DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Michigan teachers who want to quit union trapped by obscure rule
Rob Wiersema teaches high school economics, and he knows the merits of a simple cost-benefit analysis.
Leaving the Michigan Education Association, he surmised, made economic sense. Another professional association he found, offered better benefits at a lower cost.
But his simple economics become complicated. The union didn’t want him to go.
In December 2012, Michigan passed a Right to Work law, which allowed teachers and other workers to keep their jobs without belonging to the union. Until then, union membership was all but a requirement for employment.
“I thought, great, I’m out,” Wiersema said. “As soon as I heard you could leave, I thought, great. My contract is up in 2013. I sent letters to the MEA and the local association to say I quit, but it obviously didn’t work.”
More
Leaving the Michigan Education Association, he surmised, made economic sense. Another professional association he found, offered better benefits at a lower cost.
But his simple economics become complicated. The union didn’t want him to go.
In December 2012, Michigan passed a Right to Work law, which allowed teachers and other workers to keep their jobs without belonging to the union. Until then, union membership was all but a requirement for employment.
“I thought, great, I’m out,” Wiersema said. “As soon as I heard you could leave, I thought, great. My contract is up in 2013. I sent letters to the MEA and the local association to say I quit, but it obviously didn’t work.”
More
Immigration - Yesterday vs. Today
This was written by Rosemary LaBonte to the editors of a California newspaper in response to an article written by Ernie Lujan who suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the immigrants of today aren’t being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry. The paper didn't print Rosemary's letter, so her husband sent it out via the Internet.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States , people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented.
Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved goodbye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy , France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.
When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the French American, the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy , France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
BOEHNER: Any Talk Of Obama Impeachment Is A Democratic 'Scam'
A visibly frustrated House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that House Republicans have no current or future plans to move to impeach President Barack Obama, calling any talk of impeachment a "scam" to help Democrats fundraise ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.
"We have no plans to impeach the president. We have no future plans. It's all a scam started by Democrats and the White House," Boehner said at a press conference Tuesday morning with other House Republican leaders.
Indeed, last weekend, Democratic campaign organizations blasted out no fewer than 21 fundraising emails alluding to a potential impeachment of Obama. The groups built off comments from White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer, who on Friday said he wouldn't "discount" the possibility of impeachment, amid Boehner's plan to sue Obama over a provision of the Affordable Care Act.
On Sunday, incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership, pointedly refused to rule out the possibility of impeachment when pressed on "Fox News Sunday."
More
"We have no plans to impeach the president. We have no future plans. It's all a scam started by Democrats and the White House," Boehner said at a press conference Tuesday morning with other House Republican leaders.
Indeed, last weekend, Democratic campaign organizations blasted out no fewer than 21 fundraising emails alluding to a potential impeachment of Obama. The groups built off comments from White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer, who on Friday said he wouldn't "discount" the possibility of impeachment, amid Boehner's plan to sue Obama over a provision of the Affordable Care Act.
On Sunday, incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership, pointedly refused to rule out the possibility of impeachment when pressed on "Fox News Sunday."
More
What Happened To This Crab?
After a morning of crabbing, a visitor and his young daughter brought this crab into the visitor center. Check out its deformed claw. What happened?
Crustaceans are invertebrates and have skeletons that are on the outside. In order to grow they have to molt or shed their exoskeleton. Before it can molt, the crab must create a new, soft, paper thin shell beneath the existing hard one. When the new shell is fully formed under the old shell, the crab stops eating and finds a safe place to begin molting.
Prior to coming out of its old, hard shell, the crab begins to absorb water into its tissues, causing it to swell up like a balloon. Eventually the outer shell splits at a seam that is located at the back of the crab where the carapace (top) and abdominal shells meet. Very gradually, as the crab pushes and compresses its appendages inside the old shell, the carapace begins to lift up. At this point, the the blue crab slides out of the back of the old shell. When it emerges, it is pillow soft. The crab immediately begins to pump water into its tissues again to make the new soft shell grow; it remains this way for up to 72 hours. During this period, we suspect that the crab in the picture below got attacked by a predator.
When threatened, the crab’s first instinct is to raise its claws as a warning to the potential predator. It is very likely that the predator called the crab’s bluff and grabbed its soft claw. In doing so, the claw ripped in multiple places. Obviously the crab fought off its predator and its shell hardened up. When the crab molts again a new claw will emerge in place of the damaged one.
On Washington's Ukrainian Fiasco: "Who Is The Real Problem Here?"
In just 800 words Pat Buchanan exposes the sheer juvenile delinquency embodied in Washington’s current Ukrainian fiasco. He accomplishes this by reminding us of the sober restraint that governed the actions of American Presidents from FDR to Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush I with respect to Eastern Europe during far more perilous times.
In a word, as much as they abhorred the brutal Soviet repression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, the Prague Spring in 1968 and the solidarity movement in Poland in the early 1980s, among many other such incidents, they did not threaten war for one simple reason: These unfortunate episodes did not further endanger America’s national security. Instead, in different ways each of these Presidents searched for avenues of engagement with the often disagreeable and belligearent leaders of the Soviet Empire because they “felt that America could not remain isolated from the rulers of the world’s largest nation”.
Accordingly, during the entire span from 1933, when FDR recognized the Soviet Union, until 1991, when it ended, the US never once claimed Ukraine’s independence was part of its foreign policy agenda or a vital national security interest. Why in the world, therefore, should we be meddling in the backyard of a far less threatening Russia today?
More
In a word, as much as they abhorred the brutal Soviet repression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, the Prague Spring in 1968 and the solidarity movement in Poland in the early 1980s, among many other such incidents, they did not threaten war for one simple reason: These unfortunate episodes did not further endanger America’s national security. Instead, in different ways each of these Presidents searched for avenues of engagement with the often disagreeable and belligearent leaders of the Soviet Empire because they “felt that America could not remain isolated from the rulers of the world’s largest nation”.
Accordingly, during the entire span from 1933, when FDR recognized the Soviet Union, until 1991, when it ended, the US never once claimed Ukraine’s independence was part of its foreign policy agenda or a vital national security interest. Why in the world, therefore, should we be meddling in the backyard of a far less threatening Russia today?
More
GOP: ‘Fire Harry Reid’ For Ignoring 300-Plus Bills Now Languishing on His Desk
“It’s time to fire Harry Reid,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said at the rally, standing next to a towering pile of the bills.
Blackburn and other speakers listed the bills by category: 43 deal with job creation, 31 to reign in government spending, 15 in support of veterans and numerous on energy, including H.R. 3 to approve the construction, operation and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline. The latter has been under review by the Obama administration for more almost six years:
More
Patent Workers Paid To Exercise, Shop And Do Chores, Investigation Reveals
Dozens of employees working for an obscure federal agency went years with little work to do, allowing them to collect salaries and bonuses while they shopped online, caught up on chores, watched television or walked the dog, an investigation revealed Tuesday.
