Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Saturday, September 22, 2012

An Update From A Viewer On Mayor Ireton


Joe, the mayor Laura Mitchell and her husband as well as his ex daily times flunky are here in the park with a bunch of peaceniks . He gave a speech and led a peace walk while ignoring the epilepsy association who was having a function right next to them .

Dog Missing In Cambridge Area

A car accident occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. on September 22nd on Route 50, between Chateau Drive and Chateau Road in Cambridge, MD.  The dog was scared and ran from the accident site.  The dog is a male, miniature pincher.  He is black and brown, tail is cut but ears are not cropped.  If anyone finds the dog, please contact Sheila Vaughan at 202-391-4729.  The dog answers to the name of Tyson.

Caption This Photo 9-22-12


Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Voter ID Laws


More than 30 states have enacted some version of voter ID law in recent years. How much do these laws change voting rules and what impact could they have on the general election?

Video: Obama Does Not Know The Size Of The Debt

It’s a couple days old, but nevertheless worth watching: Here’s the clip of President Obama’s interview with David Letterman (which Steve Hayes discusses in greater detail here), during which Obama shows that he apparently has no idea how big our national debt is — apparently even to the nearest trillion (see around the 2:00 mark):


Obama: 'The Economy Has Been Very Tough For The Last Four Years'

At a town hall hosted by Univision this afternoon in Florida, a college student asked President Obama for advice on how to get a job. Obama first lavished praise on the journalists hosting the forum and then admitted that the economy has not been doing well for the last four years: Source

Teen Birth Control: Doctors Urge IUDs And Implants For Girls


Teenage girls may prefer the pill, the patch or even wishful thinking, but their doctors should be recommending IUDs or hormonal implants — long-lasting and more effective birth control that you don't have to remember to use every time.


O’MALLEYNOMICS: A COMPLETE FAILURE


While Gov. Martin O’Malley revs up his 2016 presidential campaign with barbecue dinners in Iowa and major speeches in Charlotte, his home state of Maryland is experiencing an economic failure. A few weeks ago the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the state’s unemployment rate was creeping back to its all-time high, set right after the start of the financial crisis.
To struggling residents of Maryland, this bad economic news is not a surprise.  Since he was first elected, O’Malley’s fiscal policies have led many to believe that failure was not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when.’  His fiscally conservative predecessor, Gov. Bob Ehrlich, left him with a budget surplus and a relatively vibrant private sector. However, six years, 24 tax hikes and over $180 billion later, O’Malley’s economic plan is failing the citizens of Maryland.
At his core, O’Malley believes that government can create prosperity. The “O’Malleynomics” theory relies on government employees to fill the bulk of the tax base, massive government spending to spur economic activity and failed welfare programs to make it appear as if government can solve all of our problems. O’Malleynomics is also politically convenient and designed to allow O’Malley to get the most number of votes in an election year, enrich his political friends, and skip out on Maryland to run for higher office just before it goes bankrupt.
O’Malleynomics heavily depends upon a large federal workforce to keep state government working. O’Malley has been a major beneficiary of the bloated D.C. bureaucracy and its never-ending supply of cash – many federal agencies are located in Maryland and their workers call the Free State home.  To curry favor from the government employee unions who spend heavily in elections, O’Malley has turned Maryland into one the most anti-business states in the country. The non-partisan Tax Foundation ranks Maryland 42nd out of 50 for small business tax climate, and CNBC puts the Free State in the bottom tier of competitive states. O’Malleynomics emboldens public sector unions to dominate the discussion at the state capital, which is why tax hikes, spending increases and high unemployment are the norm.

The Major Toll Of Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke takes a sizable toll on Americans’ health and productivity, particularly among black Americans, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Mining data collected between 2003 and 2006 by large government surveys, the researchers calculated that secondhand smoke kills 42,000 Americans each year, including nearly 900 infants. Secondhand smoke is linked to some of the same fatal illnesses caused by smoking, including heart and lung disease, and in babies, low birth weight, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and respiratory distress syndrome. Overall, the researchers found that yearly deaths from secondhand smoke accounted for about 600,000 years of potential life lost, or an average of 14.2 years per person. The price tag for that lost productivity loss equaled $6.6 billion in total — about $158,000 per death.

