The Maryland State Police in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration are asking citizens to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs during the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, April 30, 2016 from 10:00 am to 2:00 p.m. at state police barracks.
State police barracks throughout Maryland will be participating in the National Drug Take Back Day. Each barrack will act as a collection station giving citizens an opportunity to dispose of all unwanted and unused prescription drugs. The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
Locally during the last initiative in September 2015, troopers collected over 2,400 pounds of prescription drugs. Nationally, 700,000 pounds (350 tons) of prescription medications were collected from members of the public. When added to the collections from the previous Take-Back events, more than 5.5 million pounds (2,761 tons) of prescription medications have been removed from circulation.
WHAT: National Drug Take Back Initiative
WHEN: Saturday, April 30, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Any Maryland State Police Barrack
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
How To Help Your Son Or Daughter Realize Their Filmmaking Dreams
If your teen or 20-something thinks it would be amazing to work someday on the kind of films they love – don’t let anything or anyone stop them, says filmmaker Doug Vermeeren.
Often, budding filmmakers are discouraged by advice such as, “You have be realistic and get a real job.”
“But what’s ‘realistic’ about denying a deep passion that may give others the same joy that you’ve received from movies?” asks Vermeeren, whose documentaries have been translated into 23 languages worldwide. He is of the director of the new Calgary Smartphone Film Festival.
“What if Spielberg or Scorsese – or anyone who has ever done anything great – took the ‘realistic’ advice and accepted a safe career? We wouldn’t have great things.”
Your son or daughter can do what they love for a career, says Vermeeren, whose latest film project is “Creepy Zombies” (www.creepyzombies.com). He offers pointers for parents who want to help their child realize their dream as a filmmaker.
• Help them polish their people skills. It’s all about relationships. How do you get people to work for you before you have money? How do you convince people to do you favors, such as loaning you a vintage car or allowing filming to take place on private property, essentially for free? Again, your kid will need to sell people on their vision, and show them they’re worth rooting for. Make your passion infectious!
• Make sure they monetize! Films are expensive, but so are medical and law schools. Does that mean aspiring lawyers and doctors shouldn’t make the investment? If they believe in their vision, there are various ways for your son or daughter to raise money for the project, including through Vimeo and YouTube.
• Have them seek education wherever they can find it. Film classes are great, but don’t stop there. They should read books about their favorite directors, and enter every film festival they can. Festivals often offer cash prizes. More importantly, judges will critique the project. Their criticisms may be difficult to endure, but they can also greatly improve a young filmmaker’s efforts.
“There are many obstacles in the way of a film’s completion, so confidence is a must,” Vermeeren says. “The first film is the hardest because figuring out the initial logistics is complicated. The filmmaker needs to get people – actors and anyone with the necessary resources – to commit before there is enough money – and there’s never enough money. People, however, are drawn to passion and determination. They need to put their full heart into it and, eventually, they’ll succeed.”
Often, budding filmmakers are discouraged by advice such as, “You have be realistic and get a real job.”
“But what’s ‘realistic’ about denying a deep passion that may give others the same joy that you’ve received from movies?” asks Vermeeren, whose documentaries have been translated into 23 languages worldwide. He is of the director of the new Calgary Smartphone Film Festival.
“What if Spielberg or Scorsese – or anyone who has ever done anything great – took the ‘realistic’ advice and accepted a safe career? We wouldn’t have great things.”
Your son or daughter can do what they love for a career, says Vermeeren, whose latest film project is “Creepy Zombies” (www.creepyzombies.com). He offers pointers for parents who want to help their child realize their dream as a filmmaker.
• Help them polish their people skills. It’s all about relationships. How do you get people to work for you before you have money? How do you convince people to do you favors, such as loaning you a vintage car or allowing filming to take place on private property, essentially for free? Again, your kid will need to sell people on their vision, and show them they’re worth rooting for. Make your passion infectious!
• Make sure they monetize! Films are expensive, but so are medical and law schools. Does that mean aspiring lawyers and doctors shouldn’t make the investment? If they believe in their vision, there are various ways for your son or daughter to raise money for the project, including through Vimeo and YouTube.
• Have them seek education wherever they can find it. Film classes are great, but don’t stop there. They should read books about their favorite directors, and enter every film festival they can. Festivals often offer cash prizes. More importantly, judges will critique the project. Their criticisms may be difficult to endure, but they can also greatly improve a young filmmaker’s efforts.
