Welcome HOME, Pvt Ryan Legar

OK folks, it's OUR turn !!! Private Ryan Legar has been standing post for US for close to a year. Our turn to show him our gratitude by welcoming him home. OH..yea, THIS IS A SURPRISE, so shhhh. He only expects a couple family members at the airport. Let's show him HOW BIG his family really is !!!! His plane arrives at 9:30 PM and we will be gathering in the terminal at 9:00 PM. ALL COLORS are encouraged as well as 3x5 flags !!!

HERE'S YOUR $2,500 OBAMACARE ANNUAL SAVINGS

I’m having trouble translating the data in the chart below into my $2,500 annual savings from Obamacare. Maybe I need an Obama Calculator to figure it out. He certainly didn’t lie to us in 2009 when he was ramming this law up our asses like a suppository. Adding 30 million people to the insurance rolls, covering pre-existing conditions, covering kids until they are 27 years old, and letting the health insurance and drug industry write the bill certainly guaranteed lower prices. Right?

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Chicago Comes to the ‘Bury

Imagine you lived in a city carved up into little wards or districts.  Then imagine that your city council members are given “discretionary” funds to dole out for “projects” or to fix potholes and street lights.  It sounds like Chicago, New York, or Washington, D.C.  Well if Jake Day is elected to the Salisbury City Council, this is what he has in store for you.

Rotten Boroughs

Across the sea in Great Britain, they used to have “rotten” or “pocket” boroughs.  These were parliamentary constituencies (districts to us Yanks) that were, in effect, controlled by one person (or a small group of people).  The British wisely changed their election practices in the 19th century.

At last month’s Democrat Club meeting Mr. Day announced that if he was elected he (along with councilwomen Laura Mitchell and Shanie Shields) would re-visit re-districting and change the council to a seven member body elected from individual districts.  He had previously announced at the Salisbury Chamber / PACE forum that he supported a seven member council.  (NOTE:  this would occur REGARDLESS of who is elected mayor as charter changes cannot be vetoed.)

What’s wrong with that?  If you divide Salisbury into seven districts which are roughly equal by population you will have created FOUR rotten boroughs.  Think about it.  Salisbury would be governed by AT LEAST four districts where the total votes cast to elect the majority of council would be less than half (probably less than a third) of the votes cast to elect the other seats.

The facts are simple.  The current District 1 simply doesn’t show up to vote in city elections.  Neighborhoods such as Church Street / Doverdale, the Presidents and Princeton Homes don’t show up to vote in city elections.  Residents of Camden, the Park area, the neighborhoods along North and South Schumaker Drives – they show up to vote.  Yet – they will be effectively disenfranchised when it comes to city council representation.  It is easily conceivable that you will have council members (from a majority of districts) elected with fewer than 100 votes.  Some could be elected with fewer than 50!

Bottom line – a group like SAPOA could literally buy a majority of the city council ON THE CHEAP!  Is this YOUR vision for a better Salisbury?

Slush Funds

Day also wishes to give council members access to “discretionary funds”.  If you have ever lived in cities where this practice is used you know that this breeds corruption.  These funds are used to, in effect, buy votes.  In some extreme cases the funds are funneled to “projects” that do not provide service to residents but actually give the council member of piece of your tax dollars in excess of their salary.

Since coming out with this proposal at the Democrat Club he has been busy trying to put a little lipstick on this pig.  According to his Facebook page, he now claims:

Neighborhood Budget Prioritization

In writing the City’s operating budget and Capital Improvement Plan, 10% of Community Promotions, Neighborhood Services, Streets, Street Lighting, Sanitation and Parks should be allotted by number of households to each neighborhood of the City. At a community meeting held in each neighborhood, citizens will discuss and vote on priorities in the budget to be spent in their neighborhood. This process should determine how the apportioned funds are spent. Annual review can determine if the overall share to neighborhoods should be increased if this program proves popular.

While this sounds slightly better than advocating a slush fund for council members, Day is still calling for very small groups of people (imagine how many people will actually turn up at these “community meetings”) to determine where YOUR tax dollars are being spent.  In effect, Day proposes Balkanizing Salisbury.

