The stories about what the Obama White House has to say about Fox News Channel keep coming.
There was White House communications director saying telling Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post and CNN "let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is."
Also last week it was NPR's David Folkenflik reporting that "the White House is taking direct aim at Fox News, the news organization that is the home to the most potent collection of its conservative critics."
This week it's ABC News' Jake Tapper asking why the Obama team was treating one of the "sister organizations" so badly -- and the news that the White House had tried to block a Fox News reporter from interviewing the so-called pay czar. (After all the networks objected, the White House relented.)
It seems like time for a survey:
CLICK HERE TO VOTE
On Wednesday, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon resigned as Mayor after accepting a plea deal with prosecutors. Dixons resignation takes effect February 4 with the current City Council President, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake taking over. Dixon has been Mayor of Baltimore for nearly three years. She became the first female mayor for Baltimore in January of 2007 when Martin O'Malley was elected govenor of Maryland. Prior to being mayor, Ms. Dixon had been on the City council since 1987 and was City Council president in 1997.
Dixon's first of two trials was in November for charges of stealing gift cards of nearly $500.00 that had been donate to the city and to be given to the needy. The theft occured while Dixon was still the president of the City Council. Her second trial WAS scheduled for March for two counts of perjury. It was claimed the the Baltimore mayor accepted gifts of furs, travel, money, etc. from a developer by the name of Ron Lipscomb. Lipscomb, in return received tax breaks from the city. Dixon and Lipscomb dated in 2003 and 2004.
So, on Wednesday Mayor Sheila Dixon entered an Alford plea to a charge of perjury. Now, this means the Ms. Dixon admits that there is enough evidence to convict her of charges but does not, however, acknowledge the guiltiness For all of this Dixon received probation before judgement. IF she follows the conditions set before her, Dixon will do no jail time. She was also given 4 years of probation, 500 hours of community service, plus she makes a charitable donation of $45,000.00. Some of her furs will be sold. She will pay her own legal fees and cannot seek employment in the city or state for two years. However, she will keep her pension of $83,000 She returns to court on February 4 to oficially accept her probation before judgement.
WOW!
And on Monday, on the good old easter shore, the famous Billy Burke, owner of the Pocomoke Tattler, went to trial for taping a conversation with the mayor of Pocomoke City on the steps of city hall. He faced felony wiretapping charges but accepted the Alford plea resulting in lesser charges. For years Mr. Burke has tried to prove corruption and other types of wrong doings within Pocomoke's city hall. His fashion of "pounding the pulpit", to convince the citizens of Pocomoke that there is actually corruption in Pocomoke City, has resulted in NO proof of corruption in that town even after months and months of his "preachings" that (according to Burke) it is indeed there.
What a twist. Here we have a "big town" mayor going to trial for being a thief by taking from the citizens of Baltimore and at the same time accepting wonderous gifts for the exchange of tax breaks. It has been proven that this occurred.
Then we have the "small town" citizen being drug into court by the towns mayor for a taped recording. But the "small town" citizen, Billy Burke, did try to get his message across about corruption in city hall the day of his trial with the playing of the tape (recorded that day) in which Mayor admitted and laughed about the city manager destroying public government documents. It has NEVER been proven that this occurred. Further more, it has never been proven that anything Mr. Burke "preaches" about ever occurred.
Just seems to me that if Mr. Burke wants to take the mayor serious and move, that Baltimore might be the place to go. If it's corruption, true corruption, you're still looking for I'd say that might be the place.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 319 W. Main St.
The public is invited to discuss any concerns they have.
Elmore also has two more meetings scheduled: Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Somerset County Office Complex in Princess Anne and Monday at 7 p.m. at Fruitland City Hall.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly begins Jan. 13 in Annapolis.
Burke entered an Alford plea this afternoon, conceding that prosecutors had enough evidence to obtain a conviction without admitting guilt.
A Circuit Court judge pronounced Burke guilty of a misdemeanor wiretapping charge and sentenced him to probation, but did not hand down any jail time.
