WCSO Press Releases June 18, 2014

Incident: Child Support Warrants

Date: 7-14 June 2014

Location:  Wicomico County, MD

Suspect: 1.Timothy Wayne Sampson, 37, Salisbury, MD

                2. Melvin Weldon Hitch Jr., 32, Salisbury, MD

                3. Terry Melvin Fisher Jr., 39, Salisbury, MD

                4. John James Seward, 42, Parsonsburg, MD

                5. Derell Lamont Cottman, 25, Salisbury, MD

           

Narrative:Between 07 June 2014 and 12 June 2014 deputies from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office arrested the above individuals on Circuit Court Body Attachments that had been issued in connection with Child Support cases.

All subjects were detained on bond in the Detention Center pending an initial appearance in front of a Circuit Court Judge.

  

Charges: Child Support Non- Compliance

Sampson, Timothy

Hitch, Melvin

Fisher Jr., Terry

Cottman, Derell



Releasing Authority: Lt. Tim Robinson                                   Date: 18 June 2014

Wicomico County State Delegation Meeting Scheduled

Wicomico County State Delegation Meeting Scheduled

County Executive Rick Pollitt and members of the County Council will meet with the lower shore delegation of the General Assembly at 8am, on Saturday, June 21, 2014 at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.

These meetings keep the state delegation apprised of local county concerns and are used to discuss legislative initiatives expected to come before the next session of the General Assembly. Citizens are welcome to attend and observe the discussion.

M. J. Caldwell

SAFE STREETS DRUG CASE: ANTHONY DESHIELDS SENTENCED TO 18 YEARS IN THE DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS FOR DRUG DEALING

On June 17, 2014 Anthony Deshields, age 45, of Pocomoke, Maryland was convicted by a Wicomico County jury of Distributing Cocaine to undercover police officers on October 16, 2013. He was sentenced by the Circuit Court to 18 years in the Division of Corrections.

The charges against Deshields arose out of his actions October 16, 2013 when he sold Maryland State Police Officers $40.00 worth of crack cocaine. The Salisbury Police Department and the Maryland State Police utilized the Worcester County Task Force to help fight street level narcotics sales in Salisbury.

Wicomico County State’s Attorney Matthew A. Maciarello commended the Salisbury Police Department, The Maryland State Police and theWorcester County Narcotics Task Force for their excellent teamwork in the investigation and prosecution of this case. Mr. Maciarello also thanked the citizens of Wicomico County and Safe Streets Prosecutor, Richard J. Brueckner Jr., who prosecuted this case.

For more information or for an interview please call the Office of the State’s Attorney at (410) 548-4880 or go to www.wicomicosao.com.

Six Police Vehicles And 8 Officer

I just received a call from a viewer telling me they are right now witnessing eight police officers in six police cars arresting ONE woman in Salisbury. 

One has to wonder just how many Salisbury officers it would take to change a light bulb? 

It's no wonder your Mayor NEEDS to raise your taxes for more officers. This is what you get when you have a Mayor with NO business background. 

WELCOME TO SALISBURY

Yesterday I took my Grandson into Salisbury to get his haircut at Eric's Barber Shop. As I walked up to feed the meter, this is what we saw on the ground. Between people throwing their trash on the ground and now condoms, Salisbury is becoming a complete DUMP. I'm so happy I sold and got out of the City.  

A Message From The Wicomico County Health Department

Wicomico County Health Department

Señales de alerta de enfermedad por calor incluyen temperatura corporal sobre 103, pielseca y roja sin sudar, pulso rapido, dolor de cabeza, mareos, confusion y nausea. Si usted o alguien que conoce tiene algunos de estos signos, busque atención medica inmediata.

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US Patent Office Strips "Washington Redskins" Name For Being "Disparaging"

What Obama wants, he appears to get . As AP reports, the U.S. Patent Office has ruled the Washington Redskins nickname is "disparaging of Native Americans" and that the team's federal trademarks for the name must be canceled. Which leaves us questioning when the Federal Government will see the New York Giants as disaparaging of tall people and The Oakland Raiders as disaparaging of pirates... welcome to the new normal. We wonder (rhetorically of course) if this latest Redskins escalation is supposed to distract from Ukraine, Iraq, Bergdahl, IRS, Benghazi, or approval ratings?

As WaPo notes,

Federal trademark law does not permit registration of trademarks that “may disparage” individuals or groups or “bring them into contempt or disrepute.” The ruling pertains to six different trademarks associated with the team, each containing the word “Redskin.”

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On the Florida Turnpike

VIGILANT RESIDENT LEADS OFFICERS TO BURGLARY SUSPECTS

On June 15, 2014, at approximately 1:30 p.m. Ocean City officers were dispatched to the area of Teal Drive in reference to suspicious circumstances after a vigilant resident approached a nearby Public Safety Aide working an OC Air Show traffic detail. The resident told the Public Safety Aide that he had seen three suspicious individuals peering into area homes.

Upon arrival, officers located a vehicle in which the resident believed the suspicious individuals were travelling.  Through the initial investigation, officers determined the vehicle to be stolen out of Montgomery County, Maryland. The officers quickly located three of the suspicious individuals who were seen exiting the vehicle and each was arrested for theft of the motor vehicle. These suspects, all from Washington, DC, were identified as: Christopher H. Bussey, 25; Dominique A. Burton, 19; and Shinecia D. Mercer, 19. An Investigator with the Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office also assisted with the investigation and located and arrested a fourth suspect, a female, which officers linked to the stolen vehicle in the area of 20^th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. She was later identified as Heather A. Haire, 25, also of Washington, DC.

While officers were on scene, two residents reported burglaries to their homes in the area of Teal Drive where electronics and jewelry totaling approximately $60,000, and several other items had been stolen. Many of these items were either recovered from the stolen vehicle, in the suspect’s possession or discarded by the suspects in the area.  During the subsequent investigation, officers developed a fifth suspect and still had not located some of the electronics and stolen jewelry.
At approximately 6:40 p.m., officers responded to the area of 32^nd Street and Baltimore Avenue for a report of a stolen vehicle.  Believing these incidents may be related, officers quickly broadcast lookouts for the fifth suspect and the stolen vehicle to surrounding jurisdictions.

