You all know I am very fond of my downtown neighbors, the ladies who run the Opportunity Shop. I like to promote their thrift ministry as often as I can and I know how well they serve needs of Salisbury's thrift shoppers.
The Opportunity Shop is a ministry of Asbury United Methodist Church, the large brick church on Camden Ave. just south of Salisbury University. In December, their 18 year senior pastor, Rev. Glenn Catley, announced his retirement effective June 30. This morning at Asbury's services it was announced that Associate Pastor, Rev. Dr. Benita Harris, will assume the role of Senior Pastor at Asbury in July. United Methodist Church Peninsula Delaware Conference Bishop Peggy Johnson, in consultation with her cabinet and with Asbury's staff parish committee, approved the appointment very recently.
I hope Rev. Harris will continue Asbury's Opportunity Shop commitment to Downtown Salisbury. I enjoy being their neighbor.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Sunday, February 03, 2013
STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ON THE BALTIMORE RAVENS’ SUPER BOWL VICTORY
Government House and State House dome illuminated in “Ravens Purple”
NEW ORLEANS, LA (February 3, 2013) – Governor Martin O’Malley tonight issued the following statement on the Baltimore Ravens victory in Super Bowl XLVII:
“The Baltimore Ravens have proven that they are the team of destiny this year. We are incredibly proud of Coach John Harbaugh and our entire Baltimore Ravens team for bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Baltimore.
“Our Ravens have provided an inspirational lift for all of us to reach beyond our dreams this season. They are the heart and soul of Baltimore, and fans across our great State are celebrating in the historic accomplishments of this team. We look forward to the Ravens homecoming and the parade in the days to come.
“Congratulations to Joe Flacco for being named Most Valuable Player. We also wish Ray Lewis well in his future endeavors, and we are forever grateful for what he has done for Baltimore for 17 years. Go Ravens!”
STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ON ADMINISTRATION’S COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE
ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 28, 2013) – This afternoon, Governor Martin O’Malley attended a rally hosted by the University System of Maryland Student Council supporting the Administration’s FY2014 budget that keeps college affordable for more families and makes investments to support innovation at Maryland’s colleges and universities. The Governor issued the following statement on the Administration’s continued commitment to affordable college:
“Six years ago, Lt. Governor Brown and I committed to making college more affordable for more of our families. And every year of this Administration, even during the toughest of times while cutting more than any administration in state history, we have invested to make this a reality.
“Because of the better choices we’ve made together, Maryland is alone among the 50 states to freeze in-state tuition at our colleges and universities for four years in a row. During that time, the University of Maryland System went from the eighth most expensive in the country to the 27th. And because of those better choices, the College Board says that Maryland has done more than any other state to hold down the cost of college tuition.
“If we want to be leaders in science, leaders in security, and leaders in innovation, it all comes down to how well we educate our future generations. We consider this not only to be something good for our State, but essential for our country.”
According to the College Board, Maryland has done more than any other state in the nation to hold down the cost of college with the lowest increase in college tuition in the nation. Alone among the 50 states, Maryland froze in-state tuition at state colleges and universities four years in a row and has held tuition increases to the lowest in the nation for over five years.
The Governor’s proposed FY2014 budget keeps college affordable, protects capital and operating investments in Maryland’s universities and community colleges, and makes investments in innovative initiatives like Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, as well as research, entrepreneurship and commercialization of blossoming ideas within the University System of Maryland.
For a fact sheet on the Administration's commitment to higher education and job creation, click here.
“Six years ago, Lt. Governor Brown and I committed to making college more affordable for more of our families. And every year of this Administration, even during the toughest of times while cutting more than any administration in state history, we have invested to make this a reality.
“Because of the better choices we’ve made together, Maryland is alone among the 50 states to freeze in-state tuition at our colleges and universities for four years in a row. During that time, the University of Maryland System went from the eighth most expensive in the country to the 27th. And because of those better choices, the College Board says that Maryland has done more than any other state to hold down the cost of college tuition.
“If we want to be leaders in science, leaders in security, and leaders in innovation, it all comes down to how well we educate our future generations. We consider this not only to be something good for our State, but essential for our country.”
According to the College Board, Maryland has done more than any other state in the nation to hold down the cost of college with the lowest increase in college tuition in the nation. Alone among the 50 states, Maryland froze in-state tuition at state colleges and universities four years in a row and has held tuition increases to the lowest in the nation for over five years.
The Governor’s proposed FY2014 budget keeps college affordable, protects capital and operating investments in Maryland’s universities and community colleges, and makes investments in innovative initiatives like Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, as well as research, entrepreneurship and commercialization of blossoming ideas within the University System of Maryland.
For a fact sheet on the Administration's commitment to higher education and job creation, click here.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES!
Volunteer opportunities are available at the Holly Center in area departments such as Recreation, the Adult Day Program, Administration Clerical Services and the Holly Center Auxiliary. The benefits of volunteering are enormous.In addition, volunteers are needed to assist staff with special events that directly benefit Holly Center people. If you would like you to consider becoming a volunteer of Holly Center, please contact the Office of Volunteer Services at 410.572.6204. The next scheduled adult volunteer orientation will be held on:
Pre-registration is required to attend the Volunteer Orientation. For more information, please call Marlina Belote, Director of Volunteer Services & Community Relations at 410.572.6204.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2012
CANTEEN BUILDING
4:30 PM
Pre-registration is required to attend the Volunteer Orientation. For more information, please call Marlina Belote, Director of Volunteer Services & Community Relations at 410.572.6204.
