The Incredible Entitlement of the Welfare Lobby

Progressive America has a fever and the only solution is more welfare. Celebrities are trying to buy only $29 worth of fair trade arugula at Whole Foods and then taking snapshots of it in a mistaken effort to show how little food stamps buy. Obama is urging more social welfare spending as the answer to the race riots he stirred up across the country by embracing the Ferguson “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” hoax.

Outraged rich liberals are furiously lecturing the rest of the country on income inequality as if there were no escaping the fact that we’re a society of greedy plutocrats that doesn’t care about the poor.

Obama called for “massive investments in urban communities”. Last year, we spent $75 billion on food stamps. The year before that it was $80 billion. That’s up from $33 billion in 2007. The number of participants has doubled approaching 50 million.

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Is The Democratic Party Becoming Anti-Labor?

Studies show there are three things you can do that will almost guarantee you will never live in poverty: (1) finish high school, (2) get a full time job and (3) get married, but wait until you are 21 and don’t have children until you are married. Do these three things and it’s very unlikely you will be poor. If you are, you won’t be poor for very long.

So how does public policy affect these choices? Inner city schools dominated by powerful teacher unions are not meeting the needs of poor minority students. The welfare state (185 federal/state means test programs) is designed from top to bottom to encourage single motherhood and penalize marriage. And virtually every public policy you can think of is making it more expensive to hire workers.

It is this last set of policies that I find most perplexing. In times past, the Democratic Party was the party of full employment. It wasn’t that long ago that The New York Times endorsed a zero minimum wage. Prominent Democrats once endorsed the idea of enterprise zones – places where there would be fewer regulations and lower taxes, so that job producing businesses would flourish. And although it originated in a Republican administration, Democrats have traditionally supported the Earned Income Tax Credit – under which low-income workers get a bigger tax “refund,” the more they work and the more they earn.

But these days we are witnessing backsliding. It’s as though the talking heads for the Democratic Party have not only forgotten what they learned in Econ 101, they positively reject it all. Hardly a week goes by without someone calling for a higher minimum wage on the editorial pages of The New York Times. In fact a recentTimes editorial implied that employers have a duty to substitute for the welfare state. That is, if a Wal-Mart employee signs up for Medicaid or Food Stamps, that’s Wal-Mart’s fault!

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Deportation Process Entering Into the Absurd

In our days at the immigration court, it always was a serious and somber moment when at the conclusion of a hearing we rendered a decision finding an illegal alien inadmissible or deportable, denying all applications for deportation relief, and issuing an order removing that alien back to their home country. The issuance of such an order would immediately be followed by an advisory letter to the alien explaining their rights to appeal and warning them of the criminal consequences of re-entering the country without proper authority. But now, that process is entering into the absurd.

Our former colleagues are now being forced to tell deportable aliens that the final deportation order they’re issuing isn’t actually an impediment to receiving the President’s grants of deferred action. Even though the alien’s violated our immigration laws (and dozens more in some cases), they’re now being advised that they can receive work permits, a social security card, tax benefits, parole, travel documents, and, if the alien is from Central America, the opportunity to bring qualifying family members to the United States at taxpayer expense. And even they’re not eligible for deferred action, they know they should simply sit tight as DHS may issue more policy memoranda expanding eligibility for deferred action and additional benefits.

Past and continuing lapses in enforcement policy have resulted in nearly 900,000 illegal aliens who have received final orders of deportation and have exhausted all appeals but who are still in the United Sates. Nearly 175,000 of these aliens with final orders are convicted criminals and 167,000 of these criminal aliens remain at large. The number of “non-departed” aliens grew by about 25,000 cases from 2013 to 2014. It is evident that current immigration enforcement policy under the Obama Administration is increasing and promoting illegal immigration rather than solving the illegal immigration problem.

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Let’S Celebrate The Death Of The Mainstream Media!

Picking on the mainstream media is easier than offending radical feminists, and almost as much fun, but just because it’s barely a challenge doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. We should. We must.

All decent, patriotic Americans yearn for the day when the effects of emerging technologies combine with the mainstream media’s insufferable progressive cheerleading to finally destroy it. Its death throes are underway, but it won’t buy the farm overnight. The body of the mainstream media is still shambling along, wreaking havoc, long after it its brain has died. So we need to put down the mainstream media like we would any other mindless zombie.

If we made a show about it, we could call it The Lying, Lame, Liberal-Licking Dead.

Maybe it’s cruel to look at all these doomed liberals who worked their way up to the middle ranks of the media and laugh. Maybe it’s petty to smile when yet another newsroom announces yet another round of lay-offs. Maybe it’s just plain mean to point out that Newsweek sold for what I earned in under twenty minutes charbroiling Famous Star cheeseburgers at the Carl’s, Jr., in Foster City, California, back in 1981. Maybe I can help out these soon-to-be unemployed reporters with some hints about how to make fries.

Or not. I think I’d rather just suggest these losers kiss the kind of buns that don’t have sesame seeds.

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Excessive Prom Spending

Proms sure have gotten expensive these days.

Sure, prom spending is down 6 percent over last year, according to a nationwide Visa survey, but the average American household will still spend $919 on the prom this year.

That got me thinking about my own prom in 1980.

I didn’t know my date very well. She was in my photography class, pretty and, more important, available.

We arranged a pre-prom meeting to get to know each other. We played tennis on a blistering-hot day, then headed back to her house for something cold to drink. After she berated her sister for drinking all the Tang, she turned her turret on me.

“I heard about you, a regular class clown,” she said. “You better not show up in a limo, wear a top hat or cane or do anything else to embarrass me.”

I knew right away things were going to work out fine.

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Cancer charities accused of using donations for cruises, dating sites

The Federal Trade Commission has charged four major cancer charities and their operators with bilking $187 million from donors.

FTC and law enforcement partners from every state and the District of Columbia have filed court complaints against the Cancer Fund of America Inc., Cancer Support Services Inc., Children’s Cancer Fund of America Inc. and The Breast Cancer Society Inc. and their executives.

FTC alleges that the executives of the charities spent consumer donations on cars, trips, luxury cruises, college tuition, gym memberships, jet ski outings, sporting events and concert tickets and dating site memberships.

