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Monday, January 29, 2018

ICE arrests 86 in North Texas and Oklahoma areas during 3-day operation targeting criminal aliens and immigration fugitives

DALLAS — Federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 86 criminal aliens and immigration violators in North Texas and Oklahoma during a three-day enforcement action, which ended Thursday.

During this operation, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following Texas cities and towns: Abilene (3), Amarillo (3), Alvarado (2), Arlington (3), Athens (1), Breckenridge (2), Corsicana (1), Dallas (11), Denton (2), Fort Worth (3), Friona (2), Garland (1), Grand Prairie (1), Greenville (3), Hereford (8), Jacksonville (1), Kaufman (1), Longview (3), Lubbock (11), Mansfield (1), McKinney (1), Plano (1) and Terrell (4). A total of 16 arrests were made in Oklahoma in the cities of Oklahoma City (11) and Tulsa (5). Of the 86 arrested, 55 had criminal convictions; 82 were men and four were women. They range in age from 19 to 61 years old.

Aliens arrested during this operation are from the following countries: Mexico (55), Guatemala (10), El Salvador (6), Honduras (4) Bangladesh (3), Cameroon (1) Jordan (1), Laos (1), Liberia (1), Nigeria (1), Panama (1), Philippines (1) and Zimbabwe (1).

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Senator Addie Eckardt, District 37 Weekly Wrap-Up January 26, 2018


This Week in Annapolis

Maryland’s 438th General Assembly has gained momentum quickly, with bills being heard in Committee and on the floor that have the potential to impact every Marylander. I am honored to serve District 37 as we focus this session on addressing the tax sale process, healthcare, and taxation and affordability.  
My first bill of the 2018 Session, Talbot County Board of Education—Start Date of Term for Members (SB 171) was heard in Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee on January 24, 2018. This legislation would alter the start date of the term for Talbot County Board of Education’s members from January 1 to December 1 so that all members would have time to contribute to the budget process.
On January 25, 2018, I had the privilege of meeting with District 37’s Teachers of the Year. From left to right, thank you to Jennifer Gunter (Greensboro Elementary School), Katie Fox (Tilghman Elementary School), Christen Tacka (Prince Street Elementary School), and Sean Reincke (Cambridge-South Dorchester High School) for your dedication to our local students and schools.
Administration’s 2018 Anti-Opioid Initiatives

On January 23, 2018, Governor Hogan and Lt. Governor Rutherford announced their 2018 anti-opioid initiatives. This includes tactics directed at treatment, prevention, enforcement, and budgetary action and are in the form of executive actions, legislation, and the authorization of the Attorney General to file suit against select opioid manufacturers and distributors on the grounds of misleading the public aiding in the creation of Maryland’s addiction crisis. In regards to the possible suit, Governor Hogan recognized that 100% of any proceeds recovered will be directed toward opioid treatment, prevention, and education programs.

A future study of therapeutic detention facilities, as well as two pieces of legislation, are directed to expand treatment facilities and strengthen the behavioral health workforce. The Overdose Data Reporting Act would focus on prevention and allow Emergency Medical Service providers and law enforcers to share data concerning opioid overdoses, making Maryland one of 27 states to use this technology. Concerning enforcement, legislation is being introduced to strengthen and expand the prosecution of high-level drug traffickers. Lastly, budgetary actions are being taken to address the opioid crisis in Maryland: $159 million are dedicated to non-Medicaid substance use disorder and addiction programs as well as $13.7 million to fund the state’s response to the heroin and opioid epidemic; an extra $3 million will be allocated in the form of education grants as well as $1.2 million to expand treatment programs.
Governor Hogan and Federal Tax Implications

On January 25, 2018, Governor Hogan introduced legislation to protect Marylanders from state and local tax increases resulting from the recent federal tax overhaul. This legislation is based on results from a comprehensive analysis of the federal tax package implications done by Comptroller Peter Franchot; this study concluded that while most Marylanders will see a decrease in federal taxes, state and local taxes could increase by $572 million in 2019 if no action is taken.

The Protecting Maryland Taxpayers Act of 2018 would make a permanent provision in Maryland law that prevents changes in the federal tax code from affecting Maryland state and local taxes. This would allow Maryland residents who choose to the standard tax deduction at the federal level to itemize deductions at the state level; this would allow Marylanders to get “the best of both worlds” with the federal and state level deductions.

For more information concerning the Governor Hogan's announcements, please contact my office at 410-841-3590 or visit 
http://governor.maryland.gov
Meet the Staff

Patty Shreves, Chief of Staff, is joining me again for her third legislative session. She is a veteran of the United States Army and currently lives in Talbot County with her two daughters and husband.

Melissa Einhorn, Legislative Aide, is a recent graduate from James Madison University, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Public Policy & Administration and Family Studies. Melissa currently lives in Talbot County.

Morris Lewis, Intern, is currently a senior at Salisbury University where he is majoring in Political Science. Morris resides in Salisbury, MD and is originally from Talbot County.
Recently Sponsored Legislation

SB 215: Motor Vehicle Registration—Exception for Golf Carts—Town of Vienna
This legislation came in as a request from the Mayor and Council of the Town of Vienna and would allow licensed individuals to drive golf carts on the shoulders of main roads within the town limits.

