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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Who Is Wayne Knapp Lying To, Delmar or Pittsville?


Delmar Town election results: 

Totals: 41 total votes For Mayor Karen Wells 40 
For Commissioner: Lloyd Unsel 37 

Write ins for the second seat (no one filed to run) 
Wayne Knapp 22 
Chris Morgan 14 
Chris Morton 1

Wayne Knapp | 34556 Old Ocean City Rd Pittsville MD ...

www.ypmaryland.com/marylander/.../pittsville/.../wayne-knapp/2352543...

Wayne Knapp is a marylander resident from Wicomico County with address at 34556 Old Ocean City Rd, Pittsville, MD 21850-2006.

Pittsville, Wicomico County, Maryland

msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/37mun/pittsville/.../p.html

Maryland
Ted Farlow, 2015. Lucille Jones, 2015. Wayne A. Knapp, 2017. George Whited, Jr., 2017. Town Hall, 7505 Gumboro Road, Pittsville, Maryland, August 2012.
You visited this page on 11/15/15.

Wayne Knapp | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/wayne-knapp/91/b25/9a3
Pittsville, Maryland - ‎CEO
View Wayne Knapp's professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the world's ... Knapp. CEO. Location: Pittsville, Maryland; Industry: Management Consulting ...

Wayne Knapp | 34556 Old Ocean City Rd Apt 12 Pittsville ...

www.wpmaryland.com/marylander/.../pittsville/.../wayne-knapp/137599...

Wayne Knapp is a marylander resident from Wicomico County with address at 34556 Old Ocean City Rd Apt 12, Pittsville, MD 21850-2006.

Fire Company - Delmar Fire Department

www.delmar74fire.com/membership/firecompany

Records 1 - 61 of 114 - Delmar, DE 19940. Phone: 302-846- ... a donation to theDelmar Volunteer Fire Department today. ... Krista Kelly-Hearn. Wayne Knapp.

Here's the deal. Wayne Knapp has been serving on the Pittsville Town Council for about three years now. He claims, (obviously) he is a resident of Pittsville. Wayne has been seen recently at Delmar Council Meetings asking people to vote for him for the Delmar Council. 

Now, one way or the other he has not been forthcoming with the truth. One person told me he said if he got the seat in Delmar he would just resign from Pittsville. 

I will say that in all of my research on this matter I could not find anything showing his residence being in Delmar, Maryland. However, right now he is set up to serve both in Delmar and Pittsville, once sworn in, should he be sworn in. 

UPDATE: Facebook: Claims he lives in Pittsville.

Hey ISIS!


Aaron Allmon verdict deals blow to military’s high-profile attack on sex-related offenses

MINOT Air Force Base, North Dakota — As Air Force missions go, the prosecution of Tech. Sgt. Aaron D. Allmon II on explosive sexual-harassment charges ran into turbulence and wound up in a nosedive.

Despite facing up to 130 years in prison in the early stages of the case,Sgt. Allmon was sentenced Saturday to just 30 days behind bars after a judge found him not guilty of the most devastating charges against him, including assault consummated by a battery and threats against co-workers.

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Obama admin 'lied' about vetting Syrian refugees


The former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence says President Obama has no coherent strategy to defeat ISIS, and he alleges one of Obama’s top advisers “lied to the American people” to perpetuate a misguided program allowing tens of thousands of refugees into the U.S.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes appeared on multiples Sunday morning news shows. When asked whether the news that one and possibly two of the Paris terrorists came to Europe as refugees would alter the Obama administration’s plan to accept tens of thousands of refugees, Rhodes said there would be no re-evaluation.

“No, Chuck,” Rhodes told “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd. “We have very extensive screening procedures for all Syrian refugees who would come to the United States. There’s a very careful vetting process that includes our intelligence community, our National Counterterrorism Center, the Department of Homeland Security. So we can make sure we’re carefully screening anybody who comes to the United States.”
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Alabama governor, citing Paris attacks, says state will not accept Syrian refugees

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, citing the Paris terror attacks, said he will not accept Syrian refugees in his state.

In a statement released Sunday night by his office, Mr. Bentley said he “will not place Alabamians at even the slightest, possible risk of an attack on our people.”

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Large turkeys in short supply this Thanksgiving

BALTIMORE —You may have to get creative with Thanksgiving dinner plans. Aftershocks of the avian flu outbreak are impacting turkey prices and availability.

If you're planning to purchase a frozen turkey for a Thanksgiving feast this is the week to buy, but you may have trouble finding a big enough bird.

Farms lost 7 million turkeys during the spring outbreak of avian flu, according to the National Turkey Federation. There are still plenty of turkeys to fill the Thanksgiving demand, according to Sandy Vary, the owner of the Bel-Garden Bi-Rite Supermarket.

"We're finding that most of our turkeys are coming in on the smaller side. We're having difficulty getting larger turkeys. Any turkey over 18 or 20 pounds is in short supply," Vary said.

