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Saturday, October 25, 2014

A Letter To The Editor 10-25-14

Sometimes we are at two ends of a conflict but no matter what may happen I have a huge request

Always take care of yourself and family

Always continue with you deeds be them know or not

Always know that even though I am considered a limited person by many I would do anything possible to help you or your family if needed

Thank you for having the biggest Balls in this town and County

Be well and may you live long and prosper (couldn't think of a Beatle quote so I settled for Star Trek)

Opening Night For Tickled Paint


Latest Hogan for Governor ad, "Competing for Your Vote" features Lt. Governor candidate Boyd Rutherford

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The latest ad in the Hogan-Rutherford campaign features Lt. Governor candidate Boyd Rutherford. In the ad, Rutherford, a resident of Columbia, speaks directly to the camera about why he decided to run for Lt. Governor.

"If you want real change in Maryland, then you need to vote for different people," Rutherford says. "The professional politicians have no incentive to bring real solutions to the community because they believe you're going to vote for them regardless. Make them compete for your vote – We are competing for your vote."

The ad can be found here. A transcript of the ad is below.

"I'm Boyd Rutherford, I am running for Lt. Governor with my friend, Larry Hogan.
 ​
If you want real change in Maryland, then you need to vote for different people.

About $400 on average is being pulled out of Maryland families' paychecks every month because of the Brown-O'Malley taxes and fee increases.

The professional politicians have no incentive to bring real solutions to the community because they believe you're going to vote for them regardless. Make them compete for your vote – We are competing for your vote."

'The Last Injection Is Never Enough in Today's Stimulus Addicted Casinos'

Wall Street is "one sick puppy," but the world's major central banks are even sicker as they throw impossible mountains of money at intractable problems, according to David Stockman, director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan White House.

The outspoken Stockman said a stock market correction appeared to have taken hold last week until the Federal Reserve deliberately stopped it with some hints about a possible extension of quantitative easing (QE).

The comment from St. Louis Fed president James Bullard (who Stockman dubbed "Dullard") promptly caused Wall Street to buy the dip, and stocks came roaring back.

"And it's no different anywhere else in the central bank besotted financial markets around the world. Everywhere state action, not business enterprise, is believed to be the source of wealth creation — at least the stock market's paper wealth version and even if for just a few more hours or days," Stockman asserted on his Contra Corner blog.

He noted the Japanese stock market recovered recently after Japan's central bank suggested the heavily indebted government there would buy more equities, and European bourses this week came roaring back on a report the European Central Bank might start buying corporate bonds.

"The thing is, however, the last injection is never enough in today's stimulus addicted casinos," Stockman wrote.

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New study: the middle class is collapsing in the United States

When I was growing up, my father was able to support his family of four on a single income. And when he was growing up, his father could do the same.

This sort of security simply doesn’t exist anymore.

These days, it typically takes two working parents just to be able to afford a comfortable standard of living. And even then, just barely.

Today people have to borrow on their credit cards just to get by. And young people are forced to indebt themselves decades into the future simply to pay for an increasingly worthless university degree.

In 1970, general tuition at the University of Pennsylvania was $2,550 per year, roughly 33% of the median household income at the time ($7,559).

Bear in mind this was at a time when most households were still supported by a single income.

By 2012, however, general tuition at the same school had risen to $42,734—over 86% of the median household income ($49,486) at a time when many households had become dual income.

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Veteran's Day In America


REVEALED AUTOPSY DESTROYS 'GENTLE GIANT' MICHAEL BROWN 'HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT' STORY

A new autopsy report revealed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has now put the final nail in the coffin of the Michael Brown “Gentle Giant” narrative. Proponents of prosecuting Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department over his shooting of Brown have claimed that Wilson shot Brown while he was running away, his hands up. In actuality, the autopsy report suggests that Brown did indeed attempt to take Wilson’s gun, that Wilson shot him in the hand over it, and that Brown charged Wilson with his hands down.

In other words, every element of the original narrative pushed by the media, leftist politicians, and protesters was a lie.

Here’s what the autopsy report shows.

Wilson’s Narrative. The autopsy fully states Officer Wilson’s story:

The deceased and another individual were walking down the middle of the Canfield. Officer D. WILSON DSN-609, of the Ferguson Police Department observed the two individuals, he requested that they get out of the roadway.

