EPA Asks Employees To Stop Pooping In Hallways

Before you ask, no, this is NOT from the Onion. Apparently, some government employees are too stupid to know they shouldn’t defecate in the hallways.

On Wednesday, Government Executive reported that Management for Region 8 in Denver, Colo., wrote an email earlier this year to all staff in the area begging them to stop defecating in the hallway. To make things worse, EPA managers had to consult with a national “workplace violence” expert to tell them that feces in the hallway constitutes a health hazard.

Government Executive added:

In the email, obtained by Government Executive, Deputy Regional Administrator Howard Cantor mentioned “several incidents” in the building, including clogging the toilets with paper towels and “an individual placing feces in the hallway” outside the restroom.

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Doctors Warn of Looming Health Crisis Due to Flood of Young Illegal Immigrants

Many of the thousands of illegal immigrant children and teens crossing the United States border are carrying deadly contagious diseases that could easily create a major health crisis in this country, doctors say.

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Dr. Jane Orient, an internal medicine specialist and the Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), said that by admitting these huge groups of children who come from countries where medical screenings are minimal and hygiene is poor, the United States is at risk for epidemics of serious diseases and viruses that the nation has not seen in years.

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Revealed: The Lois Lerner Emails That Weren’t Lost

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said Wednesday that former IRS official Lois Lerner suggested investigating Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) before she was forced to leave her position due to the IRS targeting scandal.

According to documents unearthed by Camp, Lerner received an invitation to speak at an event that was intended for Grassley.

Lerner informed the group of the mistake, but then wrote to a colleague: “Looked like they were inappropriately offering to pay for his wife. Perhaps we should refer to Exam?”

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Judge who sentenced Saddam Hussein to death 'executed by ISIS'

The judge who sentenced former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to death has been captured and executed by ISIS militants, it is claimed.

Raouf Abdul Rahman, who sentenced the dictator to death by hanging in 2006, was reportedly killed by rebels in retaliation for the execution of the 69-year-old.

His death has not been confirmed by the Iraqi government, but officials had not denied reports of his capture last week.

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Congrats, America. You Have Less Economic Opportunity Than You Did In 1970

Americans today have more social and educational opportunity than they did 40 years ago -- but they have less economic opportunity, thanks to a bruising recession and the alarming economic trends that preceded it.

That's the sobering conclusion of a detailed study out today from Opportunity Nation and Measure of America, which quantifies the evolution in community, educational and economic opportunity from 1970 to 2010.

The Historical Report of Opportunity sizes up the nation's progress on 10 factors, including school graduation, violent crime, poverty, access to health care, jobs, wages and economic inequality. The report factors each component into an overall score called the Opportunity Index. That index, the report finds, has increased over the decades, meaning the United States as a whole enjoys more opportunity today than it did four decades ago.

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Claim Clinton kept medical history secret

Possible presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's health issues have been kept secret for fears they will ruin her eligibility to become president, it has been claimed.

The remarkable claim comes in a new book written by journalist Ed Klein which details the rocky relationship between the Obama and the Clinton families.

The excerpt on her health includes a claim from a cardiac specialist familiar with Clinton's condition as saying her clotting in the brain could have developed into a stroke.

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Hogan-Rutherford responds to MDP’s absurd critique of ad mocking Anthony Brown’s incompetence

Annapolis, MD – June 25, 2014 – Commenting on the Maryland Democratic Party’s wildly off base reaction to a Hogan for Governor web video mocking Lt. Governor’s record, Hogan spokesman Adam Dubitsky said:

“That was the part of our ad with which they took issue? Our use of a May 10 Facebookphoto of Brown and Ulman flexing for the camera that lacked any caption whatsoever indicating what it was for? We thought the Lt. Governor might have at least wanted to respond to the ad’s critique of his administration’s forty consecutive tax hikes, or his botched $125M health exchange rollout, or perhaps the doubling of the unemployment rate under his watch.”

The Hogan campaign provided a screenshot and weblink to the May 10 posting on Anthony Brown’s Facebook page on which the photo in question was posted.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150407994534975&set=a.10150407994254975.1073741862.17901934974&type=3&theater

Lost Dog 6-25-14: UPDATE

Last evening our family pet disappeared from our yard, we don't know if someone snatched her or if she just wandered off… at nine years old she's never left before. Can you please post this picture of her on your site so that your followers can try to help getting her home?

OCPD WARNING CITIZENS OF TELEPHONE SCAM

(June 24, 2014) – The Ocean City Police Department is warning citizens about a current telephone scam that has recently been reported in Ocean City. The scam involves unsolicited calls from individuals who claim to be a member of local law enforcement or a Federal agent notifying the citizen that they have unpaid parking or traffic citations. The caller will become very hostile and harass or threaten the citizen with jail time or fines in order to obtain personal data and debit/credit card information from them.

The scammers will also use a tactic known as “caller ID spoofing” which falsifies the telephone number and name that appears on the citizen’s caller ID. Other nearby jurisdictions have reported that the scammers have even used the name of actual police officers in order to appear legitimate.

The Ocean City Police Department reminds citizens to never provide debit or credit card information over the phone to unsolicited callers. Government agencies, including law enforcement, will not ask for your card number over the phone. Citizens who suspect that they have provided their bank card information to a scammer should contact their financial institution immediately.

Caption This Photo 6-25-14

SUSPECTS ARRESTED FOR TALBOT CO. BANK ROBBERY

DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 06/19/2014 Shortly before 2:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Talbot Bank, Maple Ave, Trappe Maryland

SUSPECTS:
1. Hector A. Bannister 2nd, 27, of Trappe, Md.

Charged with: armed robbery, robbery, first and second degree assault, reckless
endangerment, theft of $1,000-$10,000, possession of a handgun on person,
possession of a handgun in vehicle, use of a firearm in commission of a felony
violent crime, illegal possession of a regulated firearm

Bannister is also wanted on warrants from Dorchester and Talbot counties for violation of probation/parole.

