The phrase ‘drank the Kool-Aid’ is completely offensive. We should stop saying it immediately.

You’ve probably heard the expression, “He drank the Kool-Aid.”

Arianna Huffington once used it to describe supporters of George W. Bush’s economic policies. Bill O’Reilly said it of his critics (“the Kool-Aid people,” he told listeners, “are going nuts“). In 2012, Forbes called it a top annoying cliché used by business leaders.

There’s a problem with this flip word play though: That expression was born of a nightmare.

Thirty-seven years ago today, 918 people died in Jonestown, a Guyana jungle settlement, and at a nearby airstrip. Some of us knew the victims. I grew up with one of them, Maria Katsaris.

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30 Years Later, America Truly Is Becoming A ‘1984’ Society

If only George Orwell could see us today. When he wrote “1984” back in 1948, he probably never imagined that the “totalitarian, bureaucratic world” that he imagined would ever actually become a reality. But that is precisely what is happening. We live at a time when the government monitors billions of our phone calls and emails and hardly anyone gets upset about it. We live at a time when corporations systematically collect our voiceprints and our televisions watch us. We live at a time when reporters that try to dig into the misdeeds of the government have their computers hacked, and when nearly one out of every three Americans has a file in the FBI’s master criminal database. The control freaks that run our society are absolutely obsessed with watching, tracking, recording and monitoring virtually everything that we do. We truly are becoming a “1984” society, and if we continue on the path that we are currently on eventually our world will be transformed into something more hellish than anything that George Orwell ever imagined.

These days, virtually every type of government surveillance is taken to the extreme. For example, there is definitely nothing wrong with normal undercover police work. But these days, almost every single federal government agency conducts extensive undercover operations. At this point, even the IRS and the Department of Agriculture rely on undercover operatives to spy on ordinary citizens. So the next time you are visiting a tax preparer, buying a yacht or attending a peaceful political protest, the person standing next to you just might be a government spy…


The federal government has significantly expanded undercover operations in recent years, with officers from at least 40 agencies posing as business people, welfare recipients, political protesters and even doctors or ministers to ferret out wrongdoing, records and interviews show.

At the Supreme Court, small teams of undercover officers dress as students at large demonstrations outside the courthouse and join the protests to look for suspicious activity, according to officials familiar with the practice.

At the Internal Revenue Service, dozens of undercover agents chase suspected tax evaders worldwide, by posing as tax preparers, accountants drug dealers or yacht buyers and more, court records show.

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Alyssa Milano Breastfeeding Photos More Offensive than Kim Kardashian’s Nude Snaps?

Alyssa Milano is confused why her breastfeeding photo sparked more controversy than Kim Kardashian's nude photos on Paper magazine.

The "Mistresses" star posted a selfie with her baby girl while breastfeeding which she uploaded via Instagram, according to US Weekly.

"Ah, the joy of suckling! She lovingly watched the fishlike motions of the toothless mouth and she imagined that with her milk there flowed into her little son her deepest thoughts, concepts and dreams. - Milan Kundera," she captioned the photo.

To date, the actress continues to receive negative feedback from critics who have been questioning her decision to post a breastfeeding shot, Refinery 29 reported.

"Wait! I don't get it. No disrespect to Kim but... people are offended by my breastfeeding selfies & are fin with her amazing booty cover?" the actress tweeted.

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Healthcare, Lies and Videotape

Terrorist Attacks Increase Sharply In 2013, Study Says

LONDON - A new global study says there were nearly 10,000 terrorist attacks in 2013, 44 percent more than the year before.

The London-based Institute for Economics and Peace says those attacks in 2013 resulted in nearly 18,000 deaths.

Its Global Terrorism Index reported four groups dominated the attacks - the Islamic State group, Boko Haram, al-Qaida and the Taliban - and were responsible for 66 percent of the fatalities.

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Paralyzed Iraq War Veteran Writes Last Words to Bush & Cheney

Last March, I came across a letter written to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney from a paralyzed and dying Iraq war vet named Tomas Young. It touched me to such an extent, that I highlighted it on Liberty Blitzkrieg at the time. He died on Monday, the day before Veterans Day. If you really want to honor our nation’s soldiers, you should read the following and share it.

RIP Tomas Young.

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Eastern Shore Fire/EMS/Police Breaking News

On 11/18 a family lost everything due to a house fire. There will be a drop off tomorrow evening (11/19) at the little league field in Millsboro from 6pm-7pm. Please bring clothing labeled & organized. All gift cards will also be appreciated.

Clothing sizes
Infant - 2t
Child (girl) - size 7 pant, medium shirt 1.5 shoe
1 adult female - size 14 pants
1 adult male - size 34x32 pants, lg shirt.

Karl Stefanovic, Australian TV anchor, wears same suit for full year

SYDNEY (AP) - The male co-host of an Australian TV program is finally getting some attention for his fashion sense. And that's his point.

Karl Stefanovic wore the same blue suit every day for a year on Channel Nine's "Today" program. And no one noticed until he went public with his hidden-in-plain-sight experiment.

He told Australia's Fairfax Media that while no one asked about his suit, people regularly commented about and criticized the outfits worn by co-host Lisa Wilkinson.

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Worcester County Tea Party - Nov. Meeting Thurs. 11/20

Common Core Update: Jillian Patterson, VP of Policy for Education Freedom Committee will speak about fighting Common Core at the state and local levels and strategies for defeating it. Ms. Patterson will include some basic information about what Common Core is and why parents should be concerned with its current implementation, followed by Q&A. County Commissioners and School Board members will be invited.

Doors open at 6:30 pm, meeting starts at 7 pm. Ocean Pines Community Center 235 Ocean Pkwy. Ocean Pines, Md 21811

Giving up: 40% women, 28% men, 39% youth don't want a job

Nearly four in 10 Americans, or 92 million, are not in the labor force and now there’s a reason why: They have simply given up and don’t want to work.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest group of people not in the labor force are those who don’t want a job, a remarkable statement on the nation’s work ethic. The federal job counter said that 85.9 million adults last month didn’t want a job, or 93 percent of all adults not in the labor force.

A Pew Research Center analysis out Friday dug a bit deeper to find out who those people are. Many are younger Americans who seem far less interested it landing a job than previous generations, possibly discouraged by the lack of good-paying jobs.

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Stolen Trailer From The SPCA

SPCA Eastern Shore Virginia

We've Been Robbed! 

Our staff got to work this morning to find that our can recycling trailer was not on the property. After speaking with the recycle company rep and finding out he did not have it picked up, staff is waiting for the Sheriff’s office to arrive so we can file a report. It’s a fairly large BLACK metal mesh trailer (similar to photo) that won’t be too easy to hide. We are planning to get WESR to run something about it.

