Dick's Sporting Goods told investors during the Goldman Sachs Retailing Conference that its gun-control stance hurt sales of its hunting business, outdoors business, and that it may close its outdoor-focused Field & Stream stores.
Edward Stack, chairman and CEO of Dick's, said during the event that the sporting goods chain's recent 3.9 percent drop in same-store sales was the result of a mix of factors beyond their control as well as some he called "self-imposed." Specifically, he said, "the decisions we made on firearms" negatively affected their bottom line but the drop in sales was something they expected. They did not, however, regret their decision to change a number of their gun-sales policies and back new gun-control legislation.
"Well I think it's definitely a factor, and it's nothing that we didn't anticipate," Stack said during the call. "As we put out kind of our guidance for the year and our earnings guidance for the year, we knew this would happen when—we've made some decisions on firearms in the past and we've had a pretty good idea of what these consequences were going to be. We felt that was absolutely the right thing to do. We would do the same thing again if we had a mulligan, so to speak, to do it again."
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Saturday, December 08, 2018
Steyer Says Republicans Have 'Determination' to Take Away 'Equal Votes'
CHARLESTON, S.C.—California billionaire and political activist Tom Steyer told a group of about 120 people that Republicans are strategizing how to win elections in instances where they know they've failed to win a majority of the hearts and minds of voters, alleging that the party was using tactics such as gerrymandering, inconvenient polling locations, and voter registration "purges" to win.
"This is the perfect place to be," Steyer told the Charleston crowd. "This is a Republican-dominated state. When we think about the right to an equal vote, there is a determination right now to take away equal votes from people, largely by organized Republican interests."
"I truly believe that what Republicans are trying to do is figure out how to win with less than 50 percent" of the citizens, he added later.
The Tuesday night event was the first of a new round of town halls launched after the former hedge fund manager took out a full-page ad in USA Today just about two weeks after Election Day, a move interpreted by most political watchers as the strongest signal yet that the Democrats' largest funder from the 2018 cycle is going to run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
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"This is the perfect place to be," Steyer told the Charleston crowd. "This is a Republican-dominated state. When we think about the right to an equal vote, there is a determination right now to take away equal votes from people, largely by organized Republican interests."
"I truly believe that what Republicans are trying to do is figure out how to win with less than 50 percent" of the citizens, he added later.
The Tuesday night event was the first of a new round of town halls launched after the former hedge fund manager took out a full-page ad in USA Today just about two weeks after Election Day, a move interpreted by most political watchers as the strongest signal yet that the Democrats' largest funder from the 2018 cycle is going to run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
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Paul Craig Roberts Laments The Disintegration Of Western Society
Radical feminists are now being banned by Twitter not because they hate men, which is perfectly OK as far as Twitter is concerned, but because they object to “transwomen.”
What is a “transwoman?” As far as I can understand, a “transwoman” is a male with a penis who declares himself to be a women and demands his right to use women’s toilette facilities anong with the women who are using them.
The feminist, Meghan Murphy, twittered a statement and a question:
“Men are not women.”
“How are transwomen not men? What is the difference between men and transwomen?”
There you have it. Yesterday it was feminists who were exercising their special society-bestowed privileges to censor. Today it is the feminists who are being censored. As this insanity of “Western Civilization” continues, tomorrow it will be the transwomen who are censored and banned.
What precisely is afoot?
My readers, who have partially and some wholely escaped from The Matrix, understand that this is the further fragmentation of American society. Identity Politics has set men, women, blacks, Jews, Asians, Hispanics, and white people against one another.
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What is a “transwoman?” As far as I can understand, a “transwoman” is a male with a penis who declares himself to be a women and demands his right to use women’s toilette facilities anong with the women who are using them.
The feminist, Meghan Murphy, twittered a statement and a question:
“Men are not women.”
“How are transwomen not men? What is the difference between men and transwomen?”
There you have it. Yesterday it was feminists who were exercising their special society-bestowed privileges to censor. Today it is the feminists who are being censored. As this insanity of “Western Civilization” continues, tomorrow it will be the transwomen who are censored and banned.
What precisely is afoot?
My readers, who have partially and some wholely escaped from The Matrix, understand that this is the further fragmentation of American society. Identity Politics has set men, women, blacks, Jews, Asians, Hispanics, and white people against one another.
More
Goodlatte: House Leadership Blocked Trump-Backed Immigration Reform
The House GOP leadership is responsible for blocking a pro-American immigration reform package which was backed by President Donald Trump, a top House chairman said Tuesday.
The GOP leadership let the House immigration reform die in June by allowing a critical bloc of GOP legislators to split their votes between two rival reform bills, said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the retiring chairman of the House committee on the judiciary.
“The strategy of having two options really let people have an off-ramp — they could vote for the more conservative bill and against the other, or vote for the second bill and not the first,” Goodlatte said, adding:
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The GOP leadership let the House immigration reform die in June by allowing a critical bloc of GOP legislators to split their votes between two rival reform bills, said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the retiring chairman of the House committee on the judiciary.
“The strategy of having two options really let people have an off-ramp — they could vote for the more conservative bill and against the other, or vote for the second bill and not the first,” Goodlatte said, adding:
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Man who filmed cops in lobby of Ohio hotel on night of Kareem Hunt incident was arrested - but the former Chiefs running back was NOT
A man who reportedly filmed Ohio police in the lobby of a hotel on the night of the Kareem Hunt incident was arrested, but the star running back wasn't.
