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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Department of Homeland Security Overwhelmed by Green Card Catastrophe

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued thousands of duplicate green cards to immigrants, including many that include incorrect information and allow these individuals to stay longer than permitted in the United States, according to a new government oversight report that warns the Department of Homeland Security is incapable of tracking immigrants who may pose a security risk to the United States.

USCIS, which handles immigration cases and the distribution of green cards, was found to have produced at least 19,000 green cards during the past three years that were duplicates or contained incorrect information, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.

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AYCE Bull And Oyster Roast


99% Muslim, 43,000 Somali refugees settled in US under Obama

The Obama administration resettled 8,858 Somali refugees in the United States last year, and nearly 43,000 during Obama's eight years, a huge number that is now raising concerns after a Somali refugee led aone-man attack spree on the campus of Ohio State.

Like Syrian refugees, there is no adequate way to check the backgrounds of the Somalis, according to the head of the Center forImmigration Studies.

The Somali refugee numbers into the U.S. from the Department of Homeland Security and State:

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Santa Train Coming To Eastern Shore of Virginia Towns This Saturday

Santa starts his journey in Cape Charles at 9:00 a.m. Come out and visit with Santa and his helpers as the Bay Coast Railroad helps him on his long journey to the North Pole.

Trinity United Methodist Church will be handing out a small gift during Santa’s visit.


Source

How Trump can drain the federal swamp

Donald Trump has pledged to “drain the swamp,” but I wonder if he knows just how deep down the muck goes.

Yes, he plans to close the revolving door between his administration and the lobbying firms of K Street, and that’s a good start. If you don’t do that, a top federal official is going to be paying way too much attention to the lobbying firm he expects will hire him after he leaves government, and that’s a legalized form of bribery.

President Obama made a similar pledge, and as quickly backed away from it. He said that no administration official could leave government to take up a job as a lobbyist, but exemptions were given and end runs permitted until there was little left of the pledge. Trump proposes to up the ante, by extending the ban from Obama’s two years to five years. He’d also close some of the loopholes that permitted Obama officials to work in lobbying firms without registering as lobbyists.
We need to go further, however, and extend the ban to congressmen and their staffers.

About a third of the current former congressmen and senior staffers work in corporate government relations departments or as registered lobbyists, where they trade their government contacts in return for huge salary increases.

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Police Weren't Expecting This When They Set Up A Trail Cam

REMINDER: Notice Of Public Hearing


The World Just Feels Lighter...


Fake News: Jill Stein Says We Had ‘A Lot Of Hacking in This Election’

Monday on MSNBC, while discussing her attempts to initiate recounts of the presidential vote in the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein said there was “a lot of hacking in this election” and said she want to make sure the vote was not “hacked,” so she is calling for a recount.

Stein said, “Well, unfortunately, it is not about me. It is about the American people who emerged from this election as not happy campers. And 80 percent of Americans, according to ‘The New York Times’ poll, were disgusted by the conduct of the election, and throughout the election.

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Ocean City Christmas Parade Marches Saturday, Dec. 3

Ocean City, Maryland –: It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and in Ocean City there is no exception! With holiday festivities filling up the calendar in December, Ocean City is adding to the holiday cheer with the 34th Annual Ocean City Christmas Parade marching along Coastal Highway on Saturday, December 3. The holiday parade starts at 11 a.m. on Old Landing Road and marches northbound in the southbound lanes of Coastal Highway to the judges’ stand at 120th Street. The event will feature more than 50 units, including high school bands, horses, antique cars, colorful holiday floats and more.

“This is the second year in the parade’s three decade history that the Town of Ocean is coordinating the event,” commented Ocean City Special Events Director, Frank Miller. “This is a historic holiday tradition and the Town of Ocean City is thrilled to continue a custom that is loved by so many!”

WBOC television anchors Maxine Bentzel and Chris Weimer return as the Masters of Ceremony, providing a play by play of the parade for spectators. Professional judges will review bands and other units in nine categories, with trophies being awarded inside the Carousel Hotel following the parade.

Annual Market Kicks Off Snow Hill’s Christmas Events

SNOW HILL – A Christmas tradition continues albeit in a new location this week in Snow Hill.

Visitors to Friday’s annual Christmas Market in Snow Hill will have the opportunity to get a start on holiday shopping as they admire the renovations in progress at the town’s former opera house. Though the Christmas Market is typically held at the fire house, a conflict prompted organizers to move it to the old opera house — soon to be Toy Town — on North Washington Street.

“It’s going to be a fun time,” said Michael Day, the town’s economic development consultant.

The Christmas Market will run from noon to 8 p.m. Dec. 2 at 209 N. Washington St. Day said the event, though it started early in the day, was meant to coincide with Snow Hill’s monthly First Friday event.

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Marc Elias Is a Hypocrite When It Comes to Election Recounts

Hillary Clinton’s lawyer Marc Elias announced over the weekend that the Clinton campaign would participate in the Wisconsin election recount even as he actively fights against recount efforts in a North Carolina governor’s race where the margin of victory was less than 5,000 votes.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has raised millions to fund recount efforts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan based on claims that voting systems in the states were hacked. Elias said the campaign had failed to find any “evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology” but would be joining the recount efforts nonetheless.

