Salisbury News: 10/18/12

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Let's Get More Creative With What We Already Have

Down in New Mexico they have towns along the river that have what they call, punt boats. No motors, just long poles used to move these boats. They rent them out with a guide in which you can have a picnic for however long you choose to rent them.

You can bring your own meal or they also have boats that go around cooking food and provide drinks in which you can purchase. They pull right up to your punt boat and you order right there on the spot on the river.

They also have bands that play music and sing songs that pull up next to you and travel along side as you go up and down the river.

Mind you, you don't have to decorate them like the ones you see above but I can see sponsors like, The Salisbury Zoo, The Ward Museum and so forth.

If we were to really consider revitalizing Downtown Salisbury and we concentrated more on the resources we already have, this could be a fantastic way to bring life to the River Walk.

Imagine shops and hotels along the river with retail on the first floor. Imagine acoustic guitar players along the river walkway where people could toss a tip into their guitar case as you stroll from one end to the other. Watch the video below. Are you with me?

We have had leadership in Salisbury that does not think out of the box. I want to change that.

New $70 Million Juvie Jail in Baltimore Draws Strong Opposition

Opposition was strong at a Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing Wednesday on the proposed construction of a new youth detention center in Baltimore City to house youths charged as adults with violent crimes.

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services plans to build a $70 million facility that corrects serious inadequacies in the confinement conditions for youths charged with serious criminal offenses in the Baltimore City Detention Center. The new building slotted for the 600 blocks of W. Monument and W. Madison Streets would alleviate the struggle to keep the youth separated from adult criminals, a serious problem at the city jail.

Witnesses pointed out that in the last five years, the number of juvenile homicides in Baltimore is down by 36%. Non-fatal juvenile shootings in the city have decreased nearly 70% in the last four years. Opponents of the new 120-bed detention center say that building the jail would be a waste of taxpayer dollars, considering that there are 42 youths (aged 14-17) currently incarcerated at the city jail.

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71 % OF VOTERS FAVOR VOTER ID

The support for voter ID in the United States remains strong, but it is clear that Democrats, who are gullible enough to buy into expletive-laden videos like Sarah Silverman’s or faux comedy video’s like Rainn Wilson’s, are more convinced that illegal voting should be here to stay.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 71% of voters think voters should be required to show ID before they vote. 66% of likely U.S. voters believe voter fraud is a serious problem, and 33% say it is a very serious problem.

Last night, President Barack Obama dropped the biggest campaign gaffe of the season – only the media wasn’t watching. It happened during his testy exchange with Mitt Romney over gas prices. First, Obama denied that he’d done anything about denying licenses on oil and gas; he backed off of that shortly. Then he denied that production on federal land was down; he was lying. Finally, Romney hit him with this devastating line:

The proof of whether a strategy is working or not is what the price is that you're paying at the pump. If you're paying less than you paid a year or two ago, why, then, the strategy is working. But you're paying more. When the president took office, the price of gasoline here in Nassau County was about $1.86 a gallon. Now, it's $4.00 a gallon.

Obama’s response was horrendous:

NOT JUST GAS! CHECK OUT THE DRASTIC PRICE INCREASES ON THESE 21 EVERYDAY ITEMS

Tuesday’s presidential debate touched on some massive economic issues that are affecting all Americans. The immense increase in gas prices was a crucial part of the discussion, but have other everyday products seen a drastic increased in price over the same time period? According to Blaze research on data provided by the the Bureau of Labor Statistics* gas prices are not alone in skyrocketing over the last decade. Wait till you see chocolate chip cookies!

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Who Won "Last Night's" Debate?

Obama: Women 'Rely' on Planned Parenthood for Mammograms; FDA: No They Don't

During Tuesday's second presidential debate, President Barack Obama said that women "rely" on Planned Parenthood for mammograms, but, according to the Food and Drug Administration, no Planned Parenthood facility in the United States is licensed to do mammograms.

