Rabu, 18 Januari 2017

Salisbury News

Salisbury News

A Workout We Can All Relate To...

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 10:00 PM PST

Trump Is Considering Booting Press Corps From White House For BRILLIANT Reason

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:00 PM PST

The old guard media is not going to like this one little bit. But you have to give it to President-elect Trump, it's a brilliant move. A report from Esquire magazine is foretelling that the press is going to be moved out of the West Wing of the White House to the Old Executive Office Building or the White House Conference Center. Those venues can hold many more than the coveted 49 seats usually tolerated by the President.

There is solid reasoning behind this that I can appreciate. First off, the press have behaved very poorly towards Trump. He feels they have not earned any special treatment and I agree. By doing this, he could have hundreds of reporters, journalists and bloggers attend a Presidential press conference. No longer would the titans of the media be the only ones to get a shot at asking questions or breaking stories. It's fantastic for bloggers and pundits and an utter disaster for mainstream media hacks. Gotta love it.

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New Drug For People That Are Easily Offended

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 08:30 PM PST

‘BIKERS FOR TRUMP’ Just Put Liberals On NOTICE – ‘Behave During Inauguration, Or Else’

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 08:00 PM PST

I hope the roar of the Bikers for Trump arriving in DC causes cold fear to go down the spines of these protesters. If they have any sense, it will… but alas, sense is not something most of them have. 200,000 Bikers for Trump will be arriving in our nation's capitol and they are putting liberals on notice… behave during the Inauguration or answer to us. They will work with the police and the National Guard, but make no mistake they will defend and protect Trump supporters.

As I understand it, Bikers for Trump applied for a permit in DC and were initially denied. Chris Cox told them that if they could not get a permit, they would just spread out among the protesters. Next thing you knew, they were the only pro-Trump group to get a permit. The rest were snatched up by anti-Trump groups. Frankly, I think this is going to get very confrontational. But so be it. The bikers aren't backing down and this time if radicals want to dance, they'll have dance partners.

From the Conservative Tribune:

If you're a leftist and you want to cause trouble on Inauguration Day, Bikers for Trump would like you to know that you're going to have to go through a "wall of meat" to do it.

In an appearance on "Fox & Friends" on Saturday, Chris Cox — the leader of the Bikers for Trump group — announced that his 5,000-strong contingent of bikers at the inauguration will protect Trump supporters from liberal protesters who get too rowdy

"In the event that we are needed, we will form a wall of meat," Cox said. "We'll be shoulder to shoulder with our brothers, and we'll be toe-to-toe with anyone who's going to break through police barriers."

According to Fox News, Cox's group has grown from just 100 riders when it started back in Virginia Beach in October, 2015, to over 200,000 members now. They plan on being one of the biggest pro-Trump contingents at the inauguration — which is good, considering they say on their Facebook page that most of the permits have gone to the anti-Trump crowd.

"We have the only pro-Trump permits for the inauguration," a post from November reads. "Anti-Trump groups have gobbled up all other areas and are actively preparing and advertising for people to join their effort to cause chaos and mayhem. Remember the Bikers For Trump standing toe to toe against (Black Lives Matter) and shoulder to shoulder with law-enforcement at the RNC in Cleveland, Ohio."

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MSP Update - Road Rage Shooting 1-18-17

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:50 PM PST

Delmarva's Chicken Industry in 2016: Sensible Growth, Economic Strength

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:30 PM PST

Chicken Industry, A Mainstay of Delmarva's Economy,  Shows Sensible Growth

Attached fact sheet provides 2016 data on Delmarva's chicken production

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Delmarva's chicken industry was a force for stability in 2016, keeping its bird capacity level and even slightly reducing the number of chicken houses in operation, while maintaining the total chicken produced and supporting the region's crop family farms with nearly $1 billion spent on feed ingredients.

Statistics on the chicken economy compiled by Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. (DPI), the nonprofit trade association, should put to rest worries about the industry 'overbuilding' new chicken houses. The data, supplied by the five poultry companies that operate on Maryland's Eastern Shore, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and in Delaware, show total chicken house capacity declined 0.5 percent in 2016, from 123 million birds to 122.5 million. The number of chicken houses in operation also fell, from 4,840 at the beginning of 2016 to 4,700 houses in use at the end of the year. The reason is simple: many chicken growers are building modern, efficient chicken houses, replacing more numerous and smaller structures as they do so. The overall effect, though, is in no way a runaway pace of growth in chicken house capacity, as some chicken critics agitating for a moratorium on new chicken house construction assert. In fact, the opposite is true, with a net reduction in 140 chicken houses seen last year.

Family farms and chicken companies use a wide variety of production methods to provide consumers with choices in the type of chicken they buy for their households. Regular and comprehensive animal care training for farmers and their employees and ongoing monitoring of bird health and welfare are part of the high standards for Delmarva chicken farmers and companies. That commitment to raising chickens efficiently and responsibly led to a 4 percent increase in the total pounds of chicken produced on Delmarva in 2016, with a total of 4.1 billion pounds of "Delmarvalous" chicken delivered to market.


To produce those chickens, Delmarva's poultry industry used 85.4 million bushels of corn, 35.5 million bushels of soybeans and 1.7 million bushels of wheat. The industry's total feed bill topped $997 million in 2016, down 1.8 percent from the year before. Most locally grown corn and soybeans are used to feed Delmarva's chickens. That means chicken industry dollars support Delaware, Maryland and Virginia family farms and the local economy many times over. A strong chicken industry that keeps cropland in production also provides an ecological benefit, since farmland produces less pollution per acre than developed land does.

Payments by chicken companies to contract growers on family farms rose 6 percent in 2016, from $229 million to $243 million. Wages earned by the 14,500 people directly employed by the region's five chicken companies also rose, by 7.7 percent, to $663 million.

"Nearly every business on Delmarva – including small businesses – is positively affected by the chicken industry," said Bill Satterfield, DPI's executive director. "These numbers reinforce just how important the chicken industry is to the region, and they show the industry growing at a calm, sustainable pace. An unwarranted clampdown on Delmarva's chicken industry would result in widespread economic harm; it would endanger the livelihoods of farmers, chicken company employees and countless others; and it would represent a step back in terms of conservation, by exposing more farmland to development pressure."


Look What the Chicken Industry Is Doing for Delmarva

2016 Facts about Delmarva's Meat Chicken Industry
     
Annual broiler/roaster/Cornish production: 594.9 million
Total pounds produced: 4.12 billion
Number of broiler/roaster/Cornish houses: 4,700
Broiler/roaster/Cornish house capacity: 122.4 million 
Broiler/roaster/Cornish and breeder growers: 1,736
Poultry company employees: 14,500
Value of chicks started: $189.7 million
Annual feed bill: $997.1 million
Bushels of corn used for feed: 85.4 million
Bushels of soybeans used for feed: 35.5 million
Bushels of wheat used for feed: 1.8 million
Packaging and other processing supplies: $220.7 million
Poultry company capital improvements: $94 million
Grower contract payments: $243 million
Wholesale value of broilers/roasters/Cornish: $3.21 billion

What You’re Paying At the Gas Pump Is About To DRASTICALLY Change Under Trump!

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:00 PM PST

Anyone else tired of paying ridiculously high prices for gas? It's become an annoyingly large part of the American citizen's budget, and has put a rather large burden on our shoulders.

Fortunately for us, we're about to see Trump reverse this trend and hopefully make life easier for each and every one of us. Yes, including those who hate him for reasons unrelated to his policies.

When America is running at full-steam, we produce more oil and gas than any other country on earth. Hillary Clinton was determined to put an end to that, but not President-Elect Trump. He plans to increase production, loosen environmental regulations, and get "clean coal" technology working everywhere (in fact, the first "clean coal" power plant went operational near Houston recently.

