Today Marks My 8th Month Living In Downtown Salisbury

With the Mayoral Race getting ready to head into high gear after the Presidential Election, living in Downtown Salisbury remains exciting in many ways.

It's exciting to see the old Feldman's building coming down. It's exciting and enjoyable to go out a few nights a week to enjoy local restaurants. Every time I turn around there's a new business moving in Downtown and other businesses expanding.

The downfall that remains from living here are, no trash pickup, no parking spaces, the old Station 16 remains empty, that's about it though.

We have a Mayor who presented a Downtown Revitalization Plan that fell flat on its face. Rather then picking himself up again and making other attempts to revitalize Downtown, (like a true professional should) he'd rather go to the Press and call the Council the "Council of No's" instead. I won't do that Folks. I'll pick myself up again, sit down with the Council and figure out what works as a team.

We have watched the former and current Mayor scream and yell and point fingers at every one else for the past 16 years whenever they didn't get their way. I asked then and I'll ask again today, what did/has Tilghman and Ireton deliver positive for the City of Salisbury since they were/are in Office?

Are you happy with the roads, water and sewer bills, property values, property taxes, you know, the important things. Are things any better with Students from Salisbury University? From what I hear from local Police and Firefighters, the answer to that question is, hell no. I was personally shocked, considering all of the new laws in place. You'd think the parties would have calmed down but from what I'm told that's a big no.

Salisbury needs a leader who is going to step up to the plate to get things done. We've had 16 years on Mayors standing in front of the camera handing out proclamations and all that stuff but it's time we get a Mayor who is more interested in jobs, newly paved roads, updated infrastructure, lower property taxes, you know the drill.

I'll take on the tough things and face them head on. No excuses, just the truth. The longer we keep hiding what really needs to be done the longer and more expensive it will be to get back on our feet, especially for future generations.

Yeah, we could run around telling lies about how we're going to clean the River so we can swim in it in 10 years but we ALL know, not one of us would ever believe it even if our Mayor said it was OK to swim in it. Besides, do you really want to swim in it anyway?

In five months we'll go to the polls and cast votes for the next Mayor of Salisbury. I'm going to ask each and every one of you, are you a registered voter if you live in the City limits? If not, please don't wait until the last minute to do so. Start asking friends and neighbors, are you registered to vote? Take the time to get registered. This will be the most important election you've ever experienced.

Honor At Last For Roy P

New Treatment For ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Syndrome?

Most of us have experienced it:  that dull, dragging semi-conscious state of deadened awareness and desperate urge to nap that comes from sleep deprivation.  For people with primary hypersomnia, however, this is the way they go through life, constantly feeling only half-awake but never able to get enough good sleep to arise truly refreshed.  Also known as “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome,” the condition leaves those with the worst cases languishing in bed in what seems like the opposite of a fairy tale, without a prince’s kiss to cure them.

But a new study, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggests both a possible cause and a potential treatment for the condition, which may ultimately lead to treatments for other sleep disorders.  The origin of primary hypersomnia, which has some genetic components is still unknown, as is the number of people who are affected by it.

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20th fire set since Nov. 13 on Va.'s Eastern Shore

ACCOMAC, Va. (AP) - Another fire has been set on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Virginia State Police said Saturday that an arsonist struck again overnight at a chicken coop in the Oak Hill area of Accomack County.

It's the 20th fire set at abandoned structures throughout the county since Nov. 13. No injuries have resulted from the fires.
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One Wheel Motorcycle?

OCCUPY 2.0 : DESTROY U.S. ECONOMY WITH LAWLESSNESS

Where is the Occupy Wall Street movement headed? It’s not back to long term camping in the parks. Their explicit goal for the next step of the movement is the destruction of the United States financial system.

Anyone doubting this isn’t listening, because not only have leading leftist thinkers like Francis Fox Piven laid out this strategy, but the Occupy Wall Street movement has even written the instruction manual.

