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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Just When I Was About To Give Up On Humanity, These 20 People Proved Me Wrong. AWESOME.

If you have ever lost faith in humanity, don’t feel bad. At one time or another, all of us have felt like giving up hope. But these 20 acts of kindness will remind you that YES, there are truly wonderful people out there in the world who want to spread kindness and love. We hope this inspires you to help someone else out in the future.

 A stranger left free lottery tickets for people using the gas pump

This Wendy’s worker saw the man struggling to get to his car in the rain, so went out to help. 
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Medicare Patients Lose Existing Suppliers Under New Program

The Obama administration implemented a competitive bidding program that causes many Medicare patients to lose their existing health equipment providers, forcing seniors to rely on out-of-state companies that increase their medical costs and keep them waiting for essential services like oxygen.

Between 80 and 90 percent of previously-eligible providers of medical equipment and services are now excluded from serving Medicare patients in bid areas, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan homecare advocacy group People for Quality Care (PFQC) and provided to The Daily Caller.

“Prior to competitive bidding, providers were chosen from a long list of Medicare-eligible providers. Not anymore,” PFQC executive Kelly Turner told TheDC.

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OCPD REMINDS THANKSGIVING TRAVELERS TO BUCKLE UP EVERY TRIP, EVERY TIME

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, people will soon flock to the roads to visit and celebrate with family and friends. The Ocean City Police Department reminds all travelers, whether they are heading across the country or just across town, to ensure a safe arrival and a happy holiday by buckling up for every trip, every time.

“The risk of being involved in a serious or deadly car crash increases when the number of cars on the road increases, and the long Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel times of the year,” said Chief Ross Buzzuro. “So we want to remind everyone that your seat belts can save your life – and those you are traveling with.”

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers is reduced by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 percent with proper seat belt use.

During the 2011 Thanksgiving period, 249 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide. Fifty percent of those killed were not wearing seat belts.

In 2011, 52 percent of the 21,253 passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes were NOT wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.

Chief Buzzuro continued, “We want to remind everyone who will be on the roads to please buckle up - Every Trip, Every Time - so you can give thanks this holiday season and enjoy the time with your loved ones.”

Florida City Uproots Couple’s 17-Year-Old Garden, Over New Ordinance

Few things in life are as benign as a home vegetable garden.

But for the residents of Miami Shores, Fla., growing veggies can land you a fine — the type you eventually can’t afford.

That’s what happened to Hermine Ricketts and her husband, Tom Carroll. For the past 17 years they’ve grown a garden in the front yard of their modest South Florida home. The backyard, they say, doesn’t get enough sunlight.

But in May, the city put the couple’s garden, and any others like it, in their legal crosshairs.

A new zoning ordinance designed to “protect the distinctive character of the Miami Shores Village,” was enacted and specifically prohibited vegetables – not fruit, trees or even plastic flamingos – from appearing in front yards.

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US Survey: More Than 1 In 10 Kids Has ADHD

The number of U.S. children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder continues to rise but may be leveling off a bit, a new survey shows.

More than 1 in 10 children has been diagnosed with it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which surveyed more than 95,000 parents in 2011.

ADHD diagnoses have been rising since at least 1997, according to CDC data. Experts think that's because more doctors are looking for ADHD, and more parents know about it.

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Judge Won’t Allow Holder Appeal Now In Contempt Case

A federal judge has refused Attorney General Eric Holder’s request that he be allowed to proceed now with an appeal in a case where the House of Representatives is seeking to enforce subpoenas for documents related to the controversial Operation Fast and Furious gun investigation.

In a ruling Monday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said her September 30 ruling rejecting Holder’s request to dismiss the lawsuit was not such a close call that it deserved immediate review from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“While the Court agrees with defendant’s characterization of the matter as significant, that is not the test,” Jackson wrote in her new four-page decision (posted here). ”

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What A Man Did With This Tree Trunk Will Blow Your Mind. Whatever You’re Thinking…It’s Better.

One tree, four years of work and an indescribable amount of talent: that’s what it took to create this incredible masterpiece. A famous Chinese wood carver chopped down a single tree and tirelessly worked on it for over four years to make this piece. Your jaw will hit the floor when you see what he created.

It all started out with a simple tree trunk…

Obamacare Is A Success!

They've found a small island where Obamacare is a success...

Energy Department Takes $139 Million Loss On Loan To Electric Car-Maker Fisker

The Energy Department is taking a $139 million loss on a loan to struggling electric car-maker Fisker Automotive after it found an investor to take a portion of an outstanding loan.