SB 283: Alcoholic Beverages—Auxiliary Winery Permit
I am reintroducing legislation that would establish an auxiliary winery permit that the Comptroller may issue to a Class 4 Limited Winery allowing the sale and sampling of wine on licensed premises, anywhere in the State.

SB 404: Home Gaming—Bunco 
This bill would add Bunco to the list of games that a person over 21 years of age may wager on.

SB 405: Creation of a State Debt—Talbot County—Avalon Theatre
This legislation, proposed by the Avalon Foundation, Inc., located in Easton, MD, would help fund $200,000 to make the Avalon Theatre more handicap accessible.  
 
SJ 6: Commemorating the Bicentennial of the Birth of Frederick Douglass
This Senate Joint Resolution would commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Douglass, who was born in Talbot County in 1818 and grew to become a noted abolitionist, preacher, and advocate of women’s rights.

Legislation of Interest

SB 34: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Crossing—Eastern Shore Local Government Consent—Repeal
This bill is aimed at taking away the possibility of a political battle over where the next Bay Bridge span is placed by removing the power of the nine Eastern Shore counties to veto the decision made by the State engineers. Chairman Middleton stated that he is “worried” about the precedent that may be set by silencing local governments on a decision like this.

SB 133: Community Healthy Air Act
This bill would create a commission to study the emissions produced by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) and other industrial farms in Maryland. If passed, this bill will not impose any regulations or restrictions on the industrial farms at this time; it is only aimed at gathering emissions and toxicology data.
Scheduled Hearings

SB 3: Dorchester County—Hurlock—Alcoholic Beverages—Place-of-Worship of School Distance Restrictions
February 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm

SB 51: Dorchester County—Alcoholic Beverages—Beer and Wine Festivals
February 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm

SB 140: Dorchester County—Alcoholic Beverages—Class C Per Diem Licenses—Catering Club Events
February 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm

SB 215: Motor Vehicle Registration—Exception for Golf Carts—Town of Vienna
February 6, 2018 at 1:00 pm

SB 283: Alcoholic Beverages—Auxiliary Winery Permit
February 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm

SB 341: Hunting—Required Outerwear—Daylight Fluorescent Pink
February 6, 2018 at 1:00 pm

21 Epigrams Every Man Should Live By

As long as man has been alive, he has been collecting little sayings about how to live. We find them carved in the rock of the Temple of Apollo and etched as graffiti on the walls of Pompeii. They appear in the plays of Shakespeare, the commonplace book of H. P. Lovecraft, the collected proverbs of Erasmus, and the ceiling beams of Montaigne’s study. Today, they’re recorded on iPhones and in Evernote.

But whatever generation is doing it, whether they’re written by scribes in China or commoners in some European dungeon or simply passed along by a kindly grandfather, these little epigrams of life advice have taught essential lessons. How to respond to adversity. How to think about money. How to meditate on our mortality. How to have courage.

And they pack all this in in so few words. “What is an epigram?” Coleridge asked, “A dwarfish whole; Its body brevity, and wit its soul.” Epigrams are what Churchill was doing when he said: “To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.” Or Balzac: “All happiness depends on courage and work.” Ah yes, epigrams are often funny too. That’s how we remember them. Napoleon: “Never interrupt an enemy making a mistake.” François de La Rochefoucauld: “We hardly find any persons of good sense save those who agree with us.” Voltaire: “A long dispute means that both parties are wrong.”

Below are some wonderful epigrams that span some 21 centuries and 3 continents. Each one is worth remembering, having queued in your brain for one of life’s crossroads or to drop at the perfect moment in conversation. Each will change and evolve with you as you evolve (Heraclitus: “No man steps in the same river twice”) and yet each will remain strong and unyielding no matter how much you may one day try to wiggle out and away from them.

Fundamentally, each one will teach you how to be a better man. If you let them.

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Grassley calls out FBI lovers' use of 'private' devices during Clinton email probe

FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page may have used personal accounts to send official records to each other about the Hillary Clinton email probe in 2016 even as the bureau investigated her for a "similar" practice, according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.

“It appears that Strzok and Page transmitted federal records pertaining to the Clinton investigation on private, non-government services,” the Iowa Republican wrote in a Thursday letter to FBI Director Chris Wray.

He questioned whether that affected the bureau's treatment of the Clinton case.

“It is important to determine whether their own similar conduct was a factor in not focusing on and developing evidence of similar violations by Secretary Clinton and her aides,” Grassley said.
During the campaign, the FBI investigated Clinton’s use of a private email server instead of a secure, government email account while secretary of state. Then-FBI Director James Comey decided against recommending prosecution, but faulted Clinton and her associates for being “extremely careless” with classified information.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/01/26/fbis-strzok-and-page-allegedly-used-private-devices-during-probe-clintons-private-server.html

Milwaukee Bucks rookie tased by police over ticket

Milwaukee police arrested and used a Taser on Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown early Friday morning.

Brown, 22, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing an officer around 2am on Friday and 'an electronic control device was deployed.'

According to a statement from a police spokesman to the Journal Sentinel, police headed to a local Walgreens and saw a vehicle parked in two handicap spaces.