They are also accused of hiring professional fundraisers who received 85 percent or more of every donation.

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How Important Is It To Wash New Clothes Before Wearing Them?

Though sometimes you just can’t wait to rip the tags off that new shirt and wear it out for the world to see, you also may’ve had that moment of, “I should probably wash this before I wear it… oh well.” So how important is it to to give your new duds a dunk in the washing machine before it comes in contact with your skin?

The short answer: Pretty important if you don’t like itchy, scaly, red rashes. Due to varying laws from country to country on the allowable levels of chemicals in fabric, your clothing could be hopping around the globe carrying various substances that might irritate your skin, reports the Wall Street Journal.

According to Donald Belsito, a professor of dermatology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York with a specialty in contact dermatitis, sometimes you might even want to wash new clothing more than once before wearing it.

Many synthetic textiles get their hues from azo-aniline dyes, which can cause a severe skin reaction if you’re allergic to it and a less intense, yet still irritating reaction of itchy, dry patches of skin where it touches your skin.

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Assateague Island National Seashore Welcomes A New Filly

Please help us welcome N6BMT-FN to the herd! This little filly's arrival brings the Maryland herd total to 93...

Posted by Assateague Island National Seashore on Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Breaking News: In Anne Arundel County

UPDATE - NOW IN CUSTODY - BREAKING NEWS: Marley Mall | Watch for Police and Fire | Ritchie Hwy | Full High Angle Rescue...

Posted by Anne Arundel 1st Alert on Tuesday, May 19, 2015

JUST IN: Beau Biden Undergoing Treatment at Walter Reed Medical Center

Vice President Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, is undergoing treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the Office of the Vice President told ABC News.

The White House has not offered any further comment on Beau Biden's condition.

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Report: WH Wants to Offer Credit to Deadbeats, Illegal Immigrants

The Obama administration wants to offer credit to deadbeats and illegal immigrants, whose credit can't even be scored, "as part of its amnesty program," according to Investors Business Daily (IBD).

A report just released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) describes what it refers to as "credit invisibles," which it says are victims of the current credit-scoring system, IBD says in an editorial.

Because many of these individuals are minorities, the administration has concluded that this is a result of discrimination by the financial industry.

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Baltimore officers cleared in 2014 police shooting

BALTIMORE (AP) — A Baltimore Police review board has found that two officers who shot and injured a man who pointed a BB gun at them acted in accordance with department policy.

The report, dated April 6, says Officers Edward Mendez and Jacqueline Fillion’s use of force in the incident last year was “in policy” and no further action was required.

The report says on Feb. 21, 2014, Mendez and Fillion encountered 22-year-old Clarence Berry after a man said Berry had robbed him and had a handgun.

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Football Camp

Ferguson Rent-A-Mobs Exposed

ACORN’s successor group in Missouri has been paying protesters $5,000 a month to generate civil unrest in Ferguson, the troubled St. Louis suburb where black youth Michael Brown was killed by a white police officer last August.

We know this because some of the protesters haven’t been paid and, now, they are demanding what they were promised. They held a sit-in at the offices of Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) and posted a demand letter online.

MORE is the rebranded Missouri branch of the former Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) which filed for bankruptcy in late 2010. That ACORN state chapter reconstituted itself in December 2009 as MORE under orders from ACORN’s national headquarters. President Obama used to work for ACORN and he represented it in court as a lawyer.

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SPD: Can You ID The Individuals In These Photos And Associated White Vehicle

WCSO Press Release 5-19-15

Press Releases May 19, 2015

DeMelo, Kecio

Incident: Attempt to Flee and Elude

Date of Incident: 17 May 2015

Location: North Salisbury Blvd., Salisbury, MD

Suspect: Kecio Nunes DeMelo, 27, Salisbury, MD

Narrative: On 17 May 2015 at 9:33 PM, a deputy attempted to stop a motorcyclist, later identified as Kecio DeMelo, for a traffic violation. The deputy observed that DeMelo looked back at him, and accelerated northbound on North Salisbury Boulevard. The deputy pursued DeMelo who was speeding away in excess of 100 mph. The deputy observed that DeMelo was passing other vehicles on the shoulder and ran a red light on U.S. 13 at the state line. Shortly after crossing the state line, DeMelo stopped at which point he was taken into custody.

The deputy discovered that not only did DeMelo not have a motorcycle license, but that his driver’s license was suspended.

DeMelo was transported to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner detained DeMelo in the Detention Center in lieu of $10,000.00 bond.

Charges: Attempt to Flee and Elude, Speeding, Reckless Driving and Driving While Suspended

Seltzer, Kirk

Incident: Possession of Heroin

Date of Incident: 17 May 2015

Location: 600 block of South Salisbury Blvd., Salisbury, MD

Suspect: Kirk Michael Seltzer, 36, Salisbury, MD

Narrative: On 17 May 2015 at 5:15 PM a deputy approached an individual who had been in the parking lot of a convenience store for an unusual length of time. During a conversation with this individual identified as Kirk Seltzer, the deputy learned that Seltzer had recently injected himself with heroin and had a syringe in his possession. Upon a search of Seltzer, the deputy located what was identified as heroin along with a syringe.

The deputy placed Seltzer under arrest and transported

him to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the district Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, the Commissioner released Seltzer on $10,000.00 unsecured bond.

Charges: Possession of CDS and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

******************************************************************************************                                                                          

Releasing Authority: Lt. Tim Robinson        Date:  19 May 2015

THE WAR ON CASH IS HERE!

Cashless society allows total government control over your life

Teacher Calls Out Student’s Behavior — and Now She’s Been Fired for It

An Ohio school board handed one of its teachers a pink slip after finding out she “publicly humiliated” a student accused of bullying. Now, some residents are lashing out.

Nicole LeMire was a teacher at Glen Oak Elementary School in Olentangy, Ohio, for 14 years. She learned last month that a student was sneezing on other kids and using inappropriate language, so she confronted him about it, WCMH-TV reported.

“I said, ‘Do you know how your actions and your words are hurting other students and your friends?’ That’s it,” LeMire said.

But members of the school board say there’s more to the story.