The deceased became belligerent towards Officer WILSON. As Officer WILSON attempted to exit out of his patrol vehicle the deceased pushed his door shut and began to struggle with Officer WILSON, during the struggle the Officers [sic] weapon was unholstered. The weapon discharged during the struggle.

The deceased then ran down the roadway. Officer WILSON then began to chase the deceased. As he was giving chase to the deceased, the deceased turned around and ran towards Officer WILSON. Officer WILSON had his service weapon drawn, as the deceased began to run towards him, he discharged his service weapon several times.

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Bombing ISIS


Man says it’s discrimination that people won’t hire him because he’s covered with tattoos

Truth be told? Co-Founder Of Weather Channel: Climate Change Proved To Be “Nothing But A Big Lie”

Is the truth finally been told in the climate change saga? John Coleman, who co-founded the Weather Channel, shocked academics by insisting the theory of man-made climate change was no longer scientifically credible.

John Coleman, who co-founded the Weather Channel, shocked academics by insisting the theory of man-made climate change was no longer scientifically credible.

Instead, what ‘little evidence’ there is for rising global temperatures points to a ‘natural phenomenon’ within a developing eco-system.

In an open letter attacking the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he wrote: “The ocean is not rising significantly.

“The polar ice is increasing, not melting away. Polar Bears are increasing in number.

“Heat waves have actually diminished, not increased. There is not an uptick in the number or strength of storms (in fact storms are diminishing).

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Top 10 Most Ridiculous Things Liberals Have Tried to Ban

Map Shows 22 Terrorist Training Camps in the U.S…. But Obama Refuses to Act

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! If the administration wants us to believe that they are doing everything in their power to protect us, then they have some explaining to do about this one. There are at least 22 active terror cells INSIDE the United States.

This is a horrifying development. There are at least 22 active terror cells INSIDE the United States.

This is according to an actual FBI map, not just some lunatic fringe, conspiracy theorist.
Jamaat ul-Fuqra, which runs the camps, is an Islamic fundamentalist organization related to Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organizations.

To make matters worse, the “FBI states that their hands are tied in monitoring their activities despite a training video that is years old, possible murders, and proof of illegal activities.”

These are not brand-new camps either. Homeland Security has known about them for years.
“In order to live in these camps, you must pledge to support a Pakistani Cleric on the International Wanted list. As early as 2012, the media confirmed 19 Jihad camps on United States soil.” (H/T Mad World News)

The reason DHS and the FBI have been unable to act against this very real threat inside our homeland is because the Obama Administration refuses to classify their parent organizations, Muslims of the Americas and Jamaat ul-Fuqra, as terrorist organizations. These cells have already been involved in several crimes, including at least 10 murders and multiple attempts at bombings.

President Obama has done shockingly little to confront the Islamic State and international Islamic terrorist abroad. It is even more outrageous and indefensible that he is weak and failing to tackle the threat here at home.

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VOTER FRAUD ALERT: Obama Program Puts Illegals On Voter Rolls

Still 10 days our from the election and there are already rampant reports of voter fraud! North Carolina’s election board found154 ineligible voters on its poll lists

With early voting starting Thursday, North Carolina’s election board found 154 ineligible voters on its poll lists — and officials are examining thousands more questionable registrations.

The illegal immigrants landed on the state’s voter rolls, courtesy of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The State Board of Elections said late Tuesday that more than 9,000 additional voters’ names are being checked for legal status. They do not expect to finish checking before early voting starts Thursday.

“We don’t know what we don’t know,” special counsel Brian LiVecchi told Watchdog.org.

We all know that voter fraud is alive and well in the United States. When are we going to do something about it on a large scale? With the threat of Obama sweeping immigration reform coming down the pike, this problem is only going to get worse. This needs to be stopped now!!!

Source

Of Course the Government Should Force Churches to Perform Gay Weddings

There has been a lot of outrage from radical right wing circles this week, as slobbering fundamentalist bigots in backwards cesspools like Texas and Idaho are finally being called to task for their anti-gay hatred. Conservative Christians are about the only thing we should hate more than bigotry, so it’s about time we start cracking down on these cretins.