Derek Szeto was staying at The Metropolitan at the 9 in February 2018 when he was arrested by Cleveland police.
He was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct for recording the officers in the hotel's lobby.
On the same night, surveillance video captured the moment the former Kansas City Chiefs running back attacked then-19-year-old Abigail Ottinger from Berea, Ohio.
According to USA Today, Szeto had allowed the victim to use his phone to call 911 after an employee at the front desk told her she couldn't use the phone there.
Szeto tweeted about his arrest three hours after he was taken into custody.
'Don't ever stay at @The9CLE! They apparently don't care about women abuse that takes place in their hotel. I tried to help and got arrested,' he tweeted at the time.
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Derek Szeto was staying at The Metropolitan at the 9 in February 2018 when he was arrested by Cleveland police.
He was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct for recording the officers in the hotel's lobby.
On the same night, surveillance video captured the moment the former Kansas City Chiefs running back attacked then-19-year-old Abigail Ottinger from Berea, Ohio.
According to USA Today, Szeto had allowed the victim to use his phone to call 911 after an employee at the front desk told her she couldn't use the phone there.
Szeto tweeted about his arrest three hours after he was taken into custody.
'Don't ever stay at @The9CLE! They apparently don't care about women abuse that takes place in their hotel. I tried to help and got arrested,' he tweeted at the time.
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At Midnight, Michiganders Will Set Clocks to 4:20
When the clock strikes midnight on Wednesday, Michigan will become the 10th state in the Union to allow the consumption of recreational marijuana.
In November, nearly 60 percent of Michiganders voted in favor of Proposition One, which permits adults over the age of 21 to own up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to 12 plants in their homes. Public use will remain illegal.
In exchange, the state will leverage a 10 percent excise tax on marijuana sales, which a pro-legalization group projected would raise as much as $130 million in annual revenue.
"The legalization of the adult use of marijuana in Michigan represents a victory for common sense public policy, while delivering yet another body blow to our decades long failed prohibition on marijuana," said Erik Altieri, executive director of pro-legalization group NORML. "Instead of continuing to arrest over 22,000 citizens a year for marijuana related charges, Michigan will now be able to reallocate precious law enforcement resources to combat violent crime while respecting civil liberties and advancing racial justice."
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In November, nearly 60 percent of Michiganders voted in favor of Proposition One, which permits adults over the age of 21 to own up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to 12 plants in their homes. Public use will remain illegal.
In exchange, the state will leverage a 10 percent excise tax on marijuana sales, which a pro-legalization group projected would raise as much as $130 million in annual revenue.
"The legalization of the adult use of marijuana in Michigan represents a victory for common sense public policy, while delivering yet another body blow to our decades long failed prohibition on marijuana," said Erik Altieri, executive director of pro-legalization group NORML. "Instead of continuing to arrest over 22,000 citizens a year for marijuana related charges, Michigan will now be able to reallocate precious law enforcement resources to combat violent crime while respecting civil liberties and advancing racial justice."
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Tucker Carlson: Our ruling class has clamped down on freedom of speech as never before
Freedom of speech. A lot of people voted for Donald Trump in the hope they’d have more of it. But two years into his presidency, the opposite has happened.
Our ruling class has clamped down as never before on personal expression. Gone is the free exchange of ideas we were promised as Americans. In its place: Mandatory, soul-deadening conformity. An entire population forced to repeat the same mindless platitudes, or else.
An axis of left-wing corporate power, academia, media, and lawmakers have all aligned to curb your right to speak freely - your right to think for yourself. When they control your words, they control your mind.
The left used to deny that this was their goal. However, they’re not even pretending anymore. They’re baring their teeth and snarling. Get in line or we’ll hurt you.
In a speech Monday night, Apple CEO Tim Cook pledged that his company, one of the biggest and most powerful in the world, will do whatever it takes to silence dissenting opinions. Here's some of what he said:
“Hate tries to make its headquarters in the digital world. At Apple, we believe that technology needs to have a clear point of view on this challenge,” he said. “There is no time to get tied up in knots. That's why we only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division, and violence: You have no place on our platforms.”
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Our ruling class has clamped down as never before on personal expression. Gone is the free exchange of ideas we were promised as Americans. In its place: Mandatory, soul-deadening conformity. An entire population forced to repeat the same mindless platitudes, or else.
An axis of left-wing corporate power, academia, media, and lawmakers have all aligned to curb your right to speak freely - your right to think for yourself. When they control your words, they control your mind.
The left used to deny that this was their goal. However, they’re not even pretending anymore. They’re baring their teeth and snarling. Get in line or we’ll hurt you.
In a speech Monday night, Apple CEO Tim Cook pledged that his company, one of the biggest and most powerful in the world, will do whatever it takes to silence dissenting opinions. Here's some of what he said:
“Hate tries to make its headquarters in the digital world. At Apple, we believe that technology needs to have a clear point of view on this challenge,” he said. “There is no time to get tied up in knots. That's why we only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division, and violence: You have no place on our platforms.”
More
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-our-ruling-class-has-clamped-down-on-freedom-of-speech-as-never-before
Byron York: Ten questions for James Comey
Members of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees will question former FBI Director James Comey Friday morning. After much wrangling, the interview will take place behind closed doors. Comey wanted it to be public, but lawmakers, unwilling to cut up their questioning into five-minute slices for a public setting, insisted on a private session. The House won. But both sides agreed that a transcript of the interview will be released quickly, perhaps as quickly as 24 hours after the meeting.
