Delaware Electric returning $6.3 million to long-time members

Delaware Electric Cooperative’s (DEC), Board of Directors, has voted to return $6.3 million in capital credits to the cooperative’s member-owners in December.

Capital credits are also known as the co-op’s profits or margins. Because DEC is a not-for-profit utility, margins are returned to the people the cooperative serves, a DEC release stated.

To receive a billing credit or check from the cooperative, you must have been a Delaware Electric Cooperative member in 1999, 2000 or 2001.

More

McCarren Walter Act

Wouldn't it be interesting if, at some point during the Presidential campaign, one of the candidates asked, "Oh, by the way, has anyone in Washington DC ever heard of the McCarran-Walter Act Of 1952?

I did not know of this Act until recently, but it has been a law for almost 65 years.

Here are the historic facts that would seem to indicate that many, if not most, of the people we elect to work for us in Washington DC do not have the slightest idea of what laws already exist in OUR country.

After several terrorist incidents were carried out in the United States, Donald Trump was severely, criticized for suggesting that the U.S. should limit or temporarily suspend the immigration of certain ethnic groups, nationalities, and even people of certain religions (Muslims).

The criticisms condemned such a suggestion as, among other things, being Un-American, dumb, stupid, reckless, dangerous and racist.

Congressmen and Senators swore that they would never allow such legislation, and our President called such a prohibition on immigration unconstitutional.

As Gomer Pyle would say, "Well, Surprise, Surprise!" It seems that the selective immigration ban is already law and has been applied on several occasions.

Known as the McCarran-Walter Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 allows for the "Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by the President, whenever the President finds that the entry of aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.

Worcester G.O.L.D. Campaign Looks To Brighten Holidays For Local Kids

BERLIN – Volunteers with Worcester County G.O.L.D. spent nine hours on Giving Tuesday outside the Atlantic Hotel, where they collected toys and monetary donations for the organization’s “Helping Hands for the Holidays” program.

Outside the hotel, volunteers took turns accepting donations throughout the day and loading the new toys into a 1969 Subaru 360 pickup, donated by Michael Braun, which they displayed on the front sidewalk.

“The Atlantic Hotel was wonderful in letting us park the truck here and set up on their porch,” President Carol Jacobs said.

In their own version of “Stuff the Truck,” Executive Director Claire Otterbein said participants donated dolls, board games, basketballs and other sports equipment.

More

To Really ‘Make America Great Again,’ End the Fed!

Former Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher recently gave a speech identifying the Federal Reserve’s easy money/low interest rate policies as a source of the public anger that propelled Donald Trump into the White House. Mr. Fisher is certainly correct that the Fed’s policies have “skewered” the middle class. However, the problem is not specific Fed policies, but the very system of fiat currency managed by a secretive central bank.

Federal Reserve-generated increases in money supply cause economic inequality. This is because, when the Fed acts to increase the money supply, well-to-do investors and other crony capitalists are the first recipients of the new money. These economic elites enjoy an increase in purchasing power before the Fed’s inflationary policies lead to mass price increases. This gives them a boost in their standard of living.

By the time the increased money supply trickles down to middle- and working-class Americans, the economy is already beset by inflation. So most average Americans see their standard of living decline as a result of Fed-engendered money supply increases.

Some Fed defenders claim that inflation doesn’t negatively affect anyone’s standard of living because price increases are matched by wage increases. This claim ignores the fact that the effects of the Fed’s actions depend on how individuals react to the Fed’s actions.

Historically, an increase in money supply does not just cause a general rise in prices. It also causes money to flow into specific sectors, creating a bubble that provides investors and workers in those areas a (temporary) increase in their incomes. Meanwhile, workers and investors in sectors not affected by the Fed-generated boom will still see a decline in their purchasing power and thus their standard of living.

Adoption of a “rules-based” monetary policy will not eliminate the problem of Fed-created bubbles, booms, and busts, since Congress cannot set a rule dictating how individuals react to Fed policies. The only way to eliminate the boom-and-bust cycle is to remove the Fed’s power to increase the money supply and manipulate interest rates.

More

Blue Angels Scout Ocean City In Advance Of 2017 Air Show

OCEAN CITY – Two members with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels team met with officials Tuesday in Ocean City to discuss plans for their appearance at the 2017 OC Air Show.

Lt. Brandon Hempler, Blue Angel 7, and airshow narrator, and Lt. Dave Steppe, Blue Angel 8 and events coordinator for the 2017 airshow, landed at NASA Wallops Flight Facility after surveying Ocean City’s beaches for next year’s show, scheduled June 17-18.

The meetings, held at both Wallops and the Public Safety Building of Ocean City, addressed plans such as airfield, lodging and safety accommodations, according to the pair. But the visit was also an opportunity for the Blue Angels to acquaint themselves with OC Air Show officials, first responders and the resort community.

Hempler of Kansas and Steppe of Alabama both said they have never visited Ocean City, but said the fly-by and meetings allowed them to scope the unfamiliar landscape and meet the townspeople.

More

Quotes

"The idea that political speech had to be protected at any cost dates to Colonial days, during which the press and the public were not allowed to express themselves freely on matters of public concern. The King and his government often used restrictive measures, such as licensing of printing presses and the doctrine of seditious libel, to silence unfavorable public comment."
-- Craig R. Smith

Source: All Speech Is Created Equal, 1986, Washington, D.C., Freedom of Expression Foundation

"The dominant purpose of the First Amendment
was to prohibit the widespread practice
of government suppression of embarrassing information."
-- Justice William O. Douglas
(1898-1980), U. S. Supreme Court Justice

Source: New York Times v. Unites States (Pentagon Papers)

Homeowner Shoots Intruder While On the Phone With 911

A Florida homeowner is safe after defending himself against intruders, fatally wounding one of three men who broke into his home.

The intense and dramatic moments were captured via the call to 911.

Sunrise resident Warren Darlow told police that he witnessed a car pull into his driveway. Three unknown males exited the vehicle and approached the home. According to arrest affidavits, fearing the suspects were going to break into his house, Darlow armed himself with a shotgun.

More/Video

Neutered Dems are all bark, no bite on Trump's nominees

Senate Democrats are as furious with President-elect Trump's Cabinet picks as they are powerless to stop them.

