After The Interview

Wow, it's very rare that I get speechless but really, WHAT WAS THAT? I guess I'm more used to real men and real issues and I've got a lot of learning to do if this guy is my opponent because I've never dealt with his type.

While I'm still absorbing what was said I'll simply say this, for now. Number one, at least when I do go to Delmar, Delaware, I'm visiting my Wife and Grandson. You might even say Mayor Jim Ireton spends even more time in Delaware than Joe Albero does. The only difference is, he's in Rehoboth.

As for the Mayor's closing remarks, he stated I never confirmed my sources in my story. EXCUSE ME JIM, YOU were MY source and YOU refused to answer my calls and text messages. I did everything in my power to make contact with you. I even left you messages and you absolutely 100% refused to respond, well before the Police Chief came to your home.

As for the Police having PROOF your cell phone was on your dresser, that's is a bold faced lie. I hope everyone caught that statement. No Police Officer was in your room that night Jim watching your phone sitting on a dresser. You need to start getting your lies straight.

What's with all the "tea party" crap too Jim. I'm not a member of the Tea Party, nor have I ever been. But it certainly answers why Don Rush, (another talk show host who works for Mike Dunn) kept asking me that question a couple weeks ago for his show. I wondered why he was pushing that issue, now I know.

In the end, I think Mayor Ireton has shown his true colors. In my honest opinion he continues to disrespect the citizens of Salisbury by continuing to call me a "Delaware Blogger" even AFTER being served with a lawsuit. I counted at least 6 times in that interview. He openly doesn't care about what this could cost the taxpayers but most speculate the City won't have to foot the legal bill on Ireton's behalf and that is exactly why I sued him personally and NOT the City.

It should be known that I sent Salisbury Police Chief Duncan a text message yesterday stating that according to Maryland Law, once an investigation is closed the "victim" must be afforded a copy of the Police Report. I asked when I might get my copy, she never replied. To this day I have not seen the Police Report for more than 2 or 3 minutes and it's probably 20 pages long. So Ireton making claims stating I had one is completely false. I will NOT FOIA the information, I will be given a copy by law enforcement, period. They are caling me a victim, the case is closed, I deserve a copy.

More to come...

OMG, I forgot. Mayor Jim Ireton said, he has "no malice towards the reporter". OK Folks, IF that doesn't tell you everything right there, well, I just don't know what else to tell you. Ireton is acting like this WHOLE thing I my fault and even goes so far as states the above. Are you kidding me Jim, seriously? You should have just answered your phone, answered your text messages. YOU chose to make this as big as it is today and you continue to prove your immaturity by calling me a Delaware Blogger.

‘Still a BFD’: Obama Campaign Plugs Obscene T-Shirts In Reaction to Obamacare Ruling

While surfing the Obama campaign’s Twitter this evening, we came across the following:

For those who don’t remember, “BFD” stands for “Big F***ing Deal,” which is a reference to a line that Vice President Joe Biden was caught uttering in Obama’s ear while the latter signed Obamacare into law. In other words, the Twitter feed for a sitting President just used an obscenity.

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New Offerings Planned For First Friday In Snow Hill

SNOW HILL -- Don’t miss the opportunity to extend your 4th of July celebration on Friday, July 6, with Arts on the River First Friday in Snow Hill.

Snow Hill merchants and gallery owners in downtown will stay open until 8 p.m. to welcome visitors. Enjoy the island sounds of steel drums being played by Augie DiGiovanni in addition to special discounts, art openings, and light refreshments.

Nick Haglich will open from 5 to 7 p.m. for Brad Stevens, Gary Hohman and crew who will play Irish Music on the mandolin and hammered dulcimer at the American Art Gallery.

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'Full Metal Jacket': 25 Things You Didn't Know About Stanley Kubrick's War Classic

"Full Metal Jacket," which opened 25 years ago this week (on June 26, 1987), is many things: a surreal (or hyperreal) movie about the Vietnam War, a compactly chilly Stanley Kubrick masterpiece (aside from "Dr. Strangelove," it's the only movie he directed during his final 40 years that ran under two hours), a starmaking opportunity for Vincent D'Onofrio, and a collection of the wit and wisdom of Marine drill sergeant-turned-actor R. Lee Ermey. ("Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills" is one of his few non-profane maxims.)

Over the past quarter-century, the movie has become beloved by many disparate groups of fans, including general moviegoers, Kubrick kultists, military fetishists, and sample-happy rappers. Still, as familiar as the film is, there's still plenty you may not know about how it was made -- which Brat Packer nearly landed the lead role that ultimately went to Matthew Modine, how Kubrick meticulously recreated Vietnam in the English countryside, how the author of the source novel infiltrated the set after a falling-out with Kubrick, the record-breaking weight gain D'Onofrio underwent in the service of his art, and just how long Ermey can keep unspooling a spontaneous tirade of profane insults.

