Today's Nature Photo By Scott Phoebus

" Natural Bridge Of Virginia"

To Purchase Photos Email Me At ksphoebus@gmail.com

Obama Revives Talk Of U.N. Gun Control

NRA guests warn international treaty would strip 2nd Amendment rights

Gun rights supporters are up in arms over a pair of moves the White House made last month to reverse longstanding U.S. policy and begin negotiating a gun control treaty with the United Nations.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton first announced on Oct. 14 that the U.S. had changed its stance and would support negotiations of an Arms Trade Treaty to regulate international gun trafficking, a measure the Bush administration and, notably, former Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations John Bolton opposed for years.

Two weeks ago, in another reversal of policy, the U.S. joined a nearly unanimous 153-1 U.N. vote to adopt a resolution setting out a timetable on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty, including a U.N. conference to produce a final accord in 2012.

"Conventional arms transfers are a crucial national security concern for the United States, and we have always supported effective action to control the international transfer of arms," Clinton said in a statement. "The United States is prepared to work hard for a strong international standard in this area."

Gun rights advocates, however, are calling the reversal both a dangerous submission of America's Constitution to international governance and an attempt by the Obama administration to sneak into effect private gun control laws it couldn't pass through Congress.

'Shooting Back' tells of lives saved from attackers. Learn the Bible's defense of bearing arms from a man who defended his church from terrorists

Bolton, for example, told Ginny Simone, managing editor of the National Rifle Association's NRA News and host of the NRA's Daily News program, "The administration is trying to act as though this is really just a treaty about international arms trade between nation states, but there's no doubt – as was the case back over a decade ago – that the real agenda here is domestic firearms control."

He continued, "There's never been any doubt when these groups talk about saying they only want to prohibit illicit international trafficking in small arms and light weapons, it begs the whole question of what's legal and what's not legal. And many of the implications of these treaty negotiations are very much in their domestic application. So, whatever the appearance on the surface, there's no doubt that domestic firearm control is right at the top of their agenda."

GO HERE to read more.

Libtalker Montel Williams: Potential Ft Hood Reaction Equal To WWII Internment Camps

Terrorists Strike U.S. Infrastructure

Despite billions spent on homeland security, the Obama Administration is Bush-league when it comes to defending America’s vital power grid from home-grown terrorists. Known to experts as Sciurus carolinensis, these sly, suicidal saboteurs infiltrate transformer stations at will, denying thousands of loyal Americans their God-given right to power up their Chinese-made flat-screen TVs.

October 24, 2009, Fulton, MO: “”Squirrel causes power failure in Fulton on Saturday,” Fulton Sun.

October 19, 2009, Ogdensburg, NY: “Squirrel causes 8-hour outage,” Watertown Daily Times.

October 10, 2009, Chico CA: “Squirrel causes power outage,” Chico Enterprise-Record.

October 7, 2009, Anderson IN: “Squirrel blamed for power outage to southwest Anderson,” The Herald Bulletin.

October 7, 2009, Fredericksburg VA: “Squirrel Sparks Power Outage,” University of Mary Washington Bullet.

October 2, 2009, Glendale, CA: “Squirrel causes power outage,” Glendale News Press

September 30, 2009, Pekin, IL: “Squirrel causes power outage,” Pekin Daily Times.

September 29, 2009, Flint MI: “Power outage forces Flint hospital to outsource surgery Monday night,” MLive.com

September 17, 2009, Westfield, IN : “Squirrel causes power failure at Westfield substation,” Westfield Star.

September 15, 2009, Oak Ridge, TN: “”Squirrel causes Oak Ridge power outage,” Knoxville News Sentinel.

September 14 2009, Dickinson ND: “Power outage affects 828 MDU customers: Squirrel gets caught in electrical equipment.” Dickinson Press

September 3, 2009, Fort Gordon [Augusta], GA: “Squirrel causes post power outage, fire,” The Signal. (This U.S. Army base is “the largest communications-electronics facility in the free world”)

August 8, 2009, East Lansing, MI: “Squirrel deemed culprit in local power outages,” MSU State News.

June 13, 2009. Los Angeles (Hollywood!), CA: “Squirrel knocks out power to thousands,” L.A. Now.

June 1, 2009, Wilmington, NC: “”Squirrel gets blame for Wilmington power failure,” Wilmington Star News.

