Pa. Girl's Double-Lung Transplant Deemed Success

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A 10-year-old girl whose efforts to qualify for an organ donation spurred public debate over how organs are allocated underwent a successful double-lung transplant on Wednesday, the girl's family said.

Sarah Murnaghan, who suffers from severe cystic fibrosis, received new lungs from an adult donor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, spokeswoman Tracy Simon said.

The Murnaghan family said it was "thrilled" to share the news that Sarah was out of surgery.
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Rampant INjustice

SENATOR OBAMA ‘DEBATES’ PRESIDENT OBAMA ON GOV’T SURVEILLANCE, CIVIL LIBERTIES

In what he called a “Hannity exclusive,” Fox News host Sean Hannity brought on Senator Barack Obama to “debate” President Barack Obama on the issue of surveillance and civil liberties.

To be sure, the contrast between Obama’s past positions and the ones his administration has taken during his time in the White House is stark.
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Standard Operating Procedures

Standard Operating Procedures released today please learn
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine...
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat

Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

More routine...
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MANandTHANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

Fun Stuff To Do??? (Part 2)

Cliff camping

Climbing Redwoods

Port-a-ledge camping at Yosemite

Sitting on the Trolltunga rock in Norway

Skywalking in the Alps

Caption This Photo 6-12-13

A 50's Tune That Is Appropriate For Today

Senate Approves Substitute Rent Justification Bill

DOVER — A bill to limit manufactured housing park owners’ ability to raise lot rents was modified by the Senate.

In a vote of 17-1, senators approved a substitute bill for Senate Bill 33, which would require landowners to prove any increase in lot rent higher than the three-year average increase in the consumer price index was made to compensate for the cost of operating, maintaining and improving the community.

The original bill would have given Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority the power to deny rent increases to park owners.
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"You Have Over-Stepped Your Boundaries, Sir"

Perhaps you have noted in your life, as I have in mine, that denial is often the preface to justification.
 
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
 
                        -Benjamin Franklin
 
A government, any government, the American government, can justify its actions based upon national security. It is an often used tactic that is supposed to explain and rationalize the actions of those in power. It is not a Republican tactic or a Democrat tactic rather it is a tactic used by politicians who wish to control and contain its citizens where retention of power is a higher authority than individual rights. History has shown that only in times of extreme national duress, such as war, that is this a justifiable argument.
 
“As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions.”
 
                          -James Madison
 
It is not often that my commentary concerns itself with the Founding Fathers of our country. I am afraid that most days I am concerned with the more mundane existence of markets and preservation of capital and even of making the occasional dollar when it can be done. I also generally, except as it defines the markets, do not enter into the fray of the right or wrong, the moral justification, of the actions of governments. This is quite a dangerous space where motivations and agendas can and should be called into question.
 
Having said this then I will state that I have no political agenda and that my sole motivation is what I consider fundamental to the country which is the individual rights ascribed to the people in the formation of America. One document is the Constitution and one is the Bill of Rights which protects the citizens from the intrusion of the government. This is the bedrock of America. This is the terra firma, the firm ground, of the United States.
 
“Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add “within the limits of the law,” because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.”
 
                        -Thomas Jefferson
 
For the citizens of our country there is no justification, no national security assertion, that will dissuade us from the premise that our current government, in listening to every phone call and reading every transmission on the internet, is violating the fundamental Constitutional rights of American citizens. If you consider Wall Street; every strategy discussed, every potential business transaction written in an email has now been read by our government and the information could be released with great harm resulting to the involved parties. An order given by any institution on the phone or in an Bloomberg IB could be shared with people that could use the information for their own benefit. The potential impact on the financial industry has quite grave consequences!
 
As Americans we should say, “You have overstepped your boundaries Sir.” Citizens should stand and state, “No one has given you the authority to spy upon me and my fellow Americans and that you are violating the Constitution in this exercise and it should cease immediately.” It should be said to a Democrat. It should be said to a Republican. We should say this to any man that has undertaken to pervert the rights that we have ascribed to ourselves in the formation of our government.
 
This is where we should stand and we should make our voices heard to the best of our abilities.
 
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
 
           -Thomas Jefferson
Source

MEMA URGES MARYLAND RESIDENTS TO PREPARE FOR POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY

REISTERSTOWN, MD (June 12, 2013) – With forecasters predicting a high risk for severe weather over the next two days, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency is urging residents to be prepared for strong storms that might affect the area. Although much of Maryland has a chance of thundershowers today, the National Weather Service says the greatest risk for severe weather in the state will be on Thursday.

