Salisbury News: 11/14/12

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

OBAMA: I GAVE 'ORDERS' TO ENSURE SAFETY OF AMERICANS IN BENGHAZI

Today, during his first press conference in five months, President Obama finally answered questions on Benghazi and the murder of four Americans there. Or rather, he pretended to answer. Instead of actual information, he provided bloviation and overheated rhetoric about just how offended he was. Not as offended as, perhaps, the dead Americans were when the US did nothing to protect them. But pretty offended.

The key moment, however, was Obama’s admission that he was aware of the attacks taking place in Benghazi. After stating that now that the election was over, he’d be happy to give information, he let it slip that he knew what was going on September 11:

I can tell you that immediately upon finding out that our folks were in danger, that my orders to my National Security team were do whatever we need to do to make sure they’re safe. And that’s the same order that I would give anytime that I see Americans are in danger, whether they’re civilian or military, because that’s our number one priority.

North Carolina Judge Nixes New Year's Eve Possum Drop

It will never be confused with "New Year's Rockin' Eve," but for one small North Carolina town, the annual possum drop is one fine way to start the new year.

The families living in Brasstown, N.C., take part in festivities beginning two hours before midnight. Local church choirs belt out hymns and there's a tribute to war veterans. Clay Logan, the man behind the festivities, summed up the event: "good, clean, family fun."

"We didn't think too much into it," he said. "We figured a lot of other animals were already being used, like the groundhog, for other events, and we wanted to start our own tradition."

OCPD Retire Veteran K9 “Tacko”

On November 9, 2012, the Ocean City Police Department officially retired veteran police

OCPD K9 Tacko

K9, “Tacko”, after almost 8-years of service.

Tacko was born August 28, 2001 in Czech Republic and came to the U.S. via Tarheel Canine, located in North Carolina. In early 2005 Tacko was partnered with PFC Flower and both attended 10 weeks of basic police K9 training. After completion in the spring of 2005, PFC Flower and his new partner served the citizens and visitors of Ocean City for eight summer seasons.

Tacko was certified eight times by the North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA) and the National Law Enforcement Canine Organization (NLECO). During his distinguished police career with the OCPD, Tacko has had over 1500 deployments, which include building and vehicle searches, searches for suspects as well as open field searches for evidence resulting in the detection and recovery of illegal contraband and the arrests of hundreds of suspects. In addition, Tacko has assisted other Maryland law enforcement agencies, the US Air Force and US Customs Service with drug interdiction and detection.

“Tacko retires with distinction and honor,“ commented Chief Bernadette DiPino. “The OCPD relies heavily on our K9 partners to do what no other police resource can do. They are invaluable assets in fighting crime. Tacko will be missed by officers and citizens alike.”

Tacko will remain with PFC Flower and his family. “I really believe he put a smile on everyone’s face that he encountered,” commented PFC Flower. “Tacko attended numerous shift roll-calls and greeted every officer he could. He worked so hard for so many officers. He was the best partner and officer could ever hope to have.”

PFC Flower, who is now in the process of selecting and training a new K9 partner, continued “Tacko will have a well-deserved life of leisure; he will settle into a hum drum quiet suburban life far away from his busy police K9 duties, it has been a privileged to have been blessed with such a great K9 partner and friend.”

The OCPD wishes K9 Tacko a happy well deserved retirement and looks forward to welcoming PFC Flower’s new K9 partner in the future.

Obama Enters 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks Calling For $1.6T In Tax Hikes

President Obama, ahead of his first press conference since winning re-election and a meeting later this week with congressional leaders, staked out his starting point for fiscal cliff negotiations -- $1.6 trillion in tax hikes.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made clear that the president is sticking by his original budget plan, which includes $1.6 trillion in new revenue, by raising taxes on households making more than $250,000.

"The president has put forward a very specific plan that will be what he brings to the table when he sits down with congressional leaders," Carney said.

Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative is proposing another dollar-per-pack increase to the state’s current $2 dollar cigarette tax. The cigarette tax has been raised three times in the last 15 years and has coincided with a 32% drop in cigarette smoking during that time, which is double the national average.

A Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids study estimates that the proposed tax increase is expected to raise roughly $100 million annually in state revenue. The campaign also estimates the increase will lead to a 11% decrease in youth smoking, prevent roughly 25,000 kids from becoming addicted and would save 14,000 Maryland lives from premature, smoking related deaths.

“We want to continue to reduce teen smoking,” said Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative. “Every 10% increase in price equals a six to seven percent drop in teen tobacco use.”

More

IS DONALD TRUMP’S MACY’S AD OFFENSIVE? (CHER THINKS IT IS) TAKE OUR BLAZE POLL

Billionaire/TV Star/Blaze reader Donald Trump is in hot water with some people who don’t like him pulling on Santa’s beard in the new Macy’s commercial.

The ad, “Another Miracle on 34th Street” is a spoof of the 1947 Christmas classic, “Miracle on 34th Street” that starred Edmund Gwenn and a very young Natalie Wood.

The allegedly offensive scene has Trump doubting that Macy’s Kris Kringle is the real deal, and through a bit of cinematic trickery, shows Mr. Trump giving Santa’s beard a tug. (Something that happened in the original movie too.)

Canadians honored the nation’s 158 soldiers who have died in the Afghanistan war during a remembrance ceremony in downtown Toronto on Sunday. It was not a political event by any stretch of the imagination.

But that didn’t stop two women, who claimed to be “Afghan women,” from screaming at the participants at the ceremony, making known their opposition to Canada’s involvement in the war. The incitement led to a chaotic scene where fists were thrown and police intervention was needed.

“Where’s freedom? All you do is bomb other countries like mine,” one of the women shouts.

Week Later, More Than 300,000 Ohio Votes Remain Uncounted

The presidential election results in Ohio were close: According to still-unofficial figures from the Secretary of State, Barack Obama won the state with 2,690,841 votes to Mitt Romney’s 2,583,582 votes — a winning margin of 107,259 votes for the president. In percentage terms, that is 50.18 percent of the vote for Obama, and 48.18 percent for Romney.

But those numbers will change. Remember when, before the election, many observers discussed the possibility the results could be decided by the large number of provisional ballots that might be cast in Ohio? Well, those provisional ballots were cast, and they have not yet been counted. Neither have a significant number of absentee ballots. Together, the number of uncounted ballots is larger than Obama’s margin of victory.

According to the Secretary of State, there are 204,927 uncounted provisional ballots and 119,535 absentee ballots, for a total of 324,462 ballots. That is roughly three times the president’s 107,259-vote winning margin.

Rare Video Footage Shows Pennsylvania Ave. in 1900s

This is one of our best GoDCer contributions yet. Tom from Bethesda sent this over to share with everyone else. This was taken on Pennsylvania Ave. NW between 10th and 11th St. Watch the whole thing and marvel at how chaotic the street scene and traffic seem to be. Safety was certainly different back then.

Here is a description of the film from Tom.

More

CEI Sues U.S. Treasury to Obtain Carbon Tax E-mails

A conservative public policy think tank filed suit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking some 7,300 emails from the Treasury Department that it failed to obtain through the Freedom of Information Act.

In its FOIA, the Competitive Enterprise Institute requested emails that included the word “carbon” from the agency that would be charged with setting up cap-and-trade or a carbon tax.

“The emails, between Treasury officials, lawmakers, left-wing pressure groups, contributors and other special interest groups, reflect efforts by the Treasury to build a coordinated support for a carbon tax,” a press release issued by CEI on Tuesday stated.

Mayor Ireton is pleased to announce a verdict in the City of Salisbury vs. Contruction Dynamics Group, Inc. court case.

