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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Californian to Texan translation guide


Defiant Iran Says No One Will Stop It From Developing Ballistic Missiles

Iran reaffirmed at the weekend that it will scorn any international attempts to restrain its missile program, unveiling a new missile and announcing it will soon hold large-scale ballistic missile war-games.

President Hasan Rouhani said Iran would seek no one’s permission to buy or develop the weapons it needs.. Appearing on state television,he said that only when Iran is “powerful and capable” can it negotiate constructively with other countries.

War and aggression are imposed on weak countries and they can never sustain their security, he said.

Rouhani unveiled the Fateh 313, an Iranian-designed solid fuel surface-to-surface missile boasting a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles). The presidency said the missile has been successfully tested, and will now be mass-produced by the defense ministry.

Also speaking on state TV, Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan shrugged off any international pressure aimed at reining in the missile program.

“We will design and produce any missiles that we want proportionate to threats and we will conduct drills and tests in due time,” he said. “No element can weaken our resolve in the defensive field.”

Tehran’s focus on missiles comes as the Obama administration lobbies to win congressional support for the nuclear deal which the U.S. and five other powers reached with Iran last month – an agreement that set an eight-year expiration date on U.N. sanctions relating to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

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Missouri school’s decision to open restrooms to the opposite sex jeopardizes students’ privacy

HILLSBORO, Mo. – Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter to the Hillsboro R-3 School District Board of Education Monday that asks it to reverse a recent decision by district staff to allow students to use locker rooms and restrooms of the opposite sex. The letter provides a suggested policy that addresses the school district’s concerns about discrimination without allowing the sharing of restrooms.

The ADF letter explains that no law requires public schools to allow boys into girls’ restrooms or girls into boys’ restrooms. In fact, the district could be exposing itself to legal liability for violating students’ right to bodily privacy.

“Protecting students from inappropriate exposure to the opposite sex is not only perfectly legal, it’s a school district’s duty,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “Letting boys into girls’ locker rooms and restrooms is an invasion of privacy and a threat to student safety.”
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Senate Bill Would Fund ‘Parent Replacement Centers’ For 5 More Years

(CNSNews) – A Senate-passed education bill would extend an existing federal program that funds “full service community schools” for another five years.

Such schools provide comprehensive year-round, around-the-clock social services to students and their families, but critics refer to them as “parent replacement centers.”

The Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2015 (S. 1787) introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was added on as an amendment to the Senate reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act called the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (S.1177).

The reauthorization easily cleared the Senate on an 81-to-17 vote on July 16.

A congressional conference will reconcile the Senate bill with the House's Student Success Act (H.R.5), which passed July 8 on a 218-to-213 party-line vote. However, the House reauthorization of NCLB does not contain funding for full-service community schools.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Full Service Community Schools Program has awarded $55.2 million to various applicants since FY 2008, with preference given to groups that operate in the White House’s designated Promise Zones.

The department filed a notice in the Federal Register on May 6 soliciting applications for the program, which will be paid for by The Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE).

Applicants, defined as “consortia consisting of a local educational agency and one or more community-based organizations,” can request up to $500,000 for each of five years, for a maximum of $2.5 million. So far this year, the department has awarded 12 grants totaling $5.2 million.

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If Liberals Genuinely Cared About Justice, They Would Not Revere Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger is a saint in the feminist church. She is a charter member of the progressive hall of fame. Liberals revere this woman who preached “race improvement” and denounced what she called “human weeds.”

Hillary Clinton glows that she is “in awe of” Sanger. She said so in 2009 upon receiving Planned Parenthood’s “highest honor” that year: its coveted Margaret Sanger Award.

Likewise effusive was Nancy Pelosi when she proudly accepted the award in 2014.

Speaking to Planned Parenthood a year earlier, President Barack Obama, hailed the organization founded by this racial eugenicist committed to creating a “race of thoroughbreds” and purging America’s “race of degenerates.”

The love by liberals for Planned Parenthood and its founder seems to know no bounds. A professor, blogging at the New York Times, has argued for placing Margaret’s mug on the $20 bill.

And alas, even the Smithsonian, America’s museum, boasts a handsome bust of Sanger in its stately National Portrait Gallery.

Margaret is there enshrined in the Smithsonian’s vaunted “Struggle for Justice” exhibit.

This brings me to my reason for writing here today: a group of angry African-American pastors are demanding the removal of Sanger’s bust from the Smithsonian.

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Caitlyn Jenner Halloween costumes are not cool, says Internet

Against all odds, in the face of a sometime insensitive, uninformed public, and amid never-ending Kardashian drama, a world-class Olympic athlete recently revealed herself to be transgender. She made the cover of Vanity Fair. She got her own reality TV docu-series. She even received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at this year’s ESPYs.

So is it too soon for a Caitlyn Jenner Halloween costume? Or perhaps the idea is terrible in any way, shape or form? Some on social media thought so, decrying the decision of some costume outlets to offer Jenner ensembles ahead of Oct. 31.

“The caitlyn jenner halloween costumes were obviously made to mock her, and frankly its not funny, its ignorant and disrespectful,” one representative Twitter comment read.

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Carson: Liberal Media 'Don't Want People to Take Me Seriously'

Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson says CNN and other liberal media outlets are out to badger him during interviews so that voters won't consider him a serious presidential candidate.

"They don't want people to take me seriously. They're very afraid of my message getting out there because it flies directly in the face of the secular progressive movement," Carson said Monday on Newsmax TV.

