A Prime Aim Of The Growing Surveillance State

Several weeks ago, a New York Times article by Noam Cohen examined the case of Aaron Swartz, the 24-year-old copyright reform advocate who was arrested in July, after allegedly downloading academic articles that had been placed behind a paywall, thus making them available for free online.  Swartz is now being prosecuted by the DOJ with obscene over-zealousness.  Despite not profiting (or trying to profit) in any way -- the motive was making academic discourse available to the world for free -- he's charged with "felony counts including wire fraud, computer fraud, unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer and recklessly damaging a protected computer" and "could face up to 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines."
The NYT article explored similarities between Swartz and Bradley Manning, another young activist being severely punished for alleged acts of freeing information without any profit to himself; the article quoted me as follows:

For Glenn Greenwald . . . it also makes sense that a young generation would view the Internet in political terms.
"How information is able to be distributed over the Internet, it is the free speech battle of our times," he said in interview. "It can seem a technical, legalistic movement if you don't think about it that way."
He said that point was illustrated by his experience with WikiLeaks -- and by how the Internet became a battleground as the site was attacked by hackers and as large companies tried to isolate WikiLeaks. Looking at that experience and the Swartz case, he said, "clearly the government knows that this is the prime battle, the front line for political control."

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Obama Promises To Back Transition In Libya

US believes Gadhafi may still be in Tripoli; rebel leader warns fractious forces to stay in line

Latest updates:

• Obama declares Gadhafi regime near an end
• U.S. believes Gadhafi may be dug in somewhere in capital
• Opposition claims to control 95 percent of Tripoli
• Rebel leader warns against lack of discipline, threatens to resign
• Three of ruler's sons reported in custody

The regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi is over in Libya, President Barack Obama said Monday.

In a taped statement Monday afternoon from Martha's Vineyard, Mass., where he has been monitoring developments while on vacation, Obama acknowledged that fighting continued amid a "fluid and uncertain" atmosphere in Tripoli and other major parts of Libya.

But "the situation in Libya has reached a tipping point," he said, and the U.S. stands ready to help opposition leaders rebuild the country.

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Head Lie: CNN Says Insiders On Stock Buying Spree

At the Ames Iowa straw poll a member of Minnesota Change asked Dr. Ron Paul his thoughts on HR 645 the National Emergency Centers Establishment Act.

The answer provided is shocking to say the least, especially coming from an active member of Congress and one who has time and again proven himself to be a trustworthy and knowledgeable resource:

I know that’s their goal. They’re setting up the stage for violence in this country.
No doubt about it.

~ Ron Paul, August 2011

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BREAKING NEWS: Prosecutors Drop Case Against Strauss-Kahn

New York City prosecutors ask judge to drop sexual assault charges against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Source Fox News

Social Security And What You Should Know!

There are Ponzi schemes and then there's Social Security. For the last ten weeks every politician from Obama to Sanders has been harping about the out-of-control social costs of Social Security and Medicare and our immediate need to raise taxes and reduce benefits. These political ideologues are liars because the entire Social Security system is nothing but lies.

According to the Social Security Administration, the average recipient collects $500,000 in retirement benefits but pays in only $278,000. Wrong! What they conveniently don't mention is that if the average beneficiary pays in $278,000 and the employer matches that with an equal amount, SS collects $556,000 per recipient.

Well, actually not, because in addition, the Social Security Administration does not pay one cent of interest on monies that they hold for an average of 35 years per recipient. The compounded interest on $556,000, based on a moderate average of 4% annually beginning with zero and climbing to the total amount paid in at time of retirement, results in about $540,000 of interest. Thus the paid-in amount per citizen is actually $1,096,000. That amounts to $540,000 more than SS pays out. In fact, if the proverbial "Lock Box" into which SS payments are supposed to go actually existed, then the entire present outlay of all SS payments could be made out of the interest collected on funds in that "Lock Box" – the interest alone!