Residents are reminded to:

· Make sure cell phones and other portable devices are fully charged and consider purchasing and charging spare batteries.

· Have a disaster supply kit with bottled water, non-perishable food (with a hand-operated can opener), a first aid kit, portable radio and flashlight with extra batteries, toiletries, special items needed for pets or infants, prescription medicine, a change of clothes and bedding. The kit will be helpful if you have to evacuate quickly or if you are without power.

· Keep some cash available in case ATM machines are not available.

· Have copies of important documents such as home and property insurance policies, driver’s licenses, health insurance cards, etc.

· Know where you would meet other members of your family if your home is not safe.

· Remember that in the immediate aftermath of a serious event, wireless communications systems may be overloaded. Text family members to let them know you are safe so voice calls for emergency agencies can go through.

Follow local weather forecasts in your area for the next two days to learn if there are any warnings in your specific area and take appropriate actions.

The following websites have preparedness information for severe storms and other emergencies:

Maryland Emergency Management Agency: www.mema.maryland.gov. MEMA also is on Twitter @MDMEMA and you may follow us on Facebook.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: www.ready.gov

American Red Cross: www.redcross.org

Centers for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov

Missing Dog 6-12-13

Zorro, a 16 year-old blind and deaf terrier wandered off from his home yesterday on Powell School Road between Laws Road and 354 in Pittsville. If you find him, please call 410-924-3106.

HOT MIC CATCHES EGYPTIAN POLITICIAN DISCUSSING ‘WAR’ WITH ‘ENEMIES’ ISRAEL AND AMERICA

Just last month, Secretary of State John Kerry quietly sent Egypt an additional $1.3 billion, even though Egypt has failed to live up to democracy standards. That largesse didn’t stop a prominent Egyptian politician from talking about Egypt’s “enemy” the United States in what some pundits are classifying as a classic and embarrassing “hot mic” moment.

President Mohammed Morsi gathered a group of politicians last week who thought they were speaking privately at a parliamentary meeting. But as seen in an Egyptian television video of the meeting — excerpts of which were later translated by the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) — they were actually on live television, cringingly discussing secret ways to stop Ethiopia’s Nile River dam project which threatens water flowing to Egypt.
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Ten-Year-Old Wows 'AGT'

Federal Agencies Turning To UPS, Fed Ex Instead Of USPS For Delivery Needs

The United States Postal Service’s (USPS) bottom line has been hit by the federal government itself as numerous agencies have increased their contracts with publicly traded companies instead of the Postal Service for their mailing and distribution services, the Washington Free Beacon has found.

The federal government spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year for these services, and the lion’s share of contracts has gone to United Parcel Service (UPS).

An analysis of records shows the government awarded contracts solely issued for mailing and distribution worth nearly four times as much to UPS as it did to USPS in the last three-and-a-half years.

Read more

Edward Snowden Is A True Hero

QUOTES OF THE DAY 6-12-13

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
― Samuel Adams

“It does not take a majority to prevail … but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
― Samuel Adams

“No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.”
― Samuel Adams

“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”
― Samuel Adams

“The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men.”
― Samuel Adams

“The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
― Samuel Adams

“A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.”
― Samuel Adams

“Nil desperandum, — Never Despair. That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead; and where there is a spark of patriotic fire, we will rekindle it.”
― Samuel Adams

Mali Manual Suggests Al-Qaida Has Feared Weapon

TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) -- The photocopies of the manual lay in heaps on the floor, in stacks that scaled one wall, like Xeroxed, stapled handouts for a class.

Except that the students in this case were al-Qaida fighters in Mali. And the manual was a detailed guide, with diagrams and photographs, on how to use a weapon that particularly concerns the United States: A surface-to-air missile capable of taking down a commercial airplane.

