PASS CHRISTIAN, MS (WLOX) - A routine shrimping trip on the Gulf took a turn for the worst Sunday night. A seasoned shrimper was headed back to shore with his catch when he suddenly found himself overboard. Mitchell
Sevel has been shrimping for over 30 years, but he said Sunday night was a first for him. According to Sevel, a rogue wave hit the boat causing him to slip and go over portside. To make matters worse, the boat kept going and he was stranded miles from the shore.
"I was hollering. He kept going because the door was closed, generator was running; he didn't hear me," Sevel recalled.
He knew he had to make a choice, and he had to make it quick. By his calculations, he was about four miles away from shore.
"That's when I started getting more water in me," said Sevel.
But he was determined to try, or die trying. If his estimates were correct, he worried he wouldn't have enough energy to make it to land alive.
"You know, I have kids and grandkids, and I started thinking, and I kind of wanted to quit," said Sevel.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Saturday, October 18, 2014
The Macaca Democrats
Something peculiar has happened. As I write, none of the Republican candidates for Senate has become a public embarrassment. On the contrary: For the first time in a decade, it is the Democratic candidates, not the Republican ones, who are fodder for late-night comics. That the Democrats are committing gaffes and causing scandals at a higher rate than Republicans not only may be decisive in the battle for the Senate. It could signal a change in our politics at large.
Yes, at any given moment, one of the Republican candidates could say something stupid, could be revealed to be unethical, could act like an idiot. These are human beings we are talking about. There is a little more than two weeks to go before Election Day—plenty of time for Republicans to screw it up. But the fact that the GOP field has come so far without committing unforced errors is news in itself.
Since 2006, when Republican Senator George Allen of Virginia referred to an Indian-American Democratic tracker as “Macaca,” GOP candidates have found ways to provoke, to offend, to annoy, to spawn unpleasant narratives, to let themselves become the story. In 2014, though, the Macaca moments aren’t coming from Republicans. They are coming from Democrats.
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Yes, at any given moment, one of the Republican candidates could say something stupid, could be revealed to be unethical, could act like an idiot. These are human beings we are talking about. There is a little more than two weeks to go before Election Day—plenty of time for Republicans to screw it up. But the fact that the GOP field has come so far without committing unforced errors is news in itself.
Since 2006, when Republican Senator George Allen of Virginia referred to an Indian-American Democratic tracker as “Macaca,” GOP candidates have found ways to provoke, to offend, to annoy, to spawn unpleasant narratives, to let themselves become the story. In 2014, though, the Macaca moments aren’t coming from Republicans. They are coming from Democrats.
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Head Start Visit
How Chicago’s red light ticketing turned yellow lights into cash
City got nearly $8 million from 77,000 tickets issued with yellow lights shorter than the city standard
Confronted with questions about a flurry of red light camera tickets stamped with yellow times below the 3-second minimum, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration said the fluctuation of hundredths of a second was normal — imperceptible to anyone behind the wheel of a car.
It turns out that fraction of a second makes a big difference to drivers and to the city’s coffers.
The Emanuel administration on Friday acknowledged that it had changed the rules on what qualifies for a $100 ticket, quietly directing its new red light camera vendor to tag drivers even when the duration of a yellow light slips just below the 3-second standard set by the city.
The policy generated 77,000 more tickets and nearly $8 million in revenue for the city over the last six months.
Read more
Confronted with questions about a flurry of red light camera tickets stamped with yellow times below the 3-second minimum, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration said the fluctuation of hundredths of a second was normal — imperceptible to anyone behind the wheel of a car.
It turns out that fraction of a second makes a big difference to drivers and to the city’s coffers.
The Emanuel administration on Friday acknowledged that it had changed the rules on what qualifies for a $100 ticket, quietly directing its new red light camera vendor to tag drivers even when the duration of a yellow light slips just below the 3-second standard set by the city.
The policy generated 77,000 more tickets and nearly $8 million in revenue for the city over the last six months.
Read more
Picky, Picky, Picky
The welfare state mentality is close to universal today. Half of Americans are on the dole to one degree or another.
The outlook of this society is one of entitlements. They are deliberately called entitlements by their defenders because “charity” sounds voluntaristic. These handouts are not voluntary, as both the legislators and the recipients know. The recipients of money or non-monetary handouts think of the arrangement as both moral and legal. Because the dole is promised to oldsters, every member of society is taught to look forward to his days of wine and roses, his golden years of automatic monthly money and nearly free medical care.
An attitude of a moral right to other people’s money pervades what used to be called the lower ranks of society. Even where the legal right to other people’s money does not exist, the moral right is thought to. Those who have lived in terms of government handouts expect handouts to continue on at least a part-time basis from anybody who possesses any advantage, earned or not, which they do not possess. It is not just that they want to get their hands into your wallet through the civil government. They want to get their hands into your wallet directly. But this proves more difficult. They cannot use coercion, so they have to use a sob story. They make up effective ones.
This is why there are deacons in churches. This is why there are screening committees in charitable organizations. The donors need people who are skilled in sorting out sob stories of pretended need from real stories of real need.
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The outlook of this society is one of entitlements. They are deliberately called entitlements by their defenders because “charity” sounds voluntaristic. These handouts are not voluntary, as both the legislators and the recipients know. The recipients of money or non-monetary handouts think of the arrangement as both moral and legal. Because the dole is promised to oldsters, every member of society is taught to look forward to his days of wine and roses, his golden years of automatic monthly money and nearly free medical care.
An attitude of a moral right to other people’s money pervades what used to be called the lower ranks of society. Even where the legal right to other people’s money does not exist, the moral right is thought to. Those who have lived in terms of government handouts expect handouts to continue on at least a part-time basis from anybody who possesses any advantage, earned or not, which they do not possess. It is not just that they want to get their hands into your wallet through the civil government. They want to get their hands into your wallet directly. But this proves more difficult. They cannot use coercion, so they have to use a sob story. They make up effective ones.