Burke stood accused of violating state wiretapping laws by recording a conversation with mayor Mike McDermott just before spring elections in 2009 without telling McDermott he was being taped. Burke's wife, Stephanie Burke, was a candidate for city council at the time.
Burke, who runs the pocomoketattler.com blog, had asserted his innocence in a blog posting this morning, saying the Bill of Rights and free-speech laws ought to protect him in the matter.
Bill of Rights/Free Speech and all that
Event Type: Criminal Jury TrialNotice Date: Event Date: 11/02/2009Event Time:09:30 AM Result: Postponed/ResetResult Date:10/22/2009
Event Type: Criminal Non-Jury TrialNotice Date: Event Date: 01/05/2010Event Time:09:30 AM Result: Result Date:
This case surely lacks in any prosecution;Charge and Disposition Information
(Each Charge is listed separately. The disposition is listed below the Charge)
Charge No: 1CJIS Code:1 5705Statute Code:CJ.10.402
Charge Description: Wiretapping
Offense Date From: 03/27/2009To: 03/27/2009 Arrest Tracking No: 08-1002-04545-6Citation: Charge Amend No: 0Sentence Version:0Charge Class: Disposition
Plea: Plea Date: Disposition: Disposition Date:
The vote fraud specialists at ACORN have their work cut out for them if Democrats are going to avoid a reckoning in November:
Actually, a lot of us never trusted them to begin with. But by now, no one does except brainwashed zombies and spittle-spewing moonbats — who still constitute a minority, despite the best efforts of the media and education establishments.
Hat Tip; MoonBattery
Born March 6, 1986, in Chattanoogna, Tenn., he was the son of John Franklin Grove III of Salisbury and Elizabeth Jones Grove of Pocomoke City.
John loved all styles of music, reading and helping others.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by a brother, Kevin M. Grove and his fiancee, Cristin M. Carlton, both of Pocomoke City; grandmother, Virginia M. Grove of Hagerstown; future mother-in-law, Linda G. Carlton of Hallwood, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Holloway Funeral Home in Pocomoke City, where family and friends may call one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in Evergreen Memorial Gardens in Luray, Va.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Samaritan Shelter, PO Box 661, Pocomoke City, Md.
Arrangements are in the care of Holloway Funeral Home, 107 Vine St. in Pocomoke City.
To send condolences to the family visit www.hollowayfh.com.
The new year seems to have brought a blast of artic air into our area. With "warming" forcasted for the middle of the week and then dipping colder again please take extra precautions. (Just a couple degrees warmer)
Beware that ice that melts during the day on our highways and backroads will refreeze at night causing slippery conditions for the morning drivers. Please use caution and take your time.
Walking on ice can be dangerous. I know all of us know that yet people do it anyway and slip to the ground causing a broken leg, ankle or even a hip. Why tempt fate?
Remember that the areas of water in our area are NOT frozen solid! They rarely ever do. If you have children please, please keep an eye on them if they play outside. Children seem to be drawn to water and ice and this can be dangerous. It only takes a split second for a child to fall through the ice and drown. However, allowing them to tap on the ice is your yard or driveway is good for them. I suggest you allow them this experience as long as you keep them away from the deeper area of water.
If you use portable heaters always allow 3 feet from combustable materials. Never leave them in the same room with a child or leave the heaters without someone to monitor them. You know this yet every year children are burned and so are houses.
If you have livestock or animals that must live outside please be sure they have fresh unfrozen water at all times. Make sure they have warm bedding. I have found that straw works best. Do NOT assume your animal will be alright! He might not. And if you carry that attitude about your pet(s) perhaps you'd prefer to sleep outside with them.
Check on your neighbors especially if they live alone. You know why. Be sure they have food and above all else be sure they have heat. Only takes a minute. And it might brighten their day.
By now you should have done the necessary winter maintenance on your vehicles. Wipers antifreeze, battery, just to name a few, should have been tended to earlier. If you haven't done it then be sure you do.
