What They Are Saying: Governor Hogan's Transportation Announcement is a Grand Slam

What They Are Saying …

Governor Hogan's Transportation Announcement is "bringing change to Maryland," "a grand slam," and "pretty amazing"

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Maryland State Senate Minority Whip Steve Hershey: “Once again, Gov. Hogan and Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn have listened to citizen concerns, understood the problem and set a course to solve it… That is leadership.” (Dustin Holt, “Gov. Hogan announces funding for a fully-dualized Route 404,” The Star Democrat, 6/25/2015)

• “I am ecstatic to see that today’s announcement throws the old approach out the window and commits to doing the project the way it should be done…”
• “This governor committed to bringing change to Maryland and he has delivered every day since. Regarding transportation alone, he has lowered tolls and now brought dualization to one of the Eastern Shore’s busiest and most dangerous arteries, a major safety improvement.”
• Not only does he get it, but he has shown that he gets things done. I am glad to have a partner like him in the governor’s office.”

Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner: “That’s pretty amazing… This has been the priority for a long time.” (Kelsi Loos, “Hogan announces plan that includes funding for Md. 85/I-270 interchange project,”The Frederick News-Post, 6/25/2015)Garrett County Commissioner Paul Edwards: “This is tremendous news for us… the governor has come through on his promise to try help the rural areas of the state. I commend him for that…”(Matthew Bieniek, “‘Tremendous’ news for Garrett County,” The Cumberland Times-News, 6/25/2015)

• “As you all know, this is a project that we have been working on for well over a decade and the fact that the governor has prioritized this financially brings it that much closer to fruition…"
• “The economic opportunities here cannot be overstated…”

Maryland State Senator Wayne Norman: "He's trying to fix up the infrastructure that O'Malley let fall apart in the last eight years... [today is] a good day for Harford County…" (David Anderson, “Harford largely left out of governor’s proposal to boost spending on roads, bridges,” The Baltimore Sun, 6/25/2015)

Montgomery County Councilmember Craig Rice: “I am delighted that Governor Hogan has made good on his pledge to restore transportation funding for much needed infrastructure improvements in our County.” (Sonya Burke, “Councilmember Craig Rice on I-270 Improvements,” Montgomery Community Media, 6/26/2015)Caroline County Commission President Larry Porter: “These were certainly two things we all felt that needed to be done… Gov. Hogan, certainly, we thank him very much.” (Dustin Holt, “Gov. Hogan announces funding for a fully-dualized Route 404,” The Star Democrat, 6/25/2015)

•  “A lot of the time we’ve spent talking with him when he was in the county as a candidate was about 404. He listened, and we appreciate his support and approving the funding for this. We are thankful he didn’t forget us.”

Caroline County Commission President Larry Porter: “In the end, it will be something we have waited to see for a long time… It is a good day for Caroline.” (Editorial Board, “Hogan funds 404,” The Star Democrat, 6/26/2015)

•  “The biggest thing is, it will be something that will save lives.”

Maryland State Delegate Carol Krimm: “That’s great… Improving transportation infrastructure is a key component of economic development, so I’m happy to see that.” (Kelsi Loos, “Hogan announces plan that includes funding for Md. 85/I-270 interchange project,” The Frederick News-Post, 6/25/2015)The Star Democrat’s Editorial Board: “Gov. Larry Hogan has committed $160 million for the complete dualization of state Route 404, delivering on campaign promises to spend more on the state’s roads and bridges.” (Editorial Board, “Hogan funds 404,” The Star Democrat, 6/26/2015)

•  “We applaud Gov. Hogan for his decision to fully fund the dualization of Route 404.”

Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh Spokesman Owen McEvoy: “We are ecstatic the Governor is making this investment in infrastructure…" (Chase Cook, “Hogan announces millions in county construction funding,” The Capital Gazette, 6/25/2015)

•  “It will benefit the thousands of residents who commute around the county on state roads each day to get to work.”

AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Lon Anderson: “Governor Hogan hit a grand slam… I look at it as a rebalancing. Each administration comes in and sets priorities.” (Martin Di Caro & Matt Bush, “As Part of Multi-Billion Package For Roads, Hogan Says ‘Yes’ To Purple Line,” WAMU, 6/25/2015)Eno Center for Transportation’s Paul Lewis: “The governor has made it clear he has a priority to fix the roads throughout the state…” (Martin Di Caro & Matt Bush, “As Part of Multi-Billion Package For Roads, Hogan Says ‘Yes’ To Purple Line,” WAMU, 6/25/2015)

Passive-Aggressive Notes From Kids

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The thought process of some

Delmar Middle School Supply List 2015-2016

High School students will receive supply information the first day of school. Click 'More Below to see the lists

Marilyn Mosby Guilty of What She Seeks to Condemn

I ask you quite sincerely, What is the moral difference between racially motivated abuses of power by rogue municipal police officers and those by prosecuting attorneys?

People should be concerned by Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's behavior, but it is especially alarming when you consider that she is engaging in the same type of behavior that she is using her state power to criminalize.

We can now see why Mosby played hide the ball with the autopsy report on Freddie Gray's death, and it certainly wasn't to protect anyone's privacy — except, perhaps, her own, because it is objectively damning to her politically driven prosecution.

I have always been a law-and-order type of person and a strong supporter of law enforcement officials. In my book, cops don't receive nearly the credit and respect they deserve for helping to keep the peace, protect the citizenry and preserve ordered liberty. Over the years, I have observed how the political left has frequently abused, undermined and denigrated law enforcement, presumably because to many leftists, cops symbolize the Man — the existing power structure that represents the form of government they resent. It's ironic that these same leftists still target law enforcement when they are now largely in control of government and have managed to fundamentally change so much about our government that it ought to be to their liking.

Despite my respect for law enforcement, I must also point out that I am equally passionate against those situations in which cops — or any other governmental officials — go rogue and abuse their authority. It is horrifying when people vested with official authority abuse their authority under color of law. And when cops cross that line, they must be brought to justice, without question.

But it's wrong to evaluate allegations of abuse through biased lenses. You don't assume cops are acting improperly just because you are prejudiced against cops or authority. You must assess each individual case on its own merits.

More of David Limbaugh's column here..

Collapse, Part 4: Loss Of Faith In Public Institutions

Public institutions are now devoted to serving their own vested interests or the interests of private financial Elites. 

Though we may think of collapse in terms of ATMs not working and rampaging mobs, collapse actually starts with the intangible loss of faith in public institutions: elected officials, law enforcement, the justice system and the agencies of financial regulation (anti-trust, etc.).

Unsurprisingly to those who discern the structural rot of the status quo, Americans No Longer Believe In Their Institutions :

“Americans’ confidence in most major U.S. institutions remains below the historical average for each one,” a Gallup spokesman said in a news release. All in all, it’s a picture of a nation discouraged about its present and worried about its future, and highly doubtful that its institutions can pull America out of its trough.

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Can You Say, Executive Order?

Will there actually be a 

2016 Presidential election?

Confederate Flag Controversy a Complete Misdirect

Last week, evil racist terrorist Dylann Storm Roof shot nine innocent black members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Before their bodies had cooled, President Obama attempted to blame the shootings on the National Rifle Association and lack of gun control; Hillary Clinton blamed the shootings on white supremacy and Donald Trump-like overheated rhetoric; Bill Maher blamed Fox News, and suggested that Fox News ought to be droned like al-Qaida propagandist Anwar Al-Awlaki.

Despite these divisive tactics, Americans united. There were no racial lines to grief: Thousands of blacks and whites marched in Charleston, packed the devastated church, mourned together.

But the American left could not stand such racial unity — it threatens their cherished belief that America continues to represent racial oppression and white supremacy. And so the media and politicians on the left manufactured a racial controversy over the Confederate flag.

Now, there are plenty of excellent reasons to oppose the placement of the Confederate flag on state grounds: The Union won, as it should have; the Confederate battle flag originally represented a new nation founded on reverence for slavery, a deeply evil institution; the Confederate battle flag was utilized by Southern Democrats as a symbol of resistance to federal desegregation during the Jim Crow era. Blacks in America are absolutely right to feel offended by the flag.