This is why there are deacons in churches. This is why there are screening committees in charitable organizations. The donors need people who are skilled in sorting out sob stories of pretended need from real stories of real need.
More
Photo of CNN hosts making light of Ebola on set sparks fury on Twitter
Twitter users accused the three New Day anchors of mocking the Ebola crisis after CNN senior producer John Griffin posted the picture on social media.
In the photo, Chris Cuomo, Michaela Pereira and Alisyn Camerota pretend to be scared, with exaggerated shocked expressions, while two men in protective gear stand over them.
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Mike McDermott Meet & Greet
OCEAN PINES MEET AND GREET
The purpose of this event is to bring your undecided friends and family members to meet Mike and hear him speak on the issues. We all know that once a person has heard Mike, he or she will be likely to vote for him.
Please encourage anyone you know who is "on the fence" to come to this event.
Please encourage anyone you know who is "on the fence" to come to this event.
Sunday October 19th
2 - 4 p.m.
The Pavilion at White Horse Park (next to the fire house)
2 - 4 p.m.
The Pavilion at White Horse Park (next to the fire house)
Troopers Investigate Middletown Farm Accident
Middletown, DE – Troopers are investigating a farm accident that occurred earlier this morning when a Middletown man was killed after a tow hook came through his windshield.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m. Saturday October 18, 2014 when Robert L. Baker, 64 of Odessa, was attempting to tow a tractor trailer fully loaded with corn from a field located on the north side of Marl Pit Road just west of Cedar Lane Road. The farm tractor was pulling a grain hopper, which had a tow strap attached to the back, and began to pull the tractor trailer from the muddy field when the tow hook broke loose and was propelled through the driver's side window striking George R. Lynam Jr., 66 of Middletown in the upper torso.
George Lynam was transported from the scene by EMS to Christiana Hospital Trauma Center where he was pronounced dead.
Robert Baker was uninjured in the incident.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m. Saturday October 18, 2014 when Robert L. Baker, 64 of Odessa, was attempting to tow a tractor trailer fully loaded with corn from a field located on the north side of Marl Pit Road just west of Cedar Lane Road. The farm tractor was pulling a grain hopper, which had a tow strap attached to the back, and began to pull the tractor trailer from the muddy field when the tow hook broke loose and was propelled through the driver's side window striking George R. Lynam Jr., 66 of Middletown in the upper torso.
George Lynam was transported from the scene by EMS to Christiana Hospital Trauma Center where he was pronounced dead.
Robert Baker was uninjured in the incident.
Former WaPo chief warns of ruin when advertisers 'wake up' and pull out
A former managing editor of the Washington Post is warning of a massive shake out in print journalism once advertisers “wake up” to the reality that they are wasting money on newspaper and magazine advertising, not digital, where their audience is.
Robert G. Kaiser wrote for the Brookings Institution that print media, presumably including his former employer, is getting more than they should from advertisers and it won’t last much longer.
“Americans spend about five percent of the time they devote to media of all kinds to magazines and newspapers. But nearly 20 percent of advertising dollars still go to print media. So print media today are getting billions more than they probably deserve from advertisers,” he wrote.
“When those advertisers wake up, revenues will plummet still further,” warned Kaiser, the No. 2 editor from 1991-1998.
Of course, the shift is already happening. “This explains why even as newspaper revenues have plummeted, the ad revenue of Google has leapt upward year after year — from $70 million in 2001 to an astonishing $50.6 billion in 2013. That is more than two times the combined advertising revenue of every newspaper in America last year,” wrote Kaiser.
The result could be the end of some print outlets.
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Robert G. Kaiser wrote for the Brookings Institution that print media, presumably including his former employer, is getting more than they should from advertisers and it won’t last much longer.
“Americans spend about five percent of the time they devote to media of all kinds to magazines and newspapers. But nearly 20 percent of advertising dollars still go to print media. So print media today are getting billions more than they probably deserve from advertisers,” he wrote.
“When those advertisers wake up, revenues will plummet still further,” warned Kaiser, the No. 2 editor from 1991-1998.
Of course, the shift is already happening. “This explains why even as newspaper revenues have plummeted, the ad revenue of Google has leapt upward year after year — from $70 million in 2001 to an astonishing $50.6 billion in 2013. That is more than two times the combined advertising revenue of every newspaper in America last year,” wrote Kaiser.
The result could be the end of some print outlets.
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BREAKING NEWS: Human remains found in search for missing UVA student
Police say they are awaiting forensics testing results to determine the identity of human remains found in the search for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham.
DHS Started Expediting Visa Extensions from Ebola Countries in August
The relief measures, announced on the USCIS website as "Ebola Outbreak-related Immigration Relief Measures to Nationals of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone Currently in the United States," on August 15, 2014, include the following:
Change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even if the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired;
Extension of certain grants of parole made by USCIS;
Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship;
Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relatives (currently in the United States) of U.S. citizens;
Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications, where appropriate; and
Consideration for waiver of fees associated with USCIS benefit applications.
Hogan And Brown To Debate For Last Time
The major party candidates for governor will hold what is expected to be their third and final televised debate on Saturday, just 17 days before the election.
Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and Republican Larry Hogan will record their debate at the Owings Mills studio of Maryland Public Television at 4 p.m.
The debate will be broadcast Saturday at 7 p.m. on WBAL-TV, WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and MPT.
The two candidates debated in Baltimore last week, and then on Monday of this week in Washington.
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Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and Republican Larry Hogan will record their debate at the Owings Mills studio of Maryland Public Television at 4 p.m.
The debate will be broadcast Saturday at 7 p.m. on WBAL-TV, WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and MPT.
The two candidates debated in Baltimore last week, and then on Monday of this week in Washington.
