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Wednesday, May 06, 2015

They were told their babies had died. Now, these black women wonder: Was it a lie?

One woman and her long-lost daughter may have brought a dark chapter from St. Louis history to light.

As a 26-year-old woman in 1965, Zella Jackson Price was told that her daughter had died shortly after birth. Nearly 50 years later, though, Jackson Price learned that her daughter has been alive all along.

Melanie Diane Gilmore, also known as “Baby Diane,” is now 49 and living in Oregon. After mother and daughter reunited last month, thanks to some Facebook sleuthing by Gilmore’s children, dozens of other women have come forward with eerily similar and potentially tragic stories.

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Special: Washington is Powerless to Stop the Next Financial Crisis

The Hillary Clinton campaign went into overdrive Tuesday trying to minimize the damage from a new book that delves into Clinton Foundation fundraising — and it's not using the typical channels to do so.

On the same day that the controversial new book, Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer, was officially released, the Democrat's presidential campaign largely went around the traditional media in favor of new media tools.

Though campaigns have been trying to bypass the media filter for years, it's an advent of a new era in politics. The Clinton campaign is embracing several new technologies and platforms to get their message out more directly to voters, and it's a tactic her potential rivals are sure to employ, too.

"It's almost media 3.0," said Tobe Berkovitz, a professor of political communication at Boston University. "If 1.0 was dealing with the press and 2.0 was trying to circumvent the press and going to friendly sites, 3.0 is, 'Why even bother with that? Just invent your own.' "

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Newspaper Weakness Hits Murdoch's News Corp. Earnings

News Corp., the newspaper publisher controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, reported quarterly earnings that missed analysts’ estimates after print advertising continued to fall and currency swings ate into revenue.

Profit excluding some items was 5 cents a share in the fiscal third quarter ended in March, the company said in a statement Tuesday, compared with the 7 cents analysts estimated on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue fell 0.8 percent to $2.06 billion. Analysts anticipated $2.14 billion.

The majority of the sales drop comes from the negative impact of foreign exchange and lower advertising revenue in the news unit, which publishes the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal, News Corp. said.

The company has been focused on increasing digital revenue to compensate for print declines. Industrywide ad spending on newspapers is expected to drop almost 11 percent to $14.4 billion this year, which will bring the decline over the past 10 years to about 71 percent, according to MagnaGlobal.

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GOVERNOR WILL JOIN MARYLAND STATE POLICE TO HONOR FALLEN HEROES

Maryland State Police Press Release
05/06/2015 15:22

GOVERNOR WILL JOIN MARYLAND STATE POLICE TO HONOR FALLEN HEROES
(PIKESVILLE, MD) – Governor Larry Hogan will join Colonel William Pallozzi and police survivor families this Friday to honor state troopers who have given their lives in the line of duty at the annual Maryland State Police Fallen Heroes Ceremony.

Speakers will include Governor Hogan, Colonel Pallozzi, and LTC David Taylor, Battalion Commander of The Old Guard, at Ft. Myer, Va. The ceremony will honor the 43 state troopers who made the ultimate sacrifice. Also attending the event will be current and retired state troopers who are there to honor their fellow troopers prior to the start of National Police Week. 


WHAT: MARYLAND STATE POLICE FALLEN HEROES CEREMONY

WHEN: FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 11:00 A.M.

WHERE: MARYLAND STATE POLICE HEADQUARTERS
FALLEN HEROES MEMORIAL (QUADRANGLE)
1201 REISTERSTOWN ROAD
PIKESVILLE, MD

Texas Advances Legislation Requiring Officers To Take Canine Encounter Training

In recent months, we have seen an astonishing surge in reports describing cases of U.S police officers misusing their weapons and using unnecessary force against innocent family pets. Shockingly, the majority of these cases are not met with justice and the officers themselves are rarely held accountable for their actions. As a result, many families across the country have been torn apart by the grief and heartache caused by their loved ones’ untimely deaths. Until now, little has been done to prevent police officers from using unnecessary force on canines.

In Texas, on 20 April 2015, House Bill 593, which will make it mandatory for police officers to receive four hours of canine encounter training, was approved by the House. The training will consist of how to read a dog’s body language, types of canine aggression, and how to approach an animal. Last year a Fort Worth police officer shot and killed a border collie, afterwards the state approved preliminary legislation in the State House. The next phase for the law is the approval of the Texas Senate.

Dog owners everywhere are supporting the bill. Kat Lowry had this to say:

“I know how my dogs behave, other people can be intimidated if they aren’t familiar with my dog specifically or dogs in general and I’d hate for something to happen to my dog because somebody didn’t know, I think it would benefit the officers as well as the public that they serve because our dogs are part of our family, they’re important to us.”

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REGISTER YOUR BICYCLE WITH OCPD TO PREVENT THEFT

As the summer months approach and bicycling becomes the preferred mode of transportation, the Ocean City Police Department is reminding citizens to register their bicycles as part of the Department’s bicycle registration program. All cyclists are encouraged to register their bicycles as a deterrent to crime and to promote safety and accountability of these valuable items. This registration program is free of charge and all registration information is stored electronically for future reference.

Unfortunately, bicycles are sometimes lost or stolen. Stolen bicycles are most often used only on a temporary basis and abandoned after a short period of time. Each year the Ocean City Police Department receives numerous calls concerning abandoned bicycles or officers find them while on patrol. The items are taken into the custody of the Department for safe keeping and later turned over to the Property Section for disposition.

Registration is quick and easy. It takes just a few minutes to record your personal information along with the identifying characteristics of your bicycle. These include the make, model, color, style and serial number. We will also provide you with a small registration sticker to affix to the underside of the frame of your bicycle. This sticker has an independent identification number and the name of our Department.

This is very useful in cases where bicycles are taken outside of Ocean City and are recovered by another police department. With the registration sticker attached, any police department that finds your bicycle will know to contact the Ocean City Police Department for ownership information.

To register, citizens may call 410-520-5395 or fill out a registration form online at this link:http://oceancitymd.gov/Police/Forms/bike_reg.pdf.