At approximately 9 p.m., Ocean City Detectives learned that the Maryland State Police and Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office were involved in a vehicle pursuit near Hebron, Maryland involving the vehicle that had recently been reported stolen from 32^nd Street. The pursuit ended in a single vehicle crash. The driver was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the stolen vehicle was later identified as Joshua Robinson-Gripper, 22, also of Washington, DC.  Additionally, inside the stolen vehicle Ocean City Detectives recovered electronics and jewelry stolen during the burglaries.

Ocean City Police have charged Bussey, Burton, Haire, Mercer and Robinson-Gripper with multiple theft and burglary charges. All four suspects were seen by a Maryland District Court Commissioner. Bussey, Burton, Haire and Mercer are currently being held at the Ocean City Public Safety Building on $75,000 bond. Robinson-Gripper is being held by the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office on $100,000 bond.

What Say You Now Wicomico Board Of Ed & County Executive?

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/05/bonneville_audit_finds_credit.html

The below sentence was from the link above

Any use of the travel cards for personal expenses, the audit said, is a violation of federal law and effectively means the employee is receiving an interest-free loan from the government for personal purposes.

Six Texas men indicted 'gang-raping' 15-year-old high school student

Six Texas men are facing more than 1,600 years in prison each after being accused of gang raping a 15-year-old high school student after she skipped class earlier this year.

A grand jury in Waco, Texas, on Wednesday indicted Devoric Javon Evans, 20; Lamont Tray Davis, 19; Day’tron Derrell Smith, 18; Da’Juan Oshea Degrate, 18; and Cory Darnell Hall, 18; and Douglas Demond Canada, 19.

Police say Canada and Degrate convinced the teen to cut class at Waco High School, where all three are students on April 23.

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Need Anyone Say More?

LORETTA PHILLIPS SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS IN THE DIVISON OF CORRECTIONS FOR POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE OXYCODONE

PRESS RELEASE

On June 16, 2014, Loretta Phillips, age 36, of Wicomico County, Maryland, was convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute Oxycodone. She was subsequently sentenced by the Circuit Court to an active sentence of six (6) years in the Division of Corrections (“D.O.C.”). (Her complete sentence was “fifteen (15) years suspend all but six (6) years in the D.O.C.”).

The charges against Phillips arose out of her arrest on December 4, 2013 when she was stopped by the Maryland State Police for a traffic violation. Maryland State Police Officers found oxycodone (15mg and 30mg) and $371.00 in U.S. currency concealed within her purse. Further investigation revealed that Phillips’ cell phone contained numerous text messages pertaining to the illegal sale of oxycodone.

Wicomico County State’s Attorney Matthew A. Maciarello commented that the abuse of heroin and semi-synthetic opioids, such as oxycodone (“Oxy”), impacts the quality of life of the citizens of Wicomico County so substantially that illegal distribution of these substances will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.

Mr. Maciarello commended the Maryland State Police and the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force for their excellent collaboration in the investigation and prosecution of this case. Mr. Maciarello also thanked Safe Streets Prosecutor, Richard J. Brueckner Jr., who prosecuted this case.

Wicomico County Health Department addictions counselors can be reached by calling (410) 742-DRUG (3784). Any person with questions or concerns about addictions is encouraged to call this hotline.

For more information or for an interview please call the Office of the State’s Attorney at (410) 548-4880 or go to www.wicomicosao.com.

Salisbury News Delivers Investigative Reporting On HOW YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE SPENT: Part 10

More on Wicomico County spending, this week we have included Community Promotions. This fund is controlled by the Executive' office looks as if there's not enough money in the executive's budget to eat on so they are raiding another fund. Let the peasents eat cake. 

County Executive's Food Charges

10/31/13 Wawa $6.90 

10/31/13 Wawa $6.04 

10/31/13 Wawa $ 3.17 

10/31/13 Dunkin Donut $3.70 

10/11/13 Lombardi's $68.70 

10/18/13 Market Street Inn $ 33.75 

10/18/13 Bay County Meals $ 19.70 

10/18/13 Market Street Inn $ 47.50 

10/18/13 Subrunners $30.00 

10 /18/13 STARBUCKS $ 9.65 

10/25/13 Back Street Grille $18.82 

10/25/13 Mojo's $ 27.50 

10/25/13 Lombardi's $65.92 

10/25/13 Sobo's Wine & Bristo $154.26 

10/31/13 Subrunners $ 33.82 

10/31/13 Lombardi's $ 39.56 

Community Promotion budget 

10/18/13 Wawa 5.56 10/18/13 

The Ward Museum $159.00 

10/18/13 Market Street Inn $127.60 

5/31/13 Market Street Inn $ 231.00 

5/31/13 Fishermans Inn $ 89.62 

Wicomico County Board Of Ed 

As stated some of these charges are made at the direction of supervisiors, how ever pay close attention to the dates of some of the following purchases and they say it's for the kids HA 

5/21/12 Nancy Rash Domino's 287.75 

6/13/12 Nancy Rash Market Street Inn $191.75 

8/12/12 Nancy Rash Maho's Family Rest. $112.15 

11/30/12 Nancy Rash Little Caesars $71.16 

12/7/12 Nancy Rash Devages Subs $ 93.06 

12/14/12 Nancy Rash Subway $210.00 

3/27/13 Nancy Rash Devages $ 82.72 

6/7/11 Nancy Weaver Domino's $140.00 

5/18/11 Nancy Weaver Domino's $ 251.75 

10/1/12 Nancy Weaver Deli At Pecan Sq $11.98 

10/1/12 Nancy Weaver Deli at Pecan Sq $50.93 

7/31/12 Nicole Osborne Papa John's $178.04 

8/2/11 Malina Johnson Domino's 235.75 

6/17/11 Malina Johnson East Side Deli $31.00 

8/1/11 Malina Johnson Pizza Hut $ 80.84 

6/16/11 Malina Johnson Johnny's Sub Shop $11.67 

6/6/12 Melva P Wright Golden Corral $407.07 

6/14/12 Melva P Wright Ruby Tuesdays $ 134.88 

6/15/12 Melva P Wright Red Lobster $66.98 

7/10/12 Melva P Wright Applebees $ 49.20 

7/12/12 Melva P Wright Olive Garden $ 112.24 

8/15/12 Melva P Wright Brew River $ 48.24 

8/22/12 Melva P Wright Back Street Grill $ 57.69 

7/26/12 Maria Marshall Back Street Grill $ 157.55 

8/17/11 Mary Ellen Hayward East Side Deli $124.25 

8/17/11 Mary Ellen Hayward East Side Deli $ 131.05 

8/17/11 Mary ellen Hayward Twisted Pretzel Bakery $ 156.00 8/18/11 Mary Ellen Hayward East Side Deli $ 165.32 