Some years ago I had a good friend who worked as an actuary for NY Life. I asked him to figure out how much NY Life would pay me upon retirement at age 65 if I had paid all SS fees to them along with those I paid as an employer (self-employed). He calculated I would receive $3,400 per month, or $40,800 per year, and if I died before age 85 my wife would get over $80,000. In contrast, my Social Security payout is $1,200, or $14,400 per year, and my wife will get $34,000 when I die.

What the politicians refuse to tell you is that they looted the entire trust fund for among other things paying themselves $178,000 a year in salary, and that their own total individual benefit and payroll packages cost the taxpayers an average of $3.5 million per legislator per year. Of course, there are anomalies like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, whose packages are vastly greater.

Fire them all. We need a new slate!

Source

Trouble In Paradise – Strength Of Swiss Franc Roils Saint-Tropez And Other Cities Across Europe

The bottom line is many homebuyers in Eastern Europe as well as government entities across Europe borrowed money at low interest rates tied to the Swiss franc but with the principal payback owed in Swiss francs. The weakening euro and fear of sovereign debt defaults have made the Swiss franc today the safe-haven currency of choice for the world and as you know it has substantially appreciated against the weakening euro and dollar. Now the borrowers can't afford to pay back the debts in Swiss francs because of the falling values of their home currencies verses the Swiss franc. ... "Like Saint-Tropez, many municipalities across Europe are saddled with loans carrying variable interest rates pegged to fluctuations in the Swiss franc, other foreign currencies or various commodity prices .... Jittery investors have been turning en masse to the Swiss franc and other assets deemed as safe havens amid growing concerns over sputtering economic growth in the U.S. and Europe." – WSJ

Nations Race To Defuse Crisis Between Egypt And Israel

Were the Arab attackers in Sinai against IDF Forces from Gaza or Egypt proper and does it matter? In Israel's defense, reports indicated the attackers were dressed in Egyptian Army uniforms probably led to the warplane mistake but we fear this could become a real crisis in the area because a limited military conflict benefits all sides. ... "Diplomats scrambled to avert a crisis in relations between Egypt and Israel on Saturday, and the Israeli government issued a rare statement of regret for the killing of three Egyptian security officers by an Israeli warplane." While Washington and London might want to temporarily delay military actions we doubt Israel or Egypt really want to avert a crisis. – NY Times

Zero Hour For Gaddafi

Time to end the civil war in Libya, as NATO and US forces must moved east toward Syria in order to take out the Iranian ally of Syria on the northern front of Israel. "The fighting inside Tripoli, combined with rebel advances to the outskirts of the city, appeared to signal the decisive phase in a six month conflict that has become the bloodiest of the "Arab Spring" uprisings and embroiled NATO powers." – Reuters

al-Qaeda Didn't Act Alone

One of the first discussions by the establishment press on the possibility that the 9/11 commission and official version of the attack might be incorrect. ... "According to the Havlish memorandum, Iran facilitated bin Laden's move three years later to Afghanistan. An Iranian intelligence officer met bin Laden there at about the time he first discussed airborne suicide attacks on American cities. During the ensuing period, when bin Laden was using a satellite phone, 10 per cent of his outgoing calls were to Iran.".... "This court document draws on affidavits by former 9/11 Commission staff members, a French investigative magistrate, former CIA officers, and an Israeli intelligence analyst." ... "Saudi Arabia's oilfields are a vital resource, and their protection was a vital priority on 9/11. For that same reason, it was seen as necessary to preserve America's "friendship" with the Saudi regime – even when some of its members were suspected of complicity in the most dastardly terrorist onslaught in history." – UK Telegraph

Ocean City

A truck just got plucked out of the bay at the Ocean City Fishing Center a few hours ago. The truck is owned by a mate of a boat that is docked there. The owner of the boat went to leave in his mate's truck ... The brakes failed, and the truck slowly coasted into the bay. (sorry, pics not in order....)

D.C. Councilmember Spent $135K On Sports Tickets

WASHINGTON - Records show a D.C. councilmember has paid $135,000 for professional sports tickets over the past decade from a fund that councilmembers typically use to help needy constituents.

The Washington Post ( http://wapo.st/nypKqw) reports that 31 percent of the money spent from Councilmember Jack Evans' constituent service fund since 2002 has gone to sports tickets.

