Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Judges use Obama’s own words to halt deportation amnesty

A federal appeals court said President Obama’s own words claiming powers to “change the law” were part of the reason it struck down his deportation amnesty, in a ruling late Monday that reaffirmed the president must carry out laws and doesn’t have blanket powers to waive them.

The 2-1 ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals punctures Mr. Obama’s immigration plans and is the latest in a series of major court rulings putting limits on the president’s claims of expansive executive powers to enact his agenda without having to get congressional buy-in.

In an opinion freighted with meaning for the separation of powers battles, Judge Jerry E. Smith, writing for himself and Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, singled out Mr. Obama’s own claim that he acted to rewrite the law because Congress wouldn’t pass the bill he wanted.

More

Anonymous Vigilante fights bad drivers with this hilarious note


Peninsula Regional Offers Free Flu Shots for Veterans and Spouses on November 11

In honor of Veterans Day and in appreciation for the service to our nation by all veterans of the Delmarva Peninsula, Peninsula Regional Medical Center will again this year offer free flu shots to veterans and their spouses.

The free shots will be offered on Wednesday, November 11, 2015, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Wor-Wic Room of the Avery W. Hall Educational Center, located on the Peninsula Regional campus on the corner of Waverly Drive and Vine Street, Salisbury, Md. Free parking is available in Garage B.

Military ID to prove service to our nation is requested, but appointments are not necessary. Please call 410-543-7766 for more information or directions.

Source

Hillary Clinton: Former Presidents Won’t Have to Declare Criminal Records (Instead of Prisoners)

‘Look At Him…Oh My God’: Couple Records Driver Tailgating Cars, Then Things Go From Bad to Worse


Editor’s Note: Strong language is used in the video embedded in this story.

Two individuals driving on a New Hampshire highway Sunday captured a reckless driver crash into a guard rail after nearly running another off the road.

The unidentified driver was moving down the I-89 South, according to the video uploader, when he began trying to “run the vehicle recording off the road.”

“[Shortly after recording had begun he attempted to run another vehicle off the road then crashes into the guardrail," the uploader wrote in the YouTube description.

More

Frying food in LARD is healthier because vegetable oils release toxic chemicals

Frying food in lard is healthier because vegetable oils release toxic chemicals which can cause cancer, heart disease and even dementia when heated, new research has found.

Oils rich in polyunsaturated fats, such as sunflower oil and corn oil release high levels of aldehydes, which are linked to various diseases.

And while olive oil appears to be a much better option to avoid this, butter, lard and coconut oil outperform them all.

More

23rd Annual Winterfest of Lights Opening November 19

OCEAN CITY, MD – :The Town of Ocean City will be a bit brighter beginning November 19, when the Winterfest of Lights radiates the town during its 23rdnd year at Northside Park. Previously named a prestigious Top 100 Event by American Bus Association and voted “Maryland’s Finest Holiday Tradition” by Maryland Life Magazine, Winterfest of Lights is a winter paradise for the whole family to enjoy.

The highlight of the event is the Winterfest Express, which takes guests on a ride through a mile-long animated wonderland of dazzling lights and spectacular displays, including the Twelve Days of Christmas and additional fairytale favorites. Christmas carols float through the air and throughout the Winterfest Village, which is located inside a festive and heated pavilion.

After the trip on the Winterfest Express, visitors can celebrate the spirit of the season by sipping hot chocolate from The OC Recreation Boosters Café or browse the Yukon Cornelius Gift Shop for that special stocking stuffer or OC souvenir. In addition, the traditional Boardwalk Tram, which celebrates more than 50 years in Ocean City, will be on display for guests to take their very own Winterfest Instagram photo, with a classic Winterfest Express tram car photo spot.

Biggest Great White shark ever caught on camera called Deep Blue in new footage

New footage has emerged showing what is widely regarded to be the largest great white shark ever caught on camera - Deep Blue.

The 20-foot-long predator was first filmed near Mexico's Guadalupe Island in 2013 and featured on Discovery Channel show Jaws Strikes Back.

Researchers tagged the enormous fish and videographer Mauricio Hoyos Padilla released footage of it interacting with the divers inside a cage.

More

Governor Larry Hogan Announces Funding to Fight Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault


Over $2 Million in Federal Grants Distributed to 57 Agencies Statewide
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention has awarded a total of $2,290,583 in federal Violence Against Women Act grants to fund endeavors to help protect women and families from domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking crimes. This federal funding is from the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice, and is authorized by the Violence Against Women Act.

“Our administration is committed to protecting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “These efforts and resources will save lives and give many families the ability to get the treatment and support they need to heal after the trauma of domestic violence and sexual assault.”
The Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized in 2013 and is a grant that allocates its funding to services, training, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors. Agencies are encouraged to forge lasting partnerships between the criminal justice system and victim advocacy organizations, and to look beyond traditional resources by partnering with community and faith-based organizations to respond more vigorously to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence. 


“The grant funding we are announcing today is vital to Maryland’s continuing efforts to combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violent crimes against women,” said Christopher Shank, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention. “Organizations from every region in the state will use this funding for programs in Maryland courts, state’s attorneys’ offices, law enforcement agencies, and nonprofit organizations to hold offenders accountable, protect victims, and help families rebuild their lives.”


