Have You Physically Seen Today's Daily Times?

I was walking up the Plaza early this morning and I saw a plastic bag in front of one of the buildings. I noticed it didn't look like much was in it so I picked it up out of curiosity and couldn't believe what I was holding.

What, is there 6 pages in total in today's Daily Times? How can a professional organization that sells a newspaper for at least $1.00 a day deliver such a thing?

Looks like the new newspaper in town might just have a shot at taking them down and they're free. Unbelievable!

Flood Of Secret Campaign Cash: It’s Not All Citizens United

The emergence of nonprofits [1] as the leading conduit for anonymous spending in this year's presidential campaign is often attributed to the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United [2] ruling, which opened the money spigot, allowing corporations and unions to buy ads urging people to vote for or against specific candidates.

But a closer look [3] shows that there are several reasons that tens of millions of dollars of secret money are flooding this year's campaign. Actions — and inaction — by both the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service have contributed just as much to the flood of tens of millions of dollars of secret money into the 2012 campaign. Congress did not act on a bill that would have required disclosure after Citizens United and other court rulings opened the door to secret political spending.

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Face Of Feldman's Coming Down

This morning construction workers started taking down the Mill Street face of Feldman's.

Anti-Obama Doc Highlights Weak Hollywood Newcomers

 Hollywood may have run out of summer hits, but an anti-Obama documentary is helping to fill the gap.

Holdover movies easily topped the weekend box office again, led by Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables 2" at No. 1 for the second-straight weekend with $13.5 million.

The weekend's new wide releases were overshadowed by "2016: Obama's America," which expanded from limited to nationwide release and took in $6.2 million to finish at No. 8.

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How A Lawyer Exploited The Fine Print And Found Himself Facing Federal Charges

The life insurance industry tried to make variable annuities irresistible to investors and was enraged when a Rhode Island lawyer exploited the fine print for his own profit.

Joseph Caramadre has spent a lifetime scouring the fine print. He's hardwired to seek the angle, an overlooked clause in a contract that allows him to transform a company's carelessness into a personal windfall. He calls these insights his "creations," and he numbers them. There have been about 19 in his lifetime, he says. For example, there was number four, which involved an office superstore coupon he parlayed into enough nearly free office furniture to fill a three-car garage. Number three consisted of a sure-fire but short-lived system for winning money at the local dog track. But the one that landed him on the evening news [1] as a suspect in a criminal conspiracy was number 18, which promised investors a unique arrangement: You can keep your winnings and have someone else cover your losses.

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Why Mother Teresa Still Matters

How do secular people remember a saint? As Mother Teresa‘s birthday on August 26th and the anniversary of her death on September 5th approach, I found myself thinking about this. I tried to imagine what I would know about the woman, 15 years gone, if I didn’t write about religion for a living. Probably that she was good to the poor. Short. A friend of Lady Di’s. I concluded that unless I were a pious Roman Catholic, I would know very little, which led me to consider the difference between the way the Roman Catholic church treats its deserving dead and the way society at large does.

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The NSA Is Completely And Totally Out Of Control

What the NSA has become since 9/11 is a sprawling Big Brother spy network aimed directly at the American people. In this powerful interview, documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras talks with William Binney about the emerging police state in America. Binney discusses how programs he had helped develop to gather intelligence on foreign enemies was suddenly, and to his shock, turned around on the American public without their knowledge or consent. He resigned from the NSA due to the unconstitutionality and immorality of this turn of events. Mr. William Binney is an American hero of the highest order. He could have just resigned and kept quiet like so many cowards out there most certainly have done. Please watch this video and pass it along to everyone you know. The key thing here is that this is being done TO us, behind the scenes, with ZERO public debate.

Watch it here.

Deputies Say First RNC Protester Arrested Had Machete Strapped To His Leg

TAMPA - Hillsborough County deputies arrested a 31-year-old man from North Florida after, they say, he was seen walking in the RNC Event Zone with a machete strapped to his leg. 

Around 2:15 Sunday afternoon, deputies on foot patrol say they saw Jason Wilson of Tallahassee with the full-size weapon, and ordered him to stop. 

Wilson continued to walk away, even telling deputies he did not have to stop, and that he was allowed to carry whatever he wanted.

