The State Department asked to halt most of the judges prying into former Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton’s emails, filing papers Thursday proposing that the cases all be combined into one so that a single judge can oversee the government’s searches and releases.
Admitting it’s “struggling” under the weight of the problem left by Mrs. Clinton’s decision to use her own email account, the State Departmentwarned it might miss the January deadline for turning over all of her emails — and might not be able to process her former aides’ emails either — unless a single judge takes over and decides what they have to do.
“They are struggling to keep up,” Marsha Edney, a Justice Department lawyer handling the case for the State Department told Judge Reggie B. Walton during a hearing on one of 32 separate cases Thursday.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
New Record In Waiters And Bartenders Masks First Manufacturing Drop In Over 2 Years
In August, the reality of the oil crunch finally caught up with the BLS, when not only did the number of Mining and Logging employees decline again by 10,000 workers to 823K, the lowest since October 2011, an 8-month stretch of consecutive declines last seen during the previous recession driven by the ongoing weakness in the oil patch and the US shale drilling sector...
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NRP Logs Busy Labor Day Weekend with Rescues and Arrests
For the three-day Labor Day holiday, officers responded to 15 boating accidents that resulted in injury or property damage, arrested six people on charges of impaired boating and seven others on criminal charges. They wrote 437 tickets and issued 1,204 warnings. Officers across the state conducted 1,983 boat safety inspections, spoke with 3,587 anglers and 235 hunters.
Dorchester County
On Monday evening, NRP officers worked with local first responders and State Police to locate and rescue a woman who fell from a boat in the Choptank River and was found clinging to a buoy.
Why They Hate Us
A frequent theme nowadays is “Why do they hate us?” meaning why does so much of the world detest the United States. The reasons given are usually absurd: They hate our freedom or democracy. They hate us for our cultural superiority. They hate us because we are wonderful.
No. Actually the reason is simple if unpalatable. They hate us because we meddle, and have meddled. They hate us because we are the most murderous nation on the planet. They hate our insufferable smugness.
People remember slights. They may not remember them as they actually happened, but they remember them. The Civil War ended in 1865, the Federal occupation in 1877. Yet today many Southerners are still bitter, to the point that their emotional loyalty is to the South, not to Washington.
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No. Actually the reason is simple if unpalatable. They hate us because we meddle, and have meddled. They hate us because we are the most murderous nation on the planet. They hate our insufferable smugness.
People remember slights. They may not remember them as they actually happened, but they remember them. The Civil War ended in 1865, the Federal occupation in 1877. Yet today many Southerners are still bitter, to the point that their emotional loyalty is to the South, not to Washington.
More
Across much of US, a serious shortage of psychiatrists
In vast swaths of America, patients face lengthy drives to reach the nearest psychiatrist, if they can even find one willing to see them. Some states are promoting wider use of long-distance telepsychiatry to fill the gaps in care. In Texas, which faces a severe shortage, lawmakers recently voted to pay the student loans of psychiatrists willing to work in underserved areas. A bill in Congress would forgive student loans for child psychiatrists.
Even with such efforts, problems are likely to persist. A recent survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that 59 percent of psychiatrists are 55 or older, the fourth oldest of 41 medical specialties, signaling that many may soon be retiring or reducing their workload.
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VA’s record of waste, fraud and abuse keeps piling up From stolen gravestones to Orlando junkets, agency frustrates Congress
Over the last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been repeatedly cited for waste, fraud, abuse and theft that took valuable tax dollars away from veterans, many who are still waiting in long backlogs to get benefits decisions.
The examples are jaw-dropping, starting with the a memo that surfaced in March by the VA’s chief procurement officer, Jan. R. Frye, who went public with a stunning admission that the VA likely wastes $6 billion a year on unnecessary contracts, purchases and services.
“Doors are swung wide open for fraud, waste and abuse,” Mr. Frye, the deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and logistics, wrote in a whistleblower letter that made national headlines.
The examples backing up Mr. Frye’s claims just keep piling up:
• The VA’s inspector general reported that the agency's human resources department wasted $6.1 million on two conferences in Orlando, Florida, that treated employees more to vacation than to training.
• The inspector general also divulged in that report that department officials wasted $97,906 on trinkets like bags, pens and water that were unnecessary. VA employees also improperly accepted gifts including room upgrades, meals, limousine services, golf, spa services, helicopter rides and tickets to see the Rockettes.
• In July, an employee at the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter pled guilty to stealing 150 marble headstones from a veterans cemetery in a scheme that went unnoticed for a long time.