A table of the Violence Against Women Act grants can be found here.

Governor Hogan Orders Flags To Be Flown At Full Staff On Veterans Day


Governor Larry Hogan has ordered that the United States Flag and Maryland State Flag be flown at full staff on Veterans Day, November 11, 2015, in recognition of the valor and sacrifice of our veterans. This action is taken under the protocol for the flags.

EAST CHICAGO COUNCILMAN RE-ELECTED DESPITE MURDER AND DRUG CHARGES

Police say Councilman found with 73 pounds of marijuana and more than $100,000 in cash

Despite being arrested on drug and murder charges, an East Chicago city councilman was re-elected to his office in Tuesday’s elections.

East Chicago 3rd District Councilman Robert “Coop” Battle cruised to re-election even though he is accused in the Oct. 12 shooting of Reimundo Camarillo Jr. That isn’t all. As The Munster Times reports, the councilman is also facing drug charges stemming from a traffic stop earlier in the year.

Police say that Councilman Battle was found with 73 pounds of marijuana and more than $100,000 cash during a traffic stop in Porter County, Indiana.

Even with all this legal trouble on his plate, no one filed to run against him, and he won re-election on Tuesday with his unopposed candidacy.

Read more

BREAKING NEWS: 9 reportedly killed in Ohio plane crash

Nine people, including a pilot and co-pilot, were killed after a private jet crashed in an Akron, Ohio neighborhood Tuesday, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

More

CAMPAIGN 2016: 4 GOP candidates square off in Fox Business Network/Wall Street Journal debate

Four candidates for the Republican nomination for president square off at 7 p.m. ET in a Fox Business Network/Wall Street Journal debate from Milwaukee, Wisc. Watch the debate live on Fox Business Network, FoxBusiness.com or by using the Fox News mobile app. After the debate, click on FoxNews.com for live streaming analysis.

More

MAJOR Difference Between Radical Muslims and Radical Christians Exposed…

What is the major difference between radical Muslims and radical Christians?

For starters, Muslims will tell you “if you don’t accept Islam it will cost you your life!”


Christians on the other hand will say “I must tell you about Jesus even if it costs me my life.”

Just for fun let’s compare and contrast some other key differences between the two religions…

Radical Christians sacrifice our own lives so that others may hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Radical Muslims believe it is their Godly duty to kill people who don’t worship Allah.

More

Class Clown Or Gifted Student? It's A Matter Of Perspective

Who doesn't love a class clown? That perfectly timed joke about the ancient Greek poet looking nothing like Homer Simpson is fun for everyone. Unless you're the teacher ... trying to teach a lesson about the Odyssey.

As a teacher, the class clown is often your nemesis. I know this from experience: I taught ninth grade last school year.

They derail lessons, steal the spotlight and, to make matters worse, sometimes they're actually funny. It's not easy enforcing class rules when you're laughing.

What if we looked at class clowns differently? What if, instead of seeing them as a nuisance, we saw them as gifted? A little misguided, sure, but still gifted.

That change in perspective can make a huge difference for some students and their teachers.

Lawrence Davis, a senior at Dover High School in Delaware, is the perfect example.

He's the quintessential class clown, overconfident and mischievous. But also genuinely personable. He had me laughing from the moment I met him.

According to him, every teacher loves him. "They enjoy me," he says. "I'm not gonna say I'm the life of the class, but I bring the class to life."

More

Non-American citizen arrested for voting in Texas — FIVE times – faces up to 20 years

A Texas woman, who is not a citizen of the United States, was arrested Friday for having illegally voted in Dallas County — five times.

Rosa Maria Ortega, 35, is presently a resident of the Tarrant County Jail, where she is being held on a $10,000 bond, according to the Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate Channel 5 News, which reported:
Ortega is married to an American and is living legally in this country, but is not a citizen and therefore, not qualified to vote, said Harry White, who supervises public integrity and white collar crime investigations for the Tarrant County District Attorney.

Ortega applied to vote in Tarrant County and acknowledged on the application form that she was not a citizen, White said. The county rejected her application and notified her she was not qualified to vote.
More 

Would You Agree, When Someone Needs A Transplant, Time Is Of The Essence?

We published this story Saturday

Ocean Pines Couple Gets Creative With Kidney Donor Search


Three Days Later
WBOC's Story

"Ocean Pines Couple Using Bumper Display to Find Kidney Donor"


"Desperate, stage 5"
WBOC said
Chronic Kidney Disease

Nice to see they care and also cover local stories. Yeah, DelMarVa's News Leader. Maybe you can bring this up in their next town hall meeting. 

Could A Nail Art Printer Be Girls' Gateway To The Tech World?

With all the talk about getting more women in technology, I'm always looking for female-run companies. Recently, I got an email from Preemadonna, which bills itself as a San Francisco-based company that focuses on using technology to provide lifestyle products for women and girls.

That sounded good. Then, I looked at the product.

It's called the Nailbot. And its premise is to instantly print art onto your fingernails using your smartphone.

Is this the cutting edge of women-centered technological innovation?

I asked CEO and Co-founder Pree Walia, and the way she laid it out, it was like the Nailbot was a gateway drug for girls to the world of technology: Preemadonna is trying to meet many young girls in a place where they can express themselves and have fun.