IRS: Cheapest Obamacare Plan Will Be $20,000 Per Family
In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year.
Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS.
The IRS's assumption that the cheapest plan for a family will cost $20,000 per year is found in examples the IRS gives to help people understand how to calculate the penalty they will need to pay the government if they do not buy a mandated health plan.
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Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS.
The IRS's assumption that the cheapest plan for a family will cost $20,000 per year is found in examples the IRS gives to help people understand how to calculate the penalty they will need to pay the government if they do not buy a mandated health plan.
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Delinquencies On Student Loans Surpass Those On Credit Card Debt
Those who have been following our year-long series exposing the student debt bubble are by now well aware that this latest $1 trillion+ reincarnation of subprime will have a very unhappy ending. Which is why today's release of the quarterly Fed report [5]on household debt and credit will hold few surprises for them. There is however, one data point which is notable: as of December 31, 2012, the soaring delinquency rate on student loans (first reported here [6], and subsequently confirmed by the Fed itself [7]), has surpassed that of credit card debt.
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United Way Of The Lower Eastern Shore Invites Local Clubs & Organizations To ‘Community Of Caring’ Breakfast
Inaugural Event Scheduled for February 14 at Wicomico Youth & Civic Center
Tony Sarbanes and the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore Board of Directors enthusiastically invite two members of your club/organization and/or your auxiliary group to the inaugural ‘Community of Caring’ Breakfast on Thursday, February 14 at 8:00am. Sponsored by Pepsi Bottling Ventures, the breakfast will take place in the DaNang Rooms of the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.
Attendees can enjoy a complimentary breakfast and refreshments while hearing presentations by Sheriff Mike Lewis and United Way’s Kathleen Momme. Updates will also be given on the United Way’s community impact and how the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore can partner with your group to make a LOCAL difference.
Please RSVP by February 7th by calling 410.742.5143.
Tony Sarbanes and the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore Board of Directors enthusiastically invite two members of your club/organization and/or your auxiliary group to the inaugural ‘Community of Caring’ Breakfast on Thursday, February 14 at 8:00am. Sponsored by Pepsi Bottling Ventures, the breakfast will take place in the DaNang Rooms of the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.
Attendees can enjoy a complimentary breakfast and refreshments while hearing presentations by Sheriff Mike Lewis and United Way’s Kathleen Momme. Updates will also be given on the United Way’s community impact and how the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore can partner with your group to make a LOCAL difference.
Please RSVP by February 7th by calling 410.742.5143.
The Most Wanted Gun in America
The answer is no. Pasadena Pawn and Gun, a gun retailer and pawnshop 15 miles south of Baltimore, is pretty much sold out of America’s most wanted gun, the AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. Since the massacre in Newtown, Conn., in December, the AR-15, the military-style weapon that the police say was used in the shootings, has been selling fast here and across the nation.
Before Newtown, the rifles sold for about $1,100, on average. Now some retailers charge twice that. At Pasadena Pawn, on the wall behind glass counters of handguns, are three dozen or so AR-15-style rifles. Dangling from nearly every one is a tag that says “Sold.”
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New York Governor's Approval Rating Plunges 15 Points After Gun Control Passed
I guess even New Yorkers don’t like it when a politician uses a tragedy to immediately jam through gun control legislation. I wonder how many people will actually register their guns as that would be an interesting act of civil disobedience. These political creatures are totally out of control. From the Daily News:
ALBANY — Gun-loving New Yorkers have turned on Gov. Cuomo in the wake of his sweeping new gun law, giving him his first major drop in poll numbers.
Gov. Cuomo’s new gun law expands the state’s assault weapons ban, as well as limits gun magazines and requires that owners of now-illegal guns register them with the state. Since the gun law was approved, Cuomo’s approval rating has dropped 15 points since December.
At the end of the day, I hold out very little hope for New York. It is as statist a place as you can find in America, which is partially why I left. That said, this poll is an interesting development.
Full article here.
ALBANY — Gun-loving New Yorkers have turned on Gov. Cuomo in the wake of his sweeping new gun law, giving him his first major drop in poll numbers.
Gov. Cuomo’s new gun law expands the state’s assault weapons ban, as well as limits gun magazines and requires that owners of now-illegal guns register them with the state. Since the gun law was approved, Cuomo’s approval rating has dropped 15 points since December.
At the end of the day, I hold out very little hope for New York. It is as statist a place as you can find in America, which is partially why I left. That said, this poll is an interesting development.
Full article here.
CMS Issues Sunshine Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a long-awaited rule Friday finalizing the details for a database that will list payments made to physicians by pharmaceutical and device manufacturers.
"You should know when your doctor has a financial relationship with the companies that manufacture or supply the medicines or medical devices you may need," Peter Budetti, MD, the agency's deputy administrator for program integrity, said in a statement. "Disclosure of these relationships allows patients to have more informed discussions with their doctors."