More

Child Support Enforcement Offers Free DNA Paternity Testing In September

For clients who need paternity established, the Division of Child Support Enforcement is offering free DNA testing weekdays through Sept. 28 at its offices statewide. Delaware

[more]

Delaware Suspends Professional Licenses For Unpaid Taxes

Division of Revenue Director Patrick Carter announced today that the State of Delaware will begin suspending the professional licenses of taxpayers who fail to pay their outstanding tax liabilities. This announcement comes as the division updates its online lists of the state’s top 100 delinquent individual and business taxpayers at www.revenue.delaware.gov/ddt.shtml. 

[more]

Fort DuPont State Park Hosts A Day Of Fun Programs

DELAWARE CITY - Fort DuPont State Park will host the final games of the season for the Diamond State Base Ball Club on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. The vintage Base Ball Club plays by rules from the nineteenth century and wears vintage uniforms. The game is a double header against The Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia followed by the Rising Sun Baseball Club. The game costs $3 for adults and $2 for children ages 6 to 12, and parking is free. All ages are welcome. 

[more]

Another 10 DUI Arrests Made In September

The Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign netted another 10 DUI arrests last weekend (Sept 14). This brings the total DUI arrests made as part of the campaign to 154. Statewide, there have been over 3,500 DUI arrests made in Delaware this year. 

[more]

Pathetic: Obama Admin. Airs Ad In Pakistan Condeming "Innocense Of Muslims”

While Team Obama isn’t willing to air an ad here in the United States apologizing to all the Tea Party members whom he called “Teabaggers”, all the private citizens Team Obama has insulted, the women insulted by million dollar donor Bill Mahr, nor all the Mormons who’ve been denigrated by the Broadway show “The Book Of Mormon”, they’re willing to apologize and distance themselves from a stupid movie made using our 1st Amendment (Politico) The Obama administration is airing ads on Pakistani television condemning the anti-Islamic film “The Innocence of Muslims,” a State Department spokeswoman confirmed Thursday. “As you know, after the video came out, there was concern in lots of bodies politic, including Pakistan, as to whether this represented the views of the U.S. Government. So in order to ensure we reached the largest number of Pakistanis – some 90 million, as I understand it in this case with these spots – it was the judgment that this was the best way to do it,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. The ads show clips of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the film in English (but dubbed in Urdu) in remarks they made last week, emphasizing that it was not produced or authorized by the United States government. More

What Ron Paul Might Have Said About That 47%

Unlike Romney and Obama, Ron Paul is neither a repeater of Republican Party platitudes about "America’s greatness" nor a mumbler of silly socialist platitudes that sound like they were paraphrased directly from The Communist Manifesto ("From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"). Ron Paul is a seriously learned man when it comes to economics and political philosophy. He is very familiar with the writings of all the classical liberals, especially Austrian School economists such as Ludwig von Mises, Henry Hazlitt, F.A. Hayek, and Murray Rothbard. As such, he must know that Rothbard considered John C. Calhoun, the nineteenth-century U.S. Senator, Secretary of War, and Vice President of the United States to have been one of America’s greatest political philosophers as well. Because of his educational background, Ron Paul would have articulated Romney’s truthful comment about how the moochers and parasites of American society ("the 47%") are on the verge of overwhelming the producers politically. He would not have gotten involved in the mindless media "debate" over whether it is 47 percent or 49 percent of American adults who pay no income taxes but receive benefits from government. He likely would have quoted or paraphrased Rothbard’s favorite American political philosopher, Calhoun, from his magisterial 1850 Disquisition on Government instead. More

