Popular Posts

Saturday, June 04, 2016

Yale students: Studying white, male writers creates culture ‘hostile to students of color’

In something of a Shakespearean twist, English majors at Yale University don’t want to study the greatest English writers.

That’s what a group of undergraduates at the Ivy League school in New Haven, Connecticut, said in a petition started last week. They are demanding that the English Department “decolonize” the curriculum by dropping a pair of Major English Poets required courses that feature works by dead white men.

“It is unacceptable that a Yale student considering studying English literature might read only white male authors,” the petition states. “A year spent around a seminar table where the literary contributions of women, people of color, and queer folk are absent actively harms all students, regardless of their identity.”

More here

[An Ivy League school.. our best and brightest. --Editor]

Muslim woman charged with attacking Georgia homeowner

A Muslim woman is facing battery charges in Georgia after she allegedly stole a homeowner’s American flag and started attacking her with it.

Dami Arno said the woman was wearing a full Burka when she emerged from the woods near their home in Lawrenceville and walked up to their mailbox where the flag was flying from a 4-foot pole, a local NBC News affiliate reported.

“I stood up and I yelled at her, ‘Don’t touch my flag,’ and she yanked it out and headed towards us just waving it,” Ms. Arno told the station.

She said the woman charged at her with the flag and they began to fight. That is when Ms. Arno’s 17-year-old daughter jumped in and her 14-year-old son grabbed the family gun, NBC News reported.

Neighbors also ran to help and held the suspect down until Lawrenceville police arrived.

“We fought for probably 7 minutes until the police arrived here because I wasn’t letting her go I did not know what else she would do,” Ms. Arno said. “She had already chased one of my neighbors into her house that morning.”

The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Amina Ali Ahra, was arrested and charged with two counts of simple battery. The motive behind the alleged attack has not been determined, NBC News reported.

Ms. Arno and her daughter said Ms. Ahra never uttered a word and seemed possessed.

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Obama's Economic Fables

Lots of things can be considered “shovel-ready.” Manure, for instance. And that’s pretty much what we got with Obama’s speech Wednesday in Elkhart, Indiana, touting the “success” of his $800 billion stimulus package and overall economic policy.

Just weeks after taking office in 2009, Obama visited Elkhart to urge Congress to pass his massive spending plan. At about that time, Elkhart’s unemployment rate had skyrocketed to approximately 20%. Indeed, Obama had found the perfect stage to recite his regular mantra that he “inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression.” To fix it, he offered the holy grail of statist solutions — a bigger, more intrusive, more controlling, more burdensome government.

This week, he returned to Elkhart to claim victory: “We … wouldn’t have come this far — Elkhart would not have come this far — if we hadn’t made a series of smart decisions — my administration, a cooperative Congress — decisions we made together early on in my administration.”

To hear Obama tell it, thanks to his policies unemployment has dropped to 4%, industry has revived and businesses are hiring.According to the White House, not only has manufacturing returned to Elkhart, but fewer Indiana homeowners have seriously delinquent mortgages and more kids than ever are graduating high school. We hear the ozone layer directly above Elkhart has also shown improvement!

Of course, as is typically the case with Obama’s claims, they’re high on flourish, low on facts. For example, Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN)noted credit goes to “the pro-growth policies pursued by the state of Indiana, which have made our state one of the nation’s economic success stories.”

Indeed, Indiana has repeatedly lowered its corporate tax rate to make the state more attractive to businesses. In 2012, the rate stood at 8.5%; now, it’s 6.5%. By 2022, it will be just 4.9% thanks to reforms passed by Republican state lawmakers and signed by GOP Governor Mike Pence. The personal income tax is going down, too.

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Subject: Hillary Clinton Posted Names of Hidden Intelligence Officials On Her Email

Hillary Clinton posted and shared the names of concealed U.S. intelligence officials on her unprotected email system.

Federal records reveal that Clinton swapped these highly classified names on an email account that was vulnerable to attack and was breached repeatedly by Russia-linked hacker attempts. These new revelations — reminiscent of the Valerie Plame scandal during George W. Bush’s tenure — could give FBI investigators the evidence they need to make a case that Clinton violated the Espionage Act by mishandling national defense information through “gross negligence.”

Numerous names cited in Clinton’s emails have been redacted in State Department email releases with the classification code “B3 CIA PERS/ORG,” a highly specialized classification that means the information, if released, would violate the Central Intelligence Act of 1949.

The State Department produced a document to Judicial Watch in April 2014 that identifies different types of “(b)(3)” redactions, including “CIA PERS/ORG,” which it defines as information “Specifically exempted from disclosure by statute … Central Intelligence Act of 1949.”

“That’s what it suggests,” Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton told Breitbart News, referring to the indication that Clinton disclosed the names of CIA-protected intelligence sources, based on the B3 redactions.

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German Govt: Migrants Commit Crimes Because They Know They WON’T Be Deported

Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has lifted the lid on the perverse logic of some migrants who commit crimes so they won’t be deported — because they know the court system will keep them in Europe.

The interior minister — who is a fellow member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat Party which is the leading force in the governing German coalition — made the remarks yesterday, reports HuffingtonPost.de.

The comments came as he called to speed up the deportations of migrants who had lodged spurious asylum claims. Mr. de Maiziere said: “[migrants] shortly before deportation… commit an offence with the intention of being brought before a German judge [which would] delay [them] being deported”.

The interior minister also bemoaned the slow process of repatriating migrants away from Germany, and the lack of resources devoted to the process by his government. Criticising “sluggish” systems, Mr. de Maiziere said the individual German states who were responsible for deportations have “little political will to apply the residence law”.

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Subject: DHS Quietly Moving, Releasing Vanloads of Illegal Aliens Away from Border

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is quietly transporting illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix and releasing them without proper processing or issuing court appearance documents, Border Patrol sources tell Judicial Watch. The government classifies them as Other Than Mexican (OTM) and this week around 35 were transferred 116 miles north from Tucson to a Phoenix bus station where they went their separate way. Judicial Watch was present when one of the white vans carrying a group of OTMs arrived at the Phoenix Greyhound station on Buckeye Road.

