Government lawyers have told a watchdog group suing over the Internal Revenue Service scandal that Lois Lerner’s emails aren’t missing after all.
Attorneys for the Justice Department surprised Judicial Watch, a right-leaning watchdog group, on Friday by saying that they have copies of every electronic message ever sent from Lerner, a former top IRS official who is a key figure in a targeting scandal involving conservative groups that sought tax-exempt status.
The IRS told Congress that thousands of Lerner’s emails sent prior to 2011 were hopelessly lost thanks to a hard drive crash that left the data unrecoverable. A back-up system, they said, had also been erased. Officials told Congress about a half dozen IRS officials in addition to Lerner, some affiliated with the targeting, had also lost emails due to computer crashes.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said Justice Department lawyers informed him that the federal government keeps a back-up copy of every email and record in the event of a government-wide catastrophe.
The back-up system includes the IRS emails, too.
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Thursday, October 23, 2014
A Letter To The Editor: The Laura Mitchell – Ron Pagano Scam Strategy
ABOUT
"For the two years prior to my current position I worked as the Legislative Assistant to the Chair of the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee in the Maryland State Senate." Why doesn't Josh admit who he worked for? What does he have to hide? Why is he misleading the people like Mitchell and Pagano did?
This is where he cleverly makes it sound as though he has such big time connections in Annapolis and such big time experience. What he fails to tell you is that he was a legislative aid for the most liberal Baltimore City Senator in the entire General Assembly. Democrat Senator Joan Collins is a big Obama supporter. She also sponsored and supported Immigrant Tuition Bill in the Senate giving Illegal Aliens in-state tuition. She was also a big supporter of Same Sex Marriage. From a Gay news site The Washington Blade "Maryland Senator Key to Marriage Vote" “She made a statement earlier saying that she would cast the deciding vote if the votes were there,” Josh Hastings, Conway’s legislative assistant, told the Blade Friday. “But she didn’t think the votes were there. That was like two weeks ago.” That's how the Democrats play their political games.
Senator Joan Conway is a gun grabber and got failing grades from all groups supporting YOUR gun rights. She is also a tree hugging land grabber just like Josh Hastings is. Why do you think she lives in Balitmore City.
Tats For Tails, Block Party To Benefit Animals Oct. 25
DENTON — Come join the Caroline County Humane Society and Black Anchor Tattoo on Saturday, Oct. 25, in Denton, as they raise money for the animals of Caroline County in the Tats for Tails fundraiser. In conjunction with the event, from 1 to 4 p.m., the 200 block of Market Street will be closed for a Block Party.
There will be music, vendors, food, a cornhole contest, raffles, adoptable pets and more. Vendors will include Mary Kay, 31, Origami Owl, Silpada, Pure Romance, PIZAZZZZ, and Dave’s Custom Handmade Cornhole Sets.
There will also be a Stuff-a Pickup-Truck courtesy of the Preston Automotive Group. Help fill the truck bed full of pet supplies. Each donation will enter the donor for a chance to win a Preston Automotive gift bag.
More
There will be music, vendors, food, a cornhole contest, raffles, adoptable pets and more. Vendors will include Mary Kay, 31, Origami Owl, Silpada, Pure Romance, PIZAZZZZ, and Dave’s Custom Handmade Cornhole Sets.
There will also be a Stuff-a Pickup-Truck courtesy of the Preston Automotive Group. Help fill the truck bed full of pet supplies. Each donation will enter the donor for a chance to win a Preston Automotive gift bag.
More
More Proof Liberals Are Rigging Elections
CORRUPTED VOTE Illinois voting machines change GOP votes to Dem
CHICAGO Early voting in Illinois got off to a rocky start Monday, as votes being cast for Republican candidates were transformed into votes for Democrats.
Republican state representative candidate Jim Moynihan went to vote Monday at the Schaumburg Public Library.
"I tried to cast a vote for myself and instead it cast the vote for my opponent," Moynihan said. "You could imagine my surprise as the same thing happened with a number of races when I tried to vote for a Republican and the machine registered a vote for a Democrat."
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Blue Cross: Obamacare rates in N.C. to rise 13 percent
North Carolina's largest health insurer says rates will rise by more than 13 percent on average next year for buyers of individual Affordable Care Act policies.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina discussed the prices Wednesday.
As an example, the insurer cited a typical rate for a 45-year-old man in the Raleigh area who doesn't smoke. Without a federal subsidy, the premium for such an individual would rise by $57 to about $420 per month for an ACA silver plan. Most customers receive subsidies.
Aside from ACA plans, the insurer is maintaining pre-existing plans that don't conform to the Affordable Care Act's requirements but customers wanted to keep. Rates for those plans will rise by an average of 13 to 19 percent, depending on when they were sold.
Source
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina discussed the prices Wednesday.
As an example, the insurer cited a typical rate for a 45-year-old man in the Raleigh area who doesn't smoke. Without a federal subsidy, the premium for such an individual would rise by $57 to about $420 per month for an ACA silver plan. Most customers receive subsidies.
Aside from ACA plans, the insurer is maintaining pre-existing plans that don't conform to the Affordable Care Act's requirements but customers wanted to keep. Rates for those plans will rise by an average of 13 to 19 percent, depending on when they were sold.
Source
UNC Admits Fake Classes for Athletes Were Widespread: Four Blunt Points
The University of North Carolina on Wednesday admitted its academic-fraud-for-athletes scandal was worse than the public has previously been told. That’s saying something. After all, the practice at Chapel Hill of steering football and basketball players into fake classes had already made North Carolina the epicenter of a national debate about the corrupting effects of the $16 billion college athletics industry. Four blunt points:
1. The deceit was widespread and aimed at keeping athletes eligible.For years, UNC officials have resisted the obvious indications that academics were compromised to promote sports. That resistance has finally collapsed. The latest in a series of university-sponsored investigations revealed that over 18 years—from 1993 through 2011—some 3,100 students took “paper classes” with no faculty oversight and no actual class attendance. Almost half the students enrolled in the phony courses were athletes. Many of the basketball and football players “were directed to the classes by academic counselors” assigned to advise athletes, UNC said in a written statement. “These counselors saw the paper classes and the artificially high grades they yielded as key to helping some student-athletes remain eligible.”
In other words, to keep members of UNC’s top-rated basketball team on the court, professional “counselors” encouraged flat-out academic fraud.
STORY: UNC Whistleblower Has Plagiarism Whistle Blown on Her
2. Of all disciplines, it was black studies that hosted the fake classes.Kenneth Wainstein, the former federal prosecutor who led the latest investigation, found that the department formerly known as African & Afro-American Studies offered hundreds of “irregular classes.” Wainstein, now in private practice, said that two people formerly in the department—the ex-chairman, Julius Nyang’oro, and his top administrative aide, Deborah Crowder—oversaw the paper classes. “Various university personnel were aware of red flags,” UNC said, “yet did not ask questions. There was a failure of meaningful oversight by the university.”
Wainstein didn’t find wrongdoing outside the black studies department. “No current coaches were involved or aware,” the university added.
More
1. The deceit was widespread and aimed at keeping athletes eligible.For years, UNC officials have resisted the obvious indications that academics were compromised to promote sports. That resistance has finally collapsed. The latest in a series of university-sponsored investigations revealed that over 18 years—from 1993 through 2011—some 3,100 students took “paper classes” with no faculty oversight and no actual class attendance. Almost half the students enrolled in the phony courses were athletes. Many of the basketball and football players “were directed to the classes by academic counselors” assigned to advise athletes, UNC said in a written statement. “These counselors saw the paper classes and the artificially high grades they yielded as key to helping some student-athletes remain eligible.”
In other words, to keep members of UNC’s top-rated basketball team on the court, professional “counselors” encouraged flat-out academic fraud.
STORY: UNC Whistleblower Has Plagiarism Whistle Blown on Her
2. Of all disciplines, it was black studies that hosted the fake classes.Kenneth Wainstein, the former federal prosecutor who led the latest investigation, found that the department formerly known as African & Afro-American Studies offered hundreds of “irregular classes.” Wainstein, now in private practice, said that two people formerly in the department—the ex-chairman, Julius Nyang’oro, and his top administrative aide, Deborah Crowder—oversaw the paper classes. “Various university personnel were aware of red flags,” UNC said, “yet did not ask questions. There was a failure of meaningful oversight by the university.”