First, Houston’s lesbian mayor attempted to subpoena the sermons of various conservative pastors, alleging that said sermons might contain Christian messages. Now, I have it on good authority that, these days, a sermon is often the last place to look for Biblical content (just ask Joel Osteen), but better safe than sorry. Mayor Parker was reasonably concerned that some Christians in her city were attending Christian worship services and still, by some strange coincidence, encountering Christian doctrine. Specifically, she was worried that her constituents were being exposed to Christian ideas on the subject of homosexuality, so she launched an investigation into the matter.

Predictably, the wingnuts threw a hissyfit. They exploded with indignation and began making feverish and fantastical claims about how “the constitution” allegedly protects freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Apparently, in the bizarro world of the American Right, mandated governmental homily inspections are suddenly considered controversial. These people obviously don’t realize that our ancestors originally settled on our shores in order to escape a government that, in their opinion, didn’t provide enough supervision over their religious activities.

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CIA Warned Obama that Funding Rebels Doesn’t Work … But Obama Decided to Fund Syrian Rebels ANYWAY For Cynical Political Gain

We’ve pointed out for years that arming the Syrian and Libyan rebels to topple leaders we don’t like is a really stupid idea.

It turns out that the CIA agrees with us.

The New York Times reports:

The Central Intelligence Agency has run guns to insurgencies across the world during its 67-year history — from Angola to Nicaragua to Cuba [to Syria].

***

An internal C.I.A. study has found that it rarely works.

The still-classified review, one of several C.I.A. studies commissioned in 2012 and 2013 in the midst of the Obama administration’s protracted debate about whether to wade into the Syrian civil war, concluded thatmany past attempts by the agency to arm foreign forces covertly had a minimal impact on the long-term outcome of a conflict. They were even less effective, the report found, when the militias fought without any direct American support on the ground.

***

The findings of the study, described in recent weeks by current and former American government officials, were presented in the White House Situation Room and led to deep skepticism among some senior Obama administration officials about the wisdom of arming and training members of a fractured Syrian opposition.

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It’s Time To Stand For Something

With the midterm elections just weeks away, the numbers indicate that Republicans are pretty well positioned to take control of the Senate. While this is good news, in that it would give Republicans what they need to pass much-needed legislation to stimulate our economy, strengthen our immigration system, and put the brakes on some of the out-of-control agencies in our federal government.

Not that they would have any prayer of getting this type of legislation signed by President Obama, but at the very least, it would give the lie to the “do-nothing” lies that Democrats have used to smear the Republican-controlled Congress.

But as usual, the Republican Party seems intent on squandering a great opportunity to secure a future for the party, and for conservatism, within the U.S. government.

President Obama, intent on doing anything and everything he can to skew the elections in the Democrats’ favor, has pushed off the announcement of insurance rate increases under Obamacare until after the midterm elections. He has put off his plan to take executive action on amnesty until after the midterm elections (though the federal government has been caughtmaking preparations for amnesty). He has delayed the announcement of his pick for Attorney General until after the midterm elections. He has pretty much delayed his entire agenda until after the midterms, because the only concrete action he can possibly take to improve Democrats’ chances is to do nothing.

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Join Station 7 For Halloween


Ebola Czar


Obama Can’t Help Throwing His Party Under His Bus

Politically speaking, President Barack Obama is almost as toxic as the ominous viruses he continues to mismanage. Every Democratic candidate fears the contagion and seeks to quarantine himself from his presence and policies.

It’s hardly unfair to say that Obama has earned his current condition, having squandered more unearned goodwill than any president in recent memory.

Despite his fall, during a speech at Northwestern University earlier this month, Obama couldn’t resist blurting out: “I’m not on the ballot this fall. Michelle’s pretty happy about that. But make no mistake: These policies are on the ballot — every single one of them.”

Actually, he didn’t just blurt it out. These were prepared remarks. He fully meant to say that every Democrat running for national office is tied to his record and his agenda going forward. In fact, he specified a number of items that he had in mind, from boasting of his economic record and aggressively defending Obamacare to advocating a minimum wage hike and an extension of unemployment benefits.

After throwing his fellow Democrats under that careening bus with which he’s driving the United States into ever greater despair, he turned to his favorite subject: demonizing, slandering and scapegoating Republicans for the distressing state of affairs he has created but whose existence he just finished denying.

Democratic candidates were probably mortified that Obama had given them a shoutout and hoped it had been an accident. At the very least, they prayed that he wouldn’t repeat the favor, especially as November drew closer.