By the same token, there are plenty of decent reasons for the Confederate battle flag to stay on longstanding state monuments: to remind viewers of the fact that evil and good live together in every human heart; to remind viewers of the fact that good people did sacrifice on behalf of their states' sovereignty, not merely to defend slavery (most of those who fought and died for the Confederacy did not hold slaves); as a symbol of Southern military heritage, given that the South has always been overrepresented in terms of its military service in the United States.

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Out Of Control School Bus

One thing is for sure, this woman needs to have her license taken away.

I had to make a trip to Annapolis on Thursday when we came upon this school bus loaded with children inside. 

When it couldn't rule the fast lane, it would honestly cut off vehicles in the next lane and ride the rear end of vehicles in front of it to push its way back into the fast lane.

If you look in the bottom right hand corner of the 2nd picture you can see our speed at 83 mph. This woman even did this on the Bay Bridge. 

Hopefully someone from Delaware sees this Post and pulls this woman off the road. Just look at her GPS and you'll see just how out of control she was. I've honestly never seen anything like it in my life. 

‘Independent Judicial Review’ Sought On OC Tax Petition

OCEAN CITY – With the full support of Mayor Rick Meehan, the City Council voted this week to seek an independent opinion regarding the legal implications of a successful petition to reduce the property tax rate to the 2009 rate.

Last month the Ocean City taxpayers for Social Justice (OCTSJ) submitted a petition to lower Ocean City’s tax rate to the 2009 rate of 38 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The same day the Mayor and City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget that raise the tax rate 2 percent to 47.8 cents.

A couple of weeks ago, Board of Elections Chair Mary Adeline Bradford verified 1,787 petition signatures were submitted. Out of those signatures, 310 were excused, leaving 1,477 valid signatures, which exceeded the required 1,228 signatures needed to require the town conduct a referendum within 90 days or at the next scheduled election, which is in November of 2016.

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House GOP Revokes Punishment for Lawmaker Who Defied Leaders

House Republican leaders have handed a subcommittee gavel back to a defiant colleague days after revoking it in an act of party discipline.

Republican Jason Chaffetz of Utah heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He says he reconsidered his decision to oust Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina as chairman of the Government Operations subcommittee.

Chaffetz says he and Meadows have spoken and understand each other better now.

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This robotic bricklayer can build a house in two days

For all the modern tools and heavy machinery found on construction sites these days, one aspect has remained a decidedly manual labor: bricklaying. Just as they did 6000 years ago when masonry was first developed, today's bricklayers still perform their backbreaking work almost exclusively by hand. But thanks to Australian engineer, Mark Pivac, that could soon change. Pivac has developed what he claims is the world's first fully automated bricklaying robot, dubbed Hadrian (yes, like the wall).

"We're at a technological nexus where a few different technologies have got to the level where it's now possible to do it," Pivac told PerthNow. "And that's what we've done." The system will first determine the location of every brick to be laid based on a 3D CAD design, then individually cuts and lays the bricks in sequence. Hadrian doesn't even need to move during the laying process as its 28-foot long boom manipulator is dextrous enough to both set the brick and slather on mortar as well. It even leaves space for pipes and wiring.

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IRS erased Lerner emails even after subpoena: audit says

Up to 24,000 emails completely lost

The IRS erased backup takes with Lois G. Lerner’s emails even after the messages were subject to a congressional subpoena, but it was an “unbelievable” chain of coincidences rather than a malicious intent to subvert Congress, the tax agency’s inspector general said Thursday.

As many as 24,000 emails may have been permanently lost, but the inspector general has managed to recover about 1,000 messages from the tapes because the IRS only “degaussed” the tapes but didn’t destroy them.

Still, the move to erase the tapes after they had been requested by Congress didn’t sit well with Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, who accused IRS chief John Koskinen of obstructing Congress‘ investigation into the emails and tea party targeting.

“They destroyed evidence. That’s what they did,” Mr. Chaffetz, Utah Republican, said.

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Veteran Psychiatrist Calls Liberals Mentally Ill

WASHINGTON – Just when liberals thought it was safe to start identifying themselves as such, an acclaimed, veteran psychiatrist is making the case that the ideology motivating them is actually a mental disorder.

“Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded,” says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of “The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness.”

“Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave.”

