Let's Get Real With The Numbers

Not long ago the Daily Times did an article implying Wicomico County is healthy business and job wise. This just isn't true.

While Wicomico County continues to grow about 1% a year, that means there are around 900 new people each year searching for jobs.

In the last 12 quarters, (3 years) the employment rate has DROPPED each and every quarter. So just where is the Daily Times getting their figures from? Is it more of the same, simply printing numbers the County hands them?

Later today we will provide factual documents supporting our numbers. Numbers that even the Daily Times have admitted are more accurate. In fact, the reporter stated they wished they had those figures before the published their article.

However, WE wouldn't have known about their numbers if we hadn't read their article first.

Do you believe there are 900 new jobs coming to Wicomico County every year? Are you seeing that kind of growth? Are you satisfied with the wages being offered with the jobs that are available?

It's no wonder Ireton wants to build more affordable and section 8 housing projects. We must do better than this Ladies & Gentlemen. We must demand much more from our elected officials. We cannot survive off of entitlements. I believe we're better than that. I also believe with the proper encouragement we can do better.

Pointing fingers and blaming others because you don't get your way is not the answer. Filing petitions to defame people who have worked very hard to protect our interests is not the answer.

We must unite. We must work together. Each party has great ideas. We simply need people in office who can unite those ideas and make them work. However, a total vision has to be put on the table first and entitlements, well, we've seen the inner city of Baltimore. We know what's happened to Detroit.

When you have your local media filling you with false numbers, eventually time will run out and there will be no turning back to fix things. WE are smarter than this. WE can deal with the numbers, face them head on and work as a team to make it better.

Salisbury News has been your alternative to the local Main Stream Media. Do I believe crime is down 42% in Salisbury, come on, seriously. While I am very pleased to hear crime is down, I do not believe crime has dropped 42%. Mind you, there has to be a serious drop in crime for them to come out with these numbers and we should be very proud of our local law enforcement. However, NEVER has there been a time in which we can all say we believe what we're hearing from our local politicians. They simply have a way with words, (like the Daily Times) in which they speak the truth, just not the whole truth. As an example, part 1 crime might be down but not all crime, if you get my drift.

Getting back to the employment numbers, we'll try to get you the real numbers by the end of the day.

Fatal Car Crash On Naylor Mill Road

There's been a major accident on the overpass on Naylor Mill Road. Looks like a fatality. Naylor Mill Rd., Business Rt. 50 & Log Cabin Roads will be closed down for quite some time.

UPDATE: Salisbury News has been told there could be two fatalities in this accident.

GOVERNOR O’MALLEY, GOOGLE ANNOUNCE FREE WEBSITES FOR MARYLAND BUSINESSES

Google Launches Maryland Get Your Business Online Program

ANNAPOLIS, MDstrong> – Governor Martin O’Malley and Google today announced the launch of Maryland Get Your Business Online – a program designed to support Maryland businesses by providing the tools and resources to establish a website, find new customers, and grow their business. Increasing the number of small businesses online is one of the best ways to expand the Maryland economy.

Maryland Get Your Business Online is an easy and fast way for Maryland businesses to gain an online presence. Over the next year, participating Maryland businesses can go to http://www.marylandgetonline.com/ to get a free website as well as free tools, training and resources to help their business succeed online. Google is partnering with Intuit to provide its popular Intuit Websites offerings for free including an easy-to-build website, a customized domain name and web-hosting for one year.

In addition, business owners from across Maryland are invited to the kickoff event at the Legg Mason Tower, 100 International Drive in Baltimore on July 17th from 8:30am-3:00pm. Participants will learn how to build their own website, as well as attend sessions devoted to growing and promoting their business online.Businesses simply limit their exposure to customers if they don’t have a website. Small businesses need to be online because that’s where their customers are. While 97% of Americans look online for local products and services, 53% of Maryland small businesses do not have a website or online presence. In America today, no matter the size of the business, having a website is as vital as having a phone.

“Maryland is a recognized leader in giving entrepreneurs and small business owners the tools and resources they need to serve their vital role as the lifeblood of our economy,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “Getting every Maryland small business online is one more critical step we can take together to stay competitive and expand opportunity in this rapidly-changing, 21st century economy.”

“The perception that getting online is complex, costly and time-consuming has prevented many Maryland small businesses from taking the first step,” said Scott Levitan, Director of Small Business Engagement at Google. “This program makes it fast, easy and free for businesses to get online."“As a leading provider of small business solutions, we have witnessed the growth small businesses have seen from getting online,” said Jennifer Creager, Product Manager at Intuit.

“We are excited to offer Intuit Websites for free to all the wonderful small businesses in Maryland and to help them create a customized presence that represents their unique brands.”Both the website and event registration are currently available. For further information, please visit http://www.marylandgetonline.com/

Today's Advertiser Of The Day 7-6-12

Thank God Its Friday 7-6-12

What will you be doing this weekend?

A Comment Worthy Of A Post

The mayors tax hike was cut by a super majority 4 to 1 vote. The mayor and Mitchell like to point fingers at Campbell, Cohen and Spies, while Shannie also voted to not raise taxes. Kudos to all four. We all know Shannie would usually vote opposite Campbell and Cohen in the past, I take it she felt very strongly to vote down Ireton's budget.The reason Ireton wants low income housing downtown: to follow a plan to relocate all the low income housing on the west side of the river, so it can be flipped and sold as high dollar river front property.There are already some McMansions just a stones throw from the WWTP on the river. So don't let anyone fool you that those old run down homes on the west side don't have futuristic value.They just need to get the current dwellers out first.

Police-involved shooting in College Park; Univ. of Maryland campus placed on lockdown

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
A police-involved shooting has occurred in College Park.

Police say at around 10 p.m., police were confronted by three men firing guns at Melbourne Place and Route 1. Police returned fire and struck one of the suspects.

Authorities say another suspect jumped in a police car and took off. He was later arrested at a nearby McDonald's restaurant.

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WSW/Deer Run Check

Ed Colbert (left), owner of Deer Run Golf Club in Berlin presents a check for $10,174.81 to Rota Knott, Worcester County coordinator for Women Supporting Women. The donation is the proceeds of a June 9 golf tournament held at Deer Run and hosted by Colbert and his wife, Margaret, to benefit the Berlin-based chapter of the local breast cancer awareness and support organization.

Today's Survey Question 7-6-12

What temperature do you set your A/C on?

US Army Band To Play Free Concert In Salisbury On Friday July 6

78th U.S. Army Band Concert
DATE: July 6, 2012
TIME: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
LOCATION: Salisbury Government Office Building
125 North Division Street

On Friday, July 6, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce & The City of Salisbury are sponsoring an evening of music by the 78th Army Band, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm on the steps of the City/County Office building, on the corner of Main & Division streets. The 78th Army band was formed in August of 1943 and played for troops during World War II, all over Europe. Currently, the band calls Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ "home", and they will be playing several shows in the area surrounding the Fourth of July holiday week.

Bring your family, your friends, and your lawn chairs for a great summertime evening of music in downtown Salisbury. For more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 410/749-0144

With Trial Set, Mother of Towson Student Killed in Hit and Run Says She Can Forgive

The man police say killed her son is set for trial in September.  Howard County’s Cecilia Roe hopes suspect Diogo Facchini pleads guilty in the hit and run death of her boy, 22-year-old Matthew Cheswick, knowing a trial will be torture on her family.  But if she had the chance to look Facchini in the eye, she'd say something many parents just couldn't.  She sat down to talk on-camera for the first time as new details emerge in her son’s case.