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Need for Economic Crimes’ Nuremberg-Type Trials

I prefer the Spanish word “perogrullada” to its English equivalent: truism or platitude.  During my youth we had something closer in meaning to perogrullada when we would confront someone expressing the obvious, saying “no kidding, Dick Tracy!” [Dick Tracy was then a very popular comic strip detective and crime solver.]

Well, the great minds here in America are now telling us that a double-dip recession is beginning to look more as a probability than a possibility.  And I say… no kidding, Dick Tracy!  We actually never came out of the recession, never mind some intermittent data that only served to confuse and mask the true state of most world economies, particularly those in much of the Western World.  How can any student of economics knowing, or even guessing, that there were trillions of dollars of overvalued assets and phony paper still in the books of many major world banks, disregard it as a non-event?  Depending on how many trillion are inflating the books, recession will stay with us, particularly in much of Europe and the United States, for as long as a decade.

Although some of the latter day economic crimes are global in nature and deserve to be tried by an international tribunal, many nations are not quite yet prepared to grant authority on complex economic matters to an international body, such as the International Court at The Hague.  The United States, a nation where much of the techno-financial crimes originated, would never consent to such scrutiny, and the likely indictment of many of its most prominent leaders in banking, finance and politics. No one would expect such masochism to take place for crime which took place, and was allowed at the apex of American economic and political power.

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Gov. O'Malley: Md. Needs To Be Open To New Taxes

OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) - Gov. Martin O'Malley said Maryland must be open to new taxes to address the state's budget problems next year, and he cautioned Saturday that the state must be prepared for serious ripple effects from potentially deep budget cuts by the federal government.

O'Malley, who gave his annual speech to the summer conference of the Maryland Association of Counties in Ocean City, cited three primary shortfalls. The first is a state budget deficit of about $1 billion. He also said action is needed to maintain sewage treatment upgrades in the state. The governor also highlighted shortfalls in funding for transportation infrastructure.

"We will have to make more cuts and at the same time, to protect our children's future, we must be open to new revenues," the Democrat said, adding that "we're all in this together."

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Visualizing What $1.2 Trillion In Secret Fed Bailouts To The Banking Kleptocracy Looks Like

While Bloomberg has done a tremendous job of digging through 29,346 pages of FOIA data, its discovery is not at all surprising [5]: that Wall Street's (not to mention the rest of the world's) biggest banks received a total of $1.2 trillion in previously secret Fed loans, in addition to the trillions in public backstops and loans from the US Treasury. As a reminder, "denominated in $1 bills, the $1.2 trillion would fill 539 Olympic-size swimming pools." The best summary of this ongoing collusion between the Fed and Wall Street, in which it once again for the nth time becomes clear that all the Fed cars about is making sure its banking masters are never impaired, is from the article itself: "Even as the firms asserted in news releases or earnings calls that they had ample cash, they drew Fed funding in secret, avoiding the stigma of weakness." And there you have it: everything that come out of Wall Street is and has always been a lie: either courtesy of 30 years of great interest rate moderation, in which only cheap money adds to banks' top and bottom lines, or due to the Fed making sure the same banks never suffer a dollar loss when central planning fails, such as it does increasingly often lately (and forget about 10(b)-5 violation charges coming from the corrupt regulators: after all they are all in bed together). That Morgan Stanley, Dexia and Citi are, and have been since 2008, dead men walking, is by now known to all financially literate readers: additional confirmation can be found in the Bloomberg article [5], which we won't paraphrase because it has all been said over and over. That said, Bloomberg has done a great visual interactive chart summary of who got what, when, how much, over peak and average metrics and so forth. We urge readers to play around with it (don't worry, it won't break the banks; and if it does the Fed will secretly bail them out again) and every time they consider putting money into our "solvent" financial system.

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Scout Leader Fatally Stabbed On Ind. Hiking Trip

(AP)

BUNKER HILL, Ind. - A 76-year-old man has been stabbed to death while leading Boy Scouts on a hiking trip in northern Indiana, and a suspect who battered his mother and killed a dog near the trail is under arrest, police said.