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Carly Fiorina backers flee to Ben Carson as voters seek top insurgent alternative to Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, who surged in polls this fall, has seen her support wilt as backers across the board have shifted from her to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

It’s part of the candidate merry-go-round, as voters seek the best insurgent champion in the GOP field, much as they did in 2012 when they tested all the alternatives to eventual nominee Mitt Romney.

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Historic School House Finds New Home At Furnace Town

SNOW HILL – Thanks to the efforts of the Worcester County Historical Society, a local landmark has a new home at the Furnace Town Living Heritage Village.

The Mt. Zion School House, long located in downtown Snow Hill, was moved last week to nearby Furnace Town. The one-room school house joins the historic site’s array of centuries-old structures that are used to offer visitors glimpses into the past.

“It broadens the offerings of Furnace Town,” said Bob Fisher, a member of the historical society.

Members of the historical society have spent the past two years raising the roughly $95,000 it took to move the 19th century school to Furnace Town. Though it had been in Snow Hill for decades, it was built in Whiton in 1970. It was moved to the county seat in the mid-20th century, where it has entertained visitors ever since.

“This we figured was important enough to move into our last available spot here,” said Kathy Fisher, former director of Furnace Town.

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Obama still plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees despite Paris terrorist attacks

The White House says it won’t let its plans to bring Syrian refugees to the U.S. be derailed by Friday’s terrorist attack in Paris, with a top official insisting Sunday that American authorities know how to weed out potential problems within the refugee community.

French President Francois Hollande has called the attacks, which killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 350 others, an act of war, and began retaliatory strikes on Islamic State strongholds in Raqqa,Syria.

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HUMANS & HUMANITY


: [HUMANS & HUMANITY]The young guy sitting down was struggling with his tie. The woman in the red coat noticed, and...
Posted by Redd Desmond Thomas on Saturday, November 14, 2015

Armed Suspect Injured Fleeing Police Foot Pursuit In Wicomico Co.

(SALISBURY, MD) – While state and local police were working a criminal enforcement initiative this afternoon in a Wicomico County neighborhood where a shooting occurred last week, a suspect who was ultimately found to be armed sustained minor injuries after he fled from police attempting to talk with him and ran into the path of a responding police car.

The accused is identified as Kevin O. Garcia, 20, of Salisbury, Md. After consultation with the Maryland Gun Center and the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office, Garcia is being charged tonight with firearm possession with a felony conviction, illegal possession of a regulated firearm by a prohibited person, possession of a firearm by a minor, wearing/carrying a firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition by a prohibited person. Garcia has been released to the custody of the Wicomico County Detention Center central booking unit for processing and his initial appearance before a court commissioner.

At about 1:30 p.m. today, members of the Maryland State Police Gang Unit and Firearms Enforcement Unit, along with investigators from the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force, were working a criminal enforcement initiative on the west side of Salisbury. This initiative was in response to a shooting that occurred in the area on November 12, 2015.

Police saw a man cutting though several back yards near Germania Circle and West Main Street. As he neared the street, he saw investigators and immediately fled on foot while holding his waistband, causing investigators to believe he may be armed with a handgun. A foot pursuit of the man, later identified as Garcia, ensued.

During the pursuit, Garcia ran into the street, directly into the path of a responding covert police vehicle driven by a member of the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force. The police vehicle was turning from West Main Street onto First Street when Garcia ran into the vehicle’s path.

Police found a loaded .22 caliber handgun in Garcia’s waistband. He sustained minor injuries in the collision and was taken to Peninsula Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released. He remained in police custody during his treatment at the hospital and was transported to the county’s central booking center upon his release. No shots were fired and no one else was injured in the incident.

CAMPAIGN 2016: Bobby Jindal suspends 2016 Republican presidential campaign

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal suspends his 2016 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Let’s end the Maryland camera fraud

Thousands of erroneous camera tickets have been issued to innocent Marylanders.
It’s so bad that even a driver stopped at a red light in Baltimore City was fined with a speeding ticket from a photo enforcement device.

And now reports are coming out that a full-scale, national FBI investigation has been launched into allegations of widespread bribery of politicians by camera companies.

Already, Karen Finley, ex-CEO of the RedFlex photo enforcement company, has pleaded guilty to bribery of politicians in exchange for camera contracts.

Yet in spite of all this, Baltimore County Council members just recently voted to double their speed camera budget.

Baltimore City – after shutting down their failure of a program for two years – is now poised to jumpstart their speed cameras once again citywide.

Enough is enough.

The time is now to end this unconstitutional scheme in our state once and for all.

I’m asking you today to join with me in signing MarylandCampaign for Liberty’s citizen action petition against camera fraud in Maryland.

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Police: Man caught masturbating in Aberdeen Walmart

ABERDEEN, Md. —Police said they seized guns and child pornography after a man was caught masturbating in a Walmart store.