"I am a huge threat to them and therefore if they can find a kink in the armor and they can concentrate on that, they can get you off of the things that are so important to our nation."

On Sunday, Carson got into a testy exchange with CNN's Jim Acosta on the network's "State of the Nation," program as he spoke about the use of military drone strikes along the U.S.-Mexico border to destroy empty caves used by drug smugglers and those bringing in illegal immigrants.

He called CNN's coverage of his remarks "certainly problematic," but said the "liberal media in general" was to blame for twisting his words.

"When I made my initial comments about drones and all the media was there, I said some of you, some of the left wing of you, will take these comments and try to make people think that I want to kill people with drone strikes. I do not want to do that. But you will say that anyway, and they went out and did it," Carson said.

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More than 2M pounds of bacon products recalled

Kraft Heinz Foods is recalling more than 2 million pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon products shipped nationwide.

The bacon, which was produced between May 31, 2015, and Aug. 6, 2015, may spoil before the "best when used by" date.

The following products are subject to the recall:

56 oz. cardboard boxes (containing four plastic wrapped packages) marked Oscar Mayer “Selects Uncured Turkey Bacon” bearing the plant number P-9070, the line number RS19 and Product UPC 0 4470007633 0, and with “Best When Used By” dates of 24 AUG 2015 through 26 OCT 2015.

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BREAKING NEWS: Bomb Threat In Ocean City



Ocean City Fire/Ems, Ocean City Bomb Squad are on scene at Jamaica Daybreak Condo, 32nd Street and Bay side for a suspicious package

Koreas Agree to End Standoff

North Korea agreed to lift its “semi-state of war” with South Korea at the same time as the South halts propaganda broadcasts across their shared border, ending the standoff that has roiled financial markets in Seoul.

Marathon talks ended finally in agreement, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported, echoing televised remarks moments earlier by South Korea’s presidential security adviser Kim Kwan Jin. The two sides will seek to resume the reunions of families separated by the Korean War, while North Korea expressed its regret over the Aug. 4 mine explosions which maimed two South Korean soldiers.

The two countries will also hold government-level talks in the near future in either Seoul or Pyongyang, Kim said.

South Korean President Park Geun Hye said Monday she would “never back off” in the military standoff and that she would seek a clear apology from North Korea over the mine explosions. North Korea also earlier denied setting the devices.

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Awareness Campaign Launch To Spread Word On Opioid Crisis; Survey Finds 7% Of Seniors Have Tried Heroin

SNOW HILL – A new public awareness campaign is designed to target the growing number of opioid users in Worcester County.

This week local health and law enforcement officials joined together to launch the “Decisions Matter” opioid awareness campaign. The effort includes television commercials, billboards and radio ads stressing the importance of good decision making.

“It has a two-pronged approach,” Worcester County Health Officer Debbie Goeller said. “One is to encourage adults to secure medication. Second is to inform young people about the loss of freedom to make choices about their life once they become dependent on substances.”

The campaign was launched by the Opioid Awareness Task Force, a subcommittee of the Worcester County Drug and Alcohol Council. The council, according to chairman Doug Dods, has been meeting since the 1980s to address concerns about local drug and alcohol abuse. In recent years, its primary concern has been the increase in opioid misuse. Both prescription opioids — drugs like oxycodone — and illegal opioids — heroin — are being abused in Worcester County.

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Israel to Iranian Proxy: ‘We’ll Get You’

Israel vows retaliation after rockets fired onto its territory from Syria

JERUSALEM—
In a succession of swift steps after being hit by two rockets fired onto its territory from Syria Thursday, Israel has signaled to the Iranian-backed organization allegedly behind the incident that it knows who is responsible and that “we’ll get you.”

The rockets caused no casualties or damage beyond brushfires but Israel’s vigorous reaction reflects its belief that the attack is part of a stepped-up Iranian campaign to attack Israel through proxies. It was the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War that shells were fired into Israel from Syrian territory.

Within hours of the rocketing, Israeli artillery and warplanes hit 14 Syrian army targets across the border. Syria was not behind the attack, Israeli officials say, but the rockets were launched from territory under the army’s control. In an unusual move immediately afterwards, a senior security official briefing reporters revealed sensitive security information by naming the person who had ordered the rocketing as an Iranian officer, Saad Ezadi. He was identified as head of the Israel desk of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Quds Force is responsible for quasi-military operations outside Iran and answers directly to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Israeli officials said the rocketing, which also included the firing of two rockets into the Golan Heights, had been carried out by a cell from the Palestinian branch of Islamic Jihad under Ezadi’s control.

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Baltimore County Prosecutor To Re-Examine Allegations Against Molly Shattuck

Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger says he will re-examine allegations of criminal activity that happened in Baltimore County involving Molly Shattuck and the victim in the Delaware rape case, now that Shattuck has been sentenced in Delaware.

Shellenberger says his office will reach out to the victim and his family in the case.

He would not comment any further.

Former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader Molly Shattuck was sentenced last week to 48 weekends in jail after pleading guilty to raping a 15-year-old boy at a vacation rental home in Delaware.

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BREAKING NEWS: Dow surges more than 600 points

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes up 619 points— or 3.95 percent— snapping six straight sessions of declines.

