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Friday, August 18, 2017

The Unexpected Reason Panhandling Bans Are Being Struck Down Across the Country

A Supreme Court ruling about regulating church signs is spurring cities to repeal their anti-begging laws.

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of churches' free speech. The case had nothing to do with panhandling, but it set a new legal precedent that's now being used to take down panhandling laws in cities across the country.

In Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona, the court ruled that government regulations curtailing free speech have to be as narrow as possible and must fulfill a “compelling government interest.” At issue was a town ordinance that restricted where signs for religious services could be displayed. But the decision, which applies to any local rules that limit certain types of speech, has caught some cities by surprise.

"It's an unanticipated consequence," says Joshua Cox, chief counsel with the city attorney's office in Columbus, Ohio, where police recently announced they would stop enforcing a ban on aggressive panhandling. Cox remembers reading about the Reed case: “You don’t typically look at a graphics case and think, ‘I wonder if this affects our panhandling ordinance.’”

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First-Ever Music Festival Eyes Berlin, Snow Hill

BERLIN – A violinist with a love for the Eastern Shore and classical music is bringing the area’s inaugural “Chamber Music by the Sea” festival to Berlin and Snow Hill in the coming weeks.

Founder and Artistic Director Elena Urioste, a Philadelphia native and accomplished violinist, is partnering with four fellow musicians for a festival to benefit the Worcester County Education Foundation.

From Aug. 29 to Sept. 3, Urioste and musicians Brook Speltz, cello, Melissa White, violin, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola, and Tom Poster, piano, will perform at various private homes and public churches in the area with the hopes of building an appreciation for classical music on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

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Juanita Broaddrick: Why not tear down statue of 'rapist' Bill Clinton?

Why does America honor an accused rapist?

That’s what Juanita Broaddrick wants to know.

Speaking exclusively to The American Mirror, Broaddrick denounced the lack of efforts to uproot a monument to Bill Clinton in South Dakota, the man she says raped her in a Little Rock, Arkansas hotel room in 1978.

“I would like to ‘personally’ use a sledgehammer on it, with the help of Kathleen Willey and Paula Jones,” Broaddrick says.

A life-size statue of Clinton stands at the corner of 7th and Saint Joseph Street in Rapid City.

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Liberal Logic?


Jim Quinn Rages At "Functional Illiterates Trying To Erase History"

I consider myself a student of history. I’ve always been fascinated by the personalities who drove events throughout history. I probably would have been a history major in college if I didn’t feel the need to make enough money to support myself and my family. I chose a business major and decided studying history would be my hobby. Over the years I’ve taken a particular interest in the Civil War. You could even call me a Civil War buff.

I’ve probably read 60 books on the Civil War, from Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote and numerous other historians. I’ve visited the Gettysburg battlefield a half dozen times, as it is only 150 miles from my home. My basement office is decorated with six prints depicting various scenes from the Civil War. One depicts Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson at Fredericksburg, another depicts Jackson leading his troops through Richmond, another depicts Grant taking command of Union forces, another shows Chamberlain leading the charge down Little Round Top, another portrays Lee and Longstreet making the fateful decision to send Pickett’s men on their futile charge into history, and the last showing the slaughter during Pickett’s charge.

I’ve even taken an executive education course in leadership where the final day is a trip to Gettysburg where a park ranger guides you through the three day battle and the professor asks you to assess the leadership shown by officers on both sides during that tide turning battle. My fascination with the Civil War isn’t based on rooting for one side or the other. I wanted to understand the motivations of the main characters and understand why and how they fought that bloody war. There were so many fateful decisions, errors of judgement, acts of courage, acts of cowardice, brilliantly bold maneuvers, and just plain good and bad luck.

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Mylan Agrees to Pay $465 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Liability for Underpaying EpiPen Rebates

Pharmaceutical companies Mylan Inc. and Mylan Specialty L.P. have agreed to pay $465 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly misclassifying EpiPen as a generic drug to avoid paying rebates owed primarily to Medicaid, the Justice Department announced today. Mylan Inc. and Mylan Specialty L.P. are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Mylan N.V., which is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

“This settlement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for schemes to overbill Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded program whose purpose is to help the poor and disabled,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Drug manufacturers must abide by their legal obligations to pay appropriate rebates to state Medicaid programs.”

“Mylan misclassified its brand name drug, EpiPen, to profit at the expense of the Medicaid program,” said Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb. “Taxpayers rightly expect companies like Mylan that receive payments from taxpayer-funded programs to scrupulously follow the rules. We will continue to protect the integrity of Medicaid and ensure a level playing field for pharmaceutical companies. ”

Charlottesville never had to happen -- How craven politicians led our nation into tragedy


How should Americans react in wake of Charlottesville?

Charlottesville is a story of liberal hubris and political opportunism and the lives they cost. It is a tragedy that never had to happen.

Let me explain.

This spring Charlottesville’s ultra-liberal city council voted to remove an equestrian statue of General Robert E. Lee that’s been standing in a park in downtown Charlottesville since 1924, and to change the park’s name from Lee Park to Emancipation Park.

Charlottesville is, and has been, a liberal enclave for a long time; in twelve of the fourteen years we have lived there the Lee statue, or the Stonewall Jackson statue nearby, never raised a progressive eyebrow. But after leftwing groups like Black Lives Matter began targeting Confederate Civil War monuments for vandalism and destruction in the aftermath of Ferguson, our city council decided it could score some points with BLM types by having the statue removed—and possibly avoid a violent confrontation with those same leftwing extremist groups.

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http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/08/16/charlottesville-never-had-to-happen-how-craven-politicians-led-our-nation-into-tragedy.html

Last defendant convicted in 2016 sex crime

Anthony B. Alvarenga, the last man to be tried in Circuit Court for his role in sexually assaulting an unconscious teenage girl at an Ocean City hotel, was sentenced to nine years in jail last week.

