New Mexico Just Fined the Feds $54 Million

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico on Saturday levied more than $54 million in penalties against the U.S. Department of Energy for numerous violations that resulted in the indefinite closure of the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository.

The state Environment Department delivered a pair of compliance orders to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, marking the state’s largest penalty ever imposed on the agency. Together, the orders outline more than 30 state permit violations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico and at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The orders and the civil penalties that come with them are just the beginning of possible financial sanctions the Energy Department could face in New Mexico. The state says it’s continuing to investigate and more fines are possible.

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Teachers Go Door-Knocking In Nashville

In Nashville, several public schools are struggling to compete with nearby charters. To recruit more students, teachers are tearing a page from the charter playbook: going door to door.

It's Saturday in East Nashville, and LaTonya White finds herself knocking on a stranger's door. It's awkward. Someone peers out at her through the window. White looks away, pretending not to notice. After an uncomfortable few seconds, the door finally cracks open. White seizes her chance:

"My name is LaTonya White. I'm the principal at Rosebank Elementary School. How are you doing?" she asks, glancing at the clipboard in her hands. On it: a list of families in the area with soon-to-be kindergartners. "Yes, you should have a child ready to come to school soon."

Canvassing for potential students — and honing this kind of front porch pitch — is standard for charter schools. But, for traditional public school leaders like White, it's unfamiliar territory. Still, it may quickly become an expectation as urban districts around the country grapple with destabilization related — at least in part — to the growth of charter schools.

"I think we're just moving to the place where we do have to sell ourselves, where we do have to market ourselves, where we do have to say, 'Hey, look, this is what we're doing,' " White says.

Here's the challenge: Nearly half of all students in East Nashville don't attend their zoned school. Part of that is the district's own doing. Open enrollment, a rising trend in districts around the country, made it so that students in Nashville can attend school just about anywhere they want — as long as there's an open seat. And, in East Nashville, competition is fierce among a crowd of private schools and charters.

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Police Officer Demonstrates Proper Technique For Subduing Grand Jury

NEW YORK—Saying that the maneuver was 100 percent effective if administered correctly, police captain Matthew Carlson demonstrated the proper technique for subduing a grand jury to a group of younger officers Thursday. “First and foremost, it’s important to get a strong, firm hold on the state-level district attorney’s office before you do anything else—that way, you’re making sure you never put yourself in any direct danger,” said Carlson, who explained a series of self-defense moves that would ensure grand jurors interpret the law in such a way as to give police the widest latitude in justifying the use of force, adding that performing the moves correctly would cause jurors to submit to the officer’s will “in no time at all.” “When you’re out there facing a prosecutor’s questions about whether you were acting lawfully and with discretion, you won’t have time to think. And that’s why it’s important that all of you master this technique now, because inevitably, many of you will find yourselves in a situation where you’ll need to call on this training. But used properly, these methods will stop any prosecution in its tracks well before there’s an indictment.” Carlson went on to stress that subduing a grand jury is a last-ditch option, and that officers should always try to thwart any investigation well before there are official proceedings.

Source

8 U.S. Postal Workers Accused Of Swiping Packages Filled With Pot

While the sight of hundreds of packages filled with mystery goods going past you day by day might eventually prove too strong of a temptation, the job of a U.S. Postal worker depends on not pilfering those boxes and bags destined for others. That’s why eight USPS workers at a Long Island mail processing center have been arrested for allegedly stealing packages crammed full with marijuana.

And yes, you’re right — it’s illegal to mail marijuana, from California where it’s legal medically, or from anywhere, so maybe they thought no one would go asking questions about it?

Investigators say the eight accused figured out that the illicit packages were likely filled with pot based on the fact that they originated in California and were oddly shaped, reports the New York Daily News.

It all started when three empty Priority Mail packages were discovered in the backyard of an abandoned house nearby. A drug-sniffing police dog confirmed suspicions that that wacky smell was indeed, marijuana.

As it turns out, the packages had been sorted and processed at the facility nearby, where surveillance footage showed one worker sneaking out a fire escape door carrying three large packages that looked an awful lot like the pot packages found in the backyard.

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American Al Qaeda Captive Dead After Failed Rescue Attempt (UPDATE: Obama Says Why He Authorized Rescue)

UPDATE: President Barack Obama says he authorized the attempt to rescue American Luke Somers in Yemen because the U.S. had information that the American photojournalist’s life was in imminent danger.

That word from the White House came shortly before a security official in Yemen said al-Qaida militants had planned to kill Somers on Saturday.

Authorities said Somers and a South African aid worker died in the U.S. rescue attempt.