Dispostion: Held at the Dorchester County Detention Center

2. Christopher M. Carroll, 24, of St. Michael’s, Md.

Charged with: conspiracy to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit first and second degree assault, conspiracy to commit reckless endangerment, theft of $1,000-$10,000, conspiracy to commit theft of $1,000-10,000

Carroll is also charged through the Talbot Co. Drug Task Force with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia

Disposition: Held at the Talbot County Detention Center

3. Clifton L. Morton, Sr., 39, of St. Michael’s, Md.

Charged with: conspiracy to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit first and second degree assault, conspiracy to commit reckless endangerment, theft of $1,000-$10,000, conspiracy to commit theft of $1,000-10,000

Morton is also wanted by the St. Michael’s Police Department on a warrant charging him with multiple robbery and related counts.

Disposition: Held at the Talbot County Detention Center

(TRAPPE, MD) – A cooperative Maryland State Police investigation involving local and federal law enforcement agencies has led to the arrests of three suspects who are now charged in connection with the armed robbery of a Talbot county bank last week.

The three suspects charged in connection with last week’s robbery of the Talbot Bank in Trappe, Md., are listed above. All three were arrested by the Maryland State Apprehension Team, a special unit of the Maryland State Police and local and federal law enforcement officers and agents. Bannister was arrested at a residence in Cambridge this morning. Morton was arrested last night walking in St. Michael’s. Carroll was arrested at a home in in St. Michael’s last night. Each was arrested without incident.

When police arrested Carroll, he was in possession of a large amount of suspected cocaine, which was packaged for street sales. He was charged by the Talbot County Drug Task Force with the listed drug charges. Both Bannister and Morton were wanted on warrants by other jurisdictions.

The arrests resulted from investigative work that developed evidence, leads, and information that led to the identity of the suspects and connected them with the armed robbery. A gun was displayed during the robbery, but that has not been recovered. The Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division (CED) Upper Shore was assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Trappe Police Department, St. Michaels Police Department, and the Delaware State Police in the investigation.

Supreme Court Limits Police Right To Search Cell Phones

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that police officers usually need a warrant before they can search an arrested suspect's cellphone.

The court said on a 9-0 vote in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts that the right of police to search an arrested suspect at the scene without a warrant does not extend in most circumstances to data held on a cellphone. There are some emergency situations in which a warrantless search would be permitted, the court noted.

The ruling is a blow to law enforcement agencies that would prefer more latitude to search without having to obtain a warrant.

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Obama EPA Gets Partial Court Win on Climate-Change Permits

The U.S. Supreme Court partially upheld one of President Barack Obama’s early efforts against climate change, saying the Environmental Protection Agency had authority to impose new permitting requirements on some power plants and factories.

The permitting rules apply when facilities are built or expanded. They are separate from the administration’s more comprehensive climate-change regulations, including the plan released June 2 to cut carbon emissions from existing plants by as much as 25 percent over 15 years.

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What's Wrong With This Picture?

Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino Rips Obama’s Government In Scalding Facebook Post

Facebook is a place where people can voice their opinions and update what they are thinking and doing during the day. A former secret service agent, Dan Bongino, recently made a few statements on Facebook about President Obama that are hot to say the least. The man is in the running for a congressional seat in Maryland. In his comments, he rebuked liberalism and bashed the Obama administration.

Citizens are watching the fall of one of the biggest governments in the world. The government was established with a type of liberalism in mind, but there are so many people who don’t know which way they are turning that the big-government model is collapsing. Those who are on the far left side need to wake up and see what is happening or accept the results of the collapse. Obama has continued to run with the idea that a big government can solve big problems. This is not always true. These thoughts have not solved many problems. If anything, the model has created even bigger ones. It has also aggravated problems that were created by previous administrations that many had thought were dealt with. Several statements were made about where the country is and where its headed with the border crisis, the Iraq civil war, the unpopular healthcare reform and the record number of Americans out of work. The administration is not dealing with these issues. It’s too worried about the name of a football team.

His Post:

” We are watching, in real time, the collapse of the big-government model on which the house of liberalism has been built. The only question remaining is, when will those on the far left accept the results, rather than the intentions of the big government model?

President Obama ran on the idea that a big government can solve big problems, yet this model has not only not solved any of our big problems, but it has created new ones, while aggravating old ones created by prior administrations.”

Source

EPA joins IRS lost emails club

Move over, IRS — now the EPA is having its own problems with missing emails.

The environmental agency is having trouble locating emails belonging to a former agency employee and pulling information from his crashed hard drive, House members revealed Wednesday while questioning Administrator Gina McCarthy at a hearing on complaints of mismanagement.

“What is it with bureaucrats and public employees … the hard drives crash?” asked Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.).

He and others on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee questioned McCarthy about missing information related to the committee’s investigation into the potential environmental impact of a proposed gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska.

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NIGHTMARE NEXT DOOR Calif. pays to house rapist — next door to rape victim

Nearly 60 years after a neighbor snatched toddler Sharon Duvernay from her family's backyard and raped her, the now-retired school teacher is getting a new neighbor -- the infamous "Pillowcase Rapist," a serial sex offender responsible for at least 40 attacks in the 1970s and 1980s.

Christopher Hubbart, 63, who confessed to raping at least 40 women in Los Angeles and San Francisco between 1971 and 1982, will be released from a state psychiatric facility and placed in a home in Lake Los Angeles by July 7, Capt. Don Ford of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station, a subdivision of the Los Angeles County Sheriff, told FoxNews.com Wednesday.

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On Friday, the IRS Dropped the Pretense: It's Not Sorry

On Friday, the IRS commissioner showed the agency’s true colors. Forget theapologies. Forget humility. Forget about the targeting of conservative groups withunconstitutional questions, the selective audits, the unlawful disclosures of confidential information, the collusion with the FBI and FEC to manufacture criminal cases out of whole cloth, the lost emails, or the multiple additional computer crashes. The real outrage was that conservatives are actually upset about all this. Watch the exchange between Congressman Ryan and Commissioner Koskinen again:

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CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE: SEND ILLEGALS HOME

WASHINGTON – President Obama needs to let people in Central America know it’s not acceptable to send their children to enter the United States illegally, members of a congressional committee said on Tuesday.

And it would help if he would encourage Mexico to close its southern border, too, they said during a hearing regarding the flood of illegal alien children arriving daily in Texas and Arizona from points mostly in Central America.

The Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, questioned Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson about why not more has been done already.
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Rep. Trey Gowdy Had a Room Bellowing in Laughter With a Joke That Started: ‘John Boehner, Lindsey Graham and Andy Harris All Tragically Died and Went to Heaven…’

Trooper Wounded and Suspect Killed in Magnolia Shooting

Magnolia - The Delaware State Police continue to investigate a Trooper involved shooting that occurred this morning in Magnolia, which has left a 29 year old man dead and Trooper wounded.

The following information outlines the preliminary investigation into a Trooper involved shooting that occurred this morning in Magnolia, Delaware which has left a 29 year old man dead and Trooper wounded.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 shortly before 7:00 a.m. as a Trooper on patrol spotted a Honda Accord traveling SR 1 northbound north of Milford. The operator of the Honda was identified as Dennis Hicks-29 of Milford, Delaware, who had active warrants in connection with a domestic strangulation incident which occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. this morning, at a residence located in the first block of Bayhill Road, Magnolia.

The Trooper in a fully marked patrol vehicle activated the emergency equipment in an attempt to conduct a vehicle stop. Hicks disregarded the attempt and fled northbound on SR 1 turning onto Mulberrie Point Road and then onto Clapham Road towards Magnolia. The vehicle came to a complete stop in the area of Bayhill Road and West Birdie Lane. Hicks immediately exited the Honda with a semiautomatic handgun and opened fire on the Trooper. The Trooper exited patrol vehicle and returned fire, striking Hicks in the upper body.

During the exchange of gunfire, the Trooper suffered gunshot wounds to his hand and face. He was transported by Troopers to the Bayhealth Kent General Hospital and later transferred by Delaware State Police Aviation Helicopter to the Christiana Hospital Trauma Center where he was admitted in serious but stable condition.

Dennis Hicks was transported to the Bayhealth Kent General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at approximately 8:47 a.m.

The semiautomatic handgun was recovered at the scene and a preliminary investigation determined that it was reported stolen from a residential burglary in Smyrna, Delaware in June of 2013.

The Trooper involved in this incident is Corporal Lloyd M. McCann-26, a 4 year veteran of the Delaware State Police assigned to Troop 3 in Camden, DE. He has been placed on administrative leave as per Divisional Policy, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Detectives from the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene and are conducting the investigation. This is an active and ongoing investigation with Detectives continuing their investigation, evidence processing and interviews.

I don't care about money, says wealthy Chelsea Clinton

Chelsea Clinton lives a charmed life, but don't be fooled: secretly, she's not attached to the oodles of money she and her hedge fund manager husband make each year, the former first daughter said in an interview published over the weekend.

Philanthropy is her true passion, Clinton said, and that's why she permanently left Wall Street to join the Clinton Foundation, which she runs with her parents, former first couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.

'I was curious if I could care about [money] on some fundamental level, and I couldn’t,' Clinton told The Telegraph. 'That wasn’t the metric of success I wanted in my life.'

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Why There Is No .22 Long Rifle (22LR) Ammo On The Shelves

While many reports blame capacity or a conspiracy theory, the real reason that .22LR ammo is short supply is simple - us.

Don’t believe that? Remember when .223/5.56 ammo was selling for $1.00 – $1.25 per round? Remember 9mm at ridiculous prices? That’s not happening anymore is it?

Why not?

Eventually, demand quit being the problem. The average consumer decided that they would no longer pay gouged prices for .223 and 9mm and within weeks that ammo was plentiful on store shelves at much more reasonable prices.

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House Democrats join fight to save Export-Import Bank

House Democrats suddenly find themselves allied with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, launching an aggressive campaign Tuesday to save the Export-Import Bank from conservative lawmakers who want to close it.

Democratic leaders are getting behind legislation that would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which is set to expire at the end of September, Politico reported.

“Congress must take bipartisan action before the Export-Import Bank’s authorization expires so that we can give certainty to businesses and provide important resources to keep American exporters competitive. To do otherwise would greatly hurt our businesses and our economy,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Maryland Democrat.

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Drug Cartels Use Children To Distract Border Patrol

Smuggling cartels are using the surge of illegal immigrant children as a smoke screen to distract the Border Patrol, leaving gaps in security that the gangs then use to slip more drugs or known criminals into the country, the chief of the Border Patrol’s labor union will tell Congress on Wednesday.

Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said that the cartels are taking advantage of U.S. laws, which require special treatment for the children. He said nearly 40 percent of Border Patrol manpower has been shifted to manage the children, leaving the cartels with a free hand to conduct their other criminal activities.

“The cartels purposely cross between ports of entry to tie up Border Patrol manpower, creating holes in our enforcement and facilitating their other lines of business, such as drug smuggling and the smuggling of known criminals into the U.S. Make no mistake, this is big business for the cartels,” Mr. Judd said in testimony he will deliver Wednesday to the House Judiciary Committee.

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Link to South Dakota Passes Impeachment Resolution

The South Dakota Republican Party state convention passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Barack Obama Saturday.

The resolution says Obama has "violated his oath of office in numerous ways." It specifically cites the release of five Taliban combatants in a trade for captive U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, Obama's statement that people could keep insurance companies, and recent EPA regulations on power plants.

"Therefore, be it resolved that the South Dakota Republican Party calls on our U.S. Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States," the resolution reads.

(Read the full text of the resolution and see how each county voted here.)

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SFD Calls For Service 6-24-14

• Tuesday June, 24 2014 @ 21:38Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Tuesday June, 24 2014 @ 20:35 Nature: Structure FireAddress: 1011 Fairground Dr Salisbury, MD 21801
• Tuesday June, 24 2014 @ 20:35 Nature: Structure FireAddress: 1011 Fairground Dr Salisbury, MD 21801
• Tuesday June, 24 2014 @ 18:30Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Tuesday June, 24 2014 @ 17:15 Nature: Vehicle Accident w/InjuriesAddress: E Market St & S Salisbury Blvd Salisbury, MD 21801
• Tuesday June, 24 2014 @ 17:05Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Tuesday June, 24 2014 @ 15:48 Nature: Natural CoverAddress: E Salisbury Pkwy & Tilghman Rd Salisbury, MD 21801

Buying Up the Planet: Out-of-control Central Banks on a Corporate Buying Spree

Finance is the new form of warfare – without the expense of a military overhead and an occupation against unwilling hosts. It is a competition in credit creation to buy foreign resources, real estate, public and privatized infrastructure, bonds and corporate stock ownership. Who needs an army when you can obtain the usual objective (monetary wealth and asset appropriation) simply by financial means? Dr. Michael Hudson, Counterpunch, October 2010

When the US Federal Reserve bought an 80% stake in American International Group (AIG) in September 2008, the unprecedented $85 billion outlay was justified as necessary to bail out the world’s largest insurance company. Today, however, central banks are on a global corporate buying spree not to bail out bankrupt corporations but simply as an investment, to compensate for the loss of bond income due to record-low interest rates. Indeed, central banks have become some of the world’s largest stock investors.