The assistant scout leader, Arthur L. Anderson, had stopped to identify a tree on the Nickel Plate Trail in Bunker Hill Sunday afternoon when an attacker approached him from behind and stabbed him in the neck, Indiana State Police said in a statement. Witnesses told police the attack was unprovoked.

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BWI Has The Least Amount Of Drag Time

Standing in that airport security line is a drag. But Baltimore-Washington International Airport has the least amount of drag time of any airport in the nation, according to The Washington Business Journal. BWI-Marshall's average security wait line time about five minutes, which ties with Boston's Logan, Charlotte/Douglas, Philadelphia, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit Metropolitan airports. The longest wait time is 31 minutes at Dulles International Airport

Hearings Will Allow Closer Look Into Death Penalty Cases

Attorneys for inmate accused of killing corrections officer want to see prosecutors' case

Attorneys for an inmate accused of killing a corrections officer five years ago want prosecutors to reveal their evidence to determine whether it satisfies the state's death penalty statute.

The hearing, requested by lawyers for Lee Edward Stephens, is now allowed under a rule enacted by the state's highest court in June. In addition to giving opposing attorneys a peek into the other side's case, the hearings would allow judges to weed out death penalty prosecutions that don't satisfy the new law, one expert said.

Stephens' attorneys are hoping that as a result of the hearing, a judge will take the death penalty off the table for their client.

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SpyEye Is The New Cyber Tool

Hackers have a new, nifty little tool in their arsenal. Called "SpyEye," USA Today reports that in the first six months of this year, the tool was used by dozens of online gangs, commanding more than two million infected computers nationwide. SpyEye normally sells for up to $10,000. But, as of last week, the latest, most powerful version of SpyEye could be acquired for just $95. The toolkit can issue commands to networks of thousands of bots to deliver spam scams, conduct hack attacks and booby-trap legitimate websites with infections that create more bots.

Ferrari Auctioned For Record $16.4 Million

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa racecar sold at a California auction Saturday for $16.4 million, the highest amount ever paid for any car at auction.

The price includes a 10% fee for the auction company, Goodings & Co. The name of the buyer was not immediately available. The name of the seller, described in Goodings auction catalog as "a preeminent collector with a passion for Italian automobiles," is also undisclosed.

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O'Malley On Tolls: Bay Bridge More Costly To Paint Than Build

WASHINGTON -- Md. Gov. Martin O'Malley was a guest Monday on WTOP's "Ask the Gov" program.
"It would cost more to paint the Bay Bridge than it did to build it," O'Malley said, referencing an upcoming rise in tolls.
 
Toll increases "need to keep pace" with increased costs, particularly for transportation projects like widening Interstate 95 and building the InterCounty Connector, he said, adding the state will try to "index" a toll increase.
 
The governor continued a discussion he had with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on CNN on Sunday, on their diverging approaches to job growth. Maryland ranks 8th among states for new job growth, which is higher than Virginia, he said, though that state has a lower unemployment rate at 6.1 percent compared to to Maryland's 7.2 percent.

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2011: Year Of Billion-Dollar Disasters

(CNN) -- The Wood family of Piedmont, Oklahoma, barely made it to their storm-proof safe room before a huge tornado struck their house in late May. The Woods survived unhurt but the three-story house was destroyed and their dog, Roxie, disappeared.

The family got a bit of relief when Roxie was found safe almost two miles away a day later."I was very happy. I started dancing," 8-year-old Paisley Wood told CNN's Ed Lavandera shortly after the storm.

That storm was part of a six-day outbreak of an estimated 180 tornadoes that caused 177 deaths, including 157 in Joplin, Missouri. Total losses across 15 states were greater than $7 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Defense Department's Top Personnel Chief Under Investigation

The Pentagon inspector general is investigating the Defense Department's top personnel chief over accusations of mismanagement and abuses of power, National Journal reports. Clifford Stanley is accused by at least four whistleblowers of firing senior staff, neglecting wounded troops programs and being wasteful with limited funds. Stanley is a retired two-star Marine Corps general. He's been on the job since February 2010. A Pentagon spokesperson said they are aware of the complaints and they are being taken seriously

Fill In The Blank 08/22/11

I could really do with some _____________.