The Fallacy Of Redistribution

The recently discovered tape on which Barack Obama said back in 1998 that he believes in redistribution is not really news. He said the same thing to Joe the Plumber four years ago. But the surfacing of this tape may serve a useful purpose if it gets people to thinking about what the consequences of redistribution are. Those who talk glibly about redistribution often act as if people are just inert objects that can be placed here and there, like pieces on a chess board, to carry out some grand design. But if human beings have their own responses to government policies, then we cannot blithely assume that government policies will have the effect intended. The history of the 20th century is full of examples of countries that set out to redistribute wealth and ended up redistributing poverty. The communist nations were a classic example, but by no means the only example. In theory, confiscating the wealth of the more successful people ought to make the rest of the society more prosperous. But when the Soviet Union confiscated the wealth of successful farmers, food became scarce. As many people died of starvation under Stalin in the 1930s as died in Hitler's Holocaust in the 1940s. More

iTARDS

OUT OF TOUCH

Romney May Be The End Of The Line For The Republican Establishment

Mitt Romney’s comments about 47 percent of Americans being dependent on government and locked in to vote for President Obama highlight a fundamental reality in American politics today: The gap between the American people and the political class is bigger than the gap between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C. Romney’s remarks are the GOP equivalent of Obama’s notorious comments about small-town Pennsylvania voters bitterly clinging to their guns and religion. Both Romney and Obama highlighted the condescending attitude that political elites hold of the people they want to rule over. A National Journal survey found that 59 percent of political insiders don’t think voters know enough to have meaningful opinions on the important issues of the day. That’s a handy rationalization for those who want to ignore the voters and impose their own agenda. More

Eddie Haskell Brooks

New York Times columnist David Brooks is the Eddie Haskell of the Fourth Estate. Like the two-faced sycophant in “Leave It to Beaver,” Brooks indulges in excessive politeness while currying favor with political authority. He prides himself on an oily semblance of maturity and rational discourse. But the phony “conservative” back-stabber, who has spent the last four years slavering over Barack Obama like a One Direction groupie and trashing the tea party like an MSNBC junkie, isn’t fooling anyone. Lately, Brooks has been given to dispensing passive-aggressive advice to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. His column this week titled “Thurston Howell Romney” called Romney “a kind, decent man” — and then shredded him to pieces as a “country club” elitist who “doesn’t know much about the culture of America,” “knows nothing about ambition and motivation,” and is “running a depressingly inept presidential campaign.” More

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Is Losing It

And needs to be impeached. In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Scalia claimed he was "enraged" by charges that the high court has become too politicized. Scalia said, "Neither I nor any one of my colleagues votes a certain way because he or she likes this president." But then thirty seconds after saying that, Scalia went unhinged in a partisan rant, accusing Democrats, naming the Party, of trying to appoint judicial activists for years. This is just the latest bizarre and self-contradictory rant from Scalia. Most recently, he openly criticized the President during his dissent in the Arizona immigration law case, earlier this year. So, from politicizing the Court to routinely ruling in favor of his hunting buddies like Dick Cheney and the Koch brothers, Scalia has proven himself to be an unethical judge. It's time for Congress to assert its constitution-mandated power – and impeach him.

The ACLU Wants To Know About President Obama's Drone Wars

After the CIA refused to comply with several Freedom of Information Act requests regarding President Obama's "targeted killings" drone program, the American Civil Liberties Union is taking the issue to court on Wednesday, arguing that the CIA can no longer deny the existence of a program that's been widely report on in the media and in official briefings by the Obama administration. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports that drone strikes in Pakistan alone have killed more than 3,000 people – including nearly 900 innocent civilians – since 2002. Drone strikes have also occurred in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and other nations.

WHEN WILL WICOMICO COUNTY GET ON BOARD THE TRAIN?


Dorchester and Somerset Counties Join the
Maryland Rural Counties Coalition

The Somerset County Commissioners today notified Frederick County Commissioner President Blaine Young and Allegany County Commissioner President Michael McKay on behalf of the Maryland Rural Counties Coalition that Somerset County would formally join the organization. On August 9, 2012, the Dorchester County Council formally notified the Coalition of their decision to join.