The rule, a provision of the Affordable Care Act known as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, "finalizes the provisions that require manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals, and medical supplies covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program to report payments or other transfers of value they make to physicians and teaching hospitals to CMS," the statement explained. "CMS will post that data to a public website. The final rule also requires manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to disclose to CMS physician ownership or investment interests."
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"You should know when your doctor has a financial relationship with the companies that manufacture or supply the medicines or medical devices you may need," Peter Budetti, MD, the agency's deputy administrator for program integrity, said in a statement. "Disclosure of these relationships allows patients to have more informed discussions with their doctors."
The rule, a provision of the Affordable Care Act known as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, "finalizes the provisions that require manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals, and medical supplies covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program to report payments or other transfers of value they make to physicians and teaching hospitals to CMS," the statement explained. "CMS will post that data to a public website. The final rule also requires manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to disclose to CMS physician ownership or investment interests."
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Better Choices Deconstructed
Governor Martin O’Malley delivered his State of the State address focused on the better choices we’ve made together to deliver results and nearly eliminate the inherited $1.7 billion structural deficit while maintaining our Triple A bond rating.
We wanted to break down an excerpt of the speech and showcase a few of the polices that works.
“We used the pressure of sinking revenues to make government more efficient.”
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We wanted to break down an excerpt of the speech and showcase a few of the polices that works.
“We used the pressure of sinking revenues to make government more efficient.”
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Google Boss Schmidt Labels China An 'IT Menace'
The New Digital Age - due for release in April - reportedly brands China "the world's most active and enthusiastic filterer of information".
China is "the most sophisticated and prolific" hacker of foreign companies, according to a review obtained by the Wall Street Journal(WSJ).
China denies allegations of hacking.
Revolution coming?
Beijing has been accused by several governments, foreign companies and organisations of carrying out extensive cyber espionage for many years, seeking to gather information and to control China's image.
Race To The Top: D.C., Maryland And Georgia Way Back In The Field
In the second year of Race to the Top, the Obama administration’s signature effort to improve public schools, nine of 12 jurisdictions that received $4 billion in federal grants made good progress. But three — the District, Maryland and Georgia — have stumbled, federal officials said.
“We have a lot of good news in this report and also some challenges,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters Thursday.
The Education Department has been closely tracking the performance of the 12 states, praising those that are performing well while identifying others where problems have arisen.
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“We have a lot of good news in this report and also some challenges,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters Thursday.
The Education Department has been closely tracking the performance of the 12 states, praising those that are performing well while identifying others where problems have arisen.
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Stop Obama's Gun Grab In Maryland
Already, O'Malley's henchmen in the Maryland State Senate have introduced Senate Bill 281, the O'Malley Gun Grab Bill.
It's up to us to kill this bill.
Senate Bill 281 drastically broadens the definition of an assault weapon and constitutes one of the most outrageous assault weapon bans proposed in the country.
This bill classifies 15 different types of semi-automatic pistols as "assault weapons" as well as certain types of shotguns and rifles.
This means that if Senate Bill 281 passes these guns will be illegal to purchase or bring into the State of Maryland.
This 38-page bill also bans high-capacity magazines limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds.
If this bill becomes law, it criminalizes all citizens owning newly banned weapons unless they immediately register their guns with the State of Maryland.
Gun owners who don't register their "banned" weapons would face up to 3 years in jail or a $5,000 dollar fine under O'Malley's Gun Grab Bill.
Current law governing carry permits in Maryland makes it almost impossible to carry, yet this bill will make it even harder by requiring a new 16-hour handgun training course.
To purchase or rent a handgun, citizens will now have to pay roughly $400 dollars in fees, background checks, training courses, and finger-printing.
This bill, if passed, will be the death knell for the 2nd Amendment in Maryland.
We can't let that happen. We need to move fast.
The gun grabbers are feverishly working to ram Senate Bill 281 through the Senate before we can mobilize.
Already, this destructive bill was assigned a hearing date.
O'Malley's Gun Grab Bill will be heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on February 6th, 2013 at 1:00 p.m.
A Committee vote could happen immediately following the hearing.
The politicians on the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee need to hear from us loud and clear that moving O'Malley's Gun Grab Bill out of their Committee will cost them dearly.
Wicomico County Sheriff's Department Chief Gary Baker At The Super Bowl
Snow Hill, Md., To Host 2013 Delmarva Chicken Festival
The Town of Snow Hill, Md., and the Snow Hill Chamber of Commerce have invited the Delmarva Chicken Festival to return to the scenic, historic community on Friday and Saturday, June 21 and 22. The event will take place at Byrd Park along the Pocomoke River in downtown Snow Hill.
Kemp Wills, an actively involved Snow Hill resident, will chair the 64th annual salute to Delmarva’s chicken industry. Assisting Wills in coordinating the festival are Charlotte Cathell, register of wills for Worcester County, Md., and William L. Gordy, retired Maryland State Police detective sergeant who teaches criminal justice and forensic science at Worchester Technical High School.