Thanks to a change to Senate rules that Democrats forced on Republicans in 2013, it only takes 51 votes to confirm a nominee, except for Supreme Court nominees, which will still require 60 votes. Republicans will have 51 or 52 seats in the Senate next year, which means the GOP can approve anyone they want to Trump's team as long as they all agree.

Without the rule change, Trump's team might very well be carefully weighing whether it can scrounge up the eight Senate Democrats needed to secure a confirmation. But the simple majority vote is significantly reducing the value of statements like the one Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., made this week about Trump's choice to have Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

"Tom Price has led the charge to privatize Medicare, and for this reason, I cannot support his nomination," he said.

More

Teddy bears made from uniforms of slain St. Louis County officer

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Amid unimaginable grief, the widow of slain Saint Louis County Police Officer Blake Snyder is using Facebook to help her deal with the loss of her husband. Although Elizabeth Snyder still endures immense pain, their son Malachi has helped her push through the heartache and traumatic loss.

Elizabeth posted a picture Tuesday evening of her son with what appear to be two teddy bears. She writes, "These beautiful bears were made for us from Blake's uniforms."

Elizabeth has said in the past that she’s eternally grateful for all of comfort she has received from the St. Louis community and across the nation as well, adding her son will always know how much the community adored her husband and cared for their family in this trying time.

More

JUST IN: Jill Stein campaign drops recount effort in Pa.

Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein discontinued her statewide recount effort in Pennsylvania Saturday afternoon after a Commonwealth Court judge mandated the campaign post a $1 million bond to press on with its challenge.

In court documents filed shortly before 5 p.m., an attorney for the Stein campaign wrote, "Petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means. They cannot afford to post the $1,000,000 bond required by the Court."

The abrupt halt to the campaign's effort comes less than one week after Stein filed a recount petition in Commonwealth Court, contending the Nov. 8 election was "illegal" and the results inaccurate. Citing research from computer scientists suggesting possible irregularities with electronic voting machines, Stein had hoped a recount in Pennsylvania - as well as Wisconsin and Michigan - could overturn the results in three key swing states that sealed President-elect Donald Trump's win.

More

Paul Ryan Silent as Refugee Program Claims Victims at Ohio State University

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s press office has yet to make a public comment about the attack carried out by a Somali refugee at Ohio State University, a two-hour drive from Ryan’s own alma mater, Miami University in Ohio.

The seemingly muted response from Ryan’s office is in marked contrast to statements issued by other Republican lawmakers and the President’s spokesman–and is especially noteworthy given that the House Speaker is the third highest-ranking elected official in the nation, just behind the President and the Vice President.

When Breitbart News reached out to Ryan’s office to ask if they had issued a public press statement about the attack, they did not respond.

The Speaker’s official Twitter page is similarly quiet about the Ohio refugee attack. A review of his Twitter page shows that in the days following the attempted mass slaughter, Ryan’s team posted 33 tweets and retweets about #CuresNow, as well as roughly 23 tweets and retweets about Speaker Ryan’s #ABetterWay agenda, and 10 tweets and retweets about President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet picks.

Congressman Brian Babin, who last year introduced legislation to pause the refugee program–legislation which Speaker Ryan decided not to advance–said he has not heard Ryan “say anything” about the refugee program in the days since the attack.

“I haven’t heard him say anything about that,” Babin told nationally-syndicated talk radio host Laura Ingraham on Thursday.

More here

Above and Beyond: Little child in busy road rescued by bus driver

DAGSBORO – Ronna Cobb wears several hats with the Indian River School District.

She is a bus driver for the district and a paraprofessional at Phillip Showell Elementary School in Selbyville.

In the eyes of Selbyville Police Department Detective Larry Corrigan and the school district, she is a life-saver.

This real-life story was shared by Det. Corrigan as the Indian River School District at its Nov. 28 board of education meeting honored Ms. Cobb with its “Above and Beyond Award.”

Ms. Cobb’s quick response, actions and preventive measures may have prevented tragedy after a three-year-old boy clad in pajamas had wandered into a busy roadway.

More

Stein Recount Fundraising Goal Raised For Fourth Time

Goal has jumped from $2.2 million to $9.5 million in past week

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has yet again raised the fundraising goal for an attempted vote recount in three battleground states and is currently seeking $9.5 million for the effort.

Stein, who first called for recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan on Nov. 23, initially sought $2.2 million for the effort. Once the goal was met, Stein increased the amount to $4.5 million. Shortly after, Stein said the total costs would hit $7 million. Stein has since upped the goal to $9.5 million.

“We need your help to stand up to the powerful forces trying to block our recount campaign for citizen democracy,” Stein’s fundraising page states. “We received word yesterday that the final estimate for the filing fee for the recount in Wisconsin is $3.5 million—an outrageous cost increase from the initial estimate of $1.1 million that was given to us by WI state elections officials based on the last statewide recount. But thanks to over 130,000 small donors like you, we have enough money in hand to pay this fee and move forward with the recount!”

“But because of this exorbitant fee increase—bringing the total money required for recounts in all three states to $9.5 million—we need your help. We’re not there yet, and we need every last penny to reach the $9.5 million benchmark.”


Stein has said that excess funds would go toward “election integrity efforts” and to promote “voting system reform.”

Marc Elias, Hillary Clinton’s top campaign lawyer and partner at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Perkins Coie, has been the go-to lawyer in challenging voter identification laws in a number of states with Republican-dominated legislatures.

Elias’ efforts were bankrolled by millions of dollars from liberal billionaire George Soros.

More here

Route 90 to be closed for paving project next week

Commuters who use Route 90 during their daily ride might want to plot an alternate path next week, because the road will be closed, but not necessarily impassible, as the State Highway Administration attempts to finish the paving project it began this summer.

The road will be closed between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. starting on Monday, Dec. 5, with work scheduled for completion by Friday, Dec. 9.

SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar said the work could be completed early if current weather forecasts hold, and the project runs smoothly.

Work is scheduled to be conducted from the Route 90 junction on Route 50, on both eastbound and westbound lanes, until Route 90 meets Route 113 near Berlin.

More

Since 2014 The US Has Added 571,000 Waiters And Bartenders And Lost 34,000 Manufacturing Workers

As another month passes, the great schism inside the American labor force get wider. We are referring to the unprecedented divergence between the total number of high-paying manufacturing jobs, and minimum-wage food service and drinking places jobs, also known as waiters and bartenders. In October, according to the BLS, while the number of people employed by "food services and drinking places" rose by another 18,900, the US workforce lost another 4,000 manufacturing workers.