During Tuesday night’s debate against his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, Obama said, “When Gov. Romney says that we should eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, there are millions of women all across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood for not just contraceptive care; they rely on it for mammograms, for cervical cancer screenings. That’s a pocketbook issue for women and families all across the country, and it makes a difference in terms of how well and effectively women are able to work.”

Time to start really relishing those Oreos everyone, because soon milk could be a delicacy too expensive to pair with the bicolored cookie.

Milk prices are on track to jump as much as 15 percent in the beginning of 2013, an industry group said Wednesday, thanks in large part to the worst drought since 1956, which has sent animal feed prices soaring.

Searing temperatures and sparse rain in the nation's corn-producing regions have led to the biggest drop in corn output in 17 years, which has in turn put a premium on livestock feed, a big component of which, of course, is corn.

Review: Green Car Obama Gave $193M Might Not Be ‘Good Enough To Buy’

Mitt Romney can update his criticism of President Obama’s green car subsidies, made in the first presidential debate, to reflect new concerns that one of the most expensive green cars might not be “good enough to buy.”

President Obama’s Energy Department awarded Fisker Automotive, a company headquartered in California that builds cars at a factory in Finland, a $529 million loan guarantee to produce the Fisker Karma.

“Is the Karma good enough to buy (so Fisker can repay taxpayers)?”Extreme Tech asks in a hands-on review of the Fisker Karma, which costs $102,000. “Bottom line: The Fisker Karma is a pretty much a Chevrolet Volt in a better wrapper. Just multiply the wow factor, handling, and cost by a factor of three . . . [T]his is one car that will turn a lot of heads. Whether that’s worth $100,000 is less certain.”

Want to learn more about the Maryland candidates in the upcoming election?

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Study: Black Americans Feel Less Empowered Under Obama Than They Once Did

Four years after Barack Obama was elected president, this is not exactly a "post-racial" America.

A new study from Washington University in St. Louis finds that under Obama, many black Americans feel less free than whites when it comes to political participation.

From 2005 to 2011, only 45 percent of blacks said they believed the government would allow them to make a public speech, while 67 percent of whites believed they could, the study found.

Another Anti-Islam Ad Could Be Coming to Metro

The group behind a controversial anti-Islam ad posted in several Metro stations is set to release a new one.

It features a photo of the Twin Towers under attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Next to it, there's a verse from the Quran that reads: "Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers."

Political Quiz

GO HERE

Hikers Describe Glacier National Park Ordeal

Two Virginia hikers are happy to be home tonight after surviving in the Montana wilderness for six days.

The men endured winter conditions and rugged terrain while stuck in the backcountry of Glacier National Park.

“I don't think our wives will let us go for many years,” said Neal Peckens, of Herndon.

He and Jason Hiser can laugh about it now, but for six days the avid hikers were lost in wintry conditions in the mountains. Snow on the ground covered their trail, and their topographic map blew away from them.

Mexico Bans Large Cash Transactions. Oh And They Store Their Gold In London!

Two great stories on Mexico today. The first comes from Forbes and highlights the most recent move toward the elite’s ultimate goal, a “War on Cash.” From the article:

For real estate transactions, cash payments of more than a half million pesos ($38,750) will be forbidden and, for automobiles or items like jewelry, art, and lottery tickets, cash payments of more than 200,000 pesos ($15,500) will be forbidden. The law carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison.

Two years in the making, the new law also requires notaries, real estate brokers, and other dealers to report the forms of payment for transactions above the respective limits. Financial institutions will also be required to report monthly credit card balances in excess of 50,000 pesos ($3,875).

Although it’s part of a global trend among governments, Mexico will still have a long way to go to catch up. Spain recently banned cash transactions above 2,500 euros and Italy banned cash transactions above 1,000 euros.