The agreement between the Energy Department and Hybrid Technology reached Friday is a step in an eventual deal to transfer Fisker's assets, which includes Hybrid Technology assuming roughly $170 million of the federal loan, to a subsidiary of the firm. Fisker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of the arrangement.

The agency noted that subsidiary planned to restart production of Fisker's Karma model and that engineering and design would continue in California. It also noted that taxpayers were able to recover three-fourths of the original $529 million loan, as the agency froze a bulk of the loan in 2012 following a poor rollout for the Karma vehicle.
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The Jarrett File

What we know about Obama’s secretive adviser.

In the fall of 2012, when New York Times reporter Jo Becker was working on a profile of longtime Obama confidante and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, the White House press office circulated a list of talking points to ensure that potential sources would be on the same page regarding “The Magic of Valerie.”

The memo, whose existence was first reported by Mark Leibovich in his bestseller This Town, described Jarrett as “an incredibly kind, caring and thoughtful person . . . the perfect combination of smart, savvy, and innovative,” with “an enormous capacity for both empathy and sympathy.”

The hyperbole is particularly rich in view of all the words that have been written about Jarrett’s role as “the single most influential person in the Obama White House” (which tend to paint a decidedly less flattering picture), and is perhaps more aptly captured by another talking point that appears to have slipped through the editing process: “Valerie is someone here who others inside the building know they can trust. (need examples.)”

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Meet The Liberal Billionaires Who Rule Your World

 
The timing of a story by the campaign finance reporters of the New York Times, and its placement in the paper’s national edition, is fraught with meaning. Articles in which the totemic names “Koch” or “Adelson” appear have a habit of being published in the prime time of an election cycle, and share the uncanny ability to float, bubble-like, to the front-page. Stories that deal with the liberal moneymen who finance the Democratic Party and its affiliates, by contrast, tend to appear after the fact or when nobody is looking, and, like ballast, fall to the back of the A section, obscured by ads for Tiffany’s, Burberry, and Zegna. I wonder why.

A recent example: On the eve of Election Day 2013 the Times ran on its front page an article by John Eligon, “Koch Group Has Ambitions in Small Races,” about local chapters of the Koch-affiliated Americans for Prosperity becoming involved in municipal politics. Fighting over bond issues and tax increases is the right of every American, including Americans who belong to organizations associated with Charles and David Koch; but the Times wants us to know that “the group has not been so welcome” in Coralville, Iowa, where the “nonpartisan campaign” for mayor “has become an informal referendum on the involvement of outsiders.” And these outside agitators, even if their financial contribution is a pittance, are trying the patience of the local bosses. The article was a free advertisement and plea for assistance on behalf of Coralville’s tax-and-spend caucus. It did its work. The left-leaning mayoral candidate won. Another outsider, Joe Biden, phoned him with congratulations the next day. Congratulations that were, no doubt, “nonpartisan.”

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Sheeple: Why You Should Feel Sorry For Them

It is often said there only two kinds of people in this world: those who know, and those who don’t. I would expand on this and say that there are actually three kinds of people: those who know, those who don’t know, and those who don’t care to know. Members of the last group are the kind of people I would characterize as “sheeple.”

Sheeple are members of a culture or society who are not necessarily oblivious to the reality of their surroundings; they may have been exposed to valuable truths on numerous occasions. However, when confronted with facts contrary to their conditioned viewpoint, they become aggressive and antagonistic in their behavior, seeking to dismiss and attack the truth by attacking the messenger and denying reason. Sheeple exist on both sides of America's false political paradigm, and they exist in all social "classes". In fact, the "professional class" and the hierarchy of academia are rampant breeding grounds for sheeple; who I sometimes refer to as "intellectual idiots". Doctors and lawyers, scientists and politicians are all just as prone to the sheeple plague as anyone else; the only difference is that they have a bureaucratic apparatus behind them which gives them a false sense of importance. All they have to do is tow the establishment line, and promote the establishment view.

Of course the common argument made by sheeple is that EVERYONE thinks everyone else is blind to the truth, which in their minds, somehow vindicates their behavior. However, the characteristic that absolutely defines a sheeple is not necessarily a lack of knowledge, but an unwillingness to consider or embrace obvious logic or truth in order to protect their egos and biases from harm. A sheeple's mindset is driven by self centered motives.

So-called mainstream media outlets go out of their way to reinforce this aggressive mindset by establishing the illusion that sheeple are the “majority” and that the majority perception (which has been constructed by the MSM) is the only correct perception.

