Why I Oppose Judge Sotomayor

Why I Oppose Judge Sotomayor
by Frank DeRose
Private Papers

Introduction

I oppose the nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. My opposition to Judge Sotomayor is not based on her ethnicity or gender, but on her espousal of a radical, relativist, postmodernist judicial theory, which has no place on the Supreme Court.

Judge Sotomayor laid out this judicial theory in a speech in Berkeley in 2001. It may be summed up as follows:
People have different experiences that arise from their different biological natures and different cultural environments. These different experiences cause people to develop different perspectives on the world, different opinions, sympathies, and prejudices. We may refer to the sum total of an individual’s different personal experiences, perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices as the person's identity. A judge's identity makes a difference in and influences the way in which the judge judges. It is impossible for a judge to transcend his/her identity and achieve objectivity, impartiality, and neutrality. Judges, inasmuch as they are subject to and limited by the dictates of their identities, are incapable of using legal reasoning to extract a single, objective, determinable meaning from a legal text. Rather, every act of judging is an exercise of power, in which the judge imposes on the text an interpretation he or she chooses based on his/her own personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices. Judges themselves decide when it is appropriate for their judicial decisions to be informed by their own personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices. Since judges are incapable of objectivity, there must be quotas of various identity groups on the bench so that, when the members of these different groups advance their own personal prejudices, their various biases will cancel each other out.

It is the purpose of this brief essay to examine in several parts the text of Judge Sotomayor's speech to demonstrate that the summary given above is an accurate representation of the judicial theory she lays out in her speech. As I proceed, I will also demonstrate the inconsistencies in and the self-refuting nature of this theory and comment on the sad vision of society it presents.

Part I
Identity: its sources and influence

A substantial portion of Judge Sotomayor's speech is devoted to establishing the exact nature and sources of her Latina identity. According to Judge Sotomayor, her Latina identity is shaped by “shared experiences and traditions,” “cultural differences,” “cultural experiences,” “gender differences,” “physiological differences,” or “basic differences in logic and reasoning.” When Judge Sotomayor refers to "gender" or “physiological” or “basic” differences, I assume she means differences between men and women or between different racial groups (as perceived by her) that are determined by genetic and biological makeup.

Whatever its sources, the Latina identity causes the Latina judge to have certain “perspectives,” “sympathies,” and “prejudices” that make a difference in the way she judges:

I intend tonight … to talk to you about my Latina identity, where it came from, and the influence I perceive it has on my presence on the bench.

I further accept that our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions. The aspiration to impartiality is just that — it's an aspiration because it denies the fact that we are by our experiences making different choices than others.

[O]ur gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.

Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.

I simply do not know exactly what that difference will be in my judging. But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage.

Part II
Objectivity, choosing in a judicial context, and the Supreme Court as “naked power organ”

If Judge Sotomayor’s philosophy consisted of the simple statement that we all are to some extent influenced by our personal experiences, we might consider that philosophy relatively harmless. For example, Judge Samuel Alito made similar statements during his confirmation hearings. But, Judge Sotomayor’s philosophy goes much farther than that. For her, objectivity itself is not possible:

Yet, because I accept the proposition that, as Judge Resnik describes it, "to judge is an exercise of power" and because as, another former law school classmate, Professor Martha Minnow [sic] of Harvard Law School, states "there is no objective stance but only a series of perspectives — no neutrality, no escape from choice in judging," I further accept that our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions. The aspiration to impartiality is just that — it's an aspiration because it denies the fact that we are by our experiences making different choices than others.

I will go through the various statements and phrases in this passage one by one.

There is no objective stance but only a series of perspectives — no neutrality ... The aspiration to impartiality is just that — it's an aspiration.

These statements speak for themselves. Judge Sotomayor accepts the proposition that it is impossible for judges to be neutral, impartial, and objective. They may aspire to be so, but in the end they will fail. Judge Sotomayor makes the same point elsewhere in her speech:

Judge Cedarbaum ... believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices and aspire to achieve a greater degree of fairness and integrity based on the reason of law. Although I agree with and attempt to work toward Judge Cedarbaum's aspiration, I wonder whether achieving that goal is possible in all or even in most cases.

Thus, in Judge Sotomayor’s opinion, it is in general not possible for judges to transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices and arrive at a judicial decision through the application of legal reasoning. Rather, judicial decisions are driven by judges’ personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices.

To judge is an exercise of power.

Judge Sotomayor is describing a situation in which a judge forces or imposes an interpretation onto a set of facts or a legal text. During his confirmation hearings, John Roberts compared himself to an umpire: "Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them." Judge Sotomayor's conception of an umpire would seem to be altogether different. In her view, an umpire’s judgment would be what John Austin calls a performative: by calling a pitch a 'ball,' the umpire is performing the act of making it a ‘ball’ instead of a ‘strike.’ In Judge Roberts' understanding, a judge simply extracts from a legal text a meaning that has an existence independent of him or her and then applies that meaning. In Judge Sotomayor's understanding, that meaning does not exist until the judge, in an "exercise of power," creates it.

Judge Bork made the meaning of the phrase "to judge is an exercise in power" crystal clear when he wrote:

[L]egal reasoning of the sort that served us for centuries is now utterly outmoded, and a verbal formulation can always be devised to reach the correct political result. … If the Constitution is law, then presumably its meaning, like that of all other law, is the meaning the lawmakers were understood to have intended. If the Constitution is law, then presumably, like all other law, the meaning the lawmakers intended is as binding upon judges as it is upon legislatures and executives. … It is here that the concept of neutral principles, which Wechsler said were essential if the Supreme Court were not to be a naked power organ, comes into play. (The Tempting of America, p. 135, p. 145)

There is … no escape from choice in judging. … [W]e are by our experiences making different choices than others.

Judge Sotomayor uses the words "choice" or "choose" two other times in her speech:

Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.

There is always a danger embedded in relative morality, but since judging is a series of choices that we must make, that I am forced to make, I hope that I can make them by informing myself on the questions I must not avoid asking and continuously pondering.

By using the words “choice” and “choose” Judge Sotomayor is trying to convey the following complex of ideas: If there is an objective and determinable meaning that can be extracted from a legal text by all judges alike through the application of legal reasoning, then, judges are obliged to accept and be bound by this single meaning of the text. If, on the other hand, judges are trapped inside their identities and are incapable of transcending their own personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices, then, it will not be possible for them to extract a single objective meaning from the text. Instead, each judge’s understanding of the text will be determined by his/her identity. In such a case, Judge Sotomayor would maintain that the judge is “choosing a particular interpretation of the text based on his/her own personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices.”

If we now return to the statement: "there is no objective stance, but only a series of perspectives — no neutrality, no escape from choice in judging," we can see that it is only by assuming that Judge Sotomayor is using the word "choice" in the proposed sense that this statement becomes a consistent whole: if there is no single truth, but only a series of perspectives, then, one has no option but to choose between the multiple perspectives. Likewise, our proposed interpretation of the words “choice” and “choose” sheds light on the phrase “to judge is an exercise of power:” if there is no such thing as an objective, determinable meaning of a legal text, but a judge is free to choose whichever interpretation his personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices may dictate, any interpretation the judge assigns to the text is a matter of choice, which by definition is an exercise of arbitrary power.

The reader may already have recognized the inconsistency of Judge Sotomayor’s use of the words “choice” and “choose” to describe the actions of an individual who is a prisoner of his or her own identity. If a judge’s interpretation of a legal text is determined by his/her personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices, then, it is wholly inappropriate to use the word “choice” to describe the judge’s adoption of that interpretation. Rather, the judge is merely a subject of the dictates of his own identity, incapable of transcending and acting independently of his own perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices. If, on the other hand, Judge Sotomayor is using the word "choice" in its proper sense of "free and unconstrained selection," then this would presuppose that judges are indeed capable of transcending their identities and selecting any option, even one that stands in opposition to their own personal prejudices. Such a situation would, then, contra Sotomayor, make objectivity theoretically possible.

