owe Back Taxes
The House is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would fire federal employees for being tax deadbeats.
The bill, which is being proposed by second-term GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz, also would keep tax scofflaws from getting hired by the federal government in the first place.
Federal civilian employees “draw their compensation and funds from the American taxpayers (so) they owe it to the taxpayers themselves to be compliant,” Chaffetz said. “Those that do not should be fired or lose funding.”
Twitter Suspends Journalist Who Was Critical of NBC
A journalist who has criticized NBC's coverage of the London
Olympics has been suspended from Twitter after using the site to publish
a network executive's private e-mail address and urge followers to
message him.
Guy Adams, the Los
Angeles correspondent for London's Independent newspaper, said he was
tossed from the site Sunday after a series of posts, beginning Friday,
that were critical of NBC's decision to delay airing the Games' Opening
Ceremony and other events.
"The man responsible for NBC pretending the Olympics haven't started yet is Gary Zenkel," read one post from Friday
referring to the network, which has exclusive broadcast rights to the
London Olympics in the United States. "Tell him what u think!" That post
then listed Zenkel's e-mail address.
ACLU Wants To Know How License Plate Info Used
The American Civil Liberties Union is asking police agencies nationwide for details on how they store data captured by automatic license plate readers, which authorities say help fight crime and terrorism and are not used to stockpile information on all drivers.
A top concern, the ACLU says, is how long the location and movements of people are kept on file after cameras mounted on patrol cars or along roads on telephone poles and bridges photograph license plates. ACLU affiliates in 38 states and the District of Columbia have joined in asking for the information.
Obama Could Be Descended From African Slave
A team of genealogists has found evidence that President Barack Obama could be a descendent of an African slave _ but not through the lineage of his black father, the most likely route researchers had followed and exhausted.
The link, genealogists with Ancestry.com said Monday, is, in fact, through an examination of his white mother's family history.
"We were surprised and excited to make that connection," said Joseph Shumway, a member of the Utah-based Ancestry.com team.
IRAN PREPARING MAHDI'S SPECIAL FORCES
The Quds Forces, a special Iranian unit of thousands of operatives tasked with exporting Iran’s Islamic revolution, are being told to step up preparations for terrorism for the coming of the last Islamic messiah and the destruction of the West.
Ali Saeedi, the Iranian supreme leader’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards, emphasized during a Friday sermon in Tehran that the Islamic republic must directly confront America so that the necessary environment is created for the reappearance of Mahdi, the Shiite’s 12th imam, who will kill all infidels and raise the flag of Islam in all corners of the world.
Obama Will 'Evaluate' Bill Limiting Online Ammunition Sales, White House Says
White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that
President Barack Obama will "evaluate" new legislation that effectively
bans online sales of gun ammunition, but he wouldn't say whether the
president could support it.
During the daily White House briefing, Earnest told The Huffington Post that he didn't know if Obama had seen the bill filed Monday by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). The measure would significantly curb the ability of people to anonymously buy unlimited amounts of ammunition via the Internet or other types of mail orders. It would also require ammunition dealers to report bulk sales of bullets to law enforcement.
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During the daily White House briefing, Earnest told The Huffington Post that he didn't know if Obama had seen the bill filed Monday by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). The measure would significantly curb the ability of people to anonymously buy unlimited amounts of ammunition via the Internet or other types of mail orders. It would also require ammunition dealers to report bulk sales of bullets to law enforcement.
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MOB OF TEENS REPORTEDLY STEALS $3,000 WORTH OF ‘NUDIE’ JEANS FROM CHICAGO STORE
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been talking a lot about “Chicago values” recently, saying , for instance, that they are not in line with Chick-Fil-A because the company’s president believes in traditional marriage.
Earlier this month, in a heartfelt plea to clean up the city, Emanuel told the city’s “gang bangers” to “take [their] stuff to the alley“ and to ”stay away from the kids.”
“And it is about values,” Emaneul elaborated . “Who raised you? How were you raised? And I don‘t buy this case where people say they don’t have values. They do have values– they have the wrong values.”
Bernie Sanders Calls Federal Reserve "Socialism for the Rich" After $16 Trillion Secret Bail-Outs, Including Foreign Banks
After 89 Democrats in the House voted in a victory for bipartisanship for HR 459 to audit the Federal Reserve, some jaw-dropping numbers are emerging as a result of a partial audit conducted this year. It is no surprise that the news is dropping with a dull thud in the media. That's why you should get your news from the Internet and sites like this.
Senator Bernie Sanders at his official website reports:
The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. An amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Wall Street reform law passed one year ago this week directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct the study. "As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world," said Sanders. "This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you're-on-your-own individualism for everyone else."
Despite the wording of the Sanders press release the audit was not "top-to-bottom," with many areas excluded. HR 459 would remedy this.
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Senator Bernie Sanders at his official website reports:
The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. An amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Wall Street reform law passed one year ago this week directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct the study. "As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world," said Sanders. "This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you're-on-your-own individualism for everyone else."
Despite the wording of the Sanders press release the audit was not "top-to-bottom," with many areas excluded. HR 459 would remedy this.
More
Recidivism Rate For Illegal Immigrants Nearly 20 Percent, DHS Records Show, As Rep Says Lack Of Enforcement To Blame
Roughly one in five illegal immigrants arrested for a crime committed
additional ones within three years of their release, according to a
House Judiciary Committee report to be released Tuesday.
The findings are the result of the committee’s subpoena request for Department of Homeland Security records from October 2008 to July 2011.
The information was analyzed by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which also broke down the information for criminal immigrants -- legal immigrants who committed crimes and were arrested again over the three-year period.
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The findings are the result of the committee’s subpoena request for Department of Homeland Security records from October 2008 to July 2011.
The information was analyzed by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which also broke down the information for criminal immigrants -- legal immigrants who committed crimes and were arrested again over the three-year period.
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Science Proves What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
To a degree, yes.
Tough experiences do seem to make you tougher. People who had faced a moderate amount of adversity often coped better with problems than those who had a history of either serious problems or none at all:
Via APS:
Your parents were right: Hard experiences may indeed make you tough. Psychological scientists have found that, while going through many experiences like assault, hurricanes, and bereavement can be psychologically damaging, small amounts of trauma may help people develop resilience.
And:
Indeed, a lot of solid psychology research shows that having miserable life experiences is bad for you. Serious events, like the death of a child or parent, a natural disaster, being physically attacked, experiencing sexual abuse, or being forcibly separated from your family, can cause psychological problems. In fact, some research has suggested that the best way to go through life is having nothing ever happen to you. But not only is that unrealistic, it’s not necessarily healthy, Seery says.
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Tough experiences do seem to make you tougher. People who had faced a moderate amount of adversity often coped better with problems than those who had a history of either serious problems or none at all:
Via APS:
Your parents were right: Hard experiences may indeed make you tough. Psychological scientists have found that, while going through many experiences like assault, hurricanes, and bereavement can be psychologically damaging, small amounts of trauma may help people develop resilience.