Alvarenga was emotionless as the bailiffs led him out of the courtroom after Judge Richard Bloxom imposed the sentence. In the gallery, Lucita Alvarenga cried quietly while covering her face with her hands as her son silently left the room.

Alvarenga, 20, of Rockville, and four other men faced several charges for videotaping and participating in the attack on a 17-year-old girl in the Dunes Manor Hotel on 28th Street on May 29, 2016. He pleaded guilty to second-degree sex offense and filming child pornography as part of a deal with Assistant State’s Attorney Diane Karsnitz.

Dozens of photographs and videos recovered from one of the co-defendants phones showed the men undressing the victim and inappropriately touching her. Alvarenga was seen in the photos and video clips.

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Radical Political Goals Of 'Anti-Fascist

In the days since violent clashes at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville culminated in a neo-Nazi sympathizer driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, journalists have mainstreamed the self-described “anti-fascists” (or “antifa”) at the rally — largely ignoring their involvement in the escalating political violence in this country.

Many establishment political figures insisted the far-left actors were just like American soldiers on D-Day. But these “anti-fascists'” own statements show they’re nothing like American soldiers on D-Day.

They aren’t interested in protecting America’s system of government, according to their own statements — they’re interested in destroying it.

From the very start of the Trump administration, far-left actors declared their intention to use massive demonstrations to disrupt the American political process as much as possible.

A common mantra among far-left groups beginning shortly before the inauguration: make America “ungovernable.”

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Driver In 2012 Ocean City Fatality Violates Probation, Heads Back To Jail

OCEAN CITY — A Virginia man who pleaded guilty to striking and killing another man who later became symbolic of Ocean City’s Walk-Smart pedestrian safety campaign is heading back to jail for five years after violating his probation.

Around 1:20 a.m. on May 28, 2012, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to the area of 54th Street and Coastal Highway for a reported hit-and-run collision involving a pedestrian. The investigation revealed the pedestrian, identified a Matthew Jude Cheswick, a Towson University student, was attempting to cross Coastal Highway from east to west when he was struck by an Isuzu Rodeo traveling the bus lane at a high rate of speed.

After striking Cheswick, the driver, later identified as Diogo Facchini, then 30, of Lorton, Va., continued to travel north on Coastal Highway before turning right onto 55th Street. Witnesses to the pedestrian collision followed Facchini until he was identified and apprehended by police. Cheswick ultimately died from injuries sustained in the collision and Facchini was charged with multiple counts including homicide by motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a fatal collision along with various drunk-driving counts.

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Coast Guard, Good Samaritans respond to vessel fire off Ocean City, Md.



BALTIMORE — The Coast Guard and good Samaritans responded to a vessel on fire approximately 13 miles southeast of Ocean City Friday morning.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capital Region received a distress call via VHF-FM 16 from the operator of the vessel Hard Decision stating he had an electrical fire aboard his vessel and required assistance.

Sector M-NCR personnel relayed an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Ocean City and an aircrew from Air Station Atlantic City.

Multiple good Samaritans arrived on scene to discover the Hard Decision completely engulfed and seven people in the water. The operator of the vessel Unplugged recovered the seven people.

The survivors were transferred to the Coast Guard rescue vessel and safely brought ashore.

"This case was a great example of how important it is to have proper, working safety gear aboard your vessel," said Lt. Bradford Clark, Sector Maryland-NCR, a SAR mission controller. "The boaters were able to quickly notify our command center staff about their emergency and allowed us to alert boaters, near the stricken vessel's location, who responded and provided assistance."
-USCG-

Eden Man Arrested for Robbery, Carjacking and Marijauna

 
On August 18, 2017 at 12:45 a.m. a trooper from the Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of Eden Allen Road for an inoperable tag lamp.

Upon activating the patrol vehicle’s emergency equipment, the suspect vehicle made an abrupt left turn onto Mercer Road. A few moments later, the suspect vehicle left the roadway and attempted to cross a ditch but was unsuccessful. The driver of the suspect vehicle immediately exited and fled from the vehicle on foot.

Within moments of attempting to flee, the Maryland State Trooper who initiated the traffic stop was able to catch, and arrest the suspect without further incident. At the time of arrest, the suspect was carrying a large backpack. Search incident to arrest revealed that the backpack contained 334 grams of marijuana.

The driver was identified as Raymond Warren Mathis, DOB: 4/8/1989 from Eden, Maryland.

Further investigation revealed that just moments prior to the trooper initiating the traffic stop on Eden Allen Road, Raymond Mathis was meeting two individuals at the Eden Shell Gas Station to sell the marijuana.

Upon meeting the two individuals at the gas stations, Mathis told the two victims that he possessed a gun and ordered them into the vehicle. Mathis then unlawfully took the vehicle with the two occupants inside.

The two victims were located inside the vehicle after Mathis was arrested and released from the scene.

Mathis was charged with driving under the influence, possession of marijuana over 10 grams, possession with the intent to distribute, robbery, kidnapping, and auto theft. Mathis was transported to the Somerset County Commissioner where he was remanded to the Somerset County Detention Center to be held without bond.

Trump Refuses To Let Go, Slams Graham's "DIsgusting Lie" About Charlottesville Comments

Following yesterday's advisory councils debacle, Trump woke up on Thursday and seemingly unable to "let it go", immediately went after South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham over his latest criticism of Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville.

In a burst of tweets, confirming yet again that Gen Kelly remains powerless to contain Trump's tweeting habit, Trump said “publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer. Such a disgusting lie. He just can't forget his election trouncing.The people of South Carolina will remember!"

