HHS Secretary Price: Trump Administration Is Taking Action on Drug Prices

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D. released the following statement regarding the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ announcement of proposed reimbursement changes to the 340B drug discount program for Medicare and our nation’s seniors:

“Today’s announcement is a significant step toward fulfilling President Trump’s promise to address rising drug prices. We are proud to be working to ensure the Medicare program provides the drugs seniors need at a price they can afford.

“This proposal has the potential to reduce drug costs for seniors, by at least an estimated $180 million per year. If it is adopted, Medicare would pay hospitals for drugs purchased through the 340B discount program at a price more consistent with the actual cost hospitals and other providers pay to acquire those drugs. Seniors would see those savings passed on to them in the form of lower copays.

“The Medicare proposal is just one step in many efforts underway across HHS to address pricing and availability of drugs. Today’s proposed Medicare payment rule also includes other measures to help put patients first, part of a broader effort we are undertaking at HHS.”

For more details, see materials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services here.

BART Withholds Video Of Attacks Over Concern About "Stereotypes"

Over the last few months, several attacks by large groups have targeted riders on San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trains, resulting in robberies and injuries. The first of these took place in April and involved as many as sixty youth and seven victims, two of whom were beaten. The two most recent came at the end of June, including an armed robbery with a knife and another incident with a dozen perpetrators robbing a woman.

BART riders have begun to fear for their safety, and want video released to see who are committing these robberies. BART won’t release the video, however, and BART board member Deborah Allen tells CBS that it’s because they are afraid that the videos will “unfairly affect and characterize riders of color”:

According to a memo distributed to BART Directors, the agency won’t do a press release on the June 30 theft because it was a “petty crime” that would make BART look “crime ridden.” Furthermore, it would “unfairly affect and characterize riders of color, leading to sweeping generalizations in media reports.”

The memo was from BART Assistant General Manager Kerry Hamill.

Allen emailed Hamill, “I don’t understand what role the color of one’s skin plays in this issue [of whether to divulge information]. Can you explain?” Hamill responded, “If we were to regularly feed the news media video of crimes on our system that involve minority suspects, particularly when they are minors, we would certainly face questions as to why we were sensationalizing relatively minor crimes and perpetuating false stereotypes in the process.” And added her opinion of the media: “My view is that the media’s real interest in the videos of youth phone snatching incidents isn’t the desire for transparency but rather the pursuit of ratings. They know that video of these events will drive clicks to their websites and viewers to their programs because people are motivated by fear.”

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Rand Paul: Crony capitalism isn't a right, so why does Senate healthcare bill give insurance companies the right to a bailout?

I remember a lot of outrage about two things when I first ran for office: Obamacare and the bank bailouts. Unfortunately, the Senate healthcare bill combines the worst of those two — this time, we're bailing out the big insurance companies.

Why? Partly because of the crony capitalism that pervades the culture in the swamps of Washington.

But it's more than that. In order to advance their crony capitalism, the Senate Obamacare bill takes us beyond the long-running debate about "is healthcare a right" to a new debate: "Is health insurance a right?"

In other words, is there somehow a right to healthcare that includes a taxpayer obligation to maintain insurance industry profits, which hit a record $15 billion last year?

One would hope not.

But the one certainty of the Senate GOP health plan is that it guarantees a profit for Big Insurance. The same Big Insurance that takes in about $15 billion in profit annually.

Am I the only one in the Senate that finds this brand of crony capitalism unseemly?

We aren't talking about whether or not we take care of the poor or disabled who can't afford their healthcare. We already do that in Medicaid and a host of other direct government programs.

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DEA launches website to target college drug use

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today launched CampusDrugPrevention.gov, a new website focused on preventing and addressing college drug use.

“We must talk to folks about the dangers and consequences of drug abuse, and base those conversations on facts and science,” said DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “With this website, we put valuable information in the hands of higher education leaders who can use it to enlighten, teach, and change the culture.”

This new website is DEA’s latest effort to support drug abuse prevention programs on college campuses and in surrounding communities. The website was created as a one-stop resource for professionals working to prevent drug abuse among college students, including educators, student health centers, and student affairs personnel. In addition, it serves as a useful tool for college students, parents, and others involved in campus communities.

CampusDrugPrevention.gov offers valuable information, including data, news updates, drug scheduling and penalties, publications, research, national and statewide conferences and events, state and local prevention contacts, and resources available from DEA’s federal partners. The website also includes a “Help a Friend” resource to educate and prepare those who plan to talk to their friends or loved ones about drug use concerns.

For more information and to receive updates on campus drug prevention efforts and resources, visit www.CampusDrugPrevention.gov.

Carmaggeddon Continues - Slowdown Looms, Manufacturing Has Peaked This Cycle

The Brookings Institute says Auto slowdown Flashes Caution Lights for Manufacturing Employment and Trump.

A switch to self-driving, trends towards electric, and a glut of used cars are all in the spotlight.

After seven years of strong growth following the 2008 economic crisis and federal bailouts of both General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, auto sector output and employment growth have slowed markedly from record levels. Years of catch-up purchases by car buyers have finally plateaued. Likewise, automakers must economize to invest billions in developing the electric and self-driving cars of tomorrow.

And so the layoffs have begun. Last fall, Ford jolted the industry by revealing that its sales had peaked, while projecting a tough 2017. Then came the company’s April disclosure that it will need to slash $3 billion in costs to free up capital to invest in new technology. Soon after that came Ford’s announcement of as many as 20,000 layoffs worldwide, as well as word that GM had cut production at four U.S. assembly lines and would be laying off about 4,400 factory workers. Fiat Chrysler also laid off 1,300 workers at a Detroit assembly line.