8/23/11 Joy J Custis Panera Bread $ 53.96 

8/6/12 Jon Shearer Back Street Grille $ 39.00

The Whole Story

Hello Joe, 

I encourage everyone to go to the PAC14 archives and view last night's County Council meeting. It was a real show. Someone must be getting concerned about what is being posted on blogs about BOE expenditures on about 164 thousand dollars being spent at numerous food and bar/grill establishments. The show appeared to be a typical union display at which they brought out twenty-five year veteran bookkeeper Wendy Catlin and a number of fellow bookkeepers holding cute little yellow signs. The signs were displayed whenever Ms. Catlin cued them by saying, "the whole story". Now you won't be able to see their signs on the video but you will see Ms. Catlin look over each time she says those words. The purpose of this tactical drill is to convince you, the taxpayer, that they have done nothing wrong and then they can go on an attack the messengers. You know, Joe Holloway, the blogs or anyone who dares to question them. This is all typical union rhetoric. I could tell by the other bookkeeper's body language that they didn't seem to really want to be there, but minions must do what the unions say.It's a shame that these unions aren't waking up to the fact that taxpayers and teachers (Yes, I did say teachers also) just don't buy their crap any more. (Watch the negative responses I get by guess who? Bet they don't sign their name.) Ms. Catlin goes on to explain how many of the different funds that they have are not taxpayers dollars. They are called, Social Kindness Funds, and they pay dues and get money from vending machines and they can spend the funds any way they want. I'm sure this is true. And since they are bookkeepers then they should have no problem in showing the council how much of the 164K is from Social Kindness Funds.I would like to have Ms. Catlin go to the PAC14 archives and view the fourth budget hearing at which her boss, Dr. Fredericksen, starts tap dancing when council members start asking about these funds. He tries distraction by going off on a tangent about poor children's privacy rights and gets the council members so frustrated that they just seem to throw up their hands and give up. The whole show ends up by playing "Let's Make A Deal " where Mr. Fredericksen readily agrees to turn over some material as some sort of test of confidence or something. Watch it, he's really good. Hey Council members, did any of you get all the information you asked for yet? Come on now, I know you read this blog so how about one of you responding so the taxpayers can get an answer. What about you Mr. Creamer, have you received any of your requests so far.

Ms. Catlin then goes on the attack again by saying ", yes, the taxpayers do have a right to know what salaries are and how money is spent but that the medias don't have the right to accuse them of being untruthful with a lot of innuendos and not telling "The Whole Story" like Mr. Holloway in the newspaper. She then tells everyone that she'll go home, make her lunch and go to bed with a clear conscious because she told "The Whole Story".

Well Ms. Catlin, The Whole Story hasn't been told yet. And perhaps those items on the list in your name did come out of the Social Kindness Fund. And perhaps those items on the list in say Margo Handy's name for Brew River, Back Street Grill, Goin Nuts Cafe, My Turn To Cook also came out of the Social Kindness Fund but how will we ever know if the Whole Story doesn't come out.

How about this Ms. Catlin, we all believe mistakes have been made. 

If they were, then let's bring it all out in the open and give the Council what they ask for and if changes have to be made then let's do it and go on from there. I know we have a tremendous number of great teachers in Wicomico County, is it fair to them to let this go on? I don't think so. 

John Palmer, 

Delmar Md.

Don't Forget Our 9:00 AM Post Tomorrow Morning

Tomorrow morning we'll bring you our 11th edition of County spending from the Executive's Office as well as the Board of Ed.

Lost IRS E-mails Point to an Abuse of Power and Cover-Up

Missing tapes? Abuse of power? It’s 1974 all over again, with one exception – there seems to be no Woodward and Bernstein interested in delving into an abuse of power and a cover-up.

The parallels between the crisis in the Richard Nixon presidency and the current political environment are intriguing, if not entirely dispositive. Forty-two years ago, the targeting of political enemies by the executive branch erupted as one of the worst political scandals in American history, and took almost two years to reach its apex. A national election and the withdrawal from an unpopular war overshadowed the scandal for awhile, but the press kept Watergate on the front burner long enough for the cover-up to fall apart in 1974.

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CNN PROMPTED CLINTON-FRIENDLY CROWD TO APPLAUD AT TOWNHALL

Washington Post media reporter Erik Wemple attended CNN's Townhall event with Hillary Clinton Tuesday and reports that the network not only brought in a Clinton-friendly crowd but at various times a stage handler taught and directed the crowd to applaud.

CNN later told Wemple no partisan fishing was used to bring in the townhall audience. But as Wemple points out, when you send invitations out for an event in Washington DC (a district where 91% of residents voted for Obama), it's pretty obvious who is going to show up.

Why CNN didn't use its considerable financial resources to fly in a politically diverse audience or hold the townnhall in a nearby part of Virginia more representative of our politically diverse electorate, can only be answered one way: The network chose not to.

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Congressman: Now IRS quaking for a change

'We're really close to finding the truth. They can't stall us anymore'

A key member of the House Ways and Means Committee says he does not believe years worth of emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner and six other figures vital to the investigation are suddenly missing, but he also hinted his committee may not do much to hold anyone accountable for failing to preserve and produce the documents.

In the past week, the IRS revealed nearly two-and-a-half years worth of Lerner’s emails are “missing” and cannot be given to congressional investigators because her computer crashed. Subsequently, lawmakers were informed computer problems also wiped out the emails of six other figures connected to the investigation.

“As an old cop, there’s something fishy somewhere. I have some waterfront property in Arizona to sell. I don’t believe a word of it,” said Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., a member of the Ways and Means Committee who spent most of his adult life in law enforcement.

