Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

9 Ways to Lower Insulin Levels Naturally

Diabetes has become a major health problem, “approaching epidemic proportions globally,” according to an article published in the International Journal of Health Sciences.

About 12.3 percent of all adults have diabetes and a whopping 25.9 percent of adults over the age of 65 in the United States have the disease.

That translates, according to the American Diabetes Association, to 30.3 million adults with diabetes, and 7.2 million of them are undiagnosed. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in America which experts say is grossly under reported since it is often an underlying and not a direct cause of death. Diabetes is a major contributory factor in cardiovascular disease.

What is diabetes? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is “the condition in which the body does not properly process food for use as energy. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use as energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies.”

But without insulin, the blood sugar levels can build up too high and cause damage to the body, especially to the kidneys, nerves of the hands and feet.

With Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, people can become insulin resistant which is a prime feature of the disease. Metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions characterized by excess weight, high blood pressure and elevated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood may trigger insulin resistance, along with obesity, pregnancy, stress, and inactivity.

However there are steps you can take to improve insulin resistance and reduce your risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes.

More here

Nunes: Trump Campaign May Have Been Setup, Predicts Embarrassing Outcome For FBI And DOJ

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes of California said the Trump campaign might have been set up by the federal government back in 2016.

“Let’s talk about how did this get started? You had Fusion GPS that was hired by the Democratic Party and the Clinton campaign to draw up a dossier on the president — or as the president was running for president,” Nunes said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.” “What happened with that is that in [Glen Simpson’s] testimony he mentioned that there was a source within the campaign.”

Nunes said Glenn Simpson, the head of Fusion GPS, told Congress he was being truthful about a mole within the Trump campaign and predicted the fallout would tarnish the FBI and DOJ.

More/Video

Innocent Couple Raided by Cops for Facebook Post of LEGAL Morel Mushrooms

Darlington, MD — It is a travesty enough when the drug war lays waste to the rights and lives of entirely decent people who’ve harmed no one simply because they choose to ingest a substance deemed illegal by the state. However, because the drug war is such an immoral and barbaric practice, entirely innocent people are also swept up in the dragnet of tyranny and ignorance. Case in point: a couple in Maryland were raided by cops for posting photos of legal morel mushrooms they picked and ate.

On Friday, John Garrison and his girlfriend Hope went foraging the mountains for some morel mushrooms. Morels are known to those in the region as being the safest mushroom to hunt for as they are very easily identified due to their unique look. From mid April to mid May, lovers of nature and good food, like John and Hope will find them growing near trees or where there used to be trees.

Garrison was so excited that they had found a bunch of them, that he posted a photo on Facebook of he and Hope’s bounty along with his plans to “sautee them with brown sugar and cinnamon and see how that turns out.”

More

Liz Warren takes up case of Indian casino...and its Malaysian sponsors with a history of big donations

Fake Indian and harrumphing gambling opponent Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has taken up a rather odd cause: advocating for a brand-new Indian casino in her home state of Massachusetts.

According to the Washington Free Beacon:

A bill by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) to allow a Native American tribe to continue a stalled Massachusetts casino project is being pushed by lobbyists for Malaysian gambling giant Genting, which invested close to $300 million in the project and risks losing it all.

Warren's bill to help the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe build its proposed casino has raised eyebrows given her record on gambling – she supported efforts to repeal laws expanding gambling in Massachusetts, saying casinos are a "real problem economically for a lot of people," according to the Washington Times. Nevertheless, she introduced a bill that would reaffirm the tribe's rights to the casino land, allowing it to continue work on a $1 billion casino project that was halted by a U.S. District Court ruling that the federal government overstepped its authority to give the tribe the land.

Supposedly, Granny Warren cast aside her intense Women's Christian Temperance Union-style moral scruples against the evils of Demon Gambling, because, well, Indians.

More

Governor Larry Hogan Signs Tax Relief & Job Creation Legislation

Bills Expand More Jobs for Marylanders Program; Provide Tax Relief for Families, Retirees & Small Businesses; Aid Bay Restoration Efforts

ANNAPOLIS, MD –
Governor Larry Hogan was joined today by Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller and Speaker of the House Michael Busch to sign 229 bills into law at a signing ceremony at the Maryland State House in Annapolis.

The governor and presiding officers signed House Bill 365/Senate Bill 184, which will save Marylanders from nearly $3 billion over the next five years in increased state taxes as a result of the federal tax overhaul by adjusting state law on personal income tax exemptions. They also signed legislation expanding Maryland’s Hometown Heroes Act to include retired correctional officers (SB 299/HB 296) and allowing retired military veterans to keep more of their hard-earned money (HB 327/SB 966).

“Our administration has been focused on helping hardworking Maryland families, retirees, and small businesses; restoring our state’s economy; and delivering relief for Maryland’s beleaguered, long-suffering taxpayers,” said Governor Hogan. “We have now cut taxes, tolls, and fees four years in a row, by $1.2 billion dollars. This morning, we are signing important initiatives to prevent nearly $3 billion in new tax increases on hard-working Marylanders.”

Also signed today was economic development legislation (SB 989/HB 1295) that will build on the success of the administration’s innovative More Jobs for Marylanders Act, which was passed in the 2017 session. The program incentivizes manufacturing companies to create jobs in areas with higher unemployment by providing a tax credit for each new job created. In less than six months, over 110 companies have filed letters of intent with the Maryland Department of Commerce, with the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs, and 37 of those companies have filed official applications, which are projected to create over 1,400 new jobs. The legislation signed today will expand the program to additional jurisdictions, including Garrett, Caroline, Kent, and Wicomico Counties.

Additional measures signed today will bolster Maryland’s small business job creators and burgeoning cyber sector. The Small Business Relief Tax Credit (SB 135) will aid these employers in providing benefits like paid leave to their employees, and the Cybersecurity Incentive Tax Credits (SB 228) will encourage investment in the state’s cybersecurity industry and further solidify Maryland’s position as the cyber capital of America.