Please keep your eyes open for us, that was one way we raise funds for our cats and dogs! If spotted, please call the sheriff's office and report location. 

Our recycling rep says - This is an identical trailer to the one that was stolen.. It should have number 15 painted on the tongue as the last 4 of the vin welded on the tongue.

Thank you,
SPCA Staff

Skin-to-Skin Bonding: Why Moms and Infants Need Skin-to-Skin Contact

For babies, the nine months of pregnancy may feel like one long, loving embrace. It’s not surprising, then, that studies support the benefits of skin-to-skin contact for mothers and babies from the moment of birth, throughout infancy and beyond.

Expectant mothers can enjoy these benefits by including immediate skin-to-skin contact with their babies as part of their birth plan.

“Even for babies born by cesarean section, skin-to-skin time right after delivery can be a wonderful, strong start for both mother and baby,” said obstetrician Susan Crowe, director of outpatient breastfeeding medicine services at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.

When the health of mom and baby allows, postponing the normal protocol of bathing, weighing and testing the baby can clear the way for shared skin-to-skin time.

“During this time, babies experience nine instinctive stages: birth cry, relaxation, awakening, activity, resting, ‘crawling’ (a shifting movement toward the breast), familiarization, suckling and sleep,” said Crowe, who’s also a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “For a mother who desires to breastfeed, supporting skin-to-skin time is one way we can help her reach that goal.”

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Archery Trick Shots

Russia Challenges US Nuke Power – Obama’s Greatest Betrayal

This is President Barack Obama’s greatest betrayal. Everything else he has done, pales in comparison to the gutting of the US military and allowing the Russians to rebuild a very serious challenge to US nuclear arms capability. To be fair, Obama is not the only US President to fail to prepare for the inevitable resurgence of Russian military power. He may however, given his pro-Soviet communist background, be the first one to actually welcome it.

This monstrous betrayal puts millions of lives and the very survival of the West at grave risk.

From Pravda:

On September 1, 2014 the US State Department published a report, in which it was stated that for first time since the collapse of the USSR, Russia reached parity with the US in the field of strategic nuclear weapons. Thus, Washington admitted that Moscow regained the status that the Soviet Union had obtained by mid-70’s of the XX century and then lost.

According to the report from the State Department, Russia has 528 carriers of strategic nuclear weapons that carry 1,643 warheads. The United States has 794 vehicles and 1,652 nuclear warheads.

It just so happens that today, Russia’s strategic nuclear forces (SNF) are even more advanced in comparison with those of the US, as they ensure parity on warheads with a significantly smaller number of carriers of strategic nuclear weapons. This gap between Russia and the United States may only grow in the future, given the fact that Russian defense officials promised to rearm Russia’s SNF with new generation missiles.

How did this happen? The treacherous policy of democrats

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Salisbury City Council Work Session 11-17-14 (Part 1)

Salisbury City Council Work Session 11-17-14 (Part 2)

Salisbury City Council Work Session 11-17-14 (Part 3)

Md. Democrats Discuss Aftershocks Of Election

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Maryland Democrats are discussing the political aftershocks of the Nov. 4 election and what they must do to bounce back.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski convened a two-hour discussion with congressional Democrats in Annapolis on Monday.

As Democrats look forward to 2016, Mikulski says the party has a lot of homework to do and will look more to successful grassroots efforts for guidance. She says Democrats also need to make sure they are connecting with people in terms of their day-to-day lives, so they feel like government is on their side.

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The Farmer And His Cow

An Irish farmer named Paddy had a car accident. He was hit by a truck owned by the Eversweet Company.

In court the Eversweet Company's hot-shot solicitor was questioning Paddy.

“Didn't you say to the police at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?” asked the solicitor.

Paddy responded: ”Well, I'll tell you what happened. I'd just loaded my fav'rit cow, Bessie, into da...”

“I didn't ask for any details”, the solicitor interrupted. ”Just answer the question. Did you not say at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?'”

Paddy said, ”Well, I'd just got Bessie into da trailer and I was drivin' down da road...”

The solicitor interrupted again and said,”Your Honour, I am trying to establish the fact that at the scene of the accident this man told the police on the scene that he was fine. Now several weeks after the accident, he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question.”

By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Paddy's answer and said to the solicitor: ”I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favourite cow, Bessie.”

Paddy thanked the Judge and proceeded, “Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my fav'rit cow, into de trailer and was drivin' her down de road when this huge Eversweet truck and trailer came tundering tru a stop sign and hit me trailer right in da side. I was trown into one ditch and Bessie was trown into da udder. By Jaysus I was hurt, very bad like, and didn't want to move. However, I could hear old Bessie moanin' and groanin.' I knew she was in terrible pain just by her groans.

A policeman on a motorbike arrived. He could hear Bessie moanin' and groanin' too, so he went over to her. After he looked at her and saw her condition, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes.

Den he came across de road, gun still in hand, looked at me, and said, “How are you feelin'?”

“Now wot da heck would you say?

Trial Starts For 8 Charged In Baltimore Jail Case

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The trial for eight remaining defendants in a vast drug-smuggling operation at a downtown Baltimore jail has opened with jury selection.

Prosecutors say the trial should last eight weeks. Jury selection began Monday morning and is expected to last through Tuesday.

The eight defendants are the last of 44 charged in the conspiracy involving correctional officers, inmates and several others with gang ties. Prosecutors say the group plotted to smuggle drugs, cellphones and other contraband into the Baltimore jail and other corrections facilities.

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A Viewer Writes: Telephone Bill

I read the fine print on my phone bill announcing a 23% increase in January....

McClellan & The Hanna Team Sell Standard Register Building

The former Standard Register facility located in the Northwood Industrial Park has been purchased by Delmarva Power. John McClellan, CCIM, Henry Hanna, CCIM, SIOR, and Wesley Cox, CCIM, all Senior Advisors with Sperry Van Ness - Miller Commercial Real Estate represented Standard Register in the transaction. Standard Register and its predecessor Burroughs Corporation were one of the early occupants of the Northwood Industrial Park...

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Smyrna Man Charged In Rape of a Juvenile

Smyrna - The Delaware State Police have charged Adrian B. Rigby, 30 of Smyrna, in connection with a rape involving an 11 year old female that occurred at a Smyrna residence late Sunday night.