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Big Oil Gets $10 Million From Taxpayers Every Minute

"Subsidies for fossil fuels are much bigger even than this report suggests"

Fossil fuel companies are benefitting from global subsidies of $5.3tn (£3.4tn) a year, equivalent to $10m every minute of every day, according to a startling new estimate by the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF calls the revelation “shocking” and says the figure is an “extremely robust” estimate of the true cost of fossil fuels. The $5.3tn subsidy estimated for 2015 is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments.

The vast sum is largely due to polluters not paying the costs imposed on governments by the burning of coal, oil and gas. These include the harm caused to local populations by air pollution as well as to people across the globe affected by the floods, droughts and storms being driven by climate change.

Lord Nicholas Stern, an eminent climate economist at the London School of Economics, said: “This very important analysis shatters the myth that fossil fuels are cheap by showing just how huge their real costs are. There is no justification for these enormous subsidies for fossil fuels, which distort markets and damages economies, particularly in poorer countries.

Stern said that even the IMF’s vast subsidy figure was a significant underestimate: “A more complete estimate of the costs due to climate change would show the implicit subsidies for fossil fuels are much bigger even than this report suggests.”

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Maryland Emergency Management Agency, Partners Prepare for Upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season

REISTERSTOWN, Md. – The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and many local and state partners prepared for the upcoming hurricane season at a day-long seminar today. The event included sessions on economic recovery, hurricane preparedness efforts by businesses, and management of donations and volunteers following a devastating storm.

“While the last two hurricane seasons have been relatively quiet, we all remember the devastation from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, especially in the New York City area and on Maryland’s lower eastern shore,” said MEMA Executive Director Clay Stamp. “It’s important for us to always be prepared because even in a quiet hurricane season, just one hurricane making landfall in our area can be devastating.”

Attendees also heard a presentation from Chris Strong of the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Field Office, which included an update on awareness products, such as alert systems and briefing packages. MEMA staff followed this by discussing new geographic information systems (GIS) tools for hurricane damage assessment following a storm.

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Rep. Louie Gohmert Suggests Feds Using Jade Helm to “Provoke a Fight” With Citizens

Congressman calls labeling of Texas & Utah as hostile states "suspicious"

Congressman Louie Gohmert has called for changes to the Jade Helm military exercise, arguing that the labeling of Texas and Utah as “hostile” states in Army documents related to the drill is “suspicious,” while suggesting that the federal government is trying to “provoke a fight” with citizens.

In a piece published by the Highland County Press, Gohmert, who is Vice Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, suggests that the Utah and Texas may have been labeled negatively because they are red states.

“Once I observed the map depicting “hostile,” “permissive” and “uncertain” states and locations, I was rather appalled that the hostile areas amazingly have a Republican majority and believe in the sanctity of the United States Constitution,” writes Gohmert.

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Traffic Stop near Seaford Nets Heroin

Seaford – The Delaware State Police have arrested three people after a traffic stop leads to heroin possession.

The incident occurred Monday May 18, 2015 around 12:10 p.m. as a trooper on patrol in the area of Concord Road and Haven Drive observed a silver Cadillac fail to signal its intentions after coming to a stop on Haven Drive. A traffic stop was conducted on the car and contact was made with the operator, identified as Hunter B. Waller, 20 of Laurel (white male), a front seat passenger, Sharmayne A. Teagle, 22 of Seaford (black female), and a rear seat passenger, Jermar K. Thompson, 26 of Seaford (black male). When the trooper inquired into the operator’s driver’s license, he was unable to produce one and it was determined he was operating on a learners permit and none of the other passengers had a valid license.

All occupants were then instructed to exit the vehicle while a search was conducted of the car. Troopers soon located a black sock inside the center console containing small wax paper bags that were bundled together and were determined to be heroin. A total of 308 bags with a weight of 4.62 grams along with over $400.00 in suspected drug proceeds were seized during the stop.

The three occupants were all transported back to Troop 5 where they were charged accordingly. Hunter Waller was charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver Heroin, two counts of Conspiracy 2nd, two counts of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Driving Without a Learner Permit in Possession, Failure to Signal Continuously 300 feet Prior to Turning, Driving with More than 1 Passenger on Learner Permit, and Driving without a Qualified Licensed Driver. He was arraigned at JP2 and released after posting $25,000.00 secured bond.

Jermar Thompson was charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver Heroin, Possession with Intent to Deliver Marijuana as he was found to be in possession of 14.8 grams, two counts of Conspiracy 2nd, and two counts of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $50,000.00 secured bond.

Sharmayne Teagle was charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver Heroin, two counts of Conspiracy 2nd, and two counts of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was released after posting $24,800.00 secured bond.

BREAKING NEWS: Air-bag maker Takata agrees to historic product recall

Japanese air-bag maker Takata agrees to declare 34 million vehicles outfitted with their product to be defective, triggering one of the largest auto -- and consumer product -- recalls in history, the Transportation Department confirms.

Al Gore’s Climate Change Lies Exposed

School Boards

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.

Mark Twain

Taylor: Donald Trump’s Refreshing Lack Of A Filter

A CANDIDATE WHO SPEAKS UNCOMPROMISING TRUTHS IS GOOD FOR THE DEBATE

This election season is going to be all sorts of entertaining – with six Republican candidates already announcing their candidacies and many more GOP darlings soon to jump into the ring. Included in the latter group? World famous real estate mogul Donald Trump.

I remember always being fascinated with this man – who has more money than God (“I built up a network that’s about $10 billion … it’s actually probably over $10 billion now”) – ever since seeing his Home Alone 2 cameo. I also love The Apprentice and admire his gorgeous daughter.

Recently, though, I’ve come to appreciate his complete lack of filter when talking about politics.

How is it that a man can say “I don’t give a sh*t about the lobbyists!” and get a standing ovation at the South Carolina Faith and Freedom Summit?

It’s because people appreciate being told things straight. And Donald Trump does just that – he doesn’t sugar coat anything. He’s like the one friend we all have that says “you look fat in that dress.” You may not want to hear it at the time, but you appreciate after the fact that he didn’t let you go out looking like a train wreck.

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Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War

Being we are in the midst of commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War we should take notice of an especially fitting ongoing project.

