Spread The Love Through February 21st

GOVERNOR DECLARES VALENTINE'S WEEK

In a move sure to please the greeting card lobby, Gov. Martin O'Malley has declared that Valentine's Day will be celebrated this year as "Valentine's Week," stretching to Feb. 21.

The governor said the record snowstorms left him no other choice.

" Maryland citizens have been busy dealing with the unprecedented snowfall this past week," O'Malley said in a news release that came just as men and women rushed to candy stores Friday. "Planning Valentine's Day activities, such as ordering flowers, buying gifts, or booking restaurants and overnight getaways, might not have happened."

Shaun Adamec, an O'Malley spokesman, said it was "only fair" to extend the holiday, because the governor had urged people to hunker down for five days during the storms.

It's a tongue-in-cheek move, Adamec acknowledges, that comes with no actual government benefits.

But it's not original.

In 2007, then-Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon decreed that Valentine's Day be observed through Feb. 18.

And a Valentine's Day ice storm in 1994 prompted then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer to extend the holiday through Feb. 20.

"We should help Maryland's florists ... and any romantics who might not have been able to do their Valentine shopping," Schaefer said at the time.

So what does this year's Valentine's Week mean for first lady Katie O'Malley? Adamec wouldn't say. "I wouldn't want to ruin any surprises the governor has planned."


www.baltimoresun.com

So, if your gift or card is a little late because you've been snowbound or just a little short on cash there's still time within the month. After that, don't press your luck!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month

REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. ..... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

https://www.donotcall.gov/default

AMBER ALERT

Missing From:	Seat Pleasant, MD
Missing Date:	02/13/2010 10:00 AM
Issued for:	Maryland: Statewide
Contact:	If you have information, please contact Prince Georges County Police Department, 301-772-4911
	The 11 year old child was last seen with Elmer Velaya, 28 - 41 year old Hispanic male in Prince Georges County, MD. They are in an orange 18 wheeler flatbed truck with VA tags. Do not take action.

	Missing Child Name: Karina Elizabeth Garcia Alias: Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Brown Skin Color: Hispanic Age: 11 YO Height: 4'10 Weight: 110 LBS Gender: Female Description: CHild was wearing red shirt with yellow stars and blue jeans. Long black hair.
	Suspect Name: Elmer Velaya Alias: Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Brown Skin Color: Hispanic Age: Height: 5'7 Weight: 200 LBS Gender: Male Description: Tattoos on both arms, ring finger, and goatee. Vehicle Information Make: Model: Color: Orange Interior Color: License State: VA License Text: Vehicle Description: 18 Wheeler flatbed truck

http://www.ncmec.org/

AMBER ALERT HAS BEEN CANCELED

11-year-old Karina Elizabeth Garcia was found safe in Tennessee. The suspect in question has been arrested and is being question in Jackson, Tennessee.

Thinks His Leg is Trying To Steal His Bone

Hidden Camera Pole Dancer

Arrest Made in February 11th Arson Fire at Pocomke Walmart

The Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office has arrested and charged a 20 year old Pocomoke City man for the arson which occurred at the Pocomoke Walmart during the evening hours on February 11, 2010. Vincent Vaness Harmon was charged with 1st Degree Arson and several other fire/arson related charges today (Friday, February 12, 2010). Mr. Harmon made an initial appearance before a District Court Commissioner and was committed to the Worcester County Jail on $250,000 bond pending a bond review hearing on Tuesday monring. The Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office was assisted by the Pocomoke City Police Department and the Worcester County Sherrif's Office.

As of this release, the Pocomoke Walmart has remained closed since the fire. It has not been determined when the store will reopen.

SOURCE

EDITORS NOTE: I wonder what happened to the second subject that was first reported.

Another Winter Storm Heads Toward East Coast

Don't look now, but another winter storm is on its way to the Middle Atlantic and the Northeast for the beginning of next week.

Fortunately for residents still struggling to resume normal life after the recent back-to-back massive snowstorms, it's unlikely to be the same kind of monster snowfall that these regions have become accustomed to -- even though the overall weather pattern bears some important similarities. Snow amounts will be measured in inches, most likely just a few, rather than by the foot.

The new storm will most likely affect the snowy climes of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and southern New England from Monday into Tuesday. While any additional snow will add to the cumulative problems associated with the extreme winter weather of late, especially from Philadelphia southward to Washington, the storm's overall impact will not be extreme. Problems will be more in line with a typical winter storm: slippery roads, travel delays and perhaps some school closings, not days' worth of canceled flights, closed roads, canceled classes and power outages.

The storms that pushed seasonal snowfall totals past record levels in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington had three things in common: a strong upper-level storm system, a strengthening low-pressure system at the surface and an abundance of moisture. The next storm will have a strong upper-level storm system associated with it, one that will dive southeastward through the Plains and into the Missouri Valley over the weekend.

By midday on Monday, a big, swirling upper-level storm system will be located over West Virginia, the location where strong upper-level storm systems set up during the last two major snowstorms. The following map is a forecast chart for early Monday morning.