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DelDOT Encourages Motorists To Arrive Early To Your Destination For Thanksgiving

Dover -- The Department of Transportation announces that increased traffic volumes are expected on Delaware's roadways beginning on Wednesday, November 27. Transportation officials are recommending that motorists should take their trip early to avoid delays. DelDOT urges motorists to drive safely, allow extra time to reach your destination, and obey traffic laws to ensure a safe trip.

Planned lane closures on Delaware's major roadways, Route 1, I-95, and U.S. Route 202 will be suspended at noon on Wednesday, November 27 and will resume at midnight on Sunday, December 1. Traffic accidents and other unpredictable types of transportation incidents may cause delays or lane closures.

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VICIOUS BRAWL ERUPTS AT CHILD’S BIRTHDAY PARTY – AND IT WAS ALL CAUGHT ON CAMERA

A six-year-old’s birthday party at a recreational bounce complex was going just fine.

There was cake. Happy little kids. And of course “Buddy,” the facility’s big-dog mascot, showed up to lend an extra shot of levity to the festivities.

But once friction developed among adult family members on hand — apparently over who was and wasn’t supposed to be invited, police said — what began as a fun night at the Jump Yard in Ohio took a nasty turn. 

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Solar Firm Linked To Obama Donors Could Be 'Next Solyndra,' Senator Warns

A California-based solar company backed by several Obama supporters has been receiving millions in federal tax credits while losing $322 million since 2008, raising concerns about the company “becoming the next Solyndra.”

Among SolarCity Corp.’s biggest investors is Elon Musk -- the high-profile donor and fundraiser who co-founded PayPal and whose companies SpaceX and electric-car company Tesla Motors have received at least $846 million in loans and startup money from the Obama administration.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, warned about SolarCity’s financial standing in a letter Monday to the Treasury Department.

“There is concern that SolarCity might become the next Solyndra -- a company propped on the back of the taxpayers,” Sessions wrote.

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Walmart Will Match Any Competitor’s Holiday Sale Price, Including Black Friday

Walmart might not be kicking off the early-morning hours and consumer frenzy of Black Friday a week early, but they’ve launched Black Friday price wars a week ahead of time. They’re matching other retailers’ sale prices during Black Long Weekend, and will match any sale price on an identical product purchased at any time between November 1 and December 24.

“Black Friday is our Super Bowl and we plan to win,” the company’s chief marketing and merchandising officer said in a statement, presumably while coaching employees through wind sprints while pushing hand trucks full of game consoles.

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Chemist Who Falsified Drug Tests In Criminal Cases Goes To Jail Herself

A former state chemist for Massachusetts pleaded guilty Friday to breezing fraudulently through tens of thousands of tests used to prosecute drug-related crimes and then covering up her shortcuts. Annie Dookhan will serve three to five years in prison, and the Massachusetts criminal justice system must now reevaluate thousands of prosecutions that relied on her tests.

fter initially denying the charges, Ms. Dookhan, who was born in Trinidad, raised in Boston, and is now a single mother in her 30s, changed her plea Friday. She pleaded guilty to 27 charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, and tampering with evidence.

Dookhan's actions may have distorted the results of the criminal trials of more than 40,000 individuals, and close to 350 people have already been released from prison as a result, Boston public radio station WBUR reports. The Boston-area Department of Public Health laboratory where she had worked for 10 years was closed in August 2012 after the scandal surfaced, and the Associated Press reports that 1,100 criminal cases have been dismissed or not prosecuted as a result.

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Restaurant Has No Choice: It’ll Allow Customer Who Didn’t Agree With Waitress’ Lifestyle Back

While it might seem unlikely that the customer who stiffed a waitress and wrote on the receipt that he or she didn’t agree with the lesbian waitress’ lifestyle would think, “Hmm, now’s a good time to go back there to eat,” if the patron decides to do so, it’s not like the restaurant could, or would, stop them from doing so.

“My initial reaction was a little angry, but if they come here we can’t stop them,” the general manager told the Courier-News in Bridgewater, N.J. “This is a public place. By law we can’t stop them.”

Meanwhile the waitress at the center of the media storm says she never expected to get as much attention as she has — customers are coming in just to see her and express their support, or leaving tips as “the tip she should have received.”

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Top House Investigator Hits The Road To Hear Americans' Obamacare Woes

After weeks of partisan sniping on Capitol Hill, a key House Republican said Monday he will take his investigation of Obamacare’s problems on the road.

Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced a quartet of field hearings that will delve into problems that have plagued the Affordable Care Act’s rollout.