Louie Gohmert Gets Why Some Texans Are Worried About a Military Takeover

The Texas congressman is joining others in his state calling for the Pentagon to alter the Jade Helm 15 military exercises.

U.S. Special Operations Command is preparing to launch a five-month, multi-state exercise across private and public land to prepare Army special forces for threats anywhere in the world. Or at least that's what the Pentagon would want you to believe. Officials and citizens in Texas, one of the states involved, see something potentially more nefarious in the exercise, dubbed Jade Helm 15. And now Rep. Louie Gohmert is joining them.

"Over the past few weeks, my office has been inundated with calls referring to the Jade Helm 15 military exercise scheduled to take place between July 15 and September 15, 2015," Gohmert said in a Tuesday statement. "This military practice has some concerned that the U.S. Army is preparing for modern-day martial law. Certainly, I can understand these concerns."

"When leaders within the current administration believe that major threats to the country include those who support the Constitution, are military veterans, or even 'cling to guns or religion,' patriotic Americans have reason to be concerned," Gohmert wrote.

(RELATED: Is the Pentagon Messing With Texas?)

The congressman took particular issue with the layout and labels of the Pentagon map for the exercise. "Once I observed the map depicting 'hostile,' 'permissive,' and 'uncertain' states and locations, I was rather appalled that the hostile areas amazingly have a Republican majority, 'cling to their guns and religion,' and believe in the sanctity of the United States Constitution." Gohmert called on the Pentagon to change the map, the names on the map, and said "the tone of the exercise needs to be completely revamped so the federal government is not intentionally practicing war against its own states."

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Frederick County Sheriff's Office Investigates Sexually Explicit Video Involving Middle School Pupil

The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a sexually explicit video made by a Windsor Knolls Middle School pupil and a county high school student, officials confirmed Friday.

At about noon Thursday, Windsor Knolls teachers and administration got wind that students were discussing an explicit video in which both students reportedly appear.

The Windsor Knolls student had recorded sex acts with a county high schooler on a personal device, said Frederick County Public Schools spokesman Michael Doerrer. Doerrer declined to identify either student’s grade or sex, or what school the high schooler attends.

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Cuban Accountability

This column was originally published at www.aim.org

Whatever one thinks of President Barack Obama’s overtures to Cuba and the accompanying prisoner exchange, an important consideration in need of immediate attention is an accounting of our servicemen captured in the Vietnam War and imprisoned in Cuban-operated POW camps. Of utmost importance is an accounting of the 17 American airmen captured in North Vietnam and then taken to Cuba for medical experiments in torture techniques.

Most Americans are unaware that Cuba was deeply involved in the Vietnam War. In fact they had an engineering battalion called the “GirĂ³n Brigade,” that was maintaining Route Nine, a major enemy supply line into South Vietnam. Their facilities included a POW camp and field hospital very near the DMZ, just inside North Vietnam. Meanwhile Cuban interrogators worked in Hanoi at a prison known as the Zoo. We know of these operations and some of what happened to our servicemen after so managed to survive and be repatriated in the winter of 1973, during Operation Homecoming.

Following his release Major Jack Bomar, a Zoo survivor, described the brutal beating of Captain Earl G. Cobeil, an F-105F electronics warfare officer, by Cuban Major Fernando Vecino Alegret, known by the POWs as “Fidel.” Regarding Captain Cobeil, Bomar related, “he was completely catatonic. … His body was ripped and torn everywhere…Hell cuffs appeared almost to have severed his wrists…Slivers of bamboo were imbedded in his bloodied shins, he was bleeding from everywhere, terribly swollen, a dirty yellowish black and purple [countenance] from head to toe.”

In an effort to force Cobeil to talk “Fidel smashed a fist into the man’s face, driving him against the wall. Then he was brought to the center of the room and made to get down onto his knees. Screaming in rage, Fidel took a length of rubber hose from a guard and lashed it as hard as he could into the man’s face. The prisoner did not react; he did not cry out or even blink an eye. Again and again, a dozen times, [Fidel] smashed the man’s face with the hose.”

Because of his grotesque physical condition Captain Cobeil was not repatriated but instead was listed as “died in captivity,” with his remains returned in 1974. (Miami Herald, August, 22 1999, and Benge, Michael D. “The Cuban Torture Program, Testimony before the House International Relations Committee, Chaired by the Honorable Benjamin A. Gilman, November 4, 1999.) Incredibly, Fidel’s torture of Major James Kasler is well known as he somehow managed to survive the Cuban’s torture.

Experts Demonstrate a Step-by-Step Action Plan to Protect Your Family During a Violent Home Invasion

It’s a scenario that many people prepare for, but hope to never be in. Regardless of the odds, it’s important for Americans to be prepared to protect themselves and their families in the event of a home invasion.

In an attempt to help residents be prepared for such a scenario, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC-TV teamed up with experts like former U.S. Secret Service agent Jim Napolitano and Col. Bernie McCabe, a former member of U.S. Special Operations, to form an actionable plan to survive a real home invasion.

Firstly, understand the “ultimate goal,” Napolitano said.

“My ultimate goal should be to protect my family from harm, end of story,” he told KPRC-TV.

Watch as the news station walks viewers through a staged home invasion:

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Willie Nelson: I Got Stoned on the Roof of the White House

Days after a brief jail stint in the Bahamas for marijuana possession, Willie Nelson was invited to the White House by Jimmy Carter who thanked the country superstar for his campaign support.

Following a dinner in which the president spoke of his days as a peanut farmer and the singer talked of raising pigs, Nelson says that a "White House insider" invited him to the roof to look at Washington at night -- and brought out a joint.

"Getting stoned on the roof of the White House, you can't help but turn inward," Nelson recalls of the 1977 episode in his memoir, "It's A Long Story," which was published Tuesday.

"Certain philosophical questions come to mind, like... how the f*** did I get here?"

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Maryland casinos raked in $89 million in April; Horseshoe revenue declined amid curfew

Maryland's five casinos generated $88.9 million last month.