The investigation revealed that the 11 year old female victim was in her bed at her residence Sunday November 16, 2014, after 9:00 p.m., when Adrian Rigby entered the room and began making inappropriate advances and physical contact with the juvenile victim. The victim's mother entered the room and interrupted the act being committed by her boyfriend and later contacted state police detectives who began investigating immediately. It was also determined through interviews that this had occurred on one other occasion in October.

Rigby left the residence the following morning and was located by troopers Monday night in Sussex County. He was taken into custody without incident and transported back to Troop 3 where he was charged with two counts of Rape 1st and two counts of Rape 2nd and committed to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $150,000.00 secured bond.

Because of the sensitivity of this case, and in consideration of the victim, only limited information will be released.

If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and are in need of assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit/Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll free hotline 1800 VICTIM-1. (1-800 842-8461). You may also email the unit Director at debra.reed@state.de.us.

Obamacare Facebook Page Comments Mostly From Small Group Of Supporters

Americans began heading anew this weekend to President Obama’s official Obamacare Facebook page to gather information on the new round of health care enrollment, share their experiences shopping for insurance on the federal exchange and voice their opinions on the president’s signature domestic achievement.

However, what some would view as a robust marketplace of ideas is actually controlled by just a few, an analysis of the Web page shows.

Sixty percent of the site’s 226,838 comments generated from September 2012 to early last month can be attributed to fewer than 100 unique profiles, according to an analysis completed by The Washington Times with assistance from an outside data analytics team. Many of those profiles belong to just one person who created multiple aliases or personas to widen her influence and multiply her voice.

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University of Tennessee suspends two football players named in rape investigation

A pair of University of Tennessee football players have been suspended from the team after it was discovered they'd been named as suspects in a rape and sexual assault case.

The school's Athletics Department announced via Twitter that linebacker A.J. Johnson and defensive back Michael Williams had been suspended from all team-related activities.

Police indicate that the alleged incident took place shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday morning at a Woodlands apartment complex, as reported by two 19-year-old women.

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Ferguson-area police blog warns: 'I'm serious, get a gun'

A social media forum for police — the “St. Louis Coptalk” site — that’s frequented by law enforcement agents from Ferguson and surrounding areas includes this dire warning to residents: Go get a gun.

The posting from a man who claimed to be a Ferguson-area police officer comes as the community is awaiting the ruling of a grand jury on Officer Darren Wilson that will determine if he faces criminal charges in the August shooting of Michael Brown, 18.

It reads, Vocativ reported: “If you do not have a gun, get one and get one soon. We will not be able to protect you or your family. It will be your responsibility to protect them, Our gutless commanders and politicians have neutered us. I’m serious, get a gun, get more than one, and keep one with you at all times.”

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Study Links Depression, Anxiety & Lethargy to Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Vitamin B12 - not SSRIs - brought suicidal woman back to stable mental state

A suicidal 52-year-old woman suffering from severe depression, anxiety, lethargy and catatonia did not vastly improve until doctors diagnosed her with a Vitamin B12 deficiency, according to a little known study.

The woman, who also suffered from perceptual disturbances such as “hearing” her name called out, was treated with antipsychotic and antidepressant medications for months with little effect, but once doctors began treating her with B12, she reverted to a stable mental state she hadn’t experienced in 14 years.

“Vitamin B12 deficiency is a commonly overlooked cause of psychiatric morbidity,” the study entitledCatatonia and other psychiatric symptoms with vitamin B12 deficiency reported. “While many clinicians are aware of the neurological symptoms associated with it, many would be hard-pressed to discuss some of the psychiatric symptoms associated with vitamin B12 deficiency.”

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NRP Charges Watermen, Hunters with Natural Resources Violations

Maryland Natural Resources Police officers this week charged four men with illegal oyster harvesting in two separate incidents on the Eastern Shore, and three men with hunting violations in two separate incidents in Garret County.

In Talbot County, Herlen Vernon Lynch, 63, and Darnell Galen Lynch, 58, both of Centreville, were charged Tuesday with 20 counts of possession of undersized oysters after officers checked their harvest from Broad Creek. Upon measuring the catch, officers discovered bushels with anywhere from 6 to 30 percent undersized oysters.

The two men are scheduled to appear in Talbot District Court on Jan. 15. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $1,000.

In Wicomico County, just before noon on Monday, an officer on patrol in Salisbury noticed a truck filled with 24 bushel baskets of oysters. The truck did not display a tidal fish license number, as required by state law and the bushel baskets were not properly tagged.

Severn Reid Mister Jr., 57, and Cody Eugene Cavalier, 23, both of Easton were each charged with 12 counts of failing to tag oysters.

They are scheduled to appear in Wicomico District Court on Jan. 6. If found guilty of all counts, each man could be fined a maximum of $6,600.

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The Global Financial System Is "A House Of Cards Resting On Corruption"

As most Americans, if not the financial media, are aware, Quantitative Easing (a euphemism for printing money) has failed to bring back the US economy.

So why has Japan adopted the policy? Since the heavy duty money printing began in 2013, the Japanese yen has fallen 35% against the US dollar, a big cost for a country dependent on energy imports. Moreover, the Japanese economy has shown no growth in response to the QE stimulus to justify the rising price of imports.

Despite the economy’s lack of response to the stimulus, last month the Bank of Japan announced a 60% increase in quantitative easing–from 50 to 80 trillion yen annually. Albert Edwards, a strategist at Societe Generale, predicts that the Japanese printing press will drive the yen down from 115 yen to the dollar to 145.

This is a prediction, but why risk the reality? What does Japan have to gain from currency depreciation? What is the thinking behind the policy?

An easy explanation is that Japan is being ordered to destroy its currency in order to protect the over-printed US dollar. As a vassal state, Japan suffers under US political and financial hegemony and is powerless to resist Washington’s pressure.

The official explanation is that, like the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan professes to believe in the Phillips Curve, which associates economic growth with inflation. The supply-side economic policy implemented by the Reagan administration disproved the Phillips Curve belief that economic growth was inconsistent with a declining or a stable rate of inflation. However, establishment economists refuse to take note and continue with the dogmas with which they are comfortable.

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SPD Calls For Service 11-17-14

• Monday November, 17 2014 @ 21:32Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Monday November, 17 2014 @ 19:36Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Monday November, 17 2014 @ 18:54 Nature: Pro Qa FireAddress: 403 Woodcrest Ave Salisbury, MD 21801
• Monday November, 17 2014 @ 17:22Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Monday November, 17 2014 @ 16:41Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury

100 Years Ago: The Blinding Stupidity Of The Trench Warfare Generals

A full century after World War I we still cannot understand how generals sent so many soldiers to be slaughtered. Ten million soldiers died on all sides; millions more were left maimed or shell shocked. Seven million civilians died. 20 million horses died.