Officers spoke with Brown and then used a taser on him before making an arrest.

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Weatherby Firearms Moving to Wyoming

Just announced at the SHOT Show in Vegas, legendary rifle maker Weatherby is moving to Wyoming.

Many, many years ago worldwide hunter and adventurer Gary Starkey was a huge fan of Weatherbyrifles. At the time it was the only rifle he would own and use. He collected several and took many gameanimals with these rifles on several continents. His were the most deluxe, high grade factory cataloged Mark V Weatherby’s available at the time.

Starkey’s favorite Weatherby calibers included the 7mm, .300, .340, and .416. He loved to brag that these rifles were manufactured in California. In those days, California was cutting edge, the “hip” state, the place to be from or going to. Weatherby icon, Roy Weatherby was a celebrity in the firearms industry.

VA IT Aide Tried To Sell Veterans' SSNs

A Department of Veterans Affairs database administrator was indicted for allegedly attempting to sell vets’ social security numbers and stealing their identities.

The indictment, unsealed Thursday, charges that Phillip Hill of Benton, Ark. tried to sell the data for $100,000 to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The data was the personal info of veterans, their dependents, and VA employees, prosecutors said.

Hill was terminated by the VA Dec. 6, but told the informant that even after being fired, he could access the information remotely by logging in using a government computer still in his possession, or even by stealing an entire server.

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‘Assassination Style’: Widow Of Man Slain In The Bundys’ Oregon Standoff Is Suing The Feds TIM

The widow of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum is suing the Oregon State Police, the FBI and others over her husband’s death during the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Jeanette Finicum filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday, the second anniversary of her husband’s death. The lawsuit is for $5 million each for herself, her 12 children and her deceased husband’s estate, a total of $70 million plus court costs, The Oregonian reports.

LaVoy was “fatally shot three times in the back, assassination style, by one or more militarized officers of the Oregon State Police and/or FBI,” the lawsuitstates. “He was deliberately executed by a pre-planned government ambush, after he had exited his vehicle with his hands up.”

WATCH: Video released by the FBI shows a cellphone video from inside the cab overlaid with footage from an FBI drone in the air. Finicum’s death comes after the 5:30 mark. WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE

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FBI nixed attorney who jailed politicians for prosecutor

The FBI considered moving to appoint a special prosecutor in Hillary Clinton's email probe months before it decided the Department of Justice should not prosecute her.

Officials tossed out U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's name as a possibility, according to texts from March of 2016 between two FBI agents who are in Congress' cross-hairs for derogatory comments they made about President Trump.

Fitzgerald was the special prosecutor who brought charges against Scooter Libby, the chief of staff to former vice president Dick Cheney, as part of the probe into the blown cover of covert agent Valerie Plame. Prior to that he led the prosecution in New York of crime boss John Gambino.

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Breaking News: Republicans on a House panel voted to release a secret memo said to accuse the F.B.I. of misusing its authority in the Russia inquiry

The vote threw fuel on an already fiery partisan conflict over the investigations into Russia’s brazen meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Health Ranger’s Theory: The Flu Vaccine Is Causing The Flu Outbreak

If there is any part of you that’s inquisitive you’ve likely wondered how on Earth this year’s flu could be so bad. After all, we have vaccines and Western medicine’s advancements in technology to help people. But the Health Ranger says that is the exact problem with the influenza outbreak.

As the reports continue to come in that this influenza outbreak is killing about 100 people a day, many begin to wonder what the purpose of getting a vaccine that’s only 10% effective could possibly be. “What you’re never told, is that some of those deaths are because of the flu vaccine,” Mike Adams, the Health Ranger said. And Adams theory is that the vaccine is not only responsible for the outbreak of the flu, but for some of the deaths associated with it.

*Before continuing, this is not to say you should get the vaccine or you should not get the vaccine. You should, however, research the ingredients of the flu vaccine and possible side effects and come to the conclusion on your own whether or not this shot is right for you and your family.*

Adams wants people to know what they aren’t being told about this year’s flu by those who profit heavily by injecting people with the flu shot.

“It turns out that the flu shot, even when it works, which is rare because it’s usually the wrong strain but sometimes it works, but it creates vulnerability to influenza infections in subsequent years. In other words, there’s something about the flu shot (we can talk about what that is because we know) that weakens your immune system.”

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The mothers killed by the FLU as the virus rages on

These three young mothers are the latest unlikely victims of the flu this season.

Katherine Acton, 47, Karlie Slaven, 36, and Tanya Harmon, 37, are all mothers-of-two who died this week just days after being diagnosed with the virus, having nursed their own children through the illness.

Earlier this month, 40-year-old mother-of-three and marathon runner Katie Oxley Thomas of California died within 48 hours of falling ill.

While influenza typically claims the lives of infants and the elderly, this year's aggressive H3N2 strain has struck 18- to 49-year-olds harder than usual.

The hardest-hit unusual suspects are baby boomers (aged 50 to 64), but hospitalizations, illnesses and deaths far above average for all age groups for this time of year.

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The cynical reasons the divorce rate is about to boom

Divorce, like marriage, is taxing.

