DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Friday, April 20, 2012
Worcester County Liquor Control On Pace For $556K Profit
SNOW HILL -- The Department of Liquor Control (DLC) is on track to meet its year-end profit goal of $556,500, according to officials.
When Worcester decided to absorb the then quasi-governmental Liquor Control Board last July and turn it into an actual county department, DLC Director Bobby Cowger said that, while the transition went smoothly, the entity itself was a mess.
“There was a huge amount of bad inventory,” he told the commission.Additional problems at the time of the takeover included issues with transparency to the public.
“It seemed like there was none there,” said Cowger.
There were also concerns over non-consistent pricing and overly late hours for liquor stores, wrinkles Cowger said have been ironed out by standardizing pricing and a decision to close all county run liquor stores by 10 p.m.
According to Cowger’s report, the DLC is expected to bring in more than $15 million in revenue this year -- about $10 million through wholesale operations and roughly $5 million through retail.
Businesses Merge in 2012
Watch for these consolidations in 2012:
1. Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W. R. Grace Co. will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
2. Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
3. 3M will merge with Goodyear and become: MMMGood.
4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become: ZipAudiDoDa.
5. FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become: FedUP.
6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become: Fairwell Honeychild.
7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become: PouponPants.
8. Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become: Knott NOW!
1. Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W. R. Grace Co. will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
2. Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
3. 3M will merge with Goodyear and become: MMMGood.
4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become: ZipAudiDoDa.
5. FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become: FedUP.
6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become: Fairwell Honeychild.
7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become: PouponPants.
8. Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become: Knott NOW!
Recovered Economic History: "Everyone But An Idiot Knows That The Lower Classes Must Be Kept Poor, Or They Will Never Be Industrious"
Our popular economic wisdom says that capitalism equals freedom and free societies, right? Well, if you ever suspected that the logic is full of shit, then I’d recommend checking a book called The Invention of Capitalism, written by an economic historian named Michael Perelmen, who’s been exiled to Chico State, a redneck college in rural California, for his lack of freemarket friendliness. And Perelman has been putting his time in exile to damn good use, digging deep into the works and correspondence of Adam Smith and his contemporaries to write a history of the creation of capitalism that goes beyond superficial The Wealth of Nations fairy tale and straight to the source, allowing you to read the early capitalists, economists, philosophers, clergymen and statesmen in their own words. And it ain’t pretty.
One thing that the historical record makes obviously clear is that Adam Smith and his laissez-faire buddies were a bunch of closet-case statists, who needed brutal government policies to whip the English peasantry into a good capitalistic workforce willing to accept wage slavery.
Francis Hutcheson, from whom Adam Smith learned all about the virtue of natural liberty, wrote: ”it is the one great design of civil laws to strengthen by political sanctions the several laws of nature. … The populace needs to be taught, and engaged by laws, into the best methods of managing their own affairs and exercising mechanic art.”
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One thing that the historical record makes obviously clear is that Adam Smith and his laissez-faire buddies were a bunch of closet-case statists, who needed brutal government policies to whip the English peasantry into a good capitalistic workforce willing to accept wage slavery.
Francis Hutcheson, from whom Adam Smith learned all about the virtue of natural liberty, wrote: ”it is the one great design of civil laws to strengthen by political sanctions the several laws of nature. … The populace needs to be taught, and engaged by laws, into the best methods of managing their own affairs and exercising mechanic art.”
More
McDonald's Staffer Learns That Spitting In The Tea Will Get You Arrested
The history of spit-in-food goes back approximately 2,700 years, with the first known instance often attributed to a disgruntled fry cook at a lamb burger joint in a suburb of Babylon. That storied tradition continues to this day, with an employee at a South Carolina McDonald's arrested for allegedly leaving behind his phlegm in two customers' teas.
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Vermont Lawmakers Vote For Constitutional Amendment To Declare That Corporations Are Not People
In January 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee that it was unconstitutional to limit political campaign spending by corporations, thus helping to usher in the current era of the "super PAC." Today, Vermont's state legislature became the latest to call for an amendment to the Constitution that would overturn the controversial court ruling and declare that "money is not speech and corporations are not persons under the U.S. Constitution."
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ATM Loophole Lawsuits Filed; Businesses Warned To Comply
OCEAN CITY -- Resort business owners and operators this week are being warned about posting clearly marked signs about transaction fees for ATM machines after a rash of lawsuits exploiting a little known loophole have been filed against several local establishments.
Under the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act, which governs ATM transactions, there is specific language relating to the notification requirements for extra fees. Users of ATMs know there is typically a prompt on the screen advising the consumer of the transaction fee and the transaction can’t be completed until the user signs off on it.
