Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

MAP: WHERE FEDS ARE TRYING TO RELOCATE ILLEGAL BORDER SURGERS

Since the border surge gained coverage from the mainstream media last month, the Obama Administration has tried to relocate tens of thousands of newly-arrived illegal aliens to communities across the country.
 

NumbersUSA is daily updating this interactive map to show which communities are under threat of the federal government moving large numbers of illegal aliens there from the border. 

Click HERE for the interactive map

The Man Song

AG Gansler Secures Relief for E-book Consumers from Apple

Agreement resolves retailer's participation in E-book price-fixing scheme $9.36 million in damages due Maryland consumers contingent upon pending decision by federal appeals court
 
Baltimore, MD (July 16, 2014) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today announced that he has secured a proposed settlement to provide consumer relief from Apple Inc. related to the company's participation in a price-fixing conspiracy in the E-book marketplace. The settlement agreement, which remains subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, would resolve claims for consumer damages and civil penalties brought by Maryland and 32 other states and territories. Maryland consumers account for over two percent of E-book purchases nationwide and could receive up to $9.36 million depending on the outcome of a pending federal appeals court ruling.
"Maryland consumers lost millions of dollars due to this price-fixing scheme, and this settlement will compensate those who have been harmed," said Attorney General Gansler. "Those who violate our antitrust laws with collusion of this type are attempting to keep retail prices artificially high and profit from the harm they do to the average consumer."

Study: Only executives get richer in crony capitalism

In what may come as heartbreak for the U.S. lobbying industry, a new study suggests business success or failure has little to do with political connections.

The study, published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., finds that political activity has no significant effect on the performance of most firms and industries.

Company executives, however, well, that’s a different story.

While lobbying on behalf of industry has soared amid increasing government handouts and sweetheart crony capitalism deals, the study’s authors, economists Russell Sobel and Rachel Graefe-Anderson, find little evidence that firms or their shareholders benefit.

“We do, however, find a robust and significant positive relationship between political activity and executive compensation,” the economists state. “Therefore, while industry and firm-level performance are not robustly related to ‘cronyism,’ executive compensation is — suggesting that any benefits gained from corporate political activity are largely captured by firm executives.”

More

GOVERNING FOR RESULTS’ SERIES TO HIGHLIGHT PROGRESS ON HOMELAND SECURITY INITIATIVES

Maryland State Police Press Release
07/16/2014
Governor O’Malley, State Officials to make ceremonial second call on “MARYLAND FiRST”, the statewide 700 MHz radio system

(Baltimore, MD) – As part of the ‘Governing for Results’ series, Governor Martin O’Malley will join Colonel Marcus Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, and several other state and local officials to make the ceremonial second call marking the completion of the second phase of the Maryland First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team or “Maryland FiRST.”

The ‘Governing for Results’ series focuses on Maryland’s progress in achieving measurable improvements in the areas of opportunity (jobs and schools), sustainability, public safety and public health. The events will focus on strategies and efforts the State is using to achieve the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s 16 goals. 

The “Maryland FiRST” project is one of Governor O’Malley’s core goals for homeland security in providing interoperable communications to connect Maryland’s first responders on one secure 700 MHz radio system; the launch of phase 2 completes coverage of the entire Eastern Shore region. The event will include a demonstration of the system’s capability connecting state and local first responders across the Eastern Shore. Governor O’Malley made the ceremonial first call on the new radio system in June 2012, as the first phase of the project kicked off in Central Maryland.

WHAT: GOVERNOR O’MALLEY MAKES CEREMONIAL SECOND CALL ON “MARYLAND FiRST,” THE NEW 700 MHz RADIO SYSTEM

WHEN: FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014, 11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON

WHERE: TALBOT COUNTY COMMUNITY CENTER
10028 OCEAN GATEWAY, EASTON, MD 21601
(410) 770-8050

Republican White House Hopefuls Start With Eye on Clinton

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) addresses the Faith and Freedom Coalition's 'Road to Majority' Policy Conference on June 20, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Republican jockeying in the 2016 U.S. presidential primary is becoming a contest over who will become the alternative to the Tea Party’s candidate.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is the favorite of the small-government movement, and Republican rivals are starting to gang up on him to argue that he could dim the party’s chances against a Democratic Party unified behind Hillary Clinton.

“It feels good to be the anti-establishment figure until the entire establishment comes raining down on you, and that’s what they’re going to do to him,” radio talk show host Laura Ingraham said of Paul in an interview. “I’m a little surprised it’s happening so early.”

Texas Governor Rick Perry delivered a rebuke of Paul in the Washington Post, casting him as an isolationist who would let terrorism fester beyond U.S. borders.

