Kerry Had More Security on Trip to Arlington, Va., Than State Dept. Posted in Benghazi

A larger detail of security agents escorted Secretary of State John Kerry on a trip to Arlington, Va., last week, when he went to visit—of all places—the headquarters of the department’s security bureau, than the State Department posted to its compound in Benghazi, Libya, in the days leading up to the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attacks.

Kerry, as recorded by an official State Department publicity photograph, was "surrounded" in Arlington on Monday, Feb. 4, by at least four of the department’s Diplomatic Security (DS) agents. In the days leading up to the Benghazi attacks, the State Department deployed only three Dipomatic Security agents to the department's mission in Benghazi.
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Meet the Heartless Jerk Leading A Project to Eliminate Sick Leave

Opponents of paid sick leave, like opponents of raising the minimum wage, tend to keep their arguments data-free, sticking to vague claims of how bad it would be for small business, no evidence offered. But every now and then they decide to try to make their arguments look factual. Look being the key word. 

That's the story with the latest from one of Rick Berman's many front groups, the Employment Policies Institute, a laughably weak (PDF) "pilot study of businesses' responses" to Connecticut's paid sick leave law that completely ignores the actual facts of what's happened in Connecticut's economy since the law was passed.

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California's "Solution" To Its Doctor Shortage

California has been at the forefront of ObamaCare implementation, but state lawmakers are facing a major obstacle: There aren’t enough doctors in the state to treat the expected influx of newly-insured patients.

A government council has recommended a physician-to-population ratio of 60 to 80 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents. Only 16 of California’s 58 counties reach this recommended supply of primary care physicians.

With ObamaCare, it’s only going to get worse.

The huge influx of newly-insured patients with ObamaCare is not the only reason for this lack of doctors. In a recent Physicians Foundation Survey, 13,575 doctors were asked how the passage of ObamaCare has affected their feelings about the future of healthcare in America. 59.3% of those surveyed said they were “less positive” about the future of American healthcare.
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LA Cop At Center Of Rape Investigation Now Being Sued For Police Brutality

An LA police officer under investigation over claims he threatened women with jail time if they refused to have sex with him is now being sued by a man he and another officer beat nearly to death after trying to extort money from him last May.

Officer James Nichols is included with the City of Los Angeles, the LAPD, the police union and John Miller, another officer, in a $20 million lawsuit brought by Brian Mulligan, a former finance executive. Mulligan alleges that Nichols and Miller nearly killed him last year.


Mulligan's lawsuit claims that in addition to the beating, the LAPD and its union engineered a smear campaign against him that resulted in him losing his job.

Mulligan “suffered a broken shoulder blade and facial fractures requiring several surgeries at the hands of police officers after they stopped him in the city’s Highland Park neighborhood and forced him to check into a local motel and stay there against his will," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION’S CRACKDOWN ON OBAMA LAWN SIGN TEARS COMMUNITY APART: ‘IT’S LIKE WE WEREN’T LIVING IN AMERICA’

Many housing developments have homeowners associations (HOA) that impose strict rules and regulations. While some of the stipulations seem silly, abiding by them is a necessity for those who wish to live within these groups’ bounds. A Fairfax, Va., family learned this lesson after they posted a yard sign in support of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential run and the board ruled that it violated HOA standards. What resulted was an epic legal battle between the Farran family and the housing authority — one that inevitably led the board to bankruptcy, splintering the community and creating ongoing division among its residents.

While there is certainly no ban on the placement of political signs at Olde Belhaven, the development at the center of the debate, the placard that was posted by Sam and Maria Farran was four inches taller than allowed by the rules and regulations. When the board approached the family in the heat of the highly-contentious election season and told them to remove the Obama sign, the Farrans decided to simply cut the placard in half, with one side reading “OBA” and the other reading “MA.”
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Nancy Pelosi: Video Games Are Not The Reason For Violence In America

WASHINGTON -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday pushed back against the argument that violent video games are responsible for mass shootings in the United States, pointing to other countries where similar games are played but rates of shooting deaths are low.

As part of their larger effort to address mass shootings in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., House Democrats are proposing using federal dollars for scientific research on the "relationship between popular culture and gun violence."

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Study: 1 In 5 Consumers Had Error In Credit Report

A government study says 20 percent of consumers had an error in a credit report issued by a major agency.

