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Friday, June 20, 2014

‘They Are Being Totally Intolerant’: Ben Carson Defends Biblical Definition of Marriage

Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson has freely shared his theological views since his bold 2013 National Prayer Breakfast speech catapulted him onto the national stage — and in a recent interview he affirmed his support for the biblical definition of marriage, encouraging Christians to stand up against “intolerance.”

When asked how Christians can “show God’s love to the gay community without compromising God’s word,” Carson, an outspoken Christian, told Charisma News that he believes consenting adults should be able to do whatever they want, but that the definition of marriage shouldn’t change.

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Cruz to Hillary: Want Benghazi Answers? Quit Stonewalling

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says he was encouraged to hear Hillary Clinton say she wants answers on Benghazi, but he said she could go a long way toward making that happen if she stops trying to prevent the answers from being heard.

"Secretary Clinton from the beginning has stonewalled on this rather than acting as a partner getting to the bottom of what happened," Cruz said Tuesday on CNN's "Erin Burnett Out Front."

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Guess How Many Senior Officials Received an ‘Unsatisfactory’ Rating Across the Entire Gov’t in 2012

A Department of Veterans Affairs official testified Friday that just three of the roughly 7,000 senior officials working across the entire federal government received an “unsatisfactory” performance rating in 2012, or about one-twentieth of one percent.

Gina Farrisee, an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs, told the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee that senior officials typically are ranking in the top three performance categories, and that being ranked in the lower two categories — “minimally satisfactory” and “unsatisfactory” — is almost unheard of.

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Female Student Infects 324 Men With HIV As Revenge!

A female student from Nakura in Kenya, who studies at Kabarak University, has disclosed that she has infected a total of 324 men with the AIDS causing virus – Human Immunodeficiency (HIV). She has apparently got infected with the dreaded virus at a party by a man. Now this girl wants revenge and is planning to infect at least 2000 healthy men.

If new reports are to be believed this girl, whose identity is not yet known confessed on Facebook through Kenyan Scandals. She called them with the claim that she had something to reveal. She wanted her identity protected. Once she got this assurance she stated that it all happened on 22nd of September 2013, a day she said she would never forget. She said she had gone to the club in town with some senior friends and got drunk. They all returned to the hostels to continue partying there. She woke up the next morning and realized that a boy named Javan had sexual intercourse with her. She had been completely out as she was drunk.

But the Kenyan Daily Post did reveal her identity perhaps in the interest of the innocent people around. The paper published a photo of her profile on Facebook along with the article.

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Giant Food To Award Over $31K To Delaware Schools

Giant Food of Landover, Md., is presenting over $2 million to 2,055 local schools in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Delaware as a result of its 2013-14 A+ School Rewards program. A+ School Rewards provides a simple way for schools to earn funds to support school programs and enrichment activities every time a customer makes a purchase using their Giant card in their neighborhood Giant Food. Throughout Delaware, 57 schools will receive more than $31,800.

“The A+ School Rewards program allows us to give back, in a meaningful way, to the community that supports Giant,” said Gordon Reid, president, Giant Food of Landover, Md. “For a quarter century, Giant’s school rewards program has made a real impact in supporting critical educational and extracurricular programming in our community classrooms across Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. We are tremendously proud to continue this legacy.”

The A+ School Rewards program is linked to shoppers’ Giant cards, earning points for all in-store purchases. Giant customers can designate up to two schools to benefit from their purchases. Since 1989, Giant’s school rewards program has raised more than $90 million to help both public and private schools in the Mid-Atlantic region fulfill their academic and enrichment needs. In the past, funds raised by A+ School Rewards have helped purchase new computers, additional classroom technology, musical instruments, and athletic uniforms, and funded school aids, field trips, sports and after-school programs.

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Hillary says Iraq pullout 'was a mistake by the Iraqi government'

Hillary Clinton suggested Tuesday that President Barack Obama bears no responsibility for his decision to pull American troops out of Iraq at the end of 2011, a decision that created a power vacuum now filled by a vicious Islamist terror group.

'In retrospect, that was a mistake by the Iraqi government,' she said during a town hall on CNN.

Clinton was referring to the two governments' failure to sign a mutual Status of Forces Agreement, a document that would have kept American servicemen and women in Iraq as a stabilizing force after 2011.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reportedly balked on a U.S. proposal because it would have included legal immunity for American troops who broke local laws.