A group is in search of photos of some of our fallen Vietnam Veterans for inclusion in the Operation Remember project. This project will not be completed until photos are obtained of all 1046 Sons of Maryland who made the ultimate sacrifice. If you have information or a photo of any our fallen heroes, please contactremember@vva451.org. It is our duty to remember.

Contact: Jim Gerity, Chairperson
Operation Remember Vietnam Veterans of America Baltimore, Chapter 451

www.vva451.org

remember@vva451.org

http://www.serve.com/mdvva/memorial/mdnames/page22.htm

For more on the Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration, established by Congress to "thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war (POW) or listed as missing in action (MIA), for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans" go to http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/

Health Tax Passed Along to the States

There’s more than a touch of absurdity in the way an industry fee in President Barack Obama’s health care law is being passed along to state taxpayers.

As Alice in Wonderland might say, a curious tax just got curiouser. The burden to states could mount to $13 billion in less than a decade.

The Health Insurance Providers Fee was aimed at insurance companies. The thinking went: Because insurers would gain a windfall of customers, they ought to help pay for the expansion of coverage. Insurers say they have raised prices for individuals and small businesses to cover the new tax.

As it turns out, they are raising their prices to state Medicaid programs, too.

The federal government issued guidance in October requiring states to build the tax into what they pay for-profit Medicaid health plans that serve low-income people. The first year’s tax was due to the IRS in September, and state governments are now settling up with insurance companies.

It works like this: State governments pay insurers for the tax. The insurers then pay the tax to the federal government. The federal government then reimburses part of the cost to the states.

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Unfixed recalls affect many Maryland cars

BALTIMORE —Is your car a potential threat to public safety?

It's an unsettling thought. Just how many cars sharing the road with you have a serious safety issue -- a recall -- that hasn't been fixed?

"It's a huge problem. We're talking 30 million vehicles or more that have defects in them that could cause crashes, deaths and injuries," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Automotive Safety.

Ditlow said fewer than 50 percent of older recalled cars get repaired.

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Hillary Clinton to visit one of first gay couples to marry in Iowa

MASON CITY, Iowa – On her second trip to this key presidential state Monday, Hillary Clinton will meet with local Democratic activists at the home of one of the first gay couples to marry in the state, according to a campaign aide.

Dean Genth and Gary Swenson are longtime activists who got married in 2009 on the first day same-sex unions became legal in the state. Both supported Barack Obama over Clinton during the 2008 caucus, but are now backing the former secretary of state.

They’ll be joined by other local Democratic activists as part of Clinton’s effort to show she’s heavily invested in grassroots organizing in the key presidential state, which gave her an embarrassing third-place finish during her first presidential run.

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Playing The Race Card In Court

The left is determined to stop election integrity efforts

There’s more racism afoot in the land, and it fits the soft bigotry of lowered expectations.

Did you know that minorities need more than a full month in which to cast a vote? And they can’t be expected to show a photo ID like other voters. That would be asking too much of them.

Who, you might ask, is perpetrating this libel about the missing adulthood of America’s minorities? Why, the very people who claim to speak for them on all matters. The same ones who created redistributive welfare policies that destroyed inner-city families.

The latest ploy that makes some citizens out to be imbeciles in need of a master is a legal attack on several election reform laws enacted in 2014.

In Ohio, leftist groups have filed a lawsuit demanding that state officials restore more than a full month of voting before Election Day, plus other measures intended to eliminate the slightest inconvenience at having to register or to vote.

They claim the new rules violate the First, 14th and 15th amendments and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, plus the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“This is the Left’s new legal strategy to go after election reforms aimed at discouraging vote fraud,” said J. Christian Adams, a former Justice Department Voting Section attorney and current policy board member of the American Civil Rights Union. Mr. Adams, who has successfully sued counties in Mississippi and Texas to clean up their voter rolls, added, “If they succeed in Ohio, they’ll roll this out all over the country.”


Read more here

DISGRACEFUL: Teacher allows high school students watch ’50 shades’ in class

Looking for a perfect movie to show to students as a reward? Well then, what better movie than one with no real plot, that revolves around domestic violence, rape, and degradation of women, and is based off of books that are nothing more than badly written mommy porn? That was apparently the mindset of one teacher, who allowed high school students to watch ’50 Shades of Grey’ in class.

Part of the erotic movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” was shown in a West Virginia high school classroom this week after students convinced their teacher to let them watch it as a reward for good work.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports that the teacher apparently didn’t know what the film was about.

“Fortunately, an assistant principal walked by and saw what they were doing,”Hampshire High principal Jeff Woofter told the paper. “They got there 10 minutes after it started and shut it down.”

Hampshire County school policy prohibits students from watching movies of any kind in the classroom.

It is unclear if the students or teacher will face disciplinary action.

“I will say it was an extreme lack of judgement from an otherwise very capable teacher,” Woofter told The Charleston Daily Mail. “The teacher didn’t do a background check on the movie or even ask about it.”

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Russian Police Detain Gay Flashmob Activists in Moscow

Russian police detained 17 protesters on Sunday as they gathered in central Moscow to release colorful balloons into the air to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, an organizer of the failed flashmob said.

Some 50 people assembled on a square outside a Moscow theater but crowd control police drove up a bus and started shoving the protesters inside before they managed to unfurl any banners or chant any slogans.

One of the organizers, Andrei Obolensky, said later that he and others were still detained at a police station, and only one of them had so far been released.

The LGBT community has come under increased pressure in Russia as President Vladimir Putin has charted a more conservative course since starting his third term in 2012.

More here

York schools reverse stance, allow American flags on student cars

Dozens of students and adults paraded through York early Thursday, waving American flags early before lining up for hours outside York Comprehensive High School to protest the school’s ordering a student to remove a flag from the back of his pickup.

School officials initially said the flag posed a safety concern, as it could block the view of other drivers.

By midday Thursday, however, they had announced on the school district’s website an exception “for the American flag, as long as the size of the flag does not create a driving hazard.”

“We appreciate the passion and pride of all who have called or come by YCHS over the past 24 hours,” the statement read. “America was founded by patriots who led positive change in a myriad of ways. We believe today is a great example of peaceful demonstration leading to positive change.

“This is the very process we advocate in our Social Studies classrooms and the fabric of American citizenship. Thank you for helping us as we educate the students of our community.”