By themselves, these announcements are not apocalyptic like the dire layoffs of 2008. Rather, the recent cuts mostly reflect the fundamentally cyclical nature of a huge consumer business. And yet, the present and future auto slow-down is a big deal because auto is critical to the manufacturing sector, which in turn looms large in regional and political narratives about whether the country is moving “in the right direction.”

Auto-related industries, after all, delivered about 40 percent of the nation’s manufacturing employment gains in the last two years, especially important given the slow growth of other production sectors in the face of a strong dollar. Focusing on just last year and the first quarter of this year, though, the data shows that auto represented fully 80 percent of U.S. manufacturing employment growth, even as auto hiring slowed significantly. Since then, the trend line has been blurry, but it’s unclear whether other industries—such as chemical manufacturing—are going to be able to pick up the slack from a likely auto-sector slowdown.

For a glimpse of what’s at stake, see here how manufacturing growth has turned negative in 39 of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas in 15 months ending in March:

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6th Annual Christmas in July Tomorrow!

Join us on Saturday, July 15 for our 6th Annual Christmas in July from 12-3pm! This is a free event, we just ask that you bring a gift wrapped present for a dog or a cat to open! We will have ice cream donated by Chesapeake Bay Farms, Santa will be stopping by for pictures from 1-2pm and of course adoption specials! Stop by our building on Saturday for food, fun and good times!

Date/Time
Date(s) - 07/15/2017
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Location
Humane Society of Wicomico County
5130 Citation Dr - Salisbury

How John McCain dispatched a trusted aide across Atlantic to get dirty dossier

Sen. John McCain said he did 'what any citizen would do' in turning over the dirty dossier, which contained unconfirmed secrets about the president-elect, over to the FBI.

The Guardian charted the path of how the dossier came to be and how it was that McCain got his hands on the controversial documents.

The story of the dossier began with an investigative firm in Washington, D.C., being tapped by one of Trump's primary allies to dig up some opposition research on the Republican hopeful.

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Outdoor Movie Night-"Raiders of the Lost Ark"

Free family movie night. Dr. William Henry Park. Bring a chair or blanket and a snack. Alcohol strictly prohibited.
Sponsored by Berlin Arts & Entertainment and Berlin Parks Commission.

8:30 PM - 11 PM

Dr. William Henry Park
125 Flower St, Berlin, Maryland 21811

WEATHER ALERT!

... A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT NORTHWESTERN SOMERSET... WICOMICO... NORTH CENTRAL WORCESTER AND CENTRAL DORCHESTER COUNTIES... AT 648 PM EDT, RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR GEORGETOWN TO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES TO NEAR LEXINGTON PARK. MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF UP TO 1 INCH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... SALISBURY, FRUITLAND, SALISBURY UNIVERSITY, DELMAR, HEBRON, SHARPTOWN, VIENNA, DEAL ISLAND, PARSONSBURG, PITTSVILLE, WILLARDS, MARDELA SPRINGS, GALESTOWN, BROOKVIEW, ELDORADO, WHITEHAVEN, BISHOP, WETIPQUIN, TRINITY AND EDEN. IF YOU SEE LIGHTNING OR HEAR THUNDER... YOU ARE AT RISK. TAKE SHELTER INDOORS IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU CANNOT FIND SHELTER IN A BUILDING A VEHICLE PROVIDES SAFETY FROM LIGHTNING. STRONG WIND GUSTS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. THESE WIND GUSTS ARE CAPABLE OF KNOCKING DOWN TREE LIMBS... SMALL OR WEAKENED TREES... AND BLOWING AROUND TRASH CANS... POTTED PLANTS... LAWN FURNITURE AND OTHER LIGHT OUTDOOR OBJECTS. THESE STORMS MAY INTENSIFY, SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS AND AVAILABLE TELEVISION STATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

The Shocking Reason Why The US Just Spent A Record $429 Billion In One Month

On Thursday morning the CBO released a surprisingly upbeat assessment of Donald Trump's proposed budget, calculating that it would cut the cumulative US deficit by 30% over the next decade, preventing the US debt from spiraling out of control (even further).

That however. may be an overly optimistic assessment, especially following the release of the latest monthly budget data, which showed that not only did the US deficit surge to $90 billion, far above the $38 billion consensus estimate, and a "NM" compared to the $6.3 billion budget surplus in June of last year, but the US also saw the biggest one month outlay on record, at $429 billion, 33% higher than the $323 billion in outlays one years ago.

What prompted this massive surge in outlays?

The biggest reason for the outlier print is that according to Stone McCarthy, outlays increased by roughly $60 billion in "other" items relative to baseline because the Treasury revised up its estimates of the subsidy cost of student loans, and to a lesser extent housing, it guarantees.

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Ocean City: Agencies Ready For Unsanctioned Event

As we previously announced, we are expecting an unsanctioned event known as “College Beach Weekend” to take place Thursday, July 20 through Sunday, July 23. I would like to assure our citizens that the Ocean City Police Department is fully prepared for the influx of visitors that this event and the busy July weekend may bring to our town.

