DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Friday, November 06, 2015
Destroying Your Vote
Voter ID laws have been challenged because liberal Democrats deem them racist. I guess that’s because they see blacks as being incapable of acquiring some kind of government-issued identification. Interesting enough is the fact that I’ve never heard of a challenge to other ID requirements as racist, such as those: to board a plane, open a charge account, have lab work done or cash a welfare check. Since liberal Democrats only challenge legal procedures to promote ballot-box integrity, the conclusion one reaches is that they are for vote fraud prevalent in many Democrat-controlled cities.
There is another area where the attack on ballot-box integrity goes completely unappreciated. We can examine this attack by looking at the laws governing census taking. As required by law, the U.S. Census Bureau is supposed to count all persons in the U.S. Those to be counted include citizens, legal immigrants and non-citizen long-term visitors. The law also requires that illegal immigrants be a part of the decennial census. The estimated number of illegal immigrants ranges widely from 12 million to 30 million. Official estimates put the actual number closer to 12 million.
Both citizens and non-citizens are included in the census and thus affect apportionment counts. Counting illegals in the census undermines one of the fundamental principles of representative democracy — namely, that every citizen-voter has an equal voice. Through the decennial census-based process of apportionment, states with large numbers of illegal immigrants, such as California and Texas, unconstitutionally gain additional members in the U.S. House of Representatives thereby robbing the citizen-voters in other states of their rightful representation.
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There is another area where the attack on ballot-box integrity goes completely unappreciated. We can examine this attack by looking at the laws governing census taking. As required by law, the U.S. Census Bureau is supposed to count all persons in the U.S. Those to be counted include citizens, legal immigrants and non-citizen long-term visitors. The law also requires that illegal immigrants be a part of the decennial census. The estimated number of illegal immigrants ranges widely from 12 million to 30 million. Official estimates put the actual number closer to 12 million.
Both citizens and non-citizens are included in the census and thus affect apportionment counts. Counting illegals in the census undermines one of the fundamental principles of representative democracy — namely, that every citizen-voter has an equal voice. Through the decennial census-based process of apportionment, states with large numbers of illegal immigrants, such as California and Texas, unconstitutionally gain additional members in the U.S. House of Representatives thereby robbing the citizen-voters in other states of their rightful representation.
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Applying for a mortgage? Here’s the current denial rate.
Real estate firm Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) looked at mortgage lending data for conventional loans in 2013 and 2014 under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and found that, in Baltimore, the application denial rate was 7.7 percent last year, down from 8.3 percent in 2013.
Baltimore has one of the lowest denial rates in the country. The U.S. average last year was 11.2 percent.
The mortgage application denial rate in Miami last year was 19.5 percent. That's the highest denial rate among the largest cities. When breaking down denial rates by race, 14 percent of black applicants in Baltimore failed to qualify for a mortgage, compared with 5.8 percent for white borrowers.
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You’re Doing It Wrong, ‘The View’
It looks like those elitist harridans on ABC’s “The View” learned nothing from the national backlash over their mockery of nurse Kelley Johnson less than eight weeks ago.
Guess they’ve already forgotten how major advertisers Johnson & Johnson, Party City, McCormick spices, Snuggle, and Eggland’s Best all pulled spots from the show after co-host and lead Mean Girl Michelle Collins led a cacklefest ridiculing Johnson, Miss Colorado 2015, for a heartfelt monologue about her work during the Miss America pageant.
In a craven attempt at damage control, the daytime divas inflicted yet more damage by blaming nurses and their supporters who protested the plain insults for “misconstruing” their snotty remarks. Co-host Joy Behar blithely confessed she “didn’t know what the hell I was talking about” when she poked fun of Johnson for wearing her stethoscope.
Liberal female TV stardom has its privileges.
Rather than be humbled and chastened, however, the know-nothing loudmouths have dug themselves another big, fat hole.
Last week on the iconic show created by a pioneering female journalist with an all female-cast to provide revolutionary TV programming for a female audience that had been marginalized by the male-dominated entertainment world, the shrews of The View chose to wield their influential platform to…
…publicly make fun of the only female GOP presidential candidate’s face.
Why?
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Guess they’ve already forgotten how major advertisers Johnson & Johnson, Party City, McCormick spices, Snuggle, and Eggland’s Best all pulled spots from the show after co-host and lead Mean Girl Michelle Collins led a cacklefest ridiculing Johnson, Miss Colorado 2015, for a heartfelt monologue about her work during the Miss America pageant.