The 26-page document in Arabic, recovered by The Associated Press in a building that had been occupied by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu, strongly suggests the group now possesses the SA-7 surface-to-air missile, known to the Pentagon as the Grail, according to terrorism specialists. And it confirms that the al-Qaida cell is actively training its fighters to use these weapons, also called man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, which likely came from the arms depots of ex-Libyan strongman Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
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Germany Demands Obama Explain "American-Style Stasi Methods"

When even Zee Germans are staring open-mouthed at what they call "American-style Stasi methods" you know things have got a little out of hand. As Reuters reports [6], German outrage over a U.S. Internet spying program has broken out ahead of a visit by Barack Obama, with ministers demanding the president provide a full explanation when he lands in Berlin next week and one official likening the tactics to those of the East German Stasi. "The more a society monitors, controls and observes its citizens, the less free it is," Merkel's Justice Minister exclaimed, adding, "the suspicion of excessive surveillance of communication is so alarming that it cannot be ignored." While Obama has defended it as a "modest encroachment" on privacy and reassured Americans that no one is listening to their phone calls, the Germans reflect "I thought this era had ended when the DDR fell."

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OCPD Press Release

Waldorf Man Arrested for Illegal Possession of a Handgun

David Lavell Wiggins

On June 08, 2013 at approximately 10:10 p.m., Ocean City police were conducting a traffic stop in the area of 127^th Street and White Street. During the stop officers detected the odor of Marijuana coming from the inside of the vehicle. The occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, were removed from the car while officers investigated the origin of the suspicious odor.

Once outside the vehicle, officers began pat downs of the occupants. One of the passengers, who was later identified as David Lavell Wiggins, 22, of Waldorf, MD, was found to be in possession of a loaded 9mm semi- automatic handgun. Wiggins, who did not have a permit to carry the weapon, was arrested and charged with possession of a handgun.

Wiggins was seen by an Ocean City District Court Commissioner and was released on his own recognizance.

Ocean City Business To Receive Loan From MCE’s Casino Funds

MCE of Salisbury has announced that its first loan to assist small and minority businesses from its casino grant funding has been approved for Nurse Professionals Home Care & Staffing, LLC owned by Anita Logsdon Battista, RN of Ocean City. The loan will assist the firm to implement a sizable contract that it landed recently and allow it to place additional allied health and nursing professionals in full-time and part-time jobs in Delaware and Maryland health facilities. It provides nursing and allied health staffing in southern Delaware, Eastern Shore Maryland and the Baltimore area. Anita is recruiting health professional now and can be reached at 443-664-6915 or visit her website at www.nurseprofessionalhomecare.com.

MCE also approved its first loan from the fund to a business in the Baltimore target area to a convenience store owner who is upgrading his facility and expanding his stock.

MCE was awarded $1 million from revenues generated by the state’s three casinos on April 17, 2013 when the Board of Public Works approved the recommendation from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). MCE is to use the funding to provide loans to Small Businesses, Minority and Women-Owned Businesses located in Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Baltimore City and Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties. Priority is given to businesses located within a ten mile radius of the casinos at Ocean Downs in Berlin and Maryland Live in Arundel Mills that lay within the target area. The contract is to begin May 1, 2013.

The Maryland State legislation that authorized casinos to operate in the state included a requirement that 1.5 percent of video lottery terminal revenue generated be allocated to help Small Businesses, Minority and Women-Owned Businesses in the State. DBED set up the grant program and award the management of the funds to loan fund managers who competed for the award. MCE won a five-year contract to manage $1 million which is renewable at the end of five years.

MCE is a non-profit micro-business finance and assistance agency formed in 1998 that provides loans, education, and assistance to small businesses on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and provides loans to small businesses in the Baltimore – Annapolis area. Based in Salisbury with an office in Baltimore, the firm is certified by the US Treasury Dept. as a Community Development Financial Institution. It is also certified as an Intermediary Micro-lender for the Small Business Administration, the US Dept. of Agriculture, and the State of Maryland. It has made nearly $3.2 million in loans to small businesses on the Shore.

For more information or to inquire about a small business loan contact MCE at 410-546-1900 or email info@maylandcapital.org. To find out more about Maryland Capital’s loan programs visit their website www.marylandcapital.org.

Grandma, 72, Shoots At Home Intruder In California, Defends Actions

STANTON, Calif. – A 72-year-old Southern California grandmother who shot at -- and narrowly missed -- a man trying to break into her home said Tuesday she was shocked at the attention her action was getting but does not regret defending herself and her husband, an 85-year-old World War II veteran who uses a wheelchair.

Jan Cooper, of Anaheim, fired one shot from her .357-magnum Smith & Wesson revolver around 12:30 a.m. Sunday as a man attempted to break into her home. During a 911 call of the incident, Cooper can be heard begging with the dispatcher to send deputies and warns that she has a gun at the ready as her Rottweiler barks furiously in the background.

