This suburb spends more than $110,000 a year on cars for its lawmakers

The Prince George’s County government spends more than $110,000 a year on automobile allowances and take-home cars for county council officials, a perk that goes far beyond what is offered in neighboring jurisdictions.

All nine council members and the council’s two top administrators are either assigned a government vehicle or paid a yearly car allowance.

Between 2011 and 2016, council members driving take-home cars were involved in at least 15 collisions, including a major crash Nov. 21 that resulted in the arrest of council member Mel Franklin (D-Upper Marlboro) on drunken-driving charges.

They also received at least 107 speeding, missed-toll and parking citations, according to public records provided to The Washington Post.

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Study: Up to 2.1 Million Hispanics May Have Voted Illegally

An analysis of a little-known study concluded there may have been more than 2 million non-citizen Hispanics who illegally voted last year.

The Washington Times cites the 2013 study, which was conducted by McLaughlin and Associates. A separate, and more recent, analysis by research nonprofit Just Facts found there was potentially a large number of non-citizens who managed to cast a vote in last fall's presidential election.

In the 2013 study, 13 percent of the non-citizen Hispanics said they were registered to vote.

According to the Times, James Agresti of Just Facts examined the results, applied it to 2013 U.S. Census data, and concluded that as many as 2.1 million Hispanics could have been illegally registered to vote.

"Contrary to the claims of many media outlets and so-called fact-checkers, this nationally representative scientific poll confirms that a sizable number of non-citizens in the U.S. are registered to vote," Agresti said.

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Drug Catapult Found on U.S./Mexico Border

A strange contraption was found on the U.S.-Mexico border: a home-brewed catapult thought to be used to slingshot drugs across the border.

"It's a strange 'Mad Max'-style contraption made of metal parts and springs with a rope attached to pull it down for loading and flinging," said CNet's Amanda Kooser.

Here's a picture of the catapult:

The catapult was discovered when U.S. agents found a group of people "running away from a section of the border fence in Douglas, Arizona. They found the catapult system attached to the fence's south side, as well as two bundles containing 47 pounds worth of marijuana."

U.S. agents dismantled the catapult and handed it over to Mexican authorities.

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Islamophobic Saudi Arabia Deports 40,000 Muslim Pakistanis, Citing Terrorism Concerns

Saudi Arabia has deported a staggering 40,000 Pakistani migrant workers in the span of just four months, citing terrorism concerns.

The Saudi Gazette reported last week that “a number of Pakistanis were held in the crimes of drug trafficking, thefts, forgery and physical assault.” Authorities feared that some of the migrant workers were linked with ISIS, or as the Saudis call the terror group, Daesh. Other migrants were deported due to expired residency and work permits.

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MICHELLE MALKIN TO MEDIA: HELLLOOOOO? WHERE’VE YOU BEEN THE LAST 8 YEARS?!

RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!

I Love This President

ICE: Raid reports fake news, Obama grabbed 350% more

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is pushing back hard on media reports that President Trump has unleashed a mean-spirited national raid on immigrants, noting that it rounded up over 350 percent more during one sweep under former President Obama.

In a series of tweets, ICE called the reports, in the Washington Post and elsewhere, "dangerous and irresponsible."

The agency this week said that had made 683 arrests of mostly criminal illegal immigrants, or those with multiple cases against them beyond illegally crossing the border.

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25 Fake News Stories From The Mainstream Media

One of the main news stories right now is the proliferation of fake news websites on social media and their potential effect on US elections. One purveyor of fake news drew heavy fire for boasting, “I think Trump is in the White House because of me.”

Meanwhile Google and Facebook announced they would be banning fake news websites from their advertising networks, citing the immense popularity of fake news with partisans on social media this election cycle.

So it’s important now for the independent, critically-minded reader and sharer of news to note and reflect on the amount of fake news stories propagated by mainstream media sources, sometimes unknowingly through unacceptable carelessness and lack of proper journalistic rigor, other times knowingly and deliberately to influence elections or support a policy agenda.

Remember that after this election, even the New York Times, America’s “newspaper of record,” has had to apologize and “rededicate” itself to honesty, fairness, and scrutiny.

This kind of fake news is arguably more egregious than the kind we’ve been hearing about this week because it abuses the trust people have in an ostensibly reputable media source. The following list of 25 fake news stories from the mainstream media shows just how difficult it is to tackle the problem of fake news.

Banning click-bait upstarts will only scratch the surface of a much deeper problem, the systemic duplicity of a corporate mass media that serves entrenched interests and is every bit as interested in monetizing page views as the lone wolf peddler of bogus news.

1. (CBS 60 Minutes) Dan Rather Publicizes Fake Memos About George W. Bush’s National Guard Duty

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Trump: Leakers Will ‘Pay A Big Price’

President Trump said whoever is leaking classified information about his administration to the media will “pay a big price.”

The president confirmed that he will find the leakers during a congressional listening session at the White House on Thursday.

“We’re going to find the leakers,” Trump said, according to the White House pool. “We’re going to find the leakers. They’re going to pay a big price.”