Obama says U.S. forces conducted the rescue operation in partnership with Yemen’s government.

The president also says the U.S. “will spare no effort” in trying to rescue any American held hostage anywhere in the world. And he’s promising that terrorists who try to harm U.S. citizens “will feel the long arm of American justice.”

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Reports of military sexual assaults rise 8 percent this year

A Rand Corporation survey suggests victims are more willing to file complaints than in years past. The survey shows about a quarter of victims filed reports in 2014, compared to just one-tenth in 2012. Lawmakers have pushed to change how the Pentagon handles cases of sexual assault. And Pentagon officials say they see a decline in the actual number of sexual assaults. They estimate 19,000 service members are victims of unwanted sexual contact this year. That's down from 26,000 two years ago.

The Surprise - Wife Surprises Marine Husband During His Return From Year-Long Deployment

The media is full of military men and women surprising their families upon their return from deployment, but it is very rare to see a military member get surprised by their loved ones. My husband has been in Afghanistan for the last year. He was one of the last group of Marines to come back from the war. Because he is stationed in California and our kids and I live in Maryland, he didn't think that anyone would be there when he returned. But I showed him! I left Maryland Wednesday afternoon to make sure I arrived there in time to see his arrival on Thursday, and then came home on Friday. It was a short trip, but it was the best! I love you babe!

SSA Conformation Could Be Stalled

Confirmation of President Obama's choice to head the Social Security Administration could be stalled over a $300 million computer project that doesn't work. 

The project launched before Carolyn Colvin became acting commissioner in February 2013. But Republican senators on the Finance Committee think they've been mislead by Social Security officials over details of the troubled project. 

They vow to block a vote on Colvin's nomination until they get more answers. Obama nominated Colvin to a six year Commissioner's term in June. Before becoming acting commissioner, she was the deputy for three and a half years.

1980's Tv Quiz

click HERE to take the quiz

Now Obama working on jobs plan for illegals

International trade deal would boost farm jobs, cut manufacturing

UNITED NATIONS – Now that President Obama has started his executive amnesty program to legalize five million low-wage workers, the White House and GOP leaders are discussing what essentially amounts to a jobs program that will benefit them.

Obama met Wednesday with Sen. Mitch McConnell, who will be the Senate majority leader in the new Congress in January, and House leaders to discuss fast tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a NAFTA-like global economic integration plan.

Just last month Secretary of State John Kerry said the pact will help further merge the U.S. economy with Mexico and 10 other nations, including Canada, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Islamic Sultanate of Brunei.

In that speech, Kerry said TPP will make an “enormous difference” and it is supposed to “bring everybody up.”

But the U.S. government’s own analysis of the pact shows the TransPacific Partnership Agreement amounts to a jobs program for low-paid, largely immigrant farm labor.

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Obamagration

Maryland Casino Revenue Surpasses $90M In November

Maryland casinos brought in a record $90.2 million in November, but revenue decreased year-over-year when excluding Horseshoe Casino Baltimore which opened in August.

Not including the Horseshoe, casino revenue declined 0.6 percent, or $40,567, from a year ago, the state's Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Friday.

Compared with October, casino revenue increased nearly 4 percent from $86.8 million.

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Dear Media: This Elizabeth Lauten Nonsense Is Why Everybody Hates You

Last week, President Barack Obama pardoned a turkey prior to Thanksgiving Day, as is tradition. And as in previous years, his teenage daughters Malia and Sasha stood by his side. The daughters are cute as can be — and Malia is growing into an absolutely beautiful young woman.

They are, however, teenagers. And they were, I guess, engaged in some mild teenage behavior — eye-rolling and smirking and what not. I watched a video of the event and didn’t really notice anything worth commenting on (apart from the interesting annual practice of Obama signing the cross over the turkey). But one minor Capitol Hill staffer thought the girls were dressed inappropriately and acted a bit churlish. And then, for some reason, she wrote about it on Facebook.

At which point some people lost their everliving minds. Her comments were posted on Twitter where the social media mob fed their hankering for constant outrage. There were petitions calling for her to be punished. And worst of all the media wrote and broadcast story after story after story about the matter. Elizabeth Lauten lost her job for saying mean things about President Obama’s children.

Now, Lauten is in communications and her job presumably included an assumption that she wouldn’t embarrass her boss. Besides, in a city where you can keep your job even if you’re involved in serious scandals at the IRS, State Department, Veterans Affairs or the Department of Justice, an actual job loss is refreshing, in its own way. She even gave a full-throated apology — within hours of the initial post — for being mean, not one of these “I’m sorry if” constructions that politicians frequently use.