The Federal Trade Commission study also says 5 percent of the consumers identified errors in their reports that could lead to them paying more for mortgages, auto loans or other financial products.

The study looked at reports for 1,001 consumers issued by the three major agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The FTC hired researchers to help consumers identify potential errors.
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Raining Spiders In Brazil? Video Appears To Show Numerous Arachnids Dangling

Arachnophobes would be wise to steer clear of Santo Antônio da Platina in Brazil.

According to a video uploaded to YouTube on Feb. 7, spiders appear have taken to dangling from the city's electric lines and other surfaces.

These seem to be fairly large critters, too, plainly visible when the camera is zoomed all the way out, with a rough approximation of size given by nearby transformers on the electric poles.

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Dueling Dog Bills Introduced In House

Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr. is resurrecting a bill from August’s special session that would hold dog owners strictly liable if their pets attack someone while running loose, whether or not the dogs have a history of vicious behavior.

Smigiel (R-Dist. 36) of Chesapeake City said that his bill is the only proposal on the table that will prevent bites from occurring in the first place.

“You pass this bill, then you give the incentive to the owner,” Smigiel said. “You fix the hole in the fence, or you put your dog on the leash.”
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Joe Paterno's Family Begins Reputation Repair Work

A new report commissioned by Joe Paterno's family challenges the conclusion by former FBI director Louis Freeh that the late Penn State coach conspired to hide child sex abuse allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
The Paterno family's critique, released Sunday, argues that the findings of the Freeh report published last July were unsupported by the facts.

Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, one of the experts assembled by the family's lawyer to review Freeh's report last year to Penn State, said the document was fundamentally flawed and incomplete.

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White House: GOP Spreading ‘Myths’ About Obama’s Fiscal Approach

The White House accused congressional Republicans on Sunday of spreading “myths” about President Obama’s efforts to avoid looming budget cuts and blamed the GOP for pushing an “unbalanced” approach that favors the wealthy.

“The notion that President Obama hasn’t put forward a solution to deal with these looming cuts is false,” said Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer in a blog post. He said Mr. Obama’s latest offer to House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, “meets the Republicans halfway on spending and on revenues, and would permanently turn off the sequester and put us on a fiscally sustainable path.”

With less than three weeks before the mandated spending cuts take effect March 1, Mr. Obama is pushing lawmakers to reach a short-term solution that would again postpone the steeper, across-the-board cuts. The president also is seeking to raise more tax revenue as part of a long-term deficit reduction plan by closing tax loopholes and eliminating deductions, but many Republicans are opposed to further tax increases after a deal in early January raised tax rates on wealthier families.
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Cruise Safety Drill Results In 5 Deaths

Madrid (CNN) -- A safety drill gone wrong on a cruise ship resulted in the death of five crew members in the Canary Islands, Thomson Cruises said Sunday.

Three other workers were injured, though not seriously, the cruise line said. The incident happened just before noon Sunday on board the Thomson Majesty while it was docked in La Palma, among the smallest of Spain's Canary Islands.

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Price Of Gas Approaches $4 A Gallon

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Hold on to your wallets. Gas prices make the biggest February jump in decades.

Adam May explains why.

At the rate we’re going experts say $4 a gallon is just around the corner.

2013 is on track to be one of the most expensive years to fill ‘er up. Gas prices in Maryland–up 16 cents in just one month–nationally up 17 cents. AAA says it’s just the beginning.

“The way prices have been increasing over the past few weeks we wouldn’t be surprised to see prices approach near $4 a gallon here in Maryland,” said Christine Delise, AAA.
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Soybean Farmer Takes Monsanto to Supreme Court

A single 75-year-old Indiana soybean farmer in rural southwestern Indiana is taking on the multibillion dollar agricultural giant Monsanto over the issue of who controls the rights to seeds planted in the ground.

When confronted with the David vs. Goliath nature of his battle, Vernon Hugh Bowman told The Guardian: “I really don’t consider it as David and Goliath. I don’t think of it in those terms. I think of it in terms of right and wrong.”

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Another Business Threatens To Leave Salisbury Because Of Mayor Ireton's Lack Of Leadership & Understanding

This morning I received a call from a business owner asking if I could find the time to sit down with him and discuss a situation he's currently experiencing. I agreed to meet with him right away and here's how it went.