In a craven attempt at damage control, the daytime divas inflicted yet more damage by blaming nurses and their supporters who protested the plain insults for “misconstruing” their snotty remarks. Co-host Joy Behar blithely confessed she “didn’t know what the hell I was talking about” when she poked fun of Johnson for wearing her stethoscope.
Liberal female TV stardom has its privileges.
Rather than be humbled and chastened, however, the know-nothing loudmouths have dug themselves another big, fat hole.
Last week on the iconic show created by a pioneering female journalist with an all female-cast to provide revolutionary TV programming for a female audience that had been marginalized by the male-dominated entertainment world, the shrews of The View chose to wield their influential platform to…
…publicly make fun of the only female GOP presidential candidate’s face.
Why?
More
Somerset County Farmland Protected
“We are grateful for Mr. Howard’s efforts to help keep this farmland a productive part of the local economy and to protect the scenic view,” Maryland Environmental Trust Director Bill Leahy said.
The easement serves as an integral part of the area’s agricultural setting, connecting protected farms, offering prime soils for farming and providing sweeping views of the farmland along Revell’s Neck Road.
Patients Want Drug Off The Market Following Crippling Side Effects
The antibiotic can treat diseases like anthrax and the plague, but asGigi Barnett explains, doctors are giving it to patients with less severe illnesses.
Eight years ago, Caroline Egan’s doctor prescribed her Levaquin to treat a sinus infection.
She took it as prescribed for three days until the former daycare provider from Framingham, Massachusetts says she began to see unusual symptoms.
“One day I can be OK and focused. And another day I can’t even talk to anybody, cause they’re not making sense. It sounds like they’re not speaking English,” said Caroline Egan.
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Ok, Who Ordered The Mexican Heroin?
Heroin use in the United States increased by nearly 80 percent between 2007 and 2012 alone, and The New York Times' main reaction to this depressing fact is to be overjoyed that the new addicts are mostly white.
The important point is not that ragingly addictive drugs are sweeping small-town America, young lives are being cut short, or that we lost one of the most talented actors of his generation to a heroin overdose. What matters is that that the drug epidemic is not having a disparate impact.
Excitedly reporting that "nearly 90 percent of those who tried heroin for the first time in the last decade were white" -- yay! -- the Times claimed that, with white kids dying from heroin overdoses, their parents are taking a "more forgiving approach" to heroin addiction.
Assuming that's even true, are grieving parents the best source of public policy recommendations? If we're basing our drug policies on the feelings of parents whose kids overdosed on drugs, how about having the parents of kids who have been raped and murdered write our death penalty laws?
Columbia professor Kimberle Williams Crenshaw lamented that if only whites had been dying of heroin overdoses sooner, "the devastating impact of mass incarceration upon entire communities would never have happened."
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Excitedly reporting that "nearly 90 percent of those who tried heroin for the first time in the last decade were white" -- yay! -- the Times claimed that, with white kids dying from heroin overdoses, their parents are taking a "more forgiving approach" to heroin addiction.
Assuming that's even true, are grieving parents the best source of public policy recommendations? If we're basing our drug policies on the feelings of parents whose kids overdosed on drugs, how about having the parents of kids who have been raped and murdered write our death penalty laws?
Columbia professor Kimberle Williams Crenshaw lamented that if only whites had been dying of heroin overdoses sooner, "the devastating impact of mass incarceration upon entire communities would never have happened."
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Baltimore police union joins others in boycott of Quentin Tarantino film
BALTIMORE —The Baltimore City Lodge No. 3 is the latest police union to announce a boycott of Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film.
Tarantino is being heavily criticized by police unions around the country for remarks he made during a police brutality rally on Oct. 24 in New York, calling attention to those killed in police shootings.
"When I see murder I cannot stand by. I have to call the murdered the murdered. I have to call the murderers the murderers," Tarantino said during the rally.
The Baltimore City Lodge No. 3 on Thursday became the latest to announce a boycott of Tarantino's upcoming film, "The Hateful Eight." The movie does not deal with the issue of police brutality.
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Tarantino is being heavily criticized by police unions around the country for remarks he made during a police brutality rally on Oct. 24 in New York, calling attention to those killed in police shootings.
"When I see murder I cannot stand by. I have to call the murdered the murdered. I have to call the murderers the murderers," Tarantino said during the rally.