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Baltimoreans Rank High On Least-Attractive List

WASHINGTON -- Baltimore may be a nice-looking city when you're entering town and looking at the skyline, but one travel website's readers say the people in it aren't much to look at.

Travel + Leisure posted its annual rankings of which cities and towns have the most and least attractive people in the U.S., and Baltimoreans come out as the fourth-least attractive, behind -- or ahead of? -- only Oklahoma City, Memphis and, least-fair of them all, Detroit.

Travel + Leisure doesn't give a whole lot of reasons for its picks -- they're just based on readers' votes -- so there's plenty of room for argument.

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Denver the Guilty Dog has struck again.....

Post by Denver Our Guilty Dog.

Buchanan: Boehner Beholden to Businesses That Want Amnesty

Former presidential adviser and political commentator Pat Buchanan ripped into House Speaker John Boehner, saying the Ohio Republican won't stop the president's amnesty plan for illegals because he's in the pocket of businesses that want it to move forward.

"John Boehner and those folks up in the Hill are going to follow the people that pay their room, board and tuition," Buchanan said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

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Resort Penthouse Burglar To Serve 2 Months In Jail

SNOW HILL — A Falls Church, Va. man, arrested in June after entering a resort hotel penthouse, cooking and eating food, drinking wine and using a bed and hot tub, pleaded guilty this week in Worcester County Circuit Court to burglary and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Around 11:30 a.m. on June 22, Ocean City Police responded to the Days Inn on Baltimore Ave. for a reported burglary. OCPD officers learned a suspect later identified as Ludrwin Machado-Rivera, 24, had allegedly entered the hotel’s penthouse unit sometime the night before or in the early morning hours. The hotel manager observed Machado-Rivera and detained him until police arrived.

The investigation revealed Machado-Rivera had climbed a fence blocking access to the hotel’s roof and climbed the stairs to the patio of the penthouse unit. He then entered the penthouse through a sliding door. When the hotel manager saw Machado-Rivera at the penthouse unit, he called police and detained the suspect.

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NYT: Working-Class Disgust with Democrats Hitting 'Dangerous Levels'

Progressive New York Times columnist Thomas B. Edsall wrote on Tuesday that Democrats' embrace of Obamacare's redistribution scheme has angered and alienated working-class and middle-class Americans.

"Even though midterm elections favor Republicans, the 2014 results show middle and working-class dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party rising to dangerous levels, which threatens the party's growing demographic advantages," wrote Edsall.

As Breitbart News reported last Wednesday, the latest Gallup poll finds that President Barack Obama's approval rating with working-class white voters has hit an all-time low 27%. Moreover, the Gallup poll's findings were taken from opinion data collected prior to racially-charged riots in Ferguson, Missouri.

Edsall cites numbers showing that working-class and middle-class Americans fully understand that Obamacare takes money from the working class and gives it away to the lower class, thereby making things "worse for people like you and your family."

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SFD Calls For Service 12-5-14

• Friday December, 5 2014 @ 22:31Nature: Automatic AlarmAddress: 1325 Treetop Dr Salisbury, MD 21801
• Friday December, 5 2014 @ 20:08Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday December, 5 2014 @ 20:07 Nature: Vehicle Accident w/InjuriesAddress: 2601 N Salisbury Blvd Salisbury, MD 21801
• Friday December, 5 2014 @ 19:51Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday December, 5 2014 @ 19:11Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury

Yes, You Should Be Skeptical about the UVA Rape Story

Truth matters more than the narrative

‘The truth may be puzzling,” wrote Carl Sagan. “It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what’s true.”

And the hecklers shouted, “Idiot!”

Such, at least, was the reaction of Jezebel’s Anna Merlan to the news that two free-thinking writers had begun to ask whether an explosive Rolling Stone article that purported to reveal a hideous gang-rape at the University of Virginia was, in fact, entirely true. Having initially failed to “question the incident itself,” Reason’s Robby Soave wrote on Monday, he had come to find “some of the details . . . perplexing on subsequent re-reads.” “I’ll be following any and all developments in this case,” Soave promised, “and am eager to see this particular story either confirmed as true or exposed as a hoax.” A week or so earlier, a formerGeorge editor named Richard Bradley had noted for the record that “nothing in this story is impossible,” but contended nonetheless that he had serious questions. “To believe it beyond a doubt, without a question mark — as virtually all the people who’ve read the article seem to — requires a lot of leaps of faith,” Bradley submitted. In both cases, the men explained why they were suspicious and vowed to look more deeply into the case. In both cases, the pair were dismissed as rubeish and misogynistic dilettantes who, in Merlan’s words, have “no idea what they’re talking about.”