First, the theory. In the last section of the Stephen K. Bannon film Occupy Unmasked, viewers are warned that the Occupy movement is just beginning. One of the left’s most revered figures agrees. On the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement on September 17th in The Guardian, Francis Fox Piven wrote a piece entitled "Occupy's protest is not over. It has barely begun," where she lays out the movement’s achievements and its future. She correctly points out the impact went far beyond the campouts.
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Kids Can't Answer Basic Questions

Don't Forget The Boat Parade Tonight On The Wicomico River

Democrats Vote the Mentally Disabled

I am incredibly steamed this Thanksgiving Holiday over what the Democrats are doing to my country. Everybody by now knows – or should know – how readily Democrats conduct election fraud, and how determined they are to defend it. James O’Keefe and others have taken videos of paid Democratic operatives encouraging citizens to vote twice. O’Keefe was even able to claim Attorney General Eric Holder’s own ballot at a district polling place by claiming to be him, and then to vote in his place. Democrats have promoted Motor Voter laws and same day registration, and month-long election days to help them mobilize the votes of people who are so unconnected to the political process and so uninterested in the country’s future, and perhaps so incompetent to understand what voting entails that they require keepers to see that they get to the polls and then vote the “right” way. In the election that put Al Franken in the Senate by a few hundred votes, more than a thousand felons voted illegally because of the loose laws that govern the polling booth – laws the Democrats want to make even looser. It is in fact the number one civil rights issue of the NAACP this year to give felons the right to vote. So we know that Democrats have little respect for the election process, and we should assume they will attempt to pursue their victories by any means necessary.

But even knowing this, I was not prepared for a conversation I had at Thanksgiving dinner today with my brother-in-law, Henry, who has lived most of his life in a home for the mentally disabled, and though now in his forties has the intelligence level of a six-year-old.

“Obama saved me,” he said to me out of the blue.

“What do you mean?”

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Flash Mob Belgium

Brash boxer 'Macho' Camacho dies in Puerto Rico

Hector "Macho" Camacho was a brash fighter with a mean jab and an aggressive style, launching himself furiously against some of the biggest names in boxing. And his bad-boy persona was not entirely an act, with a history of legal scrapes that began in his teens and continued throughout his life.

The man who once starred at the pinnacle of boxing, winning several world titles, died Saturday after being ambushed in a parking lot back in the Puerto Rican town of Bayamon where he was born. Packets of cocaine were found were found in the car in which he was shot.

Camacho, 50, left behind a reputation for flamboyance -- leading fans in cheers of "It's Macho time!" before fights -- and for fearsome skills as one of the top fighters of his generation.
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House GOP Planning Vote on Immigration Bill Next Week: Help for Green Card Families

House Republicans still smarting from their poor showing among Hispanics in the presidential election are planning a vote next week on immigration legislation that would both expand visas for foreign science and technology students and make it easier for those with green cards to bring their immediate families to the U.S.

Republican leaders made it clear after the election that the party was ready to get serious about overhauling the nation's dysfunctional immigration system, a top priority for Hispanic communities. Taking up what is called the STEM Jobs Act during the lame-duck session could be seen as a first step in that direction.

The House voted on a STEM bill — standing for science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in September, but under a procedure requiring a two-thirds majority. It was defeated, with more than 80 percent of Democrats voting against it, because it offset the increase in visas for high-tech graduates by eliminating another visa program that is available for less-educated foreigners, many from Africa.

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FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR, OBAMA'S THANKSGIVING MESSAGE DOESN'T THANK GOD

Yet again, President Obama’s Thanksgiving message eschewed any direct reference to thanking God, making this the fourth straight year in which the President of the United States has ignored the central message of the holiday in favor of political grandstanding.

This year, Obama’s central message was that now that he’s been re-elected, Americans should agree with all of his policies. His unity routine sounds strangely empty after a campaign in which he focused on dividing Americans:

But most of all, it’s a time to give thanks for each other, and for the incredible bounty we enjoy.
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Federal Workers Plead: Leave Us Out of Fiscal Cliff Deal

A public sector union alliance known as the Federal-Postal Coalition has written a letter to Congress pleading its case that federal workers are doing their ‘fair share’ and therefore, should be left out of any impending budget deficit deal.

The National Journal attained a copy of the federal workers’ letter and published part of it:

“Federal and postal employees and their families are hardworking, middle-class Americans who are struggling during these tough times just like other Americans,” the group wrote. “No other group has been asked to financially contribute the way they have, and it is time our nation’s leaders found other ways to reduce the deficit than continually taking from those who have dedicated their lives to public service.” 