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Yellen Translated: "Let Them Eat Cake"
ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan is not happy at Janet Yellen's speech this morning...
According to the Fed's triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, the top 10% of U.S. families are doing just fine, and those in the bottom fifth are essentially being kept afloat by transfer payments; but the inflation-adjusted median family income has shrunk by one-eighth since 2004. Quite simply, middle-class incomes are being gutted.
[C]iting that same survey, Ms. Yellen expressed concern about "lower-income families without assets" that "can end up, very suddenly, off the road." She therefore advised families to "take the small steps that over time can lead to the accumulation of considerable assets." She did not, however, explain how they were to accumulate these assets, in light of falling incomes and zero interest rates.
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According to the Fed's triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, the top 10% of U.S. families are doing just fine, and those in the bottom fifth are essentially being kept afloat by transfer payments; but the inflation-adjusted median family income has shrunk by one-eighth since 2004. Quite simply, middle-class incomes are being gutted.
[C]iting that same survey, Ms. Yellen expressed concern about "lower-income families without assets" that "can end up, very suddenly, off the road." She therefore advised families to "take the small steps that over time can lead to the accumulation of considerable assets." She did not, however, explain how they were to accumulate these assets, in light of falling incomes and zero interest rates.
More
Twisted campaign tricks: Brown's claim that Hogan will cut $450 million to school construction is a stretch
Republican candidate for governor Larry Hogan is probably kicking himself privately over the numerous errors in a flawed report his campaign released, which claimed ways to save $1.75 billion in state spending through curtailing waste and fraud.
For one thing, it’s given rise to the latest whopper that Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Hogan’s Democratic opponent, is spinning: Governor Hogan would cut $450 million in state funding to build schools. Brown even enlisted county executive candidate Jan Gardner, state Sen. Ron Young and the Frederick County Teachers Association as surrogates to sell this latest piece of campaign bunk at a press conference this week.
Gardner, not surprisingly, used the opportunity to take a shot at her Republican opponent, Commissioner Blaine Young.
“Blaine Young has added over 10,000 houses on the eastern side of Frederick County in New Market and Monrovia without a plan to fund the needed schools, and then we combine that with the proposed $450 million cut ... and we have a debilitating disaster in the making,” she said.
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For one thing, it’s given rise to the latest whopper that Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Hogan’s Democratic opponent, is spinning: Governor Hogan would cut $450 million in state funding to build schools. Brown even enlisted county executive candidate Jan Gardner, state Sen. Ron Young and the Frederick County Teachers Association as surrogates to sell this latest piece of campaign bunk at a press conference this week.
Gardner, not surprisingly, used the opportunity to take a shot at her Republican opponent, Commissioner Blaine Young.
“Blaine Young has added over 10,000 houses on the eastern side of Frederick County in New Market and Monrovia without a plan to fund the needed schools, and then we combine that with the proposed $450 million cut ... and we have a debilitating disaster in the making,” she said.
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Why Nations (And Organizations) Fail: Self-Serving Elites
The book Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty neatly summarizes why nations fail in a few lines:
(A nation) is poor precisely because it has been ruled by a narrow elite that has organized society for their own benefit at the expense of the vast mass of people. Political power has been narrowly concentrated, and has been used to create great wealth for those who possess it.
Sound like any countries you know? Perhaps we should flip this question around and ask: how many nations don't fit this profile?
I submit that this dynamic of failure--the concentrated power and wealth of self-serving elites-- is scale-invariant, meaning that it is equally true of communities, towns, cities, states, nations and empires alike: all fail when they're run for the benefit of a narrow elite.
There is a bitter irony in the ease with which American pundits discern this dynamic in developing-world kleptocracies while ignoring the same dynamic in America. One would imagine it would be easier to see the elites-inevitably-cause-failure in one's home country, but the pundits by and large are members of the Clerisy Upper Caste, well-paid functionaries, apparatchiks, lackeys, factotums, toadies, sycophants and apologists for the very elites that are leading America down the path of systemic failure as the ontological consequence of their self-serving consolidation of wealth and power.
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(A nation) is poor precisely because it has been ruled by a narrow elite that has organized society for their own benefit at the expense of the vast mass of people. Political power has been narrowly concentrated, and has been used to create great wealth for those who possess it.
Sound like any countries you know? Perhaps we should flip this question around and ask: how many nations don't fit this profile?
I submit that this dynamic of failure--the concentrated power and wealth of self-serving elites-- is scale-invariant, meaning that it is equally true of communities, towns, cities, states, nations and empires alike: all fail when they're run for the benefit of a narrow elite.
There is a bitter irony in the ease with which American pundits discern this dynamic in developing-world kleptocracies while ignoring the same dynamic in America. One would imagine it would be easier to see the elites-inevitably-cause-failure in one's home country, but the pundits by and large are members of the Clerisy Upper Caste, well-paid functionaries, apparatchiks, lackeys, factotums, toadies, sycophants and apologists for the very elites that are leading America down the path of systemic failure as the ontological consequence of their self-serving consolidation of wealth and power.
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Dallas Nurse Showing Ebola Symptoms Stuck On Ships Tender In Belize With Little Hope Of Evacuation Back To The USA
The Carnival Magic, a Texas based cruise ship carrying 3652 passengers is still at anchor in Belize, unable to continue its onward journey, due to the possibility of Ebola infected passengers being on board.
A couple from the cruise liner are on a ships tender, unable to return to the boat. At the same time they have been denied entry to Belize City in order to be moved by air ambulance back to the United States for treatment. One of the two people on the tender awaiting evacuation has been confirmed as a nurse who works at a Dallas Hospital.