The Baltimore City Lodge No. 3 on Thursday became the latest to announce a boycott of Tarantino's upcoming film, "The Hateful Eight." The movie does not deal with the issue of police brutality.
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How Media Bias Works
What happened to the email scandal? Or the cost of Hillary Clinton’s and Bill Clinton’s speeches? Or the Uranium deal where President Putin got control of our mines? Or Hillary Clinton’s lie about Benghazi being caused by a video? Or any of the scandals the media pursued with such zest and vigor until last w
Some say that Clinton won the debate by surviving the Benghazi hearings. Others say there was nothing there in the first place.
The truth is that the four-year rule kicked in. The four-year rule, widely honored but never admitted by the media provides that it can be critical of the Democratic Party, President Obama, or the Clintons for only three out of every four years. But when an election year looms, they have to cut it out and fall in line behind the Democratic Party and its likely nominee, Hillary Clinton. In other words, when the stakes are down, they have to cut out the criticism.
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Some say that Clinton won the debate by surviving the Benghazi hearings. Others say there was nothing there in the first place.
The truth is that the four-year rule kicked in. The four-year rule, widely honored but never admitted by the media provides that it can be critical of the Democratic Party, President Obama, or the Clintons for only three out of every four years. But when an election year looms, they have to cut it out and fall in line behind the Democratic Party and its likely nominee, Hillary Clinton. In other words, when the stakes are down, they have to cut out the criticism.
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Maryland family faces harsh criticism after adopted daughter featured in ‘American Girl’ magazine
Rob and Reece Scheer of Darnestown adopted Amaya and three boys — all of whom had been in foster care — several years ago and were recently featured in a magazine run by the huge toy chain Mattel and its popular dolls, called “American Girl.” In the article, Amaya tells of how she and her brother came to the Scheers in 2009 with their belongings in two trash bags. It was their third foster home in four months. The Scheers went on to adopt two other kids who are brothers — Greyson, who is now 8, and Tristan, now 6.
The article, by an adult writer for the magazine, is written through Amaya’s perspective. In it, Amaya promotes the charity one of her dads — Rob — started several years ago, called Comfort Cases, which provides backpacks filled with pajamas, toothbrushes, blankets, stuffed animals and other items for foster kids. The group has gone from providing about 300 kits in 2013 to donating 7,000 to kids in the District, Maryland and Virginia foster care systems last year.
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Rupert Murdoch Takes Over at National Geographic, Immediately Starts Laying off Award-Winning Staff
National Geographic, 1888-2015, RIP?
It's as bad as many of us feared. In spite of happy talk like, "Oh, his son will be running it and he's different," "Rupert wouldn't destroy an asset like Nat Geo," etc., the axe fell on Tuesday.
The memo went out, and November 3rd 2015 came to the National Geographic office. This was the day in which Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox took over National Geographic. The management of National Geographic sent out an email telling its staff, all of its staff, all to report to their headquarters, and wait by their phones. This pulled back every person who was in the field, every photographer, every reporter, even those on vacation had to show up on this fateful day.
As these phones rang, one by one National Geographic let go the award-winning staff, and the venerable institution was no more.
The name now belongs to Rupert Murdoch, and he has plans for it. The CEO of National Geographic Society, Greg Knell, tried to claim back in September that “there won’t be an [editorial] turn in a direction that is different from the National Geographic heritage.” Murdoch’s move today only served to prove Knell’s words hollow, with hundreds of talented people now served their pink slips. And with the recognition that Murdoch’s other enterprises do not reflect the standards held by National Geographic, and with Murdoch’s history of changing the editorial direction of purchased properties, today’s move indicates that we can expect a similar shift for National Geographic.
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Governor Larry Hogan Announces New Regulations to Address Impaired Driving
Ignition Interlock Program Expanded
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today announced an expansion of Maryland’s Ignition Interlock program, which will help save lives by reducing the number of drunk drivers on Maryland roads. Beginning in 1989, Maryland’s Ignition Interlock program instituted a device that prevents a car from starting when it detects a certain level of alcohol on the driver’s breath. Under current regulations, drivers who register a 0.15 blood alcohol level or higher are allowed to opt-in to the program and keep their license without having an administrative hearing, while those who register 0.08 to 0.15 are not allowed to opt-in to the program.
Governor Hogan’s proposed regulations will allow all of these drivers the option of participating in the ignition interlock program and therefore, the ability to keep their license without an administrative hearing.