Trump is going to restart construction of the Keystone XL pipeline by voiding a series of executive orders that brought the massive project to a halt.

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The 3 Stooges

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:30 PM PST

Check Out What Melania Is Doing To The White House- Michelle Will Be LIVID

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:00 PM PST

Every FLOTUS wants to make the White House her own and Melania is planning to do just that, and this is 100% what you would expect from her.

Kinda makes me want to visit the White House, actually.

After Donald Trump secured the presidency, election designers decided to wage war Melania Trump, saying they will refuse to work with the future first lady because of her husband's politics. Now, Melania is letting it be known that she intends to continue looking great—with our without their help.

According to reports from Melania's makeup artist Nicole Bryl, the First Lady will introduce a 'glam room' to the White House.

"There will absolutely be a room designated for hair, makeup and wardrobe," Bryl told Stylish. "Melania wants a room with the most perfect lighting scenario, which will make our jobs as a creative team that much more efficient, since great lighting can make or break any look."

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For driverless cars, a moral dilemma: Who lives or dies?

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:30 PM PST

Imagine you're behind the wheel when your brakes fail. As you speed toward a crowded crosswalk, you're confronted with an impossible choice: veer right and mow down a large group of elderly people, or veer left into a woman pushing a stroller.

Now imagine you're riding in the back of a self-driving car. How would it decide?

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are asking people worldwide how they think a robot car should handle such life-or-death decisions. Their goal is not just for better algorithms and ethical tenets to guide autonomous vehicles, but to understand what it will take for society to accept the vehicles and use them.

Their findings present a dilemma for car makers and governments eager to introduce self-driving vehicles on the promise that they'll be safer than human-controlled cars. People prefer a self-driving car to act in the greater good, sacrificing its passenger if it can save a crowd of pedestrians. They just don't want to get into that car.

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OK, That's Funny

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:00 PM PST

Pence To Use Reagan’s Bible For Inauguration Ceremony

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 04:30 PM PST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Mike Pence will use Ronald Reagan's family Bible when he's sworn in as Donald Trump's vice president Friday, the first person to use the Bible during an inauguration ceremony since the former president himself.

The former Indiana governor said in a statement that it is "humbling" to use the 40th president's Bible when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administers the oath of office.

"President Ronald Reagan placed his faith in a loving God and the goodness of our country. He set out to change a nation and in doing so, he changed the world. In the march of history, Ronald Reagan's time in office was limited, but his legacy inspired a generation and will continue beyond," Pence said.

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State Department Held Stress Workshops After Trump’s Win

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 04:00 PM PST

The State Department held stress management sessions following Donald Trump's presidential election victory, providing employees tips for how to cope with change so they do not "become paralyzed by fear."

The workshops, titled "The Emotional Transition: Managing the Stress of Change," were held by the State Department's Bureau of Medical Services on Dec. 8 and 14, just one month after the department's former boss, Hillary Clinton, was defeated.

"Change is an inevitable part of the human experience," an email invitation obtained by theWashington Free Beacon reads. "We can become paralyzed by fear or allow the experience of change to propel us closer to self-actualization."

The purpose of the post-election seminars, which were open to all Foggy Bottom employees, contractors, interns, and workers for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was to dive into the "emotional cycles" of change.

"Our perspective determines our outcome," the State Department continued. "This seminar is designed to discuss the impact of change; the emotional cycles some people experience when confronted with change, and tools to effectively manage the stress of change."

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Amazon to Add Third Fulfillment Center to Maryland

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 03:30 PM PST

BALTIMORE (WJZ)– Amazon announced Wednesday that it plans to open a 1.2 million-square-foot fulfillment center in North East, Maryland.

Amazon employees at the North East fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship larger customer items such as big-screen televisions, kayaks and patio furniture.

"Creating jobs and growing Maryland's economy is a top priority of our administration," said Governor Larry Hogan. "Amazon's continued investment in Maryland, which includes thousands of jobs for our citizens, is a great example of companies that choose to locate and expand their business right here in Maryland – a testament to our state's growing economy."

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Race Has Many Different Meanings

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 03:00 PM PST

Affordable Care Act repeal could cost Maryland well over $2 billion, report says

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 02:30 PM PST

Efforts to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act could result in a financial impact for Maryland of over $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2018, and well over another $2 billion by fiscal year 2020, according to a new state report.

The state government's Department of Legislative Services published a report Tuesday on the impact of the ACA in Maryland, and how plans to revise or repeal it may impact the state's economy and health care systems.

The ACA, or "Obamacare," has been a topic of contention within state and federal governments over the past several months. Many Republicans have made attempts at ousting the law for years and Vice President-elect Mike Pence recently said that repealing and replacing the ACA would be the incoming administration's "first order of business." Meanwhile, many Democrats fear that such a move could leave more than 20 million Americans without health insurance.

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Pro-Lifers DENIED Access To Women’s March

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 02:00 PM PST

It looks like brain-sick liberals are preparing a "Women's March" after the inauguration in protest to Donald Trump. The women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault made it crystal clear what they thought about such an attempt.

Apparently, the "tolerant" protesters aren't permitting anyone who dissents from 'their' idea of equality to attend the march. Makes sense, right?

…How inclusive of them…

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OCPD Warning Citizens of Computer Repair Scams

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 01:30 PM PST


OCEAN CITY, MD – : The Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) has recently seen an increase in reports of computer scams.

In each case, the victim reported being contacted in some way by an online computer repair company stating that their computer had a virus that needed to be removed. The victim would then pay the repair company hundreds of dollars through either a wire transfer, gift cards, or a fictitious online payment system. One victim lost nearly $1,000 before contacting police. In most cases, the scammer would gain remote access to the computer and rather than fix it, the scammer would create a virus.

Internet crime schemes such as these steal millions of dollars each year from unsuspecting victims across the country. The OCPD offers a few simple steps to spot similar scams:
  • Be cautious of unsolicited offers. If you didn't ask for computer repair services, a legitimate company would not have known that it was needed.
  • Be wary if the seller only accepts wire transfers, gift cards or cash.
  • When asked to pay with a credit card through a website, ensure the site is secure and reputable before providing your credit card number.
  • Research the company before agreeing to the service. Most legitimate companies will have information about their company online, as well as customer reviews.
Any citizen that believes he/she may have been a victim of a similar crime should contact their local police department to file a report.

THE NERVE! Michelle Obama Responds To John Lewis SKIPPING Out On Inauguration

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 01:00 PM PST

For those who are not familiar with who John Lewis is, here is a quick update. JOhn Lewis is a Georgia politician with a rich history in the civil rights movement. He was the youngest of the "Big Six" leaders of the movement. He helped organize the march on Washington. Personally marched and worked next to Martin Luther King Jr. and advocated the non-violent effort to end segregation and racism.

Like many Democratic leaders he is not thrilled with the upcoming inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump. He has recently been quite vocal about his unease with the upcoming presidency.

According to ABC News:

After a Friday interview in which Lewis said Trump was not the "legitimate" president because of alleged Russian interference in the election, Trump responded on Twitter Saturday, writing that Lewis "should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!"

Trump's accusation that Rep. John Lewis is "All talk… (and) no action…" struck a chord with many. For a survivor of multiple jailings and beatings as a result of his voice in fighting for civil rights it had to be a troubling accusation.

But Michelle Obama has taken to twitter herself today and stepped into the debate.

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No Tax Hikes, Serious Cuts In Hogan's Proposed Budget

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 12:30 PM PST

Gov. Larry Hogan unveiled his fiscal year 2018 budget proposal Tuesday, saying it spends less than last year's budget and doesn't raise taxes.