The image we have of hapless soldiers being forced to climb out of their sodden trenches and attack across a hellish no-man’s land pock-marked by water-filled shell holes, deep mud, thickets of barbed wire and rotten bodies is quite accurate for the Western Front. Waiting for them were quick-firing guns, heavy artillery, the greatest killer or all – machine guns – and, later, poison or burning gases, and flamethrowers.

How could the generals of that era have been stupid enough to send waves and waves of their soldiers to almost certain death? Trench warfare in the West quickly became siege warfare in which decisive victories became almost impossible.

Only in the East did the brilliant German generals Hindenburg and Max Hoffman achieve a war of movement in which they destroyed two Russian armies attacking East Prussia. Their triumphant battles at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes were partly based on Hannibal’s battlefield tactics at Cannae in 216 BC.

But on the Western Front, generals on all sides kept sending their men on suicidal bayonet charges across dense wire in the face of interlocking machine gun fire and shrapnel. How could they have been so foolish?

As a former instructor in military history, permit me some thoughts: most of the British, French, Belgian, Russian and many of the Italian generals had learned their profession fighting colonial wars in Africa and Asia against native levies armed only with spears and swords. They were, no surprise, wholly untrained for modern warfare against European soldiers. If the US Army, trained for colonial warfare against lightly armed enemies, ever has to fight China or Russia, it will encounter the same nasty problem.

Next, most of the generals poorly understood the power of massed rifle or artillery fire. There was no excuse for this: the British has always been renowned for their iron discipline and ability to pour massive fire into advancing enemies – a skill that won them the Battle of Waterloo. Fighting Afghans, Berber tribesmen, and Zulu dulled these skills.

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More barbaric than ever, video that seeks to trigger an invasion

The horrifying video of the mass murder of Syrian soldiers and an American aid worker is very different from other Islamic State propaganda films.

Posted Sunday morning, it shows how the jihadists are seeking to heighten the disgust they provoke.

Security and military analysts believe this new tactic is a plot to lure Western and other forces into a full-scale ground offensive IS leaders think they can win.

The analysts reckon IS is already reeling from air attacks that have stopped it taking the key Syrian border town of Kobane.

The murder of US aid worker Peter Kassig is not shown in the latest film – thought to feature UK medical student Nasser Muthana – and he does not deliver a final message as other hostages have.

There is also no announcement of the name of the next victim.

And for the first time the Islamic militants give away their location – showing what is believed to be Dabiq, a town in northern Syria – in the video’s background.

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Man Killed By Bronx D Train Was Pushed Onto Tracks

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — A man was struck and killed by a southbound D train after being pushed onto the tracks Sunday morning, police said.

The deadly collision happened around 8:40 a.m. at Grand Concourse and East 167th Street.

Wai Kuen Kwok, 61, of the Bronx, was with his 59-year-old wife, who watched the horrifying events unfold. She was not injured, but was taken to a hospital because she was emotionally distraught.

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Oregon immigration vote is a warning for Obama

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The fate of a little-noticed ballot measure in strongly Democratic Oregon serves as a warning to President Barack Obama and his party about the political perils of immigration policy.

Even as Oregon voters were legalizing recreational marijuana and expanding Democratic majorities in state government, they decided by a margin of 66-34 to cancel a new state law that would have provided driver's licenses to people who are in the United States illegally.

Obama is considering acting on his own, as early as this week, to possibly shield from deportation up to 5 million immigrants now living illegally in the country. Some Republicans in Congress are threatening a government shutdown if the president follows through.

"The Oregon measure tells you these measures are not easy or simple," said Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute. "The political cost may be significant, even in blue states."

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Statement from Governor O’Malley on the Release of the Climate Change Task Force Recommendations

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Martin O’Malley today issued a statement on the release of recommendations from President Obama’s State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience:

“Maryland commends President Obama and Vice President Biden for their foresight and purpose-driven action in creating this Task Force. These final recommendations will empower communities across the nation to respond effectively to the impacts of climate change.

“Maryland has taken strong action to reduce carbon emissions, and to protect our people, places and natural resources in the face of one of the biggest challenges facing our planet. The Task Force has identified additional actions that the federal government can take to build climate resilience, such as integrating climate change considerations into federal grant and loan programs, and improving the availability and reliability of climate data and tools. Reducing our vulnerability to climate change will help us build a stronger, more sustainable future for generations to come.”
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Islamic State Terrorists Posing As Refugees Being Smuggled Into Western Countries

Indiana to Start Requiring Food Stamp Recipients to Work

Indiana will eliminate exemptions that require food stamp recipients look for work, a rules change that could see up to 65,000 food stamp recipients trimmed from the roles.

The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) does require what many in the past have called "workfare"--requiring recipients to get job training, or show proof that they are looking for a job to qualify for food stamps. The states, however, have been given wide discretion in how they implement the law and have been allowed to make any manner of exemptions for citizens to escape this requirement. Up until now Indiana had issued fairly wide exemptions.

Now, as of 2015, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration has announced that the work requirements in SNAP will be more strictly enforced, meaning that as many as 65,000 recipients may be cut off.

Indiana's new mandate maintains that, "any able-bodied Indiana adult without children will need to be working at least 20 hours a week, be in job training, or searching for employment in order to qualify."

The rules change will allow recipients to work up to 20 hours a week and still be eligible for the assistance.

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GOP victory: Game over for the climate?

JUST BEFORE Republicans scored a big midterm-election victory two weeks ago, the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report that underscored the severity of the risk global warming poses and the level of certainty scientists have about their warnings. Then, shortly following the GOP’s win, President Obama concluded a historic agreement with China on climate change, undercutting Republican arguments that cutting emissions here would be useless because China wouldn’t sacrifice along with the United States.

Despite all of this, since the election Republican leaders have continued to indulge in hysterical “war on coal” rhetoric, and they attacked the climate breakthrough in Beijing. They still appear determined to repeal the country’s climate policies rather than replacing those policies with cheaper and more effective options, such as the market-based carbon-pricing programs that authentic conservatives would favor.

Americans deserve leaders who will govern with clear eyes about a range of potential hazards, particularly those over which humans have direct control. Whether out of cynicism, callousness or ignorance, Republicans over the past decade have instead indulged and encouraged shortsighted naysayers and climate conspiracists in the face of grave climate forecasts. If they continue with this nonsense, they will risk disqualifying themselves with voters who expect rationality from their elected representatives.

Scientists could not be clearer about the need to act. Here are just a few of the IPCC’s conclusions:

“Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. Recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems.”