This is a rather alarming development. Central banks have the power to create national currencies with accounting entries, and they are traditionally very secretive. We are not allowed to peer into their books. It took a major lawsuit by Reuters and a congressional investigation to get the Fed to reveal the $16-plus trillion in loans it made to bail out giant banks and corporations after 2008.

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Border Gates Left Wide Open By Border Patrol

Obama: Employers at fault for some woes of working families

President Obama offered few policy prescriptions Monday for working parents who are struggling in the post-recession economy, but blamed employers for not making their lives easier.

Speaking at the first White House summit for working families in Washington, Mr. Obama said parents aren’t to blame for spending too little time with their children or for being unable to afford quality child care.

“These problems are not typically the result of poor planning or too little diligence on the parts of moms or dads, and they cannot just be fixed by working harder or being an even better parent,” Mr. Obama said. “All too often they are the result of outdated policies and old ways of thinking.”

But the president gave no proposals Monday to expand workplace benefits nationwide. He announced a limited executive action directing federal agencies to implement existing workplace flexibility initiatives and to institute a new “right to request” work policy.

White House aides blame congressional Republicans for the lack of new initiatives.

“There are a lot of good ideas that are being blocked in Congress right now,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest, citing the GOP’s opposition to raising the federal minimum wage.

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MAC Inc 2014 Jolly Roger Fundraiser

MAC Incorporated “Fun Day” at Jolly Roger Amusement Park, 30th St and Coastal Highway, Ocean City,MD will be held on Saturday, July 26, 2014. Tickets are $25.00 per person and must be purchased in advance. Included is the waterpark 10 am to 6 pm, miniature golf 10 am to 6 pm, amusement rides 2 pm to 6 pm. Two ride limit on the roller coaster; excluded- Speedworld and Zipline. Proceeds will provide scholarships for low income seniors to MAC’s gym, health and wellness classes. For tickets call 410-742-0505 ext 113. This is a rain or shine event.

Md. House Republican Expected To Force Vote To Undo Liberal D.C. Marijuana Law

Maryland’s only Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to force a vote Wednesday to undo marijuana decriminalization in the District of Columbia.

Two congressional staffers familiar with the effort said Eastern Shore Rep. Andy Harris has drafted an amendment to preclude D.C. officials from implementing a new law to eliminate criminal penalties for possession of the plant in the nation’s capital.

Decriminalization passed the D.C. Council in March and was signed into law by Mayor Vincent C. Gray. The law is nearing the end of a required congressional review period. If Congress does not act to upend it, the law would replace the current federal penalty of up to $1,000 and a year in jail with a civil fine of just $25. Those caught smoking marijuana in public could be sentenced to a maximum of 60 days in jail, similar to the penalty for carrying an open container of alcohol.

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R. Kelly finally talks about his child for the first time

R. Kelly has finally spoken out about his 14-year-old child Jaya announcing he is now transgender and has changed his name to Jay.

The brave teen made the announcement on his social media two weeks ago and his singer father, who has been silent on the issue, finally addressed the revelation this week saying: 'You don't really wanna open it up by saying that my daughter is becoming my son.'

During an interview on a Chicago radio station the R&B singer seemed to imply that Jay’s coming out had been a falsely reported rumour – despite the fact he announced the news in a blog post via his Ask.FM account.

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EMS Has Been Called To 82nd Street In OC

The Dispatch

BREAKING NEWS: Emergency responders have been called to the 82nd Street beach in Ocean City. Ocean City Beach Patrol members have reportedly pulled a swimmer from the ocean and are performing CPR. Maryland State Police Aviation has been called to transport patient. More as details become available.

Check This Out!

Florida Extends 'Stand Your Ground' to Include Warning Shots

An update of Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law allows Floridians who threaten to use a gun or who fire a warning shot to protect themselves the chance to avoid criminal prosecution.

The change, signed into law Friday by Gov. Rick Scott, was partly inspired by the case of Marissa Alexander, 33, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after firing a shot during a dispute with her allegedly abusive husband.

Alexander's lawyers attempted to claim self-defense and that it was a warning shot, but the jury found Alexander guilty and she was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Florida's current sentencing rules.

An appellate court later overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial for Alexander.

Alexander's defense team said they are "grateful" for the change in the law.

"We learned today that Governor Rick Scott has signed the corrective Stand Your Ground Bill, which was advanced by the legislature as a result of concern about Marissa's case among others," read the statement. "We are of course grateful for the governor's actions."

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Guess Who Is Propping Up The US Housing Market

A month ago we showed a chart that [4], in our humble opinion, summarized all that is wrong with the US housing market. The chart in question showed the April breakdown of existing home sales on a Y/Y basis by pricing bucket.

 [5]

Needless to say, what the chart showed was the symptomatic, and schizophrenic, breakdown of US housing into two camps: the housing market for the 1%, those costing $750K and above, where the bulk of transactions are mostly between non-first time buyers, and typically take place as all cash transactions, and the market for "everyone else" which continues to deteriorate.

Moments ago the NAR released its May data, which on first blush was widely lauded as bullish: the topline print came at a 4.9% increase, rising from 4.65MM to 4.89MM, above the 4.74MM expected. Great news... if only on the surface. So what happens when one drills down into the detail? As usual, we focused on the last slide of the NAR breakdown, located at the very end of the supplementary pdf [6]for good reason, because what it shows is hardly as bullish.

So how does this "housing recovery" in which the NAR has proclaimed the "sales decline is over" look on a granular basis.

The answer is below, and it is even worse than the April data. It also explains why first time buyers have dropped to even further cycle lows of just 27%, down from 29% both a month and year ago.