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Tyson Foods Breaks Up With Pig Farm After Video Shows Alleged Animal Abuse

When the country’s biggest meat producer says “This isn’t working out,” it’s a big deal: Tyson Foods announced that it’s effectively dumping an Oklahoma pig farm by terminating its contract, after a news investigation showed undercover videos of alleged abuse at the facility.

NBC News says the video has workers on tape kicking, hitting and throwing pigs around, as well as slamming piglets into the ground. Frown face.

“We’re extremely disappointed by the mistreatment shown in the video and will not tolerate this kind of animal mishandling,” said Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for Tyson Foods. “We are immediately terminating our contract with this farmer and will take possession of the animals remaining on the farm.”

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OHIO MAN ENDURES EVERY LEGAL GUN OWNER’S NIGHTMARE AFTER CALLING POLICE TO REPORT A SHOOTING

An Ohio man will finally get his legally-owned pistol back nine months after police confiscated it following his controversial arrest in February. He was never convicted of any crimes and his arrest occurred after he called police to report a potential crime in progress.

The city of Cleveland reportedly agreed this week to settle the federal lawsuit filed by Derrick Washington over what he says was the illegal seizure of his .38-caliber handgun. Police had refused to return his gun even after a city prosecutor refused to press charges due to a lack of evidence.

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Washington Times Sues Coast Guard

The Washington Times is suing the Coast Guard for seizing documents at the home of a former reporter. The newspaper says Coast Guard investigators last summer searched the home of Audrey Hudson and her husband, a civilian Coast Guard employee, allegedly looking for guns.

Obama Hits New Low With Dems

President Obama’s relationship with congressional Democrats has worsened to an unprecedented low, Democratic aides say.

They are letting it be known that House and Senate Democrats are increasingly frustrated, bitter and angry with the White House over ObamaCare’s botched rollout, and that the president’s mea culpa in a news conference last week failed to soothe any ill will.

Sources who attended a meeting of House chiefs of staff on Monday say the room was seething with anger over the immense damage being done to the Democratic Party and talk was of scrapping rollout events for the Affordable Care Act.

“Here we are, we’re supposed to be selling this to people, and it’s all screwed up,” one chief of staff ranted. “This either gets fixed or this could be the demise of the Democratic Party.

“It’s probably the worst I’ve ever seen it,” the aide said of the recent mood on Capitol Hill. “It’s bad. It’s really bad.”

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Selling GM

Another chapter in the economic bailout that started in 2008 has closed. The Treasury Department says it will sell the last of the government's General Motors stock. That's 31 million shares. At current prices, the government will bring in $10 billion less than its original investment of $50 billion. At the height of the financial crisis, the government took a nearly two thirds stake in GM. The deal benefited unions by giving them a stake in the company. But it sidestepped bankruptcy protections for GM bond holders.

Country Western Bar Proposed To Replace Party Block In OC

A mechanical bull is expected to attract clientele to a country western nightspot that is proposed to replace the Party Block on 17th Street.

The Board of License Commissioners granted tentative approval Wednesday for the transfer of the beer, wine and liquor license from Rodento Enterprises to Cowboy Coast Hospitality Group.

Longtime Party Block owner Robert Rosenblit plans to lease the premises to Mark Bogosh of Pasadena.
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Whistleblower: Philadelphia Flooded With Black Mob Violence

Cases feature 'punching, stealing cell phones, laughing at the victims, fighting, assaulting police'

The epidemic of black mob violence against whites – especially the “Knockout Game” in which an unsuspecting victim is hit on the head sometimes hard enough to kill – has been all over the media this week as reporters discover the racially motivated violence on which WND has reported for years.

Still, there are doubters

“But it’s unclear if the trend even exists,” stated Philly.com in a report today on a video of a suspect attacking a 23-year-old man on a train, apparently in an attempt to steal a phone.

“Passengers rushed in to help the victim. It’s not clear if the incident was a case of a so-called ‘knockout’ attack some media are reporting as a trend, or a robbery gone violent,” the report said.

The suspect was described as a bearded black male with a two-tone gray jacket, tan pants, sneakers and a black skull cap.

“The attack is similar to what’s being reported as part of a so-called ‘knockout’ game trend, whereby innocent bystanders are attacked from behind,” the report said.

Black mobs routinely terrorize cities across the country, but the media and government are silent. Read the detailed account of rampant racial crime – and get links to videos providing the proof – in “White Girl Bleed A Lot: The Return of Racial Violence to America and How the Media Ignore It.”

The trend, however, does not lack documentation.