The probe by the Commerce Department’s inspector general found that paralegals at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s appeals board were paid more than $5 million for their time even though there was so little work for them to do that supervisors didn’t care how they used it.
“I almost don’t blame [paralegals] for watching TV because, I mean, you’re sitting around for 800 hours,” one chief judge told the investigators, who found that supervisors not only tolerated the problem but in one instance admonished an employee who complained about the lack of work.
More
The probe by the Commerce Department’s inspector general found that paralegals at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s appeals board were paid more than $5 million for their time even though there was so little work for them to do that supervisors didn’t care how they used it.
“I almost don’t blame [paralegals] for watching TV because, I mean, you’re sitting around for 800 hours,” one chief judge told the investigators, who found that supervisors not only tolerated the problem but in one instance admonished an employee who complained about the lack of work.
More
Two of Delmarva’s Most Respected Health Systems Form HealthPartners Delmarva
Bayhealth of Dover, Delaware, with hospitals in Dover and Milford, and Peninsula Regional Health System of Salisbury, Maryland, which operates Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC), have formed HealthPartners Delmarva. The collaboration allows each hospital to share the best practices of both organizations, but is not a financial purchase of one health system by the other. The partnership is focused on collaborating to improve patient care and access and is not a consolidation of workforces.
HealthPartners Delmarva was developed and approved by the Boards of each health system to better implement the healthcare Triple Aim of improving the experience for the patient, improving the health of our communities and creating a way for people to obtain those services in the most affordable setting.
More
Seems Like Old Times (Crony Capitalism Mix)
Fighting parasitic bureaucracies and crony capitalism, 17th-century style.
‘Pare down the parasitic fringe” of government. “Favour a gospel of work” instead of aristocratic entitlement. “Rationalize finance” and “reverse the Parkinson’s Law of bureaucracy.”
All that sounds like rhetoric from the Tea Party or reform conservatives assailing what they call crony capitalism. But it’s not a contemporary criticism. Those are phrases from a long essay, written more than half a century ago, by the British historian Hugh R. Trevor-Roper, titled “The General Crisis of the 17th Century.”
In his plummy prose, Trevor-Roper sought to explain why revolutions or revolts of varying sorts broke out in the British Isles, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany in the years between 1640 and 1660. He was especially eager to refute Marxist historians’ claims that these were the necessary predicate to what their master proclaimed would be the inevitable and beneficent communist revolutions that unaccountably had not yet occurred.
Trevor-Roper argues that the growing nation-states of the 1500s, engorged with New World silver and inflationary currencies, built up large bureaucracies that stifled trade and manufactures. The Counter-Reformation Catholic Church had a similar effect.
These bureaucracies were particularly expensive because rulers gave their favorites “the right to exploit their fellow subjects,” with monopolies in particular commodities and grants of land they could profitably dispose of. Crony capitalism was squeezing out a potentially productive private sector.
It’s not hard to see some resemblance to America today. The federal-bureaucracy head count is not significantly larger than it was 50 years ago. But the federal impact is much greater, through entitlement programs, subcontracted welfare provisions, and regulation that favors entrenched interests.
Thus the Dodd-Frank Act gives favored financial institutions too-big-to-fail status that enables them to muscle aside potential competitors. The Export-Import Bank provides special favors to a few giant corporations, but there are few loans to start-up businesses.
More
‘Pare down the parasitic fringe” of government. “Favour a gospel of work” instead of aristocratic entitlement. “Rationalize finance” and “reverse the Parkinson’s Law of bureaucracy.”
All that sounds like rhetoric from the Tea Party or reform conservatives assailing what they call crony capitalism. But it’s not a contemporary criticism. Those are phrases from a long essay, written more than half a century ago, by the British historian Hugh R. Trevor-Roper, titled “The General Crisis of the 17th Century.”
In his plummy prose, Trevor-Roper sought to explain why revolutions or revolts of varying sorts broke out in the British Isles, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany in the years between 1640 and 1660. He was especially eager to refute Marxist historians’ claims that these were the necessary predicate to what their master proclaimed would be the inevitable and beneficent communist revolutions that unaccountably had not yet occurred.
Trevor-Roper argues that the growing nation-states of the 1500s, engorged with New World silver and inflationary currencies, built up large bureaucracies that stifled trade and manufactures. The Counter-Reformation Catholic Church had a similar effect.
These bureaucracies were particularly expensive because rulers gave their favorites “the right to exploit their fellow subjects,” with monopolies in particular commodities and grants of land they could profitably dispose of. Crony capitalism was squeezing out a potentially productive private sector.
It’s not hard to see some resemblance to America today. The federal-bureaucracy head count is not significantly larger than it was 50 years ago. But the federal impact is much greater, through entitlement programs, subcontracted welfare provisions, and regulation that favors entrenched interests.
Thus the Dodd-Frank Act gives favored financial institutions too-big-to-fail status that enables them to muscle aside potential competitors. The Export-Import Bank provides special favors to a few giant corporations, but there are few loans to start-up businesses.
More
Glenn Beck Says if Jesse Ventura Had Any ‘Character’ Left, He Would Do This for Chris Kyle’s Family
The late Navy SEAL sniper wrote in his book that he punched a man, whom he later identified as Ventura, after the man allegedly said the Navy SEALs “deserve to lose a few.” Ventura denied the claim and filed a lawsuit against Kyle before Kyle’s death last year.
Beck made it clear that he trusts Kyle’s word over Ventura’s, but said, “let’s just say the jury got this one right, that Chris Kyle was lying about this.”
“This is where we go back to justice and mercy, and we have to be a nation that understands justice and mercy,” Beck continued. “So let’s just say something that I don’t believe, but let’s say that it worked out correctly, that Jesse Ventura was defamed. None of that happened and the jury got it right.”
“Jesse Ventura has done more damage to himself by now accepting that $1.8 million,” Beck said. “In what world does Jesse Ventura think he looks good beating up on a widow? When he started this lawsuit, Chris Kyle was alive. … You are now going after a widow. You are going after his children. You are taking $1.8 million from a family who doesn’t have $1.8 million. They don’t have it.”
The IRS Scandal and the Politicization of Justice
If you want a good illustration of how Attorney General Eric Holder has politicized the Justice Department and its prosecutorial decision-making, all you have to do is look at what Justice has not done in just one part of the IRS scandal. Despite its agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by the National Organization for Marriage against the IRS for the illegal disclosure of confidential tax information, it has not prosecuted any of the individuals or organizations who illegally disclosed and published that information.
The IRS, which was represented by Justice Department lawyers in the civil case, agreed to pay NOM $50,000 at the end of June over the agency’s illegal disclosure of confidential tax return information. 501(c)(4) organizations like NOM are required to file an IRS tax form, Schedule B, listing all of their donors who have contributed more than $5,000. But under federal law, that information is not available to the public since forced disclosure would obviously violate the First Amendment rights of the organization.