Think about this for a second. Five years in jail for using cash. Meanwhile, banksters and oligarchs rob trillions from the public throughout the world and as punishment they generally get promoted.

Here is today’s make-you-feel-better-about-the-world story.

It’s about Lauren Hontz. Lauren is 9. In July, her family’s home in Hanover burned down. They lost just about everything — except, especially for Lauren, a spirit of goodness.

Lauren started Lauren’s Luggage, a charity that would have come in handy for her family after the fire. Her charity’s mission statement: “Lauren’s Luggage provides a blanket for each child and the basic necessities for a family after a fire or other disaster.”

Call The Cops At Your Own Risk

Would you dial up a known criminal, like a murderer or rapist, to come help you after you've been the victim of a crime? No? Then why in the world would you call the police after you've been assaulted, robbed or otherwise violated?

The police do not consider their job to protect you. They used to at least pay lip service to "keeping the peace", but nowadays in the USSA it is clear their job is to enforce the law. In fasco-communist America, the law stopped being about your protection decades ago. The law is about the expansion of state power and control. That's why there are so many of them, with more coming all the time.

There are literally thousands upon thousands of reasons in the Federal Code for the police to arrest you. That's the very essence of a police state. Everything is literally a crime. As Lao Tsu said in the 6^th century, BC: "The more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are impoverished...The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be..."

In an environment like this, police cannot merely be keepers of the peace. They must be enforcers of the law. And enforcers use force, of course – intimidation and sudden and shocking violence in order to make you obey. And compliance is exactly what the police expect. They long ago stopped being "public servants" and became more akin to plantation overseers. Rapper and philosopher KRS One pointed out the similarities in his track, "Sound of da Police":

"The overseer rode around the plantationThe officer is off patrolling all the nationThe overseer could stop you what you're doingThe officer will pull you over just when he's pursuingThe overseer had the right to get illAnd if you fought back, the overseer had the right to killThe officer has the right to arrestAnd if you fight back they put a hole in your chest!"

Harford County Executive David R. Craig, a Republican, said Wednesday he is “99 percent sure” he will run for governor in 2014.

Craig, Harford’s top elected official since 2005, is term-limited and has long been thought a potential Republican candidate to replace Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is also term-limited.

But with two years left in his term, Craig said he’s not ready to jump into the race feet-first — yet.

Moon Formed From An Earth Impact

Water on the moon boiled away in massive quantities in a cataclysmic evaporation event during the moon's birth, bolstering the theory that a Mars-sized body collided with the Earth to form its only natural satellite, scientists say.

Researchers examined rocks collected by astronauts during NASA's Apollo lunar landing missions, as well as a meteorite that originated on the moon to make the find. They looked for traces of zinc, and found the ratios of heavy to light isotopes are greater than on Earth, which suggests the moon went through an intense evaporation event early in its formation.

The study

is more evidence for the theory that the moon formed from a colossal impact, researchers said.

State Facing $638 Million Structural Deficit in 2014, Analysts Say

Maryland is expected to face a structural deficit of more than $630 million in fiscal 2014 and will have projected budget shortfall of $247 million as lawmakers craft a spending plan for the coming year, state officials said Wednesday.

Budget analysts from the Department of Legislative Services briefed lawmakers from the Joint Spending Affordability Committee, as well as the House and Senate committees that oversee the budget, on the state’s overall fiscal situation.

Revenues are expected to increase, but “it appears we’re losing a little ground in our effort to resolve our structural deficit,” said Warren G. Deschenaux, director of policy analysts for DLS.

DOOMSDAY CYCLE

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Warning bells, alarms scream louder. But our banks and politicians can’t hear, are deaf, in denial. Won’t take action … not until it is too late.

That’s the latest from Simon Johnson and Peter Boone in “The Doomsday Cycle Turns: Who’s Next?” Who is next? America, Japan, the euro zone are the triple threat next in the line of fire, in danger of collapsing, thanks to a doomsday conspiracy where global “political and financial systems have aligned to build these dangers rather than suppress them.”