The OTMs are from Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala and Border Patrol officials say this week’s batch was in custody for a couple of days and ordered to call family members in the U.S. so they could purchase a bus ticket for their upcoming trip from Phoenix. Authorities didn’t bother checking the identity of the U.S. relatives or if they’re in the country legally, according to a Border Patrol official directly involved in the matter. American taxpayers pick up the fare for those who claim to have a “credible fear,” Border Patrol sources told JW. None of the OTMs were issued official court appearance documents, but were told to “promise” they’d show up for a hearing when notified, said federal agents with firsthand knowledge of the operation.

A security company contracted by the U.S. government is driving the OTMs from the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector where they were in custody to Phoenix, sources said. The firm is called G4S and claims to be the world’s leading security solutions group with operations in more than 100 countries and 610,000 employees. G4S has more than 50,000 employees in the U.S. and its domestic headquarters is in Jupiter, Florida. Judicial Watch is filing a number of public records requests to get more information involving the arrangement between G4S and the government, specifically the transport of illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to other parts of the country.

Outraged Border Patrol agents and supervisors on the front lines say illegal immigrants are being released in droves because there’s no room to keep them in detention.

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State Adding Gender Identity to School Curriculum, Starting in Kindergarten

One state has just added new material to the curriculum, in all public schools across the state. Children as young as five years old will soon be taught about the concept of gender identity in their kindergarten class, and parents will not even be notified, according to a report just released by the Family Policy institute.

A brand new health and physical education standards manual, released by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), will be implemented in schools across the state for the 2017-2018 school year.

A Washington state school official said that if a student rejects the idea that “gender identity” is different than “biological sex”, it would be up to each local school as to whether they would end up failing the course based upon their own beliefs.

  • Beginning in Kindergarten, students will be taught about the many ways to express gender. Gender expression education will include information about the manifestations of traits that are typically associated with one gender. Crossdressing is one form of gender expression.
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Baltimore Police Announce New Operating Policy Manual

A week after they announced a more robust method of getting policy changes out to officers, Baltimore Police on Friday unveiled a handbook they're distributing to the entire force.

What once was a thumb drive handed out at the academy stuffed with 208 procedures has been boiled down to 26 key policies and guidelines on subjects like use of force, prisoner transport and lawful First Amendment activities. Instead of being on a thumb drive, these will be in a binder to be carried by all officers at all times.

"They should have it at their fingertips and they should be readily and immediately ready to refer to," Commissioner Kevin Davis said.

Officer training and documentation thereof has been a key issue in the trials in the death of Freddie Gray. Davis stressed that the guide's introduction isn't necessarily a response to recent events, or any kind of punishment for officers. In fact, Davis said, he would have been thrilled to have such a guide when he was starting his career.

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ACLU boss quits after daughters encounter men in bathroom

WASHINGTON – The late journalist Irving Kristol defined a conservative as “a liberal who has been mugged by reality.”

After the reality of letting men use the women’s restroom hit too close to home for a prominent member of the American Civil Liberties Union, there may be a new conservative in Georgia.

Maya Dillard Smith, interim director of the Georgia chapter of the ACLU, resigned after her own young daughters were traumatized by having to share a bathroom with grown men.

“I have shared my personal experience of having taken my elementary school age daughters into a women’s restroom when shortly after three transgender young adults, over six feet [tall] with deep voices, entered,” she said in a statement.

“My children were visibly frightened, concerned about their safety and left asking lots of questions for which I, like many parents, was ill-prepared to answer,” she added.
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Hiccup in restoration of voting rights to Virginia felons

RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia House and Senate leaders say there is a hiccup in connection with a sweeping order from Governor Terry McAuliffe to restore voting rights to Virginia felons.

In April, Governor McAuliffe cleared the way for 206,000 felons to head back to the polls. 10 On Your Side has learned that some of those people should have never been given the opportunity.

McAuliffe has said rights would be restored only for felons who had completed their sentences and parole. However, that is not the case, according to a Washington Post investigation, which discovered several violent felons currently in prison or on supervised probation had their rights restored.

The new development is fueling the fire for Republicans who believe the clemency order is a political stunt.

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SWEDISH GOVERNMENT KICKS LOCAL FAMILY OUT OF HOME, GIVES IT TO MUSLIM MIGRANTS

A local family in the Swedish city of Lidingö has been ordered by the government to leave their home so that it can be given to migrants arriving from a foreign country.

Father of two teenage boys Uffe Rustan received a voicemail from his local municipality telling him he would need to vacate the property by August in order to make way for asylum seekers from the Middle East.

“I was evicted from my home over the phone. When I asked for the reason, he said that people come from other countries. He left the news and basically just said have a nice weekend,” Rustan told a newspaper.

Rustan lives with his teenage sons Rasmus (15) and Linus (17), all of whom were born in Lidingö. He rents the home from the city and has been living in it for less than a year.

“It feels like I’m worthless, even though I pay taxes and my kids go to school here. You cannot put a family on the streets for another family,” said Rustan. “Just when it starts to feel like home, we are evicted.”

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So let's see that May job creation report . . . er, then again . . .

Only 38,000 new jobs is rancidly awful - the worst in nearly six years.

I guess you could be a sunny-side-up kind of guy. If it's the worst in six years, then everything for the past six years was better. Hurray!

Or you could understand how it really is: Despite the very misleading U3 unemployment rate that owes its gloss to the lowest labor participation rate since 1978, the economy has not been creating new jobs to any serious degree since the 2008 mortgage market meltdown. Any month when we do under 200,000 is a net loss because that's the mere replacement rate necessary to keep up with population growth. So when Obama talks about "10 million new jobs created," it sounds like a lot. But it's not. Over the course of his administration, that represents one of the worst long-term averages in the nation's history - even before you account for the relative size of the population today.

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Maryland Governor To Honor Waterman For Rescue

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s governor plans to honor a waterman for rescuing 23 people, including a group of schoolchildren on a field trip, from a boat that sank in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Matthew A. Clark, a spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan, said Thursday the governor plans to honor the “life-saving” actions of Jeremy Shockley of Toddville with a citation.