Wainstein didn’t find wrongdoing outside the black studies department. “No current coaches were involved or aware,” the university added.
More
Probe reveals scope of academic fraud at UNC
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – More than 3,100 students -- nearly half of them athletes -- enrolled in classes they didn't have to show up for and received artificially inflated grades in what an investigator called a "shadow curriculum" that lasted nearly two decades at the University of North Carolina.
The report released Wednesday by former high-ranking U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein found more far-reaching academic fraud than previous investigations by the school and the NCAA.
Many at the university hoped Wainstein's investigation would bring some closure to the long-running scandal, which is rooted in an NCAA investigation focused on improper benefits within the football program in 2010. Instead, findings of a systemic problem in the former African and Afro-American Studies department could lead to NCAA sanctions and possible dismissal of additional UNC staff.
"I think it's very clear that this is an academic, an athletic and a university problem," chancellor Carol Folt said.
More
The report released Wednesday by former high-ranking U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein found more far-reaching academic fraud than previous investigations by the school and the NCAA.
Many at the university hoped Wainstein's investigation would bring some closure to the long-running scandal, which is rooted in an NCAA investigation focused on improper benefits within the football program in 2010. Instead, findings of a systemic problem in the former African and Afro-American Studies department could lead to NCAA sanctions and possible dismissal of additional UNC staff.
"I think it's very clear that this is an academic, an athletic and a university problem," chancellor Carol Folt said.
More
A Letter To The Editor: The Laura Mitchell – Ron Pagano Scam Strategy
Earlier this year, another Democrat candidate for the Wicomico County Council also claimed extensive professional experience without providing the particulars. However, Ron Pagano’s real record is less than stellar, putting it mildly, as we reported.
Mitchell and Pagano must believe that Wicomico County voters are too stupid to want to know the details of her experience. Who would hire someone who claimed to have extensive experience but did not disclose the details?
Conowingo And Bay Cleanup Subject Of College Forum
CHESTERTOWN — Top environmental experts and observers will meet Tuesday, Oct. 28 at Washington College to discuss how dredging the Susquehanna River’s Conowingo Dam could be the missing link to Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.
According to a news release from the Maryland Public Policy Institute, the dam currently holds more than 170 million tons of sediment pollution that can devastate the Bay’s water quality and wildlife when released during storms. However, the State of Maryland has no plan to remove the sediment.
Panelists at the forum, which will be held in the college’s Hynson Lounge, will discuss what role the state and the federal government should play in dredging the dam.
More
According to a news release from the Maryland Public Policy Institute, the dam currently holds more than 170 million tons of sediment pollution that can devastate the Bay’s water quality and wildlife when released during storms. However, the State of Maryland has no plan to remove the sediment.
Panelists at the forum, which will be held in the college’s Hynson Lounge, will discuss what role the state and the federal government should play in dredging the dam.
More
Ruth Graham
We noticed you posted earlier today about Ruth Graham coming to Salisbury on Sat., Nov 1 at Oak Ridge. She is also working in conjunction with them and us and we are having her at both of our Sunday morning services (8:30a and 10:30a). Both are obviously free opportunities to hear her since it is a part of our usual Sunday services.
Pastor Bill, our lead pastor at The Uprising in Hebron, asked me to give you some further details about this and we were hoping you could post it in addition to the other Ruth Graham announcement. If your readers have any further inquiry, they can visit theuprisingchurch.org.
Concerned Parents
The Wicomico County Board of Education accepted the Facilities Task Force Long Range Planning Report back in July. The plan can be found on the Wicomico County Board of Education’s webpage http://www.wcboe.org The following concerns are from teachers and parents within our community:
· The Board of Education has done a disservice to our district. The task force who created this plan had 32 members and the Willards and Pittsville communities were not represented. Our community as a whole will be directly affected through the proposed increase in population within our schools. The BOE did not consult anyone from our district prior to acceptance of the plan. They only decided to come to present the plan to us upon our demands. This meeting will be on Oct. 27th at 7pm at the Pittsville School in the Cafeteria.
· The Board of Education has done a disservice to the teachers. The teachers, parents and principals of the schools have been made aware of this plan by accident it appears. They did not receive so much as a memo with regard to the acceptance of this plan. The teachers are afraid to voice their opinions or oppositions to the plan as employees of the Board of Education. The teachers should have a voice because they are the ones on the front line; they have a better understanding of how these decisions will affect the classrooms.
· Here is a summary of what the plan means for our district: Willards is becoming a K-5th grade Elementary School and is currently overcrowded since the 3rd graders have already been moved for the 2014 school year. When 5th and 6th grades are moved in, portables will be added. Pittsville becomes a Middle School with grades 6-8. Both schools will become overcrowded and portables are listed as the solution to the intentional overcrowding when Wicomico Middle School closes and the new attendance boundaries are adjusted.
· Little or no attention has been given to our school’s facilities in terms of water, sewer, and/or roads, parking and the like. In fact, the Facilities Task Force never asked any important questions to our respective towns when they decided to increase our population within our schools within their plan.
· In order to complete un-pairing, the use of portable classrooms is considered the solution to the intentional overcrowding of Willards Elementary School. It appears that this usually considered temporary facility will in essence be a permanent fixture because the 5 year plan does not have any mention about additions to the schools which will become overcrowded.
· Each school has had security upgrades to the front entrances. The K-3rd graders will be guarded within the school. The 4th and 5th graders will be in unsecure portables for the foreseeable future. This plan negates the security of the upgrades within the school through the increased use of the other entrances. The portables themselves are hardly considered secure.
· The portables are not safe. They are not built to the standards we demand for our children. With the lack of security, lack of adequate heating and cooling, lack of air quality, leakage from rain, and with the fact that they are noisy and possibly toxic based on this audio report at this link: portable-classrooms they should be eliminated as a viable solution to any overcrowding issue.
The safety of our children should come first!
· Ideally it would be best if the Wicomico Board of Education would leave our schools out of the plans for un-pairing. Once the facilities are adequate, and an addition is built onto Willards, the community might then embrace un-pairing. Pittsville School can accommodate 4th and 5th graders in the meantime. Those students will continue to be safe there.
· Population Growth projection:
o See page 12 for this excerpt:
o Willards is State Rated to have a capacity of 292. See appendix page C13 of the plan. The total population in 2012 for Willards School was 306. Now that they have moved in the 3rd graders, the population is over capacity with 420+ students. As seen in the above excerpt the guidelines project a maximum of 650 students.
o Pittsville is State Rated to have a capacity of 505. See appendix page C20 of the plan. The total population in 2012 for Pittsville School was 473. The plan is projecting a maximum of 400 per grade level with a maximum of 1200 per middle school as seen in the above excerpt regarding population guidelines (pg. 12).
· Pittsville & Willards facilities cannot accommodate more students and more traffic.
o Main Street and Gumboro Rd. in Pittsville has one blinking light with a terrible intersection. More bus traffic and more parent traffic will cause major problems for our community. It is bad enough as it is.
o As per the state highway department there has not been a traffic study to assess the increased traffic on Main Street or Old Ocean City roads. Maintenance of roads in these areas would have to be investigated considering there will be an increase of bus and parental traffic.
o Sherriff Mike Lewis informed me that in the first 9 months of this year there had been 12 accidents in and around the roads 346 and 353.
o During dismissal Main Street outside the Pittsville School becomes grid locked. There is not a turn lane, so the entire east-bound lane is stopped for about 40 minutes. Increasing our population will only increase this problem.
o Parking is also inadequate as it is right now at both Willards and Pittsville Schools.
o The town of Pittsville is not prepared to consider the increased amount of students in the school and the increase in sewer usage.
· The proposal has little or no emphasis on doing anything based upon what is best for the children and especially not for those of our district!
· We have about 40 homes for sale in Pittsville and numerous more in foreclosure. The property values will decrease given that our school districts will be considered over-crowded after the Board of Education makes their plan a reality.
· Please attend this:
· The Board of Education has done a disservice to our district. The task force who created this plan had 32 members and the Willards and Pittsville communities were not represented. Our community as a whole will be directly affected through the proposed increase in population within our schools. The BOE did not consult anyone from our district prior to acceptance of the plan. They only decided to come to present the plan to us upon our demands. This meeting will be on Oct. 27th at 7pm at the Pittsville School in the Cafeteria.