Both the Ways and Means Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have requested volumes of documents in connection with the alleged IRS harassment of conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status. Reichert said his committee is getting evidence in a slow trickle, but even that glacial pace is turning up information that has the IRS running scared.

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Pa. Pastor Defrocked After Officiating Gay Son’s Wedding Makes An Appeal In Md.

LINTHICUM, Md. (WJZ)—A Pennsylvania pastor defrocked after performing his gay son’s wedding comes to Maryland to appeal that ruling.

Mary Bubala has the story.

The hearing in front of an appeals committee for the United Methodist Church was held at a hotel near BWI-Marshall Airport.

Reverend Frank Schaefer walked into the hearing in Linthicum surrounded by his family and supporters.

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Bergdahl squad-mate to Congress: he should face EIGHT criminal charges

A member of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's platoon during his deployment in Afghanistan told a congressional panel on Wednesday that he should be tried in a military court on eight separate criminal charges.

Cody Full, who served with Bergdahl and has become an outspoken critic of the Idaho native's actions beginning in 2009, said in a joint hearing of two House Armed Services subcommittees that Bergdahl 'intentionally deserted' his unit before his capture.

In addition to a desertion charge that could theoretically bring the death penalty, Full said Bergdahl should face trial for disrespecting his superior officers, disobeying orders, insubordination and willfully disobeying superior officers.

He should also be charged with 'misbehavior before the enemy' and 'misconduct' as a prisoner, Full said, along with 'missing movement' – a military term that applies to servicemen and women who knowingly fail to show up with their units move from place to place.

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IRAQ: ISIS SEIZES SADDAM WEAPONS STOCKPILE AS REGIONAL ACTORS COMMENT ON US INVOLVEMENT

ISIS’s Sunni Islamist militants have successfully overtaken what was once former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s chemical-weapons production site. US government officials believe that the site contains a decent quantity of old weapons. However, most are unsure if they can be used with any effect.

The Iraq study group 2004 report on the weapons site said: "Two wars, sanctions and Unscom oversight reduced Iraqi's premier production facility to a stockpile of old damaged and contaminated chemical munitions (sealed in bunkers), a wasteland full of destroyed chemical munitions, razed structures, and unusable war-ravaged facilities,"

Meanwhile, some called for a shakeup within the ranks of the Iraqi governing structure.

Iraq’s chief Shia spiritual leader, Ayatollah Sistani, called for a new “effective” government Friday, which some see as calling upon Prime Minister Maliki to resign.

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New Poll Shows Why Obama Could Be A Big Problem For Democrats This Fall

Democratic Senate candidates running in key battlegrounds this fall will be carrying a huge burden — the president of the United States.

A new NPR poll released Thursday found President Barack Obama with a significantly lower approval rating among likely voters in 12 states with competitive Senate races this November.

Obama's approval rating in those 12 states — eight of which were won in 2012 by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney — sits at only 38%. According to a Real Clear Politics average of recent polling, Obama's approval rating across the nation is just more than 42%. Meanwhile, Obama's disapproval rating is 58% — including 46% who "strongly disapprove."

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HUNDREDS HOLD CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN LOS ANGELES FOR ABDUCTED ISRAELI TEENS

LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of candles were illuminated by members of the greater Los Angeles community at a vigil in Pan Pacific Park Amphitheater on Thursday night who united in song, prayer, and hope for the safe return of three boys who were abducted in Israel by terrorists last week.

Hamas is believed to be responsible for the kidnappings of Gilad Shaer, 16; Naftali Fraenkel, 16; and Eyal Yifrah, 19, who disappeared on their way home from school in Israel's West Bank. A report released by a senior Israel Defense Forces official claims the act was planned and carried out by Palestinian terrorists who had recently been released from Israeli prisons. One of the boys, Gilad Shaer, has relatives in L.A.

The IDF has asserted that Palestinian terror groups often try to kidnap Israelis with the stated goal "to trade civilians or IDF soldiers for the release of Palestinian prisoners."
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After 6 Years Of Unprecedented Central Planning, The Economy Is More Fragile Than Ever

We will all discover that the economy is much more fragile than advertised by the Central Planners and their media toadies.

This week I have made the case that the past 13.5 years have been the most destructive to the core values of the nation in U.S. history. The same holds true for the economy, which has been critically weakened by 6 years of unprecedented Central Planning.

What do I mean by Central Planning? Here are the key characteristics of Central Planning:

1. The central bank/state intervene in the economy in a dominant fashion, controlling functions such as interest rates by order of central authorities that were once set by decentralized, self-organizing markets.

2. The central bank/state pick winners and losers: for example, the Too Big To Fail Banks (TBTF) were selected to win, as the central bank/state bailed out their private losseswith public-taxpayer money. In effect, the central state/bank enrich cronies at the expense of everyone else.

3. The central bank/state manipulate the nominally "free" market to boost asset valuations as a way of enriching cronies who own most of the financial assets and as a public-relations charade to mask the failure of their picking winners and losers.

In other words, in centrally planned economies, markets are not allowed to discover price--they exist only to reflect positively on Central Planners.

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The Feds Wanted to Turn This Hotel into a Refugee Camp…But They Made a Major Error

Searching for places to house the “overwhelm[ing]” influx of Mexican and Central American children crossing the U.S. southern border without parents or guardians, government officials scouted out an abandoned hotel in Grand Island, New York on Friday.

Or at least the government thought the hotel was abandoned.

As it turned out, the 263-room Byblos Niagara Resort and Spa was fully booked.

“It looks like there’s been a mistake,” federal agents with the Homeland Security Department and the Border Patrol told the hotel manager, according to the Buffalo News.

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The Best First Date

SFD Calls For Service 6-20-14

• Friday June, 20 2014 @ 21:32Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday June, 20 2014 @ 20:47Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday June, 20 2014 @ 20:27Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday June, 20 2014 @ 19:36Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday June, 20 2014 @ 17:00Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday June, 20 2014 @ 16:02Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
• Friday June, 20 2014 @ 15:39Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury

The Texan jihadis: Two men arrested over holy war terror plan

FBI counter terrorism agents have arrested two men in Texas following long running surveillance operations.