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Booz Allen Hamilton: This “Private” Company Earns 99% Of Its Revenue From The U.S. Government

One of the most dangerous things happening in America today is that so called “private” companies are doing much of the government’s dirty work, completely in the shadows and with essentially zero accountability. Booz Allen Hamilton, the defense contractor that employed whistleblower hero Edward Snowden is one of them. Recall that Booz Allen is the contractor that journalist and activist Barrett Brown was thoroughly investigating when he was arrested last year. In the past couple of days, both Bloomberg and the New York Times have written stories on this shady company and some interesting facts have emerged. One of the most telling is this excerpt from Booz Allen’s annual report:

“Because we are limited in our ability to provide information about these contracts and services,” the company said in its latest annual report, “you may not have important information concerning our business, which will limit your insight into a substantial portion of our business, and therefore may be less able to fully evaluate the risks related to that portion of our business.”

More from Bloomberg:

There’s a company near Washington with strong ties to the U.S. intelligence community that has been around for almost a century and has secret ways of making money — so secret that the company can’t tell you what they are. Investors who buy just need to have faith.

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TOLD YA SO

It seems the supposed “conspiracy websites” have been right all along. The truth will set you free. There really is a “them”. And there really is an “us”. Their goal is to control us through media propaganda, monetary manipulations, laws, regulations, welfare promises, and when all else fails drones, CCTVs, and surveillance. When that fails they will use their armed thugs to herd us into camps. The writing is on the wall. Apathy is not a choice anymore.

In America today there is a great rushing storm, a swirling hurricane of clashing opinions and ideologies that defy coherent organization and classification. This social tempest has been triggered by certain revelations among the general public on issues which we in the Liberty Movement have long been aware. The fact that our government is bought and paid for by international corporate interests, the fact that our government has positioned itself to spy on ALL Americans without warrant and without probable cause, the fact that our government is instituting policy initiatives that target common citizens as enemy combatants, the fact that every one of our Constitutional rights is being deliberately torn away; these things are not news to us, but to many once ignorant people, they are a shock to the system.

Open corruption on the part of a criminal establishment has a funny way of politicizing everyone, even those people who go out of their way to avoid the bigger picture. In the end, no man or woman gets a pass. Whether you like it or not, one day soon, you will have to choose a side; freedom or tyranny. There is no middle ground. There is no Switzerland.
With all the rationalizations and counter-rationalizations flying around concerning the current avalanche of admissions and data leaks, it is easy to lose track of the root of the overall conflict. It’s as if we have been dropped into the heart of an Amazonian swamp, our feet encased in a thick sludge of social inaction as a dark cloud of mindless mosquito-people buzz about us, pecking hungrily at our veins with their warped and uneducated world views. The deafening chorus distracts us from what is truly important.

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Gov. Martin O'Malley Rings Up $9.5 Billion In New Taxes

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has approved 40 new and increased taxes and fees since he took office in 2007 that are projected to cost Marylanders $9.5 billion through fiscal 2014.

"Nobody expected the total impact to be this staggering, not even me," said Larry Hogan, founder of conservative group Change Maryland, which compiled a report on the increases.

O'Malley's office says the increased revenue helped buoy a state ravaged by the recession and reeling from his predecessor.
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KOREAN WAR VETERANS ASKED TO SHARE STORIES OF "FORGOTTEN WAR"

The Department of Defense Korean War 60th Anniversary Committee has opened an online forum for Korean War Veterans and those affected by the war to submit their stories at http://www.koreanwar60.com/webform/share-your-story.

"A little over 100 miles out... the engine exploded on us and caught fire," shared Lt. Col. William McCowen of the United States Air Force, who survived the Korean War and the plane crash that nearly killed him.

The opportunity to document these experiences is fleeting. That is why the DoD is coordinating projects, events and opportunities for Korean War Veterans leading up to "Heroes Remembered," a national tribute to Korean War veterans on the 60th anniversary of the Armistice Signing that ended the conflict.

Like Lt. Col. William McCowen, many Korean War Veterans today are in their 80's and have endured the heartache of losing over 100,000 of their fellow soldiers. Their stories of survival, persistence and sacrifice remind us that freedom in the United States comes at a cost.