Building on the Hogan administration’s progress restoring the Chesapeake Bay, the governor also signed legislation enacting his proposal to incentivize septic system maintenance and agricultural best practices to reduce runoff, further protecting the Bay (HB 1765), as well as legislation to protect Maryland’s shoreline from offshore drilling (HB 1456) and additional environmental measures. The governor has been a vocal opponent of drilling off of Maryland’s coast at the federal level.

“I want to again thank President Miller, Speaker Busch, and legislators on both sides of the aisle for working together with us this session as we continue to change Maryland for the better,” said the governor.

Ballots were illegally destroyed in Wasserman Schultz race

A Florida Circuit judge ruled Friday that that the state’s second-most populous county violated state and federal laws by destroying ballots from a 2016 Democratic primary race which Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won.

Circuit Judge Raag Singhal decided that the records were wrongly destroyed because the laws require elections offices to keep the ballots in federal elections for 22 months. Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes destroyed the ballots just after 12 months, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

The judge also noted that because the ballots were subject to a lawsuit, only a court order should have allowed their destruction.

Snipes “has not presented any evidence refuting that the public records sought were destroyed while this case was pending before this court,” Singhal said.

More

Baltimore CBP Reminds Marinas, Boaters of Federal Reporting Requirements

BALTIMORE – With the quickly approaching Memorial Day weekend kicking off the unofficial start to another busy summer boating season, U.S Customs and Border Protection is reminding pleasure boat operators of federal reporting requirements.

“It has been a long winter, and Customs and Border Protection wants to remind vessel operators, especially those arriving from Canada or returning to our area after wintering over in the Caribbean, how and where to report their U.S. arrivals,” said Adam Rottman, CBP’s Acting Port Director for the Area Port of Baltimore. “CBP will continue our marina visits throughout the boating season to remind vessel operators and verify compliance with the federal reporting requirement.”

CBP’s Area Port of Baltimore is contacting local Harbor Masters, specifically in Annapolis, and has posted updated Port of Baltimore pleasure boat reporting directions on CBP’s website.

More

Soros' Open Society Foundation Closes Operations In Hungary Under Pressure From Orban

After closing its Budapest office last month, Open Society, the purportedly philanthropic organization created to push a liberal, globalist political agenda espoused by billionaire investor George Soros, said Tuesday that it has officially pulled out of Hungary after accusing Prime Minister Viktor Orban of "repressing civil society," according to the WSJ.

"Faced with an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary, the Open Society Foundations are moving their Budapest-based international operations and staff to the German capital, Berlin," the group confirmed on Tuesday.

Patrick Gaspard, the president of the Open Society Foundations, lashed out at Hungary's government, accusing it of "denigrating and misrepresenting our work," while repressing civil society "for the sake of political gain."

Soros attributed his decision to leave Hungary, the country where he was born, to the ruling Fidesz party's push to pass a bill known as the"Stop Soros" plan. The bill would place new restrictions on non-governmental organizations found to be meddling in the country's political affairs. The billionaire investor has criticized the law as anti-Semitic.

Open Society previously said it will move its Hungary operations to Berlin.

More

Rabies Clinic 5/24/2018


Government Relies on Flawed Data to Determine Endangered Species

Americans who live in or near a community built around a lake should be careful about stepping outside to mow the lawn if the temperature isn’t just right and the grass isn’t a certain height.

They should keep pets indoors. They should forget about using weed killer. And they should be prepared to pony up a steep homeowners association fee.

That’s because there may be snakes in the area protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which imposes stiff penalties and fines for violating its rules and restrictions.

Rob Gordon, a senior research fellow with The Heritage Foundation, discovered the situation while researching the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 1999 decision to list the Lake Erie water snake as a “threatened” species.

More

U.S. Border Patrol Welcomes California National Guard

SAN DIEGO—On May 9, 2018, as part of Operation Guardian Support, the U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector welcomed 108 California National Guard personnel.

Operation Guardian Support (OGS) includes the deployment of National Guard troops to San Diego and will fill vital, non-enforcement support roles such as: communications specialists, camera operators, vehicle mechanics, intelligence analysts, administration clerks, and range safety officers.

The support of the National Guard will allow Border Patrol agents on detailed assignments to return to the field to focus their law enforcement efforts on securing the border by preventing terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States between official U.S. Customs and Border Protection ports of entry. The Border Patrol is responsible also for preventing the illicit trafficking of people and contraband between the official ports of entry.

National Guard personnel will report to Border Patrol stations and programs throughout the San Diego Sector’s area of responsibility. They have received familiarization training associated with their assigned duties and responsibilities. The support of the National Guard will allow Border Patrol agents on non law enforcement assignments to return to the field to focus on their law enforcement efforts of securing the border.

More

Iranian Student Group Offers $100K Reward to Blow Up US Jerusalem Embassy

An Iranian student group known as the Iranian Justice Seeker Student Movement has been putting up posters offering a $100,000 bounty to anyone who will blow up the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

The Washington Free Beacon:

"The Student Justice Movement will support anybody who destroy the illegal American embassy in Jerusalem," the poster states in Farsi, Arabic, and English, according to an independent translation of the propaganda poster provided to the Free Beacon.

There will be a "$100,000 dollar prize for the person who destroys the illegal American embassy in Jerusalem," the poster states.

The call for an attack on the new embassy is just the latest escalation by hostile Islamic states and leaders who have lashed out at the United States and President Donald Trump for making good on a campaign promise to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel's declared capital city of Jerusalem.

News of the bomb threat was first reported by the University Student News Network, a regional Farsi-language site that aggregates relevant news briefs.