More
The IRS, which was represented by Justice Department lawyers in the civil case, agreed to pay NOM $50,000 at the end of June over the agency’s illegal disclosure of confidential tax return information. 501(c)(4) organizations like NOM are required to file an IRS tax form, Schedule B, listing all of their donors who have contributed more than $5,000. But under federal law, that information is not available to the public since forced disclosure would obviously violate the First Amendment rights of the organization.
More
The Absurd, Bureaucratic Hell That Is the American Police State
Theater of the absurd in the American police state grows more tragic and incomprehensible
“The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern.” —C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Whether it’s the working mother arrested for letting her 9-year-old play unsupervised at a playground, the teenager forced to have his genitals photographed by police, the underage burglar sentenced to 23 years for shooting a retired police dog, or the 43-year-old man who died of a heart attack after being put in a chokehold by NYPD officers allegedly over the sale of untaxed cigarettes, the theater of the absurd that passes for life in the American police state grows more tragic and incomprehensible by the day.
Debra Harrell, a 46-year-old South Carolina working mother, was arrested, charged with abandonment and had her child placed in state custody after allowing the 9-year-old to spend unsupervised time at a neighborhood playground while the mom worked a shift at McDonald’s. Mind you, the child asked to play outside, was given a cell phone in case she needed to reach someone, and the park—a stone’s throw from the mom’s place of work—was overrun with kids enjoying its swings, splash pad, and shade.
More
“The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern.” —C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Whether it’s the working mother arrested for letting her 9-year-old play unsupervised at a playground, the teenager forced to have his genitals photographed by police, the underage burglar sentenced to 23 years for shooting a retired police dog, or the 43-year-old man who died of a heart attack after being put in a chokehold by NYPD officers allegedly over the sale of untaxed cigarettes, the theater of the absurd that passes for life in the American police state grows more tragic and incomprehensible by the day.
Debra Harrell, a 46-year-old South Carolina working mother, was arrested, charged with abandonment and had her child placed in state custody after allowing the 9-year-old to spend unsupervised time at a neighborhood playground while the mom worked a shift at McDonald’s. Mind you, the child asked to play outside, was given a cell phone in case she needed to reach someone, and the park—a stone’s throw from the mom’s place of work—was overrun with kids enjoying its swings, splash pad, and shade.
More
Two charged in fatal Philly carjacking
(CNN) -- Philadelphia police said Monday they've apprehended two suspects in a Friday carjacking that left three children dead and their mother in critical condition.
Jonathon Rosa, 19, and Cornelius Crawford, 22, are both charged with several felonies -- including three counts of murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, sexual assault and more -- in a crime spree that began Friday morning.
Police said the duo carjacked a 45-year-old real estate agent at gunpoint and both sexually assaulted her as they drove around the city with her in the backseat of her SUV.
More
Jonathon Rosa, 19, and Cornelius Crawford, 22, are both charged with several felonies -- including three counts of murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, sexual assault and more -- in a crime spree that began Friday morning.
Police said the duo carjacked a 45-year-old real estate agent at gunpoint and both sexually assaulted her as they drove around the city with her in the backseat of her SUV.
More
Md. Schools Get $10.7M Grant To Study STDs
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The University of Maryland Schools of Dentistry and Medicine have received a $10.7 million grant over five years to study the causes, prevention and treatment of sexually-transmitted diseases.
The schools announced the grant on Tuesday from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
The long-term goal of the research is to develop strategies to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections and diseases worldwide, particularly chlamydia and gonorrhea.
More
The schools announced the grant on Tuesday from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
The long-term goal of the research is to develop strategies to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections and diseases worldwide, particularly chlamydia and gonorrhea.
More
BREAKING NEWS: Fed says inflation 'somewhat closer' to target
The Federal Reserve said inflation has 'moved somewhat closer' to its long-term target; however, there is slack in the U.S. labor market. As such, the central bank cut its bond purchases to $25 billion a month from $35 billion, as expected. It also reaffirmed its plans to keep rates at historic lows until the economy improves further.
More
More
Downscale
Big government is bad for the little guy.
I recently had a conversation with an intensely conservative businessman whose first foray into politics was fighting for a tax hike on his business and others like it. The little town where he lived as a young man had no paved roads, waterworks, or sewage facilities, and the men who had the most invested in the town knew that it needed these to grow, which of course it did. That’s part of what Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren are referring to with their “you didn’t build that” rhetoric, though they draw the wrong conclusions. They are also sometimes wrong in the specifics, too: The gentleman I was speaking with organized a few other businessmen to install streetlights at their own expense, with the understanding that the town fathers would pay them back when they could afford it. If you’re looking for an example of how small government is good government, a handshake deal to put in streetlights is a pretty good one. That is government at a scale that people can control, manage — and keep an eye on.
It is important to keep government small, but scale is not the only concern: Even the pettiest bureaucracy can descend into indolence and corruption. We talk a great deal about the level of government spending, but pay relatively little attention to a much more basic concern: It matters — a great deal — what government spends that money on. Even the wooliest anarcho-capitalist must look with some sympathy and admiration upon the small-scale model of township government that once characterized New England and the West. “But who will pave the roads?” is a standing libertarian punchline (“The federal government spends enormous sums of money getting monkeys addicted to cocaine, the police have murdered your puppies— But who will pave the roads?”) and, as noted in a certain volume of political speculation, the first paved intercity road in these United States was in fact privately built, suggesting that private enterprise is more than capable of road-making. But it was as a matter of history largely governments that paved the roads, built the sewage systems, drained the swamps, etc. And there was a time when governments, particularly at the local level, did a pretty good job of it.
More
I recently had a conversation with an intensely conservative businessman whose first foray into politics was fighting for a tax hike on his business and others like it. The little town where he lived as a young man had no paved roads, waterworks, or sewage facilities, and the men who had the most invested in the town knew that it needed these to grow, which of course it did. That’s part of what Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren are referring to with their “you didn’t build that” rhetoric, though they draw the wrong conclusions. They are also sometimes wrong in the specifics, too: The gentleman I was speaking with organized a few other businessmen to install streetlights at their own expense, with the understanding that the town fathers would pay them back when they could afford it. If you’re looking for an example of how small government is good government, a handshake deal to put in streetlights is a pretty good one. That is government at a scale that people can control, manage — and keep an eye on.
It is important to keep government small, but scale is not the only concern: Even the pettiest bureaucracy can descend into indolence and corruption. We talk a great deal about the level of government spending, but pay relatively little attention to a much more basic concern: It matters — a great deal — what government spends that money on. Even the wooliest anarcho-capitalist must look with some sympathy and admiration upon the small-scale model of township government that once characterized New England and the West. “But who will pave the roads?” is a standing libertarian punchline (“The federal government spends enormous sums of money getting monkeys addicted to cocaine, the police have murdered your puppies— But who will pave the roads?”) and, as noted in a certain volume of political speculation, the first paved intercity road in these United States was in fact privately built, suggesting that private enterprise is more than capable of road-making. But it was as a matter of history largely governments that paved the roads, built the sewage systems, drained the swamps, etc. And there was a time when governments, particularly at the local level, did a pretty good job of it.