May 11, 2009, Erie Township, OH: “Erie Township power failure is blamed on a squirrel,” Toledo Blade.

March 25, 2009, Scappoose, OR: “Squirrel Disregards Electrical Safety, Causes Outage in Scappoose,” Columbia River PUD Newsletter

These anonymous terrorists have no respect for our flag or our traditions. They even stopped the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. What drives them? What is their motivation? We will probably never understand. But we have plenty of tactical and intellegence information on these home-grown monsters, and we certainly know what to do with them.

All we lack is the political will.

Are you listening, Mr. President, or has the power gone out at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

KARYN BENGERMINO JONES HEADED TO VEGAS!

In January, 2009, Karyn Bengermino Jones, 41, of Salisbury began training to participate in women's fitness/figure competitions under the guidance of her personal trainer Jason Burton of Olympia Gym who first sparked her interest in the competitions. She also trains with Charles of Olympia Gym who is known for his hard core training.

Through hard work and determination, including training 90 minutes or more 5 days a week, Karyn sculpted her body and began entering area competitions. Starting with her first competition in May, she placed 4th in Eastern Regionals, 1st in the novice category in Wilmington competition, 1st in the open category in Dover Tristate competition and 1st in the Masters at the Charm City Classic in Baltimore on October 17th.

On Wednesday she is headed to Las Vegas to compete in the 2009 Fitness America Weekend. Approximately 500 men and women from around the country participate - and so far, Karyn is the only woman competing from Maryland.

Her goal is to obtain her pro card at the Yorton Cup in Washington, D. C. in November, 2010.

This is something unique for the Salisbury area. I know all of Karyn's friends wish her great success as she tackles her next challenge

Salisbury Flood Damage

Caption This Photo

Let's Read Between The Lines

Napolitano Announces Obama Administration Plan to Give Amnesty to Illegal Aliens

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday that the Obama administration will push for “immigration reform” by giving the estimated 14 million people who are in the United States illegally a “fair pathway to earned legal status.”

Napolitano said the Obama administration is working to end the recession and put Americans back to work but said giving legal status to illegal aliens will “strengthen our economy.”

“As labor leaders have made clear to me, immigration reform will be a boon to American workers... Think about it: unions will never achieve the best terms for workers when a large part of the workforce is illegal and operates in a shadow economy,” Napolitano said.

(So here's the real deal-- union membership is down, and bringing illegals 'out of the shadows' will be a boon to union membership.
Imagine the look on Pedro's face when the union guy shows up and explains how much he could be making if they vote to go union!
In an economy where the real unemployment rate is nearly 22%, this is what we need-- more competition for the few available jobs, and a big spike in prices and labor costs as unions organize newly-legalized workers.)

Read more here...

DOES CONGRESS LIE?

Everyone understands that the TERRORISTS being transferred from Gitmo to New York for trial, will enjoy the same Constitutional protections of an American citizen. This protection is provided by the XIV Amendment, Section 1, known as the "Equal Protection Clause." The Terrorists are clearly NOT United States citizens.

Now certain members of Congress, advocating health care reform legislation, tell us "Illegal aliens" would NOT be covered by their proposed legislation. While the Supreme Court has not directly ruled on this issue, it has ruled on cases that might give an indication of how they will ultimately rule. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education, they ruled, separate but equal, is not constitutional.

Brown v. Board of education only came into being, because public education existed. It is logical to conclude that if Public Health care comes into being, Illegal aliens could NOT be excluded. Illegal alien children can not now be excluded from public education. It is hard to believe the proponents of public health care, that also claim it would not cover Illegal's are not aware of this.

Joel

Bethany Beach Last Friday

GO HERE to see images.

Corruption Lands Ex-Louisiana Congressman 13 Years

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Prosecutors called a former Louisiana congressman's corruption the most extensive in the history of Congress. His punishment delivered a similar message.

William Jefferson, who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer, was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for taking bribes, the longest term ever imposed on a congressman for bribery.

The Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans for nearly 20 years was convicted in August of taking about $500,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa. Jefferson is appealing the conviction.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III said public corruption was "a cancer on the body politic."

"There must be some sort of greed virus that attacks those in power," said Ellis, who lamented that so many other congressmen have been convicted on similar charges.

But the other punishments weren't quite as severe. For example, former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., was sentenced to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty in 2005 to taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for taking bribes from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and ex-Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, served a 7-year sentence after being convicted in a 2002 trial of bribery and racketeering.