The leadership team will guide a committee of community volunteers in planning an exciting two-day schedule of family entertainment featuring the festival’s trademark 10-foot giant fry pan, a variety of other food concessions, educational displays related to chicken, fun-filled Chicken Capers, and a Chickin' Pickin' competition. There will also be an arts and crafts show, home and trade show, live musical entertainment, a classic car show, and children’s rides and games.
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Kemp Wills, an actively involved Snow Hill resident, will chair the 64th annual salute to Delmarva’s chicken industry. Assisting Wills in coordinating the festival are Charlotte Cathell, register of wills for Worcester County, Md., and William L. Gordy, retired Maryland State Police detective sergeant who teaches criminal justice and forensic science at Worchester Technical High School.
The leadership team will guide a committee of community volunteers in planning an exciting two-day schedule of family entertainment featuring the festival’s trademark 10-foot giant fry pan, a variety of other food concessions, educational displays related to chicken, fun-filled Chicken Capers, and a Chickin' Pickin' competition. There will also be an arts and crafts show, home and trade show, live musical entertainment, a classic car show, and children’s rides and games.
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'Unprecedented' Federal Inmate Increase Strains Resources
The federal prison system faces an unprecedented growth in inmate population and Congress has to decide if the growth is sustainable or if it needs to change federal criminal justice policy to reduce the population while maintaining public safety, says the Congressional Research Service.
In a report (.pdf) posted by Secrecy News on Jan. 29, CRS says the number of inmates under the Bureau of Prison's jurisdiction has increased 790 percent from roughly 25,000 in fiscal 1980 to nearly 219,000 in fiscal 2012, an average annual increase of 6,100 inmates. During this time, BOP appropriations increased from $3.67 billion to $6.38 billion.
The report says that largest portion of new inmates are being incarcerated for drug offenses, but weapons and immigration charges-populations are also increasing. It attributes some of the growth to changes in federal sentencing policies since the early 1980s, such as "increasing the number of federal offenses subject to mandatory minimum sentences; changes to the federal criminal code that have made more crimes federal offenses; and eliminating parole."
There are also a number of secondary problems linked to these increased rates, says the report, including rising per capita costs, overcrowding and budget shortfalls preventing infrastructure repairs.
Some of the options open to Congress are building more prisons, investing in rehabilitation programs, moving inmates to private prisons or making policy changes. Policy changes could include expanding probation offerings, modifying mandatory minimum sentences and repealing some federal criminal statutes, says the report.
Congress should also "consider whether incarcerating more offenders would continue to generate a significant deterrent effect," says the report. It says outside research shows a decline in violent crime in the 1990s but that since then increasing incarceration rates have had diminishing marginal returns.
"The unprecedented increase… was not the result of a singular policy change," and the only suggestion CRS makes is that Congress consider a multi-faceted approach to address prison population growth and its impacts.
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In a report (.pdf) posted by Secrecy News on Jan. 29, CRS says the number of inmates under the Bureau of Prison's jurisdiction has increased 790 percent from roughly 25,000 in fiscal 1980 to nearly 219,000 in fiscal 2012, an average annual increase of 6,100 inmates. During this time, BOP appropriations increased from $3.67 billion to $6.38 billion.
The report says that largest portion of new inmates are being incarcerated for drug offenses, but weapons and immigration charges-populations are also increasing. It attributes some of the growth to changes in federal sentencing policies since the early 1980s, such as "increasing the number of federal offenses subject to mandatory minimum sentences; changes to the federal criminal code that have made more crimes federal offenses; and eliminating parole."
There are also a number of secondary problems linked to these increased rates, says the report, including rising per capita costs, overcrowding and budget shortfalls preventing infrastructure repairs.
Some of the options open to Congress are building more prisons, investing in rehabilitation programs, moving inmates to private prisons or making policy changes. Policy changes could include expanding probation offerings, modifying mandatory minimum sentences and repealing some federal criminal statutes, says the report.
Congress should also "consider whether incarcerating more offenders would continue to generate a significant deterrent effect," says the report. It says outside research shows a decline in violent crime in the 1990s but that since then increasing incarceration rates have had diminishing marginal returns.
"The unprecedented increase… was not the result of a singular policy change," and the only suggestion CRS makes is that Congress consider a multi-faceted approach to address prison population growth and its impacts.
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Found Dog On Northwood Drive
Black with white chest and feet. Female. Roughly one year old. Pit lab mix possibly.
Brian Williams 443-859-1555
Sussex Set To Condemn Land Near Airport
The final resolution may be decided in Superior Court: a condemnation hearing on Fraipont's land scheduled in March.
Fraipont's eight-acre home in Georgetown is near the Sussex County airport, and part of her land will lie in the fly-zone when the county airport runway is extended. “I've been told so many different things over the past nine years,” she said. “I want to be treated in a fair way when they are trying to throw me under the bus.”
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IT TAKES A TWO PARENT FAMILY TO RAISE A CHILD
Family disintegration has hurt America
COMMUNITY LEADERS across the U.S. find themselves struggling with rampant tardiness, high truancy rates, high dropout rates, low educational attainment, widespread drug addiction, crime, a degraded work force and more.
It’s as if society is disintegrating.