This is the fourth consecutive month of declining manufacturing workers, and the 7th decline in the past 10 months.

More

Suspect in Boardwalk melee found not guilty by OC judge

Charles Mapp, 22, of Accomac, Virginia might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time during that major Boardwalk scuffle in July.

He was found not guilty in Ocean City District Court Monday of disorderly conduct and interfering with police in that incident after witnesses sowed enough doubt in Judge Daniel Mumford’s mind that he ruled for the defense.

Mapp was arrested along with four others on July 23, after a crowd spiraled out of control on First Street and Atlantic Avenue as police tried to restore order.

Deputy State’s Attorney Paul Haskell argued that Mapp shouted profanities and raised his middle finger to the crowd. Ocean City Police Officer Troy Darpino also testified that he heard a police bicycle being kicked to the ground and saw Mapp rush towards another officer.

“I put him in an arm bar, commanding him to put his hands behind his back, and he didn’t,” Darpino told the court. “I took him to the ground and he put his hands in front of his chest. After a few seconds, he put them behind his back.”

More

Democrats Define Insanity

A school official called for compassion for the Ohio State attacker. People are demanding she be fired.

Hundreds of people are demanding that an Ohio State University administrator be fired after she called for compassion for the student who drove into a crowd of students and faculty Monday morning and slashed at people with a butcher knife.

Eleven people were hospitalized after the attack, which sent screaming students fleeing for safety and barricading themselves in classrooms. Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a junior at Ohio State, was fatally shot within a minute by a university police officer.

The post by Stephanie Clemons Thompson, assistant director of residence life at Ohio State, included two demands that it not be shared. But it spread virally by people who were outraged by it shared it.

More

Trump’s Treasury Secretary Nominee Wants to Sell Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

Whether Mnuchin is a “plant” inserted to steer Trump’s ship in favor of globalism or not, he is doing the right thing by declaiming against the two government mortgage giants

In an interview on FOX Business Network’s Mornings With Maria on Wednesday, Donald Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, said one of Trump’s “top 10” priorities was to sell government-sponsored mortgage giants Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Referred to colloquially as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac respectively, Mnuchin told Maria:

It makes no sense that these are owned by the government and have been controlled by the government for as long as they have [Fannie Mae was created in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970].

In many cases [they] displace private lending in the mortgage markets.… We’ve got to get them out of government control.

More

Md. Prison Workers Claim State Withholding Overtime And Pay

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Dozens of prison employees say they are being shortchanged by the staff. It has sparked outrage and protests across Baltimore.

Correctional officers are demanding justice outside the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center, claiming the state is withholding weeks of overtime and pay.

“Car payments, rent to pay, I have children I take care of… It’s putting me in a hardship because my bills are being late,” said Towanda Kearney, former correctional officer.

Dozens of state employees are upset, feeling they have been cheated out of their hard-earned paychecks. Some are missing 50 to 60 hours.

More

Everyone Should See This Womans Epic Testimony: WATCH THIS VIDEO

Chili Cookoff Benefit Returns Sunday

OCEAN CITY – It may be cool outside this weekend, but the Ocean City Parrothead Club (OCPHC) is bringing the heat for its 19th annual “Hots for Tots” Chili Cookoff Dec. 4.

The competition will feature chili from approximately 12 restaurants this year, and money raised from the event will go to help families in need, according to event Chair India Bandorick.

The OCPHC has currently adopted six families from Worcester County G.O.L.D., a non-profit organization that provides assistance to county residents.

Members of the club met at Guidos Burritos last month to pick tags from the club’s Christmas tree, according to Treasurer Marie Gilmore. Each tag contained the need or want from each child.

More

Da Bury

TRUMP'S CHOICE FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Dear Reader,

President-Elect Donald J Trump has a history of promoting the right people when he is directly involved. After all, he turned a $1 million dollar loan into $10 Billion. That's a 10,000% increase. Bet you wish your broker was so skilled. At any rate, he strikes again showing his brilliance in recruiting with tapping Marine General Mad Dog Mattis for our Secretary of Defense. Mattis has a history as a fighter. Just Trump's kind. What I will share with you about a marine's thoughts on Mattis remains anonymous as to the respondent, but know this, he is quite qualified to speak about the issue. He had 3 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is now a retired USMC Lt. Colonel who is highly decorated and most importantly, a thinker as well as a doer. Not much of that around these days.

Here's our text messages on the subject today.

Thomas: What do you think about Mad Dog Mattis for SECDEF?

Colonel: I think he will focus on improving our war fighting capabilities and less on social issues like women in the infantry and transgender facilities. I've met him several times. The first time was in Iraq, 2004 when he was the 1st Marine Division's general. He is very much a warrior general and is highly regarded among the Marines.

Thomas: I like that. My only thought is a military SECDEF instead of civilian, but I've wondered if it might be better to have a military SecDef.

Colonel: I personally think he would do a great job in restoring our military readiness. He understand the shortfalls that the military is facing, not just the Marine Corps but all the services. He understands where we need to focus our efforts to be prepared for the next war.

Thomas: That is key. What I like is he'll give Trump reasoned and experienced advice. I like that he's a Marine with all that entails. I like that his nickname is Mad Dog...which will give our adversaries pause.

Colonel: I don't know who gave him that nickname but for most of the time his nickname was Chaos.

Thomas: Poor leader?

Colonel: No. HIs nickname was Chaos because he would embrace the chaos. He was given that nickname in reverence.

Keep in mind that the Marine I've been in contact with came back to DC to work on readiness. He was troubled by the FACT that our equipment, Humvees, Tanks, Personnel Carriers, etc., were used up by the sand. He was concerned that the readiness was reduced as a result of repairs and refitting not being done. This would have compromised our troops in the event of deployment.

He also pointed out that Mad Dog's old nickname of Chaos came from Mattis embracing chaos. Little on the battlefield goes as planned and when fighting insurgencies, you rarely have military order as we'd define it coming from our enemies. Consequently embracing Chaos reduced the chaos on the battlefield. When the head of division isn't flustered, the troops have more confidence and we lose fewer men and women.

Of course DC could as easily stand for Distinct Chaos as opposed to District of Columbia, so he will fare well there. He might even show enough grit to stand up to the fraidycat liberal left. You know, the ones who hate police until they are robbed or assaulted. On Capital Hill, we need a warrior general to handle the lunatic left in the Houose and Senate.