· The Board of Education has done a disservice to the teachers. The teachers, parents and principals of the schools have been made aware of this plan by accident it appears. They did not receive so much as a memo with regard to the acceptance of this plan. The teachers are afraid to voice their opinions or oppositions to the plan as employees of the Board of Education. The teachers should have a voice because they are the ones on the front line; they have a better understanding of how these decisions will affect the classrooms.
· Here is a summary of what the plan means for our district: Willards is becoming a K-5th grade Elementary School and is currently overcrowded since the 3rd graders have already been moved for the 2014 school year. When 5th and 6th grades are moved in, portables will be added. Pittsville becomes a Middle School with grades 6-8. Both schools will become overcrowded and portables are listed as the solution to the intentional overcrowding when Wicomico Middle School closes and the new attendance boundaries are adjusted.
· Little or no attention has been given to our school’s facilities in terms of water, sewer, and/or roads, parking and the like. In fact, the Facilities Task Force never asked any important questions to our respective towns when they decided to increase our population within our schools within their plan.
· In order to complete un-pairing, the use of portable classrooms is considered the solution to the intentional overcrowding of Willards Elementary School. It appears that this usually considered temporary facility will in essence be a permanent fixture because the 5 year plan does not have any mention about additions to the schools which will become overcrowded.
· Each school has had security upgrades to the front entrances. The K-3rd graders will be guarded within the school. The 4th and 5th graders will be in unsecure portables for the foreseeable future. This plan negates the security of the upgrades within the school through the increased use of the other entrances. The portables themselves are hardly considered secure.
· The portables are not safe. They are not built to the standards we demand for our children. With the lack of security, lack of adequate heating and cooling, lack of air quality, leakage from rain, and with the fact that they are noisy and possibly toxic based on this audio report at this link: portable-classrooms they should be eliminated as a viable solution to any overcrowding issue.
The safety of our children should come first!
· Ideally it would be best if the Wicomico Board of Education would leave our schools out of the plans for un-pairing. Once the facilities are adequate, and an addition is built onto Willards, the community might then embrace un-pairing. Pittsville School can accommodate 4th and 5th graders in the meantime. Those students will continue to be safe there.
· Population Growth projection:
o See page 12 for this excerpt:
o Willards is State Rated to have a capacity of 292. See appendix page C13 of the plan. The total population in 2012 for Willards School was 306. Now that they have moved in the 3rd graders, the population is over capacity with 420+ students. As seen in the above excerpt the guidelines project a maximum of 650 students.
o Pittsville is State Rated to have a capacity of 505. See appendix page C20 of the plan. The total population in 2012 for Pittsville School was 473. The plan is projecting a maximum of 400 per grade level with a maximum of 1200 per middle school as seen in the above excerpt regarding population guidelines (pg. 12).
· Pittsville & Willards facilities cannot accommodate more students and more traffic.
o Main Street and Gumboro Rd. in Pittsville has one blinking light with a terrible intersection. More bus traffic and more parent traffic will cause major problems for our community. It is bad enough as it is.
o As per the state highway department there has not been a traffic study to assess the increased traffic on Main Street or Old Ocean City roads. Maintenance of roads in these areas would have to be investigated considering there will be an increase of bus and parental traffic.
o Sherriff Mike Lewis informed me that in the first 9 months of this year there had been 12 accidents in and around the roads 346 and 353.
o During dismissal Main Street outside the Pittsville School becomes grid locked. There is not a turn lane, so the entire east-bound lane is stopped for about 40 minutes. Increasing our population will only increase this problem.
o Parking is also inadequate as it is right now at both Willards and Pittsville Schools.
o The town of Pittsville is not prepared to consider the increased amount of students in the school and the increase in sewer usage.
· The proposal has little or no emphasis on doing anything based upon what is best for the children and especially not for those of our district!
· We have about 40 homes for sale in Pittsville and numerous more in foreclosure. The property values will decrease given that our school districts will be considered over-crowded after the Board of Education makes their plan a reality.
· Please attend this:
Megan Mahoney, Gym Teacher, Charged With 30 Counts Of Statutory Rape
Megan Mahoney, 24, was arrested Monday for allegedly having regular sexual contact with the same 16-year-old student over a period of more than two months beginning in late October 2013, the Staten Island Advance reports.
She faces 30 counts of statutory rape in the case. The New York Post reports:
More
Multiple Dredging Projects Taking Place This Fall; OC Canals, Inlet Work Underway
The federal Army Corps of Engineers in September began a major dredging project of the navigation channels in the Isle of Wight and Sinepuxent bays with hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of dredged materials being spread at various important ecological sites in and around the resort area. Taking place at the same time is the dredging of various canals in Ocean City, which need to be dredged to facilitate marine navigation.
New on the landscape this week was the Army Corps’ dredge vessel “Murden” which was seen working in and around the Inlet and at the mouth of the commercial harbor in recent days. Twice a year, typically in the spring and fall, the “Murden” performs sand management dredging during which the Corps takes material from the Inlet ebb and flood shoals and transports it to the surf zone on Assateague.
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How To Contact the Ethics Commission About the Pollitt-Brown-Ireton Episode
Even if Pollitt – who is her superior as well as Brown’s campaign manager – did not direct her to forward the information, this is a clear violation of the County’s ethics law, and the ethics commission should promptly sanction all who are complicit.
Because we have been told that the ethics commissios acts only when someone complains, were are publishing the names of the members and, if known, their telephone numbers –
Jeffrey E. Badge – 410-749-2356 (office)
Robin Holloway – 410-749-0577 (business)
Arthur Cooley – 410-749-8511 (residence)
Clifton Beach, Alternate member -- unknown
Maybe, if enough people contact the members demanding prompt action, they will issue sanctions before the election.
IS NEW EBOLA CZAR'S BIGGEST FEAR ... OVERPOPULATION?
'We've got to find a way to make the world work for everyone'
NEW YORK – The man charged with managing the U.S. response to deadly Ebola virus is on the record advocating a reduction in the world’s population as a means of social and economic advancement.
Ron Klain, who began his job Wednesday as coordinator of the Ebola response, was asked in an interview what he thought to be the “top leadership issue challenging our world today.”
“In think the top leadership issue in the world today is how to deal with the continuing growing population in the world and all the resources demand it places on in the world and burgeoning populations in Asia and Africa that lack the resources to have a healthy, happy life,” Klain replied. “And I think we’ve got to find a way to make the world work for everyone.”
He said climate change impacts the overpopulation issue “by making it hard for people to live where they live.”
More
NEW YORK – The man charged with managing the U.S. response to deadly Ebola virus is on the record advocating a reduction in the world’s population as a means of social and economic advancement.
Ron Klain, who began his job Wednesday as coordinator of the Ebola response, was asked in an interview what he thought to be the “top leadership issue challenging our world today.”
“In think the top leadership issue in the world today is how to deal with the continuing growing population in the world and all the resources demand it places on in the world and burgeoning populations in Asia and Africa that lack the resources to have a healthy, happy life,” Klain replied. “And I think we’ve got to find a way to make the world work for everyone.”
He said climate change impacts the overpopulation issue “by making it hard for people to live where they live.”
More
Fantastic Halloween Deals
410-723-8528 (Direct) 410-524-1203 (Main) Cynthia.jester@cbmove.com
There are so many deals right now in and around town. With another month to go you never know what you will be able to conjure up! If you have been thinking of buying an investment or just want a private get-away, now is a good time to begin looking. See what our market has and keep an eye on it. Prices are still low and interest rates have not yet jumped up. Let me know if you want more information. I work with buyers and sellers and also handle commercial deals. I am licensed in Maryland and Delaware.
Thousands of federal workers on extended paid leave
Tens of thousands of federal workers are being kept on paid leave for at least a month — and often for longer stretches that can reach a year or more — while they wait to be punished for misbehavior or cleared and allowed to return to work, government records show.
During a three-year period that ended last fall, more than 57,000 employees were sent home for a month or longer. The tab for these workers exceeded $775 million in salary alone.
The extensive use of administrative leave continues despite government personnel rules that limit paid leave for employees facing discipline to “rare circumstances” in which the employee is considered a threat. The long-standing rules were written in an effort to curb waste and deal quickly with workers accused of misconduct.
More
During a three-year period that ended last fall, more than 57,000 employees were sent home for a month or longer. The tab for these workers exceeded $775 million in salary alone.
The extensive use of administrative leave continues despite government personnel rules that limit paid leave for employees facing discipline to “rare circumstances” in which the employee is considered a threat. The long-standing rules were written in an effort to curb waste and deal quickly with workers accused of misconduct.