"It is imperative that the Veterans from all services who served in the Korean War are recognized and remembered for their service and sacrifice," said Colonel David J. Clark, Director of the Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee.
The Korean War 60th Anniversary Commemoration Committee encourages everyone to attend or watch the televised ceremonies for "Heroes Remembered," a national tribute on July 27th, 2013, Washington, D.C. For more information about "Heroes Remembered," please visit: www.koreanwar60.com/27july.

HOT MIC CATCHES EGYPTIAN POLITICIAN DISCUSSING ‘WAR’ WITH ‘ENEMIES’ ISRAEL AND AMERICA

Just last month, Secretary of State John Kerry quietly sent Egypt an additional $1.3 billion, even though Egypt has failed to live up to democracy standards. That largesse didn’t stop a prominent Egyptian politician from talking about Egypt’s “enemy” the United States in what some pundits are classifying as a classic and embarrassing “hot mic” moment.

President Mohammed Morsi gathered a group of politicians last week who thought they were speaking privately at a parliamentary meeting. But as seen in an Egyptian television video of the meeting — excerpts of which were later translated by the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) — they were actually on live television, cringingly discussing secret ways to stop Ethiopia’s Nile River dam project which threatens water flowing to Egypt.

The New York Times blog reports:
Unaware that their words were being broadcast live on a state-owned television channel, many of those seated around the table said the dam was in fact a secret American and Israeli plot to undermine Egypt that must be stopped at all costs.

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READ ORWELL’S 1984 TO SEE HOW THIS ALL ENDS

There have been multiple threads on some other websites in the last couple days about the soaring sales of Orwell’s 1984 since the Snowden story broke. Here is a link to its’s current ranking:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/movers-and-shakers/books/ref=zg_bsms_nav_mov_1_mov?tag=vglnkc4772-20#1

In the last 24 hours it has gone from the 12,849th best selling book on Amazon to the 184th best selling, a 6,888% increase. It seems a few people are interested in what is going to happen next in this country. Our beloved government has been using Orwell’s Dystopian Novel as a blueprint for controlling the masses in this country and it has worked like a charm.

Fourth Turnings are all about mood change. Do you think the mood in this country is darkening or brightening? The captured corporate MSM is desperately attempting to spin our rapidly deteriorating situation into a recovery storyline through their usual propaganda techniques. It’s failing.

It is clear to me that those in power are losing control of the situation. Their financial schemes are blowing up in their faces. Their propaganda machine continues to function, but less and less people are listening. Their unending wars are bankrupting the country and creating enemies around the globe. Now their Orwellian surveillance state methods have been revealed. An angry minority are sick and tired of seeing the U.S. Constitution trampled. The existing social order is crumbling. They will not relinquish their power, wealth and control without a fight. But they will lose. They will be swept away and replaced by a new social order. It could be an all powerful Orwellian dictatorship or we could create something better. That is up to us.

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BREAKING NEWS: Girl At Center Of Transplant Battle Getting New Lung

Sarah Murgnahan, the 10-year-old at the center of a court battle with the Obama administration to allow her to have a life-saving lung transplant, is being prepped for surgery, Fox News confirms.

We Can't Open Or Close My Garage Doors!

Last week, residents of Augusta, Georgia began experiencing strange issues with their garage doors. Almost 500 residents complained to the Overhead Door Company that their garages would no longer open or close by remote. Well, the Fort Godon Army Base is apparently the cause of all the garage door issues. The base upgraded their land-mobile radio system last week, and began using it on a 390 megahertz bandwidth...which happens to be the exact same frequency used for automatic garage door remotes. For security, the Army base blocked the signal of other devices operating on that frequency, and inadvertently jammed all the garage remotes. Fort Gordon issued a statement Monday, explaining that the Army post was planning on notifying the public about the radio transition, but testing began earlier than expected. So, not only are people sacrificing their privacy in the name of national security, but now they have to get out of their car and open their garage doors manually. Time for Issa to investigate...

Movies On The Beach

GOVERNOR O’MALLEY TO HIGHLIGHT EARN JOB TRAINING INITIATIVE

ANNAPOLIS, MD – TODAY at 2:00 p.m., Governor O’Malley, joined by Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake, will visit the Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPCorp), where he will highlight the benefits of the Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) job training initiative passed in the recent legislative session.

The EARN job training initiative helps bridge the gap between specific employer workforce needs and the skills of Maryland’s workers. EARN helps to identify common workforce needs for high-demand occupations such as construction, traditional and advanced manufacturing, cyber security, and health care; and develops and implements education or training strategies to address those shortages.

