DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
What's Going On In Texas!
What's going on in Texas!This is about 15 miles south of us. River is out, and cattle had to be moved to save their...
Posted by Cloud 9 Walkers on Sunday, May 31, 2015
Cash for Slackers
Wouldn’t you like to have a job where you get paid to slack off, and no matter what, have a powerful authority to back you up, winning battles to preserve your salary, benefits, and your every demand if your boss tries to fire you?
It’s a fact of life for many government workers. A dive into government labor fights at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) reveals a nasty secret—the great lengths federal unions go to protect government slackers, at your expense.
Cases at the FLRA, a quasi-judicial body that oversees disputes between federal agencies and government unions, show federal labor unions are winning battles that are putting taxpayers, and the government, at risk.
And now one big government insider is calling foul on government union abuses of taxpayers and federal agencies. Patrick Pizzella, one of the three referees at the FLRA adjudicating these fights, is blowing the whistle on federal union abuses in case after case. “One cannot make this stuff up,” Pizzella said.
For example, federal labor unions are winning fights against federal agencies who try to fire their union workers for letting mentally ill military veterans walk out the door of psychiatric units in Veterans Affairs hospitals, or for not catching things like a major rat infestation in a food factory. Instead, union lawyers are getting their members’ jobs, back-pay, and benefits reinstated, all at taxpayer expense.
Federal unions have also battled Defense Dept. agencies that, for example, try to suspend a daycare worker for letting a toddler wander off a military base down the sidewalk toward traffic.
At the same time, federal worker unions have been fighting to unionize federal inspector generals’ offices, the watchdogs who catch waste, fraud and abuse committed by federal workers at agencies like the IRS, the Dept. of Homeland Security, the Dept. of Transportation, or the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
More here
It’s a fact of life for many government workers. A dive into government labor fights at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) reveals a nasty secret—the great lengths federal unions go to protect government slackers, at your expense.
Cases at the FLRA, a quasi-judicial body that oversees disputes between federal agencies and government unions, show federal labor unions are winning battles that are putting taxpayers, and the government, at risk.
And now one big government insider is calling foul on government union abuses of taxpayers and federal agencies. Patrick Pizzella, one of the three referees at the FLRA adjudicating these fights, is blowing the whistle on federal union abuses in case after case. “One cannot make this stuff up,” Pizzella said.
For example, federal labor unions are winning fights against federal agencies who try to fire their union workers for letting mentally ill military veterans walk out the door of psychiatric units in Veterans Affairs hospitals, or for not catching things like a major rat infestation in a food factory. Instead, union lawyers are getting their members’ jobs, back-pay, and benefits reinstated, all at taxpayer expense.
Federal unions have also battled Defense Dept. agencies that, for example, try to suspend a daycare worker for letting a toddler wander off a military base down the sidewalk toward traffic.
At the same time, federal worker unions have been fighting to unionize federal inspector generals’ offices, the watchdogs who catch waste, fraud and abuse committed by federal workers at agencies like the IRS, the Dept. of Homeland Security, the Dept. of Transportation, or the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
More here
Vince Vaughn wants all American schools protected with firearms
That’s one of the statements actor Vince Vaughn makes in in a wide-ranging interview to the UK edition of GQ magazine that includes his views about the rights of Americans to carry firearms.
“I support people having a gun in public full stop, not just in your home. We don't have the right to bear arms because of burglars,” he said. “We have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government. It's not about duck hunting, it's about the ability of the individual.
"It's the same reason we have freedom of speech,” he added.
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Justice Department Funding Study On ‘Far-right’ Social Media Use
The Department of Justice is concentrating on "far-right" groups in a new study of social media usage aimed at combating violent extremism.
The Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) awarded Michigan State University $585,719 for the study, which was praised by Eric Holder, the former attorney general, earlier this year.
"There is currently limited knowledge of the role of technology and computer mediated communications (CMCs), such as Facebook and Twitter, in the dissemination of messages that promote extremist agendas and radicalize individuals to violence," according to the NIJ grant. "The proposed study will address this gap through a series of qualitative and quantitative analyses of posts from various forms of CMC used by members of both the far-right and Islamic extremist movements."
The study draws more upon right-wing forums than upon the corners of the web inhabited by Islamist extremists.
"We will collect posts made in four active forums used by members of the far-right and three from the Islamic Extremist community, as well as posts made in Facebook, LiveJournal, Twitter, YouTube, and Pastebin accounts used by members of each movement," the grant said.
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The Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) awarded Michigan State University $585,719 for the study, which was praised by Eric Holder, the former attorney general, earlier this year.
"There is currently limited knowledge of the role of technology and computer mediated communications (CMCs), such as Facebook and Twitter, in the dissemination of messages that promote extremist agendas and radicalize individuals to violence," according to the NIJ grant. "The proposed study will address this gap through a series of qualitative and quantitative analyses of posts from various forms of CMC used by members of both the far-right and Islamic extremist movements."
The study draws more upon right-wing forums than upon the corners of the web inhabited by Islamist extremists.
"We will collect posts made in four active forums used by members of the far-right and three from the Islamic Extremist community, as well as posts made in Facebook, LiveJournal, Twitter, YouTube, and Pastebin accounts used by members of each movement," the grant said.
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WAS AMERICA FOUNDED ON CHRISTIAN RELIGION?
On March 28, 1786, America’s new Congress of the Confederation received word from John Adams and Thomas Jefferson of their meeting in France with Tripoli’s ambassador regarding Muslim Barbary pirates raiding American ships in the Mediterranean.
Jefferson and Adams asked Tripoli’s ambassador, Abdrahaman, what the new nation of the United States had done to provoke them: “The ambassador answered us that it was founded on the laws of the prophet, that it was written in their qur’an, that all nations who should not have acknowledged islam’s authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and every musselman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”
Jefferson bought a Qur’an to learn why Muslim pirates attacked unprovoked.
Jefferson wrote to John Jay, 1787, explaining his efforts to ransom captured American sailors through the mediation of the Catholic Order of Mathurins, which was later disbanded during the French Revolution: “There is an order of priests called the Mathurins, the object of whose institution is to beg alms for the redemption of captives. They keep members always in Barbary, searching out the captives of their country, and redeem, I believe, on better terms than any other body, public or private. It occurred to me, that their agency might be obtained for the redemption of our prisoners at Algiers. …
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New Union-friendly Rule From Obama Targets Small Business
Supporters of tougher regulations on businesses usually present them as necessary to curb abuses by large "fatcat" corporations.
However, President Obama's administration is pursuing a new labor rule that would largely ignore big business and instead target small and medium-sized companies.