More

Laurel hospital to cease inpatient services, upsetting community

The last time a hospital closed in Maryland, Bill Clinton was president, Celine Dion was at the top of the music charts and Michael Jordan announced his retirement from basketball.

It was 1999 and Liberty Medical Center, New Children's Hospital and Church Hospital in Baltimore all shuttered their doors, blaming low occupancy, steep revenue declines and the challenge of competing as a small hospital.

Sixteen years later, Laurel Regional Hospital is ending its status as a full-service hospital — a move that has triggered outrage and protest from politicians, union leaders and residents.

"The whole situation has put a bad taste in people's mouths," said Laurel Mayor Craig A. Moe. "People are very frustrated. They are very concerned and don't know what is going on."

The dramatic changes at Laurel Regional, which has already shut the maternal and child health department, come as a new wave of hospital closures is hitting the country. Hospitals face increased revenue pressures from Obamacare, and in Maryland from a special agreement with federal government, pushing care out of hospitals and placing more focus on preventive medicine.

More

Del. Kathy Szeliga announces run for U.S. Senate

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —Del. Kathy Szeliga announced Tuesday that she will seek the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Szeliga, a Republican who represents parts of Baltimore and Harford counties, made the announcement at a news conference at City Dock in Annapolis. She said she will focus he campaign on three main areas: improving our quality of life, improving our security, and improving our education system.

“There was a time when Congress worked and provided the basic needs using the tax dollars we sent them and they protected our freedoms," said Szeliga in a statement. "The people we send to Washington have to roll up their sleeves, stop the fighting and work together on issues that are not political, not partisan, but personal to families across our state and our nation. Government has gotten too big and it’s infringed on our liberty and freedom.”

More
 

Troopers Investigate Attempted Robbery of Seaford Area Deli

Seaford, DE – Troopers are investigating the attempted robbery of a Seaford area deli that occurred early Monday evening.

The incident occurred approximately 8:10 p.m. Monday November 9, 2015, at the Middleford Deli located at 10056 Middleford Road as two male subjects entered the business and confronted a female employee at the counter. The two were armed with unknown type handguns and demanded the cash from the register. The clerk informed the suspects that there wasn’t any cash and the two fled out the front door of the business and ran toward the east. Two other employees were present during the attempted robbery but no one was injured in this incident.

The suspects are described as white males, approximately 6'00" tall, 150-160 lbs. One was wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt, dark pants, and a mask over his face. The other was wearing tan pants, grey hooded sweatshirt with a green back pack, and a mask over his face (no further description available). Both were armed with unknown type handguns.

North Carolina’s New Welfare Rules Are Causing A Stir Across America

Law requires recipients to meet work requirements in order to receive welfare

New food stamp restrictions have been signed into law in North Carolina. Starting next year, recipients of food stamps will have to meet work requirements to stay eligible for them.

This new bill was passed by state lawmakers in September, then finally signed by Governor Pat McCrory in mid October. Approximently 45,000 beneficiaries will be affected by these new statutes.

In a nutshell, the law requires recipients to meet work requirements in order to receive the welfare which was originally laid out in the Personal Responsibility and Work opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 which was then removed following economic recession in 2008.

In order to receive this welfare, any childless, able-bodied adult between 18 & 49 must meet work requirements in order to take part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP.)

Read more

Homeless father gets job, new home

A man who was living in a car with his 10-year-old daughter now has a job and a new home.

James Schweikhard moved to Colorado from Oklahoma in August with his daughter.

"I packed everything up that we own in the truck and there and we just drove here," he said. "It was more of a risk staying in Oklahoma. I couldn't get a job for anything, couldn't get a place to live."

The 41-year-old and his daughter began living in his suburban in August. School administrators began to suspect that the child was living in her father's car and reported their concern to Lakewood police in October.

Lakewood Police Officer James Butler went to see what's going on.

More

RNC Makes It So Every Reporter Will Have to Type This Phrase in Order to Use the WiFi at GOP Debate

Reporters who need to use the Republican National Committee’s WiFi Internet to cover Tuesday night’s GOP debate will first have to type in the password “StopHillary.”

That’s what the kids call expert “trolling.”

More

'Godzilla' Captured in Shopping Center Parking Lot

SUGAR LAND, Texas - Alligator hunter Christy Kroboth and an officer tried to tie up a giant, 12 and a half-foot, 800 pound, 50-year-old alligator. His eyes were covered up, but he wanted nothing of the capture.

Kroboth said, “We tried to do a front catch with him where you hold jaws and get him taped. But he was so big his jaws were too big for my hands. I couldn't get my hands to fit around his mouth."

Kroboth, licensed with the state (and a dental assistant by day), got the call from Sugar Land police early Saturday morning. Employees discovered the big gator when they arrived to work. It was in the back parking lot where the workers park their vehicles. Authorities said it may have wandered over from the creek.

“We tried several different attempts on how to catch him. Finally we thought we had wore him out enough to put two people on the back of him and kinda outweigh him which clearly did not work," Kroboth said.

More/video

This Meme Sums up the Hypocrisy of Leftist Media Attacks on Ben Carson Perfectly

Dr. Ben Carson has been enjoying a rather meteoric rise in the polls over the last month or so, and with success in the political realm comes heavy scrutiny, particularly from left-leaning media who see no greater threat to their agenda than a super smart black conservative.