Clark says Shockley’s “quick response helped to avert what could have been a terrible tragedy.”

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BERLIN: FAMILY OUTDOOR MOVIE SERIES


FAMILY OUTDOOR MOVIE SERIES

Starting, Saturday, June 18, 2016

For the second summer, the Berlin Parks Commission and Arts & Entertainment Committee join together to host a series of outdoor movie nights starting June 18th and continuing until August 27th
Movies will be screened on alternating Saturdays downtown and in Stephen Decatur and Dr. William Henry Parks

“Last year we had four showings: two downtown and one at each of the parks. We’re excited to be able to have six showings this year, with dates that cover the whole summer,” said Robin Tomaselli, proprietor of Baked Dessert CafĂ© and member of the Arts & Entertainment Committee. “We hope that we can do this every summer.”

Earlier this year, the Town of Berlin posted a survey on Facebook to decide which movies to show. The lineup will be

  • June 18, Downtown: “Tuck Everlasting”
  • July 2, Stephen Decatur Park: “Wizard of Oz”
  • July 16, Dr. William Henry Park: “Finding Nemo”
  • July 30, Stephen Decatur Park: “Princess Bride”
  • August 13, Dr. William Henry Park: “The Goonies”
  • August 27, Downtown: “Runaway Bride”

All showings will start at approximately 8:30 PM and are completely free to the public. “Movie-goers will need to bring a blanket or chair and their own snacks or drinks – alcohol is not permitted,” Parks Commission liaison Mary Bohlen said.

In case of bad weather, the decision whether or not to cancel will usually be made by noon of the same day and will be posted on Facebook at Town of Berlin Maryland.

The movie nights are sponsored by the Berlin Parks Commission and Arts & Entertainment Committee and funded in part by a grant from the Worcester County Arts Council.


For Information Contact: Mary T. Bohlen, Administrative Services Director, 410-641-4314, mbohlen@berlinmd.gov

Senate Candidate Caught Fibbing, Responds By Insulting Community Colleges

A Senate candidate in Pennsylvania has been caught falsely claiming she was the first person in her family to graduate from college. Her defense: Anybody who spent time at a community college didn’t really go to college.

Katie McGinty, a Democrat and former environmental adviser to President Bill Clinton, is trying to unseat Republican Pat Toomey in what is considered a major pickup opportunity for Democrats in the fall elections.

But in a report published Wednesday night, Buzzfeed News caught McGinty embellishing her biography. McGinty has repeatedly claimed to be the first person in her family to attend college, even though she is ninth of ten children.

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Michelle Obama’s High-Achieving SOTU Guest Just Flunked Out Of College

One of Michelle Obama’s guests at the 2015 State of the Union address was invited because he overcame major obstacles to attend college, but he actually flunked out of school after just two semesters.

Anthony Mendez was a freshman at the University of Hartford when he received an invitation from Obama to attend the State of the Union. Mendez was chosen for his inspiring personal story. Despite spending time in a homeless shelter and having a friend of his murdered while in high school, Mendez was able to graduate high school and go on to college. Mendez met with Michelle Obama in the summer of 2014 and shared his story with her, which prompted her to invite him to the president’s speech about six months later.

Unfortunately, by the time he received his invitation, Mendez’s feel-good narrative was falling apart, as he admits in a Vox article published this week.

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Trump Supporter Attacked And Bloodied Outside Of San Jose Rally [VIDEO]


A Donald Trump supporter was attacked from behind and left bleeding after leaving a campaign rally in San Jose on Thursday.

Journalist Tim Poole was filming as a man is seen running up behind the Trump supporter and hitting him on the side of the head with an unidentified object. The victim is seen turning to look at his attacker and grabbing the side of his head, which had started bleeding.

Reporters circled the man after the attack and asked him if he had provoked the anti-Trump protesters.

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State’s two health insurers seek big rate hikes for individuals, small groups

Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart confirmed that the state’s only carriers of individual and small group health insurance in the health marketplace are seeking big rate hikes.

Highmark is asking for a 32.5 percent increase in the individual market, while Aetna, Inc. requests 25 percent and Aetna Life 23.9 percent. In the small group market, Highmark seeks a 2.7 percent increase, Aetna, Inc. asks for 23.2 percent , and Aetna Life requests 18.6 percent.

“These large rate increase requests are occurring in many states across the country, and I know they will be a burden for many Delawareans,” said Stewart. “The proposed increases are substantial and I’m going to do my best to reduce them. As is the case with every rate request I receive, I am instructing my actuaries to aggressively examine Highmark’s and Aetna’s supporting data for their requests.”

“I remind consumers that these are proposed rates, not final rates,” added Commissioner Stewart, who also announced that the Insurance Department will conduct public information sessions to receive comment on the proposed increases. The sessions will take place at the following locations in the three counties:

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Sheriff creates pamphlet of addiction resources

CENTREVILLE — In an effort to combat the growing opioid epidemic at a local level, the Queen Anne’s County Office of the Sheriff has created a document listing addiction, counseling, treatment and mental health assessment providers.

The informational pamphlet, available on the sheriff’s office website, begins with a letter to the community from Sheriff Gary Hofmann letting the community know the department is available and can be an aid in providing resources and guidance for direction with addiction issues.

On the second page, a list of substance abuse resources in the area has been provided. Hofmann said this is a growing project and if a provider is interested in being added to the list to contact him at the office.

Substance abuse resources on the list include: Dr. Eric Ceganek with the Suboxone Treatment Center, Chesapeake Treatment Svcs Medication Assisted Treatment, Community Behavioral Health, Queen Anne’s County Health Department Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, Bridges Behavioral Health and Wellness, Dr. Robert Schreiber, Corsica River Mental Health, Anne Arundel Counseling, and Dr. Joel Wilkerson.

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STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION TO INSTALL TRAFFIC SIGNAL ON US 50 AT SIXTY FOOT ROAD IN WICOMICO COUNTY

New Signal, Advanced Warning Signs and Intersection Improvements will Enhance Safety

To enhance safety, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) will install a new traffic signal at the US 50 and Sixty Foot Road intersection, in eastern Wicomico County, just west of MD 354 (Powellville Road).