Under the federal "persuader" rule, businesses currently must disclose whenever they hire somebody to try to convince their employees they shouldn't unionize — hence the rule's name. Now the administration wants to expand the disclosure to include any time managers receive legal advice on the subject.
The persuader rule is part of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, which was passed in 1959 to prohibit stealth anti-union campaigns by employers.
The new disclosure rule won't matter much for large corporations, which have in-house lawyers or are used to disclosing when they hire pricey outside "consultants" to fend off union organizing campaigns. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, would find it much harder to get legal advice, critics charge.
More here
However, President Obama's administration is pursuing a new labor rule that would largely ignore big business and instead target small and medium-sized companies.
Under the federal "persuader" rule, businesses currently must disclose whenever they hire somebody to try to convince their employees they shouldn't unionize — hence the rule's name. Now the administration wants to expand the disclosure to include any time managers receive legal advice on the subject.
The persuader rule is part of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, which was passed in 1959 to prohibit stealth anti-union campaigns by employers.
The new disclosure rule won't matter much for large corporations, which have in-house lawyers or are used to disclosing when they hire pricey outside "consultants" to fend off union organizing campaigns. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, would find it much harder to get legal advice, critics charge.
More here
America Is Being Run Just Like Baltimore
Like the Clinton Foundation, the CBC exists to trade money for influence. The Caucus takes in tens of millions from major corporations and spends it on parties for its members and funnels the rest into fake non-profits. Even the minority scholarships endowed with great ceremony as a way of providing opportunity to their underprivileged constituents have a way of going to their own children and friends.
The Congressional Black Caucus claims that it’s “the conscience of the Congress” when it’s actually the tip of a corrupt urban political machine that keeps black people in chains. Its members are lying idiots whose only response to criticism (including the ethics charges leveled against them) is to shout racism because that is the job they were chosen for by their real backers and masters.
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Obama Goes After the Farmers
Farmers are now the bad guys.
President Obama’s administration last week claimed dominion over all of America’s streams, creeks, rills, ditches, brooks, rivulets, burns, tributaries, criks, wetlands — perhaps even puddles — in a sweeping move to assert unilateral federal authority.
The New York Times had a wonderful take on the power grab, saying the move “opened up a broad new front for attacks from business interests like farmers, property developers, fertilizer and pesticide makers, oil and gas producers and golf course owners, who contend that the rule would stifle economic growth and intrude on property owners’ rights.”
Those, according to the Times, are the demons: Developers, oil producers, pesticide makers. But farmers? Farmers?!
Mr. Obama said that “one in three Americans now gets drinking water from streams lacking clear protection, and businesses and industries that depend on clean water face uncertainty and delay, which costs our economy every day. Too many of our waters have been left vulnerable to pollution.”
“With today’s rule,” he said, “we take another step towards protecting the waters that belong to all of us.”
More here
President Obama’s administration last week claimed dominion over all of America’s streams, creeks, rills, ditches, brooks, rivulets, burns, tributaries, criks, wetlands — perhaps even puddles — in a sweeping move to assert unilateral federal authority.
The New York Times had a wonderful take on the power grab, saying the move “opened up a broad new front for attacks from business interests like farmers, property developers, fertilizer and pesticide makers, oil and gas producers and golf course owners, who contend that the rule would stifle economic growth and intrude on property owners’ rights.”
Those, according to the Times, are the demons: Developers, oil producers, pesticide makers. But farmers? Farmers?!
Mr. Obama said that “one in three Americans now gets drinking water from streams lacking clear protection, and businesses and industries that depend on clean water face uncertainty and delay, which costs our economy every day. Too many of our waters have been left vulnerable to pollution.”
“With today’s rule,” he said, “we take another step towards protecting the waters that belong to all of us.”
More here
Baltimore Pays the Price
Now murders in Baltimore in May have been more than double what they were in May last year, and higher than in any May in the past 15 years. Meanwhile, the number of arrests is down by more than 50 percent.
Various other communities across the country are experiencing very similar explosions of crime and reductions of arrests, in the wake of anti-police mob rampages from coast to coast that the media sanitize as “protests.”
None of this should be surprising. In her carefully researched 2010 book, “Are Cops Racist?” Heather Mac Donald pointed out that, after anti-police campaigns, cops tended to do less policing and criminals tended to commit more crimes.
If all this has been known for years, why do the same mistakes keep getting made?
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BREAKING NEWS: FIFA President Sepp Blatter reportedly under investigation by US officials
U.S. officials are investigating FIFA President Sepp Blatter as part of an ongoing corruption scandal, the NY Times reported.
American Islamic Backlash Simmers
This weekend, a protest by anti-Muslim demonstrators with military-style weapons and an in-flight disagreement over a can of Diet Coke provided fresh evidence of a mounting Islamic backlash in America.
High-profile incidents have become familiar in recent months, with an outpouring of anti-Islamic sentiment on social media after the release of the surprise hit film "American Sniper," and a protest against an annual Muslim day of outreach at the Texas Legislature. A Mohammed cartoon drawing contest in Garland, Texas, last month, even provoked a failed terrorist attack.
Polls suggest that these flashpoints come from a decisive and growing split in how Americans see Islam. The current backlash is largely among conservatives, and it appears to reflect not just a fear of terrorist attack but also a deeper conviction that the tenets of Islam fundamentally prevent it from living peaceably with the modern world. The result has been a hardening of rhetoric.
Friday's protests were a response to last month's attack in Garland. About 250 demonstrators – many of them armed, some wearing T-shirts with profane anti-Muslim messages – gathered outside the Phoenix mosque where the shooters in the attack had worshipped. The organizer called himself a patriot standing up against the perceived tyranny of Islam.
Meanwhile on Sunday, social media was humming with the story of a Muslim scholar who had been denied a can of soda on a United Airlines flight because the attendant said it could be used as a weapon – though others on the flight had received cans, the scholar said. A fellow passenger also told the scholar: "yes you know you would use it as a WEAPON, so shut the **** up," she added on her Facebook page.
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High-profile incidents have become familiar in recent months, with an outpouring of anti-Islamic sentiment on social media after the release of the surprise hit film "American Sniper," and a protest against an annual Muslim day of outreach at the Texas Legislature. A Mohammed cartoon drawing contest in Garland, Texas, last month, even provoked a failed terrorist attack.
Polls suggest that these flashpoints come from a decisive and growing split in how Americans see Islam. The current backlash is largely among conservatives, and it appears to reflect not just a fear of terrorist attack but also a deeper conviction that the tenets of Islam fundamentally prevent it from living peaceably with the modern world. The result has been a hardening of rhetoric.