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WH Hasn’t Responded to Congressional Inquiries Regarding EPA’s Toxic Spill

Neither the White House nor the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – the federal agency tasked with protecting public health and the country’s natural resources – have responded to inquiries sent by members of Congress from states impacted by the EPA’s toxic chemical spill in Colorado two weeks ago, a spokesperson with Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) office told CNSNews.

Senate and House members from Utah, New Mexico and Colorado have sent letters to President Barack Obama and EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins, Jr. seeking accountability for the estimated three million gallons of toxic mine waste EPA employees released into Western waterways.

But Sen. Lee sent out a press release on Thursday explaining that he and other members of Congress from the states affected have still not received replies from the Obama administration.

In an Aug. 17 letter to the president signed by all members of the congressional delegation from Utah, where the polluted water reached Lake Powell after travelling 300 miles downstream, the administration was chided for its slow response to the “disaster”.

“Unfortunately, EPA failed to contact the state of Utah within twenty-four hours of the spill. This reckless behavior is intolerable,” the letter states.

“The federal government must implement a more transparent and efficient cleanup effort if it is to aid Utah’s scientists and make our communities whole again,” adds the letter, which was signed by Lee, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and GOP House members Rob Bishop, Jason Chaffetz, Chris Stewart and Mia Love.

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OC Sandfest Underway In Ocean City

OC Sandfest Underway In Ocean CityThe second annual event continues today. Here's background: http://mdcoastdispatch.com/?p=56424Photos from this afternoon by Shawn Soper

Posted by The Dispatch on Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Roger Stone: 'Ruling Elite Are Wetting Their Britches' Over Trump

Republican and Democratic party leaders are wracked with anxiety over the candidacies of their frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, GOP political consultant Roger Stone tells Newsmax TV.

"The ruling elite are wetting their britches [over Trump]. The lobbyists can't buy him off, they can't bully him, they can't boss him.... They're going out of their minds," Stone, a former adviser to the Trump campaign, said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."

"He has a unique opportunity to bring conservative reform to government without heeding the special interest to kind of water down any kind of reforms. He can take on the entire broken system that is financed by dirty money because he's financially independent."

And liberals' nerves are just as frayed, according to Stone.

"There's panic in the Democratic Party. Hillary — this is the second time she was a sure thing because she was a sure thing last time, too, and it's falling apart before her very eyes. She is mired in email-gate," Stone said.

"There's a new lie every week. There's a new revelation every couple days. She's incapable of telling the truth. Her defenses are not believable. Her performance is pathetic. Halting, cautious, she's stuck and there's no way out.

"She's trying to make light of it, make a joke of it but it's not a joke. The Chinese, the Russians may have our most sensitive confidential documents regarding the security of this country because of her political concerns."

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Charles County Manufacturer Plans Expansion, Relocation to Waldorf

Hogan administration lauds expansion by company with more than 25-year history in state
ANNAPOLIS, MD – CHUTES International, a company that produces a variety of plastic and metal laundry and trash chutes, is expanding its manufacturing operations in Charles County. The company plans to relocate from its current 12,000-square-foot facility in White Plains to a more than 43,000-square-foot location on Industrial Park Drive in Waldorf.

With a larger facility, CHUTES plans to add at least 15 new employees, and will have the ability to bring in more items that are currently being outsourced. The company currently employs 50 workers in Charles County.


The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) is assisting with the expansion by providing a $155,000 loan through the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund (MEDAAF) program. In addition, the Charles County Department of Economic Development is providing a conditional loan of $32,500, and the Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MDMEP) worked with the company to further its strategic plan and design the new manufacturing space layout.

National Zoo: Smaller of Two Panda Cubs Has Died

We are sad to announce that the smaller of the two panda cubs has died.The panda team continues to monitor Mei Xiang...

Posted by Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Korean Tensions Heighten: North Deploys Assets, South Refuses to Back Down

North Korea ratcheted up tensions with its U.S.-backed neighbor on Monday, moving special forces on amphibious landing craft closer to the frontline, one day after reports that most of its submarines eveidently had been forward deployed.

The movement of the landing craft and special forces to a base less than 40 miles from the Northern Limit Line maritime border – which Pyongyang does not recognize – was reported by South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency, citing military sources.

On Sunday, defense ministry officials said that about 50 of North Korea’s 70-strong submarine fleet, an unusually large number, had left their bases and their whereabouts were unknown.

(Investigators blamed a torpedo launched from a North Korean submarine for the 2010 sinking of a South Korean Navy ship, which cost the lives of 46 sailors.)

The developments came as senior officials from the two Koreas held lengthy talks in the Demilitarized Zone village of Panmunjom, aimed at defusing a crisis described as the worst of its kind in at least two years.

Since the 1950-53 Korea War ended without a formal peace agreement, the two Koreas remain officially at war. U.S. troops have been stationed on the peninsula ever since to help defend South Korea against aggression from the North.

The Stalinist regime has a long history of brinkmanship – escalating tensions, then seeking concessions in return for easing them.

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Fire In Salisbury

 
Large fire 510 West Road at Eagle Recycling. Fire departments from Salisbury and several from the county are trying to put this fire out. It was originally dispatched as a vehicle fire but soon after was reported as a commercial building fire.

Governor Larry Hogan Announces Final Detainee Transfer from Baltimore City Detention Center


Last man to be transferred from BCDC by close of business today

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services will complete the final transfer of inmates and detainees from the notorious Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC) – Men’s Detention Center, which will be permanently closed by 5 p.m. today. Beginning on July 30th, the department safely and effectively began to conduct the transfer of all 1,100 inmates and detainees with no disruption of services. All inmates and detainees located in the facility will have been moved to other detention centers in Baltimore to allow them to remain in the proximity of area courts.