Including the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, which opened in August, the state's casino industry grew 24.5 percent, or by $17.5 million. But at the state's four other casinos, year-over-year revenue for April fell by $5.42 million, or 7.6 percent. Year-over-year revenue at existing casinos has declined every months since September.

The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, which was forced to close early the last four days of April as part of a citywide curfew, generated $22.9 million in April, down from $24.7 million in March. Noah Hirsch, the casino's vice president of marketing, said the curfew negatively impacted the casino's revenue, but he has declined to disclose how much of a hit the South Baltimore gaming venue took because of the city's unrest.

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12 Reasons Ben Carson Would Make a Good President

Retired doctor-turned-conservative star Ben Carson officially announced his candidacy for the White House on Monday in his hometown of Detroit, and there are several reasons the former Johns Hopkins head of pediatric surgery would make a great president.

1. He's a newcomer: Carson has never run for a public office and could bring a fresh, perspective to the White House should he transform his success as an author and speaker into a competitive campaign.

2. He's not politically correct: He often speaks out against the evil of political correctness in his speeches and interviews, and his position has been reflected in policy ideas and his six published books that don't always follow the straight conservative line.

3. He's for a flat tax: Carson has often spoken in favor of a flat tax to replace the nation's current tax structure, including citing the Bible in his arguments. He has not settled on a number, but says 10 percent is recommended in the Bible so he often recommends between 10-15 percent that is proportional across all income levels.

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Reforming Baltimore police will be time-consuming, costly

BALTIMORE (AP) — Months before Freddie Gray died of the broken neck he suffered during what Baltimore’s top prosecutor called an illegal arrest, the city’s mayor and police commissioner said the department needed reform and asked the Justice Department for help reviewing officer misconduct.

Now that Gray is buried, six officers are charged in his death and an uneasy calm has returned to the streets, critics are wondering whether city leaders are capable of implementing the change the city needs without the direct, intensive oversight that comes with a full-fledged civil rights investigation resulting in a federal consent decree.

Democratic Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has already pushed back against this possibility, saying it would deprive Baltimore’s leaders from having a say in fighting crime in one of the nation’s most violent major cities, with more than 200 homicides a year.

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Anne Arundel County Officer Charged In Biting Man’s Testicles

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — An Anne Arundel County police officer was arrested and charged with second degree assault and public intoxication after an he allegedly bit a man’s testicles in Canton Tuesday.

According to the charging documents, Cpl. Michael Flaig was charged after he got into a fight with a man outside on Cinco de Mayo.

Baltimore city police said the Flaig and the victim got into a fight outside the Looney’s Pub in the 2900 block of O’Donnell Street. The victim told police Flaig was groping a female friend and when he told Flaig to stop, he wouldn’t.

The victim began walking home along S. Linwood Street, but police said Flaig tried to punch the man. The victim avoided getting hit. Flaig then pulled the man to the ground and when he straddled Flaig to keep him from fleeing, police say Flaig bit the man’s testicles.

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Editor Note: This story has been updated to include additional information 

Report: IRS Issues $5.6 Billion in Bogus Education Credits

The IRS issued $5.6 billion in potentially bogus education tax credits in a single year — more than a quarter of all education credits claimed by taxpayers, a government watchdog said Tuesday.

A new report by the agency's inspector general says questionable credits were issued to more than 3.6 million taxpayers in 2012. Most of them went to students even though the IRS never received a tuition statement from the school.

Some students attended schools that weren't eligible for federal funding while others didn't take enough classes to qualify for the tax break.

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Troopers Investigate Two Vehicle Crash North of Georgetown Involving a School Bus

Georgetown, DE – Troopers are investigating a two vehicle crash that occurred north of Georgetown early this morning involving an Indian River School Bus.

The incident occurred around 6:45 a.m. today, Wednesday May 6, 2015 as Desheena L. McCray, 31 of Georgetown, was operating a 1996 Buick Regal northbound on DuPont Boulevard (US113) in the right lane approaching the intersection of East Redden Rd. Donna F. Billings, 59 of Bridgeville, was operating a 2012 IC Corp School Bus and was stopped at the red light on Deer Forest Road waiting to cross over US113 onto East Redden Road. When the light for the school bus turned green, it began to cross over the intersection of US113 northbound. The Buick failed to stop at the red light and struck the right passenger side of the bus with the front bumper.

Desheena McCray was transported to Milford Memorial Hospital where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. She was cited for Failure to Stop at a Red Light.

Donna Billings and four students, ages 11 – 16, on board the bus were uninjured in the collision.

Owner of shipping company convicted of smuggling, illegally attempting to export arms to Lebanon

GREENBELT, Md. – A federal jury convicted a Springfield, Virginia, man Friday for attempting to illegally export defense articles, specifically firearms parts and accessories, to Lebanon, and for smuggling goods from the United States. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., and the FBI. U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided assistance.

Sam Rafic Ghanem, age 45, is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon. He owned and operated Washington Movers International, also known as Washington Movers Inc., a freight forwarding business located in District Heights.

According to evidence presented at his five day trial, beginning Oct. 3, 2013, Ghanem sought to export guns and accessories to Lebanon through his shipping company that were provided to him by an FBI source. Ghanem knew that the weapons and accessories were designated as defense articles and required an export license, which Ghanem never sought or obtained. In addition, those items are prohibited from export to Lebanon.The specific items Ghanem attempted to export included: seven 9mm semi-automatic pistols; three .40 caliber semi-automatic pistols; 10 AR-15 .223 caliber semi-automatic rifles; and 18 advanced combat optic gun sights.

Manny Pacquiao, promoters peppered with lawsuits

Class-action lawsuits continue to pile up for Manny Pacquiao and his promoters for failing to disclose his injury before consumers purchased tickets and pay-per-view telecasts for his fight against Floyd Mayweather.

The first lawsuit was filed in Nevada on Tuesday, but others were filed later in the day, including two in Calfornia, and one each in Texas and Illinois.