More
SFD Calls For Service 7-29-14
- Tuesday July, 29 2014 @ 22:53Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Tuesday July, 29 2014 @ 22:43Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Tuesday July, 29 2014 @ 19:57 Nature: Vehicle Accident w/InjuriesAddress: E Naylor Mill Rd & N Salisbury Blvd Salisbury, MD 21801
- Tuesday July, 29 2014 @ 19:50 Nature: Vehicle Accident w/InjuriesAddress: E Naylor Mill Rd & N Salisbury Blvd Salisbury, MD 21801
- Tuesday July, 29 2014 @ 19:10Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
Democrat state goes ballistic against illegals
More than 5,000 chant 'Impeach, impeach' in Boston
The protests against illegal immigration flared up in an unusual place this weekend when more than 5,000 people rallied in Boston, Massachusetts, an area that has historically voted for Democrats.
Organizers hope the surprisingly large turnout will set the stage for a new wave of protests planned for Saturday in Tennessee and two other states.
It was not only the size of the Boston crowd and its enthusiasm for the issue but it’s location in a “blue state” that has organizers of this Saturday’s protests excited.
“I think it’s a sign of the times, a symptom of the problem we’ve got going on here. I think it shows this illegal immigration issue goes beyond party politics,” said James Neighbors, founder of Overpasses for America and one of the groups organizing the protests.
“This has nothing to do with party politics whatsoever,” he said. “This is about the future of America for all Americans regardless of whether liberal or conservative, libertarian, whatever. This is about America, and we’re going to be undermined by our own federal government if we don’t stop it.”
Neighbors said the crowd in Boston reflected a national mood of having lost patience with Washington establishment politicians.
More
The protests against illegal immigration flared up in an unusual place this weekend when more than 5,000 people rallied in Boston, Massachusetts, an area that has historically voted for Democrats.
Organizers hope the surprisingly large turnout will set the stage for a new wave of protests planned for Saturday in Tennessee and two other states.
It was not only the size of the Boston crowd and its enthusiasm for the issue but it’s location in a “blue state” that has organizers of this Saturday’s protests excited.
“I think it’s a sign of the times, a symptom of the problem we’ve got going on here. I think it shows this illegal immigration issue goes beyond party politics,” said James Neighbors, founder of Overpasses for America and one of the groups organizing the protests.
“This has nothing to do with party politics whatsoever,” he said. “This is about the future of America for all Americans regardless of whether liberal or conservative, libertarian, whatever. This is about America, and we’re going to be undermined by our own federal government if we don’t stop it.”
Neighbors said the crowd in Boston reflected a national mood of having lost patience with Washington establishment politicians.
More
A Shocking 77 Million Americans Face Debt Collectors
We have been warning for years that as a result of the Fed's disastrous policies, America's middle class is being disintegrated and US adults are surviving only thanks to insurmountable debtloads. But not even we had an appreciation of how serious the problem truly was. We now know, and it is a shocker: according to new research by the Urban Institute, about 77 million Americans have a debt in collections.
The breakdown by region:
As the Washington Post reports, that amounts to 35 percent of consumers with credit files or data reported to a major credit bureau, according to the study released Tuesday by the Urban Institute and Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute. "It’s a stunning number," said Caroline Ratcliffe, senior fellow at the Urban Institute and author of the report. "And it threads through nearly all communities."
More
The breakdown by region:
As the Washington Post reports, that amounts to 35 percent of consumers with credit files or data reported to a major credit bureau, according to the study released Tuesday by the Urban Institute and Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute. "It’s a stunning number," said Caroline Ratcliffe, senior fellow at the Urban Institute and author of the report. "And it threads through nearly all communities."
More
Mild July Temperatures Make, Tie Record Lows At BWI
BALTIMORE (WJZ) – Mild July temperatures are making and tying record lows set at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Meteorologist Chelsea Ingram reports the pattern of the jetstream has been bringing us unusually cool weather this month.
As the jet stream dips well to our south, it pulls down cooler Canadian air along with it.
When temperatures fell to 57 degrees last Friday, a record low was set–beating the old record low of 59 degrees set in 2008. The same temperature set a record low on July 18, beating the old record of 58 degrees set in 1976.
And when the chilly conditions aren’t breaking records, they’re tying them.
Tuesday’s low of 59 degrees ties with a record set in 1978.
More
Meteorologist Chelsea Ingram reports the pattern of the jetstream has been bringing us unusually cool weather this month.
As the jet stream dips well to our south, it pulls down cooler Canadian air along with it.
When temperatures fell to 57 degrees last Friday, a record low was set–beating the old record low of 59 degrees set in 2008. The same temperature set a record low on July 18, beating the old record of 58 degrees set in 1976.
And when the chilly conditions aren’t breaking records, they’re tying them.
Tuesday’s low of 59 degrees ties with a record set in 1978.
More
Our Marginal Economy
Before you jump on the Bull market bandwagon of "don't fight the Fed," perhaps you should take a look at the quality of the debt the Fed has enabled and the diminishing returns on all that debt.
The mainstream media is delighted to highlight positive economic data, but nobody ever asks about the quality of the borrowers who are behind the rosy numbers. Behind the rosy numbers, sales and profits are increasingly dependent on marginal buyers and borrowers: those buying on credit who would not qualify to borrow money in a system ruled by prudent risk-management.
These marginal borrower/buyers are last on, first off: they qualify for loans at the end of a credit expansion, when lenders throw caution to the winds to reap the profits from issuing new mortgages, auto loans, student loans, credit cards, etc. to marginal borrowers.
These marginal borrowers are the first to default, because they have insufficient income and collateral to support their loans.
This rising dependence on marginal borrowers/buyers leads to an economy of diminishing returns: ever-rising rates of debt expansion are required to generate ever-declining rates of expansion of sales, profits, GDP, etc.
More
The mainstream media is delighted to highlight positive economic data, but nobody ever asks about the quality of the borrowers who are behind the rosy numbers. Behind the rosy numbers, sales and profits are increasingly dependent on marginal buyers and borrowers: those buying on credit who would not qualify to borrow money in a system ruled by prudent risk-management.
These marginal borrower/buyers are last on, first off: they qualify for loans at the end of a credit expansion, when lenders throw caution to the winds to reap the profits from issuing new mortgages, auto loans, student loans, credit cards, etc. to marginal borrowers.
These marginal borrowers are the first to default, because they have insufficient income and collateral to support their loans.
This rising dependence on marginal borrowers/buyers leads to an economy of diminishing returns: ever-rising rates of debt expansion are required to generate ever-declining rates of expansion of sales, profits, GDP, etc.
More
Cop Fired After Fatally Shooting Dog
Killed the dog in front of its owners..
A south suburban police officer has been fired after the shooting death of a family dog that has outraged a small community. Witnesses say an officer from the Hometown Police Department shot and killed the dog in front of its owners.
On Monday, Eyewitness News spoke with the family who lost their pet.
Alexis Gamino loves animals, but is especially fond of her dog, Apollo, a 14-month old German shepherd-pit bull mix.