That’s because many poor American families have.
Some social scientists contend that War on Poverty programs intended to help the poor actually led to what they call “family disintegration” instead.
“The core feature of the U.S. welfare system, and its central problem, is that it subsidizes and thus promotes self-destructive behavior,” the Heritage Foundation said in a 1995 briefing paper. “Specifically, the welfare system promotes: non-work, illegitimacy and divorce.”
The current system “transformed marriage from a legal institution designed to protect and nurture children into an institution that financially penalizes nearly all low-income parents who enter into it,” the foundation said.
In 2011, almost 41 percent of children born in the United States were born to unmarried women.
This has consequences.
“Welfare insidiously creates its own clientele; by undermining work ethic and family structure, the welfare state generates a growing population in ‘need of aid.’”
More
COMMUNITY LEADERS across the U.S. find themselves struggling with rampant tardiness, high truancy rates, high dropout rates, low educational attainment, widespread drug addiction, crime, a degraded work force and more.
It’s as if society is disintegrating.
That’s because many poor American families have.
Some social scientists contend that War on Poverty programs intended to help the poor actually led to what they call “family disintegration” instead.
“The core feature of the U.S. welfare system, and its central problem, is that it subsidizes and thus promotes self-destructive behavior,” the Heritage Foundation said in a 1995 briefing paper. “Specifically, the welfare system promotes: non-work, illegitimacy and divorce.”
The current system “transformed marriage from a legal institution designed to protect and nurture children into an institution that financially penalizes nearly all low-income parents who enter into it,” the foundation said.
In 2011, almost 41 percent of children born in the United States were born to unmarried women.
This has consequences.
“Welfare insidiously creates its own clientele; by undermining work ethic and family structure, the welfare state generates a growing population in ‘need of aid.’”
More
Activists To Demand A Congressional Investigation Of Al Gore And Al Jazeera
A call for a congressional investigation of Al Gore's recent business dealings with Al Jazeera looms. Coming to the National Press Club on Tuesday to announce their demand for close attention: Cliff Kincaid, president of America's Survival; Pamela Geller, president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative; plus Jerry Kenney, who has previously filed complaints with the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission over what he calls Al Jazeera's "illegal broadcasts into the U.S."
Mr. Gore recently sold Current TV, the news channel he founded in 2006, to Al Jazeera, an Arabic language network based in Qatar.
The former vice president, incidentally, is currently on a national tour for "The Future," his new book.
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Mr. Gore recently sold Current TV, the news channel he founded in 2006, to Al Jazeera, an Arabic language network based in Qatar.
The former vice president, incidentally, is currently on a national tour for "The Future," his new book.
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BRUTAL: 50% Decline In TV Viewership Shows Why Your Cable Bill Is So High
Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne and his team published a fascinating set of charts yesterday about the long, slow decline of old-fashioned broadcast and cable TV, and the number of ad dollars chasing the dinosaur medium.
There has been a 50 percent collapse in broadcast TV audience ratings since 2002, Swinburne says.
Part of Swinburne's case is that TV audiences have declined, but because those audiences still remain relatively large more ad dollars have continued to target them. (It's a classic "supply vs. demand" issue: as the number of big, unfragmented audiences declines, they become more valuable.)
At the same time, TV companies have relied more and more on subscription revenue rather than ad revenue to make their numbers.
The result is that the TV business is financially healthy — even as fewer people pay more to watch it.
Swinburne is bullish on media stocks overall. He doesn't see "cord-cutting" — the act of doing without TV altogether — as a significant force, yet. "We believe lower-than-average Pay TV penetration in the under-30 demo is largely based on income level," he writes.
There has been a 50 percent collapse in broadcast TV audience ratings since 2002, Swinburne says.
Part of Swinburne's case is that TV audiences have declined, but because those audiences still remain relatively large more ad dollars have continued to target them. (It's a classic "supply vs. demand" issue: as the number of big, unfragmented audiences declines, they become more valuable.)
At the same time, TV companies have relied more and more on subscription revenue rather than ad revenue to make their numbers.
The result is that the TV business is financially healthy — even as fewer people pay more to watch it.
Swinburne is bullish on media stocks overall. He doesn't see "cord-cutting" — the act of doing without TV altogether — as a significant force, yet. "We believe lower-than-average Pay TV penetration in the under-30 demo is largely based on income level," he writes.
44th Arson Reported On Eastern Shore
According to Virginia State Police, investigators responded to the 2500 block of Foxgrove Road in Parksley after an abandoned barn was reported to be on fire.
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Conservatives Make Gun Issue New Rallying Cry
"The Second Amendment is there to protect us from losing the rest of them," said Adam Brisebois, 34, of Hudson, who cradled his 3-year-old daughter on his right shoulder and a rifle on the left. "If we don't fight, we'll lose our rights."
Thursday's rally, organized by tea party leaders, drew nearly 500 people, many of them waving signs and carrying loaded weapons, to the state capital. Conservative leaders elsewhere report a wave of similar protests as grass-roots activists from Florida to Colorado seize on a new rallying cry for a tea party movement, which is trying to recover from a painful 2012 election season.