The spending of your tax dollars will be determined by people who have no incentive to do what is best for the city as a whole.  Instead, we can expect horse trading for votes to spend money on projects that are only meaningful to a select few.  AGAIN – Is this your vision for a better Salisbury?

Making a Bad Situation Worse

Please don’t believe for one moment that this is an endorsement of the re-districting plan recently enacted by the city council.  I believe that their plan wasn’t particularly good for the city either.  Unfortunately, faced with threats of litigation from the ACLU I do understand why they came up with their plan.  It is my opinion that five seats, three by district and two at-large, was the best solution.  Unfortunately, that didn’t come to pass.

Compared to Day’s vision for the Federated Balkan Wards of Salisbury, the recently enacted plan looks almost perfect.  If Mr. Day sincerely believes that this type of governance is a good thing, might I suggest that he move to Chicago.

G. A. Harrison is a former editor of SBYNews and a regular contributor.  He also writes at the DelMarVa Observer.  This article was originally posted at the DelMarVa Observer.

A Week Before Sandy Hook Shooting, Connecticut Asked AR-15 Maker To Move Into State

Connecticut government officials tried to coax the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle into choosing the state as their home base, but they rescinded the offer days later in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

“It was a significant tragedy that was fresh on everybody’s mind,” state Department of Economic and Community Development deputy commissioner Ronald Angelo told The Hartford Courant to explain why Connecticut decided not to give the maker of the AR-15 a $1 million loan. The state offered the loan eight days before the Sandy Hook shooting and pulled it four days later.

Angelo also pointed out that FreedomGroup, which owns Bushmaster, was changing hands. “If you take that [shooting] into account along with the very unknown structure and unknown condition of the Freedom Group because of the [announced] sale of that entity by its parent, it’s too much of an unknown,” he said.
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US Deposits In Perspective: $25 Billion In Insurance, $9,283 Billion In Deposits; $297,514 Billion In Derivatives

Earlier today, the American Banking Association reminded Americans that there is absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to the sanctity of US deposits: after all there is a whopping $25 billion in the FDIC insurance fund which means "insured depositors are safe and their deposits are protected by a strong FDIC fund....The FDIC insurance fund has over $25 billion in reserves and the banking industry " Obviously supposedly "insured" depositors in Cyprus also though there was nothing to worry about, until they woke up on Saturday with a haircut between 6.75% and 9.9% on their money in the bank. Sadly, it may be the case that the ABA is being just modestly disingenuous in its statement. Why? Instead of explaining it in detail, here is a snapshot that does more than thousands of words ever could.

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Prison Profiteers

One aspect of drug prohibition that gets far too little attention is the fact that the drug war is immensely profitable for prohibitionists.

Ten former high-ranking officials of the Drug Enforcement Administration recently signed a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee criticizing the Obama administration for its supposed lack of zeal in enforcing marijuana prohibition. According to the letter, the administration chief delinquency is its reluctance to crack down on Washington and Colorado, and this is impermissible in light of supposedly sacred international obligations, such as “the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs… and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances.”

Among the signatories of that letter were Robert L. Dupont, who headed the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and Peter Bensinger, who was head of the DEA during most of that decade. Today, these drug warriors emeriti run a company calledBensinger, DuPont & Associates, which specializes in workplace drug testing.

Since they have a financial interest in marijuana prohibition, it’s reasonable to surmise that DuPont and Bensinger aren’t acting on purely idealistic motives, or out of pious ardor for the sanctity of United Nations accords.

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Two Burglars Arrest After Traffic Stop In Laurel

Date of Occurrence: Tuesday March 19, 2013 at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Victims:
46 year old male, Delmar, DE
68 year old male, Milford, DE
75 year old female, Salisbury, MD
51 year old female, Laurel, DE
59 year old female, Laurel, DE
66 year old female, Laurel, DE

Defendants, Charges, and Bond Information:

Kenneth E. Williams, 44, Seaford, DE (Photo Attached, white shirt)
Burglary 2nd (3 counts)
Attempted Burglary 2nd (2 counts)
Burglary 3rd
Possession of Burglary Tools
Theft of a Firearm (9 counts)
Theft (6 counts)
Conspiracy 2nd (5 counts)
Criminal Mischief (5 counts)

Arraigned at JP3 and committed to Sussex Correctional Center on $32,750.00 secured bond.

