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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Does This Mean Anything To You?

Come down to the Salisbury Festival today and tomorrow and look for this shirt. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.


New Posts to fall below.

U.S. Soldier Surprises 2-Year-Old Daughter at School

Homelessness skyrockets in D.C.

WASHINGTON - Homelessness is skyrocketing in D.C.
The number of families living in the city's shelters has increased by about 50 percent since this time last year.

"This is a very difficult problem that every city in America right now is experiencing," Mayor Vincent Gray tells WTOP's 'Ask the Mayor.' "So much of this is a function of the economy."

Gray said the District is working to increase affordable housing and has brought on 1,100 new housing units since last year, with another 1,100 planned.

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Man Sues Md. Police Over Fiery Crash That Killed 3

A man who survived a police chase that ended in a fiery crash with three dead has sued the Montgomery
County police department.

The Washington Post reports that a lawsuit seeking more than $10 million in damages was filed on behalf of 18-year-old Reeco Richardson.

Richardson was the front-seat passenger in a Toyota Echo that slammed into a tree, bursting into flames, in the culmination of a police chase at Chevy Chase Circle last month. Officers drove after the vehicle in a high-speed chase after the car had been reported stolen.

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Wedding Ring Returned 2 Years Later After Efforts by Boston City Employees

A Boston woman who lost her wedding ring nearly two years ago was reunited with her ring on Friday after Department of Public Works’ employees found the ring in the drain and made it their mission to return it to its rightful owner.

Maura Burke thought she had lost her diamond wedding band after it went down the drain Labor Day weekend in 2010.

But DPW employees and Braintree, Mass., Mayor Joseph Sullivan worked together to perform the miracle return mission.

Anti-Bullying Speaker Curses Christian Teens

As many as 100 high school students walked out of a national journalism conference after an anti-bullying speaker began cursing, attacked the Bible and reportedly called those who refused to listen to his rant “pansy assed.”

The speaker was Dan Savage, founder of the “It Gets Better” project, an anti-bullying campaign that has reached more than 40 million viewers with contributors ranging from President Obama to Hollywood stars.  Savage also writes a sex advice column called “Savage Love.”

Savage, and his husband, were also guests at the White House for President Obama’s 2011 LGBT Pride Month reception. He was also invited to a White House anti-bullying conference.

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'WAR' PROMISED IF IRS ATTACKS CHURCH SPEECH

While a group that opposes expressions of Christianity in public forums wants the IRS to use its formidable power to crack down on what pastors say, one legal foundation says, “Bring it on,” promising a “legal war” if churches are attacked on such issues.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State Executive Director Barry Lynn recently wrote a letter to the IRS demanding help in quashing the speech of a leader in the Roman Catholic Diocese in Peoria, Ill.
The April 19 letter calls a recent homily given by Bishop Daniel Jenky a violation of IRS regulations relating to the tax-exempt status of the church, because Jenky cited atrocities of past governments, specifically naming Hitler and Stalin, and then cited the failings of the Obama administration.
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Mexican Woman with Four Children Prepares to Give Birth to Another Nine

A woman in Mexico is due to give birth to nine babies within the next month -- to add to the four children she already has.

Karla Vanessa Castaneda Perez is scheduled to give birth by caesarian section in Arteaga, northeast Mexico, late May when she will be seven months pregnant, El Universal newspaper reported.

The 32-year-old -- who already has a four-year-old son and six-month-old triplets -- said she was struggling to sleep over concerns about buying enough milk, diapers and clothes for the babies.

Castaneda Perez described her pregnancy as a miracle, but said she was prepared for multiple births after her triplets were born on Nov. 4.

'Crucify Them': The Obama Way

One of President Obama's radical eco-bureaucrats has apologized for confirming an indelible truth: This White House treats politically incorrect private industries as public enemies who deserve regulatory death sentences.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Al Armendariz, an avowed greenie on leave from Southern Methodist University, gave a little-noticed speech in 2010 outlining his sadistic philosophy. "I was in a meeting once, and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement, and I think it was probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting, but I'll go ahead and tell you what I said," he began. In a video obtained and released by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., Armendariz then shared his bloody analogy:

"It was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they'd find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. ... So, that's our general philosophy."

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How Long


OCCUPY PREPARES NATIONWIDE MAY DAY MAYHEM

Occupy’s plans for nationwide May Day chaos are going ahead full-speed ahead, with the movement boasting of “direct action” schemes that include protest marches, shutting down the financial sector, and blocking bridges and tunnels.
The group’s official websites announce plans to “occupy” Manhattan-bound bridges and tunnels as well as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Tuesday.
Besides street protests, sympathizers are asked to engage in a U.S. general strike to “shut it down,” referring to the country’s economy.
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Survey: Some Doctors Would Chose a Different Career Path

They make more than the average American, yet more and more U.S. doctors say they regret their career choice.  And when it comes to salaries, there are discrepancies among the different specialties.