America has ignored the lessons of the 2008 meltdown even though coming “remarkably close to another Great Depression. Next time, we may not be so lucky.”

Three years ago, the first warning: “The Doomsday Cycle.” Since then Simon Johnson, former IMF chief economist, co-authored two bestsellers, “13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown,” and recently, “White House Burning.” Peter Boone is a research associate at the London School of Economics, which published their doomsday warnings.

Virginia officials are probing a case in which completed voter-registration forms were said to have been tossed into a trash bin outside of a store in the Shenandoah Valley just before Monday’s 5 p.m. registration deadline — the latest incident in what’s already been a rather eventful election year in the Old Dominion.

Rob Johnson, manager of the store Tuesday Morning in Harrisonburg, said he saw a man pull up in a car on Monday, throw something in his trash bin, then drive away.

After sifting through the garbage bag — perilously close to the 5 p.m. voter-registration deadline — Mr. Johnson found a folder with eight voter-registration forms already filled out.

Americans Have No Idea What Big Government Actually Means

Bryan Caplan took me to task for trying to separate size of government from other interventionist policies:

The truth is that size of government and economic freedom are inextricably connected. Any definition of “economic freedom” that doesn’t directlyincorporate the size of government is a crummy definition.

O’Malley Touts Gambling Measure In New TV Ad

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who has never been a strong proponent of gambling, is appearing in a new television ad supportingthe expansion plan on the ballot known as Question 7.

In the ad, O’Malley touts the state’s investment in its schools and seeks to rebut an attack from opponents that there’s no guarantee additional gambling revenue will flow to Maryland schools.

American Paving Auction Today

We've been told there were hundreds of cars and trucks surrounding Eden's American Paving Corp.

They said it looked as though they are auctioning off everything.

Taxpayers To Recover $0 On Solyndra

It will come as no surprise to some but the bankruptcy court hearing for Solyndra just threw up all over any hopes that our taxpayer-funded loans to this solar sinkhole will be recovered:

*SOLYNDRA HAS ABOUT $71 MILLION IN NET DISTRIBUTABLE ASSETS
*SOLYNDRA LENDERS AHEAD OF GOVERNMENT OWED ABOUT $77 MILLION

So it looks like a $0 recovery for us - US Government: Picking Losers One Sector At A Time.

Source

Muslim Uprisings Open The Gates For Al Qaeda

The recent wave of anti-West demonstrations across the Muslim world and the attack that killed four Americans in Libya have triggered mounting concern among analysts and U.S. officials that al Qaeda is exploiting the chaos that has followed the Arab Spring’s overthrow of secular dictatorships aligned with the United States.

Al Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa has been linked to the Sept. 11 military-style assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Circumstantial evidence now is emerging that supporters of the terrorist network were involved in fomenting deadly protests against America last month in Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia.

How Robots Manipulate Natural Gas Prices

In the past few months, predatory high frequency trading

(HFT) tactics have targeted natural gas so hard, that traditional traders are abandoning the trade entirely, says the Wall Street Journal.

And if that doesn't concern you, for the rest of us this manipulation means the price of natural gas can fluctuate wildly.

Here's how it all goes down:

Natural gas traders wait for a weekly national natural gas inventory report that's released every Thursday at 10:30 a.m., and trade on the figures about supply and demand. Usually they put orders into the futures market based on what they think the information in the report will do to the price of natural gas — these are called resting orders.

For HFTs, the resting orders are actually sitting ducks, so they've started doing something called "banging the beehive."

QUOTE OF THE DAY 10-18-12

“Do you think he is so unskillful in his craft, as to ask you openly and plainly to join him in his warfare against the truth? …He prompts you what to say, and then listens to you, and praises you, and encourages you. He bids you mount aloft. He shows you how to become as gods. Then he laughs and jokes with you, and gets intimate with you; he takes your hand, and gets his fingers between yours, and grasps them, and then you are his.”