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NSA Whistleblower William Binney Explains NSA Surveillance

National Security Agency whistleblower William Binney explains how the secretive agency run its pervasive domestic spying apparatus in a new piece by Laura Poitras in The New York TImes.

Binney—one of the best mathematicians and code breakers in NSA history—worked for the Defense Department's foreign signals intelligence agency for 32 years before resigning in late 2001 because he "could not stay after the NSA began purposefully violating the Constitution."

In a short video called "The Program," Binney explains how the agency took part of one of the programs he built and started using it to spy on virtually every U.S. citizen without warrants under the code-name Stellar Wind.

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PUBLIC NOTICE 8-27-12

THE SALISBURY CITY COUNCIL WILL ENTERTAIN A VOTE TO CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION AT 12:00 P.M. (NOON) ON MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2012 FOR A PERSONNEL MATTER (INTERVIEW CANDIDATE FOR INTERNAL SERVICES - DIRECTOR POSITION) AS PERMITTED UNDER THE ANNOTATED CODE OF MARYLAND SECTION 10-508(a)(1)(i).

THE SESSION WILL BE HELD IN CONFERENCE ROOM 306 OF THE GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDING (125 N. DIVISION STREET) AT WHICH TIME THE PUBLIC CAN OBSERVE THE MOTION, ANY DISCUSSION AND THE VOTE TO CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION AS NOTED ABOVE.

Mitt Romney Leads Obama In Poll Heading Into RNC

As Mitt Romney heads into next week’s Republican National Convention, he narrowly trails President Obama in national polls but has closed the gap or taken a slight lead in several of the dozen swing states that could decide November’s presidential election.

According to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll, the race remains essentially a dead heat with slightly more than 10 weeks to go before Election Day, and Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his running mate appears to have made little difference. The poll, conducted Aug. 16-20, shows registered voters favoring Obama and Vice President Biden over the Romney-Ryan ticket by 47 percent to 46 percent — little changed from June when Obama led Romney by 47 percent to 44 percent.

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RNC May Have Jumped Gun Delaying Convention

GOP convention officials went to great lengths Sunday to cram a four-day event into three days after it canceled the gathering's Monday calendar, citing severe weather conditions from Tropical Storm Isaac.

But did they jump the gun when they first decided Saturday to delay the start of the convention?

Come Monday, those in Tampa may be saying "yes."

Sunday night, it appeared Isaac would mostly bypass Florida's west coast, including the convention site. The storm should strengthen into a hurricane in the next day or two, but it's expected now to strike further west, anywhere between the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana.

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View Staff Kickoff Messages For Staff Of Wicomico County Public Schools

The Staff Kickoff Day program that was watched today by all staff of Wicomico County Public Schools is also available to view on YouTube:

The kickoff program is posted in three separate pieces:

Part 1: Introduction, Edgeucators, WCEA Kelly President Stephenson

http://youtu.be/CKy7oNrS-G8

Part 2: Wicomico Teacher of the Year Susie Jones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHs_tg3hf2E

Part 3: Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen, Edgeucators

http://youtu.be/HylkwX5YyM8

It’s almost time for the start of the 2012-13 school year in Wicomico County Public Schools. Here are a few things new and of note for the upcoming school year.

Staff and schools are all ready for the start of the 2012-13 school year Monday, Aug. 27. 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.

Md Delegation Hits The Ground Running In Tampa at RNC

Ready and raring to go, the Maryland delegation has arrived in Tampa for the Republican National Convention.

24 delegates and 24 delegate alternates are among those Maryland Republicans who are gathering now for the RNC on the West Coast of Florida.

The host hotel for the Maryland delegation is the DoubleTree Suites on the banks of Tampa Bay.

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Facility Services Wraps Up Summer Of School Projects Throughout Wicomico

Facility Services staff of Wicomico County Public Schools have been working hard this summer on a long list of projects to improve school facilities prior to the start of the 2012-13 school year in late August.

“Summer means time off for our students, but it’s a critically important time “on” for Facility Services, which maintains over 2 million square feet of building space throughout Wicomico County,” said Brian Foret, Director of Facility Services. “Those few weeks over the summer are vital to us. We need the time to catch up on our operational housekeeping duties and roll out projects we just can’t get to during the school year. It gives us a window to do things like roofing and parking lot projects, move classrooms, painting, upgrade security features, resurface floors, replace equipment and make other major repairs and/or replacements required to maintain or will improve the facilities in which our students and staff work.”