Officers from the Aberdeen Police Department were called at 7:55 p.m. Saturday to Walmart at 645 S. Philadelphia Blvd. on a report of a man exposing himself in the toy aisle.

Police said an officer determined that Alfred Delotenville, 53, had been masturbating in the presence of children. Delottersville was arrested.

When the officer found Delotenville's vehicle in the Walmart parking lot, he saw a .40-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun and drug paraphernalia, police said. The weapon was secured and detectives were called to the scene, police said.

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Clinton and the other Democratic presidential candidates in debate decline to use term 'radical Islam'

Hillary Clinton and the other Democratic presidential candidates are being criticized for declining to use the words “radical Islam” during Saturday night’s debate, following the deadly terror attacks in Paris.

Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley declined to use the words after being asked during the CBS debate whether they would agree with GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio saying, “We are at war with radical Islam.”

The front-running Clinton said using the term “radical Islam” would be “painting with too broad a brush.”

She also said the term was “not particularly helpful.”

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Officer accused of killing dog opts for bench trial

BALTIMORE —After several delays, the trial for a Baltimore police officer accused of killing a dog started Monday.

Baltimore City police Agent Jeffery Bolger decided to go with a bench trial rather than a jury trial.

Prosecutors said Bolger slit a dog's throat in a fit of rage when arriving at the scene in June 2014. Bolger's attorneys insist he was only trying to put the dog out of its misery. The state is calling it murder.

"It's super frustrating to keep hearing disturbing accounts of what happened, so it's emotional," said Sarah Gossard, the owner of the dog, Nala, a shar-pei.

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Trouble From Sinus Infections?

Sinusitis vertigo and dizziness are complications of a sinus infection. Sinusitisis inflammation of the sinuses, which can becaused by bacteria, a virus, or fungus. The sinuses are four hollow cavities in the human skull and are important parts of the immune system as they provide defense against infection. The sinuses are lined with mucous, which expels pollutants and bacteria from the body.

It is common for the infection that causes colds to also affect the sinuses and can contribute to dizziness. The dizziness is a result of fluid build-up in the ears that puts pressure on the eardrum and inner ear. This affects the vestibular labyrinth, which is intended to gauge balance, thus causing dizziness or vertigo. If dizziness is severe it can lead to nausea as well.

If a sinus infection leads to dizziness, it is due to a more serious bacterial infection, which requires treatment from a doctor. Dizziness is not a normal symptom of sinusitis and can lead to injury.

Sinus infection symptoms

There are four types of sinus infection: acute sinusitis, subacute sinusitis, chronic sinusitis and recurrent sinusitis. These different types all range in severity and have varying duration times.

To determine whether or not you have a sinus infection, signs and symptoms to look out for are:

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NFL: Officials Blew Call, Ravens Should Have Won

 

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens have been losing close games all season. Their latest defeat was the cruelest of them all — in part because it involved an officiating error.

The NFL acknowledged Monday that Jacksonville should have been penalized on the play that preceded its game-winning field goal Sunday. Although the Jaguars were not set before hurriedly snapping the ball with one second on the lock, the officials allowed the play to be run.

Baltimore linebacker Elvis Dumervil subsequently grabbed quarterback Blake Bortles’ facemask while making a tackle, giving Jacksonville one more play with the clock at 0:00.

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Newark Man Arrested for Sexual Offenses against a Teen

Hockessin, DE – The Delaware State Police Criminal Investigations Unit at Troop 2 have concluded a two month investigation into the continual rape of a then 13 year old student by a choir director at an area middle school.

Preliminary investigation into the sexual allegations began in early September of 2015 after Delaware Crime Stoppers received information about the rape of a female student which had occurred at the H.B. DuPont Middle School, located at 753 Meeting House Road, Hockessin, in 2010. The Delaware State Police were then contacted and an investigation into the allegation began.

With the assistance and cooperation of the Red Clay School District Safety Administration, and through numerous interviews and other investigative means, it was learned that the female victim, who was thirteen years old at the time, had been involved in a sexual relationship with the former choir director of the school, Gary F. Smith, 43, of Newark. The relationship began in April of 2010 and lasted until August of 2012 and during that time period; offenses were committed numerous times on the grounds of the school.

Wall Street fears that Americans are dead broke

The American consumer appears to be tapped out.

Despite cheaper gas and interest-free car loans that stretch six years, auto sales in October posted a surprise decline, the Commerce Department said Friday — while retailers continued to post disappointing sales for the three months ended Oct. 31.
Wall Street, fearful that consumers are running out of cash heading into the crucial Christmas retail season, are selling off retail stocks and everything else sensitive to consumer spending.

The Dow Jones industrial average has fallen over 600 points, or 3.4 percent, over the last eight trading sessions. The S&P 500 is down 3.7 percent over the same span.