The sweeping new tax law that President Donald Trump signed in December could soon make paying alimony more expensive for some members of the roughly 800,000 couples getting divorced each year, according to government data. And divorce attorneys say that’s spurring a spike in clients considering divorce this year, thinking they might want to get it done before the new alimony provision takes effect in 2019.

“The people who have been on the fence, now knowing the tax law is coming into effect, is causing them to take the plunge. We have been getting plenty of calls [from them] …,” says Adam D. Citron, senior counsel at New York-based Davidoff, Hutcher & Citron. “For many, this was the final nail in the coffin.” Across the country in California, Jennifer Riemer, a partner in Walzer Melcher, is seeing the same thing. The alimony change has “definitely had an effect,” she says. “Clients who are even a little bit financially savvy have been asking about it.”

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Clinton, Podesta And Others In Senate Crosshairs Over Dossier; Given Two Weeks To Respond

GOP Congressional investigators have written six letters to individuals or entities involved or thought to be involved in the funding, creation or distribution of the salacious and unverified "Trump-Russia dossier" believed to have been inappropriately used by the FBI, DOJ and Obama Administration in an effort to undermine Donald Trump as both a candidate and President of the United States.

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SCS) wrote six Judiciary Committee letters requesting information from: John Podesta, Donna Brazille, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Robbie Mook, the DNC, and Hillary For America Chief Strategist Joel Benenson.

A brief refresher of facts and allegations:

The DNC and Hillary Clinton's PAC was revealed by The Washington Post to have paid opposition research firm Fusion GPS for the creation of a dossier that would be harmful to then-candidate Donald Trump.
Fusion commissioned former UK spy Christopher Steele to assemble the dossier - which is comprised of a series of memos relying largely on Russian government sources to make allegations against Donald Trump and his associates.
According to court filings, Fusion also worked with disgraced DOJ official Bruce Ohr, and hired his CIA-linked wife, Nellie Ohr, to assist in the smear campaign against Trump. Bruce Ohr was demoted from his senior DOJ position after it was revealed that he met with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson as well as Christopher Steele - then tried to cover it up.
Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, denied under oath to the Senate Intelligence Committee that he knew about the dossier's funding, while Clinton's former spokesman, Brian Fallon, told CNN that Hillary likely had no idea who paid for it either.
Current and past leaders of the DNC, including Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) also denied knowledge of the document's funding.
Podesta

The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring

Supervisory Partnership Specialist
Recruiting Coordinator
Space Leasing Representative
Clerk

For ALL positions you MUST APPLY THROUGH WWW.USAJOBS.GOV and read the entire vacancy announcement on specific directions to apply. Direct links are provided on the flyer attached or you can copy and paste the link into your web browser.

We encourage candidates to not be discouraged to apply to these positions based off the title, because sometimes qualifications and skills listed in the job description are similar to other type of positions that you have had in the past or currently.

Please ensure to read the announcements thoroughly and customize your resume for whichever position you are applying for. Applying for a federal government position isn't the same as applying for traditional jobs where you only need a 1 page resume, a little more is required.

For questions or an example of customizing your resume for a specific position, you can visit the help center or request help through the USAjobs website or call 1-844-507-2020.

A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time, or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency listed on the vacancy announcement for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Feel free to share this information with colleagues, friends, family members or anyone you think may be interested.

Illinois Unveils Another Shocker: Sell A Record $107 Billion In Debt To Fund Insolvent Pensions

If there is such a thing as financial hell, it is probably Greece... with Illinois coming in close second.

For those unfamiliar, here's a quick recap: Illinois (rate just one notch above junk) is drowning under a mountain of debt, unpaid bills and underfunded pension liabilities and it's largest city, Chicago, is suffering from a staggering outbreak of violent crime not seen since gang wars engulfed major cities from LA to New York in the mid-90's, while rising taxes have prompted a mass exodus with the state lost 1 resident every 4.3 minutes in 2017.

Here is just a small taste of some of our recent posts on Illinois' challenges:
Illinois Pension Funding Ratio Sinks To 37.6% As Unfunded Liabilities Surge To $130 Billion
Illinois Unpaid Vendor Backlog Hits A New Record At Over $16 Billion
Illinois Lost 1 Resident Every 4.3 Minutes In 2017, Dropped To 6th Most Populous State
The State Of Illinois Is "Past The Point Of No Return"
"What The Hell Is Going On In Chicago" And Other Highlights From Trump's Speech To FBI Grads

Seen in this light, any irrational actions undertaken by the near-insolvent state would almost make sense, if not be expected. Actually make that irrational and utterly bizarre, such as a proposed offering of a mind-blowing $107 billion in debt - a never before attempted amount in the world of munis - to "fund" the state's insolvent pension system, which would also assure that Illinois would default (even faster) in the very near future.

According to Bloomberg, Illinois lawmakers are so desperate to shore up the state’s massively underfunded retirement system that "they’re willing to entertain an eye-popping wager: Borrowing $107 billion and letting it ride in the financial markets."

If that number sounds oddly large, is because it is: an offering of this size would be by far the biggest debt sale in the history of the municipal market, and amount to roughly 50% more debt than bankrupt Puerto Rico accumulated in the run up to its record-setting insolvency.