And:
Indeed, a lot of solid psychology research shows that having miserable life experiences is bad for you. Serious events, like the death of a child or parent, a natural disaster, being physically attacked, experiencing sexual abuse, or being forcibly separated from your family, can cause psychological problems. In fact, some research has suggested that the best way to go through life is having nothing ever happen to you. But not only is that unrealistic, it’s not necessarily healthy, Seery says.
More
ACLU Lawyer Wants Chick-fil-A Supporters to Gorge on Transfats
If you support Chick-fil-A in the face of left-wing nutcase attacks over the restaurant chain’s support of traditional marriage, ACLU of Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose has some advice :
“Did you see that politicians Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee are now trying to rally all homophobes to eat at Chick-fil-A? I’m thrilled. In fact, I encourage all bigots to load up on transfats and carbohydrates. Go ahead — eat your heart out on the “Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit” breakfast ! Mmmm.”
Presumably, her idea is to trigger heart attacks.
U.S. Says Afghans Abandoned Police Bases
WASHINGTON—Inspectors from a U.S. government watchdog agency discovered that several American-funded border police bases in Afghanistan have been largely abandoned or left unoccupied, raising questions about the coming hand-over of security duties to local forces.
Among other findings, inspectors found that one base, Lal Por 2, wasn't being used by Afghan border forces because it had no water supply, a report due out Monday states. A second, Nazyan, "may soon be uninhabitable" because of shoddy construction that caused sewage overflow.
All told, the new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found most of the facilities on three of the four bases that it inspected—each built to house 93 border police personnel—"were either unoccupied or weren't used for the intended purposes."
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Among other findings, inspectors found that one base, Lal Por 2, wasn't being used by Afghan border forces because it had no water supply, a report due out Monday states. A second, Nazyan, "may soon be uninhabitable" because of shoddy construction that caused sewage overflow.
All told, the new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found most of the facilities on three of the four bases that it inspected—each built to house 93 border police personnel—"were either unoccupied or weren't used for the intended purposes."
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Before Rumors Get Started, My Response To Michelle Obama
From: Michelle Obama
To: Joe Albero
Date: Tue, Jul 31, 2012 3:27 pm
Joe --
I'm always amazed by how Barack balances his responsibilities as president, a husband, and a dad.
But sometimes even he needs a little help. And this campaign is going to take all of us pitching in.
All of the things we've poured our hearts into -- from passing health care reform to fighting for an economy that works for everyone -- are on the line.
I know I don't want to wake up on November 7th wondering if I could have done more. So I'm doing everything I can between now and Election Day to make sure we can keep moving this country forward for four more years.
We've only got a few more hours before an important fundraising deadline. Please support this campaign by giving $3 or more today:
From all of us, thanks.
Michelle
Dear Michelle,
Boy, if you keep writing me like this on a daily basis people are really going to start talking! Yeah, I can see in your position while your vacationing as often as you are and Barack always out golfing how the two of you really don't spend much time together. Believe me, in my campaign for Mayor of Salisbury, living in Salisbury while my Wife and Grandson live in Delmar, it really is a sacrifice. Hmmmmm, I wonder, (between ALL of us) who's sacrificing more?
That being said, I'll donate to your campaign just as soon as you donate to mine. I'm confident your response will be the same as mine, trust me, the check is in the mail.
Sincerely,
Joe Albero
To: Joe Albero
Date: Tue, Jul 31, 2012 3:27 pm
Joe --
I'm always amazed by how Barack balances his responsibilities as president, a husband, and a dad.
But sometimes even he needs a little help. And this campaign is going to take all of us pitching in.
All of the things we've poured our hearts into -- from passing health care reform to fighting for an economy that works for everyone -- are on the line.
I know I don't want to wake up on November 7th wondering if I could have done more. So I'm doing everything I can between now and Election Day to make sure we can keep moving this country forward for four more years.
We've only got a few more hours before an important fundraising deadline. Please support this campaign by giving $3 or more today:
From all of us, thanks.
Michelle
Dear Michelle,
Boy, if you keep writing me like this on a daily basis people are really going to start talking! Yeah, I can see in your position while your vacationing as often as you are and Barack always out golfing how the two of you really don't spend much time together. Believe me, in my campaign for Mayor of Salisbury, living in Salisbury while my Wife and Grandson live in Delmar, it really is a sacrifice. Hmmmmm, I wonder, (between ALL of us) who's sacrificing more?
That being said, I'll donate to your campaign just as soon as you donate to mine. I'm confident your response will be the same as mine, trust me, the check is in the mail.
Sincerely,
Joe Albero
JANET NAPOLITANO SAYS MEMBERS OF TERRORIST GROUPS ENTER U.S. FROM MEXICO ‘FROM TIME TO TIME’
Speaking before the House Homeland Security Committee last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress that members of terrorist groups that intend to harm the country enter the U.S. through Mexico “from time to time,” confirming an inconvenient truth that many have been aware of for years.
During the July 25 hearing, Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) asked Napolitano: “As you know, Madam Secretary, there have been anecdotal reports about material evidence of the presence of terrorists along our southern border. My question is, is there any credible evidence that these reports are accurate and that terrorists are, in fact, crossing our southern border with the intent to do harm to the American people?”
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S GUIDANCE ON ‘WARN’ NOTICES
ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 31, 2012) – Governor Martin O’Malley today released the following statement on yesterday’s guidance by the U.S. Department of Labor on the relevance of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act to possible layoffs of federal contractors:
“The Labor Department's advice that the law does not require the mailing of WARN notices as Congress deliberates a more balanced way to avoid sequester, is good news for Maryland businesses and their employees who do important defense-related jobs in our State.
“Surely Congress can and must find the consensus necessary to provide for the Common Defense of our nation with a more balanced approach.
“The investments we make as a people to safeguard our national security are critically important to the well-being of our country and to the economic recovery of our entire Chesapeake Region of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia."
“The Labor Department's advice that the law does not require the mailing of WARN notices as Congress deliberates a more balanced way to avoid sequester, is good news for Maryland businesses and their employees who do important defense-related jobs in our State.
“Surely Congress can and must find the consensus necessary to provide for the Common Defense of our nation with a more balanced approach.
“The investments we make as a people to safeguard our national security are critically important to the well-being of our country and to the economic recovery of our entire Chesapeake Region of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia."
LBJ's Great Grand Kids Go Clothes Shopping In Rhamaland
The attack described below occurred just blocks from Chicago's "magnificent mile" shopping area on Michigan Ave. When the sun goes down until 11:00 PM, it is not unusual to see five or six police per block on Michigan Ave.
However, if Rahmites wander just a block or so, it is generally safe, but LBJ's great grand kids can come roaring through, like a summer thunderstorm, and take out a few teeth. The LBJ gun shootings usually occur on LBJ turf, where Rahmites never tread and where every fatherless thugged-up LBJ great grand kid carries his own unregistered gun.