It has been just 37 days since Matthew Cheswick's death.  But in that short time, his mother, Cecilia Roe, has done the unthinkable.  She has summoned the strength to forgive the man police say ended his life.  She says, "Matthew wouldn't want me to hold a grudge.  And I know Matthew has forgiven him."

It is an incredible act of selflessness, following what Cecilia refers to as ‘The tragedy’.  She explains, "I'm closing the doors on parts of Matthew's life but I can't close doors on Matthew's life because I want to remember he was part of my life.  He did exist.  He was a huge part of my life."

It’s a part of her life that has been ripped away for good.  Matthew, a Towson University student, was killed Memorial Day weekend in Ocean City while crossing Coastal Highway.  Police say Diogo Facchini hit him with his car and kept on driving.  Newly released court documents show the 30-year-old blew a .27 on an alcohol test.  Roe says, "I don't even know really know what to call it.  It was more than an accident.  It was more than irresponsibility."

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Wicomico Adds Additional Cooling Center

Health Officials Encourage Residents to Recognize Dangers of Heat Related Illnesses
(Salisbury, MD) During these extreme heat conditions, the Wicomico County Health Department is encouraging residents to be careful, stay cool, and keep hydrated. While temperatures and heat indices rise to record breaking levels, so does the risk for heat related illness. Health Officials are asking residents to remain indoors in the air conditioning, during the extreme heat.

The MAC Senior Center, Snow Hill Road, Salisbury will be open on Saturday, July 7 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm for people 50yrs old and older needing relief from the heat. Bring snacks and any medications with you. Shore Transit is providing transportation to and from the center. Call them at 443-260-2300.

Infants, young children, young athletes, obese persons, those older than 65 years of age, and those persons with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or a mental illness are at highest risk for heat related illness. Family, friends, and neighbors who are at high risk will need extra help and residents should consider how they can help someone they know get to an air-conditioned place, if needed.

Heat rashes and muscle cramping are usually the first signs of heat related illness, and may lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Here is how you recognize heat exhaustion and heat stroke and what to do:

Signs and Symptoms:
Heat Exhaustion Heat Stroke (medical emergency-call 911)
*Heavy sweating
*High body temperature (above 103 degrees)
*Weakness
*Hot, red, dry or moist skin
*Dizziness or Fainting
*Rapid and strong pulse
*Nausea or vomiting
*Possible unconsciousness
*Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
*Confusion or disorientation

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What to Do:
Heat Exhaustion: Move individual to a cooler location, lie them down and loosen clothing, offer small amounts of water to sip. If vomiting occurs, seek medical attention immediately.
Heat Stroke: Call 911 immediately – this is a medical emergency. Move the person to a cooler environment. Reduce the person’s body temperature with cool cloths or even a bath. Do NOT give fluids.

“Heat related illnesses are a serious health threat and can be life threatening,” says Lori Brewster, Wicomico County Health Officer. “I urge residents to drink lots of water, stay cool, and check on their neighbors. If air conditioning is not available, residents should consider visiting the local mall or cooling center. It is important during times like these to look after one another, and help ensure each other’s safety.”

For local and updated cooling center information, facts on heat related illness, or additional tips on how to stay cool, visit the Wicomico County Health Department's website at www.wicomicohealth.org.

Former Governor Marvin Mandel and Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey Review Votes

Former Governor Marvin Mandel and Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey review the votes of all of Maryland’s legislators each year to rate them and inform the public who is voting to promote Maryland business.

The MBRG ratings are an important way of gauging who is working to promote business and thus jobs and economic vitality in the State. If your elected official is not pro-business call them and ask why not. You can support the environment and other necessary interests without destroying our tax base and jobs. If those representing you can not get that right, vote them out and replace them with those who will protect your jobs and create an inviting atmosphere for businesses to come to Maryland and flourish. Click the link to see the Roll Call of MBRG legislative voting ratings.

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Three Charged in Cemetery Vandalisms

The Aberdeen Police Department has arrested one adult and two juveniles in connection with two vandalisms at a local cemetery.

Both vandalisms occurred at the Grove Presbyterian Cemetery on Bel Air Avenue where 126 headstones were overturned. The damage was estimated at a total of $20,000. Some of the headstones will require professional restorations.

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The Socialization Of America Is Economically Impossible

I understand the dream of the common socialist. I was, after all, once a Democrat. I understand the disparity created in our society by corporatism (not capitalism, though some foolish socialists see them as exactly the same). I understand the drive and the desire to help other human beings, especially those in dire need, and the tendency to see government as the ultimate solution to all our problems. That said, let’s be honest; government is in the end just a tool used by one group or another to implement a particular methodology or set of principles. Unfortunately, what most socialists today don’t seem to understand is that no matter what strategies they devise, they will NEVER have control. And, those they wish to help will be led to suffer, because the establishment does not care about them, or you. The establishment does not think of what it can give, it thinks about what it can take. Socialism, in the minds of the elites, is a con-game which allows them to quarry the favor of the serfs, and nothing more.

There are other powers at work in this world; powers that have the ability to play both sides of the political spectrum. The money elite have been wielding the false left/right paradigm for centuries, and to great effect. Whether socialism or corporatism prevails, they are the final victors, and the game continues onward…

Knowing this fact, I find that my reactions to the entire Obamacare debate rather muddled. Really, I see the whole event as a kind of circus, a mirage, a distraction. Perhaps it is because I am first and foremost an economic analyst, and when looking at Obamacare and socialization in general, I see no tangibility. I see no threat beyond what we as Americans already face. Let me explain…

Socialism Is Failure

A country that feels the need to socialize has, in my view, already failed culturally. It is an open admission by the public that they are unwilling or unable to take responsibility for their own prosperity. If a society is not able to function in a healthy economic manner without the force of government (an abstract entity often manipulated by corrupt ideals) resulting in the creation of artificial and precarious balance using fiat stimulus and overt taxation, then the people of that country are not remotely independent and self sufficient. That is to say, only a nation filled with pathetic overgrown children would actually need government to enforce mandatory “charity”, welfare, healthcare, etc. A truly healthy society supported by strong and self sustainable individuals would not beg to be parented by government. If a country is so unbalanced as to stoop to socialism, then its ailments already extend far beyond anything government (even good government) could ever hope to cure.

Obamacare, its tentative application, and those who blindly support its introduction in the U.S., are an example of a weak people groveling for handouts they do not work for nor deserve. Socialism is defeat. It is a waving of the white flag by a society and the trading of that culture’s liberty for the illusion of fiscal security. It is the act of an adolescent and naïve populace groveling for an allowance from their “motherland”.

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Shootings Report From Rahmaland

Girl, 10, shot as she played in front of open West Side hydrant
A 10-year-old girl was critically wounded and a man also was shot late Tuesday as they played at an open hydrant in the West Side’s Austin neighborhood. The pair was among at least 16 people shot in the city Tuesday evening.

Two women critically hurt, among 3 shot in Uptown drive-by
Two women are in critical condition and another man was wounded in a possibly gang-related drive-by shooting in the North Side’s Uptown neighborhood Tuesday night.
The shooting happened in the 4400 block of North Racine Avenue at 7:28 p.m., according to police News Affairs.
Two …

Four shot in drive-by on Southwest Side
Four people were shot Tuesday evening in the Southwest Side Marquette Park neighborhood.
The shooting occurred in the 6000 block of South Rockwell Avenue at about 5:38 p.m., according to police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala.
Four males, between 17 and 18 years old, were...There were 14 shootings in all.