Republicans were divided about whether to interview Comey at all. He has testified many times, written a book, and publicly discussed his tenure in office at great length. Some Republicans preferred to bring in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been resisting an appearance on Capitol Hill. "It's been nine weeks since the press reported that Rod Rosenstein was contemplating wearing a wire to record the president and invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told me recently, "and we're spending time bringing in Comey for the 15th time?"
Nevertheless, Comey is coming in. Some Republicans want to ask him more about the Hillary Clinton case, but even some of them acknowledge that the case is over and done with. Others want to focus on the Trump-Russia affair. That includes a lot of material. There will, for example, undoubtedly be some questions about the Trump dossier, the origins of which Republicans have done extensive work to expose.
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Republicans were divided about whether to interview Comey at all. He has testified many times, written a book, and publicly discussed his tenure in office at great length. Some Republicans preferred to bring in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been resisting an appearance on Capitol Hill. "It's been nine weeks since the press reported that Rod Rosenstein was contemplating wearing a wire to record the president and invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told me recently, "and we're spending time bringing in Comey for the 15th time?"
Nevertheless, Comey is coming in. Some Republicans want to ask him more about the Hillary Clinton case, but even some of them acknowledge that the case is over and done with. Others want to focus on the Trump-Russia affair. That includes a lot of material. There will, for example, undoubtedly be some questions about the Trump dossier, the origins of which Republicans have done extensive work to expose.
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Fox’s Chris Wallace: 41 Funeral Revealed Trump Not Part of ‘Presidents Club’
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said on Wednesday that the “chill” that “had descended on that front row” when President Donald Trump arrived at President George H.W. Bush’s funeral made it seem like Trump was not a member of the exclusive “presidents club.”
Trump shook hands with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama before he took his seat. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton did not even make eye contact.
“Well, I have to say I was struck when President Trump and Melania Trump came to the front row that it was as if a chill had descended on that front row,” Wallace said on Fox News. “You had seen a lot of chatty talk between the Clintons and the Obamas, the Carters. But when Donald Trump sat down, the greeting that he was given by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama was about as cold, about as cool as it could have been.”
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Trump shook hands with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama before he took his seat. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton did not even make eye contact.
“Well, I have to say I was struck when President Trump and Melania Trump came to the front row that it was as if a chill had descended on that front row,” Wallace said on Fox News. “You had seen a lot of chatty talk between the Clintons and the Obamas, the Carters. But when Donald Trump sat down, the greeting that he was given by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama was about as cold, about as cool as it could have been.”
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Zimbabwe Mulls Seizing Stolen Property from Mugabe Loyalists
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on Wednesday that, following an audit of how the nation’s agricultural lands were being used, the nation would proceed with seizing property from wealthy members of the ruling Zanu-PF party deemed to own too much of it.
Dictator Robert Mugabe launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate white farmers from the country in 2000, seizing most of their land, largely through violent assaults, to allegedly distribute more fairly among the nation’s majority black population. Zimbabwe’s economy, largely based on its agricultural industry, fell into hyperinflation and poverty. Between 2000 and 2015, Zimbabwe saw a $12 billion drop in agriculture production, in part because many of the individuals gifted the stolen land had no history or knowledge of how to keep the land fertile. A 2010 study found that 40 percent of the stolen land fell into the hands of either Mugabe himself or his political allies.
On Wednesday, Mnangagwa – one of Mugabe’s closest cronies as vice president until a dispute with wife Grace Mugabe led him to flee the country and return leader of a bloodless coup – announced that he would soon change this, even as a member of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party. Mnangagwa made the announcement while debuting the results of an audit on land usage in the country, according to the newspaper New Zimbabwe.
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Dictator Robert Mugabe launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate white farmers from the country in 2000, seizing most of their land, largely through violent assaults, to allegedly distribute more fairly among the nation’s majority black population. Zimbabwe’s economy, largely based on its agricultural industry, fell into hyperinflation and poverty. Between 2000 and 2015, Zimbabwe saw a $12 billion drop in agriculture production, in part because many of the individuals gifted the stolen land had no history or knowledge of how to keep the land fertile. A 2010 study found that 40 percent of the stolen land fell into the hands of either Mugabe himself or his political allies.
On Wednesday, Mnangagwa – one of Mugabe’s closest cronies as vice president until a dispute with wife Grace Mugabe led him to flee the country and return leader of a bloodless coup – announced that he would soon change this, even as a member of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party. Mnangagwa made the announcement while debuting the results of an audit on land usage in the country, according to the newspaper New Zimbabwe.
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FBI Knew Steele Dossier Was Bogus Before Using In FISA Application: Solomon
A string of emails quietly requested by House Republicans for declassification by President Trump may be the smoking gun that the FBI and DOJ committed egregious abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), according to The Hill's John Solomon.
The email exchanges - kept from Congressional investigators for over two years, "included then-FBI Director James Comey, key FBI investigators in the Russia probe and lawyers in the DOJ’s national security division," according to the report - and took place in early to mid-October of 2016, prior to the FBI successfully securing a FISA warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
The email exchanges show the FBI was aware — before it secured the now-infamous warrant — that there were intelligence community concerns about the reliability of the main evidence used to support it: the Christopher Steele dossier.