Friday's protests were a response to last month's attack in Garland. About 250 demonstrators – many of them armed, some wearing T-shirts with profane anti-Muslim messages – gathered outside the Phoenix mosque where the shooters in the attack had worshipped. The organizer called himself a patriot standing up against the perceived tyranny of Islam.
Meanwhile on Sunday, social media was humming with the story of a Muslim scholar who had been denied a can of soda on a United Airlines flight because the attendant said it could be used as a weapon – though others on the flight had received cans, the scholar said. A fellow passenger also told the scholar: "yes you know you would use it as a WEAPON, so shut the **** up," she added on her Facebook page.
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HUMAN TRAFFICKING HIDDEN IN DOZENS OF MARYLAND COMMUNITIES WHILE AUTHORITIES STRUGGLE TO FIGHT IT
BALTIMORE – These women’s stories, told in a variety of Maryland courtrooms, are similar. And chilling.
R, an immigrant in her early 20s with no papers, a third-grade education and a baby girl, entrusted her life to a man she met at a restaurant in Prince George’s County who told her he’d take care of them. Instead, he beat her and threatened to harm her daughter to force her into prostitution.
S, 23, took a bus from St. Louis to Baltimore to work for a man who promised he’d give her a job in his “webcam business.” Arriving on the ticket he paid for, she learned the man was actually a pimp — who told her she’d have to work as a prostitute to pay him back, including a stint in a hotel near Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.
C, a 14-year-old runaway, was walking down the street when a man offered her a ride and a place to stay in Clinton. He pampered her, fed her and took her shopping. Then on the third day, he revealed he ran a prostitution business and expected her to work for him. When she messaged friends on Facebook that she wanted out, he became violent.
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R, an immigrant in her early 20s with no papers, a third-grade education and a baby girl, entrusted her life to a man she met at a restaurant in Prince George’s County who told her he’d take care of them. Instead, he beat her and threatened to harm her daughter to force her into prostitution.
S, 23, took a bus from St. Louis to Baltimore to work for a man who promised he’d give her a job in his “webcam business.” Arriving on the ticket he paid for, she learned the man was actually a pimp — who told her she’d have to work as a prostitute to pay him back, including a stint in a hotel near Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.
C, a 14-year-old runaway, was walking down the street when a man offered her a ride and a place to stay in Clinton. He pampered her, fed her and took her shopping. Then on the third day, he revealed he ran a prostitution business and expected her to work for him. When she messaged friends on Facebook that she wanted out, he became violent.
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Bias in Case Against Bakers Who Denied Service for Same-Sex Wedding?
Communications between the agency, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the LGBT organization, Basic Rights Oregon, raise questions about potential bias in the state’s decision to charge the Kleins with discrimination for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.
In April, a judge for the agency recommended the Kleins be fined $135,000.
Communications obtained through a public records request show employees of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries—which pursued the case against the Kleins—participating in phone calls, texting, and attending meetings with Basic Rights Oregon, the largest LGBT advocacy group in the state.
“That’s a clear conflict of interest,” Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal.
Communications between Bureau of Labor and Industries Commissioner Brad Avakian and Basic Rights Oregon, which has actively spoken out against the Kleins, raise questions about whether the commissioner and other agency employees were using the case to benefit a political agenda, and in the process, stripping the Kleins of their right to a fair trial.
According to emails, Avakian met with Basic Rights Oregon on multiple occasions.
One of those meetings was planned for May 1, 2014, shortly before a federal court struck down Oregon’s Defense of Marriage Act.
More here
BREAKING NEWS: Senate approves bill to resume, overhaul NSA surveillance
Bill to resume, overhaul NSA surveillance heads to President Obama’s desk after the Senate passed the legislation 67-32.
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John Oliver vs. chicken
The comedic anchorman recently used his HBO show, “Last Week Tonight,” to attack the way giant poultry processors — like Tyson Foods, Perdue, Pilgrim’s and Sanderson Farms — allegedly have treated their chicken growers, punishing them for speaking out against their conditions, and pressured Congress into defanging the Agriculture Department’s protections.
“When the chicken companies describe it — again, over jangly f—-ing guitars — they make the system sound great for farmers,” Oliver said in a recent report, referring to the industry’s sunny promotional videos. But he added, “It turns out, many farmers have a very different experience.”
By Saturday — less than two weeks after the 18-minute segment aired — it drew more than 2.1 million views on YouTube.
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FREE MOVIES ON THE BEACH AT 27TH STREET
MOVIES ON THE BEACH AT 27TH STREET
Movies on the Beach at 27th Street
Free movies on the beach for the entire family! Bring your beach chair or a blanket and enjoy the night beside the ocean.
Every Monday & Friday from June 22 to August 7 - 8:30 p.m. - 27th Street Beach
Schedule
June 22 - The Lego Movie
June 26 - 101 Dalmatians (vintage)
June 29 - Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day
Summer Movie Express. $1 Movies All Summer Long
FREE: Movies On The Beach (The Carousel)
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| Carousel Hotel – 118th St. |
ALL MOVIES BEGIN AT 8:30 p.m.
- June 3: Blended
- June 10: Big Hero 6
- June 17: Muppets Most Wanted
- June 24: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
- July 1: Into the Woods
- July 15: Dolphin Tale 2
- July 22: Planes – Fire & Rescue
- August 5: Annie (2014)
- August 12: Cinderella (2015)
- August 19: Frozen
- August 26: Guardians of the Galaxy
It's Socialism, Not Deodorant, That Starves the Poor
What this country needs, says Bernie Sanders, is less deodorant.
The 73-year-old senator from Vermont, now running for the Democratic presidential nomination, told CNBC’s John Harwood in an interview on Tuesday that because American consumers can choose from so many brands of personal-care products, kids are going to bed with empty bellies.
“You don’t necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants or of 18 different pairs of sneakers when children are hungry in this country,” Sanders lamented. He didn’t explain exactly how the profusion of toiletries and athletic footwear leads to childhood hunger, but for the only self-described socialist in Congress, it is no doubt a matter of faith that the abundance of capitalism must generate poverty and undernourishment.
In the real world, the opposite is true: Hunger and deprivation are rarest where markets and trade are freest. Food in America couldn’t possibly be more plentiful; no one starves because too many economic resources are being channeled into marketing Old Spice instead of oatmeal. But in the socialist delusion, centralized control is always preferable to voluntary enterprise. Better that government czars should decide what is produced, and impose their plan from above. After all, when buyers and sellers are left free to choose for themselves, grocery and department store aisles fill up with “too many” goods that consumers desire to buy. And that’s not the worst of it: In the process of fulfilling those desires, some capitalists may be getting wealthy.