However, what is not readily known is that owners and operators of the ubiquitous ATM machines are also required to post a written notice on or near the machines advising consumers of the transaction fees.
A rather innocuous clause in the statute requires a sign or notice of transaction “shall be posted in a prominent and conspicuous location on or at the ATM at which the electronic fund transfer is initiated by the consumer.”
At least one man, James Buechler, 47, of Sparrows Point in Baltimore, has clearly discovered the loophole and appears to be exploiting the posting requirement clause for personal gain.
Democrats And Republicans Team Up
Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are teaming up in a new effort to cut waste in government. A new bipartisan bill would require Congress' research arm to give a "duplication score" to future legislation. It would warn lawmakers before they authorize a new program that resembles an existing one. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said the new bill would "save taxpayer dollars, cut government waste and redundancies and change the culture in Washington." The Government Accountability Office said the government spends more than $100 billion on programs that seem to overlap.
Air Force Blows $1 Billion And Is Fed Up
Air Force officials are fed up with a computer system that's late, over budget and doesn't do much. The Air Force spent seven years and $1 billion on the Enterprise Combat Support System. Now Controller Jamie Morin is telling Congress the Air Force will restructure the project. Without a functional ECSS, the Air Force won't be able to meet its goal of a clean financial audit by 2017. Morin told the Senate Armed Services committee, he was appalled at spending so much and getting so little.
THERE IS NO “DOOMSDAY BUDGET” IN MARYLAND
In Maryland we have taken the concept of “entitlement math” to a whole new level. Only in Maryland could a $700 Million Dollar increase in State spending in a new fiscal year be considered a “Doomsday” budget. The default budget that was passed by the Maryland General Assembly is balanced and Constitutionally sound. The argument that this budget will result in any steep cuts in education or elsewhere is a simple case of political rhetoric getting in the way of the facts.
The way that “entitlement math” works is that special interest lobbies ask for large increases in the amount of taxpayer dollars they are being given for the next fiscal cycle, let’s say 1 billion dollars and instead of getting the 1 billion dollars they demanded they are only given a $400 million dollar increase. Entitlement mathematicians within the special interest lobby claim there special interest has taken a $600 million dollar cut. The fact is they received a $400 million dollar increase not a dime in cuts. The media seems to love entitlement math because I have yet to see them actually call out the Governor or those legislative leaders who irresponsibly continue to threaten citizens with predictions of dire consequences for failing to pass hundreds of millions of dollars in additional new taxes and thus stop the imagined negative effects from entitlement math “cuts” to the projected growth in budget dollars.
See the first chart above,(upper left) which shows in very simple terms that there has been no decrease in the budget for the last 7 years and that in fact the budget has grown each year by a billion dollars or more, including a 700 million dollar increase under this default budget (referred to by the Democrats as a doomsday budget.)
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The way that “entitlement math” works is that special interest lobbies ask for large increases in the amount of taxpayer dollars they are being given for the next fiscal cycle, let’s say 1 billion dollars and instead of getting the 1 billion dollars they demanded they are only given a $400 million dollar increase. Entitlement mathematicians within the special interest lobby claim there special interest has taken a $600 million dollar cut. The fact is they received a $400 million dollar increase not a dime in cuts. The media seems to love entitlement math because I have yet to see them actually call out the Governor or those legislative leaders who irresponsibly continue to threaten citizens with predictions of dire consequences for failing to pass hundreds of millions of dollars in additional new taxes and thus stop the imagined negative effects from entitlement math “cuts” to the projected growth in budget dollars.
See the first chart above,(upper left) which shows in very simple terms that there has been no decrease in the budget for the last 7 years and that in fact the budget has grown each year by a billion dollars or more, including a 700 million dollar increase under this default budget (referred to by the Democrats as a doomsday budget.)
More
Glen Ave. Closing
GLEN AVENUE TO TEMPORARILY CLOSE FOR
INTERNATIONAL POODLE SHOW
Affected area: Glen Avenue between Civic Avenue and St. Alban’s Drive
April 19 2012, Salisbury MD – A section of Glen Avenue will be closed beginning Monday, April 23, 2012 at 7am and will reopen on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 6pm. This closure will allow safe crossing for the many participants and spectators attending the 80th annual Poodle Club of America National Specialty Show at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.
Visitors travel from as far as Japan to attend this annual Poodle ‘Super Bowl.” Wicomico County has played host to the event for the past 8 years. The Show Chairman, Dennis McCoy explained, “Salisbury is such a wonderful location for our annual poodle national specialty. The community is so welcoming to us and offers lodging and dining perfect for our needs. The whole community and WYCC go all out to make our show the envy of national dog clubs.”