In response to requests from the local community, SHA studied the intersection to determine if a signal or other changes would enhance safety. SHA traffic engineers analyzed a variety of factors including sight distance, pedestrian activity, crash history, proximity to schools, daily traffic counts, turning movements, physical geometry of the intersection and seasonal impacts.

SHA engineers determined that a signal, along with turn lanes and additional signs, will improve traffic flow and safety through the intersection. SHA announced the decision at a meeting with local elected officials and citizens at the Pittsville Fire Department last night.

“As engineers, our job is to thoroughly research, analyze and study data and use engineering judgment to identify safety improvements for our highways,” said District Engineer Donnie Drewer. “While we considered other options, we determined installing a traffic signal along with advanced warning signs and new separated turn lanes will create a safer intersection at this busy section of US 50.”

The project is not funded for construction although a timeline to construct the new traffic signal and associated improvements will be available by late summer. Approximately 25,000 vehicles travel this section of US 50 each day.

Special needs man shot to death after accidentally hitting car with basketball

LANDOVER HILLS, Md. (WJLA) - While young people in the Greenvale Parkway neighborhood played basketball on a warm Wednesday evening, adults living nearby were shaking their heads over a homicide in their midst.

"They don't understand," says James Clark. "They're taking away a life."

Police say it was a basketball, brushing up against a car, that sparked off a fatal shooting there.

"I was sleeping when I heard a noise, like a plom plom," Jose Echerrea recalls. "That's the first one (shooting) I see. I don't see the problem here. This area's good, you know?"

Echerrea says he heard several gunshots, around 1:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

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New pay policy places cap on Ocean City’s top earners

Months after giving city employees a slight raise, the Ocean City Council on Tuesday passed a new policy that recalibrated the system.

The new plan covers pay raises, promotions, demotions and transfers as recommended by the city’s comprehensive pay and classification study that was completed last year.

“This is a tweak of the existing policy, and puts more specificity on how we handle these instances and how we will address people at the top of their pay range,” said city Human Resources Director Wayne Evans. “All these topics came up during discussions at various points of time, and I believe this policy addresses these issues.”

When the council adopted the new wage brackets as recommended by the pay study conducted by Management Advisory Group International (MAGI) last October, there was some dissension when a council majority voted to include a 2 percent raise across the board for city employees.

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Deer poaching restitution bill becomes Md. law

ANNAPOLIS — Legislation mandating significant amounts of financial restitution for illegally killing deer in Maryland became law on Wednesday, without Gov. Larry Hogan's signature.

Hogan didn't sign House Bill 410, but neither did he veto it.

As long as there is no veto, Maryland law allows legislation that has passed successfully through the General Assembly to become law even though the head of state hasn't applied a signature.

District court judges throughout the state who determine a person is guilty of illegally killing a deer must now assess certain restitution charges based upon what is atop the animal's head, as well as require the guilty party to work community service.

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Police charge ATV driver seen performing stunts in video

WASHINGTON — The driver of an ATV suspected of performing dangerous stunts in District Heights, Maryland, in front of a police officer has been charged, and so has the man police believe filmed the stunts.

Prince George’s County police charged Piera S. Barbour, 26, of Fort Washington, Maryland, with reckless driving, negligent driving and other traffic-related charges.

Police say on May 23 of this year, Barbour was the driver who rode dangerously close to a police cruiser, at time taking his hands off the wheel as he drove. Police say he was already in custody on a separate charge.

The incident was filmed on Pennsylvania Avenue, near Parkland Drive.

A warrant also has been issued for Michael W. Roane, 25, of D.C. He’s believed to be the cameraman, police say.

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Saudi Arabia bought a huge stake in Uber. What does that mean for female drivers?

This week the Silicon Valley-based ride-sharing app Uber announced it was getting a huge new injection of funding. But the money wasn't coming from any of the standard investors from the U.S. tech world.

Instead, it was coming from Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi state's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was putting $3.5 billion into the company, the largest investment in Uber to date. The move has raised eyebrows, however, due to one of the kingdom's most notorious domestic policies: Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women cannot legally drive.

While the act of driving for women is not specifically banned, various religious edicts in the country have meant women are restricted from applying for a driving license, effectively making the act of driving illegal for Saudi women. While some women in rural areas do drive without licenses anyway and some women with foreign driving licenses occasionally get behind the wheel (a legal gray area used largely in protest), for the most part women in Saudi Arabia simply don't drive. Polls suggest that support for the policy within the country is mixed.

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Smuggling network guided illegals from Middle East terror hotbeds to U.S. border

A smuggling network has managed to sneak illegal immigrants from Middle Eastern terrorism hotbeds straight to the doorstep of the U.S., including helping one Afghan who authorities say was part of an attack plot in North America.

Immigration officials have identified at least a dozen Middle Eastern men smuggled into the Western Hemisphere by a Brazilian-based network that connected them with Mexicans who guided them to the U.S. border, according to internal government documents reviewed by The Washington Times.

Those smuggled included Palestinians, Pakistanis and the Afghan man who Homeland Security officials said had family ties to the Taliban and was “involved in a plot to conduct an attack in the U.S. and/or Canada.” He is in custody, but The Times is withholding his name at the request of law enforcement to protect investigations.

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OCPD keeping eye on social media for Cruisin’ violations


Investigation of reckless driving continues well after event’s end and cars leave
 
Cruisin’ Ocean City has come and gone, but the Ocean City Police are ramping up their investigations to catch reckless drivers.

Two weeks after the classic car show ended, videos have been surfacing on social media sites from participants showing off their drag racing skills. Included in the thousands of views on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram, are local officers watching to identify the vehicle or the drivers.

“Our officers really got into surveying the Internet for Cruisin’ last year, but we’re always using different tools available at our disposal,” Police Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay Richard said. “It’s not a full-time job looking at videos, but we have intelligent officers that are cognizant of several social media sites.”

Although this method of catching reckless drivers in the resort at the time of the event is relatively new, the department has been successful in convicting individuals. One of the most notable cases was when the department charged a Pennsylvanian man with numerous traffic citations.

