FBT Little Quartet

WHAT BIBLICAL PLAGUE HAS HIT EGYPT JUST THREE WEEKS BEFORE PASSOVER?

A massive swarm of locusts is descending on Egypt, creating scenes reminiscent of the eighth plague described in the Book of Exodus. The timing is particularly unusual as Jews later this month will be celebrating Passover which retells the Israelites’ dramatic journey to freedom from slavery in Egypt. According to the Bible, Pharaoh released the slaves only after his people were struck by ten plagues.

Though it’s a seasonal scourge – there’s even an “anti-locusts department” in the Agriculture Ministry – this locust infestation is particularly pesky. Egyptian media report that this year’s swarm numbers an estimated 30 million insects making their way north from Suez to Cairo. Farmers along their path are on high alert, worried their crops could be wiped out, and are accusing government officials of doing nothing to prepare for the invasion.

Salah Moawad, an Agriculture Ministry official, says locusts have even landed on the runways of Cairo International Airport after being chased from other locations. Flight delays were not reported.
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Moscow Mayor Says No To More Mosques In The City

The Mayor of Moscow says there are no plans to build a new mosque in the city, and says the 'excessive' number of economic migrants was a ‘harmful thing’.

“It has turned out that the praying Muslims are not at all Russian citizens and they are not Moscow residents. They are labor migrants. There are only 10 percent of Moscow residents among them and building mosques for everyone who wants it – I think this will be over the top,” Sergey Sobyanin said in an interview with Moscow's Echo radio.

The top city official went on to say that “Muscovites now get irritated by people who speak a different language, have different manners, with aggressive behavior. This is not purely ethnic, but this is connected with some ethnic traits,” Sobyanin said.

At the same time, the Moscow Mayor explained that there are no ethnic enclaves in the city and expressed the hope that such enclaves would never appear as closed districts like that usually have a very high crime rate.

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OCEAN CITY EXPECTS TO FACE $1.5M DEFICIT

With next year’s fiscal reserves looking to be un-replenished, the town of Ocean City may be taking measures to generate additional revenue through new and higher fees in order to close its projected budget gap for the 2014 fiscal year, which begins this July.

Among those possibilities are establishing a stormwater utility fund, higher rates on parking meters and charging for trash collection.

In a preliminary overview of revenues for the upcoming financial cycle, City Manager David Recor and Budget Manager Jennie Knapp informed the council this week that the city is looking at a fiscal hole in its FY14 operations of roughly $1.5 million.
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AMID GUN CONTROL PUSH, OBAMA PARDONS MAN SENTENCED FOR GUN CRIMES

Amid the push for more gun control for law-abiding citizens, President Obama exercised his pardoning power for Larry Wayne Thorton, a Forsyth, GA man who had been sentenced to four years probation for firearm-related offenses.

Thorton was sentenced after being found guilty of possession of an unregistered firearmand "possession of a firearm without a serial number."

While issuing pardons is certainly the president's prerogative, this particular pardon comes as the NRA, Gun Owners of America, and others are all making the case that one of the chief reasons behind gun crime is the Obama administration's lax enforcement of gun laws that are already on the books.

That Thorton was one of 17 persons pardoned by Obama on March 1, will only add fuel to this argument.

Source

Proposed New Referendum Requirements Will Be Amended, Election Law Subcommittee Chair Cardin Says

The Referendum Integrity Act, a bill that’s been lambasted as voter suppression, contains numerous clauses that could potentially disqualify thousands of online petition signature pages before they are even signed.

But the chairman of the subcommittee in charge of HB493, Del. Jon Cardin, D-Baltimore County, who is also a co-sponsor, says his goal in reforming petition legislation is not to make the process more difficult.

Cardin said his committee may consider a number of amendments this week that would address concerns of the bill’s opponents, as well as supporters of the legislation’s disclosure provisions.
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GOVERNOR O’MALLEY, SENATE PRESIDENT MILLER, HOUSE SPEAKER BUSCH PROPOSE TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT PLAN

Five-year, $3.4 billion investment projected to support 44,000 jobs
ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 4, 2013) – Governor Martin O’Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. and House Speaker Michael E. Busch today unveiled a joint innovative, multi-faceted plan to increase investment in the State’s transportation system, relieve congestion, and create jobs. The plan raises an average of $800 million annually, and is projected to support more than 8,800 jobs each year over a five-year period. During that five-year period, the package will generate an additional $3.4 billion for Maryland highway and transit projects. 

“Building a 21st Century transportation network won’t happen by itself. We cannot afford the cost of inaction,” said Governor O’Malley. “Together, with Senate President Miller and Speaker Busch, we’re announcing a plan that is balanced, fiscally responsible and is projected to support 44,000 jobs. This plan will help us generate the revenue we need to ease some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation while building and repairing our transportation infrastructure.”