More
HUGE GRAPE PRODUCTION AT LAYTON’S CHANCE WINERY LEADS TO 48 HOUR –OPPORTUNITY FOR WINE-MAKERS
For more information, contact Molly Hilligoss at 443-523-5599.
Email: homebrew@brewsup.net
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Officer Raymond Wesley Wells 3rd Had No Reason To Be In Salisbury, Or Did He?
We published a press release earlier this evening from the Salisbury Police Department but there's more to this mystery then this man simply being intoxicated. Wells and his Wife are from Hagerstown and considering she was not with him, something stinks.
One has to wonder if this will get swept under the rug but considering his department just released a prisoner in Baltimore by ACCIDENT and then this guy shoots off a round right here in Salisbury, what's next?
The Press Release gave no details as to WHY Wells shot off the round OR just what exactly he was doing ON DUTY here in Salisbury when he allegedly had no reason to be here.
By now you know Salisbury News has enough sources to know, something stinks really bad about this one. Know this as well. If YOU or I had shot off a round on or around Rt. 13 in Salisbury, we'd be put away for quite some time, especially if we were intoxicated.
SPD and the States Attorneys Office needs to make sure they do NOT cover this one up. Intoxicated, OK. Intoxicated and firing off a weapon, CRIMINAL. We'll keep you posted.
How the Local Police State is Caused by the Federal Government
War on Terror has only increased the flow of money
According the Center for Investigative Reporting, the answer is that most of it comes from the federal government. In the past decade alone, police departments throughout the country have received a total of $34 billion in federal grants.
Police getting new toys on the fed’s taxpayer’s dime is nothing new. Ever since the War on Drugs was declared in the 1970s, the feds have offered equipment and resources to local law enforcement agencies to help enforce their unconstitutional laws.
SWAT-team methods converged with the drug war.
Enter the SWAT teams, once a rare sight, usually in an urban city rife with crime or civil unrest, now a staple in every community. In 1983, only 13 percent of cities with populations of 25,000-50,000 had a SWAT team. By 2005, it had reached 80 percent.
At the same time, the U.S. saw a massive increase in no-knock raids, from negligible in the early 1970’s to 70,000 in 2010. The current rate is about 150 such raids every day.
The War on Terror has only increased the flow of money, with billions of dollars since 9/11 going from the feds to local police in the form of Homeland Security grants. In 2011, the Pentagon gave away $500 million as part of a program for improving law enforcement capabilities.
Mind you, this was just one program.
DHS grants allow police in small rural towns, with virtually no crime, to obtain equipment, weapons, and vehicles more fitting for a battlefield than Main Street.
Read more
According the Center for Investigative Reporting, the answer is that most of it comes from the federal government. In the past decade alone, police departments throughout the country have received a total of $34 billion in federal grants.
Police getting new toys on the fed’s taxpayer’s dime is nothing new. Ever since the War on Drugs was declared in the 1970s, the feds have offered equipment and resources to local law enforcement agencies to help enforce their unconstitutional laws.
SWAT-team methods converged with the drug war.
Enter the SWAT teams, once a rare sight, usually in an urban city rife with crime or civil unrest, now a staple in every community. In 1983, only 13 percent of cities with populations of 25,000-50,000 had a SWAT team. By 2005, it had reached 80 percent.
At the same time, the U.S. saw a massive increase in no-knock raids, from negligible in the early 1970’s to 70,000 in 2010. The current rate is about 150 such raids every day.
The War on Terror has only increased the flow of money, with billions of dollars since 9/11 going from the feds to local police in the form of Homeland Security grants. In 2011, the Pentagon gave away $500 million as part of a program for improving law enforcement capabilities.
Mind you, this was just one program.
DHS grants allow police in small rural towns, with virtually no crime, to obtain equipment, weapons, and vehicles more fitting for a battlefield than Main Street.
Read more
Bipartisan Corporate Welfare
Insurance companies, meet “risk corridors.”
The conventional wisdom says that corporate welfare is the exclusive province of Republicans, always eager to do the bidding of their corporate donors. And, indeed, there are far too many examples of Republicans confusing “free markets” with “good for business.”
Still, there are more than enough examples to show that corporate welfare is a bipartisan sin. The Export-Import Bank? It’s backed by such “populist” Democrats as Senators Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio). More Democrats than Republicans support sugar subsidies and programs like the Market Access Program, which subsidizes overseas marketing and promotional activities for agricultural companies and trade associations.
But to see corporate welfare at its most insidious, one need look no further than Obamacare.
President Obama may have indulged the fantasy of himself as lone champion of consumers, standing up to evil Republican-allied insurance companies. But, in reality, Obamacare was a deal between the administration and insurers from the very beginning. In fact, a recent House Oversight Committee report details the close cooperation between White House adviser Valerie Jarrett and insurance-company executives.
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The conventional wisdom says that corporate welfare is the exclusive province of Republicans, always eager to do the bidding of their corporate donors. And, indeed, there are far too many examples of Republicans confusing “free markets” with “good for business.”
Still, there are more than enough examples to show that corporate welfare is a bipartisan sin. The Export-Import Bank? It’s backed by such “populist” Democrats as Senators Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio). More Democrats than Republicans support sugar subsidies and programs like the Market Access Program, which subsidizes overseas marketing and promotional activities for agricultural companies and trade associations.
But to see corporate welfare at its most insidious, one need look no further than Obamacare.
President Obama may have indulged the fantasy of himself as lone champion of consumers, standing up to evil Republican-allied insurance companies. But, in reality, Obamacare was a deal between the administration and insurers from the very beginning. In fact, a recent House Oversight Committee report details the close cooperation between White House adviser Valerie Jarrett and insurance-company executives.
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Larry Hogan: A Voice For Change In Maryland
More than thirty years later, it is still important for voters to ask themselves this question before stepping into the voting booth.
When Marylanders head to the polls on Nov.4, the election will most likely be a referendum on Martin O’Malley’s eight years as governor, with Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown’s unequivocal acquiescence.
Republican candidate Larry Hogan may benefit from this scenario and Brown will not be able to hide from the tax and spend initiatives he supported as O’Malley’s No. 2 man.
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Another jumper breaches White House and kicks a Secret Service dog before being subdued
Another man jumped the White House fence and ran onto the North Lawn before being subdued Wednesday night.
The man stood on the North Lawn around 7:16 p.m., gesturing and lifting his shirt, before he kicked a dog from a Secret Service K-9 unit that ran at him.
Another dog wrestled him to the ground before agents took him into custody.
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The man stood on the North Lawn around 7:16 p.m., gesturing and lifting his shirt, before he kicked a dog from a Secret Service K-9 unit that ran at him.
Another dog wrestled him to the ground before agents took him into custody.
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OCPD REMINDING CITIZENS TO BE SAFE WHILE CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN
Parents are encouraged to remind their trick-or-treaters of the following safety tips before going out in search of Halloween candy:
- Never trick-or-treat alone. Always stay with a parent or guardian. If the child is trusted to trick-or-treat alone, remind the child to stay with friends and only go to areas that are familiar and are well lit.
- Fasten reflective tape to costumes and always carry a flashlight. This will make the child more visible to drivers. Also, choose face paint and makeup instead of masks. This prevents the child’s vision from being obstructed.
- Only eat factory-wrapped treats and avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers.
- Enter homes only when with a trusted adult. Only visit well-lit homes and avoid dark houses. Also, never accept any rides from strangers while trick-or-treating.
- Always remember to stay on the sidewalk and only cross the street at the crosswalk when the signal gives the okay. Walk Smart!
- Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin.
- Before drinking, designate a sober driver.
- If you’re impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member or use public transportation.
- If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, do not hesitate to contact law enforcement.
- And remember, Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk. If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.
Blow by blow, Ferguson cop's FULL version of why he shot Michael Brown
'Incredibly strong' teen pressed gun to cop's hip, the gun was jammed by a finger - and kill shot was fired as Brown 'charged'
A Missouri police officer's full account of why he shot dead unarmed teen Michael Brown has been revealed for the first time - and he describes a frantic struggle inside his police car during which Brown grabbed his, twisted it around and pointed it at him - making him fear for his life.
Darren Wilson's testimony runs contrary to most eye-witness accounts and significantly makes the claim that Brown, 18, charged him after the initial struggle and never raised his arms in surrender.