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Super Sunday - Superbowl Festivities
Phone: 410.742.7665
1009 South Salisbury Blvd.
Salisbury, MD 21801
Joe,1009 South Salisbury Blvd.
Salisbury, MD 21801
I wanted to inform your readers that were still deciding where to enjoy the SuperBowl on Sunday that we are offering the following:
Super Buffet - A.U.C.E. buffet with 12 items all for $12
3- 100" High Def big screens
16- 42" High Def LEDs or Plasmas
15" LCDs in every booth
Over 100 televisions
Bose Surround System
TVs in bathrooms so you don't miss a second of game
Full service Restaurant and Bar
22 Brunswick Billiard Tables(Most Gold Crown)
Video Games
Sound Dog individual speakers
Free prizes and giveaways starting at 4:30pm
Open to all ages until 9pm/Must be 21 y/o with I.D. after 9pm
Must have valid I.D.
COME OUT AND ROOT FOR YOUR SUPERBOWL TEAM AND ENJOY THE ATMOSPHERE WITH OTHER GREAT SPORTS FANS FROM OUR AREA
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE JOE. PLEASE COME AND JOIN US.
Labor Unions Finally Read Obamacare Fine Print, Realize Costs Set To Spike, "Turn Sour" On Obama
It is a well-known fact that nobody in Congress ever reads, or even skims, any law, and especially not the fine print, it passes until long after it has been enacted into law. It appears the same is just as true for the biggest pillar of support for the Obama administration: America's labor unions, whose liberal vote every election is instrumental to preserving the outflow side of America's welfare state. As it turns out, it was the same labor unions who enthusiastically supported the primary accomplishment of the Obama administration in the past 4 years, Obamacare, only to realize, long after it has become reality that, surprise, their healthcare plan costs are about to go up. And, as the WSJ colorfully summarizes, they are now "turning sour."
From WSJ:
Union leaders say many of the law's requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive. Among other things, the law eliminates the caps on medical benefits and prescription drugs used as cost-containment measures in many health-care plans. It also allows children to stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26.
So what are the Unions' demands to offset what they only now realize will push their overall costs higher? What else: Moar!
To offset that, the nation's largest labor groups want their lower-paid members to be able to get federal insurance subsidies while remaining on their plans. In the law, these subsidies were designed only for low-income workers without employer coverage as a way to help them buy private insurance.
Top officers at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the AFL-CIO and other large labor groups plan to keep pressing the Obama administration to expand the federal subsidies to these jointly run plans, warning that unionized employers may otherwise drop coverage.
But, but, they can't - that's the whole point, or didn't they read that part too? Doesn't matter - to them it is now unfair, nay "unacceptable":
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From WSJ:
Union leaders say many of the law's requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive. Among other things, the law eliminates the caps on medical benefits and prescription drugs used as cost-containment measures in many health-care plans. It also allows children to stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26.
So what are the Unions' demands to offset what they only now realize will push their overall costs higher? What else: Moar!
To offset that, the nation's largest labor groups want their lower-paid members to be able to get federal insurance subsidies while remaining on their plans. In the law, these subsidies were designed only for low-income workers without employer coverage as a way to help them buy private insurance.
Top officers at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the AFL-CIO and other large labor groups plan to keep pressing the Obama administration to expand the federal subsidies to these jointly run plans, warning that unionized employers may otherwise drop coverage.
But, but, they can't - that's the whole point, or didn't they read that part too? Doesn't matter - to them it is now unfair, nay "unacceptable":
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Sylvester Stallone Supports Assault Weapon Ban
Stallone supported the 1994 "Brady bill" that included a now-expired ban on assault weapons, and hopes that ban can be reinstated.
"I know people get (upset) and go, `They're going to take away the assault weapon.' Who ... needs an assault weapon? Like really, unless you're carrying out an assault. ... You can't hunt with it. ... Who's going to attack your house, a (expletive) army?"
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New Obama Directive Will Shorten Visa Wait For Illegal Aliens With U.S. Spouses
President Obama proposed the policy change in January 2012 and it is scheduled to go into effect March 4.
The change was proposed to end situations in which illegal-immigrant spouses (and often parents) have to return to their native countries to serve the “ban of admission” – as long as 10 years for staying illegally in the United States for more than a year.
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A Quarter Of Jobs In America Pay Below The Federal Poverty Line
Over two years ago [9] (and reiterated last year [10]) Zero Hedge first wrote on what was and is an undisputed transition within the US labor force: a shift from full-time to temp, or part-time labor, with virtually no contractual or welfare benefits, and where workers are lucky to get minimum wage. This is because in the "New Normal" where copious amounts of structural slack are pervasive due precisely to the Fed's constant flawed micromanagement of the economy, the US has now become an "employers' market."
Furthermore, we were the first to make the critical distinction [11]that it is absolutely not all about the quantity of jobs, but much more importantly, the quality of the new jobs being created. However, just like 99% of the general public, and all of the mainstream media, has an inborn genetic disorder preventing it from grasping the distinction between nominal and real, so these two critical aspects of the US jobs market languished unperturbed. Until now, two years later, when we are happy to see that the mainstream media has finally caught up with what our readers knew in December 2010.