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Maryland Man Pleads Guilty For Conspiring To Provide And For Providing Material Support To ISIS


Elshinawy Received Money from ISIS to be used for “Operational Purposes” in the United States

Baltimore, Maryland – Mohamed Elshinawy, age 32, of Edgewood, Maryland, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization; providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS terrorism financing; and making false statements in connection with a terrorism matter.

The plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney of the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Dana J. Boente; and Special Agent in Charge Gordon Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Office.

According to the plea agreement, Elshinawy conspired with others to knowingly provide material support and resources to ISIS, knowing that ISIS was a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. From February 2015 through about December 11, 2015, in Maryland and elsewhere, Elshinawy conspired with others to provide material support and resources, including personnel, services (including means and methods of communication), and financial services, to ISIS. Elshinawy and his co-conspirators utilized various methods of secret communication in order to conceal their criminal association and activities from law enforcement.

Defiant Trump Doubles Down, Defends "Beautiful" Confederate Statues

President Trump just dropped a brand new tweet storm doubling down on comments he made at an impromptu press conference earlier this week that sparked a media firestorm and left many calling, yet again, for his immediate resignation.

Responding to actions taken around the country to remove confederate statues in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville last weekend, Trump said it's "sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart."

Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!

Also the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!

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Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Our Area

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 455 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN MARYLAND THIS WATCH INCLUDES 4 COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST MARYLAND DORCHESTER SOMERSET WICOMICO WORCESTER THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF CAMBRIDGE, CRISFIELD, OCEAN CITY, PRINCESS ANNE, AND SALISBURY.

Steve Bannon Out As Chief White House Strategist

Steve Bannon has lost his job as chief White House strategist.

The White House described the departure as a mutual agreement between Bannon and chief of staff John Kelly.

"We are grateful for his service and wish him the best," said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Bannon has been a larger-than-life character in Trumpworld: a right-wing provocateur whose rumpled wardrobe and radical politics belied his background at Goldman Sachs and Harvard Business School. (Bannon made a small fortune running his own investment banking firm. His compensation for one deal included a stake in residuals from the TV series Seinfeld.)

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What to know about presidential retreat Camp David, where Trump travels Friday


(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is headed back to the rustic presidential retreat Camp David, the site of many historic discussions and private meetings between presidents and foreign dignitaries.

On Friday, the President will meet with his administration’s national security team at Camp David, along with Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence, who cut his week-long trip to Central and South America a day short to attend. The talks will focus on the president’s strategy in Afghanistan and in South Asia, according to White House officials.

Trump’s return to Camp David marks his second trip to the retreat, after his first visit over Father’s Day weekend with First Lady Melania Trump, their 11-year old son Barron and the first lady’s parents.

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Horowitz: The Real Race War

The tragedy in Charlottesville could have been an occasion to stop and consider how the tolerance for politically correct violence and politically correct hatred is leading the nation towards civil war. Instead, the media and the political left have turned this incident into the biggest fake news story of the summer, transforming its real lessons into a morality play that justifies war against the political right, and against white people generally.

The organizers of the “Unite the Right” demonstration in Charlottesville were repellent racists. But they came to defend a historic monument honoring a complex man and cause, and not to attack it or presumably anyone else. They applied for a permit and were denied.They re-applied successfully in a petition supported by the local ACLU. If they had come to precipitate violence, why would they have gone to the tedious trouble of applying for a permit? Who knows what – if anything – would have happened if that had been the end of the story and no one had shown up to oppose them.

What “Unite the Right” actually demonstrated was that the assortment of neo-Nazis, pro-Confederates, and assorted yahoos gathered under the banner of the “Alt-Right” is actually a negligible group. This was a national show of strength that actually attracted a couple hundred people. Compare that to the tens of the thousands who can readily be marshaled by two violent groups of the left – Black Lives Matter and Antifa – and you get an idea of how marginal “white supremacists” are to America’s political and cultural life.

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WE GOT HER! POLICE CATCH WOMAN WHO STOLE TIP JAR FROM JUSTINE’S ICE CREAM PARLOR


The woman who was caught on camera stealing a tip jar from Justine’s Ice Cream Parlor has been found and charged with theft.
Police have found Mary Muhl, a 25-year-old Ocean City native, after studying the surveillance video recorded inside Justine’s Ice Cream Parlor and have charged her with stealing a tip jar off the counter.

The video showed Muhl swiping a few napkins off the counter before taking the tip jar, which Justine’s estimates had around $150 in it. None of the employees recognized Muhl as a customer and the theft came at a time when no one was staffing the front counter. While employees didn’t see the theft, they noticed the tip jar missing almost immediately.

Police turned to social media and the surveillance video was viewed more than 125,000 times before the woman was identified. Once she was identified as a local, Ocean City Police tracked her down and issued her a court summons. She has been charged with theft of less than 1,000.

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The slow seduction of a Yankee

by Joe David

I grew up in Chicago, amidst skyscrapers, lost in the glitter of big-city living. What I knew of Virginia (and America’s heritage) came straight from my history books. My schoolboy ambitions were to live in the East and rock and roll to the hard beat of New York City.

Little did I know by accepting a job in Washington, D.C., many years ago that New York City would never be in my dreams again. “Are you crazy?” A Manhattan school chum had said, after learning of my resolve. “You want to abandon this for the South?

But it was too late.

While living in Georgetown, on the wrong side of the Potomac River, I was fascinated by what laid beyond the Key Bridge. The historic beauty and dignity of Virginia began to lure me over the bridge and into the picturesque hamlets beyond Northern Virginia. Nothing was the same for me after that. Although I always loved the adventure of world travel, visiting the Roman and Greek ruins along the Mediterranean, discovering the hidden civilizations deep in the jungles of Asia and South America, and even sampling the beauty and dignity of ancient palaces in picturesque countries, when my holiday was over, I still returned home to Virginia with a profound appreciation for what I had here. What is the magic that has kept me loyal for more than 30 years? Why of all the places in the world does this one state in America make me feel settled and comfortable and at home?