One of the California lawsuits was filed on behalf of Paul Mahoney, who paid $99.95 for the pay-per-view telecast. It claims that Pacquiao's failure to disclose his shoulder injury turned the Fight of the Century into the "Sleight Of The Century."

"Pacquiao's injury unquestionably materially, significantly and negatively affected the quality of the product," the suit reads.

The lawsuit filed in Illinois on behalf of four of the state's residents not only names Pacquiao, his manager Michael Koncz and his promotional company Top Rank, but also names Floyd Mayweather, Mayweather Productions, fight producers HBO and Showtime and pay-per-view providers AT&T, Comcast and DirecTV.

"Our state has a law that prohibits concealing or misrepresenting material information with consumers and, within the context of boxing, Manny Pacquiao's shoulder injury is a material fact," said Bob Duncan, one of the lawyers for the Illinois plaintiffs. "Had our clients known that the underdog had a shoulder injury, they wouldn't have thought that this fight was worth watching."

That lawsuit also enters the prefight questionnaire Pacquiao filed out for the Nevada Athletic Commission as an exhibit. Pacquiao checked the "no" box to the question "Have you had any injury to your shoulders, elbows or hands that needed evaluation or examination?"

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John Nelson Price Shoots/Kills Pet Horse

On 5/2/15 at approximately 2016 hours, Troopers from the Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack and Criminal Enforcement Division began an investigation into a reckless endangerment/animal cruelty complaint. Troopers responded to 8000 block of Crisfield Highway, Westover, MD.

The Investigation revealed the following;

The complainants were in their backyard when their neighbor’s pet miniature horse had gotten loose and was roaming in their backyard. The complainants stated that the horse started to eat strawberries out of their garden and they shooed the horse back into suspect’s back yard. The complainants stated that as they were walking back towards their house when they heard a gunshot and observed that the suspect had shot and killed the pet horse. The complainants stated that they were approximately 100 feet from where the shot was fired. The complainants furthermore stated that the incident was captured on their home video surveillance system. The complainants provided Troopers with a copy of the video. In the video you see the complainant shoo the horse back into the suspect’s yard. As soon as the horse enters the yard he is shot. The complainants stated that after the shooting the suspect went into his residence and never checked on the horse. The complainants stated that the horse was left in the yard until the following morning on 5/3/15 at 0630 hours.

On 5/4/15 Troopers served an arrest warrant on John Nelson Price of the 8000 block of Crisfield Hwy. Price was charged with reckless endangerment and animal cruelty. Price was taken before a District Court Commissioner and held on a $50,000 dollar bond. 

Hillary: 'Full and Equal Citizenship' for Illegals

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that any immigration overhaul must include a path to "full and equal citizenship," drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans who have promoted providing a legal status or blocked efforts in Congress to address the nation's immigration system.

"This is where I differ with everybody on the Republican side. Make no mistake, today not a single Republican candidate, announced or potential, is clearly and consistently supporting a path to citizenship. Not one," Clinton said, adding, "When they talk about legal status, that is code for second-class status."

Clinton's remarks during her first campaign stop in Nevada underscored Democrats' efforts to box-in Republican presidential candidates who have opposed a comprehensive bill including a pathway to citizenship. Congressional Republicans have said the changes must be made incrementally, beginning with stronger border security.

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Capital murder indictment returned in U.Va. slaying case

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The man accused of abducting and killing a University of Virginia student has been charged with capital murder and a prosecutor said Tuesday she will seek the death penalty if the case goes to trial.

The indictment accusing Jesse L. Matthew Jr. of capital murder in the death of Hannah Graham is based on new forensic evidence, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford told reporters after a hearing in which new defense attorneys with experience in death penalty cases were appointed. She declined to elaborate on the evidence.

Matthew, a former hospital worker and taxi driver, already was charged with first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile and is being held without bond.

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Can Muslims Be American? 58% of US Muslims Say Free Speech Should Be Illegal

A recent poll seems to suggest that Muslims living in the USA want to outlaw free speech and a large number even agree that blasphemers of the Muslim god should be executed… HERE in the USA! It all makes one wonder if it is possible to be both a Muslim and a true American?

For years during the invasion of Iraq under George W. Bush some doubters of Bush’s tactics said that Muslims cannot be made to understand western freedoms and constitutional government. Many said Islam is incompatible with freedom and modernity. Bush insisted that Iraqis and other Muslims were “just like everyone else” and yearned to be free. This normal human yearning would make them understand and welcome our efforts there, Bush felt.

While we’ve certainly had mixed and usually disappointing results from our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have certainly seen that Islam is often a stumbling block to freedom.

And now we get this poll showing that even Muslims who live in America hate America’s most important principles.

…the results of polling data collected by Wenzel Strategies during October 22 to 26, 2012, from 600 U.S. Muslims, indicate widespread support among American votaries of Islam for this fundamental rejection of the basic freedoms of expression and conscience, as guaranteed under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. When asked, “Do you believe that criticism of Islam or Muhammad should be permitted under the Constitution’s First Amendment?, 58% replied “no,” 45% of respondents agreed “…that those who criticize or parody Islam in the U.S. should face criminal charges,” and fully 12% of this Muslim sample even admitted they believed in application of the draconian, Sharia-based punishment for the non-existent crime of “blasphemy” in the U.S. code, answering affirmatively, “…that Americans who criticize or parody Islam should be put to death.”

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Obama Uses BOGUS Statistics to Accuse U.S. Police of Being Racist

The prevailing narrative emanating from the left is that all men of color are innocent, all police are racist and that violent conflict is a healthy manifestation of very-justifiable anger. And now, according to a report from the Gateway Pundit, even President Obama is getting in on the race-baiting:

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Why the Left Won’t Call Rioters ‘Thugs’

This is how the professor began his piece:

“What would you say if you found out that our public schools were teaching children that it is not true that it’s wrong to kill people for fun or cheat on tests? Would you be surprised? I was.”

The problem, as the professor described it, is that a generation of Americans has been taught that there is no moral truth. There may be scientific truth and historical truth, but no moral truth.