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JFK Assassination And Coverup: New Evidence And Testimony Emerges

Mainstream Media Maintains The Lee Harvey Oswald Narrative

Almost everything we know about the assassination of John F. Kennedy has been planted in our minds over years of mainstream media (MSM) programming. Virtually every theory advanced has been either conjured up or promoted by those who control the MSM. Therefore, just like all the false leads which were published during November of 1963, much of this ‘official’ information is highly suspect.

However, as far as the much more expansive JFK assassination coverup is concerned, many of those accused parties had either a direct or indirect hand. No matter what the degree of participation, a conspiracy of silence is always the most deafening. And always the most successful over the long term.

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David Stockman Blasts "It's 2007/8 All Over Again"

"Bubbles are breaking out everywhere," exclaims outspoken former-insider David Stockman in this brief FoxTV clip, warning that "its like 2007/2008 all over again." Of course, we have heard 'bubble' talk before but Stockman steps methodically from the broad market (exposing the incredible numbers behind the Russell 2000) to junk bonds (and the record-breaking issuance and risk ignorance) and Fannie Mae (as an example of the idiocy). Crucially, Stockman explains to Neilo Cavuto who tempers the bubble-talk with aggregate measures, "bubbles don't form at the heart of the Dow, they form on the speculative periphery of the economy and work their way in," - something that is very evident in today's market, "the market will have a huge hissy-fit if Yellen tapers... the Fed has taken itself hostage."

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Exclusive - Rand Paul: 'We Want Our Freedoms Back'

On Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) released a video to Breitbart News exclusively in which he argued that the surveillance state under President Obama had grown beyond any reasonable proportions. “We were once outraged and dismayed and spurred to resist when British soldiers came knocking at our door with illegitimate warrants seeking taxes on our papers. Today,” Paul continued, “your government responds that there is no expectation of privacy once you consign your records to a third party. Your government applies that the Fourth Amendment applies not at all to your bank records, your Visa bill, your internet searches or purchases or emails. If not resistance, shouldn’t there at least be outrage?”

Paul said, “Imagine for a moment what information could be gathered from your Visa bill,” mentioning health information, political information, and personal information. “Are we so afraid of terrorists that we are willing to give up the very freedoms that separate us from them?” Paul asked.

He mentioned pro-surveillance senators who argued that Americans were not being spied upon, showing a picture of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). “The surveillance state was made to disappear through the legerdemain of defining it out of existence,” Paul stated.

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A Very Dangerous Game

Young blacks who attack people of other races for fun are getting no media attention.

New York City police authorities are investigating a series of unprovoked physical attacks in public places on people who are Jewish, in the form of what is called “the knockout game.”

The way the game is played: One of a number of young blacks decides to show that he can knock down some stranger on the streets, preferably with one punch, as they pass by. Often some other member of the group records the event, so that a video of that “achievement” is put on the Internet, to be celebrated.

The New York authorities report a recent series of such attacks and, because Jews have been singled out in these attacks, are considering prosecuting these assaults as “hate crimes.”

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U.S. General: Let’s Make Obama Resign

Cites Nixon resignation, urges citizens 'to save republic' from Washington leadership

WASHINGTON
– A retired Army general is calling for the “forced resignations” of President Obama, other administration officials and the leadership of Congress for the direction they’re taking the nation, his list of grievances including the systematic political purge of hundreds of senior military officers in the U.S. military.

Retired Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely told WND he is calling for nationwide rallies and protests to demand the resignations and added that a peaceful “civil uprising is still not out of question.”

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Board Of Ed Talks Common Core In County Classrooms

Despite controversy surrounding Maryland’s full-fledged adoption of the Common Core State Standards this year, many still don’t know how the set of federal benchmarks translates into practice.

Snow Hill High School Principal Tom Davis and English teacher Jack Cleveland gave an overview of the changes they’re seeing based on the new English/Language Arts and Literacy (ELA) standards at Tuesday’s meeting of the Worcester County Board of Education.

“We’re talking about a change in practice,” Davis said, but “it’s not a complete change.”
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McAuliffe Signals No Retreat On Expanding Medicaid

Speaking to a business-oriented crowd, Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe made a full-throated push for Medicaid expansion Wednesday, signaling no retreat on the contentious issue heading into his first General Assembly session.

After his hard-fought win over Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli two weeks ago, some pundits suggested the Democrat would be hard-pressed to deliver on his promise to expand the health insurance program for low-income people because of opposition in the heavily Republican House of Delegates.