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Furthermore, we were the first to make the critical distinction [11]that it is absolutely not all about the quantity of jobs, but much more importantly, the quality of the new jobs being created. However, just like 99% of the general public, and all of the mainstream media, has an inborn genetic disorder preventing it from grasping the distinction between nominal and real, so these two critical aspects of the US jobs market languished unperturbed. Until now, two years later, when we are happy to see that the mainstream media has finally caught up with what our readers knew in December 2010.
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Leopold Resigns
Leopold's resignation was submitted in a letter dated Thursday to Acting County Executive John Hammond.
County officials released the letter Friday.
In the letter, Leopold says that "it is with great sadness and personal regret," that he submits his resignation effective today.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY 2-3-13
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. …In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”
Edward Bernays
Edward Bernays
Justice Dept. Chopper Used For Football Drop at HS Homecoming
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The helicopter incident involved a high school homecoming event that top law enforcement supervisors at the Department of Justice knew nothing about, KCRA 3 has learned.
The incident took place last November, when a DOJ helicopter hovered over El Dorado Hills for a homecoming game at Oak Ridge High School.
In a video later uploaded to YouTube, viewers can see an agent perched precariously on the side of the chopper.
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Does the Media Cause Mass Shootings?
On December 28, there was another shoving murder. After the latest round of murders, suicides and accidental deaths, seven people have died under trains in 2013; a number that does not include the deaths previously mentioned. Last week two people committed suicide by jumping in front of trains. Another was killed in a possible accident. One lost a leg. Two others were seriously injured. And this week there was another suicide.
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Miller Embraces Soft-Shell Crab As State Sandwich
Crabs have soft-shells after they molt their old hard shells, usually in closely watched pools of bay water.
Dan Patrell, publisher and editor of Maryland Life magazine, said its August issue containing recipes and descriptions of soft-shell crab sandwiches was one of its most popular. “It is not a frivolous act” to name it the state sandwich, Patrell said. “They are raised and farmed here by an industry struggling to stay afloat. This is meaningful legislation.”
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10-YEAR-OLD REELS IN WORLD RECORD FISH
“I was taking a break from fishing and eating an Oreo when we saw the rod bend down.”
And so the battle was joined, on his grandfather Don Poldy’s 34-foot boat off the coast of Key West. With encouragement from his twin sister Allyson and father Greg, all from the Oak Hill area of Fairfax County, Matthew battled heroically for a tension-filled, physically draining five or six...minutes before reeling in the black grouper. Matthew, a veteran of saltwater fishing since age five, has actually had much longer battles, but not this time.
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Billions In Blood Money Enjoyed By War Criminals' Families
While you might not see them on Forbes’ list of wealthy people, criminals and their beneficiaries are some of the richest people on the planet.
For example, Bloomberg alleges that the heirs of a prominent Nazi are billionaires [4] who own half of BMW [5] who are also closely connected with Daimler [6]. Four of the heirs are worth $1.2 billion each [7], and much of their wealth allegedly came from slave labor [8] at German concentration camps.
Barclays, Chase, and the Bush family [9] also made money hand over fist financing [10] Hitler.
The Vatican has built a secret property empire worth close to a billion U.S. dollars using money Italian dictator Mussolini gave the church for blessing fascism [11].
Modern tyrants have gotten wealthy from oppressing people as well. For example, the family of U.S.-backed Egyptian dictator Mubarak holds $40-70 billion [12]. Russian leader Putin also has a current net worth of $40 billion [13]. (They pale in comparison to Libya’s Gaddafi, worth $200 billion [14].)
Indeed, given up to $32 trillion [15] dollars are being hidden in offshore tax shelters [16], the amount of wealth accumulated through crime is nearly impossible to track.
What should have happened, of course, is that ill-gotten gains should have been clawed back from the criminals as soon as they were discovered, just as they should be clawed back from Wall Street fraudsters [17].
But that is not likely to happen, since many political and business leaders are unrepentant and unwilling to root out crime [18].
Indeed, when the elite profit from things such as laundering drug and terror money [19], funding both sides of wars [20] and other unsavory acts, no one wants to stop the music. [21]
Balzac may have been exaggerating when he said, “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.” There are some wealthy people who earned their money by honestly delivering a better or cheaper product or service.
But not many [22] …
Source
For example, Bloomberg alleges that the heirs of a prominent Nazi are billionaires [4] who own half of BMW [5] who are also closely connected with Daimler [6]. Four of the heirs are worth $1.2 billion each [7], and much of their wealth allegedly came from slave labor [8] at German concentration camps.
Barclays, Chase, and the Bush family [9] also made money hand over fist financing [10] Hitler.
The Vatican has built a secret property empire worth close to a billion U.S. dollars using money Italian dictator Mussolini gave the church for blessing fascism [11].
Modern tyrants have gotten wealthy from oppressing people as well. For example, the family of U.S.-backed Egyptian dictator Mubarak holds $40-70 billion [12]. Russian leader Putin also has a current net worth of $40 billion [13]. (They pale in comparison to Libya’s Gaddafi, worth $200 billion [14].)