Putting the proposed deal in context, Illinois had $26.3 billion of general-obligation bonds as of July and the state sold $750 million of bonds in November to pay down unpaid bills that had accumulated during its two-year budget impasse. The state still has $8 billion of unpaid bills even after that issuance, according to the comptroller’s office

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VIDEO: Hillary Clinton Thanks 'Activist B*tches Supporting B*tches'

Former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton thanked “activist bitches supporting bitches” for supporting the Resistance.

HuffPost commentator Alex Mohajer posted video footage of Clinton’s comments on Twitter Friday.

“Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks,” Clinton said in the video. “Thanks for your feminism, for your activism, and all I can hope is you keep up the really important, good work.”

Off camera, a woman can be heard saying, “Activist bitches supporting bitches,” a phrase Clinton repeated on camera moments later.

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Clinton-Connected Saudi Billionaire Released From Captivity Amid Corruption Crackdown

Alwaleed bin Talal freed after reaching undisclosed settlement with the Crown Prince

Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was released from detention on Saturday, family sources said, more than two months after he was taken into custody in the kingdom’s sweeping crackdown on corruption.

His release came hours after he told Reuters in an interview at Riyadh’s opulent Ritz-Carlton hotel that he expected to be cleared of any wrongdoing and be freed within days.

The terms of his release were not immediately clear, and Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

But the decision to free him, and the release of several other well-known tycoons on Friday, suggested the main part of the corruption probe was winding down after it sent shockwaves through Saudi Arabia’s business and political establishment.

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Foss: "Is The Trump Revolution Over?"

A year after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, analysts and commentators are assessing both his performance in the first year of his presidency as well as the outlook for the remainder of his first term. Entering office as a surprise winner and a political neophyte, many people didn’t know just what to expect from Trump. Would he do what he pledged to do as a candidate, or was his campaign rhetoric just a lot of hot air to bamboozle enough people into voting for him?

One of Trump’s most popular promises was to “drain the swamp” and, while the President has tried to make some strides in that respect over the past year, there are concerning signs that any swamp draining may be coming to an end.

Personnel Is Policy

One of the primary rules in politics is “personnel is policy.” What a politician says he’ll do is less important than who he hires to implement his policies. In many cases, the people he hires may not agree with his policies and may work to surreptitiously (or not so surreptitiously) undermine and co-opt him. We certainly see this on Capitol Hill all the time, where class after class of freshman Congressmen enters Congress pledging to fix the way Congress works. Yet time after time they get corrupted by the system in Washington. Why is that? It’s because of the people they hire.

Coming into office often with no experience of how things operate in DC, they rely on their respective party apparatuses to staff their offices. They’ll hire Hill veterans as their chiefs of staff and legislative directors, staffers who are more concerned with the future of their careers and who consequently do everything they can not to upset party leadership so that they can maintain their ability to work on the Hill and work the government/lobbying revolving door. We’re seeing much the same thing happening in the White House today too, asTrump continues to hire establishment Republicans who wouldn’t be out of place in a Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, or John McCain White House.

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Son: Stay of execution hard for slain officer's family

The son of a slain Alabama police officer said Friday that his father should not be forgotten as the US Supreme Court and media focus on legal wrangling over whether his father's killer is competent to be executed.

Justices on Thursday halted the lethal injection of Alabama inmate Vernon Madison, 67, as they decide whether to review claims that executing him would violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Attorneys for Madison said stroke-induced dementia has rendered him unable to remember shooting Mobile police officer Julius Schulte in the head in 1985.

Michael Schulte, the slain officer's son, said Friday that last-minute execution stays - the second Madison has received within two years - have been difficult for his family and mean 'this tragedy isn't finished.'

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One Baltimore Neighborhood Has The Highest Vacancy Rate In America

The implosion of America’s inner cities is creating the real “shitholes,” and should be on everyone’s radar - not Haiti. In Baltimore, Maryland, decades of deindustrialization and 50-years of democratically controlled leadership has turned the city into a failed liberal experiment, with a homicide rate on par with Venezuela, a country that is suffering from an economic collapse.

In 2017, Baltimore’s population crashed to a 100-year low, as Baltimorans have finally discovered that the gentrification narrative by Kevin Plank, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Maryland Medical Center could be a distant pipedream. The fact is, the millennial generation is quickly leaving as violent crime has turned Baltimore into America’s most dangerous city.

Breaking down the racial wealth divide in Baltimore, the figures are truly shocking. When it comes to education, health, and wealth inequalities, Baltimore has the most extensive gaps in the United States. African Americans make up a majority of the total population coming in at 63 percent of 614,000.

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Trump Successfully Infuriates Both Republicans And Democrats With "Dreamer" Proposal

Just one day after the White House reversed its position on naturalizing young illegal immigrants, unveiling a proposal late on Thursday to double the number of Dreamers the US would accept in exchange for billions in Wall funding, President Trump said on Friday that Republican senators - even those who have taken a tough approach to immigration such as Tom Cotton, John Cornyn and David Perdue - could agree to the unexpected proposal to offer citizenship within 10 to 12 years to so-called “Dreamers.”

“They’ve really shifted a lot, and I think they’re willing to shift more, and so am I,” the Republican president told CNBC in an interview from Davos. “We’re going to see. If we make the right deal, I think they will.”