Dress warm. Wear layered clothes. A cap on your head keeps the heat in your body.
If you have pipes in your home that tend to freeze leave the faucet running in a trickle.
Be sure your chimney is clean.
At least try to keep thermostats turned back a little. After all it is winter and yes, you may have to put on extra clothes in the house. And keep something on your feet!
These are just common sense things. These are things that will only take a few minutes of your time. Better to be safe than sorry.
Remember..........Cold artic air is forcasted to be around through next week so it doesn't look like we'll be thawing out and warming up anytime soon.
Stay warm.
The US Secret Service says it is investigating after an effigy of Barack Obama was found hanging in the home town of former President Jimmy Carter.
TV footage showed the doll hanging by a noose in front of a red, white and blue sign that reads "Plains, Georgia. Home of Jimmy Carter, our 39th President".
Witnesses said the effigy had President Obama's name on it.
Plains Mayor LE Godwin III said the fire department had been called to take it down.
In Washington, US Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan confirmed that the agency was investigating the case.
Footage on local television station, WALB, showed a large black doll hanging over the sign, which is located above a shop on the main street in the rural town.
Residents who saw it thought the effigy must have put in place during the night, WALB reports.
One Plains resident said the Secret Service had already interviewed local people.
"We wish it hadn't happened. It's not the kind of publicity the town of Plains likes," Jan Williams, who runs a hotel, was quoted as saying by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
She described Plains, which has a population of fewer than 700 people, as a "nice, quiet town".
A New York City-funded guidebook for heroin users offers information on how to prepare drugs carefully and care for veins to avoid infection.
The state's top official with the Drug Enforcement Administration calls the "Take Charge Take Care" guide a "step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison." DEA special agent-in-charge John Gilbride says the handout is disturbing.
The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene printed about 70,000 copies.
A health official says the goal is to promote health and save lives. Assistant Commissioner Daliah Heller says instructions on how to perform injections were included because there's "a less harmful way to inject."
The illustrated guidebook offers information on HIV testing and the dangers of sharing needles.
Based on recent news stories the state of Maryland has been named in a $7 million wrongful death suit in regard to a fatal car-truck accident that occurred on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in August 2008. Dozens of people are killed or injured every year in tractor-trailer accidents across Maryland; some of these victims are actually semi drivers themselves who have been killed or critically injured due to another person's negligence.
As trucking accident attorneys, the legal professionals at Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC have the knowledge and experience to represent victims and their families in cases not unlike the one reported here. This time, according to news articles, the state of Maryland has been named as one of the defendants in a lawsuit growing out of a deadly traffic accident.
According to reports, a trucker died during the accident in question, which was allegedly caused by a 19-year-old woman who fell asleep while driving across the Bay Bridge. News articles at the time said that Candy Baldwin had been to a wedding earlier and apparently fell asleep while passing across the bridge. This caused a truck driver to swerve his rig to avoid crashing into the young woman’s car.
The family of the deceased truck driver, 57-year-old John Short of Willards, MD, to crash into a concrete barrier on the bridge. However the barrier could not stop the truck from leaving the bridge’s roadway and falling into the water where Short reportedly died.
The lawsuit, which was originally filed last June naming Baldwin as the responsible party, was amended earlier in December to add the state and the Maryland Transportation Authority. The suit cites deficiencies in the maintenance and the inspection of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge as significant factors in the death of Short.
According to news accounts, Baldwin was only charged with traffic violations; police determined the teen's blood alcohol level as 0.03 percent, which is below the legal limit in Maryland, however that measurement was taken hours after the crash, according to the civil suit against the teen. The trucker's family claims the young woman was drunk.
The suit also claims two-way traffic on the bridge at the time of the crash was inherently dangerous and had already led to numerous other fatalities. Since the accident, the state has reportedly spent $3 million inspecting and making repairs to the sidewalls of the bridge.
PPE NOTE: I beg to differ with the results of this woman NOT being "legally" drunk. Yes, she was absolutely driving illegally and should be held totally and solely accountable, not the tax payers of Md.
