A Letter To The Editor 8-19-11

Here is an update to the Kelly Thomas murder by 6 Fullerton Calif. police officers. It also has videos.

 

Today Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson sent over this formal request to have the FBI take over the investigation of the police beating death of Kelly Thomas.

 

http://www.fullertonsfuture.org/tag/kelly-thomas-beating/

Fill In The Blank 08/19/11

The only thing better than a cookie is ____________________.

Economic Myths: We Separate Fact From Fiction

With the recent Iowa straw poll [1] and President Obama's bus tour [2], Americans are hearing a cacophony of arguments about the wobbly economy. The federal stimulus package passed in 2009 was either a deficit-busting failure full of wasteful projects or an unparalleled rescue that would have been more successful if it had only been bigger. Taxes are either stifling or the lowest they've ever been. America needs to invest in infrastructure or "infrastructure" is merely a euphemism for more government spending. So here's our guide to the most prevalent economic myths.

1. Taxes have been going up and are high compared to levels in other countries.

The first part is wrong; the second is also wrong but contains a grain of truth.

The percentage of income that Americans spend on taxes is the lowest it's been since 1958, according an analysis by USA Today. And with the exception of five years after the 1986 Tax Reform Act, the highest marginal income [3] and corporate tax rates [4] are the lowest they've been since World War II.

More

Annapolis Firefighters' Roadside Fundraiser Was Illegal

'Fill The Boot' violated county panhandling laws

City firefighters broke the law last weekend when they raised more than $10,000 for children with muscular dystrophy, according to city and county officials.

A 2007 ban on panhandling makes it illegal to solicit money from motorists in Anne Arundel County - regardless of who is doing the soliciting.

County firefighters stopped "passing the boot" - gathering loose change from motorists in a firefighter's boot - to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association after the law went into effect.

But city firefighters continued the practice, believing city roadways didn't fall under the same rules.

More

The Obama Wars: Why Do We Tear Each Other Apart Over Whether The President Is A Failure Or Success?

The debate over Obama's role in the mess we're in is distracting progressives from the real fight.

What, if anything, is the matter with Obama? This is a question that sharply divides progressives today, the central front on what has become known as the “Obama Wars.”

The Obama Wars can be vicious – they're often reminiscent of the 2008 primary fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In online communities, the conflict pits “Obamabots,” whose mindless fealty to Our Dear Leader renders them incapable of independent thought, and “emo-progs,” members of the “professional left” whose lust for attacking the administration and refusal to give it credit for its accomplishments will only discourage Democratic voters and ultimately usher in a Bachmann presidency and a Supreme Court packed with far-right activist judges.

Such is the reality when, two years after a campaign promising hope and change swept our nation's first black president into office, our political system is still completely screwed up and the country remains mired in a long depression.

Sadly, the debate over Obama's role in this mess is marked by numerous straw-men and red herrings, because much of it is a battle of counterfactuals. For example, I personally believe that if Democrats began legislative fights from an unabashedly progressive proposal, rather than from what's perceived to be the center, we would end up with better outcomes. But that's an untested belief – at least in my time -- and I'm humble enough to acknowledge that I can't say with any certainty that offering proposals from further to the left wouldn't have backfired.

More

30-Year Mortgage Rates Now Lowest Ever, People Still Aren't Buying

It's like that scene in Groundhog Day, where Chris Elliott's character enters the Punxsutawney bachelor auction and is greeted by dead silence from the women in the crowd.... Once again, mortgage rates have dropped to record lows while potential home buyers continue to hold off on making a purchase.

More »

Bridal Store Refuses To Sell Wedding Gown To Lesbian

A New Jersey bridal store is catching a lot of flack after it refused to sell a wedding dress to a lesbian.

More »

Beware Solar Panel Scams

Contractors are banging on homeowners doors, promising huge savings for installing solar panels on their roofs. But after they're installed and the customer has paid out big money, the panels have failed to produce a single kilowatt of energy and the salesmen have evaporated.

More »

HP Kills TouchPad, Looks To Exit PC Business

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hewlett-Packard is taking a hatchet to its business and doing some radical restructuring.

The company said Thursday that it is looking to spin off its industry-leading but struggling personal computer business. HP also killed off the TouchPad tablet it launched last month, as well as its webOS smartphone line.

More

YARD SALE

208 Hollow Mist Dr., Salisbury

Toys, tools, antiques, housewares, furniture, collectibles and other stuff!!

Saturday, 7am till. Rain or shine

'West Memphis 3' May Be Freed, Source Says

CNN) -- Three men convicted of killing three West Memphis boys in 1993 could be freed at a court hearing Friday, a person close to the case told CNN

.All three of the men -- Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin, dubbed the "West Memphis Three" -- are expected to attend the hearing in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Friday.

A source close to the case said a deal is in the works where the men can be freed Friday and maintain their innocence.

More

Today's Survey Question

With all the "Flash Mobs" going on around the country, do you believe local governments should be proactive and enforce a curfew?

