Is GM Really Going to Go Bankrupt Again?

Louis Woodhill at Forbes seems to think so:

President Obama is proud of his bailout of General Motors. That’s good, because, if he wins a second term, he is probably going to have to bail GM out again. The company is once again losing market share, and it seems unable to develop products that are truly competitive in the U.S. market.

He’s right about the president being awfully proud of “rescuing” GM. Remember this from last week?

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Schedule Of 2012-13 Open Houses For Wicomico County Public Schools

Wicomico County Schools will hold open houses in late August in preparation for the opening of the 2012-13 school year on Monday, Aug. 27, for most students*. A complete schedule of open houses for Wicomico schools is below. For additional details, please contact the school.
*Please note that students in grades 1-6 and grade 9 will attend school on Aug. 27.

(Exceptions: All grades will attend at Pittsville Elementary and Middle, and only grade 6
will attend at Mardela Middle and High.) All students in grades 1-12 will be in school
Tuesday, Aug. 28. During the first week, kindergarten and prekindergarten students will report as scheduled by the assigned school.

GO HERE to view schedules.

Words Don’t Pull Triggers

On Wednesday morning of this week, a malcontented volunteer from an LGBT community center in Washington, D.C., walked into the lobby of the socially conservative Family Research Council. Along with a handgun and a box of ammunition, he was carrying a backpack that contained 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches — an obvious if peculiar reference to last month’s flap. Having cleared the doors, the Associated Press reported, the gunman shouted “I don’t like your politics!” and then opened fire, hitting a security guard in the arm. Mercifully, before he could do any more damage, he was subdued. The same could be said of the media coverage.

When a lunatic goes on a shooting rampage, we are quick to blame everything and everyone except the shooter himself. Among myriad other things, we blame the law, access to guns, political rhetoric, Hollywood, spending cuts, and talk radio; all while the person who actually fired the gun and planned the crime is relegated to being a helpless agent of whichever external forces seem most to vex the author. So often, more column inches are spent fretting over those with a cameo role than over the star of the show. This is rather grotesque.

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MSNBC CO-HOST TOURÉ: ROMNEY IS TAKING PART IN THE ‘NI**ERIZATION’ OF OBAMA

On Thursday, the panel of MSNBC’s “The Cycle” dissected Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s claim that President Obama should “take [his] campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago.” Though many would simply write this off as standard campaign rhetoric, co-host Touré argued that Romney was using “deep stereotypes” about black people, calling the comments the “ni**erization” of Obama.

“That really bothered me,” he said. “You notice he said anger twice. He’s really trying to use racial coding and access some really deep stereotypes about the angry black man. This is part of the playbook against Obama, the ‘otherization,’ he’s not like us.”

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PUBLIC NOTICE 8-17-12

PUBLIC HEARING TO BE HELD ON
SALISBURY – WICOMICO ENTERPRISE ZONE
RE-DESIGNATION & EXPANSION

A public hearing will be held during the City of Salisbury’s Council Meeting on Monday, August 27, 2012 in Council Chambers, Room 301 of the City/County Government Office Building. This public hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the re-designation and expansion of the Salisbury – Wicomico Enterprise Zone.

Businesses located in the Enterprise Zone may be eligible for Maryland Enterprise Zone tax credits on property taxes and/or state income taxes.

Both commercial and industrial businesses are eligible.

The Council Meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. and all interested persons are encouraged to attend. For additional information or questions regarding the Enterprise Zone, please contact City Administrator John Pick at the City of Salisbury, 410-548-3100.

Accident West Bound Rt. 50 & White Lowe Rd

Is It Okay For Store Owners To Call Out Bad Customers By Listing Names On Public Wall Of Shame?

It isn't just businesses that often need a dose of public shame to stop acting awful — sometimes customers are taken to task when they're behaving badly, as one video store owner in North Carolina has been doing. She estimates that she's lost about $26,000 in unpaid late fees and videos that never returned in the last three years and is taking to social media and a Wall of Shame in her store to fight back.

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Whooping Cough Cases Rise in Maryland

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, continue to rise so much so that some states have now declared epidemics.

While an epidemic has not yet been declared in Maryland, local health officials said we are keeping with the national trend.