The professor is, of course, right, as some of us — overwhelmingly from religious perspectives — have been lamenting for decades.

Now we have another example of the denial of moral truths. Last week, a number of leftists — black and white — announced that it is racist to label the rioters and looters in Baltimore “thugs.” Even though both the black mayor of Baltimore and the black president of the United States did so, the left-wing argument is that the term “thug” is never applied to whites, only to blacks. The T-word is, in effect, the new N-word.

Soledad O’Brien, former CNN anchor, on CNN’s “Reliable Sources”:

“I think when you examine when the word is used, it’s used to describe the actions of people of color, specifically people who are in the inner city.

“I can’t think of a situation where there’s ever been a headline or someone has called a white young person who is in the middle of a violent protest demonstration, whatever, a thug. We use it all the time when we’re talking about people in the inner city.

“Thugs” [is] a proxy, a word we use instead of the N-word.”

Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes interviewed by Erin Burnett on CNN:

Isn’t “thugs” the right word to describe the rioters and looters? CNN’s Erin Burnett asked the councilman:

He responded: “No, it’s not the right word to call our children ‘thugs.’ These are children who have been set aside, marginalized, who have not been engaged by us.”

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BREAKING NEWS: Maryland governor lifts state of emergency for Baltimore

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan lifts the state of emergency for Baltimore, and pulls out the National Guard and state police.

Purported ISIS warning claims terror cells in place in 15 states

A grim online warning from a self-described American jihadist said Sunday's terror attack in Texas was the work of ISIS and that the terrorist group has scores of "trained soldiers" positioned in 15 states, awaiting orders to carry out more operations.

The warning, which was posted on a file-sharing site, could not be verified, but was signed by Abu Ibrahim Al Ameriki. That name matches the moniker of a shadowy American known to have joined a terrorist group in Pakistan several years ago and who has appeared in propaganda videos before. The chilling threat named five of the states where it is claimed that ISIS has terror cells in place.

“Out of the 71 trained soldiers 23 have signed up for missions like Sunday, we are increasing in number," read the warning. "Of the 15 states, 5 we will name… Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan.”

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Records Obtained by Judicial Watch Reveal Michelle Obama’s Weekend Ski Trip in February Cost More than $57,000 in Transportation Expenses Alone

First Lady’s round-trip flight to Aspen, Colorado, with her daughters cost taxpayers $7,712 an hour

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force revealing that Michelle Obama’s weekend trip to Aspen, Colorado, in February cost American taxpayers $57,068.80 in travel expenses alone for the 7.4-hour round-trip flight. While President Obama flew to California to play golf, speak at a cyber-security summit, and headline a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, the First Lady and her daughters spent Valentine’s Day weekend skiing in Aspen, returning to the White House on February 16.

Judicial Watch obtained the Air Force records in response to a February 18, 2015, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following:
Any and all records concerning mission taskings relevant to First Lady Michelle Obama’s trip to Aspen, Colorado.
Any and all records concerning transportation costs.
Any and all passenger manifests for the trip.

According to the newly released records, the transportation costs for the four-day trip to Aspen were based on a flight cost of $7,712 an hour for the First Lady, her daughters, and support personnel in the Gulfstream aircraft. Not included were the attendant costs for U.S. Secret Service personnel, accommodations, meals, rental cars, lift tickets for skiing at Buttermilk, and related expenses. The $57,068.80 tab Mrs. Obama her daughters ran up in travel expenses alone for their weekend trip is more than 14 times what the average American of four spends for an entire week-long vacation.

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Extreme Secrecy Eroding Support for Obama's Trade Pact

If you want to hear the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the Obama administration is hoping to pass, you’ve got to be a member of Congress, and you’ve got to go to classified briefings and leave your staff and cellphone at the door.

If you’re a member who wants to read the text, you’ve got to go to a room in the basement of the Capitol Visitor Center and be handed it one section at a time, watched over as you read, and forced to hand over any notes you make before leaving.

And no matter what, you can’t discuss the details of what you’ve read.

“It’s like being in kindergarten,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who’s become the leader of the opposition to President Barack Obama’s trade agenda. “You give back the toys at the end.”

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Democratic Politician Leading Effort to Open Business Ties With Iran

A failed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate is reinventing himself as the face of U.S.-Iranian commerce, traveling to Tehran with a group of American business leaders and promoting investment ahead of a potential nuclear deal that could lift sanctions against the regime.

Ned Lamont, the anti-war businessman who lost to former Senator Joe Lieberman (I., Conn.) in 2006, visited Iran with a delegation of U.S. executives last month and has been raving about the country’s fertile business environment to various news outlets.

“The Australians are there [doing business], the Brits, the Germans. It’s like Rick’s Cafe. Everybody was there except for the Americans,” Lamont told the Washington Free Beacon. “The hotel [in Tehran] is a hotbed of deal-making.”

The April 11 trip was sponsored by the President Action Network chapter of the World Presidents’ Organization, a global invite-only group of executives over the age of 50. PAN has also brought U.S. business leaders to North Korea and Cuba in recent years.

The delegation was led by PAN cofounder Bobby Sager—a Boston philanthropist who has counted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Rwanda despot Paul Kagame as close friends—and Cyrus Razzaghi, an Iranian-based consultant whose client roster includes numerous Iranian government agencies.

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BREAKING NEWS: Former House Speaker Jim Wright dies

Jim Wright, former Texas congressman and the first House speaker to resign under fire, dead at 92.

JUST IN: D.C. firefighter dies after injury in apartment blaze

WASHINGTON – A D.C. firefighter has died from injuries he suffered while working a two-alarm fire in a high-rise apartment building in the Logan Circle neighborhood Wednesday morning.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office identified the firefighter as Lt. Kevin McRae.

Three other people were also injured and taken to the hospital.

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Overzealous fan hit with an elbow from Mike Tyson

Being a celebrity has its perks: the money, the attention, the freebies, the travel – the whole package seems like a dream for most everybody outside the club.

However, what about the overzealous fans who step over each other for a photo with you?

