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Monday, September 09, 2019

Hogan Administration Proclaims September as National Recovery Month

 

Hogan Administration Proclaims September as National Recovery Month

Focused on a Multi-Pronged Approach to Addressing the Opioid Crisis


ANNAPOLIS, MD –The Hogan-Rutherford administration has officially proclaimed September as National Recovery Month in Maryland. This observance is held every year to educate citizens that substance use treatment and mental health services can help those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy and rewarding lives. 
With this proclamation, Maryland recognizes the millions who are in recovery from mental and substance use disorders. This is an opportunity to remember that help is available and that people who suffer from addiction often recover. Recovery Month is also a time to acknowledge the harmful effects of stigma, which often stops people from seeking treatment for substance use disorders and complicates the public’s understanding of this public health crisis. 
In observance of Recovery Month, Government House will be illuminated in purple on September 9. Additionally, officials from various state agencies plan to attend events being held across the state throughout the month to mark this important occasion.
"During Recovery Month, we seek to remind Marylanders not only of the dangers and consequences of substance abuse, but to break down the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction and to let those suffering know that they are not alone and that there is hope and help out there for them,” said Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford. “Our administration continues to remain laser-focused on addressing substance abuse and the opioid epidemic through a holistic, multi-pronged approach, including prevention, enforcement and treatment.”
“September is a time for communities all over Maryland to reflect on the challenges that addiction and opioids present to our state and others,” observed Steve Schuh, executive director of the Maryland Opioid Operational Command Center. “With the Hogan administration's support, we are making great progress in this fight, and we are expertly positioned for a healthy future  but there is no time to rest.”
Maryland continues to serve as a leader in the fight against the opioid epidemic with an organized response that is considered a model for other states. Maryland’s opioid response includes programs in the areas of Prevention & Education, Enforcement & Public Safety and Treatment & Recovery – efforts that have led to a decrease in opioid-related fatalities. 
On August 29, the Opioid Operational Command Center, in coordination with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, announced nearly $10 million in grants to fight the heroin and opioid epidemic during fiscal year 2020. The funding for fiscal year 2020 is part of a $50 million, five-year commitment from the administration announced in 2017. 
“Maryland is attacking the opioid crisis and substance use disorder using every available tool,” said Schuh. “We aim to stop this issue in its tracks, and we will not rest until this grave threat to our state and its citizens has been thwarted.” 
Before It’s Too Late is the state’s effort to bring awareness to the opioid epidemic and to mobilize resources for effective prevention, enforcement and treatment. Marylanders struggling with a substance use disorder can find help at BeforeItsTooLateMD.org; through our state's crisis hotline, CALL 211, PRESS 1; or by texting their ZIP code to 898-211. For more information on National Recovery Month, visit SAMHSA’s dedicated web site at RecoveryMonth.gov.

A crew of 20 Maryland wildland firefighters has been mobilized to battle wildfires in northern California.

Farmers prosper in spite of Trump's trade battle with China

Anti-Trumpers agree: The president’s trade battle with China is hurting our economy and, in particular, America’s farmers. We are told that the tariff tiffs have caused a collapse in U.S. agricultural exports to China, and consequent heartbreak in our heartland.

It isn’t true.

As with most criticisms lodged against the Trump White House, this oft-repeated narrative is way overblown. Turns out, far from suffering what CNBC recently described as “a devastating year for farmers” the farmers of America overall are doing quite well.

The Department of Agriculture recently forecast that net farm income will rise nearly 5 percent this year, to $88 billion. That growth comes on top of increases in both 2017 and 2018 and is, just for the record, faster than the overall growth of the economy.

For sure, times could be better. The forecast for this year means that real net farm income would come in 36 percent below its peak of $136.5 billion in 2013 and slightly below its 2000-18 average ($90.1 billion). Farmers suffered a severe drop in total revenues during the Obama years, collapsing from $484 billion in 2013 to $412 billion in 2016. Weirdly, I don’t remember the media paying much attention.

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President Trump’s Plan to Stem Border Crossings Gets Results

“President Donald Trump’s plan to force Mexico to stem the flow of migrants across the southwest border of the U.S. appears to be working,” Ted Hesson reports for Politico.

“Border arrests, a metric for illegal crossings, plummeted to 51,000 in August, according to preliminary government figures obtained by POLITICO Wednesday, down more than 60 percent since a peak in May. And border watchers say it’s largely because of an agreement Trump struck with Mexico in June.”