Mayor Jim Ireton said, “In the City of Salisbury case against Construction Dynamics Group, Inc., the City of Salisbury was awarded a jury verdict in the amount of $1,968,417.43. In addition, Construction Dynamics paid the City $162,225.00 for improper billing. The total recovery for the City taxpayers is $2,130,642.43. This verdict brings a multi-year litigation regarding the Waste Water Treatment Plant construction to conclusion. The City was represented by Howard Goldberg, Paul Wilber and Chris Mason during this litigation. The monies obtained from this litigation will be used to help pay for the upgrade of the Waste Water Treatment Plant to the benefit of all rate payers.”

“This brings closure to a very trying period for the City and it allows us to start a new path forward,” Teresa Gardner, Director of Salisbury Public Works said.

Overbilling: $162,225

Jury Award: $1,968,417.43

Total: $2,130,642.43

Economist Backs Lower Maryland Corporate Tax

A noted economist told members of Maryland’s Chamber of Commerce the state should lower corporate income tax rates to attract capital investment and offset decreased federal spending.

Anirban Basu said Maryland is three times more vulnerable to the impact of federal reductions than any other state. Some 2.1 percent of Americans work for the federal government, while 5.2 percent of Marylanders get a federal paycheck.

With extensive cuts scheduled for the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health, both mainstays of Maryland’s economy, Maryland is in for a “world of hurt,” Basu said.

Top Bishop: We Won't Give In On Birth Control Rule

A top Roman Catholic bishop says the church will never comply with the Obama administration mandate to provide birth control coverage in health insurance.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan says the bishops are open to talking with federal officials. But Dolan says bishops will continue to challenge the requirement in legislatures and in court.

Dolan spoke Tuesday in Baltimore at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

A 32-year-old woman who drove on the sidewalk to pass a Cleveland school bus is staying mum as she stands on the sidewalk holding an "idiot" sign as punishment.

Shena Hardin got out of a car and nonchalantly lit up a cigarette as a horde of cameras and reporters circled her. However, she did not say sorry. In fact, she didn't say anything.

Barraged by questions from the media, Hardin was silent, head tilted down with the brim of her black hat covering her face. As reporters walked away, she lifted a tissue to her face and sniffled, large sunglasses hiding her eyes.

An Egyptian jihadist leader, with purported links to the Taliban, is calling for the destruction of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, according to Al-Arabiya TV.

Murgan Salem al-Gohary, comparing the famous Egyptian monuments to statues of the Buddha that the Taliban destroyed in Afghanistan, said that Islam forbids idols, in a Saturday interview in Arabic with the Middle Eastern TV network.

“All Muslims are charged with applying the teachings of Islam to remove such idols, as we did in Afghanistan when we destroyed the Buddha statues,” Gohary said.

Obama's First-Term Track Record on Civil Liberties

Four years after Barack Obama was elected on a platform of "change you can believe in," he’s now promising America that the "best is yet to come." However, on almost every front – fiscally, militarily, politically, socially – the country is in a state of disarray.

Most troubling, however, is the state of our freedoms. Indeed, during Obama’s first term, our civil liberties were utterly and completely disemboweled. The great irony is that this happened with a self-proclaimed constitutional law professor at the helm – a man who was supposed to understand and respect the rule of law as laid out in the U.S. Constitution.

Not only did Obama continue many of the most outrageous abuses of the George W. Bush administration (which were bad enough), including indefinite detention and warrantless surveillance of American citizens, but he also succeeded in expanding the power of the "imperial president," including the ability to assassinate American citizens abroad and unilaterally authorize drone strikes resulting in the deaths of countless innocent civilians, including women and children.

Just consider some of the assaults on our freedoms that took place under Obama’s watch, either as a result of his continuing Bush’s policies, enacting his own misguided policies or simply because he did nothing to counter them.

Need For School Psychologists Increasing

More and more school-aged children are showing up for class with issues far too complex for teachers and administrators to handle.

That's why there's a growing need for school psychologists. More than 35,000 are now based in public schools nationwide.

It is National School Psychology awareness week and it's a time to focus on the critical role they play on campus. WBAL-TV 11 News had a chance to see a school psychologist at work in Howard County.