The answer is quite simple. I like being near our link to our past — to the historical cornerstone of our civilization. Everywhere I turn, there are markers to remind me. There is the James River, where
early settlers courageously created a new life, the great plantations where our Founding Fathers lived while building a nation, and the rolling hills where important historic battles were fought to free men. But most of all I love Virginia’s respect for its past and its tenaciousness at preserving it. To me, Virginia is a living museum of quiet and comfortable communities, surrounded by historic realities, which keep residents grounded and protected from today’s shifting values.

Although removed from the exciting beat of New York City, I find the longer I stay here, the less the boy within me yearns for the bright lights and congestion of big city living. Each day in the Virginia countryside has become a new day of satisfying discoveries. Several years ago, for example, while traveling America collecting material for a book on recreational cooking schools, I discovered to my delight that Virginia’s culinary contributions were as sophisticated and original as the best anywhere, and the settings for some of its cooking programs were as or even more impressive than those elsewhere. The Inn at Meander Plantation (a former home of Thomas Jefferson’s close friend Joshua Fry), the Inn of Little Washington (a facsimile of a French inn in the center of an authentic early American village), and Clifton Inn (an 18th century trading post once owned by Jefferson’s daughter on the edge of the Rivanna River) are all examples.

When my northern friends ask me, why I have become a Virginian — a Southerner? I simply answer, ‘Because of all the above, and much, much more.”

J-1 student dies at hospital after alcohol-involved swim

An Irish J-1 visa student who suffered a heart attack while swimming in Ocean City’s waters earlier this month has died.

Atlantic General Hospital Director of Marketing Sarah Yonker confirmed that Philip Leahy, 22, of Ireland died on Aug. 6. Yonker did not comment on the nature of his death.

Leahy was one of four J-1 visa student workers who was rescued by Ocean City Fire Department water rescue on Aug. 2. The swimmers went into the ocean near North Division Street around 6:30 p.m. The Irish students were caught in rough surf, and one made it to shore and called 911.

Alcohol was believed to be a factor, according to Ocean City Beach Patrol.

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Cruz Opposes Efforts to ‘Sanitize History’ by Removing Confederate Monuments

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) said at a Thursday press conference that it is a mistake to "sanitize history" by taking down Confederate monuments.

Cruz said those decisions on Confederate monuments should be local ones, but that in his view it's not beneficial, the Washington Examiner reports.

"I don't think it's beneficial to go through and try to sanitize history and try to erase the Civil War. We have a history that needs to be presented fairly, needs to be presented in context. It needs to clearly enunciate the evils of slavery," Cruz said.

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Maryland's Maleigha Solonka found murdered by asphyxiation

The body of a 15-year-old girl was found murdered by asphyxiation, police have said, one week after she went missing.

Maleigha Solonka, 15, was last seen on August 9 in Edgewood, Maryland.

Her body was found about 18 miles away Wednesday afternoon in Havre de Grace, Maryland, reportedly naked and in a dumpster.

Police have released few details about her death and have not said anything about a suspect.

However, Solonka's grandmother Donna Elliott told WBAL TV that she was given more details on her granddaughter's death.

'She was found in a dumpster, trash can with a pink shirt that was ripped, and naked,' Elliott told the outlet.

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State Police note increased number of distracted drivers

Maryland State Police are cautioning the public against the dangers of “distracted driving” after citing a growing number of motorists for using handheld devices while on the road.

According to state police, during the first half of 2017 troopers issued more than 20,000 warnings or citations for drivers talking or texting on cell phones, compared to roughly 17,700 during the same period last year.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines distracted driving as any activity that diverts attention from the roadway, including, of course, talking and texting on a cell phone, but also consuming food or drink, conversing with passengers, as well as adjusting entertainment or navigation systems.

Lt. Earl Starner, who commands the State Police Berlin barrack, said cell phones are by no means the only cause for road distractions.

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Decentralize The Gun Laws

With a Republican in the White House, the anti-gun-control lobby smells a bit of blood in the water. Now is the time, they suggest, to pass national gun-licensing reciprocity laws forcing gun-restrictive states to recognize permits issued by gun-permissive states.

Writing in The Hill, Tim Schmidt sums it up:

It is time for there to be national reciprocity for concealed carry permits, instead of the patchwork of laws governing reciprocity that vary by state. Virginia, where the [recent shooting of Congressman Steve Scalise] happened, has reciprocity for some states’ concealed carry permits, but if members would have brought their guns back and forth from D.C., they would have been breaking the law. It should never be a crime to be responsibly prepared to defend yourself in any possible situation.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) have introduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which would allow legal gun owners and concealed carry permit holders nationwide to responsibly arm themselves no matter where they are.

The way this is phrased sounds nice and totally unobjectionable: this bill sounds like it's just saying people should be left alone.

The problem, however, is that the drive for mandated reciprocity is essentially a drive to increase federal involvement and federal control in the realm of gun policy.

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Chicago Pol Blames Trump for Burned Lincoln Bust

Locals say it was actually July 4th fireworks

A Chicago politician on Thursday blamed President Donald Trump for inciting the alt-right to damage a bust of Abraham Lincoln, despite at least one eyewitness saying locals were to blame.

Ald. Ray Lopez said that extremists emboldened by Trump's rhetoric following the violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. last weekend had badly burned the nearly 100-year-old bust in West Englewood, a predominantly African-American community, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

But the Sun-Times spoke to a resident who says that he saw locals lighting fireworks off the bust on the Fourth of July and burning newspapers on top of it..

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Poll: Majority of Republicans Agree with Trump's Response to Charlottesville Violence

A majority of Republicans favor President Donald Trump’s response to the attacks in Charlottesville, according to a CBS poll.