Paul is “curiously blind” to the threat of the Islamic State in Iraq and “drawing his own red line along the water’s edge, creating a giant moat where superpowers can retire from the world,” Perry wrote in a July 11 opinion piece.

“I’m with Perry on that,” former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, a failed candidate in 2012 Republican primary, said yesterday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Ohio Senator Rob Portman told Bloomberg News last week that he may run for president if he doesn’t see a viable Republican candidate with the experience and temperament to manipulate the levers of power in Washington -- an implicit criticism of Paul.

More

RELEASED ALIEN FROM BORDER CRISIS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED MURDER, KIDNAPPING IN TEXAS

LUBBOCK, Texas—An illegal immigrant who was released by U.S. authorities with a Notice to Appear has been arrested for the alleged murder of a woman and kidnapping of children on U.S. soil. The alleged crimes occurred after the man was released.

The man, Pedro Alberto Monterroso-Navas, entered the U.S. illegally with children and turned himself in to U.S. Border Patrol agents. He was processed and released, as are all illegal immigrants who come as unaccompanied minors or incomplete family units from Central America. The alien is from Honduras.

The arrest was first reported by the Associated Press (AP), but Breitbart Texas has exclusively confirmed that the man was part of the Obama Administration’s catch and release policy for family groups from Central America.

More

How Heavy Pot Use Impacts The Brain's Happiness Center

People who use marijuana heavily appear to have blunted brain responses to dopamine, a chemical messenger associated with pleasant feelings, motivation and reward.

This diminished response might help explain why some people abuse cannabis, scientists write July 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Rockville, Md., and colleagues tested brain and body responses of 24 heavy marijuana users.

On average, these people smoked nearly five joints a day, five days a week and had been using marijuana for a decade.

These marijuana users had weaker responses to the stimulant methylphenidate, which is used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, than nonusers, the team found. Users reported a less intense “high” from methylphenidate, which increases dopamine in the brain.

More

'Bumpy' Economy Brings Some Hiring, A Lot Of Caution, Too

Skip Staggers needs to hire two or three more electricians now and probably another 10 to 12 in a few months, but that doesn’t mean business at his electrical contracting and service firm is surging.

Staggers, president of Hagerstown-based MEC Inc., said Thursday he’s been able to land several contracts throughout the region, but locally, “I don’t feel improvement. We see very few jobs locally to bid.”

And, really, overall, “The construction bid market is still really flat,” he said. “I guess I’m being optimistic. ... We’re crossing our fingers that things improve.”
More

Former US Attorney on Holder's Racism Charge: 'Comments Are Beneath His Office'

Md. Officials Provide Update On Health Exchange

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A Maryland official says a computer glitch with Connecticut's health exchange will be corrected in the version Maryland will be using as it revamps its own troubled website with Connecticut's technology.

Isabel FitzGerald, the state's secretary of information technology, told a legislative oversight panel Tuesday that Maryland is on schedule to have its flawed website fixed with the new technology in time for the next open enrollment period in November.

The glitch in Connecticut led to about 900 canceled plans and affected thousands of others. Connecticut has installed a temporary fix, and a permanent one is planned to be completed later this week.

More

The Bureaucratic Blob That Is Ruining America

American democracy in 2014 is “basically run by dead people – by past generations of legislators and regulators who wrote the laws and regulations that dictate today’s public policy,” says attorney Philip K. Howard in his latest book, The Rule of Nobody. Dead people “allocate most of the annual budgets and micromanage public choices. It’s not surprising that Washington works so badly. Imagine if you had to run a business by following every idea that any former manager ever had.”

The founder of Common Good, a reform activist group, Howard has made a career of trying to fix broken government, but he’s not just a voice in the wilderness. He has the ear of at least one person who may be poised to make changes in the future. Jeb Bush, a potential presidential candidate in 2016, cited Howard’s book, The Rule of Nobody, in a commencement address this year at Grove City College in Pennsylvania:

“He [Howard] compellingly talks about the confusing and complicated nature now of rulemaking at every level of government,” said Bush. “He argues that government itself is making America more inept. I agree. It seems to me that it’s time now for us to be bolder, to sunset the obsolete rules that exist so that the next generation can truly rise up.”

More

He Pulled Over a Fellow Police Officer for Speeding. What Happened Next Had More Cops Rushing to the Scene.

It started simply enough: Miami police officer Marcel Jackson saw a car speeding, and after he chased it down for a few blocks the car pulled over.

But things quickly got crazy — and Jackson wound up suspended because of it, WPLG-TV reported.