“Our Transportation Trust Fund is about to go broke and we must act now,” said Senate President Miller. “Working together and reaching the consensus reflected in the proposal is a tremendous step forward that can turn our transportation crisis around. I remain committed to working as hard as I can with the Speaker and the Governor to get this done.”

“We have worked hard over the past few weeks to craft a transportation initiative that balances the impact on the consumer with the future infrastructure needs of the State,” said House Speaker Busch. “We must make strategic investments and leverage private dollars to move our State forward. A strong transportation system is the cornerstone of a strong economy.”

The proposal unveiled today includes the following measures that would become effective July 1, 2013:
Reduce the state tax on gasoline by five cents from 23.5 cents per gallon to 18.5 cents per gallon;
Index the 18.5 cents per gallon state gasoline tax to the Consumer Price Index;
Phase-in application of the state sales tax on the wholesale price of gasoline starting at two percent July 1, 2013 and increase to four percent July 1, 2014;
Transportation to receive a percentage of revenue generated by implementation of the federal Marketplace Equity Act (enabling states to apply sales tax to internet sales, provided passage by Congress.);
Index transit fares charged by the Maryland Transit Administration to the Consumer Price Index;
State Treasury to issue General Obligation Bonds for federally required environmental improvements.
The transportation initiative proposed today also contains a “lockbox” provision that outlines a series of requirements that must be met in order to make any transfers from the Transportation Trust Fund, ensuring that revenue generated remains dedicated to transportation.

Thanks Jim!

I guess that Joe Albero and SBYNews should view the Daily Times’ front page article yesterday as an example of the old adage: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”.  I doubt that Salisbury’s incumbent mayor will view it the same way.

While Sunday’s flagship article, an excellent piece by Jeremy Cox, has surprising similarities to an SBYNews post just a few days before, there’s one thing missing – any discussion of Jim Ireton’s involvement in this mess!

No, we don’t blame Ireton for the state of the national economy, but the national economy isn’t in the same shape as Salisbury’s either.  While Ireton has held lots of press conferences attacking others during his nearly four years as mayor, what has he done to attract any jobs to Salisbury?
While Ireton claims that he has “revitalized” downtown, just take a stroll down the plaza.  Notice that Ireton never discusses the REST of the city.  THAT’s where the jobs are!

For almost four years Ireton has “borrowed” ideas from others in the city and claimed them as his own.  Since Joe Albero declared as a candidate it’s ironic that NOW Ireton wants to streamline the city’s permitting process and finally start to treat businesses as something other than people to be TAXED, FINED, or charged FEES.  Naturally, we question his sincerity because he’s had FOUR YEARS to accomplish some rather COMMON SENSE tasks.

If Salisbury’s economy was growing rather than BLEEDING JOBS, it wouldn’t be experiencing such a high vacancy rate.
Thanks Jim!

FEDS AFTER YOUR RETIREMENT CASH

This was recently done in Spain. $300 billion was siphoned off from government retirement accounts to buy Spanish bonds (soon to be worthless).

Soon, the Feds may require YOU to buy treasury bills (government IOU’s) with your 401k retirement savings. Don’t think so? guess again, they are laying the groundwork as we speak.

Our socialist government and elites will retain power and continue their addiction to spending no matter the cost. They won’t stop until they’ve spent all of the “other people’s money” that is left in the system. I don’t think they’ll figure out a way of confiscating your physical gold, as long as it’s at your house (but I could be wrong). They may have gold and silver sniffing dogs.

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Damage Estimate About One Million In Dealership Fire

Anne Arundel County fire officials say an early morning fire at a car dealership did almost one-million dollars in damage.

The fire was reported around 5:30 a.m. by a worker at the BMW of Annapolis dealership.

Division Fire Chief Keith Swindle tells WBAL Radio when firefighters arrived they found a car in the service bay of the dealership on fire.
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Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan On Sequestration

Annapolis - "Sequestration is a wake up call that Maryland must wean itself from the federal government spending trough. A nation that carries $16 trillion debt and runs chronic $1 trillion deficits is going to downsize its federal presence one way or another.

"There are some things Governors can not control - dysfunction in Washington D.C. being just one of them. What can be controlled is tax and regulatory policy that must be reformed to make Maryland competitive in the region.

"Pennsylvania has 23 Fortune 500 companies; Virginia has 24; Maryland has three. We have lost 6500 small businesses from 2007 to 2010. We need to control our economic future, diversify our economy and grow the private sector employment base.