Defense attorneys were counting on those cases when they asked for less than 10 years; prosecutors wanted Jefferson, who is 62, to serve 27 years.

GO HERE to read more.

Female Robber Sought

Location: Happy Harrys, 1120 Pulaski Highway, Bear, Delaware, New Castle County

Date of Occurrence: Sunday, November 15, 2009, at 5:00 a.m.

Suspect(s): Black female, 25 – 35 years old, 180 – 190 pounds, large build, wearing a dark colored coat, jeans and a bandanna covering her hair. This subject was last seen fleeing the scene in a gray colored SUV.

Resume: Early this morning, Troopers responded to the Glendale Plaza Happy Harrys in reference to a robbery investigation.

Officers learned that at about 5:00 a.m. this morning, a black female entered the store, responded to the check out counter and asked to buy a pack of cigarettes. The clerk advised that after removing the pack of cigarettes from under the counter he started to ring up the sale. He said the suspect stated in a low voice, "This is a stick up and I have a gun in my pocket.”

The suspect then demanded cash and the clerk complied. The bandit took the loot and placed the money in her pocket. She then, very calmly, walked out of the store and got into a gray in color SUV. The SUV headed to eastbound Route 40 and a performed left turn to northbound Route 7.

There is no surveillance video in this case to disseminate as of yet. Anyone who may have information pertaining to this robbery is asked to call Troop 2 at 302-834-2630 ext. 6 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Tip-3333.

How To Wake Up Your Partner In The Morning

Lockheed

During WW II

Lockheed During W.W.II (unbelievable 1940s pictures). This is a version of special effects during the 1940's. I have never seen these pictures or knew that we had gone this far to protect ourselves.

During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from a possible Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting to make it look like a rural subdivision from the air.

Before


And After:

The person I received this from said she got back an interesting story about someone's mother who worked at Lockheed, and she as a younger child, remembers all this. And to this day, it is the first pictures of it she's seen. Another person who lived in the area talked about as being a boy, watching it all be set up like a movie studio production.. They had fake houses, trees, etc. and moved parked cars around so it looked like a residential area from the skies overhead.

"Bo" The Dog

This would be funny if it weren't so true!!!


My father-in-law had prostate surgery. We brought him to the hospital at 7:30 a.m., and he was operated on at eight. We were amazed when the hospital called at noon to tell us he could go home.

Two months later our beagle, Bo also had prostate surgery. When I brought him in, I asked the veterinarian what time I should pick him up. The vet told me Bo would remain overnight.


"Overnight?" I said."My father-in-law came home the same day."

The vet looked at me and said, "Bo's not on Medicare!"

Sacrificing Americans

by Victor Davis Hanson
NRO’s The Corner

Many in the media are arguing there is nothing more to the Major Hasan mass murder than derangement and the various personal "issues" that "set him off."

But there are two considerations that argue against such an interpretation. First, we look for patterns in all cases of individuals' shooting others on a mass scale. Hasan gave every indication that he was channeling his own personal sense of frustration into a larger Islamic writ against the West — as have some 20 other killers since 9/11 who have shot, stabbed, or run over innocents at malls, airline counters, military facilities, and Jewish-affiliated centers.

If we once focused on postal conditions and security at post-office installations when workers (between 1986 and 1997) snapped under the thematic pretense of job stress, and if we investigated the nexus of video games, drugs, cults, and counter-culture alienation when suburban youths went on shooting sprees, then it seems legitimate to look for commonalities when someone self-identifies as a rather radical Muslim and shouts "Allahu Akbar!" as he fires — in the same manner that the mad driver in North Carolina, or the killer in Seattle, or the homicidal driver in San Francisco afterwards said they were acting out of Islamic religious fervor against Jews or Westerners.

Second, if we counted up the number of "lone wolf" incidents and added it to the number of Islamist terrorist plots that have been foiled since 9/11, we would arrive at more than 40 incidents of terrorist killings or efforts to kill on a wide scale. If anyone could find a comparable series of anti-abortion terrorist acts, backlash attacks on Muslims, anti-Semitic attacks perpetrated by non-Muslims, Jewish attacks on Middle Easterners, or radical environmentalist killings, then one could argue that the public was unduly focusing on Islam.