.(Image courtesy of National Centers for Environmental Prediction)

While that piece of information might understandably be disconcerting, the same general weather pattern does not always produce identical results -- at least in this case, fortunately.

Moisture, which was extremely abundant when the recent storms arrived, especially the one last weekend that produced widespread snowfall amounts of 20 to 30 inches, will be in much less supply when the new storm arrives Monday. This, in addition to the likelihood that the low-pressure system at the ground will probably not intensify until after the storm is offshore and farther to the north, means the storm system will not produce nearly as much snow as the recent storms, at least from Philadelphia southward to Washington.

Weather forecasting is not a perfect science (insert your favorite joke about the weather forecaster here), so the details related to the storm, including the amount of available moisture and the intensity and placement of the storm along the coast, can change by the time the storm arrives. Snow-weary residents should keep an eye on the sky -- while meteorologists keep an eye on their forecast charts.

SOURCE

Laser Attack a Small Step Toward 'Star Wars' Defense

The United States successfully used an airborne laser to destroy a mock ballistic missile Thursday, the "first directed-energy lethal-intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel-boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform," according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

"The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies," Reuters quoted the agency.

But history shows that the military has for a long time offered rosy pronouncements on missile defense. A closer look at that history suggests that this week's successful test of the airborne laser (ABL) – a laser weapon mounted on a modified 747 jet – is unlikely to meaningfully shore up the country's defense any time soon.



VIDEO DIRECT LINK

Throughout most of the half-century of U.S. investment in missile defense, the focus has been on deploying missiles, either from land or sea, to intercept enemy missiles. First came the Nike-Zeus program, which envisioned launching nuclear missiles that would detonate high in the atmosphere near incoming Soviet missiles. The program was never technically feasible, though, since it could easily be fooled by countermeasures and decoys, and the nuclear explosions would create electromagnetic pulses that would render the system's radars useless.

Nike-Zeus was canceled in 1961, but it inspired other programs – Nike X, Sentinel, Safeguard – under which several installations were built throughout the country to protect U.S. nuclear missile launch cites. These were all shut down because of various technical problems and the political pressures brought on by a public that was understandably wary of detonating nuclear weapons overhead.

Ultimately, the U.S. strategy shifted from using nuclear missiles defensively to using conventional missiles that would simply collide with incoming enemy targets. In the 1980s the Army launched its Homing Overlay Experiment, which deployed in space a fanlike propulsive structure that would collide with an intercontinental ballistic missile and destroy it. After three unsuccessful tests, a fourth, in 1984, succeeded in bringing down a Minuteman missile.

A year earlier, President Reagan announced his space-based Strategic Defense Initiative, which was dubbed "Star Wars" by critics. Reagan wasn't interested in stopping a few incoming missiles, but a full-scale nuclear attack. More than $100 billion was poured into the initiative, which had little to show for itself by the time the Cold War ended in 1989. Under presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, missile defense was scaled back and refocused on ground-based interceptors.

Today, the U.S. missile defense system remains focused on ground-based interceptors, using radars and anti-ballistic missiles at various spots around the globe, including at sea. There have been a few successful tests, but with technical caveats. For instance, after a September 2006 successful test, Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said it was "about as close as we can come to an end-to-end test of our long-range missile defense system." But the incoming test missile didn't deploy countermeasures that a real enemy missile is likely to do.

This week's test of the Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser was the culmination of a program the Air Force began in 1996. The ABL works by heating a missile's skin, weakening it enough to cause failure. The ABL can fire off multiple lasers – potentially 20 to 40 shots – and has the advantage, unlike missile-to-missile defense, of not destroying itself in the process.

But there are problems.

First, ABL was designed for intercepting short-range missiles in their boost phase, tracing the heat signal that accompanies a launch. To shoot down a long-range ICBM, ABLs likely would have to fly over hostile territory and get within 300 kilometers, given rockets' short boost times. Many scientists think that such boost-phase intercepts are unfeasible.

Despite this week's success, that appears to be the belief of the Obama administration as well. In April 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled a planned second ABL jet.

"The ABL program has significant affordability and technology problems, and the program's proposed operational role is highly questionable," Gates said. (According to another Obama appointee, the ABL program is "eight years behind schedule and $4 billion over cost.")

This week's success, then, must be put in context. One test and one plane aren't about to save the country from nuclear attack – even if that plane were piloted by Luke Skywalker.

SOURCE

Picture For Today

.

~~Great Gift Idea~~

It's almost Valentine's Day!

Are you looking for the greatest gift of all to give your loved one?

Well, gentlemen be the first to invest in this heart-shaped diamond from Scarselli Diamonds!

As revealed on the Early Show yesterday it is the world's largest heart-shaped RED diamond.

This willl make the ultimate gift for a marriage proposal or just to say "I love you" in a great big expensive way.

The 1.71 carat heart- shaped diamond has an esimated value of..........