In fact, the word "choice," with its connotations of freedom, should not be used to describe the activity of a judge at all. The only consistent theory is one that assumes there is a single, objective, determinable meaning in the legal text, that all judges are capable of extracting this single meaning through a process of legal reasoning, and that all judges have no choice but to be bound by this meaning. This theory, like Judge Sotomayor’s theory that judicial decisions are determined by our identities, does not allow judges any freedom to exercise choice. But, that is as it should be. The postmodernist idea that judges should exercise free choice is to be rejected out of hand. Judge Bork takes up the issue of choice in The Tempting of America. He starts by noting Dean Paul Brest’s objections to originalist approaches:

The fact is that all adjudication requires making choices among the levels of generality on which to articulate principles, and all such choices are inherently non-neutral. …

To this Judge Bork replies:

The role of a judge committed to the philosophy of original understanding is not to “choose a level of abstraction.” Rather, it is to find the meaning of a text — a process which includes finding its degree of generality, which is a part of its meaning — and to apply that text to a particular situation. (The Tempting of America pp. 148-9)

In the end, then, it is not a question of whether the judge should be able to choose or not. He should not. Rather it is a question of what the judge is to be ruled by, his own personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices, or the meaning to be found in the words of the Constitution.

I might add that, if it were impossible to extract a single, unambiguous meaning from a legal text, it would then be impossible for there to be a government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches or for a government to last over time. For, how would it be possible for the members of one branch or of one time to understand what the members of the other branch or another time were even talking about? In fact, how can one human being communicate with another if the words emitted by the one with one meaning are understood by the other with a different meaning determined by the latter’s personal perspectives, sympathies, and prejudices? These are the kinds of absurdities to which postmodernist legal theory leads.

Part III
Judicial decisions based on personal prejudice

Two passages in Judge Sotomayor’s speech deal with the allowable uses of personal prejudice:

While recognizing the potential effect of individual experiences on perception, Judge Cedarbaum nevertheless believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices and aspire to achieve a greater degree of fairness and integrity based on the reason of law. Although I agree with and attempt to work toward Judge Cedarbaum's aspiration, I wonder whether achieving that goal is possible in all or even in most cases. And I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society.

I can and do aspire to be greater than the sum total of my experiences but I accept my limitations. I willingly accept that we who judge must not deny the differences resulting from experience and heritage but attempt, as the Supreme Court suggests, continuously to judge when those opinions, sympathies and prejudices are appropriate.

The second passage can mean nothing other than that Judge Sotomayor thinks there will be times when it is appropriate for her to make judicial decisions based on the personal prejudices that result from her own experience and heritage.

I don’t know if it has ever been the case that a Supreme Court nominee has taken the position that he or she will sometimes judge based on personal prejudice. These passages become all the more remarkable when it is observed that in another passage in her speech Judge Sotomayor seemingly takes notice of and finds fault with the prejudices and limitations of white male judges:

I, like Professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. … However, to understand takes time and effort, something that not all people are willing to give. For others, their experiences limit their ability to understand the experiences of others. Other[s] simply do not care. … Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.

So, for Judge Sotomayor, the fact that white male judges are incapable of transcending their personal sympathies and prejudices and are limited in their ability to understand the experiences of others is a deficiency, but for women and minority judges to judge in accordance with the urgings of prejudice is to perform a service to the law and to society.

Perhaps we may understand Judge Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy in this area as follows: It is simply not possible for judges, as Judge Sotomayor’s colleague Judge Cederbaum would have it, to "transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices and achieve a greater degree of fairness and integrity based on the reason of law:" therefore, given the fact that white male judges, on the one hand, are incapable of transcending their own personal prejudices, there will be times when Judge Sotomayor may decide that it is “appropriate” for her, on the other hand, to allow her own Latina perspectives and prejudices to come into play when judging. In fact, not to do so would be a “disservice to society.”

Elsewhere in her speech, Judge Sotomayor notes:

[According to] every task force study of gender and race bias in the courts ... a statistically significant number of women and minority lawyers and judges, both alike, have experienced bias in the courtroom.

Judge Sotomayor's solution to this problem would seem to be that women and minority judges should seek to cancel out the bias of white males by allowing their own biases, in the form of their own personal sympathies, perspectives, and prejudices, to influence and inform their own judgments on the bench.

Part IV
Quotas for women and minority judges

For the kind of "canceling out" view of justice mentioned in Part III to work, there must be adequate numbers of women and minority judges on the bench. Judge Sotomayor devotes a long section of her speech to tallying up the percentages of judges that are female, minority, or both. (The interested reader may examine these passages in detail in the speech itself.) Judge Sotomayor finds these percentages distressingly low ("grossly below our proportion of the population") and is indignant that this state of affairs persists to this day ("much still remains to happen").

In Judge Sotomayor's opinion, then, the quality of the federal judiciary is simply a function of the degree to which the percentages of women and/or minority judges on the bench correspond to their percentages in the general population. If the percentages of these groups on the bench are too low, then the makeup of the judiciary must be changed along gender and color lines. Just add a dash of women or a dollop of people of color. Put differently, there should be quotas for female and minority judges. And these quotas should match the percentages of women and minorities in the general population.

Apparently, no further qualifications for judges other than gender and color are much worth considering. The simple fact that the additional judges are women or minorities will be sufficient to guarantee an improvement in the quality of opinions handed down. For, as Judge Sotomayor notes:

The Judicature Journal has at least two excellent studies on how women on the courts of appeal and state supreme courts have tended to vote more often than their male counterpart to uphold women's claims in sex discrimination cases and criminal defendants' claims in search and seizure cases.

Part V
The wise Latina and the white male
Or: the self-refuting nature of postmodernist legal theory

The one passage of Judge Sotomayor’s speech that has received more attention in the general media than any other is the following one:

Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. … I am … not so sure that I agree with the statement. … I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.

As we have seen, Judge Sotomayor believes that the quality of judging will be improved by the mere addition of women and minority judges to the bench, so it is not surprising that she would think that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would make an excellent judge. What is puzzling about her statement, however, is why she would think that a Latina identity would reach better conclusions when judging than would a white male identity. Does she not realize that every white male has a family story to tell similar to hers, just as personal, just as rich? Why should the experiences of these white males and the perspectives and prejudices they develop from these experiences be considered less relevant than hers or less capable of delivering their own unique insights? Just ask Frank Ricci, the dyslexic fireman from New Haven, whether his life experiences have given him a special insight into how a judicial ruling can impact the life of an individual.

On a more general plane, as we saw in Part II, Judge Sotomayor accepts the proposition that there is no objective stance, only a series of perspectives, only personal prejudice; but, if this is the case, then, on what basis can Judge Sotomayor assert that her vision of the world is the correct one? By her own argument, her vision has no claim to objectivity, but is merely another perspective, no more valid than the next, and we are free to reject it. In the end, then, Judge Sotomayor's judicial philosophy is self-refuting.

Part VI
The sad and tragic vision of relative morality

Judge Sotomayor labels her own philosophy as dangerous relative morality. Nevertheless, she seems fatalistically to accept it:

There is always a danger embedded in relative morality, but since judging is a series of choices that we must make, that I am forced to make, I hope that I can make them by informing myself on the questions I must not avoid asking and continuously pondering.

What a sad and tragic vision of society Judge Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy presents! In it, humans do not have any value as individuals, but only as members of one particular identity group or another. It is in this sense that Judge Sotomayor can speak of Justice Clarence Thomas' thought as "African-American thought," instead of as the thought of an African-American, or simply as thought per se. In such a world, people are trapped and isolated inside their personal biases and their decisions are dictated by their own personal prejudices. There is no objective truth and there can be no genuine communication since words emitted by one person with one meaning are understood by another person with a different meaning determined by the latter’s different identity. There is no law independent of biases, but merely a butting of the forces of personal prejudice up against one another.

In Feminist Legal Theory, Nancy Levit and Robert Verchick give the following description of postmodernism:

As the name implies, postmodernism emerged as a response to modernism, an intellectual movement that rejected the formal structure of Victorian art (narrative in literature, realism in painting) … Postmodernists also reject traditional styles and forms, but go one further by rejecting the very notion of objective knowledge and experience. Postmodernists challenge the very possibility of truth and objectivity. In the postmodern world, knowledge can never be certain or empirically established. … This is the postmodern thesis: that when you get down to it, there is no such thing as justice, beauty, and truth — only power and the quest to maintain it. (Feminist Legal Theory, pp. 36-37)

Levit and Verchick’s statement that postmodernists believe that there is no such thing as justice, beauty, and truth is echoed by Judge Sotomayor:

[A]s Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise.