More than 70 vehicles participated in the protest, which was organized after school officials removed an American flag from the bed of a pickup owned by senior Peyton Robinson, 18.

Passions were running high Thursday morning, before school officials changed their stance.

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Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article20972670.html#storylink=cpy

NAACP letter To Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Edward Snowden on Passwords

Iowa Democrats Flee Hillary Over GMO Support, Monsanto Ties

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ties to agribusiness giant Monsanto, and her advocacy for the industry’s genetically modified crops, have environmentalists in Iowa calling her “Bride of Frankenfood” — putting yet another wrinkle in her presidential campaign’s courtship of liberal activists who are crucial to winning the state’s Democratic caucuses.

The backlash against Mrs. Clinton for her support of genetically modified organisms (GMO), which dominate the corn and soybean crops at the heart of Iowa’s economy, manifested itself at a recent meeting of the Tri-County Democrats, where members gauged support for the former secretary of state.

A large faction of women voiced strong support for Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy until the GMO issue came up, prompting them to switch allegiances to Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, a liberal stalwart challenging her for the Democratic nomination.

“I was surprised, because these women were really pushing for Hillary until they found out about the Monsanto connection, and then they dropped her like a hot potato,” said James Berge, Democratic Party chairman for Worth County, Iowa.

“It’s quite a big issue,” he said. “There’s people who are just wild about all the use of GMOs.”

More here

Kim Jong-Un loses temper with terrapin farm workers

Workers at a North Korean terrapin farm probably wished they could withdraw into their protective shells Tuesday, after a visit from leader Kim Jong-Un who lambasted operations at the facility.

A large photo on the front page of the ruling party's official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, showed a clearly irate Kim wagging an admonishing finger at a group of officials in a building housing terrapin breeding tanks.

During his inspection of the farm, Kim "strongly criticised the shortcoming of its officials as a manifestation of incompetence, outmoded way of thinking and irresponsible work style," the North's official KCNA news agency said in a report on the visit.

Kim appeared to take particular umbrage at the fact that the failings he uncovered were in a farm set up at the personal initiative of his father, Kim Jong-Il, who he succeeded as leader following his death in December 2011.

"The employees who failed to bear deep in their minds (Kim Jong-Il's) leadership exploits could hardly perform their role as masters in production," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

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Caught on video: Elementary school girl dragged by school bus

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABC News) - Shocking video captured an elementary school girl in Louisville, Kentucky, getting dragged by her school bus.

On Friday afternoon, a Jefferson County Public School bus was letting off a young girl who was 5 or 6 years old, when "apparently her backpack got stuck in the door," Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson Dwight Mitchell told ABC News today.

"The bus driver didn't know that," and the girl was dragged about 100 feet, Mitchell said.

Witness Esther Karschner said she didn't see the girl step off the bus, but saw the girl's legs hanging out of the bus as it drove down the road. Karschner also said she saw a car speed alongside the bus, honking to try to stop it.

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Found Cat 5-19-15

Joe-

Attached is photo of cat found behind Kohl's on Saturday 5/16.  Gray/Orange calico female, young, no collar.  Very friendly, house cat (uses litter box, recognizes sound of cat food bag).  Checked with Humane Society and with nearby homeowner with no success.  

Would appreciate if you would post this in hopes of re-uniting her with owners.  We can be contacted at jimmysbooks@comcast.net.

Ben Carson to RNC: Let Carly Fiorina Debate

Ben Carson is afraid the eligibility requirements for the Republican presidential debates will be too strict — for Carly Fiorina.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who has announced his candidacy for the 2016 GOP nomination, wrote a letter Friday to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus about reports that the party will attempt to limit the number of candidates at the debates.

Some Republicans fear the field is too large to allow candidates to get sufficient speaking time to have meaningful debates. Carson isn't one of those Republicans, however. "Limiting participation of qualified candidates on this reasoning," he writes, "I believe, does our party a tremendous disservice."

But nowhere in the letter does Carson worry that he will be excluded. Instead he advocates for the former Hewlett Packard CEO who is one of his likely rivals.

"I am particularly concerned with widespread speculation that my respected and well-qualified colleague, Ms. Carly Fiorina, may fall victim to those who want to limit debate participation to the more 'popular' candidates," he writes, "and I am serving notice herein, that I could not support such a decision."

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NYC Firefighters Fear Colleague Who Routinely Flees Fires, Was a ‘Priority Hire’ Due to ‘Discrimination’

Affirmative action is a horrible idea wherever it’s enacted, but it’s especially dangerous in fields of public service like firefighting and law enforcement. A case in point would be Michael D. Johnson, a firefighter made a priority hire for the New York City Fire Department because of “discrimination”, and who has a habit of putting his fellow firefighters in danger.

Michael D. Johnson won’t fight fires. Instead he stays on the sidelines as his Engine Co. 257 colleagues rush into burning buildings, FDNY insiders told The Post.

Nicknamed “Tragic Johnson” by rank and file, he’s managed to evade the smoke and flames several times since joining the Canarsie, Brooklyn, firehouse last year, sources confirmed.

“To have a guy that you know to be afraid is not going to be there for you when you need him to be — it’s frightening,” said one FDNY source.

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Pressure Mounts on Drug Makers' Price Claims

Manufacturers are facing a political and academic attack on their claim that it costs $2 billion to bring a new drug to market.

Congress and the states, which have been bashing drug costs for over a year because insurers and public health programs such as Medicare can ill afford them, are now getting ammunition from experts such as Dr. Jerry Avorn, a professor at Harvard Medical School, who wrote recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Insurers pass high costs on to the public by raising premiums or dropping coverage on some services, patient advocates say.

Manufacturers retort that the costs are justified because of astronomic research and development spending; a 2014 study from Tufts University's Center for the Study of Drug Development estimated it cost a company $2.6 billion to put out a new product, up from $802 million in 2003.

Tufts examined 106 experimental compounds from 10 unidentified drug makers but neither the drugs nor the manufacturers were identified and this is a point of attack for Avorn. He wrote that anonymity makes it difficult to verify Tufts' claims.

About 80 percent of drugs in the Tufts study failed midway through development, and the cost of scrapping them was factored in. But the study did not account for public subsidies such as research tax credits, or products developed at publicly-funded research centers or universities, Avorn wrote.