(CNN) -- Hours after a security breach forced the closure of a terminal at the Newark, New Jersey, airport Sunday, authorities were still searching for a man who went the wrong way through a checkpoint exit.
The incident happened at about 5:20 p.m. at Terminal C, when an individual walked from the public side to the secure "sterile" side for passengers who had cleared screening, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
No flights were allowed to leave from Terminal C Sunday evening and thousands of other travelers who had reached the sterile area after going through checkpoints were moved back to the public area to be re-screened, the TSA said.
Authorities are reviewing video from airport cameras. They are not sure whether the man was once on the sterile side and went back, or if he never went through screening, TSA spokeswoman Anne Davis said.
Watch more about the situation in Newark 
The incident caused arrival delays and mainly affected Continental Airlines, which is the airport's largest tenant.
CNN's Alina Cho, who arrived at the airport Saturday night on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, described the hectic scene: "For the people who are hoping to fly out of Newark this evening, there is not a lot of movement."
She said many passengers who had already boarded outgoing flights had to get off planes to be re-screened.
"I just saw one woman pleading with a gate agent, saying that she had two small children and a heart condition -- that she simply could not take this," Cho said. "But of course, there will be no exceptions."
Flying Continental? Important company notice
Newark Liberty International Airport, which is about 15 miles from Manhattan, is the second-largest hub for Continental.
The airport handles about 35 million passengers a year.
Holden's Creek.....
Following the recent abduction and murder of Sarah Foxwell, I have been asked by several folks "what is the best way to deal with sex offenders once they are released from prison?"
I have also seen the finger of blame pointed at light sentences handed out by judges and a failure of legislators to craft tougher laws.
The current system in place as crafted by our legislators is, ironically, an "honor"-based system. Sex offender registrants are required to report in person every six months to their local sheriff's office to verify their registration. They are required to report any address changes within seven days. The same is true for their place of employment.
Once information is provided, the sheriff's office will physically verify their address and contact their employer for confirmation.
This all sounds fairly strict, and it is a far cry from what we did 20 years ago (no monitoring), but in no way are we currently "tracking" registrants.
While we have the technology to perform 24/7 monitoring of child sex offenders for the rest of their lives, we also have liberal legislators who would rather protect the bad guys at the expense of our most precious and vulnerable citizens.
Those registrants classified as child sex offenders and predators should be required to wear GPS tracking equipment with the option of having a chip installed subcutaneously. This is not altogether different than the technology utilized for in-home detention (often utilized with juvenile offenders). Unauthorized removal or tampering with the system would be classified as a felony carrying a mandatory five-year sentence.
Built-in alerts in the mapping software could be established around schools and other locations where children are known to congregate or where the registrant is otherwise not allowed.
Equipment expenses would be the responsibility of the offender, and Maryland should be the first state in the union to make it a reality. Offender locations could be known in real time, and when a child is missing, every second is critical.
I am tired of hearing excuses from lawmakers. If we are serious about protecting our kids, this is the place to start. Lengthy mandatory sentences are OK, but they do nothing to help once the offender is released from prison. You can physically see an offender once a day for an hour, but you still won't know where he is for the remaining 23 hours without GPS tracking. A western shore child predator who takes a weekend trip to Ocean City is not a blip on our radar, but that could change under these provisions.
I predict that, once implemented, Maryland would see a mass exodus of sex offender registrants to states with fewer restrictions. What could be bad about that? Let's at least start with the predators and repeat offenders; then expand the program over the next few years.
There are those who will think this type of monitoring is unduly harsh and intrusive. I simply ask you to go to the final resting place of Sarah Foxwell and tell it to her. She will never be able to cast a vote for this type of change, but, to those who remain, it is our duty to get the job done.