“I stopped him… because he approached a pedestrian,” Jackson said on a recorded phone call afterwards. “He was flying, so I pulled him over.”

Jackson approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver.

More

U.S drug policy is to blame for surge of migrants from Central America

Honduran President Juan Hernandez has blamed U.S. drug policy for sparking violence in Central American countries and driving a surge of migration to the United States, according to an interview published today.

Hernandez, who took office in January after winning on a pledge to be tough on crime, said only a drop in violence would curb the wave of families and unaccompanied minors fleeing Central America.

A surge in minors leaving Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have overwhelmed temporary detention facilities on the U.S. border.

'Honduras has been living in an emergency for a decade,' Hernandez told Mexican daily newspaper Excelsior.

'The root cause is that the United States and Colombia carried out big operations in the fight against drugs. Then Mexico did it.'

More

AGGRESSIVE DOG SHOT AFTER ATTACKING TROOPER IN ST. MARY’S CO.

Maryland State Police Press Release
07/16/2014
(MECHANICSVILLE, MD) – A large pit bull was wounded after it attacked a Maryland State Trooper responding to an unconscious person this morning, in St. Mary’s County. 

Just after 9:00 a.m. today, a trooper from the Leonardtown Barrack responded to the 47000 block of King Drive, Mechanicsville, Md., for the report of a person not breathing at the residence. When the trooper arrived a non-responsive male was lying in the back door of the house. As the trooper entered the residence, a large pit bull began to charge. As the dog attempted to bite, the trooper struck the animal with her baton. The dog retreated outside of the residence. The trooper was unable to close the door because of the position of the unconscious subject. 

Moments later, the pit bull attack a second time grabbing the baton, pulling it from the trooper’s hand. The dog dropped the baton and lunged at the trooper biting her on the right foot. In fear for her safety, the trooper fired her State Police issued .40 caliber pistol, wounding the dog and ending the threat. The dog fled the scene. 

Maryland State Police investigators responded to the scene and are conducting an investigation. They interviewed multiple residents in the area who were familiar with the dog. Witnesses revealed this pit bull has bitten others in the past.

St. Mary’s County Animal Control also responded to the scene. They are currently search the area for the wounded dog. The investigation is continuing. 

CONTACT: Sgt. Marc Black – 410-653-4236 or through the HQ duty officer at 410-653-4200

Jack Lew Calls For ‘Economic Patriotism’ To End Tax Maneuver

The Obama administration late Tuesday called on Congress to immediately pass legislation to block U.S.-based multinational companies from moving their headquarters overseas in order to get a lower tax rate.

In a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called for a “new sense of economic patriotism” in which U.S.-based companies are no longer allowed to do “inversion” transactions only for the purposes of changing their tax domicile.

Several such transactions have been proposed recently including by U.S. drug makers Abbvie and Mylan. Lew wants legislation to be retroactive to May to block such transactions.

More

Ron Paul: The Collapse Is Close

Crews Recover Bodies of Missing Boaters

Search teams have had a busy few days on Maryland waterways.

The Coast Guard says three boaters are dead in two separate accidents in the Baltimore area.

A fourth boater is still missing.

The Guard's Baltimore detachment said Tuesday morning it has suspended its search pending further developments for 40-year-old John Jones after he failed to return from an outing in Cunninghill Cove near Middle River Monday evening.

More

"If America Doesn't ABOLISH the FED, the FED will ABOLISH America"

I Lost My Wife, She Went Shopping And Hasn't Come Back Yet


The ‘Man-Caused Disaster’

The child-migrant crisis is largely attributable to one man: President Barack Obama.

The flood of underage — and non-underage — illegal immigrants from Central America coming across the border in Texas is, to paraphrase a former Obama administration official, a “man-caused disaster.” The man who caused it, more than anyone else, is Barack Obama.

Speaking at political fundraisers in Dallas and Austin last week — he refused to do a “photo-op” on the border, first things first — Obama placed the blame on House Republicans for not having passed a comprehensive immigration bill as the Democrat-controlled Senate did in June 2013.

But it wasn’t only Republicans who failed to pass such a bill. House Democrats didn’t pass one either in 2009 or 2010, when they had a bigger majority than Republicans have had in 80 years.

House Democrats’ priorities were the stimulus package, Obamacare, and cap-and-trade legislation to address supposed global warming. They passed all three despite negative polling — and even though cap-and-trade had no chance in the Senate.