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Despite warnings, people still flocking to bird islands

Both Skimmer and the newly renamed Tern Island got the attention of the Natural Resources Police during the Memorial Day weekend, as officers issued warnings to tourists and boaters who tried to make the wildlife sanctuaries their own.

The islands in the bay are closed to humans from May to September because they have been set aside as nesting sites for endangered and threatened shorebirds.

For example, Skimmer Island is aptly named because it’s the only site in Maryland where black skimmers and royal terns can breed. According to the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, 12 species of birds nest there.

Royal terns lay only one or two eggs per season, sometimes in a shallow hole, sometimes on the bare sand in secluded areas. Black skimmers do much the same, and provide shade, not warmth, to the eggs before they hatch.

The eggs are generally camouflaged to blend in with the sand, which makes it difficult for humans to avoid them, and even harder for pets, which have been brought to the islands from time to time.

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Heroin addict talks recovery options

Local man shares journey to sobriety; rehabilitation requires changing lifestyle

 Two months into his latest attempt to kick a longtime heroin habit, Smokey Rhodes (not his real name) this week talked about his past and present attempts to find the road to sobriety.

“The only thing you’ve got to change is everything,” he said. “People you hang out with and places you go. For some people, it’s really hard to do, for other people it’s easier.”

Rhodes’ prior stabs at dropping the needle have involved opioid replacement therapy. The idea is to prescribe addicts less euphoric opioids like methadone or suboxone. Rhodes has found that what sounds plausible in theory can be different in practice.

“Methadone builds you up and holds you over and it’s a easier letdown,” he said. “The problem is when you get in a methadone clinic you start at a low dose, but then they build you up because you get a tolerance to it.”

While addicts may start methadone treatment with the best of intentions, prolonged use may cause more harm than good.

“There’s way worse physical problems with it,” he said. “There’s also suppose to be a taper, you’re not suppose to be on it for years. I know people have been on it for five, six or seven years.”

Rhodes said methadone could penetrate bone marrow and gradually cause physical aliments.

“It has a half-life like no other drug, it deteriorates you,” he said. “The overall effect is worse than heroin.”

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‘I’m Under No Obligation’ to Discuss Investigation Into Video Deletion

State Department Deputy spokesman Mark Toner told Reuters reporter Arshad Mohammed Thursday that he had no obligation to discuss the investigation into the deleted video from a December 2013 briefing.

Pressed by Mohammed for details on the staffer responsible, Toner appeared to lose his cool a bit.

“Let’s be very clear when we’re talking about transparency. I’m not going to get up here and reveal to you from this podium every detail of what is an internal, albeit by our legal office, internal investigation into what happened,” Toner said. “I’m under no obligation to do that.”

Toner said that not revealing any information would be out of respect for the privacy of the individuals involved.

Mohammed had pressed Toner if the State Department had known the gender of who made the call to selectively edit out James Rosen and Jen Psaki’s exchange on secret negotiations between Iran and the Obama administration, and whether it was acceptable to lie about such negotiations. Toner said investigators did know the gender but were not going to reveal it.

“That’s not very transparent of you,” Mohammed said.

The State Department said on Wednesday that there was a request for Rosen’s question to be deleted out of a 2013 press briefing with Psaki. The State Department had previously called the edit a glitch.

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Library Brings Book Exchange Program To Amusement Park

OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City library is expanding its reach with a new take one, leave one program at a resort amusement park.

Last week representatives of the Ocean City branch of the Worcester County Library installed a little wooden library — the Ocean City Book Exchange — at Jolly Roger Amusement Park. It’s stocked with books for children, teens and adults.

“We want to promote reading,” said Brittney Herz Glenn, branch manager at the Ocean City library. “It’s getting our name out there.”

Herz Glenn said she often heard from library patrons that it was difficult to get to the branch at 100th Street in the summer because of resort traffic.

“I know getting uptown in the summer can be hard,” she said. “We wanted a place closer to downtown for people to get books.”

The Jolly Roger Amusement Park came to mind because of its relative proximity to downtown Ocean City. She said management was eager to support the project and suggested a location just outside the park’s Guest Services entrance. There, it’s just outside the facility so those in search of a book don’t have to pay admission.

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Germany Arrests 3 Syrians Suspected of Planning ISIS Terrorist Attack

German police arrested three Syrians Thursday on suspicion that they were planning an attack on the city of DĂĽsseldorf on behalf of ISIS, the country’s attorney general’s office said.

ISIS leadership had ordered the jihadists to hit one of city’s main streets with suicide bombings aimed “to kill as many passersby as possible with guns and further explosives,” Germany’s top prosecutor said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The plan fell apart after a fourth Syrian alerted French authorities of the alleged plot on February 1, the prosecutor said. He is currently being held in France. Officials did not detail why Thursday’s arrests arrived more than four months later.

All four Syrians entered Greece through the same migrant route hundreds of thousands of refugees took last year to cross into Europe, the Washington Post reported. Officials said that at least one of the three suspects arrested Thursday came to Germany as a refugee.

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Williams: Elitist Arrogance

White teenage unemployment is about 14 percent. That for black teenagers is about 30 percent. The labor force participation rate for white teens is 37 percent, and that for black teens is 25 percent. Many years ago, in 1948, the figures were exactly the opposite. The unemployment rate of black 16-year-old and 17-year-old males was 9.4 percent, while that of whites was 10.2 percent. Up until the late 1950s, black teens, as well as black adults, were more active in the labor market than their white counterparts. I will return to these facts after I point out some elitist arrogance and moral bankruptcy.

Supporters of a $15 minimum wage are now admitting that there will be job losses. “Why shouldn’t we in fact accept job loss?” asks New School economics and urban policy professor David Howell, adding, “What’s so bad about getting rid of crappy jobs, forcing employers to upgrade, and having a serious program to compensate anyone who is in the slightest way harmed by that?” Economic Policy Institute economist David Cooper says: “It could be that they spend more time unemployed, but their income is higher overall. If you were to tell me I could work fewer hours and make as much or more than I could have previously, that would be OK.”