The men, Rahatul Ashikim Khan, and Michael Todd Wolfe are both expected to appear in court in Texas tomorrow. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of supporting terrorism.

The FBI said that Khan, 23, allegedly tried to recruit an FBI confidential human source to travel to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, while Wolfe, also 23, wanted to move to Syria to join ISIS.

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New Landover Racists Paraphernalia Takes Aim At The Redskins

WASHINGTON — The canceling of the Redskins trademark this week could — once appeals have been exhausted — open the door for vendors to peddle knock-off merchandise.

Shane Morris didn't wait around for what will likely be a years-long battle. Also, he's not one for subtlety.

Shortly after the decision on Wednesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Morris launched a parody line of paraphernalia: the Landover Racists.

Morris, a self-described "serial trouble maker," quickly bought the domain name and went to work designing a website. He now sells T-shirts and mugs bearing the satiric logo.

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Left alone with a sex offender, a teacher is raped

A teacher at an Arizona prison was alone in a room full of sex offenders before being stabbed and raped by a convicted rapist, according to documents about an attack at the facility.

Jacob Harvey is accused of stabbing the woman in the head with a pen, forcing her to the ground and raping her on January 30 at the Eyman prison's Meadows Unit, which houses about 1,300 rapists, child molesters and other sex offenders.

The teacher, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was administering a high school equivalency test to about a half-dozen inmates in a classroom with no guard nearby and only a radio to summon help.

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Obama Administration Announces New Steps To Stem Flow Of Immigrants At Texas Border

The Obama administration toughened its border policies Friday, hoping to stem a surge of women and children into the United States by sending a stronger message that unauthorized migrants will be turned away.

The steps, aimed at those entering from Mexico, include adding more immigration judges to process a backlog of asylum claims and to more quickly deport adults whose cases are rejected. New detention facilities are also being opened for families awaiting hearings, and ankle monitoring bracelets will be used to keep tabs on them, officials said.

The moves mark a recognition by the administration that the unexpected influx of tens of thousands of immigrant children has become a serious humanitarian and political crisis. Since October, 52,000 unaccompanied minors and 39,000 adults with children have been apprehended along the Mexican border — a much higher proportion than normal.

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Founded in 1948, Delmarva Chicken Festival being held for last time

Farewell for a fowl event

CENTREVILLE — — With a gentle breeze blowing and temperatures in the low 80s, it was mild for a June afternoon on the Eastern Shore, but adjacent to the main attraction at the Queen Anne's County 4-H Park, it was hot as blazes.

John Draper stood next to a 650-pound frying pan, stirring 140 pieces of chicken in 160 gallons of bubbling soybean oil with a pair of giant tongs.

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Hillary's book woes continue: Clinton asked to sign 'Hard Choices' out to Christopher Stevens

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “Hard Choices” book tour is off to a rocky start. She was asked on the street to sign a copy of the book out to J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya who died in the 2012 Benghazi terror attack with three other Americans.

While exiting a book signing event in D.C. on Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton was approached by Jason Mattera, publisher of the website Daily Surge. Mr. Mattera handed a copy of the book and said, “If you could make it out to Christopher Stevens — I think you knew him.”

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Why Facebook Posts Are Disappearing (And What Can Be Done About It)

Q: I've noticed that the activity level of my business Facebook page has dropped off considerably, but I haven't been doing anything different? Did something change on Facebook?

A: Many small business owners who have spent years building an audience through Facebook are asking this same question, and the answer is "yes."

Most businesses have used Facebook to engage with their customers through content that costs nothing to post, because the engagement level was worthwhile.

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Coming To A Protest Near You... A Drone That Blasts Pepper Spray

What’s a crony status quo to do when it is ultimately confronted with an unruly mob of plebs frustrated with the fact median wages haven’t increased in forty five years, while the 0.01% has stolen everything in sight with the help of the Federal Reserve and corrupt Washington D.C. politicians?

Well, naturally you’d launch the South African made Skunk Riot Control Copter, fully equipped with a suite of high-definition and thermal imagine cameras, strobe lights, speakers and a pepper spray firing paint ball gun which can fire 80 shots per second!

We learn from The Verge [8] that:

Crowds of protesters could soon come under attack from riot control drones outfitted with paintball guns, strobe lights, and speakers. The Skunk Riot Control Copter, built by South African company Desert Wolf, has a suite of cameras and four paintball guns strapped to its chassis to help its operators monitor and control unruly crowds. The guns can fire ammunition from four different hoppers, meaning the drone operators can shoot protesters with dye markers, solid plastic pellets, or small capsules of pepper spray.

The first batch of drones will reportedly be deployed to mines in South Africa later this month, where lengthy strikes at some of the country’s biggest facilities have resulted in violence . Mine owners hope that the drones will be able to control and subdue their workers by blasting them with flashing lights, blaring messages of control, and shooting them from the sky. Kieser says he hopes its success in the country will lead to more orders for the gun-toting drone.

Oh you silly little miners want higher wages? You may want to think twice about going on strike, unless you want a couple pepper spray pellets to the dome.

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Dozens Of CDC Workers Taking Anti-Anthrax Drugs

At least 52 workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are taking antibiotics as a precaution because of a lab safety problem that may have accidentally exposed them to anthrax.

The federal agency on Friday raised its estimate of potentially affected workers from 75 to 86, and said the number could rise again as additional workers such as janitors and support staff come forward.

So far, the CDC's occupational health clinic has seen 54 out of 86 potentially exposed employees. Only two have refused antibiotic treatment, which can cut the chances of infection after exposure to the germ. The CDC says 27 of them also began receiving an anthrax vaccine. The others declined or are still considering the vaccine.
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Lois Lerner’s Vanishing E-Mails

The IRS’s claim that it lost the e-mails of multiple key employees, at precisely the moment that Congress began looking into the agency’s unethical and illegal political persecutions, challenges even the most credulous mind.

It is very difficult to permanently destroy an e-mail even if you are trying to do so. The proposition that a few hard-drive crashes, which conveniently afflicted the computers of those involved in the agency’s targeting of conservative groups, would permanently wipe out those e-mails beyond recovery beggars belief. Half the strip malls in this country have electronics stores that will, for a fee, recover information from a damaged hard drive. Assuming that the drive in question was not, say, smashed to bits with a sledgehammer and then nuked in a microwave, the information on it should be recoverable.