In addition to expanding the number of people that can opt-in, the new regulations also will bring Maryland in compliance with ignition interlock device standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Our administration is committed to protecting all Marylanders by taking the common sense steps that will help to prevent drunk driving,” Governor Hogan said. “These proposed regulations will make our roads and communities safer by ensuring that past drunk driving offenders cannot start their car after they have been drinking.”
On average, there are 7,884 impaired driving crashes across Maryland in any given year. In those crashes, 170 people die every year due to impaired driving. All of these fatalities are preventable. In Maryland, drivers with a BAC of .08 or higher are charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and those with a BAC of .04 are charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).
“Every life lost is one too many,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn. “Expanding Ignition Interlock is a giant step forward in eliminating impaired driving fatalities on Maryland’s highways!”
Maryland’s ignition interlock program has approximately 11,000 participants and is monitored by the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). The MVA has implemented an automated comprehensive ignition interlock program, which efficiently monitors participants and allows the MVA to take action against program violations
The Cold Truth About Cold Medicines
You might want to think twice before heading to the drugstore the next time you have a sniffle.
Welcome to cold season! If you should happen to catch a sniffle, don’t bother with the cold medicine aisle at your local pharmacy. New research shows these products work no better than placebo.
Actually, products like Tylenol Sinus, Sudafed PE, Advil Sinus & Pain and others containing the supposed decongestant phenylephrine may work worse than a placebo, since cold medicine often comes with unpleasant side-effects like jitteriness and dry mouth, and can leave you feeling worse than you did before taking it.
Actually, products like Tylenol Sinus, Sudafed PE, Advil Sinus & Pain and others containing the supposed decongestant phenylephrine may work worse than a placebo, since cold medicine often comes with unpleasant side-effects like jitteriness and dry mouth, and can leave you feeling worse than you did before taking it.
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Welcome to cold season! If you should happen to catch a sniffle, don’t bother with the cold medicine aisle at your local pharmacy. New research shows these products work no better than placebo.
Actually, products like Tylenol Sinus, Sudafed PE, Advil Sinus & Pain and others containing the supposed decongestant phenylephrine may work worse than a placebo, since cold medicine often comes with unpleasant side-effects like jitteriness and dry mouth, and can leave you feeling worse than you did before taking it.
Actually, products like Tylenol Sinus, Sudafed PE, Advil Sinus & Pain and others containing the supposed decongestant phenylephrine may work worse than a placebo, since cold medicine often comes with unpleasant side-effects like jitteriness and dry mouth, and can leave you feeling worse than you did before taking it.
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Maryland gets 'C' on March of Dimes report card
The national preterm birth rate is about 9.5 percent, earning a grade of "C" in the March of Dimes' latest report card. Maryland got a "C" with a 10.1 percent preterm birth rate, while Baltimore City got an "F" with a 12.2 percent preterm birth rate.
Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen released a statement Thursday afternoon, saying in part: "Today’s announcement only reinforces how premature birth rates are deeply tied to fundamental issues of racial equity and systemic poverty. To continue moving the needle forward, we need the continued -- and expanded -- support from our local, state, and federal partners, so that we can ensure that every child born in Baltimore is born at a healthy weight, full-term and ready to thrive in healthy families.”
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Found dog in Mardela
4 Reasons Pot Legalization Crashed and Burned in Ohio
The Buckeye State legalization initiative got trounced Tuesday, and there are lessons to be learned.
Issue 3, the ResponsibleOhio marijuana legalization initiative, was trounced at the polls Tuesday, losing by a 2-to-1 margin despite polling that showed a competitive race and a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign that went largely unanswered.
The defeat came even as voters, both in Ohio and nationwide, voice their support for pot legalization. Last month, a Quinnipiac poll had Ohio support for generic legalization at 53%, while a Gallup poll had national support for legalization at 58%.
So what went wrong? It's pretty early to fully dissect voting patterns, but here are four contributing factors to the defeat:
1. It's a marijuana monopoly! The ResponsibleOhio initiative would have created a "monopoly" on commercial pot cultivation by allowing only 10 such grows and assigning them to people who invested in the campaign. It was an interesting initiative business model and worked well enough to actually make the ballot, which no other marijuana reform initiatives in the state have managed to do, but turned out to be self-defeating in the end. The model left the initiative open to charges of "crony capitalism" and creating a "legal marijuana cartel," and really stuck in the craw of even many Buckeye legalization supporters, some of whom publicly and virulently opposed it.