Judge Bork describes post-modernism as follows:

This development can be seen in any number of academic, previously intellectual fields. Sometimes called post-modernism or post-structuralism, the denial of truth is, as Gertrude Himmelfarb says, "best known as a school of literary theory. But it is becoming increasingly prominent in such other disciplines as history, philosophy, anthropology, law, and theology..." It is also becoming increasingly difficult to call some of those subjects "disciplines." In every case — the attack on reason, on the concept of truth, and on the idea that there is an objective reality to which we must attempt to make our words and theories correspond — the impetus behind such assaults comes from the political left. … Nonsense these attacks may be, but, as the history of our century teaches, there is no guarantee that nonsense will not prevail, with dire results. In law, philosophy, literary studies, and history, among other subjects, we are raising generations of students who are taught by the "cutting edge" professors that traditional respect for logic, evidence, intellectual honesty, and the other requirements of discipline are not merely passé, but totalitarian and repressive, sustaining existing social, political, and economic arrangements to the benefit of white, heterosexual males. To change society in radical directions, it is said, it is necessary to be rid of the old apparatus. (Slouching towards Gomorrah, pp. 268-9)

Part VII
Conclusion

As I stated in the introduction to this essay, I oppose the nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. My opposition is not based on Judge Sotomayor’s ethnicity or gender, but on her espousal of a radical, relativist, postmodernist judicial theory. This theory presents a sad and tragic vision of life. This theory is also driven by logical inconsistencies and in the end self-refuting; the fact that a judge could accept a theory with such serious logical flaws raises genuine questions about the ability of candidate to engage in the kind of rigorous legal reasoning demanded by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is not the right place for a judge who holds such a sad and flawed judicial philosophy. I encourage the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, therefore, and all members of the Senate in general not to confirm Judge Sotomayor’s nomination.

* * * * *

Frank DeRose lives in the Silicon Valley and works as a financial analyst, after studying Classics at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley.

Home Invasion Near Georgetown

Location of Incident: County Seat MHP, Wilson Road, north of Georgetown, Sussex County, DE

Date and Time of Occurrence: Thursday June 18, 2009 on or about 02:35 hours

Suspect(s): Suspect-1: Black male,5’06” to 5’08”, thin build wearing dark baggy pants and white sneakers. Suspect was also wearing a long sleeve T-shirt with several colors on the front. Suspect-1 was also brandishing a shotgun.
Suspect-2: Black male, 6’00” to 6’03”, large build wearing dark baggy pants.
Suspect-3: Black male 5’06” to 5’08”, small build wearing dark baggie basketball shorts.

Resume:

State Police are investigating a home invasion that occurred at a Georgetown mobile home park.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours on Thursday when a 39 year-old male resident went outside to start his truck. The 39 year-old is a commercial tractor trailer driver. When the male exited his truck he was confronted by three male suspects. They demanded money, which the victim complied and turned over his wallet to them. The suspects were upset with the lack of money in the wallet and forced the man back to his home. The victim had inadvertently locked the door when he left to start his truck. The suspects made the victim knock on the door until one of his sons answered. The suspects forced their way in and went through the home and ordered all the occupants into the living room area. Once everyone was gathered in the room the three went through the clothing of the victim and his 39 year-old wife.

In addition to the husband and wife, their 19 and 18 year-old sons were also forced into the living room along with a 15 year-old boy who was friends with one of the sons. There was also a small child in the home who was never woke up during the incident.

The sons were ordered to remove electronic devices throughout the home such as a Wii, a computer and game cartridges. The suspects also gathered up some cash they found.

The suspects then fled the home on foot. It is unknown if a vehicle was used in their get-a-way.

Troopers are asking for the public’s help. Anyone who may have any information is asked to call the state police at Troop 4 by dialing 302-856-5850 ext 255 or contact “Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-TIP-3333. Tips may also be submitted through the Web at http://www.tipsubmit.com/

I Wish You Enough

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone..' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

STATE POLICE INVESTIGATE HOME INVASION IN CARROLL COUNTY

(New Windsor, MD) – Maryland State Police are investigating a home invasion that left one man critically injured early this morning.

Police are not identifying the two victims involved in the home invasion at this time. One of the victims is being treated at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma. The other victim refused medical treatment.

The three suspects are described as African American males. No further description is available at this time.

The preliminary investigation indicates that shortly before 4:30 a.m. today, three suspects entered a single-family home in the 2600-block of Liberty Road in New Windsor, Maryland. It is unclear at this time how the suspects gained entry into the residence. Police believe the two victims were the only people in the home at the time.

Once the suspects entered the residence, the two victims, who are believed to be the tenants, were ordered into a first floor area of the home. Troopers were told that one of the suspects assaulted one of the victims with a firearm. Police believe there may have been an altercation that ensued, providing the second victim an opportunity to escape to the neighboring house to call 9-1-1. Westminster Barrack received the phone call and immediately dispatched troopers to the scene. An additional 9-1-1 call was received by the victim who had remained inside the invaded home after the suspects reportedly fled the scene.

When State Police arrived, one victim was found with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to head. He was transported by the Winfield Fire Department to Shock Trauma. The other victim was found at the neighboring house. He refused medical treatment.

State Police secured the home and the surrounding areas. Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division responded and processed the scene. Members of the Westminster Barracks Criminal Investigation Section responded to lead the investigation. Carroll County Sheriff’s Office also responded for assistance.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the Maryland State Police at 410-386-3000. Callers may remain anonymous. The investigation is continuing.

Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Press Releases

Incident: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Date of Incident: 15 June 2009
Location: N/B Salisbury Blvd. at Naylor Mill Road, Salisbury, MD
Suspect: John Wesley Pierce, 58, Salisbury, MD

Narrative: On 15 June 2009 at 3:21 PM, a deputy was stopped in traffic on N/B Salisbury Blvd, waiting to turn left onto Naylor Mill Road when the light turned green for traffic to proceed. The deputy noticed that one of the vehicles in the turn lane in front of the deputydid not move. Upon further investigation, the deputy discovered that the operator, John Wesley Price, had apparently fallen asleep at the wheel while waiting for the light to turn green. Upon waking up Price, the deputy detected the odor of alcohol emanating from Price’s breath and person. After further examination and testing of Price, the deputy placed him under arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.

Pierce was processed and released upon signing citations.
Charges: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Per Se
Driving While Impaired by Alcohol

Incident: Assault
Date of Incident: 16 June 2009
Location: 7400 block of Railroad Avenue, Pittsville, MD
Suspect: 1. Male Juvenile, 14, Pittsville, MD
2. Male Juvenile, 14, Pittsville, MD

Narrative: On 16 June 2009 at 3:00 PM, a deputy investigated the shooting of several children with a .BB gun in Pittsville. Upon the arrival of the deputy, it was discovered that several juveniles were walking down the street when two 14 YOA juveniles approached the group and began firing on them with .BB guns. The deputy observed red welts on the juveniles where they had been struck by the .BB’s. The juvenile identified the two 14 YOA juveniles who shot at them and the deputy located both of them.

Both juveniles were brought to the Sheriff’s Office where the deputy completed a request for charges which will be sent to the Department of Juvenile Services. The deputy released both juveniles to their respective parents pending action by the Department of Juvenile Services.

Charges: Assault 2nd

Incident: Assault
Date of Incident: 17 June 2009
Location: 5000 block of Sailfish Drive, Eden, MD
Suspect: Phillip W. Morris, 62, Eden, MD

Narrative: On 17 June 2009 at 6:40 AM, a deputy responded to investigate a reported altercation that occurred inside a residence in the 5000 block of Sailfish Drive in Eden. Upon arrival, the deputy met with a female victim who alleged that she was involved in a verbal altercation with Phillip Morris that turned physical. The victim stated that Morris struck the victim and the deputy observed injuries consistent with that account.

The deputy arrested Morris and transported him to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, Morris was released by the Commissioner on Personal Recognizance.

Charges: Assault 2nd

Fatal Crash Claims The Life Of A Dagsboro Teen

Location of Incident: SR 30 Gravel Hill Road approximately 1 mile south Johnson Road 5 miles north of Millsboro, Sussex County

Date and Time of Occurrence: Thursday June 18, 2009 at approximately 16:15 hours

Victim: Shauna R. Kaufman, 17, Dagsboro, DE

Resume:

State Police are investigating a traffic crash that killed a 17 year-old girl from Dagsboro.


The crash occurred around 4:15 pm today when Kaufman was driving a1998 Volvo S70 south on Gravel Hill Road at a reported high rate of speed. Her vehicle enter a right curve in the roadway and began to rotate clockwise on a wet roadway. As the Volvo traveled off the south bound edge of the roadway it continued to spin exposing the driver’s side door as the car struck a utility pole.

Kaufman was trapped in the vehicle and was later pronounced dead at the scene. It is unknown if seatbelts were used or if alcohol is suspected in the crash.

Prior to the crash Kaufman was reportedly driving very aggressively.

The roadway is still closed at this time.