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Clinton can’t stop gaffes on crony capitalism

Can Hillary Clinton, who says she and her husband went on from being “dead broke” in 2001 to rake in an estimated $155 million, run for president as the nominee of a party that is obsessed with income inequality? No problem, she toldThe Guardian, because the Clintons pay their taxes. The Democratic 2016 frontrunner dismissed the idea that voters would see a corporate-connected candidate with a nine-digit income in the past decade as part of the problem: “‘But they don't see me as part of the problem,’ she protests, ‘because we pay ordinary income tax, unlike a lot of people who are truly well off, not to name names; and we've done it through dint of hard work.’” The name she was not naming, presumably, was that of Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee famously called “a vampire” by President Obama’s re-election campaign for his work in private equity. Untold billions of pixels were slain in the name of discussing Romney’s tax payments, with Team Obama arguing that Romney paying the lowest possible tax rates was an unpatriotic act.

[In a new Quinnipiac poll, former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton slips a bit among Iowa voters, although they continue to choose Clinton when matched against each of the top potential GOP 2016 contenders.]

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Missing Person / Juvenile In Salisbury

LOCATED-CANCEL

Man Who Died At Arlington Cemetery Was Retired Colonel, 92

Arlington National Cemetery released the name of the man who died in the cemetery on Friday by an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Robert Terrill, 92, was a retired Air Force colonel. His wife, Helen Burgess Terrill, died in 2009 and was buried in the section of the cemetery where Terrill was found dead.

The cemetery said that it did not know of any similar deaths at Arlington in the past.

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'Good, the Bad and the Ugly' star Eli Wallach dead at 98

Eli Wallach, a character actor best known for his supporting roles in the Western classics "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," died Tuesday at the age of 98, his daughter Katherine told FOX411.

Born in Brooklyn in 1915, Wallach attended college at the University of Texas and earned a master's degree in education at City College of New York. He served as an Army medic in World War II and made his debut on Broadway in 1945.

Wallach won a Tony Award in 1951 for his performance as Alvaro in Tennessee Williams's "The Rose Tattoo," and made his film debut five years later in the Elia Kazan-directed "Baby Doll."

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Imagine that; Joey Biden is among the Super-Poor

Noah mentioned this in his piece about the ridiculous Democratic race to the bottom income bracket, but it deserves its own space. This kind of mess will continue to happen until reporters stop asking the question because there’s really no good answer. “Income inequality” is an evil of American society, according to the Democratic Party. In running against Republicans, especially Mitt Romney, every high-profile Democrat has made it his business to equate rich with evil. And, not just evil, but congenitally unable to understand or adjust policy to reflect the problems of real people. If that’s true for Romney, it’s surely worth a question for Hillary. And, Hillary’s bumbling answers—thrice over, now!—have made it a question reporters looking to raise their profiles would be wise to ask because it clearly precipitates gaffes.

Here’s Vice President Joe Biden assuring the American people he doesn’t even have a savings account. Which, pardon me, am I supposed to be comforted by the idea of a man one heartbeat from the presidency who runs over to the corner check-cashing place with his Ray-Bans on every Friday with his big Veep check?

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Confusion About Food Labels Leads To Waste, Possible Illnesses

Consumers often get confused by date labeling on food products, and end up either keeping spoiled food around too long, or throwing away perfectly good food unnecessarily -- costing us billions of dollars, experts say.

In new a survey by the public health and safety organization NSF International, researchers found that people have trouble understanding and differentiating between common food label terms such as "expiration date," "best if used by date" and "sell by date."

Consequently, almost half of Americans do not throw away food until they see mold or color changes. And 17 percent of Americans say they just toss food when it starts to smell.

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The Federal Octopus

Federal agencies now exist not for the public good but for their employees’ benefit and Obama’s agenda.

When IRS Commissioner John Koskinenarrogantly told Congress that he had no apologies for an agency that has targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny, had a top-ranking bureaucrat take the Fifth Amendment, and destroyed its own correspondence, he meant it. Nor did Lisa Jackson, the former head of the EPA, offer any apologies for concocting a fake persona, replete with false e-mail identity (“Richard Windsor”), to hide her own communications. Kathleen Sebeliuswas likewise unapologetic after presiding over the ruined initial implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Nor did she pay any consequence for campaigning for Democratic candidates while a cabinet secretary, in violation of the Hatch Act.

Government always grows, sometimes even more rapidly under Republican than under Democratic presidents. But under President Obama we are seeing something a little different — the creation of a partisan, semi-autonomous government that seems to exist for the benefit of its employees and the larger ideological agenda of the present administration.

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A Letter To The Editor: Senior Nutrition vs WIC

Joe,

I was speaking with a few people the other day regarding the Senior Nutrition Program funded by the USDA and administered by the Maryland Dept of Agriculture. Government never ceases to amaze me.

SFMNP = Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program. This program is for Seniors aged 60 and up. To receive the coupons they must be income qualified. The USDA provides funding for coupons in the amount of $30 per qualified applicant, per season. However, Wicomico County is allotted only 60 coupon books per season. SIXTY!!!! I've sent more than 60 seniors to apply only to have their names put on a waiting list. I'm told there are 5 or 6 pages of names of senior citizens on the waiting list. The return on these coupons state wide is 85% to 89%, it changes annually. It has been as high at 93%. These numbers tell us the coupons are being redeemed by our senior citizens in need. Locally, the return is 85% according to the MAC Center.

FMNP = Farmers Market Nutrition Program aka WIC. Women, Infants & Children. To receive these coupons they too must be income qualified, usually receiving assistance from social services or having a low income. They are allotted $20 in coupons. The rate of redemption state wide is a mere 46%. What happens to the funding for the remaining 54%? Locally, only 12% of FMNP/WIC coupons are redeemed.

Congress provided over $16 million for FMNP for FY14, this is to be spread out nationwide, US possessions and territories and Indian tribes. I called the Maryland Dept of Agriculture to ask why the coupons that are not redeemed by the FMNP/WIC program couldn't be given to Seniors. The answer was the USDA sends the funds to them in separate pots. They can not mix the funds. WHY? This is such a huge waste of money when there are so many senior citizens in need. The $30 in coupons could mean the difference between a pot of fresh veggies, or a can of cat food for dinner. Where is the money going that is not redeemed in coupons? Is it going back to USDA or is the MDA using it elsewhere?