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However, if Rahmites wander just a block or so, it is generally safe, but LBJ's great grand kids can come roaring through, like a summer thunderstorm, and take out a few teeth. The LBJ gun shootings usually occur on LBJ turf, where Rahmites never tread and where every fatherless thugged-up LBJ great grand kid carries his own unregistered gun.
More
Roscoe Bartlett Calls On John Delaney To Denounce Pelosi’s Comments About Jewish Republicans
Frederick, MD - Roscoe Bartlett is calling on Democrat opponent John Delaney to denounce the negative comments Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi made about Jewish Republicans.
"I have known Congresswoman Pelosi for decades, and I consider her a friend, but her comments about Jewish Republican voters being exploited were completely out of bounds, and I disavow those comments.”
Bartlett Continues, “I also would like to call on my opponent, John Delaney, to join me in repudiating these offensive comments."
Congressman Bartlett has been a longtime defender of Israel and protector of its interests.
"I have known Congresswoman Pelosi for decades, and I consider her a friend, but her comments about Jewish Republican voters being exploited were completely out of bounds, and I disavow those comments.”
Bartlett Continues, “I also would like to call on my opponent, John Delaney, to join me in repudiating these offensive comments."
Congressman Bartlett has been a longtime defender of Israel and protector of its interests.
Global Warming?
A Koch bother-funded climate change skeptic suddenly reversed course – and now proclaims that humans are "entirely the cause" of global climate change. Three years ago, physicist Richard Muller was given $150,000 from the Koch brothers to co-found the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project to debunk climate change arguments. But on Sunday, after three years of intense research, Muller is biting the hand that feeds him by promoting genuine science and ringing the alarm bell that climate change is happening and humans are to blame. As Muller wrote on Sunday in the New York Times, "My total turnaround, in such a short time, is the result of careful and objective analysis... it appears likely that essentially all of this increase [in temperatures] results from the human emission of greenhouse gases." When even Koch-funded scientists are coming out and saying that man-made climate change is happening, then guess what – it's happening! From unprecedented ice melting in Greenland – to unprecedented heat waves and droughts in America – to sudden die-offs of reefs and phytoplankton in the oceans – the world is changing rapidly. And eventually billionaires will no longer be able to buy off scientists to deny the reality of the damage their oil, coal, and natural gas industries are doing to our planet.
Owners Unable To Keep Pets Turn For Help
Carla Waller believes in promises. She was married for 37 years, held one job for 35 and never adopted a pet she didn’t keep for life. Until now.
Mrs. Waller and her husband, Dennis, moved to Las Vegas in 2006 and put $100,000 down on a $330,000 home. They adopted Jake, a 3-year-old, lean, shy cocker spaniel. They both sold furniture on commission and thought they were set for retirement and beyond.
Mr. Waller received a diagnosis of terminal cancer in 2008 and died in 2009. Mrs. Waller stayed home to care for him, but returned to work to make ends meet. She adopted Marilyn Monroe, a schnauzer-collie, to keep Jake company. A friend added Jewels the cat to the mix
Occupy Movement Delivers Good News For Some
There's good news coming out of Minnesota where a homeowner was saved from foreclosure thanks to the local Occupy Movement. Just days before Ruby Brown's home was about to be auctioned off – activists with Occupy Our Homes Minnesota converged on her property and held a series of demonstrations to raise awareness and keep Brown in her home. And it worked. Last week – Brown was told by Bank of America that they would renegotiate her mortgage. The physical occupations were broken up several months ago – but the Occupy Movement isn't dead – and it's helping struggling homeowners and indebted students all around our nation.
‘FIT FOR A QUEEN?’: MEDIA PRAISES MICHELLE OBAMA’S $6,800 SHIRT (AFTER BASHING ANN ROMNEY’S $990 ONE)
TheBlaze does not usually report on fashion trends or presidential outfits, but in this case, a shirt forms part of a larger narrative.
Over the weekend, Michelle Obama “wowed” at Buckingham Palace “in a captivating, all-white embroidered jacket that retails for $6,800,” in the words of the New York Daily News.
Explaining that the first lady opted for a J. Mendel “capsleeve jacket” from the 2013 resort collection, the Daily News continued:
Under Assault
As long as Antonin Scalia is on the Supreme Court, then logic – and just plain common sense – will be under assault. Justice Scalia appeared on Fox News Sunday to argue that women don't have a right to privacy in America – and thus don't have a right to contraception – while also saying that people might have a right to own hand-held rocket launchers. Scalia said he disagreed with the Supreme Court's Griswold decision, which gave married couples the legal right to have condoms in their bedrooms - something that was illegal prior to 1965 - arguing, "There's no right to privacy in the Constitution." Then Scalia argued that the second amendment applies to any sort of weapon that can be carried in someone's hands...hence the phrasing of the 2nd Amendment's "right to bear arms." Thus, a hand-held rocket launcher is fair game in Scalia's mind. So this is a vision of our future laid out by one of the most powerful men in the nation. It's a place where Americans can walk around armed with rocket launchers, while at the same time women have absolutely no right to do even own a condom if the state says, "No." This November, the Supreme Court hangs in the balance. And if Mitt Romney wins – he says we should expect a few more Scalia's on the high court.
Republicans To Issue Report Blaming Five ATF Employees for Fast and Furious' Debacle
Congressional Republican investigators
have singled out five employees in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives to blame for the botched anti-gunrunning
operation known as Fast and Furious, in a report on the scandal obtained
by Fox News.
The report, the first of three to be issued from the congressional investigation, concludes that the five employees were responsible for an operation "marred by missteps, poor judgments and inherently reckless strategy." All five have since been reassigned but remain employed in the agency.
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The report, the first of three to be issued from the congressional investigation, concludes that the five employees were responsible for an operation "marred by missteps, poor judgments and inherently reckless strategy." All five have since been reassigned but remain employed in the agency.