In North Carolina, where Republican Gov. Pat McCrory filed for a recount after he lost to Democrat Roy Cooper by just 4,772 votes, Elias is singing a different tune.

“Instead of attacking North Carolina voters and undermining our democratic process, Governor McCrory needs to accept his defeat and concede,” said Elias, who also represents the Cooper campaign.

Cooper’s margin of victory in North Carolina is far smaller than Trump’s margins of victory in Wisconsin (27,257 votes), Michigan (11,612 votes), and Pennsylvania (68,236 votes).

Not only is the margin of victory smaller in North Carolina, but there is also evidence of numerous problems on Election Day, including actual voter fraud.

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Gingrich: Recount Demands Show 'Collapse' of Democratic Party

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, blasting efforts by Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Democrats to force recounts of presidential votes in key states, says the move signals the collapse of the Democratic Party.

"The recount mania is one more example of the collapse of the Democratic Party as a realistic institution," Gingrich told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "You're seeing the sort of nutty wing of the Democratic Party begin to take over."

Stein has pushed for recounts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and is expected to file a recount request in Michigan this week.

"If there was a realistic chance that they could turn three states, and therefore turn the election, you could say, 'All right, I get it,'" Gingrich added. "But there's not. I mean, nobody believes they're going to turn Pennsylvania, period. If you don't turn Pennsylvania, nothing matters ... The odds against them ... are probably a trillion to one."

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Underestimated From The Very Beginning...


Cambridge PD Press Release 11-30-16 (Suspect Drowning)

On 11/30/16 Cambridge Police Department was dispatched to the 300 block of Cedar Street in reference to a possible burglary in progress. Upon the officer’s arrival on scene a male suspect was seen jumping out of a second story window. Officers gave commands for the suspect to stop and comply with police, however the suspect refused officer’s commands and fled on foot. Officers gave chase after the suspect. The suspect continued running through the neighborhood and eventually onto the property of Generation III boat yard. During the foot pursuit the suspect was in possession of a handbag and was attempting to open it. The suspect then ran to the end of the pier and then jumped into the water. Officers attempted to help the suspect to safety but the suspect went under the water. Officers received assistance from a nearby waterman along with Rescue Fire Company and the Department of Natural Resources in an attempt to rescue the suspect. 

Approximately thirty minutes later the suspect was recovered from the water and pronounced deceased by medical staff at the scene. Officers recovered the handbag that the suspect had in his possession and found a handgun inside. 

The suspect is believed to be involved in other felony crimes including a robbery incident with a handgun that occurred last week. The evidence from that robbery preliminarily matches the handgun that the suspect discarded. 


The identity of the deceased suspect is being withheld at this time until proper notification can be made.

Indiana to Consider Becoming 13th Permitless Carry State

Indiana state representative Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) is sponsoring legislation that will remove the requirement for a concealed carry permit in order to carry a gun for self-defense.

The legislation would make Indiana the 13th permitless carry state.

According to CBS 4, Lucas contends it is “immoral” to require law-abiding citizens to get a concealed carry permit before being allowed to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Moreover, he equates a permit requirement with criminality on the part of the state because it “[forces] an innocent person to jump through hoops and pay money to the state to prove their innocence and exercise a constitutional right.”

Permitless carry already exists in 12 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Vermont, Wyoming, and West Virginia. There are certain parts of Arkansas and Montana where a permit is required, but the vast portion of both states–99.4 percent, according to Gun Owners of America–is permitless.

And there is a great deal of momentum for permitless carry right now. Four states did away with a permit requirement in 2016 alone. Those four are Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, and West Virginia.

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What's Happening 11-30-16

Tell us what's happening!! The good the bad and the ugly!

US Military Space War? Preparations Underway for Potential Attacks

U.S. military commanders and advisers are scrambling to prepare for a space war that could knock out both military and civilian capabilities and impact the daily lives of Americans.

As more nations explore space and develop the capabilities to deploy satellites and other resources in space, the threat to U.S. technologies deployed there grows, according to leading military analysts, CNN reported.

The U.S. has grown dependent on satellites for bank transactions, traffic lights, and railroad switches. Airplane radar, weather data, and world communications are also dependent on satellites to work. In the military, satellite data is needed to deploy missiles and to know about nuclear attacks quickly if they should ever occur.

According to CNN, nations such as China and Russia have begun to develop technology for space weapons like rockets and missiles that could potentially take out U.S. satellites and disrupt the technology needed to protect ourselves from threats.

It’s entirely possible, Defense Department Adviser Peter Singer told the network, that the next war will begin or have a significant component in space.

More here

Media jump the gun on Ohio State shooting that never happened

What's the only thing faster than a speeding bullet? The willingness of journalists to jump the gun and begin to assign blame.

Relying on early and inaccurate information, national outlets reported this morning that a shooter was loose on campus at Ohio State. In reality, 18-year old Abdul Razak Ali Artan attacked and injured 11 students with a butcher knife and his Honda Civic, not a gun.

But rather than wait for the facts before rushing to judgement, the media quickly typed up a villain: firearms owners and organizations like the NRA who oppose increased regulation.

Even before first responders had sounded the all clear, Vox labeled the ambush "the Ohio State shooting." Yahoo News took the next step,reporting that the attack "spurs a look at Ohio gun laws." And pundits across Twitter blamed American gun culture for a mass shooting that had never happened.