Sixty-seven percent of Republicans supported Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville, including 32 percent of independents and ten percent of Democrats.

Overall, 55 percent of Americans disapproved of his response, while only 34 percent approved.

Sixty-eight percent of Republicans agreed with Trump’s decision to assign blame for the violence to both sides of the conflict. Thirty-four percent of independents agreed, and ten percent of Democrats agreed.

Overall, 55 percent did not agree with Trump, and 35 percent approved.

This poll was conducted by telephone August 14-16, 2017, among a random sample of 1,223 adults nationwide.

The Only Way to Say ‘Never Again’ Is When You Remember

Marc Little came to Washington, D.C. recently in his capacity as the vice president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) think tank to talk to reporters and the public about supporting President Donald Trump’s agenda of helping inner cities through job creation, school choice, and public safety.

But the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia, changed his plans. Little — an African-American who is also a pastor, attorney, author and lives in Los Angeles — joined his colleagues at the National Press Club on Monday to defend Trump against attacks by the left, who blamed the president for the violent protest and counter-protest on Saturday over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

“This whole idea now of pulling down statues and changing the names of schools and cities as if we can bury the cemetery of our past,” Little told Breitbart News.

“You can’t.”

“That’s what makes us who we are — the good, the bad, and the ugly — makes us who we are,” Little said, adding that the country has learned from its mistakes, including the “scourge” of slavery.

A good analogy, Little said, would be to consider shuttering the Holocaust Museum in the nation’s capitol because it is too painful to recall the deaths of millions of Jews and others at the hands of the Nazis.

“I’ll take it from my Jewish friends — never again,” Little said. “And the only way you can say ‘never again’ is if you remember what you’re talking about.”

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OCEAN CITY CRIMES: MORE TOURISTS ARRESTED FOR GETTING NAKED, EXPOSING GENITALS

People keep getting naked in Ocean City and the police keep arresting them…

A few weeks ago, we issued an Ocean City crime report detailing how indecent exposure crimes were skyrocketing in the the town. We titled the piece, “Please Stop Exposing Your Genitals.” Apparently, people didn’t get the message because over the past week, even more visitors have been arrested for exposing themselves in public.

Hotel hallway masturbation

In late July, Ocean City Police were called to a hotel on 112th Street at 3 a.m. after staff noticed a man laying on a bench in the hotel hallway “pleasuring himself.” Workers were too afraid to confront him in person so they monitored the sex crime on the hotel’s surveillance cameras and waited for officers to arrive.

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Wasserman Schultz' ex-IT aide indicted on 4 counts

Imran Awan, a former IT aide for Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was indicted Thursday on four counts including bank fraud and making false statements.

The indictment also includes his wife Hina Alvi.

The grand jury decision in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes roughly a month after Awan was arrested at Dulles airport in Virginia trying to board a plane to Pakistan, where his family is from.

Awan and other IT aides for House Democrats have been on investigators’ radar for months over concerns of possible double-billing, alleged equipment theft, and access to sensitive computer systems. Most lawmakers fired Awan in February, but Schultz had kept him on until his arrest in July.

The indictment itself, which merely represents formal charges and is not a finding of guilt, addresses separate allegations that Awan and his wife engaged in a conspiracy to obtain home equity lines of credit from the Congressional Federal Credit Union by giving false information about two properties – and then sending the proceeds to individuals in Pakistan.

The case has put renewed scrutiny on Wasserman Schultz for keeping Awan on the payroll for months, even after a criminal investigation was revealed and he was barred from the House IT network.

More here

Richmond mayor: look into removing city’s Confederate monuments

Mayor Levar M. Stoney of Richmond, Va., said Wednesday he is ordering a commission to explore the possible removal or relocation of Confederate statues that now decorate Monument Avenue, saying they should be “part of our dark past and not of our bright future.”

Mr. Stoney, a Democrat, said that the ugly events in Charlottesville this week showed how these statues and monuments have the “power to serve as a rallying point for division and intolerance and violence” and that he personally supports having them removed.

“But I believe more in the importance of dialogue and transparency by pursuing a responsible process to consider the full weight of this decision,” he said in a statement. “Effective immediately, the Monument Avenue Commission will include an examination of the removal and/or relocation of some or all of the confederate statues.”

“Continuing this process will provide an opportunity for the public to be heard and the full weight of this decision to be considered in a proper forum where we can have a constructive and civil dialogue,” Mr. Stoney said.

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Darby: Antifa Is the Resurgence of Anti-War Movement, Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter

Breitbart Texas Editor Brandon Darby provided some vital background on the violent Antifa group during his Thursday appearance on Breitbart News Daily with SiriusXM host Alex Marlow.

Darby noted that the “moderate left” and its media apparatus generally provides cover for their “extreme crazies.”

“For instance, with MSNBC and Chuck Todd yesterday, when he had a man on who was writing a book about Antifa, and he allowed the man to talk about the importance of fighting racists in the street. He gave him the same credibility that you or I would give the head of the Democratic Party, or the head of the Republican Party if we had them on our show,” Darby said. “He allowed him to express his views in full and even gave him the last word. They rally around their crazies.”

He warned that the left’s current crusade will not end with knocking down some statues.

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Pence Is Praying ‘We Will Not Allow the Few to Divide the Many’

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday touched on the tragedy in Charlottesville, saying he’s praying for the family of Heather Heyer, who was killed when a driver mowed down protesters in the street, and that he’s been praying that Americans don’t let “the few to divide the many.”

“Today while I’m here in Chile, our hearts are in Charlottesville because just a few short hours ago, family and friends gathered to say farewell to a remarkable young woman, Heather Heyer, and we've been praying. We've been praying for God’s peace and comfort for her family and her friends and her loved ones,” he said during a press conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in Santiago, Chile.