After President Trump put pressure on Mexico to take action earlier this year, “Mexican authorities, backed by the newly formed National Guard, are now cracking down on migrants traversing Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, monitoring river crossings and stopping buses carrying migrants from Central America through Mexico.”

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Melania Trump calls for government action against e-cigarettes

First Lady Melania Trump took aim at e-cigarettes Monday, raising the possibility that they might be “an on-ramp” to nicotine addiction for kids.
I am deeply concerned about the growing epidemic of e-cigarette use in our children. We need to do all we can to protect the public from tobacco-related disease and death, and prevent e-cigarettes from becoming an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for a generation of youth. @HHSGov— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) September 9, 2019
Trump said she is “deeply concerned about the growing epidemic of e-cigarette use in our children” as the number of people diagnosed with lung illnesses that could be linked to vaping continues to rise.

She mentioned Health and Human Services in her tweet, the department which is overseeing investigations of more than 400 cases of lung diseases in 33 states. Five people have died of such diseases in recent weeks as of Friday, and each reported similar symptoms, including difficulty breathing and shortness of breath.

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Unsinkable US Navy boat that's been missing for a YEAR following a missile test off coast of Virginia

A US Navy boat that disappeared last year during a missile test has been discovered washed up on the coast of Ireland.

Crew on board a Doolin Ferry Company ship spotted an object floating in the Irish waters on Monday while travelling to Inis Oirr, part of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay.

After being brought ashore with the help of locals, images of the seaweed-covered vessel went viral, with dozens of people interested in where the boat had come from.

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The Farmers' Almanac Predicts Winter 2020 Will Be 'Freezing' and 'Frigid'

 

The Farmers' Almanac just released its extended weather forecast and it's predicting a "polar coaster" season this year—which is just as bad as it sounds.

"Our extended forecast is calling for yet another freezing, frigid, and frosty winter for two-thirds of the country," Farmers' Almanac Editor and Philom Peter Geiger said in a press release.

Last year's annual prediction called for a long, snowy winter, and unfortunately it turned out to be correct. The Farmers' Almanac promises the upcoming 2019-2020 season will be "another wild ride" with frigid temperatures and "hefty snowfalls" affecting a majority of the country.

People on the East Coast will endure the worst of the cold weather, as experts predict areas east of the Rockies all the way to the Appalachians will experience a particularly brutal season. With these colder-than-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation, the Farmers' Almanac also warns that a "wintry mix" of rain, sleet, and snow is likely along the coast. However, the western-third of the country can expect a milder winter with near-normal temperatures and precipitation.

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Fire In Ocean City


The fire department has been dispatched to 9th street for a building fire.  Reports are that it is the Beach Bum Motel that is on fire. 

Why ‘crazy cat ladies’ are just purrfect: As a new study busts the myth cat owners are anxious and lonely

On my laptop is an image of a dark-grey pet bed, hand-felted from 100 per cent natural wool, with pointy cat ears on top and a small hole for a pet to enter through. Bliss.

Not only would it provide a ‘fun and characterful refuge’ for my grumpy British Blue, Pearl, the photos would create quite a stir on Instagram (supposing I could persuade her to sit in it).

‘My God, you really are tipping into CCLT [Crazy Cat Lady Territory],’ a friend remarks, as she walks past. She’s already appalled that the screensaver on my phone is a picture of another much-loved, long-dead cat.

Once I would have blushed, but now I’m out and proud. Because 2019 is the year that ‘cat ladies’ became cool. Lena Dunham, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry regularly post pictures of their felines.

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24 Migrants from 7 Nations Arrested at New Hampshire Checkpoint

Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended 24 migrants and a wanted felon at and around a New Hampshire immigration checkpoint. The arrested migrants came to the U.S. from seven different countries. Seven of the migrants had been previously deported.

Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents arrested 25 people at and around an immigration checkpoint set up near Lebanon, New Hampshire, according to information obtained from Border Patrol officials. The agents set up the checkpoint on Interstate 89 from September 3-6.

During the operation, the agents apprehended 24 migrants from seven different countries. Those countries include Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Russia, officials reported. Seven of the illegal aliens had been previously deported and were arrested for illegal re-entry after removal — a felony charge under 8 USC 1326.