Like all other events in Ocean City, both sanctioned and unsanctioned, my staff and I have been planning and preparing for this event and any isolated incident that may arise for quite some time. We have a very comprehensive strategic plan in place that includes assistance from our allied agencies. Residents and visitors can expect a high police presence, particularly on the boardwalk, and strict enforcement of our laws and ordinances.

Business owners are encouraged to staff accordingly and employees should be prepared for a busy July weekend. Residents are reminded to report any ordinance violations, including sleeping in vehicles and noise.

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House Committee Approves Harris Chesapeake Bay Amendment

WASHINGTON, DC: The House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment introduced by Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2018. This amendment prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce the designation of any area of the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a “Critical Habitat” for the Atlantic Sturgeon. Congressman Harris issued the following statement praising the amendment’s passage:

“The Appropriations Committee’s adoption of this amendment is a victory for both the conservation of the Bay and the Eastern Shore’s economy. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) proposal to designate the Chesapeake Bay as a Critical Habitat for the Atlantic Sturgeon was crafted without adequate opportunity for input from the communities surrounding the Chesapeake Bay. Furthermore, NOAA has failed to document sufficient cause for the designation.

Designation of the Bay as a Critical Habitat for the Sturgeon is an unnecessary and burdensome regulation that could lead to restricted use of various regions of the Bay, stifling commercial activity in the Bay and inhibiting oyster restoration and other important conservation activities.”

Berlin Popularity Surge Leads To Parking Concerns

BERLIN – Jefferson Street traffic concerns have prompted town leaders to seek recommendations from public safety officials.

Mayor Gee Williams said this week that he’d asked the Berlin Police Department to look into the growing number of vehicles parking on Jefferson Street, which runs between Main and Washington streets, and ways to alleviate accessibility issues.

“The Berlin Police Department will be making some recommendations to the town administrator in the next week or two that addresses both the increased need for parking in the Jefferson Street area and the need to be sure emergency services vehicles as well as everyday motorists can travel unimpeded along these town streets,” he said.

Williams said a resident who travels Jefferson Street regularly brought the issue to his attention Wednesday. As summer has progressed, traffic in town has increased and vacant parking spaces are few and far between. While visitors are encouraged to park in places like Stephen Decatur Park and Berlin Intermediate School when special events are scheduled, those who come to town on an average day simply seek the closest empty spot they can find to their destination.

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Why Did Loretta Lynch Grant Trump Jr's Russian Lawyer A Special Visa To Enter America?

With everyone now rummaging through every document, intercept, and memo for something, anything tying Trump to Russia, The Hill's John Solomon and Jonathan Easley have unearthed details that show the Russian lawyer who penetrated Donald Trump’s inner circle was initially cleared into the United States by Loretta Lynch's Justice Department under "extraordinary circumstances" after she had initially been turned down.

Simply put, as The Hill notes, this revelation means it was the Obama Justice Department that enabled the newest and most intriguing figure in the Russia-Trump investigation to enter the country without a visa.

The Moscow lawyer had been turned down for a visa to enter the U.S. lawfully but then was granted special immigration parole by then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch for the limited purpose of helping a company owned by Russian businessman Denis Katsyv, her client, defend itself against a Justice Department asset forfeiture case in federal court in New York City.

During a court hearing in early January 2016 as Veselnitskaya’s permission to stay in the country was about to expire, federal prosecutors described how rare the grant of parole immigration was as Veselnitskaya pleaded for more time to remain in the United States.

“In October the government bypassed the normal visa process and gave a type of extraordinary permission to enter the country called immigration parole,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni explained to the judge during a hearing Jan. 6, 2016.

“That's a discretionary act that the statute allows the Attorney General to do in extraordinary circumstances. In this case, we did that so that Mr. Katsyv could testify. And we made the further accommodation of allowing his Russian lawyer into the country to assist,” he added.

The prosecutor said Justice was willing to allow the Russian lawyer to enter the United States again as the trial in the case approached so she could help prepare and attend the proceedings.

But just five days after meeting in June 2016 at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and then Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, it seems the Justice Department had lost track of her... (as The Hill details)

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Man Trapped In ATM Slips Notes To Customers Begging For Help

A Texas man who became trapped inside an ATM slipped notes to customers via the receipt slot pleading for them to help him escape, police said on Thursday.

The Corpus Christi police lieutenant Chris Hooper said the contractor became stuck on Wednesday when he was changing the lock to a Bank of America room that leads to the ATM.

“Apparently he left his cellphone and the swipe card he needed to get out of the room outside in his truck,” Hooper said.

The contractor then passed notes through the ATM receipt slot to customers retrieving cash, imploring them to call his boss. One read: “Please help. I’m stuck in here.”

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Larry Klayman: Not 'Terribly Impressed' With Wray Testimony

Freedom Watch founder Larry Klayman on Wednesday blasted Christopher Wray, the former high-ranking Justice Department official who's nominated to head the FBI, warning President Donald Trump "he's probably another yes-man."

In a scathing appraisal on Newsmax TV, the former federal prosecutor told "Newsmax Now" host Bill Tucker he "wasn't terribly impressed" with Wray's testimony at his confirmation hearing Wednesday.

"He looks like he's probably another yes-man," Klayman said. "They asked him 'are you going to cooperate with [special investigator and former FBI head Robert] Mueller? Are you going to try to obstruct his investigation?' And he responds 'well, Mueller is a man of great integrity.'

"Mueller is not a man of integrity," Klayman declared.