An historic "First" occurred on December 12, 2011, when the governing bodies of Allegany, Carroll, Frederick and Washington Counties announced the creation of the Maryland Rural Counties Coalition (MRCC) – with an eye towards other rural counties joining their ranks -- for purposes of strengthening their policy-related standing in the halls of Annapolis.
Earlier this year the Cecil County Commissioners voted to join ranks with the Coalition to further strengthen the voice of Maryland’s rural citizens.

Recently Frederick County Commissioner President Blaine Young and Allegany County Commissioner President Michael McKay traveled to meet with the Dorchester County Council and the Somerset County Commissioners to discuss in public meetings the Maryland Rural Counties Coalition and extended an invitation to the two counties to join ranks with the other six jurisdictions.

Dorchester County Council President Jay Newcomb stated, "We look forward to working with the members of the Coalition in our mutual goal to ensure that the unique needs and perspectives of Maryland’s rural counties are taken into consideration during the decision making process in Annapolis."

Somerset County Commissioner President Rex Simpkins stated, "Somerset County is happy to join with the Maryland Rural Counties Coalition to make our collective voices heard in Annapolis and beyond. The seven counties of our coalition represents nearly 800,000 Maryland residents and our collective membership allows Somerset County and in turn the citizens of Maryland’s rural counties a bigger voice in Annapolis."

"Rural Maryland often finds itself at a strategic disadvantage from policy decisions made by the Maryland General Assembly because the non-rural counties often speak as one, thus prevailing. Our intent is to help balance the decision-making process in Annapolis so rural Maryland’s interests are strengthened and equated to the interests of non-rural Maryland. And this can only be accomplished by working together in partnership through a strong alliance between Maryland’s rural counties," stated Commissioner Young.

Commissioner President Michael McKay of Allegany County stated, "All roads in Maryland lead to Annapolis. There, statutory and budgetary decisions are made that impact the daily lives of every Marylander and we must speak with a unified voice on behalf of the state’s rural citizens in order to be heard."

Source: http://www.gov.allconet.org/pr/Somerset%20and%20Dorchester%20Addition%20Press%20Release.pdf

Dog Found 9-22-12: UPDATE

Good Morning,

Not sure if someone else has already written you about a found dog on Crooked Oak lane this morning.  My neighbor has the dog. It is a chocolate lab, with a collar. Please call me if this dog belongs to you.

Tax-Exempt Boy Scouts Hide 'Morally Straight' Pedophiles In Plain Sight

While the Scouts have spent years hiding their pedophiles in the name of protecting their reputation, they were also launching a decades-long fight to keep gay scouts and leaders from being in their troops. This duplicity has all been supported with our tax dollars. This news story in the Los Angeles Times caught my eye recently: 'Boy Scouts helped alleged molesters cover tracks, files show' Over two decades, the Boy Scouts of America failed to report hundreds of alleged child molesters to police and often hid the allegations from parents and the public. A Los Angeles Times review of 1600 confidential files dating from 1970 to 1991 has found that Scouting officials frequently urged admitted offenders to quietly resign - and helped many cover their tracks. More

A Law So Awful It Literally Makes Judges Cry

Jim Gray had the perfect law and order pedigree. He came from a conservative family, his dad was a judge, he served in the Navy as a JAG attorney, and he went on to become a judge himself. He wanted to do good. But as soon as he started hearing cases from the bench, he realized something was seriously wrong. Watch him logically destroy those who want to talk tough instead of being smart on crime: Source

Jim Grant: We Are Now All Labrats Of Bernanke And The Fourth Branch Of Government