It seems, instead, that about every three to four months, either a single Muslim male will shoot or run over somebody and tie the violence to some sort of jihadist theme, or a group of Muslim males will be caught trying to blow up something or shoot someone, usually on a mass scale.

The general conclusions I would draw, based on the statements of the authorities, those in the military, the media, and the general public, are something like the following:

(1) Most people do not wish to be smeared as bigots, racists, or anti-Muslim, and therefore they will resist suggesting that such violence fits a pattern involving radical Islamic hatred.

(2) Most people assume either that the authorities will break up the plot before it reaches 9/11 proportions, or that the lone-wolf attacker will kill someone else far away, and therefore conclude that they are safe enough and it is a tolerable problem.

(3) Most also accept that (a) most Muslims in the U.S. are not violent, and therefore (b) we have no way in a free society to pick out in advance possible bad actors, and (c) the most likely preemptive strategies — screening imams, infiltrating "charities," monitoring hate literature, reporting radicals at work, and screening web postings — are all fraught with civil-liberties and political-correctness land mines, and are as likely to boomerang on the authorities or well-intended citizens as they are to produce firm evidence that deters an Islamist killer before he acts.

Bottom line: The society at large, driven by the sermonizing of its elites, has come to an unstated conclusion that, unfortunately, a few Americans will have to be sacrificed from time to time, for the larger goal of establishing the fact that Americans in no way think Muslims are any more likely than any others to commit either random or premeditated terrorist violence. I think that is the initial lesson of Fort Hood. (I remember something similar from the 1980s and 1990s, when we accepted that to be a diplomat or a soldier stationed in the Middle East or Africa or anywhere in the Muslim world meant that there was some chance that your barracks, camp, hotel, embassy, or ship would be attacked — and very little chance that the U.S. government would do much in response other than launch an occasional ineffectual cruise missile or offer a bombastic "this will not stand" speech.)

If the lone-wolf incidents start happening ten times a year, rather than three or four, and if one or two terrorist plots succeed and result in several hundred killed, then attitudes may change (at least for a while).

Source

Click It Or Ticket News Release

Maryland State Police Launches Click It or Ticket To Help Save Lives

During 2007, more than 14,000 people in passenger vehicles died in crashes while unbelted. About half of these lives could have been saved if they had been wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. As sad as this statistic is, the numbers are even worse at night than during the day, according to new figures released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Nationwide in 2007, 14,464 passenger vehicle occupants died in highway crashes during evening and night-time hours (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.), and fully 63 percent of those killed in crashes (8,319) were not wearing their seat belts. By contrast, during daylight hours, 45 percent (5,917) of those killed were not wearing seat belts.

That’s why the Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack is joining state and local law enforcement agencies and highway safety groups in supporting an aggressive national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign from November 16-29, 2009. Police will be ticketing unbelted vehicle occupants around the clock—night and day.

Seat belts are the single most effective piece of safety equipment in a vehicle, yet NHTSA observational studies show that nearly one out of five Americans still fails to wear a seat belt when driving or riding in a motor vehicle.

Stepped-up law enforcement activities will be conducted during the 2009 Click It or Ticket mobilization period from November 16-29, 2009. The mobilization is being supported by an $8 million national paid advertising campaign, which, along with additional state advertising, will encourage every driver and passenger to buckle up, especially at night.

For more information, please visit http://www.nhtsa.gov

WOMAN'S PERFECT BREAKFAST

She's sitting at the table with her gourmet coffee.

Her son is on the cover of the Wheaties box.

Her daughter is on the cover of Business Week.

Her boyfriend is on the cover of Playgirl.

And her husband is on the back of the milk carton

Maryland State Police Berlin Barracks

Location: 10328 Tudor Road, Ocean City, Worcester County, MD
Crime: Second degree assault (Domestic Assault)
Victim: Maria Hernandez
Accused: Francisco Hernandez

Narrative: On above date and time, Troopers from the MSP Berlin Barracks responded to the above address for a domestic assault. Upon arrival they made contact with the victim Maria Hernandez who advised that she was assaulted by the above suspect her husband Francisco Hernandez. Troopers observed that the victim had bruising and swelling under her left eye. She also had a chunk of her hair pulled out during the altercation. The suspect was extremely intoxicated and was placed under arrest and charged with second degree assault.
Disposition: Taken before the Worcester County Commissioner.

NEW KFC DINNER

We all remember the "Hillary Meal"---

small breasts and big thighs.