MAPCorp is an advanced manufacturing company that can grow and expand in Maryland with a highly-skilled workforce. The company focuses on engineering, prototyping, and production for government and commercial sponsors.

Equal Pay Act Turns 50

Fifty years ago yesterday, the Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, but the gender wage gap still stands. A half century after the 1963 bill, women still earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, and that gap shows no signs of closing any time soon. When the bill went into effect, women made 60 cents on the dollar compared to men, but the wage gap narrowed throughout the 70's, 80's, and 90's. However, since 2001, the wage gap has only closed one point, and actually widened again starting in 2011. According to the Think Progress Blog, the remaining pay gap exists regardless of education level, and the Government Accountability Office found it has nothing to do with job tenure, industry, work pattern, race or marital status. Democrats in Congress attempted to close the wage gap with the Paycheck Fairness Act, but Republicans have voted against it multiple times. Simply put, there is no justifiable reason that women continue to earn less than men for equivalent work, and no reason besides sexism that Republicans continue to block equal pay for equal work.

SMOKED TURKEY

Comprehensive Immigration Plan

Today, the United States Senate will begin debate on the so-called comprehensive immigration plan. Senators will consider the overall legislation, and dozens of amendments, before a final vote can be reached. The debate is likely to last weeks, which means a decision may be delayed until after the Senate's Fourth of July recess. A large portion of that delay will be the result of several “poison pill” amendments, like Sen. John Cornyn's border security benchmarks, and Sen. Rand Paul's provision, which “requires Congress to vote every year on border security.” Democratic Senators have called Cornyn's amendment “unfeasible”, because it requires 90 percent of all illegal border crossings to be stopped before any undocumented immigrant could even apply for legal status. Immigration advocates have called Senator Rand Paul's amendment “extremely problematic”, saying the requirement would mean a path to citizenship is subject to the partisan politics of future Congresses. And Senators Cornyn and Paul aren't the only Republicans trying to gum up immigration reform. Senator Orrin Hatch will also offer an amendment to increase the number of H1B visas, and allow tech companies to hire immigrants directly, without having to search for American citizens willing to take those jobs. Senators Marco Rubio, Tom Coburn, and Lindsey Graham are also getting in on the action by demanding even stronger border security measures, and congressional control of a plan to secure our Southern border. These “poison pill” amendments show that many Republican senators are determined to make citizenship – which they call amnesty – unattainable for the 11 million immigrants already living in our country. They include provisions in the legislation that doom it to failure, so they can try to convince Latino voters that it wasn't their fault if and when the immigration bill gets voted down. We'll have to wait and see if Democrats can defeat these poison-pill amendments, and start fixing our broken immigration system.

National Weather Service Confirms Tornado Hit Newark, Delaware

The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF-0 tornado touched down in Newark, Delaware on Monday.

Officials say the path of yesterday's EF-0 tornado in Newark, Delaware was 150 yards wide and 4/10 of a mile in length.

New Castle County emergency officials were on the scene Monday night surveying the damage, and people in the community were counting their blessings.
 
Amber Sudler, who lives in the Robscott Manor section of Newark, Delaware, tells us, "When we pulled up the tree was in the house and the kids just started crying."

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Spying Update

Update 1: Prominent Liberals AND Conservatives Sue Over NSA Spying

Update 2: Spying Whistleblower’s Girlfriend Is Hot

Government Spying on Americans … and then Giving Info to Giant Corporations

You’ve heard that the government spies on all Americans.

But you might not know that the government shares some of that information with big corporations.

In addition, Reuters reported in 2011 that the NSA shares intelligence with Wall Street banks in the name of “battling hackers.”
The National Security Agency, a secretive arm of the U.S. military, has begun providing Wall Street banks with intelligence on foreign hackers, a sign of growing U.S. fears of financial sabotage.The assistance from the agency that conducts electronic spying overseas is part of an effort by American banks and other financial firms to get help from the U.S. military and private defense contractors to fend off cyber attacks, according to interviews with U.S. officials, security experts and defense industry executives.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also warned banks of particular threats amid concerns that hackers could potentially exploit security vulnerabilities to wreak havoc across global markets and cause economic mayhem.

***

NSA Director Keith Alexander, who runs the U.S. military’s cyber operations, told Reuters the agency is currently talking to financial firms about sharing electronic information on malicious software, possibly by expanding a pilot program through which it offers similar data to the defense industry.