Overall, retail sales edged up 0.1 percent last month after being unchanged in September, Commerce reported. Economists had forecast sales increasing 0.3 percent.

Car sales fell 0.5 percent in October after rising 1.4 percent in September, according to Commerce.

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Announcement from Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen:


Several field trips to metro areas have been cancelled or postponed this week due to Wicomico Schools learning of threats to several major cities in our area in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. We’re sorry for the scheduling problems that this last-minute change creates, but feel we must act out of an abundance of caution when we get information that our students might be exposed to increased danger. The safety of students, staff, and chaperones outweighs any inconvenience from postponing or cancelling a field trip.

As a safety precaution, we have cancelled trips for Tuesday and Wednesday to get better information regarding student safety (much as we did last spring with the Freddie Gray aftermath in Baltimore). We will be seeking rescheduling, refunds, and other learning activities that are aligned with the curriculum and of similar stature. The trips affected so far are for Fruitland Intermediate School, Fruitland Primary School, and North Salisbury Elementary. For now we’re holding back on a decision on Thursday and Friday trips – and beyond – to get more information. Thank you for your understanding and your patience with this change in plans.

Underwater Utility Cabling Effort Gets Underway In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY — As part of the major rebuilding of a high-voltage transmission line connecting Berlin and Ocean City, Delmarva Power crews last week began construction of new ducts under the bay that will ultimately house electric wires.

In an effort to enhance service in Worcester County, Delmarva Power has been rebuilding a nine-mile, 69,000-volt transmission line between a substation in Berlin and a substation at 2nd Street in Ocean City. The project features a modernization of infrastructure and will increase electric system capacity in order to improve reliability and plan for potential load growth in the north end of Worcester in the future.

The majority of the transmission line is overhead between Berlin and West Ocean City and reconstruction of the aerial portion began in October 2014 and was completed last May. The overhead line between Berlin and West Ocean City was built over 50 years ago.

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BREAKING NEWS: 'Concrete' bomb threat uncovered at German stadium

A "concrete" bomb threat forced police to evacuate a German soccer stadium and cancel a planned friendly match, four days after the Paris massacre.

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Carson super-PAC releases anti-Syrian refugee ad

Barack Obama is not seeking "legacy"

To the many gullible souls out there who truly think that Barack Obama is "legacy building" in his all-out assault on America, I implore you to bow out of the conversation because you are not seeing clearly.

The term legacy carries positive connotations of something bequeath that is to the receiver's benefit. Everything that Barack Obama does is calculated to destroy America, which he despises. This man no more cares about legacy than he fears being properly prosecuted by the white political leaders whose responsibility it is to remove him from office.

I focus on white leaders, because whites are still in the majority and they fill the majority of political offices. If the majority of political operatives were of some other ethnicity, I would lodge my complaint against that group. Ethnicity is an issue only because Obama is half-black and he uses that fact to intimidate guilt-conflicted white people. Otherwise, he would have been impeached and likely in prison for treason by now.

Barack Obama's sole aim has been, since he first entered politics and continues as he winds down this presidency, the complete destruction of America as it was founded.

It is an insult to the intelligence of all Americans who must listen to elitist pundits on Fox news and elsewhere, and political drones in either party endeavor to make Obama's behavior fit a pattern of normalcy. Attributing his destructive policies to "legacy building" is either self-delusion on the part of the people who make that claim or cowardliness.

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Pocomoke City Police Press Release 11-17-15


Study: Dropping Facebook makes people happier

Not only feel better about lives but increased real social interaction

A new study from Denmark finds that people are happier when they stay away from the social media site Facebook, which distorts reality and provides a false perception of what others are accomplishing in their lives.

The study by the Happiness Research Institute formed a control group of Danish Facebook users who continued visiting the site and a study group that “took a break” from it.

“We asked both groups what moods they had experienced that day. People who had taken a break from Facebook felt happier and were less sad and lonely,” the study concluded. “After one week without Facebook the treatment group experienced an increase in their social activity – and an increase in their satisfaction with their social life.”

Want a quick return to reality? Check out the amazing selection of best-selling books and movies in the WND Superstore.

For those who gave up Facebook for a week, 88 percent said they were happy, compared to 81 percent of those who continued using social media. Forty-one percent said they were worried, compared to 54 percent of those who continued to be on Facebook. And 12 percent were angry, compared to 20 percent in the control group.

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JUST IN: British Airways Made Emergency Landing At Logan Airport

Breaking News: British Airways Flight 213 has made an emergency landing at Logan Airport in Boston after a female...

Posted by Fox News on Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Officials: 4 passengers removed from plane in Baltimore

LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) — Four people were removed from a Chicago-bound flight at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Tuesday morning after a passenger reported suspicious behavior as the plane taxied to the runway, officials said.

Spirit Airlines Flight 969 was taxiing to the runway when the flight crew decided to return to the gate, Maryland Transportation Authority Police spokesman 1st Sgt. Jonathan Green said. The captain asked police to remove three men and a woman from the plane, he said. Police are investigating the four people, he said.