Now, KFC has announced an

addition to their chicken dinners.

It's called the Obama Cabinet Bucket.---

It consists of nothing but

left wings and a$$holes.

Obama’s “Bush Did It” Narrative

An Interview with VDH
by Jamie Glazov
Fontpage Magazine

I’d like to talk to you today about radical Islam and the Obama administration’s ability and inclination, or lack thereof, to confront it.

What’s the best way to begin this discussion?

Hanson: Thanks Jamie.

The paradigm of discussing radical Islam is entirely different after January 20. Jihad has been institutionalized now as a benign personal odyssey rather than explicatory of the sort of murderous attacks we have seen since 1979 directed at the West, most recently with the four Islamic plots to kill Americans by radical Islamists since Obama has taken office.

Obama’s interview with Al Arabiya and his Cairo speech had two clear themes: his own personal heritage makes him uniquely qualified to undo the Bush damage; and we in the West have been equally culpable for the strained relations.

This sort of moral equivalence is little concerned with any redress of pathologies that in fact led to 9/11: Western appeasement of, or indifference to, radical Islam, whose extremism was the natural dividend of a region torn by enormous oil wealth, and age old statism, tribalism, gender intolerance, and dictatorship. In the era of Obama, radical Islam and the West merely have different narratives, rather than a fascistic creed trying to destroy the notion of Western freedom and tolerance.

Abroad as both sides refocus on the Afghanistan theater, somehow Obama is more demoralized by our victory in Iraq than the Islamists are by their defeat; and we have forgotten in the Bush ‘reset’ button rhetoric that support for bin Laden and suicide bombing — given the terrible dividends they earned — had plummeted in polls in the Middle East. In addition, in the “Bush did it” Obama narrative there was no mention of the arrest of Dr. Khan, the Syrian exit from Lebanon, the surrender of the Libyan WMD stockpiles, or the absence of another 9/11.

The result is that many in the radical Islamic world — especially after Obama’s serial trashing of the Bush-era security protocols like retaps, intercepts, and Guantanamo — may well be emboldened to think that either America questions its successful efforts at thwarting another attack since 9/11, or in some strange way sympathizes with some of the writs against itself.

FP: What explains the Obama administration’s behavior and viewpoint in this context?

Hanson: a) Obama is a product of his education and early life, in which America being culpable for a variety of sins was the gospel , as we see from his associates like Ayers, to his minister like Wright, to the general force of his community organizing in Chicago, to his most partisan voting record in the Senate;

b) Obama, like many elites on the left who thrived in the academic and organizing/grant-giving world, understood that his exotic name, his mixed heritage, his father’s Muslim roots could all be combined to present some sort of revolutionary aura within the confines of the university that would pay career dividends, and then among the general public, if packaged with a charismatic and conciliatory persona, could make one feel comfortable and good about one’s supposed liberality; he thrived on being a ‘revolutionary’ lite figure in a non-threatening manner, and it’s hard to give up a winning hand at this late stage;

c) Obama has almost no real experience with an America outside the victim politics of Chicago and the melodramas of the university. He has never run a business, never worked hard with his hands, never had to meet a budget, never understood how money is made, but instead essentially pleaded his cause to win fellowships and grants, dispensed someone else’s money as a board member, made claims against government (”organizing”), and written his autobiographies at a young age.

Life, in other words, was pretty easy, as the path from Harvard Review to Nobel Prize Winner was characterized by soothing rhetoric and a host of people who, for a host of psychological reasons of their own, wished to give him something for something he didn’t earn. Now he oddly seems surprised that not all those abroad are as wowed as the 2008 American electorate.

FP: What is at stake if Obama continues along this path?

Hanson: We have an eerie resemblance to Carterism circa 1977: the sermons, the apologies, the trashing of predecessors, the moralizing, the transnational utopianism — all manifested in naiveté about Khomeini, the selling out of the Shah, the downplaying of a communist threat, which, in 1-2 year’s time (it takes a while for others to size up an American president), earned communist expansion in Central America, the Soviets in Afghanistan, the hostage taking in Teheran, uncertainty in Korea, the rise of radical Islam and a weakened U.S. military.