The exchanges also indicate FBI officials were aware that Steele, the former MI6 British intelligence operative then working as a confidential human source for the bureau, had contacts with news media reporters before the FISA warrant was secured. -The Hill
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The email exchanges - kept from Congressional investigators for over two years, "included then-FBI Director James Comey, key FBI investigators in the Russia probe and lawyers in the DOJ’s national security division," according to the report - and took place in early to mid-October of 2016, prior to the FBI successfully securing a FISA warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
The email exchanges show the FBI was aware — before it secured the now-infamous warrant — that there were intelligence community concerns about the reliability of the main evidence used to support it: the Christopher Steele dossier.
The exchanges also indicate FBI officials were aware that Steele, the former MI6 British intelligence operative then working as a confidential human source for the bureau, had contacts with news media reporters before the FISA warrant was secured. -The Hill
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GOP Winner in Maine-02 Now Declared Loser Due to 'Rank Voting'
On Monday, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap announced that a recount of the November 6 election in Maine’s Second Congressional District will begin on Thursday and will continue for an estimated four weeks.
Secretary of State Dunlap, a Democrat, declared Democrat Jared Golden the winner of the election on November 15, despite the fact that Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME-02) received 2,632 more votes than Golden on election day, a consequence of the state’s implementation of a controversial “rank voting” system.
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Secretary of State Dunlap, a Democrat, declared Democrat Jared Golden the winner of the election on November 15, despite the fact that Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME-02) received 2,632 more votes than Golden on election day, a consequence of the state’s implementation of a controversial “rank voting” system.
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California mandates solar panels for homes built in 2020 and later
California lawmakers on Wednesday officially approved a measure that mandates all homes built in the Golden State in 2020 and beyond be solar-powered.
The new standards were approved earlier this year and voted on unanimously by the California Building Standards Commission, the Orange County Register reported.
Officials heralded the move as a “historical undertaking” that “will be a beacon of light for the rest of the country.”
The provisions add an estimated $10,000 to the cost of building a single-family home – including more than $8,400 for installing solar and roughly $1,500 for energy efficiency. Proponents of these requirements, however, say the 30-year lifespan of the solar panels will offset the utility bills. A solar-industry representative cited by the Register said the net savings would come out to roughly $500 a year.
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The new standards were approved earlier this year and voted on unanimously by the California Building Standards Commission, the Orange County Register reported.
Officials heralded the move as a “historical undertaking” that “will be a beacon of light for the rest of the country.”
The provisions add an estimated $10,000 to the cost of building a single-family home – including more than $8,400 for installing solar and roughly $1,500 for energy efficiency. Proponents of these requirements, however, say the 30-year lifespan of the solar panels will offset the utility bills. A solar-industry representative cited by the Register said the net savings would come out to roughly $500 a year.
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https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-mandates-homes-built-in-2020-and-later-include-solar-panels
NYT Admits DNA Test 'Darkened Lingering Cloud' over Elizabeth Warren's 2020 Ambitions
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) DNA test was such a fiasco, her advisers and even the far-left New York Times are worriedthis “lingering cloud over [her] likely presidential campaign has only darkened.”
“More worrisome to supporters of Ms. Warren’s presidential ambitions,” the Times writes, is that “she has yet to allay criticism from grass-roots progressive groups, liberal political operatives and other potential 2020 allies who complain that she put too much emphasis on the controversial field of racial science — and, in doing so, played into Mr. Trump’s hands.”
“Advisers close to Ms. Warren say she has privately expressed concern that she may have damaged her relationships to Native American groups and her own standing with progressive activists, particularly those who are racial minorities.”
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“More worrisome to supporters of Ms. Warren’s presidential ambitions,” the Times writes, is that “she has yet to allay criticism from grass-roots progressive groups, liberal political operatives and other potential 2020 allies who complain that she put too much emphasis on the controversial field of racial science — and, in doing so, played into Mr. Trump’s hands.”
“Advisers close to Ms. Warren say she has privately expressed concern that she may have damaged her relationships to Native American groups and her own standing with progressive activists, particularly those who are racial minorities.”
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Elizabeth Warren's advisers want her to APOLOGIZE for DNA stunt
Advisers to Sen. Elizabeth Warren are counseling her to issue a forceful apology for releasing the results of a DNA test that revealed a sliver of American Indian blood in her family tree.
Democrats blasted the liberal Massachusetts senator in October for drawing attention to her biggest political liability in the middle of a tense midterm election cycle.
Warren's DNA analysis, conducted by a privately hired scientist who is an expert on Native American genomics, showed that her Native American ancestry was between 0.09 percent and 1.5 percent.
The low end of that scale equates to 1/1,024th.
A landmark study published in 2014 in the American Journal of Human Genetics found that, on average, European-Americans have 0.18 per cent Native American blood – twice as much.
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Democrats blasted the liberal Massachusetts senator in October for drawing attention to her biggest political liability in the middle of a tense midterm election cycle.
Warren's DNA analysis, conducted by a privately hired scientist who is an expert on Native American genomics, showed that her Native American ancestry was between 0.09 percent and 1.5 percent.
The low end of that scale equates to 1/1,024th.
A landmark study published in 2014 in the American Journal of Human Genetics found that, on average, European-Americans have 0.18 per cent Native American blood – twice as much.