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Wisconsin Elections Commission wants $3.5M for ballot recount

Green Party nominee Jill Stein and independent candidate Rocky De La Fuente will have to come up with $3.5 million by Tuesday afternoon to fund ballot recount efforts in Wisconsin, the state's bipartisan elections commission said Monday evening.

One or both of the candidates will have to pay $3,499,689 to the commission by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from Commission Administrator Michael Haas.

"County Clerks have done their best to estimate the actual costs of conducting a large recount in a relatively short time," Haas added. "The estimates may vary widely as some clerks may not have been able to precisely identify their estimated costs in the short time available to them. If the estimate turns out to be too high, the campaign will receive a refund. If the estimate is too low, they will have to pay the additional cost."

Stein has claimed the voting machines were flawed, saying those in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania had security issues. Stein and De La Fuente wanted ballots to be counted by hand, but Wisconsin elections officials denied that request. The two would have to fund the hiring of thousands of temporary workers necessary for the recount effort.

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Pennsylvania State Department says Stein missed recount deadline

Jill Stein has everything she needs to launch a presidential recount. She's got the cash, the grassroots fervor and the spotlight of an adoring media. But there's one thing she needs to overturn Trump's victory: a calendar.

Stein missed Pennsylvania's deadline to file for a voter-initiated recount. That blown deadline is a huge blow for Democrats who have pinned their hopes on recounts in the Keystone State, Michigan and Wisconsin.

"According to Wanda Murren, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of State," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday, "the deadline for a voter-initiated recount was Monday, Nov. 21."

To keep their hopes alive, Stein has mounted a legal challenge in an attempt to force a recount. While the chances of litigation are uncertain, the vote tally is clear. Trump beat Clinton in Pennsylvania, a feat not accomplished by a Republican since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

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Deputies in Ethan Saylor's death appeal to dismiss civil case

Deputies who are being sued for their roles in the death of a New Market man with Down syndrome are challenging a ruling that allowed the man’s mother to pursue the legal action against them.

Attorneys for the Frederick County sheriff’s deputies filed a brief last week arguing that the U.S. Court of Appeals should overturn a federal judge’s Sept. 9 decision to allow a wrongful-death lawsuit to go forward.

Patti Saylor accused the deputies, Richard Rochford, Scott Jewell and James Harris, of violating her son Ethan Saylor’s right to constitutional protection from unreasonable search and seizure when they arrested him before he collapsed and died in January 2013.

The 26-year-old man died after he watched the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” with a caretaker at the Westview Promenade in Frederick. When he returned to the theater during a second showing and refused to leave, management called in the deputies, who were working off-duty as security officers, to resolve the situation.

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Here's how Trump's HHS pick wants to replace Obamacare

By tapping House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Price to serve as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, President-elect Trump has added to his team one of the most serious and knowledgeable Republicans on healthcare policy, and in the process pressed his finger on the scales of the internal GOP debate over how specifically to replace Obamacare.

In contrast to many Republicans, who have talked in terms of repealing Obamacare without offering their own vision for the healthcare system, Price, an orthopedic surgeon, has for years been refining his own detailed plan. In fact, he was one of the few Republicans who introduced an alternative bill in 2009, during the actual debate over Obamacare. You can read that version of the "Empowering Patients First Act" in its entirety here.

Given that Trump offered scant details on healthcare during the campaign, Price could have outsized influence on the incoming president's health policy. Price happens to also be close with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who he succeeded as chair of the Budget Committee. Both of the men have similar attitudes on health policy, including overhauling Medicare and Medicaid. During an interview I did with Price for my 2015 book "Overcoming Obamacare," we discussed his basic philosophical approach to replacing the law.

Two things should stand out to those trying to understand the thinking of the next HHS Secretary (assuming Senate confirmation).

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Black Lives Matter mourns, defends Castro

The Black Lives Matter group mourned and defended former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and said it felt an "overwhelming sense of loss" after the death of the communist dictator on Friday.

"Although no leader is without their flaws, we must push back against the rhetoric of the right and come to the defense of El Comandante," the group wrote in an unsigned editorial published Sunday titled, "Lessons from Fidel: Black Lives Matter and the Transition of El Comandante."

The group praised Castro's "revolution," and said humans deserve certain rights based on being born, including: "healthy food, clean water, decent housing, safe communities, quality healthcare, mental health services, free and quality education, community spaces, art, democratic engagement, regular vacations, sports, and places for spiritual expression are not questions of resources, but questions of political will and they are requirements of any humane society."

Through Castro, Black Lives Matter insists there can be lessons of "freedom and the peace."

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Dems fear recounts help Trump, hurt rebuilding plans

Democratic operatives are worried that Green Party candidate Jill Stein's effort to recount votes in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where Trump won narrow victories over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, could end up boosting President-elect Trump and distracting their party from a desperately needed rebuilding effort.

The Democrats hope to regain competitiveness in the Rust Belt after suffering surprise losses there fueled by the defection of white working class voters who supported Democratic candidates for decades. They worry that the possibility of elevating Trump's image through pointless recounts, and giving him in effect another win, is not a good first step.