You put Jim Grant on TV and someone mentions the Fed and the result every single time is the equivalent of waving a red curtain in front of a rabid bull. This time was no different, as the Interest Rate Observer once again let Bernanke, with whom he clarified is no longer on speaking terms, have it. The ensuing central-planner bashing was in line with expectations, and just as we presented yesterday in "The Experiment Economy [11]", so too does Grant believe that the Fed is "learning by doing" and follows up by clarifying that this is an experiment, "and we are lab rats in the financial markets." He then proceeds to lament that the credit markets, clueless NYT econopundits notwithstanding, have now lost all informational value as every rate instrument is purely in the manipulated domain of the Fed. "We are all living in a land of speculation and manipulation" is Grant's summary of the current predicament of anyone who wishes to trade these "markets" and it may as well be the best synopsis of the New (ab)normal. And aside from an odd detour into Government Motors, Grant once again hones in on the only true antidote to central planner idiocy, gold: "the best thing about gold is that it's got no P/E multiple. Gold is a speculation on an anticipated macroeconomic outcome, the systematic debasement of currencies by central banks. Why wouldn't they do QE4? What intellectual argument do they have against doing it again, and again, and again." Well...none.

More

The US Will Spend Between $3 And $7 Per Gallon Of Gasoline "Saved" By Consumers Driving Electric Vehicles

Sometimes you just have to laugh - for fear of the hysterical crying fit that would ensue from recognizing our shameful pathological reality. To wit: Reuters [6] is reporting on a CBO study that shows the US electric car policy will cost $7.5bn by 2019. The report finds that the government's policy will have 'little to no impact' on overall gasoline consumption. 25% of the cost of the program is going up in Fisker Karma-inspired smoke [7] as part of the $7,500 per vehicle tax credit and the rest of the cost is in grants to such well-deserved and successful operations as GM's Chevy Volt [8] - which will backfire since the more electric vehicles the automakers sell (thanks to government subsidy) the more 'higher-margin' low-fuel-economy guzzlers it can sell and still meet CAFE standards (re-read that - amazing!) In 2012, 13,497 Chevy Volts and 4.228 Nissan Leafs have been sold (all that pent-up demand) as the CBO notes that despite the $7,500 subsidy, the cost-differential to conventional cars remains too wide - inferring a $12,000 tax credit would be more comparable.

More

Responsible Dog Ownership Day Today


Arlington National Cemetery Back In Order

The Pentagon's inspector general says Arlington National Cemetery has rebounded from a scandal over mismanagement that led to the misidentification of graves. The IG says the cemetery is now a "premiere" institution that can set the standard for other federal cemeteries. The report credits the cemetery's new leaders, who took over following the scandal. The cemetery now uses geospatial technology to track its burials. Officials are nearly done verifying the names and dates on all the headstones and grave markers. More than 400,000 people are buried there, some dating back 150 years.

OCEAN CITY POLICE CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE FATAL BALCONY FALL


On September 18, 2012, at approximately 3 a.m. Ocean City Police responded to a 911 call for help at 3602 North Canal Street, in reference to a subject who had fallen from a 3rd story balcony.
Police arrived at the scene and found the deceased body of an adult female, who has been positively identified as Kelly G. Degracia, 41, of Santa Monica, California.
Ocean City Police detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the death. The OCPD is awaiting the final results of the autopsy from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland.

Restructuring NASA

House Republicans have introduced a bill to restructure NASA. Supporters say it would bring long-term stability to the space agency and take politics out of the process. The NASA administrator would serve a 10-year term, similar to the FBI and the National Science Foundation. A new board of directors would oversee the agency. But lawmakers and the White House would appoint board members. Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf says NASA has wasted more than $20 billion in cancelled programs over the last two decades. He blames cost overruns along with mismanagement and politics.

ATTENTION!! NEW LAW REFERENCE: NON-FUNCTIONING TRAFFIC LIGHTS


Effective October 1, 2012, a driver approaching a non-functioning traffic control signal from any direction at an intersection MUST:
STOP AT A CLEARLY MARKED STOP LINE, BEFORE ENTERING ANY CROSSWALK, OR BEFORE ENTERING THE INTERSECTION.
After stopping, the driver MUST:
YIELD TO ANY VEHICLE OR PEDESTRIAN IN THE INTERSECTION AND REMAIN STOPPED UNTIL IT IS SAFE TO ENTER AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE INTERSECTION.
Violations of this law carry a fine of $90 and two points if the offense does not contribute to an accident. If the violation contributes to a crash, the fine is $130 and three points.
Remember – If a traffic light is out:
STOP, YIELD, PROCEED WITH CAUTION
Beginning October 1, 2012, a driver approaching a non-functioning traffic control signalfrom any direction at an intersection shall stop:
 
-at a clearly marked stop line;
 
-before entering any crosswalk; or
 
-before entering the intersection.
 