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Summer Solstice Saturday: Longest Day And Shortest Night Of The Year

When it’s still dusk at 9 or 10 p.m. and gets light again around 5 o’clock the next morning, we know the longest day of the year is upon us. This Saturday is the June solstice, marking the longest day of the year and the astronomical start to summer in Earth’s northern hemisphere.

At 6:51 a.m. EDT on June 21, the sun can be seen directly overhead along the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5º north latitude. With the Earth’s North Pole at its maximum tilt toward the sun, locations north of the equator see the sun follow its longest and highest path across the southern sky. This means the shadow you cast at local solar noon will be the shortest of the year.

The exact amount of daylight we see on the summer solstice is highly dependent on latitude (see image). North of the Arctic Circle, the sun circles the sky for 24 hours. But while the high latitudes see continuous daylight, the sun’s low angle in the sky provides very ineffective heating. As a result, temperatures in the Arctic aren’t exactly summerlike even when the sun is up for weeks or months at a time.

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Gen. McInerney: Evidence Will Show 'Dereliction of Duty' in Benghazi

(CNSNews.com) - Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney says he believes the evidence will show that President Obama and top administration officials were guilty of a “dereliction of duty” both during and after the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya that cost the lives of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

“Verification of what the National Command Authority knew and when they knew it is extremely important as it will show, I believe, that there was dereliction of duty by the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of State, and the CIA Director,” Lt. Gen. McInerney said at a joint conference with military and legal experts held by the Heritage Foundation and the Benghazi Accountability Coalition on Monday.

“That is a very serious charge. That is a very serious charge, and it was done in violation of the law of the United States,” declared Gen. McInerney, who served as an assistant vice chief of staff in the Air Force’s Washington headquarters, and was part of a group calling for a select committee to investigate the events in Benghazi back in March.

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NY Heroes Bust Into Wrong House, Shoot Unarmed Cowering Woman In Chest

HEMPSTEAD, NY — An innocent woman hid in a closet when armed strangers unexpectedly broke into her apartment. While cowering in fear, she was discovered by one of the intruders — actually a police officer raiding the wrong address — who promptly shot her in the chest after opening the closet door.

A Flawed Warrant

The botched raid was part of a joint narcotics investigation by the Nassau County Police Force Bureau of Special Operations (BSO), the Town of Hempstead Police Department, and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

When officers had reason to suspect that someone was in possession of arbitrarily banned substances, a search warrant was signed by a New York judge, authorizing police to break down the suspect’s door at any time they felt appropriate without warning. The no-knock warrant was “justified by the possibility that evidence would be destroyed,” according to official documents.

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Salisbury City Council Agenda for June 23, 2014 (Revised)

Revised Meeting Materials - Council Meeting - June 23, 2014 - 

Res. No. 2412 and Ord. No. 2297 added to Agenda

 

 

    Agenda Packet – 6-23-14 – Council Meeting (Revised)

Sailor who at sea ordered to appear in court for custody hearing

A U.S. sailor from Washington State has been put in an almost impossible situation after being asked to appear in court as part of a custody battle to keep his six-year-old daughter, despite being thousands of miles away under the sea.

Navy submariner Matthew Hindes is serving on a submarine in the Pacific Ocean, yet he has been ordered to appear in a Michigan courtroom on Monday - or a warrant for his arrest will be issued.

Hindes is in a custody battle with his ex-wife Angela involving their daughter, Kaylee.

Although he was given permanent custody of Kaylee in 2010, she was removed from his ex-wife's home by child protective services and went to live with her step-mother on the other side of the country.

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Chelsea Clinton hasn't been on NBC for 4 months

Chelsea Clinton - under scrutiny for her pricey contract with NBC News - hasn't been featured since January, but the network says it does expect two completed stories to air soon, and two others are in the works.

Bill and Hillary Clinton's daughter, who was hired in 2011, has done just a smattering of reporting for NBC News.

Last week, Politico reported she is being paid $600,000 a year. Politico also said the 34-year-old, who is expecting her first child later this year, is now on a month-to-month contract that would ease her departure should her mother decide to run for president in 2016.

While it is not uncommon for well-known anchors to earn multiple millions per year, but Clinton's reported annual salary is high for the frequency of her segments.

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Rest Michael, My Son.

A mother from the Lacey Township, N.J. area describes the troubles she says she had with her son's heroin addiction. Michael Capone died earlier this week.

Heroin does not discriminate. It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, short or tall, rich or poor, young or old. Once in your veins, the person who you always loved and cared for becomes a stranger. A beast in his own mind, whose only goal in life is to get the next fix…chasing the very first high that they have felt.

“Scumbag!” Every article I have ever read about people being arrested for drugs always has comments made by their readers that say that word. I can assure you that they are sadly mistaken. My son's name once lit up the newspapers of his glorious days as a wrestler and as a little boy entering fishing contests. Now the papers print his name for his arrests from heroin addiction.

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Great Weekend

A balding, white haired man walked into a jewelry store in a local mall this past Friday evening with a beautiful much younger gal at his side. He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend. The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring. The man said, 'No, I'd like to see something more special.'

At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over.'Here's a stunning ring at only $40,000' the jeweler said. The lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement.

The old man seeing this said, 'We'll take it.'

The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the man stated, 'By check.

I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I'll write it now and you can call the bank on Monday to verify the funds and I'll pick up the ring Monday afternoon.'

On Monday morning, the jeweler angrily phoned the old man and said, 'There was only $25 in your account.'

'I know', said the old man, 'But let me tell you about MY GREAT WEEKEND!'

REMEMBER... Not All Seniors Are Senile…

Police Commission Eyes Cruisin’ Meeting Before Fall Event

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City Police Commission members agreed this week to invite Cruisin’ promoters to meet with them to review the spring and fall events.

Following Cruisin’ weekend in May, Ocean City residents vented on social media their frustrations over massive traffic backups, infrastructure damage to roads caused by the thousands of classic cars in town spinning out and the massive amounts of litter left behind by irresponsible visitors. In fact, one long-time Ocean City resident described the event in a letter to the editor as “broken” and in need of massive changes.