Wilson, 28, paints a picture of an officer in distress during the afternoon of August 8 as a belligerent Brown, who was 6-foot-4 and nearly 300lb, tried to steal his sidearm and turn the weapon against him.
Further compounding Wilson's version of events was the revelation that Brown had marijuana in his system when he was shot. The police also say Brown had marijuana on him at the time of his fatal run-in with Officer Wilson.
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A Missouri police officer's full account of why he shot dead unarmed teen Michael Brown has been revealed for the first time - and he describes a frantic struggle inside his police car during which Brown grabbed his, twisted it around and pointed it at him - making him fear for his life.
Darren Wilson's testimony runs contrary to most eye-witness accounts and significantly makes the claim that Brown, 18, charged him after the initial struggle and never raised his arms in surrender.
Wilson, 28, paints a picture of an officer in distress during the afternoon of August 8 as a belligerent Brown, who was 6-foot-4 and nearly 300lb, tried to steal his sidearm and turn the weapon against him.
Further compounding Wilson's version of events was the revelation that Brown had marijuana in his system when he was shot. The police also say Brown had marijuana on him at the time of his fatal run-in with Officer Wilson.
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Ray Rice Files Grievance vs. Ravens
Pro Football Talk first reported the former Ravens running back had filed the grievance. According to ESPN's Ed Werder, it was filed several weeks ago.
The Ravens cut Rice after video of him hitting his then-fiancee (who he has since married) in an elevator was made public.
Rice also was suspended indefinitely by the NFL after the video became public. He has appealed the suspension, with a hearing set for Nov. 5-6.
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Eric Holder Wishes He Could Have Curbed Your Rights More Effectively
The Washington Times reports:
If there’s one thing that Eric Holder regrets during his time as attorney general for the United States, it’s his failure to press through a Second Amendment crackdown on the heels of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, he said.
“I think the inability to pass reasonable gun safety laws after the Newtown massacre is something that weighs heavily on my mind,” Mr. Holder said during an interview with CNN.
He was speaking of the White House push to pass a federal background check mandate for all commercial gun sales, as well as an outright ban on so-called assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines, in the wake of the December 2012 school tragedy.
. . .
“And the thought that we could not translate that horror into reasonable — I mean, really reasonable gun safety measures that were supported by the vast majority of the American people is for me something that I take personally as a failure,” he said, The Hill reported.
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If there’s one thing that Eric Holder regrets during his time as attorney general for the United States, it’s his failure to press through a Second Amendment crackdown on the heels of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, he said.
“I think the inability to pass reasonable gun safety laws after the Newtown massacre is something that weighs heavily on my mind,” Mr. Holder said during an interview with CNN.
He was speaking of the White House push to pass a federal background check mandate for all commercial gun sales, as well as an outright ban on so-called assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines, in the wake of the December 2012 school tragedy.
. . .
“And the thought that we could not translate that horror into reasonable — I mean, really reasonable gun safety measures that were supported by the vast majority of the American people is for me something that I take personally as a failure,” he said, The Hill reported.
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Toys R Us pulls 'Breaking Bad' dolls
The dolls are based on the series about Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who turns into a crystal meth dealer, and his sidekick Jesse Pinkman. The figures have a detachable bag of cash and a bag of methamphetamines.
Toys R Us, which is based in Wayne, New Jersey, told The Associated Press late Tuesday that the dolls are being removed immediately from its website and shelves.
"Let's just say, the action figures have taken an indefinite sabbatical," Toys R Us said in a statement. The retailer had maintained that the figures were sold in limited quantities in the adult-action-figure area of its stores.
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10 Things About The U.S. News Media That They Do Not Want You To Know
Do you trust the news media? Do you believe that the information that they are giving you is true and accurate? If you answered yes to either of those questions, that places you in a steadily shrinking minority. Yes, on average Americans watch approximately 153 hours of television a month, but for their news they are increasingly turning to alternative sources of information such as this website. Big news channels such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News are losing hordes of viewers, and they are desperately searching for answers. Things have gotten so bad at CNN that they have been forced to lay off hundreds of workers. The mainstream media is slowly dying, but they will never admit it. They are still convinced that they can find some way to turn this around and regain the trust of the American people. But it simply is not going to happen. The following are 10 things about the U.S. news media that they do not want you to know…
#1 The level of trust in the U.S. news media is at an all-time low.
According to a Gallup survey that was conducted last month, only 40 percent of all Americans have a “great deal/fair amount” of confidence in the mass media. That ties the lowest level that Gallup has ever recorded.
#2 The news media is far more liberal than the American people.
We hear much about the supposed “conservative bias” of Fox News, but the truth is that overall the U.S. public considers the news media to be extremely liberal. Gallup found that 44 percent of all Americans consider the news media to be “too liberal”, and only 19 percent of all Americans consider the news media to be “too conservative”.
And it is a fact that “journalists” are far more likely to give money to Democrats than to Republicans. The following comes from an MSNBC report…
MSNBC.com identified 143 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 16 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties.
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#1 The level of trust in the U.S. news media is at an all-time low.
According to a Gallup survey that was conducted last month, only 40 percent of all Americans have a “great deal/fair amount” of confidence in the mass media. That ties the lowest level that Gallup has ever recorded.
#2 The news media is far more liberal than the American people.
We hear much about the supposed “conservative bias” of Fox News, but the truth is that overall the U.S. public considers the news media to be extremely liberal. Gallup found that 44 percent of all Americans consider the news media to be “too liberal”, and only 19 percent of all Americans consider the news media to be “too conservative”.
And it is a fact that “journalists” are far more likely to give money to Democrats than to Republicans. The following comes from an MSNBC report…
MSNBC.com identified 143 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 16 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties.
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Baltimore Judge Takes Temporary Suspension By Consent
Maryland’s top court handed down the agreed-upon sanction in an order Tuesday morning. It includes an additional suspension of 25 days, which will be put on hold for now and lifted if Mays’ successfully completes a two-year probationary period with the state Commission on Judicial Disabilities, the Court of Appeals’ Consent Order stated.
The five-day suspension must be completed within 30 days, the order added.
Mays’ attorney, Andrew Jay Graham, said the judge has acknowledged her behavior was inappropriate and it will not be repeated.
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AP-GfK Poll: Most Expect GOP Victory in November
Two weeks before Election Day, most of the nation's likely voters now expect the Republican Party to take control of the U.S. Senate, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. And by a growing margin, they say that's the outcome they'd like to see.
But the survey suggests many will cringe when they cast those ballots. Most likely voters have a negative impression of the Republican Party, and 7 in 10 are dissatisfied by its leaders in Congress.
The Democrats win few accolades themselves. Impressions of the party among likely voters have grown more negative in the past month. In fact, Democrats are more trusted than the GOP on just two of nine top issues, the poll showed.
The economy remains the top issue for likely voters — 91 percent call it "extremely" or "very" important. And the GOP has increased its advantage as the party more trusted to handle the issue to a margin of 39 percent to 31 percent.
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But the survey suggests many will cringe when they cast those ballots. Most likely voters have a negative impression of the Republican Party, and 7 in 10 are dissatisfied by its leaders in Congress.
The Democrats win few accolades themselves. Impressions of the party among likely voters have grown more negative in the past month. In fact, Democrats are more trusted than the GOP on just two of nine top issues, the poll showed.
The economy remains the top issue for likely voters — 91 percent call it "extremely" or "very" important. And the GOP has increased its advantage as the party more trusted to handle the issue to a margin of 39 percent to 31 percent.
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Another Accident In Berlin, Three Hospitalized With Minor Injuries
The Dispatch
Shawn J. Soper, News Editor
BERLIN -- A busy couple of days for the Berlin Fire Department and EMTs continued on Wednesday afternoon with a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Old Ocean City Blvd. and Route 50, the second in as many days in and around the area and at about the same time of day.
Around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the Berlin Fire Department and EMTs responded to a vehicle collision at Route 50 and Old Ocean City Blvd. in a densely developed commercial area along the highway. After the collision, one vehicle was straddling the median on Old Ocean City Blvd. with significant front-end damage.
It appears the second vehicle left the roadway along Route 50 and took out a tall utility pole and a temporary road construction sign before ending up in the bottom of roadside ditch. The second vehicle must have spun around after leaving the roadway because it was facing west on the south side of the eastbound lanes.