Social Security Strained

The stampede for Social Security disability benefits has put an unprecedented strain on the system. Applications are up nearly 50 percent over a decade ago and new Congressional estimates say the trust fund that supports Social Security will run out of money by 2017. The trustees who oversee Social Security are urging Congress to shore up the disability system by reallocating money from the retirement program, just as lawmakers did in 1994. That, however, would provide only short-term relief at the expense of weakening the retirement program. Social Security Administrator Michael Astrue said this is a sign of economic desperation.

Patrick McGrady To Run For Mayor Of Aberdeen

Aberdeen, MD -- August 19, 2011
Patrick McGrady is announcing today his candidacy for Mayor of Aberdeen for the election on November 8, 2011.

Patrick is a long-time member of the Aberdeen community and small businessman who is currently actively investing in his lifelong home, the City of Aberdeen. To spur investment in the city and achieve lower taxes for all residents, McGrady proposes reducing the red-tape at City Hall and getting Aberdeen back to work and creating jobs.

McGrady's campaign will focus on fighting against higher taxes and water bills and working to make Aberdeen an easier place to invest and create jobs.

"After long deliberation with my family, business associates, and friends, I am running for Mayor of our City. Aberdeen has a bright future, but we need City Hall to facilitate investment, rather than scare it away."

McGrady has a long record of standing up for the citizens of Aberdeen against tax increases. He has actively protested the toll increases at the Hatem Bridge and collected signatures to bring to the ballot SB167, the Maryland law that provides in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.  McGrady has also led efforts to reduce property taxes in Harford County and has consistently called for reduced spending and improved government efficiency.

"The City of Aberdeen needs representatives who will advocate for the folks who live here. It's a big responsibility to be Mayor, and I'm ready to take it on and go to work for the citizens of Aberdeen,” Says McGrady, "There's no reason that our city should have budget problems and increased spending year after year. We are perfectly located and we should be able to stand on our own without new and unreasonable taxes. The hard-working families in Aberdeen can't afford any more tax hikes or high water bills."

On the McGrady Campaign website at http://www.mcgradyformayor.com/, McGrady has laid out his “Principles of Responsible City Government for a Prosperous Aberdeen” that explains the vision for his administration in Aberdeen.

"Aberdeen can be great, but we need City Hall to focus on communities to make it happen. That's why I'm running for Mayor."

Check Out Who's Getting The Extreme Makeover

HERE

Treasure Hunters Road Show To Visit Milford

Milford —The Treasure Hunters Roadshow will be in Milford for five days looking for treasures for their worldwide treasure hunt.


Milford residents are invited to come to the AmericINN (699 N Dupont Highway), free of charge, to show off their rare, unusual collectibles and speak with world-renowned antique and collectible

experts. Treasure Hunters anticipates seeing more than 1,200 Milford residents from 9 a.m. to 6

p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30 to Friday, Sept. 2 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept.3.

More.

In-N-Out Burger Sues Maryland Burger Joint Over Logo & Menu Items

The lawyers at In-N-Out Burger have a bit of an issue with a Maryland burger shop called Grab-N-Go, claiming that eatery's name, logo and menu items are a little bit too close to the bigger chain's trademarks.

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Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Child?

People caught with small amounts of marijuana in New York State are supposed to receive no more than a $100 fine, the equivalent of a traffic ticket. Instead, in New York City, many such people are being accused of child neglect, even if they are never charged with a drug-related violation. And some have even lost custody of their children.

Hundreds of child welfare investigations have been initiated as a result of marijuana arrests, though the parents who were caught were not charged or convicted of any crime, the New York Times reported Thursday in a front-page story.

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A Drink Or Two A Day May Lower The Risk Of Alzheimer's

A new review finds that moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk of memory problems and Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

The authors analyzed results from 143 studies, dating back to 1977, which included 365,000 participants in 19 countries. The studies compared non-drinkers to drinkers: 74 of the studies looked at the risk of dementia, while the other 69 focused on memory problems.