After stopping, the driver must:
 
-yield to any vehicle or pedestrian in the intersection; and
 
-remain stopped until it is safe to enter and continue through the intersection.
 
Intersection traffic control signals, most commonly called ‘red lights,’ or ‘stop lights,’ direct the safe and orderly flow of traffic in and through thousands of intersections acrossMaryland. Most are powered by electricity that can be interrupted because of storms, traffic crashes, or other incidents that cause power outages. Just because a traffic control signal is not functioning at an intersection does not mean drivers are relieved of their duty to exercise care and caution. The new law makes clear the procedures each driver must now follow.
 
Violations of the new law carry a fine of $90 and two points if the offense does not contribute to an accident. If the violation contributes to a crash, the fine is $130 and three points.
 
REMEMBER EXISTING LAWS:
 
If two vehicles approach an intersection without a traffic control device or with a non-functioning traffic control signal from different roadways at the same time, there is existing motor vehicle law that applies. In this situation, the driver on the left must yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on his or her immediate right.
 
There are also times when a traffic control signal that normally operates green, yellow, and red lights may be in ‘flashing’ mode. This usually means red lights may be flashing in one direction and yellow lights are flashing in another direction. Flashing red and yellow lights on a traffic control signal do not mean the light is ‘non-functioning.’
 
In this situation, the drivers approaching the red flashing light must stop and can only proceed when the intersection is clear. Drivers approaching the yellow flashing light should slow down and use caution, but are permitted to proceed through the intersection without stopping. Drivers are also reminded that if a police officer is directing traffic in the intersection, they should obey the directions of that officer, regardless of the signal indicated on the traffic control device.
 
It is difficult to describe every potential intersection situation. Above all, drivers are reminded that it is their duty to always drive with care and caution, especially when approaching an intersection with a non-functioning signal. If other drivers are present at the intersection, remember to be courteous, use caution, and do everything possible to try to determine the intentions of other motorists and communicate your intentions, if you are unsure of how to proceed. Even if you have the right of way, it is better to allow another driver to proceed if it appears he or she is going to do so, instead of risking an intersection crash.

HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 9-22-12

THE WICOMICO RIVER 

While it is reasonable to assume that the river was used by Native Americans for hundreds, if not thousands, of years before the modern era, life on the river as we now know it started around 1665 when Colonel Isaac Handy settled on its shores about 3 miles south of present day Salisbury. His land was a grant known as Pemberton’s Good Will and is still preserved by Wicomico County as Pemberton Park. 

Colonel Handy set up his first business at the fork of the river where the present Main St. bridge now crosses the river in Salisbury. At that time, the site was known as Handy’s Landing. It remained so for the next 60 years when the name was changed to Salisbury after the town in Great Britain of the same name.

The river was deep enough in 1730 for ocean going vessels to navigate as far as New Nithsdale, located at the junction of the Wicomico River and Rockawalkin Creek. Lighter ships could come up as far as Cotton Patch Wharf, presently a residential area on Riverside Drive in Salisbury and many unloaded up
Tony Tank Creek located just south of there.

The river was dammed in two places in Salisbury, significantly adding to the value of Salisbury as a center of commerce in the early days.

The earliest dam was established on the east prong in 1743 by William Venables. The power generated by this dam was used to operate a grist mill for more than 150 years. The adjoining property was known as Mill Grove and on it the owner had his home. The spot where the mill was located is currently occupied by the Wicomico Regional Library on South Division St. The dam was where the current South Division St. bridge now crosses the east prong of the river. The dam burst in 1909, letting out most of the water contained in Humphries Lake, which had been formed by the damming of the river so many years ago, and ending any mill operations generated by the dam. Until the dam burst, there was no East Main St. The area covered by Humphries Lake can be visualized today by following the depression of land between South Division St. on the west, Route 50 to the north, and the Salisbury City Park to the east and south.