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Rise Of The Machines: Vote For Republicans In Chicago Automatically Changed To Democrats

Jim Moynihan, Republican candidate for the Illinois State House, went in Wednesday to vote early, and to vote for himself. But when he touched the screen mark his name, it was his Democratic opponent’s name that registered the vote.

“While early voting at the Schaumburg Public Library today, I tried to cast a vote for myself and instead it cast the vote for my opponent,” Moynihan told Illinois Review. “You could imagine my surprise as the same thing happened with a number of races when I tried to vote for a Republican and the machine registered a vote for a Democrat.”

Every time he touched the screen for a Republican the machine registered it as a vote for the Democrat. “Clearly, I am concerned that citizens will be unable to vote for the candidate of their choice, especially if they are in a hurry and do not double check their ballot,” Moynihan said.

He notified the election officials and demonstrated the problem for them. He was eventually able to vote for himself and other Republicans.

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Why Republicans Don’t Get It

A new poll this week shows 2012 presidential nominee and 2008 primary candidate Mitt Romney leading the field of potential 2016 Republican candidates. According to ABC News/Washington Post, 21 percent of Republican voters would vote for Romney in the primaries; Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee tie at 10 percent, followed by Rand Paul, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan. Altogether, some 44 percent of Republican primary voters want an “establishment” candidate — by which we mean a candidate for whom social issues are secondary, immigration reform is primary and economics dominates.

The establishment donors on the coasts see this poll and believe that a consolidated funding effort mobilized behind the Chosen One (Romney, Bush, Christie or Ryan) could avoid a messy primary and keep the powder dry for a 2016 showdown with Hillary.

The conservative base knows this, and they groan.

That’s because the conservative base understands that what motivates them is not the marginal tax rate — nobody in the country knows, offhand, his or her effective tax rate — but values. And none of the top priorities for Republican donors match the fire-in-the-belly issues that motivate the folks who knock on doors, phone bank and provide the under-$50 donations that could power a Republican to victory.

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Will Pet Stores Stop Selling Puppies Entirely?

Where do you get puppies? The answer isn’t just about the mechanics of canine pregnancy. In the United States today, when your household wants to acquire a dog, where do you get it from? Most people would probably start at a pet store, but due to changes in stores’ own policies and government intervention, falling in love with a doggie in the window is becoming a thing of the past.

Yes, the idea of falling in love with a dog in a pet store is so ingrained in our national ideas about pets that there was even a popular song about it.

Adopting a pet on impulse is rarely a good idea, even if you’re not drunk. However, that’s not why the industry is moving away from selling dogs in stores. Years of campaigns by animal welfare organizations have turned many pet lovers against the large commercial dog-breeding facilities required to keep stores nationwide supplied with puppies. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture does inspect these facilities, that doesn’t mean that they’re where you picture the parents of your family’s beloved Maltese living.

“The regulation of breeders is so poor that all it really does is give consumers and the general public a false sense of security that their dogs are coming from a humane environment when they’re not,” Cori Menkin of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals explained to NPR.

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Survey: Overwhelming Majority Of U.S. Doctors Seeing Patients With Drug-Resistant Illnesses

While the pharmaceuticals industry and some livestock farmers and veterinarians still contend that there isn’t yet definitive proof that the overuse of antibiotics is leading to the development and spread of drug-resistant bacteria, a new survey of American doctors found that there is nearly universal concern among doctors about this issue, and that many physicians have treated patients with drug-resistant infections in just the last year.

The report [PDF] from our colleagues at Consumers Union, along with groups like the National Resource Defense Council, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, and the National Physicians Alliance, looks at the results of a survey of 500 internal medicine and family practice physicians in the U.S.

Some 97% of doctors surveyed are at least fairly concerned about the growing problem of antibiotic resistant infections, with 59% of all respondents saying they were “extremely” concerned.

And when you look at how many of these physicians have treated patients with drug-resistant infections, it’s no surprise why there is such widespread concern.

According to the survey, 85% of these doctors have treated at least one patient in the last year with a bacterial infection that was resistant to multiple antibiotics.

Of those physicians, 35% have had one of these patients die or suffer significant complications as a result of these drug-resistant bugs.

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Rand Paul: Religious Freedom Dying at Altar of Political Correctness

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five theses on the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg. Christianity was for all time changed by one man's confrontation with authority.