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Recession Leads To Jump In Child Poverty Rates

Washington (CNN) -- The Wallaces know what it means to struggle.The recession may have ended two years ago, but the ripple effects continue to be felt across the country, including in the living room of their apartment in a public housing complex in Washington, D.C.

Nathan Wallace lost his job as a painter at a college in March 2008. His wife, Keana, lost her position as a medical assistant in July 2009. Since then, neither has been able to find steady work and they struggle to pay their bills and feed Keana's four children -- aged 17, 14, 9 and 7 -- from a previous marriage.The Wallaces, who used to bring in $5,000 a month, now take odd jobs and sell food to get by.

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County Shoots Down Tighter Poultry House Regs

SNOW HILL -- Another attempt in a series of efforts by Worcester County resident Larry Ward to level tighter restrictions on poultry houses failed to get off the ground during Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting.

Ward, who is no stranger to the lobbying the commission, came before the body with a text amendment calling for a number of limits and setbacks on poultry houses. Specifically, Ward’s proposal calls for limiting the size of poultry houses to under 3,000 birds, and to impose setbacks amounting to 150 feet in the front yard, and 200 feet in the side and rear. Additionally, no poultry houses could be located within 700 feet of any preexisting dwellings or most buildings.

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Today's Survey Question 08/22/11

Do you believe higher end pet food is healthier for your animals?

Plan Maryland Keeps Rolling Along Despite Local Speed Bumps

The brewing discontent by county officials over Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Plan Maryland project at Friday’s Maryland Association of Counties annual meeting is not just due to bristling over state authority or even property. It is money. Both sides are participating in good faith but with no mutual trust.

Continue Reading...

CDC To Test VA Water For Deadly Amoeba

Three people have died this summer from amoebic meningoencephalitis, a condition brought on by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri.

It thrives in warm rivers and lakes during the summer, especially in the South.

One of the deaths came this month, when a 9-year-old Virginia boy died after going to a fishing day camp in Richmond.

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Oregon City Dumps Mayor For Not Showing Up For Work

SODAVILLE, Ore. (AP) - A small city in Oregon has kicked out its mayor for not showing up to work.

The Albany Democrat-Herald reports ( http://bit.ly/q6i2V5) that Sodaville replaced 35-year-old Brady Harrington with the city council's president.

The newspaper says Harrington missed council meetings in June and July, along with skipping three budget meetings.

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GOP May OK Tax Increase That Obama Hopes To Block

Some Republicans are now saying the payroll tax break should expire

WASHINGTON — News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes.

Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so virulently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll tax increase on virtually every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right?

Apparently not.

Many of the same Republicans who fought hammer-and-tong to keep the George W. Bush-era income tax cuts from expiring on schedule are now saying a different "temporary" tax cut should end as planned. By their own definition, that amounts to a tax increase.

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Tony Hawk Is Coming To Frederick

Skateboarding legend and impresario Tony Hawk and his Birdhouse Skateboards team will roll through town Aug. 31 for a one-hour demonstration at Frederick's Hill Street Skatepark.

The stop is part of an East Coast tour for Hawk and his company, Birdhouse, from Miami to New York.

Hawk, 43, will be accompanied by professionals Kevin Staab and Willy Santos, as well as a crew of Birdhouse team amateurs, including Aaron "Jaws" Homoki, Riley Hawk, Shawn Hale, Clint Walker, David Loy, Shaun Gregoire and Elliot Sloan.

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Preacher Accused Of Raping Women Behind Church

Members of the Freedom Free Will Baptist Church aren't condemning pastor

LADSON, S.C. — Dale Richardson was saved at a tent revival 32 years ago, was called to preach the Lord's word in 2006 and, for the past year, had served as pastor at Freedom Free Will Baptist Church, a modest red brick structure on a South Carolina side road running along a railroad track.

Now he's in jail, charged with kidnapping and raping three women at gunpoint — two of them in a trailer behind the church — and kidnapping a fourth who was not sexually assaulted.

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Ticks Spread More Than Just Lyme Disease

WASHINGTON - Ticks are most well-known for spreading lyme disease, but there are other tick-borne diseases to worry about in the D.C. area.
 