“And we're also praying that in America that we will not allow the few to divide the many. The strength of the United States of America is always strongest, as the president has said so eloquently, when we are united around ou
r shared values, and so it will always be,” the vice president said.

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BREAKING WATCH LIVE: 3 juveniles found dead in Md. home

CLINTON, Md. (ABC7) — Three juveniles were found dead in a Clinton, Maryland home Friday morning in Clinton, Maryland, according to Prince George's County Police. 

A family member got back to the home in the 6400 block of Brooke Jane Drive and found the three juveniles dead, according to police.

Police say they were called to the scene at just after 7:30 a.m. and said the juveniles had "trauma to the body". 

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FBI Investigator Who Led Hillary Email Case Suddenly Resigns From Mueller's Team

After being appointed to Special Counsel Mueller's team just over a month ago, ABC is now reporting that Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who oversaw the botched investigation of Hillary Clinton's email case, has now decided to step down. ABC reports that their anonymous sources have yet to discover the reasons for Strzok's sudden departure.

One of the FBI's top investigators, tapped by special counsel Robert Mueller just weeks ago to help lead the probe of Russian meddling in last year's presidential election, has left Mueller’s team, sources tell ABC News.

The recent departure of FBI veteran Peter Strzok is the first known hitch in a secretive probe that by all public accounts is charging full-steam ahead.

It's unclear why Strzok stepped away from Mueller's team of nearly two dozen lawyers, investigators and administrative staff. Strzok, who has spent much of his law enforcement career working counterintelligence cases and has been unanimously praised by government officials who spoke with ABC News, is now working for the FBI's human resources division.

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D’Souza: Racist Democrat Woodrow Wilson ‘a Pretty Good Candidate to Have His Statue Pulled Down’

Author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza spoke with Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Wednesdayregarding his new book The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left and also the Leftist-driven attacks on monuments.

In pointing out the deep-rooted ties between the American left, Nazism, and racism, D’Souza said, “Woodrow Wilson is almost single-handedly responsible for the revival of the Ku Klux Klan,” pointing out that Republicans had all but shut the Klan down prior to Wilson’s political ascendance.

He continued, “For several years there was no Ku Klux Klan and then Woodrow Wilson in the early 20th century screened a pro-KKK movie in the White House and it instigated a Klan revival. The Klan even spread to states where it wasn’t there previously, states outside the South.”

“So, if anyone is going to be going on pulling down statues,” he added, “Woodrow Wilson is a pretty good candidate to have his statue pulled down.” Wilson was a Democrat.

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Officials, Citizens Given Tour Of New Berlin Police Station


BERLIN – A training room, sally port, gym, ventilated property room and large patrol room highlighted a tour of the town’s new police station this week.

On Monday Berlin officials got their first glimpse of the town’s new police station, which is currently under construction on Decatur Street. Police Chief Arnold Downing and architect Tim Crosby led the tour of the facility, which is set to be complete in early 2018.

“The guys designed a wonderful building,” Downing said. “I think we’ll be really proud of it when it’s done.”

Downing began the tour at the building’s side entrance, which leads to what will be his office on one side and the offices of his lieutenants on the other. He walked officials through the hallways of the building, pointing out the fingerprint room, the processing room and the separate juvenile area. He said the large patrol room would include space for 20 work stations, which would allow the Berlin Police Department to have a desk for visiting law enforcement. He said that would be set up so that a deputy from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, for example, could process a prisoner. Downing said that could potentially save an officer a trip back to their home station.

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PBS Does Poll on Confed Monuments… Horrified by What Americans Really Think

There has been a recently renewed vigor in the debate regarding whether monuments and statuescommemorating the Confederacy have any business being in the public sphere, as some people find them offensive and others view them as historical relics.

While the left — with help from the media — would have you believe that virtually everybody in the country wants to see the Confederate statues taken down, or at least moved to a museum or some other site, a recent poll from Marist, NPR and PBS NewsHour and would seem to suggest otherwise.

The August 2017 Marist poll asked “Do you think statues honoring leaders of the Confederacy should: Remain as a historical symbol, Be removed because they are offensive, or are Unsure.”

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GETTING TO KNOW THE REAL JOHN MCCAIN


This is John McCain's home in Arizona. Not bad for a man who worked in the military, left the military, and then ran for Congress. He has been in Congress since 1983... for 34 years.

McCain graduated 894th in his class of 899 students from the Naval Academy! He was known for being wild and it usually revolved around women. He was a member of a group of students who called themselves "The Bad Bunch".

He married Carol Shepp who was a successful swimsuit model. She had been married to one of his classmates and had two children from her first marriage. She and McCain became parents for a daughter one year later. He had been quite a playboy and was already becoming bored with the domesticated life. He requested active duty in Vietnam. While he was there, Carol faithfully stayed at home looking after the children and waiting anxiously for news about her husband. His plane was shot down in 1967 and he became a POW.

On Christmas Eve 1969, Carol and the children were spending the holiday with her parents. After dinner she was going to take gifts to some friends. The road was icy and she slid head-on into a telephone pole. She was thrown from the car through the front window. Her legs, spine, and right arm were crushed and she was in the hospital for 6 months. Ross Perot was an advocate of POW's and he paid her medical bills. She requested that John not be told because she felt he already had enough to deal with.

McCain was released in 1973 and returned home to much fanfare. Carol had several surgeries, lost 5 inches in height, and gained some weight... McCain told reporters he was overjoyed to see Carol again. But friends say privately he was ‘appalled’ by the change in her appearance.

As a war hero, McCain was moving in ever-more elevated circles. "He started carousing and running around with women.", reported Robert Timberg. Bob Timberg was a retired Marine, an American journalist, writer, and author of four books, including THE NIGHTINGALE'S SONG and JOHN MCCAIN: AN AMERICAN ODYSSEY. 