• In June, a former head engineer at the VA hospital in East Orange, New Jersey, was accused of taking $1.2 million in kickbacks for contracts, which fleeced taxpayers.
• The VA’s inspector general found last month that the Veterans Benefits Administration mismanaged millions of dollars in benefits for veterans who were unable to manage their own income and estates due to age, injury or disability. Among the woes cited in the report was a failure to remove two custodians who had misspent benefit funds.
• In testimony before Congress in May, Mr. Frye cited reports that VA employees in the Bronx in New York City had swiped charge cards 2,000 times, saying they were buying prosthetic legs and arms for veterans. Each charge was for $24,999, one dollar below the VA’s charging limit for purchase cards. When lawmakers demanded details about the charges, they were told there was no documentation.
For wasting federal tax dollars intended to help veterans who deserve the best health care money can buy after their service to this country, the Department of Veterans Affairs wins this weeks Golden Hammer, a weekly distinction awarded by The Washington Times highlighting the most egregious examples of wasteful federal spending.
The recent record of VA woes frustrates spending watchdogs, because the agency claims it needs more money to clear backlogs of cases for veterans waiting for benefit determinations.
“At a time when the VA has a massive backlog in getting veterans health care and getting veterans paperwork processed so they can see a doctor, it is obscene that they are wasting money on self congratulatory conferences,” said Richard Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government, a spending watchdog.
Following initial reports in 2014 that 40 veterans had died while waiting for health care at the Phoenix, Arizona, VA hospital, lawmakers, veterans groups and watchdogs called for President Obama to fire top VA officials and have echoed those cries since.
Story Continues →
The examples are jaw-dropping, starting with the a memo that surfaced in March by the VA’s chief procurement officer, Jan. R. Frye, who went public with a stunning admission that the VA likely wastes $6 billion a year on unnecessary contracts, purchases and services.
“Doors are swung wide open for fraud, waste and abuse,” Mr. Frye, the deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and logistics, wrote in a whistleblower letter that made national headlines.
The examples backing up Mr. Frye’s claims just keep piling up:
• The VA’s inspector general reported that the agency's human resources department wasted $6.1 million on two conferences in Orlando, Florida, that treated employees more to vacation than to training.
• The inspector general also divulged in that report that department officials wasted $97,906 on trinkets like bags, pens and water that were unnecessary. VA employees also improperly accepted gifts including room upgrades, meals, limousine services, golf, spa services, helicopter rides and tickets to see the Rockettes.
• In July, an employee at the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter pled guilty to stealing 150 marble headstones from a veterans cemetery in a scheme that went unnoticed for a long time.
• In June, a former head engineer at the VA hospital in East Orange, New Jersey, was accused of taking $1.2 million in kickbacks for contracts, which fleeced taxpayers.
• The VA’s inspector general found last month that the Veterans Benefits Administration mismanaged millions of dollars in benefits for veterans who were unable to manage their own income and estates due to age, injury or disability. Among the woes cited in the report was a failure to remove two custodians who had misspent benefit funds.
• In testimony before Congress in May, Mr. Frye cited reports that VA employees in the Bronx in New York City had swiped charge cards 2,000 times, saying they were buying prosthetic legs and arms for veterans. Each charge was for $24,999, one dollar below the VA’s charging limit for purchase cards. When lawmakers demanded details about the charges, they were told there was no documentation.
For wasting federal tax dollars intended to help veterans who deserve the best health care money can buy after their service to this country, the Department of Veterans Affairs wins this weeks Golden Hammer, a weekly distinction awarded by The Washington Times highlighting the most egregious examples of wasteful federal spending.
The recent record of VA woes frustrates spending watchdogs, because the agency claims it needs more money to clear backlogs of cases for veterans waiting for benefit determinations.
“At a time when the VA has a massive backlog in getting veterans health care and getting veterans paperwork processed so they can see a doctor, it is obscene that they are wasting money on self congratulatory conferences,” said Richard Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government, a spending watchdog.
Following initial reports in 2014 that 40 veterans had died while waiting for health care at the Phoenix, Arizona, VA hospital, lawmakers, veterans groups and watchdogs called for President Obama to fire top VA officials and have echoed those cries since.
Story Continues →
Troopers Labor Throughout State Yielded Positive Results
(PIKESVILLE, MD) – The Labor Day weekend efforts of the Maryland State Police had a positive effect on reducing crashes and keeping the public safe to enjoy the last holiday of summer.
Preliminary information indicates from September 4 through September 7, 2015, troopers made approximately 8,075 traffic stops. They issued 5,493 citations and 4,720 warnings. There were 126 drunk driving arrests and 866 repair orders issued for defective vehicle equipment.
