DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Millionaires, Drug Dealers And Senators Caught Using Food Stamps Illegally This Year
What do an Iranian millionaire, a state senator, a drug dealer and a polygamist have in common? They all face charges of misusing food stamps this year.
Around 44 million people received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also called food stamps, in 2016. The whole program cost about $70 billion.
Only one cent of each dollar is spent fraudulently, according to the most recent available data from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which manages the program. Still, that’s about $700 million dollars of federal taxpayer money that was likely wasted this past year.
Here are few of the strangest cases of food stamp fraud in 2016.
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Around 44 million people received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also called food stamps, in 2016. The whole program cost about $70 billion.
Only one cent of each dollar is spent fraudulently, according to the most recent available data from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which manages the program. Still, that’s about $700 million dollars of federal taxpayer money that was likely wasted this past year.
Here are few of the strangest cases of food stamp fraud in 2016.
More
Major labor union to slash budget in wake of Trump victory
"Because the far right will control all three branches of the federal government, we will face serious threats to the ability of working people to join together in unions. These threats require us to make tough decisions that allow us to resist these attacks and to fight forward despite dramatically reduced resources," said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry in staff message dated Dec. 14, according to Bloomberg. The tough decisions include a 10 percent budget cut starting in January and an additional 20 percent cut starting in 2018.
SEIU was a major supporter of the Democrats in the last election, spending $21.6 million to help elect them, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The union had high hopes that a win by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Democratic gains in Congress would cement efforts by the Obama administration to aid union organizing, boosting the movement's sagging numbers and treasuries.
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Ohio Gov. Kasich Signs the 'Guns Everywhere' Bill
Ohio Governor John Kasich has signed a bill that expands the state's current laws for concealing and carrying a firearm.
Senate Bill 199 lifts the blanket prohibition on firearms at those locations [colleges campuses and day care centers] and the public area of airport terminals, before security checkpoints. College boards of trustees would have to vote to allow concealed firearms; child care centers and in-home daycare would have to post a sign if firearms aren't allowed.
The law also allows active-duty military to carry concealed guns without a permit and prohibits employers from banning permit holders from bringing guns into company parking lots. It takes effect in 90 days.
The bill faced fierce opposition from the likes of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, Ohio Manufacturers' Association, Ohio Municipal League, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as the usual suspects involved in the national gun control movement.
Also included in the bill is a prohibition on employers who want to ban employees from carrying a firearm in their car.
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Senate Bill 199 lifts the blanket prohibition on firearms at those locations [colleges campuses and day care centers] and the public area of airport terminals, before security checkpoints. College boards of trustees would have to vote to allow concealed firearms; child care centers and in-home daycare would have to post a sign if firearms aren't allowed.
The law also allows active-duty military to carry concealed guns without a permit and prohibits employers from banning permit holders from bringing guns into company parking lots. It takes effect in 90 days.
The bill faced fierce opposition from the likes of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, Ohio Manufacturers' Association, Ohio Municipal League, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as the usual suspects involved in the national gun control movement.
Also included in the bill is a prohibition on employers who want to ban employees from carrying a firearm in their car.
More
House leadership proposes plan to penalize live-streaming lawmakers
Seeking to prevent another live-streaming "viral video moment" from taking place on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has introduced a rules package that would fine and punish lawmakers for recording photos and video from the floor.
The move comes in response to Democratic lawmakers, who in June live-streamed a sit-in on the House floor over gun control legislation. Democrats organized the sit-in to protest Republican lawmakers’ decision not to bring to the floor a gun-control bill, which if passed would have broadened background checks and prevented people on no-fly lists from buying guns.
When the House turned off the cameras inside the chambers during the sit-in, the participating lawmakers turned to live-streaming services such as Periscope and Facebook Live to broadcast the sit-in, which spanned for 25 hours. The live-streams, which attracted considerable publicity and millions of views, were in turn broadcast live on C-SPAN and other TV networks, which had lost access to live video when the House cameras were shut down.