“There are many obstacles in the way of a film’s completion, so confidence is a must,” Vermeeren says. “The first film is the hardest because figuring out the initial logistics is complicated. The filmmaker needs to get people – actors and anyone with the necessary resources – to commit before there is enough money – and there’s never enough money. People, however, are drawn to passion and determination. They need to put their full heart into it and, eventually, they’ll succeed.”
Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Press Release 4-26-16
The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office is reporting the following statistics for the week of 4-17 through 4-23 2016:
Seven custodial arrests
Nineteen Warrants served
Two hundred seven traffic stops issuing 273 violations
Six Civil citations for the possession of Marijuana
Deputies applied for two warrants for criminal behavior.
Seven custodial arrests
Nineteen Warrants served
Two hundred seven traffic stops issuing 273 violations
Six Civil citations for the possession of Marijuana
Deputies applied for two warrants for criminal behavior.
College For Convicts Makes Case To Reduce Recidivism
Prison-education advocate Christopher Zoukis makes a data-driven argument to drastically reduce recidivism via education in his award-winning book, College for Convicts: The Case for Higher Education in American Prisons.
“It’s important to make the case to the average American that the United States accounts for 5 percent of the world's population, yet incarcerates about 25 percent of the world's prisoners,” says Zoukis, who himself is incarcerated at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution Petersburg in Virginia.
“Sitting in a prison cell thinking about the future and a job is not an easy task for a number of reasons, but the fact is that for 95 percent of us, a day will come when we are once again free and need to locate and secure employment for a sustainable wage. That’s not easy for most ex-convicts.”
Examining a wealth of studies by researchers and correctional professionals, and the experience of educators, College for Convictsshows recidivism rates drop in direct correlation with the amount of education prisoners receive, and the rate drops dramatically with each additional level of education attained.
Presenting a workable solution to America's mass incarceration and recidivism problems, this book demonstrates that great fiscal benefits arise when modest sums are spent educating prisoners. Educating prisoners brings a reduction in crime and social disruption, reduced domestic spending and a rise in quality of life.
The book was awarded The Montaigne Medal in 2015 for most thought-provoking book.
“In this book, author Christopher Zoukis, a leading expert in correctional education, lays out a convincing case for providing post-secondary education for our incarcerated population. The statistics are well-known: a huge per-capita prison population in the nation, many prisoners serving sentences on nonviolent drug and immigration violations, the financial and human costs of a huge prison population, and the high rate of recidivism, all of which drain our society of valuable human and monetary resources.” – San Francisco Book Review
To further assist in the challenge of making a sustainable life after prison, Zoukis recently published Prison Education Guide, which offers a comprehensive guide to correspondence courses for prisoners – and it has a great role to play in re-shaping how we think about prison education and its effects on our nation and communities.
“It’s important to make the case to the average American that the United States accounts for 5 percent of the world's population, yet incarcerates about 25 percent of the world's prisoners,” says Zoukis, who himself is incarcerated at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution Petersburg in Virginia.
“Sitting in a prison cell thinking about the future and a job is not an easy task for a number of reasons, but the fact is that for 95 percent of us, a day will come when we are once again free and need to locate and secure employment for a sustainable wage. That’s not easy for most ex-convicts.”
Examining a wealth of studies by researchers and correctional professionals, and the experience of educators, College for Convictsshows recidivism rates drop in direct correlation with the amount of education prisoners receive, and the rate drops dramatically with each additional level of education attained.
Presenting a workable solution to America's mass incarceration and recidivism problems, this book demonstrates that great fiscal benefits arise when modest sums are spent educating prisoners. Educating prisoners brings a reduction in crime and social disruption, reduced domestic spending and a rise in quality of life.
The book was awarded The Montaigne Medal in 2015 for most thought-provoking book.
“In this book, author Christopher Zoukis, a leading expert in correctional education, lays out a convincing case for providing post-secondary education for our incarcerated population. The statistics are well-known: a huge per-capita prison population in the nation, many prisoners serving sentences on nonviolent drug and immigration violations, the financial and human costs of a huge prison population, and the high rate of recidivism, all of which drain our society of valuable human and monetary resources.” – San Francisco Book Review
To further assist in the challenge of making a sustainable life after prison, Zoukis recently published Prison Education Guide, which offers a comprehensive guide to correspondence courses for prisoners – and it has a great role to play in re-shaping how we think about prison education and its effects on our nation and communities.
Who Is Winning The Battle Of The Sexes?