For his audacity, for alleging that one's path to heaven could not be purchased, Luther was excommunicated. It took great bravery to challenge what was then considered to be the ultimate arbiter of God's will. Luther was told, effectively, that his pathway to heaven was foreclosed.

When the Mayor of Houston, sent her legal attack dogs to demand the sermons of ministers who opposed an ordinance that might prevent churches from hiring people who adhered to a traditional faith, my first thought was of Martin Luther and my hope was that someone would, in elaborate calligraphy, stencil the First Amendment upon parchment and nail it to the doors of city hall.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The Amendment was clear, and its intent was not to keep religious people out of government, but rather to keep government out of religion.

There has been, and will be, an ongoing debate about the role of government in marriage—what our laws should be, and where they are made.

But make no mistake—that’s not what this is about.

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Immigration official mother of Canadian gunman says she's only mourning his victims and not her Muslim convert son

The mother of the Muslim convert who shot dead a Canadian soldier outside Parliament on Wednesday reunited with her estranged son over lunch just days ago - the first time she'd seen him in five years.

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau's mother Susan Bibeau released a statement on behalf of herself and her ex-husband saying she did not know what to say to those hurt in the attack and could offer 'no explanation' for her son's actions.

'No words can express the sadness we are feeling at this time,' she said in the release on behalf of herself and Bibeau-Zehaf's father, Bulgasem Zehaf.

'We are so sad that a man lost his life. He has lost everything and he leaves behind a family that must feel nothing but pain and sorrow. We send our deepest condolences to them although words seem pretty useless. We are both crying for them.'

Susan Bibeau, whose son had his passport seized after he was designated a 'high-risk traveler', works as a federal public servant for the Immigrant & Refugee board and lives in Montreal.

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Watch "Diane Wilson of CODEPINK jumps over White House fence"

7 French Customs That Americans Don't Understand

What are some societal norms in France that Americans would find strange? appeared as a question on Quora.

Below we are printing an answer from Kyle Murao, a former exchange student in Paris.
1. Not drinking everything (milk, juice, water) ice cold.

Rather, drinking it at room temperature. In fact, when you're brought water at a café, you will sometimes get a puzzled look from the waiter if you ask for ice in your beverage.
2. Faire la bise.

The double kiss on both cheeks. I miss this more than anything, because in the year that I spent in France, I kissed more beautiful women this way than I ever did before or since.

You kiss everyone you meet, and if you kiss someone as if leaving but then still hang out at the party, it's very rude.

These days the double kiss is mostly done woman-to-woman or woman-to-man, but older generations also practice it man-to-man, with no sexual meaning at all.

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Forget Everything You’ve Been Told: Buy Your Plane Tickets On Sunday

That sound you hear is yourself throwing every thought you had in your brain about buying plane tickets on a certain day out the window. As the window shatters, so can your mind break free from former apparent misconceptions regarding the best day to purchase air fares. It’s not the day you thought it was, it’s Sunday.

So say the tallies totted up by Airlines Reporting Corp, according to the Wall Street Journal, a group that processes tickets for traditional travel agencies and online booking (though not direct sales from airlines) and sees about half of all the tickets sold.

After taking a look at ticket sales over a 19-month period ending in July, 130 million domestic and international round-trip fares showed that the lowest average price of $432 was on Sunday. That’s lower than $439 for Saturday ticket sales and Tuesdays, with an average of $497.

What makes Sunday the magic day? It’s the day before airline executives come into work on Monday looking to make more money for their companies, a prime day to raise fares instead of discounting them to fill seats. And raising fares is a thing that can make more money — as reported earlier this week, many airlines pushed through a fare hike recently, despite the fact that fuel prices are down and some travelers may be worried about flying due to the Ebola scare rampaging through the news.

That being said, don’t dump your Tuesday hopes all together: As the WSJ points out, it’s still the day with the most frequent discounts, so you could still score a good deal if you’re paying attention.

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Free Shipping Will Be More Expensive This Holiday Season

There’s no such thing as free shipping. What looks like free shipping from a shopper’s perspective is only subsidized shipping, and those subsidies come from shoppers. They could come in the form of higher prices, or higher spending thresholds to earn free shipping. This year, free shipping will cost you a little more.