"We should all want to know the final count of this election, which was closer than many people realize, and identify any voter suppression or irregularities that are subverting our democracy," Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic operative who previously advised Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, said Monday in an interview.

"However, by waiting two weeks, we have undermined our credibility with the public and will be seen as sore losers," Mollineau added. "And the last thing Democrats should be doing is giving the American people any reason to feel sympathy for Donald Trump."

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The VA needs an executive, not a cheerleader

Dear President-elect Trump,

When you take office, you'll inherit a Department of Veterans Affairswith serious systemic challenges. There are insurmountable medical appointment wait times, despite receiving more than $10 billion for the Veteran Choice program. The Veterans Crisis Line rolls calls over to a contracted call center that places some veterans contemplating suicide on hold for nearly 20 minutes, which is extremely detrimental because 20 veterans commit suicide each day. Your administration will also need to address a records management nightmare, reconciling nearly 2 million active records of veterans who are believed to be deceased, providing a plan for equitable relief for the family members of thousands of veterans who died waiting for care and rectifying unresolved system errors that continue to deny nearly 30,000 Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans healthcare benefits.

These and other VA problems have lingered for decades at the VA because of bureaucratic malfeasance, a culture that prides itself on a lack of accountability and an environment where employees are routinely pressured to falsify reports about the quality of healthcare at the request of management officials.

In the past, falsified information in these reports have been submitted to Congress and repeated in speeches delivered by President Obama to veterans organizations. I am confident some of these reports have already been shared with your transition team. This unscrupulous behavior not only impacts veteran access to care, it also obstructs congressional oversight and will surely hinder your administration's efforts to reform the organization.

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Congressman Harris: Defying Federal Immigration Law is a Risky Gambit

WASHINGTON, DC: In a letter sent today, Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) urged Baltimore County Executive, Kevin Kamenetz to reconsider his stance on refusing to comply with federal law enforcement on the issue of illegal immigration. Recently, County Executive Kamenetz penned a letter to the county’s higher education leaders, in which he urged schools to defy federal immigration law, and indicated that he instructed Baltimore County Police to do likewise.

“In short, I am concerned that your letter demonstrates a lack of understanding that federal immigration law is the supreme law of the land, and that defiance of it represents a potential dereliction of duty for a sworn elected official or law enforcement officer,” wrote Dr. Harris. “As a steward of the Baltimore County budget, you are surely aware of efforts in Congress (that I fully support) to withhold all federal funding from ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions. Tens of millions of dollars in federal funds flow to Baltimore County, and tens of millions of federal dollars and loan subsidies also flow to the benefit of those educational institutions to which you wrote. Yours is a risky gambit.”

The full text of the letter can be found here

3 Dead in Tennessee Wildfire, Officials Say

A massive wildfire in eastern Tennessee has killed three people, burned hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, according to officials.

The wildfire, which Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said was the state's biggest fire in 100 years, was exacerbated by what authorities described today as hurricane-force winds of up to 87 mph.

The blaze killed three people in Gatlinburg, where many city officials, including Mayor Mike Werner, lost their homes, Haslam said at a news conference this afternoon.

Werner said at the news conference that it was a "devastating time" for the city" but that its people were "strong and resilient."

He said there are still areas authorities are trying to reach and they are hoping there will not be more fatalities.

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Donald Trump Called Racist For Warning About Somali Refugees

More than once during his presidential campaign, Donald Trump warned about the threat posed by improperly vetted Somali refugees only to be called insensitive and racist for raising the issue.

Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton clashed repeatedly on the issue of refugees throughout the election cycle. While Trump promised to suspend the influx of refugees due to security concerns, Clinton called for an increase in refugees brought to the U.S.

While much of the refugee debate focused on those coming from Syria, Trump did highlight the risks associated with Somali refugees in states like Maine and Minnesota, which have received high numbers of displaced Somalians. (RELATED: OHIO STATE ATTACKER IDENTIFIED: Everything We Know About Abdul Razak Ali Artan)

Speaking a rally in Maine last August, Trump warned that Somali refugees provide a “rich pool of potential recruiting targets for Islamist terror groups.” FBI Director James Comey has issued similar warnings.

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Ohio Newspaper Profiled OSU Somali Attacker Abdul Artan in August

The Lantern, Ohio State University’s official student newspaper, profiled Abdul Razak Ali Artan in August.

Artan, the deceased Somali refugee who attacked ten people on campus Monday morning before he was shot and killed by an Ohio State University police officer, was a “third year [student at Ohio State] in logistics management.”

“Law enforcement officials told NBC News the suspect’s name is Abdul Razaq Ali Artan, an 18-year-old student at the university. He was a Somali refugee who left his homeland with his family in 2007, lived in Pakistan and then came to the United States in 2014 as a legal permanent resident of the United States, officials said,” NBC News reported on Monday.

The interview of Artan, written by Kevin Stankiewicz and Jay Panandiker, ran in the August 25 print-only version of the Lantern’s Arts and Life section, and was titled “Humans of Ohio State.”

You can view the pdf of the eight page August 25, 2016 print edition of The Lantern here.

NBC News reported that Artan “posted a rant shortly before he plowed a car into a campus crowd and stabbed people with a butcher knife in an ambush that ended when a police officer shot him dead, a law enforcement official said.”