"The Student Movement for Justice declared, ‘Whoever bombs the embassy's building will receive a $100,000 award,'" the report states. "It is necessary to mention that the steps by Trump to transfer the US Embassy to Holy Qods [Jerusalem] has led to the anger and hatred of Muslims and liberators throughout the world.'"

More

Trump is right -- McConnell should shut down Democratic obstruction in the Senate

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., needs to go nuclear – now. That’s rumored to be the pitch from President Trump when he meets with Senate Republicans Tuesday, and the president is correct.

There’s an election coming up and Republicans are furious that their hard-won majorities in the House and the Senate have earned them few rewards. Where is the progress on infrastructure? Where is the fix to immigration? What about health care? Voters want results and they aren’t getting them. The Senate majority leader could fix that.

Voters don’t know it, but there’s plenty of popular and productive legislation that has moved forward over the past few months in the House. At the Milken Conference in California this year, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., talked about hundreds of bills – many receiving robust bipartisan support – that have passed his chamber this year but died in the Senate.

For example, the House Judiciary Committee recently approved a bill offering education and vocational training to low-level drug offenders. The measure, called the First Step Act, had both Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, and passed out of committee on a 25-5 vote. What next? If the bill wins passage in the full House, it will most likely languish in the Senate.

More
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/05/15/trump-is-right-mcconnell-should-shut-down-democratic-obstruction-in-senate.html

We Don't Have A School Shooting Problem; We Have A Fatherlessness Problem

In the recent wake of several more school shootings our nation continues its mourning and search for answers. We have all been asking: Why? Why does this continue to happen? What can we do to stop it?

I personally don’t believe that there is one black-and-white answer. I do, however, believe that one of the biggest and most important reasons we continue to see this breed of unprovoked and unnecessary violence is largely being overlooked: We have a masculine initiation crisis caused by a lack of strong and present fathers in this country.

Don’t believe it? Well, according to a story by Mark Meckler in Real Clear Politics, 26 out of the last 27 most deadly mass shootings were done by boys without fathers. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s more like a smoking gun.

More

Iranian Ayatollah: 'We Will Turn Tel Aviv And Haifa To Rubble'

A leading Iranian ayatollah vowed in weekly prayer service in Tehran that the Islamic Republic "will turn Tel Aviv and Haifa to rubble," according to a translation of his remarks.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts, which answers to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that Iran is "strengthening its missile power on a daily basis" and is on the verge of turning "Tel Aviv and Haifa to rubble," according to a translation of his remarks by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, a regional monitoring organization.

Khatami also took aim at President Donald Trump, saying the Iranian people are "more unified and stronger than ever" in their commitment to the slogan, "Death to America."

U.S. allies such as Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia will become "America's cannon fodder," Khatami claimed.

More

Mobsters will lose ‘core business’ thanks to legal sports betting: experts

The mob’s gambling racket is about to sleep with the fishes.

The US Supreme Court’s sports-betting ruling dealt a losing hand to organized crime in the New York area, legal experts said Monday.

Gambling and loan-sharking have traditionally been the mob’s “bread and butter,” and the decision will “significantly reduce” its clientele, former federal prosecutor Thomas Seigel said.

“They will definitely lose a regular source of predictable income,” said Seigel, who ran the Organized Crime and Gangs Section of the Brooklyn US Attorney’ s Office.

Defense lawyer John Meringolo, who’s represented John “Junior” Gotti and reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, said legal sports betting “will have a detrimental effect on the mob and anyone who tries to make a living through this type of vice.”

More

5-Year-Old Boy Gets Police Escort To School After Dad Dies In Line Of Duty

Sullivan, IND (CBS Local)- Five-year-old Dakota Pitts returned to school for the first time on Monday after losing his father about a week ago. Dakota’s dad, Rob Pitts, was Indiana police officer for the Terre Haute and Sullivan police departments. Pitts was killed in the line of duty.

The 16-year police vet was fatally shot by a 21-year-old suspect while responding to a call last week.

When Dakota arrived back at school this week, he received a special welcome that gave him the support he needed. CBS affiliate WTHI reports that Dakota asked his mom if one of his dad’s friends could drive him to school. When he arrived at Sullivan Elementary, there were 70 Indiana police waiting outside to give Dakota his very own police escort to school.

The 5-year-old wore his father’s police badge proudly and walked past the long line of officers. The officers also gave him his very own SWAT T-shirt and badge upon his arrival. They wanted Dakota to know they will always have his back.

His dad’s sister, Kelly Jones, was there. “He will definitely know his dad was a hero. Blood doesn’t always make family. And I think the blue family went above and beyond,” Jones told WTHI.

More

Conservative activists launch effort to combat social-media political bias

Conservatives who have long chafed over being marginalized and muzzled on social media are fighting back with a newly formed coalition.

Conservatives Against Online Censorship launched Tuesday in an effort to “draw attention to the issue of political censorship on social media,” starting with Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube.

Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, called social media “the most expansive and most game-changing form of communication today.”

“It is these facts that make online political censorship one of the largest threats to free speech we have ever seen,” Mr. Bozell said in a statement. “Conservatives should be given the same ability to express their political ideas online as liberals, without the fear of being suppressed or censored.”

The coalition’s unveiling comes with unrest over bias on the rise as conservatives balk at being blocked on social media and decry the growing influence of the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center in helping tech platforms identify and jettison “hate content.”

Last week, for example, the music-streaming service Spotify touched off alarm by announcing it had partnered with the SPLC, as well as the Anti-Defamation League, Muslim Advocates and GLAAD, to remove or refuse to promote any track that contains “hate content.”

More here

The Religion of Racism

Obama once called slavery, “America’s original sin”. Jim Wallis, a member of Obama’s White House Faith Council, has a book out titled, "America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege".

Accusations of sinfulness usually tell us more about the values of the accuser than the accused.