Hogan said there are no serious cuts in the budget, and that the state rainy day fund is being used to balance the budget.

The governor said he is introducing a bill requiring mandate relief. He also wants the General Assembly to put aside a "tax-and-spend mentality," and he is introducing the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Hogan said education spending increases in this budget proposal with $334 million proposed for school construction and $1.5 billion for higher education.

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James O’Keefe OUTS Leftists And Their Potential “TERRORIST” Plans For Inauguration Day!

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 12:00 PM PST

James O'Keefe is known for his work with Project Veritas. He and his team have worked to uncover information regarding the left side political spectrum. He led a large force against the corruption of the Hillary Clinton campaign. And he has not stopped searching for more information. Most recently his team has found groups of individuals set on preventing the inauguration of Donald Trump. Many are outraged by these men's plans. But is it terrorism that they are plotting?

You can check out the video here:

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Montgomery Co. votes to raise minimum wage

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 11:30 AM PST

WASHINGTON – The Montgomery County Council approved a bill Tuesday that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2020 but the measure faces an uncertain future.

The legislation passed on a narrow vote of 5-4. Several members said they believed the council was moving ahead too quickly.

"I'm concerned that we are literally on the verge of voting for a wide sweeping economic policy without the benefit of any economic data that involves the unique situation of Montgomery County," said Councilmember Sidney Katz. "We need to accomplish raising the minimum wage by considering all aspects of our actions."

The four members who voted against the bill were hoping to delay action on the minimum wage so the council could first study the effects of recent minimum wage hikes in the county as well as possible effects of further increases.

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Ocean City Man Charged in Fatal Boating Accident

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 11:16 AM PST

An Ocean City man has been charged with multiple boating violations in connection with an accident that lead to the death of a 9-year-old boy.

Tyler Barnes, 33, operates Ocean City Watersports LLC, which rented a pontoon boat to a New Jersey family in August. A boy, one of 17 people aboard the vessel, slipped off the bow of the boat and was struck multiple times by the propeller, killing him.

Barnes was charged with negligent operation of a vessel, two counts of failing to have required safety equipment on board, renting a boat lacking proper equipment and failing to keep records. A Wicomico County District Court commissioner found probable cause yesterday and issued a criminal summons.

Kaden Frederick was one of four people sitting with their legs dangling from the front of the boat as it traveled in Sinepuxent Bay. Bow riding is illegal in Maryland.

When Frederick fell between the pontoons, the operator couldn't stop the vessel and the propeller struck the boy. Emergency crews couldn't resuscitate the child.

Barnes has a preliminary hearing set for Feb. 17 in Worcester County District Court. If he chooses, he may plead guilty before that date to any or all of the charges. The cumulative pre-payable fine would be $640.

How The Systemic Segregation Of Schools Is Maintained By 'Individual Choices'

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 11:00 AM PST

Sixty-three years after the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, many schools across the country either remain segregated or have re-segregated.

Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that when it comes to school segregation, separate is never truly equal.

"There's never been a moment in the history of this country where black people who have been isolated from white people have gotten the same resources," Hannah-Jones says. "They often don't have the same level of instruction. They often don't have strong principals. They often don't have the same technology."

Still, when it was time for Hannah-Jones' daughter, Najya, to attend kindergarten, the journalist chose the public school near their home in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, even though its students were almost all poor and black or Latino. Hannah-Jones laterwrote about that decision in The New York Times Magazine.

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‘Wire’ actress directing HBO documentary on Baltimore

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 10:30 AM PST

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray will be the subject of an upcoming HBO documentary titled, "For the Love of Baltimore."

The Baltimore Sun reports (http://bsun.md/2jQvdE8) that the cable channel announced the documentary over the weekend on the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles.

HBO says in a statement that the production "explores a city divided" and is "told through the journeys of local activists, police officers, community residents and gang affiliates."

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'Robot Lawyer' Makes The Case Against Parking Tickets

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 10:00 AM PST

It was the first day of school for Dan Lear's three kids. In a scramble to get his boys to class on time, the Seattle lawyer wound up parking in a space he probably should have avoided.

"There was a fire hydrant, but the curb wasn't painted and the fire hydrant was painted a kind of a funny color. And so I thought, and maybe it was wishful thinking, but I thought I would be OK to park there," he says.

Sure enough, Lear returned to a ticket.

"I was bummed! I mean, obviously no one's really happy when they get a ticket but I went home, I put it on my fridge and I let it sit there cause I just didn't want to deal with it," he says.

So he found something that would — DoNotPay, a free online "robot lawyer."

It has helped drivers in London and New York City appeal parking tickets.

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Thousands of Criminal Illegal Immigrants Sent Home After Apprehension at Southwest Border

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:53 AM PST

Nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol at the southwest border over a three-year period were allowed to return to their home countries despite having past criminal convictions and connections to criminal networks.

The statistic is included in a new government audit exposing shortcomings in the way Border Patrol agents deal with illegal immigrants caught trying to cross the border into the United States.

Border Patrol agents use the Consequence Delivery System, or CDS, to classify apprehended aliens using seven criminal and noncriminal categories. They then decide which of eight consequences the apprehended aliens should receive, based on how effective the consequences are in preventing the individuals from trying again to illegally enter the United States. The CDS system plays a major role in the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations and drug smuggling across the U.S. border.

However, Border Patrol agents incorrectly classified roughly 15,000 criminal alien apprehensions between fiscal years 2013-15, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued this month. Twenty-four percent of these aliens, or 3,717, were allowed to voluntarily return to their countries of origin. Voluntary return is rated as the least effective and efficient of the consequences. More severe consequences include criminal prosecution.

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NY Post: Pet Owners Resort to Intentionally Harming Their Animals to Get Drugs

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:45 AM PST

People are injuring their pets on purpose in order to obtain painkiller drugs,the New York Post reports.

The paper writes about the painkiller Tramadol, which is prescribed to both humans and animals. At the wholesale level, they cost less than $25 for 1,000 pills, the Post reports.

The low price, coupled with the nation's opioid epidemic, has some people taking drastic measures to get their hands on the painkiller. That includes, according to the Post, a Kentucky woman who sliced her dog's leg open with a razor on two occasions in order to obtain Tramadol.

In another case, authorities in Portland, Ore. found 100,000 pills and 17 dogs living in poor conditions.

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Trump Effect? GM to Invest $1 Billion in US Factories

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:37 AM PST

General Motors will reportedly invest at least $1 billion in several of its factories in the United States, a move that will create more than 1,000 jobs.
The Wall Street Journal reported GM could announce the news as early as Tuesday.
The news about the carmaker comes less than two weeks after President-elect Donald Trump called out GM on Twitter for making its Chevy Cruze in Mexico and then shipping the cars to the U.S. without paying border taxes.

Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!
7:30 AM - 3 Jan 2017

And last week during a press conference, Trump turned up the pressure on GM by praising Ford and Fiat Chrysler for investing in the U.S. and adding jobs. Then he said, "I hope that General Motors will be following. And I think they will be."

GM's general counsel Craig Glidden told The Journal the decision to invest more at its American plants did not happen overnight.

Ocean City Native Eyes Rare Cannes Film Festival Opportunity; Student Launches Crowdfunding Campaign After Short Film Recognized

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:30 AM PST

BERLIN – Ocean City area native Emmi Shockley has partnered with aspiring and professional actors to debut a new short film, "We Regret to Inform You," which will show at the Cannes Film Festival later this year.

Shockley, writer and director of the film, said the opportunity is part of a highly selective two-week training program in France, which she and crew member Nevin Kelly-Fair will attend. "We Regret to Inform You" will be one of 30 films produced by college students to show at the spring festival.