The problem is that while a handful of republicans were happy with Trump's plan, many more were not even as the elephant in the room - or rather the donkey - remained the democrats. As we said yesterday, the fate of Trump's proposal - and by extension whether or not the government is shut down again on February 8 should there be no immigration deal - "depends on the Democrats' response which is yet to come."

And, as it turns out, early indications are not looking good, because as The Hill reports, Trump's immigration plan has slammed into heavy opposition on and off Capitol Hill, suggesting the much-anticipated framework has failed to move the needle as a bipartisan group of senators try to negotiate a deal.

While Trump is hoping the Senate will draft legislation based on his blueprint (it can be seen here)and introduce it by Feb. 5, just three days before funding for the government runs out, the day-old plan is already taking heavy fire from both the right and the left.

A Viewer Writes: Ahead of The Daily Times again

Joe, 

It's common knowledge among the employees at ECI that there's a SEACRET OPERATION afoot led by the St., DOC. Said operation concerns the closing of the Min-Security annex and the re-focusing of the unit's purpose. The plan is to move the current prisoners to the Main Jail and load the annex with opioid abusers. Also, the food service is to be farmed out to a contractor..whether it means just for the annex or the whole jail is anyone's guess. All this is being done with NO public or employee input. Just about all of the PROMISES made at the meeting (initial construction of the whole facility) have been broken because they were done in secrecy after the fact. I attended this meeting held before a capacity crowd at the Courhouse.

A promise made by Thomas J. Rosasy , one of the top DOC officials was there was NEVER to be over 1850 inmates at ECI. Any guard will tell you there is double that number there and with LESS help. Now the thinking is put more strain in that arena and with the closing of Poplar Hill it's just crazy. I've leaked this information to the County Commissioners. Never the less it seems the State is going ahead as planned. It seems that when the world takes a crap the thinking is to send it to the Eastern Shore.

Please make this public. Bob Aswell

Hillary Clinton Refuses To Apologize For Not Firing Adviser Accused Of Harassment

We wonder how many painstaking hours Hillary Clinton's focus group spent drafting this dumpster fire of a non-apology apology...

In possibly the most tone-deaf response to a "#MeToo" moment since the movement first emerged late last year, Clinton responded to a story about her protecting an adviser accused of sexual harassment with one of the most insincere, tone-deaf and downright baffling explanations in the history of Twitter.

First, Clinton claimed that the young woman - still unnamed - who first reported being harassed by Clinton "spiritual adviser" Burns Strider "was heard" and "had her concerns taken seriously..." (though the facts would suggest the opposite)...

A story appeared today about something that happened in 2008. I was dismayed when it occurred, but was heartened the young woman came forward, was heard, and had her concerns taken seriously and addressed.

...Then she said she "called her today to tell her how proud I am of her and to make sure she knows what all women should: we deserve to be heard!"

Heard, that is, but still ignored...

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Black Americans the Most Supportive of Dramatically Reducing Legal Immigration Levels

Black Americans are the most supportive group in the United States of dramatically lower legal immigration levels, down from where the U.S. currently admits more than 1 million legal immigrants a year, a new poll reveals.

According to a detailed Harvard-Harris poll, black Americans are more likely than any other demographic group to support lower yearly legal immigration levels, down to a fourth of current immigration levels.

When asked, “In your opinion, about how many legal immigrants should be admitted to the U.S. each year,” 48 percent of black Americans said they would like to see between only one and 250,000 legal immigrants brought to the U.S. a year.

Black Americans have been disproportionately impacted by mass immigration to the U.S., researchers say, as they were replaced by Hispanics in 2004 as the largest minority group in the country.

Center for Immigration Studies Director of Research Steven Camarota’s 2008 testimony before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission found that immigration had specifically impacted the poor and working-class black American men.

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"It Just Gets Worse And Worse": A Record 32% Of Used Car Trade-Ins Are Underwater

We have frequently written about the unsustainable trends in new car sales in the United States created by the combination of lower rates, easing underwriting standards and voracious demand for new securitizations by wall street and pension funds that will do just about anything for an extra 20bps of yield.

This week we find that according to the latest Edmunds' data, many of the same problems also afflict the used auto market. The most startling takeaway from the report is that the percentage of used cars being traded in with negative equity values - which means that dealers lenders are willing to accept an immediate loss for new transactions - continues to rise and currently stands at an all-time high 32.4%, up from under 20% in 2009. Moreover, the average balance of the negative equity also continues to rise and stood at a record $5,130 last year, up over a quarter from $4,075 a decade earlier.

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KARMA

Illegals commit crimes at double the rate of native-born: Study

The crime rate among illegal immigrants in Arizona is twice that of other residents, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday, citing a new report based on conviction data.

The report, from the Crime Prevention Research Center, used a previously untapped set of data from Arizona that detailed criminal convictions and found that illegal immigrants between 15 and 35 are less than 3 percent of the state’s population, but nearly 8 percent of its prison population.

And the crimes they were convicted of were, on the whole, more serious, said John R. Lott Jr., the report’s author and president of the research center.

His findings also challenge the general narrative that immigrants commit fewer crimes. Those past studies usually don’t look at legal versus illegal populations, Mr. Lott said.

Mr. Lott said the Arizona data is able to peek behind that curtain, and the differences between the populations were stark..