But McAuliffe showed no sign of backing down Wednesday, urging business executives to personally lobby their legislators on the issue.

Medicaid expansion is a key component of the federal health care overhaul - one that was left as a state option by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Sebelius Asked To Explain $2B In Obamacare Loans

'What amount does HHS expect to be repaid?'

Several leading Republicans in Congress are asking Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is overseeing the disastrous Healthcare.gov website rollout, to explain the $2 billion loaned to various interests to launch health insurance CO-OPs and whether any of that taxpayer money will be recovered.

Just when it seems the Obamacare experience couldn’t get any worse – the website malfunctions, millions of policies have been canceled, only thousands are able to sign up and premiums are skyrocketing – come the questions about loans.

“Out of the $1.98 billion awarded to CO-OPs, what amount does HHS expect to be repaid? What is the period of time by which HHS expects these funds to be repaid?” were among the questions presented to Sebelius.

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Study Says Nut Eaters Have Lower Cancer, Heart Disease Risk

DALLAS – Help yourself to some nuts this holiday season: Regular nut eaters were less likely to die of cancer or heart disease — in fact, were less likely to die of any cause — during a 30-year Harvard study.

Nuts have long been called heart-healthy, and the study is the largest ever done on whether eating them affects mortality.

Researchers tracked 119,000 men and women and found that those who ate nuts roughly every day were 20 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who never ate nuts. Eating nuts less often also appeared to lower the death risk, in direct proportion to consumption.

The risk of dying of heart disease dropped 29 percent and the risk of dying of cancer fell 11 percent among those who had nuts seven or more times a week compared with people who never ate them.

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Brown, Gansler Duel Over Campaign Pledges

One day after Attorney General Doug Gansler's campaign posted an online ad criticizing Lt. Governor Anthony Brown for his role in creating the state's glitch plagued Health Benefits exchange, Brown's campaign called for an end to what they say are negative ads.

The Brown campaign asked all candidates to sign a pledge not to mention the opponents names in their ads.

While Brown himself was not available for comment, his running mate, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman told WBAL's Maryland's News Now that the ads critical of other candidates "frustrate" voters.

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House Votes To Block Obama's 'Fracking' Rules

The House voted to block the Obama administration from from regulating hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on federal lands Wednesday night over opposition from the White House and Democratic lawmakers.

The bill passed in a 235-187 vote and garnered support from twelve Democrats, while only two Republicans voted against it. The bill was part of three energy-related bills to speed through the House this week intended facilitate oil and gas development and create jobs.

The bipartisan bill prevents the Interior Department from implementing new regulations on fracking, which is already regulated by state agencies. The legislation prevents the department from regulating fracking in states and on tribal lands where regulations are already in place. It also tasks the Environmental Protection Agency with studying fracking.

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City Pays Out $137K To Hassay, ACLU

The city has settled its case with Boardwalk violinist William Hassay, agreeing to a $137,000 payout and stopping the issue from going to a full trial.

“I appeared at a settlement conference last Wednesday with the Mayor in federal court,” city attorney Heather Stansbury said this week. “After consideration of how, in all probability, the result would not change…the town made the decision to settle.”

Hassay, with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the city in federal court this past spring alleging violation of his First Amendment rights.
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Obama's Race For The Cure

A good President needs a big comfort zone. He should be able to treat enemies as opportunities, appear authentic in joy and grief, stay cool under the hot lights. But humility doesn't come naturally to those who decide they are qualified to run the free world. So the sign that the Obama presidency had reached a turning point came not when his poll numbers sank or his allies shuddered or the commentariat went hunting for the right degree of debacle to compare to the rollout of Obamacare.

It happened when he started apologizing. In triplicate. For not knowing what was going on in his own Administration. For failing to prevent his signature achievement from detonating in prime time. For not telling the whole truth when he promised people that Obamacare would not touch them without permission: "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan."

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Maryland Health Exchange Releases New Numbers

The Maryland Health Benefits Exchange said Friday so far 2,253 Marylanders have signed up for health insurance under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

That’s an increase of about 500 from the previous week.

More than 59,000 Marylanders have created accounts with the state and there have been more than 450,000 visitors to the website.
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Visual Concerns With Resort Utility Pole Project Expressed

OCEAN CITY – City Council members voiced concerns over the current replacement of utility poles on Coastal Highway this week, asking Delmarva Power Senior Public Affairs Specialist Jim Smith to come before the council to address a few issues.