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Feminists Need to Stop Sounding False Alarms About Sexism

Last week, in his first-ever public Q&A, Mark Zuckerberg was asked why he wears plain gray t-shirts apparently every waking moment of his life. “I’d feel I’m not doing my job if I spent any of my energy on things that are silly or frivolous about my life,” the Facebook CEO replied.

Sounds innocuous enough, right? Not to some feminist critics.

“Is it just me or does the mindset of the Silicon Valley Power-Schlub imply that caring about clothing or how you look invalidates your ability to work?”wrote New York magazine’s Allison Davis in an essay titled, “Zuckerberg Explains His Gray T-Shirts, Sounds Pretty Sexist.” “Of course, male CEOs are far too focused on changing the world or building the next Big App to care about something as 'silly' or 'frivolous' as dressing professionally—they’ll just leave that to Marissa Mayer.” Mic's Ellie Krupnick, meanwhile, claimed Zuckerberg’s comment “reinforces a sexist double standard.” His use of the word “frivolous” suggested “that women's focus on ‘unserious’ things such as fashion preclude them from focusing on more important things.”

Seriously? Zuckerberg did not explicitly—or, I'd argue, implicitly—contrast himself with women, but merely stated that he finds fashion concerns to be "silly" and "frivolous." If anything, he was referring to his fellow male tech CEOs, like Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and his Prada suits; after all, only 6 percentof Silicon Valley CEOs are female. But in criticizing Zuckerberg, Davis and Krupnick relied on a stereotype that he himself did not—that only women care about clothes—and perhaps even reinforced that stereotype in sounding the feminist alarm.

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Woman from Virginia who 'offered to help recruit for Islamic State' is charged with terrorism offenses

A Virginia woman faces a federal charge after being accused of promoting the Islamic State in social media and offering to help an undercover agent get a friend into Syria to join the extremist group.

Heather Elizabeth Coffman of Henrico County made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Monday and was ordered held until a Wednesday afternoon detention hearing, court documents show. She is charged with making a materially false statement about an offense involving terrorism.

According to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent, Coffman promoted the organization known as ISIS on several Facebook accounts she maintained under various names.

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Worcester School Calls On Therapy Dog To Help With Student Communication

BERLIN – Many of the children at Cedar Chapel Special School have trouble communicating.

Some don’t speak. Others have trouble forming sentences.

So when Principal Belinda Gulyas heard one child ask distinctly, in a complete sentence, to pet the school’s therapy dog, she was blown away.

“It was kind of magical at that moment,” she said.

Murphy, a six-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, is now a regular visitor at Cedar Chapel. All of the school’s students have been introduced to him and get to work with him throughout the year.

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Obama's Executive Amnesty Will Give Illegal Aliens Public Benefits

Illegal aliens who get President Barack Obama’s likely forthcoming executive amnesty will have immediate access to welfare and other public benefits, according to a new report from the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) exclusively provided to Breitbart News ahead of its public release shows.

“Obama’s executive amnesty isn’t only unconstitutional but costly; from day one it opens up federal and state benefits to individuals who are still illegal aliens, regardless of the label the President puts on them,” FAIR executive director Julie Kirchner told Breitbart News.

“Deferred action and parole-in-place don’t fit neatly into statutory definitions that prohibit access to benefits, mostly because deferred action and parole-in-place have no statutory basis themselves,” FAIR communications director Bob Dane added. “Congress has never imagined a rouge president pulling rabbits out of a hat to justify a broad, transformational makeover of the country by way of amnesty. There will always be thousands of loopholes in the law and backdoor methods to achieve a desired agenda, but ultimately the intent of Congress is preeminent. It may be that the courts will have to review that.”

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Obama Met With Ferguson Activists – Said He’s Concerned They “Stay on Course”

President Obama met with Ferguson protest leaders on November 5th, the day after the midterm elections

President Obama met with Ferguson protest leaders on November 5th, the day after the midterm elections. The meeting was not on his daily schedule. He was concerned that the protesters “stay on course.”

What does that mean?

And why is the president meeting with the violent Mike Brown protesters before a verdict is reached in the court case?

The Ferguson protesters have looted over 100 businesses in the St. Louis area.

The New York Times hid this in the 21st paragraph of their report:

But leaders here say that is the nature of a movement that has taken place, in part, on social media and that does not match an earlier-era protest structure where a single, outspoken leader might have led the way. “This is not your momma’s civil rights movement,” said Ashley Yates, a leader of Millennial Activists United. “This is a movement where you have several difference voices, different people. The person in charge is really — the people. But the message from everyone is the same: Stop killing us.”

At times, there has been a split between national civil rights leaders and the younger leaders on the ground here, who see their efforts as more immediate, less passive than an older generation’s. But some here said relations have improved in recent weeks.

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Looks like it's time for the annual middle school sex survey compliments of MSDE

Hi Joe:

Have you see this? http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-ed-sex-survey-20141108-story.html. I thought you might want to give your readers as much notice as possible.

From what I can tell the Opt Out forms have been given to the Worcester County Middle School children to give to their parents for completion. The form only needs to be completed and returned (by the student) if the parent(s) does not want the student to participate in the annual survey.

This is the same procedure used for opting out of the Sex Ed genitalia modeling class that took place last year with the 7th grade class at Stephen Decatur Middle School. I know for a fact, many parents never saw the opt out form that was to be delivered to the parents by the students.

I find this to be a very disturbing trend toward further sexualizing our children during school time and creating a distraction from learning. I plan to attend the Worcester County BOE meeting tomorrow to read the letter to the elected BOE and tell the BOE the state has no business requesting personal information from minor students. I will request they stand up to the state and propose a vote to cancel the survey.

Do you know if the survey has taken place in Wicomico yet?

JEEP INVASION MEET 11-22-14

Help Me Better Understand How Your Local MSM Benefits You

Today is a prime example of just what Salisbury News delivers on a regular basis for local viewers.

Considering we deliver news in real time, it seems to me that by the time IMPORTANT issues like MILLIONS of dollars being spent at the very last minute by an outgoing County Executive and outgoing County Council members would be extremely important to Wicomico County Taxpayers. 

Your local Main Stream Media will, (hopefully) follow our lead and perhaps expose that happened earlier today. Noticed I said, "happened". By the time you get their version, millions of your tax dollars have been spent and you can do NOTHING about it. Yeah, liberal media at its best. 

It's almost perfect. Council Members hide agenda information purposely so-as the public won't attend the meeting. Then the Council makes sure there's no public comment. Do you think the media will actually attend the meeting today? Better yet, do you think they'll actually interview TAXPAYERS outraged by moving such crap forward? Nah, they'll go to some gas station that advertises with them and ask challenged people who are absolutely clueless about taxes, the Council, the Executive and they'll hand feed them what they MIGHT want to say in advance. Oh, don't tell me you've never noticed that before!