If racism is America’s original sin, then its redemption lies in anti-racism. For liberal theologians, Christian and Jewish, who no longer believe in the traditional biblical sins, racism is a godsend. It provides the moral drama of damnation and redemption, confession and absolution, in a way that is compatible with the larger secular culture and their own political ambitions.

Fighting racism isn’t just a cause, it’s a religion. And all that remains of major religious denominations.

The most resonantly dramatic events for Christian and Jewish liberal denominations remain the fight against slavery and the struggles of the civil rights movement. They revisit and recreate them ceaselessly. And each protest movement, whether it’s Muslim migrants at airports, illegal aliens from El Salvador at the border or Black Lives Matter racists at coffee shops, is a religious revival experience.

The trouble is that the hunt for this particular sin has come to pervade our legal system, taint workplaces, terrorize campuses and unleash social media mobs on random offenders. We are not in a libertine age just because sexual morality is as dead as disco and drugs are on the verge of being legalized. The sins of traditional morality have been replaced by an even more ruthless moral code.

Employees, employers, students and businessmen still fear being fired, expelled and hounded out of society for offending the sensibilities of a fanatical sect and its zealous enforcers. They hide behind hypocrisy, denouncing others while living in terror that their own private offenses will be outed.

More

European Officials Bribed Into Accepting Iran Nuke Deal?

After President Donald Trump’s decision last Tuesday to pull out of Barack Obama’s dubious Iran nuclear deal, which was followed by threats to reimpose economic sanctions against the number-one state sponsor of terrorism, Iran’s foreign affairs minister issued his own threat via a bombshell revelation. H.J. Ansari Zarif stated, “If Europeans stop trading with Iran and don’t put pressure on the U.S. then we will reveal which western politicians and how much money they had received during nuclear negotiations to make #IranDeal happen.”

Now, the Iranians aren’t exactly the most trustworthy bunch. That’s a huge part of the problem with the deal. But Zarif’s charge that several European leaders were essentially bribed into accepting the Iran deal is entirely plausible.

Recall that after Obama completed the Iran deal back in 2015, Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer wondered, “The most astonishing thing [about the deal] is that in return, they [the Iranians] are not closing a single nuclear facility. Their entire nuclear infrastructure is intact. They are going to have the entire infrastructure in place either for a breakout after the agreement expires or when they have enough sanctions relief and they want to cheat and to break out on their own.”

Krauthammer’s observation was accurate. So what exactly did the rest of the world get from the Iran deal? Why did so many of Europe’s leaders sign on to such a bad deal?

The answer is twofold:

Woman fired for serving laxative brownies at co-worker's going-away party

A Michigan engineering company employee has been fired after police determined she baked laxatives into brownies intended for a departing colleague's send-off.

Saline police Chief Jerrod Hart says officers confiscated the tainted confections May 3 after another employee tipped off management. No one ate the brownies.

The Ann Arbor News reports that Hart says the 47-year-old woman initially denied putting laxatives in the brownies, but after learning investigators would test them she admitted she had. Her name hasn't been released.

More

Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Maryland set for June 4

‘Flame of Hope’ Arrives in Worcester County!
Worcester County Law Enforcement Officer, Friends, and Supporters Participate in Statewide Torch Run Relay as a Show of Support for the Special Olympics Maryland Summer Games
 Law Enforcement officers representing ALL of Worcester County will be on the run on Monday, June 4th at 8:00am, taking part in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run Relay for Special Olympics Maryland.  Their mission: to escort and protect the Special Olympics ‘Flame of Hope’ as it makes its way toward the opening of the Summer Games at Towson University, June 8-10.
The Maryland Torch Run is a fundraising movement that began in 1986 with a handful of officers raising $5,000, and has grown into a true year-round effort that involves thousands of officers and sponsors raising millions annually. Since its inception, those involved with the Torch Run have taken very seriously their role as “Guardians of the Flame”, and the relay is an important and celebrated part of every Special Olympics competition. Without the funds raised by those dedicated to the Torch Run efforts across this state, and across the world, Special Olympics would not be able to provide the inspiring opportunities that they do for our incredible athletes!
The schedule for Ocean City/Worcester County’s portion of the Torch Run is as follows (all times are approximate and subject to change):
 Monday, June 4, 2018
  • 8:00 – 8:30am       (NEW) Pre-Event Ceremonies, The Grand Hotel, 21st St. and Boardwalk, OC
  • 8:30am                  Torch Run Relay Begins.  Run will proceed from 21st Street to N. Division Street.
  • 9:00 – 9:15am       Run Concludes at N. Division Street with Photo Opportunity and Refreshment. We will load bus to proceed to West Ocean City, for the second leg of the Relay.  
  • 9:30 – 9:45am       (NEW) Meet at OCFD Station 5, Keyser Point Rd., West OC
  • 10:00am                Begin Second Leg to Ocean City Elementary School
  • 10:15-10:30am     Conclude Second Leg at Ocean City Elementary (approx. 1/2 mile run)
  • 10:45am                Load Bus for Berlin, for Third Leg of the Relay
  • 11:00am                (NEW) Arrive at Worcester County Athletic Complex to Begin Berlin Run (Approx. 1 mile run)
  • 11:15am                Begin Third Leg, Berlin Run, With Stops at Worcester Prep and Buckingham Elementary School.  Conclude at Berlin Fire Station w/ Food and Refreshment.
  • 11:45-12:00pm     Event Concludes     
 This local portion of the Torch Run Relay is part of a much larger effort.  Statewide, the Maryland Torch Run Relay consists of four different legs – Eastern, Western, Central and Southern – and throughout the entire week, thousands of Torch Run volunteers will cover hundreds of miles, eventually converging on Towson where the individual flames will be united in the Final Leg Ceremony and then officers from around the state will travel the final 2.5 miles to the Opening Ceremony at Towson University.  It is there that the Flame is handed off to the Special Olympics athletes who have the honor of taking the final lap with the torch and then lighting the cauldron and officially declaring the 2018 SOMD Summer Games open.
*PLEASE consider participating in the Eastern Leg of the Torch Run Relay as shown above. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A “RUNNER!”Each leg will have support vehicles and/or buses so you can run as much OR as little as you want. You may also ride your BICYCLE if you wish!  The actual Torch Run Relay is an awareness campaign to highlight our UNITED law enforcement efforts to benefit Special Olympics and create excitement for the Special Olympics Maryland Summer Games each year.  2018 Torch Run t-shirts should be worn for this event and may be purchased in advance or purchased the morning of the event for $15.
Our local Torch Run Leg is always VERY WELL attended and is by far the most beautiful leg of the states Torch Run relay, incorporating the refreshing Ocean City boardwalk, our awesome schools and the beauty and charm of historic downtown BerlinMaryland.  I hope to see you at our Torch Run leg this year!!! Again, you DO NOT have to be a runner…we just ask that you be a supporter!  GIVE MARYLAND SPECIAL OLYMPIC ATHLETES THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE AND “GO FOR THE GOLD!”
Torch Run Relay Week leading up to the Special Olympics Maryland Summer Games at Towson University is June 8-10, 2018! 