$10 MILLION !!!

　

Maybe they'll take the low easy payment plan!

　

　

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!

Man accused of arson after allegedly burning potato chips at Pocomoke store

A Pocomoke City man is accused of arson after allegedly setting fire to bags of potato chips in Walmart, causing enough mayhem to close the store just as customers freed from snowdrifts were eager to shop.

Vincent V. Harmon, 20, was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree arson, malicious burning, reckless endangerment and malicious destruction of property. If found guilty of arson, Harmon could spend up to 30 years in prison and owe a $50,000 fine.

The Pocomoke City Supercenter is closed until further notice, said Walmart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie. The store is the only full-service supermarket in southern Worcester County.

"We are working with the Pocomoke City Fire Department and the Worcester County Health Department. We will clean the store, make sure it is safe for our customers and associates and reopen when it is safe to do so," Hardie said. "We are still assessing the damage."

Just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Harmon allegedly set fire to bags of potato chips and left the store, according to Deputy Fire Marshal Rob Korb. Walmart employees doused the flames with nine fire extinguishers. Four fire departments responded to the scene to put out the blaze.

"Potato chips are greasy, and grease fires are hard to get under control," Korb said. "The problem is the powder (from the extinguishers) has spread throughout the store."

Much of the boxed food and fresh produce in the supermarket will have to be disposed of, said Ed Potetz, director of Environmental Health for the Worcester County Health Department, since it has been contaminated by fire extinguisher dust. The substance, which contains ammonium phosphates and clay dust, presents a low health hazard but can be an irritant. Canned and jarred food could be salvaged but would need to be cleaned before returning to the sales floor. Frozen food should be relatively unaffected, Potetz said.

"They are going to be sealing the section off where the contaminant landed," he said. "There is no way there could be any leaking into the other side of the sales floor."

However, some items, especially baby clothes and toys located near the food section, will likely be destroyed.

"They are doing what they can to be ultrasafe," Potetz said. "They are going to be more than cautious. The baby stuff, they are going to be discarding -- they aren't going to be taking any chances. You never know how something is going to react with a child."

The Pocomoke City Walmart Supercenter was renovated last fall, its second facelift since opening in 1997.

VIA DelmarvaNow.com

AMBER ALERT ISSUED

AMBER ALERT CANCELLED

The Amber Alert for 4 year old Hannah Lynn Harrigan has been canceled. The 4 year old was safely recovered shortly before 3 a.m. this morning. Police have Pelletier in custody.

An Amber Alert has been issued by the Maryland State Police on behalf of the Cecil County Sheriff's office for

Hannah Lynn Harrigan, 4 years old. Last seen at about 5:30PM

Friday with 32 year old Peter Jyles Pelletier of 5655 Telegraph Road in Elkton.

Pelletier was last seen driving a green 1995 Ford Mustang.

Maryland registration tags 9EFL19

If you have any information please call 911 or the Cecil County Sheriff's Office at

(410)996-5511

Pelletier is a white male, 5'8" tall, 160 pounds and may be wearing a dark coat

and black cap.

Hannah is 3' tall, 42 pounds, last seen wearing a pink coat, blue jeans and

a "Hello Kitty" long sleeve shirt.

The car Pelletier is driving has a black rood with some damage to the roof

and severl spots have silver and/or black tape.

Potato chip fire closes Wal-Mart

Investigators are looking for two men believed to have set a fire in the grocery section of the Pocomoke City Wal-Mart.

The Supercenter is closed and damage from the arson to the building and merchandise is being assessed, fire marshals said.

At about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the two men entered the store, set a fire in the potato chip aisle and left, according to Deputy Fire Marshal Rob Korb.

While the fire caused limited damage, store employees and law enforcement had to use nine fire extinguishers to snuff the blaze, he said.

"Potato chips are greasy, and grease fires are hard to get under control," Korb said. "The problem is the powder (from the extinguisher) has spread throughout the store."

All of the food, kitchen supplies and items in nearby sections will likely have to be disposed of for health reasons, he said.

The arson is still under investigation.

VIA; DelmarvaNow

Constipation?

Click Image To Enlarge

Hat Tip; Eric

"BAIL THEM OUT!!! ????

Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it.. They failed and it closed. Now, we are trusting the economy of our country, our banking system, our auto industry and possibly our health plans to the same nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey?!"

"What are we thinking??"

At the Mar-Va TONIGHT!

It's Valentine's Day weekend!!!

Don't forget

LOVE LETTERS

7 PM Admission: $10.00

Don't miss out on this love story.

Wine and chocolates will be available!!

FRISBEE Inventor Dies

January 23, 1920 to February 9, 2010


Walter Fredrick Morrison, the Frisbee inventor, died this week. His simple sports innovation – a plastic, aerodynamic disc – has become one of the most popular toys in American history, uniting beachgoers, college kids, and competitive teams for half a century.