In Obama’s terms that would mean earning a nuclear Iran, a Russia convinced that we will not object to corrections in its regional map, a China eyeing opportunities everywhere, South America reverting back to a sixties credo, Europe oddly remorseful that it got what it wanted (a soft-power, Europeanized America), Israel without an ally, and many in the Mideast convinced that America is now sympathetic to its expansive and non-ending grievances. We may well see a new era of nuclear proliferation as never before.

FP: How would you compare Obama to Clinton and Carter in terms of damaging American and Western security?

Hanson: It is still early, but the two are instructive. Carter’s self-righteousness ended in disaster and was corrected by Reagan. Clinton, for all his appeasement of radical Islam, the defense cuts, Mogadishu, Haiti, and dithering in the Balkans, at the end became finally somewhat Trumanesque: he removed Milosevic without a lot of bipartisan support, he enforced the no-fly-zones and called for regime change in Iraq, and he tried to project a centrist bipartisan foreign policy, albeit replete with the normal apologies and liberal flourishes. But he was not Jimmy Carter.

Obama? He has a choice; he can correct as Clinton did domestically in 1995 and save his presidency, or he can go the finger-wagging, sanctimonious route blaming the public and the “right” for not appreciating his moral genius. That will lead to political oblivion in 2012. It’s his choice at this point, and predicated on how large the midterm correction and what will be his attitude to political rebuke.

FP: And the American people stand where?

Hanson: Us in the meantime? The people will have to go through a period of national uncertainty and hope that the prior strength of the United States still offers a deterrent to would-be aggressors. I omit the foreign policy effects of borrowing $2 trillion per year to dispense on constituents, but when we hit $20 trillion in aggregate debt at a 8-10% service fee, the U.S. then will have very few options at home or abroad. So, let us hope that either Obama or the voters, get wisdom in the meantime.

FP: Victor Davis Hanson, thank you for joining Frontpage Interview.

Source

"The Joe Albero Show"

"WHO LOVES YOU BABY" - Kojak

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Power Point Presentation as promised:











Music from "Kojak". I thought it was appropriate for this Show, wouldn't you agree?

We know the sound quality isn't that great and we promise to have everything changed very soon, hopefully by the next Show. The important part, (IMHO) is the content. Enjoy.

Friday The 13th Ocean City Storm Aftermath

Our Friend Skip sends in these photos to get us up to speed in Ocean City.

Major Hwy. Rt. 13 North & South Closed

While the Eastern Shore has been hit with four straight days of rainfall, yesterday afternoon things started getting pretty serious traffic wise. By mid day water from Middleneck Pond started overflowing onto the right hand north bound lane of Rt. 13, (first two pictures).

By mid evening emergency personnel from the City of Salisbury and State Highway closed off the right hand lane and ultimately closed Rt. 13 alltogether by Friday evening.

Many travelers became quite upset because of the way they chose to re-route everyone through a residential neighborhood. Some said it was a 4 mile detour. I personally did not take the detour so I can't be confident of that being a fact. However, they could have warned people much earlier, even as far back as business Rt. 50 and brought people around to the Bypass and back to Rt. 13.

Some wondered why they didn't detour people onto Northwood Drive. Well, Northwood Drive was also under water. What I have provided above is probably more detailed, (photo wise) than most other news sources.

The cause of the problem was the failure to maintain the ditches and pipes. The main blockage was just below the railroad tracks near the Knights of Columbus on Emerson Drive. The pipes that go underneath the R/R Tracks were completely blocked off and they could not find proper equipment to reach down that far and through an additional 10 feet of water to remove the debris. So the City brought in pumps and is currently trying to pump some 6,000 gallons a minute over top of the R/R Tracks and back into the Johnson Lake area. So far they have seen about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch drop in the water level, so don't expect things to clear up any time soon.

Besides all the trash and debris, one of the biggest concerns right now is the structural integrity of Rt. 13. Once the water is removed, many are concerned there may be a huge sink hole and this could be a serious reality.

I spoke to many local residents who said they had been complaining to the former Mayor Barrie Tilghman about the City keeping up these streams and clearing out the debris but they said that the former Mayor kept telling them it wasn't the City's responsibility. However, if you look at all the signs around the property the signs clearly say it is City property, Keep Out! No fishing is allowed and it is enforced by the City.

Because the City failed to maintain these ponds and streams, the photos above are the end result of yet another infrastructure problem in the City. Taxes continue to rise and we were subjected to many years of listening to Barrie Tilghman, Mike Dunn, Lynn Cathcart, Shanie Shields and Gary Comegys stating that "Growth Pays For Growth," this is yet another prime example of how full of sh!t these people were/are.