FETCHED: DelMarVaNow.com
A heinous crime -- the kidnapping and murder of an 11-year-old Salisbury girl mere days before Christmas -- has sparked an outcry from Lower Shore residents. The suspect charged with abducting Sarah Haley Foxwell is a registered sex offender, which has prompted at least two petitions demanding tightening of Maryland's sex offender laws --dubbed "Sarah's Law" -- to circulate on Facebook. State legislators who represent Lower Shore districts are being inundated with requests from constituents to change the laws to better protect children.
There is little doubt that this discussion will surface early in the 2010 legislative session in Annapolis. Lower Shore residents are fired up and demanding swift action.
While changes in the state's laws are apparently needed, it would be wise to at least take time to research the subject and find out what works --and what might sound good and make people feel better without actually making our children any safer. Maryland passed its own version of "Jessica's Law" in 2006 during an emergency session. This law, in addition to creating a statewide sex offender registry, also dictates minimum sentences for various offenses. That same year, the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 was signed into law, nationalizing a set of similar guidelines and mandates. Both laws include provisions for monitoring and reporting on registered offenders.
What we need is a law that zeroes in on the offenders who do, in fact, pose a severe risk --who, given the opportunity, will prey on children in their own family or the offspring of their friends, neighbors or anyone else.
Sentencing guidelines must strive to keep the highest-risk offenders off the streets and out of our communities for the duration of their natural lives. The rules for evidence at trials should be made flexible enough to allow a defendant's history of sex offenses to be introduced so that a pattern of sexual offenses against children, or of escalating violence, is known to the judge and jury. The registry must be manageable, strictly enforced and well-publicized -- but it should only contain the names of high-risk offenders who truly pose a threat to children, not individuals who had consensual teenage sex and got caught and prosecuted for it.
"Sarah's Law" should focus on keeping children safe at any cost, not on revenge or punishment -- as satisfying as that might seem. A law that creates a wide and unbroken gulf between child sexual molesters and their potential victims would be a fitting tribute to the little girl who galvanized our community this Christmas.
FETCHED: DelMarVaNOW.com
Thoreau never had one during his lifetime. Neither did George Washington nor Albert Einstein. Today in the United States, which uses the month/day/year format for dates, there is a rare chance to celebrate a palindrome date - 01/02/2010 - which reads the same forward as it does backward.
Jan. 2, 2010, is the second such date out of 36 that occurs this millennium. The first was 10/02/2001.
Aziz Inan, a University of Portland electrical engineering professor, has been studying this phenomenon and speaks with great enthusiasm as he describes the history of palindrome dates.
Before 2001, he excitedly pointed out in an interview yesterday, the most recent was in 1380, since days of the month never exceed 31. The next date comes next year: 11/02/2011.
In much of the rest of the world, today’s date appears as day/month/year, or 02/01/2010. But for inhabitants of these countries, rest assured that there will be plenty of opportunities to celebrate even more than our paltry 36: they will get 60 between 2001 and 3000, Inan says.
“Once you put the day in front of the month, everything changes for the rest of the world,’’ said Inan, who is working on academic papers on the subject.
I bet you didn't know that the celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays being observed for the first time in ancient Babylon about 4000years ago and lasting for eleven days. Each day had its own mode of celebration. The Babylonian New Year (around 2000 BC) began with the first new moon after the Vernal Equinox, which would be the first day of spring. This seemed to be the logical time to start the new year with the planting of new crops and blossoming of trees, shrubs and flowers.
Through many years the calendar changed to our new year of today which is January 1. But through the years the many traditions celebrated today have been brought forward from other lands. As Christianity spread thoughout the world these so called pagan traditions turned to more of Christian traditions. At one time the use of the baby to symbolize rebirth in the new year celebration was considered pagan and was denounced. But through the years the church finally allowed its use as the symbol of the birth of baby Jesus.
It was once thought (and maybe it is still today) that one could alter his luck and fortune for the new year by what he ate and did on the first day of the new year. So it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few hours of the new year surrounded by relatives and friends.