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Insurance Industry Warns of Higher Rates, as ObamaCare Supporters See Long-Term Fix

President Obama says the health care law makes coverage more affordable, but the insurance industry reacted to the Supreme Court decision by saying that the ruling will actually end up raising rates even more than they have climbed since the law was enacted.

America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s lobby group, issued a statement supporting expanding health care coverage to millions of Americans, but it said, “major provisions, such as the premium tax, will have unintended consequences of raising costs and disrupting coverage unless they are addressed.”

The group's CEO, Karen Ignagni, told Fox News that because of the increased costs, “It's time for people to roll up their sleeves and look very carefully at those provisions.”

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If You Don't Understand This You're Too Young

Full Repeal of ObamaCare Is Now on the Ballot

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal wing of the Supreme Court to effectively remove all limits on federal power. While finding the individual mandate unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause, the Court upheld it as part of Congress' taxing power. With today's ruling, the federal government can now regulate all aspects of our lives, as long as a failure to comply is construed as a "tax". It is now up to us to to protect our liberty. 

It is absurd to me that the Court can find a provision unconstitutional yet let it stand because Congress has taxing authority. What actual limit does Roberts thinks exist on federal power? Can Congress now impose a tax on news articles critical of government? It would obviously violate the 1st Amendment, but, with today's ruling, it would fall under Congress' taxing power. It is an argument that can only be made as a path to a pre-determined conclusion. Worried, perhaps, about his own personal "legacy", Roberts simply found a way to uphold ObamaCare.

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USDA's New Tactic to Promote Food Stamps: Party!

Forget Tupperware bashes and toga soirees -- the latest rage is food stamp parties.

The USDA is encouraging the nation's food stamp program to promote to the elderly using parties and games.

A series of guides currently posted on the USDA website promotes local offices of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- or SNAP, but commonly referred to as food stamps -- to entice eligible seniors to enroll in the welfare program. The promotional campaign has cost between $2.5 million and $3 million.

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Frederick Co. Ending Magnet Program For First, Second Grades

The Board of Education had no qualms Wednesday with a plan to phase out the first and second grades of the elementary magnet program over the next three years.

Frederick County Public Schools will begin phasing out the primary grade magnet classes beginning in the 2013-14 school year: Kindergarten students will not be screened to enter first-grade magnet classes. With no students then prepared to enter second-grade magnet classes in the 2014-15 school year, the second-grade magnet program will be eliminated.

No changes will be made to the magnet program for the 2012-13 school year, and no students already in the magnet program will be sent back to their home school, according to school officials.

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N.H. Legislature Overrides Governor, Approves Voter ID Law

In yet another vote bucking the state's executive office, New Hampshire's Republican controlled-legislature overrode Democrat Gov. John Lynch’s veto of a voter ID bill on Wednesday. New Hampshire is now the latest on a growing list of states to require that voters present photo ID when voting.

In New Hampshire, different forms of identification are accepted, or residents have the option of signing an affidavit. The list will be shortened in 2013, and student ID cards and documents more than five years old will no longer be accepted.

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Rare sleep disorder that causes violent kicking and punching tied to smoking, pesticides

A rare sleep disorder in which people violently kick, punch or thrash in their sleep may be more common in smokers and people heavily exposed to pesticides, new research suggests.

The sleep-kicking disorder is actually called "REM sleep behavior disorder." According to WebMD, people typically lose muscle tone (paralysis) during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep - but that doesn't occur in people with the disorder, causing them movements (sometimes violent) that can seriously harm the individual or their sleep partner. It is estimated to affect only 0.5 percent of adults.

"Until now, we didn't know much about the risk factors for this disorder, except that it was more common in men and in older people," study author Dr. Ronald B. Postuma, a sleep researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal, said in a press release. "Because it is a rare disorder, it was difficult to gather information about enough patients for a full study. For this study, we worked with 13 institutions in 10 countries to get a full picture of the disorder."

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Health care decision: House GOP to renew repeal effort

House Republicans said after the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding President Barack Obama’s health care law that they’ll vote to repeal it after Congress returns from its July Fourth recess.

The House will vote to repeal the health care law — again — on July 11, the office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said. But it will most likely amount to little: Democrats didn’t want to repeal it when its constitutionality was still in question, and now they have the Supreme Court’s stamp of approval.

Indeed, Senate Democrats are ready to “move on” to other job creation legislation, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.

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BREAKING NEWS: Justice Department Says It Won't Prosecute Holder

Justice Department says in letter obtained by Fox News it won't prosecute Attorney General Eric Holder after the GOP-led House voted to hold him in criminal contempt of Congress.

From Fox News

Banksters and Members of Congress Are Downplaying JP Morgan Chase's Sudden Loss Of $2 Billion

Banksters and Members of Congress have been downplaying JP Morgan Chase's sudden loss of $2 billion, and arguing that the loss doesn't mean Wall Street needs more regulations. But now, the New York Times is reporting that the $2 billion dollar bet gone bad might actually turn be a $9 billion bad bet. It's now come out that internal models at the bank project losses as high as $9 billion over the bungled trade. Right about now, Congress should be kicking itself for not pressing JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon harder over what exactly went wrong at the bank. Instead – since Dimon has paid off most Members of the House and Senate Financial Committees – our lawmakers kissed his butt. Let's not make the same mistakes twice – time to regulate Wall Street and turn banking into a safe and boring business once again.