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“Climate Change” Is A Hoax

I hate science, evidently, because I’m woke to the manifest truth about what the leftist elite currently calls “climate change." It is the second most staggering fraud ever perpetrated upon the American people after the media’s promotion of the unstoppable candidacy of Beto (who is a furry). Like some suckers still do, I once believed that “science” was a rigorous process where you tested theories and revised those theories in response to objective evidence. But in today’s shabby practice, “science” is just a package of self-serving lies buttressing the transnational liberal elite’s preferred narrative. Our alleged betters hope that labeling their propaganda “science” will science-shame you into silence about what everyone knows is a scam.

Nah. “Climate change” is a hoax. Come arrest me for felony denial.

Understand that the term “climate change” does not refer to actual meteorological phenomena but, rather, to the sordid rat-king of lies, scams and power grabs that we are commanded to accept as pagan gospel lest we burn to a crisp or drown or suffer...whatever the Armageddon du jour is. When you say “climate change is a grift,” and you should as often as possible, you are pointing out that this green-on-the-outside/red-on-the-inside fake frenzy is really just a set of intertwined grifts transparently designed to separate you from your freedom and your property in the name of somehow adjusting the weather.

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Wisconsin Farm Loan Delinquencies Jump To Levels Not Seen Since 2001

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) warned Thursday that farmers across the Central and Midwest US were quickly falling behind on agriculture loans held by community banks, according to Reuters.

In a quarterly report of loan delinquency data of US banks, published by the FDIC, there was no direct reference to President Trump's trade war with China. But the report noted that credit deterioration in agriculture loans, specifically in Wisconsin, were alarming.
"We continue to monitor risks in the agriculture sector connected to low commodity prices and farm incomes," the FDIC said in a statement.

The report showed the percentage of overdue farm loans rose to 2.9% at community banks across the state as of June 30, the highest rate since 2001.

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Bokhari: If Democrats Cared About the Environment, They’d Talk About China

Banning plastic straws. Carbon taxes. Stopping people from eating meat. Stopping people from having babies.

Am I just seeing things? Or are all the “climate crisis solutions” proposed by the Democrats designed to cause maximum pain to ordinary people, and almost none to wealthy elites?

Progressives almost seem to take joy in inconveniencing the masses for no reason. Take the plastic straw ban, for example. Even National Geographic — hardly an anti-environmentalist publication — admits that plastic straws comprise just 0.025 percent of the plastic in the oceans.

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Crossing the Street, Riding a Bicycle, Kills More Americans than Rifles Do

The left’s relentless push to ban commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles under the guise of safety overlooks the fact that Americans face numerous things that cause exponentially more death than rifles on a daily basis.

Consider Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics from 2017, the most recent year of complete data. The total number of firearm-related deaths was 39,773. Roughly two-thirds of that figure, 23,854, were firearm-related suicides, with the remaining 15,919 being a combination of the approximately 500 accidental gun deaths that occur annually coupled with just over 15,000 firearm-related homicides.

If we break down the firearm-related homicides via FBI crime statistics, we see that handguns were far and away the common firearm for murder. The FBI reported 7,032 murders with a handgun verses 403 murders with a rifle, and 264 with a shotgun, in cases where the firearm was identifiable.

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A Texas Town Votes to End ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’

A city council in Texas has voted to stop renting out space at the local library to public organizations, essentially canceling the town’s ability to have a “Drag Queen Story Time” for children, a move hailed by pro-family advocates.

“These are people who are actually employed at adult nightclubs,” Mary Elizabeth Castle, a policy adviser for Texas Values, a nonprofit organization that promotes faith, family, and freedom, said of the drag queens.

The City Council of Leander, Texas, 22 miles northwest of Austin, voted 5-2 at its Aug. 15 meeting to stop renting out meeting rooms at the library to the public.

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Caribbean Joe's Upper Deck & Sound Stage Is Complete

Just in time for Bike Week, our bands will perform from the second story stage. There will be plenty of room below for patrons to gather and enjoy the music and pool. My third bar in the back of the complex is also complete along with multiple speakers to provide sound for the entire two acres. Come watch Monday Night Football tonight on our massive 85 inch TV.


WCSAO: Kevin Johnson Sentenced To 18 Years For Rape


'Stay true to your beliefs': Pakistani woman freed from death row releases video

The Catholic woman who spent a decade on death row in Pakistan for a blasphemy charge released her first video from exile, in which she urged Christians worldwide to remain faithful to their beliefs no matter the cost.