From The Belizean:
Reports tonight are that two individuals possibly infected with the Ebola virus are in Belizean waters. Local TV station Channel 7 monitored in the capital City Of Belmopan tonight, reported having credible reports that a couple from a Texas-based cruise ship presently anchored off Belize City, is on a ship tender, unable to return to the cruise ship, while being refused entry to Belize City to catch an air ambulance awaiting at the International Airport to take them to the their country of origin, the U.S.A. The television station in its broadcast tonight said Belize health authorities contacted tonight have so far refused to deny or confirm the report. The patient exhibiting Ebola symptoms has been confirmed to be a nurse at a Dallas hospital traveling with her husband.
Later tonight in breaking news, Channel 5 Belize reported that it has:
“Confirmed with representatives of the Ministry of Health that they have indeed received a report that there is at least one passenger on board the cruise ship, Carnival Magic, showing symptoms similar to that of the Ebola virus. According to the report made to MOH, the person exhibiting the symptoms did not come ashore today. The ship is reportedly carrying 3652 passengers and a total population of 4633 persons.
“The Carnival Magic departed from Galveston Texas on Sunday, October 12 arrived in Mahogany Bay, Honduras on Wednesday October 15 and arrived in Belize this morning, Thursday October 16.
“The ship was scheduled to leave Belize en route to Cozumel this evening at 5pm. However, it is still anchored in Belizean waters near State Bank Caye.”
“We have also have confirmed that the Belize Coast Guard has been deployed to prevent anyone from leaving the ship; including the Belizean pilot on board.”
***
Update: Channel 7 news anchor Indira Craig has posted on her Facebook page that Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow in a callous move in view of very close Belize-U.S. relations, has denied entry into Belize for the stricken U.S. nationals to be air lifted to the U.S.A. for treatment.
Read the full article.
A couple from the cruise liner are on a ships tender, unable to return to the boat. At the same time they have been denied entry to Belize City in order to be moved by air ambulance back to the United States for treatment. One of the two people on the tender awaiting evacuation has been confirmed as a nurse who works at a Dallas Hospital.
From The Belizean:
Reports tonight are that two individuals possibly infected with the Ebola virus are in Belizean waters. Local TV station Channel 7 monitored in the capital City Of Belmopan tonight, reported having credible reports that a couple from a Texas-based cruise ship presently anchored off Belize City, is on a ship tender, unable to return to the cruise ship, while being refused entry to Belize City to catch an air ambulance awaiting at the International Airport to take them to the their country of origin, the U.S.A. The television station in its broadcast tonight said Belize health authorities contacted tonight have so far refused to deny or confirm the report. The patient exhibiting Ebola symptoms has been confirmed to be a nurse at a Dallas hospital traveling with her husband.
Later tonight in breaking news, Channel 5 Belize reported that it has:
“Confirmed with representatives of the Ministry of Health that they have indeed received a report that there is at least one passenger on board the cruise ship, Carnival Magic, showing symptoms similar to that of the Ebola virus. According to the report made to MOH, the person exhibiting the symptoms did not come ashore today. The ship is reportedly carrying 3652 passengers and a total population of 4633 persons.
“The Carnival Magic departed from Galveston Texas on Sunday, October 12 arrived in Mahogany Bay, Honduras on Wednesday October 15 and arrived in Belize this morning, Thursday October 16.
“The ship was scheduled to leave Belize en route to Cozumel this evening at 5pm. However, it is still anchored in Belizean waters near State Bank Caye.”
“We have also have confirmed that the Belize Coast Guard has been deployed to prevent anyone from leaving the ship; including the Belizean pilot on board.”
***
Update: Channel 7 news anchor Indira Craig has posted on her Facebook page that Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow in a callous move in view of very close Belize-U.S. relations, has denied entry into Belize for the stricken U.S. nationals to be air lifted to the U.S.A. for treatment.
Read the full article.
Prescription Drugs Now Factor in Higher Percentage of Fatal Car Crashes Than Alcohol or Marijuana
Government ignores big pharma dangers
Prescription drugs, marijuana, and multiple drug combinations are frequently found in the blood of drivers involved in fatal car crashes on US roads, according to a new study in Public Health Reports.1
Drivers today are more likely to test positive for drugs than drivers 20 years ago, and drugged drivers are now likely to be older than 50.
Gone are the days when drunk drivers were our only concern—alcohol is but one of MANY drugs that can make you dangerous behind the wheel. And now many people are on multiple drug cocktails, especially prescription drugs, which multiplies their impairment.
In 1993, about one in eight drivers were using more than one drug, but by 2010, it was closer to one in five. The number of drivers with three or more drugs in their system nearly doubled in this period, increasing from 11.5 to 21.5 percent. Study author Fernando Wilson of the University of Nebraska Medical Center adds:
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Prescription drugs, marijuana, and multiple drug combinations are frequently found in the blood of drivers involved in fatal car crashes on US roads, according to a new study in Public Health Reports.1
Drivers today are more likely to test positive for drugs than drivers 20 years ago, and drugged drivers are now likely to be older than 50.
Gone are the days when drunk drivers were our only concern—alcohol is but one of MANY drugs that can make you dangerous behind the wheel. And now many people are on multiple drug cocktails, especially prescription drugs, which multiplies their impairment.
In 1993, about one in eight drivers were using more than one drug, but by 2010, it was closer to one in five. The number of drivers with three or more drugs in their system nearly doubled in this period, increasing from 11.5 to 21.5 percent. Study author Fernando Wilson of the University of Nebraska Medical Center adds:
More
SFD Calls For Service 10-17-14
- Friday October, 17 2014 @ 22:16Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Friday October, 17 2014 @ 18:17Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Friday October, 17 2014 @ 18:09Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Friday October, 17 2014 @ 18:08 Nature: Automatic AlarmAddress: 802 College Ln Salisbury, MD 21801
- Friday October, 17 2014 @ 17:02Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
Just Another Day in Law Enforcement
DETROIT, MI — A Special Response Team shattered a family’s window in the middle of the night, hurled a flashbang onto a couch next to a sleeping girl, then charged in and shot her in the head. The hyper-aggressive tactics were made worse by the fact that police had taken it upon themselves to raid both sides of a duplex, when their suspect was only known to reside in one of them.