During that same listening session, Trump revealed he would announce his new pick for labor secretary in a surprise press conference at the White House at noon. His former choice, Andy Puzder, withdrew his nomination on Wednesday.

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Maryland Is Not As Blue As You Might Think

Gerrymandering is Discrimination

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LEGENDARY COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 2-18-17

THE LUMBER CAMPS – part 1

One story my grandfather told me many times was about the night he was walking the rails between camps. Walking was his only mode of transportation for short distances and, apparently, served him well. That is, until the night a train approached just as he was crossing a trestle bridge. He knew that he couldn’t make it to either side faster than the train so he slipped over the side and wrapped his arms around one of the railroad ties. After the train passed he tried to scramble back up to the tracks, but couldn’t lift himself up. As it was pitch black, he didn’t have any idea what was underneath him, nor how far down it was. It could have been a long fall to solid ground which would have injured or killed him. It could have been to deep water which posed another problem for him since he couldn’t swim. Concern turned to fatigue and he decided this was the end. He could hang on no longer. He could never recollect just how long he hung there but it was long enough for him to decide that this might just be the end. I could only imagine the thoughts going through my grandfather’s mind at this time. The desperation and sense of life’s final moments must have been terrifying. So, finally, he let go and dropped six inches to solid ground. He was always amused to tell that story on himself, knowing that whoever heard it would like it.

(This is part 3 of my grandfather’s life – part 4 next week)

County Executive Announces Public Hearing on Proposed Operating Budget

Pro Trump Rally Today In Downtown Salisbury 1 - 4 PM

Since so many are asking, there will be a Pro Trump Rally in Downtown Salisbury from 1 - 4 PM at the Government Office Building / Court House.

What makes someone American?

How do you define American identity? When do you feel most American? Or least? Nine American citizens describe their struggle to belong in a nation that both embraces and rejects them. Watch a video selected at random or choose a name. Then share your own stories.

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Dog's Best Day

Chinese Dating Show Puts Veto Power in Parents' Hands

BEIJING — You are a young Chinese man whose father tells you the most important skill his future daughter-in-law must have is caring for her home and family. Your mother rejects a 40-year-old woman as your potential mate because she may be too old to bear children.

This is not prerevolutionary China, but a new TV dating show.

Since “Chinese Dating” made its debut in late December, it has drawn viewers and generated lively discussions on China’s social networks. A Weibo page for “Chinese Dating” has been visited 177 million times, and the first three episodes had more than 200 million views online.

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Limbaugh on Trump: 'This Was One of the Most Effective Press Conferences I Have Ever Seen'

Thursday following President Donald Trump’s press conference to announce his pick for Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh applauded Trump’s performance on his nationally syndicated radio show.

Limbaugh said while the media still won’t warm up to Trump, it was what his supporters wanted to see, which was a willingness to tout his achievements and take on some of the claims from the media.

“You know it is hard to say — you get caught up in the moment,” Limbaugh said. “But this was one of the most effective press conferences I have ever seen. The press is going to hate him even more after this. Don’t misunderstand. When I say effective, I’m talking about rallying people who voted for him to stay with him. He made a point — ‘What chaos? You’re reporting chaos. We’re not in chaos. We’re a well-oiled machine. We got one of the smoothest running machines in the history of machines. We got one of the best administrations in the history of administrations.'”

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Samsung's billionaire chief is now in a jail cell with a mattress on the floor and no shower

SEOUL (Reuters) - For Jay Y. Lee, the third-generation leader of South Korea's massive Samsung Group and scion of the country's wealthiest family, home is now a 6.56 square meter (71 square foot) detention cell with a toilet in the corner behind a partition.

He has no shower, only a wash-stand. Bed is a mattress on the floor.

The 48-year-old Lee was arrested early on Friday for his alleged role in a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, a decision that is being reviewed by the country's Constitutional Court.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

Lee is being held in a single cell and will not be allowed contact with other inmates, said an official at the Seoul Detention Centre, a facility on the outskirts of the city where arrested politicians and corporate chieftains are usually held, along with other detainees.

"This is a highly public case, and as you know many involved in the case were already here," the official told Reuters.

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Promise Kept: Donald Trump Overturns Obama Rule Killing Mining Jobs

President Donald Trump signed a resolution today overturning President Obama’s “Stream Protection Rule” issued by the Department of the Interior during his last weeks in office.

Trump said the resolution would “eliminate another terrible job-killing rule” and would help save thousands of American jobs in the mining industry.

Miners in hard hats surrounded the president, and House Republicans who supported the decision joined him for the signing ceremony at the White House. Two Democrat senators were also present; West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp. Coal state Republican senators including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Shelley Moore (W.Va.) Capito, and Rand Paul (Ky.) also attended.

“Our folks are so excited to have a pro-coal president and we thank you so much for being on our side,” McConnell said to Trump during the ceremony.
Trump said he intends to keep his promises to the miners who backed his campaign.

“The mines are a big deal,” Trump said. “I got support from some of you folks right from the very beginning, and I won’t forget it.”

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