“While the aircraft was taxiing to the runway, a passenger alerted a flight attendant of a passenger engaged in suspicious activity on board,” Spirit Airlines spokesman Stephen Schuler said in a statement. All passengers were removed from the plane for a time, but once the Transportation Security Administration cleared the plane and luggage, the flight departed for Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after 9 a.m., he said. It had been scheduled to leave at 6 a.m.

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CHUCK MUTH: Draining the swamp of patent trolls

Creating business for lawyers is not what the Founders intended

One single federal court district in a remote part of the country accounts for nearly half of all patent case filings this year. Indeed, 44 percent of patent lawsuits have been filed in the Eastern District of Texas Court thus far.

East Texas is ranked at the top of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform’s list of cities or counties with the “least fair and reasonable litigation environment” — likely because it’s been known to offer speedier trials, award large damage rewards and has a high win rate for trolls.

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Carson Responds to Trump's Insults: 'Pray for Him'

U.S. presidential candidate Ben Carson recommended praying for rival Donald Trump after the real-estate mogul and television personality, in a 95-minute rant in Iowa, likened him to a child molester, Carson's business manager said on Friday.

"When I spoke with Dr. Carson about this yesterday how we should respond, you know he was so sad about it. He said: "Pray for him." He feels sorry for him because he really likes Mr. Trump," Armstrong Williams, who often acts as Carson's surrogate in the media, told CNN.

"To see him just imploding before our very eyes - it's just sad to watch," Williams said.

Carly Fiorina sounded off on Facebook about Trump's comments early on Friday.

"Donald, sorry, I've got to interrupt again. You would know something about pathological," she wrote. "Anyone can turn a multi-million dollar inheritance into more money, but all the money in the world won't make you as smart as Ben Carson."

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Ed Klein, Dick Morris: Rubio, Cruz Strongest Against Clinton

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are likely the strongest candidates against Hillary Clinton, the Democrats' expected presidential nominee, according to a Newsmax TV panel.

Appearing Thursday on "Newsmax Prime," political analyst Dick Morris said Rubio would be strongest, perhaps followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who currently is sinking in the polls. Front-runner Donald Trump likely would not do well, he said.

Morris says the other front-runner, neurosurgeon Ben Carson will fade, and Trump may, too. The eventual contest, he said, will be Rubio and Cruz.

"Rubio is more charismatic, he's more attractive, he has a warmer television personality, he has a reputation for congeniality, and a Kennedy-esque appearance. On the other hand, Cruz has a distinct substantive advantage."

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News in Numbers

5,500

Approximate number of Montanans who recently signed up for Medicaid in the first week the state expanded eligibility to the working poor.
AP/INDEPENDENT RECORD | NOVEMBER 16, 2015

$92.8 million

Amount Oklahoma collected in overdue state taxes over the past two months, partially because of a program that waives late fees.
THE OKLAHOMAN | NOVEMBER 13, 2015

81%

Portion of the high school class of 2013 that graduated on time, which is the highest since states began calculating rates the same way in 2010.
THE WASHINGTON POST | NOVEMBER 12, 2015

400 parts per million

The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that scientists say the Earth should be below to avoid long-term climate disruptions. But since 2012, the World Meteorological Organization has detected several readings above that threshold.
THE WASHINGTON POST | NOVEMBER 11, 2015

27

Number of South Dakota voters who used a new electronic voting system that was created to help military personnel vote. The program cost $668,000 to develop.
THE RAPID CITY JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 10, 2015

59%

Portion of Americans over age 20 taking prescription drugs, up from 51 percent in 2000. About 15 percent of Americans are taking five or more.
THE WASHINGTON POST | NOVEMBER 9, 2015

21%

Portion of voters in New Jersey who cast ballots this week, which is the lowest turnout the state has ever seen for a general election.
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER | NOVEMBER 6, 2015

$1.1 billion

Amount of revenue that Louisiana forfeited from 2010 to 2014 to the state's severance tax exemption on horizontal drilling for oil and gas.
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | NOVEMBER 5, 2015

12

Number of people in Borden County, Texas, who signed up for Obamacare this year. In many conservative communities, people refuse to get health insurance -- even when they can afford it.
POLITICO | NOVEMBER 4, 2015

21

Number of dead people that New York state enrolled in Medicaid in 2013-14 because of flaws in the health exchange's eligibility process. The state also continued coverage for 333 other dead people.
THE DAILY FREEMAN | NOVEMBER 3, 2015

$27 billion

Approximate amount Pennsylvania has spent in the 120+ days the state has gone without passing a budget, which is almost comparable to the annual operating budget.
THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW | NOVEMBER 2, 2015

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Housing Bubble - Part Deux

The housing recovery without mortgage originations is coming to its inevitable conclusion. The Fed, Wall Street bankers and the US Treasury have been able to increase national home prices by 30%, with 50% to 100% in some bubble markets, using 0% interest rates, a massive buy and rent scheme, withholding foreclosures from the market, encouraging foreign cash buying, and allowing flippers back into the market. In a real free market would home prices go up by 30% while mortgage originations remained flat for the last four years?