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Issue 3, the ResponsibleOhio marijuana legalization initiative, was trounced at the polls Tuesday, losing by a 2-to-1 margin despite polling that showed a competitive race and a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign that went largely unanswered.
The defeat came even as voters, both in Ohio and nationwide, voice their support for pot legalization. Last month, a Quinnipiac poll had Ohio support for generic legalization at 53%, while a Gallup poll had national support for legalization at 58%.
So what went wrong? It's pretty early to fully dissect voting patterns, but here are four contributing factors to the defeat:
1. It's a marijuana monopoly! The ResponsibleOhio initiative would have created a "monopoly" on commercial pot cultivation by allowing only 10 such grows and assigning them to people who invested in the campaign. It was an interesting initiative business model and worked well enough to actually make the ballot, which no other marijuana reform initiatives in the state have managed to do, but turned out to be self-defeating in the end. The model left the initiative open to charges of "crony capitalism" and creating a "legal marijuana cartel," and really stuck in the craw of even many Buckeye legalization supporters, some of whom publicly and virulently opposed it.
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Maryland Casinos Generate $94.76 Million in Revenue During October
Hollywood Casino Perryville generated $6,228,069 from both slot machines and table games in October. Gross gaming revenue per unit per day was: $199.53 for slot machines, $2,329.23 for banking table games and $ 328.98 for non-banking table games. Hollywood Casino’s October 2015 revenue increased by $95,326, or 1.6%, from October 2014. Hollywood Casino Perryville operates 850 slot machines and 22 (12 banking and 10 non-banking) table games.
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore generated $24,682,772 from both slot machines and table games in October. Gross gaming revenue per unit per day was: $202.51 for slot machines, $2,130.01 for banking table games and $ 968.80 for non-banking table games. Horseshoe Casino’s October 2015 revenue increased by $2,199,568, or 9.8%, from October 2014. Horseshoe Casino Baltimore operates 2,200 slot machines and 178 (153 banking and 25 non-banking) table games.
Maryland Live Casino generated $54,979,654 from both slot machines and table games in October. Gross gaming revenue per unit per day was: $272.38 for slot machines, $3,989.68 for banking table games and $1,311.89 for non-banking table games. Maryland Live’s October 2015 revenue increased by $4,698,053, or 9.3%, from October 2014. Maryland Live Casino operates 4,059 slot machines and 202 (150 banking and 52 non-banking) table games. Casino at Ocean Downs generated $4,658,909 from slot machines in October, and its gross gaming revenue per unit per day was $187.72.
Casino at Ocean Downs’ October 2015 revenue increased by $536,592, or 13%, from October 2014. The Casino at Ocean Downs operates 800 slot machines, and does not have table games.
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Restaurant CEO Predicts Robots will Replace Overpriced Labor
The melancholy truth that America’s leftists, and the young people they exploit for political support, stubbornly refuse to learn is that the true minimum wage is zero. When the cost of labor is increased beyond its true value by government fiat, employers learn to make do with fewer workers.
The primary factor containing the damage from such market responses to increased labor cost is customer satisfaction. Beyond a certain point, it becomes impossible to cut jobs or productivity suffers too much. In a service-oriented business, such as food service, the customers have unhappy experiences at understaffed establishments and take their business elsewhere.
However, the CEO of one large restaurant chain warns that customers are now comfortable enough with automated systems to allow another huge round of job cuts in the near future. To put it simply, the government is pricing labor out of the market, and machines are standing ready to fill the gap.
The CEO in question, Ron Shaich of Panera Bread, didn’t really phrase this as a warning during his most recent quarterly earnings call. As reported by Business Insider, it was more like a confident prediction. “Labor is going to go down,” he said. “And as digital utilization goes up – like the sun comes up in the morning – it is going to continue to go up.”
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Robot Will Attend School for 10-Year-Old With Cancer
The thin robot, holding an iPad that shows Peyton's face, will bring Peyton to class virtually and will help her socialize with her friends as she rolls down the halls of Poolesville Elementary in Poolesville, Maryland.
It will be in school for five weeks while Peyton, 10, undergoes cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Peyton will see and hear what PAVS will "see" and "hear." She'll control the robot with an app and be able to respond to people talking with her.
"As they see that robot in the hallways, that's Peyton," said Douglas Robbins, principal of Poolesville Elementary School. "She's here, she's with us and she's going to engage in the school day, just like the rest of them."
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