“The final closure of this detention center removes a stain on the reputation of our state and Maryland’s correctional system. For years, corruption, criminal activity, and deplorable conditions have plagued this facility, but that ends today,” Governor Hogan said. “I am extremely proud of Secretary Moyer and the employees and correctional officers at DPSCS who have quickly and safely closed down this facility in just a few weeks. Their work on this matter has been nothing short of outstanding.”


Mike Lash shot by gunman who knocked on door claiming to have a flat tire

An Atlanta couple have told of the terrifying moment four men pretending to have had car troubles burst into their home and robbed them at gunpoint, shooting the father-of-two in front of his children.

Mike and Whitney Lash had just returned to their house with their two young children on August 16 when the men knocked on their door.

Mr Lash answered the door, and the men said they had just moved down the street but had a flat tire and wanted to borrow a jack, but Mrs Lash felt something was amiss from the start.

'I had a feeling that it was an excuse and we were about to be robbed. Right about that moment I saw them pull the gun on Mike,' she told ABC News.

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Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force Submits Interim Report to Governor Larry Hogan


Includes 10 Recommendations That Can Be Implemented Immediately

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force, created by Governor Larry Hogan on Feb. 24, 2015, and chaired by Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, today submitted its Interim Report to the governor.

The Task Force—made up of 11 members with expertise in substance abuse, treatment, and law enforcement, including a mother who lost her daughter to a heroin overdose—advises and assists the governor in establishing a statewide effort to improve public awareness, access to treatment, quality of care, alternatives to incarceration for non-violent drug abusers, and law enforcement coordination.


The Task Force’s Interim Report reflects the Task Force’s findings, the ongoing efforts of its workgroups, immediate resource allocations, and preliminary recommendations. Specifically, the report includes 10 recommendations that can be put into place by relevant state agencies at little or nominal cost within just a few weeks. They are as follows:

A Liberal Dose of Propaganda

Activists secrete their message into school curricula

Like a swarm of bees, back-to-school advertisements sting vacationing kids with the reminder that the first day of school is around the corner. And now given swarms of politically connected activists, parents also have something to fear with the starting of school: “progressive” agendas overrunning academic curriculums.

Schools are expected to be institutions for teaching math, science, reading and writing. But activists see them as another venue to peddle their platforms on labor unions, animal liberation, vegan diets and leftist environmental policy.

Last month, Big Labor had a huge win. After several failed attempts, Connecticut unions pushed a bill through the state’s legislature that directs public schools to provide curriculum on labor history and law, organized labor and collective bargaining — to be taught by unionized teachers, of course.

The bill likely passed due to its phony provision to include “the history of economics of free market capitalism and entrepreneurialism.” Despite this feigned attempt at balance, the law will no doubt produce corrupted curriculum. Evidence comes from Delaware, where a task force made entirely of labor bosses ensures the “fair and balanced instruction” of mandated union propaganda.

But the king of labor education is still California. In 2012, the Golden State, which has mandated labor education in public schools for more than a decade, expanded their existing week of labor education — the entire month of May is now “Labor History Month.”

There is no limit to the type of fringe propaganda that can creep into kids’ heads and hands. For those familiar with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) stripper stunts, it should come as no surprise that the material provided for kids often contains graphically violent, sexual and just plain grotesque. One comic book is titled, “Your Mommy Kills Animals.”

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From Venezuela to Iraq to Russia, Oil Price Drops Raise Fears of Unrest

Oil, the lifeblood of many countries that produce and sell it, appears to be rapidly turning into an ever-cheaper economic curse.

A year ago, the international price per barrel of oil was about $103. By Monday, the price was about $42, roughly 6 percent lower than on Friday.

In oil-endowed Iraq, where an Islamic State insurgency and fractious sectarian politics are growing threats, a new source of instability erupted this month with violent protests over the government’s failure to provide reliable electricity and explain what has been done with all the promised petroleum money. In Russia, a leading oil producer, consumers are now paying far more for imports, largely because of their currency’s plummeting value. In Nigeria and Venezuela, which rely almost completely on oil exports, fears of unrest and economic instability are building. In Ecuador, where oil revenue has fallen by nearly half since last year, tens of thousands of demonstrators pour into the streets every week, angered by the government’s economic policies.

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The Illusion of Online Privacy

As the Ashley Madison hack demonstrated, Web companies can't guarantee privacy.

There was a time when people had secrets. Men could discreetly dispose of receipts for flowers, drinks or jewelry, and a last check for lipstick on the collar before turning the key to the front door could hide a multitude of sins.

But times have changed, even if behaviors haven’t. Shopping, chatting and traveling in the digital age means that habits and relationships are all recorded somewhere – whether people know it or not.

And computers are terrible at keeping secrets.

The 30 million users of AshleyMadison.com thought they had some privacy – until hackers last weekexposed their names, addresses and credit card payments. Two suicides have reportedly been linked to the disclosures, which – unlike the almost routine reports about electronic thefts of financial data – have led to consequences far more serious than can be addressed by a credit-monitoring agency.

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Ashley Madison, parent company sued in U.S over data breach

Aug 24 Infidelity website Ashley Madison and its parent company have been sued in federal court in California by a man who claims that the companies failed to adequately protect clients' personal and financial information from theft, saying he suffered emotional distress.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by a man identified as John Doe, seeks class-action status.