Thirty year mortgage rates have been falling for the last 30 years. They bottomed at 3.35% in late 2012. Since then they rose as high as 4.4% in early 2014. They fell to 3.6% by early 2015 and are now hovering in the 3.8% range. Everyone who had a high interest mortgage loan, including those with underwater mortgages, have refinanced to a lower rate. The economic boost to the economy from the lower mortgage payments is over. The Obamacare costs have spent the mortgage payment savings. The combination of declining real household income, overpriced homes, millennials with massive levels of student loan debt, and now rising mortgage rates are putting a halt to this fake Fed recovery scheme.

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Report: Shortcomings In Baltimore Police Response To Riots

A new report says Baltimore police was under-prepared and disorganized during the protests and rioting that followed the death of Freddie Gray.

The report, "Lessons Learned from the 2015 Civil Unrest in Baltimore," was conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum at the request of the city's former police commissioner, Anthony Batts. The report focuses on the police response from April 25 to May 3.

The report says the department's command center was overcrowded, officers had inadequate training and equipment, arrest policies were murky, and officers were unsure of who was in command positions.

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Methods For Fighting Back Against Collectivist Tyranny

In any examination of historical precedence, it is easy to see that the sheer number of collectivist and tyrannical systems have far outweighed any experiments in individual liberty. I have explored the reasons for this in numerous articles, including recent pieces such as “How To Stamp Out Cultural Marxism In A Single Generation” and “The Tools Collectivists Use To Gain Power.” To summarize, there is a driving desire among weaker-minded people to seek control over other people in the name of arbitrary standards of safety as well as arbitrary standards of “civil” conformity. While such people proclaim publicly that they do what they do for the “greater good,” in reality they seek only to satiate a private lust for power.

In the darkest corners of their souls, many people have personal aspirations to attain godhood in their own little worlds. And if they cannot achieve such godhood outright on their own, then they will join a mob with similar aspirations so that they can at least feel omnipotent through vicarious tyranny.

This is why collectivism and individualism are mutually exclusive. A collectivist uses force or manipulation to compel the masses to accept a society that follows his personal ideology. An individualist adheres only to the tenets of natural law and the non-aggression principle. He believes force is justified only when the personal liberties of an individual are threatened by others. And he demands that if he participates in any society, it be voluntary. Collectivism is society through coercion. Individualism promotes society through voluntary cooperation. The two philosophies cannot coexist.

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I asked legendary tycoon T. Boone Pickens for financial advice ― his answer was surprisingly simple

I asked legendary billionaire energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens for the best piece of financial advice for someone my age.

I'm 27, so this advice will probably be useful for most millennials — anyone aged 19 to 34.

His answer was surprisingly simple.

"First thing I'd say is if you haven't developed a good work ethic, you better do it," Pickens said.

"The work ethic is the backbone of success as far as I'm concerned."

Pickens, the author of "The First Billion Is The Hardest", explained that you "have to be skilled at something unless you want to go out there and dig a ditch."

He added that educating yourself doesn't necessarily mean going to college. There's vocational training for a number of good jobs. Going to college or getting your MBA is up to you. Those things don't matter though unless you've developed a strong work ethic.
Good work ethic

"It's very simple—good work ethic. If you want to be a lawyer, geologist, or a nurse, work ethic comes first. Everything else falls into place."

Pickens, 87, developed his work ethic at a young age. Growing up in Oklahoma during the Great Depression, Pickens and other kids his age all had jobs. He said no one he knew was lazy.

"I grew up at a time where everything was very simple. You saved money. Things were tight."

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Obama Still Plans to Accept 10,000 Syrian Refugees

A top White House adviser said Sunday that President Obama still plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees even as Republicans insisted that it’s all but impossible to stop terrorists from hiding among the migrants.

“We’re still planning to take in Syrian refugees,” Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said on “Fox News Sunday.”

One of the terrorists in Friday’s deadly attacks on Paris reportedly may have used a Syrian passport to enter Europe with a flood of refugees, but Mr. Rhodes expressed confidence in the background-check system.

“We have very robust vetting procedures for those refugees. It involves our intelligence community, our National Counter-terrorism Center, extensive interviews, vetting them against all the available information,” Mr. Rhodes said.

Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who heads the House Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee, called that statement “untrue.”

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BREAKING NEWS: French, German officials ID more terror attack suspects

French authorities have identified a second fugitive suspect in last Friday's terror attacks that left 129 people dead -- while a German official says a third suspect who posed as a refugee has been taken into custody.