While political activists on the other side of the spectrum have made similar observations, Rossiter boasts professional credentials and a life virtually free of activism and links to “the vast right-wing conspiracy.”

For more than 35 years he has diagnosed and treated more than 1,500 patients as a board-certified clinical psychiatrist and examined more than 2,700 civil and criminal cases as a board-certified forensic psychiatrist. He received his medical and psychiatric training at the University of Chicago.

Rossiter says the kind of liberalism being displayed by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton can only be understood as a psychological disorder.

“A social scientist who understands human nature will not dismiss the vital roles of free choice, voluntary cooperation and moral integrity – as liberals do,” he says. “A political leader who understands human nature will not ignore individual differences in talent, drive, personal appeal and work ethic, and then try to impose economic and social equality on the population – as liberals do.

And a legislator who understands human nature will not create an environment of rules which over-regulates and over-taxes the nation’s citizens, corrupts their character and reduces them to wards of the state – as liberals do.”

Dr. Rossiter says the liberal agenda preys on weakness and feelings of inferiority in the population by:

(Read more here)

U.S. Troops Face Eating, Drinking Restrictions During Ramadan

A top commander in southwest Asia reminded U.S military personnel stationed in Muslim countries in the Middle East of the restrictions placed on them during Ramadan. According to a report by the U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs, Brig. Gen. John Quintas, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing commander in Southwest Asia, said that the U.S. is "committed to the concepts of tolerance, freedom and diversity." But he added that soldiers should "become more informed and appreciative of the traditions and history of the people in this region of the world... [R]emember we are guests here and that the host nation is our shoulder-to-shoulder, brothers and sisters in arms, risking their lives for our common cause to defeat terrorism."

During the 30-day religious celebration of Ramadan, even non-Muslims are expected to obey local laws regarding eating, drinking, and using tobacco in public. Violators can be fined up to $685 or receive two months in jail. A spokesperson for United States Central Command [CENTCOM] said that "we are not aware of any specific instances of anyone being arrested" for such violations.

\For military personnel outside of U.S.-controlled areas, the only exceptions for the rules are for those "performing strenuous labor." Such personnel are "authorized to drink and consume as much food as they need to maintain proper hydration and energy." It is unclear what constitutes "strenuous labor" or whether additional exceptions might be made during a heatwave affecting some areas of the region that has taken hundreds of lives.

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Detroit Teacher Union Head Faces Accusations

Simmering tensions within the Detroit Federation of Teachers are about to come to a boil, with some union members accusing controversial president Steve Conn of misconduct.

The allegations range from bad behavior at union meetings to claims that Conn has aligned the union with a national social justice group, all in violation of the DFT's constitution and bylaws, according to a letter Executive Vice President Ivy Bailey posted online Thursday. A closed hearing on the matter will be held Monday.

Conn, 57, has been on the job for about six months since narrowly winning the election in January.

"It's just an attempt to divide and distract the teachers, the members, from the real job of fighting the attacks on our health care, our jobs and our schools," Conn said in response to the charges.

The former teacher has long been a controversial figure. He has strong ties to the fiery social justice group By Any Means Necessary. Some teachers have been circulating petitions trying to recall him.
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Cardin Statement on Gov. Hogan’s Transportation Priorities Announcement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), released the following statement on Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s announcement regarding how the state will fund transportation priorities:

“With the federal government as a strong financial partner, Maryland must be willing to make bold investments in our transportation infrastructure, in order to create jobs and out compete other states in the region. Governor Hogan’s announcement of weak support for the Purple Line, shifting significant cost burdens to the local governments, the private sector, and the federal government, fills me with great concern. Connecting Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties through public transit is a top priority for the region and will pay great dividends for Maryland. This has been a top priority of mine and I intend to carefully review the details of his proposal. I intend to work to ensure that the federal government upholds its commitment to this project and that the governor’s actions do not put the viability of the Purple Line in jeopardy.

Whitewashing the Democratic Party's History

Here’s what a former president of the United States had to say when he eulogized his mentor, an Arkansas senator:

“We come to celebrate and give thanks for the remarkable life of J. William Fulbright, a life that changed our country and our world forever and for the better. … In the work he did, the words he spoke and the life he lived, Bill Fulbright stood against the 20th century’s most destructive forces and fought to advance its brightest hopes.”