How did he come up with the idea? Morrison said it was easy as pie – literally. In the 1940s, he and his future wife brought cake and pie tins with them to the beach. The couple enjoyed flinging the pans back and forth, letting them glide in the California wind.

A former military pilot, Morrison applied his knowledge of aerodynamics to tinker with the tins, improving their control. Finally, in 1948, the Los Angeles building inspector began producing and selling his own discs.

Frisbee was not the original name. When Wham-O Manufacturing bought the idea from Morrison in 1957, they called it the Pluto Platter. Later, "Wham-O adopted the name 'Frisbee' because that’s what college students in New England were calling the Pluto Platters," reports the AP. "The name came from the Frisbie Pie Co., a local bakery whose empty tins were tossed like the soon-to-be Frisbee."

Frisbee went on to sell 200 million discs, inspire the sports ultimate Frisbee and Frisbee golf, and attract countless knockoffs around the world.

www.csmonitor.com

Morrison was from Monroe, Utah and died at 90 years old.

Arson In Pocomoke Walmart

WESR recieved reports this morning that last night there was a small fire in the Wal-Mart in Pocomoke City.

Two men entered the store around 8:30 PM and set a fire in the potato chip aisle and then left. The fire department was called but the fire had been put out by employyes by the time emergency response units arrived.

The fire is believed to have been arson, but it is still under investigation. Police are also still searching for the two men. The Pocomoke Wal-Mart is currently closed for cleaning.
.

www.shoredailynews.com

New Definition For Customer Checkout

SAFEWAY SNOWSTORM CUSTOMERS WILL GET THEIR BILL !

Four of the 10 customers who wandered into an unstaffed supermarket took groceries, and all left cash or an IOU on the cashier's counter, Safeway spokesman Craig M. Muckle said Thursday after store officials reviewed video from a security camera.

When the assistant manager of Safeway's Tenleytown supermarket in Northwest Washington realized he was the only one to show up for work on the morning of the wildest winter storm in memory, he followed company policy and went home, Muckle said. The employee won't face disciplinary action for "an honest mistake. He thought he'd secured the door."

Safeway officials initially cast doubt on eyewitness reports that customers had helped themselves to goods during the three hours that the store was unlocked and unmanned, but a review of the tape showed that four people each took a handful of products and made an effort to pay for them.

It's not the first time shoppers have left cash at unsupervised Safeways. Shoppers at two of the chain's California stores left money at the registers after getting a few essentials on Christmas Eve and day.

"For safety reasons, we don't want just one employee in the store, and he knew that," Muckle said.

Safeway officials initially cast doubt on eyewitness reports that customers had helped themselves to goods during the three hours that the store was unlocked and unmanned, but a review of the tape showed that four people each took a handful of products and made an effort to pay for them.

It's not the first time shoppers have left cash at unsupervised Safeways. Shoppers at two of the chain's California stores left money at the registers after getting a few essentials on Christmas Eve and day.

Those who took some stuff obviously had their heart in the right place," said Muckle, who said those who left the IOUs included phone numbers or other contact information and will soon hear from store management about arranging for payment.

Muckle said the store reopened Thursday and, like all area supermarkets, would need a few days to "get back up to speed" and restock depleted shelves.

Memo to those shoppers:

To those customers who took groceries from the ghost Safeway at the height of Wednesday's blizzard: The store has your IOUs and will be in touch real soon.

www.washingtonpost.com

VDOT Snow-Removal Costs are Climbing

RICHMOND, Va. - A record-setting winter has drained Virginia's snow-removal budget and the state is now dipping into its maintenance fund, which could mean fewer grass trimmings and other maintenance cuts this summer.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has spent its $79 million snow-removal budget and an additional $25 million in a reserve maintenance fund to keep thousands of state trucks and contractors on the road. Those accounts were depleted this month after storms dumped up to 3 feet of snow in some locations.

VDOT spokesman Jeffrey Caldwell said Thursday the department is now tapping its $1.6 billion maintenance fund to continue snow-removal efforts unabated.

"We're not cutting back our operations at all or trying to save money," Caldwell said. "We're just continuing to move forward with full forces."

The department has been focusing on storm-battered northern Virginia and the northern Shenandoah Valley, the hardest hit locations in the latest round of storms. More state trucks and contractors were deployed to the region on Thursday.

With VDOT tapping its maintenance fund, cuts not related to safety issues such as grass cutting and fence repairing could be made in the months ahead, Caldwell said. Safety-related maintenance such as pothole repairs would not be affected.

Virginia has already applied for $50 million in emergency federal assistance to cover storm costs in December. It is just now compiling costs associated with the latest round of storms, and that sum could exceed the $50 million already sought, said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

"The reality is, we'll get less than that," he added.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance would primarily go to VDOT, which has contracted nearly 4,000 pieces of equipment to help battle the winter storms.

Gov. Bob McDonnell said he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week about the status of the $50 million and was told the request was "moving along favorably."

Spieldenner said the latest storms' costs include overtime for Virginia State Police, National Guard troops and forestry crews that cleared down trees.

http://www.wjla.com/

Picture For Today

.