Last Friday, the hacks over at Politico put together a deceptive hit piece designed to apparently make Carson look like a bald-faced liar.

Such a weird saying. What the heck does having hair on your mug have to do with honesty?

Anyway, the piece didn’t have the effect they desired it to have, basically blowing up in their faces as more and more people began looking into the story.

Strangely, when Barack Obama was running for president, these “investigative reporters” were nowhere to be found.

More

Millennials Are Buying More Vinyl Records

The entertainment industry always loves a good comeback story, and music's latest resurgence is no exception. Despite an explosion in digital and streaming music — including Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and Tidal — consumers are spending more money on vinyl records, and more vinyl buyers are millennials.

In 2014, more than 13 million vinyl long-playing albums, or LPs for short, were sold in America. And the first half of 2015 is showing similar sales strength with more than 9 million LPs sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

The association says the last time it has seen such high LP sales was a quarter century ago, in 1989. At that time, nearly 35 million LPs were sold. Then in 1990, compact disc sales took off, and vinyl sales fell by the wayside.

The current surge in LP sales is partly being driven by younger consumers. Industry researcher MusicWatch reports half of vinyl record buyers are under 25, and men are more likely to buy LPs than are women.

More here

Found Female Pit in Salisbury, Md: UPDATE

Owner has been found! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Looking to locate owners. If this is your dog, please provide proof of ownership. Can be contacted at 443-366-5102.

Where America’s Newest Citizens Come From, By State

As America becomes more diverse, that is being reflected in the home countries of those choosing to become American citizens.

Nearly 800,000 people decided to become American citizens in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, 2013 — and more than a third of them came from Asia.

Asians comprised the biggest group of new Americans by region, according to recent data from the Department of Homeland Security, edging out those from North America, in which DHS includes those from Central America and the Caribbean.

Mexicans remain the single largest group of foreigners who were naturalized as citizens. But by state they are the biggest group in only 24. Among the remaining 26 states plus the District of Columbia, 10 other nationalities claim the top spot, as this map shows.

In nine states, Indians made up the biggest group of naturalized citizens. Those from the Dominican Republic, who nationwide topped those from China for the first time in at least a decade, are the biggest group in five states, the DHS data show.

One of those states is New Jersey. For two years running, Dominicans have made up the biggest group of naturalizations each year, narrowly exceeding the number of Indians.

More here

How Obama's Trade Deal Might Stir Up Your Dinner

When President Obama announced the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Thursday — and released them on Medium.com — there was a lot of talk about labor, the environment and manufacturing. But trade deals have a way of changing the way we eat, too.

Consider NAFTA, which boosted the availability of cheap avocados and winter tomatoes for Americans, while expanding Wal-Mart and processed food in Mexico. So now that we know the details of this new Pacific Rim trade deal, what might it mean for dinner — both in the U.S. and the 11 other nations party to the treaty? Herewith, a cheat sheet on the 2,000-plus-page deal:
Food Safety

Supporters of the TPP highlight the fact that the chapter on food safety and inspections will bring other countries up to U.S. standards, and set rapid deadlines for resolving disputes over rejected shipments. Critics say the agreement gives countries new power to challenge food safety laws, which could be framed as "barriers to trade."

"It's hard right now for inspectors to make sure everything is safe," said Karen Hansen-Kuhn, director of trade, technology and global governance for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Currently, about 2 percent of food imported to the U.S. is inspected. With more imports coming in, pressure to resolve disputes quickly, and no mandate for more regulatory staff, says Hansen-Kuhn, it's unlikely that inspections will improve.

More

Planned Parenthood and Clinton Foundation Take a Fundraising Hit in Arizona

State employees can no longer direct a portion of their paychecks to Planned Parenthood or the Clinton Foundation, after a state panel decided to remove the groups from the state's charitable giving program.

Gov. Doug Ducey, who chairs the State Employee Charitable Campaign, said the decision was motivated by recent controversies surrounding the two non-profits.

"The governor supports this decision by the committee," Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato wrote in an e-mail to The Arizona Republic. "The state has to be responsible and thoughtful about programs that are approved as part of a taxpayer-run entity, and these two organizations have been embroiled in controversy."

Hoax circulating on Facebook puts identity in jeopardy

The so-called "Secret Sister Gift Exchange" circulating on Facebook may seem harmless, but it's illegal.

Facebook users have reposted a message that claims people can buy a gift for $10 or more, add their name to a list and a bounty of 36 gifts will come their way.

"A lot of friends are doing it, or at least posting about it," said Lauren Kidwell, a Facebook user. "(It) doesn't sound like a good idea."

Kelli Burns, a mass communications instructor at the University of South Florida, knows all about the Secret Sister Gift Exchange.

"This is a typical pyramid scheme. We're just seeing this on Facebook this time, instead of the old way of using letters, and Facebook allows it to spread a lot faster," Burns said.

More

BREAKING NEWS: Congress passes $607 billion defense bill that also bans moving Guantanamo detainees to US

Senate overwhelmingly approves $607 billion defense bill that also bans moving Guantanamo detainees to the US mainland. Though President Obama is opposed to the bill's Guantanamo provision, he has not threatened a veto.

Welcome to Jobs Inc., Where States Have Little Say in Economic Development

Several states have decided the way to juice up economic development is to turn it over to a corporation outside the government bureaucracy. Is it working?