The lawsuit accuses Ashley Madison and parent company Avid Life Media Inc, which is based in Toronto, of negligence and invasion of privacy, as well as causing emotional distress.

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Boy trips in museum and punches hole through million-dollar painting

IRS Finds Yet Another Lois Lerner Email Account

Lois Lerner had yet another personal email account used to conduct some IRS business, the tax agency confirmed in a new court filing late Monday that further complicates the administration’s efforts to be transparent about Ms. Lerner’s actions during the tea party targeting scandal.

The admission came in an open-records lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest law firm that has sued to get a look at emails Ms. Lerner sent during the targeting.

IRS lawyer Geoffrey J. Klimas told the court that as the agency was putting together a set of documents to turn over to Judicial Watch, it realized Ms. Lerner had used yet another email account, in addition to her official one and another personal one already known to the agency.

“In addition to emails to or from an email account denominated ‘Lois G. Lerner‘ or ‘Lois Home,’ some emails responsive to Judicial Watch’s request may have been sent to or received from a personal email account denominated ‘Toby Miles,’” Mr. Klimas told Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who is hearing the case.

It is unclear who Toby Miles is, but Mr. Klimas said the IRS has concluded that was “a personal email account used by Lerner.”

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said it was stunning the agency was just now admitting the existence of the address.

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Bush: 'Anchor Babies' More Asian Than Hispanic Problem

Jeb Bush learned the hard way that the term "anchor babies" isn't only offensive to Latinos, but also to the Asian community.

The former Florida governor, while trying to defend and clarify his use of the term during a speech Monday at the border town of McAllen, Texas, said that it's "ludicrous" for Democrats to slam him for it, reports CNN, because "frankly, it's more related to Asian people."

"What I was talking about was the specific case of fraud being committed where there's organized efforts and, frankly, it's more related to Asian people coming into our country, having children in that organized efforts taking advantage of a noble concept which is birthright citizenship," Bush told the crowd. "I support the 14th Amendment."

Bush should "immediately retract his statements and apologize to the Asian community for his insensitive behavior," said Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, adding that the GOP presidential candidate's comments "regarding the children of Asian immigrants are derogatory and offensive."

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Q&A: What the rejection of the Pepco-Exelon merger means for consumers

WASHINGTON — The decision by D.C. regulators to reject a proposed merger between Pepco Holdings and Chicago-based Exelon Corp. puts the $6.8 billion deal in jeopardy.

So where does that leave power consumers? Here are answers to some common questions Pepco customers might have.

Q: What happens now?

Nothing in the short-term. Rates won’t change and Pepco will continue to be the power company for its current D.C. and Maryland customers. The two companies have 30 days to appeal the D.C. Public Service Commission’s decision.

Q: Could rates change if the deal doesn’t go through?

Pepco, Exelon or any other company have to seek approval for a rate increase through the statepublic service commissions, which allows for public input, before any rates would change.

Q: What are the companies involved in the deal?

Pepco Holdings Inc. serves almost 2 million customers in D.C., Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware. The deal would have also sold subsidiaries Pepco, Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric.

Exelon’s Constellation business provides “energy products and services” to more than 2.5 million customers. The energy provider also owns utilities BGE, ComEd and PECO, which combined serve another 7.8 million customers in Maryland, northern Illinois and southeastern Pennsylvania, according to the company.

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WCSO Press Release 8-26-15

Registered Sex Offender Sean Amos finally surrendered on August 25, 2015.

2 Journalists Shot Dead During Live TV Newscast In Virginia

Two journalists were killed in a shooting on Tuesday during a live local television newscast in Virginia.


Reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were pronounced dead after the shooting, their TV station, WDBJ, announced.

Horrific video of the incident was posted online. It shows Parker doing a report at the Bridgewater Plaza on Smith Mountain Lake, at about 6:45 a.m. Gunshots then rang out, a woman could be heard screaming and the camera fell to the ground before the station cut back to the television studio.

The U.S. Department of Justice's AFT Bureau tweeted from its verified account that a manhunt is underway for the shooting suspect.

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DC regulators reject merger between Delmarva Power parent and Exelon.

The Public Service Commission for the District of Columbia has rejected the merger of Delmarva Power owner Pepco Holdings and Chicago-based Exelon.

The utilities had previously gained approval from regulators in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey for the merger that includes Atlantic City Electric and Pepco, which serves Washington, D.C. and Maryland suburbs.

Exelon) and Pepco Holdings Inc. Tuesday issued the following statement in response to the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia’s decision on the companies’ proposed merger.

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Obama Feeling ‘Feisty,’ Ready To Take On The ‘Crazies’

President Barack Obama is putting people on notice: He’s back from vacation feeling “refreshed, renewed, recharged” — and “a little feisty.”

He immediately showed his feisty side.

At a Democratic fundraiser Monday night in Nevada, Obama declared himself ready for the challenges he faces this fall in dealing with a Republican Congress that disagrees with him on the budget, energy policy, education and much more.

Obama said that as he’d ridden to the fundraiser with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, they’d done some reminiscing and spent some time “figuring out how we are going to deal with the crazies in terms of managing some problems.”

He didn’t identify exactly who the two of them had defined as “crazies.”