So help me out here. How does the main stream media benefit you?

Letter to the Editor - Wicomico's Latest 14.5 million dollar Bond Bill Legislation Slated for Tuesday's County Council Meeting

Hello Joe, Mr. Pollitt simply can not believe he didn't win this election.  He was so sure that he was going to win that - once again - after the election he was going to stick it to the taxpayers again with more debt. 16.25 million this time in more bonds - (click onto link).  And again, the only way to keep paying for this debt is to raise the taxes more and create new taxes. This is the way he's always done things. 

Does anyone remember around January 2012, I believe was the date, when Pollitt and his sidekick came to the Council and said you simply have to approve this 7 cents tax hike before the county budget is even presented?  Kind of sounds like that Democrat House member Nancy Pelosi who made that famous statement that I believe will go down in history as the dumbest statement ever spoken by a politician anywhere in the world, "We have to sign the bill in order to see what's in it".  And another reminder of the way some Democratic leaders like to present things, like Obama Care on a Friday afternoon when everyone was leaving to go on Christmas brake I believe. Well, Mr. Pollitt, always true to his party, presented this 16.25 million dollar bill to the County Council - at the eleventh hour - around this past Friday and simply wants them to sign off on it at today's council meeting.  I believe Mr. Pollitt has been taking advice from Obama's health care architect - Jonathan Grubber - who believes all Americans are stupid. Well Mr. Pollitt, I don't believe Wicomico voters are stupid. You're out, County Executive Elect Bob Culver is in. County Council Members please keep this resolution from going anywhere until the new Council has had a chance to go over it thoroughly. Good luck County Executive Culver and new County Council. The People are watching. 

John Palmer, Delmar, Md.

Liberal Bullshit

For progressives, the success of government programs takes a backseat to their own moral grandstanding.

‘Bullshit” is American English’s assertion, maximally succinct and vigorous, that a contention is factually preposterous or logically absurd. According to philosophy professor Harry Frankfurt, however, the “essence of bullshit is not that it is false but that it is phony.” His slender volume devoted to the subject, On Bullshit, invites us to think of a Fourth of July orator “who goes on bombastically about ‘our great and blessed country, whose Founding Fathers under divine guidance created a new beginning for mankind.’” The speaker’s point is not “to deceive anyone concerning American history.” Rather, what he cares about is what people think of him. He wants them to think of him as a patriot, as someone who has deep thoughts and feelings about the origins and the mission of our country, who appreciates the importance of religion, who is sensitive to our history, whose pride in that history is combined with humility before God, and so on.It’s difficult to banish the glum suspicion that life in the 21st century, for all its economic and technological benefits, necessitates putting up withmuch more bullshit than our ancestors had to.

Frankfurt limits his discussion of bullshit to descriptive statements, analyzing and regretting our departure from the standard of truth. He does not take up the question of prescriptive statements, the mainstay of politics. Criticizing Republican proposals to cut spending on Head Start and other educational programs, for example, President Obama said, “We know that three- and four-year-olds who go to high-quality preschools, including our best Head Start programs, are less likely to repeat a grade, they’re less likely to need special education, they’re more likely to graduate from high school than the peers who did not get these services.” The first part of Obama’s statement is not bullshit, because it does nothing worse than employ the politician’s constant companion, the selectively revealed half-truth. Children who attend the best Head Start programs show positive results but, as we have seen, Head Start attendees overall are no better off than peers not enrolled in the program. Obama invokes the sunny side of the law of averages without acknowledging its grim side: If children who attend the best Head Start programs do better than their peers, children who attend the worst programs must, necessarily, have developmental problems even more severe than those afflicting children in a control group who never enrolled in the program at all.

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A Letter To The Editor: Veterans Not Worth The Dollars

The elections are over, back to business with Congress as they have many unsettled issues in need of attention. The VA scandal is still a priority for Congress to settle. Although the VA has made some progress toward veterans care and benefits improvements, it is not yet 100% thought out. Our Congress needs transparency in bipartisanship and held accountable. A quote by Theodore Roosevelt, “A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the Country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards”. We veterans need a square deal for survival and better quality of life, is it not too much to ask for?

Many thousands of veterans are sick with PTSD and Severe Illnesses with little to no resolve.

The most critical of our veterans groups is the Vietnam war veteran. Tens of thousands continue to combat illnesses associated with the herbicide Agent Orange. The group of veterans mostly ignored by the VA are those who served at sea in that war known as Blue Water Navy, many are infected with Agent Orange. House Bill HR-543 is still active in Congress with over 55% Congressional support it is stalled in the Veterans Affairs Committee. Financial support for this Bill amounts to approx. 7 to 9 billion dollars spread out over 7 to 10 years, after that there will be none of us left. We give hundreds of billions to foreign Countries some of which hate us, yet not a dime to our veterans, what is wrong with this picture. It goes to show veterans are low priority.

Americans call your members of Congress demand they pass HR-543.

By: John J. Bury, US Navy retired Vietnam veteran

Could Obamacare Architect Be Prosecuted For His Deceit?

Deceit. Fraud. Premeditated felonious theft from millions of Americans.

Now that Jonathan Gruber, known as “The Architect” of Obamacare, has been publicly revealed as a joyful con artist in a YouTube video, are his actions prosecutable?

The victims are the millions of Americans who lost their major medical insurance policies due to Obamacare, lost their doctors, their children’s doctors, their family’s cancer specialists and coverage at children’s hospitals and cancer clinics because of a law that was sold to Americans as being just the opposite.

The victims are the millions of Americans whose premiums increased so dramatically that they are forced to drop their coverage.

A video recently posted of the MIT professor speaking in 2013 as an academic panelist is a criminal confession in which he gleefully bragged that the ironically-named “Affordable Care Act” was written in such a way as to obfuscate the true nature of the bill’s effects and hide from the American public and the Congressional Budget Office the fact that if they told the truth the bill would not pass.

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Hogan to Still Seek Tax Relief, Despite Shortfall

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Gov.-elect Larry Hogan said Monday that he remains committed to pursuing tax relief in his first year in office — despite a projected budget shortfall — and he would consider calling a special session to do additional work on the state’s finances, if needed next year.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Hogan said he is bracing for an even greater fiscal challenge than the $593 million shortfall state budget analysts announced last week for the next fiscal year. Hogan takes office Jan. 21, and he will be required to submit a budget for the next fiscal year two days later to the Legislature.