More
THE HOUSE THAT OBAMA BUILT
This is the house that Obama built
These are the firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
This is the media that didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
These are the crony big business concerns
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
This is the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
These are the blessed condoms and porn
That the state must provide from the day we are born
That was paid with the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
This is the maiden in a Georgetown dorm
That milked the taxpayers for condoms and porn
That the state must provide from the day we are born
That was paid with the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
These are the men all tidy and shorn
That cheered the maiden in a Georgetown dorm
That milked the taxpayers for condoms and porn
That the state must provide from the day we are born
That was paid with the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
This is the priest who was made to reform
That married the men all tidy and shorn
That cheered the maiden in a Georgetown dorm
That milked the taxpayers for condoms and porn
That the state must provide from the day we are born
That was paid with the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
These are the people all tattered and torn
That once trusted the priest who was made to reform
That married the men all tidy and shorn
That cheered the maiden in a Georgetown dorm
That milked the taxpayers for condoms and porn
That the state must provide from the day we are born
That was paid with the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
This is the gas that was made out of corn
That used to be food for those tattered and torn
That once trusted the priest who was made to reform
That married the men all tidy and shorn
That cheered the maiden in a Georgetown dorm
That milked the taxpayers for condoms and porn
That the state must provide from the day we are born
That was paid with the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
This is the clunker tooting its horn
That was fueled by the gas that was made out of corn
That used to be food for those tattered and torn
That once trusted the priest who was made to reform
That married the men all tidy and shorn
That cheered the maiden in a Georgetown dorm
That milked the taxpayers for condoms and porn
That the state must provide from the day we are born
That was paid with the money all wasted and gone
That came from the stimulus out of turn
That the crony big businesses didn’t return
That gave to the unions what they didn’t earn
That the media saw but didn’t inform
That everyone’s broke except for those firms
That paid for the house that Obama built
Source
Couple, Child Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide
Calvert County officials said a man, woman and a 2-year-old child are dead following an apparent murder-suicide.
The Calvert County Sheriff's Office said the bodies were found Tuesday morning inside a home in Owings.
CLIMATE SKEPTIC SAYS HE‘S BEEN ’CONVERTED‘ TO GLOBAL WARMING CAMP AS STUDY FINDS NOAA ’EXAGGERATED’ DATA
Over the weekend, University of California-Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller, a once avid “climate skeptic,” came out in a New York Times op-ed saying that he was “converted.” But the climate science community that supports warming as man-made, instead of welcoming Muller with open arms, is criticizing him to an extent.
Muller admits himself that he had in the past been critical of some climate change studies, but instead of complaining about it, he and his daughter, Elizabeth, founded the Berekley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) project. TheBlaze reported the first inklings that Muller was changing his position on the state of global warming last fall when draft studies of his analysis from this project was released. He now writes in the Times he believes “humans are almost entirely the cause”:
Mark Spitznagel On Ron Paul's Grand Shi Strategy
As the Republican National Convention approaches, the shouts of victory resounding in the tents will easily conceal the broader political forces at work in the party beyond this fall’s hopeful decisive victory.
The strategy of these forces are visible in the past Republican presidential campaign of Congressman Ron Paul. To some, Paul’s stubborn persistence in the campaign has been just that: a stubborn unwillingness to lie down and die despite evidence of sure defeat. But what they have missed is a common misperception of a subtle yet powerful age-old strategy at play.
The strategy of the Paul campaign, explicit or not, is the archetypal shi (pronounced “sure”) strategy expounded and employed by Chinese philosophers and military strategists for thousands of years.
Shi has no single, obvious translation, though the best seem to be strategic- or positional-advantage, or potential energy. We might call it cultivating the influence of the present on the future. Shi has been traced back as far as Laozi and the Daodejing, the fourth century BC political treatise attributed to him, with its counterintuitive processual and indirect approach to conflict. Over the centuries that followed, it gained more military-specific development starting with Sunzi.
The quintessential metaphor for shi is water, flowing ever downward in the most naturally powerful and effective way, ultimately overcoming everything in its path. Paradoxically, it is one of the softest and yet strongest forces in nature.
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The strategy of these forces are visible in the past Republican presidential campaign of Congressman Ron Paul. To some, Paul’s stubborn persistence in the campaign has been just that: a stubborn unwillingness to lie down and die despite evidence of sure defeat. But what they have missed is a common misperception of a subtle yet powerful age-old strategy at play.
The strategy of the Paul campaign, explicit or not, is the archetypal shi (pronounced “sure”) strategy expounded and employed by Chinese philosophers and military strategists for thousands of years.
Shi has no single, obvious translation, though the best seem to be strategic- or positional-advantage, or potential energy. We might call it cultivating the influence of the present on the future. Shi has been traced back as far as Laozi and the Daodejing, the fourth century BC political treatise attributed to him, with its counterintuitive processual and indirect approach to conflict. Over the centuries that followed, it gained more military-specific development starting with Sunzi.
The quintessential metaphor for shi is water, flowing ever downward in the most naturally powerful and effective way, ultimately overcoming everything in its path. Paradoxically, it is one of the softest and yet strongest forces in nature.
More
Where Were You In '62?
Fifty years ago, in the summer of 1962, America was a far different place than it is today. President John Kennedy was presiding over Camelot and despite fouling up the invasion of Cuba, his approval rating hovered around 80%. Unemployment was 5.2% with the average family income at $6,000 a year.
Most Americans did not have much money but made do. Millions bought Elvis Presley's record "Return to Sender" and went to see "Lawrence of Arabia" in movie theaters. At home, "Wagon Train" was the top TV show.
Years later, the film "American Graffiti" featured the ad campaign "Where were you in '62?" Well, I was on Long Island, hanging around. During the day, we swam at the Levittown pool, played stickball in the street, and in August my father took us to a lake in Vermont. Also, we went to Jones Beach and baked in the sun without block while second hand cigarette smoke engulfed us on the blanket.
My folks had little disposable income, certainly not enough for air conditioning or a color television set. But, again, there was little whining in my working class neighborhood. We had fun with what was available. Most everybody worked. Nobody was on welfare.
In fact, just 6% of Americans received welfare payments in 1962. Now that number is 35%. More than 100 hundred million of us are getting money from the government, and that does not count Social Security and Medicare, programs workers pay into. This is a profound change in the American tradition.
Also, we now have close to nine million workers collecting federal disability checks. In 2001, that number was about five million. Here's my question: is the workplace that much more hazardous than it was 11 years ago? Are we that much more unhealthy?
The answer is no. What we are seeing is the rise of the nanny state.
More
Most Americans did not have much money but made do. Millions bought Elvis Presley's record "Return to Sender" and went to see "Lawrence of Arabia" in movie theaters. At home, "Wagon Train" was the top TV show.
Years later, the film "American Graffiti" featured the ad campaign "Where were you in '62?" Well, I was on Long Island, hanging around. During the day, we swam at the Levittown pool, played stickball in the street, and in August my father took us to a lake in Vermont. Also, we went to Jones Beach and baked in the sun without block while second hand cigarette smoke engulfed us on the blanket.
My folks had little disposable income, certainly not enough for air conditioning or a color television set. But, again, there was little whining in my working class neighborhood. We had fun with what was available. Most everybody worked. Nobody was on welfare.
In fact, just 6% of Americans received welfare payments in 1962. Now that number is 35%. More than 100 hundred million of us are getting money from the government, and that does not count Social Security and Medicare, programs workers pay into. This is a profound change in the American tradition.
Also, we now have close to nine million workers collecting federal disability checks. In 2001, that number was about five million. Here's my question: is the workplace that much more hazardous than it was 11 years ago? Are we that much more unhealthy?
The answer is no. What we are seeing is the rise of the nanny state.