"We are keeping a close eye on it," said Kurt Seetoo, MPH, Senior Epidemiologist Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

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Johnson & Johnson Promises To Kick All Harsh Chemicals To The Curb By End Of 2015

Johnson & Johnson is going forward with plans to take out any of the nasty chemicals consumers have taken issue with recently, by pledging not only to remove "chemicals of concern" from baby products by 2013, but also to reformulate adult products with safer ingredients by the end of 2015.

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IF THE BUSH TAX CUTS EXPIRE, HOW MUCH MORE WOULD YOU HAVE TO PAY?

The discussion of the Bush-era tax cuts is one of the most reliable political footballs in recent memory. And with the December 31 deadline for the last two-year extension of the cuts looming, we can expect the debate to continue up to and through the election.

What does that mean to you and me? It all depends on where you live? CNBC’s calculations show that Mississippi taxpayers will fare better than most people, but they still are looking at an increased tax liability of just over $1,300 (per household) for the year. Connecticut residents are on the other end of the scale and may be hit with a tax increase of almost $6,000 (per household) if the Bush tax cuts expire.

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Trying To Hide A 43-Inch TV Under Your Skirt Only Works If You Have A Really Ginormous Skirt

Despite the likelihood for ridiculous fashion trends, we're pretty sure there's no skirt out there that's going to completely hide the fact that you're walking out of a store with a 42-inch TV underneath it, which is what a woman in Norway recently tried to accomplish. "Walked" might be the wrong word -- shimmied, slowly shuffled or crept might work better when gripping such a large item without the use of one's hands.

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Taliban Say They Have Infiltrated Afghan Forces

The Taliban's reclusive leader said Thursday that his fighters have infiltrated the Afghan police and army and were successfully killing a rising number of U.S.-led coalition forces.

Mullah Mohammad Omar, the one-eyed chief of the Afghan insurgency, emailed his eight-page message to news organizations ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Omar said Afghan security forces were assisting Taliban fighters who infiltrate their ranks, kill foreign troops and then carry their government-issued weapons back to insurgent camps.

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Green Bio Fuel

NASA has chosen a project to test "green" rocket fuel. Ball Aerospace & Technologies will lead a team demonstrating a non-toxic propellant. The fuel is cheaper and safer. If all goes well, it could replace hydrazine currently used on spacecraft. Ball Aerospace will receive $45 million for the test. NASA has slated the mission to happen about three years from now.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - $480k for language services for two entry level staffers

The Washington D.C. based legal watchdog group Judicial Watch announced on Wednesday that it obtained documents, through to two separate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, showing that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau spent $479,354 for sign language translation services, that assisted two entry level staffers and a "Banking Law Fundamentals" class at George Washington University for the agency's top attorneys. According to JW:

With respect to the banking class, Judicial Watch filed its FOIA request after finding a May 31, 2012, purchase order published at usaspending.gov indicating the CFPB paid George Washington University $4,500 in class tuition on behalf of six employees to attend the “Banking Law Fundamentals” class. Responsive documents included training authorization forms as well as internal emails seeking approval to enroll in the course at agency expense

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Customs Chief Puts Herself On Leave

The chief of staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed herself on leave.

Suzanne Barr faces a review of accusations from a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by an ICE employee. James T. Hayes Jr., the special agent in charge of the ICE New York field office, filed the suit in May against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in U.S. District Court. Hayes accused Barr of creating a "frat-house type atmosphere" at ICE that targeted and humiliated male employees. An ICE spokesman said the charges have been referred to the agency inspector general. Barr worked for DHS Secretary Napolitano when she was governor of Arizona.

Activists To Take On Capitol Hill: Lay Off Our Milk, Lemonade

Milk and lemonade may seem like the staples of youthful innocence, but on Saturday a group of activists hope to turn them into the tools of protests when they take to the Capitol to demand the government stop interfering in sales of fresh milk and stop shutting down kids’ lemonade stands.

The Raw Milk freedom Riders and Lemonade Freedom Day, two separate groups that each want the government out of their transactions, are unifying their voices, saying that together they can drive home a message that the government should butt out.

“This issue is not just about raw milk and it’s not just about lemonade. It’s about every individual’s right to consume the food of their choice,” said Robert Fernandes, founder of Lemonade Freedom Day.