The second dam was constructed in 1750 by a Mr. Bailey. This dam was located on the north prong where Isabella St. crosses the river. He built two mills on either side of the dam. On the east side he built a grist and planing mill and on the west side he had a saw mill.

Many lumber mills sprang up along the river. The abundance of old growth pine in the area contributed much to the economy with the river as a means to move it. The first lumber mill was built by George W. Parsons. It was located on the north side of the river where a ship building business now exists.

George Parsons’ brother, Milton A. Parsons, also had a saw mill and a grist mill about two miles downriver from Salisbury. The Parsons brothers’ mills were the first mills to operate in Wicomico County.

The first effort to clear the river bottom in Salisbury was done in 1910. At that time the mud flats on the north prong were removed. In 1927 $215,000 was authorized by the U.S. Congress to dredge the river bottom. Apparently, this was not sufficient because another $272,000 was secured from the Federal Government in February, 1939, to dredge the river to a depth of 13 feet with a channel 150 feet wide.

The first harbormaster was Charles E. Harper. He had been mayor of Salisbury from 1904 to 1910. He had such a keen interest in the Wicomico River in Salisbury that he kept records of vessels using the river and their cargo for a period of 42 years. So, on July 1, 1931, he officially became the harbormaster.

For many years, the only method of crossing the river was where the Main St. bridge is now located. There was originally a pivot bridge across the river there. This was eventually replaced by the current drawbridge. There was also a bridge over the east prong connecting the downtown area to the area south of the river by way of Camden St. There were many wholesale seafood outlets near this bridge. In the early days of Salisbury, what we know now as Main St. was called Bridge St. and Market St. was named Dock St. So, the names of the streets reflected the importance of the river to Salisbury’s existence.

Expanded Health Care Covers More Young Marylanders


The percentage of young Marylanders with health insurance rose to almost 81.7% last year from 75% in 2009, a rate much higher than the national average, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau. 


Continue Reading...

Quotes

"What is needed here is a return to the Constitution of the United States. We need to have a complete divorce of Bank and State. The old struggle that was fought out here in Jackson's day must be fought over again... The Federal Reserve Act should be repealed and the Federal Reserve Banks, having violated their charters, should be liquidated immediately. Faithless Government officers who have violated their oaths of office should be impeached and brought to trial. Unless this is done by us, I predict that the American people, outraged, robbed, pillaged, insulted, and betrayed as they are in their own land, will rise in their wrath and send a President here who will sweep the money changers out of the temple."-- Louis McFadden(1876-1936) US Congressman (R-PA) (1915-1935), Chairman of House Banking and Currency Committee. Poisoned in 1936.Source: Speech in Congress, June 10, 1932


"We have what is known as the Federal Reserve Bank System. That system is not owned by the Government. Many people think that it is because it says “Federal Reserve.” It belongs to private banks, private corporations. So we have farmed out to the Federal Reserve Banking System that which is owned exclusively, wholly, one hundred percent to the private banks—we have farmed out to them the privilege of issuing the Government’s money!"-- Wright Patman[John William Wright Patman] (1893-1976) US Congressman (TX-D)Source: Congressional Record (29 Sep. 1941)

WHITE HOUSE SCAPEGOATING OF CHRISTIAN FILMMAKER BACKFIRES IN PAKISTAN

From everything we've learned since the murder of our Libyan Ambassador, Chris Stevens, two weeks ago on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, the White House has done nothing but lie to the American people and our compliant media. We were told that a spontaneous protest over an anti-Muslim film resulted in the death of Stevens and three other Americans. Now it looks as though Stevens was targeted and assassinated in a pre-planned attack by al-Qaeda.

We've also learned that the Libyan government, intelligence reports, and al-Qaeda itself warned of these attacks in advance, and yet there were no extra security precautions taken. My God, there weren't even Marines stationed there.
More