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Wicomico Council Okays $489K Loan To Support Nursing Home
SALISBURY – Officials in Wicomico County this week approved a $489,000 loan to keep a county-owned nursing home operating through the remainder of the fiscal year.
On Tuesday, the Wicomico County Council voted to approve a loan in the amount of $489,320 to the Wicomico Nursing Home. The loan will provide for projected operating expenses at the facility through June 30, 2019.
Last month, representatives with the Wicomico Nursing Home – a county enterprise fund – came before the council seeking an operating loan after it was learned that low occupancy, personnel costs and write offs of bad debt had contributed to financial woes at the facility.
Jim Crisp of Gross, Mendelsohn and Associates told the council, for example, that he expected the nursing home to write off $36,000 in bad debt in the current fiscal year and noted that the facility would need a census of roughly 80 residents and $170,000 in salary cuts to break even.
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On Tuesday, the Wicomico County Council voted to approve a loan in the amount of $489,320 to the Wicomico Nursing Home. The loan will provide for projected operating expenses at the facility through June 30, 2019.
Last month, representatives with the Wicomico Nursing Home – a county enterprise fund – came before the council seeking an operating loan after it was learned that low occupancy, personnel costs and write offs of bad debt had contributed to financial woes at the facility.
Jim Crisp of Gross, Mendelsohn and Associates told the council, for example, that he expected the nursing home to write off $36,000 in bad debt in the current fiscal year and noted that the facility would need a census of roughly 80 residents and $170,000 in salary cuts to break even.
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New Wicomico Council Sworn In; Cannon, Dodd Named Leaders
SALISBURY – Five incumbents and two new members were sworn in to the Wicomico County Council this week following the recognition of two departing councilmen.
At the start of Tuesday’s meeting, Councilmen Matt Holloway and John Hall said their farewells to county leaders and citizens as they stepped down from their positions on the council. Both chose not to run for re-election in November.
For his part, Holloway thanked the voters, county staff and the county council for their support during his two terms.
“I really wanted to thank the voters of Wicomico County for showing support and electing me to these two terms,” he said. “Of course, I want to thank the current and previous councils for their support and friendship over these years and the staff.”
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At the start of Tuesday’s meeting, Councilmen Matt Holloway and John Hall said their farewells to county leaders and citizens as they stepped down from their positions on the council. Both chose not to run for re-election in November.
For his part, Holloway thanked the voters, county staff and the county council for their support during his two terms.
“I really wanted to thank the voters of Wicomico County for showing support and electing me to these two terms,” he said. “Of course, I want to thank the current and previous councils for their support and friendship over these years and the staff.”
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Officials To Revisit Land Donation
SALISBURY – Officials in Wicomico County will vote again on a land donation that they rejected late last year.
Last December, the Wicomico County Council voted to reject a 235-acre land donation from Connelly Mill Ltd. Partnership after an environmental study revealed potential pollution issues. The property, located next to the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex and within the City of Salisbury corporate limits, is valued at more than $1 million and consists of wooded parcels and two ponds.
Earlier this fall, however, the council agreed to reconsider the donation after additional environmental studies eased officials’ concerns about contamination on the property and a cost-benefit analysis revealed the property’s potential as a borrow site.
Weston Young, the county’s assistant director of administration, told the council this week the property contained an estimated $20 million worth of soil, which could be used for operations at the county landfill. With the acquisition of a property adjacent to the landfill off the table, he said the county needed a place to mine additional soil.
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Last December, the Wicomico County Council voted to reject a 235-acre land donation from Connelly Mill Ltd. Partnership after an environmental study revealed potential pollution issues. The property, located next to the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex and within the City of Salisbury corporate limits, is valued at more than $1 million and consists of wooded parcels and two ponds.
Earlier this fall, however, the council agreed to reconsider the donation after additional environmental studies eased officials’ concerns about contamination on the property and a cost-benefit analysis revealed the property’s potential as a borrow site.
Weston Young, the county’s assistant director of administration, told the council this week the property contained an estimated $20 million worth of soil, which could be used for operations at the county landfill. With the acquisition of a property adjacent to the landfill off the table, he said the county needed a place to mine additional soil.
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Area Farmers Ready To Leave Difficult 2018 Behind
BERLIN – Wet weather, followed by small yields and low prices, made the year a challenging one for local farmers.
Members of the local agriculture community said a variety of issues, the most obvious of which was the seemingly endless rain this area experienced, made 2018 a difficult year for farmers.
“A couple years like this in a row and we’ll be in trouble,” said Alan Hudson, president of the Worcester County Farm Bureau.
Local farmers measured anywhere between 60 and 70 inches of rainfall so far in 2018. Typically, Worcester County gets slightly more than 40 inches of rain in a year.
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Members of the local agriculture community said a variety of issues, the most obvious of which was the seemingly endless rain this area experienced, made 2018 a difficult year for farmers.
“A couple years like this in a row and we’ll be in trouble,” said Alan Hudson, president of the Worcester County Farm Bureau.
Local farmers measured anywhere between 60 and 70 inches of rainfall so far in 2018. Typically, Worcester County gets slightly more than 40 inches of rain in a year.
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Only One Bid Received For Scoper Franchise
OCEAN CITY — Providing further evidence the beach photography business continues to be challenging, just one vendor came forward this week when the bids were opened for Ocean City’s franchise.