The short film follows a day in the life of a college student and the stream of consciousness that comes from the presence of his deceased friend. Shockley, 19, said the film explores moments of grief and gray areas between the living and dead.

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THE FAR LEFT’S DANGEROUS REFUSAL TO FOLLOW THE LEADER …

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:23 AM PST

In case you hadn't noticed, the United States has become a very divided nation lately. There seems to be an endless reservoir of hate, blame and nastiness in this country – most of it revolving around the person of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

Notice we said "revolving around." Because certainly not all of it is coming from Trump … nor is it all necessarily directed at him.

Make no mistake this website has plenty of misgivings about our nation's next leader, and we've not hesitated to call him out on multiple occasions when we believed his views were off the mark. By and large, though, we've been supportive of the policies he has articulated – and we've enthusiastically embraced the sledgehammer he has brought to bear on America's failed two-party state.

That sledgehammer is ultimately why we endorsed Trump – first because he vowed to overturn the corrupt GOP apple cart and second because he vowed to drain the corrupt Washington, D.C. swamp.

We believe both of these purifications are long overdue.

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Woman dies of meningitis just days after SoulCycle fanatic was killed by disease

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:15 AM PST

A woman has died of meningococcal meningitis just three days after a man's death was reportedly caused by the same bacterial disease 18 miles away in Northern California.

Laura Robson, 53, was found sitting upright, dead, on the back of a San Francisco Muni bus. Preliminary autopsy results suggest her death was due to meningococcal meningitis.

Her brother, David Robson, said that Laura recently had shoulder surgery at Marin General Hospital. The facility is just two miles from the SoulCycle studio where more than 200 people were told to seek medical attention last week after Sevin Philips died of the same disease shortly after exercising there.

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America’s 2nd colonization: This time by Islamists

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:07 AM PST

'Refugees' being moved into politically important states

As Barack Obama's administration nears its end, the outgoing president is frantically admitting as many 'refugees" as possible, with the overwhelming majority from Muslim countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

At the current rate, about 110,580 will be admitted this fiscal year, surpassing Obama's stated goal of 110,000. The refugees are also being concentrated in politically important states, suggesting there is an ideological agenda behind the population transfers.

Some might even say America is being "colonized."

Again.

"That term applies to what's happening to us," said Leo Hohmann, author of the explosive book "Stealth Invasion: Muslim Conquest Through Immigration And Resettlement." The veteran investigative reporter says the left is quite open about how it seeks to demographically deconstruct the United States, one city at a time.

Refugees are being planted in more than 300 cities and towns, often secretly, he said, with elected officials learning about the details of the refugee placements only after the fact.

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler: Trump election ‘illegitimate,’ won’t attend inauguration

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 09:00 AM PST

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, said Monday he will not attend Friday's inauguration and that he doesn't see President-elect Donald Trump as a legitimate president even if he was legally elected.

Appearing on CNN's "New Day," Mr. Nadler cited Mr. Trump's "inflammatory comments, his racist campaign, his conflicts of interest, refusal to disclose his taxes."

He said the "last straw" was the president-elect's "ad hominem personal attacks" on Rep. John Lewis, which came after Mr. Lewis said recently on NBC he didn't see Mr. Trump as a "legitimate" president because of Russia's purported involvement in the election.

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Marc Lamont Hill: Trump’s Diversity Coalition ‘A Bunch of Mediocre Negroes’

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 08:45 AM PST

On Monday's "CNN Tonight," Morehouse College Professor and CNN Commentator Marc Lamont Hill stated that President-Elect Donald Trump's diversity coalition was "a bunch of mediocre negroes being dragged in front of TV as a photo-op for Donald Trump's exploitative campaign against black people."

Hill said, "I love Steve Harvey and I have respect for Steve Harvey and I think his intentions were accurate — or appropriate rather, but my disagreement is the way in which he's being used by folk like Donald Trump. Again, his intention is just to have a seat at the table. But when you're at the table, you should have experts at the table. You should have people who can challenge the president at the table. … Because all — because they keep bringing up comedians and actors and athletes to represent black interests is demeaning, it's disrespectful, and it's condescending. Bring some people up there with some expertise Donald Trump, don't just bring up people to entertain."

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Maryland lawmakers say Rainy Day funds help budget holes

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 08:30 AM PST

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland lawmakers say Gov. Larry Hogan is using some of the state's Rainy Day Fund to fill budget holes.

Lawmakers from both parties met at the governor's residence Tuesday morning to get a briefing on Hogan's budget proposal.

Sen. Richard Madaleno, a Democrat, says about $177 million in Rainy Day Funds help balance the budget. The fund contains more than the targeted amount of 5 percent of the state budget.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller says there are less cuts than lawmakers expected, and education is fully funded. "That's what rainy day funds are for," he said.

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Ads offer protesters up to $2,500 to agitate at Trump inaugural

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 08:15 AM PST

Donald Trump may have a point about paid protesters: Job ads running in more than 20 cities offer $2,500 per month for agitators to demonstrate at this week's presidential inauguration events.

Demand Protest, a San Francisco company that bills itself as the "largest private grassroots support organization in the United States," posted identical ads Jan. 12 in multiple cities on Backpage.com seeking "operatives."

"Get paid fighting against Trump!" says the ad.

"We pay people already politically motivated to fight for the things they believe. You were going to take action anyways, why not do so with us!" the ad continues. "We are currently seeking operatives to help send a strong message at upcoming inauguration protests."

The job offers a monthly retainer of $2,500 plus "our standard per-event pay of $50/hr, as long as you participate in at least 6 events a year," as well as health, vision and dental insurance for full-time operatives.

"There's simply no credible evidence that the opposition to Trump is spurred by anything other than legitimate concern about what his presidency might entail," said a Nov. 17 column in the Washington Post's The Fix.

PolitiFact reported that a widely shared Nov. 11 article claiming an anti-Trump protester was paid $3,500 was fake news.

More here

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 08:00 AM PST

Put in another way with a football analogy, Hillary's team racked up over 500 yards to Trump's 200 yards, but six Hillary turnovers cost them the game in points. Simply put, but an effective counter to those who still believe that Hillary won the popular vote, therefore is the rightful president elect.

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

Here are the facts:

Trump won the popular vote in 31 states to her 19 and DC. 62% to her 38%.

Trump led in the total popular vote for all states except California.

Hillary won California 5,860,714 to Trump's 3,151,821. 61.6% to 33.1% exclusive of the other candidates. Thus California gave Hillary the popular vote for all states as claimed by the Democrats and their media allies.

But deduct her California vote from her national vote leaving her with 54,978,783, and deduct Trump's California vote from his national total, leaving him with 57,113.976, he wins in a landslide in the other 49 states, 51.3% to her 48.7%.

So, in effect, Hillary was elected president of California and Trump was elected president of the rest of the country by a substantial margin.

This exemplifies the wisdom of the Electoral College, to prevent the vote of any one populace state from overriding the vote of the others. Trump's Campaign Manager, Kellyanne Conway, whose expertise is polling, saw this early on and devised her strategy of "6 pathways to the White House".

This meant ignoring California with its huge Democrat majority and going after the states that would give him the necessary electoral votes to win, FL, NC, MI, PA, OH, and WI.

At its lowest point since the civil war! Could this mean the end of the Democrat Party? When the afternoon of January 20, 2017 arrives, the Republican Party will have:

1) The Presidency.
2) A majority of the House of Representatives.
3) A majority of the Senate.
4) Almost two-thirds of all the governorships.
5) Total control of the statehouses in almost two-thirds of all the states.

And in the near future, Republicans will be able to add:
6) A majority of the Supreme Court. The above has never happened before in American history.