The Wall Street Journal explains this brave new world, pointing out that the average retailer now requires you to spend $82 in order to get free shipping. At this time last year, the average among the same retailers was only $75.

Amazon, always at the forefront of free shipping, has raised the price of its all-you-can-shop Prime membership from $79 to $99 the next time most subscribers renew. Newegg has introduced its own subscription-based program since last holiday season.

Last year, Amazon raised its minimum for free “Super Saver” shipping to $35, and other companies are following that example. Best Buy raised their minimum to $35 from $25.

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USPS Gets Go-Ahead To Expand Deliveries Of Groceries & Other Stuff

Last month, the cash-strapped street urchin that is the U.S. Postal Service pleaded “more gruel, sir” to the Postal Regulatory Commission, asking for permission to expand its test of delivering groceries and other non-postal items during those wee-morning hours when mail trucks mostly sit idle. Today, the PRC granted the USPS its wish.

USPS has already been running some very localized deliveries for Amazon’s Amazon Fresh grocery service, packing its trucks with customers’ orders and making deliveries, often in the pre-dawn hours.

The Postal Service hopes it can find a new life making these sorts of non-postal deliveries and asked the PRC for permission to expand the test in size and scope.

Today, the PRC [PDF] gave the Service the okay to do so, but under the condition that the experimental “Custom Delivery” service program must be “from the viewpoint of mail users, significantly different from all Postal Service products offered within the past two fiscal years.”

This is basically a way of saying, that is a test to see how the USPS does with delivering things other than letters or packages.

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Camel Maker Reynolds Halts Workplace Smoking

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Camel cigarette maker Reynolds American (RAI) is snuffing out smoking in its offices and buildings.

The nation's second-biggest tobacco company informed employees Wednesday that beginning next year, the use of traditional cigarettes, cigars or pipes will no longer be permitted at employee desks or offices, conference rooms, hallways and elevators. Lighting up already is prohibited on factory floors and in cafeterias and fitness centers.

The no-smoking policy will go into effect once Reynolds builds indoor smoking areas for those still wanting to light up indoors, spokesman David Howard said.

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Feds: 'Another potential surge' coming, more asylum officers hired

As President Obama readies a post-election immigration plan expected to clear a path for citizenship for millions of illegals, his immigration czar on Tuesday said that the border is bracing for another surge of undocumented children, raising this year’s wave across the southern border to some 130,000.

Leon Rodriguez, the new director of U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, said that the federal government is already working to “prepare for another potential surge” across the border.

Part of that preparation includes a new focus on asylum requests and clearing the backlog of 400,000 claims.

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Chemical May Lurk in Cash Register Receipts

Touching cash register receipts can dramatically increase your body's absorption of a potentially dangerous chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), researchers report.

BPA, originally created as an estrogen supplement, has been linked to developmental problems in infants and children, and cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease in adults, researchers say.

The chemical is found in products ranging from plastic water bottles and food-can linings. It is also used as a print developer in thermal paper for airline tickets and store and ATM receipts, according to the researchers.

"Thermal paper is typically used for cash register receipts in restaurants, making BPA contamination of food from fingers and hands likely," said lead author Julia Taylor, an assistant professor in the division of biological sciences at the University of Missouri.

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‘My house is not for sale’: Indiana residents fight city’s home-seizure plan

Indiana residents are fighting to save their homes as their local government weighs a sweeping plan to demolish them to make way for new development, in a case critics are calling a “poster child” for the abuse of so-called eminent domain powers.

Charlestown, Ind., Mayor Bob Hall announced his plans earlier this year to demolish more than 350 homes in the city’s Pleasant Ridge neighborhood. The mayor contends the neighborhood is “blighted,” and therefore the city is eligible for state money to buy out the homeowners and tear down their houses.

His office argues the houses, originally bought by the Army in 1940, were meant to be temporary.

But the “temporary” houses remain very much occupied. And many residents are not interested in selling them, at least not for what the government might offer. According to the Institute for Justice, a national group that is aiding residents in their case, the state fund Hall wants to tap offers residents just $6,000 for their houses.

“We’re not transients. We’re real people,” Ellen Keith, who has lived with her husband David in their Pleasant Ridge home for 36 years, told FoxNews.com. “These people are my real neighbors, and I love my neighbors. … My house is not for sale.”

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How to Tell When a Democrat is Losing

Macaca.