Bob Rothermel, one of the Cruisin’ promoters, took exception to the negatives being hurled by community members at the event, which had 3,300 registered vehicles at the May event.

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New Castle Man Charged with Rape

New Castle – A New Castle man was arrested yesterday after detectives linked him to a rape that occurred earlier this week.

The incident occurred on June 17 at approximately 5:15 a.m. when the victim, a 25-year-old woman, was picked up by a man, later identified as James Daniels, 20, of New Castle, at the Super Fuel, 3006 New Castle Avenue. Daniels drove to victim to a secluded area by the C&D Canal, where he paid her to perform a sex act, but, when the victim ended the act, he punched her several times.

The victim ran from the vehicle but Daniels chased after her, caught her, and forced her back into the vehicle. He forced the victim to disrobe, struck her with a baseball bat, and sexually assaulted her. The victim was eventually able to escape from the vehicle and Daniels drove away with her belongings.

Troop 2 detectives linked Daniels to the rape and on June 20 the Delaware State Police Special Operations Response Team arrested Daniels at his residence. Daniels was transported to Troop 2 and charged with rape first degree, robbery first degree, and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony. He was committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institute on $220,000 secured bail.

'Jihad Cool': Rap videos, adventure and 'fun' of war luring Americans

AK-47 aloft, his right hand raised and pointing to the sky, Abdirahmaan Muhumed, 29, stands on a Syrian hillside and stares defiantly into the camera.

Six months ago the father of nine from Minnesota was shooting hoops in Uptown Minneapolis. He was neither overtly religious nor politically vocal.

Today he is one of as many as 15 young Somali -Americans from the Twin Cities currently under investigation by the FBI for having travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

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Wall Street Journal: IRS scandal 'worse than Watergate'

The revelation that the computers of Internal Revenue Service workers, including Tea Party prober Lois Lerner, were erased of critical emails sought by lawmakers has elevated the affair to -- and maybe beyond -- an old familiar presidential scandal, Watergate.

“The IRS tea-party audit story isn't Watergate; it's worse than Watergate,” according to deputy Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Daniel Henninger.

“The Watergate break-in was the professionals of the party in power going after the party professionals of the party out of power. The IRS scandal is the party in power going after the most average Americans imaginable,” he added.

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Give Them A Brake Today

Traffic Alert: One Lane Closed On Rt 13

Supreme Court Rules Taxpayer Can Challenge IRS Summons

IRS agents could be examined at an evidentiary hearing based on a taxpayer's mere "conclusory allegations"

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unanimously that taxpayers have a right to challenge an Internal Revenue Service summons enforcement action in court when they can show the tax agency might have issued the summons in bad faith.

But the nine justices sent the case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and said that court had wrongly decided that IRS agents could be examined at an evidentiary hearing based on a taxpayer’s mere “conclusory allegations.”

Although the Supreme Court scaled back the Atlanta-based appeals court’s taxpayer-friendly ruling from 2013, the high court decision might make it harder for the IRS to avoid summons challenges in district court, tax lawyers said.

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HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 6-21-14

(From the 1908 Business Supplement to the Wicomico Advertiser)

FARMERS AND PLANTERS COMPANY

FERTILIZERS, COAL, LIME, HAIR, FARM IMPLEMENTS,

SEEDS, SHINGLES, BRICKS, ETC.

Among the many big enterprises of Salisbury, there is none that stands higher in her business life or keeps in closer touch with the builders and planters of the Eastern Shore than the Farmers’ and Planters’ Company, of which Mr. Glen Perdue is manager. For many years this company has been supplying the needs of thousands of patrons and they are familiar with the requirements of every kind of soil, and of every locality. The goods handled by them are of the very best and especially adapted to theEastern Shore. Their fertilizers are manufactured from formulas that years of experimenting have brought the best results in the products peculiar to the Peninsula, and these include “Truckers’ Mixture”, “Special Fish”, “Fish Mixture”, “General Crop Grower”, “Bone and Potash”, “Standard Mixture”, “Special Wheat”, Dry Fish, Dissolved Bone, Raw Bone Meal, High Grade Tankage, Muriate Potage, Nitrate Soda, Dissolved S.C. Rock, and Kamit. In farm implements, they are agents for the world famous Deering Harvesting Machinery, Ideal Binders, Ideal Mowers, Ideal Steel Rakes, Deering Sicle (sic) Grinders, Deering Binding Twine, Imperial Chilled Plows, Imperial Disc Harrows, Hallock Success Weeders, Tiger Corn Planters, Tiger Transplanters, Tiger Disc Harrows, Tiger Riding and Walking Cultivators, McWhorter Fertilizer Distributors, Keystone One-Horse Corn and Pea Planters, Keystone Fertilizer Distributors, Superior Single and Double Disc Drills, Superior Disc One-Horse Corn and Pea Planters. The building materials comprise Lump Lime, Texas Alum lime, Cements, plaster hair, long coat, and winter cow hair, and the company are also selling agents for the Peninsula Brick Company’s red, arch, salmon, and paving bricks. It will be seen from this partial list of specialties handled that the business conducted is very extensive. No contract is too great or too small for this company to undertake, and the trade extends throughout the Eastern Shore country,Delaware and Virginia. The business was established many years ago, and in 1898 Mr. Perdue became the sole proprietor, and under his able direction it has won a place of distinction unexcelled by any enterprise of its kind in this section of Maryland.

(Even though this was written 106 years ago, the business is still thriving and is one of the few businesses still around in 2014 performing basically the same service. The ad pictured is from the First Great Fair in Salisbury in 1909. The Fair was held on the SE corner of Pemberton Drive and Parsons Road.)

Ocean City Police Service Calls Jumped In May

OCEAN CITY – The resort’s police department saw increases in activity across the board in the month of May, however the total number of crime incident in Ocean City so far this year remains lower than the previous year.

At Friday’s Police Commission meeting, Police Chief Ross Buzzuro reported May’s total calls for service, including traffic stops, business checks and assistance to citizens, totaled 9,065, a 2.4-percent increase from May 2013 when there were 8,856 calls for service.
Out of that total, 6,644 were officer initiated, which is a 1.5-percent increase from May 2013, and 2,421 were citizen initiated, which is a 4.7-percent increase from May 2013.