According to emergency service providers, three people were injured in the collision, one of whom was taken to PRMC in Salisbury, although none of the injuries appear to be serious. The collision jammed up rush hour traffic along both roadways for the second day in a row. On Tuesday afternoon, a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Main Street and Old Ocean City Blvd. occurred at roughly the same time of day.
General’s Kitchen Looking To Keep OC Tradition Alive With New Location
In August, General’s Kitchen, located within the Beachmark Motel on 74th Street and Coastal Highway, was informed by the property owner its lease will not be renewed.
General’s Kitchen boasts 45 years of tradition in Ocean City. Owner Robert Noll’s stepfather, Gus Bollas, and his first wife, Mary Bollas, opened the restaurant in the George Washington Hotel on 10th Street and the Boardwalk where it received its name in honor of General George Washington.
When there was discussion of demolishing the hotel, General’s Kitchen moved to its current location on 74th Street in the early 1980s. Previously, it was home to a bank.
Bollas later remarried to Noll’s mother, Angela Bollas, who took over the restaurant when he passed away in April of 2000, and when she passed away this past December, the family business was passed onto Noll.
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19 Very Surprising Facts About The Messed Up State Of The U.S. Economy
Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve are lying to you. The “economic recovery” that we all keep hearing about is mostly just a mirage. The percentage of Americans that are employed has barely budged since the depths of the last recession. The labor force participation rate is at a 36 year low, the overall rate of homeownership is the lowest that it has been in nearly 20 years and approximately 49 percent of all Americans are financially dependent on the government at this point. In a recent article, I shared 12 charts that clearly demonstrate the permanent damage that has been done to our economy over the last decade. The response to that article was very strong. Many people were quite upset to learn that they were not being told the truth by our politicians and by the mainstream media. Sadly, the vast majority of Americans still have absolutely no idea what is being done to our economy. For those out there that still believe that we are doing “just fine”, here are 19 more facts about the messed up state of the U.S. economy…
#1 After accounting for inflation, median household income in the United States is 8 percent lower than it was when the last recession started in 2007.
#2 The number of part-time workers in America has increased by 54 percent since the last recession began in December 2007. Meanwhile, the number of full-time jobs has dropped by more than a million over that same time period.
#3 More than 7 million Americans that are currently working part-time jobs would actually like to have full-time jobs.
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#1 After accounting for inflation, median household income in the United States is 8 percent lower than it was when the last recession started in 2007.
#2 The number of part-time workers in America has increased by 54 percent since the last recession began in December 2007. Meanwhile, the number of full-time jobs has dropped by more than a million over that same time period.
#3 More than 7 million Americans that are currently working part-time jobs would actually like to have full-time jobs.
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3 Anne Arundel Co. Employees Disciplined After Making Noose, Joking About It
Rochelle Ritchie explains what happened.
Officials in Anne Arundel County will not say which department the trio works for, but all three remain on the job.
What started as a joke between three Anne Arundel County employees has outraged county executive Laura Neuman.
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SCHOOL SYSTEM, FIRE DEPARTMENT LOOKING INTO PEMBERTON ELEMENTARY SITUATION
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Real Hourly Wages Drop In September, Fail To Rise In 6 Of Past 7 Months
One of the greatest misconceptions plaguing modern economics is that just because there is broad inflation (real, not hedonic, seasonally-adjusted or a burst in Saudi Arabia dumping crude to pressure a Russian default), then nominal, and real, wages also have to increase.
The problem is that without the latter, there can be no actual economic recovery, and instead one ends with stagflation, something Japan is acutely experiencing right now.
Another problem: with nearly one hundred million people out of the labor force, and epic slack within the workforce, there is virtually no amount of inflation in this environment that can force corporations to not only stop firing people (see M&A bubble) but actually hike their pay (except of course for BTFD "traders" at major hedge funds and bank prop desks).
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The problem is that without the latter, there can be no actual economic recovery, and instead one ends with stagflation, something Japan is acutely experiencing right now.
Another problem: with nearly one hundred million people out of the labor force, and epic slack within the workforce, there is virtually no amount of inflation in this environment that can force corporations to not only stop firing people (see M&A bubble) but actually hike their pay (except of course for BTFD "traders" at major hedge funds and bank prop desks).
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Cape Responds To Letter Opposing Prayer
But two board members say the issue merits more discussion.
“This is not a board decision … matter of fact, the letter was not even shared with us until after it was sent,” said board member Sandi Minard.
The letter is in response to a Freedom from Religion Foundation letter sent to the district Oct. 8 after the Wisconsin-based group received a complaint about a Cape Gazette photo. The foundation says the photo shows football coach Bill Collick praying with his team after a game.
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Rehoboth Man Arrested for Sea Air MHP Burglaries
The investigation began on Monday October 20, 2014 around 10:28 a.m. when a 66 year old resident of Sea Air Mobile Home Park had just left his residence and was walking his dog when he observed a white male subject exit a house he was responsible for looking after. When confronted by the alert neighbor and questioned as to what he was doing there, the suspect fled on foot and scaled a fence behind the burglarized house located in the 19000 block of Atlantic Avenue. The witness was able to provide a detailed description of the suspect and general direction in which he ran. A state police K9 was utilized to track to the area of a residence on Dodd Avenue, but was unable to locate the subject at that time.
On Tuesday October 21, 2014, detectives with the State Police Criminal Investigations Unit assumed the investigation and were able to establish Alan F. Miller III, 32 of Rehoboth, as the suspect in this case. A search warrant was conducted at his residence on Dodd Avenue in Sea Air MHP around 3:00 p.m. and detectives located suspected stolen property possibly linked to two other burglaries in the area such as a flat screen TV and various electronic devices. At the time of the search warrant, Alan Miller was not at home, but was located around 5:10 p.m. in the neighborhood and was taken into custody without incident.
Alan Miller was transported back to Troop 4 where he was arrested for three counts of Burglary 2nd, two counts of Possession of Burglary Tools, two counts of Attempted Theft under $1,500.00, Conspiracy 2nd, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and two counts of Criminal Mischief. He was arraigned at JP3 and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $42,400.00 cash bond.
The residential neighborhoods of Sea Air MHP and Camelot MHP have been experiencing a rash of burglaries over the last two months and detectives are continuing their investigations into these incidents. Troopers remind residents to be vigilant of the houses that are closed up for the season and conduct periodic checks of those homes. Report any suspicious activity immediately to 9-1-1.
SFD Calls For Service 10-21-14
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- Tuesday October, 21 2014 @ 19:41Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Tuesday October, 21 2014 @ 19:00Nature: Smoke InvestigationAddress: 406 E Vine St Salisbury, MD 21801
- Tuesday October, 21 2014 @ 18:57Nature: Vehicle Accident w/InjuriesAddress: Pemberton Dr & Sleepy Hollow Dr Salisbury, MD 21801
- Tuesday October, 21 2014 @ 18:57Nature: Vehicle Accident w/InjuriesAddress: Pemberton Dr & Sleepy Hollow Dr Salisbury, MD 21801
- Tuesday October, 21 2014 @ 18:29Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
Hogan campaign releases two ads, "Heather," and "Kandie"
ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Hogan campaign released two ads today featuring supporters discussing why they are voting for Larry Hogan for governor. Their messages focus on Anthony Brown's economic record, which has made it more difficult for families to live in Maryland.
"The economic policies of the current administration hurt working and middle-class families the most," said Larry Hogan. "These ads outline what average Marylanders across the state feel and what they tell me every day on the campaign trail. Whether I'm in Allegany, Montgomery, or Worcester, Marylanders tell me they are struggling to make ends meet and feel as though this administration has completely ignored their problems and are actually making their problems worse."
The first ad, "Heather," features Heather Crowder of Annapolis. She tells the camera, "It's becoming harder and harder to raise a family here. I don't think it's believable when Anthony Brown says he's not going to raise taxes again. It's what he knows, it's what they do; when they need money, they raise taxes."
The second ad, "Kandie," features K Kandie Leach of Mt Washington. She tells the camera, "What makes things crazy is when you keep voting in the same party and there is no change, actually they call that insanity. I have never voted for anyone in the Republican Party in the past. I am voting for Larry Hogan."
The full ads can be watched here and here. Transcripts are included below.
Heather: "I'm Heather Crowder and I'm supporting Larry Hogan for Governor.
It's becoming harder and harder to raise a family here. I don't think it's believable when Anthony Brown says he's not going to raise taxes again. It's what he knows, it's what they do; when they need money, they raise taxes. They've done it like 40 times.