GOODWIN: Time For Obama to Make a Choice: Lead or Resign...

In any time and place, war is fiendishly simple. It is the ultimate zero-sum contest — you win or you lose.

That eternal truth is so obvious that it should not need to be said. Yet even after the horrific slaughter in Paris, there remains a distressing doubt about whether America’s commander in chief gets it.

President Obama has spent the last seven years trying to avoid the world as it is. He has put his intellect and rhetorical skills into the dishonorable service of assigning blame and fudging failure. If nuances were bombs, Islamic State would have been destroyed years ago.

He refuses to say “Islamic terrorism,” as if that would offend the peaceful Muslims who make up the vast bulk of victims. He rejects the word “war,” even as jihadists carry out bloodthirsty attacks against Americans and innocent peoples around the world.

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Washington College cancels classes until further notice, sends all students home

CHESTERTOWN, Md. (ABC7) — Washington College said Tuesday morning that the college will be closed until further notice, in the light of the ongoing law enforcement investigation.

This announcement comes not long after the college announced that classes would be canceled Tuesday, "in the interest of caution and due to new information received from law enforcement."

The college said in a release that all students who can leave campus and return home should do so after they check in with a Washington College staff member. The college is advising students who live off-campus to stay in their off-campus housing or return home. "Students who are unable to return home should attempt to travel with a friend, if possible, or should stay in their residence hall until arrangements can be made," The release read.

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O’Malley campaign reduces HQ staff, shifts emphasis to Iowa

Martin O’Malley’s financially strapped presidential campaign is reallocating resources to reduce the size of its headquarters staff and focus on the early presidential nominating states, especially Iowa, according to sources.

The former Maryland governor has been mired in the low single-digits in polls and struggled to raise the money necessary to support his relatively large operation. After Saturday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Iowa, O’Malley’s staff was alerted there would be a shift away from the campaign’s Baltimore headquarters to its field operations in the early states.

All staffers will be given the option to transition, but overall headcount could fall depending on how many chose to ship out. “We’re pushing all resources and HQ staff to early states. Everyone from HQ who goes to an early state will be on payroll,” said a campaign official.

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Mizzou Activists and Black Lives Matter Complain About Paris Stealing the Spotlight

Campus activists in America showed their true faces during an international tragedy: they are the selfish, spoiled children we always knew they were.

Black Lives Matter and Mizzou protesters responded to the murder of scores of people in Paris at the hands of Islamic extremists by complaining about losing the spotlight and saying their “struggles” were being “erased.”

Their struggles, remember, consist of a poop swastika of unknown provenance and unsubstantiated claims of racially-charged remarks somewhere near Missouri’s campus.

So debased has the language on American campuses become that these incidents, which many observers believe to be hoaxes, just like previous campus scandals celebrated by progressive media, are being referred to as “terrorism” and a “tragedy” by moronic 20-year-olds who have never been told, “No.”

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Carroll County Public Schools takes precautionary measure, suspends school field trips to D.C.

Carroll County Public Schools will suspend all field trips to Washington, D.C., because of a statement made by Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in a video released Monday threatening attacks in the nation's capitol.

The threats were made in a 6-minute long video by an ISIS sub-group in which militants praised the attacks in Paris on Friday that left at least 129 people dead. A warning is made that similar attacks will occur in European countries and Washington.

Though the credibility of the message had not been confirmed, a decision was made Monday afternoon by CCPS superintendent of instruction Steve Johnson to suspend trips as a precautionary measure, said the school system's supervisor of school security and emergency management Duane Williams.

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It's Going To Be A Warm Winter

I have to admit, 
it's a lot of work 
for the winter bonfires. 

Rubio Twists, Turns on Refugee Admissions

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is standing by his support for bringing Syrian refugees into the United States of America, even after the Paris murder-rampage by some of the many Muslims migrating into Europe.

In September, Rubio told CNN that “we would be potentially open to the relocation of some of these [refugee] individuals at some point in time to the United States.”

On Saturday, Breitbart asked Rubio’s campaign if he still stands by this statement. In response, Rubio’s spokesman Alex Conant referred Breitbart News to two other previous interviews Rubio has done on the matter—essentially confirming that Rubio still supports, at this time, bringing Syrian refugees into America.

Conant insisted the Senator believes refugees need to be vetted. But there are increasing concerns about whether the Barack Obama administration will be able to effectively vet such refugees.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, said recently he believes there is no way to accurately vet the Syrian refugees. “We do not have access to any Syrian government database to learn the backgrounds of these refugee applicants,” Sessions said in a recent statement.

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Sessions: Defund Obama's Executive Orders

Sen. Jeff Sessions is urging his fellow lawmakers to defund executive orders that soften immigration laws, such as a 2012 "deferred action" order that granted benefits to younger immigrants.

"It is time to reclaim the words 'immigration reform' — incorrectly used by lobbyists and politicians as code language for amnesty and mass immigration — and reapply them correctly to legislation that benefits Americans," the Alabama Republican wrote in a USA Today op-ed Friday.