Try as we might to achieve a ceasefire, the seemingly never-ending “battle of the sexes” continues to endure.
But a truce is possible with a better understanding of our counterparts, which necessitates defining who we are, says academic D. Scott Trettenero.
“The ‘battle’ is based upon those differences in men’s and women’s nature, which often come into stark contrast as together we face the world’s problems – both large and small,” says D. Scott Trettenero, author of “Master the Mystery of Human Nature: Resolving the Conflict of Opposing Values,” (www.masterthemysterybook.com).
It’s impossible for one side to win this battle in a relationship, Trettenero says. If one side wins, the other side loses and losers are usually unhappy about that proposition. That will ultimately lead to a lose-lose scenario in some form or another. For a relationship to be healthy and functioning, both sides have to feel that their needs are met adequately.
How do we make both men and women win, instead of neither? Trettenero says a few ways to accomplish that include:
• Understand the differences in nature between both sexes. There really is a difference in how each gender views the world. By nature and inherent temperaments, men are more likely to be thinkers who rely more heavily on logic and reason. Conversely, women are more generally run by their feelings and solve problems with their emotional intelligence. Different internal routes are taken to deduce answers to issues, which frequently causes friction between the genders.
• Put the ego aside, listen and understand each other. While a healthy sense of self is important for a healthy life, the ego often causes stubbornness and a proclivity to place the blame on others. It also has a tendency to be “right” and make others “wrong” if they don’t see things their way. That is the perfect recipe for conflict without resolution, which will sink the relationship. Do you want to be right or work together to get positive results? It’s your choice.
• Appreciate that you are just a part of the balance. Psychologist Carl Jung said, “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Whether it’s the workplace or at home, allowing your voice to be part of the duet or chorus, and not a presumed solo performance, is how harmonizing works. If you are not alone, that’s a good thing. You’re part of a balance, enabling you to have greater balance within yourself.
“Imagine if more of us actually lived by this philosophy of balance in all aspects of life,” Trettenero says. “Not only would we have happier personal lives, I think the world would be a much better place for all of us to live.”
D. Scott Trettenero
But a truce is possible with a better understanding of our counterparts, which necessitates defining who we are, says academic D. Scott Trettenero.
“The ‘battle’ is based upon those differences in men’s and women’s nature, which often come into stark contrast as together we face the world’s problems – both large and small,” says D. Scott Trettenero, author of “Master the Mystery of Human Nature: Resolving the Conflict of Opposing Values,” (www.masterthemysterybook.com).
It’s impossible for one side to win this battle in a relationship, Trettenero says. If one side wins, the other side loses and losers are usually unhappy about that proposition. That will ultimately lead to a lose-lose scenario in some form or another. For a relationship to be healthy and functioning, both sides have to feel that their needs are met adequately.
How do we make both men and women win, instead of neither? Trettenero says a few ways to accomplish that include:
• Understand the differences in nature between both sexes. There really is a difference in how each gender views the world. By nature and inherent temperaments, men are more likely to be thinkers who rely more heavily on logic and reason. Conversely, women are more generally run by their feelings and solve problems with their emotional intelligence. Different internal routes are taken to deduce answers to issues, which frequently causes friction between the genders.
• Put the ego aside, listen and understand each other. While a healthy sense of self is important for a healthy life, the ego often causes stubbornness and a proclivity to place the blame on others. It also has a tendency to be “right” and make others “wrong” if they don’t see things their way. That is the perfect recipe for conflict without resolution, which will sink the relationship. Do you want to be right or work together to get positive results? It’s your choice.
• Appreciate that you are just a part of the balance. Psychologist Carl Jung said, “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Whether it’s the workplace or at home, allowing your voice to be part of the duet or chorus, and not a presumed solo performance, is how harmonizing works. If you are not alone, that’s a good thing. You’re part of a balance, enabling you to have greater balance within yourself.
“Imagine if more of us actually lived by this philosophy of balance in all aspects of life,” Trettenero says. “Not only would we have happier personal lives, I think the world would be a much better place for all of us to live.”
D. Scott Trettenero
Be Sure To Get Out And Vote Today
https://www.ballotready.org/
Accident On The Bypass (Car vs Street Sweeper)
It takes a $500,000 payroll for the government to buy a 10-cent pencil
You don’t hear much lately about the paperless office. Since the advent of office computers, paper consumption has gone up exponentially. Even today, many federal agencies archive their email not according to administration requirements under M-12-18 but instead by printing them out and storing the paper.