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Violating the Teachings of Jesus Christ

In an exclusive interview with FTMDaily’s (http://ftmdaily.com/) Jerry Robinson, former Congressman Ron Pauldiscusses some of his core values as an American and as a human being. “On Faith and Family: A Conversation With Dr. Ron Paul” provides compelling insight on the problems facing the nation today, as well as reflections on Paul’s three presidential campaigns.

Paul explained that war and strong-arm diplomacy, both part of America’s compulsion to police the world, are fundamentally unsound policies. Most disturbingly, he said, is that a vocal minority of the Christian Evangelical community is strongly in favor of such foreign policy stances and considers die-hard support of Israel, for instance, to be a litmus test for any political candidate. Asked why some Evangelicals have gone down a path of militarism, Paul does not even hazard a guess.

”It’s probably been going on for a hundred years or so, that there’s been a segment of the Christian faith that endorses this violence,” remarked Paul. “It’s one of the discouraging things for me because it’s, to me, so inconsistent. It doesn’t even make any sense to me. I was taught that the New Testament was a ‘new’ testament, and that we didn’t have sacrifices and other things of the Old Testament. My understanding is that Jesus was the Prince of Peace, and that you weren’t out looking for war.”

Though serious about his faith, Paul has never been one to parade it publicly or use it as a tool for political leverage. Instead, he advocates that one’s life and works should stand alone as demonstrations of faith. Robinson concurs that Paul’s belief in peace, free trade and diplomacy are all in step with the Gospels as written.

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Violent gang had such control over Baltimore prison that they had a Minister for Education and Minister for Finance, court hears

A Violent gang had such control over a notorious jail that they had a Minister for Education and Minister for Finance, a court heard.

Gang leader, Tavon 'Bulldog' White, described a culture of corruption inside the centuries-old Baltimore City Detention Center, led by a group that had its own language and laws and authorities.

The Black Guerilla Family's hierarchy even included a 'minister of education' who quizzed members on gang literature and a 'minister of finance' who managed the profits sent by cellphones from behind bars, the court was told.

White testified that the gang controlled life in the jail and that he directed guards motivated by sex and money to smuggle in drugs and cellphones and facilitate attacks on inmates who challenged his authority.

The gang's smuggling schemes even fund the bail that frees gang members who can't pay to get sprung from jail, he testified this week.

Gang leaders, not guards, were the ultimate authority inside the jail, he said.

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Stand with Hillary Country Music Video Is Predictable and Inauthentic (a Lot Like Hillary)

Not since U2 gave its new album to every Apple iTunes user whether they wanted it or not has music felt this much like a threat.

Produced by a group called Stand with Hillary, the country music video walks a fine line between over-earnest promotion and accidental satire. But the group behind the clip appears to be completely sincere. The Washington Post reportsthat Stand with Hillary's creators are "Daniel Chavez, a longtime Democratic political operative, and media producer Miguel Orozco." Orozco wrote the song which is a very different flavor from his previous efforts for Obama in 2008.

The clip features a bearded country singer singing Clinton's praises with lyrics such as "And now it's 2016 and this time I'm a thinkin', guys put your boots on and let's smash this ceiling." That comes as the lead singer in the clip (who also drives an earth mover to show how blue collar he is) smashes a glass panel with a sledge hammer.

There are many flavors of country music but if I had to identify one defining characteristic of the genre it would be a certain striving for honesty and authenticity in the lyrics. That makes it a very odd fit for Hillary Clinton who is better known for being predictable and inauthentic.

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Oregon State Police Video Captures Fatal Freeway Shooting

To read the details of what happened click HERE

Baptists paid $183 million for four months of illegal immigrant childcare

Federal officials paid Baptist Children and Family Services nearly $183 million to help care for 2,400 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children for four months earlier this year at military facilities in Oklahoma and Texas, according to documents made public Wednesday by Judicial Watch.

"The cost to the American taxpayer was $86,846.34 per illegal alien child at Ft. Sill [in Oklahoma], for a total to $104,215,608 for 1,200 UACs from June 12 to October 18," Judicial Watch said. "The bill also included $2,648,800 in compensation for 30 members of the BCFS 'Incident Management Team,' for a total to $88,293 per IMT member for the four-month period."

The non-profit group received the documents Sept. 4 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request but only made them public Wednesday.

"The $77,914,178 to care for 1,200 children at Lackland Air Force Base [in Texas] amounted to a cost to the taxpayer of $64,928 per illegal alien child from May 18 to September 18. The Lackland bill included $20,000 for a 'cable television screen/projector set up' and 20 shower stalls at $1,000 each," the group said.