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TWO DEAD AND THREE INJURED IN I-95 CRASH

(ABINGDON, MD) – Despite the heroic efforts of a Maryland state trooper who pulled three people from a burning vehicle early this morning, two of those victims have died as a result of injuries sustained in a crash on I-95 in Harford County that may have been precipitated by an incident of road rage.

The deceased victims are identified as Veney B. Tanner, Jr., 31, of Abingdon, Md., and Janelle E. Jackson, 17, of Baltimore. Tanner was pronounced dead at Chesapeake Hospital. Jackson was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where she later died.

Also injured in the crash were Myron Doram, 38, of Randallstown, Md., and Clinton T. Griffin, 63, of Newark, Delaware. Both were transported by ambulance to Bayview Hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Injured due to smoke inhalation during the rescue was Maryland State Police Corporal Kevin Watkins of the JFK Highway Barrack. Cpl. Watkins was transported to Upper Chesapeake Hospital where he was treated and released.

The crash occurred just after 2:00 a.m. today on northbound I-95 at Rt. 24, near Abingdon. Cpl. Watkins was off-duty when he arrived at the crash, which had just occurred. A 2005 Lexus, driven by Tanner and also occupied by Doram and Jackson, was on fire. All three people were still inside the burning vehicle. Cpl. Watkins entered the car repeatedly, pulling each person out and away from the car. After moving the victims safely away from the fire, he began CPR on Tanner, who was unresponsive.

The next trooper on the scene arrived about a minute after Cpl. Watkins had pulled the third person out of the car. He said the Lexus was fully engulfed in fire at that point and would have likely trapped all three victims if Cpl. Watkins had not arrived and acted immediately as he did.

The preliminary investigation indicates this incident may have begun with some type of traffic dispute between Tanner and the occupants of a dark colored Jeep. State Police have been told the dispute may have started while both vehicles were traveling north on I-95. Investigators were told the Jeep stopped suddenly, forcing Tanner to stop.
Both vehicles pulled to the shoulder of I-95 just past the Rt. 24 exit and several persons were seen getting out of the Jeep. At least one of those persons was banging on the windows of the Lexus.

For reasons uncertain at this time, the investigation indicates Tanner pulled away from the shoulder and turned the Lexus left across the northbound lanes of I-95. As he entered the fast lane of traffic, he was struck by a northbound 2006 UD box truck, driven by Griffin. Both vehicles traveled off the left side of the roadway and the Lexus caught fire.

The occupants of the Jeep apparently got back into the vehicle and it left the scene. Anyone with information about this Jeep or its occupants is urged to contact Maryland State Police at the JFK Highway Barrack immediately at 410-537-1150.

The northbound lanes of I-95 at Rt. 24 remained closed for about five hours due to extensive scene and the detailed investigation conducted. The highway reopened completely just before 7:30 a.m. today. Maryland Transportation Authority officials assisted with detours around the scene. 

One Third of Schools Receiving Stimulus-Funded 'Student Improvement Grants' Showed Declines

Three years ago, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that the Obama administration would spend $3.5 billion -- including $3 billion in stimulus funding -- on Student Improvement Grants. The money, he said, would "support the transformational changes that are needed to turn around the nation's lowest-achieving schools."

Now, after the Obama administration spent up to $2 million per school at more than 1,300 of the nation's lowest-performing schools, the data shows that one third of schools receiving SIG funding had declines in achievement -- a "not surprising finding," the Education Department said, "given the steep institutional challenges that these schools face."

“There’s dramatic change happening in these schools, and in the long-term process of turning around the nation’s lowest-performing schools, one year of test scores only tells a small piece of the story,” Duncan said on in a Nov. 19 news release. 
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Police: Woman Stabbed Brother With Serving Fork

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Police in Anne Arundel County say a woman lost her cool during Thanksgiving dinner and stabbed her brother in the neck.

It was the serving fork.

The man was transported to Anne Arundel Medical Center with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
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Convicted Killer Renews New Trial Bid

OCEAN CITY -- A little over a month after Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler filed a motion seeking to dismiss Erika Sifrit’s latest appeal, the convicted killer who, along with her husband Benjamin Sifrit, brutally murdered and dismembered a couple vacationing in Ocean City in 2002, has renewed her attempt at a new trial.