Senior citizens cook their meals, they know how to make that money stretch to suit their needs. They know how to preserve foods for future use. Why not give them the funds that are not being used by the young mothers that would rather eat fast food than cook?

How do we get the USDA to see the need and allow the states administering these programs to put the money where it will be used? Do we start by contacting our State and Federal representatives? Do we start by flooding the USDA with calls?

I do know one thing. This is an election year. SENIORS VOTE! Any incumbents running for reelection should get on the stick and see what can be done to help our senior citizens. Candidates seeking election should start reaching out and find out what they can do to help our most fragile citizens. These people have worked and paid their dues.

Remember, SENIORS VOTE!!!

New York Times Columnist Couldn’t Have Expected Walmart’s Epic Response to Hit Piece: ‘Hope This Helps’

New York Times columnist Timothy Egan got an unexpected response from Walmart after he attempted to smear the corporation in a “wildly inaccurate” article.

David Tovar, Walmart’s VP of corporate communications, edited Egan’s piece like a high school English teacher, noting all the errors in red.

“Thanks for sharing your first draft. Below are a few thoughts to ensure something inaccurate doesn’t get published,” Tovar wrote. “Hope this helps.”

After pointing out that Walmart is the “largest tax payer in America” that has hired more than 42,000 veterans this year and pays the average full-time associate $12.91 an hour, the corporation then provided a “better idea for a piece.”

“Could focus on bringing back U.S. manufacturing (Walmart is buying $250 billion in US products over 10 years) and expanding education, training and workforce development programs. i.e. things that will make a bigger difference, not just focusing on starting wages.”

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Steve Waugh Says, Thank you!

Teachers' Union Complains Of Campaign Handouts

A judge has decided not to grant a restraining order to stop the distribution of campaign handouts that the state's largest teachers' union says misrepresent their trademarked ballots shaped like apples.

The Maryland State Education Association sought the order Tuesday, when the union found campaign handouts that looked like their apple-shaped handouts that show what candidates the union is supporting.

The union is backing Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in the Democratic primary race for governor. But Attorney General Doug Gansler's campaign released similar handouts that say Gansler has the support of teachers across Montgomery County.

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The feud between the Obamas and ‘Hildebeest’

In his new book, “Blood Feud,” journalist Edward Klein gets inside the dysfunctional, jealous relationship between Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack and Michelle Obama — and how it could explode in 2016.

Outwardly, they put on a show of unity — but privately, the Obamas and Clintons, the two power couples of the Democratic Party, loathe each other.

“I hate that man Obama more than any man I’ve ever met, more than any man who ever lived,” Bill Clinton said to friends on one occasion, adding he would never forgive Obama for suggesting he was a racist during the 2008 campaign.

The feeling is mutual. Obama made ­excuses not to talk to Bill, while the first lady privately sniped about Hillary.

On most evenings, Michelle Obama and her trusted adviser, Valerie Jarrett, met in a quiet corner of the White House residence. They’d usually open a bottle of Chardonnay, catch up on news about Sasha and Malia, and gossip about people who gave them heartburn.

Their favorite bête noire was Hillary Clinton, whom they nicknamed “Hildebeest,” after the menacing and shaggy-maned gnu that roams the Serengeti.

‘Michelle could be president’

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Obama seeks to expand flex-time for government workers

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday directed the federal government to give workers more leeway in determining their schedules, part of his goal to make U.S. workplaces more family-friendly - and a broad pitch to Democratic voters ahead of November elections.

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and other top administration officials took turns telling their personal stories about the struggle to balance work and family at a campaign-style "summit" stacked with cheering Democratic supporters at a posh Washington hotel.

"I remember taking the night shift when Malia was born and when Sasha was born and being up at two in the morning and changing diapers and burping them and singing to them," Obama said, talking about his daughters, who are now teenagers.

"The point is, I was lucky enough to be able to take some time off," he said. "I want every father and every child to have that opportunity."

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California company reinvents the rotary engine

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  GoTek Energy

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The rotary engine could be on the verge of a revolution.

California startup GoTek Energy has received a patent for a new type of motor – one that addresses some of the shortcomings of past rotaries, while promising better power and efficiency than traditional piston engines.

I say traditional, because this rotary uses something called pivot pistons.

Unlike the Wankel rotary engine made famous and famously killed by Mazda, with its pinched-oval housing and triangular rotor, GoTek’s DynaKinetic engine features a circular housing and a rotor that looks like a twisted ninja throwing star, creating four combustion chambers each fitted with a gear-driven piston resembling a flap that moves in and out to suck in and compress the fuel/air mixture as the rotor spins.

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MASSIVE GDP PLUNGE

Economists estimated U.S. GDP contracted in Q1, but not by this much.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP fell 2.9% at an annualized rate in Q1. This third estimate was down sharply from the BEA's previous estimate of -1.0%.

This was also much worse than the -1.8% forecasted by economists.

As expected healthcare spending was revised down sharply. It went from adding 1.01 percentage points to subtracting 0.16 from the headline GDP growth number.

"It marked the second biggest downward revision from the agency's second GDP estimate since records began in 1976," reported Bloomberg's Jeanna Smialek.

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HILLARY CLINTON TELLS REPORTER SHE “DESERVES” TO BE PRESIDENT

Hillary Clinton revealed the prevailing attitude of the elite during an interview with a freelance reporter in California.

The reporter, Samuel Rosales-Avila of La Habra California, was writing a feature on Clinton focused on how her presidency might influence Hispanic Americans. The interview went as follows:

I started asking Ms. Clinton questions. Mostly policy stuff, really focused on immigration. She was responding, but seemed a little off. I figured she was just distracted and didn’t feel like it was worth her time. I kept going, but was starting to get frustrated. I decided I would ask her something I hadn’t really planned on. I said, ‘Ms. Clinton, some have suggested that you aren’t healthy enough or are too old to pursue the presidency. Do you have a comment on that?’. I knew I had crossed a line for her right away. She snapped back, ‘It’s my turn. I’ve done my time, and I deserve it.’ Then she stormed off. After she left, one of her handlers came up to me and told me he would need the recording of our interview and that it was now ‘off the record’. I was shocked and disappointed, but it was clear that it wasn’t a negotiation.