WIN Dinner for Two and Two Tickets to The Fights

Let's do something different. Instead of winning a prize for yourself, you will be playing to give a gift of an evening out to someone else.

Is there someone special you would like to give a gift? Has someone done something for you that you would like to repay their kindness? Would you like to perform an act of kindness for someone, just because? If so, tell us who and why.

Enter today's contest to win Dinner for Two at Market Street Inn and two tickets for the Future Stars of Boxing Event at the Civic Center tomorrow night.

Only the winning entry will be posted along with the name of the entrant and the lucky recipient.

To be considered you must sign your name and the name of the person you would give the tickets to.

Winner will be announced later this evening. Good luck to all.

Dumb Blonde: Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader

Bush Takes Swipes At Obama Policies

ERIE, Pa.| Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, declaring the private sector -- not government -- will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care.

"I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in," the former president said to applause from members of a local business group. "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money."

Repeatedly in his hourlong speech and question-and-answer session, Mr. Bush said he would not directly criticize the new president, who has moved to take over financial institutions and several large corporations. Several times, however, he took direct aim at Obama policies as he defended his own during eight years in office.

"Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate in the United States," he said to huge cheers.

GO HERE to read more.

Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Press Release

Incident: Possession of CDS

Date of Incident: 17 June 2009

Location: Wicomico County Tourism Center, U.S. 13, Salisbury, MD

Suspect:
1. John Mulford, 27, Salisbury, MD
2. Dahtez D. Jones, 23, Salisbury, MD
3. Gabrielle Brothers, 21, Delmar, MD
4. Ashlie M. Meadows-Simms, 21, Fruitland, MD

Narrative: On 17 June 2009 at 4:40 PM, deputies from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of four individuals using CDS while sitting inside a vehicle at the Wicomico County Tourism Center. Upon arrival, the deputies located the four individuals seated in their vehicle in a back corner of the parking lot. The four quickly exited their vehicle and denied any involvement in any illicit activities. A WCSO K9 team arrived and scanned the vehicle for the presence of the odor of illegal drugs, during which the K9 alerted positively to that odor. Based on the alert the vehicle was searched and the deputies located the remnants of opiate type narcotic pills along with a burnt spoon wherein the pills had been burned into a liquid form. Located also in the vehicle and on the person of one of the subjects were syringes that had apparently been recently used to inject the drugs.

The investigating deputy placed all four subjects under arrest and they were all transported to the Central Booking Unit where they were processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, Mulford, Jones and Brothers were all released by the Commissioner on Personal Recognizance. Meadows-Simms was detained in the Detention Center by the Commissioner in lieu of $25,000.00 bond.

Additionally, Meadows-Simms was also discovered to have an outstanding Failure to Appear Bench Warrant for a Theft case. She was held on an additional $10,000 bond in this case.

Charges:
Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

The Lengths People Will Go - Just Unbelieveable

Earlier this morning, Joe published, in good faith, the content of an email sent to him. I find it absolutely amazing the lengths people will go. Jonathan Taylor and his cohorts fabricated a story about the death of someone's mother and child, for the sole purpose of discrediting Joe Albero. Have these people no morals? Fabricating a story such as this shows the depravity of Jonathan and those with whom he associates. Where did they steal the photo of the child sent with this email? Can you imagine seeing a photo of your child and an article saying she is dead? These people are in desparate need of mental health care.

Jonathan Taylor is the same sick, demented person our council majority uses to smear Debbie Campbell, Terry Cohen and countless others. This is the same person that claims to have the protection of the Salisbury Police Chief, Alan Webster. This is the same person, Louise Smith, Gary Comegys, Shanie Shields, Muir Boda, Barrie Tilghman and others of their ilk, associate with. Louise Smith is so low she disclosed her version of the verbal content of a private meeting between herself and Joe Albero to Jonathan Taylor. Shanie Shields has a lot of nerve making the statement, on record, that Joe Albero is sick when she is seen rubbing elbows at the VFW with Jonathan Taylor.

What Albero's detractors didn't consider, in their effort to discredit Joe is,
an accidental community service was performed even if it was a set up. It was a stark reminder of what is at risk. Although it may be ficticious, maybe we should be thanking the sender for raising awareness.

ATV Owner Speaks Up

That was my avt. A couple of things.

1. The reward was for the return and conviction!!!

2. We never got a conviction.

3. I wanted the conviction just as much as getting back the bike. I have friends that have had there bikes stolen and I want the a$$ holes that do this stuff to pay.

4. If Mr. bowling would of found and got a conviction. I would of giving him the reward with no questions asked.

5. I was very thankful for Mr Bowling finding the Atv. I did bring him a gift card to his office for 100. And my wife mailed to his office a 30.00 gift card and a thank you card. All of witch I did not half to do.

6. Talking with Mr. Bowling yesterday he stated he did not get either gift card. I will look into.

So with all that I thank Mr Bowling for his help.. I will look in to the gift cards that were sent. I sent this as a thank you for his effort even know we did not get an conviction. Right now I wish he did not find the atv in the first place. I could of file in for insurance and got a new bike.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

FIREWORKS ON 4TH OF JULY CANCELED AT SHOREBIRDS STADIUM.

We know Willards will have Fireworks. If you know of another location please let everyone kow.

A Comment Worthy Of A Post

Joe, yesterday was the Maryland State Fireman's Association's Annual Fireman's Parade in Ocean City.

Salisbury Fire Department was late to arrive with Tower 16. They went to through the parade and then to the awards ceremonies where they didn't get a single trophy for their unit. There is a category for Platform units (Tower 16) with 4 trophies given out, none to Salisbury.

The entire State of Maryland realizes that this is a big piece of junk.

Children In Car Seats- My Personal Experience

Dear Joe

I think it is wonderful that you are helping to expose people for not securing their children properly. This is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. Here is my own personal experience with this.

Three years and two months ago, my mother-in-law was driving back from Wal-Mart to our house, which is 2 miles away. For some reason, she decided not to put my three year old in a car seat, one that we had provided for them to keep in their car. She placed in the rear seat of her sedan and put a simple lap belt on her. During the ride home, she blacked out at the wheel, striking a telephone pole. The police estimate her speed at 40mph. The impact killed my mother-in-law instantly, along with my precious daughter, Annabelle. Annabelle was ejected through the front window and died minutes later.

Please have your readers make sure their children are secured properly so this doesn't ever happen again! You cannot imagine the pain this causes to write this, but I want to help others out there.

Anna Stanson

Was There Some Fire Convention In OC?

Allow me to rant a little bit...

Driving to Easton tonight, around 8PM, I was passed by several pieces of fire equipment.

They were:
Cordova Tanker 53
Cordova Brush Truck 56
Trappe (Either an Engine or Rescue - they look the same to me)
Two brush trucks from other companies in Queen Anne's County. Since I cannot remember specifically who they were, I will not venture a guess to avoid implicating any innocent parties.

The driving displayed by these fire fighters was downright dangerous, disrespectful to other drivers, and should be considered an embarrassment to the companies that they represent.

Specific actions that worried me:

All vehicles made many unsafe lane changes, cutting off other motorists, especially in front of traffic lights.

Typical following distance of any vehicle was 1-2 car lengths. What would have happened if any passenger vehicle had to make an emergency stop while any of these emergency vehicles was tailgating? In all fairness, Trappe's vehicle was much better about allowing more room in front of them. But somehow I feel two truck lengths is probably not sufficient given the amount of traffic and their speed within the Cambridge City Limits.

Inside of Cambridge, all vehicles appeared to exceed 50mph while driving the section of Rt 50 near WaWa and the Cambridge Public Safety Building where the speed limit is 35mph. Despite this aggressive driving, I was able to pass them while doing the speed limit (traffic lights are the great equalizer). This goes to show how they disregarded their own safety and that of the public with no benefits gained.

1 of the unidentified brush trucks, while towing a trailer that contained a child's playhouse, appeared to exceed 75 MPH on the Choptank river bridge. My guess is that they liked the 7 litre diesel engine in that truck, and felt it necessary to test its limits given their rate of acceleration.

2nd of the unidentified brush trucks was not far behind. Perhaps they were racing?

Cordova Tanker 53 was dumping water all over the road. Did they drive out of town on a full tank of 3000 gallons? How much extra fuel would they burn hauling 12 extra tons of weight around them?