There have been 11 case of Rocky Mountain Fever reported so far this year in Fairfax County, and another four in Prince William County, David Gaines, the public health entomologist for Virginia tells InsideNova.com. A case of the disease has also been reported in Maryland.
 
The disease is carried by the American Dog Tick, and caused two deaths last year.
 
The symptoms are a sudden onset of a moderate to high fever, severe headaches, fatigue, deep muscle pain, chills and a rash. They usually appear within two weeks of the bite of an infected tick

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Men Have It As Tough As Women?

Sometimes I wonder if I’m just a masochist. Maybe I just like the pain. Honestly, the only protection I’m sporting against the pending avalanche of invectives from the majority of women who’ll read this article is a thicker skin than lesser men.

I’m hoping, though, that after you’ve kicked your monitor, called me some unflattering names or requested that I perform an act upon myself guaranteed to garner the attention of yoga instructors and porn movie directors alike, you’ll at least take the time to catch your breath and consider my points.

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Economic Myths: We Separate Fact From Fiction

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

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

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

The percentage of income that Americans spend on taxes is the lowest it's been since 1958, according an analysis by USA Today [3]. And with the exception of five years after the 1986 Tax Reform Act, the highest marginal income [4] and corporate tax rates [5] are the lowest they've been since World War II.
Federal taxes as a share of GDP are at their lowest point since 1950 [6], according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office [7]. When all taxes, including state and local, are added up, the proportion of GDP going to taxes has been essentially flat for nearly half a century, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD figures also show that, as a share of GDP, taxes in the United States are lower than in most other developed nations:

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Georgetown Man Faces Child Pornography Charges

GEORGETOWN — A member of the Delaware Army National Guard was jailed this week, facing 25 counts of dealing in child pornography.

Jeffrey H. Dingman, 51, of 23522 Ann Lane, Georgetown, was taken into custody Aug. 15 following the discovery of multiple digital images of child pornography in his possession.

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Why The Mainstream Media Are Clueless About The Religious Right

Though it has shaped American politics for the last 40 years, the religious right still baffles reporters.

Every four years, just as a presidential campaign kicks up, legions of media types who make their living outside the right-wing echo chamber emerge as a militia of Margaret Meads, descending on flyover country, trying to make sense of that exotic phenomenon, the religious right. In the end, those who actually get it are few.

From the attitudes shown by media toward the religious right, you'd never knowthat more than one-quarter of the U.S. population identify as evangelicals,

according to a 2007 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, and among white self-identified evangelicals, 62 percent told Pew in 2006 that they believe the Bible to be the literal word of God.

These, by and large, are the people who determine the outcome of the Republican presidential primary, thanks to the early stacking of states heavily populated by evangelicals, and the propensity of most evangelicals to align with the Republican Party. And yet, we who cover these races often know very little about the voters whose person-on-the-street interviews they're recording, except to know that these people are very different from us in their view of the world. So as everyday doctrines come to light in one or another campaign incident, the media either find themselves aghast at the implications, or simply choose to ignore them.

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Toddler Hit By Stray Bullet While In Mother's Arms

LANDOVER, Md. - A nearly 2-year-old boy was critically wounded after being hit by a stray bullet while in his mother's arms Saturday night.

Prince George's County police say the child was playing outside of the Glenarden Apartments in the 3000 block of Brightseat Road in Glenarden, Md. around 9 p.m. He was hit in the face by a stray bullet during a gunfight between two individuals at the complex, police say.

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Eagle Deaths Investigated At LADWP Wind Power Generation Site

An investigation has been launched into the deaths of migratory birds including several federally protected golden eagles at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Pine Tree Wind Project in the Tehachapi Mountains, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday.

Should the inquiry result in a prosecution, the 120-megawatt facility on 8,000 acres of rugged terrain would be the first wind farm to face charges under the Endangered Species Act, which could cause some rethinking and redesign of this booming alternative energy source.