On the evening of May 16, 2010, the Detroit Police Department’s Special Response Team (SRT) prepared for a surprise raid to arrest a wanted man. A surveillance unit had been monitoring the duplex in which he lived throughout the day and a no-knock raid was scheduled for just after midnight.
Police staged a so-called “safety briefing” shortly before the raid; undoubtedly focusing on their own safety rather than the safety of unknown innocents behind the doors they were about to kick in. Officers were briefed that they’d be entering a “possible dope den,” in which the suspect “might be armed” and might even possess “dangerous dogs.”
Police neglected to account for — or flatly disregarded — the safety of any potential children that might be present. Besides the glaring presence of toys strewn about the lawn and front porch, it is unlikely that investigators could have missed the presence of four young children and multi-generational family in the opposite unit during their surveillance of the duplex.
The raid commenced at roughly 12:40 a.m. The Special Response Team arrived in its armored vehicle with a warrant to arrest Chauncey Owens, who was known to stay with his fiancée at 4056 Lillibridge Street.
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On the evening of May 16, 2010, the Detroit Police Department’s Special Response Team (SRT) prepared for a surprise raid to arrest a wanted man. A surveillance unit had been monitoring the duplex in which he lived throughout the day and a no-knock raid was scheduled for just after midnight.
Police staged a so-called “safety briefing” shortly before the raid; undoubtedly focusing on their own safety rather than the safety of unknown innocents behind the doors they were about to kick in. Officers were briefed that they’d be entering a “possible dope den,” in which the suspect “might be armed” and might even possess “dangerous dogs.”
Police neglected to account for — or flatly disregarded — the safety of any potential children that might be present. Besides the glaring presence of toys strewn about the lawn and front porch, it is unlikely that investigators could have missed the presence of four young children and multi-generational family in the opposite unit during their surveillance of the duplex.
The raid commenced at roughly 12:40 a.m. The Special Response Team arrived in its armored vehicle with a warrant to arrest Chauncey Owens, who was known to stay with his fiancée at 4056 Lillibridge Street.
More
Pollitt Embarks on 'Hitler's Scortched Earth Policy' related to Wicomico County Finances - Lawyer's Legal Fees Mount
Back Street Grill
Pollitt's Campaign Office?
http://www.wicomicocounty.org/documentcenter/view/2749
Bombshell Testimony From Officer Darren Wilson Provides His Account of Events Moments Before Shooting
The police officer at the center of the Michael Brown controversy in Ferguson, Missouri told investigators he was assaulted by the 18-year-old moments before fatally shooting him.
According to the New York Times, which published the first public account of the testimony, officer Darren Wilson struggled with Brown during the brief scuffle that left the Ferguson resident dead.
From the Times:
The officer, Darren Wilson, has told the authorities that during the scuffle, Mr. Brown reached for the gun. It was fired twice in the car, according to forensics tests performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The first bullet struck Mr. Brown in the arm; the second bullet missed.More
A “300%” Lie Verses a “$10,000.00” Truth
by Delegate Mike McDermott
Debunking lies in any campaign is important. While I have offered the voters a complete web site (LiberalJim.com) where each vote or action is documented and linked to original sources, Jim Mathias and his controllers in Annapolis do not hold fast to ethical behavior.
This week, the Mathias camp put out a mailer that makes false claims regarding the salary compensation for the Mayor and Council of Pocomoke City years ago..
In 2007 a compensation study was performed and recommendations were made to the Pocomoke City Council as to the salary levels for the offices of Mayor and Council Members. It was recommended that the compensation be adjusted as follows:
Mayor from $2500 to $7500;
Council Member from $2000 to $6000.
It had been years since any adjustments were made and none of the proposed increases would take place until after the next municipal election. The next election for Mayor would not take place for another two years.
Claiming a “300%” increase is false and reflects poor math skills...but liberals do not usually do well in such fact based subject matter. The actual increase was 200%.
The Mayor of Pocomoke City does not possess a vote...not even to break a tie. Therefore, it would have been impossible for me to “vote myself” a salary increase. Only the City Council Members can make that decision. At the time, their decision was unanimous.
However, since Mathias brought the matter up, you may find it interesting how we both handled a much more relevant bill in this year’s session regarding salary compensation for members of the General Assembly.
i sponsored HJ-9 along with many of my colleagues. The bill would have stopped a $10,000.00 salary increase for legislators which will take effect next year. It was never allowed to receive a vote by the democrats.
Jim Mathias, on the other hand, did not support SJ-9 which was the Senate version of the bill that would have stopped his salary from increasing $10,000.00 were he to be re-elected.
Mathias makes much of a salary increase i could not vote for, but when he had a chance to actually take a stand against his own salary increase, he was nowhere to be found. In typical liberal fashion it is, “Do as I say and not as I do”.
Regulators Close Small Maryland Bank
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators have closed a small lender in Maryland, bringing U.S. bank failures this year to 15 after 24 closures in all of 2013.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that it has taken over NBRS Financial Bank of Rising Sun, Maryland.
The bank, which operated five branches, had about $188.2 million in assets and $183.1 million in deposits as of June 30.
Howard Bank of Ellicott City, Maryland, has agreed to pay the FDIC a premium of 1.19 percent to assume all of the failed bank's deposits. It also agreed to buy essentially all of its assets.
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that it has taken over NBRS Financial Bank of Rising Sun, Maryland.
The bank, which operated five branches, had about $188.2 million in assets and $183.1 million in deposits as of June 30.
Howard Bank of Ellicott City, Maryland, has agreed to pay the FDIC a premium of 1.19 percent to assume all of the failed bank's deposits. It also agreed to buy essentially all of its assets.