Read more
A south suburban police officer has been fired after the shooting death of a family dog that has outraged a small community. Witnesses say an officer from the Hometown Police Department shot and killed the dog in front of its owners.
On Monday, Eyewitness News spoke with the family who lost their pet.
Alexis Gamino loves animals, but is especially fond of her dog, Apollo, a 14-month old German shepherd-pit bull mix.
Read more
6 Philly Officers Arrested In Corruption Probe That Commissioner Calls ‘One Of The Worst Cases He’s Ever Heard’
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Six Philadelphia Police officers who served in narcotics were taken into custody by federal agents Wednesday as part of a federal corruption probe.
All of those officers are current or former narcotics officers. Those charged are: John Speiser, Brian Reynolds, Michael Spicer, Perry Betts, Thomas Liciardello and Linwood Norman. All are facing multiple charges including extortion, robbery, kidnapping and drug-dealing.
Sources previously confirmed that a federal grand jury has been investigating allegations that Philadelphia narcotics officers stole drugs and money and committed robberies of drug dealers, in some cases allegedly using their guns to do it. In one incident, officials say the accused held one of the drug suspects for days in a hotel while threatening him and making threats against his family. In another, one victim was reportedly dangled over the edge of an 18th floor balcony in order to get information.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says “I’ve been a police officer for over 40 years and this is one of the worst cases of corruption I’ve ever heard.”
More
All of those officers are current or former narcotics officers. Those charged are: John Speiser, Brian Reynolds, Michael Spicer, Perry Betts, Thomas Liciardello and Linwood Norman. All are facing multiple charges including extortion, robbery, kidnapping and drug-dealing.
Sources previously confirmed that a federal grand jury has been investigating allegations that Philadelphia narcotics officers stole drugs and money and committed robberies of drug dealers, in some cases allegedly using their guns to do it. In one incident, officials say the accused held one of the drug suspects for days in a hotel while threatening him and making threats against his family. In another, one victim was reportedly dangled over the edge of an 18th floor balcony in order to get information.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says “I’ve been a police officer for over 40 years and this is one of the worst cases of corruption I’ve ever heard.”
More
Rancher: Gov’t ‘Bullying People’ Who Have Been on Lands ‘for Generations’
(CNSNews.com) – Ranchers from Western states told Congress last week that they are routinely threatened and bullied by federal land management officials, including the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife.
“I sit before you today to let you know what’s going on up there, and I hope that we can come to some kind of agreement on what needs to be done and move forward on it, because enough is enough when it comes to bullying people that have been on this land for generations,” Michael Lucero, fourth generation rancher in New Mexico, said in his sworn testimony at the hearing of a House Natural Resources subcommittee on "Threat, Intimidation and Bullying by Federal Land Management Agencies, Part II."
More
“I sit before you today to let you know what’s going on up there, and I hope that we can come to some kind of agreement on what needs to be done and move forward on it, because enough is enough when it comes to bullying people that have been on this land for generations,” Michael Lucero, fourth generation rancher in New Mexico, said in his sworn testimony at the hearing of a House Natural Resources subcommittee on "Threat, Intimidation and Bullying by Federal Land Management Agencies, Part II."
More
The One Rate That Is Not Only Not Going Down, But Is At A 13-Year High
With 77 million Americans having debt past due [2] and the average household owing more than $15,000 in credit card debt, it appears the Fed's supposed plan to 'help Main Street' is not working so well. As the following chart from NewEdge's Brad Wishak shows, despite Fed Funds at practically zero, US credit card variable interest rates continue to rise - now at their highest since July 2001.
More
More
Out of Order
Barack Obama’s disdain for the slow, grinding mechanisms of government has become unmistakable of late. So it is little surprise that, frustrated by congressional inaction on his proposal for “comprehensive immigration reform,” the president last month declared that he would “fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own.” The result, intimated by White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer last week, is a “very significant” executive action to be unveiled by the end of the summer. If reports of the contents of the order are credible, not only will the action fail to “fix” America’s immigration system, it will further undo the constitutionally prescribed separation of powers that this administration has already done so much to weaken.
The White House is reportedly weighing two options for executive action similar in kind to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that was implemented — also by executive fiat, via memorandum — in 2012. One option would grant temporary legal status to illegal-immigrant parents of U.S. citizens, authorizing them to remain in the country and to work here. The second option would do the same for illegal-immigrant parents of DACA recipients. These actions could affect anywhere from 3 to 6 million people.
More
The White House is reportedly weighing two options for executive action similar in kind to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that was implemented — also by executive fiat, via memorandum — in 2012. One option would grant temporary legal status to illegal-immigrant parents of U.S. citizens, authorizing them to remain in the country and to work here. The second option would do the same for illegal-immigrant parents of DACA recipients. These actions could affect anywhere from 3 to 6 million people.
More
Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week
The second Sunday of August to the following Saturday is designated as Shop Maryland tax-free Week each year. That means qualifying apparel and footwear $100 or less, per item, are exempt from the state sales tax. Accessory items are not included. The Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week for 2014 is Sunday, August 10 - Saturday, August 16.
Additionally, there is a tax-free three-day weekend every February during which the state sales tax will not apply to the sale of any Energy Star Product listed below, or solar water heater. The Shop Maryland Energy Tax-Free weekend for 2015 is February 14 - 16.
Energy Star Product means an air conditioner, clothes washer or dryer, furnace, heat pump, standard size refrigerator, compact fluorescent light bulb, light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs, dehumidifier, or programmable thermostat that has been designated as meeting or exceeding the applicable Energy Star Efficiency requirements developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Shop Maryland Resources
|
More Than 100 Unaccompanied Minors Enrolled In Montgomery County Schools
WASHINGTON -- Kids and teenagers who have crossed illegally into the United States on their own have been coming to Maryland and Montgomery County steadily over the last year. And in a briefing before the Montgomery County Council, school officials explained that a total of 107 unaccompanied minors, most of them of high school age, were enrolled in Montgomery County schools.
So what does next year look like?
"You know, we're waiting to hear at this point; we don't know what the numbers will be for the next school year," Montgomery County Public Schools' Spokesman Dana Tofig said after the briefing.
He added that the school system is preparing to help new arrivals address a host of issues.
"These kids are going to have a lot of services that they need," Tofig said, adding that they include services that will deal with social and emotional needs of kids who may have suffered abuse or been targets of human trafficking.
After Carroll County officials rejected a plan to house unaccompanied minors in their community, Gov. Martin O'Malley made it clear that his approach to housing children and teens who've crossed into the U.S. would focus on a plan to work with state and local agencies as well as non-profits, to house the kids in foster care.
More
So what does next year look like?
"You know, we're waiting to hear at this point; we don't know what the numbers will be for the next school year," Montgomery County Public Schools' Spokesman Dana Tofig said after the briefing.
He added that the school system is preparing to help new arrivals address a host of issues.
"These kids are going to have a lot of services that they need," Tofig said, adding that they include services that will deal with social and emotional needs of kids who may have suffered abuse or been targets of human trafficking.