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Weekend Route 1 Tolls Will Increase $1

Starting in July, the weekend toll on Route 1 at Biddle's and Dover toll plazas will increase by $1 to $3.

The weekend toll per passenger vehicle is $2 from Friday night to Sunday night, but those tolls will increase to $3 sometime next month.

The increase is expected to bring an additional $10 million annually to state transportation coffers.

Under state law, the Delaware Department of Transportation can raise tolls on its own authority. Even so, the move was not made without Bond Bill Committee approval and consultation with the General Assembly, said Geoff Sundstrom, DelDOT spokesman.

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Cantor Lost Because He Sold Out His District

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary election because he "really represented Washington, D.C., instead of his home district in Virginia," says Matt Kibbe, of the conservative lobbying group FreedomWorks.

Kibbe told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV on Tuesday that the veteran lawmaker "spent all of his time and energy planning his takeover of the [House] speaker's job instead of paying any attention to the folks back home."

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HIV Prevention Lunch & Learn


Insurance Rates

This map illustrates the effect of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") on individuals who do not get health insurance through their employers, or through government programs like Medicaid or Medicare.

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Baltimore County Launches Pedestrian Safety Program

Yellow signs that read "Heads Up Walk Safe" are being placed along major roadways in Baltimore County.

It is part of a public education campaign unveiled Thursday that police and fire officials hope will curb an increase in the number of fatal pedestrian accidents in the county.

Last year, 22 people died after they were struck and killed by either a passing car or truck, while crossing the street in Baltimore County.

Fire Chief John Hohman tells WBAL News that in all but three of those incidents, the pedestrian was at fault.

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FLASHBACK: Remember When Paul Wolfowitz Said Not to Worry About Sectarian Violence in Iraq?

The former Bush administration official is perhaps the worst person to give advice about the current crisis in Iraq—but that hasn't stopped him from speaking out.

This past weekend, as the crisis in Iraq intensified, Paul Wolfowitz appeared on Meet the Press to share his wisdom on the current predicament there. Wolfowitz was the deputy defense secretary and an architect of the US invasion of Iraq during the Bush-Cheney administration, and he remarked on the show that talk of sectarian violence in Iraq was misguided: "This is more than just those obscure Shia/Sunni conflict[s]." He advised that the United States should "stick with our friends, and those friends are not always perfect." Wolfowitz seemed to be suggesting that the Obama administration should stand strong with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, despite Maliki's authoritarian, corrupt, and inept ways. But moments later Wolfowitz said, "It's a complicated situation in which you don't just come up with, 'We're going to bomb this, we're going to do that.'" And then he said, "Maliki is a big part of the problem. He's not a leader of Iraq. We need to find people there."

It was confusing. After the invasion of Iraq, the Bush crew backed a consolidation of power by the Maliki-led coalition of religious-oriented Shiite parties and decimated the Sunni establishment that had previously controlled the government and the military. And now Wolfowitz was saying that Washington should hang tough with its pal—but that its pal was also the problem. Huh? The big brain behind the Iraq War had nothing of consequence to recommend.

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Gubernatorial Candidates Against Idea To Tax Vehicle Miles Traveled

BALTIMORE —Maryland officials have been considering introducing a tax on vehicle miles traveled as an encouragement, of sorts, to cut emissions. The WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team asked the candidates for governor where they stand on the issue.

It's not easy to find common ground among the top three Democrats running for governor until you ask whether they support the idea of a new tax known as the vehicles miles traveled.

The proposal is intended to cut vehicle emissions in that the more you drive, the more you'd pay. Other states are close to implementing the tax. Volunteers in Oregon will have meters installed next year and will pay 1.5 cents a mile instead of a state gas tax.

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CHUCK TODD: The Public Is Telling Obama His Presidency Is 'Over'

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday found some disastrous-looking numbers for President Barack Obama — and NBC's Chuck Todd said they amounted to the public telling Obama his presidency is "over."

"This poll is a disaster for the president," Todd said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday. "You look at the presidency here. Lowest job rating — tied for the lowest. Lowest on foreign policy. His administration is seen as less competent than the Bush administration, post-Katrina."