Parma, Ohio, could use some help. The Cleveland suburb is still recovering from a plague of foreclosures, and deep cuts in state aid have made it difficult to keep the local budget in order. General Motors remains the city’s largest employer, but it long ago shuttered a 750,000-square-foot powertrain and transmission plant in the heart of the city’s industrial section. Under the circumstances, Parma officials were more than delighted when they heard a trucking company called Pitt Ohio was interested in expanding its operations, hiring hundreds of people and taking over a good-sized chunk of disused GM property.

Working with JobsOhio, the state’s economic development corporation, city officials put together a package of incentives that convinced the firm to consolidate truck terminal operations at the Parma site. Construction is just getting underway on a 23-acre complex where Pitt Ohio will eventually employ 240 workers. Parma Mayor Tim DeGeeter hails the facility as the city’s largest job creation project in a decade. “JobsOhio was a very helpful intermediary with the Ohio Department of Transportation, so we could get a [$180,000] grant,” says Shelley Collins, an economic development officer for the city.

It’s the sort of thing that makes for a great press release. Out on the presidential campaign trail, Gov. John Kasich loves nothing more than touting the number of jobs created in Ohio since he took office in 2011. Overhauling the state’s economic development effort is central to his claim. One of his earliest acts in office was abolishing the state Department of Development and handing its functions over to JobsOhio, a private nonprofit.

More

It's Never Too Soon To Plan Your 'Driving Retirement'

Harriet Kelly has one word to describe the day she stopped driving four years ago: miserable.

"It's no fun when you give up driving," she says. "I just have to say that."

Kelly, who lives in Denver, says she was in her 80s when she noticed her eyesight declining. She got anxious driving on the highway, so decided to stop before her kids made the move for her.

"I just told them I'd stop driving on my birthday — my 90th birthday — and I did. And I was mad at myself because I did it," she says, laughing. "I thought I was still pretty good!"

Kelly is now 94. She says her last traffic accident was in the 1960s. But, she says, "I think it's just better to make up your own mind than have your kids go through trying to tell you, and end up with arguments and threats and everybody gets mad."

Her daughter Leslie Kelly says she's grateful she and her siblings didn't have to have that tough conversation. Still, she knows it's been tough for her mom.

More

Alaska kills infamous ‘bridge to nowhere’ that helped put end to earmarks

$400 million project became the symbol of Washington pork

Alaska officials have put the final kibosh on the infamous “bridge to nowhere” — a $400 million project tucked into the federal transportation plan 10 years ago that became the symbol ofWashington pork, spawned massive voter outrage and forever changed the way the government does business.

State officials concluded late last month that the project was too expensive and too extravagant for now, bringing to an end a 40-year push by locals in Alaska’s far southwestern corner to construct a permanent link between the city of Ketchikan and the airport that serves it.

“The thing that just ended it was the economy,” Ketchikan Mayor Lew Williams said after the state officially decided against the bridge, concluding that it made more sense to improve the ferry system that carries passengers from the mainland to an airport across a 1,000-foot strait of water.

The bridge was an “earmark,” or one of those projects lawmakers slipped into bills to direct money to politically important causes back home. But in the hands of opponents, the bridge became The Earmark — the worst of Washington waste.

“That was a big one. It just really hit the public consciousness. People could understand it — the bridge to nowhere,” said Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican and prominent anti-earmark crusader who served in the House during the bridge fight.


Known locally as the Gravina Island access project, it was meant to be a permanent connection betweenKetchikan, with a population of 8,000, and Gravina Island, with a population of 50, but also home to the region’s international airport.

Alaska’s powerful congressional delegation, including the top House Republican on the Transportation Committee and the top Senate Republican on the Appropriations Committee, managed to secure more than $300 million in federal money through earmarks, which were the equivalents of line-item orders telling federal bureaucrats where to send the money.

For earmark opponents, who had been fighting a losing battle for years, the bridge was a gift — a project that amounted to nearly $8 million for every resident of Gravina Island. Keith Ashdown, then an investigator at Taxpayers for Common Sense, dubbed it the “Bridge to Nowhere,” and a crusade was started.

82-15 vote

More

BREAKING NEWS: Justice Dept. asks Supreme Court to weigh in on Obama immigration actions

The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to review a US Appeals Court ruling that blocks President Obama's executive actions on immigration.

Local leaders urge governor to release GCEI funds

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —Local leaders throughout Maryland are urging the governor release funding for education.

County executives and Baltimore's mayor joined forces Monday to get Gov. Larry Hogan to fully fund the Geographic Cost of Education Index. The elected officials from five jurisdictions said withholding the money has forced them to reduce much-needed opportunities for students.

"I am here today out of the frustration that I and many in Baltimore feel that the state continues to deny important education resources, important funds," Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.

The officials claim the loss of GCEI funds has forced them to cut programs.

More

SPD Press Release 11-10-15 (Shoplifting)

ObamaCare Cancer Patients Losing Hospital Coverage

Hundreds of cancer patients who belong to a failed ObamaCare health insurance co-op could soon have no coverage for their continued hospital treatment, the New York Post reports.

Health Republic Insurance of New York, which has lost $130 million dollars in 18 months, was the only ObamaCare exchange insurer contracted with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.