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A Viewer Writes: Think about this for a moment

Tuesday Nov. 8 at around 1700 hours, Hillary and 400+ Hillary Clinton loyalists gathered with 100+ cases of champagne, a Two-Million-Dollar, ($2,000,000.00) paid for massive fireworks display in downtown New York and a custom built dome with the mythical “glass roof” and the Bitch, (or as her Secret Service call sign names her-- “Broomstick One”) to celebrate Broom Stick One's victory over Trump as the first Female President of the United States. The inner cities were dancing in the streets, knowing their Welfare checks were going to continue and go up. Mexico was happy as they could continue to empty their prisons into America. ISIS was happy as they could continue to infiltrate America with their Terrorists!

Newsweek had already published and shipped the next issue with the cover “Madam President” and a detailed analysis of precisely how the Clinton political machine had captured the Electoral College with a whopping 324 votes. They had her acceptance speech in an article gracefully calling for all Americans to join with her and blah, blah, blah.

Among the 400+ giddy followers were those who had already received confirmation of their future assignments and high paid government jobs in the White House, FBI, Department of Labor, Ambassadorships and the list goes on. All were assured of at least four (4) and probably eight (8) years of lucrative jobs that they had dedicated over 3 years of their lives to achieving. They had all rented or bought housing in D.C. or nearby in Georgetown. Reservations had been made at the Hilton and other 5 star hotels in New York City for the PARTY.

They knew the fix was in: every poll and every media outlet except Fox News and Drudge was in the tank for Hillary and against Trump. At a rate of 45 to 1 Department of Justice employees had contributed to the campaign over Trump. CNN, NBC, CBS had all supplied Hillary with the debate questions well in advance. The fix was in over all the scandals and the WikiLeaks was all the fault of the Russians who had even changed the language in the emails. The Department of Justice and FBI had cleared Hillary of any criminal conduct.

Every media pundit and all of the polls except the LA Times and one other had Hillary with a 1-8 point lead. The odds in Las Vegas were 200 to 1 and by election time were still 5 to 1. The exit polls were 100% in the Democrat’s favor and the path to victory was clear.

Then within 5 short hours it all came crashing down. They were stunned—told to go home and go home they did so they could organize riots and proclaim to the world that Trump was not their President.

Imagine the abject depression and shock that set in.

I freaking love it.

"Congrats to All Patriotic Americans that love their Republic, great job!"

Md. lawmakers compromise with governor on funding

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland legislative leaders are announcing a compromise with Gov. Larry Hogan on school funding and a loan for Northrop Grumman.

House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller announced the compromise Tuesday.

Northrop Grumman requested aid to acquire a 300,000 square-foot facility in Linthicum and keep 10,000 employees in Maryland. Last year, lawmakers approved a $37.5 million tax credit for the defense contractor. Another $20 million proposed by Hogan needs approval by the Legislative Policy Committee.

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Space Poop Challenge

The Problem

In space, no one can hear you flush. This is because in space, there are no toilets. While you may go about your life mostly unaffected by this, it is more of a challenge for our brave astronauts in their space suits.

After all: when you gotta go, you gotta go. And sometimes you gotta go in a total vacuum.

What You Can Do To Cause A Breakthrough

Read the complete challenge guidelines to see the rules and requirements for entry into the challenge.

“Accept Challenge” by clicking the button above to compete in the challenge. 

Follow the challenge above to be notified of any status updates to the challenge.

Share this challenge on social media using the icons above. Show your friends, your family, or anyone you know who has a passion for discovery.

Start a conversation in our Forum to join the conversation, ask questions or connect with other innovators.

POLLAK: False ‘Nazi’ Accusations Are Mainstreaming Hatred

Two weeks ago, during morning prayers at my synagogue, a young black man burst into the sanctuary, gave a “Heil Hitler” salute, and made a machine-gun motion with his hands. Worshippers chased him out, and we called police, but they did not come in time.

The incident was incredibly strange, but also a reminder that there is a real threat of antisemitism and neo-Nazism. Ironically, I was spending much of my week fighting false, defamatory “Nazi” accusations about Breitbart by the likes of Howard Dean.

Calling someone a “Nazi” is absurd hyperbole, and it often discredits the person making the claim. But in the current climate, the term “Nazi” is highly inflammatory, because people are upset about the recent election and looking for someone to blame.

Some individuals and organizations are deliberately hyping the paranoia. The Anti-Defamation League — which should drop the “Anti,” since it has been responsible for so much defamation these past few weeks — actually compared Trump’s proposal to track immigrants from terror-prone countries to the way that Nazis registered Jews during the Holocaust, to kill them later.

More here

Ohio State attacker praised ex-Al Qaeda leader as 'hero' online, sources say

The Somali refugee who plowed a car into a crowd at Ohio State University before stabbing several pedestrians with a butcher knife on Monday is said to have referred to American-born Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki as a “hero” on his social media accounts.

Law enforcement sources told Fox News on Tuesday that the reference of al-Awlaki on Abdul Razak Ali Artan’s social media accounts is “deeply concerning” because it could suggest he was self-radicalized before launching the attack.

While a motive has not been confirmed, authorities are looking into whether the car-and-knife attack by the Somali-born student was an anti-U.S. terrorist attack.