After Carroll County officials rejected a plan to house unaccompanied minors in their community, Gov. Martin O'Malley made it clear that his approach to housing children and teens who've crossed into the U.S. would focus on a plan to work with state and local agencies as well as non-profits, to house the kids in foster care.
More
Asset Forfeiture – How To Steal Americans' Hard Earned Cash With Zero Repercussions
Almost exactly one year ago today, I published a post which went on to become extremely popular titled: Why You Should Never, Ever Drive Through Tenaha, Texas. If you failed to read it the first time around, I suggest you take look as it provides a good outline of just what is at stake when it comes to this destructive and abusive practice increasingly utilized by police departments across these United States with zero repercussions for the offending officers. In last years article I noted that:
In a nutshell, civil forfeiture is the practice of confiscating items from people, ranging from cash, cars, even homes based on no criminal conviction or charges, merely suspicion.
This practice first became widespread for use against pirates, as a way to take possession of contraband goods despite the fact that the ships’ owners in many cases were located thousands of miles away and couldn’t easily be prosecuted. As is often the case, what starts out reasonable becomes a gigantic organized crime ring of criminality, particularly in a society where the rule of law no longer exists for the “elite,” yet anything goes when it comes to pillaging the average citizen.
One of the major reasons these programs have become so abused is that the police departments themselves are able to keep much of the confiscated money. So they actually have a perverse incentive to steal. As might be expected, a program that is often touted as being effective against going after major drug kingpins, actually targets the poor and disenfranchised more than anything else.
More
In a nutshell, civil forfeiture is the practice of confiscating items from people, ranging from cash, cars, even homes based on no criminal conviction or charges, merely suspicion.
This practice first became widespread for use against pirates, as a way to take possession of contraband goods despite the fact that the ships’ owners in many cases were located thousands of miles away and couldn’t easily be prosecuted. As is often the case, what starts out reasonable becomes a gigantic organized crime ring of criminality, particularly in a society where the rule of law no longer exists for the “elite,” yet anything goes when it comes to pillaging the average citizen.
One of the major reasons these programs have become so abused is that the police departments themselves are able to keep much of the confiscated money. So they actually have a perverse incentive to steal. As might be expected, a program that is often touted as being effective against going after major drug kingpins, actually targets the poor and disenfranchised more than anything else.
More
Case-Shiller Home Prices Tumble Most Since Dec 2011, Miss 2nd Month In A Row
But it was supposed to be the weather? S&P/Case-Shiller home prices dropped in May and missed expectations for the 2nd month in a row. Against a forecast rise on 0.3%, prices dropped in May by 0.3% - the biggest drop since December 2011. It appears we are going to need more Chinese hot money flow buyers.
More
More
Government Isn't Disclosing the True Jobless Rate
The Labor Department on Friday is expected to report the economy added 235,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment rate remained steady at 6.1 percent, but that hardly tells the story.
The jobless rate may be down from its recession peak of 10 percent, but much of this results from adults, discouraged by the lack of decent job openings, have quit altogether. They are neither employed nor looking for work.
Only about half of the drop in the adult participation rate may be attributed to the Baby Boom generation reaching retirement age. Lacking adequate resources to retire, a larger percentage of adults over 65 are working than before the recession.
More
The jobless rate may be down from its recession peak of 10 percent, but much of this results from adults, discouraged by the lack of decent job openings, have quit altogether. They are neither employed nor looking for work.
Only about half of the drop in the adult participation rate may be attributed to the Baby Boom generation reaching retirement age. Lacking adequate resources to retire, a larger percentage of adults over 65 are working than before the recession.
More
Wicomico Farm & Home Show Registration Form
You can enter on line at www.wicomicofarmandhomeshow.com, or pick up a premium book with the entry form in in at various places around the county. Entries by mail must be postmarked August 1, 2014 and online entries are date & time stamped."
Hogan Wants Immigrant Children Returned Home
.jpg)
Hogan says the state needs to respond to this "humanitarian crisis" by providing for their immediate needs of food, and clothing and medical care, but then Hogan says these children have to be deported.
"I want to reunite them back with their parents in their home countries," Hogan told the C-4 Show today.
"I think it is absolutely ridiculous to take these children and to be busing them thousands of miles from their point of entry, to try to house them in Maryland, when we can't house our own kids, and we have a broken health care system."
More
Sit Tight Wicomico County Board Of Education, Major Post Coming At 12:30 Today
Revolutionary new blood test 'could detect ALL types of cancer'
A revolutionary blood test that could detect any type of cancer has been developed by British scientists.
It is hoped the breakthrough will enable doctors to rule out cancer in patients presenting with certain symptoms - saving time and preventing costly and unnecessary invasive procedures and biopsies.
Early results have shown the simple test can diagnose cancer and pre-cancerous conditions from the blood of patients with melanoma, colon cancer and lung cancer with a high degree of accuracy.
More
It is hoped the breakthrough will enable doctors to rule out cancer in patients presenting with certain symptoms - saving time and preventing costly and unnecessary invasive procedures and biopsies.
Early results have shown the simple test can diagnose cancer and pre-cancerous conditions from the blood of patients with melanoma, colon cancer and lung cancer with a high degree of accuracy.
More
New Water Service
On Wednesday, July 30, 2014, as part of the City of Salisbury’s efforts to improve water service, the Department of Public Works will be replacing a water service at 222 Middle Blvd. Waverly Drive to Smith St. will be non-passable to emergency vehicles. The work will be performed starting at 9:00 a.m. and shall conclude by 4:30 p.m.
All locators and Central Alarm will be notified of this event. We appreciate your patience and consideration. Please contact the Public Works Water & Sewer Branch at 410-548-3105 for more information if needed.
All locators and Central Alarm will be notified of this event. We appreciate your patience and consideration. Please contact the Public Works Water & Sewer Branch at 410-548-3105 for more information if needed.
Illegal Immigrant Children Flooding Into U.S. for Free Goodies, Not to Escape Violence
Americans advised to unquestioningly follow government conclusions
The incessant propaganda campaign waged by Democrats and the Obama administration characterizing an unprecedented wave of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. as refugees fleeing from violence has shaped public perception of the crisis.
Just over a quarter of respondents to a Public Religion Research Institute survey believe underage immigrants are entering the country illegally, while nearly 70 percent say the federal government should treat the children as refugees and not illegal immigrants.
“Of those polled, 56 percent said the families of children coming from Central America were acting to keep the young people safe from violence in their home countries. Some 38 percent of those polled said the families were ‘taking advantage of American good will’ and trying to stay illegally in the United States,” The New York Times reports.
More
The incessant propaganda campaign waged by Democrats and the Obama administration characterizing an unprecedented wave of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. as refugees fleeing from violence has shaped public perception of the crisis.
Just over a quarter of respondents to a Public Religion Research Institute survey believe underage immigrants are entering the country illegally, while nearly 70 percent say the federal government should treat the children as refugees and not illegal immigrants.