So what do you think of General Mattis now? Reply with your comments below.

"He who dares not offend, cannot be honest."

Yours in the Constitution,
Thomas Paine

Shaq: Trump ‘Won Fair and Square,’ Time to ‘Give Him a Chance’

“The Big Aristotle” has spoken, and recount-warrior Jill Stein will not appreciate what he had to say.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, tired of the post-election recount talk, says that President-elect Donald Trump won “fair and square,” and stands ready to give Trump “a chance.”

On Wednesday, O’Neal told The Hill, “We have a process that’s been going on forever. And whoever wins, you just hope he does what he says he’s going to do. You know, candidate Trump promised a lot of people a lot of things.

“Now that he’s president-elect, you just hope that he can make the world a better place. He won fair and square. We have to give him a chance. There’s no need talking about recounts and this and that.”

More

High School Students Make $750 Drug for $2

A team of Australian high school students recreated the drug Daraprim for just $2 a pill in order to prove how cheap it is to make.

Last fall, U.S. biotech executive Martin Shkreli sparked outrage when he boosted the price of the drug by more than 4,000 percent, to $750 a pill. The drug is used to treat toxoplasmosis, which can be a life-threatening for pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV or AIDS, the Washington Post reported.

In Australia, 50 tablets of the drug can be bought for $13.

More here

Mark Wahlberg Tells ‘Out of Touch’ Celebs to Shut Up About Politics

Actor Mark Wahlberg believes his fellow celebrities should stick to entertaining Americans and stop trying to push their politics on the country.

“A lot of celebrities did, do, and shouldn’t [talk about politics], Wahlberg told Task & Purpose, a news and analysis outlet geared toward American service veterans.

During a press event for his upcoming thriller Patriots Day, about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Wahlberg was asked about the seemingly endless number of celebrities who bashed President-elect Donald Trump before the election.

“You know, it just goes to show you that people aren’t listening to that anyway,” the actor told the outlet. “They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills.”

More

The day the music died for Jewish American Liberals.

It's always tough to bet on the losing horse, but when you have to realize that your arrogant abetting of an anti-Israel administration has landed you outside the circle, that can lead to PTSD (Post Trump Stress Disorder).

For most American Jewish liberals, November 8 was not only a watershed election, but a day on which the music died. They have been left speechless and traumatized, unwilling to fathom the implications. These liberal Jews have become disoriented and unsure about what to do and what to say; they seem to be suffering from a bad case of PTSD (Post Trump Stress Disorder). Many of these liberal Jews are slowly waking up to a new reality in which they have lost their political clout, are left out of the multiple loops of power and access to the White House.

They have been demoted to the rank of irrelevancy.

Betting on the wrong horse is always a wrenching experience. Over the past 8 years liberal Jews supported and abetted a President and a Democratic Party that was overtly anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian. During this period, Islamic terror attacks have spread throughout America; anti-Semitism has blossomed in America’s Universities and campuses, poisoning the minds of America’s future political and business leaders.

Real anti-Semitism, not the made-up anti-Semitism they tried to associate with the emerging Trump administration. In recent years, Jews have been attacked and vilified at levels never seen before in recent history. All this didn’t matter; the Democratic Party was a sure bet as far as they were concerned.

More

Testosterone treatment to cure sexual dysfunction 'raises risk of blood clots by 63%'

Men may have an increased risk of blood clots after they start taking testosterone to treat sexual dysfunction, a recent study suggests.

In the first six months after starting testosterone, men have a 63 percent higher risk of clots in the legs and lungs than they did before beginning treatment, the study found.

While the absolute risk of a clot, known as a venous thromboembolism, is low and diminishes over time, men should still discuss it with their doctors, said lead study author Dr. Carlos Martinez of the Institute for Epidemiology, Statistics and Informatics GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany.

More

Antarctic Expeditions Confirm No Global Warming

Sea ice extent nearly same as 100 years ago

There is no such thing as man-made global warming drastically melting ice in the Antarctic, according to analysis of Antarctic expeditions over the past 100 years.

When the current sea ice extent in Antarctica is superimposed over past routes of expedition ships, it reveals that ice on the frigid continent is largely the same now as it was in the early 20th century.

More

First Day Of Wisconsin Recount Nets Hillary One Vote

The first day of Wisconsin’s presidential recount narrowed the gap between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President-elect Donald Trump by precisely one vote.

Trump defeated Clinton in Wisconsin’s initial tally by about one percent, or just over 22,000 votes. Nevertheless, Green Party candidate Jill Stein (who finished a very distant fourth) is demanding a full recount after suggesting fraud or technological glitches may have swayed the results. In response to Stein’s demand, Wisconsin began recounting all its ballots Thursday.

But the first results to emerge suggest the final tally will be rather close to the original one. Only Menominee County, home to the Menominee Indian Reservation, fully reported its recounted results on the first day. It found 17 extra votes for Stein and 12 for Libertarian Gary Johnson, while removing two votes from Trump and one from Clinton.

When putting all the results together, that means the first day of the recount narrowed the gap between Clinton and Trump by just a single vote.

More

The Bureaucracy Is Now More Powerful Than Congress

Who creates federal laws? Civics books say it is Congress, but the real answer today may be the executive branch. Earlier this year, James Gattuso and Diane Katz reported that just the 229 major regulations issued since 2009 added over $100 billion in annual costs (according to the regulatory agencies), $22 billion coming in 2015. With estimates of the total regulatory costs now exceeding income tax burdens at over $2 trillion annually, regulations were far more burdensome for many Americans than legislation.

Unfortunately, missing from this process is accountability to citizens. In response, some members of Congress have turned to supporting the "Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny" (REINS) Act, which would require Congress to approve major regulations before they could take effect.

Why is this necessary when the US Constitution specifically assigns all legislative powers to Congress? Because Congress has increasingly abdicated its lawmaking responsibility, delegating its power through vague laws and mandates to executive agencies, which then impose and enforce the actual regulations that legally bind Americans.

The REINS Act, by allowing major regulations to take effect only if passed by Congress, would end the effective delegation of legislative power to regulatory bureaucrats and restore some of the Constitution’s eroded separation of powers. It would offer some real political accountability, by moving us back toward Americans’ earlier understanding of legislative powers, gutted in U.S. v. Grimand (1911) and subsequent court rulings.