The total number of calls for service, excluding traffic stops, business checks and assisting citizens, totaled 5,353, a 4.9-percent increase from May 2013 when there were 5,101 calls for service. Out of the total, 3,059 were officer initiated, which is a 4-percent increase from May 2013, and 2,294 were citizen initiated, which is a 6.2-percent increase from May 2013.

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Caption This Photo 6-21-14

Click on image to enlarge.

Amerika's "Third Crusade" In Iraq Is Having Trouble

Back in the early 2004, comedian Dave Chappelle produced a masterpiece entitled “Black Bush” – a comedic mockumentary of the events leading up to (and immediately following) the United States’ “second crusade” in Iraq, led by former president George W. Bush.

We’ve written about this sketch before, but in case you’ve never seen it for yourself CLICK HERE.

You won’t regret it …

“Despite its coarseness, ‘Black Bush’ remains as compelling an indictment of America’s military industrial complex (and interventionist foreign policy) as we’ve seen … a timeless rebuke of politicians like Bush, U.S. Sen. John McCain, U.S. President Barack Obama and South Carolina’s own Lindsey Graham,” we wrote of Chappelle’s skit.

Anyway, now that Amerika’s “third crusade” in Iraq is ramping up, we thought it was worth revisiting the “Black Bush” sketch – especially the reference it makes to the region being “ripe for regime change.”

That’s exactly what U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) said this week in reference to the administration of Iraqi prime minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki – a U.S.-supported puppet who was hand-picked by the CIA to lead the country due to his opposition to Iran.

You remember Iran, right?

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NAPOLITANO: When another Iraq war is pointless

As we watch the collapsing government in Baghdad, surrounded by a highly disciplined and serious force of Sunni-oriented fighters that has taken control of the most populous third of the country, we must, in John Adams’ words, resist the temptation to slay the world’s monsters. This time around, the monsters are the Sunnis — who ran the government of Iraq in the Saddam Hussein years and who are the ancient and persistent enemy of the Shia, who run the government today.

The political and military force that is aiming at Iraq’s capital calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Its fighting force consists of about 8,000 men, yet it has marched through Iraq quickly. Last week, as ISIS forces approached the capital, a half-million Iraqi civilians got out of their way and tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces dropped their American military gear and Iraqi military uniforms and fled. The Iraqi army — which the United States demolished 10 years ago — cannot defend the current Iraqi government, which is as corrupt, authoritarian, anti-democratic and untrustworthy as Saddam’s was, yet far less competent.

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Thoreau as a Lone Crazy

Murray Rothbard used the "lone crazy" theory to describe the individual who comes out of nowhere and dramatically alters the course of history; perhaps he assassinates a president. The lone crazy could also be an event, such as 9/11. Its essence is surprise, improbability and its transformative nature. 

The essay "On Civil Disobedience" (1849) by Henry David Thoreau is the literary equivalent of a lone crazy. It recounts his one-night imprisonment for refusing to pay a tax that would have financed the oppression of other human beings – specifically, slaves. It was one man's statement of "no, I will not participate in evil." The essay should not have occasioned a second glance. And, yet, its impact reaches across centuries to the present day. It crossed cultures to change the thinking of such pivotal figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Why?

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6 Ways to Lower a Massive Medical Bill

The prospect of an outrageous medical bill is not what first comes to mind when you’re sick or hurt. Recovery is the top priority. Though many people think there’s nothing they can do about an exorbitant medical bill, that’s not the case .

It’s not simply a question of supply and demand, or fixed costs. Hospitals can and do charge whatever they want. Sure, they sometimes make deals with insurance companies to cut costs for policyholders, but even with insurance, prices vary widely between hospitals for the same service. The most expensive hospital for a particular service often charges 30 times more than the cheapest alternative.

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Caption This Photo 6-21-14

Man, 31, knowingly infected 15-year-old virgin with HIV

A 31-year-old man knew he had HIV when he had sex with a 15-year-old virgin he'd met on a chat line - but she didn't know until she became infected with the disease, a Texas court has heard.

Matthew Louis Reese pleaded guilty to three charges Tuesday, including aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon for repeatedly having sex with the girl without a condom.

Prosecutors requested he serves 95 years behind bars and Judge Pat McDowell is expected to make a decision on Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News reported.

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1.1million Pounds of Toxic Chemicals Dumped into Maryland’s Waterways

Bladensburg, Maryland -- Industrial facilities dumped 1.1 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Maryland’s waterways in 2012 according to a new report by Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center, released today in Bladensburg Waterfront Park.

The “Wasting Our Waterways” report comes as the Environmental Protection Agency considers a new rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to thousands of waterways in Maryland and across the nation.

“Maryland’s waterways should be clean – for swimming, drinking, and supporting wildlife,” said Joanna Diamond, Director of the Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center. “But too often, our waters have become a dumping ground for polluters. The first step to curb this tide of toxic pollution is to restore Clean Water Act protections to all our waterways.”

The Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center report on toxic pollutants discharged to America’s waters is based on data reported by polluting facilities to the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory for 2012, the most recent data available.

Major findings of the report include the fact that 3.2 million pounds of toxic pollution is discharged into the iconic Chesapeake Bay in 2012. The Gunpowder and Patapsco Rivers, both connected to the Bay, are two of the most polluted waterways in Maryland, with chemical manufacturing plant, Erachem Comilog Inc., alone releasing more than 1 million pounds of toxic chemicals into those local watersheds in 2012.

Infertility in Spanish Pigs Has Been Traced to Plastics. A Warning for Humans?

A scientist has connected infertility in pigs to compounds in plastic bags.

A strange catastrophe struck Spain's pig farmers in the spring of 2010. On 41 farms across the country—each home to between 800 and 3,000 pigs—many sows suddenly ceased bearing young.

On some farms, all the sows stopped reproducing. On others, those that did become pregnant produced smaller litters.

When investigators examined the sows and the semen that had been used to artificially inseminate them—it had been collected from different boar studs and refrigerated—they couldn't find anything wrong. The sperm cells weren't misshapen. None of the sows were diseased. No microbes or fungal toxins were detected in their feed or water.

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