Source

My Two Cents On LIBOR-GATE

So much has been written on LIBOR-GATE that I have chosen to refrain from the subject until now. It is a generally confusing topic for many not in the financial industry (and many that are) so I want to cut right into the heart of the matter. First of all, in the CFTC’s very own press release about the scandal they wrote:

“The American public and our markets rely upon the integrity of benchmark interest rates like LIBOR and Euribor because they form the basis for hundreds of trillions of dollars of transactions and affect nearly every corner of the global economy,” said David Meister, the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement.

So even the layperson can understand these are the most important interest rates in the world and are used to price hundreds of trillions in ponzi (and legitimate) products. The key thing however is that the bankster crooks are going to try to spin this as if they were only doing it during the height of the crisis and were working diligently with the Central Bank cabal to “save the financial system, planet earth and potentially the solar system as a whole.” The mainstream media is mainly reporting this as a financial crisis phenomena. This is patently untrue.
In fact, as we see from the UK’s Financial Service Authority (FSA) in this Final Notice to Barclays, the bank derivatives traders were in many cases instructing others where to price LIBOR in order to make their positions profitable. See here:

On numerous occasions between January 2005 and June 2009, Barclays’ Derivatives Traders made requests to its Submitters for submissions based on their trading positions. These included requests made on behalf of derivatives traders at other banks. The Derivatives Traders were motivated by profit and sought to benefit Barclays’ trading positions. The aim of these requests was to influence the final benchmark LIBOR and EURIBOR rates published by the BBA and EBF.

Notice the year 2005. Prisons were invented for people like this. Let’s stop playing games, lock these criminals up and claw back every dollar they ever made.

For the full FSA Notice click here.

Source

PSC Chairman Promises Full Investigation Of Storm Response

The head of Maryland's Public Service Commission says all of Maryland's major electrical utilities will have to file reports on how they managed power restoration.

Doug Nazarian said Thursday the utilities will have to file the major storm reports 21 days after power is restored.

The chairman says regulators are now focused on restoration efforts.

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An American Declaration of Independence From Big Government

The Declaration of Independence, signed by members of the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, is the founding document of the American experiment in free government. What is too often forgotten is that what the Founding Fathers argued against in the Declaration was the heavy and intrusive hand of big government.

Most Americans easily recall those eloquent words with which the Founding Fathers expressed the basis of their claim for independence from Great Britain in 1776:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

But what is usually not recalled is the long list of enumerated grievances that make up most of the text of the Declaration of Independence. The Founding Fathers explained how intolerable an absolutist and highly centralized government in faraway London had become. This distant government violated the personal and civil liberties of the people living in the 13 colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America.

In addition, the king's ministers imposed rigid and oppressive economic regulations and controls on the colonists that was part of the 18th-century system of government central planning known as mercantilism.

"The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States," the signers declared.

At every turn, the British Crown had concentrated political power and decision-making in its own hands, leaving the American colonists with little ability to manage their own affairs through local and state governments. Laws and rules were imposed without the consent of the governed; local laws and procedures meant to limit abusive or arbitrary government were abrogated or ignored.

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WELFARE STATE IS COLOR BLIND

You’ll love the surprise ending to this little story. I wonder why Obama, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton never provide some of the statistics provided by Mr. Williams. Some facts are inconvenient to a false storyline.

The Underclass
By Walter Williams

Anthony Daniels, who writes under the pen name Theodore Dalrymple, is a retired prison doctor and psychiatrist who tells of his experiences with his patients in “Life at the Bottom.” It’s an insightful book of essays about the self-destructive behavior and attitudes of the underclass.

In one essay, “We Don’t Want No Education,” reprinted by City Journal (http://www.city-journal.org/html/5_1_oh_to_be.html), Dalrymple says that he cannot recall meeting a 16-year-old from the public housing project near his hospital who could perform simple multiplication operations, such as nine times seven. One 17-year-old told him, “We didn’t get that far.” This was after 12 years of attending school. One of Dalrymple’s patients took a drug overdose because of constant bullying from classmates. “She was stupid because she was clever.” What her peers meant by that was anyone who worked hard and performed well at school was wasting his time when truancy and wandering downtown were deemed preferable. The underlying threat was: If you don’t mend your ways and join us, we’ll beat you up.

These weren’t simply idle threats. Dalrymple says he’s often met people in their 20s or 30s in his practice who gave up at school under such duress. Those who attend a school that has very high academic standards risk a beating if they venture into neighborhoods where the underclass live. He recalls treating two boys in the emergency room after they’d been beaten and two others who had taken overdoses for fear of being beaten at the hands of their neighbors.

Dalrymple says that most of the young people whom he’s met in his practice cannot name a single writer and cannot recite a line of poetry. None of his young patients can give the dates of World War I, much less the second world war. Some patients never have heard of those wars, though one of his young patients who had heard of World War II thought it took place in the 18th century. In this atmosphere of total ignorance, Dalrymple says he was impressed that the young man had heard of the 18th century.

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When Americans Understood The Declaration of Independence

The Fourth of July was not always a national celebration of the militarization of American society and of the federal government’s never-ending quest for world domination (disguised as "defending our interests abroad"). Americans did not always attend church services on the Sunday before the Fourth of July to "honor" their "military heroes" and pray that they may kill many more human beings in other countries that have done them no harm. Americans once actually read and understood the Declaration of Independence for what it was: a declaration of secession from the British empire and a roadmap for opposing a highly centralized, militaristic empire of the sort the U.S. government has become.

The Declaration of Independence was the ultimate secessionist or states’ rights document. "Governments are instituted among men," Thomas Jefferson wrote, for the sole purpose of securing God-given, "unalienable" rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Moreover, governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed" and nowhere else. And "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government . . ."

The way in which "the People" were to express their consent (or lack thereof) was through state and local political organizations. Hence, in the final paragraph of the Declaration of Independence Jefferson wrote that: "We . . . the Representatives of the united States of America . . . are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do."

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Zimmerman Granted $1 Million Bond

A Florida judge on Thursday set a $1 million bond with new restrictions on George Zimmerman, saying he believes the suspect may have been planning to flee the country to avoid prosecution in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

Judge Kenneth R. Lester Jr. found that Zimmerman's deceit over cash holdings at his first bond hearing in April was not enough to hold him without bail.

"This court has, thus far, declined to exercise its contempt powers and the state failed to prove that the defendant may be held without bond," the order said.

Zimmerman will have to post 10% of the $1 million -- or $100,000 -- to meet the requirement for bail.

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BREAKING NEWS: Economy Adds Only 80,000 Jobs

Weak hiring continues into June as sluggish economy generates only 80,000 new jobs, well below expectations, keeping unemployment rate at 8.2 percent.

From Fox News

Men's Slow Pitch, Men's Tournament And Coed Softball Coming To Henry Parker Athletic Complex

Men’s Slow Pitch League, Men’s Tournament, Coed Fall Softball coming to the Complex This Fall

Registration Open for Men’s Fall Slow Pitch Softball Program,
Men’s Tournament and Coed Fall Softball

(Salisbury, MD) The Men’s Slow Pitch Fall Softball league is getting ready for another exciting season of action at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex in Salisbury. Registration has begun for the 2012 fall season. The deadline to submit team fees and rosters is Friday, July 27 at the Civic Center Box Office and games are scheduled to begin in August with the season concluding in October.