What’s a “crappy job”? My guess is that many of my friends and I held the jobs Howell is talking about as teenagers during the late 1940s and ‘50s. During summers, we arose early to board farm trucks to New Jersey to pick blueberries. I washed dishes and mopped floors at Philadelphia’s Horn & Hardart restaurant, helped unload trucks at Campbell Soup, shoveled snow, swept out stores, delivered packages and did similar low-skill, low-wage jobs. If today’s arrogant elite were around to destroy these jobs through wage legislation and regulation, I doubt whether I and many other black youths would have learned the habits of work that laid the foundation for future success. Today’s elite have little taste for my stepfather’s admonition: Any kind of a job is better than begging and stealing.

What’s so tragic about all of this is that black leadership buys into it.

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New Evidence Supporting School Choice

A groundbreaking new study from the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas provides state of the art data showing the benefits of school choice.

The bottom line: When parents have choice where to send their child to school, their children perform better in reading and math tests.

Patrick J. Wolf, one of the authors, summarizes the results:

According to their “meta-analysis of 19 ‘gold standard’ experimental evaluations of the test-score effects of private school choice programs around the world. The sum of reliable evidence indicates that, on average, private school choice increases the reading scores of choice users by about 0.27 standard deviations and their math scores by 0.17 standard deviations. These are highly significant, educationally meaningful achievement gains of several months of additional learning from school choice.”

The idea of school choice and school vouchers was pioneered in the 1950s by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman. However, it has not been until recent years that the idea started picking up steam.

According to Wolf, “there are now 50 private school choice programs in 26 states plus the District of Columbia. Well over half have been enacted in the past five years.”

About 1.3 million students are in these programs, compared to 50 million students enrolled in our public schools.

There are various approaches to providing school choice: vouchers, education savings accounts, tax-credit scholarships and individual tax credits and deductions.

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Looking at the Libertarian?

The Libertarian Party decided on its 2016 presidential campaign ticket over Memorial Day weekend, choosing former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson with former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld as his running mate. In any other election year, this might be considered small news, but in 2016, with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton earning historically high disapproval ratings, the Libertarian ticket is a possible alternative for disgusted voters.

Johnson got less than 1% of the vote in his 2012 presidential campaign as a Libertarian, but he is already enjoying much better name recognition this time around. In May, he drew 10% in a Fox News poll that asked voters to name their presidential preference. This was against Trump’s 42% and Clinton’s 39%.

So who is Gary Johnson?

Johnson’s governing style and stance on the issues can best be described as fiscally conservative and socially tolerant. He seeks to balance the federal budget with spending discipline and pro-growth policies. He proposes saving Social Security by raising the retirement age, introducing means testing, and allowing personal investments. National Review’s John J. Miller explains, “Johnson supports gay marriage and calls himself pro-choice on abortion, but he also believes Roe [v. Wade] was wrongly decided and says that abortion should be legal only ‘up to the point of the viability of the fetus, when it can be sustained outside the womb even if by artificial means.’” Johnson embraces an immigration policy that would rely on work visas and not big walls.

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DHS Quietly Moving, Releasing Vanloads of Illegal Aliens Away from Border

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is quietly transporting illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix and releasing them without proper processing or issuing court appearance documents, Border Patrol sources tell Judicial Watch. The government classifies them as Other Than Mexican (OTM) and this week around 35 were transferred 116 miles north from Tucson to a Phoenix bus station where they went their separate way. Judicial Watch was present when one of the white vans carrying a group of OTMs arrived at the Phoenix Greyhound station on Buckeye Road.

The OTMs are from Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala and Border Patrol officials say this week’s batch was in custody for a couple of days and ordered to call family members in the U.S. so they could purchase a bus ticket for their upcoming trip from Phoenix. Authorities didn’t bother checking the identity of the U.S. relatives or if they’re in the country legally, according to a Border Patrol official directly involved in the matter. American taxpayers pick up the fare for those who claim to have a “credible fear,” Border Patrol sources told JW. None of the OTMs were issued official court appearance documents, but were told to “promise” they’d show up for a hearing when notified, said federal agents with firsthand knowledge of the operation.

A security company contracted by the U.S. government is driving the OTMs from the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector where they were in custody to Phoenix, sources said. The firm is called G4S and claims to be the world’s leading security solutions group with operations in more than 100 countries and 610,000 employees. G4S has more than 50,000 employees in the U.S. and its domestic headquarters is in Jupiter, Florida. Judicial Watch is filing a number of public records requests to get more information involving the arrangement between G4S and the government, specifically the transport of illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to other parts of the country. The photo accompanying this story shows the uniformed G4S guard that transported the OTMs this week from Tucson to Phoenix.

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FDA Mandates ‘Food Defense Plans’ Against ‘Intentional Adulteration Related to Terrorism’

(CNSNews.com) -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a final rule last week mandating that food-related facilities implement “food defense plans” to prevent “intentional adulteration of food” with the intent to cause “wide scale public health harm,” including “intentional adulteration related to terrorism.”

The regulation, which is the seventh and final rule of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), requires an “owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility” that manufactures, processes, or stores food to “prepare and implement a written food defense plan.”

“Very small businesses” - defined as averaging less than $10 million in revenue per year - are exempt from the rule.

“Our interactions with the intelligence community, as well as the conclusions reached during vulnerability assessments conducted in collaboration with industry, have identified the inside attacker as the highest threat,” FDA stated.

The food defense plan must “identify any significant vulnerabilities” in the food manufacturing process that would allow an attacker to introduce foreign substances into the food, and then “implement mitigation strategies” that significantly minimize these vulnerabilities.

The FDA identified “four key activity types” – “bulk liquid receiving and loading; liquid storage and handling; secondary ingredient handling; and mixing and similar activities” – that leaves food “at high risk of intentional adulteration caused by acts of terrorism.”

Suggested mitigation strategies include adding locks and barriers to restrict physical access to food supplies, use of a “buddy system” to prevent employees from adding anything to the food undetected, and “food defense awareness” training for employees present at vulnerable steps in the process.

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Paul Ryan: Donald Trump can help make reality of bold House policy agenda

When Donald Trump became the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president one month ago, many Republicans like me faced a big question.