But Obama spoke at length about his differences with the GOP Congress. And he lamented that “too often, our political debates are not about what’s best for the country but what’s best for the next election.”

Read more here

Real Conservatives Stand For Private Property

I remember having a conversation with a local city official in Kentucky when the Kelo Supreme Court decision came down. Conservatives, myself included, were outraged that the Supreme Court had wrongly allowed using eminent domain to take private property from one private property owner and give it to another private owner.

Conservatives in my community came together with a local resolution to prevent this from happening. I’ll never forget the response from the local official, who told me: “But you know me, I would never use eminent domain that way.” I responded: “The law isn’t about you—it’s about when we get bad representatives and must have the law to restrain them.”

This is what we believe as conservatives—that the law must supersede personalities and intentions. As conservatives, we seek to bind government using the rule of law to prevent the abuse of power.

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Now The Real Fun Is About To Begin

This may be the most entertaining road show yet. Round and round the presidential campaign goes, and where it stops nobody knows. Even Mitt Romney is said to be thinking about jumping in again, no doubt figuring that some of Jeb’s “investors,” who are familiar indeed, may be looking for another place to place their bets.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign still gets respectful attention, but nobody’s any longer practicing what to call her if, as in a prospect ever more unlikely, she’s actually elected. Madame President? That sounds like something from a bordello, or worse, from France. Mrs. President? The feminists wouldn’t like that, because it pays homage to a husband. “Miss President” sounds like everybody’s seventh-period Latin teacher, perhaps fetching in her own way, but not much fun.

Joe Biden, everybody’s good old, slightly daffy uncle, lovable but prone to gaffes, boners and extravagant slips not only of the tongue but sometimes of the brain, like his suggestion, meant to warm the hearts of gun owners, that if you hear a varmint or a prowler in the middle of the night, the thing to do is to take your shotgun to the front porch and blast away at the night. (Hoping nobody is still up across the street is optional.)

The Republican establishment has the opposite problem. They’re having to quit laughing at Donald Trump and start taking him seriously. He keeps increasing his polling lead over the field, and where that stops nobody knows, either. He’s an “outlier,” the currently fashionable $2 word for “outsider,” but he’s not as outsiderly as he used to be.

More from Wesley Pruden here..

$12.9M Paid On Insurance Claims For Baltimore Riot Damage

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Maryland Insurance Administration says insurance companies have paid $12.9 million in claims stemming from civil unrest in Baltimore linked to the death in April of Freddie Gray.

The agency said Tuesday that the payments include $11.6 million for commercial property damage. Rioters damaged or looted hundreds of business, and set several on fire, after Gray’s funeral April 27.

The insurance administration says property, casualty and automobile insurers received 445 commercial claims related to the disturbance as of July 27, the deadline for submitting data to the state.

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A Letter To The Editor 8-26-15

I found your article on yesterday's partial collapse of the stock market to be an incredibly candid and accurate depiction of what's going on now. Controlling interest rates to control inflation was once a valuable tool. When it was no longer effective because of unintended consequences on the global economy (due to the fact that we are hopelessly entangled in the entire global economy) they switched to pumping money into the U.S. economy through quantitative easing (QE 1&2) at the risk of bumping up inflation. As inflation started to increase, the establishment began its usual spin to justify the increases in food and fuel (drought increasing beef prices, bird flu increasing poultry, demand increasing oil, etc.). The MSM has been complicit in this propaganda campaign as the government attempts to retain control of the masses. 

The effect of these changes has sent the value of our dollar, the stock market, and the bond market on a roller coaster ride - and we're on it. Throw in the same volatility in markets around the world, which affect us all in this wonderful global economy, and you have a market and economy destined to collapse. When economies collapse, governments are ripe for collapse as well, creating power vacuums. Small nations are then subject to being overrun by terrorists such as ISIS. 

The sheep of this country are being led around by those who tell them that the forces working on the stock market are corrections - somehow making them sound like a good thing. I mean "correction" makes it sound like we're fixing something, right?. 

The market is being controlled by the elite. No question. The social engineering that permits the control of our money has been happening since the beginning and the implementation of the fed in 1913 is proof of that. They set monetary policy in this country and we walk lockstep to that policy or face imprisonment. 

When the next set of measures to prop up this false economy fail - and they will fail - the next logical effort will be military action as it has been since the First World War. It won't necessarily be something we will be involved in but maybe a proxy war. But a war nonetheless. 

Keep your eyes open.

Obama Criticizes Congress for Taking Vacation

President Obama returned from a two-week vacation on Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday, but not before criticizing members of Congress for taking their own recess.

During President Obama’s weekly address released on Saturday, the president chastised Congress: “Unfortunately, Congress left town for five full weeks – and they left behind a stack of unfinished business.”

“Congress also hasn’t passed a budget – and when they return from vacation, they’ll only have a few weeks to do so, or shut down the government for the second time in two years. They’ve had all year to do this. Months ago, I put forward a detailed plan to strengthen our economy and our national security in a fiscally responsible way. And for months, I’ve said I will veto any budget that locks in the sequester—those senseless cuts to domestic and national security priorities.”

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Ouch!


Gallup: 55% Say Reducing Federal Spending Would be ‘Very Effective' Way to Improve Economy

(CNSNews.com) - Fifty-five percent of Americans say that reducing federal government spending would be a “very effective” way to improve the economy, according to a recent survey by Gallup.

Gallup has published a special report by its editor-in-chief Frank Newport on how 47 different proposals to fix the American economy rate with the American people.