Before Grimand, Congress had already begun giving administrative agencies power to formulate specific rules to implement Congress’ general policy objectives. But in Grimand, the Supreme Court gave such administrative rulings the full force of law, with delegation mushrooming since.

More

Accomack County group protests temporary ban on classic novels

ACCOMAC, Va. (WAVY) – Students, parents and community members gathered outside of the Accomack County courthouse on Friday night, protesting the school district’s temporary ban on two classic American novels.

10 On Your Side reported earlier this week that “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” were pulled from bookshelves after a complaint was filed. During a November school board meeting, a parent expressed concerns about the novels’ use of offensive racial slurs.

But during Friday’s demonstration, attendees argued that censorship can be a slippery slope, especially when it comes to literature.

More

Slovakia Passes Law to Prevent Islam From Registering as a Religion

Europe's rejection of Islamification continues to build momentum

The legislation hints at a dramatic changing attitude towards the religion in the past year across the continent, which has struggled to stem the escalating migrant crisis.

The former communist state has fiercely resisted European Union (EU) efforts to cope with an influx of migrants travelling into Europe by turning its back on the bloc’s introduction of migrant quotas.

But prime minister Robert Fico’s government has repeatedly said Islam has no place in Slovakia.

Read more

Study: Migrants Insulating Themselves From European Culture, Not Integrating

Migrant communities in Germany, especially those in poverty, are becoming more insular and rejecting western society and values in larger numbers according to a new study.

The biggest challenge of the migrant crisis has been the ability of the German government to properly integrate migrants from the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere into German society. A new study by the German Association for Housing and Urban Development (VHW) shows that migrants, especially those of a lower income bracket, are becoming less integrated and some outright reject the culture of Germany entirely reports Die Welt.

The study, named “immigrant worlds in Germany 2016,” looks at migrants within the major cities and municipalities of the country shows that many migrant groups are choosing to isolate themselves rather than establish links with those of other backgrounds.

Germany is set to spend billions on the integration of new migrants per year, but if the VHW study is any indication, the money may be largely wasted.

More

New EPA rules push regulatory costs past $1 trillion, $3,080 per person

The new implementation of EPA rules on heavy trucks has boosted the 10-year regulatory burden on America past $1 trillion, 75 percent of which have been imposed by the Obama administration.

That amounts to a one-time charge of $3,080 per person, or an annual cost of $540, according to a new analysis from American Action Forum.

More

Wicomico County Council Names New Administrator

By the unanimous consent of the Wicomico County Council, John T. Cannon, County Council President, announced today that Laura Hurley, RP, will replace Matthew Creamer as Council Administrator. Mrs. Hurley, a Wicomico County resident, graduated from Salisbury University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management in 2012. Mrs. Hurley is a registered paralegal and has experience working with Wicomico County as a Legal Assistant in the Wicomico County Department of Law and as an Executive Office Associate in the Council Office. Prior to her employment with the County, she worked for former County Attorney, Ed Baker, at the law firm of Seidel, Baker & Tilghman, P.A.

The Council Administrator is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Wicomico County Council Office under the direction of the County Council. Assignments are difficult in nature and carried out in accordance with broad policy guidelines, general goals and objectives and applicable legal standards or regulations.

The Council Administrator reports directly to the County Council and serves at its pleasure.

More

Where The November Jobs Were: Accountants, Nurses, Waiters, Government And Part-Time Workers

Something remains very broken with the US labor market: while the unemployment rate just dropped to the lowest since August 2007, wage growth dropped as well and on a year over year basis, rose just 2.5%, far below the 3.8% it was when the unemployment rate last hit 4.7%. This continues to vex economists who have vowed that if only one lowers the unemployment rate far enough, all the slack in the labor market will be soaked up. Alas, that is not happening, for several reasons, the chief of which is that the quality of jobs added remains subpar, with wage growth - especially for less than "supervisory" and management positions - declining. Furthermore, as noted earlier, both part-time jobs and multiple jobholders have been surging in recent months, ostensibly as a result of Obamacare pressures.

Still, according to the BLS at least, some 178,000 seasonally adjusted jobs were added in November, arbitrarily goalseeked as they may have been. Where were they? Here is the answer:
The most actively hiring sector was "Professional and business services" where employment rose by 63,000 in November, with accounting and bookkeeping services adding 18,000 jobs. Employment continued to trend up in administrative and support services, (+36,000), computer systems design and related services (+5,000), and management and technical consulting services (+4,000).
Health care employment rose by 28,000 in November. Within the industry, employment growth occurred in ambulatory health care services, i.e. nurses (+22,000).
As expected, the "Waiter and bartender" recovery continued, with 18,900 "food service and drinking places" jobs added.
Employment in construction continued on its recent upward trend in November (+19,000), with a gain in residential specialty trade contractors (+15,000). Over the past 3 months, construction has added 59,000 jobs, largely in residential construction. What is odd is that typically these jobs are among the higher paying jobs, and yet the average hourly wage declined so this number seems out of place.
On the other end, manufacturing jobs declined again, dropping by 4,000 in November, following a 5,000 decline in October.
Also troubling, was the big drop in high-paying information jobs, which declined by 10,000, after another decline in October.
Surprisingly, retail trade also dropped by over 8,000, having declined in October, and suggesting that the "low hanging fruit" jobs are on their way out.
In what may be a good or bad sign, temp help jobs rose by 14,300, which can be seen as either positive - a precursor to more hiring - or negative as employers would rather hire part-time workers over full time.
Finally, government workers rounded off the month, by adding 22,000 workers in November, a jump from October's 7,000. With Trump as president, this trend will likely not continue.

More

Pruden: The churls and their denial and grief

Life is not fair to losers, or the critics of Donald Trump, and the way he won the presidency. He just won’t stand still and give the rotten eggs a chance to hit their mark.

The Donald is conducting his transition to the White House in his own way, taking his time, choosing his Cabinet carefully, and rationing misery to his detractors. His critics, particularly in the know-it-all media, are having trouble with a transition of their own. Almost a month has passed since the election, and the critics, who are supposed to be working their way through the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance — are stuck in denial. They should be angry by now, and learning how to bargain with their emotions.

Some of the critics of press and tube are still in denial — wallowing in it, if plain truth be told — consoling themselves that after all, Hillary won the popular vote, and if the world were an ordered place she would be measuring the White House windows for new curtains. But if all the plain truth be told, she would rather be returning to the White House and let the Donald have the consolation of the popular vote.