“Of those polled, 56 percent said the families of children coming from Central America were acting to keep the young people safe from violence in their home countries. Some 38 percent of those polled said the families were ‘taking advantage of American good will’ and trying to stay illegally in the United States,” The New York Times reports.
More
Emails show White House adviser intervened on ObamaCare ‘bailout’ after industry appeals
Newly released emails show a key White House adviser intervened on behalf of the health insurance industry after an executive repeatedly warned that massive premium hikes were coming unless the administration expanded an ObamaCare program that Republicans call an industry "bailout."
The insurance industry ultimately got a more "generous" offer from the administration -- one that Republicans warn could transfer potentially billions of taxpayer dollars into the Affordable Care Act to bail out insurance companies.
The documents were included as part of a report by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Republicans allege that White House adviser Valerie Jarrett intervened in response to appeals from the industry.
“Documents show that Ms. Jarrett took the warnings of the insurance companies very seriously,” the report said.
More
The insurance industry ultimately got a more "generous" offer from the administration -- one that Republicans warn could transfer potentially billions of taxpayer dollars into the Affordable Care Act to bail out insurance companies.
The documents were included as part of a report by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Republicans allege that White House adviser Valerie Jarrett intervened in response to appeals from the industry.
“Documents show that Ms. Jarrett took the warnings of the insurance companies very seriously,” the report said.
More
ReferenceUSA Now Available Through Wicomico Public Library
.jpg)
The Wicomico Public Library is excited to announce the
addition of ReferenceUSA, the premier reference and research database, to the
services we extend to our community. Free to library cardholders, ReferenceUSA
provides details on over 24 million businesses and 265 million consumers. ReferenceUSA can be used to:
- Find sales leads for new start-up companies
- Conduct market research
- Find housing, schools, childcare, churches and doctors in your area
- Reconnect with lost family or friends
Wicomico Public Library has locations in Downtown Salisbury, the Centre
at Salisbury, in Pittsville, and the Library Bookmobile. Not only does Wicomico
Public Library offer numerous resources such as free Internet access, a variety
of classes and events, and an online virtual library with eBooks, but it
engages with the community by supporting learning, building community, and
enriching lives. You Belong @ Wicomico Public Library!
For more information on Wicomico Public Library’s upcoming events or
available services, please visit our Web site WicomicoLibrary.org or check out
our newsletter now available in local businesses.
Feds Considering 2 Sites In Md. For FBI Headquarters
Maryland lawmakers have been jockeying for years to lure the new headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation — and its 11,000 jobs — to Prince George's County.
On Tuesday they officially found out who the competition is.
The General Services Administration released its long-anticipated list of sites it says could accommodate the federal law enforcement agency. Two of the three properties are in Maryland — one in Greenbelt, the other in Landover. The third potential site is in Springfield, Va.
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, dean of the state's congressional delegation and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, played up the significance of Maryland having two sites under consideration.
"This is like winning the primary," said a beaming Mikulski. "Now we're suiting up to go on to win the general."
More
On Tuesday they officially found out who the competition is.
The General Services Administration released its long-anticipated list of sites it says could accommodate the federal law enforcement agency. Two of the three properties are in Maryland — one in Greenbelt, the other in Landover. The third potential site is in Springfield, Va.
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, dean of the state's congressional delegation and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, played up the significance of Maryland having two sites under consideration.
"This is like winning the primary," said a beaming Mikulski. "Now we're suiting up to go on to win the general."
More
OCPD ARREST LAUREL, DE MAN FOR ASSAULT
Dwayne A. Daniels
On July 28, 2014, at approximately 12:35 a.m. an Ocean City Police Public Safety Aide was stationary at 48th Street and Coastal Highway when she saw a female laying on the median of Coastal Highway. The Public Safety Aide and two of the victim’s friends moved the victim to a safe place and learned that she had suffered injuries from an assault.
Officers quickly responded and the investigation revealed that the victim had been struck with a glass bottle by an individual later identified as Dwayne A. Daniels, 38, of Laurel, DE. Daniels and the victim were in a vehicle with mutual friends and began to argue when Daniels became aggressive, hit the victim with a glass bottle and attempted to strangle her. The victim was able to escape from the vehicle while it was stopped.
Officers relayed a description of Daniels to Ocean City Communications as well as security personnel in the area. Shortly after, a security guard saw Daniels and was able to stop him and flag down an officer passing by who arrested Daniels.
Daniels was charged by Ocean City police with first degree assault, second degree assault and reckless endangerment. He was seen by a Maryland District Court Commissioner and transferred to the Worcester County Jail on $50,000 bond.
OPEN HOUSE INFORMATION FOR WICOMICO SCHOOLS FOR 2014-2015
Schools will mail welcome letters to all students in mid-August. Wicomico County Schools will hold open houses the week of Aug. 18-22 in preparation for the opening of the 2014-2015 school year on Monday, Aug. 25, for most students*.
*Please note that students in grades 1-6 and grade 9 will attend school on Aug. 25.
(Exceptions: All grades will attend at Pittsville Elementary and Middle, and only grade 6 will attend at Mardela Middle and High.)
All students in grades 1-12 will be in school Tuesday, Aug. 26.
During the first week, kindergarten and prekindergarten students will report as scheduled by the assigned school.
Open house information for each school is provided below.
More
*Please note that students in grades 1-6 and grade 9 will attend school on Aug. 25.
(Exceptions: All grades will attend at Pittsville Elementary and Middle, and only grade 6 will attend at Mardela Middle and High.)
All students in grades 1-12 will be in school Tuesday, Aug. 26.
During the first week, kindergarten and prekindergarten students will report as scheduled by the assigned school.
Open house information for each school is provided below.
More
POLICE STATE: Border Patrol Attacks Americans, Lets Illegals Go
Fox Business Network’s John Stossel released a very disturbing report on the abuses of Americans at the hands of Border Patrol agents who are stopping cars 100 miles inland from our borders all across the nation–not just in the southwest. They are breaking into cars, tazing Americans, detaining them, and then releasing them with no charges after this violent encounter. Meanwhile they are letting Illegals run across the border free as you please!
Stossel found that the U.S. border Patrol is allowed to set up roadblock for 100 miles inland from the outer border of our entire country. But, as it happens, the largest portion of the country’s population lives within 100 miles from a border.
These agents are stopping cars with no cause whatsoever, forcing citizens to answer dozens of question, conducting searches of vehicles and tazing and detaining American citizens if they refuse to comply.
According to the U. S. Supreme Court the US Border patrol is not allowed to stop cars and search vehicles inside the U.S. but they are doing this anyway all across the country. The court has said that the Border Patrol may conduct a “brief” stop only to ask if the those in a vehicle are citizens and that is it.
More
Stossel found that the U.S. border Patrol is allowed to set up roadblock for 100 miles inland from the outer border of our entire country. But, as it happens, the largest portion of the country’s population lives within 100 miles from a border.
These agents are stopping cars with no cause whatsoever, forcing citizens to answer dozens of question, conducting searches of vehicles and tazing and detaining American citizens if they refuse to comply.