I understand that these volunteers are probably highly trained in driving their vehicles appropriately during emergency situations. Despite the urgency of their calls, I doubt that this type of driving would be considered appropriate. And during non-emergency situations, there is absolutely no reason why they should drive like this. Perhaps their officers can offer the appropriate drivers some non-emergency driving instructions, where they can practice using turn signals, safe following distances, obeying the speed limit, and even advanced techniques that save wear and tear on their vehicles and conserve fuel, so that they do not lose their vehicle availability and budget money due to driving like a jackass.

The Demise Of David Letterman

The following is from an article entitled "David Letterman, Rev. Wright, and Thoughts on a Creepy Culture"
by Victor Davis Hanson

* * *
The metrosexual, hip David Letterman offered an apology I think that essentially was something along the following lines. Here’s my paraphrase: ‘Sorry, I confused the 14-year-old Willow Palin with the 18-year-old Bristol Palin, so I was wrong for suggesting the younger Palin girl would be “knocked up” during a baseball game by Alex Rodriguez, or draw in Eliot Spitzer for sex, when I really meant that Bristol certainly would.” (Note the silence about calling Governor Palin “slutty” looking. So if some right-wing nut says that Michelle Obama is “slutty” looking, are we to expect no consequences?)

Misopalinism

What it is about Sarah Palin that drives the Left insane? Her charisma? Her authentic blue-collar roots? The accent? Todd? The pregnancies? The ability to galvanize crowds? Joe Biden tried to fake his working class origins, but Palin seems to live, not romanticize, the life of the middle strata, so would not the Left appreciate someone from the non-elite?

I suggest two reasons for the fury of the aristocratic Left. One was Palin’s stance on abortion. In the elite feminist mind, the perfect storm would be for a 40ish career woman, on the upswing of her cursus honorum, getting pregnant and, then, heaven forbid, delivering the child with full fore-knowledge of chromosomal abnormality. Or having her 17-year old come to full term with a child, unmarried, and without money?

The Shadow of Abortion

For most upscale, educated liberals, a daughter’s future career is ruined by pregnancy, and abortion is often the answer. Second, Todd Palin, the Palin accent, the Wasilla connection, the whole notion of Alaska, all this conjured up the elite liberal notion of “trailer trash” — and we all know from Obama’s clingers speech, that the white Christian working class is the last group in America that can be caricatured and slurred with impunity. To the liberal urban elite, poor “whites” are those responsible for racism and other sins associated with the dominant culture, and thus by association taint the white aristocracy unfairly.

* * *
Smug, hip David Letterman offered a smirky non-apology about his ongoing class and sexist slurs against the Palins, his apparent social inferiors.

“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter, the 18-year-old girl, who is — her name is Bristol, that’s right, and so, then, now they’re upset with me . . .”

“These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl. I mean, look at my record. It has never happened. I don’t think it’s funny. I would never think it was funny. I wouldn’t put it in a joke…”

Examine the logic. First, Letterman makes a gutter joke about Palin and her unnamed 14-year-old daughter attending a NY Yankees game. Then when a bit of outrage follows, he apparently claims he really meant to slur the other 18-year-old daughter who, back in Alaska, of course did not attend the game but was not named by Letterman. That would be okay, you see.

Second, then he evokes the now common straw man “they” who are apparently “upset” with him, hoping to play the victim card. Then he dribbles out something about his “last show” as if we are to weep that some mob is out to silence him. (But the reason he picked the Palins, and not the Obamas, Gores, Bidens, or Kerrys, was precisely because he knew it would not equate to his “last show”).

Third, he strangely amplifies his joke by confessing it really was about “raping” and “having sex of any description,” but just not with a “14-year-old girl,” suggesting it would have been okay had he just been more explicit and named Bristol, the 18-year-old. In Letterman’s world, because Bristol is 18, she is a year past most statuary rape clauses and thus the joke would have only been about “raping or having sex of any description with a [18-year-old] girl.”

Nothing offered about his slurs against airline attendants and Governor Palin herself, when he sneered that she had a “slutty flight-attendant look,” or his remark that Palin “was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter.” Indeed, he seemed to boast that he was proud of his ’slutty’ joke, as if hard-working flight attendants really do look slutty (they don’t to me), or that Palin looks slutty (she doesn’t to me).

The self-serving, creepy apology was as bad as the initial slur. Letterman is emblematic of an aging, baby-boomer culture, that dresses up street vulgarity with a tie and coat. The only thing that saves him is his care to do this with the Palins from Alaska who don’t figure into the usual no-go race/class/gender paradigm.

GO HERE to see the home page.

Celebrate Flavors 2nd Anniversary

Father's Day Is Just Around The Corner

Thank you DeWalt

New Nail Gun, made by DeWALT.

It can drive a 16-D nail through a 2 X 4 at 200 yards.



This makes construction a breeze, you can sit in your lawn chair

and build a fence.
Just get your wife to hold the fence boards in place while you sit back,
Relax with a cold drink and when she has the board in the right place,
Just fire away. With the hundred round magazine, you can build the fence with a minimum of reloading.


After a day of fence building with the new DeWalt Rapid fire nail gun,
The wife will not ask you build or fix anything else again.

Ever !

Foul Ball

The Haircut

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut.

After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot Accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop.

When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, The barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop.

The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, The barber again replied, 'I can not accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The congressman was very happy and left the shop.

The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

The Big Press Conference Before The Fight

A Press Conference was held at the brand new Main Street Gym with most of the players in this Friday Night's Fights. If you haven't purchased your tickets, there's still time to do so and there's still plenty of great seats available.

Folks, there are some great fights scheduled, many of the fighters are undefeated and you're in for a great night of Boxing.

Some time today I'll be offering 2 FREE Tickets but it gets even better. I'm going to throw in TWO FREE DINNERS at the Market Street Inn for Friday Night before the fight.

So stay tuned today because we're going to make Friday Night one heck of a night for two people.

Meet Fernanda And Fernando

Uncle Fernando proudly sits next to his beautiful Niece Fernanda at yesterday's Press Conference.

Today's Wildlife Video

GO HERE

Male VS Female At The ATM Machine

MALE VS. FEMALE AT THE ATM MACHINE

A new sign in the Bank Lobby reads:

'Please note that this Bank is installing new Drive-through ATM machines enabling customers to withdraw cash without leaving their vehicles.

Customers using this new facility are requested to use the procedures outlined below when accessing their accounts.

After months of careful research, MALE &FEMALE Procedures have been developed. Please follow the Appropriate steps for your gender.'

*******************************
MALE PROCEDURE:

1. Drive up to the cash machine.
2. Put down your car window.
3. Insert card into ma chine and enter PIN.
4. Enter amount of cash required and withdraw.
5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt.
6. Put window up.
7. Drive off.

*****************

FEMALE PROCEDURE:

1. Drive up to cash machine.
2.... Reverse and back up the required amount to align car window with the machine.
3. Set parking brake, put the window down.
4. Find handbag, remove all contents on to passenger seat to locate card..
5. Tell person on cell phone you will call them back and hang up.
6. Attempt to insert card into machine.
7. Open car door to allow
easier access to machine due to its excessive distance from the car.
8. Insert card.
9. Re-insert card the right way.
10. Dig through handbag to find diary with your PIN written on the inside back page.
11. Enter PIN.
12. Press cancel and re-enter correct PIN.
13. Enter amount of cash required.
14. Check makeup in rear view mirror.
15. Retrieve cash and receipt.
16. Empty handbag again to locate wallet and place cash inside.
17.. Write debit amount in check register and place receipt in back of checkbook.
18. Re-check makeup.
19. Drive forward 2 feet.
20. Reverse back to cash machine.
21. Retrieve card.
22. Re-empty hand bag, locate card holder, and place card into the slot provided!
23. Give dirty look to irate male driver waiting behind you.
24. Restart stalled engine and pull off.
25. Redial person on cell phone.
26.. Drive for 2 to 3 miles.
27. Release Parking Brake.

City Of Salisbury City Council Meeting/Agenda For Week 13

Times shown for agenda items are estimates only.