BREAKING NEWS: CITY WINS ANOTHER WWTP LAWSUIT

The Jury has awarded the City of Salisbury over $2,000,000.00 against CDG (Construction Dynamics Group) the company that oversaw the construction at the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

The total awarded was $2,130,643.00, which included $162,225,00 in money CDG over charged the City for.

This is the final lawsuit against those involved in the construction of the WWTP. More to come...

Bobby Jindal Warns Republicans: 'Stop Being The Stupid Party'

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, widely considered one of the Republican Party's rising stars, has some harsh words for his party today in a wide-ranging interview with Politico.

Most significantly, Jindal said that Republicans need to "stop being the stupid party" after an election that saw them lose a winnable White House and fail to take over a vulnerable Senate.

“It is no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments — enough of that,” Jindal said. “It’s not going to be the last time anyone says something stupid within our party, but it can’t be tolerated within our party. We’ve also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism. We need to stop being simplistic, we need to trust the intelligence

of the American people and we need to stop insulting the intelligence of the voters.”

Jindal also offered a blunt take on the party's identity.

13 Senators, Including Mikulski, Seek More Sandy Aid

Thirteen senators from seven states damaged by superstorm Sandy are asking President Barack Obama to boost federal disaster aid to the states.

Senators from Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Delaware asked Obama in a joint letter Tuesday to add more emergency aid for federal disaster assistance programs in his 2013 budget request. They want quick action by Obama to help speed recovery efforts from the massive storm that pounded the East Coast.

“It is critical that this budget amendment be submitted as soon as possible so critical resources can reach impacted communities by the end of the calendar year,” the senators wrote, adding that state and local governments are already facing tight budgets while millions of people are struggling to recover from their losses.

More

FBI Abuse Of The Surveillance State

The Petraeus scandal is receiving intense media scrutiny obviously due to its salacious aspects, leaving one, as always, to fantasize about what a stellar press corps we would have if they devoted a tiny fraction of this energy to dissecting non-sex political scandals (this unintentionally amusing New York Times headline from this morning - "Concern Grows Over Top Military Officers' Ethics" - illustrates that point: with all the crimes committed by the US military over the last decade and long before, it's only adultery that causes "concern" over their "ethics"). Nonetheless, several of the emerging revelations are genuinely valuable, particularly those involving the conduct of the FBI and the reach of the US surveillance state.

As is now widely reported, the FBI investigation began when Jill Kelley - a Tampa socialite friendly with Petraeus (and apparently very friendly with Gen. John Allen, the four-star U.S. commander of the war in Afghanistan) - received a half-dozen or so anonymous emails that she found vaguely threatening. She then informed a friend of hers who was an FBI agent, and a major FBI investigation was then launched that set out to determine the identity of the anonymous emailer.

U.S. Government Runs $120 Billion October Deficit

The federal government started the 2013 budget year with a $120 billion deficit in October, an indication that the nation is on a path to its fifth straight $1 trillion-plus annual deficit.

A soaring deficit puts added pressure on President Barack Obama and Congress to seek a budget deal in the coming weeks.

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the October deficit — the gap between the government's tax revenue and its spending — was 22 percent higher than the same month last year.

Governments Press Google For Users' Data

Government surveillance of citizens' online lives is rising sharply around the world, according to Google's latest report on requests to remove content and hand over user data to official agencies.

In the first six months of this year, authorities worldwide made 20,939 requests for access to personal data from Google users, including search results, access to Gmail accounts and removal of YouTube videos. Requests have risen steeply from a low of 12,539 in the last six months of 2009, when Google first published its Transparency Report.

Authorities made 1,791 requests for Google to remove 17,746 pieces of content in the first half of 2012, almost twice as many as the 949 requests made in the same period last year, and up from 1,048 requests made in the last six months of 2011.

MTA Investigating Fight Between Bus Driver & Student

MTA officials say a school bus driver has been suspended as they investigate what led to a fight on a bus Monday afternoon.

Portions of the incident are seen in a video posted on You Tube.

MTA spokesman Terry Owens told WBAL News that the incident occurred on the Number 40 bus.