Legitimate rape.

Forty-seven percent.

Remember these phrases? The media said they defined the Republican candidates. There was endless coverage of them. But what happens when a Democrat says that he doesn't support parental consent before a 14 year-old can have an abortion? This:

Abortion comments were dumb. Can we move on now?

Editorial board, The Republic ' azcentral.com 4:49 p.m. MST October 22, 2014

Our View: Wouldn't it be nice if we put the same passion into the governor candidates' economic and education ideas?

The right jumped all over comments by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal that a 14-year-old girl should be able to get an abortion without parental consent.

No surprise there. It was an inarticulate comment (which DuVal's team has tried to walk back) that gave conservatives a fresh and potent jab in a tight election. As a bonus, it also countered the left's attacks on GOP standard-bearer Doug Ducey's connections to social conservative Cathi Herrod and the Center for Arizona Policy.

But both lines of attack are distractions, aimed at inflaming passions rather than advancing a sober debate on Arizona's future.

So, accidentally telling the truth about your view on parental consent is an "inarticulate comment" that makes the AZ Republic editorial board yawn. They insist they want to talk about the "issues." Well, this is an issue, just not one they can win in Arizona.

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HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 10-25-14

The Vote

A lot of us take for granted the many amenities we enjoy every day. Many have given up on voting because they think their one vote won’t matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. Local elections are sometimes won by just one vote. The results impact our financial future.

I have among my many historical letters and documents a letter dated October 18, 1909 from the Democratic State Central Committee, M. V. Brewington, Secretary, appealing for Democrats to get out and vote. A hundred years ago, most people who voted did so down strict party lines. Either you were a Democrat of a Republican. This letter goes on to say that the Democratic party in Wicomico County stands for progress, good roads, good schools and low taxes and entreats fellow Democrats to get out and vote or else the election could fall into Republican hands with their 1400 negro voters which control the destiny of that party. Apparently, much unlike today, the Afro-American community was largely behind the Republicans. Much of this was because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.

This shouldn’t make any difference at all these days. We should vote for someone with a proven track record that is going to be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars. The campaign brochure accompanying this letter has ten short biographies of the candidates vying for the various offices. Most fall into the “windbag” category of heralding their virtues. Nowhere in there is mention of past accomplishments beneficial to the taxpayers. We should be very careful of “false prophets” with their promises. What should matter is looking back on their accomplishments and deciding if that is the best path to a prosperous future for us.

Politicians have not changed much over the years. They make great promises; tell us what we want to hear. But we should be keenly aware of who has been a truly financial watchdog and has a proven track record. No matter how good a politician has been, they can’t help us if we do not vote them back into office. I think we have all had a bellyful of “change”. Sometimes the fresh face and smooth talk are not the change we want or need. Politicians want power and that doesn’t always mean their constituents will get a better life. Look at past accomplishments to see what a candidate has brought to the table and will more than likely continue to do so.

But the important thing is that everyone casts their vote. It is a freedom and a right that many men have fought and died for. The turnout at the polls in this country is abysmal. We should be ashamed that so few people exercise this precious right. Remember, if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about the state of affairs.

Middle Class knows it faces a Grim Retirement

Wells Fargo did as much as it could to soft-pedal the findings of its fifth-annual Middle Class Retirement Survey, released Wednesday, but the horrific numbers speak for themselves.

"Saving for retirement is a formidable challenge for middle-class Americans," the San Francisco-based bank says.

A formidable challenge? No kidding. More than a third of middle-class families aren't saving anything in a 401(k), IRA or other vehicle, the survey found. For those 50 to 59 years old, it's 41%.

"Nearly a third (31%) of all respondents say they will not have enough money to 'survive' on in retirement," the bank says. "This increases to nearly half (48%) of middle-class Americans in their 50s." The household income of respondents, who were polled for Wells by the Harris organization, ranged from $25,000 to $100,000; the median income was $63,000.

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IRS Changes the 401(k) Rules for 2015

Taxpayers are about to get a bit more elbow room for retirement savings. Many contribution limits for employees with tax-favored retirement savings accounts were expanded for 2015, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

The maximum for contributions in the government's Thrift Savings Plan, private sector 401(k)s and other comparable programs have been raised to $18,000, up from $17,500 in 2014 and 2013. For people over 50 years old, the "catch-up contribution" threshold has been increased from $5,500 to $6,000.