Facility Services projects are being done at every school in Wicomico County this summer. Among the biggest and most visible projects:

• Fruitland Intermediate roof replacement and improvements to vehicular access
• Charles H. Chipman Elementary roof replacement
• Secure access entryways for Glen Avenue Elementary, Bennett Middle, Parkside High
• Modular classroom building relocated to Pittsville Elementary and Middle in preparation for a major HVAC project
• Auditorium sound and lighting upgrades for Parkside High and Wicomico High

For a complete listing of all summer 2012 facility projects, please check out Summer 2012 Project Listing

This summer, Facility Services is also preparing for the replacement Bennett Middle School project, which could break ground in January. Earlier this year, the Maryland Board of Public Works allocated $10 million in state funding for FY 2013 for the project. (Maryland will pay 96% of eligible construction costs for the Bennett Middle project, the highest rate in the state.) Then, following a public hearing on July 12, the Wicomico County Council approved a $12.55 million bond bill for the project. The council anticipates voting on a bond resolution in early October to outline the terms of the bond sale, with the bond sale taking place in October.

“This is the right thing to do. Never in the history of our county, or in any county in Maryland, have we seen the kind of state support for a project as we see now for Bennett Middle,” said Ron Willey, Board of Education President. Willey and Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen highlighted the project’s importance for improving the school facility, enhancing the instructional design and technology, saving on long-term energy costs while providing a more comfortable learning environment, and creating local jobs during construction of the replacement school in Fruitland.

Back to School Time

 

Are you sad or glad school is starting?

Last Night I Was An American Idol Survivor

Well, sort of, anyway. How many people can say they hung out with an American Idol and a Survivor in one night, not many.

However, last night I had the pleasure of meeting two very fine people, Kellie Pickler, (American Idol) and Chase Rice, (Survivor).

Let me assure you, all of the performers who were scheduled to go on last night truly felt for Doug Marshall and wanted to go on so bad it wasn't funny. However, they absolutely agreed, it was scary out there last night.

I can tell you this. The sun started coming out at our property in Delmar, (west end of Delmar) at around 5:30. I even took a pic of it and sent it to Doug. He sent a message back saying, lol. He thought I was joking. Ladies & Gentlemen, when they finally called things off I headed directly to the Site and let me assure you, once I got into the heart of Delmar on Rt. 54 I could see why they did.

Look at the following pictures in order. The first is the picture I sent Doug letting him know things were clearing up. The second was about an hour later heading through Delmar and the third is what I saw as soon as I arrived. That side of Delmar had clouds and rain that never stoped last night. Even up to 1:30 AM the rain was steadily coming down in buckets.



So here's what you didn't see last night, (below). The first image shows just how flooded things were. The stage wiring for all of the sound and light systems were completely under water. The second image is one of the tour buses having to be towed through the mud, (backwards) just to get them out and on the road for their next show.



Now, one thing most of you aren't aware of are the 60 volunteers Doug had there and a major life saver, United Rental. If United Rental hadn't been escorted to the scene with their heavy equipment let me assure you, NO ONE was going to get out last night.

Many were even trying to use Golf Carts to get from one end of the property to the other and let me tell you, that was a sight to see and experience. The mud was flying everywhere and many had to get out of the carts and push. Don't think for a second those pushing didn't end up with 30 pounds of mud on them right away.

All in all though, by 1:30 AM we had watched these volunteers assist everyone there and got them on their way. This included the stage people who broke down their equipment and that was a sight to see. Doug had to tow the tractor trailer over the the mobile stage and then back it into position. Once secure he then had to tow the tractor and trailer off the property. Mind you, ALL of the buses and equipment were at the far end of the field and to be honest with you I thought, there's no way they are going to tow all of this stuff out of there. It was unbelievable but they got it done.

At the end of the night we headed off to Applebee's to get something to eat. When we arrived we saw one of the tour buses there and Kellie was inside getting something to eat as well. She was sitting with a man from Kent County and she introduced him to us.