Money went to paying off questionable developer reimbursements instead of keeping up the infrastructure and now businesses may pay the most serious price should Rt. 13 get shut down. Other major funds went into a new $14,000,000.00 Fire Station, millions more into Fire Equipment, $84,000,000.00 went into a useless Waste Water Treatment Plant and the list just goes on and on. I was even informed today that there are huge poy holes on the brand new North East Collector Road!

Salisbury is a mess Folks. We have some new people in Office and quite frankly I doubt anyone is going to take the bull by the horns and face these major issues head on. Mind you, the Mayor that does do this will probably not last more than one term because they'll be freezing up every ounce of spending and hiring in order to slightly catch up to all of the screw ups Barie Tilghman left behind.

You don't, (with all due respect) hire a House Wife to run a multi million dollar City. There are major responsibilities in taking care of a City the size of Salisbury, most of which were ignored.

What Does Rick Pollitt Mean? The Perfect Storm is Brewing

On the last page of the fancy Power Point Presentation put together by Wicomico County Executive; Rick Pollitt, he has this quote:

“The time has come for our community to consider the quality of public services we expect and demand from our county and then make the necessary commitment to pay for them.” - Rick Pollitt

One must wonder what this means. On the surface it sounds reasonable I suppose, but let's take a deeper look at the Wicomico County's financial woes and Rick's history and where he is going with all of this rhetoric.

First, here is the entire presentation of his proposal On page 3; Rick claims that Property Tax receipts are controlled by the Revenue Cap. Only partially true Rick. Who among us has not had higher property tax bills in the last couple of years? That is called higher tax revenue. The reason is simply our property assessments have gone up significantly. This has happened at the same time that property values have diminished by a large margin. It's no secret that Pollitt wants to repeal the revenue cap. He has publicly stated as much. From this, I assess he desires to cover his inability to deal with the financial problems of this county. He hasn't been shy about it either, as he has been a public proponent for repealing the revenue cap since his election.

Now his solution is to take most of the money from our reserves, leaving 17 M left over, I presume, to get him through the next election, as he sits back to let the council sort out the immediate cuts. The problem is, by his own presentation, is that we will have an estimated 33 Million Dollar budget shortfall in FY11 through FY14. What is his solution for that shortfall? No one knows.

Pollitt claimed, during his last campaign, that he worked from scratch in setting the city of Fruitland’s annual budgets. If that were true, wouldn’t he have noticed the inefficient in county programs and eliminated them after three years in that office? No. Suddenly we have a huge crisis's on our hands and Pollitt chooses to hang the Wicomico County Council out to dry. Better them than him. All he has to do is propose to take all the reserves and get himself through FY210 and let the council take the fall for the cuts.

Regardless, Pollict has done little to counter act the financial storm that has been brewing for some time. Not even bothering to to put up the needed defensive political sand bags on the assault of our poultry farmers , which is one of the undisputed largest industry in our community. I can't say the council has made much effort to create a better business climate either. Not that being #2 state in the country for worse business enviroment helps much. Clearly the leadership in our state has set the tone.

A large part of the current problem can be squarely attributed to the Maintenance Of Effort requirement.

In short, Mr. Pollitt's refusal to take on the state for requirement that the county provide 46% of it's revenue or $50,000,000 to the BOE, without any control of that budget, or any demand the BOE share in the finical crisis is problematic. A band aid measure by the council was made earlier this year for a Maintenance of Effort Waiver of $2,000,000 Transferring $2 million from the school system’s school construction fund – built from surplus funds from prior years’ appropriations and not from this year’s budget. “ (It) appears consistent with the State education law and the purpose of that fund” was the determination by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, after a legal matter regarding the move.

A deeper look at the county structure is required to adaquately deal with this financial problem. Unfortunately Pollitts' proposal is a band aid approach and appears to be a Perfect Storm to repeal the Revenue Cap. Instead of dealing with the issue of overgrown government and unrealistic state demands for funding for an entity the tax payer or the council has no budget control of, Pollitt chooses to pacify. What Wicomico needs is someone who will fight for this county and make the hard decisions that are best for our collective future.

To quote Ted Shea -- "we gotta make them feel the pain."