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Casey Anthony 'wants another baby - and is choosing a father from the men who wrote to her in JAIL

Casey Anthony is planning to have another baby and is choosing a father from the men who wrote to her in jail, it has been claimed.

The 28-year-old, who is understood to be working as a housekeeper in Florida, is said to be 'ready to move on with her life'.

It comes just three years after she was cleared of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee, whose remains were found in woodland near the family home in Orlando in 2008.

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Some thoughts on Eric Garner

Yesterday, a New York City officials announced that a grand jury had cleared the police officer captured on video putting Staten Island resident Eric Garner in a choke hold. Garner later died of a heart attack. The announcement sparked large protests throughout the city, and smaller protests across the country.

A few varied thoughts on the incident:

Body cameras

My Washington Post colleague Nia-Malika Henderson wrote yesterday that the failure to indict the officer despite what appears to be some pretty damning video evidence strikes a blow against the use of body cameras. While I agree with Henderson that President Obama’s proposed police reforms don’t go nearly far enough, I don’t think her conclusion about body cameras is right. 

Body cameras are a form of government transparency. Though there is some evidence that they motivate better behavior in both cops and citizens, I don’t think most people who advocates their use would argue that they’d be a panacea in thwarting police misconduct. Instead, like other transparency policies, their primary function is to expose any problems that may exist. The video footage of the Eric Garner arrest has done exactly that.

The video showed that this cop used a level of force that to many people seems excessive.

The video provided a neutral narrative of the arrest. If not for the video, we would be left only with the police account of the arrest versus the account of a few witnesses. And remember, the officers’ first report on the confrontation didn’t mention the chokehold.

The video convinced people who might have otherwise sided with the police. Mediaite editor Andrew Kirell noted on Twitter yesterday that he was pleased to see so many conservatives and right-leaning people in his feed expressing outrage over the lack of an indictment.

The video demonstrated that the system is broken. The lack of an indictment stunned many people because the video seemed so compelling. Because the grand jury nevertheless declined to indict, those people must now grapple with the fact that either the grand jury system is broken or New York’s use of force laws allow for what we saw in that video. That is, either the grand jury improperly applied the law to clear a cop, or the law itself is terribly flawed.

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FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL

So - you thought opposition to the Keystone Pipeline was pure and noble and environmentally based..!?!

Right....

Holiday Kickoff Weekend Called ‘Amazing’ For Berlin

BERLIN – “Amazing.”

That’s how Connie Mayers, owner of Main Street Sweets, describes the first official weekend of holiday shopping in Berlin. And she’s not the only one.

Merchants throughout the town had nothing but good things to say following Black Friday and Small Business Saturday in “America’s Coolest Small Town.”

“It was packed,” said Debbie Frene, owner of Victorian Charm. “Berlin was overflowing.”

Shop owners in Berlin said they stayed busy from the time they opened Friday through the weekend. Holiday Arts Night on Friday evening, which included the town’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony, kept some stores open as late as 10 p.m.

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Government's Small Business Administration Exposed As Corporate Welfare For Big Business

Many people have noted that the more insidious or corrupt a law or agency, the more positive sounding its name. The most egregious example during my lifetime, was naming legislation that stripped Americans of most of their civil liberties the “Patriot” Act.

In a similar vein, which red-blooded American could ever be opposed to something called the Small Business Administration (SBA). We all love small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit, and even those who abhor big government have a hard time siding against an agency that supports the little guy. As such, the SBA is the perfect vehicle for cronyism, corruption and corporate welfare, which indeed appears to be its primary reason for existence.

My friends at Open the Books have published a key study on the SBA, and the results are ugly. The full report can be found here, but what follows is some analysis of the report by Stephen Moore at Investors Business Daily:

The Small Business Administration is under fire for lending billions of taxpayer dollars a year to exclusive country clubs, golf resorts, yacht clubs, pet resorts, upscale plastic surgeons, wineries and other businesses catering to the lifestyles of the very wealthy.

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Delmar Christmas Parade Postponed

Because WBOC Weathermen stated it would be raining its butt off today, Delmar has postponed their Christmas Parade. The Parade will now be held at 2:00 Sunday instead. 

Target Worker's Speech Is Probably The Best Thing That's Happened On A Black Friday

What do a horde of Spartan warriors on the verge of battle and a store full of Target employees on Black Friday have in common?

A dude who can give a kick-ass motivational speech, that's what.