Think about that and let it sink in for a moment. And it's all because of one reason: Barack Obama's forcing his extreme far-left agenda on an unwilling country by executive orders, left wing judges, and obsequious bureaucrats. It's important to pass this on. With the demand that we do away with the Electoral College and take the popular vote being pushed by the media, etc, all Americans need to know that the Electoral College is working exactly as our Founding Fathers intended.

MSP - Press Release - Road Rage Shooting - Wicomico County

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:45 AM PST

What's Your Thoughts?

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:45 AM PST

Would You Like To See Bikers For Trump BOUNCE Violent Liberals At The Inauguration?

Man tries to light self on fire outside DC Trump hotel

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:30 AM PST

One person was injured outside Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue Tuesday night after a protester claimed he tried to set himself on fire.

He told News4's Shomari Stone it was an act of protest over the election of Donald Trump.

Police said they responded to a report of a person "in distress." D.C. Fire and Rescue confirmed one person was taken to a hospital with burn injuries.

More/Video

Ben Carson, [Gay] people dont get extra rights

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:15 AM PST

The Eastern Shore's Arch Enemy steps down from Chairman of House Ways & Means

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:02 AM PST

Hixson steps down from Maryland House leadership post, causing shuffle

A veteran state lawmaker has stepped down from a key Democratic leadership position, causing a shuffle in the House of Delegates.

Del. Sheila Hixson announced Tuesday that she's giving up her position as chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Del. Anne Kaiser, also a Montgomery County Democrat, will take over as chairwoman. Del. William Frick, another Montgomery County Democrat, will replace Kaiser as majority leader.

Hixson, a Montgomery County Democrat, will assume the title of "chairman emeritus." She had chaired the committee — which reviews legislation on education, elections, gambling, taxes and more — since 1993.

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Matt Walsh: If your sex life is none of my business, stop demanding that I finance it

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 07:00 AM PST

A lot of people have been offering their, um, feedback, to a couple of things I tweeted over the past week or so. And when I say "feedback" I mean that an angry mob numbering in the thousands descended upon my social media feeds and email inbox like rabid hyenas, eager to inform me that I'm awful, evil, ugly, fat, old, stupid, [expletive], [expletive], [expletive] [expletive] [expletive], etc., and because of this I should die, my wife should die, my children should die, everyone who has ever said a kind word to me should burn to death in a house fire, and my kids, who should already be dead, should also somehow become gay and transgender and pregnant so that karmic justice may be visited upon me, a bigot and a Nazi who is literally worse than a millions Hitlers combined.

Of the thousands of responses I received since Friday, easily 95 percent of them consisted of some combination of these. Because of my unspeakable tweets, I have been objectively described as an "anti-LGBTQ bigot" in the headlines of news articles. So far as I know, nobody who has written an article matter-of-factly calling me a bigot took the time to reach out to me first, but I suppose if I'd followed the clearly outlined instructions of the leftist Tolerance Brigade, I should have killed myself by now anyway. I guess they assumed I wouldn't be able to comment because I'd be too busy playing Backgammon with my friend Adolf in Hell.

More

'CATASTROPHIC MISTAKE': Trump Slams Merkel's Migrant Policy

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:53 AM PST

President-elect Donald Trump has slammed the mass migration policy of Germany's Angela Merkel and welcomed Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU), predicting it will "end up being a great thing" and other countries will depart the crisis-stricken bloc.

"I sort of, as you know, predicted it," he told British parliamentarian Michael Gove,reporting for London's The Times in President-elect Trump's first British press interview.

"The heat I took was unbelievable," he said, "[but] people don't want to have other people coming in and destroying their country.

"[I]n this country we're gonna go very strong borders from the day I get in… We don't want people coming in from Syria who we don't know who they are. You know there's no way of vetting these people. I don't want to do what Germany did."

Trump told Gove that, in his view, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision toencourage mass immigration into Europe was "the final straw that broke the camel's back".

More

Reporters Plead with MLK III to Attack Trump

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:45 AM PST

On Monday afternoon, reporters stationed inside Trump Tower begged with Martin Luther King III to attack President-elect Trump over tweets concerning Democratic Congressman John Lewis (Ga.) following a meeting on the day honoring King's father Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

King began by stating that he and Trump had "a very constructive meeting" with most of the focus being on voting rights, but the topic shifted to Lewis when reporters interjected with questions.

ABC correspondent Tom Llamas snuck in the first pathetic question baiting King into blasting Trump: "Mr. King, as you know, Representative Lewis still has the scars from the March on Selma. Were you offended by the President-elect's tweet that Representative Lewis is all talk and no action?"

King responded by stating the Lewis is, like "many others," a "bridge builder" but added that "in the heat of emotion, a lot of things get said on both sides."

With the press corps not satisfied, an unidentified male reporter trotted out this second-hand claim by a woman he saw on Sunday at Trump Tower:

More here

Gov. Hogan's Plans

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:37 AM PST

Annapolis is wiping the sleep out of its eyes as 180 legislators come back. Friday will be 'YUGE' when our new President is sworn in, but Thursday may include a veto override of the Sun & Wind Tax {SB921} from last year.

SB921 will force utilities to increase their rates (making someone else raise the tax - sneaky) to chase renewables.
I have serious doubts we can ever achieve 25% of the power supply through solar, wind, etc. Maryland only generates 13,260.4 MW of energy, and in 2008 Marylanders used four times that: 63,000 MWh. Currently we make more than 50% of our energy with coal and 33% with nuclear but mostly buy from out of state. It would be smarter to focus on efficient use to cut demand.

How big a solar generator would it take to create 3.3 GW? The biggest one in the country is in the Mojave desert (gets a bit more sun than us) and only makes a tenth of what the bill requires. Rough estimate: a 3.3 GW solar generator may take 100 square miles: completely blocking the sun in Calvert County from Huntingtown to Solomon's Island. Another nuclear reactor would be a much better plan. I've asked some smart folks to give me a better estimate and some alternatives: if they exist I hope to articulate them.
Gov. Hogan's Legislation

The Governor plans to have legislation in every Committee: 

- Justice for Victims
- Student Debt
- Jobs
- Environment


Measures Aimed to Prevent Repeat Sex Offenders, Prosecute Human Traffickers, Support Victims of Crime, Keep Serial Drunk Drivers Off the Road

Student Loan Interest 100% Tax-Deductible for All Marylanders Making Less Than $200,000, and Tuition Growth Capped at State Colleges & Universities

Incentives to Create Thousands of Jobs, STEM Education Funding, Workforce Development & Cyber Initiatives

$65 Million Investment to grow jobs in green industries, promote the use of electric vehicles, invest in renewable energy innovations, and promote clean water commerce.

Tucker Slams 'Hoax' Group Claiming to Pay Protesters at Trump Inauguration

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:30 AM PST

A man claiming to be the chairman of a group that collectively pays protesters millions of dollars a year discussed his alleged "business" with Tucker Carlson.

The man, who could not produce identification to the Fox News Los Angeles bureau, said his name was "Dom Tullipso" and said he runs "Demand Protest", which allegedly pays individuals to protest at events.

Prior to the interview, "Tullipso" said, his group was paying people to disrupt the inauguration ceremony for President-elect Donald Trump.

"This is a sham, your company isn't real, your website is fake," Carlson said, "This is a hoax. [Tullipso] is not your real name; we ran you through law enforcement-level background checks."

More- http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/01/17/tucker-carlson-slams-hoax-protester-group-dom-tullipso-demand-protests-manning

Two More Major Problems For Social Security & Medicare

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:23 AM PST

Not too long ago my step-dad had to spend a few days in intensive care. Pretty scary stuff.