Mike Tyson was the king of boxing in the late-1980s/early-'90s. Equally as nightmare-inducing for his work inside the ring as he was for his reputation outside, "Iron Mike" became the most feared man of a generation.

Then he was a convicted felon. Next came bankruptcy. Shortly after, a battle with cocaine and alcohol. Finally, a reformed Tyson debuted this decade and fans have gotten to see the boxing great in classic motion picture cameos and some were lucky enough to catch Tyson on Broadway where he performed his one-man show, "The Undisputed Truth."

So he's reformed, yes. But is he soft and cuddly? Well, that's your mistake to make.

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Governor Larry Hogan Announces $68 Million In Support Of State Employee COLA

Issues Statewide Proclamation Highlighting State Employee Recognition Day

ANNAPOLIS, MD –
Governor Larry Hogan today announced that $68 million would be released from the budget to maintain the 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for all state employees into the next fiscal year. Additionally, the governor issued a statewide proclamation announcing today as State Employee Recognition Day.

“State employees are the backbone of our government and it is an honor to serve the people of Maryland alongside them,” said Governor Hogan. “What I witnessed last week in Baltimore once again underscored their selfless dedication and commitment to our citizens. Despite the fiscal challenges we continue to face, I am proud to continue to provide our state employees with the pay increase they need and deserve.”

Prior to the Governor Hogan’s inauguration and under the previous administration, a COLA went into effect on January 1, 2015, but without a long-term funding mechanism in place.

Despite facing a nearly $1 billion budget deficit upon taking office, the budget proposed by the Hogan administration in January put Maryland on sound financial footing without raising taxes or fees and without laying off a single state employee or implementing furloughs.

A copy of the proclamation is attached.

Employee Recognition Day Proclamation 2015.pdf

Pigs can fly: Chinese May Day celebration criticised for pushing pigs off bridge

A city in central China has been criticised for hosting a tourist attraction which saw pigs being pushed off a bridge into a lake

A tourism official in central China came up with a novel way of entertaining visitors to Shiyan Lake, by creating a show featuring "flying" pigs.

The animals were herded onto a bridge above the lake in Changsha. Identified by red numbers painted on their sides, the pigs were then driven off the bridge by a man holding a stick, and splashed into the water below.

In photos published on the Facebook page of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, groups of tourists stood on the side, taking photos of the spectacle.
The controversial event was defended by Shi Huang, who organised it.

"The piglets are carefully trained to perform this special stunt and they get well rewarded with food," he said, according to Mail Online. "And once they get over their nerves they clearly enjoyed it.

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North Korea Conducts Ejection Test of New Submarine Missile

North Korea recently conducted a third test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that is part of Pyongyang’s expanding nuclear arsenal, according to American defense officials.

The underwater ejection test of what the Pentagon is calling the KN-11 missile took place April 22 from an underwater test platform near the North Korean coastal city of Sinpo, located on the southeastern coast of the country about 100 miles from the Demilitarized Zone separating it from South Korea.

Doevelpment of the new missile, first disclosed by the Washington Free Beacon, is being carried out at the North’s Sinpo South Shipyard.

The ejection test, which was gauged to have been successful by U.S. intelligence agencies, is the third known test of the new submarine missile, indicating the missile program is a high-priority for the communist regime of Kim Jong Un.

Current and former national security officials criticized the Obama administration for not doing more to counter the North Korean nuclear threat to the United States.

“By utterly ignoring North Korea’s growing missile threats, Obama has allowed the threat of rogue state proliferators to fall out of the center of the national political debate,” said John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “This is a potential tragedy for the country.”

Intelligence analysts said the three tests are an indication of the high priority being placed on developing an underwater nuclear strike capability by Pyongyang.

Joseph DeTrani, former director of the National Counterproliferation Center, a U.S. intelligence agency, said North Korea continues to upgrade its nuclear and missile capabilities in violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions.

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Where's the Outrage?

The merciless gunshot slaying of New York City police officer Brian Moore has not elicited one word of outrage even as anti-police protests rage across the country, former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik says.

He told J.D. Hayworth, host of "Newsmax Prime" on Newsmax TV, that the death of Moore, 25, was a "sad, sad day for the New York City Police Department."

A grand jury will be asked to return a first-degree murder indictment against the shooting suspect, Demetrius Blackwell, officials announced Monday.

"As we mourn this cop, he was not a drug dealer, he didn't have a long rap sheet, he was a pillar in his community, he was a protector for our society," Kerik said of Moore, whose father and other relatives also were officers.

"He was somebody that stood between good and evil, but I don't hear any outrage, I don't hear any community leaders screaming and yelling," Kerik said.

"I don't hear the civil-rights leaders screaming and yelling. I don't hear any protests, I don't hear anything that went on when some others have died over the last six, eight, 10 months," he added, referring to anti-police brutality demonstrations that followed the police shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio; and the police chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York City.

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WSJ's Henninger: Boot Liberals to Save Nation's Inner Cities

The Baltimore riots prove liberal policies that pumped huge sums of cash into the nation's inner cities have failed dramatically, says Daniel Henninger, deputy editorial page director of the Wall Street Journal.

"Billions upon billions of dollars have been poured into the inner cities of this country," Henninger said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

"If we've got a problem in 2015 after all these years, then there's a problem with the liberal model for resurrecting the inner cities of the country.

"Obviously, there is a problem and [it's] not going to change … until the liberals running these place have been voted out of office. It can't come soon enough."

Baltimore is still reeling following rioting, looting and assaults that occurred in the wake of a death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man who suffered a fatal spine injury in the back of a police van. Six cops have been hit with criminal charges.

"The liberals and the left will continue to try to brainwash minority communities in this country about conservatives in that way, but there is a moral high ground and there are moral issues that need to be addressed. Conservatives should not be intimidated...."

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Services Announced For Well-Known Fenwick Restaurateurs’ Son

FENWICK ISLAND — Dawson Reeves Twining, 27, of Bishopville, died unexpectedly on Sunday, May 3.