Donald Trump: Time to 'Catch' Illegal Immigrants and 'Release' Them Back to Their Countries

President Donald Trump spoke about the ongoing threat posed to the United States by illegal immigration, vowing to send illegal immigrants back to their county of origin.

“We have a catch-and-release program, too,” he said. “It’s called, we catch them and we release them in the country they came back from. We’re getting them out or we’re putting them in prison.”

The president made his remarks during a speech to memorialize fallen law enforcement officers on Capitol Hill.

Trump called on Congress to secure the borders, stop sanctuary cities, and eliminate policies allowing violent criminals back into the communities.

He noted that MS-13 gang leaders were urging members to assassinate police officers in New York City in order to “take back the streets.”

“They got it wrong,” he replied. “We are the ones who are taking back the streets. We are getting them out of our country by the thousands.”

More

White House Backs Israel’s Right to Defend Itself Against Gaza Border Riots

Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas attacks along the Gaza border was reaffirmed by Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary Raj Shah during Monday’s press briefing.

A reporter contrasted violence along the border of Israel in Gaza on Monday with the “celebratory air in Jerusalem” as the new U.S. embassy opened there that same day. The reporter cited at least 41 deaths as a result of that violence and asked if President Donald Trump was concerned about the “demonstrations there” and Israel’s response to individuals climbing over the border fence.

“The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas,” Shah said, noting that the administration was aware of the “reports of continued violence in Gaza.”

“Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response,” he added.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) posted a video on Sunday warning that Hamas was planning to place armed terrorists among many thousands of rioters charging Israel’s border with Gaza. Early Monday morning IDF jets dropped leaflets that warned potential rioters of the repercussions should they attempt to carry out attacks.

More

Dear Dems: Stop Attacking the Electoral College

Connecticut became the latest state to break with the Constitution last week by joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The state Senate approved and Democrat Gov. Dannel Malloy vowed to sign a bill that would pledge the state’s electoral votes to the national popular vote winner in presidential elections.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a scheme developed by opponents of the Electoral College — generally leftists who would rather see the president of the United States elected by popular vote than via the Electoral College system the Founders established in the Constitution.

The Electoral College was designed to make the presidential election a truly national contest. It forces candidates to recognize all regions and not ignore small states and rural areas in favor of large states and major metropolitan areas. The process, Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 68, “affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States.”

Democrats are not happy with the Electoral College, however..

More

North Korea has no interest in US summit if based on giving up nukes

North Korea said on Tuesday that it will back out of a scheduled summit with President Trump if the US insists on denuclearization in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

The top diplomat for the nuclear-armed North said it will reconsider the summit and that Trump will “remain a failed leader” if he follows the path of past presidents.

“We will not be interested in talks anymore if (they) only try to push us unilaterally into a corner and force us to give up nukes,” Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan said in a statement carried by the state media.

“It would be inevitable to reconsider whether to respond to the upcoming summit with the U.S.”

Breaking News: Michigan State University has agreed to pay $500 million to victims of the physician Larry Nassar, who sexually abused more than 300 young women

Victims of Lawrence G. Nassar, the Michigan State University physician who sexually abused young women under the guise of medical treatment, would receive $500 million from the university in a settlement announced on Wednesday.

The agreement, reached with lawyers representing 332 of Dr. Nassar’s victims, was approved Tuesday by the university’s trustees. The settlement must still be finalized, officials said.

A Viewer Writes: Samaritan Shelter - Pocomoke

Hi Joe,

I am sending you this in hopes that you can let the taxpayers of our area know the truth.

After reading about the Samaritan Shelter, I found that it is funded mostly by the United Way and by area churches and also tax dollars of the community.

Sadly, I did not like finding out some of the things that are going on there on our tax dollars and donation monies.
My understanding is that one of the founders of the Samaritan Shelter is Rev. George Tasker of Pocomoke. His daughter Shelly Daniels is the director of the shelter and her son works there as well.
There has been a resident there for over two years (I believe also on payroll there). Shelly Daniels (director) has allowed that to happen, all the while receiving funding for the bed that he has been taking up.

This particular resident has been allowed to make many rules and set up programs for other residents there, dealing with an addiction problem himself.

Ms Daniels has taken her time, and shelter time to personally drive him to appointments or any other place that he may need or want to go, or is forever willing for him to drive himself in the Shelter's van (without a valid driver's license).

I believe that the Samaritan Shelter has funded many educational classes for him as well.

It is my understanding that this situation has been going on for some time now.