“The initial list of proposals Gallup tested with the public was based on a review of the ideas put forth by the two major political parties,” said the report. “The compilation of proposals also included suggestions and input from economists, academics and economic and political observers, along with the public's suggestions for fixing the economy.”

In polling conducted June 4-14, “Gallup asked Americans to rate how effective they thought each proposal would be at improving the U.S. economy, from ‘very effective’ to ‘not effective at all.’

“From a broad perspective, Americans react most positively to the effectiveness of a set of proposals that score at the 50% "very effective" level or higher,” said Gallup.

Only 9 of the 47 proposal scored that high. Two them were: “Reducing federal government spending,” which 55 percent said would be very effective in improving the economy, and “requiring a balanced federal budget,” which 50 percent said would be very effective in improving the economy.

Here are the nine proposals in the Gallup survey that the 50 percent or more of the Americans polled said would be “very effective” in improving the economy.

TRUMP: 'ABSOLUTELY AN ASSAULT ON CHRISTIANITY'

It’s not just illegal aliens and anchor babies who are on Donald Trump’s mind these days.

The Republican candidate for president says there’s “an assault on Christianity” both in America and abroad, and he’s blasting President Obama for doing nothing to help believers being decapitated by ISIS.

“They’re being beheaded in Syria! They’re being beheaded,” Trump exclaimed Friday on Alabama’s Yellowhammer Radio. “They’ve been abandoned by Obama and this whole group. They won’t be abandoned by Trump, believe me.”

“If you’re a Christian, it’s almost impossible to come into the United States from Syria,” the billionaire developer continued. “And yet the Muslims, it’s one of the easier places. Now you explain that to me. Absolutely there’s an assault on Christianity, and we’re gonna reverse that trend big-league.”
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Obama Endorses Biden -- Is Hillary's Indictment Near?

What was "the smartest decision that [Barack Obama] has ever made in politics"? Choosing Joe Biden as his running mate, of course. At least that was Obama spokesman Josh Earnest's assertion this week. And it wasn't just Earnest. Obama has said it before.

While Earnest also expressed Obama’s “appreciation, respect and admiration” for Hillary Clinton, it's hard to overestimate the importance of his statements on Biden in light of Hillary's mounting trouble.

What does Obama know that would prompt such a strong endorsement of Biden? Does Obama believe Hillary is in so much trouble that she may be indicted? Perhaps he believes choosing her to head the State Department was the worst decision he ever made.

It is increasingly likely that Clinton, having deleted more than 30,000 emails from the illegal private communications server she maintained while secretary of state, may face criminal charges. Those charges range from felony possession of classified documents on an unclassified and unauthorized server, to felony obstruction of justice — she erased all those emails after the server had been subpoenaed by the House Committee on Benghazi.

For the record, the statute pertaining to evidence tampering, 18 U.S.C. § 1519, includes penalties of up to 20 years in prison. That statute is part of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, for which then-Senator Hillary Clinton voted "yes."

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I'll Bet Their Minimum Wage Isn't $15.00 An Hour!


Unborn Lives Matter: By Marie Johnson






Aptly named Commerce Street in Easton was the site of a protest on Saturday, August 22, against Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby body parts, as exposed in videos filmed by the Center for Medical Progress.

Over one hundred people participated in the two hour peaceful event that was organized by Salisbury’s Cathy Keim as one of over 350 such protests around the nation on that day.

A focus of the protest was the need to defund Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country, to prevent Americans’ tax dollars from being used to support an organization devoted to the death and dismemberment of innocent unborn children, and the illegal sale of their body parts.

Emphasizing the need for national repentance were six Eastern Shore pastors.

Above are photos and brief comments from the various Planned Parenthood Protest speakers below.

Pastor Keith Myer of Harvest Baptist Church in Salisbury opened the event, citing scripture, and praying that God would, “Break our hearts. Deliver us from ourwickedness. Change our hearts and cleanse our nation. Save us, we pray. Give usbold leaders, faithful citizens, and rid us of this guilt.”

Congressman Andy Harris was the first of three political speakers, stating that the videos from the Center for Medical Progress were, “Game changers,” in the fight against abortion and Planned Parenthood funding. This was especially true, he said, in the reality of the videos,“Showing 10 and 12 week old babies with arms and feet in jars.”

Harris said that the sales activities of babies’ body parts are, “System wide in Planned Parenthood,” and that, “They make money at the expense of women.” “This,” he said, “is the real war on women.”

The Congressman noted the need to fight Planned Parenthood funding on every level, and said that Congress will be voting on funding in the fall.He spoke of the need for a visible opposition to Planned Parenthood, saying that House Speaker John Boehner wants to, “See more public awareness,” on the issue.

Said Harris, “I am with you in this struggle until the end, and we show it for the evil that it is.”

Pastor Eric Olson of Oasis Church in Easton spoke of the need to, “Do pregnancy care with grace and love. Some women think they don’t have an option. Let’s speak the truth in love. We’re doing it here,” he said, regarding the protest.

Maryland State Delegate for the Eastern Shore, Chris Adams, who noted the irony of the Planned Parenthood facility being on Commerce Street,spoke about what the words used by Planned Parenthood really mean. “As a Dad, planning means planning to have that child, and parenthood means cherishing that child, and having it.”

“Abortion is not a slippery slope: we are at the bottom of the chasm,” he said.