Sanders’s suggestion that more kids would eat if only deodorant came in fewer varieties was roundly mocked. Wherever his collectivist ideology has been enforced, however, the consequences — shortages, rationing, bare shelves, long lines, grinding austerity — are anything but funny.
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The 73-year-old senator from Vermont, now running for the Democratic presidential nomination, told CNBC’s John Harwood in an interview on Tuesday that because American consumers can choose from so many brands of personal-care products, kids are going to bed with empty bellies.
“You don’t necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants or of 18 different pairs of sneakers when children are hungry in this country,” Sanders lamented. He didn’t explain exactly how the profusion of toiletries and athletic footwear leads to childhood hunger, but for the only self-described socialist in Congress, it is no doubt a matter of faith that the abundance of capitalism must generate poverty and undernourishment.
In the real world, the opposite is true: Hunger and deprivation are rarest where markets and trade are freest. Food in America couldn’t possibly be more plentiful; no one starves because too many economic resources are being channeled into marketing Old Spice instead of oatmeal. But in the socialist delusion, centralized control is always preferable to voluntary enterprise. Better that government czars should decide what is produced, and impose their plan from above. After all, when buyers and sellers are left free to choose for themselves, grocery and department store aisles fill up with “too many” goods that consumers desire to buy. And that’s not the worst of it: In the process of fulfilling those desires, some capitalists may be getting wealthy.
Sanders’s suggestion that more kids would eat if only deodorant came in fewer varieties was roundly mocked. Wherever his collectivist ideology has been enforced, however, the consequences — shortages, rationing, bare shelves, long lines, grinding austerity — are anything but funny.
More
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!
Hey there! Global Friendships is an international student immersion program designed for foreign students to experience the American culture through daily activities with their host families and local sightseeing, provided by the program. I am currently in search for volunteer families to host these students from June 30th through July 27th 2015.
The volunteer family will only need to provide a bed, daily meals and occasional transportation for their student. I have one adult chaperone that will also be traveling with the students and 16 students, ages ranging from 14-18 years old that will all need to be placed in homes. At the moment, I'm still in need of 10 more families!
Please let me know if your family would be interested in making lifelong memories and lasting relationships!
Contact Christine Maloney at (443)880-7163 or email cmaloney1085@gmail.com
BREAKING NEWS: FIFA President Sepp Blatter says he'll resign in wake of corruption scandal
Four days after being re-elected FIFA president, Sepp Blatter says he will resign in the wake of a corruption scandal at world soccer's governing body.
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Special Religious Freedom Envoy Post Still Empty
(CNSNews) – Almost 10 months since Congress overwhelming passed legislation creating a special envoy to protect religious minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia, the White House has no news on when the post will be filled.
“I have no personnel announcement to make at this time,” a spokesman for the National Security Council told CNSNews via email when asked when or if the post will be filled.
President Obama signed the Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act on Aug. 8, 2014. His administration earlier opposed the measure, calling the move unnecessary and duplicative of efforts already underway.
The NSC spokesman said the Obama administration has helped Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria.
In a letter to Obama last month, arranged by the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, religious freedom advocates urged him to fill the post, the Religion News Service reported at the time.
The letter cited the ongoing persecution of Christians in the Middle East and South Central Asia, including rape, torture, kidnappings and killings of Christians and other religious minorities.
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“I have no personnel announcement to make at this time,” a spokesman for the National Security Council told CNSNews via email when asked when or if the post will be filled.
President Obama signed the Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act on Aug. 8, 2014. His administration earlier opposed the measure, calling the move unnecessary and duplicative of efforts already underway.
The NSC spokesman said the Obama administration has helped Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria.
In a letter to Obama last month, arranged by the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, religious freedom advocates urged him to fill the post, the Religion News Service reported at the time.
The letter cited the ongoing persecution of Christians in the Middle East and South Central Asia, including rape, torture, kidnappings and killings of Christians and other religious minorities.
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2 million misinformed Internet-shamers just upstaged a bride at her own wedding
A single photo, posted first to Imgur and later to Reddit, seemed to tell the entire story: A woman in a coral dress with one hand clamped over her tearful face; a man on his knee in front of her with arm outstretched, grinning broadly; and in the background, sitting down, upstaged, an actual bride and groom — the bride’s head tilted, grimacing slightly.
“Any girl’s wedding nightmare,” read the caption on Imgur, which has since been viewed more than 2.5 million times — and been labeled, in various corners of the Internet, as “selfish,” “blood-boiling” and “so f***ing rude.”
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Radical Hindus to India's Christians: Convert ‘Or Get Ready to Die’
A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York calls on the U.S. government to designate as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) a radical Hindu organization with close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling party.
Late last week attorneys filed an amended complaint in a case brought by an advocacy group called Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) against Secretary of State John Kerry.
The amended document adds three additional plaintiffs, two Christians and a Muslim, who claim to be victims of a forced conversion campaign carried out by the Hindu group RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or National Volunteer Corps).
The three say that threats by RSS radicals determined to forcibly convert minorities to Hinduism have increased since Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won India’s general election last year.
More here
NBC Gives Sanders a Pass on His 1970s Essay Describing Women's Rape Fantasies
(CNSNews) - Chuck Todd, host of NBC's "Meet the Press," pondered on Sunday whether Vermont socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders "could become Hillary Clinton's most dangerous political opponent" in the race for president because Sanders "can puncture (Hillary) Clinton's aura of inevitability simply by beating expectations."
This is after Sanders' campaign was rocked last week, when his essay on women's sexual fantasies, written 43 years ago, re-surfaced.
But Chuck Todd didn't bring up the essay until the very end of his Sunday interview with Sanders:
"I'll be honest with you, Senator Sanders, it's uncomfortable to read," Todd said about the essay. "You said, 'A woman enjoys intercourse with her man as she fantasizes being raped by three men simultaneously.' Your campaign described it as satire. Can you explain this essay?"
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This is after Sanders' campaign was rocked last week, when his essay on women's sexual fantasies, written 43 years ago, re-surfaced.
But Chuck Todd didn't bring up the essay until the very end of his Sunday interview with Sanders:
"I'll be honest with you, Senator Sanders, it's uncomfortable to read," Todd said about the essay. "You said, 'A woman enjoys intercourse with her man as she fantasizes being raped by three men simultaneously.' Your campaign described it as satire. Can you explain this essay?"