“I don’t know if any of you have taken notice of these poles that Delmarva Power is putting in. These poles, some of them tower two to three stories above the buildings that were allowed to be built along Coastal Highway … they are forever changing the look of the Town of Ocean City,” Councilman Joe Mitrecic said.
Mitrecic added the largest utility poles have not even been installed yet, as sleeves for the poles have been put in place measuring to be at least four feet in diameter.


“Riding down the road tonight it came to my attention and what they’re doing to the skyline to the Town of Ocean City,” Mitrecic said.

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Three “Knockout” Attacks Reported In Philadelphia Area

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — “Knockout” attacks have been reported in several states around the country and now investigators believe three people have been attacked in our area.

Police in Lower Merion are investigating two attacks in the area, and Philadelphia detectives are investigating an attack in Northeast Philadelphia.

It’s a violent crime that in other parts of the country has proven fatal.

Videos from cities around the country show people being punched and beaten at random.

The attackers are calling their crimes a game, the goal being to knock out the victim with one punch.

Mark Cumberland is a victim of a “Knockout” assault.

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HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 11-23-13

Amusing Memories

In the early days of the 20th Century, courting was done on a very different level than it is today. I won’t even try to go to the present methods and I wasn’t around 100 years ago. I did hear from my grandparents that they courted in her mother’s parlor. My grandfather would walk the two miles in from where he lived out on Anderson Rd. (now Pemberton Drive) and sit with my grandmother until her mother would turn on a certain light. That was his signal to leave. It was usually early by present day standards.

That leaves us with the mid-20th Century. The end of WWII brought about economic changes from which America has yet to recover. The women had gotten used to bringing home a paycheck and when the men returned from the war, the two incomes allowed them to purchase their first home. As economic situations increased, maybe a second car was in the budget. This car was usually the vehicle in which the children learned to drive and used for the “parlor”. Houses built in the 1950’s were usually constructed with a living room, dining room, kitchen, bath and three bedrooms. They didn’t have “family rooms” or “parlors”.

The only place that a young couple could expect any privacy was in the family car. In those days, there were many out of the way places for just such a quiet moment. These were affectionately known as “parking places”. Anyone that grew up in the 1950’s has many memories of their favorite spot. This was in the age of innocence when you didn’t have to worry about being mugged or worse. Leaning on the horn ring was about as bad as it got. What a mood breaker! There was also a thing called “grasshopping”. This was when somebody found your favorite spot and a group of boys would sneak up on the car and pound on the trunk and scare the bejeebers out of you. It was all done in fun and usually never led to anyone seeking physical retribution. There are stories about a road nearHebron that was known as Ghost Light Road. I have heard stories about strange thumping noises underneath the car from some people who blamed it on the “ghosts” and I have heard the same thing from some former “grasshoppers” that did the thumping.

I have recently heard a story that a young married couple had determined that the spark had gone out of their marriage. Even though they had a house, they decided that the spark could possibly be fanned by returning to the origin of their courtship. They went “parking” and found the old spark again. True story.

The drive-in theater was another destination for a young couple seeking some measure of solitude with the family car. Drive-in theaters were great in the summer and you didn’t even have to turn the sound on that metal speaker that used to hang on your window. All the cars were parked so that they tilted slightly up in the front for better viewing. Some kids even had their own jalopy. They were revered by their peers. Visiting other cars was common if you knew the occupants and they were otherwise “unoccupied”. Also, the car’s trunk provided entrance for a couple more guys on “dollar night”. As the song goes: “Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end.”

City Announces CDBG 2014 Funding Round

The City of Salisbury, Department of Community Development, wishes to announce the opening of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding round for CDBG Program Year 2014 (7/1/2014 – 6/30/2015). The funding round will open on Monday, November 4, 2013, and applications will be available beginning on that date at the Department of Community Development, 125 North Division Street, Room 104, Salisbury.

Completed funding applications MUST BE RECEIVED (not postmarked) by the Department of Community Development by no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 3, 2014. The mailing address for submitting applications is: City of Salisbury – Department of Community Development, 125 North Division Street, Room 104, Salisbury, Maryland 21801. For additional information you may contact the Department of Community Development at (410) 334-3031.