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5 Years Into Common Core, 15-Year-Olds Behind 35 Countries in Math
Students in the United States have fallen behind kids in many other countries, according to the two largest international benchmarking tests in math, science, and reading. Five years into the implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (commonly known as "Common Core"), 15-year-old kids in the United States lag behind their peers in 35 other countries in math.
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015 showed American students holding stagnant in science and reading, compared to results in 2012 and 2009, but far behind their previous results in math. Out of the 69 countries (and territories) tested, the United States ranked 39th.
In math, Singapore took the top spot, followed by four Chinese provinces: Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, and BSJG. Japan scored below Taipei and above BSJG. Many other countries ranked higher than the U.S., including Canada, Finland, Ireland, Vietnam, Russia, Australia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Malta, and Israel.
America's 15-year-olds performed better in science and reading, only lagging behind 21 countries in each of those subjects. In both, Singapore took the top spot. Countries like Japan, Estonia, Ireland, Slovenia, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom still beat the U.S. in both subjects. While the U.S. ranked below average in math, America was roughly in the middle of education systems for these two subjects.
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The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015 showed American students holding stagnant in science and reading, compared to results in 2012 and 2009, but far behind their previous results in math. Out of the 69 countries (and territories) tested, the United States ranked 39th.
In math, Singapore took the top spot, followed by four Chinese provinces: Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, and BSJG. Japan scored below Taipei and above BSJG. Many other countries ranked higher than the U.S., including Canada, Finland, Ireland, Vietnam, Russia, Australia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Malta, and Israel.
America's 15-year-olds performed better in science and reading, only lagging behind 21 countries in each of those subjects. In both, Singapore took the top spot. Countries like Japan, Estonia, Ireland, Slovenia, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom still beat the U.S. in both subjects. While the U.S. ranked below average in math, America was roughly in the middle of education systems for these two subjects.
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A professor called Trump’s election an ‘act of terrorism.’ Then she became the victim of terror.
For weeks now, nightmares have been jolting Olga Perez Stable Cox awake several hours before sunrise. Sometimes she’s able to fall back asleep, but more often she finds herself lying in the dark, body tossing and thoughts racing, until she’s reduced to tears.
The morning offers fleeting distractions but no permanent relief — a cup of coffee, some Christmas decorating, maybe a phone call from concerned friends.
But the blinds in her home will remain closed, her door will remain locked and the formerly outgoing professor — a woman who has always thrived by connecting with others — will spend another day isolated by fear, weeping, too scared to walk outside.
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Netanyahu: Israel to Re-assess Its U.N. Ties After Settlement Resolution
Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.
The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before -- a decision that Netanyahu called "shameful".
"I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.
"I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said.
The Israeli leader did not name the institutions or offer any further details.
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The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before -- a decision that Netanyahu called "shameful".
"I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.
"I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said.
The Israeli leader did not name the institutions or offer any further details.
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NOI 12-26-16 Somerset Dwelling Fire Beechwood Street
NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION
Date: 12/26/16
Time: 8:55 p.m.
Location / Address: 11836 Beechwood St. Princess Anne, Somerset Co.
Type of Incident: Fire
Description of Structure / Property: One story wood frame single family dwelling
Owner / Occupants: Muir Enterprises, Inc. / Sherry Hebb
Injuries or Deaths: None
Estimated $ Loss: Structure: $10,000 Contents: $5,000
Smoke Alarm Status: Present, not activated
Fire Alarm / Sprinkler Status: n/a
Arrests(s): None
Primary Responding Fire Department: Princess Anne
# of Alarms: 1 # Of Firefighters: 20
Time to Control: 20 minutes
Discovered By: Occupant
Area of Origin: Kitchen
Preliminary Cause: Accidental, grease fire while cooking
Additional Information: The occupants are being assisted by the Red Cross
Palestinian Terrorists Target West Bank, Eastern Jerusalem Following UN Anti-Israel Vote
TEL AVIV — It’s been less than 48 hours since the UN Security Council passed a resolution declaring the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem “occupied Palestinian territory,” and already there have been two attempted Palestinian terrorist attacks and one successful attack targeting Jews in those very areas.