More
Napoleon, Central Banks And The Cost Of Boredom
Another week of central bank watching ahead, and markets will play their customary game of chicken with the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. Both central banks have policy meetings this week – the Fed’s concludes on Wednesday, the ECB’s on Thursday – and capital markets have been moving higher in recent days on the hope of coordinated action. For investors and traders, this sets up a classic “Buy the rumor, sell the news” pattern for the week ahead. But Nic Colas of ConvergEx asks the deeper question, and the one that will retard any lasting move to the upside, is how much central banks can do without help from fiscal policymakers.
Nic Colas, ConvergEx...
One of the overarching themes of these notes is that human history repeats because human nature does not change. We learn, yes… But the genetic coding that allowed the species to survive through the millennia is still hardwired into our decision-making processes. The best example for investors is that humans run away from danger and cluster together for safety. Great if you are facing a hungry animal, but problematic if you get scared out of a volatile market or think buying a hot new social networking company is the path to outperformance.
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Nic Colas, ConvergEx...
One of the overarching themes of these notes is that human history repeats because human nature does not change. We learn, yes… But the genetic coding that allowed the species to survive through the millennia is still hardwired into our decision-making processes. The best example for investors is that humans run away from danger and cluster together for safety. Great if you are facing a hungry animal, but problematic if you get scared out of a volatile market or think buying a hot new social networking company is the path to outperformance.
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Extending Tax Cuts
Last week, Democrats in the Senate passed legislation to extend tax cuts for 98% of the nation, while forcing the top 2% to pay their fair share again. This week, Republicans in the House are countering that vote, with legislation to give millionaires a massive $187,000 annual tax cut, while raising taxes on the middle class and working Americans. The so-called tax reform law being considered by Republicans this week – would drop the top income tax rate in America down 25%. And rather than closing loopholes that allow corporations like GE to pay nothing in taxes, Republicans are getting rid of deductions that give average working families some tax relief. According to an analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice, the Republicans plan would massively shift the tax burden down the income scale – hitting low and middle income Americans the hardest. The Republican Party is now officially the Party of, by, and for the top 1%.
Probe Reveals For-Profit Colleges' Questionable Compensation Practices
According to an investigation by Democratic Congressman Elijah Cumming – the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform – for-profit colleges are paying executives massive salaries – not based on student achievement – but instead based solely on profitability. Looking at 13 different for-profit schools – the investigation found, "the single most significant measure for determining executive compensation at these schools is corporate profitability...rather than student achievement." For-profit colleges rely heavily on government funding, with many schools receiving as much as 90% of their revenue from federal student loan assistance programs. Yet, they're not producing good results. A quarter of all students who attend for-profit schools default after three years, while the default rate at public institutions is a mere 10%. Yet the for-profit school executives still get fat paychecks – like Strayer CEO Robert Silberman who made $41 million in 2009 alone. Educating the future American workforce used to be a part of the commons, because the economic security of the nation depends on well-educated workers. But now, the money-changers are in control – leaving students in debt, unprepared, and jobless.
Salisbury Police Department Press Releases 7-31-12
Booby Terrell Manuel, 25yoa of Salisbury, MD was arrested July 27, 2012 and charged with Driving without a License, Possession of Fake CDS and Possession of CDS Paraphernalia.
On July 27, 2012 at 0231hrs Salisbury Police officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle at E. Church St. and E. Railroad Ave.
During the traffic stop, officers determined that the operator of the vehicle, Manuel, did not possess a valid driver’s license.
Manuel was placed under arrest for Driving without a License.
Officers searched Manuel incident arrest and located an amount of fake crack cocaine on his person.
Manuel was released to Central Booking.
On July 30, 2012 at approximately 2:40 A.M. officers of the Salisbury Police Department responded to the 300 block of Brooklyn Ave. in reference to a burglary. The residents were alerted by a loud noise and determined that the rear door had been forced opened. The suspects had stolen several items and fled the scene. The investigation revealed that one the suspects had left a back pack inside the residence. Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division followed up on the case and were able to recovered some of the stolen property and identify the
suspects.
Arrested: Kyle Marquis Colon, 20 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Jonathan Gabriel Colon, 19 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Kardin Markin Strong, 18 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Tamir Juan Armour, 22 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Charges: First Degree Burglary, Third Degree Burglary, Fourth Degree Burglary, Theft Less $1,000, Malicious Destruction of Property
Disposition: Released to Central Booking
On July 27, 2012 at 0231hrs Salisbury Police officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle at E. Church St. and E. Railroad Ave.
During the traffic stop, officers determined that the operator of the vehicle, Manuel, did not possess a valid driver’s license.
Manuel was placed under arrest for Driving without a License.
Officers searched Manuel incident arrest and located an amount of fake crack cocaine on his person.
Manuel was released to Central Booking.
On July 30, 2012 at approximately 2:40 A.M. officers of the Salisbury Police Department responded to the 300 block of Brooklyn Ave. in reference to a burglary. The residents were alerted by a loud noise and determined that the rear door had been forced opened. The suspects had stolen several items and fled the scene. The investigation revealed that one the suspects had left a back pack inside the residence. Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division followed up on the case and were able to recovered some of the stolen property and identify the
suspects.
Arrested: Kyle Marquis Colon, 20 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Jonathan Gabriel Colon, 19 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Kardin Markin Strong, 18 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Tamir Juan Armour, 22 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
Charges: First Degree Burglary, Third Degree Burglary, Fourth Degree Burglary, Theft Less $1,000, Malicious Destruction of Property
Disposition: Released to Central Booking
Why Did CVS Customer Keep Returning Used Enemas To The Store?
It was an observant CVS cashier who brought a Florida man's reign of fecal contamination to a close. The customer would allegedly buy saline enema kits, use them, clumsily reseal the boxes, and return the kits to the store. The enema kits went right back on store shelves to be sold to unsuspecting customers. The bottles contained some fluid, but had fecal matter on them. This purchase and return cycle began in April and continued until June.
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WCSO Press Release 7-31-12
Incident: Fugitive
Date of Incident: 25 July 2012
Location: 8600 block of Barbara Ann Way, Delmar, MD
Suspect: Shawn Adam White, 26, Delmar, MD
Narrative: On 25 July 2012 at 5:15 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office located Shawn White who was wanted on two outstanding warrants. White was wanted on a District Court arrest warrant that charged him with trespassing on the property of Pond’s Edge Apartments in Delmar after White had been evicted and served with a notice not to return to the property. The warrant was issued after White was observed on the property following the eviction.
White was also wanted on a District Court Bench Warrant that was issued after he violated his probation in a Violation of a Protective Order Case.
White was released on Personal Recognizance on the Arrest Warrant for trespass and held on $20,000.00 bond on the Violation of Probation Bench Warrant
Charges: Trespass
Violation of Probation
Incident: Assault
Date of Incident: 18 July 2012
Location: 1100 block of Pocahontas Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspect: Carlos Demetrice Wood, 38, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 18 July 2012 at 10:46 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported physical altercation between two men at a residence in the 1100 block of Pocahontas Avenue in Salisbury. Upon arrival, the deputy learned that Carlos Wood allegedly punched another male in the face causing obvious injury. Wood was gone when the deputy arrived which prompted the deputy to obtain a warrant for the arrest of Wood charging him with assault.