Born March 7, 1988, he was the youngest son of David and Janet Twining, owners of Nantuckets Restaurant on Route 1 and the Lobster Shanty on Route 54.


Twining was a 2006 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School where he played varsity football and varsity golf. After high school, he attended Towson University.


Dawson’s enthusiasm for life, wonderful smile, infectious personality and charismatic way were well known to all who came in contact with him and will never be forgotten. He was always known to light up any room he entered.


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Somerset County Hearing on poultry farms

The Somerset County Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a meeting on Thursday May 7 at the County Government Office building at 11916 Somerset Avenue in Princess Anne, Maryland. The meeting starts at 7 pm. The meeting is not open to public comments, unless the commissioners decide to open it. What is at stake is the Right to Farm Law for Somerset County. The Back Bone Corridor group and Kathy Phillips have brought in many special interests groups (from out of state) to challenge the development of poultry farms and the building regulations that govern them. These groups have only one goal and that is to destroy family farms and put us out of business. This is a very real and serious threat to Family Poultry farms not only in Somerset County, but also throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. What we need is a large, very large turn out of Family Poultry Farmers and friends for this hearing. Speaking is not necessary; your mere presence will speak volumes. I am asking everyone who farms to turn out for this hearing. What is at stake is your ability to build poultry houses and in reality your constitutional right to use and enjoy the property that you own and wish to have for future generations of you family. Please try to take time out to join us. Forward this email to any one who may be interested.

Conservatives Make Environmentalists Cause of California Drought

California's Central Valley—one of the nation’s densest agricultural areas— is so parched that many roads and bridges have begun to buckle for lack of water underground to hold the land in place. Farmers have uprooted trees to conserve water for other crops. Private wells that supply drinking water to poor neighborhoods, like those in East Porterville, have run dry, forcing residents to rely on donated bottled water.

To explain this slow-motion catastrophe, conservatives don’t acknowledge the obvious—the historically low snowpack from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which flows into the state's second-largest river, the San Joaquin—to explain Californians' troubles. Rather, they blame a three-inch-long endangered fish called the delta smelt. Or, more to the point, they blame environmentalists’ silly, civilization-destroying causes, such as trying to prevent extinctions and staving off the collapse of ecosystems.

To explain this slow-motion catastrophe, conservatives don’t acknowledge the obvious—the historically low snowpack from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which flows into the state's second-largest river, the San Joaquin—to explain Californians' troubles. Rather, they blame a three-inch-long endangered fish called the delta smelt. Or, more to the point, they blame environmentalists’ silly, civilization-destroying causes, such as trying to prevent extinctions and staving off the collapse of ecosystems.

Fox News, National Review, American Thinker, Town Hall, Breitbart, and Reason have all suggested that environmental policies have exacerbated the perilous lack of water in California, and that liberals are trying to hide it by shifting blame to agriculture. Carly Fiorina, a possible 2016 GOP presidential candidate, charged that the drought is a “man-made human tragedy” brought on by “overzealous environmentalists.” A recent Wall Street Journal editorial argued, “The liberals who run California have long purported that their green policies are a free (organic) lunch, but the bills are coming due.” The WSJ blames drained reservoirs and aquifers on resource misallocation, not necessarily the low snowpack.

Here's how the fiscal conservatives would address this “manmade drought”: Build more water storage and infrastructure, from aqueducts to dams, to drain more runoff from rivers before it flushes into the ocean (these don't come cheap; one proposed project to build two 35-mile tunnels from Sacramento River would cost $25 billion). But first, they would need to roll back environmental regulations that prevent more water from being diverted for human activities, instead of leaving the water to nourish a once-rich ecosystem that’s deeply threatened. They are so dogmatically opposed to environmental regulations of any sort that they've seized on this protected fish and California's terrifying drought in their wider campaign to undermine the legislative successes of the environmental movement. One of the laws under attack: the decades-old Endangered Species Act, which regulators used to label the delta smelt as “threatened” in 1993.

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Sheriff Shoots Real Estate Agent as She Shows House, Then Walks Away Because 'He’s the Sheriff'

Victor Hill gives no reason as to why or how he shot the real estate agent and simply leaves.

Gwinnett County, GA —
Clayton County Sheriff, Victor Hill, has not been charged with a crime and was allowed to leave the scene after shooting a woman in the stomach on Sunday.

According to Gwinnett County Police Sgt. Brian Doan, Hill accidentally shot a woman at a model home located at 2567 Britt Trail Drive in Lawrenceville at around 7 p.m. Sunday.

The woman Hill shot is in critical condition at Gwinnett Medical Center. She was the real estate agent who was showing the home. How someone can “accidentally” shoot a woman as she shows a house remains a mystery.

When police arrived on the scene they said Hill refused to cooperate with the investigation and did not give a statement nor answer any questions. Citing the fact that he was the sheriff, Hill simply left the scene.

Let that sink in.

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The Best and Worst Places to Grow Up: How Your Area Compares

Children who grow up in some places go on to earn much more than they would if they grew up elsewhere.
Wicomico County is very bad for income mobility for children in poor families. It is better than only about 14 percent of counties.

Location matters – enormously. If you’re poor and live in the Dover area, it’s better to be in Somerset County than in Kent County or Sussex County. Not only that, the younger you are when you move to Somerset, the better you will do on average. Children who move at earlier ages are less likely to become single parents, more likely to go to college and more likely to earn more.

But even Somerset County is below the national average. Every year a poor child spends in Somerset County subtracts about $40 from his or her annual household income at age 26, compared with a childhood spent in the average American county. Over the course of a full childhood, which is up to age 20 for the purposes of this analysis, the difference adds up to about $800, or 3 percent, less in average income as a young adult.
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The Serious Steps We're Going to Have to Take to Share the Wealth

As of right now, the owning class once again enjoys concentrated wealth.

The postwar boom was a time of broadly shared prosperity, when working- and middle-class people not only enjoyed steadily increasing incomes but were also able to accumulate lifetime wealth. The measures that made possible this wealth-broadening included expansion of homeownership under a reliable, well-governed system of mortgage finance; the development of a retirement system, with Social Security complemented by private pensions; debt-free higher education; and rising real wages. Each of these instruments interacted with the others.