I googled images of Google’s offices. Sure enough, in the ultimate online information company, paper piles lie everywhere.
Think about pencils. Zillions of them are made every year throughout the world. Even though you rarely see someone actually using a yellow pencil (I use ’em), for about a dime apiece has anyone ever devised a more economical and effective integrated communications device?
No wonder the government spends more than $600 million a year on office supplies using General Services Administration contracts. That’s about 0.15 percent of total government contract spending. Big enough to make office supplies worthy of a “strategic sourcing” effort by the White House and GSA. Or is it? As Jason Miller reports, strategic sourcing for office supplies has worked out about as well as an unplugged electric pencil sharpener. Given the number of people devoted to the problem of strategically buying office supplies, I’m guessing it amounts to a half million dollars in payroll.
More
I googled images of Google’s offices. Sure enough, in the ultimate online information company, paper piles lie everywhere.
Think about pencils. Zillions of them are made every year throughout the world. Even though you rarely see someone actually using a yellow pencil (I use ’em), for about a dime apiece has anyone ever devised a more economical and effective integrated communications device?
No wonder the government spends more than $600 million a year on office supplies using General Services Administration contracts. That’s about 0.15 percent of total government contract spending. Big enough to make office supplies worthy of a “strategic sourcing” effort by the White House and GSA. Or is it? As Jason Miller reports, strategic sourcing for office supplies has worked out about as well as an unplugged electric pencil sharpener. Given the number of people devoted to the problem of strategically buying office supplies, I’m guessing it amounts to a half million dollars in payroll.
More
Monday, April 25, 2016
#BoycottTarget Dominates Top 10 Facebook Trends
The hashtag #BoycottTarget has topped Facebook’s top 10 trends for three days in a row from Friday through Sunday, as hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed the American Family Association’s (AFA) petition opposing the retail giant’s decision to allow men to use women’s changing rooms and bathrooms.
What began as a corporate statement of solidarity with LGBT activists has morphed into a public relations disaster for Target. On Tuesday, Target stated it “welcomes transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.” Target added, “Everyone deserves to feel like they belong.”
Then the AFA launched its #BoycottTarget petition. As of Sunday, the AFA says 444,405 individuals have signed a pledge not to shop at Target.
Citizen comments across social media have highlighted the obvious myriad problems with allowing shoppers to self-define their gender. A core criticism has been whether predators will use Target’s transgender policy to gain access to bathrooms or changing rooms with the intent to video or assault customers.
“This means a man can simply say he ‘feels like a woman today’ and enter the women’s restroom…even if young girls or women are already in there,” states the AFA petition.
As Breitbart’s Warner Todd Huston has reported, video voyeurism remains a serious problem, and bathroom assaults are common.
More
What began as a corporate statement of solidarity with LGBT activists has morphed into a public relations disaster for Target. On Tuesday, Target stated it “welcomes transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.” Target added, “Everyone deserves to feel like they belong.”
Then the AFA launched its #BoycottTarget petition. As of Sunday, the AFA says 444,405 individuals have signed a pledge not to shop at Target.
Citizen comments across social media have highlighted the obvious myriad problems with allowing shoppers to self-define their gender. A core criticism has been whether predators will use Target’s transgender policy to gain access to bathrooms or changing rooms with the intent to video or assault customers.
“This means a man can simply say he ‘feels like a woman today’ and enter the women’s restroom…even if young girls or women are already in there,” states the AFA petition.
As Breitbart’s Warner Todd Huston has reported, video voyeurism remains a serious problem, and bathroom assaults are common.
More
$11 per week raise vs. $277,000 per ballgame
A reader charged me the other day with comparing apples and tennis balls. I prefer to think of it as an imaginative mind making profound connections between two seemingly unrelated phenomena. But that’s just me.
So let’s compare pay and what people are worth, an absurd debate if there ever was one, based on two stories this week.
A member of Congress, Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), has made a connection about two halves of the same apple. She’s worried the 2.1 percent pay increase for uniformed armed services members, if it becomes law, would have to be paid for with money from military readiness accounts. Davis was off in her arithmetic. An E-4 specialist or corporal, who earns $24,000 per year for the first two years, would have $42 a month more, not $11. Maybe she meant $11 a week. Regardless, not enough to cover payments on a new F-150 Lariat. $42 is about the price of a box of 148 Pampers Swaddlers with wetness indicator. If you invested the $42 each month for two years, and could guarantee a 3 percent return, eventually you’d have … not very much.