Teams will play 16 regular season games which will take place on weeknights during the late summer and fall at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex. Some games may also be played at the Mason Dixon Complex in Delmar.

In addition to the men’s league, the County is also running a men’s softball tournament at the Athletic Complex on August 4. The Wicomico County Tune-up tournament is a 3 game guarantee and the tournament registration fee is only $50 per team (plus umpire fees) for teams that are registered for the 2012 men’s fall slow pitch league. Teams not registered in the league may also participate for a $130 team registration (plus umpire fees). The deadline to register for the tournament is Monday, July 30, 2012.

The Fall Coed Softball league is also getting ready for another exciting season of action at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex. Registration has begun for the 2012 fall season. The deadline to submit team fees and rosters is Tuesday June 31 at the Civic Center Box Office. The season will play on Friday night’s beginning on August 17. Games will be played at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex and other county facilities if necessary.

For more information contact program director Louie Richardson at 410-548-4900 ext. 105 or email lrichardson@wicomicocounty.org.

Police: Airman Falls To Death From Hotel Balcony

Anne Arundel County Police say a member of the Air National Guard fell to his death this morning off a seventh floor hotel balcony near BWI-Marshall Airport.

Police say the 26-year-old had just returned to the United States from an overseas deployment, and he was staying at the Embassy Suites on Concourse Drive in Linthicum.

Police say at around 1 a.m. today, witnesses saw the Airman climbing over the balcony and hanging onto a railing.  Minutes later the Airman fell to the ground level of the "atrium" lobby of the hotel.

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Can Americans Escape The Deception?

Hot Air Day is upon us. On July 4 hot air will spew forth all over the country as dignitaries deliver homilies to our “freedom and democracy” and praise “our brave troops” who are protecting our freedom by “killing them over there before they come over here.”

Not a single one of these speeches will contain one word of truth. No speaker will lament the death of the US Constitution or urge his audience to action to restore the only document that protects their liberty. No speaker will acknowledge that in the 21st century the Bush/Obama Regime, with the complicity of the Department of Justice, federal courts, Congress, presstitute media, law schools, bar associations, and an insouciant public have murdered the Constitution in the name of the “war on terror.”

As in medieval times, American citizens can be thrown into dungeons and never accounted for. No evidence or charges need be presented to a court. No trial is required, and no conviction.

As in tyrannies, US citizens can be executed at the sole discretion of the despot in the Oval Office, who sits there drawing up lists of people to be murdered.

Protestors exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association are attacked by armed police, beaten, tasered, tear-gassed, pepper sprayed, and arrested.

Whistleblowers who report the government’s crimes are prosecuted despite the statute that protects them.

US soldier Bradley Manning, who allegedly gave Wikileaks the documents revealing US war crimes, including the video of US soldiers in a helicopter gunship enjoying themselves murdering civilians walking along the street as if the soldiers were playing a video game, has been arrested and held in conditions of torture while the government tries to invent a case against him.

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San Diego Fireworks Malfunction In Big, Fast Flash

The San Diego Trolley was packed. Hotel rooms facing the bay were sold out. And local radio was set to simulcast a patriotic score for the Fourth of July show.

But instead of 20 minutes of fireworks, the crowd in San Diego got about 20 seconds of giant, deafening booms after a computer mishap sent multiple bulb-shaped explosions over the bay.

The show's producer blamed a "technical glitch" Thursday, saying an error in its computer system caused tens of thousands of fireworks on four barges to go off simultaneously with a single command.

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Youre opinion? A Let down or once in a lifetime event?

Mother Arrested For Leaving Kids Alone in Hot Kentucky Home

Police in south central Kentucky have arrested a woman who is the mother of some of the 19 children left alone in a hot, filthy home near Bowling Green.

Police found the kids, including an infant, Monday night after they had been left in the home for a week.

The Daily News reports 32-year-old Jackie Farah has been charged with 14 counts of criminal abuse and five counts of wanton endangerment. Farah returned from Chicago on Tuesday and went to the Warren County Sheriff's office, where she was charged.

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Countrywide Made Discount Loans to Buy Influence With Members of Congress

The former Countrywide Financial Corp., whose subprime loans helped start the nation's foreclosure crisis, made hundreds of discount loans to buy influence with members of Congress, congressional staff, top government officials and executives of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, according to a House report.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said that the discounts -- from January 1996 to June 2008, were not only aimed at gaining influence for the company but to help mortgage giant Fannie Mae. Countrywide's business depended largely on Fannie, which at the time was trying to fend off more government regulation but eventually had to come under government control.

Fannie was responsible for purchasing a large volume of Countrywide's subprime mortgages.

Countrywide was taken over by Bank of America in January 2008, relieving the financial services industry and regulators from the messy task of cleaning up the bankruptcy of a company that was servicing 9 million U.S. home loans worth $1.5 trillion at a time when the nation faced a widening credit crisis, massive foreclosures and an economic downturn.

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Stealth App Allows Citizens to Secretly Record Police

The New Jersey branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has released an app that lets users secretly record police stops.

The “Police Tape” smartphone app will allow state residents to secretly record police during stops, protect the recordings from being deleted by unhappy officers and report the encounters to civil rights groups, the Star-Ledger reports.

The app’s signature feature, according to the paper, is its ability to operate in "stealth mode" while recording. When users begin video recording, the screen goes black, as if the device is off. When audio is being recorded, the app automatically minimizes and disappears.

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‘Ignorant’: Michigan Dem Running for Congress Accused of Not Being ‘Black’ Enough

A Michigan congressman is being attacked by his opponents for not being “black” enough to represent the state’s newly redrawn 14th district, which includes Detroit, CBS Detroit reports.

Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-Mich.) responded Wednesday to allegations that he is only posing as a black man in order to gain votes, saying racial divides are tearing Detroit apart and are partly to blame for the state of the city’s economy.

Clarke is running against two black women, Mary Waters and Brenda Lawrence, and two white men, state Rep. Gary Peters and Bob Costello. After participating in one debate this election cycle, he says won’t do any more because the racial rhetoric is too intense.

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Methadone to Blame for One-third of U.S. Prescription Painkiller Deaths, CDC Says

(CBS News) Methadone accounts for only 2 percent of painkiller prescriptions in the United States - but the drug is behind more than 30 percent of prescription painkiller overdose deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday.

Methadone is commonly known for treating withdrawal symptoms from heroin addiction, but the drug is also prescribed for pain. Health officials say most of the overdose deaths are people who take it for pain - not heroin or drug addicts.

According to the CDC, methadone carries more risks than other painkillers because levels build up in the body and may interfere with a person's normal heart rhythm or breathing.

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Arafat’s Body to be Exhumed Amid Poisoning Claim

JERUSALEM – The Palestinian Authority agreed today to exhume the body of Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat amid new allegations he was poisoned with the radioactive element polonium-210.

“The authority, as it always has been, is ready to completely co-operate with and clear the way for an investigation into the true causes leading to the martyrdom of the late president,” said PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh, who was close to Arafat.