Today, these mechanisms have all gone into reverse. Meanwhile, the capacity of the already-rich, the parentally endowed, and the well-situated to accumulate financial wealth has only intensified. Wealth inequality gets less attention than income inequality, but it is every bit as important. And the two are related. Wealth helps generate income and the capacity to earn income. Decent income increases the capacity to save and to amass wealth. As public systems for wealth-broadening collapse, private wealth within families provides asset endowments to the young and positions the next generation to become upper-income earners like their parents.

Economist Thomas Piketty called overdue attention to wealth extremes in his celebrated book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Assembling more than two centuries of data from several countries, Piketty demonstrated something close to an iron law of capitalism: The return on capital tends to exceed the rate of GDP growth. Thus, as a matter of simple arithmetic, wealth becomes ever more concentrated. But the most interesting and least developed part of Piketty’s book was his discussion of the mid-20th century—an anomalous period when wealth and income became more equal.

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Attorney General Loretta Lynch Meets With Family Of Gray And Officials

Attorney General Loretta Lynch pledged Tuesday to improve the city's police department after meeting with the family of a man who was fatally injured in police custody.

"We're here to hold your hands and provide support," Lynch said in a meeting with faith and community leaders, including members of Congress.

The new attorney general met privately at the University of Baltimore with Freddie Gray's family, days after the state's attorney charged six police officers involved in Gray's arrest. Gray's injury in police custody and death a week later sparked protests and riots that prompted Maryland's governor to bring in the National Guard.

Lynch was joined by the head of the Civil Rights Division, Vanita Gupta, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Director Ronald Davis and Community Relations Service Director Grande Lum.

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States Struggle to Pay for Police Body Cameras

As the nationwide push intensifies for police to wear body cameras, states and cities have encountered one consistent roadblock to adopting the technology: the cost.

The price of a single camera ranges widely, from less than $100 to more than $1,000, based on the size of the purchase (larger police departments often get a discount) and whether the deal includes data storage services. But managing and storing the video costs many times the price of the cameras themselves. And because the technology is so new, it’s likely that it will have to be replaced fairly quickly, which would require additional expenditures.

In a survey of 40 police departments by the Police Executive Research Forum conducted last fall and released this year, nearly 40 percent of departments without body cameras cited cost as the primary barrier to using them.

President Barack Obama has called for $75 million in new federal spending to help pay for 50,000 police body cameras for local police departments. States are struggling with whether cameras should be worn all the time and whether the video should be a public record, which also can affect costs. As of April 20, 34 states were considering 117 bills related to police body cameras, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). So far, only a handful of states have figured out how to pay for them.

“They (cameras) can be a really great tool if implemented correctly,” said Lindsay Miller, a senior research associate at the police forum, a membership organization of police and government officials, academics and others who work in the field. “It’s not as easy as sticking a camera on an officer and sending them out in the field.”

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Change for Life Baby Bottle Campaign

The Eastern Shore Pregnancy Center is holding its annual Change for Life Baby Bottle Campaign from Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10, until Father's Day, Sunday, June, 21.

If you or your church would like to take part, bottles to be filled with change over the course of the month may be gotten from the Center by calling 410-546-5433. The Eastern Shore Pregnancy Center is located at 1300 South Division St., Suite C, Salisbury, MD.

FIESTA Ladies Night Out!

This Event is Selling Out Fast!
Don't miss our great Ladies' Night dinner events at SoBo's... Held monthly, there is always a different theme!  A four course dinner is paired with featured cocktails and wine.  The cost is only $45 per person, plus tax and tip.  Our May event will help support Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore.  

Thursday, May 19th ~ 6:30pm
Reservations... 410.219.1117

www.SobosWineBeerstro.com

Of Course Democrats Deserve the Blame for What’s Happening in Baltimore

If a person happens to point out that Baltimore’s criminally inept government has been run exclusively by Democrats since 1967 (with one Republican mayor since 1947) and features not a single city councilor who isn’t a liberal, he may be called a lazy apparatchik. Because not everything, you see, is reducible to mere party politics.

Now, if an economic renaissance sparked by the progressive policies of Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had lifted Baltimore from poverty, I imagine Democrats would be eager to claim credit for the accomplishment. Entire political debates are predicated on the effectiveness of partisan ideas. We blame presidents for recessions they probably have little to do with, yet according to liberal pundits, the party overseeing a city riddled with poverty, failing schools, high crime rates and racial tension bears no responsibility for what’s happening.

The president disagrees. Sort of. After a night of violence and looting in Baltimore, Barack Obama spoke to the press and said that “we, as a country, have to do some soul-searching” — by which he meant “they,” as in conservatives, need to get on board.

Obama said that solutions to mend Baltimore’s suffering are sitting right there in Washington — unpassed because of ideologically inflexible Republicans. “And there’s a bunch of my agenda that would make a difference right now,” Obama claimed before going on: “Now, I’m under no illusion that out of this Congress we’re going to get massive investments in urban communities, and so we’ll try to find areas where we can make a difference, around school reform and around job training and around some investments in infrastructure in these communities and trying to attract new businesses in.”

What piece of legislation have Republicans obstructed that would have helped keep families together in Baltimore — right now? Which proposal would have created jobs to turn the city around? What law has Obama lobbied for that would have made Baltimore’s police department — which has been answering to one party for decades — more compassionate or effective? Is there a criminal-justice reform effort that Obama’s been spearheading all these years that we’ve all forgotten about?

Yes, the war on drugs is a disaster. But Democrats are complicit in that war, too. And Democrats are also in charge of a city school system that has huge failure rates, despite the fact that Baltimore’s school district also has consistently ranked in the top five among the nation’s 100 largest school districts in spending per pupil. Like most big city districts, there is no accountability. It’s Democrats who consistently sink conservative education reform ideas (ones that in many cities are popular among African-American parents) for their union patrons.

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