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BREAKING NEWS: Economy contracts at swiftest pace since 2009 in 1Q

The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the first quarter, the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2009, from a previous estimate of a contraction of 1 percent. Wall Street expected the world’s biggest economy to shrink by an annual rate of 1.7 percent.

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Dew Tour Gets Underway Today In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY – NBC Sports Group will kick off the 10th Anniversary of the Dew Tour with the Dew Tour Beach Championship, June 25-29 in Ocean City.

One of four stops on the 2014 Dew Tour schedule, the Dew Tour Beach Championship will feature the world’s best athletes in the sports of skateboard and BMX, amateur surf and skateboard competitions and live musical performances by Cage the Elephant, SKATERS, GRiZ and heRobust.

“Over the last decade, the Dew Tour has crowned 105 champions across 21 disciplines. We made history by creating the first-ever portable concrete bowl here in Ocean City and witnessed Jamie Bestwick’s nine-year winning streak in BMX Vert,” said Eric Grilly, President, Alli Sports. “After last year’s record-breaking crowd in Ocean City, we are excited to be back to host our inaugural 10th anniversary event.”

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'I have no savings account': Joe Biden takes swipe at Hillary Clinton

Joe Biden sought to make political capital out of presidential rival Hillary Clinton’s recent gaffes about her wealth by claiming that he ‘has no savings account’.

However, financial records shows that he’s not quite the man of the people he claims to be, with a savings account worth between $1,001 and $15,000.

The 2013 financial disclosure he made in May also indicates that the Vice President and his wife, Dr Jill Biden, are worth between $1,323,970 and $162,996.

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Today's Survey Question 6-25-14

What did you think of our election coverage?

Yesterday was very exciting, especially for the Republican Party Candidates. While I personally wish we could have seen more people turn out to vote, it was a primary and throughout history there is a much lower turn out.

We watched some really great candidates fall but it did sift out those candidates Marylander's simply weren't interested in.

I was thinking, (seriously) if Muir Boda changed his name to John Smith, do you think he might have received more votes? After numerous elections, the guy is a great guy and his heart truly is in the right place when it comes to wanting to improve the Shore.

David Craig did incredible here on the Shore. He too is a great man. So is Hogan though. At least the Republicans will be well represented in the Governor's race. 

Mind you, Brown turned numbers that were flat out UNBELIEVABLE! I personally feel the guy is almost brain dead and now I firmly believe most Marylander's are brain dead too, or gay.

OweMalley did it right. He's got that "Motor Voter" thing down to a tee. 

Anyhow, I'd like to know what you thought about our coverage. Clearly our numbers yesterday and today, (already) prove that the majority of the Eastern Shore was following us very closely but like anything else, there's always room for improvement.  

Looking For A Used Small Pickup Truck

I have a friend in the market for a small used pickup truck. He'd prefer an automatic and it can have more than 100,000 miles on it. Obviously he's looking for a decent price, or shall I say, affordable. 

If you have, (or know of someone) who is getting ready to sell one please give me a call at 410-430-5349. 

Double Dipping Is Encouraged In Maryland

You can be an election judge......and if you already work for the state you can use administrative leave and get paid to be a judge too!

Attention: State of Maryland Employees

State of Maryland employees who are scheduled to work on election day can use administrative leave to serve as an election judge and keep the election judge pay. Note: Only State employees scheduled to work on election day can use administrative leave.

If you are a State employee and want to serve as an election judge, follow your normal procedures for requesting leave and contact your local board of elections to sign up as an election judge. The local boards of elections have the paperwork you may need to provide to your supervisor.

http://www.elections.maryland.gov/get_involved/election_judges.html

Hypocites at greenpeace

A Greenpeace senior executive commutes to work by plane despite the organisation’s anti-air travel campaign, it emerged yesterday.

Pascal Husting, Greenpeace International’s programme director, has been flying 250 miles between Luxembourg and Amsterdam at the charity’s expense since 2012.

Each trip costs Greenpeace £200 and would generate 142kg of carbon dioxide emissions, according to airline KLM.

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This November

Friends,

This past year, I have had the privilege of crossing the state and meeting so many great Marylanders. While the results are not what we had hoped, Melinda and I are appreciative of the hard work, countless hours, and dedication of our staff, volunteers, and supporters like you.

It is without a doubt, that the past eight years have been difficult for families and businesses in Maryland. I started this campaign to give the forgotten Marylanders a voice. Our message resonated from Wicomico to Washington, from Somerset to St. Mary's, and from Caroline to Carroll. Marylanders are ready for change.

I congratulate Larry Hogan on his victory and commit myself to helping him win this November. I urge you, and all my supporters, to stand behind Larry, give the forgotten Marylanders a voice, and change Maryland by electing a Republican Governor in November.

Cordially,
David R. Craig

The 20 Unhappiest Jobs In America

The unhappiest jobs in America aren't what you'd expect.

We worked with CareerBliss, an online jobs database, to pinpoint the jobs with the lowest happiness levels in the country. To come up with the ranking, CareerBliss examined 24,000 employee evaluations across more than 250 different job roles.

The final measure of job satisfaction, which CareerBliss calls a "bliss score," is on a scale of one to five (one being the least happy and five the most). The bliss scores are based on eight factors: work-life balance; relationship with coworkers; work environment; job resources; compensation; growth opportunities; company culture; and daily tasks.

Across the board, these workers give their lowest ratings to the growth opportunities category. That makes sense, as an easy way to make any job depressing is to give its employees no room to advance. We've broken down what other factors were big negatives for each job in the descriptions below.

If you're looking for a job that will make you and your coworkers happy, you might want to avoid pursuing these.

1. Analyst
Bliss score: 2.914
Average salary: $55,000
After growth opportunities, analysts are most dissatisfied with company culture and job resources.

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Massachusetts mayor: Stop sending my city refugees

A Massachusetts mayor is calling for an end to refugee resettlement in his city, saying Somali families are putting pressure on already strained services in Springfield, a onetime industrial center where nearly a third of the population lives below the poverty line.

Mayor Domenic Sarno is the latest mayor to decry refugee resettlement, joining counterparts in New Hampshire and Maine in largely rare tensions with the State Department, which helps resettle refugees in communities across America.

The mayor is drawing criticism from those who say this country has a moral obligation to help the outcast and refugees who say they're being scapegoated for problems the city faced long before their arrival.