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Hillary’s “Grassroots Campaign” Sets $1,000 Minimum for a “Conversation”
An Intercept reader forwarded the following invitation from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, asking him to join the candidate for a series of events in Massachusetts. To take part in a “Conversation with Hillary” at a home in Chestnut Hill on June 10th, three days before the Clinton campaign’s official launch in New York, attendees are asked to pay $2,700 per person.
For the “Conversation with Hillary” earlier that day in Boston, a “Friend” of the campaign can attend for as little as $1,000.
The Invitation and more..
For the “Conversation with Hillary” earlier that day in Boston, a “Friend” of the campaign can attend for as little as $1,000.
The Invitation and more..
Portions of Nanticoke River, Broad Creek Reclassified for Shellfish Harvesting
Baltimore, MD – The Maryland Department of the Environment is reclassifying a portion of the Nanticoke River in Dorchester and Wicomico Counties and portions of Broad Creek in Talbot County for shellfish harvesting.
About 93 acres of waters in Upper Broad Creek and about 108 acres in the San Domingo Creek portion of Broad Creek that had been approved for harvesting have been reclassified as restricted, meaning that they are closed to shellfish harvesting. The change is due to recent evaluations showing elevated bacteria levels in these waters.
Several oyster harvesting leases are located in these waters. Harvesting will not be permitted unless the lease holders apply for a “relay” permit from MDE. That permit would allow oysters to be harvested from restricted areas provided they are moved, or relayed, to another lease in waters approved for harvesting for at least two weeks during a time of year when oysters are actively filtering water. This assures that the oysters naturally cleanse themselves to be harvested and sold to consumers.
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Cop Who Told Teen His Parents Were Killed in Crash Attends Graduation
Lt. Eric Ellison said one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do was to tell 18-year-old Kazzie Portie that both his parents, Riley and Emily Portie, of Orange County, had been killed in a car accident on May 24, a local ABC affiliate reported.
The driver of the other vehicle, Travis Collins, 29, is facing two charges of intoxication manslaughter.
Lt. Ellison said he attended Kazzie’s graduation from Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School as a show of support during the difficult time.
“I walked up on the stage he looked at me and I looked at him and we both cried and that’s OK,” the officer told ABC. “I told him ‘you’re going to walk and your folks are going to have a front row seat and I’m going to be there.’”
Lt. Ellison described the powerful moment when the teen walked across the stage and the two hugged — a scene captured in photos and videos that quickly went viral on social media.
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BREAKING NEWS: Worcester County Approves Budget In 5-2 Vote
BREAKING NEWS: Worcester County Approves Budget In 5-2 Vote; Teachers Hopeful Board Of Education Can 'Do The Right Thing...
Posted by The Dispatch on Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Supporters of police rally in front of Baltimore City Hall
Some 150 supporters of the Baltimore Police Department marched in the sweltering midday heat Saturday and chanted "Blue lives matter" in front of City Hall, at a time when officers say they are facing unfair scrutiny as they try to do their jobs.
Terry Bowman, 59, said she had seen her husband, a member of the Harford County sheriff's office, get hurt during the unrest that swept Baltimore in April after the death of Freddie Gray.
"I'm here to show respect," she said. "I'm here to show that I feel strongly."
Police morale sank after six officers were charged in connection with the death of the 25-year-old Gray, who suffered fatal injuries after being arrested in April and transported to the Western District station. On Thursday the police union said in a statement that its members fear being held criminally responsible even if they take steps to enforce the law in good faith.
Amid lingering tension and plummeting arrest rates, violence has spiked across the city, and in May 40 people have been killed in Baltimore, the deadliest month since 1990. Many of the demonstrators questioned why those deaths have not attracted the same level of outrage as Gray's.
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Terry Bowman, 59, said she had seen her husband, a member of the Harford County sheriff's office, get hurt during the unrest that swept Baltimore in April after the death of Freddie Gray.
"I'm here to show respect," she said. "I'm here to show that I feel strongly."
Police morale sank after six officers were charged in connection with the death of the 25-year-old Gray, who suffered fatal injuries after being arrested in April and transported to the Western District station. On Thursday the police union said in a statement that its members fear being held criminally responsible even if they take steps to enforce the law in good faith.
Amid lingering tension and plummeting arrest rates, violence has spiked across the city, and in May 40 people have been killed in Baltimore, the deadliest month since 1990. Many of the demonstrators questioned why those deaths have not attracted the same level of outrage as Gray's.
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Serious Traffic Accident In Princess Anne
DATE & TIME: 06/01/2015 @ 0947 hours
LOCATION: Fairmount Rd @ Jones Factory Rd
VEHICLE 1: 2002 Gray Dodge Stratus, MD registration 6BN4052
OPERATOR 1: Tyvonne Decheryl Taylor
VEHICLE 2: 1994 John Deere 770 Bushhog
OPERATOR 2: Phillip Etrouel Cotton
NARRATIVE
On June 1, 2015 at approximately 0947 hours, MSP Princess Anne Barrack responded to Fairmount Road and Jones Factory Road, Fairmount, Somerset County, Maryland in reference to a motor vehicle collision. Upon arrival, it was determined that a 2002 Dodge Stratus had struck a John Deer Model 770 farm tractor in the rear. As a result of the collision, the operator of the John Deere was ejected from the tractor, and had suffered serious injuries. The operator was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center by Princess Anne Volunteer Fire Department where he was stabilized and was then flown to Baltimore Shock Trauma for treatment of life threatening injuries where he was listed as critical but stable condition. The State Highway Administration was on-scene to assist in traffic control for the duration of the incident.
LOCATION: Fairmount Rd @ Jones Factory Rd
VEHICLE 1: 2002 Gray Dodge Stratus, MD registration 6BN4052
OPERATOR 1: Tyvonne Decheryl Taylor
VEHICLE 2: 1994 John Deere 770 Bushhog
OPERATOR 2: Phillip Etrouel Cotton
NARRATIVE
On June 1, 2015 at approximately 0947 hours, MSP Princess Anne Barrack responded to Fairmount Road and Jones Factory Road, Fairmount, Somerset County, Maryland in reference to a motor vehicle collision. Upon arrival, it was determined that a 2002 Dodge Stratus had struck a John Deer Model 770 farm tractor in the rear. As a result of the collision, the operator of the John Deere was ejected from the tractor, and had suffered serious injuries. The operator was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center by Princess Anne Volunteer Fire Department where he was stabilized and was then flown to Baltimore Shock Trauma for treatment of life threatening injuries where he was listed as critical but stable condition. The State Highway Administration was on-scene to assist in traffic control for the duration of the incident.
Earthquake Hits Iranian Nuclear Plant
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck just 110 kilometers (70 miles) northwest of Iran’s Bushehr on Monday morning, rattling the Islamic regime’s only operational nuclear plant.