The FBI is now in possession of Artan’s electronic devices and will focus their investigation on whether he was reading the two recent ISIS propaganda journals that called for attacks using vehicles and knives, a law enforcement source added.

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Engelbrecht: Voter Fraud Has Been ‘Institutionalized,’ Allowing Non-Citizen Voters to ‘Flood Our Rolls’

True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht joined SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Tuesday’s Breitbart News Daily to discuss accusations of voter fraud in the 2016 election, including President-elect Donald Trump’s assertion that millions of ballots were cast by people who were not legally allowed to vote.

“You know what? I think we don’t really know,” Engelbrecht said of Trump’s allegation. “We put out a statement shortly after the President-elect’s comments came out, and we said that we support the belief that there could, in fact, have been millions of illegally cast votes, and we are doing tremendous amounts of research to try to get to some of those answers.”

“We set ourselves up, Alex, in a system where for a long time, nobody’s wanted to get answers, so questions haven’t been allowed to be asked,” she told Marlow. “That’s the paradigm that we now have to shatter.”

Marlow noted that while some illegal votes are certainly cast in every election, Trump’s dramatic claim of millions in 2016 was very broad. He asked Engelbrecht if she thought the number could really be that high.

“I think so, yes,” she replied. “And here’s why I think that: When we talk about fraud in sound bites, we often sort of get caught up in, oh, you know, the dead are voting, people are being bused in. Do those things happen, and are those all worthy of debate? Absolutely.

But the real problem that we face is that fraud has been institutionalized. We have set up processes that allow for non-citizens, among other ways, but non-citizens certainly to flood into our rolls. And that’s just one of the ways that we set ourselves up with the potential for illegal votes.”

“The amount of vitriol that has come at our organization and board members as a result of this discourse, this exchange of ideas, is nothing short of stunning,” she said. “It begs the question: how close to the bone must we be to engender that kind of outrage.."

There's LOTS more here

99,726 Somali Refugees Settled in U.S. Since 9/11

(CNSNews.com) – Nearly 100,000 Somali refugees have been admitted into the United States since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including 9,020 during fiscal year 2016 and 2,279 in the last two months alone.

According to the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center database, between the al-Qaeda terror attacks in September 2001 and today, 99,726 Somali refugees have been resettled in the U.S.

Of those refugees, 99.6 percent are Muslims, reflecting the religious makeup of Somalia’s population, which is almost entirely Muslim, predominantly Sunni.

The largest numbers of Somali refugees arriving in the country since 9/11 have been settled in Minnesota (almost 16,000) and Ohio (more than 7,500), with sizeable communities also in Texas, New York and Arizona.

Monday’s attack on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio, was carried out by a student who, according to law enforcement officials, was a Somali refugee who came to the U.S. in 2014, after living for several years in Pakistan.

The terror attack comes two months after a 20-year-old college student – the U.S.-raised son of refugees from Somalia – stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota shopping mall before an off-duty police officer shot and killed him.

In a campaign stop in Minnesota shortly before the November 8 election, Republican nominee Donald Trump pointed to the mall attack and accused the administration of “faulty refugee vetting.”

During October alone, 1,352 Somali refugees were admitted to the U.S., where they were resettled in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

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Rep. Peter King: 'Up to 40 Somali Americans' Have Become 'ISIS Terrorists'

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), a member of the Homeland Security Committee, said Monday's attack at the Ohio State University "has all the indicators of terrorism," including a Somali refugee as the suspect and the use of a knife and a vehicle to harm people, as ISIS has encouraged its followers to do.

"There's been a real problem with the (American) Somali community as far as having a large number of Al-Shabaab supporters," King told Fox News's Megyn Kelly Monday night.

As CNSNews.com reported on Tuesday, nearly 100,000 Somali refugees have been admitted into the United States since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including 9,020 during fiscal year 2016 and 1,352 last month alone.

"Minneapolis-St. Paul and Columbus, Ohio are the two areas with the highest concentration of Somali refugees," King told Kelly. "We've had up to 40 Somali Americans have gone over to Somalia to fight as ISIS terrorists. So this is a real threat, it's a real danger. And again, it's a community where the overwhelming majority are good people, but there's a hard core within it.

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Alt-Left Insanity: National Tantrum Spreads

Call it a big-league freakout (in tribute to our new P-eOTUS). Or maybe mass insanity. I prefer to call it the National Tantrum.

It’s hard to tell which group has lost its grip on reality more – liberal activists or their brothers and sisters in arms in the media. The activists are protesting, marching, rioting and vandalizing their way across lefty America, because conservative America wouldn’t tolerate it. Meanwhile, journalists are almost acting worse.

The activists are trying a multi-pronged approach. They are protesting/rioting. (It’s often hard to tell them apart with the alt-left.) Then they have organized a largely astroturf #NotMyPresident hashtag on Twitter. Next, they have begun to threaten and intimidate electors to overturn the election. And then, they’re claiming the electoral college win is illegitimate because they lost it. The alt-left even pushed a meme that pretended Mike Pence was gay.

Former Bernie Sanders spokeswoman Symone Sanders (no relation) told CNN that the future of the Democratic party is without white leaders. Sanders told the world in her special bigoted way, "we don't need white people leading the Democratic party right now." I’m sure Trump’s communications team is sending her a Christmas card.

The tantrum among the major media is almost worse..