"You look at the $18,000 and wonder, gee, how many people can practically get to that level?" said Joe Ready, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. But as people "progress in their careers and earnings progressively go up," it will be increasingly important for elderly investors to max out the $24,000 limit, he said.

That's the combined total investment limit for people 50 and older—$18,000 for the 401(k) plus $6,000 for catch up.

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Adopt A Pet


Holder Should Be Held Accountable for Ferguson ‘Race-Baiting’

Talk radio host and author of “The Liberty Amendments,” Mark Levin argued that Attorney General Eric Holder should be held accountable for inflaming tensions in Ferguson on Thursday.

“Wow will Eric Holder held to account, how will he be held to account for his race-baiting?” Levin said. And “he sought to inflame the situation.”

Levin read from reports from the grand jury investigation that forensic evidence is consistent with, and eyewitness testimony backs up, claims that Officer Darren Wilson was acting in self-defense when he shot Michael Brown and contradicts earlier testimony that Brown was surrendering with his hands up when he was shot.

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Doctor: Obama’s Open Border Policy Fueling Ebola Crisis

Doctor blows whistle on botched medical response

A doctor of osteopathic medicine at the Cass Regional Medical Center in Missouri says President Obama’s open border policy will undoubtedly bring new Ebola patients into United States.

Dr. James Lawrenzi, who leaked an array of bombshell information on the Alex Jones Show Thursday, revealed why he believed the President has thus far refused to halt flights from Ebola-stricken West African nations.

“It’s going to prove that his open border policy is a failure and contributing to this and you can directly correlate that to Obama’s policy,” Dr. Lawrenzi stated.

Despite Senegal and Nigeria completely stemming the Ebola outbreak in their countries by stopping the entry of travelers from affected nations, President Obama has thus far refused to enact similar procedures.

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Costume Party this Saturday!

The Red Roost managers and staff invite you to join them this weekend. It is your last chance to ride the hair-raising haunted hayride. Friday and Saturday night, rides start at dusk and end around 10:00pm.

The HALLOWEEN CLOSING PARTY is Saturday night!
Costumes are encouraged! Prizes for the best in several categories!
KIDS COSTUME CONTEST 8:00pm! ADULT COSTUME CONTEST 10:00pm!
Funniest, Scariest, Cutest, Most Original, Best Couple, Best Group, & more!

LIVE MUSIC starts at 8:00pm - MURPHY'S LAW!!

Call for reservations or more event details!
Weekend HOURS: 
Friday Open 5:30pm
Sat. & Sun. Open Noon!
THE RED ROOST
410-546-5443

2015 Medicare Info

Did you receive your Medicare Handbook for 2015 yesterday? If you have already received yours in the mail please turn to page 12 and go down to the bottom of the page and read Find out what you pay for Medicare (Part A and Part. It states that the premium and deductible amounts were not available at the time of printing. It further states you may call 1-800-633-4227 to get the most up-to-date info.

I did just that and talked with a Medicare representative. She told me that they probably would not have those figures in until the end of the first week or possibly the second week of November.

Now, let that sink in!

As soon as she stated that to me I replied , "My, isn't that convenient for the Obama Administration to actually hold off on those figures until after the 2014 election results."

There was dead silence on the other end of the line. I told her thank you and that I would call back.

You see on our Social Security increase for next year we are only receiving an increase of around 1%. Even the military are getting just over 1%. You can bet after the November 4th election the increases for Medicare A & B will be greater than any 1%. That is why they are delaying what the increases will be. Because if they had put it in that handbook, any elderly would be voting against the Democrats.

So anyone voting for the Democrats in the forthcoming elections deserves to get the increases that are coming after November 4th.
 

Be Careful What You Ask For


Caption This Photo 10-25-14


Duncan Willis sentenced for attacking women and killing one in torture session

A daughter bravely took the stand to face her neighbor who shot dead her mother before spending 10 hours raping her and sexually assaulting her two friends.

Jamey Shields faced Duncan Willis, 27, who killed her mother Katherine Hawley, 58, after marching to her Michigan home in a fit of rage thinking she had reported him to child welfare officers.

Shields faced her attacker, saying he was not worthy to be called by name and that his children do not deserve to have him as a father, reports MLive.com.

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