Others have grumbled that he was taking too long to fill out his Cabinet, until someone looked back to the Obama administration — most journalists cultivate a memory fit for a fruit fly — and discovered that not only was the Donald not loafing but was in fact a little ahead of usual.

The Democrats don’t like his Cabinet choices; fair enough, if Hillary Clinton was the president-elect the Republicans wouldn’t like hers, either. Opposing is what the opposition is entitled to do. But now that he has made some choices they don’t like his Cabinet of millionaires. But it’s hard to find men and women of accomplishment in homeless shelters. “I’ve had several jobs in my lifetime,” Phil Gramm, the former senator from Texas once said, “but I’ve never worked for a poor man.”

More here

USDA Can No Longer Hide How Much Money Stores Make From Food Stamps

All across America, families use benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP — formerly, and colloquially, known as the Food

Stamp program) to buy food, but participation in SNAP varies from store to store, and the federal regulator that oversees the program has denied requests to turn over data on retailer-specific use of SNAP benefits. However, yesterday a federal court ruled that the government can no longer shield this information from public view.

The ruling [PDF] comes out of a long-running legal dispute between South Dakota’s Argus Leader newspaper and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In 2011, Argus staff filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the USDA, seeking — among other SNAP-related information — data on how much revenue certain retailers had made from SNAP benefits. The USDA denied that request, citing a number of FOIA exemptions that prevent certain information from being disclosed to the public.

More

Trump- There Is No Global Flag, No Global Currency, No Global Citizenship.

Donald Trump calls on ‘agents of change’ to keep pressure on elected leaders

President-elect Donald Trump urged his supporters Thursday to be the “agents of change” and to keep the pressure on elected leaders in Washington to make sure they deliver on the promises that he laid out in his victory over Hillary Clinton in the presidential race.

Mr. Trump said he plans to unify the nation after the divisive election and asked the thousands who turned out to see him to “dream big again” as he moves to usher in an era of prosperity at home and peace abroad.

“Every single day, you will be the agents of change, change for our country, but good change, great change,” Mr. Trump said at a post-election rally in Ohio. “Americans must ignore the pessimism and embrace the optimism that has always been the central ingredient of the American character.

“Americans will be the captains of their own destiny once again,” he said, adding, in classic Trump fashion, that the people have powered his movement. “I am just really the messenger — although I have been a very good messenger — let’s face it, right? I have been a pretty good messenger.”

More here

Lt. Gov. Rutherford Under Fire For Comments About Hate Speech

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford is coming under fire for his comments about the recent increase in hate speech in Maryland.

According to our media partner, The Baltimore Sun, the lieutenant governor told a Jewish community group that he was perplexed by the reason behind the increase.

That prompted a tweet from Senator Cheryl Kagan of Montgomery County, saying she was shocked by Rutherford’s lack of awareness.

More

'It's A Hate Crime': Black Teens Hospitalize White 'Trump Voter'

A mob of black teens violently assaulted a middle-aged white man in Kansas City because they suspected he voted for Donald Trump

Even though this was a racially motivated hate-crime, the local Fox affiliate went out of their way not to mention the race of the assailants.

From FOX 4 KC:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — “Who did you vote for?” It’s a political question that sparked an attack, as teens targeted a man who was just waiting at a bus stop near the Country Club Plaza.

The victim said the teens didn’t like his response, so they started throwing punches.

The attack happened this weekend at a bus stop near J.C. Nichols Parkway and Ward Parkway, which is just a stone’s throw away from a corner of Plaza.

More

Kellogg Foundation Provided Nearly $1 Million to Support Black Lives Matter

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which maintains strong financial ties to the Kellogg Company, has provided at least $930,000 in support of the controversial work of the Black Lives Matter organization.

The financing is listed on the Foundation’s website. It includes a June 1, 2016 grant to the International Development Exchange, which is in a contractual relationship with Black Lives Matter to process donations for the group.

The Associated Press reported the International Development Exchange, also known as IDEX, “has been acting as a mostly unseen financial arm of Black Lives Matter, with the ability to receive grants and tax-deductible donations on the group’s behalf.”

“More recently, the relationship evolved into a contractual partnership that will run through at least mid-2017,” the AP reported.

More

Americans Not In The Labor Force Soar To Record 95.1 Million: Jump By 446,000 In One Month

So much for that much anticipated rebound in the participation rate.

After it had managed to post a modest increase in the early part of the year, hitting the highest level in one year in March at 63%, the disenchantment with working has returned, and the labor force participation rate had flatlined for the next few month, ultimately dropping in November to 62.7%, just shy of its 35 year low of 62.4% hit last October. This can be seen in the surge of Americans who are no longer in the labor force, who spiked by 446,000 in November, hitting an all time high of 95.1 million.

As a result of this the US labor force shrank by 226,000 to 159,486K, down from 159,712K a month ago, and helped the unemployment rate tumble to 4.6%, the lowest level since August 2007.

More

LEGENDARY COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 12-3-16

A Most Remarkable Woman

I have in my possession what I call “a poor woman’s cameo”. It is not made of finely carved stone but is made of celluloid. Depending on how you view it, it can be the silhouette of a woman or a flower. It does not hang from a fine gold or silver chain, but is adorned with only a simple ribbon. This was the best piece of jewelry my grandmother had at the turn of the 20^th century. It clearly defines how she lived her entire life - very simple.

         

As all adolescents try various means of attracting attention, one attribute that God gave my grandmother was ample cleavage. Her mother always made her put a handkerchief under her dress to hide anything revealing when she went out. She confided to my sister one time that the handkerchief was quickly removed upon exiting the stern view of her mother.

          She never learned to drive a car; she never was in an airplane. Her formal education ended after the third grade. But for all the shortages of adolescent advantages that children have today, she was born with a wisdom that is seldom encountered in this day and age.

         

As she got on in life and could afford it, she always bought two pairs of shoes at a time. One was for when she got dressed in the morning and the second was utilized after her noontime nap. The second pair was a half-size larger to allow for the normal swelling that would occur during the day. I have never heard of anyone else doing this.

         

When she weeded her garden, she always shook the weed before casting it in the driveway for later pick-up. I asked her about this one time, and she said she could grow more weeds but she could not grow more dirt; therefore she saved it.