Meet Scott Simms, an employee at a Target store in Westminster, Md., who hammered home a triumphant rallying cry to his co-workers before Black Friday shoppers descended on his store last week. We might never have known about the speech, or its echoes of the 2006 action movie "300," if not for a former co-worker who posted this video to Reddit

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The Coyote Principle or Why California is Broke

CALIFORNIA........

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor.

The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

He calls animal control. Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the state $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals.

The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.

The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The state spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re the nature of coyotes.

PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the state.

TEXAS………

The Governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. 

A coyote jumps out and attacks his dog.

The Governor shoots the coyote with his state-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.

The buzzards eat the dead coyote.

And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Texas is not.

Rising Cost of Living Makes People Poorer

Donald Trump Tells Me Why He's Eyeing the White House. I'll Tell You Why He Could Win.

Just one day after the midterm elections, Donald Trump let it slip that he's "going to take a very serious look" at making a bid for the White House in 2016.

Granted, for years he's floated the idea of running for president, but it seems this time could be different. I spoke to him in depth about his views on politics, the 2016 presidential field, and why he's moving closer to taking up the call.

"The reason that I'm looking at it very strongly this time is I'm so sick and tired of politicians. I am so sick and tired of watching these politicians who are all talk and no action. As an example, Benghazi, the IRS…I've just watched so much of the talk and the rhetoric and nothing gets done," Trump told me.

Trump said that he will be making the decision about whether to run in March or April, but I felt he gave some strong hints about which way he is leaning.

"I have an instinct for things. I think the country is ready for someone who gets it. I think the country is ready for somebody who can take it to greatness again," he said.

Some people will say this is just publicity stunt, a point he acknowledged.

"A lot of people think I'm having fun when I do this. I'm not. I can think of other things I can be doing…I love what I'm doing, and I'd be very happy if we had the right person," he said.

Separate to what he says, if you look at the time and effort he's already invested on the campaign trail, there's good reason to believe he's not bluffing.

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Get Ready for More Layoffs and Higher Unemployment

Maryland Universities Implement Spending Freezes

The schools with freezes in place include Salisbury University, Towson University, the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland.

BALTIMORE —Spending freezes are now in place at the majority of Maryland's public universities as they prepare for a projected $900 million state budget shortfall over two years.

The state's Department of Budget and Management has already advised agencies to slow their spending, and that includes colleges and universities, where officials said they see the handwriting on the wall.

More than half a dozen universities in the state confirmed Thursday that they have implemented various spending restrictions, including hiring freezes, salary freezes, travel restrictions and delays of equipment purchases and facility renewal projects.

The freezes come after the University System of Maryland discussed with each of its 12 institutions tightening their belts to prepare for a nearly $300 million state budget deficit for the current fiscal year and another projected $600 million in fiscal 2016, The Daily Record reported.
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Sowell: 'Psychiatrist' Needed to Explain GOP Wanting More Foreign Workers

Thomas Sowell, author of "Basic Economics," argued that increasing the number of foreign workers in the US "will keep down the wages of American workers" and that "you would have to get a psychiatrist" to explain the GOP's support for increased foreign labor on Thursday's "Laura Ingraham Show."

"The competition will keep down the wages of American workers, I mean, this is not a new principle. I mean this has been known for hundreds of years," he stated.

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Warning Signs: A History of the Disastrous Global Warming Hoax

“It is the greatest deception in history and the extent of the damage has yet to be exposed and measured,” says Dr. Tim Ball in his new book, “The Deliberate Corruption of Climate Science”.

Dr. Ball has been a climatologist for more than forty years and was one of the earliest critics of the global warming hoax that was initiated by the United Nations environmental program that was established in 1972 and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established in 1988.

Several UN conferences set in motion the hoax that is based on the assertion that carbon dioxide (CO2) was causing a dramatic surge in heating the Earth. IPCC reports have continued to spread this lie through their summaries for policy makers that influenced policies that have caused nations worldwide to spend billions to reduce and restrict CO2 emissions. Manmade climate change—called anthropogenic global warming—continues to be the message though mankind plays no role whatever

.
There is no scientific support for the UN theory.

CO2, despite being a minor element of the Earth’s atmosphere, is essential for all life on Earth because it is the food that nourishes all vegetation. The Earth has passed through many periods of high levels of CO2 and many cycles of warming and cooling that are part of the life of the planet.

“Science works by creating theories based on assumptions,” Dr. Ball notes, “then other scientists—performing their skeptical role—test them. The structure and mandate of the IPCC was in direct contradiction of this scientific method. They set out to prove the theory rather than disprove it.”