Medscape/WebMD released their annual survey of physician pay.  They surveyed 24,000 physicians to get their thoughts on the medical field.  Here are some of the highest paid doctors:

  • Radiologists: $315,000
  • Orthopedic surgeons: $315,000
  • Cardiologists: $314,000
  • Anesthesiologists: $309,000
  • Urologists: $309,000
Among the lowest paid:
  • Pediatricians: $156,000
  • Family medicine doctors: $158,000
  • Internal medicine doctors: $165,000
  • Diabeticians/endocrinologists: $168,000
  • Psychiatrists: $170,000

McCain: 'Shame on Barack Obama'

Arizona senator John McCain just released the following statement on the Obama campaign's Osama bin Laden campaign ad:

"Shame on Barack Obama for diminishing the memory of September 11th and the killing of Osama bin Laden by turning it into a cheap political attack ad. This is the same President who once criticized Hillary Clinton for invoking bin Laden 'to score political points.'

"This is the same President who said, after bin Laden was dead, that we shouldn't 'spike the ball' after the touchdown. And now Barack Obama is not only trying to score political points by invoking Osama bin Laden, he is doing a shameless end-zone dance to help himself get reelected.

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Several In Custody After Shots Fired In Hebron

Last night around 3 AM there were shots fired in Hebron on the 200 block of East Lane Street. There are several people in custody and we await a Press Release from the Sheriff's Department for further details.

Gov't Records: Michelle Obama’s Vacation in Spain Cost Taxpayers at Least $467,585

First Lady Michelle Obama’s vacation in Spain with her daughter Sasha, several friends, their children, and some White House staffers cost U.S. taxpayers at least $467,585,  according to documents obtained by Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest group that fights government corruption.

Mrs. Obama took the trip from Aug. 4-8, 2010. That same month, Judicial Watch filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Secret Service and the Air Force to obtain information on the cost of the trip. On March 5, 2012, Judicial Watch followed up on its FOIA request with a lawsuit seeking the relevant information.

According to the information Judicial Watch obtained from the Air Force, the costs for the travel services that Air Force provided to Mrs. Obama and her entourage totaled $213,124.15.

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FDIC Information For Bank Of The Eastern Shore, Cambridge, MD

On Friday, April 27, 2012, Bank of the Eastern Shore, Cambridge, MD was closed by the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation. Subsequently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

The FDIC has assembled useful information regarding your relationship with Bank of the Eastern Shore. Besides a checking account, you may have Certificates of Deposit, a business checking account, a Social Security direct deposit, and other relationships with the institution.

Please select the link below to read more about this event:

FDIC Bank Closing Information for Bank of the Eastern Shore

Hung Up On Your Cell Phone? It Could Be An Addiction

It will come as no surprise to most Washingtonians, but more and more Americans are developing a serious cell phone addiction.

"If in fact there is such a thing as cell phone addiction, D.C. is a town that is guilty as charged," Dr. Drew Pinsky tells WTOP.

But Pinsky cautions against the over-utilization of the term 'addiction.' The overuse of cell phones is not a biological addiction, rather a preoccupation or dependency, he says

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Gov’t $15.6T in Debt Funds 16 Programs to Teach Citizens ‘Financial Literacy’

A federal government that is $15.6 trillion in debt is currently using its “bully pulpit” to run 16 different programs to teach citizens “financial literacy,” according to the Government Accountability Office, the accounting agency of the U.S. Congress.

Previously, relying on a study by the RAND Corporation, the GAO had reported that the federal government operated 56 programs to teach citizens “financial literacy.” However, it subsequently determined that 16 was a better count of what it called the government’s “significant financial literacy programs.”

Even among these 16 federal programs that teach citizens “financial literacy,” the GAO found that there is some duplication of efforts and no definitive way to measure the programs’ effectiveness.

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Obama Threatens To Veto GOP Student Loan Extension To Protect Fund He Planned to Cut

The Obama administration threatened to veto the House Republican version of the extension of the student loan bill Friday, arguing that it cuts funding for preventive health services to offset the one year extension of the 3.4 percent student loan rate.
In a statement released Friday, the OMB said the GOP version of the bill includes “an attempt to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund, created to help prevent disease, detect it early, and manage conditions before they become severe.  Women, in particular, will benefit from this Prevention Fund, which would provide for hundreds of thousands of screenings for breast and cervical cancer.  This is a politically-motivated proposal and not the serious response.”
But House Speaker John Boehner’s office countered the president’s threat by saying President Obama already authorized trimming down the Prevention and Public Health Fund in his proposed FY2013 budget.
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Underreported Unemployment Generates Feel-Good Headlines