When Ms Daniels' marriage started suffering from this behavior, her father, Rev. Tasker came to the shelter and confronted her and the resident.

My understanding is that there was a special board meeting held because, at that time, she had left her home and moved into the shelter herself to be with the resident, again, free of charge.
It was also told that the resident's daughter and grandson were allowed to stay there and use it as a hotel when they came into town, free of charge.

Ms. Daniels and the resident have moved from the shelter and into a place together in the past two weeks. She is no longer affiliated with any church.

My frustration with this whole thing is that our donations and tax dollars are supporting someone to be the director of this shelter and make these decisions for her own personal benefit.

The Board of Directors has knowingly let her keep her position there.

The Mission Statement for this shelter is recovery, learning to live on your own, and getting to know our Lord.

I just have to wonder how many people have been turned away during the two years this one bedroom has been occupied and how many people lost their battle with addiction during that time.

How can they advertise that they are a Christian based shelter and the director is committing adultery?

How can the Board of Directors let her keep her position? How long will it be until she makes the same poor decisions with another resident on our tax dollars? How can her father, Rev. Tasker, go along with this as a Reverend and Councilman in Pocomoke? How can the Board of Directors allow that resident to live there, free of charge, for that long and collect a paycheck too?

I am a huge supporter of the addictions programs available for people in need......not this corruption though.

I feel that it is only fair that the taxpayers of our community, area supporting churches, Worcester County and the United Way know how their money is being spent while this shelter is hiding behind the Cross.

Cruisin' Weekend At OC Billiards @ Trader Lee's

Locals PARTY: FRIDAY MAY 18th TRADER LEE'S 9 pm THE HOOPLAS!!! ROCK TRADER LEES LIVE 2.00 Natural Lite 3.00 FIRE 🔥 BALL !!!
MAY 19th: RAMBLE ON Returns to TRADER LEE'S. Mark your calendar this is going to be on hell of a party !!

Congress, Get Your Job Done

Biggest Flounder of the Year

After another round of some pretty wicked storms last night today ended up down right nice. It started off a little chilly with some dense fog, but by the time I got to go fishing it had cleared up nicely. I headed out with Chef Mike Johnston of the Ocean City Marlin Club for an upcoming episode of Hooked on OC to see how “Mikey” trolls for flounder. We had a great time and trolled up about 5 throwback size fish and three fat keepers between 17″ and 19″. It should make for a good episode of the show.

Speaking of flounder, I got an email last night from Jim Meyer of Meyer’s Pro Tackle Systems with a photo of an absolute doormat of a flounder. Jim manufacture’s the Meyer’s Pro Tackle System which is a great tackle storage solution for boats and anglers that don’t have one. I’ve got one on my boat and I love it.

More

Elect Mike McDermott

Education. Experience. Leadership. Mike McDermott has been a dedicated and highly decorated law enforcement professional for over 36 years beginning in 1981. His extensive command experience with every division of the Sheriff's Office includes: Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics Investigations, Civil and Court Operations, Tactical Operations, and Multi-Jurisdictional Combined Task Force Operations. — with Mike McDermott.

Cherish these special moments when a family comes together

Potty-mouthed New Mexico Democrat says ‘F*** the NRA’ in latest campaign ad

New Mexico congressional candidate Pat Davis aired an expletive anti-NRA television advertisement on Friday that made news for all the wrong reasons.

In the 15-second spot, Davis opens the ad with the words “F*** the NRA.”

The searing statement was then followed up with ridiculous assertions that the National Rifle Association is responsible for dead mothers and children.

Davis, a Democrat who currently serves on the Albuquerque City Council, accused the NRA’s “pro-gun policies” for “dead children, dead mothers, and dead fathers” and admitted in a blog post that while his statement wasn’t polite, it was the only way to get the NRA’s attention.

More/Video

Mitt Romney calls Trump’s pastor pick for historic event a ‘bigot’ – here’s his response

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney decried the pastor that President Trump chose to pray at the historic ceremony for the opening of the U.S. embassy for Israel in Jerusalem.

Here’s what he said

Romney posted a tweet voicing his anger over Trump’s pastor pick.
Robert Jeffress says “you can’t be saved by being a Jew,“ and “Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.” He’s said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.
“Robert Jeffress says ‘you can’t be saved by being a Jew,’ and ‘Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell,'” he tweeted. “He’s said the same about Islam.”

“Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem,” he concluded.

More

William Bennett: George Will scorns Pence for the high crime of decency

Conservative syndicated columnist George Will wrote this week that Vice President Mike Pence has “become America’s most repulsive public figure.” Why does Will think Pence deserves this absurd slur? Apparently, the columnist has found the vice president guilty of the heinous crime of being a decent man.

Will announced in 2016 that he was leaving the Republican Party over the nomination of Donald Trump as the GOP’s presidential candidate. So it is no surprise that Will has become part of the so-called “resistance” to the duly elected president of the United States. He’s even become a contributor to NBC and its liberal sister news channel, MSNBC, using this as a forum to criticize both President Trump and Vice President Pence.

But don’t let the Will’s penchant for writing columns filled with big words that most American’s never use and can’t even define obscure the fact that the central indictment of his hostile column is pretty thin gruel.

More
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/05/12/william-bennett-george-will-scorns-pence-for-high-crime-decency.html

Kellyanne Conway hints at what Trump is planning to do about ‘traitors’ who leak

Kellyanne Conway said Monday that President Trump would likely fire people from his administration after an embarrassing leak of a joke told about Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Here’s what she said

“Can you tell us about that process about trying to figure out who is leaking from the communications department and what’s going to be done?” Martha MacCallum asked Conway.

“I won’t you the process so much as to tell you that there are all kinds of leaks,” Conway responded, “some leaks exist, I guess, to hurt colleagues, some leaks exist because they disagree with the policies that are being put forth.”