         

The only thing I have from her house is one of those small “pinked edge” signs that were sold in souvenir shops of the day. It is still on my computer as the screen-saver. It is a motto to live by – “Happiness is liking what you’re doing – not doing what you like.” You would think that when she finally passed in 1986 at 98 years old, she would have a house full of antiques. She had none. All her life, she replaced anything old with something new when she could afford it. She had absolutely no sentimentality about anything. She told me one time that there are two things that you should never do – cry or worry – because neither one of them ever solved a damned thing. Think about it!

         

I asked her one time when she was in her early nineties what was her formula for life. She always seemed to have everything under control. Her reply was, “I sleep when I’m tired, I eat when I’m hungry and I do something when I damn well feel like it”.

         

She was deaf for the last 60 years of her life. When I inquired of her one time if that bothered her she said it didn’t because people don’t have much to say anyway and, if it was that important, they would put it in the newspaper. Watching television with her was quite an experience. She never had the sound on and, due to the fact that color TV would “give you cancer”, she only watched it in black and white. Yet, she could tell from the expressions of the actors or newscasters just what was going on.

         

This was my grandmother – one of the most remarkable women I have ever known.

Troopers Investigate Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash

Felton- The Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is currently investigating a fatal motor vehicle crash involving a pedestrian that occurred early this morning east of Felton.

The initial investigation has determined that the crash occurred at approximately 1:41 a.m. this morning, Saturday, December 3, 2016, as Christopher Thompson, 32, of Coatesville, PA, was operating a 2006 Dodge 3500 pick up truck, which was pulling a 30 foot enclosed box trailer, and was traveling on eastbound SR 12 (Midstate Road) east of Chimney Hill Road, Felton. Due to a mechanical problem with the trailer, Thompson had pulled onto the right hand shoulder of the roadway; however, a portion of the trailer remained in the eastbound lane of travel. Thompson then placed a floor jack under the driver’s side of the enclosed box trailer’s tires, and as he was standing in the eastbound lane of the roadway, he was struck by the right front bumper of a fully marked 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, which was being operated by an off-duty 47 year old male police officer from the Harrington Police Department. Thompson was thrown onto the hood and windshield of the Tahoe before landing in the eastbound lane of travel where he came to rest.

Christopher Thompson, who was dressed in all dark clothing at the time of the crash, was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither alcohol nor drugs use on the part of Thompson appear to be a factor in this crash.

The male operator of the Tahoe, who was properly restrained at the time of the crash, was not injured. Alcohol and drug use on the part of the operator is not being considered as a factor in the crash. Excessive speed is also not being considered as a factor. The name of the Harrington Police officer is being withheld but will be released at a later date.

A female passenger, who was seated in the rear passenger seat of the Dodge, was not injured in the crash.

Inquiries of the Harrington Police Department can be made by calling 302-398-4493.

Midstate Road was closed for approximately five hours as the crash was investigated and cleared.

FAKE NEWS ALERT: Let’s fact check Josh Earnest’s claim that Obama created 805,000 manufacturing jobs

Now here’s Politifact with the truth. From the beginning of Obama’s term, “the number of manufacturing jobs is actually down by about 303,000” (emphasis ours):

After a presidential election decided by Rust Belt voters’ Republican shift, it’s an opportune time to evaluate President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election promise to “create 1 million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016” and to “double American exports over the next five years.”

First, manufacturing jobs.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that between the time Obama made that promise, amid the 2012 campaign, and October 2016, the number of manufacturing jobs rose by 297,000. That’s well below 1 million.

And you can’t get to 1 million even if you use time frames that are generous to Obama.

If you start from the beginning of Obama’s term — which started in a severe economic downturn — the number of manufacturing jobs is actually down by about 303,000.

So, how did Earnest get 805,000? Here’s how:

More/Video

Kellogg Foundation Gave Big to Soros Organization, Tides Foundation

The institutional left’s funding behemoth W.K. Kellogg Foundation has partnered with and given major donations to George Soros’s Open Society Institute and the Tides Center as part of its massive push to promote a far-left agenda.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is the nonprofit arm of cereal and sweets giant Kellogg’s, based in Battle Creek, Michigan. The Kellogg Company is chiefly known for its breakfast brands, including Special K™ cereal, Eggo® waffles, and Pop-Tarts®; but its namesake nonprofit W.K. Kellogg Foundation is one of the largest institutional funders in world and is the seventh largest philanthropic foundation in the United States.

Two other far-left groups, the Tides Center and Tides Foundation, both based in San Francisco, are also top recipients of funds and support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. A search of the grants given by the Foundation for “Tides” yields over 120 results.

It’s unclear how many consumers are aware of Kellogg’s institutional leftist funding through its namesake nonprofit, but it’s safe to say not all agree with the company’s ultra-liberal political views.

More here

LAUGHABLE!

Fixating on the Fixer-Uppers

Expressed by the “inclusive” message of “conform or die, you backward bigots,” tolerance as defined by the Left has more in common with the Inquisition than Webster’s Dictionary. The latest intolerant lynching comes from the Internet’s leading “lolcat” gif distributor, BuzzFeed, which occasionally takes a stab at journalism. The site unearthed a “shocking” possibility about two HGTV superstars with the headline, “Chip and Joanna Gaines' Church Is Firmly Against Same-Sex Marriage.” What’s so shocking about Christians holding the orthodox view that homosexual behavior and same-sex marriage are sinful? Nothing, but from the Rainbow Mafia’s perspective, this “intolerant” belief must not be tolerated or allowed to go unpunished.

But what’s the story here? A lovable Christian couple with a hugely popular fixer-upper show may believe something — that has never been mentioned on the show — that the Left deems offensive. Clearly, this hit piece was designed not to report a story, but to threaten a popular couple should they not disavow beliefs the Left finds reprehensible. Buzzfeed is merely acting as the thought police.

The template for this is simple..

Whodathunk? Diet soda promotes weight gain

10-year Harvard study makes counterintuitive conclusion

Does your weight-loss plan include drinking diet soda?

Well, you may want to rethink that strategy.

A 10-year Harvard study part of your weight-loss plan found the drinks with the artificial sweeteners seem to promote weight gain.

Once again, conventional wisdom proves mistaken.

Harvard researcher Vasanti Malik found that the low-calorie sweetener users were heavier and had larger waist circumferences and more abdominal obesity than non-users.