250 Health Republic members receiving care at Sloan Kettering need to find a new insurer by November 15 that the hospital takes or prepare to shoulder the cost themselves. New York is forcing their carrier to close shop at the end of this month for losing so much money.

Under state law the Sloan Kettering patients are guaranteed 60 more days of coverage after their plan expires but that is it.

Nationwide, other folks unlucky enough to sign up for the much ballyhooed co-ops could face similar problems. For starters, as noted ObamaCare critic Betsy McCaughey told the Confidential, many hospitals “all over the country” don’t take exchange plans because they pay such low rates.

And even if a co-op member manages to find a hospital that takes his plan he could still be out of luck quickly anyway. As the Daily Caller News Foundation reporter Richard Pollack detailed last month, “Seven of the 23 co-ops created by the Affordable Care Act in 2011 at a cost of $2.4 billion — including many launched by passionate but inexperienced health reform activists — have since closed their doors.”

More

Dalton Trumbo Had It Coming

"Dalton Trumbo was a socialist, but he loved being rich."

So says Bryan Cranston, who stars in "Trumbo," out this week, and plays the screenwriter who went to prison with the Hollywood Ten in the time of Harry Truman.

Actually, Trumbo was not a socialist. Bernie Sanders is a socialist. Trumbo was a Stalinist, a hard-core Communist when the Communist Party USA was run from Moscow by the Comintern, agents of the greatest mass murderer of the 20th century.

Trumbo was not what Lenin called a "useful idiot," a liberal simpleton. He was the real deal, a Bolshevik who followed every twist and turn in the Moscow party line.

When Hitler signed his infamous pact with Stalin, and Germany and Russia crucified Poland and Hitler overran France, Trumbo justified the Nazi brutality, "To the vanquished all conquerors are inhuman."

As Churchill led his country in defying Hitler, Trumbo, in his 1941 novel, "The Remarkable Andrew," trashed Britain as no democracy, as it had a king, and charged FDR with "black treason" for seeking to aid the Brits in their desperate fight to stave off defeat by the Nazis.

A talented screenwriter who wrote "Roman Holiday," "Spartacus" and "Exodus," Trumbo was attracted to revolutionary violence.

Invited to do a screenplay of William Styron's "Confessions of Nat Turner," about the Virginia slave who led a rampage of rape and murder in 1831, Trumbo wrote back:

"[I]n carrying through his rebellion Turner did nothing more than accept a principle of white Christian violence which had enslaved all of Africa, and used it for the first time in American history as a weapon against white Christians."

Biographer Larry Ceplair quotes Trumbo as describing America as "fundamentally" racist, with racism "the keystone of national policy both domestic and foreign...

More

Are Guns Safer Than Prescription Drugs?

The DEA released new drug overdose data yesterday. According to the DEA press release:

DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg today announced results from the 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), which found that drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of injury death in the United States, ahead of deaths from motor vehicle accidents and firearms. In 2013, more than 46,000 people in the United States died from a drug overdose and more than half of those were caused by prescription painkillers and heroin.

These are 2013 numbers, so let's compare to other causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

A drug overdose, with a death rate of 13.9 per 100,000, is almost four times as common as a cause of death than gun homicides (3.6 per 100,000). Death from prescription drugs (7.2 per 100,000) is twice as common as gun homicides.

More

Politico Admits Fabricating A Hit Piece On Ben Carson

Politico's editorial staff on Friday conceded that entire basis of attack on Carson was invented out of whole cloth.

Politico‘s Kyle Cheney admitted that he fabricated a negative story about Ben Carson. At least, according to his own standards, he admitted the grievous journalistic sin.

In a story published early on Friday, Politico’s Kyle Cheney authored a piece headlined “Ben Carson admits fabricating West Point scholarship” with a subhed “Carson’s campaign on Friday conceded that a central point in his inspirational personal story did not occur as he previously described.”

There were at least five major problems with the story:

The headline was completely false
The sub-header was also completely false
The opening paragraph was false false false
The substance of the piece was missing key exonerating information
The article demonstrated confusion about service academy admissions and benefits

But other than that, A+++ work, Kyle Cheney and Politico.
Later, Politico stealthily edited the inflammatory headline and lede, after the damage was done. They made changes without adding a note about what was corrected. They didn’t update the piece or add an editor’s note.

More

Tea Party Kentucky-Elect Matt Bevin Tells Obama EPA to 'Pound Sand'

It was supposed to be a “neck-and-neck” race between Tea Party-backed candidate and political newcomer Matt Bevin and Democrat Jack Conway in the Kentucky gubernatorial race on November 3.

But Bevin crushed Conway by a whopping 9%, 52.5% to 43.8%. It was a bloodbath, with Bevin winning all but just a few counties.

If that wasn’t enough to twerk leftist Democrats and their establishment Republican brethren, the state elected another Tea Party champion, Jenean Hampton, the first black woman ever elected to statewide office in Kentucky.

But it’s not just Democrats and RINO Republicans who are threatened by these new anti-establishment, pro-liberty, pro-Constitution Kentucky leaders.

The unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats from Washington, D.C., who unconstitutionally pass rules, laws and regulations without any vote from Congress, were given a powerful two-word message from Governor-elect Matt Bevin.