No damage or injuries were initially reported, according to the Associated Press.
The center of the earthquake was located in the town of Emam Hassan, reported by Iran’s official IRNA news agency, and the shaking began around 4:30 a.m. local time.
The Bushehr plant is built to hold up even in earthquakes up to a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale.
It was built with Russian aid and became operational in 2011.
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Clothing donations undercut entrepreneurs in world’s poorest countries
Americans give away a lot of clothes. Whether it’s that raggedy old pair of cutoff jeans, the wine-stained dress shirt or those out-of-style sneakers, there is a lot we don’t want. But well-intentioned charitable donations of old clothes may be undercutting the market for struggling entrepreneurs in some of the world’s poorest countries.
To raise funds and reduce the huge influx of clothing donations they receive on a daily basis, U.S.- and Western-based charities are selling large portions of their inventory to textile and apparel companies that recycle the clothes and resell them to vendors abroad. The results, according to a systematic study, could be damaging to the very people who were supposed to benefit.
Andrew Brooks, a lecturer in development geography at King’s College in London, argues that the reselling of secondhand clothes is hurting local businesses and production in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Donating your used garments might be well-intentioned, but the situation on the ground means they may be doing more harm than good,” Mr. Brooks wrote recently in Britain’s Geographic magazine, summarizing the thesis of his recently published book, “Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-Hand Clothes.”
Far from clothing the poor and needy in countries such as Malawi or Mozambique, Mr. Brooks says, the sale of secondhand goods from charities in the U.S. and other developed countries actually undercuts domestic sellers and stunts the local economy.
Secondhand clothes from an array of developed countries “dominate local market stalls in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said. “Across the African continent, secondhand clothes are a mainstay of informal traders, even accounting for the majority of clothing sales in some countries. In Nigeria, they are known as ‘kafa ulaya’ (the clothes of the dead whites) and ‘roupa da calamidade’ (clothing of the calamity) in Mozambique.”
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To raise funds and reduce the huge influx of clothing donations they receive on a daily basis, U.S.- and Western-based charities are selling large portions of their inventory to textile and apparel companies that recycle the clothes and resell them to vendors abroad. The results, according to a systematic study, could be damaging to the very people who were supposed to benefit.
Andrew Brooks, a lecturer in development geography at King’s College in London, argues that the reselling of secondhand clothes is hurting local businesses and production in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Donating your used garments might be well-intentioned, but the situation on the ground means they may be doing more harm than good,” Mr. Brooks wrote recently in Britain’s Geographic magazine, summarizing the thesis of his recently published book, “Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-Hand Clothes.”
Far from clothing the poor and needy in countries such as Malawi or Mozambique, Mr. Brooks says, the sale of secondhand goods from charities in the U.S. and other developed countries actually undercuts domestic sellers and stunts the local economy.
Secondhand clothes from an array of developed countries “dominate local market stalls in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said. “Across the African continent, secondhand clothes are a mainstay of informal traders, even accounting for the majority of clothing sales in some countries. In Nigeria, they are known as ‘kafa ulaya’ (the clothes of the dead whites) and ‘roupa da calamidade’ (clothing of the calamity) in Mozambique.”
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O'Malley Offers Achievement As Alternative To Clinton & Sanders
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, stepped up in April to take her on and court the party's left.
So what does Martin O'Malley, who entered the contest Saturday, have to offer liberals that Sanders doesn't?
Achievement, he told ABC's "This Week."
"I have a track record of actually getting things done, not just talking about things," O'Malley said when asked to compare himself with Sanders, an independent in the Senate who aligns with Democrats. O'Malley served as Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor.
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Relay for Life
Credit Plus Relay for Life team is planning a NYC bus trip this Saturday, June 6th. Tickets are $42.00
The bus leaves Credit Plus at 31550 Winterplace Parkway, Salisbury at 5:30am. You will be dropped off at 54th & Broadway. You will have 8 hours on your own to do whatever you want, and the bus will pick up at the same spot to return back to Salisbury.
All proceeds benefit Relay for Life. For tickets, contact Danette at 410-742-9551 ext 1117 or 443-880-1350.
The bus leaves Credit Plus at 31550 Winterplace Parkway, Salisbury at 5:30am. You will be dropped off at 54th & Broadway. You will have 8 hours on your own to do whatever you want, and the bus will pick up at the same spot to return back to Salisbury.
All proceeds benefit Relay for Life. For tickets, contact Danette at 410-742-9551 ext 1117 or 443-880-1350.
ROCK STAR CLAIMS HE ATTENDED SNUFF PARTIES WHERE PEOPLE PAID $100,000 TO WATCH PEOPLE GET MURDERED FOR FUN
In a rather disturbing claim, the former bass player for the band The Scorpions states that he has attended a snuff party where people paid $100,000 to watch victims get murdered for entertainment.
In the video on the following page, Ralph Rieckermann is approached by a cameramen from TMZ, who jokingly asked if he was going to be attending any German fetish parties that night. At first Rieckermann laughed the comment off, but the exchange took a surprisingly dark turn.
Rieckermann also claimed that he attended a party that was worse – one that made him want to “throw up”. God only knows what that must have been, seeing how he allegedly watched people get murdered without nausea.
Take a look at the clip below. It’s obvious that Rieckermann isn’t joking here, he believes what he is saying.
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In the video on the following page, Ralph Rieckermann is approached by a cameramen from TMZ, who jokingly asked if he was going to be attending any German fetish parties that night. At first Rieckermann laughed the comment off, but the exchange took a surprisingly dark turn.
Rieckermann also claimed that he attended a party that was worse – one that made him want to “throw up”. God only knows what that must have been, seeing how he allegedly watched people get murdered without nausea.
Take a look at the clip below. It’s obvious that Rieckermann isn’t joking here, he believes what he is saying.
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STATEWIDE CLICK IT OR TICKET INITIATIVE KEEPS TROOPERS BUSY
Maryland State Troopers conducted traffic enforcement initiatives from May 18th through May 31st throughout the state concentrating on safety belt violations. During this time, numerous traffic stops were conducted.
During this enforcement campaign, over 4,100 vehicles were stopped for occupant restraint violations around the state. There were 470 citations and 519 warnings issued by troopers from the La Plata Barrack, while troopers from the Hagerstown Barrack issued 269 citations and 325 warnings. There were significant violations noticed throughout Maryland.
High-visibility enforcement such as Click It or Ticket is credited with increasing the national seat belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to the estimated observed usage rate of 86 percent in 2012. This campaign aims to increase the consistent and proper use of seat belts among all occupants in vehicles on Maryland roads.