A couple months ago his fire alarm went off. The SFD showed up and ruled it a false alarm, (in which it was) The owner came to the business, turned the alarm off but it went off again later. 

The next morning he called the alarm company and they immediately came to his business to fix the problem. He installed new smoke detectors, wiring and the whole nine yards. They contacted the SFD and told them they would be on test mode. While working on the system the alarm company triggered the system and the SFD, (even though they had been told they were in test mode) showed up AGAIN. They immediately realized the alarm company was working on the system and the SFD even documented this on their paperwork. 

Just when they were wrapping up the repairs the system was triggered again and as you might guess, the SFD came to the scene as if there might be a fire.

NOW, each time it was documented on their internal paperwork the system was being worked on, yet the City sent this business owner TWO bills. The first was for $300.00 and the second was for $600.00. 

The business owner tried numerous times to contact Mayor Ireton, (since EVERYTHING has to go through the Mayor now) and the Mayor refused to call him back. His secretary did finally call back after numerous attempts and stated the Mayor had reviewed his complaint and felt the business owner owned the money, period. 

The property owner then tried to contact Rick Hoppes, who also refused to return his calls. Until today, the SFD has refused to work with this gentleman. 

Well, AFTER my meeting with the business owner today, he went to the SFD and told them that he had been in to see Joe Albero and all of a sudden they told him they would be willing to meet with him tomorrow. Funny how this exact legislation is going up for SECOND reading tonight on false alarm fees, hence my publishing this information now rather then later. 

Mayor Jim Ireton is driving businesses OUT of Town and couldn't care less. Jim Ireton has let the position of Mayor go right to his head. He has no respect or understanding of how business works. This owner could easily pack up his business and move to Delmar, DE., (like so many others have already done) and we'd have that much less taxes being collected because the Fire Department is scamming business owners out of money. 

The more these businesses leave, the higher your taxes go up. Someone has to make up that loss and clearly Jim Ireton doesn't care. 

"This is not Joe Albero's election to lose, it's the citizens' election to lose".

TELL US YOUR STORY... Have you been billed by the Fire Department for false alarms you feel were not justified? Send To: alberobutzo@wmconnect.com 

Nancy Pelosi: We Don't Have A Spending Problem

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that the United States government doesn’t have “a spending problem,” a position President Obama has reportedly taken in private but avoided saying in public.

“We have to make a judgment about what — how do we get growth with jobs?” Pelosi said on Fox News Sunday. “That’s where the revenue comes from . . . So, it isn’t as much a spending problem as it is a priorities [problem], and that is what the budget is, setting priorities.”

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that President Obama told him “We don’t have a spending problem” during one of their fiscal cliff negotiations.
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The Most Stressed Out Generation? Young Adults

The latest survey shows stress is on the decline overall, but still hover above healthy levels, especially for young adults.
In the national Stress in America survey, an annual analysis by Harris Interactive for the American Psychological Association, 35% of adults polled since 2007 reported feeling more stress this year compared to last year, and 53% said they received little or no support from their health care providers in coping with that heightened stress. The survey involved more than 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who answered an online survey in August 2012.


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Proposed Voter ID Law Again Draws Hot Debate In Annapolis

Republican legislators are back again, pushing controversial voter identification laws after failed attempts in prior years.

Sponsored by Republican Dels. Nic Kipke, Kathy Afzali and 32 other Republicans, but no Democrats, the contentious bill sparked heated debate last week in the House Ways & Means Committee.

“HB 137 is a very familiar subject to many of us in this room,” Kipke told the committee. “I think most of us have differing views, but I believe requiring proof of identity on election day is a good thing for our election integrity.”
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Mom Charged In Child's Death Said Girl 'Possessed By Evil Spirit'

An Annapolis woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter and placing her body in a trash bin earlier this week told police she believed the girl was “possessed by an evil spirit.”

Chelsea Michelle Booth, 25, of Bens Drive, is charged with first- and second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. She is being held at Jennifer Road Detention Center after being denied bond at a bail review hearing Friday morning.

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Yellow Journalism

Joe, I’ve never read a more slanted, biased article against anyone than the Daily Times piece on your candidacy for mayor. The newspaper should be ashamed of itself for allowing something like that to be printed as news.