Six months earlier, in October, as I was taking the job as House speaker, my colleagues and I were discussing an equally important question: What could House Republicans do to give Americans a clear choice about the future of the country?

Sure, count us among the majority of Americans upset with the direction our country is headed. But that’s not enough. We agreed that we must focus less on what we’re against and more on what we’re for. So, long before we knew who our nominee would be, we decided we would present the country a policy agenda that offers a better way forward. We know what we believe in, so let’s bring it to the country.

That’s how I’ve always looked at it. I’ve spent most of my adult life pursuing ways to help protect the “American Idea”—the notion that the condition of one’s birth does not determine the outcome of one’s life. The first step is always putting it on paper and having a real debate. And with the Obama presidency nearing an end, we have a real opportunity to get big things done the next four years.

That’s why next week my colleagues and I will start introducing a series of policy proposals that address the American people’s top priorities. These plans are the result of months of work by House Republicans.

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Subject: Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, Islam critic, dis-invited from Army prayer breakfast

Ordained minister and retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin was set to deliver remarks at a military prayer breakfast, but the event was rescheduled and he was not retained after an advocacy group complained about his biblical view of sexual morality and past criticisms of Islam.

Fort Riley, home of the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army in Kansas, said the disinvitation from the base’s D-Day anniversary celebration for this upcoming Monday was the result of “scheduling conflicts.”

But it came less than 24 hours after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation lobbied the base not to host Mr. Boykin, saying his “fanatical” religious views constituted a threat to unit cohesion and morale.

Mr. Boykin said he found out he had been dropped from the event on Wednesday when a newspaper contacted him for an interview.

“They said there actually was a genuine scheduling conflict, but at the end of the day it was the result of a radical, leftist, anti-Christian group who objected to my being there,” said Mr. Boykin, who is executive vice president of the Family Research Council. “The ultimate decision was based on that.”

Mikey Weinstein, MRFF president and founder, said he was threatening to take the matter to federal court and demand an injunction if the base did not drop Mr. Boykin from the prayer breakfast.

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MASS. HOUSE VOTED TO LET SEX OFFENDERS INTO THE LADIES ROOM

As it overwhelmingly voted to legally abolish the concept of biological sex on Wednesday, the Massachusetts House of Representatives also struck down a measure that would have kept convicted sex offenders from entering women's restrooms in the process.

Amendment 9 to H.4343, would “allow individual public accommodation to ban level 2 or 3 sex offenders from using sex-segregated facilities that are not consistent with their assigned sex” failed during the nearly five hours of debate leading up to the bill’s final passage.

The vote mostly fell along party lines in the Democrat-controlled chamber, with a small handful of Democrats defecting to side with the minority in favor of the public safety measure.

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Ga. ACLU leader resigns over Obama’s transgender bathroom directive

The head of Georgia’s ACLU chapter has resigned over President Obama’s directive for schools to let transgender students use the bathroom of their choice, after she said her daughters were frightened by running into three transgender individuals in the women’s bathroom.

The ACLU has supported the Obama administration’s guidance on transgender bathroom use in public schools — a principle Maya Dillard Smith stands strongly against.

She said she is in the process of educating herself on transgender issues, but claimed there was no room for dialogue at the ACLU.

In a statement obtained by Atlanta Progressive News, she accused the ACLU of being “a special interest organization that promotes not all, but certain progressive rights. In that way, it is a special interest organization not unlike the conservative right, which creates a hierarchy of rights based on who is funding the organization’s lobbying activities.”

Ms. Smith explained that the last straw for her was when her young daughters ran into three transgender adults in the women’s bathroom.

“I have shared my personal experience of having taken my elementary school age daughters into a women’s restroom when shortly after three transgender young adults over six feet with deep voices entered,” she wrote.

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Berlin vandals facing probation violations

Both Nicholas Bonser and Jordan Denton may be drug tested following graffiti spree 

The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s office is calling both Jordan Denton, 18, of Ocean City and Nicholas Bonser, 18, of Ocean Pines, back to District Court to answer for possible parole violations stemming from a Jan. 25 vandalism spree that caused more than $11,000 in damages.

District Court Judge Gerald Purnell approved State’s Attorney Paul Haskell’s request to review the pair’s parole based on three suspected failures and one modification request.

Haskell filed a “show cause order” in late April, asking the judge to find that the accused have failed to abide by the conditions of the conditions of their parole.

Bonser and Denton are accused in court documents of failure to complete their community service hours, failure to pay restitution and failure to obey laws, including use of controlled substances. The order also seeks to change the terms of the remainder of their parole, about one year, to include drug testing.

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A Viewer Writes: Driver









On 11/05/2015 Victoria Dill caused a head on collision texting and driving. On 11/3/2015 she was stopped by the Maryland state police for driving with switched tags, no insurance and driving 90 mph on us 50 but according to the officer he cut her a break cause a bald eagle landed on the car. Had they impound the car then the head on collision would have never happened she almost killed 4 innocent people texting and driving 75 mph on the wrong side of the road in Whalyville MD. She has not paid the fines and got her license suspended but yet she continues to drive she recently got pulled over driving a loaner car from Hopkins automotive that was lent to her fiance Brian Ellis who allows her to drive even though she has no license and still texts and drives. I feel as though people should be made aware because she works in West Ocean City and lives in Selbyville DE off of Bethany Road. The person she is living with feels as though kids are safe to ride with her and other drivers are safe around her, I beg to differ. What can we do to make the laws against this more than a fine? There needs to be more awareness to this ever growing problem how about not letting kids get a license till they are 18. The incident with her driving a loaner from Hopkins automotive was reported to them and they did absolutely nothing, guess they don't care if they loss a vehicle due to a careless reckless driver who has no regard for innocent lives. We need more police enforcement on this matter. The Ocean City police, Maryland state police Barrack Berlin, and the Worcester county sheriff's office all got reports of her driving and with a tag number did nothing till they stopped her speeding on Saint Martin Neck Rd. She was driving the blue ford Probe pictured.

Father, Son Busted For Heroin In Resort On Same Day

OCEAN CITY — Illustrating how the growing heroin scourge in the area is affecting entire families, or maybe illustrating the apple truly doesn’t fall very far from the tree, a father and son were arrested on heroin possession and distribution charges last weekend on the same day in separate incidents.