Illinois is Now Allowing Muslims to Wear Burqas in Driver License Photos

How can one assimilate into American culture if the state of Illinois is okay with permitting Muslims to wear burqas in their driver license photographs?

Unreal.

This is merely another example of Obama’s America at work, which portrays that sensitivity is more prudent than anything else, and that we’re not at war with radical Islam.

I have a feeling Ann Coulter would object.

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Troopers Investigating Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash East of Laurel

Laurel - The Delaware State Police are currently investigating a fatal crash that happened east of Laurel early last evening.

Preliminary investigation indicates the crash occurred around 8:10 p.m. Tuesday August 25, 2015 as a 2005 Cadillac CTS was traveling westbound on Laurel Road (SR24) just west of Christ Church Road at a high rate of speed approaching a moderate left curve. The male operator, whose identity is unknown at this time, failed to negotiate the curve and crossed the eastbound lane before exiting the south side of the road. The car then struck a drainage ditch and began to flip and roll, at which point, the unbelted driver was ejected and landed on the south edge of the road. The Cadillac came to an uncontrolled stop just south of the south edge of the road in an upright position. The male driver, who was the only person in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Collision Reconstruction Unit is continuing their investigation into this incident. SR24 was closed at Christ Church Road for approximately three hours while the crash was investigated and cleared.

Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Press Release 8-26-15

On August 23, 2015 at approximately 2230 hours a Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Deputy stopped a Honda Civic for speeding 80 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. On Rt. 50 in the area of Old Ocean City Blvd Berlin Md. The Deputy identified a passenger in the vehicle to who had an active Juvenile Warrant out of Woodbridge, VA. for failure to appear as a Juvenile in Fairfax County, VA. The Deputy arrested the subject on the warrant. The subject held at the Juvenile Detention Center on the warrant pending extradition to Virginia.

Atheism Vs. Theism

When an atheist called Dr. Ben Carson a “moron” for believing in God, he responded with one brilliant line that put the atheist in his place.
“I believe that I came from God, and you believe that you came from a monkey,” he told the individual, “and you have convinced me that you are right.”

Awesome


Joe Biden's Son: Ashley Madison Account Was Created In My Name By America's Enemies

Someone using the name of Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden had a profile on the Ashley Madison dating website for extramarital affairs, Breitbart News has learned.

Hunter Biden tells Breitbart News that the account is not his, but rather was created by one of America’s enemies to discredit him. He thinks it could have been due to his sitting on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, which outraged supporters of Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime.

Robert Hunter Biden, known colloquially as Hunter, is a business executive, a husband, a father, and reportedly one of Joe Biden’s closest advisers as the vice president considers launching a presidential campaign. Hunter, who met his wife Kathleen in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, has contacted some of his dad’s supporters in advance of a possible Biden candidacy.

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Perdue tells Pa. DEP that pollution-control equipment it relied on in NY is too expensive in Pa.! By Ray Wallace

Regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs)
are used to control and keep toxic factory emissions below applicable major source thresholds.

$ $ $ $ $

Perdue relied on two RTOs in N.Y.:

     “VOC and CO emissions will be controlled by two regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs).”

     -- From the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permit for the Northeast Biofuels “Facility DEC ID: 7355800084” as posted at this N.Y. site: http://www.dec.ny.gov/dardata/boss/afs/permits/735580008400003.pdf
__________ 

    “Northeast Biofuels LLC recently started construction on a 100 MMgy ethanol facility at the site of a former Miller Brewing Company brewery in Fulton, N.Y....

     “Perdue Farms Grain & Oilseed Division will procure and arrange for the delivery of corn and market distillers grains for the plant....

     “Northeast Biofuels received $4 million from the state to assist with installation of the plant's thermal oxidizer and heat recovery system.” 
     -- From “Former brewery being converted to produce fuel ethanol,” by Dave Nilles, at this September 1, 2006 Ethanol Producer Magazine site:
__________

     “Other companies involved at the site are Perdue Farms, which will supply the raw materials for Northeast Biofuels and also make a feed supplement out of the processed corn.”

     -- From “Governor Announces Massive Biofuel Operation for Fulton,” at this June 17, 2005 Oswego County Business site:

$ $ $ $ $

But Perdue tells Pa. DEP that using an RTOto protect Pa. residents from toxic pollution is too expensive!

     “[The Pa.] DEP also wanted Perdue to consider using a device known as a regenerative thermal oxidizer to reduce air pollution. But in its latest application, Perdue said the device was too expensive.”

     -- From “Perdue says it will reduce rate of hexane emissions at proposed Conoy soybean plant,” by Ad Crable, at this December 9, 2014 Lancaster, Pa. LNP site:

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS NIGHT AT THE SHOREBIRDS

"DON'T WAIT. COMMUNICATE.”

Salisbury, MD. –
Dorchester, Somerset, Sussex, Wicomico and Worcester counties invite the public to Emergency Preparedness Night on August 29rd at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Delmarva Shorebirds will play against the Hickory Crawdads at 7:05 p.m.

This year’s theme is “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.” Representatives from local health departments, emergency management agencies, and volunteer organizations will host exhibit booths promoting emergency preparedness before and during the baseball game.

Come out to the ballpark to support the Shorebirds and learn how you can be better prepared for life’s curve balls.

The event is co-sponsored by the health departments and emergency management offices of Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester Counties, Ocean City and the Maryland and Delaware Offices of Emergency Management.