He had just about every nasty symptom imaginable, from constant vomiting to dizziness to ultra-high fever, but the doctors couldn't figure out why.

Fortunately his condition improved enough that he was released from the hospital, and now he's on the mend.

Now, my step-dad is a Medicare patient. But he just found out that he's been unceremoniously dropped by his Primary Care doctor.

Apparently his physician dropped all of her Medicare patients in one giant culling.

It turns out that physicians across the country have been firing Medicare patients; and according to a late 2015 study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 21% of physicians are not taking new Medicare patients.

Much of this trend is based on stiff penalties and financial disincentives from the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and 2015's Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) Act.

MACRA in particular is completely mystifying.

The law created a whopping 2,400 pages of regulations that Medicare physicians are expected to know and follow.

Many of the rules are debilitating.

For instance, MACRA changed how physicians can be reimbursed for their Medicare patients by establishing a bizarre set of standards to determine if a physician is providing "value".

As an example, if a patient ends up in the emergency room, his or her physician can incur a steep penalty.

This explains why my step-dad was dropped by his doctor.

The healthcare system has been broken to the point that physicians now have a greater incentive to fire their Medicare patients than to treat them.

One Florida-based physician summed up the situation like this:

Black Lives Matter activists aim to 'reclaim' MLK as radical

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:15 AM PST

The civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. famously pursued equality through peaceful protest, but many 21st century activists have said they want to "reclaim" him under a different image: as a forceful "radical."

The Chicago branch of Black Lives Matter pushed the #ReclaimMLK hashtag on Twitter, claiming Martin Luther King Day would allow activists to "engage about the real radical King they don't want you to know about!"

"We do King a disservice when we try to tell a flat story of turning the other cheek," said 31-year-old Charlene Carruthers, national director of the Black Youth Project 100 in Chicago. "It was never simply that."

More

Week One: 437th Session is Now Open

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:07 AM PST

Back in Session, Working for You

The 437th Legislative Session in Maryland commenced on Wednesday, January 11th. It is great to be back in Annapolis with my fellow colleagues and I am looking forward to a productive session.

For those of you who have not heard, Bunky Luffman, who worked in the office from my first day, has taken a position in the Governor's office. However, our intern from last session BrittanyFinamore, has stepped up to fill the position. Our intern this session is Jacob Lutz, a student at Salisbury University.

I have retained my place on the Environment and Transportation Committee and the environment subcommittee, however, I have moved from the local government subcommittee to the transportation subcommittee this session. Having these assignments will allow me to push helpful transportation legislation and fight against bills that would attempt to over regulate our farmers.

This legislation session is going to be extremely busy, so we have been working on preparing bills and meeting with colleagues. Two of the bills I will submit would restore highway user revenues and allow residents of Wicomico County to deer hunt on the second Sunday of the deer firearms season on private property.
Highway User Revenues
I am submitting two bills that will restore municipal and county highway user revenues. This would not only assist the current needs of road maintenance but it would also establish a long-term source of funding for future transportation projects without any tax increases.

The two proposed bills will allow my colleagues to come together and decide which method is the best at tackling this ongoing issue. The first bill would use a fixed amount each year and the second would set a percentage amount.
 
Sunday Deer Hunting
Wicomico County has asked the County Delegation to propose legislation that will extend deer hunting on private property to the second Sunday during the deer firearms season in Wicomico County.

Deer hunting is a time-honored family tradition on Delmarva and is often passed down from one generation to the next. With successful passage of this bill, we would be able to gain an extra day for everyone to participate.

The coming week is highlighted by our celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr Day and the release of Governor Hogan's budget. Things will start to become more hectic as the committee meetings begin.

As always, if you would like to contact us with an idea, issue, or concern, please either call: 410-841-3431 or email carl.anderton@house.state.md.us.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The DNR Saga Continues And It's Shocking

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 06:00 AM PST

THOMAS PAINE 18 JAN 2017

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:45 AM PST

In case you wondered about whether the media is truly impartial in their reporting...read this, especially the next to last paragraph...disgusting....This from Politico... Apparently more fake news is coming from the mainstream media...We must boycott sources determined to be biased. It is the only way to make them shape up. If President-Elect Donald J. Trump actually does something wrong...report on it from all sides, same with everyone else. We cannot trust our media today. They feed us what they decide to tell us in editorial meetings.

Enough is enough. Send a shockwave in the media's general direction. Tell them you expect better, then tune them out for a while. Punish them economically. It will bring them to their senses eventually... CNN has clowned themselves. NBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and even FOX. Haven't you had enough? Insist they all be truly fair and balanced in their NEWS reporting. Opinion shows are another matter as long as they don't try to sell opinion as news...Opinion as news...A CNN specialty. SO...from Politico...pay particular attention to the next to last paragraph.

"In his own way, Trump has set us free," writes Jack Shafer in Politico. "Reporters must treat Inauguration Day as a kind of Liberation Day to explore news outside the usual Washington circles. He has been explicit in his disdain for the press and his dislike for press conferences, prickly to the nth degree about being challenged and known for his vindictive way with those who cross him. So, forget about the White House press room. It's time to circle behind enemy lines."

"Let's thank the incoming president for simplifying our mission. If Trump's idea of a news conference is to spank the press, if his lieutenants believe the press needs shutting down, if his chief of staff wants to speculate about moving the White House press scrum off the premises, perhaps reporters ought to take the hint and prepare to cover his administration on their own terms. Instead of relying exclusively on the traditional skills of political reporting, the carriers of press cards ought to start thinking of covering Trump's Washington like a war zone, where conflict follows conflict, where the fog prevents the collection of reliable information directly from the combatants, where the assignment is a matter of life or death."

As Trump shuts down White House access to reporters, they will infest the departments and agencies around town that the president has peeved. The intelligence establishment, which Trump has deprecated over the issue of Russian hacking, owes him no favors and less respect. It will be in their institutional interest to leak damaging material on Trump. Ditto the Pentagon, the State Department, the FBI, and even conventionally newsless outposts like Transportation and Labor."

"Like Nixon, Trump may have won a sizeable audience with his anti-press frothings. But he remains unpopular with at least half of the nation, and they constitute an eager audience for critical reporting," writes Shafer.

"The harder Trump rides the press—and he gives no sign of dismounting—the higher he elevates reporters in the estimation of many voters. It's not winter that's coming with the inauguration of Trump. It's journalistic spring."

Punish them.

"The mind once enlightened, cannot again become dark."

Yours in the Constitution,
Thomas Paine

Participate In Today's Poll

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:31 AM PST

If Liberals Want To Claim Trump's Popularity Is At 40%,

What Percentage Of People Think Hillary Clinton Should Be Criminally Prosecuted? 

Funny How Liberal News Won't Produce That Poll.

Remembering Sen. Richard Blumenthal's Vietnam Deception

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:30 AM PST

In the confirmation hearings for Jeff Sessions, president-elect Donald Trump's choice for Attorney General, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, proceeded as though David Horowitz had been the AG choice.

David Horowitz was not present but Blumenthal cited his statements that all the major Muslim organizations are connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, that 80 percent of the mosques in America are filled with hate against Jews, and that too many blacks are in prison because too many blacks commit crimes.

Senator Blumenthal, an attorney, had not taken the trouble to investigate these statements, which are all true and accurate. Instead he called them "apparently racist" and demanded that Jeff Sessions denounce David Horowitz and give back an award he had received from the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

By any standard, this was the most loathsome and gutless performance many had seen since the hearings for Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork, where smear artists Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) respectively held forth. In the Sessions hearings it failed to emerge that Blumenthal, 70, bears a history of problems with truth and courage alike.