6:00 p.m. CONVENE – LORD’S PRAYER – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

6:04 p.m. ADOPTION OF AGENDA

6:06 p.m. BRIEFING – Pam Baker (Barbacane Thornton and Company)
FY09 Audit

6:21 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA – City Clerk Brenda Colegrove

June 8, 2009 minutes

Resolution No. 1794 – to join the Retiree Health Plan Trust previously created by the Wicomico County Board of Education and Wicomico County, Maryland and to name the City of Salisbury’s Trustees

Resolution No. 1795 - accepting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funds for various energy projects

Resolution No. 1796 – approving the City’s Consolidated Plan for Program Years 2009-2013 and the Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant funds for CDBG Program Year 2009 and authorizing the mayor to submit the Consolidated Plan and CDBG
2009 Action Plan to HUD

Resolution No. 1797 – authorizing the mayor to sign a Law Enforcement Services Agreement between the City and the Macerich Company for secondary employment at the Centre at Salisbury

Resolution No. 1798 - appointment of Bob Nelson to the City Park Committee for a term ending June 2012

6:25 p.m. AWARD OF BIDS – Internal Services Director Pam Oland
6:35 p.m. MANUFACTURING EXEMPTION REQUEST – Internal Services Director Pam Oland DiCarlo Precision Instruments

6:40 p.m. ORDINANCE – City Attorney Paul Wilber
Ordinance No. 2080 - 1st reading – amending Chapter 15.32,
Plumbing Standards, of the Salisbury Municipal Code to adopt fats,
oils and grease regulations

6:55 p.m. RESOLUTION – City Administrator John Pick
Resolution No. 1799 - authorizing a speed limit reduction for the
Villages of Sleepy Hollow development

7:05 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS

7:15 p.m. ADJOURN

Suspect Sought In ATM Robbery

Location of Incident: PNC Bank, 4725 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE , New Castle County

Date and Time of Occurrence: June 12, 2009 on or about 22:30 hours

Suspect(s): White male, 5’04” to 5’06”, 140 lbs. Suspect was wearing a black shirt with a black hat.

Resume:

State Police are investigating a robbery that occurred at a Kirkwood Hwy ATM machine.

The incident happened around 10:30 last evening when a 47 year-old woman stopped to withdraw money from an ATM machine at the Midway Plaza Shopping Center. As she approached the machine she was confronted by the suspect who was brandishing a handgun. The suspect forced her entered her PIN at gun point and made her withdraw an undisclosed amount of money. The suspect fled the area on foot with the money.

The victim was not injured.

Pedestrian Struck On Rt. 50 Draw Bridge

Hey, Joe! I just sent you a picture a minute ago of an accident that appears to involve a Pedestrian that got hit on Rt 50 at the draw bridge by a silver Honda Accord. The victim was lying on his back on the concrete median and appears to have suffered hardly an injury, if any. SPD was on the scene and ambulances were on their way. Traffic my be backed up in that area so beware traveling eastbound.

Planning & Zoning Closed Friday From 9:30 AM To 12:00 Noon

Funeral Services: Holloway Funeral Home – Friday, June 19, 2009 10 a.m. for viewing and 11:00 a.m. for service

Reception to follow afterwards – directions to be given

Donations may be sent to:

Re: Linda “Sam” Lenox

Wellness Community Delmarva
1506 S/S Blvd
Salisbury, Maryland 21801

“Cancer Support”

Another Reader Finds A Different Violation

Since when did the state of Delaware start offering two tage for one vehicle?

Delaware State Police Press Releases

Domestic Stabbing

Location of Incident: West Marina Drive, Angola by the Bay, Lewes, Sussex, DE

Date and Time of Occurrence: Tuesday, June 17, 2009 on or about 03:11 hour

Suspect(s): Kendra West, 27, Lewes

Resume:

Troopers responded to Angola by the Bay for the report of a domestic assault.

Troopers arrested West after she allegedly stabbed her 28 year-old boyfriend in the throat with a large kitchen knife during a domestic argument.

The male victim was rushed to Beebe Medical Center in Lewes where he underwent emergency surgery for an exterior jugular laceration.

West was charged by troopers for assault 1st, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony and failure to comply with finger printing and taking photos. She was committed to the Department of Correction pending a preliminary hearing in the Court of Common Pleas in and for Sussex County. No bail information was avalible at the time of this release.

The victim is in stable condition.

Subjects Target Lewes Home for Repeated Acts of Criminal Mischief

Location of Incident: Red Mill Farms, Lewes, Sussex County, DE

Date and Time of Occurrence: November 1, 2008 to Present

Suspect(s): Two white males.

Resume:

State police are investigating numerous acts of criminal mischief to a Red Mill Farms home.

The home owner has experienced several acts of criminal mischief over the past several months. Since November damage to the house has occurred using baseball bats and B B guns.

A surveillance system was set up and images were capture of two men damaging the property.

Anyone with information as to the identity of the two subjects is ask to call the state police at Troop 7 by dialing 302-644-5020. All inquiries should be directed to Corporal Michelle Mullins.

Home Invasion Robbery

Location of Incident: Unit Block of Canal Court, Canal Landing, Rehoboth Beach, Sussex County, DE

Date and Time of Occurrence: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 22:50 hours

Suspect(s): Two Male Suspects

Resume:

State Police were called to the unit block of Canal Court in Canal Landing last evening to the report of a robbery and home invasion.

The incident occurred just before 11 pm when a woman pulled into her driveway. As she parked her car she was immediately confronted by two male suspects. One of the suspects was brandishing a handgun. They forced her out of her car and into the residence. Once inside they escorted her through the residence looking for jewelry and money. They took her purse and other property and forced the victim in the garage before fleeing.

The victim was not injured and troopers have very little to go on. If anyone has any information, they are asked to contact the State Police Criminal Investigation Unit at Troop 4 in Georgetown by dialing 302.856.5850.

City Police

"Would you believe today we had an incident which needed attention of our city police. I called the non-emergency number and GOT A RECORDING stating they were busy please leave a message or call back later. I don't know what is up next. We have no narcotics task force, no one in charge of gang activity. I think we have been put on a raft down a fast moving river. It is time the chief went down the river on that raft and take his cronies with him. We need a chief who will stand by his personnel and be a man. He needs to be a chief that will take his job serious and protect the people in this city. We ask last week to send e-mails to our city council members about replacing the chief. There was 4 -5 e-mails. Evidently the citizens are feeling "safe". I for one don't feel safe knowing the drug dealers and gangs have a free hand. We need police who can run them out of town. Let your voices be heard or we are in a lot of trouble."

Teg Nugent Interview

WHAT DO DEER THINK?

Ted Nugent, rock star and avid bow hunter from Michigan, was being
interviewed by a French journalist and animal rights activist. The
discussion came around to deer hunting. The journalist asked, "What do you
think is the last thought in the head of a deer before you shoot him? Is it,
'Are you my friend?' or is it 'Are you the one that killed my brother?' "

Nugent replied, "Deer aren't capable of that kind of thinking. All they care
about is, 'What am I going to eat next, who am I going to screw next, and
can I run fast enough to get away. They are very much like the French.' "

The interview ended at that point...

Ruling On NightJack Author Richard Horton Kills Blogger Anonymity

Thousands of bloggers who operate behind the cloak of anonymity have no right to keep their identities secret, the High Court ruled yesterday.

In a landmark decision, Mr Justice Eady refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of a police officer who is the author of the NightJack blog. The officer, Richard Horton, 45, a detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary, had sought an injunction to stop The Times from revealing his name.

In April Mr Horton was awarded the Orwell Prize for political writing, but the judges were unaware that he was using information about cases, some involving sex offences against children, that could be traced back to genuine prosecutions.

GO HERE to read more.

Vegas Paper Gets Subpoena To ID Online Commenters

LAS VEGAS -- A Nevada newspaper says it has been served a federal grand jury subpoena seeking information about readers who posted comments on the paper's Web site.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday that its editor, Thomas Mitchell, plans to fight the request, which the newspaper received after reporting on a federal tax fraud case against business owner Robert Kahre.

The subpoena seeks the identities and personal information about people who posted comments on the story. The newspaper said prosecutors told the judge in the case that some comments hinted at acts of violence and the subpoena was issued out of concern for jurors' safety.

Mitchell said anonymous speech is "a fundamental and historic part of this country." The newspaper would consider cooperating if specific crimes or real threats were presented, he said.

The newspaper said the subpoena bears the name of U.S. Assistant District Attorney J. Gregory Damm, a lawyer on the Justice Department team that is prosecuting Kahre and others on charges including income tax evasion, fraud and criminal conspiracy.

Grand jury proceedings are secret, and the subpoena is not a public record.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney for Nevada declined to comment.

The newspaper said it received the subpoena June 2, a week after its story describing the government's case against Kahre, a Las Vegas construction company executive accused of paying contractors with gold and silver U.S. coins based on the precious metal value of the coins but using the much lower face value of the coins for tax purposes. Kahre and the other defendants have pleaded not guilty.

The story drew nearly 175 online comments by Monday night, most in support of Kahre and critical of the government and jurors and attorneys in the case.

One commentator said: "The sad thing is there are 12 dummies on the jury who will convict him. They should be hung along with the feds."