SCOTUS Decision Dooms Obama's Reelection

Yes, Obama and the Democrats are entitled to a bit of a victory lap today, after Chief Justice Roberts searched deeply within his political self and found a path to uphold ObamaCare. Sure, the individual mandate was unconstitutional on the two arguments made by the Obama Administration. But, on the argument they expressly didn't make--that the mandate was really a tax--the Court decided that Congress was well within its power to enact the provision. So, its still the law of the land. But, today's ruling will probably go down in history as the most effective GOP voter turnout operation ever. There is only one way to repeal ObamaCare and that is through the ballot box. It will happen. 

During the debates over ObamaCare, the President and Democrats strained themselves to argue that the individual mandate wasn't a tax. Obama himself had campaigned on a promise to never raise taxes on any families earning less than $250,000 a year. Today, the Court called the mandate for what it is...a tax. In doing so, it acknowledged that, not only did Obama break his campaign promise, but he and his leftist allies have ushered in the largest tax hike in history. They will go with that record into the voting booth in November.  

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Obama's Pyrrhic Victory

Today, Barack Obama won the battle, but will lose the war. The Supreme Court decision makes Obamacare the central issue in the 2012 election, just like it was in the 2010 election. And we know how that turned out.

The Court has sustained the individual mandate. That imposes on us a mandate: To defeat Obama and take the Senate. Now that is the only way we can kill this horrible law.

Public opinion has rejected this law for two years now by about the same margin: 40% support; 55% oppose. While the Court decision may give the law a short term positive bump, the underlying reality of the costs of the program and the increases in everyone's health insurance rates it is already triggering will eliminate any near term gain. Ultimately, it will still be 40-55 against the law.

Right now, presidential polls show Romney and Obama both in the mid-40s. The single most unpopular thing Obama has done is the health care law. Now it is going to be the lynchpin issue. It means that the election itself will increasingly be polarized around opinions of the health care law - a fifteen point loser for the Democrats.

In a real sense, the Supreme Court did not let Obama off the hook by striking down the law. Now he will have to defend it during the election.

Remember what this law does. It requires everyone to spend upwards of 7 percent of their income on health insurance or pay a fine of several thousand dollars. Neither is an attractive alternative for the young and the poor who are the president's political base. And, with the expansion of Medicaid rejected by the Court, the government will not be there to help them.

In 2010, Democrats running for Congress (most of whom lost) did not even attempt to defend Obamacare. They put as much distance between themselves and the law as they could. But now, neither Obama nor his Senate and House candidates will have that option since the Supreme Court has kicked the football back into political play.

The rejection of the Medicaid expansion is huge. This mandate - which would have quadrupled the Medicaid population in some states (like Texas) would have forced all states to pass income taxes and required those with them already to raise them substantially. It required coverage of about a quarter of the country under Medicaid, something the states cannot afford. Some saw it as a way to equalize the north and the south in taxes, eliminating the competitive advantage the south has long enjoyed.

As an American, I would have rather seen the individual mandate thrown out. As a partisan, I'm thrilled that we still have the issue to beat Obama with.

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MSP Helicopter Stationed Downtown This Summer

After a solid first season in 2011, the Maryland State Police (MSP) will continue the forward deployment of a medevac helicopter in Ocean City this summer to be used in partnership with the Ocean City Beach Patrol (OCBP). This year, however, the helicopter will be stationed even closer to the action for faster responses.


“It’s actually at the Coast Guard station,” said OCBP Captain Butch Arbin. “We can be deployed many minutes faster.”

During the forward deployment program’s initial run last year, a medevac chopper was housed at the Ocean City airport weekends during the summer. This allowed MSP Aviation to work closely with OCBP rescue swimmers and respond much faster than possible when the choppers are at their typical Salisbury base. This year, that response time was further reduced when MSP decided to base at the coast guard station

Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays this summer.

Arbin also pointed out that keeping a helicopter in Ocean City can be even more important in the case of storms.

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Barn Residents

Sent by a friend in New Mexico. In the barn last night. Photo shot with an iPhone.

Here Are the 10 Most Gripping Photos From the Devastating Colorado Wildfires

Gaining steam over the weekend and continuing to smolder through Thursday, raging wildfires roared through neighborhoods and forced 32,000 residents of Colorado Springs to flee their homes.

The 24-square mile fire scorched the edges of the U.S. Air Force Academy on Wednesday. Thick smoke and towering flames cloaked the full scope of damage to Colorado’s second-largest city.

A separate fire burning in northern Colorado has grown to 136-square miles and destroyed 257 homes.

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