"The alternative is to blame Congress, blame the President and blame anyone else. The better approach is to develop bipartisan policy solutions that will better prepare Maryland for the era of a downsized federal presence."

Dairy Groups Want Secret Sweetened Milk

The dairy industry wants to start using artificial sweeteners in flavored milks, such as chocolate or strawberry, without labeling it "reduced-" or "low-calorie."

Two milk industry trade groups, The International Dairy Foods Association and National Milk Producers Federation, jointly petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2009 to use aspartame -- the artificial sweetener used in diet soda -- in milk, but to keep labeling it as just "milk."

Although the petition was filed five years ago, the FDA is now asking for the public's comments on the petition.
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QUOTES OF THE DAY 3-4-13

“We need to understand the more government spends, the more freedom is lost…Instead of simply debating spending levels, we ought to be debating whether the departments, agencies, and programs funded by the budget should exist at all.”
― Ron Paul
“When the federal government spends more each year than it collects in tax revenues, it has three choices: It can raise taxes, print money, or borrow money. While these actions may benefit politicians, all three options are bad for average Americans.”
― Ron Paul

“One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens would pay nearly half of everything they earn to the government.”
― Ron Paul
“Freedom is not defined by safety. Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal, because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives. Liberty has meaning only if we still believe in it when terrible things happen and a false government security blanket beckons.”
― Ron Paul

Teen Driving Deaths Increase For First Time In A Decade

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — There is a disturbing trend involving teen drivers. A sharp increase in fatalities has highway officials wondering why.

Deaths of younger teen drivers increased sharply in the first six months of 2012. It reverses a decade-long trend followed by state highway safety officials.

“Because it certainly relates to teens, it’s obviously a concern to us,” said Ragina Averella, AAA Mid-Atlantic.
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Doctors Report First Cure of HIV in a Child

For the first time, doctors are reporting that they have cured a child of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The landmark finding will help scientists better understand the nature of HIV, doctors say, and could potentially help countless HIV-positive babies in developing countries.

"I'm sort of holding my breath that this child's virus doesn't come back in the future," says Hannah Gay, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, who treated the child, a 2½-year-old Mississippi girl. "I'm certainly very hopeful that it will produce studies that will show us a way to cure other babies in the future."

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Search Continues For Missing Queen Anne's Co. Woman

REPORTERS OPEN UP ABOUT OBSCENITIES AND ABUSE FROM OBAMA SPOKESPEOPLE

Bob Woodward’s alleged “threat” from the White House has touched off a storm of conservative support for the Washington Post editor, and has forced the Obama administration onto the defense. It also may have opened up a floodgate of information — information that suggests that, even if Woodward himself was not threatened or abused, other less venerable reporters have faced such treatment.

The New York Post reports:

This administration is more skilled and disciplined than any other in controlling the narrative, using social media to circumnavigate the press. On the flip side, our YouTube culture means even the slightest gaffe can be devastating, and so you have an army of aides and staffers helicoptering over reporters.

Finally, this week, reporters are pushing back. Even Jonathan Alter — who frequently appears on the Obama-friendly MSNBC — came forward to say he, too, had been treated horribly by the administration for writing something they didn’t like.
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NY Man charged with Faking own Kidnapping — Reportedly to avoid Gal Pal

A 34-year-old Brooklyn man reported missing about two weeks ago has been charged with faking his own kidnapping — and he may have concocted the whole story to avoid his girlfriend's wrath.

The New York Police Department told NBC News that Rahmel Wallace, who also goes by the name Rahmel Pettway, was arrested Feb. 28 and charged with a misdemeanor count of filing a false report after admitting to police that he faked his disappearance.

A police spokeswoman said Wallace, once in custody, admitted he had faked the kidnapping. The New York Post reported that Wallace made up the story to explain his absence to his girlfriend.

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HEAR THE STUNNING 911 CALL WHEN A NURSE REFUSED TO GIVE CPR TO A DYING WOMAN

An elderly California woman died after a nurse at her senior living facility refused to perform CPR, despite a 911 dispatcher begging her over the phone.

Instead, the nurse said the facility’s policy prohibited her from stepping in to save the woman’s life.

“It’s a human being,” dispatcher Tracey Halvorson said in 911 audio released by the Bakersfield, Calif. fire department, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?”

“Not at this time,” came the answer.
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Mayor Bloomberg's Net Worth Jumps $5B, Making Him 13th Richest Person On Planet

Mayor Bloomberg's net worth has skyrocketed in the last year and he's now the 13th richest person on the planet, according to Forbes magazine.

The magazine estimated the mayor's net worth at $27 billion, up $5 billion in a single year.

In 2012, Bloomberg was reportedly worth $22 billion and ranked 20th among the world's most loaded billionaires.
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