"Candidate's Words on Vietnam Service Differ from History," ran the New York Times headline on a May 17, 2010 article by Raymond Hernandez. Blumenthal, then Connecticut Attorney General and running for the U.S. Senate seated vacated by Christopher Dodd, had recently appeared at a ceremony in Norwalk honoring veterans. There he proclaimed, "We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam." There was one problem, Hernandez noted. The aspiring Senator "never served in Vietnam."

Attacked by Trump, Lewis acknowledges he boycotted Bush inauguration, too

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:25 AM PST

Donald Trump reignited his feud with John Lewis on Tuesday, citing news reports that the Georgia congressman and civil rights icon also boycotted George W. Bush's inauguration 16 years ago.

"John Lewis said about my inauguration, 'It will be the first one that I've missed," Trump tweeted. "WRONG (or lie)! He boycotted Bush 43 ..."

Lewis' office acknowledged Tuesday that the congressman also skipped Bush's inauguration in 2001.

"His absence at that time was also a form of dissent," spokeswoman Brenda Jones said. "He did not believe the outcome of that election, including the controversies around the results in Florida and the unprecedented intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court, reflected a free, fair and open democratic process."

More

When I Disagreed, I created A Blog. It's The Liberal Crybabies Who'd Rather Threaten Violence.

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:15 AM PST

By Dan Satterfield WBOC

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 05:00 AM PST

Liberal Thinking

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 04:45 AM PST

Governor Larry Hogan Announces Spending Reforms, Fiscal Responsibility Legislation

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 04:30 AM PST

Limits Growth of Forced Spending Mandates, Restores Responsible Budgeting, Addresses Revenue Volatility

ANNAPOLIS, MD – While unveiling the administration's Fiscal Year 2018 budget priorities, Governor Larry Hogan today announced plans to introduce legislation to provide relief from forced legislative spending increases and address longstanding budget volatility. These proposals will promote and build on the responsible budgeting practices demonstrated by the Hogan Administration and continue to improve Maryland's long-term fiscal stability.

"The legislature's own top financial analyst warned them recently that now is the time to 'get real' about not spending more than we take in," said Governor Hogan. "We are hopeful that this year, members of the legislature will finally put aside the tax-and-spend politics, and instead work together with us in a bipartisan way to enact meaningful, common sense budget reforms."

The governor's proposed reforms include:

Common Sense Spending Act of 2017 – This proposal follows a bill introduced by the administration in 2016 that was not acted upon by the General Assembly. This legislation would put into law the most common sense of budgeting realities: that the state cannot spend money that it does not have.

The bill establishes that, starting in FY 2019, the state would not be required to fund any program or item by more than one percent under revenue growth. This will ensure that spending growth is always less than revenue growth. The bill makes exceptions for state aid to public K-12 education, debt service payments, and several other critical areas.

Additionally, the General Assembly would not be able to enact legislation that creates a new or increased required level of funding in the annual budget for a specific program or item unless it also enacts legislation during the same session that reduces or repeals an equivalent amount of required funding for the same fiscal year.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2017 – This legislation recognizes that state revenues have been volatile and unpredictable for years and can rise or fall based on any number of factors such as changes in the national economy and the stock market. To ensure the state is always prepared, the governor's proposal will save excess revenue in strong economic times to prepare for times when more flexibility is needed.

The legislation places a cap on the estimate of non-withholding (e.g. capital gains) revenues assumed in the budget process. This cap is designed to reduce revenue volatility by ending the practice of using temporary revenue spikes to fund known recurring future expenses. It will also create a process whereby excess state income during years with a revenue surplus will be automatically moved into the Rainy Day Fund to make that excess revenue available for use in years where revenues are less than projected.

This bipartisan legislation is based on recommendations from a joint report by the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Legislative Services, and the Office of the Comptroller.

Part I: Undercover investigation exposes groups plotting criminal activity at Trump inauguration

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 04:15 AM PST

One year after Trump is elected president...

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 04:00 AM PST

Part II: NEW Investigation Uncovers Plot to Chain the Trains & Shut Down DC During Inauguration

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 03:45 AM PST

Governor Hogan: We Put a Record $6.4 Billion Into K-12 Education

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 03:30 AM PST

Immutable Laws

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 03:00 AM PST

**Law of Mechanical Repair
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

**Law of Gravity
Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible place in the universe.

**Law of Probability
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

**Law of Random Numbers
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal; someone always answers.

**Variation Law
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now.

**Law of the Bath
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone will ring.

**Law of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know INCREASES dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

**Law of the Result
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, IT WILL!!!

**Law of Biomechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

**Law of the Theaters & Sports Arenas - At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle, always arrive last. They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, beer, or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over. The folks in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies and stay to the bitter end of the performance. The aisle people also are very surly folk.

***The Coffee Law
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

***Murphy's Law of Lockers
If there are only 2 people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

***Law of Physical Surfaces
The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet or rug.

***Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible IF you don't know what you are talking about.

*** Law of Physical Appearance
If the clothes fit, they're ugly.

***Law of Public Speaking
A closed mouth gathers no feet!

***Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy- As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it OR the store will stop selling it!

***Doctors' Law
If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there, you'll feel better. But don't make an appointment and you'll stay sick.

Governor Larry Hogan Announces Fiscal Year 2018 Budget

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 02:30 AM PST

Responsibly Holds the Line on Spending, Provides Record Investment in Education, Allocates $1 Billion in Reserves

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Following a bipartisan briefing for the fiscal leaders of the Maryland General Assembly, Governor Larry Hogan announced major items in the administration's fiscal year 2018 budget, which will be officially submitted on Wednesday, January 18. The governor's FY 2018 budget responsibly holds the line on spending without raising taxes, cutting services, or raiding special funds. The budget leaves $1 billion in reserves and continues – for the third straight year – to fund K-12 education at an all-time record level.

The administration's proposed budget is 100 percent structurally-balanced and immediately addresses current revenue volatility the state has experienced, while positioning the state to remedy future revenue shortfalls by spending less in General Funds in FY 2018 than in FY 2017.

"The budget we are announcing today decreases general fund spending in real dollars. It doesn't just slow the rate of growth, but it actually spends less than last year's budget, while still fully funding our priorities, including record funding in K-12 education for the third year in a row," said Governor Hogan. "We are able to accomplish this with no new taxes, no cuts to services, and without raiding dedicated special funds, and once again, this budget is 100 percent structurally balanced."

"It is clear that we must come together, roll up our sleeves, and have a rational discussion about reining in uncontrollable spending and debt in Annapolis and finally learning to live within our means," the governor continued.

By planning ahead, the FY 2018 budget further establishes the fiscal restraint Governor Hogan pledged to return to Annapolis, while continuing to make strategic investments to attract new businesses and create jobs. This budget prioritizes funding for all levels of education and protects the network of services for vulnerable Marylanders.

The FY 2018 operating budget totals $17.1 billion, including a $6.4 billion investment in K-12 education, fully funding education aid. It also makes responsible investments in higher education, while holding tuition increases in the University System of Maryland, at Morgan State University, and at St. Mary's College to two percent. Community colleges are fully funded at $256 million, which includes an additional $4 million above the formula funding – a new record high level.

To address the growing heroin and opioid crisis threatening Maryland and the nation, the governor's budget contains $1.3 billion for mental health and substance use disorder services, along with an additional $4 million in funding to bolster the state's work to help those struggling with heroin and opioid addiction.

The FY 2018 budget either meets or exceeds all of the recommendations of the legislature's Spending Affordability Committee. This budget is 100 percent structurally balanced – double the recommended 50 percent level – and leaves a fund balance of $144 million, which is more than recommended.

The administration's FY 2018 capital budget again limits borrowing to $995 million, which is necessary in order to keep the state's debt service payments from rising out of control.