Closings, Cancellations and Delays

For Friday, February 12, 2010



Broadwater Academy 2 hrs. late

Holly Grove Christian Closed

E.S. Community Services Board Open

Belle Croft School and Volney Hall Open

NASA Wallops 10AM

Mallards at the Wharf on time

Dialysis Center Nassawadox 1 hour delay

Fantastic Friday Guildford United Methodist Church cancelled

Onley Pre-School on-time

Accomac County Public Schools Closed

Head Start Both Counties Closed today

Radar Detectors In Virginia

The Virginia Legislature has defeated a bill to legalize radar detectors. Lawmakers admitted repealing this law is a bad idea because it would lead to fewer tickets and thus less revenue for the Commonwealth.

"It is tough to acknowledge that traffic violations are what funds part of our localities budgets," said Delegate Jackson Miller(R-50th).

Virginia is the only state that bans the use of common radar detectors according to StoptheBan.com, a website supporting the overturn of radar detector laws. The website is run by the National Association of Motorists. According to the site radar detectors do not have a negative effect on safety, banning detectors is an attack on individual liberty and using radar detectors protects citizens from unfair police tactics.

www.shoredailynews.com

Worcester County Schools Closed Friday 2/12/10

No school again Friday

Seattle beating: teenage girl assaulted while guards watch

SEATTLE, WA (NBC) Disturbing video-tape shows the graphic beating of a teenage girl in Seattle's Metro bus tunnel, while uniformed security guards simply look on.

The trouble started above ground around 7 p.m. on January 28.

According to police reports, a group of teenagers approached a 15-year-old girl they knew inside Macy's.

The encounter turned antagonistic and moved on to the downtown Nordstrom.

The group of 10 teenagers allegedly surrounded the girl and gave her a bad time about what she was wearing.

According to police, one in the group threatened her by stating, "Bitch, I'll kill you."

The security camera video picks up the scene as the group of teenagers are seen heading into the Metro tunnel at the Westlake Station, apparently following the girl who had been threatened.

One of the girls in the group, a 15-year-old who attends McClure Middle School in Seattle, approaches and within a few seconds, without warning, she pushes the victim off the platform and into the bus lanes.

The video shows the two girls hitting each other for a few seconds.

Then, the scene gets vicious.

The young attacker punches the victim in the head and face 10 times.

"It looks like a very egregious assault, which in fact it was," said Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the case along with Metro Transit Police. "The two were acquaintances, and there probably is some teenage stuff going on before the attack but it certainly doesn't warrant an assault like this by any stretch of the imagination."

The video clearly shows that all of this is taking place right in front of three security guards.

SOURCE

UFO Spotted in Pocomoke

There's a giant hoovering bright orange UFO that's been slowly moving west over the skies of Pocomoke City for most of the day.

It is a very powerful light and is eating the snow as it moves, I assume for fuel.

If anyone can identify this object please let me know.

At The Mar-Va Theater This Weekend

Thursday night show: LOVE LETTERS has been canceled.

Picture For Today

.

(THE WELFARE EXAMPLE) Want Smaller Government? You Have To Reduce Immigration

For those of you whose primary political interest is stopping the growth of government or even shrinking it, you have to contend with national leaders who say they agree with you but who refuse to deal with immigration. They say immigration is a "social" issue that isn't related to government spending and deficit issues. They couldn't be more wrong. . . .

Let's start with this tidbit from government data provided by the Center for Immigration Studies (Table 13: "Immigrant Households with Children Under 18":

"Roughly ONE-HALF of all immigrant households with kids are accessing the welfare system, especially food and Medicaid welfare."

In this case, "immigrant" includes both authorized and illegal foreign citizens allowed by the federal government to settle in our country. Since 2000, that number each year has averaged around 1.3 million a year -- plus another 1 million births to those immigrant households.

With one-half of those households being poor enough to use the federal, state and local welfare systems, is there anybody blind enough to think that adding 2.3 million people a year to immigrant households is not driving huge increases in government?

That is 23 million disproportionately poor and welfare-using people a decade!

NumbersUSA doesn't take a specific stand on whether government should be bigger or smaller. But we do think it is strange that our government has this humongous program that imports massive amounts of poverty into the country each year. And the welfare use is just the tip of the iceberg. If about half of these households are poor enough to qualify for some form of welfare, that means they can't come close to paying the taxes required to provide for all the extra physical and social infrastructure to take care of the presence of these 23 million new residents each decade.

Even stranger is that this gargantuan driver of bigger and bigger government was promoted and continues to be supported by the Republican National Committee and by the Republican leadership of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Republican leaders every day castigate Pres. Obama for trying to bloat government, but Republican leaders resolutely refuse to even suggest that the government reduce its importation of welfare-using immigrants.

Why?