Another called Damm a "socialist, fascist Mormon" and a "Nazi moron."

The comments are written under pseudonyms. Along with the real names of people who posted comments, the subpoena asks the newspaper for the writers' gender, birth date, physical address, telephone number, Internet service provider, IP address and credit card numbers.

After a 2003 raid on Kahre's business, Kahre and several of his workers sued Damm, two Internal Revenue Service agents and others who were involved. That civil matter is pending.

In 2007, Kahre sued Damm and agents of the FBI and IRS, alleging criminal behavior. U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra dismissed the complaint in December, and Kahre appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Two years ago, Damm prosecuted a similar tax case against nine defendants, including Kahre. The trial ended with no convictions and four acquittals.

Five defendants were partially acquitted, and two of them were dropped from the indictment that generated the current case.

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

Only In America

Only in America...we spend billions because we can't let GM and Chrysler go bankrupt, and then, let GM and Chrysler go bankrupt.

Only in America...Can congress force Fannie and Freddie to buy subprime loans, and then blame Fannie and Freddie for buying subprime loans. Then fir the CEO's with giant severance packages and nationalize the companies so the taxpayers can pay off all the debt.

Only in American...financial crisis requires swift action by congress to pass a bill without reading it, then they go on vacation for three days before the president finds the time to sign it.

Only in America...you can be legally illegal.

Only in America...newspapers make the President's dog more important than our family members dieing for our freedom.

Only in America...can congress make laws that they don't have to, or intend to, follow.

Only in America...The Vice President declares "JOBS" a 3 letter word.

Only in America...can you get a tax refund for taxes you didn't pay.

Only in America...can politicians blame others for their own failures.

Only in America...you have more rights being illegal, than you do if you're legal.

Only in America...can you be 13 and have an abortion without telling your parents, but you must have a written note from your parent explaining why you missed school.

Only in America...do we worry about 3 guys that get water up their noses, while their associates are beheading captives and blowing up crowds of people with suicide bombers.

Only in America...you can be President without having a birth certificate.


Only in America...whatever goes wrong will always be G.W. Bush's fault.

WICOMICO COUNTY REFINANCES $21 MILLION IN BONDS

Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., announced today that the county has refinanced three outstanding bond issues totaling $20,940,000, at an interest rate of 2.36%. This refinancing is expected to save the County about $1.36 million in interest costs over eleven years with an immediate benefit to the FY2010 budget of approximately $900,000 in savings.

Prior to today’s sale, the County received bond ratings from all three of the New York bond rating agencies. Despite the poor economy, the County did very well in its ratings update. Moody’s Investors Service maintained the A2 rating it assigned last year, and Standard and Poor’s also maintained last year’s AA- rating. Fitch Ratings maintained the County’s A+ rating but revised the outlook from Positive to Stable.

Moody’s cited strong financial management, a willingness to make cuts and forego raises to balance the fiscal year 2010 budget, and conservative budget practices that are projected to allow the County to finish fiscal year 2009 in the black. The agency also stated that they believe fiscal year 2010 is the first true test of the revenue cap, and will watch to see how the County performs in the economic downturn.

Standard & Poor’s cited the County’s diversified economy rooted in agriculture, a healthy and stable property tax base, sound financial performance, conservative management practices, and a low debt burden in maintaining its rating.

Fitch Ratings noted a moderate debt burden, solid reserve levels, and a stable employment base in maintaining the County’s bond rating. The outlook was revised from positive to stable due to the budgeted use of the fund balance (savings account), which lowers financial flexibility. They also cited the revenue cap’s impact on property tax revenue and the broader recessionary environment’s impact on income taxes.

Seven firms bid on the County’s bonds, demonstrating continuing investor confidence in the County. Interest rates ranged from 2.36% to 3.09%.

“I am very pleased with the results of our bond sale,” said County Executive Pollitt. “It was clear that the rating agencies felt Wicomico County was managing its financial affairs well, and that is reflected in our solid ratings and the market based interest rate we received on the sale.”

No Buyers

While they stand on the old Court House Steps selling houses in foreclosure, no one is buying. You have the seller and one witness and no buyers. Yes, the time has come when even the Slumlords aren't even buying.

ROY LIVE

Bluesman Roy Book Binder will be playing live at the Globe Theater in Berlin, Friday the 19th from 7PM to 10PM. Admission is $20.


Roy has been described as a guitar pickin' hillbilly bluesman. Back in the 60's he began his career, traveling and learning guitar from the legendary Rev. Gary Davis and Pink Anderson, a medicine show entertainer who recorded back in 1928. Book Binder has recorded five albums and has performed at most major blues and folk festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including Merlefest. He has toured with Bonnie Raitt, and has shared the stage with many great bluesmen including; BB King, John Jackson, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. Roy has appeared regularly on Nashville Now, a national cable TV show and has been included in Sheldon Harris' book, The Blues who's who. Roy is a veteran teacher whose engaging style of music and storyteller have enraptured his students at many workshops nationally. He is a regular at the Fur Peace Ranch. www.roybookbinder.com

New Lungs For Chuck Raffle

New Lungs For Chuck Raffle

Win a Golf Course Townhouse and a Brand New Mercedes-Benz SL convertible for $50.00

We have already sold 4,479 Tickets! There are only 35,521 Tickets left so Order Yours TODAY!

OK, Even I'm Confused

Click on this image to enlarge it and I'm confident you'll be thrown by it as well. Clearly a picture is worth more than a thousand words, I'm speechless.......

NEVER Give Up On Your Dreams Or Talent

Because you can succeed, if you believe in yourself!

Caption This Photo

$8.00 A Pack! What's The Lowest YOU Ever Paid For A Pack Of Cigarettes?

Today's Wildlife Photos/Video

How Would YOU Like To Own This Car For $50.00?

This is a vehicle to die for, no questions asked. However, you have to be able to afford it and there's only ONE WAY 99.% of you can do so.

Chuck Campbell is holding a raffle for this vehicle AND a Town House in Florida. There will be 40,000 tickets sold for $50.00 a piece. I want you to think hard about that one. You can win a Town House and this Mercedes for only $50.00!!!!!

What are your odds with the Lottery? One in several million? This is one in 40,000! I will be providing another Post with more detailed information for you to get involved. At some point soon Salisbury News will also be doing another contest to start GIVING AWAY some tickets for your chance to win this package as well.

Stay tuned!

Our Historically Challenged President

by Victor Davis Hanson
Tribune Media Services

In his speech last week in Cairo, President Obama proclaimed he was a "student of history." But despite Barack Obama's image as an Ivy-League-educated intellectual, he lacks historical competency, both in areas of facts and interpretation.

This first became apparent during the presidential campaign. Candidate Obama proclaimed then that during World War II his great-uncle had helped liberate Auschwitz, and that his grandfather knew fellow American troops that had entered Auschwitz and Treblinka.

Both are impossible. The Americans didn't free either Nazi death camp. (Regarding Obama's great uncle's war experience, the Obama team later said he'd meant the camp at Buchenwald.)

Much of what Obama said to thousands of Germans during his Victory Column speech in Berlin last summer was also ahistorical. He began, "I know that I don't look like the Americans who've previously spoken in this great city." He apparently forgot that for the prior eight years, the official faces of American foreign policy in Germany were Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice — both African-Americans.

In the same speech, Obama seemed to suggest that the world had come together to save Berlin during the Airlift. In fact, it was almost an entirely American and British effort — written off by most observers as hopeless and joined only by a handful of Western allies when the improbable lift looked like it might succeed.

In the recent Cairo speech, Obama's historical allusions were even more suspect. Almost every one of his references was either misleading or incomplete. He suggested that today's Middle East tension was fed by the legacy of European colonialism and the Cold War that had reduced nations to proxies.

But the great colonizers of the Middle East were the Ottoman Muslims, who for centuries ruled with an iron fist. The 20th-century movements of Baathism, Pan-Arabism and Nasserism — largely homegrown totalitarian ideologies — did far more damage over the last half-century to the Middle East than the legacy of European colonialism.

Obama also claimed that "Islam . . . carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment." While medieval Islamic culture was impressive and ensured the survival of a few classical texts — often through the agency of Arabic-speaking Christians — it had little to do with the European rediscovery of classical Greek and Latin values. Europeans, Chinese and Hindus, not Muslims, invented most of the breakthroughs Obama credited to Islamic innovation.