“It took us a long time to get into the mess we’re in,” Hogan said. “It can’t be fixed in two days.”

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Palestinian University Honors Family Of Terrorist Who Ran Over And Killed American Baby

Still waiting for that condemnation from CAIR, probably going to be a long wait.

Three-month-old Chaya Zissel Braun, the baby girl killed today in Jerusalem during a vehicular terrorist attack, was an American citizen, a US official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday night.

The girl was thrown from her stroller as a car swerved into the Ammunition Hill light rail station, injuring seven others.

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf has “urged restraint” and calm from both sides after the attack.

“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in an evening statement. “We express our deepest condolences to the family of the baby, reportedly an American citizen, who was killed in this despicable attack, and extend our prayers for a full recovery to those injured. We urge all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this incident.”

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He’s Pathological: Obama, We didn’t mislead on health care bill

President Barack Hussein Obama made promises to the American people HE KNEW were lies. It was reported by this blog and many others outlets in the alternative media that Democrats were selling the American people a Bill of Goods. Now, Obama and the Democrats are tripping over themselves to distance themselves away from Jonathan Gruber.

It’s too late for that!

USA Today reports President Obama says he and his administration did not mislead the public on the financing of the health care law, disputing statements by a consultant who said supporters of the bill took advantage of the “stupidity” of American voters.

“The fact that an adviser who was never on our staff expressed an opinion that I completely disagree with in terms of the voters is not a reflection on the actual process that was run,” Obama told reporters at a news conference following the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.

Obama was responding to a recently discovered videotape featuring Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor and outside adviser of health care. Gruber said the Obama administration obscured the financing of the law in order to get it passed.

“If you have a law that makes explicit that healthy people pay in and sick people get money, it wouldn’t have passed,” Gruber said on the video. “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage and, basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever. But basically that was really critical to getting the thing to pass.”

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Dear Black People: The Democrats Are About To Break Up With You

For decades, the black vote in the United States almost uniformly has gone to Democrats.

How’s that working out? Black unemployment is twice the national average, poverty rates are higher than before Democrats offered “help,” and the education system fails a disproportionate number of black children. That’s what 50-plus years of blind voting loyalty to Democrats has earned. And, thanks to those same Democrats and the nation’s first black president, it’s about to get a lot worse.

President Obama is set to legalize upwards of 5 million illegal aliens, with the dream of granting amnesty and citizenship to 6 million to 25 million more, based on estimates and chain migration. These aren’t Ph.D.s with seed capital ready to start tech companies; they’re low- and no-skilled workers with limited English skills ready to take any job available, especially entry-level jobs.

After decades of embracing Democrats on a national and local level, the black community is disproportionately poor and, therefore, a higher percentage of the Americans likely to be competing for those entry-level jobs.

Just six years ago, this extra thumb in the eye to a loyal Democratic voting base would have been unthinkable, but Hispanics are the new dominant minority in American politics. In the future, the black vote is going to be less and less necessary to Democrats, which means they will be taken for granted even more than they have been. Loyalty in politics lasts only as long as the last election.

Democrats won’t immediately ignore black voters. It will be gradual. When loyalty is garnered so effortlessly, dismissing it out of hand is folly. But it will happen.

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25% Of Americans Prefer Socialism Over Capitalism

While Americans are preached that "free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity," it appears that not everyone is buying it. Whether it is the failure of prosperity to trickle down (and the inequality that has been created) or just the herd-like need to be told what to do (and never take risks), Pew Research finds a stunning 25% of Americans do not believe people are better off in a free market system - implicitly preferring centrally-planned lives. Ironically, belief in the free market tends to be highest in developing countries while in Japan and Spain, a majority prefer to be managed than free.

Belief in the free market tends to be highest in developing countries (median of 71%). Nearly two-thirds or more in all nine of the developing economies surveyed agree that most people benefit from capitalism, including 80% of Bangladeshis, 75% of Ghanaians and 74% of Kenyans.

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This Just In From A Viewer: WBOC, The New JT

I just saw where WBOC did a story on the SFD ambulance fee increase. I wonder where they got that story from.

They don't have to work for ideas anymore because you do their jobs for them.

OCEAN CITY ON PACE FOR ANOTHER LOW IN TRAFFIC COLLISIONS

In 2013, Ocean City saw a remarkable 14 percent decrease in traffic collisions as compared to 2012. As 2014 draws to a close, police are optimistic for another decrease in traffic collisions but it rests largely in the hands of those traveling Ocean City roadways.

“The driver is ultimately responsible for their own safety,” stated Chief Ross Buzzuro. “If citizens choose to drink alcohol, we strongly recommend that they have a designated driver, call a cab or catch a city bus. And of course, we want everyone using a seat belt in every seat, every time they get in a vehicle.”

From 2009 to 2013 in Maryland, 856 people were killed in impaired-related crashes, accounting for a third of all traffic fatalities across the state. In addition, almost 600 people died in crashes where they were not wearing a seat belt.

“Our law enforcement partners are out there strictly enforcing our laws, particularly when it comes to impaired driving and seat belts,” said MVA Administrator and the Governor’s Representative for Highway Safety, Milt Chaffee. “We are committed to our goal of moving Toward Zero Deaths on Maryland’s roads and a driver making the right choices means that we can stop needless and preventable tragedies from occurring.”

More than 400 people were arrested for DUI in Ocean City in 2013 and there were hundreds of seat belt citations issued. Penalties for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are severe, including thousands of dollars in fines and fees, not to mention the increased risk of crashes associated with impaired driving. Drivers face fines of $83 for failing to wear a seat belt, a law that is enforceable in both the front and back seats.

Update On HealthCare.gov

The Obama administration says so far so good for HealthCare.gov. The administration said the website is stable and working well. Open enrollment began this weekend and 100,000 people submitted applications on the site. Thousands who already have coverage were able to log-in to their accounts. About 7 million people are enrolled in the health care program. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell expects that number to grow to 9 million. The Congressional Budget Office projects a total of 13 million signed up for 2015.

BREAKING NEWS: 3 Americans killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack

Three Americans are among the four people killed in a Palestinian terror attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem, Fox News confirms.

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A Letter To The Editor: Delmarvanow.com

Joe - In response to the Daily Times sixth day of running the article that publishes the salary database of Worcester County teachers, I ask you to please investigate their motive. Yes, it is published info, but explain when did teachers become so under-appreciated? Are we not the educated role models who protect, mentor and better children? The article doesn't share other counties in Maryland, nor does it compare salaries to other professional occupations with a Masters degree and equal experience who complete 40-60 hours of work, planning and paperwork. The article makes me saddened for a society that tells their children "school should be important to you, but not the teachers in it."