More

SFD Calls For Service 7-15-14

  • Tuesday July, 15 2014 @ 22:18 Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
  • Tuesday July, 15 2014 @ 21:15 Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
  • Tuesday July, 15 2014 @ 20:40 Nature: Debris In RoadwayAddress: N Park Dr & Schumaker Ln Salisbury, MD 21801
  • Tuesday July, 15 2014 @ 20:39Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
  • Tuesday July, 15 2014 @ 20:13Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury

The costly fantasy of impeaching Obama

The Democrats owe a growing debt to the Republican red-hots pursuing the fantasy of impeaching Barack Obama. They’re collecting a lot of cash — probably not as much as they claim, but a lot — from the naive and excitable folks in the Democratic base. Outrage is easily convertible to cash, as every bagman knows, and the Republicans should get a cut of it. Fair is fair.

Sarah Palin, who as a former governor knows better than to confuse hoping with doing, is leading the baying hounds this week. She told an audience the other day that “the many impeachable offenses of President Obama can no longer be ignored. If after all this, he’s not impeachable, then no one is.”

She’s right about that second part. No one is. We’ve tried impeachment twice, and neither time the weapon worked. That’s because the impeachment of a president is first a political act, an indictment by the House of Representatives, and only then a trial in the Senate. The Founders didn’t intend it to be easy. The prosecutors must have not only a solid legal case, but an airtight political case as well.

Barack Obama has lost the confidence of much of the public, but proving him guilty of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” would necessarily be the work of “high politics and runaway partisanship,” and there’s nothing in the law or the Constitution against that. Many people have concluded that the president is an incompetent jerk, but that’s not impeachable.

More

It’s Not Because You’re Black, Mr. Holder

In his Sunday interview on ABC’s This Week, Attorney General Eric Holder showed with crystal clarity that he is an ugly, contemptible demagogue. “There’s a certain level of vehemence, it seems to me, that’s directed at me [and] directed at the president,” he said. “You know, people talking about taking their country back…. There’s a certain racial component to this for some people. I don’t think this is the thing that is a main driver, but for some there’s a racial animus.” So, since Mr. Holder insists on pretending that he’s too stupid to understand the very simple fact that every single one of his critics can quite easily cite a lengthy list of very legitimate reasons to denounce him in the strongest possible terms, let’s play along, shall we? Let’s explain to the poor, bewildered Attorney General why—for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with race—many Americans say they wish to “take their country back.”

Holder was a key figure entrusted with the task of vetting the Clinton administration’s 176 last-minute pardons in January 2001. The beneficiaries of those pardons included former Weather Underground members Susan Rosenberg (involved in a deadly 1981 armed robbery) and Linda Evans (who was in possession of 740 pounds of dynamite at the time of her arrest in 1985).

More

State police now fingerprinting every Texan

HOUSTON – The Texas Department of Public Safety has quietly embarked on a project to take the fingerprints of every Texan old enough to drive over the next 12 years, and add them to a statewide criminal history database.

Not only has the department made that momentous decision on its own, it doesn’t even have clear legal authority to do so.

The credit for breaking the news on those two items goes to consumer affairs columnist Dave Lieber of the Dallas Morning News, whose long-running “Watchdog” column often shows up in my Google Alerts, for obvious reasons.

More

Arizona Protesters Hope To Stop Immigrant Transfer

ORACLE, Ariz. (AP) -- Protesters carrying "Return to Sender" and "Go home non-Yankees" signs faced off with immigrant rights activists Tuesday in a small Arizona town after a sheriff said a bus filled with Central American children was on its way.

The rallies demonstrated the deep divide of the immigration debate as groups on both sides -- and in similar numbers -- showed up in Oracle to speak out on the issue.

It turned heated at times, with shouting matches and a group of mariachi musicians getting shoved before the skirmishes were quelled.

More

A Viewer Writes: Andy Harris Will Definitely Get My Vote AGAIN!

This Article explains how Andy Harris Alerted enough people so that the plans of DHS and Maryland Governor to relocate a large number of recent illegal immigrants to Westminster, (outside Baltimore) had to be thwarted.

Thank God “We the People” have at least one elected official in this state who is level headed and looking out for us!!

More

Barack Obama Admits He Lied to Get Elected

Barrack Obama never ceases to amaze the people and his recent trip to Texas proves it once again. Obama stood in front of the crowd to tell them that he can now be honest because he is no longer able to run for office. This admission can only mean one thing and that is the president lied during his campaign to run for the presidency.

That is no secret to those who opposed Obama, but his supporters never seemed to understand just how untruthful that man was in spite of the many lies he was caught in. The president visited Texas recently; however, he refused to visit the borders or discuss the illegal immigration problem that is occurring in that state right now.

President Obama further stated in his loose lips speech that he was not a partisan man. He swears that his favorite president was the first republican president, Lincoln. It is difficult to believe that statement from a man who vowed to get revenge on the people who did not agree with him in his first four years of the presidency.