Wood was located on 24 July 2012 on Church Street in Salisbury where he was taken into custody. The deputy transported Wood to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner detained Wood in the Detention Center in lieu of $10,000.00 bond.
Charges: Assault 2nd Degree
Incident: DUI
Date of Incident: 28 July 2012
Location: 8000 block of Parsonsburg Road, Delmar, MD
Suspect: Marcus Anthony Bounds, 25, Seaford, DE
Narrative: On 28 July 2012 at 1:32 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a vehicle that had run off the road in the 8000 block of Parsonsburg Road. Upon arrival, the deputy met with an individual who was identified as the driver, Marcus Bounds, and the deputy detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the driver’s breath. The deputy administered sobriety testing, after which Bounds was placed under arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.
During processing, Bounds refused to take the breath test.
Bounds was released upon the issuance of citations.
Charges: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Date of Incident: 25 July 2012
Location: 8600 block of Barbara Ann Way, Delmar, MD
Suspect: Shawn Adam White, 26, Delmar, MD
Narrative: On 25 July 2012 at 5:15 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office located Shawn White who was wanted on two outstanding warrants. White was wanted on a District Court arrest warrant that charged him with trespassing on the property of Pond’s Edge Apartments in Delmar after White had been evicted and served with a notice not to return to the property. The warrant was issued after White was observed on the property following the eviction.
White was also wanted on a District Court Bench Warrant that was issued after he violated his probation in a Violation of a Protective Order Case.
White was released on Personal Recognizance on the Arrest Warrant for trespass and held on $20,000.00 bond on the Violation of Probation Bench Warrant
Charges: Trespass
Violation of Probation
Incident: Assault
Date of Incident: 18 July 2012
Location: 1100 block of Pocahontas Avenue, Salisbury, MD
Suspect: Carlos Demetrice Wood, 38, Salisbury, MD
Narrative: On 18 July 2012 at 10:46 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported physical altercation between two men at a residence in the 1100 block of Pocahontas Avenue in Salisbury. Upon arrival, the deputy learned that Carlos Wood allegedly punched another male in the face causing obvious injury. Wood was gone when the deputy arrived which prompted the deputy to obtain a warrant for the arrest of Wood charging him with assault.
Wood was located on 24 July 2012 on Church Street in Salisbury where he was taken into custody. The deputy transported Wood to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner detained Wood in the Detention Center in lieu of $10,000.00 bond.
Charges: Assault 2nd Degree
Incident: DUI
Date of Incident: 28 July 2012
Location: 8000 block of Parsonsburg Road, Delmar, MD
Suspect: Marcus Anthony Bounds, 25, Seaford, DE
Narrative: On 28 July 2012 at 1:32 PM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a vehicle that had run off the road in the 8000 block of Parsonsburg Road. Upon arrival, the deputy met with an individual who was identified as the driver, Marcus Bounds, and the deputy detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the driver’s breath. The deputy administered sobriety testing, after which Bounds was placed under arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.
During processing, Bounds refused to take the breath test.
Bounds was released upon the issuance of citations.
Charges: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Troopers Investigating a Body Discovered In Ocean, South Bethany Beach
Location: In the area of South Ocean Drive, South Bethany Beach, DE
Date of Occurrence: Tuesday July 31, 2012 at approximately 6:21 a.m.
Victim:
Graciela Huegel, 71, South Bethany Beach, DE
Resume:
South Bethany Beach, DE- The Delaware State Police are currently conducting a death investigation after a body was discovered in the ocean near South Bethany Beach.
South Bethany Police Department was dispatched to a body that was found in the surf off South Ocean Drive around 6:21 a.m. this morning. A witness informed police they observed the body floating in the water while walking on the beach. The body, which was later identified as Graciela Huegel, 71, of South Bethany was removed scene by the Medical Examiner’s Office and transported to Georgetown where an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Graciela was last seen around 3:00 a.m. by her husband when she left her residence to take a walk. Foul play is not suspected and the investigation is continuing by Delaware State Police Detectives.
Date of Occurrence: Tuesday July 31, 2012 at approximately 6:21 a.m.
Victim:
Graciela Huegel, 71, South Bethany Beach, DE
Resume:
South Bethany Beach, DE- The Delaware State Police are currently conducting a death investigation after a body was discovered in the ocean near South Bethany Beach.
South Bethany Police Department was dispatched to a body that was found in the surf off South Ocean Drive around 6:21 a.m. this morning. A witness informed police they observed the body floating in the water while walking on the beach. The body, which was later identified as Graciela Huegel, 71, of South Bethany was removed scene by the Medical Examiner’s Office and transported to Georgetown where an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Graciela was last seen around 3:00 a.m. by her husband when she left her residence to take a walk. Foul play is not suspected and the investigation is continuing by Delaware State Police Detectives.
Squatters File Bankruptcy To Keep Homeowners Out Of Their Own House
Earlier this month, we told you about the Colorado family that, after 8 months of trying to evict squatters who had moved into their temporarily vacated house and falsely claimed "adverse possession," finally convinced a judge to order the squatters to leave. Seems like all was resolved. Not exactly.
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USCG, Good Samaritans Rescue Three
The Coast Guard and good Samaritans assisted in rescuing 3 people from a
pleasure craft that was taking on water about 25 miles southeast of
Ocean City, Md.
The operator of the Last One contacted the Coast Guard at about 12:15 p.m. via VHF-FM channel 16 reporting the Last One, a 27-foot craft, was taking on water after the boat's hull had been damaged by its anchor.
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The operator of the Last One contacted the Coast Guard at about 12:15 p.m. via VHF-FM channel 16 reporting the Last One, a 27-foot craft, was taking on water after the boat's hull had been damaged by its anchor.
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Journalist’s Twitter Account Suspended For Sharing NBC Executive’s E-Mail Address
As we mentioned on Saturday, NBC is taking a lot of heat in the social media sphere for its refusal to air marquee events like swimming or gymnastics until its prime time broadcasts. Now one UK journalist's attempts to get some sort of response from NBC's many, many, many Twitter pages has led to his Twitter account being suspended.
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Afghan War: Who's In Charge, Again?
It’s almost impossible to talk to the US military in Afghanistan without someone mentioning that the effort here is increasingly Afghan led. This is, after all, their country, say US soldiers, so it only makes sense that they take the wheel and the US slides into the backseat.
As a reporter working in Afghanistan, I’ve listened to the US military say this for years now. Despite Afghans being given much more authority recently, I’ve still often wondered just how much control Afghans have over their own country. While reporting in Kandahar recently, I received a reminder that “Afghan-led” is often more mantra than an actual practice.