It is a proven fact, seatbelts save lives. Troopers will continue to enforce seatbelt laws and to educate the public using these types of initiatives. The goal is to develop good seat belt practices. The car or truck should not move until everyone is belted or in a safety seat. Maryland State Police will continue to support the Maryland Highway Safety Office’s ‘Move Toward Zero Deaths’ campaign.
CONTACT: SGT. Marc Black
Office of Media Communications,
410-653-4236
Petition to Repeal Common Core & PARCC in MARYLAND
Federal Judge Refuses To Toss John Boehner’s Obamacare lawsuit
A federal judge resisted the administration’s quest Thursday to kill the House GOP’s lawsuit over Obamacare, lending weight to Speaker John A. Boehner’s effort to have the courts step in to referee the simmering separation of powers feud between Congress and President Obama.
U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer, presiding in Washington, pushed back against the Justice Department’s argument that the courts don’t have a role to play in refereeing the fight.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” she told administration attorney Joel McElvain.
The exchange set the tone for a hearing in which the judge frequently interrupted the lawyer, and even joked toward the end that she had been too hard on him.
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U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer, presiding in Washington, pushed back against the Justice Department’s argument that the courts don’t have a role to play in refereeing the fight.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” she told administration attorney Joel McElvain.
The exchange set the tone for a hearing in which the judge frequently interrupted the lawyer, and even joked toward the end that she had been too hard on him.
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Scott Walker: I'd Reverse Obama's Actions as President
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Sunday he would reverse a lot of President Barack Obama's actions if elected president.
Appearing on "The Cats Roundtable" on AM 970 in New York, Walker, who is considering a White House run, said the first three things he would do as president would be to pull out of Obama's "horrible" nuclear deal with Iran, reverse Obama's executive order on illegal immigrants and work with Congress to achieve reforms that "put power back in the hands of the states."
The next president has to pull Congress together to talk about "big bold reforms," he said.
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Appearing on "The Cats Roundtable" on AM 970 in New York, Walker, who is considering a White House run, said the first three things he would do as president would be to pull out of Obama's "horrible" nuclear deal with Iran, reverse Obama's executive order on illegal immigrants and work with Congress to achieve reforms that "put power back in the hands of the states."
The next president has to pull Congress together to talk about "big bold reforms," he said.
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Hillary to Supporter: 'Go To the End of the Line'
In video captured by a tracker for the conservative opposition firm America Rising, Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president, is seen greeting voters on the campaign trail outside Smuttynose Brewery in Hampton, New Hampshire. One supporter of the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state asked Clinton for her signature.
"Go to the end of the line," said Clinton.
When the supporter persisted, asking for a photograph, Clinton repeated herself. "Why don't you go to the end of the line?"
US Preparing to Face Down China in the South China Sea
American flags fly fore and aft on the US missile cruiser Shiloh as it docks at a pier across a narrow waterway from decrepit, decaying buildings of an abandoned US naval base at Subic Bay. The dock was once a bulwark of American power in the South China Sea after US forces seized the base from the Spanish in 1899.
At the end of a long walkway from the pier to shore, eager shopkeepers again sell souvenirs and taxi drivers lie in wait for sailors primed for a night of carousing in the bars of Olongapo, the base town in the Philippines. Now, nearly a quarter of a century after the US Navy had to give up its Subic Bay base and the Clark Air Base across the Zambales mountains to the east, Americans are once again ready to defend the Philippines, and the region.
The Philippines Senate, which had voted in 1991 against renewing the lease on US bases, has dropped its objection to the American return to waters threatened by China’s new insistence on its right to rule almost all the South China Sea – including the Spratly Islands claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
Although open warfare does not seem imminent, the prospect of the US returning in force to Subic Bay, once America’s largest overseas naval base, has increased tensions. The Shiloh, one of the most advanced US cruisers, armed with guided missiles and cannon, is expected to ply the South China Sea after taking on fuel and supplies. Other vessels, including at least one destroyer, are likely to join it in a mini-flotilla, posing an immediate challenge as China builds airstrips and other facilities on 2,000 acres of land reclaimed in the past 18 months.
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At the end of a long walkway from the pier to shore, eager shopkeepers again sell souvenirs and taxi drivers lie in wait for sailors primed for a night of carousing in the bars of Olongapo, the base town in the Philippines. Now, nearly a quarter of a century after the US Navy had to give up its Subic Bay base and the Clark Air Base across the Zambales mountains to the east, Americans are once again ready to defend the Philippines, and the region.
The Philippines Senate, which had voted in 1991 against renewing the lease on US bases, has dropped its objection to the American return to waters threatened by China’s new insistence on its right to rule almost all the South China Sea – including the Spratly Islands claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
Although open warfare does not seem imminent, the prospect of the US returning in force to Subic Bay, once America’s largest overseas naval base, has increased tensions. The Shiloh, one of the most advanced US cruisers, armed with guided missiles and cannon, is expected to ply the South China Sea after taking on fuel and supplies. Other vessels, including at least one destroyer, are likely to join it in a mini-flotilla, posing an immediate challenge as China builds airstrips and other facilities on 2,000 acres of land reclaimed in the past 18 months.
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Fundraiser for my Grandson
MOST DEMOCRATS THINK ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD VOTE
Are voters ready to let illegal immigrants vote? A sizable number, including most Democrats, are.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that one-out-of-three Likely U.S. Voters (35%) now believes that illegal immigrants should be allowed to vote if they can prove they live in this country and pay taxes. Sixty percent (60%) disagree, while five percent (5%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Fifty-three percent (53%) of Democrats think tax-paying illegal immigrants should have the right to vote. Twenty-one percent (21%) of Republicans and 30% of voters not affiliated with either major political party agree.
The U.S. Supreme Court has just agreed to hear a case challenging how Texas sets up state legislative districts. Texas currently counts everyone in the state, including illegal immigrants, before carving up districts of proportional population size, but the challenge argues that only eligible voters should be counted because the current system creates some districts with much larger numbers of eligible voters than others.
More here
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that one-out-of-three Likely U.S. Voters (35%) now believes that illegal immigrants should be allowed to vote if they can prove they live in this country and pay taxes. Sixty percent (60%) disagree, while five percent (5%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Fifty-three percent (53%) of Democrats think tax-paying illegal immigrants should have the right to vote. Twenty-one percent (21%) of Republicans and 30% of voters not affiliated with either major political party agree.
The U.S. Supreme Court has just agreed to hear a case challenging how Texas sets up state legislative districts. Texas currently counts everyone in the state, including illegal immigrants, before carving up districts of proportional population size, but the challenge argues that only eligible voters should be counted because the current system creates some districts with much larger numbers of eligible voters than others.