The Tea Party favorite Bevin, fresh off his huge victory, appeared on The Glenn Beck Radio Program on Friday and said that in regards to the Obama EPA’s tyrannical and un-American efforts to shut down a great American industry — the coal industry — he will tell the controlist agency to “pound sand.”

More

Appeals Court Rules Against Obama Immigration Plan

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Barack Obama’s plan to protect from deportation an estimated 5 million people living in the United States illegally suffered another setback Monday in a ruling from a New Orleans-based federal appeals court.

In a 2-1 ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas-based federal judge’s injunction blocking the administration’s immigration initiative.

Republicans had criticized the plan as an illegal executive overreach when Obama announced it last November. Twenty-six states challenged the plan in court.

More

Dr. Ben Carson’s John Paul Jones Moment: ‘There’s No Give Up Here’

GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson is taking a page from American naval history.

“Your message to your followers and even the people who on the Republican establishment side who oppose you is that, like John Paul Jones, you have not yet begun to fight ?” Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon, a former naval officer, asked Carson on Sirius XM Radio’s Breitbart News Saturday.

“Absolutely. There’s no give up here,” Carson told Bannon.

“I’m going to be asking people to use their logic and common sense. Would someone like myself be able to do the things that I have been done if I just had a milquetoast life?” Carson asked rhetorically. “I don’t think so,” he responded.

Bannon asked Carson if “CNN going after you when you were 14 years old and then Politico spending all this time about your involvement in Junior ROTC when you were 17 is just randomly occurring?”

“I’m not sure they’re all coordinated, except I believe they all have the same agenda, I believe they’re all extraordinarily concerned, particularly having seen the recent poll numbers that show me beating Hillary [Clinton] fairly substantially,” Carson said.

“I think many of them have their ideology that drives everything they do,” he pointed out.

Carson made it clear that he’s going on the offensive to counter the recent onslaught of media attacks.

More

Knives Killed Five Times As Many People As Rifles Last Year

According to crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), knives are consistently used to kill people far more often than rifles are used. And the numbers aren’t even close: five times as many murders were committed with knives than were committed with rifles last year.

The FBI statistics show that knives have been used as a murder weapon far more often than rifles — even those evil “assault weapons” we hear so much about — for quite a while. In 2013, knives or other cutting instruments were used to kill 1,490 victims. In contrast, rifles were the cause of death of 285 murder victims. Shotguns were used in 308 murders. In 2009, the ratio was very similar: knives were used in five times as many murders as rifles.

Maryland Sports & MAASA Receive Sports Destination Management Magazine’s Champion of Economic Impact Award

Salisbury, MD – The leading publication for sports event planners and tourism directors,Sports Destination Management, named Maryland Sports and the Mid-Atlantic Amateur Sports Alliance (MAASA) 2015 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism. The title was in recognition of the collaboration undertaken to host the United States Specialty Sports Association’s (USSSA) Eastern World Series, which took place July 15-August 1, 2015.

The World Series brought almost 400 girls softball teams to the Eastern Shore over the course of three weeks. It is estimated that the event drew over 4,000 attendees, requiring over 16,000 hotel room nights and generating an economic impact just under $20 million on the region. The World Series first came to the shore in 2007, and was originally held in Wicomico County where 58 teams were hosted. The tournament’s tremendous growth has expanded its presence beyond Wicomico County’s borders.

Working in partnership with Maryland Sports, this year’s event was hosted by the Town of Ocean City, Worcester County and Wicomico County under the auspice of MAASA. Upon learning of the award, Maryland Sports Executive Director Terry Hasseltine shared, "Maryland Sports is extremely fortunate to work with great strategic partners like MAASA to deliver world-class sporting events that spur Maryland's economy. Congratulations to our partners that make up MAASA: Wicomico County, Worcester County and Ocean City for their continued effort to make Maryland great."

This is the second award in just as many weeks bestowed upon MAASA. The Alliance took home a 2015 Tourism Partnership Award during Maryland’s 35th Annual Tourism & Travel Summit on Oct. 29. MAASA was formed by the Town of Ocean City, Wicomico and Worcester Counties in 2014. The formal sports-marketing partnership is the first of its kind in the nation. It leverages the combined assets of each jurisdiction in order to attract, retain and build sports marketing events. Since its inception, the region has successfully hosted two national girls' softball tournaments and the ISSA Eastern Shore senior softball championship. These three MAASA events combined for a total of more than 25,000 hotel room nights booked and $40 million in estimated economic impact.

To view the complete article announcing the 2015 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism, please visit http://bit.ly/1iNMNaA. For more information on MAASA, visitwww.PlayMAASA.org.

New Journal Looks At ‘American and Christian Duty’ IN Foreign Affairs

Aside from feeling despair and war-weariness, what are other ways Christians can respond to a world riddled with barbarism, genocide, terrorism and tyrannies?

A new quarterly journal, Providence, seeks to offer “vibrant and robust thinking” about Christian options, Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), told a briefing Friday at the Newseum.

The new publication will showcase conservative perspectives, especially from evangelical and Protestant Christian thinkers, on global statecraft, liberty, justice, human rights, the military, and Christian responsibilities to their neighbors and others in the world.

We want to “mine our shared traditions as Christians” about “how to live in this fallen world,” said Robert Nicholson, executive director of the Philos Project, a nonprofit that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement in the Middle East.