QUIZ How much do you know about Afghanistan?
For several years now, I’ve known the district governor of Kandahar’s Arghandab district. I first met him about two years ago, shortly after he took over when his predecessor was assassinated and security seemed to be at an all time low. Since then, whenever I travel to Kandahar I try to pay him a visit.
His office is situated on a compound that is divided between the Afghan district center and a US military base. To enter the district government office, you must first pass through a US checkpoint. After that, another checkpoint divides the US side from the Afghan side.
More
As a reporter working in Afghanistan, I’ve listened to the US military say this for years now. Despite Afghans being given much more authority recently, I’ve still often wondered just how much control Afghans have over their own country. While reporting in Kandahar recently, I received a reminder that “Afghan-led” is often more mantra than an actual practice.
QUIZ How much do you know about Afghanistan?
For several years now, I’ve known the district governor of Kandahar’s Arghandab district. I first met him about two years ago, shortly after he took over when his predecessor was assassinated and security seemed to be at an all time low. Since then, whenever I travel to Kandahar I try to pay him a visit.
His office is situated on a compound that is divided between the Afghan district center and a US military base. To enter the district government office, you must first pass through a US checkpoint. After that, another checkpoint divides the US side from the Afghan side.
More
Nevada Continues To Reign Supreme In Latest Unemployment Numbers
Since the bottom dropped out of the housing market a few years ago, and even as most other locales have begun to claw their way out of the pits, Nevada and California have continued to churn out huge unemployment numbers. And the latest stats from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows no real reversal in that trend.
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A Message From The President Of The United States
From: Barack Obama
To: Joe Albero
Date: Tue, Jul 31, 2012 10:33 am
Joe --
Sometimes politics can seem very small.
But the choice voters face in this election couldn't be bigger.
Over the past two months, we have been outraised by our opponents. They've used that advantage to distort the truth and mislead people, over and over, on TV and the radio in battleground states.
Tonight is one of the most critical fundraising deadlines we'll face.
If we win this election, it will be because of what you did in moments like this to close the gap.
Please make a donation of $3 or more right now:
Thank you.
Barack
Dear Barack, President Obama,
I want to thank you, your Wife and Vice President Biden for recognizing me personally over the past several days. While I'm sure you know good and well Salisbury News is a huge outlet to spread your message, (and I'm willing to do so in order to be fair and balanced) I'd be misleading my viewers if I didn't confess that I think you people have to be the worst representatives in American history to ever occupy the White House.
Sincerely,
Joe Albero
Report: $32 Billion In Federal Aid Going To Students At Underperforming For-Profit Colleges
Earlier today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) announced the findings of its two-year investigation into exactly where the $32 billion annual investment in federal student aid is going -- and whether students are getting a return on taxpayers' investment.
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Dr Oz
I'm passing this on because it worked for me today... Dr. Oz said that to reach inner peace we should always finish things we start, & we all could use more calm in our lives. I looked around my house to find things I'd started & hadn't finished, so I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiuminun scriptins, an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner piss. An telum u luvum. Wuv U
13-Year-Old Aspiring Hot Dog Vendor Shut Down By City, Sells Cart At A Profit
A Michigan teen's hot dog cart is a more complex operation than your garden-variety lemonade stand. Wanting to earn some money to help out his disabled parents, the 13-year-old saved up to purchase a hot dog cart, then set up business in downtown Holland. The city promptly shut him down. Thanks to zoning laws designed to protect downtown eateries, food carts can't set up in the city unless they're part of an existing restaurant operation. The young entrepreneur is too young for a street vendor's license, which could have kept the business running. So what did he do next? After attracting national media attention, he sold the cart to a local business, but retains the right to borrow it back for special events that might require hot dogs.
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USPS: We Will Default on $5.5B Payment Due This Week
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a first-ever
default on billions in payments due to the Treasury, adding to widening
uncertainty about the mail agency's solvency as first-class letters
plummet and Congress deadlocks on ways to stem the red ink.
With cash running perilously low, two legally required payments for future postal retirees' health benefits — $5.5 billion due Wednesday, and another $5.6 billion due in September — will be left unpaid, the mail agency said Monday. Postal officials said they also are studying whether they may need to delay other obligations. In the coming months, a $1.5 billion payment is due to the Labor Department for workers compensation, which for now it expects to make, as well as millions in interest payments to the Treasury.
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With cash running perilously low, two legally required payments for future postal retirees' health benefits — $5.5 billion due Wednesday, and another $5.6 billion due in September — will be left unpaid, the mail agency said Monday. Postal officials said they also are studying whether they may need to delay other obligations. In the coming months, a $1.5 billion payment is due to the Labor Department for workers compensation, which for now it expects to make, as well as millions in interest payments to the Treasury.
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Here's What's Up Today
Tax scofflaws could forget about federal work under a bill being debated by the House today.
Sponsor Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) says feds or contractors who are seriously delinquent on their taxes should be fired or lose funding.
The House also plans to take up a bill to make Thrift Savings Fund accounts subject to a federal tax levy. If that's put a frown on your face, here's one that might make you smile: the chamber could give final passage to a bill that lets some senior federal officials skip the Senate confirmation process.
Under the bill, the Senate would no longer need to approve officials for roles like NOAA's chief scientist, the commissioner of education statistics or assistant secretary of public affairs at Health and Human Services.
Sponsor Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) says feds or contractors who are seriously delinquent on their taxes should be fired or lose funding.
The House also plans to take up a bill to make Thrift Savings Fund accounts subject to a federal tax levy. If that's put a frown on your face, here's one that might make you smile: the chamber could give final passage to a bill that lets some senior federal officials skip the Senate confirmation process.
Under the bill, the Senate would no longer need to approve officials for roles like NOAA's chief scientist, the commissioner of education statistics or assistant secretary of public affairs at Health and Human Services.
Emergency Preparedness Night At The Shorebirds
Salisbury, Md. – The health departments of Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties invite the public to Emergency Preparedness Night on August 10 at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Delmarva Shorebirds will play against Augusta Greenjackets at 7:05 p.m.
Representatives from local health departments, emergency management agencies, and volunteer organizations will host exhibit booths promoting emergency preparedness before and during the baseball game. Emergency-themed give-aways and prizes will be available as long as supplies last!
Come out to the ballpark to support the Shorebirds and learn how you can be better prepared for life’s curve balls.
The event is co-sponsored by the health departments and emergency management offices of Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester Counties and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
Representatives from local health departments, emergency management agencies, and volunteer organizations will host exhibit booths promoting emergency preparedness before and during the baseball game. Emergency-themed give-aways and prizes will be available as long as supplies last!
Come out to the ballpark to support the Shorebirds and learn how you can be better prepared for life’s curve balls.