Sorry, it’s the Democrats who racialized US politics

Democratic pundits are calling on their party to court working-class and non-coastal whites in the wake of this month’s electoral rout. But the Democratic Party is now dominated by identity politics, which defines whites, particularly heterosexual males, as oppressors of every other population in the United States. Why should the targets of such thinking embrace an ideology that scorns them?

The most absurd Democratic meme to emerge from the party’s defeat is the claim that it’s Donald Trump, rather than Democrats, who engages in “aggressive, racialized discourse,” in the words of a Los Angeles Times op-ed.

By contrast, President Obama sought a “post-racial, bridge-building society,” according to New York Times reporter Peter Baker. Obama’s post-racial efforts have now “given way to an angry, jeering, us-against-them nation,” writes Baker, in a front-page “news” story.

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What a Cluster: Jill Stein Now Suing both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to Force Hand Recounts

Well, this is devolving into a ridiculous cluster%&$*.

In a first-ever attempt to demand recounts in multiple states following a presidential election, Dr. Jill Stein has raised more than twice what she raised as a presidential candidate of the green party — over $7 million — to pay for temporary workers, legal fees, and filing costs to demand vote recounts in the key states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

Theoretically, if all three of these states were “flipped” in the recount process, the presidency would go to Hillary Clinton.

Well, now the Wisconsin Elections Commission has denied Stein’s request to have the votes specifically recounted by hand, so she’s announced that she’s suing the whole state.

Just in Wisconsin alone, the cost of hiring the thousands of temp workers that completion of a hand recount would require will be somewhere in the ballpark of $3.5 million to get it all done by the federal deadline of December 12. If she loses the lawsuit, Wisconsin can recount the votes however it chooses (which will, quite obviously, not be by hand).

Pennsylvania said Stein already missed the deadline of November 21, so she’s suing that state too.

What a magnificent letter...

With fourteen NFL games on Sunday, and the 49ers on that list, there's no question that some players will protest during the national anthem.
However, Marine Colonel (Ret) Jeffery A. Powers is sick of it, so he wrote a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Former Congressman Allen West posted the letter to his site:
Commissioner, I’ve been a season pass holder at Yankee Stadium, Yale Bowl and Giants Stadium.

I missed the ’90-’91 season because I was with a battalion of Marines in Desert Storm. 14 of my wonderful Marines returned home with the American Flag draped across their lifeless bodies. My last conversation with one of them, Sgt Garrett Mongrella, was about how our Giants were going to the Super Bowl. He never got to see it.
Many friends, Marines and Special Forces Soldiers who worked with or for me through the years returned home with the American Flag draped over their coffins.
Now I watch multi-millionaire athletes who never did anything in their lives but play a game, disrespect what brave Americans fought and died for. They are essentially spitting in the faces and on the graves of real men, men who have actually done something for this country beside playing with a ball and believing they’re something special! They’re not! My Marines and soldiers were!
You are complicit in this! You’ll fine players for large and small infractions but you lack the moral courage and respect for our nation and the fallen to put an immediate stop to this. Yes, I know, it’s their 1st Amendment right to behave in such a despicable manner.
What would happen if they came out and disrespected you or the refs publicly?
I observed a player getting a personal foul for twerking in the end zone after scoring. I guess that’s much worse than disrespecting the flag and our National Anthem.
Hmmm, isn’t it his 1st Amendment right to express himself like an idiot in the end zone?
Why is taunting not allowed yet taunting America is OK? You fine players for wearing 9-11 commemorative shoes yet you allow scum on the sidelines to sit, kneel or pump their pathetic fist in the air. They are so deprived with their multi-million dollar contracts for playing a freaking game!
You condone it all by your refusal to act. As such, you are just as bad and disgusting as they are. I hope Americans boycott any sponsor who supports that rabble you call the NFL. I hope they turn off the TV when any team that allowed this disrespect to occur, without consequence, on the sidelines. I applaud those who have not.
Legends and heroes do NOT wear shoulder pads. They wear body armor and carry rifles.
They make minimum wage and spend months and years away from their families. They don’t do it for an hour on Sunday. They do it 24/7 often with lead, not footballs, coming in their direction. They watch their brothers carted off in pieces not on a gurney to get their knee iced. They don’t even have ice! Many don’t have legs or arms.
Some wear blue and risk their lives daily on the streets of America . They wear fire helmets and go upstairs into the fire rather than down to safety. On 9-11, hundreds vanished. They are the heroes.
I hope that your high paid protesting pretty boys and you look in that mirror when you shave tomorrow and see what you really are, legends in your own minds. You need to hit the road and take those worms with you!
Time to change the channel.

Col Jeffrey A Powers USMC (Ret)
Vista, California

53 Years After JFK Assassination and CIA Admits this Conspiracy THEORY is Actually FACT

Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. It’s been 53 years since the assassination. Since that fateful November day, conspiracy theories have abounded. However, when we sift through the disinformation and look at only verifiable facts, we find no need for theories — as the conspiracy was a fact.

In 2015, while the world debated the Kardashians and Miss Universe, the CIA quietly declassified a report showing that former CIA director John McCone was complicit in withholding information regarding the assassination– a de facto conspiracy.