It is too early to tell whether the violence represents a spike in Palestinian terrorism following the UN vote or whether the incidents were part of the year-and-a-half-long trend known as the so-called Palestinian wave of terror that seems to escalate and then slow down.
The attacks could also be motivated by the religious holidays of Chanukah and Christmas currently being celebrated.
Asked for comment, Israel Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Breitbart Jerusalem that Israeli forces have heightened security leading up to Christmas, Chanukah and New Year’s celebrations.
“These days are relatively sensitive and so therefore emphasis is being placed on heightened security,” he said.
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It is too early to tell whether the violence represents a spike in Palestinian terrorism following the UN vote or whether the incidents were part of the year-and-a-half-long trend known as the so-called Palestinian wave of terror that seems to escalate and then slow down.
The attacks could also be motivated by the religious holidays of Chanukah and Christmas currently being celebrated.
Asked for comment, Israel Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Breitbart Jerusalem that Israeli forces have heightened security leading up to Christmas, Chanukah and New Year’s celebrations.
“These days are relatively sensitive and so therefore emphasis is being placed on heightened security,” he said.
More
Court rules police can shoot a dog if it moves, barks when officers enter a home
The decision stems from an incident in Battle Creek, Michigan where, according to court documents, police shot and killed a dog while executing a search warrant on a home looking for drugs.
Mark and Cheryl Brown filed a petition with the court to hold the officers and the city responsible for the deaths of their dogs in 2013.
They said that the officers “unlawfully seized their property in violation of the Fourth Amendment when officers shot and killed two dogs while executing a search warrant.”
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The Democrats Are Officially the Anti-Israel Party
There can be no possible pretense at bipartisanship any longer. Freed, as he told then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2012, to have more “flexibility,” with no more elections in sight, lame-duck Obama and UN Ambassador Samantha Power expressed their true colors by reversing decades of U.S. policy and allowing a profoundly anti-Israel resolution to pass.
There were some Democrats who objected. Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the Obama administration’s failure to veto the resolution “extremely frustrating, disappointing and confounding.” Then again, Schumer opposed the Iran nuclear deal last year in word, only to allow let it stand in deed. Other Democrats, such as Sen. Dianne Feinsten (D-CA), supported Obama’s decision to allow the Palestinian-backed resolution declaring Israeli settlements illegal.
Feinstein’s case, articulated in a press statement, is worth noting, because it is the administration’s ideological line:
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New Year's poll: Americans hopeful for a better 2017
55 percent believe their lives will be better next year, a big jump from last year's poll
Emotionally wrenching politics, foreign conflicts and shootings at home took a toll on Americans in 2016, but they are entering 2017 on an optimistic note, according to a new poll that found that a majority believes things are going to get better for the country next year.
A look at the key findings of the Associated Press-Times Square Alliance poll:
SO HOW WAS 2016?
Americans weren't thrilled with the year. Only 18 percent said things for the country got better, 33 percent said things got worse, and 47 percent said it was unchanged from 2015.
On a personal level, they were optimistic about 2017.
Fifty-five percent said they believe things will be better for them in the coming year than in the year that just concluded. That's a 12-point improvement from last year's poll.
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Accident On Rt. 50
Mr. Trump to inherit 100+ court vacancies, plans to reshape judiciary
Donald Trump is set to inherit an uncommon number of vacancies in the federal courts in addition to the open Supreme Court seat, giving the president-elect a monumental opportunity to reshape the judiciary after taking office.
The estimated 103 judicial vacancies that President Obama is expected to hand over to Trump in the Jan. 20 transition of power is nearly double the 54 openings Obama found eight years ago following George W. Bush’s presidency.
Confirmation of Obama’s judicial nominees slowed to a crawl after Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015. Obama White House officials blame Senate Republicans for what they characterize as an unprecedented level of obstruction in blocking the Democratic president’s court picks.
The result is a multitude of openings throughout the federal circuit and district courts that will allow the new Republican president to quickly make a wide array of lifetime appointments.
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The estimated 103 judicial vacancies that President Obama is expected to hand over to Trump in the Jan. 20 transition of power is nearly double the 54 openings Obama found eight years ago following George W. Bush’s presidency.