But Davis has a point. She said, presumably quoting an authority like the Congressional Budget Office, the raise would cost the military $330 million in 2017. And wonders where it would come from.
More
So let’s compare pay and what people are worth, an absurd debate if there ever was one, based on two stories this week.
A member of Congress, Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), has made a connection about two halves of the same apple. She’s worried the 2.1 percent pay increase for uniformed armed services members, if it becomes law, would have to be paid for with money from military readiness accounts. Davis was off in her arithmetic. An E-4 specialist or corporal, who earns $24,000 per year for the first two years, would have $42 a month more, not $11. Maybe she meant $11 a week. Regardless, not enough to cover payments on a new F-150 Lariat. $42 is about the price of a box of 148 Pampers Swaddlers with wetness indicator. If you invested the $42 each month for two years, and could guarantee a 3 percent return, eventually you’d have … not very much.
But Davis has a point. She said, presumably quoting an authority like the Congressional Budget Office, the raise would cost the military $330 million in 2017. And wonders where it would come from.
More
Opposition mounts against NDAA military pay raise, troop increase
A top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee is concerned about some of the main personnel provisions in the 2017 defense authorization bill.
Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the military personnel subcommittee said Wednesday that a higher pay rate for active duty military members and an increase in active duty troops could affect readiness, budgeting and hurt the military further if sequestration returns.
Despite Davis’ apprehension, the subcommittee passed its portion of the Defense authorization bill by a unanimous vote. The recommendations in the markup will be folded into the whole bill and voted on by the full committee next week.
Davis’ unease over the two provisions stems from warnings about military readiness from the services.
More
Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the military personnel subcommittee said Wednesday that a higher pay rate for active duty military members and an increase in active duty troops could affect readiness, budgeting and hurt the military further if sequestration returns.
Despite Davis’ apprehension, the subcommittee passed its portion of the Defense authorization bill by a unanimous vote. The recommendations in the markup will be folded into the whole bill and voted on by the full committee next week.
Davis’ unease over the two provisions stems from warnings about military readiness from the services.
More
Can Trump Take Down Hillary?
Varney then asked about the general election.
“If it’s Trump versus Hillary in November, who wins?” he asked.
Harrington would not discount Trump in a general election against Clinton, the almost surefire nominee after she soundly defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in New York’s primary Tuesday. Both Clinton and Trump sport low favorability numbers with the public.
“I think it would be a lot closer than a lot of people are saying. I think Trump puts a lot of states on the map that Republicans haven’t seen in years and really, when you look at the polls now, until asking the voters about November, it’s purely a hypothetical thing,” Harrington said. “I don’t think the polls really carry much influence so, yeah, I think it would be pretty close, but I think Trump would have a shot and a lot of people are writing him off right now."
More
More
Democrats Turning to Trump?
Democrats in Pennsylvania are changing parties in response to Donald Trump's presidency- at an unprecedented rate. As the Duluth News Tribune reports:
A retired middle school principal was so moved by Donald Trump that he switched his Democratic Party registration so he can vote for him in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary.
So did the daughter of a steelworker, who twice voted for President Barack Obama but says she is “over” the Democrats’ political correctness.
And a husband-wife team of Trump volunteers — she’s a laid-off airport worker, he’s a laid-off truck driver — were Democrats for 30 years, until recently.
“We always voted Democrat,” said Laurie McGinnis, as her husband Ricky hung a Trump banner outside their South Greensburg home. “But not any more.”
Some of these newly minted Pennsylvania Republicans are formalizing a process that began with Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, when conservative-leaning Democrats began shifting away from the party in the faded industrial state.
Others moved abruptly, inspired by Trump and fed up with a party they say no longer speaks their language.
A retired middle school principal was so moved by Donald Trump that he switched his Democratic Party registration so he can vote for him in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary.
So did the daughter of a steelworker, who twice voted for President Barack Obama but says she is “over” the Democrats’ political correctness.
And a husband-wife team of Trump volunteers — she’s a laid-off airport worker, he’s a laid-off truck driver — were Democrats for 30 years, until recently.
“We always voted Democrat,” said Laurie McGinnis, as her husband Ricky hung a Trump banner outside their South Greensburg home. “But not any more.”
Some of these newly minted Pennsylvania Republicans are formalizing a process that began with Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, when conservative-leaning Democrats began shifting away from the party in the faded industrial state.
Others moved abruptly, inspired by Trump and fed up with a party they say no longer speaks their language.
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