Matthew R. King Jr., 26, Harrington, DE (Photo Attached, bald with beard)
Burglary 2nd (3 counts)
Attempted Burglary 2nd (2 counts)
Burglary 3rd
Possession of Burglary Tools
Theft of a Firearm (9 counts)
Theft (6 counts)
Conspiracy 2nd (5 counts)
Criminal Mischief (5 counts)

Arraigned at JP3 and committed to Sussex Correctional Center on $16,000.00 secured bond.

Resume:
Laurel, DE- The Delaware State Police have arrested two men in connection with a half dozen burglaries committed in the Laurel and Delmar areas.

On Tuesday March 19, 2013 at approximately 2:30 p.m. a 46 year old male victim was in his house located on Deer Road in Delmar, Delaware when he heard a loud noise coming from the back of the residence. When the victim went to investigate, he located a white male standing inside the doorway. The suspect quickly ran out of the house and entered a white car parked in the driveway and fled. The victim was able to obtain the registration on the vehicle and relayed it to the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center (9-1-1) who broadcast the description over the radio to all police agencies.

At approximately 4:20 p.m. a Laurel Police Officer conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle in the area of the First Stop convenient store in Laurel and took Kenneth E. Williams and Matthew R. King Jr. into custody without incident.

Detectives from Troop 4 Criminal Investigations Unit in Georgetown were able to link the two in at least a half dozen burglaries committed between Laurel and Delmar where they would forcibly enter unoccupied residences or businesses and remove cash, jewelry, tools, and several firearms before pawning some of the items at local pawn shops.

Matthew King was transported back to Troop 4 where he was processed on the above charges and later committed to SCI in lieu of $16,000.00 secured bond. Kenneth Williams was charged by Laurel PD on various traffic and criminal related offenses associated to the traffic stop and later turned over to detectives to be processed on the above listed charges. He was arraigned at JP3 and committed to SCI on $32,750.00 secured bond.

SPD Press Release 3-20-13

Today's Survey Question 3-20-13

Do you think Maryland should legalize marijuana?

GOVERNMENT STIMULUS - CHICAGO STYLE

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House. One is from Chicago, another is from Tennessee, and the third is from Minnesota.

All three go with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Minnesota contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. “Well,” he says, “I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”

The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, and then says, “I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”

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Congressman Harris Argues for Balanced Budget Amendment at CPAC

Reid: Sequestration to Blame for Marine Deaths in Nevada

President Obama has blamed sequestration for everything from cutting White House tours to the possibility of first responders being laid off. But on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) did Obama one better: he blamed sequestration for the accidental deaths of seven US Marines on Tuesday in Nevada. 

Taking to the floor of the Senate, Reid explained the situation in Nevada. He then continued:

Mr. President, it’s very important we continue training our military, so important. But one of the things in sequester is we cut back in training and maintenance. That’s the way sequester was written…. These men and women, our Marines were training there in Hawthorne. And with this sequester, it’s going to cut back. I just hope everyone understands the sacrifices made by our military.

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Worcester County Sheriff's Office Press Release 3-20-13

On March 17, 2013 a Worcester County Sheriff's Office Deputy stopped a vehicle for weaving from lane to lane on Rt 50 near Bell Road. The driver, Ryan Taylor 21 of Salisbury Md. Appeared to have been drinking. Mr. Taylor performed poorly on field sobriety tests. Taylor was arrested and charged with Driving While Impaired and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Taylor was released pending trial. 

Happy Spring!

Mayor Ireton Wants The Ability To Close Your Business Doors If Re-Elected

Why someone running for re-election would want to come out with an ordinance like Jim Ireton's "Lockout Ordinance" just before an election is beyond me but let me tell you one thing, business owners and property owners are outraged.

My phone has been ringing off the hook for days referencing this matter and if by chance you don't believe me, go to the Post below and click on the video interview with Jim Ireton and Don Rush. Go to around 48 minutes and start listening to Jim in his own words.