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Hillary's Book Sales Bomb. Amazon Readers Turn Thumbs Down

Simon & Schuster paid Hillary Clinton a staggering $14 million in advance royalties for her book, Hard Choices. That may turn out to be a money-losing hard choice for Simon & Schuster.

The book retails for $35. If she gets 20% of the retail sales price, the publisher must sell two million copies. But the book sold a paltry 60,000 hardback copies in the first week.
The publisher touted 100,000 sales, but this counted e-books. That’s a bad sign.

A worse sign is that it has fallen out of the top ten list on Amazon, where you can buy a copy for $21. If Simon & Schuster pays her 20% of retail, the royalty payment will take a big chunk out of the profits.

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BOOK: HILLARY HAS BAD HEART

A new provocative work by bestselling author Ed Klein claims Hillary Clinton's health problems are much more severe than she has publicly revealed!

"She had managed to keep her medical history secret out of fear that, should it become public, it would disqualify her from becoming president," writes Klein in BLOOD FEUD.

BLOOD FEUD hits the street this week [it ranked #89 on AMAZON Sunday afternoon.]

Page 193

The true story of what happened to Hillary, which is being recounted in these pages for the first time, was radically different from Reines’s version.

To begin with, Hillary fainted while she was working in her seventh-floor office at the State Department, not at home, as Reines told the media. She was treated at the State Department’s infirmary and then, at her own insistence, taken to Whitehaven to recover. However, as soon as Bill appeared on the scene and was able to assess Hillary’s condition for himself, he ordered that she be immediately flown to New York–Presbyterian Hospital in the Fort Washington section of Manhattan. When Reines subsequently released a statement confirming that Hillary was being treated at the hospital over the New Year’s holiday, it naturally intensified speculation about the seriousness of her medical condition.

While she was at the hospital, doctors diagnosed Hillary with several problems.

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MCE hosts Quick Books Class in Talbot County

WHERE DID ALL THE SAILORS GO?!

SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER SOME OF THESE PLACES AND KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT......I got this from a good friend. They were famous throughout the Navy………

The Gut in Barcelona; East Main Street in Norfolk; Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn; The Combat Zone in Boston; The Pike in Long Beach; Market Street in San Francisco, Bank Street in New London; Broadway Street in San Diego; Hotel (s**t) Street in Honolulu; The Honcho in Yokosuka, China Town and Sakuragi-cho in Yokohama; Wanchai in Hong Kong; Buggis Street in Singapore; Magsaysay in Olongapo In The GUT!! Feed the alligators. Going over S**t River bridge. 7 Seas!! Top Of The Mark Chiefs Club.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pe1UZYXQfY. It is located on the hill above Subic Bay. I see that RA5C and it brings tears to my eyes. They were and still are a beautiful airplane and way ahead of their time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyIOyQniNe0 for a better look!!

; and all the other places where fleet Sailors congregated.

People ask......."Where did all the Sailors go?"

Well shipmates......they didn't go anywhere.

You are asking the wrong question. You should ask, "Where did all the fleet Sailors go?"

Long ago........on payday night and in the nights following,.....these streets were a paradise to the American Sailors.

A person could look down the street and see neon signs advertising beer and bars and a sea of white hats bobbing up and down as Sailors made their way from bar to bar.

At liberty call these became a shopping center for intoxicating beverages and female companionship. .

And in some places a Second Class could get that new First Class crow sewn on or on some cases that old Third Class crow sewn back on.

No need for crows these days. It is all collar and hat devices. I don't see much need for dress uniforms these days. The only time you see it worn is when a ship is leaving or returning from a deployment or standing a Quarterdeck watch. Or some old guy at Memorial Day and Veterans Day Services.

The smoking lamp is cold and probably over the side or being saved for recycling or Mary Soo is Fraud, Waste, Abuse and misappropriation of government property.

Instead of trading useless gear to Mary Soo for painting the ship while in Hong Kong, the Navy now recycles and lets a multi-thousand dollar contract to get the job done.

Smoking is now frowned upon. Surface ships limit smoking to a tiny, uncomfortable topside space.

My shipmates in the Bubble Head world can no longer smoke anyplace aboard the boat. Municipalities and states have also jumped on the bandwagon and banned smoking in bars and restaurants.

Drive past any bar or lounge and you will see a group standing on the corner smoking and no, they cannot bring their drinks outside. It is against the law to drink in public.

The base clubs are closed. They no longer exist or have been converted to MWR game rooms where the strongest drink available is a lousy Red Bull.

Quarterdecks of ships, in addition to a podium, log books, long glass, and weapon are now equipped with a Breathalyzer and probably a watch stander to operate it.

Many commands are requiring that Sailors refrain from drinking the day prior to a duty day.

Back in the day, a Sailor ashore knew that his shipmates had his back. Whether in a confrontation with a Sailor from another ship, Marines, or Limeys, he knew his shipmates would stand with him.

Too much to drink? A shipmate would help you back aboard and even help you to your rack. You would do the same for him.

These days, you are assigned a "Liberty Buddy." You are to stay together.

Before you go ashore, you have to formulate a "Liberty Plan" and get it approved by your Department/Division Liberty Coordinator. If during your liberty, you or your Liberty Buddy change your plan, you must contact your Liberty Coordinator and get the change approved.

I surmise that, "I'll be in the Barrio some place getting drunk." would not be an acceptable liberty plan. Always worked for me!

They were more than streets and bars.

First and foremost, they were the repositories of small bits and pieces of the history of America's forces afloat.

They were the unofficial clubhouses of those of us who went to sea on old gray steel under the flag of the United States.

They were places where a thirsty Sailor could go and park his butt where Sailors of earlier fleets had parked theirs.

They were the poor man's Valhalla, where Sailors who plowed deep salt water could go and share fellowship and sea stories with fellow practitioners of the nautical arts.

A place where well-intention exaggeration and BS-gilded, flawed recollection were readily forgiven and accepted.

They were places where lonely strays could tie up alongside a warm feminine fanny on a cold night.

Where did the streets and the bars go you ask?

Where the hell? (Or better yet today, WTF?)

"Any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, I SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY."

President John F. Kennedy.
1 August 1963

BTW!! The phrase “ drunk as a sailor” still rankles me!!