"After years and years of running up the credit cards, the result is devastating. Next year, the state will be forced to spend more on debt service payments than we will be able to spend on school construction, which is completely unacceptable," said Governor Hogan. "With the actions our administration has taken over the last two years, and those that we are taking this year, the state will save nearly $700 million in debt service payments – but we need to do more."

Despite the administration's continued fiscal restraint and responsible budgeting, legislatively mandated spending accounts for 83 percent of every dollar spent and forces spending to grow at a rate faster than current revenue projections. These forced spending increases are a major contributing factor to the structural gap the state is facing.

"Every Marylander understands that if you are consistently forced to spend more than you take in year after year, eventually you will have a serious problem," said Governor Hogan. "Our administration is once again introducing legislation to control these forced spending increases that exceed revenues."

The governor's "Common Sense Spending Act of 2017" would limit the growth of mandated spending in FY 2019 by giving the state flexibility to limit mandates that grow faster than the state's revenues, while preserving funding for critical areas like education and debt service payments. The governor also unveiled the the "Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2017," which will address revenue volatility by ending the practice of using temporary revenue spikes to fund known recurring future expenses.

Below are highlights of the FY 2018 Budget, which holds the line on spending while prioritizing prudent investments in areas including education, economic development, public safety, the environment, and health care:

Investing in Education:
A record $6.4 billion state investment in Maryland's public schools, fully funding all state aid programs. Direct aid to local schools grows by $60.4 million. This is the third consecutive year that the administration has provided record education funding.
$600,000 in planning grants for six new P-TECH schools in Maryland, double the total number of schools in FY 2018.
The Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program grows by $2 million to $7 million as part of state's commitment to double the funding for the program over three years.
Fully funding the state aid formulas for the Maryland School for the Deaf at $31.6 million and the Maryland School for the Blind at $23 million.
$17.5 million in additional state funds to hold tuition increases to 2 percent for resident undergraduate students at the University System of Maryland (USM) institutions, Morgan State University, and St. Mary's College of Maryland.
$1.35 billion in state funds to the USM, a 2.2 percent increase over FY 2017.
$93.8 million in state funds to Morgan State University, 2.5 percent higher than the current year.
$25 million in formula funding for St. Mary's College in FY 2018, bringing total funding to $72.7 million.
The Maryland Higher Education Commission's budget includes $4.9 million to fund enhancements at Maryland's four historically black colleges and universities.
The Cade Program for local community colleges is fully funded in FY 2018 with $256.1 million in formula and grant funding - a new record. This includes an additional $4 million provided by the governor as a one-time grant to the community colleges to supplement their formula funding.
Baltimore City Community College receives $40.6 million in state funding for a total budget of $85.7 million.
The Sellinger Program for Maryland's independent colleges and universities is funded at $46.8 million.

Jobs and Expanding Opportunities for Businesses:
An additional $10.2 million in general funds, bringing the total to nearly $24 million – a record – for the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund (MEDAAF), one of the state's most powerful tools to attract and grow business.
An increase of $3.3 million, or nearly 25 percent, for the Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Investment Account, which provides financing opportunities to small businesses. It is now funded at $17 million, its highest level ever.
$7.8 million for business assistance through the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority to facilitate the development of Maryland's small businesses.
Doubling the state's investment in the nationally recognized Employment Advance Right Now (EARN) program from $4 million to $8 million. New state funds of $1 million will be used to award partnerships focused on workforce training for Tier One green industries. $3 million will go to increase the number of training partnerships across Maryland in the cybersecurity and information technology fields.

Tourism and the Arts:
An all-time high of $21 million to the Maryland State Arts Council, which provides grants, technical assistance, and other support services for the arts.
A combined total of $11.9 million for the Office of Tourism Development – the state's official marketing agency – and the Maryland Tourism Development Board to stimulate and promote travel and tourism in Maryland.

Building for the Future – Transportation & Infrastructure:
$2.8 billion in capital spending to improve transportation infrastructure and promote economic development.
$175.5 million in formula Highway User Revenue funds, including $53 million in capital grants to local jurisdictions to improve local roads and transportation facilities.

Treatment, Safety, and Correctional Services:
The FY 2018 Medicaid budget contains $1.3 billion for mental health and substance use disorder services.
$159 million dedicated to existing non-Medicaid substance use disorder treatment programs.
$4 million in new funding will bolster the state's effort to help those struggling with heroin and opioid addiction.
An increase in the number of treatment beds for substance abuse patients of 50% over the previous administration.
Local law enforcement grants total $29.4 million in FY 2018, including an additional $2 million for a new Internet Crimes Against Children grant program and $500,000 for the new Community Program Fund to assist local jurisdictions in establishing violence intervention programs.

Protecting the Environment:
$51.3 million to The Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund.
Programs funded by the transfer tax, such as Program Open Space, receive $186 million, an increase of $63.8 million from FY 2017 to FY 2018.
Natural Resources Police will receive $1.9 million for 17 new law enforcement officer positions to support enforcement of conservation and natural resource laws and promote safety on our public lands and waterways.
In keeping with the Hogan administration's commitment to provide an additional $2 million per year to the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund through FY 2019, $4 million is allocated in FY 2018 to provide targeted funding to regional councils, infrastructure projects, rural entrepreneurship, and rural community development.

Health Care and Public Safety Net:
The FY 2018 budget includes more than $11 billion for Maryland's Medicaid program, which currently provides health coverage for more than 1.3 million Marylanders.
An additional $79 million in FY 2018 funds a 2 percent rate increase for most health care and group home providers, including $22 million for the Developmental Disabilities Administration to benefit direct care workers serving some of Maryland's most vulnerable residents.
$7.4 million for two new waiver programs aimed at reducing the Waiting List for Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) services. Building on existing efforts, these new waivers will allow DDA to extend services to an additional 400 Marylanders with disabilities.
Continued operating and capital assistance is provided in FY 2018 for the new Prince George's County Regional Medical Center in Largo.

Creative Puns for Educated Minds

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 02:00 AM PST

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table Was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra Class because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his orders.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result In Linoleum Blown-apart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The Police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a Hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse Said, 'No change yet.'

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a Small medium at large.

20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

21. A backward poet writes inverse.

22. In democracy, it's your vote that counts. In Feudalism, it's your count that votes.

23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of Religion.

24. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects!

Philosophy 101

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 01:00 AM PST

As we grow older and wiser we realize a $300 or $30 watch - - - they both tell the same time.

Whether we carry a $300 or $30 wallet/handbag - - - the amount of money inside is the same.

Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $30 or $3 wine - - - the hangover is the same.

Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3,000 or 30,000 sq. ft. - - - the loneliness is the same.

And we realize our true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.

Whether we fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down - - - we go down with it.

Whether we fly first or economy class, if the plane reaches its destination - - everyone arrives at the same time.

Therefore . . . we should realize that when we have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, with whom we can chat, laugh, talk, sing, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven and earth -- that is true happiness!

Six Undeniable Facts of Life:

1. Don't educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy, so when they grow up they will know the value of things, not the price.

2. Best wise words: "Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food."

3. The one who loves you will never leave you because, even if there are 100 reasons to give up, he or she will find one reason to hold on.

4. There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few folks really understand that.

5. You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between, you have to manage!

6. If you just want to walk fast, walk alone; but, if you want to walk far, walk together!

Six Best Doctors in the World:
1. Sunlight
2. Rest
3. Exercise
4. Diet
5. Self Confidence
6. Friends

And, finally:
The nicest place to be is in someone's thoughts, the safest place to be is in someone's prayers.

4 Seasons

Posted: 18 Jan 2017 12:00 AM PST

Summer In Scotland

Posted: 17 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST
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