 It was not immediately clear when the exhumation would take place. Arafat, who died in 2004, is buried outside his former compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

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Lesbian college student 'faked anti-gay notes left in her room' that sparked rally against hate crimes

Notes sparked anti-hate rally at Connecticut campus in March

But police hid camera outside room and 'found she planted notes herself'

Alexandra Pennell, 19, told police she had devised the plan to get the attention of her roommate

Barred from state colleges for five years and faces 25 charges

A lesbian student has been kicked out of college and arrested after it emerged she was behind a string of anti-gay messages slipped under her dorm room door, police said.

After the notes were found in Alexandra Pennell's room at Central Connecticut State University in March, hundreds came out in support of the student at a campus rally against hate crimes.

But when police hid a camera along the hallway outside her room, they allegedly caught her leaving the notes herself - and she admitted she had written them to get the attention of her roommate.

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It Begins: France‘s Socialist Gov’t Goes After the ‘Well-Off’

PARIS (AP/The Blaze) — France’s Socialist government wants to raise €7.2 billion ($9 billion) in new revenue from higher taxes on estates, banks, and oil companies to try to reduce the deficit.

The measures are among those in a revised 2012 budget draft presented at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. It will go to parliament later this month, where it is expected to win approval.

France’s new leadership has criticized austerity measures imposed around Europe, saying they are making the region’s debt crisis worse. It has focused on higher taxes for the “well-off,” though some spending cuts are also expected.

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Teachers Call Boy 'Missing Link' on Facebook

BRADENTON, Fla. – On this Independence Day, a controversy over free speech among teachers using Facebook is making headlines after their online discussion referred to a student as possibly being “the evolutionary link between orangutans and humans.”

 

 Now, the state of Florida will investigate the matter.

Bay News 9 obtained a Facebook conversation from mid-May among teachers at G.D. Rogers Garden Elementary School in Bradenton, Fla.

The exchange reportedly began with music teacher Lauren Orban writing: “I’m fairly convinced that one of my students may be the evolutionary link between orangutans and humans.”

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Trump: Obama Will Start Iran War to Win Election

Donald Trump is again predicting President Obama will start a war with Iran solely to help his chances of getting re-elected this November.

The billionaire developer made his forecast both on the Internet and television Tuesday, initially tweeting: “Just as I predicted, Barack Obama is preparing a possible attack on Iran right before November.”

He then spoke via phone to Greta Van Susteren of Fox News, confirming: “Yes, I believe that we will end up in a war with Iran because I think Obama views that as politically good for him. … I have said for a year and a half that in the end, somewhere before the election we will end up in a form of war with Iran, and I think he’s doing it for political reasons.

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Fla. Lifeguard Aids Drowning Man, Gets Fired

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A lifeguard who helped save a drowning man outside of his assigned patrol area was fired by his employer.

CBS Station WFOR reports that Tomas Lopez was fired Monday by Orlando-based Jeff Ellis and Associates because he broke a company rule and could have put beachgoers in his section of Hallandale Beach in jeopardy.

"We have liability issues and can't go out of the protected area," supervisor Susan Ellis told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "What he did was his own decision. He knew the company rules and did what he thought he needed to do."

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Salisbury's 4th of July Fireworks

Hello SBY,

Last nights Independence Day Fireworks display was FANTASTIC!

Stephen M. DiCarlo
SMDi Photography

Google Bans ‘Guns, Ammunition and Knives’ From Its Online Shopping Site

Google has officially adopted a new policy banning the sale of firearms, ammunition and related products from its Google Shopping service.

A Google Shopping policy page lists “guns, ammunition and knives” among its prohibited items; searches for “gun scopes,“ ”5.56 ammo“ and ”remington 700“ are among a host of terms that currently return a ”did not match any results” page from the search engine giant’s shopping site:

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Iran: We'll Destroy 35 U.S. Bases if Attacked

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Amid declarations by Iranian officials that U.S. warships are “easy” targets, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force said he has “detailed contingency plans to hit 35 U.S. bases in the region in the early minutes of a possible conflict.”

Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh boasted the U.S. bases around Iran are “within the reach of our missiles.”

Palestinian lands, he added, referring to Israel, “are good targets for us as well.”

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Obama's Social Security Number Challenged

If Barack Obama has an immediate eligibility problem, it is more likely to derive from the Social Security Number he has been using for the last 25 years than from his birth certificate.

Ohio private investigator Susan Daniels has seen to that. On Monday, July 2, she filed suit in Geauga County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court demanding that Jon Husted, Ohio secretary of state, remove Obama’s name from the ballot until Obama can prove the validity of his Social Security Number.

Daniels, who has vetted thousands of Social Security Numbers for numerous other clients, has done her homework. In her filing, she thoroughly documents her contention “that Barack Obama has repeatedly, consistently, and with intent misrepresented himself by using a fraudulently obtained Social Security Number.”

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Anderson Cooper And Objectivity

It’s time to once and for all abandon the idea of pure objectivity in journalism. This is a very good thing, and something that conservatives did a long time ago. The only question is whether liberal journalists will finally admit their biases so that we can perhaps begin, in some small way, to trust them.

There is no such thing as objectivity. But there is such a thing as fairness. I stole that line from Nick Gillespie, the editor-in-chief of Reason.com. Gillespie recently gave a speech at Georgetown University’s Broadcast Journalism Institute, a summer program for aspiring high school journalism students. I’m the program’s academic director. One thing that we teach the kids is that while objectivity is not possible, fairness is. Make your biases clear, then go out of your way to be fair to the other side.

Perhaps not surprisingly, 16- and 17-year-olds easily grasp this concept, which eludes many professional journalists. Let’s see if we can finally drive it home to the mainstream media. When you admit your biases, it leads viewers to trust you more, not less. And it makes you a better journalist.

I’ll use a simple example so that even Andrea Mitchell can understand. On Monday, CNN host Anderson Cooper revealed that he’s gay and that his decision to come out was based on his objection to bullying in schools, particularly bullying of gay kids. Before he came out, I thought that Anderson Cooper was both a cipher and a show-off. He lacks the aggression to be a good cable TV host, and has often put himself front and center when reporting from a foreign hot spot. And everyone and their brother knew that Cooper was gay. The fact that he was denying it was not offensive to me because of any sexual judgmentalism, but as a matter of honor. He is a highly visible journalist (although considering the ratings, maybe not), and he is gay. The bullying of gay kids, the debate over gay marriage — these things simply had to concern him. And because of a silly and wrong idea about “objectivity,” he was not letting himself express this.

Now, after his coming out, Cooper has gained a bit of honor. St. Ambrose said that “the conscience is God’s herald and messenger,” and Cooper has finally listened to his conscience. Like other journalists who come clean, he is saying: This is what I believe. This is what is important to me. I am telling you this, so that when you watch me you will be able to make an informed decision about the stories I choose to report and how fair I am being to those with whom I disagree. I am an honest man.

Compare that to that despicable crone Andrea Mitchell. Mitchell hates conservatives and dislikes Mitt Romney. When NBC edited a tape to falsify something Romney said, Mitchell claimed that they would show the full tape — which they did not — because of complaints from conservatives and Republicans. Or that sputtering toad Chris Matthews, who took great offense recently when CNN’s John King said that MSNBC is left-wing. It can’t be repeated enough: It is a question of honor more than anything else. Chris Matthews has no honor. He will not admit what he is.