"Establishment Republicans would like to see Trump gone and that's been the case from day one," he said."They want to run their own establishment candidate in 2020. And don't be surprised if they join with Democrats with regard to articles of impeachment. There may be some that may do that."

"He just has to hang tough," he said, adding those around the president also have to be "smarter."

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Study uses Vivitrol in effort to help prerelease inmates curb opioid cravings

JESSUP, Md. —A Maryland man hopes a medication will curb his craving for heroin, and the same is hoped for inmates, some whom are receiving the drug just before release as part of a clinical study.

Again battling back to recovery, Kenny hopes the prescribed drug Vivitrol will help him. He feels plenty of guilt and shame as he works to piece his life back together after 12 years of heroin use. He has had more than a dozen overdoses.

"I didn't have enough strength to make it through the day without getting high," Kenny said.

The latest overdose came three months ago on his mother's birthday. The ambulance crew nearly gave up.

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Poisoning the Minds of America's Schoolchildren

Teaching kids to hate their country's traditions and institutions.

For the past 30 years, a Philadelphia-based organization called Need in Deed (NID) has been training elementary and middle-school teachers “to use the classroom to prepare young people for civic responsibility and service to others.” And how, exactly, does NID do this? By training its teachers to engage students in long-term “service projects” whose objective is to: (a) inculcate youngsters with the notion that America is an oppressive wasteland where nonwhite minorities, women, homosexuals, the poor, and even the natural environment are routinely exploited and abused; and (b) turn children into budding political activists and community organizers who seek to fundamentally transform that deeply flawed society.

For example, in one NID project at Grover Washington Jr. Middle School in Philadelphia, eighth-grade students explored “some of the discriminatory housing forces – practices like redlining, steering, predatory lending and ethnic intimidation – that have influenced the[ir] city’s racial and economic segregation” over the years. As part of their instruction, these students watched an ABC Nightline segment titled “Race in America,” which examined the case of a black family that had fearfully fled their new home in a mostly white section of Philadelphia after neighbors harassed them with racial epithets and threatening letters. After watching the video, the students were asked to express, in writing, their outrage over how the black family had been mistreated.

As part of that same NID project, Princeton sociologist Doug Massey, author of American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of an Underclass – a book claiming that black urban poverty is largely a result of massive discrimination in U.S. cities – addressed the students personally. In a subsequent lesson, the youngsters watched a documentary titled Race: The Power of an Illusion, which, in the words of its producer, “reveals how our social institutions 'make' race by disproportionately channeling resources, power, status and wealth to white people.”

More here

Tim Tebow Has an 8-Game Hit Streak

Don’t look now, but Tim Tebow may have figured out this whole baseball thing.

Tebow has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games for the Mets High-A ball minor league affiliate at Port St. Lucie. He also currently has an eight game win streak going.

The AP compiled a list of Tebow’s stats last week and for the season.

Here’s a sampling of the damage that the Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback has done since getting promoted to High A-ball:

Berlin adopts new ‘SNAP’ program for special needs

The Berlin Police Department announced on Monday the implementation of a new Special Needs Alert Program, or SNAP.

According to a release, the program is designed to aid law enforcement officers in contacting and locating Berlin residents with special needs. The program is available for those who live, work or regularly frequent the town.

The release said the program would include those with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, Down syndrome, dementia and those with impaired hearing and vision.

Police Chief Arnold Downing elaborated on the program at a Town Council meeting on Monday.

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Young Child, Grandmother Struck in Pedestrian Collision In Ocean City

Ocean City police are reminding citizens to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks not controlled by a traffic signal after a woman and her three-year-old granddaughter were struck Thursday evening.

On Thursday, July 13, 2017, at approximately 9:40 p.m. Ocean City police responded to 1st Street and Baltimore Avenue in response to a pedestrian collision involving a three-year-old female and her grandmother. Officers determined that the grandmother was pushing the young girl in a stroller from east to west in a marked crosswalk at the time of the collision. Two lanes of traffic had stopped to allow the pedestrians to cross, however, the vehicle in the third lane did not stop. The vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta driven by a 17-year-old female of Berlin, MD, ultimately struck the two pedestrians.

The child was flown to Peninsula Regional Medical Center by Maryland State Police Trooper 4 helicopter as a precautionary measure. The grandmother was also transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center by Ocean City EMS. Both suffered non-life threatening injuries. Officers determined that the driver of the vehicle was at fault and was cited for failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Alcohol was not a factor in this collision.

The Ocean City Police Department is reminding residents and visitors to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks not controlled by a traffic signal, particularly on Baltimore Avenue. Motorists are also advised to use extreme caution in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic.

Pray for our Leaders

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

--1 Timothy 2:1,2

News In Numbers

107 hours
JULY 13, 2017

Average annual time drivers spend looking for parking in New York City, which is the highest in the nation.

Source: the Chicago Tribune

$48,500
JULY 12, 2017

Amount the city of St. Anthony, Minn., agreed to pay the police officer who was recently acquitted of all charges related to his fatal shooting of Philando Castile to leave the department.

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

21
JULY 11, 2017

Candidates running for mayor of Seattle. Mayor Ed Murray was expected by many to win re-election until allegations of sexual abuse led him to drop out of the race.

Source: the Los Angeles Times

$7.70
JULY 10, 2017

The new minimum wage in St. Louis, as of Aug. 28, which will be down from $10. The city increased it to $10 in 2015, but a new state law makes it illegal for municipalities in Missouri to set their own minimum wage.
Source: Tribune News Service

5
JULY 7, 2017

States that have passed legislation to require paid family leave. Washington state this week joined California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.