J. H. Newman, The Times of Antichrist

Today's Fill In The Blank 10-18-12

My lucky number is ___.

Welfare Spending Jumps 32% In Four Years

Welfare spending has grown substantially over the past four years, reaching $746 billion in 2011 — or more than Social Security, basic defense spending or any other single chunk of the federal government — according to a new memo by the Congressional Research Service.

The steady rise in welfare spending, which covers more than 80 programs primarily designed to help low-income Americans, got a big boost from the 2009 stimulus and has grown, albeit somewhat more slowly, in 2010 and 2011. One reason is that more people are qualifying in the weak economy, but the federal government also has broadened eligibility so that more people qualify for programs.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, who requested the Congressional Research Service report, said it underscores a fundamental shift in welfare, moving away from a Band-Aid and toward a more permanent crutch.

Love And Visibility

Years ago, somebody asked Nathaniel Branden how you know when you love
somebody. His answer was something to the effect that, "When they enter a room,
for you, the room gets a little brighter, like the lights had been turned up a notch."

What is it that makes love matter, that brings that glow, that brightness from another
fellow human being? Love is too rich and complex to boil down to some single
facet or data point – and I wouldn't want to do it if I could. But one of the elements
that goes into feeling love for somebody, is the experience of being seen.

When you fall in love with someone you are not only seeing who they are; you are also seeing the best
within them. And to be seen in this way is one of the greatest, deepest joys of life. One of the important
ingredients in marriages that are successful and happy over time is that both parties continue to see each
other that way. In happy couples, the respective mates always rate their partner more highly than other
friends or observers.

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Today's Advertiser Of The Day 10-18-12

Driver Cited After Tractor Trailer Strikes Claymont Gas Station

Location:

BP Gas Station, 3421 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, De

Date of Occurrence:

Tuesday, October 16^th, 2012, at 10:51 p.m.

Operator/Vehicle:

Marcus Kovacs, 39, from Eastpointe, Michigan (properly restrained, not injured)

2009 Freightliner truck with a 2010 Vanguard trailer

Resume

Claymont- A Michigan man was cited after a tractor trailer he was driving struck a Claymont gas station yesterday.

The incident occurred at approximately 10:51 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16^th. Marcus Kovacs, 39, of Eastpointe, Michigan, was operating a 2009 Freightliner with a 2010 Vanguard trailer south on Philadelphia Pike. He made a right turn into the BP gas station parking lot at 3421 Philadelphia Pike in order to turn around so that he could travel north on Philadelphia Pike.

As the tractor trailer drove around the back of the BP gas station, the trailer struck the building, causing extensive damage. No one was in the building when it was struck.

Kovacs was cited for Careless Driving. A New Castle County Building Inspector responded to the scene and determined that the building was not safe for occupancy.

A Female President

A123 - It Keeps Getting Worse & Worse

If Romney had known about the filing on Tuesday night he could have had a field day with the latest filing.

DETROIT — The troubled battery maker A123 Systems filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the Obama administration’s program to jump-start a domestic battery industry and spur development of electric vehicles.

The company’s bankruptcy filing was unexpected, since it struck a deal in August to sell a majority stake to a Chinese auto parts manufacturer. That agreement, with the Wanxiang Group, provided an apparent lifeline to the company. But A123, which has received federal grant money, said the Wanxiang deal was never completed, and on Monday, it failed to make a debt payment due on $75 million it had borrowed from Wanxiang.

In announcing its bankruptcy filing, A123 said it had agreed to sell its automotive assets and factories to Johnson Controls, another American battery producer that has benefited from federal assistance, in a deal it valued at $125 million.

Today's Survey Question 10-18-12

While politicians flat out lie to us on a daily basis,

why has this become acceptable today?

Do You Believe In Fantasies?