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Trump Security Team Sees Building US 5G Network as Option

President Donald Trump's national security team is looking at options to counter the threat of China spying on U.S. phone calls that include the government building a super-fast 5G [5th Generation] wireless network, a senior administration official said on Sunday.

The official, confirming the gist of a report from Axios.com, said the option was being debated at a low level in the administration and was six to eight months away from being considered by the president himself.

The 5G network concept is aimed at addressing what officials see as China's threat to U.S. cyber security and economic security.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a harder line on policies initiated by predecessor Barack Obama on issues ranging from Beijing's role in restraining North Korea to Chinese efforts to acquire U.S. strategic industries.

Earlier this month, AT&T was forced to scrap a plan to offer its customers handsets built by China's Huawei after some members of Congress lobbied against the idea with federal regulators, sources told Reuters.

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Woman alleges sexual harassment at Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

WASHINGTON - “It’s really ugly and it’s something that really needs to be uncovered and dealt with head on.”

That is what Sherree Lee said she is doing. She is revealing what she calls a systemic cover up for misconduct and sexual harassment in the workplace. It is an experience that is now personal for her.

“He’s standing in front of me with his penis in my face, his pants and he grabs me by the back of my hair and he pulls my head forward towards his penis,” Lee said.

Lee is a retired Prince George's County police officer. She currently works at an office park as a polygraph examiner for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The alleged incident happened back in January 2017 and she said she reported it immediately.

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Happening Tomorrow


Dershowitz: I Wouldn't Have Campaigned for Obama If I Knew About Farrakhan Photo

Saturday 0n Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Havard law professor Alan Dershowitz reacted to a photograph of President Barack Obama posing with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

At the time, Obama was a state senator, and according to Dershowitz, had he known Obama had posed with Farrakhan, he wouldn’t have supported him in his initial 2008 bid for the White House.

“Louis Farrakhan is a virulent anti-Semite,” he said. “He’s called Judaism a ‘gutter religion.’ He’s anti-American.”

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Is Smoking Pot While Pregnant Safe For The Baby?

Two-year old Maverick Hawkins sits on a red plastic car in his grandmother's living room in the picturesque town of Nevada City, Calif., in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. His playpal Delilah Smith, a fellow 2-year old, snacks on hummus and cashews and delights over the sounds of her Princess Peppa stuffie.

It's playtime for the kids of the provocatively named Facebook group "Pot Smoking Moms Who Cuss Sometimes."

Maverick's mother, Jenna Sauter, started the group after he was born. "I was a new mom, a young mom — I was 22 — and I was just feeling really lonely in the house, taking care of him," she says. She wanted to reach out to other mothers but didn't want to hide her marijuana use.

"I wanted friends who I could be open with," Sauter says — "like I enjoy going to the river and I like to maybe smoke a joint at the river."

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Trump Ignores DOJ Warning, Notifies Sessions He Wants FISA Memo Released

President Trump broke with the Department of Justice last week by calling for the release of a four-page "FISA memo" purportedly summarizing widespread surveillance absues by the FBI, DOJ and Obama Administration, reports the Washington Post.

The President's desire was relayed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions by White House Chief-of-Staff John Kelly last Wednesday - putting the Trump White House at odds with the DOJ - which said that releasing the classified memo written by congressional republicans "extraordinarily reckless" without allowing the Department of Justice to first review the memo detailing its own criminal malfeasance during and after the 2016 presidential election.

The decision to release the memo ultimately lies with congress.

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College Students React to Trump's SOTU Address ... Before It Happens

Campus Reform's Cabot Phillips visited New York University last week to ask students what they thought about President Trump's first official State of the Union address.

The only problem? The speech hasn't happened yet.

That didn't stop students from condemning Trump's address, with some calling it "offensive" and "ridiculous."

On "Fox & Friends First" on Monday, Phillips said he was not surprised by the reflexively anti-Trump responses, given the current political environment on college campuses across the country.

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Byron York: Justice Department withholds majority of FBI texts

The Justice Department has given Congress less than 15 percent of the texts between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page – and that is all Congress is likely to get, at least until department experts finish an effort to recover an unknown number of previously lost texts that were sent and received during a key five-month period during the Trump-Russia investigation.

There is much confusion over some basic facts of the Strzok-Page texts. How many are there? How many relate to the two most politically-charged investigations in years, the Trump-Russia probe and the Hillary Clinton email investigation? How many have been turned over to Congress? And how many are left to be turned over to Congress?

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Mollie Hemingway Talks Classified Memo

When the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence votes to release the classified intelligence memo, according to one journalist, it will be because the committee found such disconcerting practices by intelligence officials that the public has a right to know.

Mollie Ziegler Hemingway — a senior editor at The Federalist and Fox News contributor who spoke with The Daily Caller New Foundation — discussed how the media narrative is collapsing with new facts showing the misbehavior of certain FBI officials. Besides not showing any collusion, we can now look back to see “inappropriate” briefings by intelligence officials of the Congress using this discredited information.

Hemingway calls the use of the dossier to obtain surveillance on Trump administration officials a “scandal of epic proportions.” In addition, America is also learning of the post-election whisper campaign to delegitimize President Donald Trump.