***

NSA, which has long been charged with protecting classified government networks from attack, is already working with Nasdaq to beef up its defenses after hackers infiltrated its computer systems last year and installed malicious software that allowed them to spy on the directors of publicly held companies.

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The NSA’s work with Wall Street marks a milestone in the agency’s efforts to make its cyber intelligence available more broadly to the private sector.

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Greater cooperation with industry became possible after a deal reached a year ago between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, allowing NSA to provide cyber expertise to other government agencies and certain private companies.

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"Change"

Meltzer: Inflation-Free Economy Won't Last Forever

The U.S. economy has escaped inflation despite the Federal Reserve's massive liquidity infusion ... so far.

The inflation-free economy won't last forever, warns Allan Meltzer, a professor of political economy at Carnegie Mellon University, in an article for Project Syndicate.

The Fed has created enormous amounts money by purchasing bonds from banks in its quantitative easing (QE) program.
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Gansler & O'Malley Disagree On Prison Probe

Governor Martin O'Malley has rejected the idea of appointing a special counsel to investigate gang activity at the Baltimore City Detention Center.

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler sent the governor a letter Monday asking him to appoint a special counsel.

  

"Public confidence in the prison system can only be restored after a full, transparent and independent review with an eye toward holding accountable the responsible public officials," Gansler said in the letter.

"I urge you to appoint a special counsel to conduct a through investigation into the event at the Baltimore City Detention Center."
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"Will Obama See Out His Full Term?"

It seems the question on many people's minds, as scandal after scandal crashes on the shores of Obama's White House is best summed up by The Telegraph's Damian Thompson. [10]Yet another non-US paper asks, will Obama last the duration of his second term in a surveillance context where what has been revealed is said to be worse than Watergate.

Via The Telegraph,

"They could pay off the Triads," says Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower interviewed by the Guardian in his Hong Kong hideout. Meaning: the CIA could use a proxy to kill him for revealing that Barack Obama has presided over an unimaginable – to the ordinary citizen – expansion of the Federal government's powers of surveillance over anyone.

Libertarians and conspiracy theorists of both Left and Right will never forget this moment. Already we have Glenn Beck hailing Snowden on Twitter:
Courage finally. Real. Steady. Thoughtful. Transparent. Willing to accept the consequences. Inspire w/Malice toward none.#edwardsnowden

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If I Wanted To Save America

WSW High Heel Race

Who: Women Supporting Women
grass-roots local non-profit breast cancer support organization

What: High Heel Race
a unique and creative fundraiser to promote breast cancer awareness

When: Friday, June 14 – 5:30 PM

Where: Downtown Berlin

Why: Come watch as both men and women don their high heels and compete individually and in teams to win trophies and bragging rights in a short race, destination station race, and hairiest legs contest… And most importantly, to raise awareness for breast cancer and Women Supporting Women.

For more information, contact: Mary Henderson, Worcester County Coordinator
410-213-1177
mary@womensupportingwomen.org

WCSO Press Release 6-12-13

• 6/11/2013 Fugitive - Ayres
• 6/11/2013 Child Support Non-Compliance - Knight and Gunther
• 6/11/2013 Fugitive - Lewis
• 6/11/2013 Assault - Hardy
• 6/11/2013 Fugitive - Hopkins
• 6/11/2013 DUI - Williams
• 6/11/2013 Fugitive - Cole
• 6/11/2013 Assault - Ellis
• 6/11/2013 Fugitive - Truitt
• 6/11/2013 Possession CDS - Ward
• 6/11/2013 Warrant - Dale
• 6/11/2013 Assault with Handgun - Baine
• 6/11/2013 Violation of Peace Order - Arroyo
• 6/11/2013 Fail to Register as Sex Offender - Cherry
• 6/11/2013 Vulnerable Adult Abuse - Chandler
• 6/11/2013 Warrant - Clark
• 6/11/2013 Fugitive - Holland
• 6/11/2013 Theft - Davis

Former Secretary Hillary Clinton's Security Detail Engaged Prostitutes

The State Department may be trying to sweep misconduct under the rug. CBS News says it has uncovered an inspector general's memo. The document details investigations by the agency's Diplomatic Security Service that were either manipulated or called off. Among the eight cases were allegations that an official in Beirut engaged in sexual assault and that former Secretary Hillary Clinton's security detail engaged prostitutes while on official trips abroad. The State Department says it investigates misconduct thoroughly. It has requested another review on top of the IG's report.

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