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The Nuclear Option: To Fight Ebola, First Wipe Out Malaria with DDT
It is good to see President Obama and his political machine finally wake up, sound the alarm and spring into action against the ongoing global humanitarian crisis that is Ebola.
Only now that it has reached America’s shores, threatens to wreak havoc on the world’s economy and, most importantly to the president and his political allies, appears poised to deliver a staggering blow to the Democratic Party and their borderless agenda of recklessness and ineptitude in November’s elections.
If it were not so tragic, it might be comical to hear his minions squirm, vacillate, hem and haw about what Americans should do. One minute, everybody is to remain calm. Then next, we are all supposed to “think Ebola” and monitor our fevers and cease personal contact.
One thing is absolutely certain: These people have been exactly, completely, 100 percent wrong every step of the way.
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Only now that it has reached America’s shores, threatens to wreak havoc on the world’s economy and, most importantly to the president and his political allies, appears poised to deliver a staggering blow to the Democratic Party and their borderless agenda of recklessness and ineptitude in November’s elections.
If it were not so tragic, it might be comical to hear his minions squirm, vacillate, hem and haw about what Americans should do. One minute, everybody is to remain calm. Then next, we are all supposed to “think Ebola” and monitor our fevers and cease personal contact.
One thing is absolutely certain: These people have been exactly, completely, 100 percent wrong every step of the way.
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A Comment Worthy Of A Post 10-18-14
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Pollitt Using Wicomico County Personnel and Proper...":
WicCo Charter-
Section 607
Prohibition against political activities.
"The members of the County Council, County Executive and any officers appointed by him shall be prohibited from requesting any county employee subject to the county personnel regulations to make any purchase or contribution or pay any assessment for political purposes; nor shall any officer or employee participate in any political activities or electioneering while in the course of their employment with the county. For purposes of this section "in the course of their employment with the county" shall mean that time for which one is being paid to perform work assigned by or for the benefit of the county."
WicCo Charter-
Section 607
Prohibition against political activities.
"The members of the County Council, County Executive and any officers appointed by him shall be prohibited from requesting any county employee subject to the county personnel regulations to make any purchase or contribution or pay any assessment for political purposes; nor shall any officer or employee participate in any political activities or electioneering while in the course of their employment with the county. For purposes of this section "in the course of their employment with the county" shall mean that time for which one is being paid to perform work assigned by or for the benefit of the county."
CBS Journalist on Ebola Snarkily Tweets "Not Sure When Sen. Rand Paul Became A Doctor"
She deleted her red-faced tweet, however, the question should be "Where did Katy learn Journalism?"
We do have a special type of empathy for you Katy, as per your byline....it goes by the name of pity.....alas
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A Comment Worthy Of A Post: That's Too Cool
Ben Carson: 'Why Are We the Last' on Ebola Travel Ban?
It makes "common sense" for the United States to impose a ban on people traveling from countries most affected by Ebola, said Dr. Ben Carson.
Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, told "Fox & Friends" a travel ban would have been "one of the first things to do" once Ebola began to spread in western Africa. He questioned why the U.S. did not have a ban when other countries had imposed travel restrictions.
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Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, told "Fox & Friends" a travel ban would have been "one of the first things to do" once Ebola began to spread in western Africa. He questioned why the U.S. did not have a ban when other countries had imposed travel restrictions.
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Ebola: Political correctness could kill a lot of us
Pat Buchanan: Community and country come ahead of any obligation to people of Africa
Growing up in Washington in the 1930s and ’40s, our home was, several times, put under quarantine. A poster would be tacked on the door indicating the presence within of a contagious disease – measles, mumps, chicken pox, scarlet fever.
None of us believed we were victims of some sort of invidious discrimination against large Catholic families. It was a given that public health authorities were trying to contain the spread of a disease threatening the health of children.
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Growing up in Washington in the 1930s and ’40s, our home was, several times, put under quarantine. A poster would be tacked on the door indicating the presence within of a contagious disease – measles, mumps, chicken pox, scarlet fever.
None of us believed we were victims of some sort of invidious discrimination against large Catholic families. It was a given that public health authorities were trying to contain the spread of a disease threatening the health of children.
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Judge: Lawsuit In Police Death Of Man With Down Syndrome Can Move Forward
Robert Ethan Saylor died, which generated outrage among parents of children with Down syndrome and advocacy groups across the country.
U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson was just as scathing, writing in his 54-page ruling that “a man died over the cost of a movie ticket.”
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Be Here During The Full Noon Hour Today
Feds Pull In $3 Trillion in Taxes, a Historic High
Newly released government figures show that federal tax revenues topped $3 trillion for the first time in history, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday.
According to the Treasury Department's latest Monthly Treasury Statement, the federal government collected $3.020 trillion — an increase of 9 percent in revenue compared with 2013.
Only five years ago, in 2009, the Treasury collected in $2.1 trillion in taxes.
"Every one of those $3 trillion is sucked out of the private-sector economy and makes the private sector smaller," Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, told The Washington Times.
"The $3 trillion isn't free. It comes out of our pockets and from the private economy," Edwards said.
In fiscal year 1977, the federal government collected $1.401 trillion in inflation-adjusted revenue. Compared with current figures, that represents an increase in revenues of 115.7 percent, according to CNS News.
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According to the Treasury Department's latest Monthly Treasury Statement, the federal government collected $3.020 trillion — an increase of 9 percent in revenue compared with 2013.
Only five years ago, in 2009, the Treasury collected in $2.1 trillion in taxes.
"Every one of those $3 trillion is sucked out of the private-sector economy and makes the private sector smaller," Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, told The Washington Times.
"The $3 trillion isn't free. It comes out of our pockets and from the private economy," Edwards said.
In fiscal year 1977, the federal government collected $1.401 trillion in inflation-adjusted revenue. Compared with current figures, that represents an increase in revenues of 115.7 percent, according to CNS News.