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Wicomico Tightens Special Event Alcohol Policies

SALISBURY – Following an internal audit of cash and alcohol handling at Wicomico County festivals, more strict policies have been put in place regarding the sampling of alcohol.

A resolution adopting the Wicomico County Festivals Cash and Alcoholic Beverage Handling Audit report came before the Wicomico County Council on Tuesday morning for approval.

The resolution states, “under County Charter, the Internal Auditor is charged with the duty to report on internal accounting controls, administrative and operating practices and procedures, and other pertinent financial and compliance matters within Wicomico County, and that the Internal Auditor has submitted a report for the County Council’s consideration that focuses on the policies and procedures of handling cash and alcoholic beverages at County festivals, as well as the level of compliance with those procedures and controls.”

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Paula Deen's son reignites racism row

Just as Paula Deen is attempting to rebuild her sullied reputation in the wake of last year’s N-word scandal, son Jamie has re-ignited the accusations of racism that surround the family.

Amid reports that the Food Network has cancelled his own cooking show, Jamie posted a photo on Twitter on Friday of him smooching with an older African-American woman.

The image was captioned ‘Don’t tell [my wife] Brooke. #jellyroll #sugar’.

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‘Pay As You Throw’ To Begin

Worcester County will begin a pilot program Jan. 1, 2015 for people to dispose of their trash on a “pay as you throw” system as part of a plan for its Solid Waste Division to lose less money.

“The only thing we’re going to do today is put a Band-Aid on it,” said Bud Church, president of the Worcester County Commissioners said Tuesday, of that new program and higher fees for home owners’ permits.

Homeowners selecting that option would pay $1 per bag, of up to the 33-gallon size, to dispose of their solid waste. The “pay as you throw” fees would be sold on a punch card in $10 increments at the Treasurer’s Office, Cape Isle of Wight office, the central landfill and through the mail. People would be responsible for supplying the 33-gallon trash bags themselves. The bags would be accepted at the convenience centers in Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke and at the homeowner permit area at the central landfill.

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June Snow: Winter Storm in Montana, Utah, Wyoming As Summer Approaches

Winter gave one last glancing blow to the U.S. in the days before summer.

Emergency responders in Glacier County are on the lookout as close to 4 inches of rain had fallen already Wednesday afternoon, and just a little bit more could cause extensive flooding.

Already Glacier County Disaster and Emergency Services Director Charles Farmer said one neighborhood in Browning, Montana was covered with three to four feet of water. Evacuations have not yet been ordered, though, by either him or Blackfeet Tribal Emergency Services Director Earl Black Weasel Jr.

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Anne Arundel Medical Center Won't Hire Smokers In The Future

Anne Arundel Medical Center has a new employment policy: it will no longer hire smokers.

The medical center says it's been smoke free since 2007 but wants to provide a safe and healthy environment, and promote the health and well-being of its employees. The Maryland hospital's new employment policy goes into effect in July of next year. Officials say the policy won't apply to smokers who are already working for the hospital.

Starting next month, the use of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, will be banned at all the hospital's facilities.

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The Most Destructive Presidencies In U.S. History: George W. Bush & Barack H. Obama

Powers once granted are almost impossible to take back.

After 13.5 years, there is more than enough evidence for reasonable people to conclude that the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama are easily the most destructive in U.S. history.

When historians speak of failed presidencies or weak presidencies, they are typically referring to presidencies characterized by uneven leadership, petty corruption by self-serving cronies or in extreme cases such as the Nixon presidency, abuses of executive power.

But weak or failed presidencies are not destructive to the rule of law and the foundations of the nation. The failed president leaves office and the basic structure of the nation continues: the rule of law, the balance of powers and a free-market economy.

A destructive president weakens or corrupts these core structures in favor of executive-branch powers, and passes these unconstitutional powers to the next executive for further expansion.

The Bush and Obama presidencies have effectively dismantled the rule of law and the Constitution by invoking essentially unlimited executive powers in the name of "national security:" we the citizens of the U.S. can now be accused of violating secret laws, be indicted in secret, tried in secret and sentenced to life in prison based on evidence fabricated in secret, i.e. declaring unclassified documents classified after the fact to incriminate and imprison whistleblowers.

How is this any different from totalitarian fascist regimes?

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