The reason should be clear: Republican leaders may say they want to shrink Big Government, but not if it gets in the way of pleasing their cheap-labor corporate donors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Two key drivers of the growth in welfare usage and bigger government are the chain migration and visa lottery categories of our immigration system.

Those two categories would be eliminated by the Gingrey bill and the Goodlatte bill (a couple of Republicans who are sincere in their concerns about the size of government and the burden on taxpayers).

Click on their names above to see if your U.S. Representative has signed on.

Not a single U.S. Senator -- Republican or Democrat -- has cared enough to even introduce a bill in that chamber.

But Republican leaders in Washington will not allow these immigration reductions or any other to be pushed to the top of their agenda. The word from the leaders is that Republicans are to ignore immigration altogether this year. The intent of the Republican leaders is to ensure that 23 million people continue to be added to the heavily welfare-using immigrant households each decade. That is one form of bigger government that the Republican leaders love.

SOURCE

Thursday, February 11,2010

Closings and Cancellations ~~~~UPDATED~~~~





Holly Grove- Closed

Accomack County Schools- Closed

Broadwater Academy- Closed

Central Baptist Academy Closed

St. Paul on the Shore Closed

Shore Christian Academy Closed

Head Start Accomack and Northampton Closed

Onley Pre-School

Agape Christian Center Closed

Belle Croft Pre School in Accomac closed today

NASA Wallops closed today

Tyson 1st shift: No evicerating or receiving, rest of shift report 2 hour delay

2nd shift no evicerating or receiving, rest of shift report on time.

Tyson Maintenence report on time.

Management also report on time.

Perdue: Production Facility 4 hour delay first shift. Livehaul: contact your supevisor.

Star Transit not running today

Associated Insurance Centers in Onancock, Chincoteague, and Pocomoke City opening at 11:00 A.M.

Community Services Board Closed

Eastern Shore Area Agency on Aging office in Hare Valley closed today

Riverside Shore Home Health closed today

Hall Richardson opening at 10 A.M

Accomac County Circuit Court Closed

Riverside cariac and pulmonary rehap Onley and Nassawdox locations closed

Commissioner of Revenue Office in Accomac closed today

Kiddy Kollege pre-school Parksley cloed

Memtompkin Medical Center Cloed today

BB&T Bank Branches opening at 11:00 AM

Accomac County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court closed

Greenbush Veternay Clinic closed today

Hospice Thrift Store in Exmore open

Hospice Office and Thrift Store in Onancock Closed Any Patient trying to reach their nurse use regular number

Mosher Physical Therapy office in Onley Closed and Cape Charles Open

Nasa Federal Credit Union Oak Hall Closed

Shore Bank Branches and Offices open at 10:00 A.M.

Contours in Exmore Open at 10:00

Ebenezer Baptist Church tonights services and meeting cancelled

Intrepid Home Health Services will open at 12:00 P,M. Essential Field Staff will be working today

State Farm Nelsonia opening at 11:00 A.M.

Accomac County offices on time

Virginia Employment Commission opening at 10:00 A.M.

Accomac General District Court 2 hour delay

Eastern Shore Foot Center, Dr. Wayne Chin's office closed today

Eastern Shore Community College opening at 10:00 A.M.

Eastern Shore Of Virginia Continium of Care Meeting scheduled for 9:00 AM has been cancelled

Accomac Go-Glass closed today

Veterans Services in Accomac Closed today

Eastern Shore Rural Health all centers opening on time except for Atlantic and Chincoteague which will open at 10:00 AM

Accomac County Treasurers Office closed today

Accomac County Health Department closed

Accomac Northampton Planning District Commission and Housing Authority opening 9:30 AM

Division of Child Support in Onancock closed today

Jaxons will be open from 11:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M.

House of Deals opening at 10:00 AM

Food Bank in Onley closed no food distribution today Thrift Store also closed

Book Bin opens at 12:00 P.M.

Macedonia A.M.E. Church Services for tonight cancelled


Dance Loft --- No classes tonight

"Dear Lord"

Dear Lord, this past year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze,



My favorite actress, Farah Fawcett,



My favorite musician, Michael Jackson,



My favorite sales man, Billy Mayes,



I just wanted to let you know that my favorite president is Obama....Amen



Hat Tip; Eric

Former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder Calls for White House Staff Shake-Up

Former Democratic Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder says if Barack Obama is to fulfill his promise of positive change in America, the president must "make some hard changes of his own" by replacing inexperienced members of his team with "others more capable of helping him govern."

In an editorial for Politico Tuesday, Wilder writes Obama's White House staff is made up of too many people left over from the campaign or from his time in Chicago. "Getting elected and getting things done for the people are two different jobs," Wilder writes, suggesting the president and his people haven't fully made the transition from campaign mode to governing.

Wilder, who endorsed Obama in 2008, goes on:

One problem is that they do not have sufficient experience at governing at the executive branch level. The deeper problem is that they are not listening to the people.

Hearing is one thing; listening is another.

Some are even questioning whether Obama has forgotten how he got elected and the promises he made to the people who elected him.