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SAVAGE SAYS COP SHOULD HAVE INDICTED ON MANSLAUGHTER

HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 12-6-14

Horses

Now just a hobby, the horse was the sole means of transportation a hundred years ago. A post card from around 1907 shows Main St. in Salisburyprior to 1903 devoid of any automobiles. As evidenced by the two poles on the left, Salisbury had telephone service (the first pole) and electric service (the second pole). The electric light hanging from the pole in the middle of the picture could be raised or lowered at will. But even with these two new modern conveniences, they had no cars of any great number. In 1908, there were only twenty-odd automobiles in the city. Even with this miniscule number of automobiles, the comments of one of the local newspapers declared that the streets were congested with traffic.

Since the majority of the population lived on farms out of town, they had no problem keeping a horse. For the people in town, it was another problem. For those who kept their horse, and possibly a buggy, at their home, they had to have a stable for the horse and a building for their buggy. The jeweler, Amos Woodcock, had a stable behind his building on Main St. He had his business on the first floor and his family lived on the second and third floor.

Hitching posts lined Main St. for the convenience of people tying up their wagons. Judging by the number of wagons in the picture, many were needed to accommodate the many wagons that came to town. Since the street was dirt, I can imagine the smell and inconvenience of the times. I do not know whether the city made any provisions for animal waste clean-up, but it must have been done somehow.

Only in second half of the 20th Century did Salisbury outlaw the keeping of farm animals within the city limits. When I was growing up on Church St. in Salisbury, our next door neighbor kept chickens in the back yard. They had a chopping block and used it when they wanted a chicken for dinner. The old phrase, “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” was demonstrated to me at an early age.

On the next street over, Clay St., they had a horse that they kept out back in a stable. This was in the 1950’s.

Farther west, on Davis St., just off Church St., there was a blacksmith shop. It was owned by a Mr. Pollitt and was the last blacksmith shop in Salisbury. The era of the blacksmith had ended and the new occupation of farrier had come into being. A farrier only shoes horses and travels around from stable to stable on the local farms.

Kindness From The Community

Members of Cub Scout Pack 480 from Berlin collected donated pet food and pet care items for their November community service project and presented the items to Kenille’s Kupboard on Nov. 22. Pictured, from left, are Rodney Conway, Alex Navarro, Konnor Stever, Kenille Davies, Ted Donahue, Carolyn Heit-Miller, Steven Navarro and Ray Stever.

Students from Seaside Christian Academy hold gift boxes that were packed for the Operation Christmas Child outreach. Pictured, front from left, are Max Hilbert, Samantha Cummings, Emily Messick and Marley Luckett; and, back, Hannah Stirn, Zoey Diskin, Meghan Cummings, Joel Evans and Andrew Baker.

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Pharrell Williams backs off comments describing Michael Brown as a 'bully' and calls teen's death 'murder'

Pharrell Williams said that 'everyone is heartbroken' there was no grand jury indictment of a white cop over the fatal shooting of a black, unarmed teenager Michael Brown, a week after the musician sparked a heated debate by calling the victim's behavior 'bully-ish'.

The singer said in an interview late on Monday that his perspective on the case hasn't changed since the shooting in August.

'My feelings have been the same since that boy was murdered,' Williams said backstage at The Voice in Los Angeles, where he's a coach. 'Everyone is heartbroken. It's another teen, unarmed teen gunned down.'

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TONIGHT: Spaghetti Dinner And Silent Auction Honoring Nancy Tunney

Michael Brown witness more heroic than Eric Holder

The inconvenient heroism of Witness No. 10

Eric Holder could learn respect for the law from a Brown shooting bystander

From the very first day that news of Michael Brown’s shooting death by Officer Darren Wilson hit the front pages, Ferguson, Missouri, became synonymous with police brutality, improper training of officers and a racist, thin blue line. The case was like catnip to President Obama, a man who, six years into his term, has yet to show any understanding that he is the president of the United States, not president of the Democratic Party. He was quick to weigh in with words of support for the victim, who was being touted by a gullible media as a college-bound gentle giant of a child.

Mr. Obama turned the matter over to Eric Holder, who, similarly, has never understood that he is the chief law enforcement officer for the nation rather than the personal consigliere for Mr. Obama. For many reasons, history will not be kind to Mr. Holder, but this has been one of his most outrageous escapades as attorney general. While the Obama White House sent three administration officials to attend Brown’s funeral, Mr. Holder flew to Ferguson to let “the community” know that he and the president had their backs. He spoke of his own mistreatment by police as a young man, and got the crowds spun up with promises of change.

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I'll Bet You Didn't Know...

MCE hosts First Steps Class

Russell Brand calls reporter 'a snide' when asked about his rent

Millionaire Russell Brand ranted about rising rents in London even though he lives in a £2million bachelor pad owned by a firm based in a tax haven.