Of the $2.6 billion figure, $1.2 billion is the cost of capital, Avorn points out, which claims is unnecessary because big pharmaceutical companies are highly profitable. The two biggest drug companies, Pfizer and Merck, have more than $50 billion each in profits overseas, he wrote.

"Such funds could potentially help with the cash-flow problem that plays such a large role in these estimated costs of drug development," Avorn wrote.

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Obama Rewards Rioters With $163 Million for ‘Community Organizing Jobs’

The Obama administration is announcing new plans to “improve police-community relations” and a big part of that will be to reward rioters with $163 million of your tax dollars to create fake “jobs” meant to “build community trust.”

Obama is traveling to Camden, New Jersey to unveil his new project and the hundreds of millions he intends to spend on it.

[Says Obama], “for too long, both jobs and hope have been hard to find. That sense of unfairness and powerlessness has helped to fuel the kind of unrest we’ve seen in Ferguson and Baltimore and New York and other cities across our country,” White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett told reporters. “It has many causes, from a basic lack of opportunity to folks feeling unfairly targeted by the police.”

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Supreme Court Decision To Cost Maryland Millions

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A Supreme Court ruling in a Maryland tax case will cost the state an estimated $200 million in refunds it will have to pay residents stretching back seven or eight years, state officials estimated Monday.

The 5-4 decision also means Maryland counties will lose about $42 million annually in tax revenue going forward, after the high court ruled that it is unconstitutional not to allow a tax credit for money residents make in other states. Maryland does not apply the tax deduction on a local "piggy back" tax collected on income tax by counties.

Last month, lawmakers prepared for an unfavorable ruling by directing money to be paid out of a state reserve fund that is set aside to pay tax refunds. Lawmakers also stipulated that local governments will repay the money, staggered out over nine quarters to help soften the blow.

The ruling will have the biggest impact on Montgomery County, the state's largest jurisdiction in the suburbs of the nation's capital. County officials estimate the impact for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, will be between $8 million and $10 million. The county's share of the repayment plan is estimated to be more than $50 million in fiscal year 2017. While Montgomery County's overall budget is about $5 billion, the set back is still significant.

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WOW: White House Shamelessly Uses Michelle Photo Op to Play Race Card

The propaganda doesn’t get more blatant than this.

Check out this image above posted to the White House Flickr feed last week of the First Lady’s trip to Topeka to visit the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.

Via the Yahoo News article “Michelle Obama Photograph a Stark Reminder of Segregation Era” [AUTHOR NOTES ADDED]:

As the first lady toured the site with Stephanie Kyriazis [A WHITE PERSON], its chief of interpretation and education, she posed [THE OPERATIVE WORD] for a striking photograph that serves as a stark reminder of the segregation era.

The image, taken by White House photographer Chuck Kennedy, was posted to the White House Flickr feed this week.

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Saudis to Buy Nukes from Pakistan

Saudi Arabia is trying to purchase nuclear weapons from Pakistan, according to senior US officials.

Saudi Arabia has expressed concerns over the way nuclear negotiations with Iran are being run. It has said that it fears the final agreement would allow Iran the capability of developing nuclear weapons, either by ignoring its obligations or by waiting a few years until the terms are over. Should that happen, Riyadh would want its own nuclear weapons.

The Sunday Times revealed that a senior US official has said that he believes that Saudi Arabia is now beginning to build up a nuclear arsenal, first by purchasing pre-made weapons: "There has been a longstanding agreement in place with the Pakistanis and the House of Saud has now made the strategic decision to move forward." However, the official also stated that the US does not believe that "any actual weaponry has been transferred yet."

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Troopers Investigating Serious Motor Vehicle Crash West of Georgetown

Georgetown - The Delaware State Police are currently on the scene of a serious motor vehicle crash on County Seat Highway (US9) and Asbury Road that occurred around 7:43 a.m. this morning.

Preliminary investigation indicates the crash involves a motorcycle and a truck. The operator of the truck and motorcyclist were both removed from the scene by EMS and transported to a local hospital with undetermined injuries. The State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is currently on scene and will assume the investigation.

US9 is currently closed between Concord Road and Tyndall Road. Commuters are advised to seek alternate routes of travel.

Further details will be released upon the conclusion of the investigation.

Major Bank Warns Of Imminent Problems In U.S. Farming Industry: “Dire Straits”

Despite the government’s ‘advice’ to young debt-laden students, the tragedy of the American farmer continues with worryingly pessimistic views on the future of the industry. With farmland prices falling for the first time in almost 30 years, credit conditions are weakening dramatically and the Kansas City Fed warns that persistently low crop prices and high input costs reduced profit margins and increased concerns about future loan repayment capacity, and JPMorgan concludes, the industry is currently in dire straits with the potential for a liquidity crunch for farmers into 2016.

Not so long ago, US farmland – whose prices were until recently rising exponentially – was considered by many to be the next asset bubble. Then, almost overnight, the fairytale ended, and as reported in February, US farmland saw its first price drop since 1986.

Looking ahead, very few bankers expect price appreciation and more than a quarter of survey respondents expect cropland values to decline further in the next three months.

And now, The Kansas City Fed warns that Agricultural credit conditions are worsening rapidly…

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Chicken Producers Replace Antibiotics With Probiotics, Mozart

In barns filled with classical music and lighting that changes to match the hues outside, rows of chickens are fed a diet rich in probiotics, a regimen designed to remove the need for the drugs and chemicals that have tainted the global food chain.

As food giants face growing pressure to offer healthier produce, Southeast Asian poultry firm Kee Song Group says its use of "good" bacteria in feed and water means it can meet one the industry's biggest challenges: how to mass produce drug and hormone-free poultry at a reasonable price.

A series of scandals in the last few years from melamine-tainted milk powder in China, horse meat supplied as beef in Europe and growth drugs causing lameness in U.S. cattle has triggered a consumer backlash over food standards and safety.

Recently, Tyson Foods Inc pledged to eliminate the use of human antibiotics in chicken by 2017, one of the most aggressive timetables yet by a U.S. poultry firm.

The top American poultry producer, which supplies fast-food chains such as McDonald's Corp , is among a number of groups globally incorporating probiotics into feed.