More

Grassley Wants Comey Records On Flynn

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is trying to get to the bottom of “apparent contradictions” in former FBI Director James Comey’s claims about former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Comey told a Senate Judiciary panel in a March 15, 2017 interview that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe he intentionally lied about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016, according to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Comey also “led us to believe” that the Justice Department “was unlikely to prosecute [Flynn] for false statements” made during his Jan. 24, 2017 interview with FBI agents, Grassley wrote Friday in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

More

Something From Nothing: 20 Years On, The Enduring Yada Yada Of 'Seinfeld'

It was the show that made something out of nothing.

Twenty years ago, NBC aired the final episode of Seinfeld, which followed the ramblings of four friends — Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer in '90s New York. The show was wildly popular during its initial nine-season run and has remained a cultural touchstone in the decades since it went off the air.

I spent many weeknights watching reruns of Seinfeldwith my dad. The show's enduring popularity after it went into syndication — and later streamed on Hulu — highlights the inter-generational appeal of the show.

Much of the humor in Seinfeld – Kramer playing a Moviefone operator, Jerry and Elaine getting stranded at a party on Long Island (no Ubers to call), Elaine's careful consideration of whether a potential hookup is worth the use of a discontinued birth-control sponge – are relics of American life, but the show's humor endures, says Carol Leifer, a writer for Seinfeld during seasons five, six and seven.

"When I was growing up I used to watch I Love Lucy and that was a show that was an old timey show back then, but it's funny," she tells Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson. "And I'm just so proud to have been part of a show that's really withstood the test of time."

More

Brennan, Strzok And Kerry Allegedly Set "Spy Traps" For Trump Team; Hunt For FBI Mole Intensifies

Previously we reported on a disturbing op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Kimberly Strassel suggesting the FBI had a mole within the Trump campaign.

After a battle between House Intel Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein over the release of classified information that was so top-secret that the DOJ refused to show Nunes on the grounds that it "could risk lives by potentially exposing the source, a U.S. citizen who has provided intelligence to the CIA and FBI" - the agency finally relented on Wednesday, allowing Nunes and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) to receive a classified briefing.

This U.S. citizen, according the WSJ report, is a spy that the FBI embedded in the Trump campaign - and Strassel says she knows who it is but won't say.

More

Trump Administration Doubles Worksite Investigations To Combat Illegal Immigration

The Trump administration announced Monday that it has dramatically increased the number of worksite investigations and audits to make sure that American businesses do not employ people who are in the U.S. illegally.

Immigration officials say they have launched more than 3,500 worksite investigations, already doubling the number of cases compared to the previous fiscal year. Similarly, 2,282 employer audits were conducted between Oct. 1 and May 4 (with five months remaining in FY18). Over the course of last fiscal year, only 1,360 audits were launched.

"An audit is a review of business records," said Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Danielle Bennet. "An investigation can include an audit and is conducted because of suspicion that the law in being violated and can result in criminal charges and/or civil fines."

A 1986 federal law requires employers to verify that their employees are legally authorized to work here. Employers have to document the eligibility of their hires using Form I-9.

More

Mitch McConnell Backed Wrong Horse in West Virginia GOP Senate Primary, Pro-Trump Winner AG Morrisey Positioned to Take Seat from Dem

President Donald Trump, West Virginia State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, and the populist conservative movement were the big winners in Tuesday’s West Virginia Republican U.S. Senate primary.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV), conficted felon and coal industry magnate Don Blankenship, incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), establishment Republicans, and the Democratic party were the big losers.

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won a hotly contested three-way battle for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia on Tuesday night.

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Morrisey had 35 percent of the vote, followed by Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) with 29 percent of the vote. Coal magnate and convicted felon Don Blankenship finished a distant third with 20 percent.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), wishing to place another establishment Republican in the U.S. Senate as a potential ally in the next session of Congress, backed the very establishment Jenkins, and unwisely focused the fire of his affiliated PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, on the pro-Trump Morrisey.

More

'People Are Pissed Off': House Candidate Sees 'Red Wave' Coming in California

A California Republican candidate said she believes a "red wave" is coming in the state because people are "pissed off" about the current leadership by far-left politicians.

Morgan Murtaugh, who is running in the 53rd congressional district near San Diego, said there is growing opposition to the state's sanctuary law toward illegal immigrants and high taxes.

She agreed with President Trump's contention at a rally in Indiana that Democrats will have a tough time in November selling Americans on higher taxes and opposition to the Trump agenda.

More
http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/05/11/house-candidate-morgan-murtaugh-sees-red-wave-coming-california

Alabama father paralyzed and fighting for life after coral snake bite

An Alabama father-of-six has been paralyzed and is fighting for his life after he picked up a deadly snake, thinking it was harmless.

Jeffrey Phillips was trying to catch what he thought was a milk snake for his brother when it bit him, and caused devastating injuries.

The reptile was actually a coral snake, which has the same color and similar markings to a milk snake, but are actually the deadliest in the country.

He was rushed to Anderson Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi, and antivenom was flown in to try and save his life, but the time delay meant the coral snake's poison had already done a lot of damage.

More

"Going Broke Faster" - Economic Numbers Are Less Than Meets The Eye

Investors can be forgiven for thinking they hit the trifecta last Friday.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment had dropped to 3.9%, the lowest in almost 20 years.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta reported that its widely followed GDP forecasting tool was showing projected growth for the second quarter of 2018 at 4%, exactly where Trump boosters like Larry Kudlow said it would be.

Finally, the Dow Jones industrial average rallied 332 points (1.39%), partly in response to the other good news. It was almost enough to make a trader sing, “Happy days are here again.”

Or not.

The fact is that this good news hides more than it reveals. A look behind the numbers discloses a sobering outlook for investors.