I do not think Anthony Brown deserves a promotion. I'm supporting Hogan, and it's not about Republican or Democrat because it has nothing to do with party, and everything to do with making our state a better place."
Kandie: "I am K Kandie Leach and I am voting for Larry Hogan. In most cases, the state of Maryland has remained stagnant; we have not moved forward, unemployment rates are high, we can't afford to live here.
They are implementing just ridiculous taxes, a tax on rain; families are struggling right now and I don't feel that Brown can make the change.
What makes things crazy is when you keep voting in the same party and there is no change, actually they call it insanity. I have never voted for anyone in the Republican Party in the past. I am voting for Larry Hogan."
"The economic policies of the current administration hurt working and middle-class families the most," said Larry Hogan. "These ads outline what average Marylanders across the state feel and what they tell me every day on the campaign trail. Whether I'm in Allegany, Montgomery, or Worcester, Marylanders tell me they are struggling to make ends meet and feel as though this administration has completely ignored their problems and are actually making their problems worse."
The first ad, "Heather," features Heather Crowder of Annapolis. She tells the camera, "It's becoming harder and harder to raise a family here. I don't think it's believable when Anthony Brown says he's not going to raise taxes again. It's what he knows, it's what they do; when they need money, they raise taxes."
The second ad, "Kandie," features K Kandie Leach of Mt Washington. She tells the camera, "What makes things crazy is when you keep voting in the same party and there is no change, actually they call that insanity. I have never voted for anyone in the Republican Party in the past. I am voting for Larry Hogan."
The full ads can be watched here and here. Transcripts are included below.
Heather: "I'm Heather Crowder and I'm supporting Larry Hogan for Governor.
It's becoming harder and harder to raise a family here. I don't think it's believable when Anthony Brown says he's not going to raise taxes again. It's what he knows, it's what they do; when they need money, they raise taxes. They've done it like 40 times.
I do not think Anthony Brown deserves a promotion. I'm supporting Hogan, and it's not about Republican or Democrat because it has nothing to do with party, and everything to do with making our state a better place."
Kandie: "I am K Kandie Leach and I am voting for Larry Hogan. In most cases, the state of Maryland has remained stagnant; we have not moved forward, unemployment rates are high, we can't afford to live here.
They are implementing just ridiculous taxes, a tax on rain; families are struggling right now and I don't feel that Brown can make the change.
What makes things crazy is when you keep voting in the same party and there is no change, actually they call it insanity. I have never voted for anyone in the Republican Party in the past. I am voting for Larry Hogan."
Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspends judge Seamus McCaffrey over email pornography scandal
The Pennsylvania state Supreme Court has suspended Justice Seamus McCaffery on full pay while he is investigated over claims that he exchanged 'hundreds' of pornographic emails with the state's Attorney General's Office.
McCaffrey is also facing claims that he authorised the payment of cash to his wife from personal injury law firms for referring them potential clients.
Four of the members of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court voted to suspend McCaffrey, one dissented while two others - including McCaffrey - recused themselves.
He has been suspended on full pay while the investigation continues.
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McCaffrey is also facing claims that he authorised the payment of cash to his wife from personal injury law firms for referring them potential clients.
Four of the members of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court voted to suspend McCaffrey, one dissented while two others - including McCaffrey - recused themselves.
He has been suspended on full pay while the investigation continues.
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Methadone: One Pill Can Kill
Pain pills are the new "pocket gold" on the street, so valuable to drug dealers that the neighborhood prescription counter has become the target of routine holdups.
Bandits have been caught on surveillance video jumping over counters, not for cash in the register, but for Percocet, OxyContin, and a new favorite, methadone.
No matter how it is acquired, illegally or by prescription, methadone is now the leading drug killer in many states.
In North Carolina, methadone-related deaths have increased by 50 times in recent years, skyrocketing to more than one death every other day.
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Bandits have been caught on surveillance video jumping over counters, not for cash in the register, but for Percocet, OxyContin, and a new favorite, methadone.
No matter how it is acquired, illegally or by prescription, methadone is now the leading drug killer in many states.
In North Carolina, methadone-related deaths have increased by 50 times in recent years, skyrocketing to more than one death every other day.
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DNC targets black voters: ‘Get his back’
'Republicans have made it clear that they want our president to fail'
(POLITICO) Democratic candidates and campaign operatives don’t want to talk about it, but President Barack Obama is quietly being deployed as a sleeper element of the get-out-the-vote effort that Democrats see as their last hope to stanch Election Day bleeding.
In targeted mailers and ads for radio, print and on YouTube and Facebook, the White House and Democrats are returning to methods Obama used two years ago to rev the base for his reelection — just with a whole lot less money and staff involved, and many fewer people eager to see him.
But operatives in the White House and on the Democratic National Committee are relying on the blocs where Obama still runs strong and micro-targeting using the celebrated campaign data lists to find the core voters they might be able to get going in the final two weeks.
(POLITICO) Democratic candidates and campaign operatives don’t want to talk about it, but President Barack Obama is quietly being deployed as a sleeper element of the get-out-the-vote effort that Democrats see as their last hope to stanch Election Day bleeding.
In targeted mailers and ads for radio, print and on YouTube and Facebook, the White House and Democrats are returning to methods Obama used two years ago to rev the base for his reelection — just with a whole lot less money and staff involved, and many fewer people eager to see him.
But operatives in the White House and on the Democratic National Committee are relying on the blocs where Obama still runs strong and micro-targeting using the celebrated campaign data lists to find the core voters they might be able to get going in the final two weeks.
Maryland To Keep Testing Health Exchange Website
Isabel FitzGerald gave an update on Tuesday about how work is going. The state has incorporated new technology from Connecticut to revamp the website, which crashed on the day it opened last year.
FitzGerald says endurance tests will be run on the system to check how it operates under high loads for long periods. She also says the state will be testing how well the system works under complex scenarios, such as for accommodating different needs for different households.
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Crying ‘Racism’ on Ebola
Stop treating the disease’s arrival in America as an opportunity for allegations of bigotry.
In the grittier, less sanitized adaptations of Aesop’s “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” it is not only the sheep that lose their lives but the eponymous “boy” as well, his repeated mendacity and ill-timed attention-seeking leading, ultimately, to his death. Behavior, readers learn, breeds behavior, dishonesty begets mistrust, and gratuitousness fosters insensitivity, for “Men bileve not lyghtly hym whiche is knowen for a lyer.” Alarm, that most useful of things, operates on broadly the same principle. If everything is terrifying, eventually nothing will be. And then what is to become of us?
Over the past few decades or so, “racism” has become one of Aesop’s wolves, “racist” having been converted into such a depressingly quotidian charge that even those who believe racial injustice to be ubiquitous have come to resent the frequency with which it is alleged. Conservatives have long rolled their eyes at the wanton manner in which their ideological opponents have sought to tarnish them with the word — Peter Brimelow famously observed that, in so many instances, the definition of a “racist” is a “conservative who is winning an argument” — but, of late, we have been joined in irritation by other fair-minded sorts who have just about had enough. Earlier this year, George Will noted correctly that on college campuses and beyond, the charge has “become a joke among young people” — to the extent, even, that discussions of the topic are being received with “mirth.” Their inquiry? “What wolf”?
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In the grittier, less sanitized adaptations of Aesop’s “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” it is not only the sheep that lose their lives but the eponymous “boy” as well, his repeated mendacity and ill-timed attention-seeking leading, ultimately, to his death. Behavior, readers learn, breeds behavior, dishonesty begets mistrust, and gratuitousness fosters insensitivity, for “Men bileve not lyghtly hym whiche is knowen for a lyer.” Alarm, that most useful of things, operates on broadly the same principle. If everything is terrifying, eventually nothing will be. And then what is to become of us?
Over the past few decades or so, “racism” has become one of Aesop’s wolves, “racist” having been converted into such a depressingly quotidian charge that even those who believe racial injustice to be ubiquitous have come to resent the frequency with which it is alleged. Conservatives have long rolled their eyes at the wanton manner in which their ideological opponents have sought to tarnish them with the word — Peter Brimelow famously observed that, in so many instances, the definition of a “racist” is a “conservative who is winning an argument” — but, of late, we have been joined in irritation by other fair-minded sorts who have just about had enough. Earlier this year, George Will noted correctly that on college campuses and beyond, the charge has “become a joke among young people” — to the extent, even, that discussions of the topic are being received with “mirth.” Their inquiry? “What wolf”?