The study is not the first of its kind, nor the first to draw a similar conclusion.

More

10 Things You Should Consider Before Paying For Any Retail Membership

Memberships, once the exclusive domain of warehouse clubs like Costco and BJ’s, are officially hot right now. From Amazon Prime and Walmart ShippingPass to subscription boxes (like Birchbox) and membership programs from retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond and Restoration Hardware, companies aren’t content until they’ve turned occasional shoppers into loyal members. But should you join? Will it be worth the money? How will you know if a membership program is right for you? We break it down. 

[More]

Don't Forget

A Look into the Mind of Gen. James Mattis: 15 Quotes from Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pick

Retired Marine Corps General James Mattis is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Defense, and he is one of the most quotable figures in modern public life.

He rarely gives a speech without saying something that should be emblazoned on coffee mugs, or in some cases stenciled on the side of bombs. Here are some of his greatest hits:

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” – from a speech Mattis delivered to Marines arriving in Iraq in 2003. This is widely acclaimed as the ultimate Mattisism, winning extra cool points for being compatible with Patrick Swayze’s famous advice to new bouncers in Road House.

“No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.” – probably the other most widely-repeated Mattisism, it has been quoted in contexts ranging from the Iraqi troop withdrawal to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.

“You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon. Share your courage with each other as we enter the uncertain terrain north of the Line of Departure. Keep faith in your comrades on the left and right and Marine Air overhead. Fight with a happy heart and strong spirit.” – from a letter Mattis wrote to the 1st Marine Division, the day before they began their assault on Iraq in 2003. He is restated his point about using your head on the battlefield many times; another popular formulation was, “The most important six inches on the battlefield are between your ears.”

More

There Are Other Countries For These People

Keith Ellison's Saudi Arabia Trip Included Meetings With Radical Cleric, Bank That Funds Suicide Bombings

Trip was funded by Muslim Brotherhood-tied organization

Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) during a 2008 trip to Saudi Arabia met with a radical Muslim cleric who endorsed killing U.S. soldiers and with the president of a bank used to pay the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

Ellison, now a leading candidate to head the Democratic National Committee, was brought to Saudi Arabia for a two-week trip by the Muslim American Society (MAS), a group founded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood to act as its “overt arm” in the United States.

Details of Ellison’s religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia are scarce, but photographs discovered by the Washington Free Beacon show that Ellison met with controversial figures during the trip.

More

Regulatory Reform Commission Publishes 2016 Report

Hogan Administration Moves to Implement All 187 Recommendations

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Regulatory Reform Commission established by Governor Larry Hogan and tasked with conducting a comprehensive review of Maryland’s regulatory climate today issued its 2016 report, which identifies nearly 200 individual regulations to be streamlined or eliminated. In response, Governor Hogan announced that the administration will move forward with the implementation of all 187 recommendations.

Restructuring and reforming state government is a top priority of the Hogan-Rutherford administration. Upon taking office in January 2015, Governor Hogan immediately halted over 100 job-killing regulations that had been proposed by the previous administration, and he later rescinded 72 obsolete executive orders. Earlier this year, the governor established the Office of Transformation and Renewal, a multi-year effort to optimize government departments and agencies within the executive branch, and eliminated a regulatory mandate requiring BAT septic systems for buildings outside of critical areas, ensuring that environmental safeguards remain in place while reducing an unnecessary burden on homeowners and small businesses.

“From day one, our administration has been committed to common sense reforms to roll back unnecessary impediments to living, working, and doing business in Maryland,” said Governor Hogan. “We have already made major progress by cutting over 250 fees and reducing tolls across the state. Today, we add reforming or eliminating almost 200 regulations to the list of ways we are right-sizing state government on behalf of Maryland employers and taxpayers.”

“This is the most wide-ranging review of state regulations Maryland has undertaken in decades, and the commission’s efforts exposed dozens and dozens of onerous, outdated, and redundant regulations that make government less efficient and effective,” said Lt. Governor Rutherford, who serves as an ex officio member of the commission. “The reforms in this report will improve our business climate, protect consumers, and benefit our environment, and I applaud the commission for their detailed and diligent work.”

The commission’s workgroups evaluated regulations based on four sets of criteria: whether the regulation can be streamlined or clarified, modernized, stripped of obsolete references, or made to conform with state or federal statutory requirements. Agencies that participated in the review will file updated regulatory language with AELR in the coming weeks.

Click here to read the full report. Key reforms in each category include:

Streamlining and Clarifying Revisions

• The Motor Vehicle Administration is revising the regulatory requirements for vehicle dealerships and salesmen. These changes will update and modernize the regulatory language (for instance, allowing for electronic retention and submission of records), remove outdated or irrelevant references and add flexibility to the licensing period.
  
• To alleviate collateral consequences, the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation is repealing the requirement for an applicant for a license to operate a cemetery to provide the Office of Cemetery Oversight with information regarding if the applicant was "convicted of any drug offense committed after January 1, 1991," and the Maryland Department of Transportation will limit barriers to obtaining towing or road service permits only to felony or misdemeanor convictions directly related to towing, road service, storage of vehicles, and DWI/DUI.

Modernization and Electronic Submissions

• To improve customer service, the Maryland Department of the Environment and Maryland Department of Transportation will be amending regulations regarding the Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program (VEIP) to expand the use of emerging technologies and provide opportunities to enact driver-friendly improvements.
  
• The licensing regulations for various provider types overseen by the Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) will be amended to allow for the electronic submission of both initial and renewal license application, which will save providers the costs and delays that result from being required to submit paper applications via mail or facsimile.

Removing Obsolete References

• The Real Estate Commission under the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will eliminate a list of distance learning methods (compact disc, computer, disk, etc.) and cross references methods named in statute as well as any method approved by the Maryland Real Estate Commission.

State or Federal Statutory Requirements

• The Maryland Insurance Administration will be updating the scope of the filing requirements regulation to include Administration review of a carrier's failure to act in good faith in the handling of an individual disability claim based on the 2016 passage of House Bill 990.

Governor Hogan signed an executive order establishing the Regulatory Reform Commission in July 2015. The commission includes ten members appointed by the governor with a range of experience in various sectors representing regions across the state. The governor’s executive order remains in effect for a 3-year period, and requires the commission to submit an annual report to the governor no later than December 1 of each year. For more information, please visit http://governor.maryland.gov/ltgovernor/home/regulatory-reform.