Cross posted at Right Coast

Delmar Mayoral Candidate Tom McGuire

This is McGuire's avatar. I hope his voters don't have mentally challenged children or family members.

Troopers Seek Whereabouts Of Laurel Man

Location: Trussum Pond Self Storage, 11323 Trussum Pont Road, Laurel, Delaware, Sussex County

Date of Occurrence: September 27, 30th, and October 24th, 2009

Suspect(s): Marc R. Wells, 46, who is last known to reside along Hitch Pond Road in Laurel, Delaware, Sussex County

Resume: For several weeks now, detectives have been investigating a series of burglaries to storage units at Trussum Pond Self Storage in Laurel, Delaware.

This investigation led to the identification of Marc R. Wells of Hitch Pond Road in Laurel as the person responsible. On November 11th, detectives, armed with a search warrant, responded to Wells’ Hitch Pond Road address and recovered thousands of dollars worth of stolen property, including a 1995 Dodge Ram pick-up truck. Also recovered were electronic items and power tools.

Unfortunately for investigators, Mr. Wells was not home at the time of the search warrant and they have been unable to locate him since.

Warrants are currently on file charging Marc Wells with several counts of Burglary (felony) and Receiving Stolen Property (felony). Anyone who may know of his whereabouts is asked to call Troop 5 at 302-337-8253.

Audrey Scott Elected Chairman Of The Maryland Republican Party

Bowie, MD – Today former Bowie Mayor and Secretary of Planning in the Ehrlich Administration Audrey Scott was overwhelmingly elected Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party by Republican Central Committee members at their convention to serve the remainder of former Chairman Jim Pelura’s term that expires at the end of 2010.

Scott, a party activist for years, was excited by the Republican prospects in 2010. “I thank the members of the central committees for giving me the opportunity to strengthen our party and make us competitive in all Maryland races next year,” said Scott. “There is a wave for change building. Recent Republican victories from the top of the ticket down including those in Virginia and New Jersey clearly show that voters are tired of governments at all levels playing poker on wasteful projects while turning to taxpayers to cover the table stakes. In Maryland, Republicans need to catch the wave and become the agents for change that voters are demanding.”

Scott has run for office ten times and elected six including three times as the Mayor of Bowie. She gained national attention in 1981 when she ran against Steny Hoyer for an open U.S. House seat. Hoyer won by a small percentage. She has been actively involved in Republican politics in a number of areas from a foot soldier at the grassroots level to precinct and campaign chairman to an outstanding fundraiser. In 1981, Scott was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she served for 12 years as General Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Community Planning and Development and, in the George H.W. Bush administration, as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Congressional Relations.

“When I ran for governor, (Audrey) was one of the most solid people in my campaign and I could always count on her,” said former Maryland House of Delegates Minority Leader and gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbrey. “She’s not a person who tells you something and you have to worry about it. If Audrey tells you it’s going to get done, it gets done.”

“She knows the issues; she knows the players and she is someone who is dedicated to winning next year and bringing us together,” said Louis Pope, National Committeeman from Maryland,

Today's Nature Photo By Scott Phoebus

These Photos Were Taken In Downtown Laurel De. Today

The Ducks Don't Seem To Mind The Flooding

SBYnews Moves Into League of Its Own

As a contributing columnist for SBYnews it has been an honor and privilege to have participated in the success of this media. Looking back I've witnessed first hand how this electronic media has catapulted itself into Delmarva's No.1 news provider slot - now surpassing The Daily Times.

The Daily Times is no longer considered our areas primary MSM source - that is of course unless one redefines the very meaning of MSM to now mean - Main Stream Media No Longer.

As with the other up-and-coming rising media celebrity stars including FOX News, Rush Limbaugh's -EIB Network, now SBYnews is blazing new territorial grounds garnering its fair share of the major news market. SBYnews audiences are continuing to expand and its influences are not only being felt State-wide and regionally -but also - nationally.

So why has this website become so popular among our regional viewers? I believe that part of the allure lies in the fact that SBYnews has primarily immunized itself from the adverse influences that have tainted and tarnished the image of the traditional mainstream news medias.
There are stark similarities between FOX News and SBYnews in that they both have not succumbed to the temptation to being 'bought off' by special interest.

Bottom line - SBYnews is continuing to grow leaps and bounds while others are on the verge of collapse. I wish to personally thank all of the other contributing columnist for helping to make SBYnews No. 1. Their future looks to be extremely exciting.