The comedian and self-styled revolutionary flew into a rage when it was suggested he is part of the housing problem in trendy Hoxton, east London, where he rents a £5,000-a-month loft.

The star, believed to be worth £9million, was helping deliver a petition on affordable housing to 10 Downing Street on Monday.

But Brand lost his temper during a housing protest in Downing Street when TV reporter Paraic O'Brien asked him whether the super-rich buying up property in London was driving up prices for everyone else.

The incensed star said he is 'part of the solution' and called the reporter a 'snide' for asking how much he pays in rent.

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Grape Seed Extract Fights Cancer: Researchers

Since Biblical times, moderate wine consumption has been recommended for its supposed health benefits. Some imbibers even say “Good health!” as they raise their glasses in cheery toasts before their first sips.

Now a new study, published in the medical journal Plos One, demonstrates for the first time that grape seed extract is a wonder supplement in the fight against cancer, aiding chemotherapy’s effectiveness in killing colorectal cancer cells. What’s more, it also reduces chemotherapy’s painful side effects.

The researchers say adding grape seed extract to chemotherapy is a new approach to bowel cancer treatment, enhancing chemotherapy’s cancer-beating effects and reducing intestinal damage.

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cancer killer in the United States. Only lung cancer is more deadly.

Grape seed extract is commonly sold at health food stores, drugstores, and supermarkets. It is also widely available on the Internet. It is usually sold as 50 mg or 100 mg capsules.

Consumers generally take a daily dosage of 150 mg to 300 mg.

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Heart disease and diabetes risks tied to carbs, not fat, study finds

Is the pendulum swinging back? In what seems contrary to mainstream dietary advice, a small new study shows that doubling the saturated fat in a person's diet does not drive up the levels of saturated fat in the blood.

Rather, the study found that it was the carbohydrates in people's diets that were linked with increased levels of a type of fatty acid linked to heart disease and type-2 diabetes. The results of the study, which followed 16 middle-aged, obese adults for 21 weeks, were published Nov. 21 in the journal PLOS ONE.

Saturated fats, largely from meat and dairy products, have been vilified for decades as a primary culprit in promoting heart disease. And most health authorities maintain this stance.

However, in recent years, scientists have seen the ill effects of completely replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates, particularly the simple carbs that are found so commonly in processed foods. A large analysis published in 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that swapping saturated fats with carbs had no benefit in reducing people's risk of heart disease. But replacing those so-called bad fats with polyunsaturated fats found in fish, olives and nuts did.

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The Fed's Dudley: Higher Rates Are Coming… There is No "Fed Equity Market Put"

The Fed’s reputation is on borrowed time.

Much of the so called “economic recovery” that began in 2009 has been based on the Fed’s credibility as a Central Bank to rein in the collapse.

However, at this point even the financial media has begun to realize that the Fed has elevated asset prices (stocks, homes, etc.) and nothing else. Incomes have not moved in line with stocks nor has GDP growth nor has the employment picture.

Put another way, everyone now realizes that the Fed has boosted stocks and don’t little else. This has lead some to accuse the Fed of targeting the markets rather than boosting the economy (see the recent wave of legislation meant to increase Congressional oversight of the Fed being introduced in Congress).

The Fed isn’t doing itself any favors in terms of defending its track record.

Enter Bill Dudley: former Goldman Sachs bank turned NY Fed President.

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The Middle Class Spending Crash Explained

With Black Friday sales plunging nd Cyber Monday growth slowing [6], it appears the chicken of stagnant wages and debt-saturation are coming home to roost for a massacred middle-class America. However, as WSJ reports "we are buying less stuff," because the basic costs of necessities such as healthcare, food eaten at home, rent, education, and cellphones have surged.

As The Wall Street Journal reports,

Consumer spending continues to make up just over two-thirds of the U.S. economy. But where households spend that money has shifted significantly.

To see how it has moved, the Journal analyzed Labor Department data on 2013 out-of-pocket spending for the middle 60% of the population by income—households earning between about $18,000 and $95,000 a year, before taxes.

The data show they are losing ground. Overall spending for the group rose by about 2.3% over the six-year period from 2007, even as inflation totaled about 12%. At the same time, income for the group stagnated, rising less than half a percent.

With health care and other costs rising, these consumers spent less on furniture, entertainment, clothing and even child care, the Journal analysis found.

“Part of the story is that your income growth is slowing,” said Steven Fazzari, an economist and chairman of the sociology department at Washington University in St. Louis.“They’re spending more on necessities, cutting back on other types.”

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