More

Ex-Prosecutor Charged With Trying To Have Another Lawyer Killed

A former county prosecutor in Michigan is in court for allegedly trying to carry out a bizarre plot to murder another lawyer who once opposed him.

The former prosecutor, Clarence Gomery, allegedly tried to pay a hit man $20,000 to kill another local attorney, Christopher Cooke, Traverse City authorities told the Associated Press. Cooke represented an ex-business partner of Gomery's who sued him for fraud and malpractice. Gomery is charged with solicitation of murder.

A judge had previously ordered Gomery to pay the partner $315,000 for his legal fees, and Gomery filed for bankruptcy in April, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

More

Report Shows Two Thirds Of Americans Believe Elections Are Rigged

A recent Rasmussen poll indicated that of the Americans surveyed, over two thirds believe that incumbents are able to successfully rig elections to keep themselves in office. Over 68 percent of the responses indicated that they believe Congress’ high retention rate is due to the fact that lawmakers are able to exploit elections and use favorable advantages to keep themselves in office, not because their constituents are happy with the service they provide.

In addition to suspicions of a rigged system, almost half of the voters, a full 48 percent, believe that the American election system is unfair to votes. This is the highest response rate to this question since 2004. In this same survey, only 39 percent of the voters indicated that they believed elections were actually fair, and 14 percent decided that they were unsure.

House and Senate elections since 2012 has resulted in the incumbent being reelected to office almost 90% of the time. An incumbent president has only lost election four times over the past century. Incumbents do have a natural advantage because they do not have to campaign as much to get their name out there, and many voters will typically vote for the name they recognize without reason to do otherwise. These numbers, however, do indicate that a change in election processes may need to occur, even if the only result is that voters feel more confident in the officials that are elected in office.

Source

Grants, Tax Relief To Boost Eastern Shore Maryland Manufacturer

Maryland’s manufacturing industry has found allies on the State’s Eastern Shore. A unique partnership between State, county and local government in the region will assist a pharmaceutical manufacturer and others, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) announced Tuesday.

Aphena Pharma Solutions is slated to receive a $134,000 State grant on the condition that it retains a minimum of 100 jobs in its location in the Town of Easton for at least five years. The Town is also providing a $13,400 matching grant for the company, and both the Town and Talbot County Council have agreed to abolish the Town’s personal property tax for all qualifying manufacturers. Salisbury Pewter, Jasco USA and Chesapeake Publishing, among other Easton manufacturers, are also expected to take advantage of personal property tax savings.

“By working with our partners in Talbot County and the Town of Easton, as well the leadership of Aphena Pharma Solutions, we are preserving highly-skilled jobs and ensuring that this company will continue to grow and invest in Maryland,” said DBED Secretary Dominick Murray. “I applaud the County and Town for working with Aphena to develop a creative solution that not only spurs economic development, but helps grow manufacturing in Maryland.” The partnership, grants and tax relief package are the result of Aphena Pharma Solutions’ efforts to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration water regulations after the company began a $3 million expansion project in 2013. To address its need for a new potable water source, the company requested being annexed into Easton to access the Town’s water supply. To offset the cost of annexation, the Town voted to abolish its personal property tax for manufacturers. The County approved a $150,000 grant to the Town to offset the loss in tax revenue. Additional State and Town grants for the company followed.

More

This Prankster With a Fake Gun Met A Man With A Real Gun - Bearing Arms

Frederick County Sheriff Heading To Texas For Firsthand Look At Border Crisis

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, along with six other sheriffs from across the nation, will meet in McAllen, Texas, on Wednesday and Thursday to get a firsthand look at the recent border surge and to assess this new population’s potential local impact.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has taken custody of more than 57,000 unaccompanied children since Oct. 1, a 106 percent increase from fiscal 2013. Approximately 75 percent of these children are coming from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, arriving at the U.S. border after weeks of dangerous travel.

The seven sheriffs will meet with state and federal officials dealing with the situation, and they plan to press federal officials to take definitive steps to stop the influx of people entering the country illegally, according to a news release issued by Lt. Jennifer Bailey, Jenkins’ acting spokeswoman.

More

IRS Cut: Only $1 Billion?

BUDGET DEBATE AT CORRUPT AGENCY MISSES THE POINT …

The U.S. House of Representatives is debating cuts to the enforcement budget of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – an agency which receives $11 billion a year to implement America’s sprawling, antiquated and anti-competitive tax code.

Oh, and to discriminate against limited government groups in the process … (then lie about that and try to cover it up).