Obama Tries To Make Case For Tax Hike

Obama turns to familiar refrain in post-election press conference: Blame Bush

President Obama opened his first White House press conference in eight months Wednesday with a familiar refrain: Blame Bush.

Before diving into an explanation of how he wants to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" -- and imploring House Republicans to approve legislation to raise taxes on high earners -- Obama sought to once again remind Americans that he took office, four years ago, during a recession that started with the George W. Bush administration.

"Right now our economy is still recovering from a very deep and damaging crisis, so our top priority has to be jobs and growth," Obama said. "We've got to build on the progress that we've made."

ANNE BARNHARDT ECONOMICS 101

MORE

Man Who Accused Elmo Puppeteer Of Teen Sex Recants

A man who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy has recanted his story.

In a quick turnabout, the man on Tuesday described his sexual relationship with Clash as adult and consensual.

Clash responded with a statement of his own, saying he is "relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest." He had no further comment.

Bay Foundation Says Law Firm Threat To Restoration

A Baltimore law firm is asking rural counties to band together to challenge the new federally led Chesapeake Bay restoration strategy, something a foundation dedicated to the bay's health called one of the most serious attacks on clean water it has seen in Maryland.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation said Tuesday it sent a letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley asking him to fight the effort. Dorchester County has hired the Funk & Bolton law firm to go to rural parts of the state asking counties to collectively challenge the federal plan, the foundation said.

"They are preying on the fears that counties have over how to pay for clean-up efforts," the letter to the governor said.

The GOP's Nice Losers

Mitt Romney now joins the long list of the kinds of presidential candidates favored by the Republican establishment – nice, moderate losers, people with no coherently articulated vision, despite how many ad hoc talking points they may have.

The list of Republican presidential candidates like this goes back at least as far as 1948, when Thomas E. Dewey ran against President Harry Truman. Dewey spoke in lofty generalities while Truman spoke in hard-hitting specifics. Since then, there have been many re-runs of this same scenario, featuring losing Republican presidential candidates John McCain, Bob Dole, Gerald Ford and, when he ran for re-election, George H.W. Bush.

More

Teens Targeted For Offensive Anti-Obama Messages

A nationally-known website has targeted teenagers who posted racially-charged, anti-Obama messages on social networking sites after the presidential election. The website Jezebel not only identified the underage students — but also contacted their schools to report their offensive online postings.

“Several of the teens use imagery of their high schools’ sports teams on their Twitter accounts and Facebook pages,” Tracie Egan Morrissey wrote. “If nothing else, it’s reasonable to alert administrators to the behavior of the students who are publicly representing their schools.”

Some of the tweets the teenagers posted were filled with racist language and hate speech – including several messages that used the “n” word. The web site reported that some schools were taking the tweets of the underage young people “very seriously.”
More

Wicomico Farm & Home Show Gives Thanks

Wicomico Farm & Home Show would like to thank all that attended and supported our Annual Fall Basket Bingo, Thursday November 8th, because of you it was another great success. The continued support provided by local businesses and individuals is greatly appreciated. Please support the businesses that support our community. We hope to see you again at our Spring Basket Bingo, April 25, 2013. Save the date.

ALPS GREENHOUSE

APPLE DISCOUNT DRUGS

ASAP SERVICES

BLACKWATER FARMS

BLIND INDUSTRIES

BOB DRISCOLL

BOB'S AUTO REPAIR

BRYAN & BRITTINGHAM, INC.

C & R GARDENS

CAMDEN AVENUE FARMER'S MARKET

CATHY'S PET SALON

CHRISTIE ULM

CLINGER'S NATURAL BY NUTS TO YOU

DARRELL AND BECKY MASON

DELEGATE NORMAN CONWAY

DELMARVA POWERWASH

DR. JAMES CROUSE, DDS

EASTERN SHORE FOREST PRODUCTS

FRED PASTORE, ALL STATE INSURANCE

GAMEE ELLIOTT, STATE FARM INSURANCE

HEBRON SAVINGS BANK

HOLLY HILL HOMEMADE GOODS

HOMETOWN BUILDERS

HVAC SERVICES UNLIMITED, INC.