Smyrna Man Dies In Fatal Vehicle Crash

Location: US Rt. 13 (DuPont Parkway) northbound at Paddock Road, Smyrna, DE

Date of Occurrence: Friday, August 19, 2011 at 1:45 a.m.

Operators/Vehicles:

-Operator #1: Cody Campbell, 30, Trout Run, PA
-Vehicle #1: 1999 Peterbilt Tractor and Trailer

-Operator #2: James D. Sommer, 23, Townsend, DE
-Vehicle #2: 1998 Oldsmobile Cutlass

Victim: Brett A. Ellis, 22, Smyrna, DE (front seat passenger)

Resume:
Smyrna- The Delaware State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit is currently investigating a two vehicle fatal motor vehicle collision that occurred early this morning.

The accident happened at approximately 1:45 a.m. as Cody Campbell was operating a 1999 Peterbilt tractor and trailer and was traveling northbound on US Rt. 13 in the right hand lane approaching the intersection of Paddock Road. As Campbell’s vehicle entered the intersection, it struck the right hand side of a 1998 Oldsmobile Cutlass that was attempting to make a left hand turn from southbound Rt. 13 onto eastbound Paddock Road, and which was being operated by James D. Sommer. The front seat passenger of the Oldsmobile, Brett A. Ellis, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was turned over to the medical examiner’s office where an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death. James Sommer was transported from the scene by EMS to the Kent General Hospital in Dover where he was admitted with multiple injuries. His condition is unknown at this time. Cody Campbell was not injured.

Alcohol consumption on the part of James Sommer is being considered as a factor in this crash. Seatbelts were worn by all three persons involved in the collision. The northbound lanes of US Rt. 13 were closed for approximately 5 hours as the crash was investigated and cleared.

This collision remains under investigation at this time.

Bank Of America To Cut 3,500 Jobs, Thousands More Could Also Be Axed

The nation's largest bank is trying to get a wee bit smaller — at least in terms of payroll. A newly uncovered memo reveals that Bank of America plans to cut at least 3,500 jobs in the upcoming months, with the possibility that thousands of additional positions could also be eliminated.

More »

AIG Chips Away At Debt With $2 Billion Payment

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Bailed out insurer American International Group dropped another $2.15 billion into the coffers of the Treasury Department on Thursday.

Back in 2008, the government agreed to help the giant insurer get back on its feet with a $180 billion lifeline. AIG has been slowly working toward paying back that loan.

More

Woman Gets 2 DUIs In 3 Hours

Ann Marie Abdullin Charged With Numerous Offenses

SALISBURY, Md. -- A Salisbury woman was arrested twice in three hours on drunken driving charges, and police said she had her 4-year-old daughter with her the second time.
An officer stopped Ann Marie Abdullin, 23, on Route 50 in Salisbury early Tuesday for traffic violations, and police said she was impaired by alcohol.

Authorities said they learned Abdullin had been arrested just three hours earlier on a drunken driving charge and released to a sober driver.


More

Thank God Its Friday

What will you be doing this weekend?

Symptoms Of The Bush-Obama Presidency: The Saved And The Sacked

Is it too soon to speak of the Bush-Obama presidency?

The record shows impressive continuities between the two administrations, and nowhere more than in the policy of “force projection” in the Arab world. With one war half-ended in Iraq, but another doubled in size and stretching across borders in Afghanistan; with an expanded program of drone killings and black-ops assassinations,the latter glorified in special ceremonies of thanksgiving (as they never were under Bush); with the number of prisoners at Guantanamo having decreased, but some now slated for permanent detention; with the repeated invocation of “state secrets” to protect the government from charges of war crimes; with the Patriot Act renewed and its most dubious provisions left intact -- the Bush-Obama presidency has sufficient self-coherence to be considered a historical entity with a life of its own.

The significance of this development has been veiled in recent mainstream coverage of the national security state and our larger and smaller wars. Back in 2005-2006, when the Iraqi insurgency refused to die down and what had been presented as “sectarian feuding” began to look like a war of national liberation against an occupying power, the American press exhibited an uncommon critical acuteness. But Washington’s embrace of “the surge” in Iraq in 2007 took that war off the front page, and it -- along with the Afghan War -- has returned only occasionally in the four years since.

More

2.4M Gallons Of Sewer Overflow Spills Into River

BALTIMORE -- An estimated 2.4 million gallons of sewer overflow spilled Tuesday into the Back River, according to the Baltimore City Department of Public Works.

The sewer overflow spilled Sunday shortly before 12:30 p.m. for more than two hours after heavy rainfall in the area.

DPW officials said the storms coupled with construction upgrades at the plant led to the overflow after rainwater infiltrated sewer lines that were already well above normal levels.

More

Good Question

Another way to look at the Debt Ceiling......

(Now this makes sense - but only to those who grasp the concept.)

Let's say You come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup in your home, and you have sewage up to your ceilings.

What do you should do……raise the ceilings, or pump out the sh!t?

Your choice.