"Congress should thus use its constitutional power of the purse to prohibit funding for both the illegal 2012 and 2014 amnesties," he added.

Sessions lauded a court's recent decision to block President Obama's 2014 executive order, which expanded illegal immigrants' access to work permits and taxpayer benefits.

But he warned against other measures that are still on the books as the presidential election heats up.

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Report: Democracy Alliance Members Looking to Fund Black Lives Matter

The shadowy liberal donor group Democracy Alliance is recommending to its members that they fund the Black Lives Matter movement, Politico reported Friday.

According to the report, major liberal fundraisers will huddle for secret meetings with leaders of Black Lives Matter, the growing protest organization advocating against violence and discrimination toward African Americans. The discussions will take place at Democracy Alliance’s annual winter meeting next week in Washington, D.C.

However, while the meetings could be potentially lucrative for Black Lives Matter, they could also cause tensions within the fractious organization that contains various leaders and sects who might want to retain financial independence. On the other hand, Politico reports some donors are “leery” about getting in bed with the organization that often employs combative tactics:

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Students Starting to Push Back Against Campus Lunacy

Across the country, college campuses are abandoning their purpose of education and expanding the minds of young people in favor of "safe spaces" and witch hunts. And some students are tired of being silent.

Voices of dissent to this politically correct culture began popping up sporadically several weeks ago, before the campuses of Yale and the University of Missouri (and many more sense) became engulfed in protests, in the area of anti-male campus sexual assault activism. In mid-October, George Lawlor of the University of Warwick refused to attend a "consent class" because, as he put it, he didn't need to "be taught not to be a rapist."

"That much comes naturally to me, as I am sure it does to the overwhelming majority of people you and I know," Lowler wrote in his school newspaper. "Brand me a bigot, a misogynist, a rape apologist, I don't care. I stand by that."

Lowler was followed by a female pre-med student in California who wrote a response to "rape culture" hysteria in her public health class. She was lucky in that the person who graded her assignment actually welcomed her countercultural viewpoint, unlike so many others on college campuses and in the media who define any dissent as being "pro-rape" or "rape apologia."

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Verdict reached in Terrence Cody animal cruelty trial

TOWSON, Md. —A jury on Monday acquitted former Baltimore Ravens player Terrence Cody on two felony charges, but found him guilty on misdemeanor charges in an animal cruelty case.

Cody, 27, was indicted in February on charges of aggravated animal cruelty, neglect, illegal possession of an alligator and possession of marijuana.

Prosecutors said a Presa Canario dog named Taz starved to death, and they claim that Cody and his girlfriend, Kourtney Kelley, were responsible.

While Kelley chose not to testify, Cody took the stand on Fridaytestifying on his behalf.

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Netanyahu Urges France to Pursue Peace and Practice Restraint

[ Note: Except for the first two paragraphs, this is 'satire.' ]

Dear Citizens of France:

My heartfelt sympathies to you and the French people for the horrible and barbaric terrorist murder spree that left over a hundred of your compatriots dead and hundreds more wounded. .

That murderous terrorist rampage on Friday night is all too familiar to us. We have a deep understanding of how to deal with terrorism, and are more than ready to help you as we do all over the world when tragedies occur.

First, however, we wish to share with you what we usually hear from the world in the aftermath of these “incidents” or "unrest" ( which is what the world calls terrorism when it happens in Israel ). Perhaps these pointers will help you cope and avoid future "incidents" - at least those who give us advice, including your heads of state, must think it will, or else why would they give it?

As your government told us recently, following an “incident” in Israel, countries must “protect themselves from militants, but show restraint so as to not further fuel a highly sensitive situation in the region.”

With one's friends there is no need to make peace. Peace is made between enemies, never mind if they don't want it. There is no military solution to the problem of terrorism, and this is why you must seek a diplomatic solution.

You must understand the pain and needs of the angry Muslims shooting and setting off explosives, and not respond inappropriately so that there is no escalation of the cycle of violence.

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Cruz Turns Immigration Hawk For Fight vs. Rubio

Ted Cruz unveiled his immigration reform plan on the campaign trail Friday afternoon, positioning himself for a fight against Marco Rubio by moving in the direction of conservative immigration hawks and away from some of his own previous positions.

The Texas senator rolled out his plan onstage in Florida and criticized members of both parties for being "in complete harmony on amnesty," which he argued hurts legal immigrants and working men and women.

"Enough talk, we're going to solve this," Cruz told the crowd. "The problem is political will."

His reforms include halting any increase in legal immigration so long as unemployment remains at an unacceptable level, suspending the issuance of H-1B visas for 180 days while an audit and investigation of the visa program is conducted, and ending birthright citizenship. Cruz's plan also requires legal immigrants to certify that they will be economically self-sustaining.

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