"Probiotics, either alone or in combination with essential oils and organic acids, are at the forefront of international approaches to replace antibiotics," said Wayne Bryden, Professor of Animal Science at the University of Queensland.

Probiotics populate the gut with healthy bacteria in a bid to curb bad bacteria, while oils and organic acids are also often included in feed to aid digestion.

A team at the Australian university, partly funded by feed maker Ridley AgriProducts, have found in preliminary trials that using a probiotic can double the efficiency of use of protein from feed to boost weigh gain in livestock.

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‘Everybody Cried’: 11 People Inside a Waffle House Watched in Awe as a 5-Year-Old Boy Put His Faith to Action

Josiah Duncan, a 5-year-old boy from Prattville, Alabama, was eating with his mother at a Waffle House restaurant when he noticed a dirty-looking man holding a bag outside. He was immediately curious and concerned.

Even after his mother, Ava Faulk, explained that the man was “homeless,” the boy wanted to know more.

“What does that mean?” the boy asked.

“Well, that means he doesn’t have a home,” his mom answered.

After learning the man had no home and seemingly no family or friends to rely on, the boy was the most upset by the fact that the man had no food to eat. So, he told his mom that they needed to feed him, a good deed she was happy to help her son commit.

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Full Moon Silhouettes

It is a 3 minute video clip of the full moon rising over Wellington, New Zealand. It was shot , on a calm summer evening, as people gathered on the Mt. Victoria Lookout point to watch the moon rise. This stunning video is one single real-time shot, with no manipulation whatsoever. The camera was placed on a hillside over 2 kilometers from the Lookout point, and was shot with the equivalent of a 1300mm lens. The amount of planning, trial and error, and luck that went into this are mind blowing. He has been trying to capture this for over a year with many failed attempts. But on this night it seems everything was on his side, and it all came together in a way even he couldn't have hoped. I honestly can't say enough good things about this video - from the magnitude of the visuals, to the intimate stories playing out with the people, to the sheer humbling nature of seeing the awe-inspiring reality of this giant rock in the sky that we so often don't stop to appreciate.

Clinton vs. Clinton

Hillary Clinton apparently plans to base her presidential campaign on the noble goals of greater fairness and shared sacrifice.

She has already lambasted vast differences in compensation. "The average CEO makes about 300 times what the average worker makes," Clinton warned.

She is right -- but can best appreciate that fact from her own career and family.

Recently, Clinton has demanded up to $300,000 for brief 30-minute speeches. She apparently believes in the free-market theory that on the lecture circuit, speakers -- like CEOs -- should be paid as much as the market can bear.

At UCLA recently, Clinton's fee worked out to about $165 per second. In three minutes of autobiographical chitchat, Clinton pulled in more than the average full-time fast-food worker makes in a year. Note that, directly or indirectly, universities pass such charges on to their student customers, who are currently collectively in debt to the tune of more than $1 trillion.

Or perhaps Clinton learned of pay unfairness from her own daughter, Chelsea. Without a shred of journalistic experience, Chelsea Clinton earned $600,000 a year from NBC News. That rate worked out to more than $26,000 a minute for each minute Chelsea appeared on air.

To cement her populist credentials, Hillary Clinton is also attacking big-bucks hedge funds. She made a good point when she thundered in Iowa earlier this month, "There's something wrong when hedge fund managers pay lower tax rates than nurses or the truckers that I saw on I-80 as I was driving here."

But Clinton must know intimately about such financial speculators and their low tax rates.

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Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford Hosts Western Maryland Heroin Task Force Regional Summit

Summit Covers Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick Counties

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford today joined with members of the Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force, elected officials, law enforcement, and substance abuse advocates for the fourth regional summit to address Maryland’s growing heroin crisis. The summit was held in Hagerstown at the Hager Hall Conference and Event Center.

The Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force, created by Governor Larry Hogan in February 2015 with two executive orders and led by Lt. Governor Rutherford, is made up of law enforcement professionals, elected officials, and substance abuse experts. The group will meet regularly and solicit input and guidance from a wide variety of sources throughout the state, including educators, families of those suffering from addiction, and other vested stakeholders.

“Throughout our campaign the governor and I visited every corner of the state, and everywhere we went, we heard tragic stories of how the heroin and addiction epidemic is destroying families and communities,” said Lt. Governor Rutherford. “This is a problem that affects Marylanders of all walks of life, regardless of socio-economic status, race, religion, education or any other demographic. The first step to combatting this epidemic is to hear firsthand from those affected about how this crisis has impacted their communities, and getting their educated recommendations on what we can do.”

In 2013, heroin-related overdose deaths (464) outnumbered homicides (387), a 95% increase in heroin-related overdose deaths since 2010. Preliminary findings for 2014 show overall heroin-related overdose deaths have continued to rise and will outpace those in 2013 by approximately 20 percent. There is growing evidence that many new heroin addictions stem from the abuse of prescription painkillers. Once addicted to these opioids, individuals may switch to increasingly cheap and “available” heroin.

Garrett County Commissioner President Paul Edwards and State’s Attorney Lisa Thayer Welch, Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine and Sheriff Craig Robertson, Washington County Commissioner President Terry Baker and Sheriff Douglas Mullendore, and Frederick County Executive Jan Baker and State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith were in attendance and provided testimony to the task force.

Digging For Gold

Special Weather Statement

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
228 AM EDT TUE MAY 19 2015

MDZ022>025-VAZ099-190730-
INLAND WORCESTER-MARYLAND BEACHES-WICOMICO-SOMERSET-SOMERSET-INLAND
WORCESTER-ACCOMACK-
228 AM EDT TUE MAY 19 2015

...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT SOMERSET...WORCESTER...
WICOMICO AND ACCOMACK COUNTIES...

AT 224 AM EDT...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR SYCAMORE
TO NEAR TANGIER...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
SALISBURY...FRUITLAND...POCOMOKE CITY...PRINCESS ANNE...UNIVERSITY OF
MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE...SALISBURY UNIVERSITY...BERLIN...DELMAR...
SNOW HILL...ONANCOCK...HEBRON...PARKSLEY...ONLEY...PARSONSBURG...
WESTOVER...MARION STATION...OCEAN PINES...OCEAN
CITY...LAWSONIA...WEST POCOMOKE AND CAPE ISLE OF WIGHT.

TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS...AND MAY CAUSE
LOCALIZED...MINOR FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR
VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS.

LAT...LON 3787 7535 3785 7538 3764 7559 3767 7583
      3768 7587 3769 7584 3781 7590 3780 7589
      3795 7563 3796 7564 3780 7598 3846 7568
      3845 7509 3831 7511 3832 7510
TIME...MOT...LOC 0624Z 269DEG 17KT 3862 7553 3777 7592
$$

ALB

Discounted Amusement Park Tickets Available at Wicomico Youth & Civic Center

Salisbury, MD - Are you craving the rush of a roller coaster or the smell of funnel cakes this summer? If you plan to visit one of the many amusement parks in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic regions, you can save money by purchasing discounted tickets from the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Box Office.

MRPA 2015 Amusement Park Ticket Prices

Busch Gardens

Open 3/27 – 11/1

Gate Price $75.00; Selling Price $60.00

Parking $15.00

Water Country

Open 5/16 – 9/7

Gate Price $51.00; Selling Price $42.00

Parking $15.00

Dorney Park

Open 5/2 – 11/1; Whitewater Kingdom Open 5/23 – 9/7

Adult: Gate Price $56.70; Selling Price $45.00

Jr. / Sr. (Ages 3+ & Under 48” / Ages 62+): Gate Price $35.70; Selling Price $34.00

Parking $15.00

Dutch Wonderland (Under 2 Free)

Open 5/2

All Ages Gate Price $39.99; Selling Price $36.00

Parking: General $5.00, Preferred $10.00

Hershey Park

Open 5/1 – 9/27; Boardwalk Open 5/23 – 9/7

Adult (Ages 9 – 54) Gate Price: $62.80; Selling Price $52.00

Jr. / Sr. (Ages 3 – 8 & 55 – 69) Gate Price $39.80; Selling Price $38.00

Special Days (5/1 – 6/30; Sunday – Friday Only) Gate Price: $62.80; Selling Price $41.00

Parking $15.00

Kings Dominion

Open 3/29 – 10/31

Adult Gate Price: $65.00; Selling Price $47.00

Spring Savings (May 22 – 31) Gate Price: $65.00; Selling Price $40.00

Summer Days (6/20 – 8/14) Gate Price: $65.00; Selling Price $40.00

Fall Fun (Sept. 1–6; 20; 25–27; Oct. 2–4; 9–12; 16–18; 23–25; 30–31) Gate Price: $65.00; Selling Price $40.00

Parking $15.00

Six Flags America (Maryland)

Open 4/2 – 11/1; Hurricane Harbor Open 5/23 – 9/7

Good Any Day Gate Price: $66.14; Selling Price: $46.00

Special Days (6/15 – 8/23) Gate Price $66.14; Selling Price $36.00

Season Pass Gate Price: $71.49; Selling Price $67.00

Parking $20.00

Six Flags Great Adventure (NJ)

Theme & Safari (Open 4/1 – 11/1) Gate Price: $72.75; Selling Price $42.00

Hurricane Harbor (Open 5/23 – 9/7) Gate Price: $42.99; Selling Price $33.00

Parking $25.00

Unless otherwise noted, kids 2 & under are admitted free. Discounted tickets are available now through Labor Day. For more information, please call 410-548-4911 or visit the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Box Office located at 500 Glen Avenue in Salisbury (Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.).

Biggest U.S. utility pleads guilty to 9 criminal violations of Clean Water Act

In 2008, 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic waste spilled from 

the coal-burning Kingston Fossil Plant along the

Emory River, upstream from the

Tennessee River.

After ignoring years of warnings, in February 2014 Duke Energy spilled a reported 100 million tons of coal ash, arsenic, and other hazardous waste into the Dan River. People swim in, fish in, and get their drinking water from the Dan River. 

Seventy miles of that waterway in North Carolina and Virginia were coated with toxic gray sludge. 

DUKE ENERGY'S FINE:

About $1 to dump each of a million tons of

toxic industrial waste directly into

a U.S. river -- a fraction of

what it costs to put it

into a landfill.

     WASHINGTON – Three subsidiaries of North Carolina-based Duke Energy Corporation, the largest utility in the United States, pleaded guilty today to nine criminal violations of the Clean Water Act at several of its North Carolina facilities and agreed to pay a $68 million criminal fine and spend $34 million on environmental projects and land conservation to benefit rivers and wetlands in North Carolina and Virginia. Four of the charges are the direct result of the massive coal ash spill from the Dan River steam station into the Dan River near Eden, North Carolina, in February 2014. The remaining violations were discovered as the scope of the investigation broadened based on allegations of historical violations at the companies’ other facilities.

     Under the plea agreement, both Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, must certify that they have reserved sufficient assets to meet legal obligations with respect to its coal ash impoundments within North Carolina, obligations estimated to be approximately $3.4 billion....

     -- From “Duke Energy Subsidiaries Plead Guilty and Sentenced for Clean Water Act Crimes...,” at this May 14, 2015 EPA site:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/12ec4eca30be9a5d85257e45006b4215

__________

     GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — As Duke Energy pleaded guilty Thursday in a North Carolina courtroom to nine criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act, federal prosecutors recounted examples where time and again the nation's largest electricity company failed to prevent its illegal pollution.

     Two years before the massive February 2014 spill at a Duke ash dump in Eden coated 70 miles of the Dan River in gray sludge, engineers at the plant twice requested $20,000 from company headquarters to use a robotic camera to inspect aging drainage pipes, including the one that later collapsed, triggering the disaster.

      Prosecutors said Duke executives denied the request both times, even after a top manager at the plant personally pleaded for the money to inspect the pipes....

     -- From “Prosecutors: Duke Energy could have avoided Dan River spill,” by the Associated Press, at this May 14, 2015 Bristol, Tennessee Herald Courier site:

http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/national/prosecutors-duke-energy-could-have-avoided-dan-river-spill/article_d667372f-38d1-54a4-9831-3045468c4f6b.html

A criminal is a person guilty of a crime.

Can you find one person held

responsible for the

above crimes?