Much of the Renaissance, in fact, was more predicated on the centuries-long flight of Greek-speaking Byzantine scholars from Constantinople to Western Europe to escape the aggression of Islamic Turks. Many romantic thinkers of the Enlightenment sought to extend freedom to oppressed subjects of Muslim fundamentalist rule in eastern and southern Europe.

Obama also insisted that "Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition." Yet the Spanish Inquisition began in 1478; by then Cordoba had long been re-conquered by Spanish Christians, and was governed as a staunchly Christian city.

In reference to Iraq, President Obama promised that "no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other." Is he unaware of how the United States imposed democracies after World War II?

After the defeat of German Nazism, Italian fascism and Japanese militarism, Americans — by force — insisted that these nations adopt democratic governments, for their own sakes and the world's. Indeed, it is hard to think of too many democratic governments that did not emerge from violence — including our own.

Obama also stated: "For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights."

With all due respect to our president, this assertion is again not fully accurate. The only thing that ended slavery in the United States was the Civil War, which saw some 600,000 Americans — the vast majority of them white — lost in a violent struggle to ensure that nearly half the country would not remain a slave-owning society. Also, the massive urban riots of the 1960s and 1970s were certainly violent.

This list of distortions could be easily expanded. President Obama, in elegant fashion, may casually invoke the means of politically correct history for the higher ends of contemporary reconciliation. But it is a bad habit. Eloquence and good intentions exempt no one from the truth of the past — President Obama included.

Salisbury Fire Department Live In Program

Coming to Salisbury University? Currently a Maryland certified FF-I and EMT-B? The Salisbury Fire Department is currently recruiting for candidates for the Departments live in program. For more information on program requirements contact Lt. Patrick Davis at pdavis@salisburyfd.com

Why A Handgun Is Favored Over A Woman

10 - YOU CAN TRADE IN AN OLD 44 FOR A NEW 22, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

9 - YOU CAN KEEP ONE HANDGUN AT HOME, AND HAVE ANOTHER FOR WHEN YOU’RE ON THE ROAD.

8 - IF YOU ADMIRE A FRIEND’S HANDGUN AND TELL HIM SO, HE WILL PROBABLY LET YOU TRY IT OUT A FEW TIMES.

7 - YOUR PRIMARY HANDGUN DOESN’T MIND IF YOU KEEP ANOTHER HANDGUN FOR A BACK UP.

6 - YOUR HANDGUN WILL STAY WITH YOU EVEN IF YOU RUN OUT OF AMMO.

5 - A HANDGUN DOESN’T TAKE UP A LOT OF CLOSET SPACE.

4 - HANDGUNS FUNCTION NORMALLY EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH.

3 - A HANDGUN DOESN’T ASK, “DO THESE NEW GRIPS MAKE ME LOOK FAT?”

2 - A HANDGUN DOESN’T MIND IF YOU GO TO SLEEP AFTER YOU USE IT.

and the number one reason a handgun is favored over a woman

#1 - YOU CAN BUY A SILENCER FOR A HANDGUN

Dover Air Force Base Open House This Weekend

Dover -- The Department of Transportation (DelDOT) is prepared for heavy volumes of traffic on Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21, as aeronautic-enthusiasts make their way to the Dover Air Force Base Open House and Air Show. Featuring daily performances by the Air Force Thunderbirds, approximately 100,000 visitors are expected at the Air Show. Motorists traveling through the Dover and Kent county area should tune their radio to 1380-AM (WTMC) for the latest up-to-date, real time traveler's information.

Due to the expected high traffic volumes, motorists are given the following suggestions:

Coming from the north to the Air Show, Route 1 southbound will have all travel lanes open; however, motorists should use caution approaching Barker's Landing Bridge south of the Dover Air Force Base as general parking for the Air Show will only be available from Route 1 northbound. Motorists will need to use Barker's Landing Bridge to gain access onto Route 1 northbound.

Coming for the south to the Air Show, the right lane of Route 1 northbound will be merged to the left lane south of the Barker's Landing Bridge. At the approach of Route 9, the right lane to Route 1 northbound will be dedicated to Air Show patrons turning into the general parking area. The left lane of Route 1 northbound will be reserved for northbound traffic. Shuttle buses will take visitors from the parking area to the base.

Motorists displaying handicapped placards and VIP guests will enter the base using the Main Gate that can be accessed from Route 1 Exit 93 to be directed to parking closer to the Open House and Air Show.

Local Kent county residents may want to consider using Route 9 southbound to travel to the Air Show parking area, especially if they are planning to arrive at the Dover Air Force Base early in the day.

Note of caution - there will be periods during Saturday and Sunday where Route 9 is temporarily closed due to the activity at the Air Show.

Local residents not visiting the Air Show are encouraged to center their trips on Saturday and Sunday using the Route 13 corridor, and avoid the Dover Air Force Base area. Congestion is expected from the Route 13/Route 1 split in Dover from the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

DMV Adds New Features To Online Services Menu

Redesigned Website Now Offers Vanity Tag Reservation Service & Handicap Placard Issuance & Renewals

Dover -- In conjunction with a new website design, the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has added three new functions to their menu of online services. The new features will assist the elderly and persons with disabilities and their caregivers; as well as customers looking to reserve a vanity registration plate for their vehicle. The website is www.dmv.de.gov.

The DMV now allows the online reservation of desired vanity license plates to complement the existing vanity plate registration search functions. These two functions have been combined and any reservation made online is valid for 60 days from the date of initial reservation. This allowance will benefit the customer and DMV staff by eliminating the possibility of a vanity tag combination being issued to another party before a person has the chance to visit the DMV to make payment on the tag.

Also launched this week are two services aimed at assisting the elderly, persons with disabilities and their caregivers. Delaware citizens that have reached the age of 85, by law, are entitled to receive a handicap placard for their personal use. These citizens and/or their caregivers may now request this placard on line. Citizens that already have a handicap placard and simply need to renew the placard may also renew their existing placard online. The handicap placard renewal can be done 90 days prior to the expiration.

Certain security measures and identification requirements have been put into place to ensure that these transactions are accurate and the transaction information is secure. The online service is for placards only. Handicap license plates must still be renewed in person at a DMV facility.

These new options add to the growing menu of DMV online service offerings such as; vehicle registration renewal notifications, administrative hearing requests, DMV fee calculator, Centennial License plate purchases, and organ donor requests.

Yard Sales Anyone

Is anyone interested in posting their yard sale free here?

Please email me, SunnyInOC, at atlanticjw@aol.com. Please type "yard sale" in the subject of your email.

Please have all requests emailed by 3pm on Thursday for Friday morning's post.

Thank You.

Puppies For Sale

For anyone interested they will make great hunting dogs. Their father is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever & their mother is a Yellow Lab. We have 2 yellow females left, I attached their photo. They were born on May 1st and are ready to go. They have had their first shots & have been wormed twice. We are asking $150 for them. My husband can be reached at 757-894-2107

Urban Salisbury Open House Presentation

The first Public Open House Presentation of the Downtown MasterPlan is tonight at 6 pm at the Chamber of Commerce.

Engaging the public is critical. Your comments and suggestions are valuable.

Even if you've seen the Plan before, join us to get a better sense of the community's reaction.


Allan Hope
Urban Salisbury, Inc.

KFC And The Pope

After watching sales falling off for three straight months at Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Colonel calls up the Pope and asks for a favor.

The Pope says, "What can I do?"

The Colonel says, "I need you to change the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken'. If you do it, I'll donate $10 Million Dollars to the Vatican."

The Pope replies, "I am very sorry. That is the Lord's prayer and I can not change the words." So the Colonel hangs up.

After another month of dismal sales, the Colonel panics, and calls again. "Listen your Excellency. I really need your help. I'll donate $50 million dollars if you change the words of the daily prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken.'"

And the Pope responds, "It is very tempting, Colonel Sanders. The church could do a lot of good with that much money. It would help us to support many charities. But, a gain, I must decline. It is the Lord's prayer, and I can't change the words." So the Colonel gives up again.

After two more months of terrible sales, the Colonel gets desperate. "This is my final offer, your Excellency. If you change the words of the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken' I will donate $100 million to the Vatican."

The Pope replies, "Let me get back to you."

So the next day, the Pope calls together all of his bishops and he says, "I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that KFC is going to donate $100 million to the Vatican."

The bishops rejoice at the news.

Then one asks about the bad news.


The Pope replies, "The bad news is that we lost the Wonder Bread account."

Italian Tomato Garden

Italian Tomato Garden:

An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey. He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.
Love,
Papa


A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Pop,
Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried.
Love,
Vinnie


At 4 a.m. The next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you,
Vinnie