In support of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, S.P.I.D.R.E., a full-time drunk driving enforcement team, was out this weekend in areas of Prince George’s County where drunk drivers and drunk driving crashes are known to be prevalent. The team arrested 20 impaired drivers and issued over 120 citations. Five of those drivers arrested were repeat offenders.
The traffic enforcement efforts of the Maryland State Police led to criminal violations as well. Troopers made 65 arrests and an additional 75 wanted people were arrested on outstanding criminal warrants.
Troopers assigned to the Southern Maryland and Eastern Shore regions worked the Operation SHOWBOAT initiative and inundated the Route 50 corridor from the Chesapeake Bay to Ocean City. Operation Millipede enforcement efforts placed troopers along the entire I-95/I-495 corridor from the Delaware to Virginia state lines. Both operations successfully contributed to highway safety this weekend. During these initiatives there were no fatal or serious crashes.
The Maryland State Police continue to support the Maryland Highway Safety Office’s ‘Move Toward Zero Deaths’ campaign. These high visibility enforcement efforts reduce the number of aggressive driving motor vehicle crashes in which speed, alcohol and other driving violations are contributing factors to crashes on Maryland roads. Troopers will continue initiatives throughout the year.
Survivor released from hospital after fatal shooting of cameraman, TV reporter in Virginia
Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, was released on Monday from Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, spokesman Chris Turnbull said.
Gardner was answering questions about the community on live TV at the Smith Mountain Lake Visitor Center on Aug. 26 when a gunman walked up and opened fire with a 9mm Glock pistol. Gardner was wounded and WDBJ-TV cameraman Adam Ward and reporter Alison Parker were killed. The gunman, Vester Flanagan, fatally shot himself five hours later after a police chase.
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Stacey Knox gains a kidney, but loses her father
Anthony Jon Jenkins was attempting to cross Route 40 in New Castle when he was hit by a car and then a pickup truck. He never awoke from the trauma.
“Dad always said, 'You're my kid. I'd give my life for you',” Knox said.
On Aug. 8, he did.
The night of the accident, Knox said, she woke up from a deep sleep to a police officer pounding on the front door of her Kendale Road home. She and her husband, Francis, drove straight to her father's bedside in Christiana Hospital where churning machines were keeping him alive.
Knox spent the next few hours talking to her father in her soft and relaxed way, telling him she loved him. As his only daughter, she said, she knew she would eventually have to make a final decision on his care, a wish he shared with her during better times. “He told me he didn't want to live like that hooked up to machines,” she said.
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Rep. Ed Royce Slams White House for Syrian Refugee Crisis
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce blamed the Obama administration for the refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying that U.S.-led airstrikes a year ago would have stopped the Islamic State from seizing land that has caused Syrians to flee their homes.
"The question is what could we do at the source to turn back ISIS?" the California Republican asked Brianna Keilar on CNN. "They have expanded from their original encampment."
Over the last year, Royce said, both Republicans and Democrats have "asked the president of the United States to allow the use of air power to suppress ISIS before it began to overtake cities.
"We went a full year with the administration rejecting calls from some in the Pentagon, from us, and certainly from the ambassador in Baghdad, for airstrikes before they took these 14 major cities," he said. "Even today, three-quarters of the planes that take off return without being able to drop their ordnances, because they cannot get approval from Washington, from the lawyers in Washington, to strike these ISIS targets.
More here
"The question is what could we do at the source to turn back ISIS?" the California Republican asked Brianna Keilar on CNN. "They have expanded from their original encampment."
Over the last year, Royce said, both Republicans and Democrats have "asked the president of the United States to allow the use of air power to suppress ISIS before it began to overtake cities.
"We went a full year with the administration rejecting calls from some in the Pentagon, from us, and certainly from the ambassador in Baghdad, for airstrikes before they took these 14 major cities," he said. "Even today, three-quarters of the planes that take off return without being able to drop their ordnances, because they cannot get approval from Washington, from the lawyers in Washington, to strike these ISIS targets.
More here
Safe Haven property abandoned
Constant ringing blares from the former animal shelter, which abruptly closed in October 2013. The sound breaks the eerie calm that otherwise surrounds the shelter. Beep-beep-beep sounds come in rapid-fire bursts just loud enough to notice, just quiet enough that it’s almost inaudible down the driveway.
It’s a contrast to the final days of Safe Haven, when moving trucks, media and cars streamed down the gravel pathway off Shingle Point Road in an effort to remove animals from the failing shelter. In the process, 19 dogs were euthanized at what had been a no-kill shelter.