More

Study: Bay phosphorus pollution progress may be overstated

Two reports on the Chesapeake Bay cleanup find virtually no phosphorus pollution reduction in Eastern Shore waterways in the past 10 years and question whether the EPA is over-estimating farm pollutant reductions.

The two-year milestone progress report on the bay effort declared, “partners are making progress in Chesapeake Bay cleanup.” But, as they say, the devil is in the details.

The Environmental Integrity Project reports released Monday says the fine print might suggest all is not so rosy when it comes to Eastern Shore farm nutrient reduction. The EIP has offices in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. The nonprofit is a watchdog for environmental issues including coal, oil and gas, factory farms and the Chesapeake Bay, according to its website.

The reports said models used by the EPA and other bay states appear to be overstating the progress farms have made using cover crops, buffer planting and other practices to reduce pollution.

The EPA’s statewide assessment noted the same: “Maryland needs to improve their tracking, verification and reporting of BMPs in order to ensure the practices implemented are achieving the anticipated pollutant load reductions.”

The Environmental Integrity Project reports recommended more precise monitoring and putting a new farm pollution management program in place in Maryland.

“These reports provide a wealth of evidence that Maryland must move forward with implementing its long-promised Phosphorus Management Tool, which is critical to controlling he phosphorus pollution hotspots on the Eastern Shore,” said Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project.

More

State Passes Law To Ban Islamic Law

North Carolina is one of the latest states to pass a law that bans Islamic law. The state passed this without the signature of the governor. It is the seventh state to pass a law such as this. The law makes it to where judges aren’t allowed to consider Islamic laws during trials. Governor McCrory let the bill slide through on his desk without signing.

He said that the law is not necessary, but he didn’t do anything about trying to veto the bill. There are other southern states that have passed laws similar to this. Those who support the bill believe that it will protect the standards of American citizens. Foreign laws are not compatible with the laws of the United States, so they should not be considered when someone is in trial. However, the critics of the bill claim that the only thing it is doing is creating Muslim hatred. This is because there are already laws in the Constitution that override foreign ones. Some are saying that it is intended to alienate the Muslim community, getting them out of the state. This law is only limited to family courts, but some states have extended the their bills to cover commercial and other courts.

More

Common Core: Children’s Textbook Completely Rewrites Second Amendment

It’s no secret that the left loves to rewrite history to suit their needs, and has a penchant for distorting the truth as they see fit. Well a recent report from the Young Conservatives shows us that they’ve managed to do both in one sitting, and to make it worse it’s what they’re teaching our children.

Every freedom-loving American knows that the original text of the Second Amendment reads:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Now that we’re all up to speed on what the Constitution says, let’s take a look at the left’s redefined Second Amendment, as they would like to see it interpreted:

“This amendment states that people have the right to certain weapons, providing that they register them and they have not been in prison.”

How’s that for a complete overhaul?

More

Larry Hogan to address Maryland American Legion Convention in Ocean City

GOP candidate for governor will then attend Tawes Crab Feast in Crisfield, Md.

ANNAPOLIS
– Today in Ocean City, gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan will address the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary’s Department of Maryland’s annual convention where the Anne Arundel businessman is expected to call for the elimination of state income taxes on military pensions. The convention will take place at the Ocean City Convention Center. Both of Hogan’s addresses are open to credentialed media.

Following his addresses to the American Legion, Hogan and running mate Boyd Rutherford will travel to the Tawes Crab Feast and Clam Bake in Crisfield, Md. The event is located at 300 7th Street, Crisfield, Md. The campaign is expected to arrive to the event at approximately 12:45PM.

Where is Anthony?

Lt. Governor silent on continued failures of his Health Exchange as Conn. Exchange errors lead to thousands of cancelations.

Annapolis, MD –
Until the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange exploded on its launch pad last October, Anthony Brown was the $125,000,000 website's outspoken leader and staunchest advocate. Since its spectacular failure however, the Lt. Governor has been virtually mum.

During today's Joint Oversight Committee on the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, Lt. Governor Brown was noticeably absent from the proceedings, with Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, Joshua Sharfstein, at the helm. Although Sharfstein said, "there has been a tremendous amount of progress to this point," Exchange officials presented little if any evidence to support his claim. In fact, Secretary of Technology Isabel FitzGerald admitted she had "no idea" of the cost for the state's update to the Connecticut exchange.

"It seems the only thing we've learned from this committee meeting is that there are no goals, no understanding of costs, no reliable enrollment numbers, and no idea when, if ever, this monstrosity will be functioning," said GOP gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan.

The hearing comes a day after it was reported that the Connecticut Exchange, lauded by the Maryland officials as a $40 to $50 million dollar life raft for their useless system, had inexplicably cancelled thousands of insurance policies.