And can we please, at long last, drop the excuse that journalists are liberals because liberals are more prone to go into journalism? Michael Kinsley made this argument when he was the editor of Slate. Artsy-fartsy kids want to become journalists more than jocks; thus, 55 of the 57 staff members at Slate voted for Obama in 2008. Kinsley was backed up by another Slate editor, David Plotz, who cited four reasons for liberal bias: 1) journalists live in extremely Democratic cities on the East and West Coasts; 2) the Slate staff skews young, and all polls show younger voters favoring the Democrat; 3) several of the magazine’s contributors are Obama advisers; 4) arty kids like writing and tend to be liberal and go into journalism.

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Priebus Stands by Rep. West After Comments That Obama Creates Economic ‘Slaves’

Florida Rep. Allen West has found himself in controversy once again following unorthodox political remarks during a campaign speech in Fort Saint Lucie Tuesday.

ABC News reports that Rep. West slammed President Obama using the word “slave” while emphasizing the importance of lowering taxes, minimizing regulations on business and bringing jobs back to the region.

“Self-esteem comes from doing esteemable things. Sitting at home and getting a check from the government is not going to help your self-esteem. What it will do is make you an economic slave to people living in a far, far, distant place,” West said on Sunday.
“He does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning and having that title of ‘American,’” the congressman said of the president. “He’d rather you be his slave and be economically dependent upon him.”

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The ‘Oprahfication’ Of America

When asked at the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 what the Founders had wrought, Benjamin Franklin famously said, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

That question might also be put to the five Supreme Court justices who voted last week to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, which mandates health insurance for most Americans, based on twisted logic that it is a tax and thus within the power of the Congress to impose on an already overtaxed people.

Even better than the question of what the court has allowed government to do is what its ruling says about us?

Rugged individualists founded and helped preserve America through many challenges. They believed we should first take care of ourselves and help our neighbors with government intervening only as a last resort. Today we are rapidly becoming a collective in which government penalizes achievement and subsidizes failure, thus producing less of the former and more of the latter. Apparently promoting the “general welfare” has come to mean welfare. Food stamp ads run on the radio. The USDA pays for the ads, which encourage more people to apply for the program.

Among the avalanche of postmortems delivered by “experts” and pundits to the court ruling, one may have gotten closest to answering the question about what was in the mind of Chief Justice John Roberts and how it reflects on what our nation is becoming.

Paul Rothstein, a professor at Georgetown Law School, taught Roberts when he was a student. In an interview with Washington, D.C., radio station WTOP, Rothstein said it was empathy for the uninsured and disdain for partisanship that swayed Roberts, making his the decisive vote.

“It’s a very odd decision,” said Rothstein. “The conservative guy went liberal.”

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Photograph or Painting? See If You Can Tell the Difference in These 11 Hyperrealistic Works of Art

Pedro Campos is well-known in the world of photorealistic paintings. Many who have written on his work claim that they have to look twice to confirm his paintings aren’t photographs. But even after a second look, it’s still difficult to tell the difference.

 Campos’ most recent exhibition at the Plus One Gallery’s “Hyperrealism Now“ in London ”tends to elicit double takes,” as the gallery puts it. The Plus One Gallery represents Campos, among other artists.

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Scientology Parenting: Do Tom Cruise And Katie Holmes Disagree On Religion For Suri?

Does Tom Cruise really want to send his 6-year-old daughter off to be raised by Scientologists? Not if Katie Holmes has anything to say about it

The announcement on Friday that Katie Holmes had filed for divorce from Tom Cruise didn’t come as a surprise to many who’ve questioned the relationship from its early Oprah-couch-bouncing days. The revelation that she’s seeking sole legal custody and primary residential custody of their 6-year-old daughter Suri? Now that’s news.

Unless a parent feels that a child is in danger, sole custody in divorce proceedings can be a pretty steep uphill battle. Holmes’ filing means she wants to take control of her daughter’s health, education and religion, and that she believes she and Cruise won’t see eye to eye on these crucial decisions. If the chatter is to believed, Cruise’s devotion to Scientology is driving her concerns.

Celebrity websites, including TMZ, are reporting that Holmes was worried that Cruise would spirit their daughter away to join the Sea Organization, a.k.a. Sea Org — a fraternal order of Scientology’s crème de la crème, its most ardent acolytes. Other websites, like PerezHilton.com, said Cruise wanted to board Suri on Freewinds, the Scientology cruise ship that once hosted his birthday bash. The speculation reached fever pitch here:

It’s not our place to judge how someone wants to raise their child … but if you ask us — sending a kindergartner to a military-style boarding school on the high seas, to be raised by people who sign a contract to work for the ship for a BILLION years is borderline abusive.

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ID Law Could Impact 10 Percent of Pennsylvania Voters

Nearly 10 percent of Pennsylvania’s registered voters do not have photo identification cards from the state transportation department and could be ineligible to vote in November under the state’s new Republican-backed voter ID law.

The Pennsylvania Department of State reported Tuesday that more than 758,000 registered voters lack a standard driver’s license or a non-driver photo ID. That’s 9.2 percent of the state’s 8.2 million voters.

In Philadelphia, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 6-1, 18 percent of the city’s registered voters do not have the state photo ID, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

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Massachusetts Voters To Decide If Car Dealerships Have Exclusive Rights To Necessary Repair Info

Earlier this year, the Massachusetts state Senate passed a "Right to Repair" bill that would allow your local mechanic to have access to info that is now only available to car dealerships. But the legislation has stalled in the state House. Sick of inaction, 16,000 Bay State residents petitioned the state, and everyone will have a chance to vote on it come November.

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Lights Go Dim on Another Energy Project

A geothermal energy company with a $98.5 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration for an alternative energy project in Nevada - which received hearty endorsements from Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - faces financial problems, and the company’s auditors have questioned whether it can stay in business.

Much like Solyndra LLC, a California solar-panel manufacturer with a $535 million federal loan guarantee that went bankrupt, Nevada Geothermal Power (NGP) has incurred $98 million in net losses over the past several years, has substantial debts and does not generate enough cash from its current operations after debt-service costs, an internal audit said.

“The company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on its available cash and its ability to continue to raise funds to support corporate operations and the development of other properties,” NGP auditors said in a financial statement for the period ending March 31.

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For Some Reason Nuns Really Don’t Want Strip Club To Open Next To Their Convent

There's a battle going down in one Illinois town, and one side is turning to an unlikely weapon in the fight — balloons. An order of nuns and members of the community released scores of balloons skyward (despite a nationwide helium shortage) to demonstrate their opposition of the "Get It" strip club set to open next door to their convent and home for retired nuns.

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The War of 1812 at 200: All it Wants is a Little Respect

The Revolutionary War has its own national holiday. World War II has spawned countless books and movies. The Civil War boasts costumed re-enactors and a signature chess set.

And the War of 1812? It has re-enactors, too. The country can’t get enough of them. The country of Canada, that is. “The demand for them right now is so great that it’s actually driving up the price,” said John Stagg, a University of Virginia history professor and author of “The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent.” “They may even have to resort to the desperate tactic of importing a few from the United States.

“The situation is different in Canada. They take the war very seriously in a way that Americans don’t.”

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BRAC Cost A Small Fortune

Base realignment and closure, or BRAC, turned out to be a lot more expensive than the Pentagon predicted. A new GAO report pegs the cost of the most recent BRAC round at 35 billion dollars. That's 67 percent more than original estimates. GAO says the main culprit is construction costs. The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency's new headquarters more than doubled in cost to 2.6 billion dollars. The latest BRAC round started in 2005. It involved more than 800 locations and 125 thousand people. The Pentagon doesn't expect to see financial payback until 2025.