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Cleveland Rapper Machine Gun Kelly Arrested At Flash Mob Event

Cleveland – Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly was charged with disorderly conduct in Strongsville, Ohio, Saturday night after he attended a shopping center flash mob he had organized via social media, The Plain Dealer reported.

Hundreds of people attended the event at SouthPark Centre in Strongsville, about 20 miles (32km) south of Cleveland, after the rapper -- whose real name is Colson Baker -- invited fans to gather there at 5:00pm for a performance, posting on twitter, "Today we flash mob NO MATTER WHAT! 5pm at SouthPark mall in the foodcourt, wear disguises, dont move to you hear 'Cleveland' play then RAGE!"

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BREAKING NEWS: Stocks Set To Open Week In Bullish Fashion

After dropping by 4% last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is poised for a decent rally Monday morning. With about a half hour to go before the opening bell, futures on the Dow are up 153 points. European markets were generally higher and gold was rallying to a new high.
From Fox News

Lemmingly, We Roll Along

There has been unusually wide (and for the most part supportive) reaction to my article of Aug, 7 on Afghanistan, “More U.S. Soldiers Die in Vain,” which was picked up by other websites as well.

One comment described a cartoon and struck me as particularly — if sadly — apt: “Two lemmings were chatting while standing in the line to the cliff. One says to the other, ‘Of course we have to go over the edge. Anything else would dishonor all the lemmings that have gone before us.’”

And so it goes, thought I, with our Lemming-in-Chief (LIC) Barack Obama … and those who lemmingly follow him.

The President’s and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s words about the 30 dead soldiers, including members of the elite Seal Team 6, were carefully chosen, but bore the telltale earmarks of “the Lemming Syndrome.”

“We will honor the fallen by showing our unyielding determination to press ahead … to move forward with the hard work,” said Panetta on Aug. 8.

President Obama also stressed how “our troops will continue the hard work. … We will press on.” There was also much talk about how the troops were “lost.”

Gosh, I thought, I did not know that the 30 U.S. troops were just “lost” or that they had simply “fallen.” Sounds like maybe we can still find them and help them get up – when the hard truth is that they’re dead.

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McDonnell And O'Malley Spar On CNN's 'State Of The Union'

WASHINGTON - Our local governors have national roles as leaders of the Democratic and Republican governors associations, and they rely on the local economy to make their points on the national stage.

Virginia's unemployment rate is just over 6 percent, Maryland's is just over 7 percent. Both are in the top third of states when it comes to having the lowest unemployment rate.

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Poverty. Just Say It.

Washington - It’s taken a plunging stock market, the deficit debate, foreclosure signs on neighborhood houses and the threat of a double-dip recession to force Americans to say it out loud: Poverty.

Some worry that the conversation about the “P” word is more about the “nouveau poor” than about the 37.3 million people who were living in poverty before the recession. Others say it is the crumbling middle class, changing demographics and raised consciousness of people living closer to the edge that have sparked the conversation.

Talk about poverty is moving beyond the choir of social service organizations, churches and unions, and grabbing the attention of journalists – and even talk show hosts – who are using their platforms to give voice and visibility to the poor.

As the 2012 election comes into focus, it’s urgent, they say, that public and political discussions about the economy move well beyond job creation and into a critical debate about raising the standard of living for all Americans including the poorest of the poor.

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Some South Dakota Schools Cut Costs By Cutting A Day

It'll be a three-day weekend every weekend for many students across the Mount Rushmore state.

As schools start to return to session in South Dakota, more than one-fourth of students in the state will only be in class from Monday through Thursday.

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One In Four California Families Can't Afford Food For Their Kids

San Francisco - One in four California households with children reported food hardship, according to a new analysis of Gallup data released last Thursday by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

“It’s disturbing, but not surprising,” said Kelly Hardy, director of health policy at Children Now.

The report analyzed data gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project’s responses to the question: “Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”

“It sends a clear signal of economic distress, particularly for families with children,” noted James Weill, president of FRAC. “The answers to the question reveal there are times that these families are going without eating a meal, or the parents are skipping a meal for their children, or children are skipping meals.”

California had the second highest number of metropolitan areas with rates of food hardship in households with children in 2009-2010, according to the report.

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