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HISTORICAL COMMENTS By George Chevallier 10-18-14
NANTICOKE’S TUNA PLANT
(early 1950’s magazine article by William Stump)
TUNA – fat, meaty fish weighing as much as 70 pounds – are returning into Maryland waters by the thousands this winter.
They’re running up the Chesapeake and into the Nanticoke – aboard a sea-stained refrigerator ship called the Rumba that was built in Scotland, sails out of Callao, Peru ,flies the Costa Rican flag, is manned by Peruvians and is captained by a skipper named Antonio Roberto Janssen.
Four times a year at various Peruvian ports as many as 400 tons of silvery tuna, tuna caught by fishing vessels off Peru, are frozen solid and loaded into the Rumba’s deep sub-zero holds. Then the stubby motorship heads up the Pacific coast, through the Panama Canal and north to the village of Nanticoke – the location of a growing new Maryland industry.
That industry is the large-scale canning of imported tuna, and it is new to the East Coast as well as to this state. It was pioneered in Nanticoke, by a packing house now canning thousands of cases a year.
“You know, it still sort of surprises us that we were the first to think of canning South American tuna,” says H. B. Kennerly, Jr., manager of the firm he owned with his father.
“It surprises us because Maryland and the mid-Atlantic Coast are hundreds of miles closer than California to the South American fishing grounds – and 90 per cent of the California-packed tuna, and that’s most of the tuna Americans eat, comes from those grounds. Besides, we’re a lot closer to the markets.”
The Kennerlys’ tuna adventure began in 1946, when the war-nourished demand for their canned herring and whitefish fell off sharply. “One day Dad came back from New Jersey with a few albacore,” Mr. Kennerly recalls. “We didn’t know what this fish was. Then we discovered if was a species of tuna, and we began to pack it.”
But the Kennerlys found out that albacore and the other Atlantic species were not available if sufficient quantities. Hence, the coming of tuna “in the round” from Peru. And hence, the coming of the Rumba, now in its second year of delivering the fish.
The Rumba makes the 18-day, 2750 mile voyage to Nanticoke only in the cool months, so as to keep the tuna from spoiling during the unloading. She is 165 feet long and 500 tons in gross cargo weight. She anchors about two thirds of a mile offshore.
Upon her arrival, the junior Mr. Kennerly, a man whose eyes light up when he talks about fish, pays a visit to the vessel. He is greeted by Captain Janssen, who commands a crew of nineteen officers and men, including refrigeration experts who keep the holds at just-below-zero temperatures.
The captain, who wears an American baseball cap, is descended from a Norwegian grandfather who settled in Peru in the last century. Like his ancestor, he has followed the sea since boyhood, and has served on merchantmen all over the world. He looks forward, he says, to the Nanticoke voyage – one reason being that among the customs men posted aboard, he can usually find a chess player.
“On my ship, only the mate, Oscar Mujica, can play this game,” says Captain Janssen. “And ones tires of the same competition.”
When the formalities are completed in the Rumba’s tiny cabin, Spanish-speaking sailors open up the hatches, displaying ton upon ton of stiff-frozen tuna, glistening under a coating of ice crystals. Occasionally, big burlap-packed slabs of swordfish are in the cargo; these are immediately shipped north.
Soon a 50-ton lighter is tied up alongside and the Negro cannery workers jump aboard, greeting the sailors with Spanish words learned on previous trips. Then a donkey engine lowers a cargo net into the hold, and the workers fill it with the fish, shouting Arriba! the Spanish word for “up”, when the net is ready.
When the lighter is loaded, it is towed to Nanticoke. There, Edwin Schoenrick, a retired State Department official who served in South America and who volunteered his Spanish and his services to the Kennerlys when the Rumba first put in, supervises the shifting of the cargo to trucks, which take the fish to a huge freezer building near the cannery.
It sometimes takes a week to unload the Rumba, and the task requires most of the cannery personnel. So it is not until the vessel leaves – its crew members laden with American movie magazines – that the packing begins.
But the tuna will not be ready to eat for a week after packing, and it will be even better after a year, for, like whisky, it improves with age.
“We pack 75,000 cases a year, which comes out to 1,800,000 pounds,” Mr. Kennerly says.
“That’s a lot of fish, and it doesn’t all come in on the Rumba; we receive much of it by regular cargo ships that dock in New York and Baltimore.
“Of course, we’re nowhere near approaching the production of California, which puts up over 8,000,000 cases a year. But the industry is growing here in the East – there’s another plant in Maryland at Tilghman Island – and the Californians are worried. It’ll be a lot of fun to see what happens in the future.”
UPDATE (not part of the original magazine article) – The tuna plant was subsequently used by Coldwater Seafood until they moved to Cambridge when Wicomico County refused to make Nanticoke a deep draught harbor that would facilitate them receiving the large boats from Iceland with frozen fish. Then it was used as a chicken plant by Otis Esham. It lay idle for a couple of years and then was operated as another chicken plant by a co-operative known as Champion Chicken. When they went out of business in the late 1970’s, the whole 5 acres along with the building and equipment was sold at auction by the government for the paltry sum of $68,000. I know this because I was at the auction. The stainless steel processing equipment and a refrigeration unit on the roof was worth three times that. The freezer on the north end of the property was dismantled and reused in North Carolina. Showell Poultry bought it and it is now a vacant lot owned by Perdue by way of them purchasing Showell. Many people have eyed the property as prime real estate for condominiums overlooking a beautiful harbor but after many years of seafood and chicken plant operations the land will not perk for clean water. So – it sits.
Maryland Is Taking Precautions To Prevent Spread Of Ebola
Derek Valcourt has more on the steps the state is taking.
So far there have been no cases of Ebola diagnosed in Maryland, but health officials say they aren’t waiting to see one before they start preparing.
The governor’s press conference came just hours after an Ebola infected nurse arrived in Bethesda from Texas for treatment at NIH.