In March, Erika Sifrit, now 34, filed a petition seeking an overturn of her prior convictions and sentences and a renewed bid for a new trial, citing, among other things, her defense counsel’s failure to fully explore her history of mental illness and her emotional dependence on her husband at the time of the heinous crimes. In 2003, Erica Sifrit was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Joshua Ford and second-degree murder in the death of Martha Crutchley and was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.

The Sifrits lured Crutchley and Ford back to their Ocean City condo on Memorial Day weekend in 2002 after spending the evening with them at a resort nightclub before brutally murdering them and dismembering their bodies, parts of which were found in a Delaware landfill nine days later. The couple was caught during a botched burglary attempt at a north end restaurant nearly a week later and a trail of evidence led investigators to the scene of the murders. In the years since, Sifrit has filed numerous appeals and has been denied at each turn. Her latest appeal was filed in federal court in March and seeks an overturn of the convictions and a new trial.
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White House Christmas Tree Arrives

First lady Michelle Obama, her daughters Sasha and Malia, and first dog Bo welcomed the White House Christmas tree on Friday morning.

The 19-foot Fraser Fir from North Carolina arrived in a carriage drawn by two Clydesdale horses, as the Marine Band played "Oh, Christmas Tree."

The tree was chosen in early October by the National Christmas Tree Association and harvested last week from Peak Farms in Jefferson, N.C. It will be displayed in the Blue Room, located on the first floor of the White House and typically used for receiving and greeting guests.
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Question Of The Day 11-24-12

 Did you go shopping on Black Friday?

Grand Canyon Photo Prank Goes Viral

While camping in the Grand Canyon with her boyfriend earlier this month, Samantha Busch, 22, decided to pull a prank on her overprotective mom, Rebecca.

Busch texted a photo of herself looking like she was falling off a cliff, when in reality, she was perfectly safe standing on a ledge below.

"For five days up to when we left, my mom had warned me about falling off the cliff or being blown off," Busch told ABCNews.com. "So when we were hiking around the corner, I found a good spot where I could stand on the ledge. He angled the camera just right and he took a great picture."
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Cops: Mass. Bargain Hunter Took Home TV, Left Tot

Police say a Massachusetts man left his girlfriend's 2-year-old son in a car while he went shopping for Black Friday bargains, then went home with his new 51-inch flat screen television and left the toddler behind.

Police, alerted by store security, found the boy asleep in the vehicle in a Kmart parking lot at about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

They forced their way into the car and took the boy to the hospital as a precaution. 
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Bob Evans Was Down On The Farm And Not Open For Business

Hundreds of angry customers were fired up after making Thanksgiving dinner reservations at the Bob Evans restaurant in Salisbury. Lines started forming and hundreds of people gathered in the parking lot only to learn they just weren't going to open their doors at all.

Perhaps they hung that turkey special sign, (above) to let people know they too are going to start closing their doors and cutting back full time employees to fight back at Obamacare.

Nevertheless, what Bob Evans did was uncalled for and deserves to be Blogged.

Hostess Gets Green Light To Eliminate 15,000 Jobs Immediately And Liquidate Assets

A US Federal Bankrupcy judge, Robert Drain, approved Wednesday to allow Hostess to layoff 15,000 workers immediately and the remaining 3,200 would be let go within four months.

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Biker Stops In Berlin On Cross Country Trip

BERLIN -- Feeling worn down by the weight of an exhausting job and inescapable schedule, Dave Gill decided to break away from it all and embark on an 11,000-mile bicycle journey across almost two dozen states and two countries.

Early in his journey Gill came through Berlin and Snow Hill, claiming to have one of the best experiences of his entire trip.“I love Berlin,” he said. “I’d love to go back.”


Gill spent a day going through the Eastern Shore last Thursday as part of his route down the East Coast, across the south, back up the West Coast, and through parts of Canada. The trip is set to end where it began in New York City.
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U.S. Has Concerns About Egyptian President Mursi's Moves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is concerned about Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to assume sweeping powers, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.

Mursi on Thursday issued a decree that puts his decisions above legal challenge until a new parliament is elected, causing angry protests by his opponents and violent clashes in central Cairo and other cities on Friday.