Source: AP/Seattle Times

44
JULY 6, 2017

States that have refused to provide some or all of the voter information requested by the Trump administration's Commission on Election Integrity.

Source: CNN

$250
JULY 5, 2017

Amount that Vermont promised to put in a college savings account for every child born in the state. Since the law passed two years ago, though, the state has only raised enough private funding to give each kid $2.77.

Source: the Burlington Free Press

3 days
JULY 3, 2017

Limit on opioid prescriptions for acute pain in Kentucky, which now has the toughest restrictions of this kind in the nation.

Source: Tribune News Service

Twice
JUNE 30, 2017

Times that one man has rammed his car into a Ten Commandments monument outside of a state capitol. He did it in Oklahoma in 2014, and again in Arkansas this week.

Source: Tribune News Service

More than $15 billion
JUNE 29, 2017

Unpaid bills the state of Illinois owes. In 2015, when Gov. Bruce Rauner took office, it was around $5 billion. Since then, the GOP governor and the Democratic legislature have been in a deadlock over the budget.

$3 million
JUNE 28, 2017

Settlement paid by the government to the mother of Philando Castile, a black motorist fatally shot by police in Minnesota while his girlfriend and her 4-year-old sat next to him. The deal comes weeks after the officer was acquitted of all charges related to the shooting.

Source: AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune

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Gorka: Clinton Campaign Sent Operatives to Ukraine Embassy to Influence Election

Regarding the latest news of a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump said:

“Let’s compare that to the DNC, to the Hillary campaign that actually sends one of its operatives to the Ukrainian embassy to collect opposition research, to actually collect it and then coordinates with members of that foreign government attacks on our campaign.”

“So again,” continued Gorka, “the news media would have you look at something that doesn’t exist, while the actual real news story is never given any time on channels such as CNN.”

More/audio of interview

Mish: "Love It" Smoking Gun Hype Versus Reality

The preposterous anti-Trump drumbeat from mainstream media is never-ending.

The latest non-news revelation is Donald Trump Jr posts emails from Russia offering material on Clinton: ‘I love it’.

Why should anyone give a rat’s ass?

Donald Trump Jr has been forced to release damning emails that reveal he eagerly embraced what he was told was a Russian government attempt to damage Hillary Clinton’s election campaign.

The stunning disclosure raised questions over whether campaign laws were broken and why senior Trump associates failed to report a hostile act by a foreign power.

The emails show music promoter Rob Goldstone telling the future US president’s son that “the crown prosecutor of Russia” had offered “to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father”.

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WCSO CID Press Release - July 14, 2017

Incident: Possession of CDS: heroin and crack cocaine
Date of Incident: July 5, 2017
Location: Northgate Drive Salisbury, Maryland 21801
Suspects:
Stephen Michael Duckett, 55 years old, Laurel, DE
Rachael M. Miller, 32 years old, Laurel, DE
Narrative: On July 5, 2017 members of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office Community Action Team (CAT) conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of Northgate Drive in Salisbury, MD. During the course of the traffic stop, Deputies developed probable cause to search the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed several bags of heroin and pieces of crack cocaine, along with related paraphernalia. Both the driver and passenger were arrested and charged with possession of CDS: heroin and crack cocaine. Once back at the Sheriff’s Office, it was determined that the female, Rachael Miller, had secreted additional bags of heroin in her body cavity, which were recovered by a female deputy. Both subjects were released to the Wicomico County Detention Center and later released.
Charges: Possession of CDS: crack cocaine and heroin and Driving on a revoked and suspended out of state license (Rachael Miller)

Flashback: Bill Clinton gave China missile technology

With all this talk of Russians allegedly interfering in U.S. elections, it is worth recalling that it wasn’t too long ago that a previous Democrat in the White House betrayed America by working hand in hand with our Communist enemies in mainland China.

As president, Bill Clinton essentially wiped out any strategic advantage the U.S. had by selling advanced U.S. missile technology to our enemy, the People’s Republic of China.

Back in the 1990s, longtime Clinton bagman Terry McAuliffe, now governor of Virginia, set records raising money for the Clintons. In that era congressional investigators unearthed an elaborate Communist Chinese money-laundering scheme.

Under it money was funneled to the Clinton organization through businesspeople, including Yah Lin “Charlie” Trie. In that case, 94 individuals either refused questioning, pled the Fifth Amendment, or fled the country. Trie accepted a plea bargain with federal prosecutors in 1999 in exchange for providing information about questionable campaign contributions from China.

McAuliffe helped a company called Loral Space get seats on official trade missions. He reportedly convinced the Clinton administration to overrule national security officials in order win approval for a Loral deal that gave Red China critical missile technology. Loral’s chief executive officer became the Democratic National Committee’s largest donor and McAuliffe became DNC chairman.

According to a Wall Street Journal account from Clinton days, a bipartisan congressional inquiry “found Beijing has stolen U.S. design data for nearly all elements needed for a major nuclear attack on the U.S., such as advanced warheads, missiles, and guidance systems. Targets of the spying ranged from an Army anti-tank weapon to nearly all modern fighter jets. Most wasn’t done by professionals, but by visitors or front companies. Lax security by the Clinton Administration is blamed in part, and satellite makers Hughes and Loral are criticized.”

There's much more here

ICE: There May Be More Than 12M Illegals

Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan said he isn’t sure exactly how many illegal immigrants are in the U.S.