It turns out this man had met Kellie in Baghdad in 2007. He's in the Army, (a pilot) and he had traveled all this way to see this concert. While in Baghdad Kellie was doing a show for the Soldiers and asked if there was any Soldier in the audience who could sing. He said about 40 of his friends pointed to him and she encouraged him on stage. The two did a song together and the rest is history. It was really cool to see the two reunite back here in the United States.

I'll share a little inside information. Doug is working on trying to reschedule Kellie back to Delmar in the next couple of months. Believe it or not, last night the line to get to the concert was backed up from the Bypass all the way to the property on Rt. 54 in Delmar. If the concert could have gone on it would have been one of the biggest turn outs the Eastern Shore has had the pleasure to experience.

I've asked some of the people there last night to send me more pictures with better quality to share with you in the near future. Once I get them I'll show you just how bad it had rained and the conditions these volunteers had to work with. As someone who was there for more than 6 hours, it was unreal. I can tell you there are plans in the works right now to create better storm water management but as we all saw yesterday, storms like that are pretty rare and hard to manage.

More to come...

Here's another image of the storm damage at last night's concert grounds.

2012 Democrat National Convention Schedule

2012 Democrat National Convention Schedule -- Charlotte , N.C. 

4:00 PM – Opening Flag Burning Ceremony – sponsored by CNN 

4:05 PM –Singing of "God D**n America " led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright 

4:10 PM – Pledge of Allegiance to Obama 

4:15 PM – Ceremonial 'I hate America' led by Michelle Obama 

4:30 PM – Tips on “How to keep your man trustworthy & true to 

you while you travel the world” – Hillary Clinton 

4:45 PM –Al Sharpton / Jesse Jackson seminar “How to have a successful 

career without having a job.” 

5:00 PM – “Great Vacations I’ve Taken on the Taxpayer’s Dime Travel 
Log” - Michelle Obama 5:30 PM – Eliot Spitzer Speaks on "Family Values" 
via Satellite 5:45 PM – Tribute to All 57 States – Nancy Pelosi 

6:00 PM – Sen. Harry Reid - 90-minute speech expressing the Democrat’s 
appreciation of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and George Soros for 
sparing no expense, for all that they have accomplished to unify the 
country, improve employment and to boost the economy. 

8:30 PM – Airing of Grievances by the Clintons 

9:00 PM – “Bias in Media – How we can make it work for you” 

Tutorial – sponsored by CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the Washington Post 

and the New York Times 

9:15 PM – Tribute Film to Brave Freedom Fighters incarcerated at 

GITMO – Michael Moore 

9:45 PM – Personal Finance Seminar - Charlie Rangle 

10:00 PM – Denunciation of Bitter Gun Owners and Bible 
readers

10:30 PM – Ceremonial Waving of White Flag for IRAQ, & Afghanistan 

11:00 PM – Obama Energy Plan Symposium / Tire Gauge Demonstration / 

You too can get rich with Green Investment bankruptcies 

11:15 PM – Free Gov. Blagovich rally 

11:30 PM – Obama Accepts Oscar, Tony and Latin Grammy Awards 

11:45 PM – Feeding of the Delegates with 5 Loaves and 2 Fish – Obama 
Presiding 

12:00 AM – Official Nomination of Obama by Bill Maher and 
Chris “He sends a thrill up my leg” Matthews 

12:01 AM – Obama Accepts Nomination as Lord and Savior 

12:05 AM – Celestial Choirs Sing 

3:00 AM – Biden Delivers 
Acceptance Speech

Election observers True the Vote Accused Of Intimidating Minority Voters

As Jamila Gatlin waited in line at a northside Milwaukee elementary school gym to cast her ballot June 5 in the proposed recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, she noticed three people in the back of the room. They were watching, taking notes.

Officially called “election observers,” they were white. Gatlin, and almost everyone in line, was black.

“That’s pretty harassing right there, if you ask me,” Gatlin said in the hall outside the gym. “Why do we have to be watched while we vote?”

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FAMOUS DRILL INSTRUCTOR SAYS GEICO FIRED HIM FOR CRITICIZING OBAMA ADMIN.

Famous drill instructor Lee Ermey — best known for his appearance in the movie “Full Metal Jacket” — says he was fired from his gig as a GEICO insurance personality because he criticized President Obama.

Last December, Ermey — also known as “Gunney” — made headlines by blasting the economy and linking Obama to socialism:

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