That was the day Safe Haven ended as a business; the end became official in May 2015 when U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Walrath approved a motion by Safe Haven’s attorneys to abandon the property.
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Huckabee Schools Stephanopoulos On Kim Davis
On Sunday, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, appearing on ABC’s This Week, was queried by host George Stephanopoulos about Huckabee’s blazing defense of Kim Davis, who was jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses in Kentucky. Stephanopoulos started by stating that some conservatives said Davis should not have defied the Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex marriage was legal, quoting Rod Dreher, who stated, “What we cannot do, and what the government cannot permit, is open defiance of settled law.” Huckabee answered bluntly, “He would have hated Abraham Lincoln, because Lincoln ignored the 1857 Dred Scott decision that said black people weren’t fully human. It was a wrong decision. And to say that we have to surrender to judicial supremacy is to do what Jefferson warned against, which is in essence to surrender to judicial tyranny.”
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OC: Body of Missing PA Man Located
Lenhart was last seen in the area of Caroline Street at approximately 11:30 p.m. on September 5, 2015. Officers broadcasted a description and initiated a search for Lenhart. Coast Guard Sector Baltimore launched a boat crew and a crew aboard a helicopter to aid in the search. Maryland State Police Trooper 4 and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police also assisted in the search for Lenhart.
Lenhart’s body has been sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland for autopsy where the cause and manner of death will be determined.
Final Rehoboth lifeguard stand found
Upland, Pa. native Matt Doyle came across the stand just before he was about to cast his fishing line. He said he saw the white stand rolling in the strong rip current on the morning of Sept. 5. At first, Doyle said he thought the stand washed down from the nearby Outer Banks – Salvo is south of the Outer Banks on Hatteras Island. But when he and five of his friends pulled the stand in to shore, they found it had a Rehoboth sign.
A photo of the stand and Doyle’s finding it first appeared Sunday on the website Delaware-Surf-Fishing.com.
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The Real Refugee Problem – And How To Solve It
Last week Europe saw one of its worst crises in decades. Tens of thousands of migrants entered the European Union via Hungary, demanding passage to their hoped-for final destination, Germany.
While the media focuses on the human tragedy of so many people uprooted and traveling in dangerous circumstances, there is very little attention given to the events that led them to leave their countries. Certainly we all feel for the displaced people, especially the children, but let's not forget that this is a man-made crisis and it is a government-made crisis.
The reason so many are fleeing places like Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq is that US and European interventionist foreign policy has left these countries destabilized with no hopes of economic recovery. This mass migration from the Middle East and beyond is a direct result of the neocon foreign policy of regime change, invasion and pushing "democracy" at the barrel of a gun.
Even when they successfully change the regime, as in Iraq, what is left behind is an almost uninhabitable country. It reminds me of the saying attributed to a US major in the Vietnam War, discussing the bombing of Ben Tre: "It became necessary to destroy the town in order to save it."
The Europeans share a good deal of blame as well. France and the UK were enthusiastic supporters of the attack on Libya and they were early backers of the "Assad must go" policy. Assad may not be a nice guy, but the forces that have been unleashed to overthrow him seem to be much worse and far more dangerous. No wonder people are so desperate to leave Syria.
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While the media focuses on the human tragedy of so many people uprooted and traveling in dangerous circumstances, there is very little attention given to the events that led them to leave their countries. Certainly we all feel for the displaced people, especially the children, but let's not forget that this is a man-made crisis and it is a government-made crisis.
The reason so many are fleeing places like Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq is that US and European interventionist foreign policy has left these countries destabilized with no hopes of economic recovery. This mass migration from the Middle East and beyond is a direct result of the neocon foreign policy of regime change, invasion and pushing "democracy" at the barrel of a gun.
Even when they successfully change the regime, as in Iraq, what is left behind is an almost uninhabitable country. It reminds me of the saying attributed to a US major in the Vietnam War, discussing the bombing of Ben Tre: "It became necessary to destroy the town in order to save it."
The Europeans share a good deal of blame as well. France and the UK were enthusiastic supporters of the attack on Libya and they were early backers of the "Assad must go" policy. Assad may not be a nice guy, but the forces that have been unleashed to overthrow him seem to be much worse and far more dangerous. No wonder people are so desperate to leave Syria.
More
The Invasion of Europe in one video..
The Invasion of Europe in one video... what the mainstream media is not showing you of the Islamic colonization/conquest...
Posted by WND on Tuesday, September 8, 2015
WOCO Fire Marshal's Office Press Release 9-8-15 (WOC Mobile Home Fire)
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