If you saw a fat man in a sleigh distributing presents this week, he was in violation of several government regulations.
The Federal Aviation Administration has complaints about his secret flight path. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources might shoot his unauthorized reindeer the way they shot a baby deer named Giggles at an animal shelter this year. His bag of gifts definitely violates numerous charity tax rules.
In real life, government barely lets people give each other rides in cars. But now the Internet has given birth to some exciting new businesses that challenge this conceit.
Companies called Lyft, Uber and Sidecar offer a phone app that allows people who need a ride somewhere to connect to a driver nearby who’d like to make a few extra bucks. It’s like creating an instant taxi business — which is why it makes existing taxi businesses nervous.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Thursday, December 26, 2013
WHY WIDOW OF FAMED SNIPER CHRIS KYLE IS SUING EXECUTIVES AT THE COMPANY HE STARTED
Craft International, a defense and combat training company co-founded by Kyle in 2009, is at the center of the lawsuit launched by Taya Kyle.
The Dallas Morning News reported details of the suit against Craft’s CEO Steven Young and Chief Operating Officer Bo French, which included accusations of shutting Taya out of certain aspects despite her claim to own 85 percent of the company:
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Edward Snowden's Christmas Message: End Mass Surveillance
Edward Snowden delivered Channel 4's "Alternative Christmas Message" today, urging the the end of mass surveillance. The message was filmed from Russia, where he has temporary asylum. Below is the transcript:
Publishers Notes: The video has been removed but the transcript is still there.
Publishers Notes: The video has been removed but the transcript is still there.
American Abducted By Al Qaeda Makes Plea to Obama
Warren Weinstein, 72, was abducted in August 2011 in Lahore, Pakistan, where he was working for a U.S.-based firm that advises Pakistani businesses.
He said in the video he feels "totally abandoned and forgotten," telling Obama that he can make "hard decisions" now that he does not have to worry about re-election.
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The Redistribution Of Dreams
A friend is celebrating the season by visiting her children in the States. Like many millennials, her 20-something son is working brutal hours for minimum wage at an unfulfilling job. After visiting with him and his girlfriend, my friend emailed, "These kids are SO stuck in not being able to even pay their rent that they have no energy left to dream anything."
A similar story is playing out in family after family across America. Twenty-somethings are holding down two minimum wage jobs because no one wants to hire full-time people for whom they might have to provide health insurance. In a stagnant economy, their unemployment tops the chart. Meanwhile, they are saddled with debt and taxes for entitlements they will probably never receive, like social security.
As I moved through the day, my friend's words haunted me. They perched at the back of my mind as I read a New York Times article that was an odd combination of proclaiming the obvious and writhing to avoid it. One quote captures the dance: "These days the word ["redistribution"] is particularly toxic at the White House, where it has been hidden away to make the Affordable Care Act more palatable to the public and less a target for Republicans.... But the redistribution of wealth has always been a central feature of the law and lies at the heart of the insurance market disruptions driving political attacks this fall." The obvious: The core goal of Obamacare is the redistribution of wealth. The writhing: Obama lied, only he had to lie because of those wretched Republicans.
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A&E Celebrates Christmas By Showing 25 Episodes In A Row Of “Duck Dynasty”
“I think, honestly, it’s A&E trying to play both sides of the coin,” [said Cate Meighan, senior writer for Celeb Dirty Laundry].
“They’ve come out and not supported Phil’s statements… however they’re also looking at the backlash from the fans, and they have a huge amount of backlash from the fans... It is really a money thing... You’re going to have the same people tuning into ‘Duck Dynasty’ that always have and the same people not watching that always have.”
She said at the end of the day, the series will likely continue if the advertisers continue rush to air ads during the series.... “Unfortunately people are secondary,” she said. “At the end of every single thing that we see it’s about the money and the advertising.”
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She said at the end of the day, the series will likely continue if the advertisers continue rush to air ads during the series.... “Unfortunately people are secondary,” she said. “At the end of every single thing that we see it’s about the money and the advertising.”
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Obama Gives Christmas Salute To Military Families
President Obama spent Christmas afternoon speaking to more than 500 servicemen and their families gathered in a dining facility at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, a quick drive from the Obama's vacation home in Kailua.
Obama, with Michelle, at his side, thanked the military families for the sacrifices they have made to keep the nation secure. The audience assembled in the dining hall was made up mainly up Marines but the event also was open to Army, Navy and Air Force families.
The president said he knows “a lot of our friends and comrades” are raising their families here while others are serving in Afghanistan and other far-flung places.
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Obama, with Michelle, at his side, thanked the military families for the sacrifices they have made to keep the nation secure. The audience assembled in the dining hall was made up mainly up Marines but the event also was open to Army, Navy and Air Force families.
The president said he knows “a lot of our friends and comrades” are raising their families here while others are serving in Afghanistan and other far-flung places.
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2014 Will Be Even Worse For Our President
It's true that Obamacare has been a debacle, wrapped in a catastrophe, shrouded in a disaster. But it's also become clear that it was founded upon a lie: Obama's "if you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it" statement was named by PolitiFact its lie of the year for 2013. Many Americans have already learned that their individualplans are being cancelled because they don't live up to Obamacare, causing enough chaos that the Obama administration has had to give certain people a last-minute "waiver" of the mandate that they buy insurance. But many more problems have just been kicked down the road -- into 2014 -- by Obama's unilateral decision. Ironically, the White House and Democrats were, just a couple of months ago, calling Republicans who wanted to delay the mandate anarchists and terrorists, and loudly proclaiming that Obamacare was "the law of the land."