Publishers Notes: They need to sell newspapers. 

That being said, you work for the public and have always been accountable. They/We publish salaries in Police Departments as well. I'm really not sure what your problem is with Brian Shane's article. In my honest opinion, he's the best Journalist and investigative reporter they have. 

I read the article but you say it has been running for six days, perhaps I missed the other five? Here's what I'll say personally about teachers salaries.

In a day when so many hard working Americans are struggling, back when I was growing up, becoming a Teacher never offered the financial opportunity of major income. Teachers became Teachers because of the love of teaching. Today I see the majority of Teachers making incredible income, especially in rural areas like the Eastern Shore. 

My Sister became a Teacher and even went back to school to get her Masters Degree. When she became a Teacher, her income was $13,000.00 a year!!! That was in 1988. Today she is the Principal of a School. I don't care who you are or what year it was, $13,000.00 A YEAR! 

My Sister is my hero. She went for her DREAM and we made sure she never went without. THAT'S WHAT FAMILY DOES. Not Welfare! Not Food Stamps! Not Affordable Housing! Guess what, IF you were blessed enough to be one of her students, you got the best education a loving and caring human being could offer. It was never about the money, obviously. 

You want to talk about income. My Sister lives in northern VA. A few years ago she bought her very first home, a 2 bedroom condo that cost $350,000.00. I should add, the building was built in 1950. Mind you, ALL of her Brothers immediately came in and renovated it from top to bottom as a house warming gift. Now, just when you think, well, she's a Principal, think again. She works for a private School and I can assure you she still doesn't make the kind of money many of YOU Teachers make here.

Maybe the Daily Times could do a follow up story about Teachers who are truly in it for the CHILDREN? I'll bet you anything my Sister wouldn't be offended if they published her income. "NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM". 

The Decline of Democratic Unionism

Volkswagen’s decision to allow multiple employee representatives at the bargaining table could undermine America’s longstanding practice of majority rule in labor relations, according to legal experts.

David Phippen, a management-side labor lawyer with Constangy, Brooks, & Smith, said VW’s policy embraces the European concept of “minority bargaining representation” and represents a further drift away from traditional American labor organizations.

“Under current law an employer is not supposed to bargain legally with a union that doesn’t purportedly represent a majority bargaining unit,” Phippen said.

Unionization in the United States has historically been a winner-take-all game. Labor organizations that surpassed the 50 percent threshold in secret ballot elections or card check campaigns are able to represent 100 percent of the workforce. Those that only manage 49.9 percent of the vote go home empty-handed.

VW, a German-based automaker, and the UAW, the Detroit-based labor giant in decline, are pioneering a third way. UAW only managed to attract 47 percent support from VW workers in right to work Tennessee during in its failed February secret ballot election. Rather than abiding by itscontractual obligation to abandon organizing at the Chattanooga plant for at least one year, the UAW formed a “volunteer union” in July to give workers an outlet for their support. The union launched a similar effort at an Alabama Mercedes plant in October.

“The UAW’s attempts in Tennessee and Alabama are a veiled attempt to create a situation that brings minority union bargaining to a head,” Phippen said.

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Eating Fish Twice a Week Lowers Cancer Risk: Study

Eating plenty of fatty fish can help prevent the most common types of cancer, a new study review finds.

Researchers know that daily aspirin helps prevent adenocarcinomas by modestly decreasing the activity of a type of enzyme (cyclooxygenase-2 or cox-2), which leads to the development and growth of these tumors. Most cancers arising in the breast, prostate, pancreas, colon, and the rest of the gastrointestinal tracts are adenocarcinomas.

But aspirin also increases bleeding risk so the researchers wanted to find out whether eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, mackerel, herring and lake trout, had the same benefits.

The researchers found this indeed to be the case. They cited one study, for instance, which found that people who ate fish at least twice weekly as compared to those who ate fish less than once a week were at a at significantly lower risk for many types of cancer. But in order to get the benefit, the fish could not be salted or fried, they stressed.

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How the Tea Party Has Been Infiltrated & What Must Be Done

The Tea Party Movement started out on the right track with the goal of trying to educate people on why we must return to Constitutional governance and with protesting some of the tyrannical policies being unfolded.

Unfortunately, the movement has been infiltrated by the Republican Party and is no longer effective because of it. Much of the information fed to the national Tea Party groups are items that are make it sound important but are the wrong battles to fight.

How do I know this? I was one of the state coordinators (for Tea Party Patriots) in the movement and witnessed it being manipulated. I resigned when several state coordinators and a national coordinator left due to the organization being co-opted.

The election of 2012 saw a division within the Tea Party/912 groups because many people, like myself, broke away from it after realizing that the national groups were saying that they were for “Fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets” but who were supporting many candidates and issues that didn’t represent these things, at all.

In 2010, the movement was more united when the House of Representatives was flipped to be led by the GOP and John Boehner was put into place as Speaker of the House…along with all of his theater-type tears and crying. We thought we had a win but it didn’t take long for almost all of these, newly elected, Tea Party leaders to show their true colors. Look at some of the utter failures like Eric Cantor, John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Scott Tipton, etc. and you will realize that they aren’t just incompetent but this is part of the plan to stab the people in the back and continue the destruction of our Constitutional Republic.

The only effective answer to this is to stop voting for traitors like this. It’s really that simple. The argument of voting for the “lesser of two evils” no longer works nor should be applied. It is time that “we the people” do our duty to the Constitution and put these bums out.

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New Laser Weapon

The Navy deploys the first destructive laser weapon on a ship in the Persian Gulf. Bloomberg reports the device is mounted on the bow of the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport. The prototype is made of a combination of commercial welding lasers. Navy officials said it has a range of power settings. It can dazzle an enemy with light. Or, it can be cranked up to set a drone aircraft or small boat on fire. The laser was developed by the Navy Sea Systems Command. It cost about $1 per shot to operate. At maximum power it takes 30 kilowatts of electricity.

Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City expected to close by Dec 12

The owners of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City said in a court filing Friday they expected to close the Boardwalk property on or before Dec. 12.

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. had been warning for months the struggling casino might close this fall if it didn't get significant relief from its biggest union and millions in government aid.

The company got the relief it sought from labor last month when a bankruptcy judge allowed it to reject the union contract, but the government help it wanted - in the form of $175 million in aid over five years, including $55 million immediately - has not arrived.

The company has "not obtained the tax relief and incentives they have sought and do not expect that they will receive assistance" before exiting bankruptcy, the filing said.

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