Then on New Years Day came the tradition of eating foods thought to bring good luck. And in many cultures anything that takes shape of a ring is good luck. While I like the tradition that the Dutch use because they believe the donut is good luck, in America it seems to be the black eyed pea. Well, good luck eating those! Usually accompanied with ham and turnip greens, my grandmother always had them on New Years Day. As a family we'd pile in the car and drive over there just for the "dose" of black eyed peas. I never saw any benefit in that but it made my mother and grandmother happy and that's all I cared about.
I find it amazing that so many traditions have a history that goes back for many years. And many families even today have their own New Years Eve and New Years Day traditions. And, yes, there are those of you that doze in the recliner until the ball drops, Auld Lang Syne is sung then stumble to your beds. That's your tradition.
Our family has always been big on celebrations. My father carried the tradition of our family having steamed shrimp on New Years Eve and bbq'd chicken on New Years Day! He kept that tradition for years and all of us would be there. And no, no black eyed peas.
So in your travels to the grocery store don't forget to buy some to cook for the family. They may bring you good luck and/or good fortune in the New Year. And don't look for me to taking a spoon full, I'm eating donuts.
Happy New Year Everyone! I hope 2010 is your best year yet.
It happens only once in a blue moon -- and scientists say a blue moon is exactly what we'll see in the skies this New Year's Eve.
Don't expect an azure glow over our lunar satellite, however. The term "blue moon" simply refers to the second full moon in a calendar month, something that hasn't happened on a New Year's Eve for nearly 20 years, NASA says.
"December 1990 ended with a blue moon, and many New Year's Eve parties were themed by the event," said Professor Philip Hiscock of the department of folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in Canada. "It was a lot of fun."
Most months have just one full moon, because the 29.5-day cycle of the moon matches up pretty well with the length of calendar months. Occasionally, there will be two full moons in a month, something that happens about every 2½ years, NASA says.
But a blue moon on December 31 is rare.
Elvis Presley crooned about it when he sang the old Rodgers and Hart song "Blue Moon," in which he stood alone without a dream in his heart or a love of his own.
He struck a more hopeful tone in another tune, singing about his love returning to his arms "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again." He also covered Bill Monroe's bluegrass classic, "Blue Moon of Kentucky."
It is possible for the moon to have a cerulean hue, NASA says, but that's sometimes caused by fine dirt circulating in the Earth's atmosphere or the dark blue tone of the sky.
A blue moon hasn't always meant the second full moon in a month. Hundreds of years ago, it simply meant "never" or "absurd," Hiscock said.
"The phrase 'blue moon' has been around a long time, well over 400 years, but during that time its meaning has shifted," he said. "I have counted six different meanings which have been carried by the term, and at least four of them are still current today. That makes discussion of the term a little complicated."
When the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883, it put so much dust in the atmosphere that the moon actually appeared blue -- an event so unusual that the term "once in a blue moon" was coined, according to NASA's National Space Science Data Center. The effect lasted for almost two years, Hiscock said.
Full moons used to have 12 names, one for each month, such as "harvest moon," NASA said. The term "blue moon" referred to the 13th full moon in a year.
The term acquired its current meaning in the 1940s, after the Farmer's Almanac of Maine offered an astronomical definition of a blue moon "so convoluted that even professional astronomers struggled to understand it," NASA wrote on its Web site.
A writer at Sky and Telescope magazine in the late 1940s tried to explain the almanac's definition by saying it referred to the second full moon in a month.
"That was not correct, but at least it could be understood," NASA wrote. "And thus the modern blue moon was born."
Now, I don't know who owns this small strip of stores and I don't really care. I do not know who works in any of these businesses. But what I DO know is that all of you are a bunch of creeps and uncaring citizens of the United States of America to allow the flag of this country to become this raveled and torn. Not to mention the fact that you don't appreciate where you live to even look at it to see if it is there or to care about it's condition! Shame on everyone of you. I have never shopped or stopped into either of those businesses and don't care to now at all.
If anyone knows who owns this area please let me know so that I may contact them to have it removed! As far as I am concerned if you don't care about the shape of your flag you can't possibly care about too much of anything.