Regardless, the mandate delay doesn't solve problems, it just kicks the can down the road. And, as Bloomberg's Megan McArdle notes, the White House seems to be reacting to short-term political problems, rather than shoring up the system in ways that will make it work better:
However incoherent these fixes may seem, they send two messages, loud and clear. The first is that although liberal pundits may think that the law is a done deal, impossible to repeal, the administration does not believe that. ... This is at best, damage control. Which suggests that the administration is expecting a fair amount of damage.
I think that's right, and the damage will come in 2014. What we've seen so far, most likely, isn't the worst of it.
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Regardless, the mandate delay doesn't solve problems, it just kicks the can down the road. And, as Bloomberg's Megan McArdle notes, the White House seems to be reacting to short-term political problems, rather than shoring up the system in ways that will make it work better:
However incoherent these fixes may seem, they send two messages, loud and clear. The first is that although liberal pundits may think that the law is a done deal, impossible to repeal, the administration does not believe that. ... This is at best, damage control. Which suggests that the administration is expecting a fair amount of damage.
I think that's right, and the damage will come in 2014. What we've seen so far, most likely, isn't the worst of it.
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Speeding Fines On Christmas? Some Fla. Drivers Get Lottery Tickets
MELBOURNE, FLA. – Police in a central Florida city have been issuing scratch-off lottery tickets instead of speeding fines to Christmas Day travelers.
By early Wednesday afternoon, Melbourne Police officers had handed out 30 lottery tickets along with warnings to drivers caught speeding or violating other traffic laws.
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By early Wednesday afternoon, Melbourne Police officers had handed out 30 lottery tickets along with warnings to drivers caught speeding or violating other traffic laws.
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My Twilight Years
As I enjoy my twilight years, I am often struck by the inevitability that the party must end. There will be a clear, cold morning when there isn't any "more".
No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "Did you hear the one about....." This is true for marriages, family relationships, and, especially, old friendships.
It seems to me that one of the important things to do before that morning comes, is to let every one of your family and friends know that you care for them by finding simple ways to let them know your heartfelt beliefs and the guiding principles of your life so they can always say, "He was my friend, and I know where he stood."
So, just in case I'm gone tomorrow, please know this.......I voted against that incompetent, stupid, lying, insincere, double-talking, radical socialist, terrorist excusing, bleeding heart, narcissistic, scientific and economic moron currently in the White House!
No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "Did you hear the one about....." This is true for marriages, family relationships, and, especially, old friendships.
It seems to me that one of the important things to do before that morning comes, is to let every one of your family and friends know that you care for them by finding simple ways to let them know your heartfelt beliefs and the guiding principles of your life so they can always say, "He was my friend, and I know where he stood."
So, just in case I'm gone tomorrow, please know this.......I voted against that incompetent, stupid, lying, insincere, double-talking, radical socialist, terrorist excusing, bleeding heart, narcissistic, scientific and economic moron currently in the White House!
All-male Dance Squad Rejected By Alabama
AL.com reported Tuesday that the Downtown Mobile Alliance rescinded an invitation for the Prancing Elites to perform at the Moon Pie Over Mobile parade after the group's performance in the southwest town of Semmes.
Performers wore snug white shorts under hip-high Santa jackets as they performed a gyrating dance routine some considered inappropriate for the setting.
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New Email Scam Looks Like It's From Amazon, Wal-Mart
The scammers are going for the big fish -- the stores most Americans have shopped at this season, Amazon and Walmart.
"You may think you bought something at Walmart and they're telling you you can return it, but you have to act now because we're going to deduct something from the amount you paid," says CBS technology analyst Larry Magid. "That's an incentive for people to click, so they can get their money."
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SOMEONE SHOT SANTA WITH A PELLET GUN — AND A LOCAL NEWS CREW CAPTURED IT ALL ON VIDEO
A man dressed as Santa Clause was shot with a pellet gun in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning during a toy giveaway — and the entire incident was captured on video by a local news crew.
Video shot by a WJLA photographer shows the Santa actor waiving his hands shouting “Merry Christmas” in a Southeast D.C. neighborhood. Suddenly, however, he stops, groans in pain and claims someone “just shot me.”
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Video shot by a WJLA photographer shows the Santa actor waiving his hands shouting “Merry Christmas” in a Southeast D.C. neighborhood. Suddenly, however, he stops, groans in pain and claims someone “just shot me.”
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IRS RULE MAY ALLOW POLITICAL TARGETING
That issue is being worked out in court. But the IRS, nevertheless, remains on the attack, proposing new regulations that would silence the president’s critics.
Mathew Staver, founder and chief counsel of Liberty Counsel, said that after “being caught intentionally targeting conservative groups in the prior two elections, now the president wants his IRS to totally silence the voices of his political adversaries.”
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Santa Obama Gives Pay Raise To Federal Workers
President Obama’s reward to the federal workforce follows his longstanding belief that government work ought to be a first option for Americans. Nonetheless, Obama’s decision to raise federal pay only widens the income inequality gap between federal workers and private sector employees; as of 2011, the average private sector employee made $59,804 in salary, and $28,000 in benefits, while the average federal workers made $74,436 in salary and $40,000 in benefits.
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