Main St Gym Boxers Medal At The National PAL In Toledo OH.

They call it the National P.A.L. Boxing tournament and it is held all around the USA in various cities each year.  But PAL is an ironic term to use in a sport where young trained athletes are throwing precisioned,  powerful punches, in an attempt to outpoint their opponents. Yet the acronym fits perfectly when the final bell rings the two young combatants inevitably embrace giving praise and respect to each other for what they both know to be truth, that each has sacrificed  much in order  to the compete at this level.

On hand at this years PAL were four Main St Gym boxers competing in their respective division, against the best amateur boxers from across the US.

In the 16 yr old 114lb division, Corey Moore, a Wi Hi student captured a bronze medal  after losing on points to Dallas Holden from Atlantic City N.J.

In the open 152lb division Shawn Woodford was unable to get past William Hill of Detroit, Michigan in his preliminary bout.

Rudy Calixto 13yr old, 85lbs  fought  his way up through the bracket to the  make it to the finals.  Keyshawn Davis of Norfolk VA. edged Calixto out for the Gold, to bring home the Silver.

Calixto’s older brother Ivan followed his younger brothers lead to fight his way into the finals Friday evening but was also edged out in a close match against Troy Isley, of Alexandria VA. to bring home the Silver.

“These kids are young and in comparison to many of their opponents, less experienced, yet they proved that they are capable of competing on the highest level. They all have time on their side and I expect big things from these young lions as well as others that will see stepping up in the future.  Not only did they win a number of bouts to get moved up, they exhibited some real nice skills that confirm that things will just get  better and better for all of them”. Said Coach Hal Chernoff.  “Beyond doing well in Toledo this trip has really motivated them to work even harder now that they are seeing how it is paying off.

“Going to club shows is very important to keep testing your skills and getting experience, but going to the big tournaments is the ultimate reward for all that work. If you are not ready for that level of competition,  it will not be a rewarding experience for you,  but when you know you have the  ability to compete on that level, win or loose,  all you want to do is come home and go to work so you can go make it to the next one.” Chernoff added.   

On hand and competing at this tournament for the first time since her Gold medal performance in the London Olympics, Clarissa Shields stepped back in the ring to match up against past World Champion, Franchon Crews of Baltimore. The match up was one of the most anticipated bouts of the tournament and proved to live up to the expectations, with Shields edging out Crews for the Gold.

Caption This Photo 10-18-12

’13 Maryland Budget Forecasts Doubt New Tax Hikes

ANNAPOLIS — Fresh from a year in which they raised taxes by $260 million, Maryland lawmakers said Wednesday that they don’t expect to approve any new tax increases when the General Assembly reconvenes next year.

Members met Wednesday with state budget analysts to discuss issues facing the assembly’s Spending Affordability Committee, which must make recommendations in December on how the state should reduce its structural deficit and close a projected $247 million shortfall in next year’s budget.

Despite lingering concerns over the slow economic recovery and possible cuts to federal aid, analysts painted a rosy picture of the state’s finances, which they said have been bolstered by the now-rebounding economy and revenue increases.

PIMCO: 'The US Will Get Downgraded

PIMCO has seen enough of the federal government's "fiscal theatre" and now says the U.S.'s credit rating will inevitably be slashed, Bloomberg's Tracy Withers reports.

“The U.S. will get downgraded, it’s a question of when,” Withers quotes Scott Mather, Pimco’s head of global portfolio management, as saying. “It depends on what the end of the year looks like, but it could be fairly soon after that.”

If President Obama is reelected, Mather said, it's likely resolution of the country's deficit “doesn’t happen in a nice way, and we have disruption in the marketplace,” he said.

Attention

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The support for voter ID in the United States remains strong, but it is clear that Democrats, who are gullible enough to buy into expletive-laden videos like Sarah Silverman’s or faux comedy video’s like Rainn Wilson’s, are more convinced that illegal voting should be here to stay.