Asia Bibi, 54, whose 10-year imprisonment drew condemnation from government leaders worldwide, filmed a video that emerged Saturday on social media. With the camera pointed toward the ground to hide her face, Bibi thanked Jesus for her freedom, in the first-ever recording of her voice, and maintained her innocence of the crime for which she was punished.

"I, Asia Bibi, daughter of Salamat Masih, believe in Jesus," Bibi said. "And today, I want to declare one thing to the world: that I had not done anything wrong to deserve what I suffered for 10 years. I was a prisoner on death row, I was accused of blasphemy, so I was granted my freedom through Jesus and I never let my belief weaken."

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Parkinson's hope as scientists uncover yet more evidence that the crippling condition starts in the GUT and moves onto the brain

Scientists have uncovered more evidence that Parkinson's could start in the gut.

Researchers injected a protein thought to cause the crippling condition into the intestines of rats.

They witnessed it spread to the brain at a 'striking speed', within the space of just two months.

The experts believe the findings could apply to humans, adding to a plethora of similar studies over the past decade.

There is currently no cure and no way of stopping the progression of the disease, but hundreds of scientific trials are underway to try and change that.

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A little bit of science



US National Weather Service Philadelphia/Mount Holly 

A little bit of science on the night shift: This picture was taken Monday afternoon over the lower Delmarva Peninsula, but it is a common phenomenon for our area, especially this time of year.

Have you ever been at the shore and noticed that the clouds seem to stop right at the beach, while over the ocean there aren't any clouds? In the case in the picture below, the clouds shown are cumulus clouds and the reason these are confined to land areas is related to something called specific heat. Specific heat is a physics term that is a measure of how much energy is needed to raise the temperature of a material. The specific heat of water is much higher than the specific heat of land, so land will often warm up faster than water. With the land at a higher temperature, the air just above the land also becomes warmer than the air above the water. The warmer air begins to rise, and (if there is enough moisture in the air) clouds are formed.

'It's unwarranted and dangerous': Top Washington Post editor condemns Trump attacks on two journalists

The executive editor of the Washington Post decried President Trump’s treatment of the press after he singled out two journalists and called for them to be banned from the White House.

Trump lashed out at Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker early Saturday morning, calling them “two nasty lightweight reporters” for a story they wrote about Trump’s “self-inflicted controversies and squandered opportunities.”

The president said the two “shouldn’t even be allowed on the grounds of the White House because their reporting is so DISGUSTING & FAKE.”

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Biden Coughs Repeatedly, Jumbles Words, Calls Trump ‘President Hump’

What is wrong with Joe Biden?

2020 Democrat hopeful Joe Biden, 76, repeatedly coughed, jumbled words and slurred during his speech to the New Hampshire Democrat Party Convention on Saturday.

Biden called President Trump “President Hump” then joked it was a “Freudian slip.”

“I believe history will look back at this presidency as an aberrant moment in time. But if Donald Hump — Donald Trump is reelected…Freudian slip. If Donald Trump is reelected, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation,” Biden said.

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South Carolina's Mark Sanford says he's seeking the GOP nomination giving Donald Trump his third Republican challenger

Former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Representative Mark Sanford says he will challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020.

A former governor best known for his 'Appalachian Trail' cheating scandal, Sanford lost his congressional election last fall after Trump lobbed a personal attack on him hours before the polls closed.

He has been gearing up for a presidential bid since July but told DailyMail.com in a phone call that he does not have a campaign staff or national infrastructure in place, yet.

'I'm just taking it a day at a time. This is a daunting task. I've acknowledged - I get all the different things that make it Herculean, and David and Goliath and all those sorts of things,' he said. 'But you know, all you can do is what you can do, and today was about planting a flag.'

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Warren using Clinton as confidant in potential face-off with Trump

Elizabeth Warren has quietly turned to Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential primary heats up.

The Massachusetts senator, one of more than a dozen Democrats running for president, has remained in contact with the 2016 Democratic nominee, NBC reported Saturday.

Both camps have kept quiet about what the two women have discussed and how many times they have spoken since their previously reported conversation around the time Warren, 70, launched her presidential bid.

A person close to Clinton, 71, said the contact between the two has been “substantial enough to merit attention.”