Don't take my word for any of this. Look at the clear message the American people have been sending at the polls these past few months.

Wilder places part of the blame for recent election losses in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts squarely on one of his successors as governor: the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tim Kaine. He calls on Kaine to step down as head of the DNC, saying it is "the wrong job for him."

Shake-ups at the White House and at the top of the party are necessary if the president is to succeed and Democrats are going to turn around downward trending poll numbers and survive in November, Wilder writes.

In addition to replacing his staff, Wilder, the nation's first African-American governor, also urges the president to fine tune his message and focus on one major issue: jobs.

"Unless changes are made at the top, by the top, when the time comes for voters to show how they really feel about Obama, his policies and the messages he sends directly or through the people around him, the president will discover that Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts were not just temporary aberrations but, rather, timely expressions of voters who always show that they are ahead of the politicians," Wilder writes.

Read the full editorial here.

How About Some Hot Chocolate

Perfect for these wintry days

1 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water
1 c. milk
a bit of vanilla, if desired and/or cinnamon

Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat it on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan. After about 1 to 2 minutes, add milk and vanilla. Mix it all together until it reaches your preferred temperature.

Never-Before-Seen 9/11 Attack Photos Released

Just-released aerial police photos show the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001, from a new angle.

ABC News was handed 2,770 photos, many taken from police helicopters, after filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

We have seen the Twin Towers collapse hundreds of times on TV. The steel and glass skyscrapers exploding like a bag of flour, the dust and smoke pluming out across Manhattan. But never like this, from above.

Nine years after the defining moment of the 21st century, a stunning set of photographs taken by New York Police helicopters forces us to look afresh at a catastrophe we assumed we knew so well.

You know but cannot see the 2,752 men, women and children who died at the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. None is visible here.

All we see is the spectacular moment of collapse, what film directors call the wide shot, showing the towers in their urban setting, before, during and after their fall.

Even for those who were there, like me, running from the cloud and choking in the dust, it is hard to believe. But what is all too evident to everyone is that this event changed the world, with consequences that will haunt us for decades.

With the Twin Towers collapsed the world we thought we knew.

These dramatic images were taken by police photographers in helicopters and it is the first time they have been seen, having been released under a Freedom of Information request made by America's ABC News.

Burning buildings can be seen crumpling in on themselves as plumes of smoke rise up over the New York skyline that terrible September morning.

The images show how the police helicopter first began taking images from afar before moving in to reveal the devastation taking place underneath.

They also reveal the horror faced by those trapped in the burning buildings and then the walls of smoke and debris that enveloped the surrounding area as the towers came crashing down.

Released more than eight years after the deaths of 2,752 people on that day, they are powerful reminders of the attack that led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The legacy of the New York attack continues today with as British forces joining with Afghan soldiers and Nato to launch the biggest attack on the Taliban - accused of harbouring Al Qaeda who organised the 9/11 attack - since the initial 2001 offensive.

Meanwhile, in New York, work is continuing to build on the rubble of what became known as Ground Zero.

Structural steel for the 1,776ft tower, which will be known as 1 World Trade Centre, has already reached 200ft above street level.

Workers are now installing 16 steel nodes on the 20th-floor of the tower which will serve as joints between the steel framing for the building's podium and the steel for the rest of the tower. The 104-storey skyscraper is due to be completed in 2013 and will be one of the tallest buildings in the U.S.

For More Pictures Click HERE

AND NEVER FORGET!!

De-Ice a Frozen Lock

It's late. It's dark. You trudge through the snow to your car and discover the locks are all iced up. Don't panic! There's a clever way to solve this problem. Just apply a glob of hand sanitizer to the key and wiggle it gently into the lock.

Why does this work? Hand sanitizer's primary ingredient is alcohol, which melts ice clear away in seconds.

I love this tip, especially since I usually keep a travel-size bottle of Purell in my bag anyway. Another plus: hand sanitizer is much easier to come by in a pinch than specialty de-icing products. After all, even if you aren't carrying any Purell yourself, you can probably borrow some from a friend or passerby, right?

A few more clever de-icing ideas:

Use a cigarette lighter to heat the tip of the key. It may take a few attempts, but the hot key should gradually melt the ice.

Spray a little WD-40 into the lock. Just remember WD-40 is highly flammable. If it doesn't work, don't try the cigarette lighter method afterwards -- at least not on the same lock!

If your car is parked at home you can also try breaking out the hair dryer. A blast of hot air should be all that's needed to get that lock finally de-iced. If you don't have a suitably long extension cord, try pouring some very hot water over the lock. Hopefully you'll be on your way in no time!

VIA

The Right Way to Shovel Snow

1. Do some stretching before you head outside, just to limber up like you would before any other workout.


2. When buying a shovel, invest in one that has a smaller blade -- the less snow you pick up, the less strain on your body. You may also want to try a lightweight, ergonomic shovel -- preferably one with a bent handle (pictured). A shovel with a plastic blade will be lighter than a steel blade, but the choice is yours.