There could be more than 11 to 12 million in the country, he said. No matter how many there are, Homan said that President Donald Trump’s executive orders have put every illegal immigrant (except those covered by President Obama’s amnesty for illegal aliens who arrived as minors) up for deportation.

He recently spoke at a White House press briefing in which he said that no illegal immigrant should “be comfortable,” and he reiterated that message during Tuesday’s interview.

“One thing President Trump did with the executive orders is he took the handcuffs off of officers. Now they can enforce the laws enacted by Congress,” Homan told TheDC. “The executive orders could’ve been written in one sentence: ‘You are now allowed to enforce the law as written.’ There’s been a lot of people off the table. Now there’s no population off the table anymore.”

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FBI Documents Show ‘Flawed’ Hillary Clinton Investigation

Newly released documents from the FBI’s criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of highly classified materials highlight a “serious, but flawed investigation hindered by a lack of cooperation,” according to a new report.

Some of the 42 pages are marked “grand jury material,” indicating that the FBI considered the investigation serious enough to prosecute before a grand jury, according to a report by Fox News.

One document shows that one of Clinton’s private attorneys, Katherine Turner, had agreed to turn over one of Clinton’s non-secure Apple iPads and two of her BlackBerrys to the FBI.

However, neither smartphone had SIM cards or Secure Digital (SD) cards, the report said. A total of 13 mobile devices identified by the FBI as potentially using clintonemail.com addresses were never located by Clinton’s lawyers, according to government watchdog group Judicial Watch’s President Tom Fitton.

Some of those devices were pounded with hammers after Clinton’s homebrew servers went down or after news that Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal’s email had been hacked, the report said.

“We are presuming there are still 13 devices at issue,” Fitton told Fox News. “The new records show how badly the Obama Justice Department and FBI mishandled the Clinton email investigation.”

Fitton said the FBI was played by Clinton’s lawyers and didn’t care, and he called for an audit of the investigation.

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How Dumb Is The Fed?

This morning, we are wondering: How dumb is the Fed?
The question was prompted by this comment by former Fed insider Chris Whalen at The Institutional Risk Analyst blog...

[O]ur message to the folks in Jackson Hole this week [at the annual central banker meeting there] is that the end of the Fed’s reckless experiment in social engineering via QE and near-zero interest rates will end in tears.

“Momentum” stocks like Tesla, to paraphrase our friend Dani Hughes on CNBC last week, will adjust and the mother of all rotations into bonds and defensive stocks will ensue. We must wonder aloud if Chair Yellen and her colleagues on the FOMC fully understand what they have done to the US equity markets. […]

Once the hopeful souls who’ve driven bellwethers such as Tesla and Amazon into the stratosphere realize that the debt driven game of stock repurchases really is over, then we’ll see a panic rotation back into fixed income and defensive stocks.

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Maryland Awarded $2 Million in Grants to Prepare for Terrorist Attacks

 

REISTERSTOWN, Md. — The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has been awarded $2,098,575 in order to prepare the State and local communities for terrorist attacks. The award, announced earlier today by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is part of the Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attack Program, which will provide $35.94 million to selected recipients to improve their ability to prepare for, prevent and respond to complex coordinated terrorist attacks. MEMA is one of only 29 successful applicants nationwide for this competitive grant.

“The safety of Maryland and the protection of our citizens is a top priority,” Governor Larry Hogan said. “These funds will enable our state to incorporate a comprehensive approach to preparing for and responding to the threat of terrorism into our emergency management system.”

This grant will fund capability building at the state and local government level by enhancing planning, training and exercising for terrorist attacks and improving emergency managers’ response.

University of Maryland Newspaper: Censor Speech that Makes Students ‘Feel Unsafe’

An op-ed published in the University of Maryland’s student newspaper argues that institutions should be able to censor speech that makes students “feel unsafe.”

“When is something outside the parameters of acceptability? Where does free speech end and offensive rhetoric begin?” student Moshe Klein began. “When is political correctness appropriate, and when is it used to avoid what makes us uncomfortable? These are pressing questions that college campuses around the country are struggling to answer.”

Klein goes on to argue that a controversial figure like Linda Sarsour should be able to speak on campus unless students take issue with her association with Rasmea Odeh, who was convicted in Israel of killing two Hebrew University students in 1969.

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Washington Post Contradicts Most Infamous Claim In Anti-Trump Dossier

Information buried in a Washington Post article may disprove perhaps the most infamous claim made in the already discredited 35-page dossier on President Donald Trump.

The dossier in question was authored by former intelligence agent Christopher Steele, who was reportedly paid by Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans to investigate Trump. Steele recently conceded in court documents that part of his work still needed to be verified.

One of the most widely reported claims inside the document was that while Trump was staying in the presidential suite at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Moscow in 2013, he hired “a number of prostitutes to perform a ‘golden showers’ (urination) show in front of him.”

The dossier claims that Trump wanted to “defile” the bed because he learned that President Obama had used the same suite during a trip to Russia.

Buried inside the article, the Post quoted “a person with knowledge” of Trump’s 2013 trip saying that Trump’s bodyguard rejected an offer from Emin Agalarov to send prostitutes to Trump’s hotel room:

"A person with knowledge of the 2013 trip to Moscow said Emin Agalarov offered to send prostitutes to Trump’s hotel room, but the repeated offers were rejected by Keith Schiller, Trump’s longtime bodyguard. The person with knowledge of the trip insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized by Trump to publicly discuss the matter."