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Polar Vortex will strike the US AGAIN this winter, meteorologists warn
Leading meteorologists are warning the Mid-Atlantic is in for a repeat of last winter, which was noted as the 34th coldest such period for the contiguous 48 states as a whole since modern records began in 1895, according to weather.com.
Now, with a month-and-a-half left of fall, the forecasts are in, and another polar vortex looks set to hit the Northeast from January and not let up for months.
Accuweather are reporting that New York will again experience above-average snow and freezing temperatures, however neither is expect to hold out as long as the brutal winter of 2013/14.
'I think, primarily, we’ll see that happening in mid-January into February but again, it’s not going to be the same type of situation as we saw last year, not as persistent,' AccuWeather.com Expert Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said.
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Obama Names Former Biden Chief Of Staff As Ebola Czar; Harris Critical
President Barack Obama on Friday turned to a trusted adviser to lead the nation's Ebola response as efforts to clamp down on any possible route of infection from three Texas cases expanded, reaching a cruise ship at sea and multiple airline flights.
Facing renewed criticism of his handling of the Ebola risk, Obama will make Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, his point man on fighting Ebola at home and in West Africa. Klain will report to national security adviser Susan Rice and to homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco, the White House said.
Maryland Republican Congressman Andy Harris, who is also a physician, says Klain is not qualified for the job since he is a lawyer and not a doctor.
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Facing renewed criticism of his handling of the Ebola risk, Obama will make Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, his point man on fighting Ebola at home and in West Africa. Klain will report to national security adviser Susan Rice and to homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco, the White House said.
Maryland Republican Congressman Andy Harris, who is also a physician, says Klain is not qualified for the job since he is a lawyer and not a doctor.
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Amber Vinson Was Contagious for FOUR DAYS Before Her Official Diagnosis
Health officials believe Amber Vinson was contagious four days before her official diagnosis.
Two schools and a bridal wear shop in Cleveland, Ohio have been closed as a precaution after Amber Vinson had contact with people there.
The CDC believes she had a slight fever when she flew from Dallas to Cleveland, and that she may have been contagious as early as Friday of last week. She was officially diagnosed on Tuesday of this week, four days later.
President Obama commented on the Vinson case saying:
“It is very important that we are monitoring and tracking anyone who was in close proximity to this second nurse.” (source)
Officials are now tracking the contacts she made on that flight, and those she came into contact with in Ohio, as well as those people on the return flight to Dallas. Several of those passengers were themselves nurses, working it’s believed, at three hospitals in Cleveland. A statement released by two of the facilities said:
“Today, we learned that Cleveland Clinic and The MetroHealth System had employees – mostly nurses – aboard the Frontier flight from Dallas to Cleveland on October 10, returning from a nursing conference in Texas. That flight included the Dallas nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola when she returned to Dallas on October 13.
Both health systems have put all of our employees who were on that flight on paid leave while we will monitor their health daily. We are confident that these nurses are at low risk of exposure since we understand that the Dallas nurse did not have symptoms at the time. We have taken this measure as an extra precautionary step for our employees, patients, and visitors.
Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System, and University Hospitals will be working closely together to keep our community safe and to work toward preventing the spread of the Ebola virus.” (source)
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Two schools and a bridal wear shop in Cleveland, Ohio have been closed as a precaution after Amber Vinson had contact with people there.
The CDC believes she had a slight fever when she flew from Dallas to Cleveland, and that she may have been contagious as early as Friday of last week. She was officially diagnosed on Tuesday of this week, four days later.
President Obama commented on the Vinson case saying:
“It is very important that we are monitoring and tracking anyone who was in close proximity to this second nurse.” (source)
Officials are now tracking the contacts she made on that flight, and those she came into contact with in Ohio, as well as those people on the return flight to Dallas. Several of those passengers were themselves nurses, working it’s believed, at three hospitals in Cleveland. A statement released by two of the facilities said:
“Today, we learned that Cleveland Clinic and The MetroHealth System had employees – mostly nurses – aboard the Frontier flight from Dallas to Cleveland on October 10, returning from a nursing conference in Texas. That flight included the Dallas nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola when she returned to Dallas on October 13.
Both health systems have put all of our employees who were on that flight on paid leave while we will monitor their health daily. We are confident that these nurses are at low risk of exposure since we understand that the Dallas nurse did not have symptoms at the time. We have taken this measure as an extra precautionary step for our employees, patients, and visitors.
Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System, and University Hospitals will be working closely together to keep our community safe and to work toward preventing the spread of the Ebola virus.” (source)
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U.S. troops DID find chemical weapons in Iraq - but Pentagon kept it secret
Discovery of 5,000 warheads and shells 'was hushed up because they were not weapons of mass destruction'
About 5,000 chemical weapons were recovered or destroyed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion but the Pentagon chose to keep the findings top secret, it has emerged.
An investigation by The New York Times has revealed that U.S. forces happened across the hidden caches of warheads, shells and aviation bombs between 2004 and 2011.
But the information wasn't made public as embarrassingly the weapons, many of which had been built in close collaboration with the West, had been sitting dormant since the 1980s and so didn't support President George W. Bush's rationale for going to war.
At least 17 American troops were also seriously injured discovering and attempting to destroy the deteriorating shells filled with nerve and mustard agents.
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About 5,000 chemical weapons were recovered or destroyed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion but the Pentagon chose to keep the findings top secret, it has emerged.
An investigation by The New York Times has revealed that U.S. forces happened across the hidden caches of warheads, shells and aviation bombs between 2004 and 2011.
But the information wasn't made public as embarrassingly the weapons, many of which had been built in close collaboration with the West, had been sitting dormant since the 1980s and so didn't support President George W. Bush's rationale for going to war.
At least 17 American troops were also seriously injured discovering and attempting to destroy the deteriorating shells filled with nerve and mustard agents.
More