Mursi's aides said the decree was intended to speed up a protracted transition that has been hindered by legal obstacles, but rivals condemned Mursi as an autocratic "pharaoh" who wanted to impose his Islamist vision on Egypt.
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HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 11-24-12

The Surplus Store

Since I was just your average boy in the 1950’s, I was fascinated with anything to do with war, guns and the associated paraphernalia that went with them. The Korean War had ended in 1952, and there were a lot of surplus military goods to be had. Salisbury did not have one of the big outlets as did Baltimore and Philadelphia. They had branches of a chain known as “Sonny’s Surplus”. They were huge stores and I am sure they had much more to offer than our little surplus store. Since none of us boys had seen a Sonny’s Surplus, we thought what we had was the cat’s meow.

          

I was solidly into my “cowboy” years and this was a whole new avenue for someone my age to discover. We all had our pistols and holsters to play cowboys and Indians, but this was a picture into the regular lives of real soldiers. Salisbury had our own surplus store, and it was a regular Shangri-la to boys my age. Even the smell was foreign to us. It smelled of far-off lands and adventures that we could only imagine. That place was Willie’s Fair and they sold only military surplus. Naturally your mother never entered a place reserved for the sale of such things that only men would understand, which made it that much more special.

          

Being always the practical one, I bought a “live bait” box. I still have it. The price of fifty cents is still visible on it. It probably never saw any military action, but it was painted “O.D.” and came from that mecca of military memories – Willie’s Fair. O.D. actually stood for olive drab, but when Crayola made a crayon of that color and called it O.D., my sister and I proceeded to call it odor.

          

Willie’s Fair was located on E. Church Street on the corner of Records Street and the building is still there, although it is now used as a furniture warehouse. Just as the building is still there, so are the memories of those glorious days spent wandering the aisles, looking at all the gas masks, used uniforms, helmets and other goodies associated with the military.

          

I remember buying rubber balls there for nine cents. The man told me that they were used by the Navy for something. He wasn’t sure just what. They predated the super ball that became so popular with children but exhibited the same traits for which the super ball is known. They were about the size of a tennis ball and would ricochet off my front steps with tremendous speed. I used to play with one of those balls and my ball gloves for hours. It was good infielding practice.

         

I don’t remember when Willie’s Fair ceased operations, but they are listed at the 612 E. Church St. address in the 1961 telephone book. That was the year I graduated from Wi-Hi and I’m sure I had gotten over my fascination with war by that time and didn’t patronize them.

          

But to a 10-year-old boy, it was just the most intriguing place. I lived on the corner of Church and Truitt streets and walked the few blocks without the fear I would probably have today. Times change.

FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS OUTNUMBER POPULATIONS OF 24 STATES COMBINED

An analysis by Breitbart News has found that the number of individuals on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of 24 states and the District of Columbia.

In November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that a record 47,102,780 individuals receive food stamps.

According to US. Census Bureau data, that figure exceeds the combined populations of: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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Berlin Welcomes Unique Toy Store To Main Street

OCEAN CITY – Open for its first holiday season is Berlin’s World of Toys, which has gained success by going against the grain from the typical toy store and stocking its shelves with educational and developmental toys that kids of all ages will love.

Olga Kozhevnikova opened World of Toys on May 25 after receiving the keys to the store on Main Street in Berlin only five days before.

In that time, with help from friends and family, the store received a fresh coat of bright green paint, every wall had white shelves installed, the shelves were stocked and displays were on the floor. Kozhevnikova had transformed the store into a children’s wonderland that carries the best of the best when it comes to toys.
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Larry Hagman Dead At 81, Portrayed Notorious TV Villain J.R. Ewing

Larry Hagman, who created one of American television's most supreme villains in the conniving, amoral oilman J.R. Ewing of "Dallas," died on Friday, the Dallas Morning News reported. He was 81.

Hagman died at a Dallas hospital of complications from his battle with throat cancer, the newspaper said, quoting a statement from his family. He had suffered from liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver in the 1990s after decades of drinking.

Hagman's mother was stage and movie star Mary Martin and he became a star himself in 1965 on "I Dream of Jeannie," a popular television sitcom in which he played Major Anthony Nelson, an astronaut who discovers a beautiful genie in a bottle.
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Gas Blast Levels Mass. Strip Club; 18 People Hurt

A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday leveled a strip club and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.

Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers in the area because of an earlier gas leak and odor report were among the 18 people injured in the blast, authorities said.

"This is a miracle on Worthington Street that no one was killed," Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said at a press conference.

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