As a Mayoral Candidate I want to make this very clear to each and every one of you. IF this ordinance ever comes across my desk I will immediately VETO it as it is written. 

What does it say to our business community when a Mayor brings forth a law that says if you have TWO complaints/violations/nuisances in a TWO YEAR period the Mayor and Police Chief have the right to close your doors.

Mind you, would YOU ever consider investing hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars into a new business in Salisbury KNOWING that IF the Mayor and Police Chief got a bug up their tail for a particular business or they wanted certain parking lots, (for examples) that they could very easily close you down?

Outback was just cited for serving an under age person. IF this law was in place, they would be sweating bullets for the next 23 months worrying that IF they had another violation the Mayor and Police Chief could actually shut them down. WaWa has their own problems with patrons coming in after the Bars close with fights in their parking lot. Should they be shut down?

Mayor Jim Ireton is spreading the word LOUDLY, Salisbury wants to CONTROL you. In his interview he complains about businesses making too much money and they should pay the price. 

Look, I think the founding fathers of Salisbury knew what they were getting into when they started allowing businesses to open here. Throughout the years Salisbury set a tax rate to manage the cost of doing business and yes, sometimes it means you have to handle particular problems more so than others. 

Will Mayor Ireton then CREDIT those businesses that pay high taxes and NEVER use the City's services? NO, of course not. Will he shut down Salisbury University because of under age drinking and parties at the Zoo complex? NO. 

This is what you get when you hire a part time government employee who has never been in the business world. You get an individual who wants you to know, I'm the guy who says what you can and can't do and if your making too much money, you need to spread the wealth. 

So how do the residents who are voting fit into this. Well, if Ireton were to close Brew River, (for example) more than 100 people will be out of jobs. More than 100 people more than likely won't be able to FIND new jobs because NO company would be dumb enough to make an investment to open another restaurant knowing they could easily be closed. Sysco would be out hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. The County would lose liquor sales. Now multiple those numbers to each business, (including Outback) and you'd see how much money we'd lose simply because the Mayor wants control because your making too much money. A hundred people would be booted out of their homes because they can't make the payments.

Have you ever read an article or watched a broadcast showing Salisbury being so out of control that we're forced to create such an outrageous Ordinance? NO! There's water front parking lots next to Brew River as well as Market Street Inn. Both have had recent complaints and all of a sudden Jim Ireton comes out with this Ordinance that was borrowed from the City of Baltimore almost  verbatim. Rather than take full responsibility for pushing this ordinance, Jim Ireton is now throwing his popular Police Chief Barbara Duncan under the bus. In my opinion, his intentions with the two mentioned water front parking lots are highly suspicious. 

View the video in the article below and scroll up to 48 minutes and see for yourself. Jim Ireton is out of control. 

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

Business Through the Eyes of Jim Ireton

Last week, Don Rush of Delmarva Public Radio interviewed both candidates for mayor of Salisbury.  The contrast was startling.  While this was not candidate (and SBYNews publisher) Joe Albero’s best interview, he was relaxed and discussed the issues facing the city.  Incumbent mayor Jim Ireton was agitated, sarcastic, interrupted Rush numerous times, and let the world know that Salisbury is NOT a business-friendly community.

See the interviews below.  Ireton’s starts at about 29 minutes in.

Ireton claims great accomplishment.  Nothing is his fault.  If something didn’t happen it was because of the city council, specifically Debbie Campbell.  If businesses believe that Salisbury isn’t business-friendly, it’s THEIR fault, not the city’s.  Oh … and he PLANS to do lots of things IF he’s re-elected.

For every ten people that come to the city, five feel they’ve been treated OK. – Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton

What is most disturbing is Ireton’s attitude towards business.  If you make a profit, you need to pay more.  If the police have to come to your business TWICE in TWO YEARS, the city (NOT a judge) should be able to shut you down.  If you appeal, you have to appeal to the same person who already decided to close your doors.

If you are a businessperson looking to move to Salisbury and you hear the mayor sarcastically asking questions like, “Who made that profit?” or “Somebody’s making money somewhere.” do you think that Salisbury is a great place to do business?