The credibility gap is widening between what theObama administration says about the jobs picture and what Americans sense is the grim reality. Despite the official line that things are getting better, the employment situation is growing progressively worse.
You would never know this from the headlines. The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial unemployment claims for the previous week had fallen by 1,000. This was the sixth reported decline in the last eight weeks. The overall impression is that the situation is improving, slowly but surely.
Over that same period, however, the actual number of new jobless per week has increased by almost 40,000. The Obama administration is managing perceptions by revising the weekly numbers upward after the fact. Every week for at least the last eight weeks, the initial jobless number has been raised after it was released, sometimes significantly. So while the combined initial figures over that period show a 13,000 new jobless decline, this is only because 49,000 jobless were not included in the initial reports.
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Government's Answer to "Fast and Furious" Records Requests: Blank pages

For more than a year, CBS News has been investigating the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms' "Fast and Furious" operation and related cases that also employed the controversial tactic of "gunwalking." With Justice Department officials refusing all interview requests to date, CBS News requested numerous public documents through the Freedom of Information Act.
So far, all of the requests that have been answered have been denied in part or in full.
This week, we received a partial response to a request made more than a year ago. It asked for communications involving "Project Gunrunner," the umbrella program for Fast and Furious, from 2010 through April 2011. Specifically, it sought any communications to which any of the following top Justice officials were a party: Attorney General Eric Holder; Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division; Kevin Carwile, chief of the Capital Case Unit; and Deputy Assistant Attorney Generals Bruce Schwarz and Kenneth Blanco.
The response includes mostly-blank pages.
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COPS CANCEL 'ABUSIVE' MIDNIGHT WAKEUPS

Only some 12 hours after WND  reported on a letter from the Rutherford Institute alerting Richmond, Va., authorities to the dangers of a midnight police “wakeup call” program, city officials have announced it is being discontinued.
WND learned in an email from the city early today that the program that was launched earlier this month is scheduled to be terminated May 1.
The institute, which had sent a letter to the city regarding Fourth Amendment rights and several safety concerns, were pleased when the city’s announcement came today.

Drug-Overdose Antidote is Put in Addicts' Hands

WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (AP) - Steve Wohlen lay on his front lawn, blue, unconscious and barely breathing, overdosing on heroin.

His mother ran outside, frantically assembling a pen-like canister. Her heart pounding, she dropped to her knees and used the device to deliver two squirts up her son's nostrils.

Within minutes, his eyes opened, color returned to his face, and he sat up _ brought back from a potentially lethal overdose by a drug commonly known by its old brand name, Narcan.

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Surge in Child Immigrants Stresses Support Network

McALLEN, Texas (AP) - An unprecedented surge of children caught trudging through South Texas scrublands or crossing at border ports of entry without their families has sent government and nonprofit agencies scrambling to expand their shelter, legal representation and reunification services. On any given day this year, the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement has been caring for more than 2,100 unaccompanied child immigrants.

The influx came to light last week when 100 kids were taken to Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio for temporary housing. It was the first time the government has turned to the Defense Department _ now, 200 boys and girls younger than 18 stay in a base dormitory.

While the issue of unaccompanied minors arriving in the U.S. isn't new, the scale of the recent increase is. From October 2011 through March, 5,252 kids landed in U.S. custody without a parent or guardian _ a 93 percent increase from the same period the previous year, according to data released by the Department of Health and Human Services. In March alone, 1,390 kids arrived.

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Soybean Products Recalled for Listeria Contamination

WASHINGTON - A recall was issued on Friday for certain soybean products that may be contaminated with listeria.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says Henry's Farm Inc., of Woodford, Virgina, is recalling all packages of soybean sprouts because of the possible contamination.

Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections to individuals with weakened immune systems. Healthier individuals can experience short term symptoms when exposed, such as high fevers, severe headaches, stiffness and nausea.

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No More Cheek Swabs For DNA in Md., High Court Rules

WASHINGTON - Maryland's high court has ruled swabbing arrestees' cheeks for DNA is unconstitutional and the state's attorney general is expected to give police departments some direction on the ruling.

The Court of Appeals found that taking "buckle swabs" - as they're called - is a violation of a person's Fourth Amendment rights.

As of Thursday, the Montgomery County attorney told jail staff to stop taking DNA swabs. There are questions as to what will happen to already collected samples that have not been processed.

Governor Martin O'Malley, police departments and Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy are among those urging Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler to ask for a stay and to take the case to the Supreme Court.

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Deputy Rescues Scared Deer


Huron County (MI) Deputy Rescues Scared Deer In The Road By Picking Her Up. Deputy Ryan Swartz, responded to a car versus deer accident on Friday, Nov. 11 on Hellems Road in Dwight Township. No one was injured other than a doe deer which remained standing dazed in the middle of the roadway for almost 25 minutes. The scene was captured on the patrol car's camera. When Deputy Swartz first arrived we're told he thought it was a decoy, but quickly learned it was indeed a live deer. The deputy had to make a decision on how to get the deer off the roadway before another accident occurred. Sheriff Kelly Hanson says what the deputy did is not recommended, but it worked. As you can see on the video, Deputy Swartz picks up the deer and moves it to the side of the road. The alternative may have been euthanizing the deer. The deer finally got its wits back and trotted off into the field.

A Texas Tan Line