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Indiana to Limit Food Stamps for Single Workers to 3 Months
Able-bodied adults without children will be expected to enter a training program or go to work if they want to remain eligible beyond three months for food stamps in Indiana, the Indy Star reported.
To be eligible for food stamps, an individual has to earn less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $15,170. Under federal rules put in place during the Clinton administration, an able-bodied person wanting to stay on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program after three months needs to be enrolled in a training course or hold a job.
Indiana could have requested a waiver to this rule based on the state's economic climate. Instead, the state will re-establish time-limited benefits as a way to encourage residents to enter the workforce, according to Lance Rhodes of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, the Star reported.
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To be eligible for food stamps, an individual has to earn less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $15,170. Under federal rules put in place during the Clinton administration, an able-bodied person wanting to stay on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program after three months needs to be enrolled in a training course or hold a job.
Indiana could have requested a waiver to this rule based on the state's economic climate. Instead, the state will re-establish time-limited benefits as a way to encourage residents to enter the workforce, according to Lance Rhodes of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, the Star reported.
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Should Rick Pollitt Fire His Public Information Officer?
If Ms. Lee-Brooks was directed by Pollitt or his $125,000.00 per year assistant (“County Administrator”) to notify the news media of the press conference sponsored by Mr. Pollitt, apparently in his capacity as Anthony Brown’s local campaign manager, and others for the purpose of giving Larry Hogan a public whipping, politically speaking, then she is largely blameless, although she should have known better.
But if that is not the case and Ms. Lee-Brooks sent her e-mail at the request of the Brown campaign without first getting Pollitt’s approval, then he should discharge her – indeed, he should have done so already. The fact that Ms. Lee-Brooks remains on board as Pollitt’s “PIO” speaks volumes.
In either event, the e-mail sent by her, acting in that capacity and using the County’s internet access to do so, violates the County’s ethics law, regardless of whether (as she stated in the e-mail) she “was asked to forward” the announcement of the press conference, which was issued initially by a member of Brown’s campaign staff named Jerid Kurtz.
The more important question is whether Ms. Lee-Brooks was asked by her superiors, which include Pollitt, to do what she did. As mentioned above, there is reason to believe that’s the case.
Four Information & Input Sessions Scheduled on Facilities Task Force Report
A series of four Information & Input Sessions on the Facilities Task Force Report will provide the opportunity for the community to learn more about the report, ask questions, and share comments and concerns concerning these long-term facilities recommendations. Each session is open to anyone who wishes to attend. Information & Input Sessions will be held from 7-9 p.m.:
Monday, Oct. 27 at Pittsville Elementary and Middle School
Monday, Nov. 17 at Fruitland Intermediate School
Monday, Nov. 24 at Westside Intermediate School in Hebron
Monday, Dec. 1 at the James M. Bennett Auditorium in Salisbury
Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen will present the report, which the Board of Education accepted in July 2014. The Board and Superintendent are seeking input on the report’s recommendations. Input is also welcome at any time at comments@wcboe.org or on the Public Input Line at 410-677-5251.
For more information on the report, please visit: http://bit.ly/1t39kmz. A direct link to the report is also provided on the home page of Wicomico County Public Schools, www.wcboe.org. Please call 410-677-4495 for questions on the Information & Input Sessions.
The Most 'Distrusted' News Sources In America
You know there's a problem with the media when Al-Jazeera is trusted more than NBC, CNN, and MSNBC. As Pew research's Journalism Project shows in the following table, the study attempted to measure not just whether people had heard of a variety of news sources, but which ones they really trusted when it came time to get straight info about politics and governments.
From "most distrusted" to least...
From "most distrusted" to least...
BREAKING NEWS: Shooting reported inside Canadian Parliament in Ottawa
Canadian police report at least one gunman on the loose after multiple shots fired inside Parliament building and at War Memorial in Ottawa; media reports say at least one soldier shot.
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Word/Number Varification
To those of you experiencing word/number verification this is NOT something we are requesting. Blogger is experiencing technical difficulty for the time being. They are simply trying to make sure YOU are not a robot sending in spam comments.
Former Police Chief Speaks on Latest Michael Brown Shooting Information
FERGUSON, Mo. (KMOX) – Information about the Michael Brown fatal police shooting is beginning to leak out, and former St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch says it’s no accident the feds are allowing the information.
Fitch discussed a New York Times article indicating, according to federal investigators, there was a struggle that led up to the fatal police shooting of Brown, with KMOX’s Mark Reardon on Monday.
Fitch calls the information from the investigation coming out as phase two – to “coordinate leaks to the media, and to start getting some of the facts out there to kind of let people down slowly,” he says. “When I say this is phase two – phase one was really Eric Holder’s announcement how they were going to basically do a complete review and take over the Ferguson Police Department.”
Fitch says he thinks the feds recognize that it’s “probably very unlikely” that there’s going to be charges against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
“There was a struggle over the weapon. Law enforcement, we know that about half the officers killed every year with firearms are killed with their own,” he says. “So the fact that he didn’t have his own doesn’t mean there wasn’t a weapon there available that could be used in deadly force use.”
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Fitch discussed a New York Times article indicating, according to federal investigators, there was a struggle that led up to the fatal police shooting of Brown, with KMOX’s Mark Reardon on Monday.
Fitch calls the information from the investigation coming out as phase two – to “coordinate leaks to the media, and to start getting some of the facts out there to kind of let people down slowly,” he says. “When I say this is phase two – phase one was really Eric Holder’s announcement how they were going to basically do a complete review and take over the Ferguson Police Department.”
Fitch says he thinks the feds recognize that it’s “probably very unlikely” that there’s going to be charges against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
“There was a struggle over the weapon. Law enforcement, we know that about half the officers killed every year with firearms are killed with their own,” he says. “So the fact that he didn’t have his own doesn’t mean there wasn’t a weapon there available that could be used in deadly force use.”
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City Council Woman Shanie Shields Admits To Being On/ Using Oxycodone
Councilwoman Shanie Shields admits to being on Oxycodone. I'm told it's about half way through the above video.
113 Federal Reserve Staff Members Make $250,000 Annually
Just in case you need another reason to dislike the thieving Federal Reserve. FromReuters:
(Reuters) – The top 113 earners among staff at the Federal Reserve’s Washington headquarters make an average of $246,506 per year, excluding bonuses and other benefits – more than Fed Chair Janet Yellen and nearly double the normal top government rate.
Don’t worry Janet, once you leave, you can earn $250k per speech like your hero Banana Ben Bernanke.
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(Reuters) – The top 113 earners among staff at the Federal Reserve’s Washington headquarters make an average of $246,506 per year, excluding bonuses and other benefits – more than Fed Chair Janet Yellen and nearly double the normal top government rate.
Don’t worry Janet, once you leave, you can earn $250k per speech like your hero Banana Ben Bernanke.
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Court says not so fast with those red-light camera tickets
MIAMI — Big changes could be coming to cities with red-light cameras after a Florida District Court of Appeals judge said it’s illegal for camera operators to issue citations to drivers.
The program works like this: Cameras installed at traffic signals snap photos and are examined by the camera’s owner — not law enforcement — to determine whether a violation occurred. A citation is sent to the alleged violator. The driver has 60 days to appeal the ticket before it’s converted into a fine, just like any other citation issued by law enforcement officers.
“The private company is the one who sends the citations in the name of the city,” said Miami lawyer Victor Yurre. “Now it will have to be the city that does it.”
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The program works like this: Cameras installed at traffic signals snap photos and are examined by the camera’s owner — not law enforcement — to determine whether a violation occurred. A citation is sent to the alleged violator. The driver has 60 days to appeal the ticket before it’s converted into a fine, just like any other citation issued by law enforcement officers.
“The private company is the one who sends the citations in the name of the city,” said Miami lawyer Victor Yurre. “Now it will have to be the city that does it.”
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How Can You Have a Recovery Without Jobs Creators?
One of the items overlooked by the MSM regarding the dismal economic “recovery” of the last five years is the complete decimation of the self-employed.
There are currently 10 million people classified as self-employed in US. That’s 5% of the total workforce. Incidentally this is also a record low.
There are currently 10 million people classified as self-employed in US. That’s 5% of the total workforce. Incidentally this is also a record low.
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