J & S EQUIPMENT

LEE & DARLENE ALEXANDER

LOWE FARMS

MICKI BUCK

MIDDLE NECK FARMS

MOSS HILL SELF STORAGE

S & H FARMS

SHARPTOWN AMERICAN LEGION #218

SHORE SEED, SKIP HASTINGS

SUSAN ARNOLD

THE HARDWARE STORE

TIM SARGENT

TONY TANK TRIBE #149--THE RED MEN

David Petraeus May Have Committed Much Worse Crimes In Afghanistan

While ousted CIA Director David Petraeus eats dirt for his extra-marital affair, some people would like him to answer for much more serious crimes.

There is evidence that Petraeus, when he commanded US forces in Afghanistan, oversaw the intentional bombing of funerals and civilian rescuers with drones, which constitutes a war crime according to The International Criminal Court.

For years the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) has reported on the use of the double tap—a strategy used by terrorists that involves bombing a strike site multiple times in relatively quick succession to maximize devastation—and there is documented instances that Petraeus employed this tactic as CIA director.

West, R-Fla., calls a mysterious 4,000-vote swing late on Election Night “unconscionable” as he continues his fight to challenge his razor-thin apparent loss to Democrat Patrick Murphy.

Appearing Monday night on “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel, West said, “The thing that spurred our curiosity in our race was the fact that at 1 o’clock in the morning on Election Night, all of a sudden there was a 4,000-vote swing that took me from being ahead to put the lead into my opponent’s hands.

“And what the supervisor of elections of St. Lucie County said, Gertrude Walker, was that they went back and did a recount of the early votes that they had already counted, the first three or four days. What we’re asking is very simple. Let’s have a full recount of all of those early votes, because to have a full 4,000-vote swing in a 35-minute period is unconscionable.”

Counselors from across the lower Delmarva Peninsula gathered during the Delmarva Education Foundation’s second High School Counselors Roundtable to discuss ways to successfully help students achieve their dreams of attending college.

More than 30 high school counselors from Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset and Dorchester counties in Maryland, Sussex County, Delaware and Accomack County, Virginia gathered on Oct. 26 to talk about issues related to the college preparation and financial aid process and to share best practices. Dr. Lynn Wiljanen, dean of student development at Wor-Wic Community College, facilitated the roundtable discussion, which addressed topics like working with sponsors to promote their scholarships, using social media to increase awareness of financial aid, and how to make the scholarship application process easier for students.

The Delmarva Education Foundation holds the bi-annual High School Counselors Roundtable so area professionals can share tools and techniques for enhancing the post-high school success of their students. Through events like this, DEF provides opportunities for education professionals from all three states to connect with each other, develop new ideas and find solutions to issues of concern.

The mission of the Delmarva Education Foundation is to promote college access and success for residents of the lower Delmarva Peninsula. The High School Counselors Roundtable was held at the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore in Salisbury and supported by in-kind services from CFES and Choptank Electric Cooperative.

A Response For When A Liberal Says To Get Over Obama's Reelection...

Was The 2012 Election Stolen?

As the 2012 election approached, conservative enthusiasm grew. Mitt Romney was drawing huge crowds while Barack Obama spoke in half-filled stadiums. All the passion lay on the right while the left was discouraged with a promised messiah who proved merely a politician. And the prediction was that, in contrast to 2008, Republican turnout would dwarf the tuned-out and carry the day. Hence the shock November 6 eve. How could Romney lose, especially by such a wide electoral margin?

Maybe he didn't

At least not legitimately.

When I predicted Obama's re-election, I stated that, despite our country's inexorable leftist slide, Romney would still win on Election Day were it not for vote fraud. I explained that the Democrats could steal more than enough votes in crucial swing states to turn the election. And I still believe what I did then: electoral criminality put Obama over the top.

Attention