"Anthony Brown is pegging his promotion to governor on the notion that he’s learned from his mistakes on the rollout of the Health Exchange. Yet from secret meetings, missed deadlines, sketchy contracting and evasive answers, his administration seems to be retracing every misstep from the past several years.” Hogan said.

The Anne Arundel businessman reiterated his belief that the Exchange should be scrapped in favor of having residents use the now functioning federal exchange and private marketplaces for health insurance.

Worcester County Tea Party Monthly Meeting July 17


This Month Meeting - Thursday July 17, 7pm
Guest Speakers:
Chad Lingenfelder, Esq. will discuss Maryland Gun Laws and Gun
Trusts Estate Planning for your family.
Roger2
Roger Partridge owner of RPG Gunsmith,Manufacturer will discuss the manufacturing of various types of weapons that makes them legal in Maryland.
Doors open at 6:30 pm, meeting starts at 7 pm. Ocean Pines Community Center - 235 Ocean Pkwy., Ocean Pines, Md 21811

Hogan calls for elimination of state taxes on military pensions

Hogan calls for elimination of state taxes on military pensions; says O’Malley-Brown administration policies particularly hurt those on fixed incomes.

Ocean City, MD – July 16, 2014 – Speaking before the Maryland American Legion’s annual convention here, gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan today said as governor he would eliminate Maryland’s income tax on military pensions.  The Anne Arundel County businessman has for several years been among the state’s most vocal critics of the O’Malley-Brown administration’s 40 straight tax increases and their disproportionate impact on those on fixed incomes.
The full text of Hogan’s remarks at the American Legion Department of Maryland’s annual convention in Ocean City follows:
Thank you, I’m happy to be with you and I appreciate this opportunity to speak with so many members of Maryland’s American Legion.
Let me start by sincerely thanking each and every one of you for your service. It is indeed an honor to be here with you.
Maryland’s sons and daughters have fought and died in every battle since the Revolutionary War. Many of you made incredible sacrifices fighting to protect our way of life. 
Whether it was in a field in France, in the South Pacific, the hills of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, the streets of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan, you gave more of yourselves than most of us can ever fully know.
Thousands of Marylanders have made the ultimate sacrifice and countless more bear visible and invisible wounds that in many cases will never heal. 
Often decades after you hung up your fatigues you are still working tirelessly in many ways to strengthen our communities, to build up the next generation of leaders and to advocate for your fellow veterans.
In many ways, you’ve never stopped serving, and our state and our nation are better off because of it. 

Orwell Would Be Proud: US Media Admits Divine Right To Decide What Public Needs To Know

Yesterday afternoon, I happened to read a seemingly innocuous enough article in Time by Justin Lynch titled: Bloggers, Surveillance and Obama’s Orwellian State. The article covered the usual bases. Such as the fact the Obama Administration is the least transparent ever, how it has attacked whistleblowers and journalists more than all other Presidents combined, and how citizen journalists pose a threat to the corrupt and dying status quo. All things that we already know.

One of the people quoted in the article is Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times, Thom Shanker, who proudly noted “his employer has implemented rigorous standards to balance the security risks of reporting classified information with the public’s right to know.”

While this guy’s assumption that bureaucrats and media personalities posses this divine right to decide what the public “has a right to know,” is extremely disturbing in its own right, what it really masks is a deep seated opinion of his own superiority compared to the unwashed masses. This seems to really come out in the extraordinarily disturbing final paragraph of the article:

The government really needs to get its message out to the American people, and it knows that the best way to do that is by using the American news media, said Shanker. The relationship between the government and the media is like a marriage; it is a dysfunctional marriage to be sure, but we stay together for the kids.

More

The SFD Particiates In "Service Week".



The Salisbury Fire Department, Neighborhood Services & Code Compliance, Salisbury Police Department, Department of Public Works, and Building Permits & Inspections began a new program this week called "Service Week." This program is designed to provide a saturation of city services to residents in the Princeton Homes and President's area neighborhoods during the week of July 14 through July 18, 2014. 

During this effort, the SFD members knock on each and every door to check for working smoke alarms in homes, replace faulty alarms, and replace the batteries to the alarms as needed. This is a free service to City of Salisbury residents provided by the SFD.

Over the past two days the SFD has already directly knocked on a total of 282 homes, replacing 7% of the existing smoke alarms and 9% of the existing batteries in the homes visited.


"This program is only on day two and has already become a huge success," said Inspections Lieutenant Eric Cramer.