The event is co-sponsored by the health departments and emergency management offices of Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester Counties and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
Fast And Furious
GOP lawmakers are blaming five federal workers in particular for Operation Fast and Furious. The draft report points a finger at five Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives employees. They include the agency director down to the special-agent-in-charge of the bureau's field office in Phoenix. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sponsored the report. They say former ATF head Kenneth Melson worried about the gun-tracking program. But they say he failed to make sure headquarters adequately supervised the Phoenix branch. Melson stepped down last year amid the controversy.
Star-Spangled Banner Trail opens in Md.
The
commemoration of the War of 1812 continues with the opening of the
Star-Spangled Banner Trail, which allows families to learn a part of
American history and enjoy the great outdoors at the same time.
Several kiosks are popping up all around the state to serve as markers along the national historic trail.
"The trail is a wonderful collection of sites significant to the Chesapeake campaign during the War of 1812 200 years ago. There was a lot of action up and down the Chesapeake (Bay)," said Cindy Chance of the National Park Service.
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Several kiosks are popping up all around the state to serve as markers along the national historic trail.
"The trail is a wonderful collection of sites significant to the Chesapeake campaign during the War of 1812 200 years ago. There was a lot of action up and down the Chesapeake (Bay)," said Cindy Chance of the National Park Service.
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Aren't We Fortunate To Be Seniors!
A friend of mine was sitting on a lawn, sunning and reading, when he was startled by a fairly late model car crashing through a hedge
and coming to rest on his lawn.
He helped the elderly driver out and sat her on a lawn chair.
“My goodness” he exclaimed, “you are quite old to be driving!”
“Yes” she replied, ” I am old enough that I don't need a license.”
“The last time I went to my doctor, he examined me and asked if I had a driver's license.”
I told him "yes" and handed it to him. He took scissors out of a drawer, cut the license into pieces and threw them in the wastebasket.”
“You won’t be needing this anymore,” he said.
So I thanked him and left.
and coming to rest on his lawn.
He helped the elderly driver out and sat her on a lawn chair.
“My goodness” he exclaimed, “you are quite old to be driving!”
“Yes” she replied, ” I am old enough that I don't need a license.”
“The last time I went to my doctor, he examined me and asked if I had a driver's license.”
I told him "yes" and handed it to him. He took scissors out of a drawer, cut the license into pieces and threw them in the wastebasket.”
“You won’t be needing this anymore,” he said.
So I thanked him and left.
Md. Pension System Earns Close To Nothing In Past Year
Maryland’s $37 billion state retirement and pension system for employees and teachers earned only .36% on its investments in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
This is far below the 7.75% that is the system’s target. “The last 12 months presented a challenging environment for investors, particularly in international equity,” said chief investment officer Melissa Moye. “Most of the system’s assets added value to the fund, offsetting the negative impact of public equity for the year.”
Most of the asset categories in the fund, from cash to real estate, had positive earnings of 3% to 8%. But publicly traded stocks, which represent 42% of the portfolio, were down almost 7%.
Results “a minor disaster” says one analyst
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Publishers Notes: At the public hearing for Wicomico's Budget it was specifically mentioned the condition of the Maryland State Pension fund - and guess what - the Pension Fund custodians have used a 7.75% projection in their spreadsheet forcast when actually - they only earned .36%. And if the truth were known - their real estate asset portion of the fund that they used to project the .36% rate of return is more than likely bogus. The record reveals that they actually lost 7% on 42% of their stock portfolio.
If anyone in the private sector fudged numbers like that they would be sent to San Quinton. I hope Matt Macarello knows first hand of these financial shenangans.
This is far below the 7.75% that is the system’s target. “The last 12 months presented a challenging environment for investors, particularly in international equity,” said chief investment officer Melissa Moye. “Most of the system’s assets added value to the fund, offsetting the negative impact of public equity for the year.”
Most of the asset categories in the fund, from cash to real estate, had positive earnings of 3% to 8%. But publicly traded stocks, which represent 42% of the portfolio, were down almost 7%.
Results “a minor disaster” says one analyst
More
Publishers Notes: At the public hearing for Wicomico's Budget it was specifically mentioned the condition of the Maryland State Pension fund - and guess what - the Pension Fund custodians have used a 7.75% projection in their spreadsheet forcast when actually - they only earned .36%. And if the truth were known - their real estate asset portion of the fund that they used to project the .36% rate of return is more than likely bogus. The record reveals that they actually lost 7% on 42% of their stock portfolio.
If anyone in the private sector fudged numbers like that they would be sent to San Quinton. I hope Matt Macarello knows first hand of these financial shenangans.
Conservatism Without Alexander, Abraham, And Irving
Brion McClanahan, one of the best young historians of the day, and I have collaborated on a book that ought to be of interest to readers of this site. In fact, you were one of the audiences we had in mind as we wrote.
The book is Forgotten Conservatives in American History (Pelican Publishers). Before you are off-put by the reference to "conservatives" in the title, consider some of the sixteen figures we have treated – John Taylor of Caroline, Condy Raguet, Grover Cleveland, William Graham Sumner. Our goal has been to establish a conservative tradition of thought that, from the War of Independence to the mid-20th century, defended the decentralist, laissez-faire, and non-interventionist regime bequeathed by the best of the Founding Fathers. The true conservatives have been those who wanted to let the American people alone and not hector and dragoon them into schemes of "progress" and foreign entanglement.
Conservatism, for us, has been a powerful and eloquent train of thinkers who have opposed the Hamilton/Lincoln regime of state-capitalism and the Roosevelt/Bush/Irving Kristol agenda of "global democracy." Our conservatism stands strongly contra to the historic Republican party and to "neoconservative" imperialism. In this we are not so much out-of-step as some may think. Russell Kirk, "the father of modern conservatism," considered Alexander Hamilton to be no conservative but rather a dubious "innovator." And more than once Kirk lamented that "the conservative disposition" in the United States has too often been misunderstood by identifying it with rent-seeking behaviour.
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The book is Forgotten Conservatives in American History (Pelican Publishers). Before you are off-put by the reference to "conservatives" in the title, consider some of the sixteen figures we have treated – John Taylor of Caroline, Condy Raguet, Grover Cleveland, William Graham Sumner. Our goal has been to establish a conservative tradition of thought that, from the War of Independence to the mid-20th century, defended the decentralist, laissez-faire, and non-interventionist regime bequeathed by the best of the Founding Fathers. The true conservatives have been those who wanted to let the American people alone and not hector and dragoon them into schemes of "progress" and foreign entanglement.
Conservatism, for us, has been a powerful and eloquent train of thinkers who have opposed the Hamilton/Lincoln regime of state-capitalism and the Roosevelt/Bush/Irving Kristol agenda of "global democracy." Our conservatism stands strongly contra to the historic Republican party and to "neoconservative" imperialism. In this we are not so much out-of-step as some may think. Russell Kirk, "the father of modern conservatism," considered Alexander Hamilton to be no conservative but rather a dubious "innovator." And more than once Kirk lamented that "the conservative disposition" in the United States has too often been misunderstood by identifying it with rent-seeking behaviour.
More