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Sperry: FBI/DOJ and Mueller "Gonna be in a World of Hurt" Once Explosive FISA Memo Goes Public

Chairman Nunes compiled a 4 page memo detailing the FISA abuse that took place under the Obama administration.

The phony Hillary-funded Russia dossier was used to obtain FISA warrants in order to spy on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.

Every House member who has viewed the FISA memo is in shock; Americans are demanding the FISA memo be released to the public.

Democrat hack Adam Schiff is panicking and created a ‘counter-FISA’ memo in order to combat Nunes.

Paul Sperry, reporter for The New York Post said his sources are telling him the FBI, DOJ and even FISC (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) are all gonna be in a world of hurt once the 4 page memo is made public.

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Wicomico Board of Ed Buys Property

Why would they buy this?
 
 
31453 Old Ocean City Rd, Salisbury, MD 21804-1810, Wicomico County
Owner Information

Owner Name: Wicomico Cnty Board Of Educati Mailing Zip: 21804
Mailing Address: 101 Long Ave Mailing Address ZIP + 4 Code: 5045
Mailing Address City & State: Salisbury, MD Owner Occupied: No

Location Information

School District: 2400690 Parcel: 270
Subdivision: Winter Place Residential Park Census Tract: 106.03
MLS Area: 23-02 WICOMICO CO NE Property Zip Code: 21804
Lot/Unit: 1 Property Zip4: 1810
Map: 39 Property Carrier Route: R008
Grid: 4

Tax Information

Legal Description: BL-A L-1 1.78AC 31453 OLD OCEAN CITY RD WINTER PLACE RES PK SEC1
District-Acct #: 05-107237 Section: A
District: 05 % Improved: 81%
Acct #: 107237

Assessment & Tax

Assessment Year 2017 2016 2015
Assessed Value - Total $190,500 $188,700 $184,400
Assessed Value - Land $36,900
Assessed Value - Improved $151,800
Market Value - Total $194,100 $188,700 $188,700
Market Value - Land $36,900 $36,900 $36,900
Market Value - Improved $157,200 $151,800 $151,800
YOY Assessed Change ($) $1,800 $4,300
YOY Assessed Change (%) 0.95% 2.33%

Tax Year Total Tax Change ($) Change (%)
2016 $2,021
2017 $2,067 $46 2.26%
2018 $2,064 -$3 -0.16%

Characteristics

Lot Acres: 1.78 Bedrooms: MLS: 6
Lot Area: 77,537 Total Baths: 2
Land Use - State: Residential Full Baths: 2
Land Use - CoreLogic: SFR Half Baths: MLS: 1
Building Type: Single Family Basement Type: MLS: Concrete Slab
Year Built: 1990 Water: Individual
Building Sq Ft: 4,096 Sewer: Individual
Main Area: 2,048 Heat Type: Hot Air
Above Gnd Sq Ft: 4,096 Cooling Type: Split System
Gross Area: 4,096 Roof Material: Composition Shingle
Stories: 2 Exterior: Aluminum/Vinyl

Features

Feature Type
Kte


Building Description Building Size
A05 4,096

Listing Information

MLS Listing Number: 512704 MLS Current List Price: $199,800
MLS Status: Closed MLS Sale Price: $189,800
MLS Status Change Date: 01/02/2018 MLS Listing Agent: Sonia E Zaffiris (400135)
MLS Listing Date: 09/25/2017 MLS Listing Broker: HILEMAN REAL ESTATE-BERLIN
MLS Sale Date: 12/29/2017 MLS Area: 23-02 WICOMICO CO NORTHEAST


MLS Listing # 500719 496361 387510 368653 368649
MLS Status Cancelled Expired Closed Expired Expired
MLS Listing Date 11/11/2015 04/04/2015 03/20/2003 10/10/2001 10/10/2001
MLS Listing Price $194,700 $249,900 $144,900 $224,900 $224,900
MLS Orig Listing Price $224,900
MLS Close Date 08/12/2003
MLS Listing Close Price $139,000
MLS Listing Cancellation Date 02/15/2017

MLS Listing # 354505
MLS Status Expired
MLS Listing Date 11/20/2000
MLS Listing Price $245,000
MLS Orig Listing Price
MLS Close Date
MLS Listing Close Price
MLS Listing Cancellation Date

Last Market Sale & Sales History

Recording Date 01/03/2018 08/21/2003 08/21/2003 12/16/1997
Sale Date 12/29/2017 08/08/2003 07/10/2003 12/12/1997
Sale Price $189,800 $139,000 $112,500 $50,000
Buyer Name Wicomico Cnty Board Of Educati Moore Ginger S Securitization Series 1999-1 Price Ernest N
Seller Name Moore Ginger S Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co Bierman Howard N Ruark Thomas H
Document Number 4274-3 2115-291 2115-289 1576-261 1317-245
Document Type Deed (Reg) Special Warranty Deed Trustee Deed Deed (Reg) Deed (Reg)
Title Company Attorney Only Attorney Only Attorney Only Other

Mortgage History

Mortgage Date 08/21/2003 12/16/1997
Mortgage Amount $104,250 $40,000
Mortgage Lender Union Planters Bk
Mortgage Type Conventional Private Party Lender