McCain admitted he started having many girlfriends and affairs during this time. On one trip to Hawaii he met an Anheuser Busch distributer heiress, Cindy Hensley, at a cocktail party. She was 17 years younger than McCain and worth $100 million dollars. He invited her to have drinks with him at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He said by the end of the evening he was in love.

Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Confirms Gov. McAuliffe ‘Made the Decision…to Shut Things Down’

Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran told Richmond talk radio host Jeff Katz on Monday that Governor Terry McAuliffe “made the decision . . . to shut things down” at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville on the morning of August 12.

Appearing on Katz’s 1140 AM WRVA radio program, Moran explained the rapidly moving sequence of events that began at 11:22 a.m. when he phoned Governor McAuliffe from the City of Charlottesville Command Center located on the sixth floor of the Wells Fargo building in downtown Charlottesville, just a few blocks from Emancipation Park.

“In light of the escalating violence we had to shut things down,” Moran told Katz (beginning at the 4:15 mark in the audio recording of the interview).

“At about 11:22 I called the governor and he immediately made the decision yes, go ahead, and of course, in consultation with the Virginia State Police, Colonel Flaherty, we put in the appropriate place to clear the park and clear the streets,” Moran said.

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Local Confederate monument marks the farthest north the army held territory

A count of Confederate memorials across the U.S. appears to have missed at least one monument in the midstate.

The Southern Poverty Law Center's list of Confederate monumentsdoes not include a 10-foot obelisk honoring Confederate troops and Gen. Albert Jenkins in Hampden Township. The Camp Curtin Historical Society placed at the monument in 2005 at the Rupp House, which now houses local businesses.

Debate about Confederate monuments has increased after white supremacist protests turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia andleaders across the country began examining whether to remove statues in several U.S. cities. Calling it a loss of Southern history,President Donald Trump expressed sadness for removal of the monuments. The President has also blamed both sides for the violence in Charlottesville.

In 2001, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a roadside marker in front of the Rupp House to note the building's role as a temporary Confederate headquarters, according to The Sentinel. There, Jenkins' brigade occupied Mechanicsburg from June 28, 1863, until June 30, 1863. The short-lived occupation ended when Jenkins took his troops to Gettysburg to participate in the historic battle. After losing the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate Army withdrew from Pennsylvania.

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Just The Facts Folks


Misfits & Mohawks 3rd Friday THIS Friday, August 18!

August 18th, 2017 is the next 3rd Friday in Downtown Salisbury!  This month's theme is Misfits & Mohawks - so channel your inner rebel, grab your skateboard and helmet, and head to Downtown for a night filled with ramps, renegades and revolutions!  3rd Friday will prove that by working together, we can make great things happen! 

*Weather Advisory Please Read*
There is a chance of storms this Friday. If rain is imminent, we will cancel all outdoor features (vendors, outdoor music, etc.) but all indoor excitement will proceed as planned. Artists' and musicians' wares and equipment simply cannot get wet and we do not want to put anyone in a position to damage their livelihoods.

Please watch our website, your email and Facebook should we need to cancel the event. 


North Division Street
  
On North Division Street, check out the 2017 Skate Deck Art Show & Auction, benefiting the Salisbury Skatepark.  Now in its 5th year, the auction has consistently raised over $5,000 annually towards Salisbury Skatepark's next phase of construction.  Local artists from all over Delmarva have donated artwork for the cause.  There will be live punk rock music all night long featuring OC punk band Valley Girl, and Chuck Treece's Hesh Olympics.  Also on North Division, all ages can enjoy a pop-up skate park courtesy of Get Ramped, so bring your bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, and unicycles - because it's time to shred!  Kids - bring a parent or guardian and a helmet, and ride all night at no charge.  
On the Plaza, artists and crafters will line the street with local handmade items for sale.  Local DJ Kevin Palmer from Tops Cut Off Productions will be playing all your favorite tunes.  The Salisbury Jaycees will be pouring local craft beer and wine selections at 3rd Friday and the Wicomico County Fair all weekend long; we love those guys! Plus on St. Peters Street, just off the Plaza, St. Peters Episcopal Church will be offering burgers & dogs fresh off the grill, and ice cold drinks! Kids can have fun with arts and crafts and a hands on drum circle!
Salisbury Art Space, located on the lower level of Gallery Building, will be open showing "The Art of Christopher Harrington and Brad Hudson" in the Main Gallery, and an exhibition titled "Botanical Chaos" from recent UMES grad Julia Rocha in the Robinson Gallery.  Salisbury Art Space will also be showcasing "Little Paintings", a series of fun and exciting, reasonably priced works of art created by artist Phyllis Jaffe, with matting by Keepsake Art & Framing.                                         
                                                                                                               
Main Roots Coffee will be hosting a live art show with paintings made using coffee and water!  Stop by Main Roots at 6pm to see Hannah Wichrowski paint with coffee in layers starting with the lightest and then adding more layers onto the darker areas after the first has dried. Mistakes made in coffee can be easily fixed by adding more water and using a paper towel to lift it off the page.   Hannah Wichrowski is in her second year at Salisbury University, majoring in Graphic Art and Biology. 

Don't forget to shop this 3rd Friday!  Seasons Best Antiques is having refreshments and discounts, plus check out Angellos Unique Gifts for a special End of Summer Sale.  Enza's An Organic Salon will be open with fun specials, and promotions.  Stop in Maya Bellas Pizzeria for deals by the slice, and check out Cake Arts "Create Your Own Cupcake Night", and Frozen Farmer Ice Cream
  

The downtown bars and restaurants are ready with live music for 3rd Friday!  Roadie Joes Bar and Grill will have live music for the happy hour crowd by Kaleb Brown from 5:30 - 8:30pm, and local rockers Dust-n-Bones late night.   Brew River will have a Friday Night Dock Party with the Overtime band from 6-10pm and DJ Jon Boi late night.   Market Street Inn will have late night jams by DJ Juan, and Mojos will have DJ SL spinning all the hits.