So spoke President William J. Clinton in 1995 of a man who was among the 99 Democrats in Congress to sign the “Southern Manifesto” in 1956. (Two Republicans also signed it.) The Southern Manifesto declared the signatories' opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education and their commitment to segregation forever. Fulbright was also among those who filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That filibuster continued for 83 days.

Speaking of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, let’s review (since they don’t teach this in schools): The percentage of House Democrats who supported the legislation? 61 percent. House Republicans? 80 percent. In the Senate, 69 percent of Democrats voted yes, compared with 82 percent of Republicans. (Barry Goldwater, a supporter of the NAACP, voted no because he thought it was unconstitutional.)

When he was running for president in 2000, former Vice President Al Gore told the NAACP that his father, Sen. Al Gore Sr., had lost his Senate seat because he voted for the Civil Rights Act. Uplifting story — except it’s false. Gore Sr. voted against the Civil Rights Act. He lost in 1970 in a race that focused on prayer in public schools, the Vietnam War and the Supreme Court.

Gore Jr.’s reframing of the relevant history is the story of the Democratic Party in microcosm. The party’s history is pockmarked with racism and terror. The Democrats were the party of slavery, black codes, Jim Crow, and that miserable terrorist excrescence the Ku Klux Klan. Republicans were the party of Lincoln, of Reconstruction, of anti-lynching laws, of the civil rights acts of 1875, 1957, 1960 and 1964. Were all Republicans models of rectitude on racial matters? Hardly. Were they a heck of a lot better than the Democrats? Without question.

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Krauthammer: On Lowering the Flag

After a massacre like the one at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, our immediate reaction is to do something. Something, for politicians, means legislation. And for Democratic politicians, this means gun control.

It’s the all-purpose, go-to, knee-jerk solution. Within hours of the massacre, President Obama was lamenting the absence of progress on gun control. A particular Democratic (and media) lament was Congress' failure to pass anything after Sandy Hook.

With gun control going nowhere, the psychic national need to nonetheless do something took a remarkable direction: banishment of the Confederate flag, starting with the one flying on the grounds of the statehouse in Columbia, then spreading like wildfire to consume Confederate flags, symbols, statues and even memorabilia everywhere — from the Alabama state capitol to eBay and Amazon.

Logically, the connection is tenuous. Yes, Roof does pose with the Confederate flag, among other symbols of racism, on his website. But does anyone imagine that if the South Carolina flag had been relegated to a museum, the massacre would not have occurred?

Politically, the murders created a unique moment. Gov. Nikki Haley was surely sincere in calling for the Confederate flag’s removal. But she also understood that the massacre had created a moment when the usual pro-Confederate flag feeling — and, surely, expressions of it — would be largely suppressed, presenting the opportunity to achieve something otherwise politically unachievable.

Keep reading..

Boehner Retreats On Dissenter Retribution

WASHINGTON – After withering criticism, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has reversed course and allowed a dissenting conservative to be reinstated to a key post.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., was stripped of his chairmanship of the Government Operations Subcommittee last week in a move widely acknowledged to be engineered by Boehner in retaliation for trying to slow down passage of the bill giving President Obama “fast-track” trade authority.

A Capitol Hill aide called the reversal, “A huge win for conservatives.”

It was House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who technically disciplined Meadows, but it was widely acknowledged to have been done at the behest of Boehner.

That was after Meadows voted against a procedure facilitating passage of the Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, bill that eventually passed and gave the president the power to negotiate massive trade deals with other countries, cut Congress out of the negotiations and limit lawmakers’ participation to a simple yes or no vote when such treaties are concluded.

Boehner may have retreated not due to a change of heart, but out of fear of retaliation by conservatives, who threatened to vote with Democrats to bring the speaker’s legislative agenda to a halt.

An even more effective threat may have been when supporters of Meadows leaked word they had enough votes to side with Democrats to oust Boehner as Speaker.

“If the Democrats were to file a motion to vacate the chair and were to vote for that motion unanimously, there probably are 218 votes for it to succeed,” one member of the House Freedom Caucus told Roll Call Tuesday night.

Thursday, Chaffetz and Meadows issued a joint statement.

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