According to the U. S. Supreme Court the US Border patrol is not allowed to stop cars and search vehicles inside the U.S. but they are doing this anyway all across the country. The court has said that the Border Patrol may conduct a “brief” stop only to ask if the those in a vehicle are citizens and that is it.
More
Obama Regime is Going After Your School Bake Sales
King Barack and Queen Michelle are doing everything they can to make sure they can hoard as much power as possible over us little people, the peasants. Nothing is too petty for them to try to snatch control over, not even a school bake sale — but for once, the peasants are revolting.
Barely a month after federal regulations for school cafeterias kicked in, states are already pushing back.
Specifically, they’re fighting nutrition standards that would considerably alter one of the most sacred rituals of the American public school system: bake sales.
Twelve states have established their own policies to circumvent regulations in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that apply to “competitive snacks,” or any foods and beverages sold to students on school grounds that are not part of the Agriculture Department’s school meal programs, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education. Competitive snacks appear in vending machines, school stores, and food and beverages, including items sold at bake sales.
More
Barely a month after federal regulations for school cafeterias kicked in, states are already pushing back.
Specifically, they’re fighting nutrition standards that would considerably alter one of the most sacred rituals of the American public school system: bake sales.
Twelve states have established their own policies to circumvent regulations in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that apply to “competitive snacks,” or any foods and beverages sold to students on school grounds that are not part of the Agriculture Department’s school meal programs, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education. Competitive snacks appear in vending machines, school stores, and food and beverages, including items sold at bake sales.
More
CNN Poll Finds Voters Would Elect Romney Over Obama 53%-44% If Given a 2012 Do-Over
They say hindsight is 20/20, right? In 2012, plenty of voters were willing to overlook Obama’s disastrous first term, ostensibly because they wanted to get more FREE STUFF!, but now that they look back on what the free stuff has cost them, they’re realizing that Romney was probably the better choice.
If a rematch of the 2012 presidential election were held today, GOP nominee Mitt Romney would top President Barack Obama in the popular vote, according to a new national survey.
But a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that if Romney changes his mind and runs again for the White House, Hillary Clinton would best him by double digits in a hypothetical showdown.
According to the poll, if the 2012 election were somehow held again, Romney would capture 53% of the popular vote, with the President at 44%. Obama beat Romney 51%-47% in the popular vote in the 2012 contest. And he won the all-important Electoral College by a wider margin, 332 electoral votes to Romney’s 206.
More
If a rematch of the 2012 presidential election were held today, GOP nominee Mitt Romney would top President Barack Obama in the popular vote, according to a new national survey.
But a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that if Romney changes his mind and runs again for the White House, Hillary Clinton would best him by double digits in a hypothetical showdown.
According to the poll, if the 2012 election were somehow held again, Romney would capture 53% of the popular vote, with the President at 44%. Obama beat Romney 51%-47% in the popular vote in the 2012 contest. And he won the all-important Electoral College by a wider margin, 332 electoral votes to Romney’s 206.
More
OFFICIALS Evict a soldier’s pregnant wife & DEMOLISH his home while he was away preparing for deployment hundreds of miles away
A federal judge has slammed Miami-Dade County for refusing to delay demolition of a soldier’s home while he trained in California for deployment to the Middle East. The soldier’s kids and pregnant wife were kicked to the curb and the house was razed in 2011 after U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jesus Jimenez did not heed numerous county requests to fix building code violations.
Staff Sergeant Jimenez had repeatedly asked for extensions to fix the problems while training or on a mission. At one point his commanding military officer also weighed in, asking to officials to stay the hearing 90 days while Jimenez was conducting training on how to defuse improvised explosive devices in Iraq. The family was able to save some of their belongings, but much of what they owned was lost–including a piano–when the home was demolished.
‘They didn’t care,’ 32-year-old Laura Jimenez told the Miami Herald. U.S. Judge Robert Scola Jr. sided with the father of four, last week, scheduling a September trial to decide what the county owes Jimenez. But he urged both sides to first attempt a settlement. At issue is a World War II-era law, reinstated in 2003, that allows for the temporary suspension of legal or administrative proceedings that could affect active duty military members’ civil rights.
‘While it is possible that the Jimenezes employed dilatory tactics to avoid remedying the violations on their property and complying with the applicable building ordinances,’ Scola wrote, ‘their behavior does not negate the (county’s) failure to stay the proceedings….’
More
Staff Sergeant Jimenez had repeatedly asked for extensions to fix the problems while training or on a mission. At one point his commanding military officer also weighed in, asking to officials to stay the hearing 90 days while Jimenez was conducting training on how to defuse improvised explosive devices in Iraq. The family was able to save some of their belongings, but much of what they owned was lost–including a piano–when the home was demolished.
‘They didn’t care,’ 32-year-old Laura Jimenez told the Miami Herald. U.S. Judge Robert Scola Jr. sided with the father of four, last week, scheduling a September trial to decide what the county owes Jimenez. But he urged both sides to first attempt a settlement. At issue is a World War II-era law, reinstated in 2003, that allows for the temporary suspension of legal or administrative proceedings that could affect active duty military members’ civil rights.
‘While it is possible that the Jimenezes employed dilatory tactics to avoid remedying the violations on their property and complying with the applicable building ordinances,’ Scola wrote, ‘their behavior does not negate the (county’s) failure to stay the proceedings….’
More
Man ‘threatened with jail by cop who shot his dog & prevented him from taking the bleeding animal for treatment’
A man says that he was threatened with jail by a police officer in Atlanta after he tried to tend to his bleeding dog which the officer had just shot in the jaw.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening when Doctor, a nine-year-old German Shepherd, ran to the front of owner Tim Theall’s Georgia home after being let out of the backyard. Before Theall could catch up with his lively pet, two gun shots rang out. A DeKalb County police officer investigating a false house alarm call at the house had been caught unawares by the dog and shot him in the throat.
Fortunately Doctor was still alive, although bleeding profusely. Theall says he can understand why the officer shot his pet in the heat of the moment, but it’s what happened next that shocked him. When Theall and his wife attempted to take the animal to the vet for treatment, the officer refused to let leave the neighborhood.
‘No steps were taken by DeKalb police whatsoever to try to save my dog’s life,’ Theall told NBC Atlanta.
More
The incident occurred on Thursday evening when Doctor, a nine-year-old German Shepherd, ran to the front of owner Tim Theall’s Georgia home after being let out of the backyard. Before Theall could catch up with his lively pet, two gun shots rang out. A DeKalb County police officer investigating a false house alarm call at the house had been caught unawares by the dog and shot him in the throat.
Fortunately Doctor was still alive, although bleeding profusely. Theall says he can understand why the officer shot his pet in the heat of the moment, but it’s what happened next that shocked him. When Theall and his wife attempted to take the animal to the vet for treatment, the officer refused to let leave the neighborhood.
‘No steps were taken by DeKalb police whatsoever to try to save my dog’s life,’ Theall told NBC Atlanta.
More