Indeed, given up to $32 trillion [15] dollars are being hidden in offshore tax shelters [16], the amount of wealth accumulated through crime is nearly impossible to track.
What should have happened, of course, is that ill-gotten gains should have been clawed back from the criminals as soon as they were discovered, just as they should be clawed back from Wall Street fraudsters [17].
But that is not likely to happen, since many political and business leaders are unrepentant and unwilling to root out crime [18].
Indeed, when the elite profit from things such as laundering drug and terror money [19], funding both sides of wars [20] and other unsavory acts, no one wants to stop the music. [21]
Balzac may have been exaggerating when he said, “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.” There are some wealthy people who earned their money by honestly delivering a better or cheaper product or service.
But not many [22] …
Source
Department of Homeland Security Targets Gun Collector
KRQE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, reports that the Department of Homeland Security – the federal agency initially established to protect the United States from terrorists and respond to natural disasters – has used its ICE division to bust a gun collector.
Federal Homeland Security Investigation agents raided the home of Robert Adams on Thursday and seized 548 handguns and 317 rifles from the collector. They also raided his business and took an additional 599 handguns.
KRQE reports that Adams did not violate any laws and was not charged with any crimes. It said the DHS, however, is not finished with Adams and he may be charged with gun smuggling, tax evasion and violating importation laws.
The government spent yeas surveilling the gun collector and argues that his weapons are “not properly marked possibly to make the guns more valuable and to avoid paying high import taxes.”
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President Claims Shooting As A Hobby, And The White House Offers Evidence
To some, Mr. Obama’s newfound enthusiasm for shooting clay pigeons — he said in an interview that he did it “all the time” at the presidential retreat — also seemed a bit suspicious.
So on Saturday, the White House tried to silence the skeptics by releasing a photograph of Mr. Obama shooting on the range at Camp David in August. The president, wearing protective glasses and ear-muffs, is squinting down the barrel of a shotgun moments after pulling the trigger. Smoke is shooting from the front of the gun.
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RECENT VIRGINIA CHURCH SERVICE - STIMULUS SERMON
I would love to give the Pastor of this predominantly black church in Virginia three cheers. This guy is obviously a leader. Perhaps we should each decide who our real leader is... It is amazing to see that very little has changed in 4,000 years.
Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God's Word. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you will, to the 47th chapter of Genesis. We'll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27.
Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us? ... (Reading) ... Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray. So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt , and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year. But the famine wasn't over, was it? So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes... That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master?
Yes. But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen . And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions! But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one.
We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth" once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind. And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.
What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"? Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. OBAMA IS NO MESSIAH! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh. Bow with me in prayer, if you will...
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day..."
And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government. In God We Trust...
Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God's Word. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you will, to the 47th chapter of Genesis. We'll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27.
Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us? ... (Reading) ... Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray. So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt , and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year. But the famine wasn't over, was it? So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes... That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master?
Yes. But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen . And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions! But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one.
We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth" once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind. And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.
What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"? Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. OBAMA IS NO MESSIAH! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh. Bow with me in prayer, if you will...
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day..."
And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government. In God We Trust...
UPDATE: Martin Luther King Jr. High School Coach Shoots Attackers
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Sources say the teens were trying to rob the basketball coach at Martin Luther King High School. The coach is also a Detroit Police Department reserve officer who was carrying a weapon.
At about 7:30 p.m. the coach exited the school with two girls with him when the two teens walked up and tried to rob him. The coach pulled out his gun and shot both teens.
The teen who was killed was a former student at the high school. He was recently expelled from the school. The other teen, a 16-year-old, was shot in the stomach. He is at Detroit Receiving Hospital in serious condition.
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FORMER NAVY SEAL & ‘AMERICAN SNIPER’ AUTHOR CHRIS KYLE REPORTEDLY KILLED AT TX LODGE
WFAA adds:
Two people were killed Saturday at a gun range in Erath County. Three sources tell News 8 that one of the victims was Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL and author of the New York Times bestselling book, “American Sniper.”More
Kyle was shot point-blank while helping another soldier who is recovering from post traumatic stress syndrome, News 8 learned.
Facing Jail Time For Rescuing Deer
In an ideal liberal society, everything is either mandatory or forbidden. It isn’t mandatory to care for a wounded fawn. Therefore:
An Indiana couple who spent two years nursing an injured fawn back to health now face jail time for the act of human kindness.
State officials charged Jeff and Jennifer Counceller with unlawful possession of a deer — a misdemeanor crime that carries up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, according to The Indianapolis Star.
The fawn had a maggot-infested wound and could barely stand when it was discovered by Jeff Counceller, a Connersville police officer. The state Department of Natural Resources told them to leave it out in the wilderness to die. Instead they took personal initiative, and accordingly face punishment.
An Indiana couple who spent two years nursing an injured fawn back to health now face jail time for the act of human kindness.
State officials charged Jeff and Jennifer Counceller with unlawful possession of a deer — a misdemeanor crime that carries up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, according to The Indianapolis Star.
The fawn had a maggot-infested wound and could barely stand when it was discovered by Jeff Counceller, a Connersville police officer. The state Department of Natural Resources told them to leave it out in the wilderness to die. Instead they took personal initiative, and accordingly face punishment.