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Ratcliffe says DOJ must indict McCabe to prove there aren’t 'separate standards'

Rep. John Ratcliffe said the Justice Department must indict Andrew McCabe, following the DOJ inspector general's 2018 report that found the fired FBI deputy director helped leak unauthorized information to the media and misled investigators about it.

The Texas Republican told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that indicting McCabe was necessary to prove that the DOJ was applying its standards fairly both to Republicans and Democrats.

“The Department of Justice has, through the special counsel, recently made a cottage industry out of charging people like General Flynn and George Papadopoulos for lying to investigators,” the House Judiciary member said on Sunday Morning Futures. “I think that the Department of Justice is going to have to indict Andrew McCabe simply because to do otherwise would be to admit that there are separate standards for the people doing the same thing for the same conduct.”

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Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Arrest – Seaford

Seaford – The Delaware State Police have arrested two subjects on drug charges after their vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation.
The incident occurred at approximately 6:17 p.m., Friday, September 6, 2019 when a Trooper on routine patrol on Old Furnace Rd. in Seaford stopped a white Ford Taurus for a traffic violation.
The Taurus was occupied by the driver Samantha S. Hollins, 26, of Salisbury MD and a passenger who was ultimately identified as Thomas R. Johnson, 25, of Georgetown. Hollins was able to provide identification however Johnson, who gave a false name to the Trooper, had no ID. During this interaction Hollins confirmed the false name given by Johnson, even though she was aware of his true identity.
A subsequent search of Johnson produced 1.274 grams of Heroin. A search of the vehicle produced an additional .161 grams of Heroin, contained in a purse belonging to Hollins.

Trump family is 'a dynasty that will last for decades and propel GOP into a new party' the president's campaign manager tells Republicans

The Trump family is a dynasty that will last for decades and propel GOP into a new party, according to the president's campaign manager.

Speaking to a convention of party delegates in Indian Wells, California, Brad Parscale said: 'The Trumps will be a dynasty that will last for decades, propelling the Republican Party into a new party. One that will adapt to changing cultures. One must continue to adapt while keeping the conservative values that we believe in.'

He later declined to elaborate on his prediction or whether POTUS' children could become candidates for public office, telling reporters after the speech on Saturday: 'I just think they are a dynasty. I think they are all amazing people with amazing capabilities.'

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Heroin now kills more people than guns: Drugs overdoses claimed 50,000 lives in the US last year

More than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the highest figure ever.

The tally has been pushed to new heights by soaring abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, especially fentanyl.

Heroin deaths rose 23 per cent in a year, to 12,989, slightly higher than the number of gun homicides, according to government data released yesterday.

The total number of gun deaths - which included suicides and accidents - rose seven per cent to 36,252.

It comes only days after another report which showed fentanyl, a synthetic opiate which is 40 times stronger than heroin, has become the largest drug threat to the United States, and causes 44 deaths every day.

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Trump cancels secret Camp David peace talks with Taliban after deadly bombing in Kabul

President Trump said he canceled secret peace talks with the Taliban after the group was credited for a car bomb that killed two NATO and American service members in Kabul last week.

The president made the announcement Saturday on Twitter, saying that "major" Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani were going to "secretly" meet with him at Camp David, which is located in Maryland, on Sunday.
Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday. They were coming to the United States tonight. Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2019

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Press Release - Railroad Ave. - July 26, 2019



Lee and Hunsucker
Incident: Possession with intent to distribute narcotics in a school zone

Date of Incident: July 26, 2019


Location: 34000 Block Railroad Avenue Pittsville, MD
Suspects:

  1. Paul Lee, 43 years of age
  2. Brandy Hunsucker, 36 years of age
Narrative: On July 26, 2019, members of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office Community Action Team and Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of the Pittsville Police Department executed a search and seizure warrant at an apartment in the 34000 block of Railroad Avenue, Pittsville, Maryland. The Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team secured the residence prior to the search. The execution of said warrant was the result of an investigation into the distribution of controlled dangerous substances. As a result of the search warrant, Deputies located an amount of cocaine that is indicative of the intent to distribute. As a result, Deputies arrested Paul Lee and charged him with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Brandy Hunsucker was charged with possession of cocaine.
 

Charges: Lee: Possession with intent to distribute narcotics within 1000 feet of a school zone, Possession with the intent to distribute narcotics.
Hunsucker: Possession of cocaine

Car Free Downtown???

Political Memes

 



Monday Morning Funnies