Confirmation of Obama’s judicial nominees slowed to a crawl after Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015. Obama White House officials blame Senate Republicans for what they characterize as an unprecedented level of obstruction in blocking the Democratic president’s court picks.
The result is a multitude of openings throughout the federal circuit and district courts that will allow the new Republican president to quickly make a wide array of lifetime appointments.
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Only 34,000 Migrants Out of 1.2million in Germany Have Found Work
Since the massive influx of migrants to Germany–namely from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea–experts are saying that only a small fraction of them have found employment, and mostly for temporary contracts.
According to the German government’s Institute for Labour Research (IAB), a mere three percent of migrants who are seeking asylum in Germany have managed to find work, reports the DailyMail.com.
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Trump mocks Obama for saying he could have beaten him if he were allowed to run again
Donald Trump blasted Barack Obama on Monday for claiming he could have won a third term in the White House if he had been the Democratic nominee instead of Hillary Clinton.
'President Obama said that he thinks he would have won against me,' the president-elect tweeted. 'He should say that but I say NO WAY! - jobs leaving, ISIS, OCare, etc.'
Disappearing jobs, the shortcomings of the Obamacare medical insurance overhaul law and the rise of the ISIS terror army were major campaign themes Trump leveraged to draw lines of distinction between himself and the Democrats.
Moments after the first tweet, Trump delivered a broadside to the United Nations following an anti-Israel vote that Obama chose not to veto.
'The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!' he wrote.
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'President Obama said that he thinks he would have won against me,' the president-elect tweeted. 'He should say that but I say NO WAY! - jobs leaving, ISIS, OCare, etc.'
Disappearing jobs, the shortcomings of the Obamacare medical insurance overhaul law and the rise of the ISIS terror army were major campaign themes Trump leveraged to draw lines of distinction between himself and the Democrats.
Moments after the first tweet, Trump delivered a broadside to the United Nations following an anti-Israel vote that Obama chose not to veto.
'The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!' he wrote.
More
Trump Says He's Closing Foundation, But Democrats Want More
The New York attorney general's office has been investigating the foundation following media reports that foundation spending went to benefit Trump's campaign. A spokeswoman says the foundation cannot close until the investigation is complete.
Trump said in a statement Saturday that he has directed his counsel to take the necessary steps to implement the dissolution of the Donald J. Trump Foundation, saying that it operated "at essentially no cost for decades, with 100 percent of the money going to charity."
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Black suspects more likely to be shot by black cops, not white officers
Despite an intense national focus on high-profile police shootings involving white officers and black men, a new study shows that white officers are not statistically more likely to shoot and kill a black suspect.
Among a sample of 2,699 fatal police killings between 2013 and 2015, the study found that the odds of a black suspect being killed by a black police officer were consistently greater than the odds of a black suspect getting killed by a white officer.
“When either the violent crime rate or the demographics of a city are accounted for, we find that white police officers are not significantly more likely to kill a black suspect,” wrote co-authors John R. Lott Jr. and Carlisle E. Moody of the Crime Prevention Research Center.
The study found that among the sample of those killed by the police, 45 percent were white, 25 percent were black, and 16 percent were Hispanic.
“White officers are significantly less likely than black officers to kill black suspects, and they are not statistically significantly different from Hispanic, other race, and unknown race police officers,” the study said, excepting one model where Hispanic officers were marginally more likely to kill black suspects.
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Among a sample of 2,699 fatal police killings between 2013 and 2015, the study found that the odds of a black suspect being killed by a black police officer were consistently greater than the odds of a black suspect getting killed by a white officer.
“When either the violent crime rate or the demographics of a city are accounted for, we find that white police officers are not significantly more likely to kill a black suspect,” wrote co-authors John R. Lott Jr. and Carlisle E. Moody of the Crime Prevention Research Center.
The study found that among the sample of those killed by the police, 45 percent were white, 25 percent were black, and 16 percent were Hispanic.
“White officers are significantly less likely than black officers to kill black suspects, and they are not statistically significantly different from Hispanic, other race, and unknown race police officers,” the study said, excepting one model where Hispanic officers were marginally more likely to kill black suspects.
More
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