SFD Calls For Service 11-22-13

  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 23:08:03Nature: Unconscious SubjectCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 22:33:31Nature: StrokeCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 21:42:46Nature: Chest PainCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 21:23:27Nature: Sick SubjectCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 21:01:24Nature: Medical AssistAddress: 706 E William St Salisbury, MD 21801
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 20:35:49Nature: Diabetic DifficultyCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 19:06:19Nature: Pi AccidentAddress: Zion Rd and e Naylor Mill Rd Salisbury, MD 21801
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 19:06:17Nature: Pi AccidentCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 18:53:49Nature: Pi AccidentCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 18:03:42Nature: Pro Qa FireAddress: 1121 New Bedford Way Salisbury, MD 21801
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 14:47:04Nature: Back PainCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 14:23:31Nature: Back PainCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 14:01:20Nature: Difficulty BreathingCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 12:37:10Nature: Chest PainCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 11:24:03Nature: Syncopal EpisodeCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 10:53:04Nature: Difficulty BreathingCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 09:49:03Nature: StrokeCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 04:31:35Nature: Pro Qa EmsCity: Salisbury
  • Friday November, 22 2013 @ 01:34:51Nature: Pi AccidentCity: Salisbury

The History Of ‘Knockout’

Unprovoked attacks by youth looking to do nothing except inflict pain have become an urban tradition.

As a 78-year-old woman walked down the street in Brooklyn, carrying her purse and bags, a young black male, about 20 years old,punched her in the head as hard as he could and ran away. The man said nothing and didn’t steal a single item.

This is one of the latest instances of “Knockout,” a “game” of evidently increasing popularity. Young people — sometimes female but usually male, predominantly black, in their teens to early 20s, in groups or alone — approach unsuspecting strangers and punch them in the head as hard as possible with the intention to knock them unconscious with a single blow. Sometimes the aggressors will rob the victim, but usually violence itself is the purpose of the attack. Some of the attackers have even recorded videos of their exploits.

At various times and places, the “game” has been called “Knockout,” “Knockout King,” “One-Hitter-Quitter,” “Pick ’Em Out and Knock ’Em Down,” “Knock ’Em and Drop ’Em,” and “Polar-Bear Hunting” (most likely in reference to whites). The attacks are unprovoked and often happen in broad daylight.

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MILLER: Every D.C. Firearm Owner To Be Fingerprinted To Renew Gun Registry

The 1,800 or so criminals who have killed, robbed or assaulted innocent people with guns in the District of Columbia so far this year were hauled into the police station to be fingerprinted, photographed and to undergo a criminal-background check.

Now, legal gun owners who have committed no crime are getting the exact same treatment. That is neither constitutional, nor fair.

The latest gun-control scheme that starts on Jan. 1 will force every legal firearm owner in the nation’s capital to go in person to police headquarters to renew their registration certificates.

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There’s Still Time To Buy A Maryland Thanksgiving Turkey

With Thanksgiving a mere week away, it’s about time you arranged pickup of the much-anticipated turkey.

Grocers are stocked with variety of turkeys this time of year, fresh and frozen, shipped in from across the United States. But if you’re interested in a farm-fresh Maryland-raised bird, several local sellers are still available to supply your feast.

You might be surprised to learn that Maryland is a thriving poultry producer, representing a $1.7 billion industry and employing almost 7,000 workers, according to the University of Maryland Extension. Nearly all of the farmers produce chickens, but each November, turkeys take the stage. Census data shows that Maryland produces roughly 740,000 turkeys a year, valued at $7 million.
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PB&J Deemed Racist

Oh the times we live in where food can be deemed racist. In a move Oprah would be proud of, Principal Verenice Gutierrez, of the Harvey Scott K-8 School in Portland, has labeled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as racist.

Apparently, in a move distinguished by the superintendant of the school, an effort was made to, “improve education for students of color.”

Tell me, how does the lunch selection improve the implementation of education?

This is so far beyond politically correct it’s dumfounding. Gutierrez has determined that the fact that the PB&J is on bread, it leads to cultural sensitivity.

Now let’s break that down.

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Even More Of A Threat Than You Think

Here is a quick pop quiz. Which presented more harm to human life and personal freedom: the four-week partial shutdown of the federal government last month or the rollout of Obamacare this month?

Obamacare is the greatest single expansion of federal regulatory authority in American history. In one stroke, it puts 16 percent of American economic activity — virtually all of health care and health insurance — under the thumb of federal bureaucrats. It dictates the minimum insurance coverage that everyone in the United States must have.

It punishes severely, without a hearing, anyone who deviates below the prescribed minimum. It forces nearly all Americans to acquire coverage in a one-size-fits-all policy, including coverage for events that cannot occur.

Obamacare was passed by both houses of Congress with support from Democrats only, using parliamentary tricks, rather than straight up or down votes. And all the Democrats voted for it after President Obama promised them and the American people ad nauseam that if they like their current doctor and if they like their current health insurance, they would be able to keep them under Obamacare.

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