The article is titled, “Unlikely middlemen: Trump Jr. emails point to father-son duo.”

More here

Dinner TONIGHT at the VFW 194

Senator’s family business uses Mexican labor

An Indiana senator railed against Carrier Corp. for moving manufacturing jobs to Mexico last year, even as he profited from a family business that relies on Mexican labor to produce dye for ink pads, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press.

Joe Donnelly, considered one of the nation’s most vulnerable Democratic senators up for re-election next year, has long blasted free-trade policies for killing American jobs. He accused Carrier, an air conditioner and furnace maker, of exploiting $3-an-hour workers when it announced plans to wind down operations in Indiana and move to Mexico.

However, an arts and crafts business Donnelly’s family has owned for generations is capitalizing on some of the very trade policies — and low-paid foreign labor — the senator has denounced.

For more than a year, Stewart Superior Corp. and its subsidiaries have been shipping thousands of pounds of raw materials to Mexico, where the company has a factory that produces ink pads and other supplies, according to customs records from Panjiva Inc., which tracks American imports and exports. The finished products are then transported back to a company facility in California, the records show.

More here

Judges Maciarello & Beckstead Rejoin The Maryland Judiciary Campaign Trail

Hi friends! It has been a year since Governor Hogan appointed me to serve on the Circuit Court for Wicomico County, and every day since that call I have been honored to serve Maryland and my community as a Circuit Court judge. 

I wanted my friends and family to know that today I had the pleasure of driving to the State Board of Elections with my friend and colleague, Judge Kathleen Beckstead. We filed together and formed a slate to continue our service as judges of the Circuit Court. 

You will hear more soon from an incredible committee of community members who have come together to support us in our efforts to retain our seats in the Maryland Judiciary. We certainly look forward to seeing you on the 2018 campaign trail as we work to earn your continued trust and support.

Everytown Takes Victory Lap as Paul Ryan Lets National Reciprocity Stall

In a Thursday report, Michael Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety took a victory lap over the fact that the Republicans control the House yet Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) is not advancing national reciprocity.

National Reciprocity was introduced by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) on January 3, 2017 and Gun Owners of America reported that it had 199 co-sponsors by June 21, 2017. Yet Second Amendment supporters have seen no action on the bill from Ryan or Congressional leadership.

So Everytown is claiming a win.

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Horrific Cruelty

There are political movements to push the federal minimum hourly wage to $15. Raising the minimum wage has popular support among Americans. Their reasons include fighting poverty, preventing worker exploitation and providing a living wage. For the most part, the intentions behind the support for raising the minimum wage are decent. But when we evaluate public policy, the effect of the policy is far more important than intentions. So let’s examine the effects of increases in minimum wages.

The average wage for a cashier is around $10 an hour, about $21,000 a year. That’s no great shakes, but it’s an honest job for full- or part-time workers and retirees wanting to earn some extra cash. In anticipation of a $15-an-hour wage becoming federal law, many firms are beginning the automation process to economize on their labor usage.

Panera Bread, a counter-serve cafe chain, anticipates replacing most of its cashiers with kiosks. McDonald’s is rolling out self-service kiosks that allow customers to order and pay for their food without ever having to interact with a human. Momentum Machines has developed a meat-flipping robot, which can turn out 360 hamburgers an hour. These and other measures are direct responses to rising labor costs and expectations of higher minimum wages.

Here’s my question to supporters of higher minimum wages: How compassionate is it to create legislation that destroys an earning opportunity? Again, making $21,000 a year as a cashier is no great shakes, but it’s better than going on welfare, needing unemployment compensation or idleness. Why would anybody work for $21,000 a year if he had a higher-paying alternative? Obviously, the $21,000-a-year job is his best-known opportunity. How compassionate is it to call for a government policy that destroys a person’s best opportunity? I say it’s cruel.

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Black, Millennial, Female and… Conservative

Mexican illegal immigrant was 'drunk' during fatal crash

An illegal immigrant, who has been removed from the United States seven times, had consumed '12 beers and was driving at 100mph' when he crashed his van and killed a father-of-three.

Nemias Garcia-Velasco, 32, who is from Mexico, was going over 100mph when he lost control of his 2001 Dodge Ram work van and crashed, killing 58-year-old Silvano Torres.

Prosecutor Ryan Lindberg said Garcia-Velasco was driving down Interstate 80 around 1pm on Wednesday when the incident occurred.

Garcia-Velasco told officers that he had consumed 12 beers the previous evening into the morning of the crash, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

During Garcia-Velasco's hearing, Lindberg also said the man had been removed from the US a total of seven times.

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Police Looking Ahead To Enforcement During Fall Auto Events

OCEAN CITY – In an effort to suppress illegal activity at vehicle-related special events this fall, Ocean City officials this week began discussions on enforcement and compliance measures for certain laws and ordinances.

Among them is a new state law that prohibits individuals with diesel-powered vehicles from intentionally emitting exhaust onto other people and vehicles, a practice commonly referred to as “rolling coal.”

In a Police Commission meeting Monday, Police Chief Ross Buzzuro said the new law will take effect the week prior to Endless Summer Cruisin’.

“The fine for that will be $500 in the state of Maryland,” he said. “That’s something we will be able to enforce come Oct. 1.”