Ireton states, “For every ten people that come to the city, five feel they’ve been treated OK.”  Ireton thinks that’s acceptable!  Do you deal with businesses who take the attitude that they only need to satisfy 50% of their customers?  If you are a business do you want to move to a city that takes this attitude?  If you are a businessperson in Salisbury, do you want to expand in a city that takes this attitude?

You don’t have to give away the store to attract businesses.  You don’t have to make Salisbury unsafe to encourage businesses to expand.  You do need a sea change in attitude.  Satisfying 50% of your customers is NOT acceptable.  Making Salisbury “more progressive” isn’t going to attract business.

Thanks to PAC-14 for providing the video.

G. A. Harrison is a former editor of SBYNews and a regular contributor.  He also writes at the DelMarVa Observer.

ICE Admits 200+ Serious Criminal Illegals Released

On Tuesday, House Republicans quizzed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton on why he hadn’t tried to direct sequestration cuts toward areas other than release of illegal immigrant detainees. Morton attempted to blame “career agency officials” rather than political appointees.

In February, 2,228 detainees were released and placed on supervised monitoring in an attempt to frighten the American people about the upcoming ramifications of sequestration. “I am trying to live within the appropriations that Congress gives us,” Morton protested. “Our single largest appropriation is for custody operations …. My view is we need to maintain the operations of the agency; I don’t want to furlough people.” So instead of furloughing administrative employees, Morton simply directed ICE to release illegal immigrants, many of them dangerous.
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Americans Are War Weary ... And The Neocons Don't Like It

Are the American people war weary? Yes, to some degree. Could there be a worse prescription for American foreign policy than giving in to popular war weariness? No.

It must be frustrating to be a warmonger these days. So much effort has been made in creating worldwide U.S. hegemony. So much energy spent....so much engineering.

Lets make a checklist:

Is the American public, in general, living in a sheltered cocoon; unaware of the disgustingness of war? Check....After the Vietnam War loss, the warmongers decided that never again would the press be allowed to report what was going on for all to see. From then on, war would be something that goes on "over there".

Are Americans sufficiently occupied, and without the time to even worry about what goes on "over there"? Check...Taxes are everywhere, two incomes are needed, what isn't taxed is inflated away...The worker bees are sufficiently occupied.

When the worker bees come home, are they sufficiently entertained so as to not worry about what goes on "over there"? Check...If there's one thing Americans are swimming in, it's entertainment.

Do the warmongers have what Cicero called "the sinews of war...unlimited money"? Check...They have The Federal Reserve to supply whatever money is necessary.

Can the warmongers do whatever they want with their unlimited money, without public oversight? Check...the Pentagon may not be audited.

The circuses are taken of, what about the bread? Check...America has the biggest Welfare State in the history of the world.

Even though Americans are sheltered from what goes on "over there," are they reminded to keep up their support? Check...war propaganda is everywhere (sporting events, television, cereal boxes, etc). They even let government agents touch their genitals at the airport.

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Table Games Still Under ‘Consideration’; Casino Adding Parking, Satisfied With Flat Revenue

SNOW HILL -- Table games at the Casino at Ocean Downs are under “serious consideration,” according to General Manager Joe Cavilla, but there are no concrete plans in place currently.

Cavilla was on hand during this week’s Local Development Council (LDC) meeting to update the group on what’s new with Ocean Downs. He said improvements are being made to parking and the race track. Additionally, Cavilla confirmed that casino revenue this year has been “flat” with what was earned last year, though a strong summer is anticipated.

“Table games are being seriously considered is the way I would put it at this point,” Cavilla told the LDC after being asked if the casino was moving in that direction. “That is a lot of construction that would have to happen at the facility to bring them in. Because of how restrictive the original license was, there weren’t a lot of extra things done to the building to bring it on line.”
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GUESS WHICH 'NEWS' CHANNEL ... ISN'T NEWS

Study finds this network spewing 85% opinion instead
When it comes to getting news and views, a new study has found, not all cable “news” networks are giving you the same mix of information and opinion.

The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism just released its State of the News Media 2013 report, which discovered that while CNN and Fox News can be expected to give audiences about a 50/50 mix of news and commentary, the left-leaning MSNBC dishes out a whopping 85 percent opinion to only 15 percent news.

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