3. If you can, avoid lifting the snow while shoveling. Instead, push the snow to the side.If you must lift the snow, stand with your feet hip distance apart and keep the shovel close to your body.

4. Always bend from the knees, not the back or torso.

5. Tighten your abdominal muscles as you lift the snow to help provide extra back support.

6. Pause every 10 minutes or so to catch your breath and make sure you're not overexerting yourself.

7. Avoid drinking coffee before going outside in the snow, as it can place more stress on your heart by increasing your heart rate and causing blood vessels to narrow.

8. Dress in layers and remove layers as you work up a sweat to avoid overhearing.

9. Drink plenty of water before, during and after you shovel your driveway.

A few other cool snow shovels we found include wheels, but no motor, so they reduce pollution and physical strain! The Wovel is touted as the world's safest snow shovel; it even won an award from Time magazine. Then there's this lightweight ergonomic shovel we found on QVC for just $65.








OR you could just get one of these.

Worcester County Schools Closed Thursday 2/11/10

Go ahead kids, do the snow-day dance

The Beauty of Winter!

Some wonderful, beautiful, winter photos

And last but not least

Looting??

I just remembered something, under this "state of emergency" with the Mayors decelerations, traveling ban, the USNG, and possibly FEMA camping out here in Md. aren't we supposed to be looting?



I mean after all don't we need these things? All the stores have closed and the police can't move so ain't we just supposed to go take it?

U.S. RT 113 Shut-Down

U.S. route 113 Pocomoke is shut-down in both directions (North/Southbound) for an undetermined amount of time.

Billie's Goat Lives Indoors

Fourteen Day Old Goat Lives In Kitchen
by Ted Shockley, Staff Writer

ACCOMAC -- Two weeks ago, Billie Blackwell faced a difficult decision. The mother goat was ignoring the newborn kid and a snowstorm was approaching. Should she let the baby try to survive or bring it indoors?

Blackwell did what many loving Eastern Shore pet owners did as temperatures dropped and snow fell. She brought her pet inside.

"It was making a choice between two evils," said Blackwell, nodding at Snoopy, now 14 days old, standing in her kitchen in the Henry's Point community. "We selected this one, which is going to be a problem."

Living with an indoor goat has its challenges. Blackwell has been paper-training the kid on the vinyl kitchen floor. But, as she puts it, every five ounces it eats produces at least 20 ounces in return.

Relations with the 9-year-old indoor cat, Fuzzball, have been strained.

"The goat wants to investigate the cat, but the cat doesn't want anything to do with the goat," she said.

But the living arrangement has been poignant at times.

Blackwell bottle-feeds Snoopy, who sleeps in a big cardboard box. Its muffled bleating sounds like a toy. It sits in her lap like a puppy.

With it standing on the floor, Blackwell trains it to butt heads by pushing her sock-covered foot against its forehead. Snoopy pushes back.

Blackwell, who retired from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility as a contract specialist after 35 years there, and her husband, Charlie, have raised goats for 30 years. But circumstances have never required one to live inside.

Now, despite her good intentions, she is worried about the future. Snoopy has become accustomed to the warm house and might not take well to outside living in February. But the goat is growing faster than spring's arrival.

"He can't stay in here too much longer," Blackwell said. "He's going to be taking over the land. They just get rambunctious -- they want to butt on everything. They want to chew on everything."

Now housemates for two snowstorms, Snoopy has taken to Blackwell, and has charmed the owner who took seriously her responsibility as a pet owner.

But as soon as it warms up, Snoopy might be back where the other goats live.

"The Bible says there is a time for everything," said Blackwell, who then recites several verses from Ecclesiastes 3 from memory -- there is a time to be born, a time to plant, a time to heal.

Then she adds a new one:

"There's a time to have goats, and a time not to have goats," she said.

http://www.easternshorenews.com/

Have You Paid to Have Your Sidewalk Cleared?

If you did, I hope you got a warranty because it didn't work, the snow has re-appeared

I've seen in my travels a few residents having their sidewalks cleared of snow by machines that were obviously way to big to be doing that type of work, I assume that these folks are out trying to make a couple of bucks and I say more power too'em. That's capitalism at it's finest and I hope they do well.

But a word of caution to the home owners, some of the equipment I've seen doing this work is much too heavy for the average sidewalk, especially some of the very old sidewalks in town.

Anything much bigger than a lawn tractor can and will damage your walk and curbing, you might not see the damage until the snow completely clears and/or it completely thaws or maybe even this summer is when your walk/curb start deteriorating, cracking and crumbling. Notice all the new pot-holes after a snow and a plow job?

Let the tractors have the driveways and parking lots, give an ambitious youth with a shovel some spending change to clear your sidewalk(s), steps etc. they can use the extra change and wont damage your property. Plus that smile you'll put on a young persons face is worth a million bucks for the measly 10-20 bucks to shovel all that snow.

Damn Tractor Stole My Snow