Mr. Tooley said Americans and young adults are now flooded with messages of anti-Americanism, isolationism, pessimism, and the idea that “a true follower of Jesus” would not be interested in force or even be interested in issues of global statecraft.

But some of these same messages were also common in the 1930s during Nazi Germany’s blitzkrieg through Europe, with Britain standing alone against the Third Reich.

More here

Appeals court rejects Obama plan to shield 5 million illegals from deportation

President Obama’s effort to grant up to 5 million illegal immigrants work permits and amnesty from deportation suffered a major blow late Monday when a federal appeals court ruled it was likely illegal, in yet another move by the courts to set limits on this White House’s efforts to stretch presidential powers.

The 2-1 decision by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting in New Orleans, instantly forces the issue to the fore of the presidential campaigns, where all three top Democratic candidates had insisted Mr. Obama’s actions were not only legal, but vowed to go beyond them and try to expand the amnesty to still more illegal immigrants. Republican candidates, meanwhile, had vowed to undo the moves.

The decision is a huge win for Texas and 25 other states who had sued a year ago to stop the president after he declared he was done waiting forCongress and announced he was acting to “change the law” on his own.

More

Where Virginia, Maryland stand in rankings of state corruption

WASHINGTON — Maryland and Virginia score Ds, but are showing improvement in a state-by-state ranking of corruption and integrity problems.

The study by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity graded states in 13 categories, ranging from political financing, to executive accountability, to procurement, to state civil service management.

According to the study, reported by USA Today, the least-corrupt state is Alaska, which only scored a C.

Although 11 states got Fs, the worst score goes to Michigan. According to the Center, Michigan’s state government is built on “an honor system with no honor.”

More

Salisbury MSP: Civilian Response to Active Shooter Training

The 7 Most Outrageous Screw Ups In The Planned Parenthood Scandal

Since the Center for Medical Progress released the first undercover video exposing Planned Parenthood’s dealing in aborted fetuses in July, a series of missteps have plagued CMP’s rollout, media coverage of the videos, and Planned Parenthood’s response to the scandal.

The story has been distorted from the start, from CMP’s insistence Planned Parenthood “profited” from the practice, to the media’s uncritical acceptance of Planned Parenthood’s claim the videos are “highly edited,” and it’s only gotten worse.

Here’s a look at some of the most significant mistakes determined by The Daily Caller News Foundation in the course of its coverage and investigation of the story.

It’s not about profit

CMP alleged from the start Planned Parenthood was illegally profiting from the sale of aborted fetuses. If the allegations are proven true, Planned Parenthood could be stuck with massive fines, and some of its staff could go to prison.

But while some of the videos seem to support the felony allegations, they don’t prove Planned Parenthood is profiting from the sale of aborted fetuses. And the law the allegations hinge upon is so squishy, one medical ethicist concluded: “It appears to be legal, no matter how much you charge.” (RELATED: Planned Parenthood Allegations Turn On Squishy McConnell-Backed Law)

CMP’s focus on legal allegations that are nearly impossible to prove is an overreach that opened the door to attacks on its credibility, and allowed the conversation to turn from the content of the videos to the legal definition of profit. What’s most shocking about the video is not whether Planned Parenthood violated an ill-defined law.

Experts on both sides of the aisle were quick to highlight the disturbing nature of a Planned Parenthood doctor munching on a salad in a restaurant while describing the best way to crush a fetus in the womb, pausing to sip some wine, and then continuing in detail about how its most valuable parts can be harvested.

Remarking on his colleague’s reluctance to report on the video content, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argued the disgust the videos invoke is informed by the fact that it’s precisely a fetus’s humanity that makes its parts valuable. They look away, he wrote: “Because dwelling on that content gets you uncomfortably close to Selzer’s tipping point — that moment when you start pondering the possibility that an institution at the heart of respectable liberal society is dedicated to a practice that deserves to be called barbarism.”

More

100+ Awesome Discounts for Veterans and Military Members

Servicemen and women, we salute you — and so do plenty of companies who are happy to show their gratitude in the form of discounts and other offers.

In addition to Veterans Day-specific discounts (stay tuned for our post on this year’s batch), lots of companies offer year-round special savings to active-duty, reserve and retired members of the military.

For many of these discounts, you just have to ask. Most establishments will ask to see valid military ID as proof of service, however, so keep yours handy if it isn’t already.

Restaurants With Miltary Discounts

Whether you’re looking for a meal, snack or treat, these eateries will give you a break on your bill.

More

Little Caesars Pays It Forward On The 11th

Joe,

I've just confirmed with Little Caesar's that they'll be graciously giving vets and active duty and reservists a free $5.00 meal box from 11:00-2:00 on the 11th. Proper military I.D. must be shown. I advised them to expect a big crowd.

2015 Veterans Day Free Meals, Discounts, Sales and Deals



2015 Veterans Day discounts, free meals, deals and sales. As Veterans Day approaches we will continually update this list as restaurant’s and companies announce their Veteran’s Day specials. Typically most announce a week to days before.
For information on National Retail and Services Offered or Local Veterans Day Offers (categorized by state), visit our other two Veterans Day offers pages!
More

The Good Old Days


Caption This Photo 11-10-15


Are we really free?


Growing Up


What Kind Of Parent Are You?


"CHANGE"