Ocean City’s beach photography franchise is essentially divided into two separate franchises and under the town’s code, one vendor can hold both franchises. By way of background, the beach photography franchise holder sends photographers, or “scopers,” out on the beach each day in the summer to solicit residents and visitors to capture vacation memories.
The franchises are renewed every four years and the same vendor has held both franchises for the last eight years. The current contract expired at the end of November and a new four-year contract was offered for both. On Monday, the Mayor and Council were scheduled to open the bids for, but City Clerk Diana Chavis explained there was little interest.
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Ocean City’s beach photography franchise is essentially divided into two separate franchises and under the town’s code, one vendor can hold both franchises. By way of background, the beach photography franchise holder sends photographers, or “scopers,” out on the beach each day in the summer to solicit residents and visitors to capture vacation memories.
The franchises are renewed every four years and the same vendor has held both franchises for the last eight years. The current contract expired at the end of November and a new four-year contract was offered for both. On Monday, the Mayor and Council were scheduled to open the bids for, but City Clerk Diana Chavis explained there was little interest.
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Class Sizes, Technology, Teacher Salaries Lead Budget Hearing
NEWARK – As in years past, requests for funding to allow for fair teacher salaries, technology and small class sizes dominated a budget hearing hosted by the Worcester County Board of Education this week.
On Tuesday, the school board heard budget requests from parents representing each of the county’s 14 schools. Aside from a few minor differences, all the school representatives want to see competitive salaries for local teachers, funding for the latest technology and for the school system to maintain small class sizes.
Officials said those requests would be considered as the coming year’s budget was developed.
“We’ll do what we can,” school board member Sara Thompson said. “It’s up to the county commissioners to help us. It’s up to you all to talk to your county commissioners and make sure they support our budget.”
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On Tuesday, the school board heard budget requests from parents representing each of the county’s 14 schools. Aside from a few minor differences, all the school representatives want to see competitive salaries for local teachers, funding for the latest technology and for the school system to maintain small class sizes.
Officials said those requests would be considered as the coming year’s budget was developed.
“We’ll do what we can,” school board member Sara Thompson said. “It’s up to the county commissioners to help us. It’s up to you all to talk to your county commissioners and make sure they support our budget.”
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Tom Arnold: 80 Percent Of Gun Owners Shoot Themselves Or Family
Tom Arnold isn’t someone you go to for intelligent conversation. The man is best known for being married to Roseanne Barr and has had precisely one decent movie role where he was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s partner in True Lies. That’s the entirety of why he’s famous.
But, he is famous, and because of that, he has a big platform on social media.
It’s a platform where he utters the most completely brain-dead things possible. Stuff like this:
Of course, Arnold never provided a citation for that claim.
And Arnold can’t provide a citation for that claim, because it’s complete and total BS.
Keep in mind that Americans own somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 million guns. If 80 percent of us were shooting ourselves or family members, I’m pretty sure there would be news reports on this. The anti-gun media would latch onto this and pound it like a nail that doesn’t want to be driven down. They’d never give up on this position, and why would they? In reality, it would probably be effective.
But they don’t, because it’s a made up number created by a bizarre mind so filled with hate for the Second Amendment that he can’t even see reality.
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But, he is famous, and because of that, he has a big platform on social media.
It’s a platform where he utters the most completely brain-dead things possible. Stuff like this:
Of course, Arnold never provided a citation for that claim.
And Arnold can’t provide a citation for that claim, because it’s complete and total BS.
Keep in mind that Americans own somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 million guns. If 80 percent of us were shooting ourselves or family members, I’m pretty sure there would be news reports on this. The anti-gun media would latch onto this and pound it like a nail that doesn’t want to be driven down. They’d never give up on this position, and why would they? In reality, it would probably be effective.
But they don’t, because it’s a made up number created by a bizarre mind so filled with hate for the Second Amendment that he can’t even see reality.
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James Comey Declines to Answer 'Many' Questions During Hill Testimony
Former FBI Director James Comey refused to answer several questions during his closed-door interview with House investigators on Friday, according to a report.
Fox News, citing several lawmakers, reports that Comey’s lawyers “instructed” their client not to respond to questions regarding the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, and the Steele dossier.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who stepped outside to talk to reporters during the hearing, expressed dissatisfaction with Comey’s apparent inability to responded to various questions. “One of the disappointments of this deposition so far has been the amount of times in which the FBI believes that Congress doesn’t have a right to know,” Issa said begrudgery.
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Fox News, citing several lawmakers, reports that Comey’s lawyers “instructed” their client not to respond to questions regarding the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, and the Steele dossier.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who stepped outside to talk to reporters during the hearing, expressed dissatisfaction with Comey’s apparent inability to responded to various questions. “One of the disappointments of this deposition so far has been the amount of times in which the FBI believes that Congress doesn’t have a right to know,” Issa said begrudgery.
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Rashida Tlaib Misrepresented Soros Stipend in Financial Disclosures
Congresswoman-elect did not disclose name of source and wrote a lesser amount than given
Congresswoman-elect Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) did not disclose the name of the source of funds for a fellowship that was paid by liberal billionaire George Soros—as required by the House ethics committee—and also disclosed a lesser amount than she received, according to a review of tax and financial disclosure forms.
The Washington Free Beacon obtained the most recent copies of tax forms for a number of Soros's organizations, including the Open Society Institute, the legal name for the Open Society Foundations, the entity in which Soros pushes millions in funding to a number of liberal causes and organizations.