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Hearing postponed for woman identified as driver in fatal officer-involved shooting in Mount Airy

A bail review hearing was postponed Tuesday for the woman identified as the driver of a white van that rammed a Howard County police vehicle before her passenger was fatally shot by police in Mount Airy.

“I have been advised by the detention center that she is being difficult and the only way that we would be able to get her to appear ... would be to physically force her to do so, which I am reluctant to do,” Frederick County District Judge Dino Flores Jr. said at a bail review hearing Tuesday for Shyann Brandi-Dawn Outen. Outen, 28, of Woodbine, also refused representation by a public defender when contacted by that office Tuesday morning, said Stephanie Pankiewicz, an assistant public defender.

Cody Ethan Mitchell, 26, of Damascus, was killed Monday when two Howard County police officers opened fire on the van at about noon Monday on Penn Shop Road near Md. 27, according to a news release from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. Mitchell’s body was scheduled for an autopsy at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore as of Tuesday, the release states.

As of Tuesday, Outen was being charged only with first-degree burglary and theft from $1,000 to $10,000 in connection with Monday’s investigation, according to online court records.

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Trump slams media for coverage of mysterious Russian lawyer, lays blame on Lynch

President Trump lashed out at the media and the Obama administration Thursday over the criticism his team is facing for his eldest son's 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer thought to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

At a joint press conference with the French president in Paris, Trump said the media are making "a very big deal over something that really a lot of people would do.”

He then turned his focus to Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch, saying he had “heard” Lynch was the one to approve Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya’s visa.

This is an apparent reference to reports that Lynch signed off on granting the attorney special "parole" to be in the country -- though it remains unclear whether she had permission to be in the U.S. at the time of the June 2016 meeting.

"Somebody said that her visa or her passport to come into the country was approved by Attorney General Lynch, now maybe that’s wrong, I just heard that a little while ago … [that] she was here because of Lynch."

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/13/trump-slams-media-for-coverage-mysterious-russian-lawyer-lays-blame-on-lynch.html

We Don't Understand Either

New Hawaii State Law to Force Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Advertise Free Abortions

Pro-life pregnancy centers in Hawaii will be forced to advertise free abortions beginning next Wednesday by state law.

Democratic Gov. David Ige allowed the mandatory disclaimer bill to become law on Tuesday night, the Daily Signal reported. The new law is similar to one passed in California in 2015 that is being challenged in court.

Hawaii has five pro-life pregnancy centers in the state, and under the new law, they will be required to post a sign and give a notification to all clients saying that the state offers free abortions and provide a link to a state website.

According to the Daily Signal, the signs must include the following wording:

Your Home As Seen By...

The Boy Mayor of Salisbury

WARNING: Today's Teen Magazines Are NOTHING Like the Ones We Grew Up With

When I turned 13, my then-sister-in-law gifted me a subscription to Seventeenmagazine. In those dark pre-Internet days Seventeen was the teen girl’s guide to everything cool. It featured tons of articles on fashion and boys, both of which made me highly uncomfortable. I can’t quite recall everything I glanced at in those pages before tossing the magazines aside for more scintillating reads (Pride and Prejudice, anyone?) but what I do remember pales in comparison to the stuff found in Teen Vogue today. (For the record, Seventeen isn’t any better.) If you’re the parent of a teen girl (or guy, for that matter) here’s the stuff your daughter (or son) might be reading about sex, relationships, health and spirituality in today’s popular teen lit. Let’s just say it’s a whole lot more graphic than the relationship questions I recall reading in the pages of Seventeen. In fact, by '90s standards some of these articles are downright pornographic.

You’ve been warned.

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Thank God Its Friday 7-14-17

What will you be doing this weekend?

Maryland Awarded $2 Million in Grants to Prepare for Terrorist Attacks

REISTERSTOWN, Md. — The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has been awarded $2,098,575 in order to prepare the State and local communities for terrorist attacks. The award, announced earlier today by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is part of the Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attack Program, which will provide $35.94 million to selected recipients to improve their ability to prepare for, prevent and respond to complex coordinated terrorist attacks. MEMA is one of only 29 successful applicants nationwide for this competitive grant.

“The safety of Maryland and the protection of our citizens is a top priority,” Governor Larry Hogan said. “These funds will enable our state to incorporate a comprehensive approach to preparing for and responding to the threat of terrorism into our emergency management system.”

This grant will fund capability building at the state and local government level by enhancing planning, training and exercising for terrorist attacks and improving emergency managers’ response.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, terrorist incidents, such as those in London, England; Boston, Massachusetts; Nairobi, Kenya; San Bernardino, California; Paris, France; and Brussels, Belgium; highlight an emerging threat known as complex coordinated terrorist attacks.

“Recent history has shown that we need to prepare for a wide range of incidents and even violent attacks,” said MEMA Executive Director Russ Strickland. “This grant and the associated work will help ensure that Maryland continues to be a leader in consequence management and risk reduction.”

Here are some statistics for the Year 1914

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

 

Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.

 

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

 

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

 

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

 

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

 

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

 

The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

 

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year ...

 

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,

A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

 

More than 95 percent of all births took place at home ..

 

Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which

were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."

 

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

 

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

 

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

 

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

 

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

 

The Five leading causes of death were:

 

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

 

The American flag had 45 stars...

 

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!!!

 

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

 

There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.

 

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent

of all Americans had graduated from high school.

 

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter

at the local corner drugstores.

 

Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, Regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!" ( Shocking? )

 

 Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help ....

 

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

 

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself.

 

From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD - all in a matter of seconds!

 

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.