Former Judge: Penalty for Obama's Crimes is "10-Years... to Life in Prison"

A Viewer Writes: AT&T Robbed At Gunpoint Last Night In Salisbury

"Just in case they try to hide this one with the various other crimes".

Holder Takes Aim At "Homegrown Violent Extremists" Who Have "Domestic Concerns"

Isn’t It Rich?

WASHINGTON — CHELSEA CLINTON never acted out during the eight years she came of age as America’s first daughter.

No ditching of her Secret Service detail. No fake IDs for underage tippling. No drug scandal. No court appearance in tank top and toe ring. Not even any dirty dancing.

Despite a tough role as the go-between in the highly public and embarrassing marital contretemps of her parents, Chelsea stayed classy.

So it’s strange to see her acting out in a sense now, joining her parents in cashing in to help feed the rapacious, gaping maw of Clinton Inc.

With her 1 percenter mother under fire for disingenuously calling herself “dead broke” when she left the White House, why would Chelsea want to open herself up to criticism that she is gobbling whopping paychecks not commensurate with her skills, experience or role in life?

As the 34-year-old tries to wean some of the cronies from the Clinton Foundation — which is, like the Clintons themselves, well-intended, wasteful and disorganized — Chelsea is making speeches that go into foundation coffers. She is commanding, as The Times’s Amy Chozick reported, up to $75,000 per appearance.

Chozick wrote: “Ms. Clinton’s speeches focus on causes like eradicating waterborne diseases. (‘I’m obsessed with diarrhea’ is a favorite line.)”

More

You Want a Solution? Try Not to Get Hurt When It Collapses, Then Start Over

Once the deadwood piles high enough, the random lightning strike ignites a fire so fast-moving and so hot that it cannot be suppressed, and the entire financial system burns to the ground.

In discussing our broken healthcare system with a 22-year college graduate, I opined that Obamacare hadn't fixed anything that was broken. She observed that real reform was impossible due to vested interests and the only real solution was to "start over."

Exactly.

More

Yellen Needs to Admit Inflation Is Threatening

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will testify to Congress Tuesday and Wednesday about the economy and future Fed policy. We won't learn much about either, because the Fed refuses to recognize the facts on the ground.

Its policymaking committee recently stated inflation is below 2 percent. Yet, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer price inflation has been accelerating since March and is now 4 percent.

The committee asserts the economy and labor market are improving, but that denies the trials of most ordinary Americans whose wages continue to lag inflation or the many who remain unemployed.

More

Obamacare’s Biggest Legal Threat

In Halbig, the courts may finally force Obama to work with Congress if he wants to rewrite the law.

The legal positions of President Obama’s Justice Department have been slapped down unanimously a remarkable 13 times in the Supreme Court in the last two years. Over and over, even Obama’s own two appointees to the court — Sonia Sotomayor and ElenaKagan — have held that the president has exceeded his authority and violated the separation of powers.This coming week, we could see the second-highest court in the land rule that the administration broke the law in enforcing a key provision of Obamacare, calling into question once again Obama’s fidelity to the Constitution — and further endangering his signature program.

The case of Halbig v. Sebelius (since renamed Halbig v. Burwell, for the current HHS secretary) was argued before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court in March. It attacks the central nervous system of Obamacare — the government exchanges that were set up to subsidize health insurance for low-income consumers. If the Supreme Court ultimately finds that the Obama administration violated the law in doling out those subsidies, it could force a wholesale revision of Obamacare. In January, The Hill quoted a key Obamacare supporter as saying that Halbig was “probably the most significant existential threat to the Affordable Care Act.” Jonathan Turley, a noted liberal constitutional-law expert at George Washington Law School, recently agreed, writing in the Los Angeles Times that Halbig “could leave Obamacare on life support.”

More

Picturing The March Of Tyranny


Remember When Democrats Booted Parentless Hispanic Children From the U.S.?

Attorney General Eric Holder can hardly contain his tears when explaining his program titled “Justice AmeriCorps,” to provide emergency legal representation for the tens of thousands of Central American minors crashing our southern border.

“How we treat those in need, particularly young people who must appear in immigration proceedings, many of whom are fleeing violence, persecution, abuse or trafficking – goes to the core of who we are as a nation,” Holder said while detailing his program to provide 100 lawyers and paralegals for the minors.

And yet it was (then) Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder who concocted the “legal” cover for the INS to mace, kick, stomp, and gun-butt their way into the home of Elian Gonzalez’s legal custodians (legal U.S. citizens and residents all) on the morning of April 22, 2000, wrench a bawling 6-year-old child from his family at machine-gun point and bundle him off to Castro’s terror-sponsoring fiefdom, leaving 102 people (legal U.S. citizens and residents all) injured, some seriously.

More