“We’re thrilled that the Poodle Club of America continues to choose Wicomico County as a venue to hold this extremely popular event,” County Executive Rick Pollitt commented, “It’s a positive reflection on our community who work together to make Wicomico an attractive place to live, work and play.”
The annual event provides a generous economic impact for the county bringing in an estimated $2 million. This year, organizers are anticipating more than 450 dogs and over 1400 spectators and participants to attend.
3 More Secret Service Agents To Be Fired
Secret Service to fire three more agents in Colombia prostitution scandal, source tells Fox News.
SU Partnership Turns Food Waste Into Fertilizer
How much food does it take to equal nine tons? If Salisbury University has its way … about a week’s worth. Through a partnership with Delaware-based Blue Hen Organics, SU Dining Services hopes to defer about nine tons of food waste from local landfills each week classes are in session. Since the program began, nearly 70 tons of food waste has been processed, representing a decrease of nearly 60 percent in landfill use.
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Five Myths of the ‘Racist’ Criminal Justice System
Calling America’s criminal justice system “racist” is not confined to “civil rights leaders” like the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Then-Sen. Barack Obama, during the 2008 presidential campaign, said it, too. Blacks and whites, said Obama, “are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates (and) receive very different sentences … for the same crime.”
When the man who became president of the United States says this — the No. 1 law enforcement officer — it must, therefore, be true.
When the man who became president of the United States says this — the No. 1 law enforcement officer — it must, therefore, be true.
Let’s examine five major assumptions behind this assertion.
1) Blacks are arrested at higher rates compared to whites — but wrongly so.
Not true. While only 13 percent of the population, blacks accounted for 28 percent of nationwide arrests in 2010 and 38.1 percent of arrests for violent crime (murders, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault). But are they unfairly arrested? Studies find that arrest rates by race are comparable to the race of suspect identification by victims.
March For Babies
Chance for Weekend Rain Doesn’t Cloud the Day For Maryland’s Moms and Babies
Ready. Set. March for Babies!
(Salisbury)— Rain or shine, on Sunday, April 22nd at The Salisbury Moose Lodge, families and business leaders will join together in the March of Dimes annual March for Babies—the nation’s oldest walk fundraiser honoring babies born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive.
“We know the weather might prevent some from attending the event,” says Karen Davis, State Farm Insurance- Salisbury March for Babies Leadership Chair. “However, we have a lot of people registered to walk at marchforbabies.org so we we’re expecting a crowd who want to make a difference in the health of babies.”
March for Babies Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the walk kicking off at 10:00 a.m. Participation in March for Babies will provide a memorable and rewarding day for the whole family. To register for an event in your community, visit www.marchforbabies.org.
The March of Dimes is asking people who have donations to turn-in to come to March for Babies. If for some reason they are unable to attend the walk, to drop them by the nearest March of Dimes office next week. For more information about the March of Dimes, call the Eastern Shore Division office at 410-546-2241 or visit www.marchofdimes.com.
Funds raised by March for Babies in Maryland help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) family support programs and advocacy efforts for stronger, healthier babies.
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit www.marchofdimes.com or www.nacersano.org.
Ready. Set. March for Babies!
(Salisbury)— Rain or shine, on Sunday, April 22nd at The Salisbury Moose Lodge, families and business leaders will join together in the March of Dimes annual March for Babies—the nation’s oldest walk fundraiser honoring babies born healthy and those who need help to survive and thrive.
“We know the weather might prevent some from attending the event,” says Karen Davis, State Farm Insurance- Salisbury March for Babies Leadership Chair. “However, we have a lot of people registered to walk at marchforbabies.org so we we’re expecting a crowd who want to make a difference in the health of babies.”
March for Babies Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the walk kicking off at 10:00 a.m. Participation in March for Babies will provide a memorable and rewarding day for the whole family. To register for an event in your community, visit www.marchforbabies.org.
The March of Dimes is asking people who have donations to turn-in to come to March for Babies. If for some reason they are unable to attend the walk, to drop them by the nearest March of Dimes office next week. For more information about the March of Dimes, call the Eastern Shore Division office at 410-546-2241 or visit www.marchofdimes.com.
Funds raised by March for Babies in Maryland help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) family support programs and advocacy efforts for stronger, healthier babies.
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit www.marchofdimes.com or www.nacersano.org.
Results Of Nugent's Talk With Secret Service
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service and Ted Nugent have reached a peace accord over the rock star’s comments regarding Barack Obama, after he told WND that during his tough talk at an NRA event about the 2012 political race he “did not threaten anyone’s life, or hint at violence or mayhem.”
Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said in a report in Washington the agency “does not anticipate any further action” because the “issue has been resolved.”
Drought Forecast For Southwest, California 'Not Optimistic'
Most of the Southwest as well as parts of California and the Southeast can expect drought conditions to worsen through July, federal forecasters said Thursday.
"Overall, the current Drought Outlook is not optimistic," the National Weather Service said in summarizing its forecast.
Besides affecting farmers and ranchers, drought means a greater risk of wildfires, especially in those areas expecting a warmer than average spring. A rash of brush fires earlier this month up and down the East Coast could be a preview of a long, hot spring and summer.
"May – July is expected to be warmer than normal" in the Southwest and West, the service added in a more detailed report.
"For most of the southwestern and western part of the country, drought is expected to persist in most locations and expand into the central Rockies," it added.
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"Overall, the current Drought Outlook is not optimistic," the National Weather Service said in summarizing its forecast.
Besides affecting farmers and ranchers, drought means a greater risk of wildfires, especially in those areas expecting a warmer than average spring. A rash of brush fires earlier this month up and down the East Coast could be a preview of a long, hot spring and summer.
"May – July is expected to be warmer than normal" in the Southwest and West, the service added in a more detailed report.
"For most of the southwestern and western part of the country, drought is expected to persist in most locations and expand into the central Rockies," it added.
More
QUOTES OF THE DAY 4-20-12
One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: No ordinary man could be such a fool. George Orwell
The manifest defects of central planning are not nearly as bad as its dehumanizing nature. For the progressive central planner is a regressive tyrant. What he seeks to do by regulation is only different than what the master does by the whip in his coyness. Andrew Mellon
We can either return to gold or we can pursue the fiat path and return to barter. It is perhaps not hyperbole to say that civilization itself is at stake in our decision. Murray Rothbard
The excellence of the gold standard is to be seen in the fact that it renders the determination of the monetary unit’s purchasing power independent of governments and political parties. Ludwig von Mises
If voting could really change things, it would be illegal. Revolution Books: New York , NY
Under the influence of popular democracy, oil driven machinery, and the social welfare nation state, almost every developed nation has made the same choice – to go broke. Bill Bonner
The fact of the matter is that there is a little bit of the totalitarian buried somewhere, way down deep, in each and every one of us. It is only the cheerful light of confidence and security which keeps this evil genius down. . . . If confidence and security were to disappear, don’t think that he would not be waiting to take their place. — George Kennan (1947)
Democracy has proved only that the best way to gain power over people is to assure the people that they are ruling themselves. Once they believe that, they make wonderfully submissive slaves. Joseph Sobran
The manifest defects of central planning are not nearly as bad as its dehumanizing nature. For the progressive central planner is a regressive tyrant. What he seeks to do by regulation is only different than what the master does by the whip in his coyness. Andrew Mellon
We can either return to gold or we can pursue the fiat path and return to barter. It is perhaps not hyperbole to say that civilization itself is at stake in our decision. Murray Rothbard
The excellence of the gold standard is to be seen in the fact that it renders the determination of the monetary unit’s purchasing power independent of governments and political parties. Ludwig von Mises
If voting could really change things, it would be illegal. Revolution Books: New York , NY
Under the influence of popular democracy, oil driven machinery, and the social welfare nation state, almost every developed nation has made the same choice – to go broke. Bill Bonner
The fact of the matter is that there is a little bit of the totalitarian buried somewhere, way down deep, in each and every one of us. It is only the cheerful light of confidence and security which keeps this evil genius down. . . . If confidence and security were to disappear, don’t think that he would not be waiting to take their place. — George Kennan (1947)
Democracy has proved only that the best way to gain power over people is to assure the people that they are ruling themselves. Once they believe that, they make wonderfully submissive slaves. Joseph Sobran
New Tone: Union Rally Speaker Tells Scott Walker 'We Cut Your Head Off'
Tuesday, over 2000 union protesters rolled into Springfield, IL, to protest Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, speaking at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Once again they came to chant and sing, and chant and sing they did. It was a typical sea of matching t-shirts—a favored strategy of intimidation—along with their placards of “solidarity” and profane signs. They scattered four giant inflatable rats throughout the crowd, with a gargantuan cardboard cut out of Governor Scott Walker standing out, as well.
Presidents of the AFL-CIO, Michael T. Carrigan of Illinois and Phil Neuenfeldt of Wisconsin, got the crowd riled up, along with the help of Teresa Haley, President of the Springfield NAACP. But Pastor T. Ray McJunkins of the Union Baptist Church and President of the Faith Coalition for the Common Good and William McNary of USAction stole the show.
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