As Politico noted, according to the report by CIA historian David Robarge, McCone, who died in 1991, was at the heart of a “benign cover-up” at the spy agency, intended to keep the commission focused on “what the Agency believed at the time was the ‘best truth’—that Lee Harvey Oswald, for as yet undetermined motives, had acted alone in killing John Kennedy.” The most important information that McCone withheld from the commission in its 1964 investigation, the report found, was the existence, for years, of CIA plots to assassinate Castro, some of which put the CIA in cahoots with the Mafia. Without this information, the commission never even knew to ask the question of whether Oswald had accomplices in Cuba or elsewhere who wanted Kennedy dead in retaliation for the Castro plots.

“If the commission did not know to ask about covert operations about Cuba, he was not going to give them any suggestions about where to look,” the CIA report notes.

While the report may be referred to as ‘benign’ by the CIA as an attempt to downplay its significance, it was a cover-up nonetheless — a cover-up that halted any further investigation into Oswald and his potential ties to Cuba and any of his possible connections or accomplices.

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Remember when Hillary Clinton said it would be 'horrifying' if Trump didn't accept the election results?

OHIO STATE ATTACK: Twitter EXPLODES On John Kasich For Opening State’s Borders To Refugees

People are blaming Kasich's calls to open the Buckeye state’s borders to international refugees for Abdul Artan’s actions

John Kasich was the recipient of a tidal wave of Twitter hate Monday, as countless users blamed the Ohio governor for Monday’s horrific attack on Ohio State University’s campus.

Kasich praised Ohioans for exhibiting strength and resilience in the face of such a tragedy with a statement Monday afternoon.

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JUST IN: President Trump has Tweeted that he will be leaving his business interests to focus on the presidency


I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! 


While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses. Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!

Carrier Says It Has Deal With Trump To Keep Jobs In Indiana

WASHINGTON (AP) — Air conditioning company Carrier Corp. says it has reached a deal with President-elect Donald Trump to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in Indiana. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence plan to travel to the state Thursday to unveil the agreement alongside company officials.

Trump confirmed the meeting on Twitter late Tuesday, promising a “Great deal for workers!”

Trump spent much of his campaign pledging to keep companies like Carrier from moving jobs overseas. His focus on manufacturing jobs contributed to his unexpected appeal with working-class voters in states like Michigan, which has long voted for Democrats in presidential elections.

The details of the agreement were unclear. Carrier tweeted that the company was “pleased to have reached a deal” with Trump and Pence to keep the jobs in Indianapolis.

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Coming To Salisbury Next?


When You're Tired Of People Standing Too Close To You


Worcester County Schools Delayed Due To Fog

All schools will be operating on a one hour delay today, November 30, 2016, due to foggy conditions. All school programs will begin following the one hour delay. Thank you.

The Christmas Lights Road Trip Through Delaware That’s Nothing Short Of Magical

It’s time for another Only In Delaware Road Trip – and this time, we’re going to see the BEST Christmas Light displays in Delaware! Starting up north in Wilmington, heading down through Bear, Townsend, Odessa and finishing up with an amazing display at the beach, it really doesn’t get any better than this. The final display in Rehoboth Beach is dedicated to helping all local Children celebrate the holidays, so no matter what, don’t skip that last stop! Read more about this magical Delaware Christmas Lights Road trip below, and use our interactive map to plan your trip.

Here's the trip - plan a night or two and check out each stop!

Archaeological Survey at Pemberton Historical Park set for Dec. 10

Salisbury, MD – What’s beneath the ground at Pemberton Historical Park?

Archaeologist Ed Otter and his team will be completing an Archaeological Survey at Pemberton Historical Park on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and the public is welcome to attend this free event. Learn about archaeological digs and see if any artifacts are discovered at the park.

If interested in helping with the dig, please contact Andy Kitzrow at akitzrow@wicomicocounty.org. Attendees must be 18 or older to assist with the dig.

Visit www.PembertonPark.org for more information about the park, which is located at 5561 Plantation Lane in Salisbury.

Muslims Forced A Maryland School To Ban Christmas From Calendars

The War on Christmas continues as Muslims in the Montgomery County School District in Maryland successfully strip the Christian holiday from the school’s calendar. In addition to this measure, the schools will no longer recognize Easter or Yom Kippur to satisfy unhappy Muslim parents and students.

The controversy began when the Muslim community put pressure on the school board to include the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha on their calendar. Their claim was that Eid al-Adha was a religious holiday that was just as important as Christmas is to Christians and Yom Kippur is to Jews.

Students who followed the religion complained that, just like Christmas, Eid al-Adha was about spending time with their family. However, when students missed a day from school, they would find themselves buried in homework and falling behind their classmates.

The board responded by saying the holidays recognized on the school’s calander were not about honoring or accepting a religion, nor were they about giving children time to spend with their families. Instead, the school was considering the high absentee of students and faculty members on the Jewish and Christian holidays.

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Where Have All The Hero's Gone?

Young rugby players who suffer head impacts could undergo changes in their brains

Youngsters who suffer head impacts in sports like rugby and American football undergo changes in their brains after a single season, say scientists.

Scans of high school American footballer players, aged under 18, found alterations in the grey and white matter in their brains that had been caused by the collisions.

Researchers said the findings related to all contact sports - and it is now important to discover if there are long-term effects.

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