More here
New Maryland law taking effect on free school meals
BALTIMORE (AP) — A new Maryland law will enable an entire school to qualify for free breakfast and lunch, instead of only individual students.
Del. Keith Haynes, a Baltimore Democrat who sponsored a bill this year, is scheduled to announce the enactment of The Hunger Free Schools Act of 2015 on Tuesday in Baltimore.
The new law allows schools to participate in the Community Eligibility Program, which provides for a school-based qualification, instead of an individual-based qualification for free meals.
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Del. Keith Haynes, a Baltimore Democrat who sponsored a bill this year, is scheduled to announce the enactment of The Hunger Free Schools Act of 2015 on Tuesday in Baltimore.
The new law allows schools to participate in the Community Eligibility Program, which provides for a school-based qualification, instead of an individual-based qualification for free meals.
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The case for why Baltimore should pay murderous residents not to kill
“The screams I’m hearing right now as the bodies are removed from the house would rip your heart out,” one reporter wrote on Twitter.
Even in Baltimore, where killing is a distinct part of its urban reality, the weeks since Freddie Gray’s controversial death have been exceptionally grisly. To mark May’s passage was to count bullets and bodies. Around 10 people were shot dead the second week of the month, the most in a week in more than two years. Then it happened again the next week. And again the week after that. In all, 43 people were killed in May — the most in a single month in four decades.
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Governor Hogan Announces “Maryland Unites: Day of Service”
State Employees Will Receive Four Hours of Paid Leave
ANNAPOLIS, MD - Governor Hogan today announced “Maryland Unites: Day of Service,” an initiative for state employees to offer their time and talents to benefit our citizens through community service. This opportunity stems in part from the outpouring of kindness and good will from Maryland citizens following acts of destruction in Baltimore City last month.
“In the past few weeks, I have witnessed incredible acts of kindness and volunteerism from members of a community who truly care for one another,” said Governor Hogan. “Maryland Unites: Day of Service is about continuing that spirit of giving back and sharing it with Baltimore City and our local communities.”
As part of the day of service, state employees will receive four hours of paid leave to participate in an accredited 501 (c)(3) of their choice. In addition, Governor Hogan’s Executive Cabinet will coordinate a volunteer event for employees at their respective agencies. Agency employees who would like to take part in the Day of Service effort will have the option to participate in the agency event or a volunteer activity of their choice. The following dates have been selected for Maryland Unites agency-wide efforts:
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, July 1
Wednesday, July 15
Wednesday, July 29
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 26
For more information about Maryland charities, please visit www.marylandunites.com.
ANNAPOLIS, MD - Governor Hogan today announced “Maryland Unites: Day of Service,” an initiative for state employees to offer their time and talents to benefit our citizens through community service. This opportunity stems in part from the outpouring of kindness and good will from Maryland citizens following acts of destruction in Baltimore City last month.
“In the past few weeks, I have witnessed incredible acts of kindness and volunteerism from members of a community who truly care for one another,” said Governor Hogan. “Maryland Unites: Day of Service is about continuing that spirit of giving back and sharing it with Baltimore City and our local communities.”
As part of the day of service, state employees will receive four hours of paid leave to participate in an accredited 501 (c)(3) of their choice. In addition, Governor Hogan’s Executive Cabinet will coordinate a volunteer event for employees at their respective agencies. Agency employees who would like to take part in the Day of Service effort will have the option to participate in the agency event or a volunteer activity of their choice. The following dates have been selected for Maryland Unites agency-wide efforts:
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, July 1
Wednesday, July 15
Wednesday, July 29
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 26
For more information about Maryland charities, please visit www.marylandunites.com.
June PAINT NITE
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Paint Nite is not an art class--it's a party!
Wednesday, June 17th 7:00pm
Arrive early for a good seat....
A master artist will walk you through creating a beautiful piece of artwork, step-by-step. The 2-hour Paint Nite painting party will help you turn a blank canvas into a masterpiece! No experience required! These classes feature adult conversations in adult settings and it is a great opportunity to make fun memories with your friends. Cocktail service offered while you paint!
Tickets are on sale now online....
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The Red Roost | 2670 Clara Rd Whitehaven, MD | 410.546.5443
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Martin O’Malley’s Disastrous Declaration
Although Baltimore’s advanced urban decay has something to do with the fact that the city hasn’t had a Republican mayor since 1967 when Theodore R. McKeldin left office, O’Malley was heckled and shouted at Saturday. Protesters were upset with the policies O’Malley, who frequently shows off his well-developed biceps while playing guitar and singing badly, introduced when he was the troubled city’s mayor from Dec. 7, 1999, through Jan. 17, 2007.
The liberal New York magazine has trashed O’Malley, saying he “worsened the decades-old tension between Baltimore police and the black community.” When O’Malley showed up in Baltimore during the civil unrest that followed the suspicious death in police custody of Freddie Gray, a young black career criminal, “his attempt to demonstrate leadership only wound up drawing attention to his role in creating the conflict.”
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Mermaid's Night Out!
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Join us Tuesday, June 16th...
Under the Sea at SoBo's for Ladies Night!
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| Make your way to dry land and discover a nautical event...
Tuesday, June 16th 6:30pm
SoBo's Underwater Adventure
Supporting MARCH OF DIMES of the Eastern Shore
Four Course Dinner w/ Wine & Cocktails - $45pp
Reservations are required! Call 410.219.1117
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SoBo's Wine Beerstro | 1015 Eastern Shore Dr. Salisbury MD | 410.219.1117 |
"Smiling pig" in back of cop car leaves quite a mess
"You would never believe it," Deputy Chief Mark Coil told the station. "Just when you think after 25 years in the business you've seen it all, you get a call from a shift commander telling you that we have corralled a pig."
Coil said the whole thing started when police received a 911 call around 7 p.m. Thursday from a woman who said there was a pig on the loose and she didn't know what to do.
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California’s largest lake is slipping away amid an epic drought
Wilcox squeezed, then opened his fist. The desert wind scattered the lake bed like talcum powder.
“That’s disturbing,” Wilcox said, imagining what would happen if thousands of acres of this dust took flight. It’s the kind of thing that keeps him up at night.
The Salton Sea is the largest lake in California, 360 square miles of unlikely liquid pooled in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Now the sea is slipping away. The Salton Sea needs more water — but so does just about every other place in California. And what is happening here perfectly illustrates the fight over water in the West, where epic drought has revived decades-old battles and the simple solutions have all been tried.
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