An expenditure of $85,307 to Rashida Tlaib in Detroit, Mich., from 2017 is shown on page 97 of the 321-page report to "to increase involvement of disenfranchised urban communities of color with their local governance process by creating a community benefits strategy for equitable development and creating a leadership training for impacted residents focused on negotiation skills and identifying leverage at the local level."
Tlaib did not report any income in the amount of $85,307 on financial disclosure forms submitted as she was running for office, which identified the names of the sources that provided her income in three of four cases. Tlaib received compensation from the Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center, Wayne State University, and Metro Solutions, the forms show.
However, the fourth reported source of earned income is marked as a "Leadership in Government Fellowship," but does not identify who provided the payment.
A press release from 2016 shows that Tlaib was chosen for a "leadership in government" fellowship by Soros's Open Society Foundations along with seven other individuals.
More here
Congresswoman-elect Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) did not disclose the name of the source of funds for a fellowship that was paid by liberal billionaire George Soros—as required by the House ethics committee—and also disclosed a lesser amount than she received, according to a review of tax and financial disclosure forms.
The Washington Free Beacon obtained the most recent copies of tax forms for a number of Soros's organizations, including the Open Society Institute, the legal name for the Open Society Foundations, the entity in which Soros pushes millions in funding to a number of liberal causes and organizations.
An expenditure of $85,307 to Rashida Tlaib in Detroit, Mich., from 2017 is shown on page 97 of the 321-page report to "to increase involvement of disenfranchised urban communities of color with their local governance process by creating a community benefits strategy for equitable development and creating a leadership training for impacted residents focused on negotiation skills and identifying leverage at the local level."
Tlaib did not report any income in the amount of $85,307 on financial disclosure forms submitted as she was running for office, which identified the names of the sources that provided her income in three of four cases. Tlaib received compensation from the Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center, Wayne State University, and Metro Solutions, the forms show.
However, the fourth reported source of earned income is marked as a "Leadership in Government Fellowship," but does not identify who provided the payment.
A press release from 2016 shows that Tlaib was chosen for a "leadership in government" fellowship by Soros's Open Society Foundations along with seven other individuals.
More here
Pearl Harbor Day: One For Which FDR Shoulders 'Infamy'
On December 7, 1941 the Empire of Japan bombed the U.S. Pacific Fleet which was stationed in Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. In addressing Congress the next day, President Roosevelt called it “a date which will live in infamy.”
But Roosevelt’s reputation should live in infamy too. The line that Roosevelt enthusiasts and left-wing historians have peddled for so many years is that the attack was a complete surprise.
Here’s a sample from The American Pageant, a typical left-wing American history textbook widely used in American high schools:
Officials in Washington, having “cracked” the top-secret code of the Japanese, knew that Tokyo’s decision was for war … Roosevelt, misled by Japanese ship movements in the Far East, evidently expected the blow to fall on British Malaya or on the Philippines. No one in high authority in Washington seems to have believed that the Japanese were either strong enough or foolhardy enough to strike Hawaii.
That’s the left’s version, and it’s in line with the rest of the “fake history” they want American high school students to learn. The Education and Research Institute (ERI — of which I am chairman) has written a critique of The American Pageant, which tells a more accurate story about Pearl Harbor and scores of other events in American history.
The American Pageant gives almost no blame to FDR for the Pearl Harbor disaster — even though the United States had broken the Japanese secret code and knew an attack was imminent. The textbook authors assure us that “no one in high authority in Washington seems to have believed that the Japanese” had the ability to launch such an attack.
But that is simply wrong. Some high-ranking members of the U.S. Navy did believe a surprise attack at Pearl Harbor was possible, but FDR disagreed with them and he removed those contrary voices from positions of power.
The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor was Admiral J. O. (Joe) Richardson. Unlike Roosevelt, Richardson did not underestimate the Japanese — and he had studied them and the dangerous Pearl Harbor location thoroughly.
Richardson said that a simulated aerial attack that the U.S. had conducted at Pearl Harbor in 1932 proved that torpedo planes could cripple any fleet stationed there.
Even before Roosevelt ordered the Pacific Fleet to stay at Pearl Harbor indefinitely, Richardson had protested that keeping the fleet there posed a danger to every ship. He had been attempting to monitor the military movements of the Japanese to give the United States time to evacuate Pearl Harbor in case of danger.
Richardson, after writing many letters warning of danger at Pearl Harbor, was ordered to Washington to meet with the president. At the meeting, Richardson strongly recommended moving the Pacific Fleet back to San Francisco immediately.
When Roosevelt dismissed his concerns, the frustrated Richardson said,
“Mr. President, I feel that I must tell you that the senior officers of the Navy do not have the trust and confidence in the civilian leadership of this country that is essential for the successful prosecution of a war in the Pacific.”
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But Roosevelt’s reputation should live in infamy too. The line that Roosevelt enthusiasts and left-wing historians have peddled for so many years is that the attack was a complete surprise.
Here’s a sample from The American Pageant, a typical left-wing American history textbook widely used in American high schools:
Officials in Washington, having “cracked” the top-secret code of the Japanese, knew that Tokyo’s decision was for war … Roosevelt, misled by Japanese ship movements in the Far East, evidently expected the blow to fall on British Malaya or on the Philippines. No one in high authority in Washington seems to have believed that the Japanese were either strong enough or foolhardy enough to strike Hawaii.