Gingrich: Anti-Trump movement 'will never, ever be satisfied.'

President Trump “came out against bigotry, against racism, against hatred” after the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va. -- but nothing he says will ever silence some of his critics, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reacted.

More than a dozen people were injured and one woman was killed amid clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters at the Charlottesville rally on Saturday. Two police officers monitoring the situation via a helicopter were also killed when their aircraft crashed.

As the events unfolded, President Donald Trump spoke out and condemned the violence on “many sides.” Those remarks led to an outcry that Trump didn’t forcefully speak out against the white nationalists and the president received criticism from those on the left and right.

But Gingrich said that he thought the president spoke appropriately, arguing that the comments were not “particularly inappropriate or particularly weak.”

Trump said bigotry and violence are “un-American,” Gingrich said on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” Monday night.

“By the way, remember, it’s Donald Trump who, last year, in the campaign, repudiated David Duke, he repudiated the KKK and in his inaugural, he said ‘all of us bleed the same color’ and ‘to be racist is to be un-American,’” Gingrich said.

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China’s $360 Million Gift to Harvard

China is providing Harvard University with $360 million that a former military intelligence analyst says appears to be part of an effort to influence one of America’s most important educational institutions.

Anders Corr, a former government analyst who specializes in foreign influence operations, stated in a letter to Vice President Mike Pence that a Chinese military-linked company, JT Capital, gave $10 million to Harvard in 2014, the same year the family of Ronnie Chan, a Hong Kong real estate mogul with ties to China, announced it is giving $350 million to the university. Both donations were “relatively opaque” and raise questions about the purpose of the funds, he said.

Mr. Corr, who received an international relations doctorate from Harvard in 2008, said the Chinese donations appear to be an attempt to introduce biases among the university’s professors in a bid to influence U.S. policy or public opinion in China’s favor.

“Allowing such donations does not appear to be in U.S. national security interests, and it does not appear to be necessary for Harvard’s research and teaching (it already has an endowment of $36.7 billion),” he said. “Perhaps there should be legislation against Chinese-linked money in U.S. politics, including think tanks and universities.”

Harvard professors also give paid speeches in China, are paid for publishing work in China and enjoy all-expenses-paid travel to China, Mr. Corr stated in his letter.

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No, the First Amendment Is Not Limited by 'Hate Speech'

In the aftermath of Charlottesville’s antifa vs. alt-right riots, the mainstream media is, predictably, using the violence to feed the political narrative that all Donald Trump supporters are tacit defenders of white supremacy and racism. While the narrative is nothing new, it seems to have picked up steam due to the murder of a woman in the protest crowd by a sociopath from Ohio. 

Shamefully, the MSM exploited the murder to call into question the ACLU-defended First Amendment rights to freedom of speech — including ugly speech.

One of the Left’s favorite hobby horses is calling for the limiting of free speech it finds offensive, and leftists would love to have the power to silence speech they disagree with by labeling it “hate speech.” The trouble is the Constitution does not recognize this limit to Americans’ right to free speech. Still, that doesn’t stop leftists from claiming it does. A recent example emerges from an MSNBC interview of Patrisse Cullors, one of the founders of Black Lives Matter — which, one might argue, is a black supremacist group.

Cullors was asked to explain the distinction between the BLM protesters and the white supremacist protesters who were clashing in Charlottesville. Cullors responds by claiming that BLM’s message is about seeking equality while the white supremacists’ is “hate speech.” Not a surprising response, but she then flat-out lies, stating — without any pushback from the MSNBC host — that “hate speech” is not protected by the First Amendment.

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First Slave Owner

Anthony Johnson (b. c. 1600 – d. 1670) was a black Angolan who achieved freedom in the early 17th-century Colony of Virginia after serving his term of indenture. He became one of the first property owners and slaveholders of African birth there. Held as an indentured servant in 1621, he earned his freedom after several years, and was granted land by the colony.

He later became a successful tobacco farmer in Maryland. He attained great wealth after having been an indentured servant and has been referred to as “'the black patriarch' of the first community of Negro property owners in America".


Johnson was captured in his native Angola by an enemy tribe and sold to Arab slave traders. He was eventually sold as an indentured servant to a merchant working for the Virginia Company.

He arrived in Virginia in 1621 aboard the James. The Virginia Muster (census) of 1624 lists his name as "Antonio not given," recorded as "a Negro" in the "notes" column. There is some dispute among historians as to whether this was the Antonio later known as Anthony Johnson, as the census lists several "Antonios." This one is considered the most likely.

Johnson was sold to a white planter named Bennet as an indentured servant to work on his Virginia tobacco farm. Servants typically worked under an indenture contract for four to seven years to pay off their passage, room, board, lodging and freedom dues. In the early colonial years, most Africans in the Thirteen Colonies were held under such contracts of indentured servitude. With the exception of those indentured for life, they were released after a contracted period with many of the indentured receiving land and equipment after their contracts expired or were bought out. Most white laborers also came to the colony as indentured servants.

Antonio almost lost his life in the Indian massacre of 1622 when his master's plantation was attacked. The Powhatan, who were the Native Americans dominant in the Tidewater of Virginia, were trying to repulse the colonists from their lands. They attacked the settlement where Johnson worked on Good Friday and killed 52 of the 57 men.

The following year (1623) "Mary, a Negro" arrived from England aboard the ship Margaret. She was brought to work on the same plantation as Antonio, where she was the only woman. Antonio and Mary married and lived together for more than forty years.

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Publishers Notes: While living in Virginia, Johnson was the owner of 5 indentured servants, (4 white 1 black).  Later in life he lived in Somerset County, Maryland