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Immigrant ‘Dreamers’ Apply In Droves For New Program, Thousands Now Expected To Attend College

The energy, excitement and raw emotion was undeniable as an estimated 1,000 “dreamers” showed up at CASA de Maryland's Langley Park center Wednesday for its inaugural application clinic, kicking off President Obama’s new deferred deportation program.

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CNN ANCHOR GRILLS BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ON ‘CHAINS’ REMARK: DON‘T TELL ME THAT IF IT WERE ROMNEY ’PEOPLE WOULD NOT BE GOING CRAZY’

CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien has had her share of on-air run-ins with conservatives, but it was a Democrat, not a Republican, in the hot seat on Thursday — the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, no less.

O’Brien grilled Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) on Vice President Joe Biden’s “chains” remark, asking him as one of the top black congressmen what he made of it. Cleaver’s answer? “Absolutely nothing.”

 “I would never have even paid attention to it but for the fact that campaigns nowadays are waiting for any kind of little nugget to create an atmosphere of more and more discord,” Cleaver said. “It makes absolutely no sense that some kind of a little throwaway line is now being used to make Vice President Biden appear to have been throwing out these words in order to somehow attract dumb African Americans who if they hear the words chains are going to automatically vote for him and President Obama.”

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New Federal Golf Rules

These new golf rules will be in effect beginning September of 2012. Please share with fellow golfers.

President BHO has recently appointed a Golf Czar and major rule changes in the game of golf will become effective September 1, 2012. This is only a preview as the complete rule book (expect 2000 pages) is being rewritten as we speak.

Here are a few of the changes .

Golfers with handicaps:
- below 10 will have their green fees increased by 35%.
- between 11 and 18 will see no increase in green fees.
- above 18 will get a $20 check each time they play.

The term "gimmie" will be changed to “entitlement" and will be used as follows:
- handicaps below 10, no entitlements .
- handicaps from 11 to 17, entitlements for putter length putts.
- handicaps above 18, if your ball is on green, no need to putt, just pick it up.

These entitlements are intended to bring about fairness and, most importantly, equality in scoring. In addition, a Player will be limited to a maximum of one birdie or six pars in any given 18-hole round. Any excess must be given to those fellow players who have not yet scored a birdie or par. Only after all players have received a birdie or par from the player actually making the birdie or par, can that player begin to count his pars and birdies again. The current USGA handicap system will be used for the above purposes, but the term "net score" will be available only for scoring those players with handicaps of 18 and above .

This is intended to "re-distribute" the success of winning by making sure that in every competition, the above 18 handicap players will post only "net score" against every other player's "gross score". These new Rules are intended to CHANGE the game of golf.

Golf must be about Fairness. It should have nothing to do with ability, hard work, practice, and responsibility. This is the "Right thing to do."

Congress Has Its Lowest Approval Rating Ever Recorded

How low can you go, Congress? According to a new Gallup poll released Tuesday, Congress now has an approval rating of just 10% - the lowest ever recorded. And that abysmal rating holds steady across the ideological spectrum – with Republican voters giving Congress a 10% approval rating, Democratic voters a 9% rating, and Independents – 11%. Before 20-07, Congress's approval rating only sank below 20% twice. Over the last year it's never been able to break 20% as deadlock, partisan bickering, and theatrics have dominated the 112th session of Congress. Curiously, this is the first Congress elected post-Citizens United – and nearly 300 million dollars in outside corporate and billionaire cash propelled these Members into office – the most ever recorded. In the last midterm election, in 20-06, there was fewer than $80 million in outside spending. In other words, we have the best Congress money can buy – and the people don't like it! To pay back the oil barons who funded their campaigns, Republicans in the House have held 191 votes against the environment – averaging one vote per day – blocking regulations to keep our air and water safe – and blocking action to address global climate change. To pay back the health insurers, Republicans in the House have tried to repeal Obamacare 33 times. And to pay back the banksters, Republicans in the House have been working around the clock to water-down, defund, or outright repeal new regulations on Wall Street to prevent another financial meltdown. In other words, this Congress – in particular, the House of Representatives, has been focused on helping only one class of Americans – the 1% - leaving the 99% behind. It's time to ask the five right-wing Justices on the Supreme Court if they still think money doesn't corrupt our government.