Around 9:30 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City police officer was dispatched to check on the welfare of an individual slumped over in his vehicle parked behind a store on 33rd Street. The officer arrived on the scene and observed a male suspect, later identified as Thomas Chris Kranias, 24, of Ocean City, seated in the driver’s seat with the ignition on and the vehicle in park.

According to police reports, Kranias’ head was slumped over his chest with saliva hanging from his mouth. The officer opened the door and Kranias opened his eyes and appeared to be dazed. When asked if he was having a medical problem, Kranias told police he was okay. The officer asked Kranias to step out of the vehicle and asked if he had anything on him or in the vehicle he shouldn’t have and Kranias reportedly said no and told the officer to search his vehicle. When asked if the officer could search his person, Kranias consented and put his hands in the air.

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Cops And Courts – June 3, 2016

Suspect Tased After Assaulting Officer

OCEAN CITY — A Delaware man was arrested for allegedly assaulting an Ocean City police officer and resisting arrest after getting tossed from a midtown nightclub last weekend.

Around 5:30 p.m. last weekend, OCPD officer were affecting an arrest outside Seacrets when they observed bar security escorting a combative individual out of the club. The suspect, later identified as Joseph Filliben, 24, of Wilmington, was allegedly screaming obscenities and pushing and pulling against the security staff. An OCPD officer approached and attempted to calm Filliben down to no avail. Filliben was accompanied by three friends who were also attempting to calm him.

After Filliben was calmed to some degree, he was asked to quietly leave the area or he would be arrested. As he left the area, Filliben continued to flail his arms and yell obscenities at the officers and others in the area. Again, he was asked to just leave the area or risk being arrested. As he continued to walk away, Filliben then directed his obscenities and fighting words toward individuals on the street and sidewalk and challenging others to fight.

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LEGENDARY COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 6-4-16

First Bike


I’m sure everybody can remember their first bike. It was a magical time of your life, when you left the confines of gravity and sailed along with the wind. My first bike was a 24” balloon tire bike that my Day bought used for $20. He painted it maroon and put a basket on the handlebars. Since I was 10 years old and this was my first bike, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Of course, I was not allowed to leave our block but that was O.K. with me. The speed it generated thoroughly amazed me.

The traffic back in 1953 was nothing like it is now and I quickly gravitated to maneuvering the streets of our neighborhood with my mother’s permission and admonition that I “be careful”. Mothers always tell you that even though if you got hurt, you would be the one who suffered.

I had that bike for three years when my grandfather bought me a new one. This was the bike to die for – a Schwinn Phantom. This bike was the red model (they only made four colors –red, blue, green and black). It had a light mounted on the front fender, a huge saddle seat, a horn in the tank between the cross bars, two baskets hanging over the rear fender and a suspension system that moved up and down and allowed you to go faster. I rode that bike all over town. In those days, you could go anywhere, leave your bike outside and be assured that it would be there when you returned. I went to St. Francis, on the other side of town, but Mom let me my bike every Thursday. This was my “sub day”. I rode to Sid’s Subs over on Division Street and had a cold cut sub and an orange drink with the dollar Mom had given me.

One night, coming home from Pony League, I was racing my friend’s father down Truitt Street when I didn’t see the flat green painted pick-up truck parked by the curb. Luckily, I didn’t get hurt, but I can’t say the same for my front fender or the streamlined light on it. I sure didn’t want to tell my parents so I hid it in my grandfather’s garage until the weekend. I still had the old 24” bike and my friend rode that and I rode my Schwinn to Messick’s, a bicycle shop on Old Fruitland Road. I then rode both of us home, with him on the handlebars. Seven miles of hard pedaling was made even harder knowing that I would have to carry him back the same way to pick my bike up. I didn’t mention the bike all week and thought I had pulled it off. When I picked the bike up, the light was all wrong and it was mounted on a fender that was not as large as the original one. That has always been a mystery to me. Did my parents know? I can’t imagine my father not noticing the difference. But they never mentioned it and neither did I.

I wonder how many of us have done a similar thing in their youth and their parents just look the other way. I know later on in my youth, when I tore up a car, my Dad would only say one thing, “Are you O.K.?” He said they made cars every day and I was only depriving myself of the use of it. Why do we get smart only with age?

Williams: Elitist Arrogance

White teenage unemployment is about 14 percent. That for black teenagers is about 30 percent. The labor force participation rate for white teens is 37 percent, and that for black teens is 25 percent. Many years ago, in 1948, the figures were exactly the opposite. The unemployment rate of black 16-year-old and 17-year-old males was 9.4 percent, while that of whites was 10.2 percent. Up until the late 1950s, black teens, as well as black adults, were more active in the labor market than their white counterparts. I will return to these facts after I point out some elitist arrogance and moral bankruptcy.

Supporters of a $15 minimum wage are now admitting that there will be job losses. “Why shouldn’t we in fact accept job loss?” asks New School economics and urban policy professor David Howell, adding, “What’s so bad about getting rid of crappy jobs, forcing employers to upgrade, and having a serious program to compensate anyone who is in the slightest way harmed by that?” Economic Policy Institute economist David Cooper says: “It could be that they spend more time unemployed, but their income is higher overall. If you were to tell me I could work fewer hours and make as much or more than I could have previously, that would be OK.”

What’s a “crappy job”? My guess is that many of my friends and I held the jobs Howell is talking about as teenagers during the late 1940s and ‘50s. During summers, we arose early to board farm trucks to New Jersey to pick blueberries. I washed dishes and mopped floors at Philadelphia’s Horn & Hardart restaurant, helped unload trucks at Campbell Soup, shoveled snow, swept out stores, delivered packages and did similar low-skill, low-wage jobs. If today’s arrogant elite were around to destroy these jobs through wage legislation and regulation, I doubt whether I and many other black youths would have learned the habits of work that laid the foundation for future success. Today’s elite have little taste for my stepfather’s admonition: Any kind of a job is better than begging and stealing.

What’s so tragic about all of this is that black leadership buys into it.

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