Let’s start with the employment report. The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics report dated May 4, 2018, showed the official U.S. unemployment rate for April 2018 at 3.9%, with a separate unemployment rate for adult men of 4.1% and adult women of 3.7%.

The 3.9% unemployment rate is based on a total workforce of 160 million people, of whom 153 million are employed and 6.3 million are unemployed. The 3.9% figure is the lowest unemployment rate since 2001, and before that, the early 1970s.

The average rate of unemployment in the U.S. from 1948 to 2018 is 5.78%. By these superficial measures, unemployment is indeed low and the economy is arguably at full employment.

Still, these statistics don’t tell the whole story.

More

Divers confirm wreck off North Carolina coast is famed steamship Pulaski that sank 180 years ago

Divers have found proof that a shipwreck off the North Carolina coast is a steam ship that sank in 1838.

A tiny tag and a candlestick holder recovered from the wreck site bear the name of the ship 'S.B Pulaski' - for Steam Boat Pulaski - on its bottom, recovery firm Blue Water Ventures International have confirmed.

'This is a game changer. I have believed for so long we were in the right spot, and there's nothing like the feeling of having something like this confirmed,' the company's Keith Webb said.

More

'Broccoli is a life saver': TV doctor reveals why the green vegetable is the ONLY one to eat

A GP has described broccoli as a 'life saver'.

According to TV Dr Rangan Chatterjee, who has appeared on the BBC programme Doctor in the House, if people are going to eat any vegetable, broccoli should be the one they opt for.

Dr Chatterjee, who recently wrote the book 'The 4 Pillar Plan', claims the humble vegetable boosts people's gut bacteria, which helps to support their immune systems and improve their bowel health.

Previous research suggests 'good' bacteria in the gut is also linked to people being a healthy weight and having a reduced risk of suffering mental-health disorders.

Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Chatterjee, who recently spoke at the Guts Conversation meeting, explains why broccoli is so healthy and the importance of gut health.

More

Your body might thank you for that (one) glass of red… says DR MICHAEL MOSLEY

I was delighted to read a study last week which claimed that drinking red wine could cut my risk of developing prostate cancer.

I was particularly pleased as I'm over 60, with a family history of prostate cancer (my dad had it), which puts me in a higher risk category.

Plus I like red wine – which you may remember is allowed in moderation as part of the New 5:2 Diet, on days where you are not fasting.

The study, which was actually a pull-together of 17 previous studies covering more than 600,000 men, concluded that drinking a glass of red wine a night reduces your risk by of developing prostate cancer by about 12 per cent. Which isn't a lot, but still good news.

The bad news was that drinking white wine appeared to raise the risk. Why the difference?

More

Cedar Hill student shoves teacher because his phone was confiscated

Shocking video filmed at a Texas high school shows a student shoving and cursing at his teacher after his cell phone was confiscated during class. But the way the teacher handled the situation has many people praising the educator.

Michael McDonald, principal of Cedar Hill High School, said the video was taken Tuesday afternoon during teacher Bobby Soehnge's physics class.

The student, who is not being identified because of privacy laws, was upset that Soehnge took away his cell phone.

In the video, captured on another student's cell phone, the teen is seen knocking papers off the teacher's desk, cursing and then shoving the teacher's face.

More

Recreational Cannabis Consumers Use Less Alcohol, Pain Meds, Sleep Aids: Report

A recent report on consumer habits suggests recreational cannabis users rely less on alcohol, over the counter pain medications, and sleep aids.

According to the Recreational Cannabis Consumer report conducted by High Yield Insights, a consumer analysis firm, “Recreational consumers report using cannabis products for a variety of reasons, from relaxation to pain relief to sleep assistance, putting cannabis in direct competition with alcohol and pharmaceuticals.” The firm’s press release adds that “[c]onsumers also express greater demand for convenient cannabis product formats such as edibles and “pre-rolls” (premade marijuana cigarettes). “

The specific statistics are not insignificant. As the release notes, “[o]ver 20% of recreational consumers report using lower amounts of over-the-counter pain medications (-27%), sleep aids (-22%) and alcoholic beverages, including spirits (-21%) and beer (-20%).”

Mike Luce, co-founder of High Yield Insights, said:

“We are just starting to grasp how legalization has impacted consumer behavior, be it spending, usage occasions, or shopping habits. Understanding these changes will lead to new growth opportunities for cannabis and further disruption for other categories.”

More

EMP Commission Warns Of Year-Long Blackout And A Massive Death Toll

A federal EMP commission report warns that even the smallest EMP attack on our grid system would down it for about a year, if not longer. A year-long blackout would certainly be coupled with a massive death toll that would devastate entire populations.

The so-called EMP Commission report said that this threat is very real, jeopardizes “modern civilization,” and would set back living conditions to those last seen in the 1800s. As a result of the chaos, millions would likely die, according to the report titled “Assessing the Threat from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP),” from the recently re-established Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.

“The United States — and modern civilization more generally — faces a present and continuing existential threat from naturally occurring and man-made electromagnetic pulse assault and related attacks on military and critical national infrastructures. A nationwide blackout of the electric power grid and grid-dependent critical infrastructures — communications, transportation, sanitation, food and water supply — could plausibly last a year or longer. Many of the systems designed to provide renewable, stand-alone power in case of an emergency, such as generators, uninterruptible power supplies, and renewable energy grid components, are also vulnerable to EMP attack,” said the 27-page report.

“A long-term outage owing to EMP could disable most critical supply chains, leaving the U.S. population living in conditions similar to centuries past, prior to the advent of electric power,” said the July 2017 report provided Secrets.

“In the 1800s, the U.S. population was less than 60 million, and those people had many skills and assets necessary for survival without today’s infrastructure. An extended blackout today could result in the death of a large fraction of the American people through the effects of societal collapse, disease, and starvation,” added the executive summary.

More