That’s the left’s version, and it’s in line with the rest of the “fake history” they want American high school students to learn. The Education and Research Institute (ERI — of which I am chairman) has written a critique of The American Pageant, which tells a more accurate story about Pearl Harbor and scores of other events in American history.
The American Pageant gives almost no blame to FDR for the Pearl Harbor disaster — even though the United States had broken the Japanese secret code and knew an attack was imminent. The textbook authors assure us that “no one in high authority in Washington seems to have believed that the Japanese” had the ability to launch such an attack.
But that is simply wrong. Some high-ranking members of the U.S. Navy did believe a surprise attack at Pearl Harbor was possible, but FDR disagreed with them and he removed those contrary voices from positions of power.
The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor was Admiral J. O. (Joe) Richardson. Unlike Roosevelt, Richardson did not underestimate the Japanese — and he had studied them and the dangerous Pearl Harbor location thoroughly.
Richardson said that a simulated aerial attack that the U.S. had conducted at Pearl Harbor in 1932 proved that torpedo planes could cripple any fleet stationed there.
Even before Roosevelt ordered the Pacific Fleet to stay at Pearl Harbor indefinitely, Richardson had protested that keeping the fleet there posed a danger to every ship. He had been attempting to monitor the military movements of the Japanese to give the United States time to evacuate Pearl Harbor in case of danger.
Richardson, after writing many letters warning of danger at Pearl Harbor, was ordered to Washington to meet with the president. At the meeting, Richardson strongly recommended moving the Pacific Fleet back to San Francisco immediately.
When Roosevelt dismissed his concerns, the frustrated Richardson said,
“Mr. President, I feel that I must tell you that the senior officers of the Navy do not have the trust and confidence in the civilian leadership of this country that is essential for the successful prosecution of a war in the Pacific.”
More
State Democrat Parties Revolt Against DNC Over Voter Data Plan
A Democrat National Committee plan to pool the party's voter data into one large database for the 2020 election is being met with fierce opposition by state parties and outside groups.
The DNC is offering a plan modeled on the RNC: a single, for-profit, private firm of all voter data that would allow Democrats to raise money for it without limits and potentially allow for all groups within the "progressive ecosystem," as Politico put it, to work with each other to generate even more voter information.
But state parties are balking at the idea of giving up such valuable data to the benefit of some national elites.
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The DNC is offering a plan modeled on the RNC: a single, for-profit, private firm of all voter data that would allow Democrats to raise money for it without limits and potentially allow for all groups within the "progressive ecosystem," as Politico put it, to work with each other to generate even more voter information.
But state parties are balking at the idea of giving up such valuable data to the benefit of some national elites.
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DNC chair Perez laments 'the pulpit,' religious messages that sour voters on Dems
Democrat National Committee Chairman Tom Perez told a room of progressives this week that political momentum is undermined by religious leaders standing at “the pulpit” on Sunday.
Attendees at Wednesday’s Demand Justice’s “The Court In Crisis: What’s Next For Progressives After Kavanaugh” Summit were told by Mr. Perez that they need to address the “pulpit” problem to better “penetrate” the American electorate.
“We need to build a bigger orchestra,” Mr. Perez said. “They’ve had a big orchestra for some time and they’ve got the megaphones to amplify it, whether it’s Sinclair at a local level or Fox at a national level. I’ve learned this from the outreach we’ve done at the DNC. ‘Why aren’t we penetrating?’ I ask And I had someone in Northwestern Wisconsin tell me, ‘you know what, for most of the people I know, their principal sources of information are Fox News, their NRA newsletter, and the pulpit on Sunday.’”
Mr. Perez said it was almost axiomatic that such individuals would shun the Democratic Party.
More here
Attendees at Wednesday’s Demand Justice’s “The Court In Crisis: What’s Next For Progressives After Kavanaugh” Summit were told by Mr. Perez that they need to address the “pulpit” problem to better “penetrate” the American electorate.
“We need to build a bigger orchestra,” Mr. Perez said. “They’ve had a big orchestra for some time and they’ve got the megaphones to amplify it, whether it’s Sinclair at a local level or Fox at a national level. I’ve learned this from the outreach we’ve done at the DNC. ‘Why aren’t we penetrating?’ I ask And I had someone in Northwestern Wisconsin tell me, ‘you know what, for most of the people I know, their principal sources of information are Fox News, their NRA newsletter, and the pulpit on Sunday.’”
Mr. Perez said it was almost axiomatic that such individuals would shun the Democratic Party.
More here
Go Figure
CBS, who demonized Trump for paying $130K to Stormy Daniels, paid a former employee $5 million to keep quiet after she was sexually assaulted by the executive producer of their 60 Minutes program.
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Everything they claim that POTUS is doing is exactly what they did or are doing. Everything.
level 1
Still trying to see how it is a campaign contribution. Cohen paid it, at Trump's direction, and was reimbursed, thus it wasn't a campaign contribution, and if it was not a campaign, the same thing would have happened, as it seems Trump has paid women before. In fact, paying off former lovers is pretty common in the world of the rich and elite. The catch here is I think Stormy Daniels made up the whole affair though. She has still, to this day, never brought any proof of an affair. Hell, her own account is she hooked up with him one time. Thus, one time they hooked up is hardly an "affair" either. She's just an evil money grabber willing to sacrifice the health of this country to do so.
It's all fake news and people trying to create a fake crime.