Rain Cools Colo. Fires, Other Wildfires Grow

Rains cooled Colorado's wildfires Wednesday, but more than a dozen wildfires elsewhere in the West continued chewing through bone-dry pine and brush as firefighters working through the holiday kept a nervous eye for fireworks and other hazards.

Wildfires in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado sent haze and smoke across Colorado's Front Range, prompting air-quality health advisories as firefighters warned of growing fires in sparsely populated areas.

In Colorado Springs, there was good news in the fight against the most destructive fire in state history.

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The Army Says It Has Enough Tanks

Officials thought suspending production for a few years would be an easy way to save money as the military faces sharp spending cuts. But Congress begs to differ. Some Ohio lawmakers are trying to restore funds for the Army to keep buying Abrams tanks made in that state. About 800 welders and machinists are caught in the middle. General Dynamics operates the plant for the government. It says it would be cheaper to keep the plant open with minimal production than shut it down and restart it. But the Army says not all that money should come from the United States. It suggests the plant could fill orders from other countries.

Advocacy of Gay Rights Unwelcome in Uganda

The Ugandan government is seeking to ban 38 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that it accuses of promoting homosexuality — a move that critics say aims to divert attention from the administration’s political troubles.

“I have investigated and established beyond reasonable doubt that these NGOs have been involved in the promotion and recruitment in terms of the [gay] issues,” Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo said.

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, and has been the focal point of violent attacks. In February, a lawmaker reintroduced legislation that would have imposed the death penalty for “serial” offenders.

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US Adds Forces In Persian Gulf, A Signal To Iran

Washington - The United States has quietly moved significant military reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to deter the Iranian military from any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff over its nuclear program escalates.

The deployments are part of a long-planned effort to bolster the American military presence in the gulf region, in part to reassure Israel that in dealing with Iran, as one senior administration official put it last week, "When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it."

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Chestnut Wins 6th Straight Title, Downs 68 Dogs

NEW YORK (AP) - Joey Chestnut won his sixth straight Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island, downing 68 dogs and buns on Wednesday to tie his personal best in a sweaty, gag-inducing spectacle.

Last year, the 28-year-old San Jose, Calif., man nicknamed "Jaws" won with 62 hot dogs. He bested his main rival this year by 16 dogs, scarfing down all 68 in 10 minutes in the sweltering summer heat to take home $10,000 and the mustard yellow belt.

"I feel good, it was a great win," Chestnut said after the contest, adding he wished he could have eaten a record number of hot dogs for the audience. "I tried my best. I'm looking forward to next year already."

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15 Governors Will Not Participate In Obamacare

Now as many as 15 Governors around the nation have indicated they will not participate in Obamacare – and will refuse to take billions of dollars to extend Medicaid health insurance to more poor people in their states. Medicaid expansion is a critical component of President Obama's health reform law – and if executed could extend health insurance coverage to more than 17 million low-income Americans across the nation, at no cost to state governments for the first few years. But rather than taking the money, which hospitals in the states desperately need, more than a dozen Republican Governors are making a political calculation to oppose Obamacare rather than find ways to cover the uninsured. Meanwhile, Democratic Governors do plan to take the money and extend Medicaid coverage – setting up a possible future scenario where masses of poor people may soon be flooding into blue states to get health insurance that was unavailable to them in red states. President Obama hoped the debate over health reform would end after the Supreme Court's ruling last week. However, it looks like it's just beginning.

Scary Thought

In Case You Don't Like Mitt Romney...

Columnist Andrew McCarthy gives us what probably is the most important question regarding the upcoming presidential election …

If Mitt wins the nomination, as seems very likely, I will enthusiastically support his candidacy. For my friends who may have hesitation on that score, I'd just ask you to keep four things in mind:

1.. Justice Scalia just turned 78
2.. Justice Kennedy will turn 78 later this year
3.. Justice Breyer will be 76 in August
4.. Justice Ginsburg turned 81 about a week ago.

Whoever we elect as president in November is almost certainly going to choose at least one and maybe more new members of the Supreme Court — in addition to hundreds of other life-tenured federal judges, all of whom will be making momentous decisions about our lives for decades to come.

If you don't think it matters whether the guy making those calls is Mitt Romney or Barack Obama, I think you're smoking something funky….

So for anybody who is thinking of not voting because your favorite didn't get nominated, or writing in a candidate who can't win ... just imagine this possibility:
'SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ERIC HOLDER'

Did that get your attention?

WICOMICO COUNTY COOLING CENTER OPENING EXTENDED

(Salisbury, MD) With temperatures expected to remain in the triple digits through the weekend, Wicomico County health officials announce that the cooling center will remain open through Sunday, July 8 from 10AM till 8PM. The cooling center is located at the Wicomico County Civic Center (Flanders Rooms 5, 6 and 7), 500 Glen Avenue Salisbury, MD. Residents will need to bring their own food, beverages, and medications. Bottled water will be available. No pets will be permitted. Individuals needing transportation may contact Shore Transit by calling 443-260-2300 for a free ride to the center.For facts on heat related illness, or additional tips on how to stay cool, visit the Wicomico County Health Department's website at www.wicomicohealth.org.

CITY COUNCIL AGENDA

JULY 9, 2012 6:00 p.m.
Government Office Building Room 301

Times shown for agenda items are estimates only.
6:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER
6:01 p.m. WELCOME/ANNOUNCEMENTS
6:06 p.m. INVOCATION/MEDITATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
6:08 p.m. ADOPTION OF LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
6:11 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA – City Clerk Kim Nichols
 April 9, 2012 regular meeting minutes
 April 9, 2012 closed session minutes #1
 April 9, 2012 closed session minutes #2
 April 16, 2012 work session minutes
 April 16, 2012 closed session minutes
 April 23, 2012 regular meeting minutes
6:17 p.m. AWARD OF BIDS – Assistant Internal Services Director-Procurement Catrice
Parsons
 Declaration of Surplus –Marine 1 (Salisbury Fire Department)
 Declaration of Surplus – Personal Protective Equipment (Salisbury Fire Department )
 Declaration of Surplus – Fire Hose (Salisbury Fire Department )
 Declaration of Surplus – Telephone Equipment (Salisbury Police Department)
 Declaration of Surplus – Unclaimed Property (Salisbury Police Department )
 Award Recommendation – Contract #113-12 Foam Trailer
6:30 p.m. RESOLUTIONS – Assistant City Administrator Loré Chambers, Ph.D
 Resolution No. ___ - approving a secondary and extra duty employment policy for the
Salisbury Police Department personnel and authorizing the Chief of Police to enter into contracts which allow police officers to provide either uniform or non-uniform law enforcement services to private businesses and to also allow officers and civilian personnel to work non-law enforcement, non-contractual secondary employment
6:40 p.m. ORDINANCES – City Attorney Mark Tilghman
 Ordinance No. 2207 – 2nd reading – changing Bateman Street from two-way to one-way
westbound between South Division Street and Wayne Street (eastern leg); prohibiting
left-hand turns by vehicles from South Division Street onto Bateman Street; erecting a traffic signal and pedestrian indications at the intersection of Onley Road and South Division Street; establishing a bicycle lane on Bateman Street; and establishing pedestrian crosswalks at the Onley Road and South Division Street intersection  Ordinance No. ____ - 1st reading and Public Hearing - pursuant to Chapter 17.228 of Title 17, Zoning of the Salisbury Municipal Code and Section 4.04 of Article 66B of the Annotated Code of Maryland, and Article VI, Board of Zoning Appeals for the purpose of amending Section 17.12.090, adding Section 17.12.111, and amending Section 17.12.120, Board of Zoning Appeals procedure
 Ordinance No. ____ - 1st reading and Public Hearing – to authorize the operation of a day care center at 217 Beaglin Park Drive in a Light Business and Institutional District as required by Section 17.28.040B of the Salisbury Municipal Code
 Ordinance No. ____ - 1st reading – FY2013 budget amendment to appropriate funds for
the renegotiation of the City’s cable franchise agreement
 Ordinance No. ____ - 1st reading – to repeal and reenact Chapter 2.04 – Ethics to
comply with Maryland Code requirements for Ethics Legislation relating to the Ethics
Commission, Conflicts of Interest, Financial Disclosure, Lobbying, Exemptions and
Modifications, and Enforcement
7:30 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS
7:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT

Today's Fill In The Blank 7-5-12

I like to flavor my coffeee with ____.

July Memories Over The Years

Wives Don't Forget Old Boyfriends

Husband took the wife to a disco on the weekend.

There was a guy on the dance floor giving it large - breakdancing, moonwalking, back flips, the works.

The wife turned to husband and said: "See that guy? 25 years ago he proposed to me and I turned him down."

Husband says: "Looks like he's still celebrating!!!

The Underclass

Anthony Daniels, who writes under the pen name Theodore Dalrymple, is a retired prison doctor and psychiatrist who tells of his experiences with his patients in Life at the Bottom. It's an insightful book of essays about the self-destructive behavior and attitudes of the underclass.

In one essay, "We Don't Want No Education," reprinted by City Journal, Dalrymple says that he cannot recall meeting a 16-year-old from the public housing project near his hospital who could perform simple multiplication operations, such as nine times seven. One 17-year-old told him, "We didn't get that far." This was after 12 years of attending school. One of Dalrymple's patients took a drug overdose because of constant bullying from classmates. "She was stupid because she was clever." What her peers meant by that was anyone who worked hard and performed well at school was wasting his time when truancy and wandering downtown were deemed preferable. The underlying threat was: If you don't mend your ways and join us, we'll beat you up.

These weren't simply idle threats. Dalrymple says he's often met people in their 20s or 30s in his practice who gave up at school under such duress. Those who attend a school that has very high academic standards risk a beating if they venture into neighborhoods where the underclass live. He recalls treating two boys in the emergency room after they'd been beaten and two others who had taken overdoses for fear of being beaten at the hands of their neighbors.

Dalrymple says that most of the young people whom he's met in his practice cannot name a single writer and cannot recite a line of poetry. None of his young patients can give the dates of World War I, much less the second world war. Some patients never have heard of those wars, though one of his young patients who had heard of World War II thought it took place in the 18th century. In this atmosphere of total ignorance, Dalrymple says he was impressed that the young man had heard of the 18th century.

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Places I Have And Have Not Been

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

And, sometimes I think I am in Vincible but life shows me I am not!

Today's Advertiser Of The Day 7-5-12

BREAKING NEWS: Judge Grants Zimmerman Bond For Second Time

Florida judge sets bail at $1 million for George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin shooting case.

From Fox News

Becoming Illegal

FORMS ARE GOING FAST- SIGN UP TODAY!
Becoming Illegal (Actual letter from an Oregon resident sent to his senator,)
The Honorable Wydon
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone (202) 224 3254
Washington DC , 20510

Dear Senator Wydon,

As a native Oregonian and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for only three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as 'in-state' tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me, given that I still have college age children driving my car.
If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance

Your Loyal Constituent, (hoping to reach 'illegal alien' status rather than just a bonafide citizen of the USA )
Dale B Rilyeu
Lebanon, Or
Get your Forms (NOW)!!
Call your Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-289-1040

Crab Season Begins Early Promising A Larger Population

Efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay seem to be paying off. This year's crab season began early and the population is bigger than it has been in years. Today, we visited Mo's Seafood in Towson to check on the critters and the satisfied customers.

Preparing for a holiday rush, workers at Mo's Seafood got busy early today, seasoning and steaming and doing plenty of sorting.

This year's crab crop is proving to be plentiful. Biologists claim the crab population has rebounded to record levels and a good supply is great for sales.

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Letter To Pelosi

Dear Ms. Pelosi:

I write to you out of utter disdain! You are as despicable and un-American as the traitor Jane Fonda.

I am a soon to be 65 year-old who has voted in every state and local election since 1966. I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats alike. I have worked on campaigns for both Republicans and Democrats, white and black. I served the country that I love in Vietnam , as my son did in the Middle East . I was awarded two bronze stars. I have been involved in politics since age 6 when my father was campaign manager for a truly great American Congressman, Charles Raper Jonas, who worked for his constituents and his country, and was to be admired, unlike you.

You obviously havent read the Constitution recently, if ever, the Federalist Papers, or even David McCulloughs book on John Adams. You ought to take the time while riding around in your government provided luxury executive jet to do just that. You represent Socialistic and even Marxist principals that our founding fathers tried to avoid when setting out the capitalistic republican form of government represented by our Constitution.

I find it interesting that you and your husband are multi-millionaires with much of your fortune being made as a result of your public service. You have controlled legislation that has enhanced your husbands investments both on and off shore. At the same time you redistributed the wealth of others. Our system of a free market economy is being destroyed by the likes of you, Harry Reid, and now our President. You ride around in a Gulfstream airplane at the tax payers expense while criticizing the presidents of companies who produced something for the economy. You add nothing to the economy of the United States ; you only subtract therefrom.

I would like to suggest that you return to the city of fruitcakes and nuts and eat your husbands’ canned tuna and pineapple produced by illegal immigrants and by workers who have been excluded from the protection that 90% of the legal workers in the United States have.

I await your defeat in the next election with glee...

Don’t ever use the term un-American again for protesters who love this country and are exercising their rights upon which this country was founded. By the way, while I served in the Army, I was spit on by the same type of lunatics who support you and who you probably supported in the 60s and 70s. You are an embarrassment to all of us who served so that you would have the protected right of free speech to call us un-American. But at the same time, I have the right to write you to notify you that I consider you to be un-American, as do the majority of the people of this formerly great country. You are a true disgrace to most of the people who served this country by offering themselves for public service in the United States Congress.

I feel certain your aides will not share this letter with you, but I intend to share it with many...

Dennis Guthrie

Police: Dead NY Yacht Victims All Children

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. (AP) - A yacht full of fireworks watchers capsized off New York's Long Island on the Fourth of July, killing three children and sending 24 others into the Long Island Sound, where many were rescued by fellow boaters, police said Thursday.

The bodies of 12-year-old boy David Aurelino, and two girls, 11-year-old Harley Treanor and 8-year-old Victoria Gaines, were recovered from the boat's cabin after a long overnight search in the waters near Oyster Bay. The remaining people onboard were a mix of adults and children.

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Today's Survey Question 7-5-12

Where did you celebrate the 4th of July?

Welcome To The Opportunity Shop

The parking enforcement people have been waiting in the shadows this morning just waiting for the Opportunity Shop to swing their doors.

I guess Mayor Ireton will drive everyone to the Parking Garage no matter what it takes. What a shame.