Trick-Or-Treating

Parades are planned, costumes have been picked out, pumpkins are carved and children can't wait to head out in search of candy.

This year, different towns are clustering trick-or-treating events for both Saturday night and Sunday, which is Halloween proper.

The Pocomoke City Police Department is scheduled to hold a candy safety checkpoint from 5-7 p.m. at police headquarters on Second Street, as well as having 10 officers on patrol throughout the town.

"We run a scanner over the candy to make sure there isn't any metal or anything else in there," said Angel Thornes of the PCPD. "Of course, we also tell them to throw away anything opened or damaged."

The Delmarva Discovery Center is scheduled to host a Halloween-themed family fund day on Oct. 30 from 12-4 p.m.

Games, crafts, prizes and creepy critters will be featured at the event, in addition to a costume contest at 2 p.m. Admittance will be $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and one child will get in free with the paid admission of an adult.

Snow Hill will celebrate Halloween from 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 30, as well as a candy bag scanning at the police station on Green Street between 7:30 and 8:15 p.m., free of charge.

Children 12 years or younger may trick-or-treat with their parents in costume. But officials say no masks or costumes should disguise anyone older than 12, unless they are with children making Halloween visits.

Washington Street, between Federal Street and Belt Street, will be closed from 5-8 p.m. to ensure safety of those out in that area.

"The police have arranged with public works to have additional lighting at certain intersections throughout town," said Trish Greene, assistant to the town manager for Snow Hill. "There will also be extra officers on patrol."

In Berlin, police are encouraging people to trick-or-treat on Sunday, Oct. 31, from 5-7 p.m. Police will be available to scan children's candy at Berlin Town Hall, 10 Williams St., until 8 p.m. The Worcester County Youth and Family Counseling Services will be hosting a "Haunted Hallway" at their 124 N. Main St., office during trick-or-treat time.

www.worcestercountytimes.com

Stolen Laptop Could Cause Problems For Residents Forever !!

ACCOMAC -- At least two Northampton County residents received letters from Accomack County notifying them their personal information may have been subject to unauthorized access as a result of the theft of a county-owned laptop in Las Vegas earlier this month.

The two men, who are related, do not own personal property in Accomack County and have never paid personal property taxes to Accomack County, one said.

Accomack County Administrator Steve Miner said he has spoken to one other Northampton resident who also received a letter, and he thinks there were others.

"I saw the article in the Eastern Shore News, and I was thinking, 'Oh, those poor people in Accomack County,' " said Craig Richardson, who lives near Seaview in lower Northampton County and whose mailing address is in Cape Charles.

Then he received one of about 35,000 letters sent by Accomack County informing him that his name and driver's license number were on the stolen laptop. He called Accomack County the same day to ask why.

"I couldn't get a straight answer from them as to why they have this," said Richardson, who moved to Northampton County about five years ago from Fairfax. His father, Robert C. Richardson, a Northampton County native, also received a letter.

Someone in the Accomack County Attorney's Office took his phone call and after checking with an information technology employee told Richardson the county got the information from the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Richardson said when he moved to the Eastern Shore he went to the DMV office in Onancock, in Accomack County, to register his two vehicles, but his registrations correctly stated the vehicles are located in Northampton County and he has never received a tax bill from Accomack County. His neighbor, who has never used the Onancock DMV office, did not get a letter from Accomack.

"That's what made me think, anybody from Northampton County who has ever gone up to that office in Onancock, they've got your records," he said.

DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes said it should not matter to which office an owner goes to register his vehicle. She said she was unfamiliar with the issue of Accomack County having information about Northampton residents.

"We weren't asked to look at this ... DMV was just told what the data was; we did not look at it," she said about discussions held between the agency and Accomack County officials about the theft.

Miner said Monday in an e-mail that the county "is working with the state DMV to understand this list better."

Miner said the county has received a number of calls from people who received a letter "and had no apparent reason to be on our list, since they have not ever lived here and, hence, had no reason to be taxed by us."

But he said the county's priority was to notify those potentially affected by the theft, whether they were properly on the list or not.

www.delmarvanow.com

This does not surprise me in the least! Keep those toll free telephone numbers nearby. You're going to need them for a long, long time. I made a phone call to the Accomack office to ask some questions and was told in so many words that calling the fraud hotline would be something the citizens would need to do every 92 days. Why every 92 days??....... so we don't have to pay for the service!

Mistake Or Political Move ?

WMDT TV 47 News
by Ryan Hughes
WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. - The race for Worcester County State's Attorney has been pushed into the spotlight.

State's Attorney Joel Todd is running for re-election and is seen in pictures with community leaders. The problem, officials say they're misleading. "You're sending out a piece to the voters that says look at these community leaders that support me, and he didn't have their permission to do it," said Lee McClaflin, Chairman of the Worcester County Republican Central Committee.

County Commissioner Bud Church is one of them. Now, officials say Todd committed a breach of trust. "He shouldn't have tried to draw other people in and use other people's political capital for his gain," said McClaflin."He had nothing to do with the final approval, he never saw it, he's busy doing his job," said Anita Todd, who designed the mailers.

Anita is Todd's wife and says she is the one responsible. She was balancing four other projects, and the final result stems from multi-tasking. "All the verbiage was the same on all of them, but I did need to make some changes with photos and I did forget to do that," said Anita.

Anita takes full responsibility and says the wording was intended to say Todd with community leaders, not community leaders support Joel Todd. Now, she hopes her mistake does not cost her husband the election. Todd himself declined to comment on the situation.

www.wmdt.com

Halloween is Coming

A cabbie picks up a Nun in San Francisco. She gets into the cab, and notices that the VERY handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her.

She asks him why he is staring. He replies: 'I have a question to ask, but I don't want to offend you.'

She answers, 'My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. 

I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive.'

'Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me.'   

She responds, 'Well, let's see what we can do about that: 

#1, you have to be single and 

#2, you must be Catholic.'

The cab driver is very excited and says, 'Yes, I'm single and Catholic!'

'OK' the nun says. 'Pull into the next alley.'
The nun fulfills his fantasy with a kiss that would make a hooker blush.

But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.

'My dear child,' said the nun, 'Why are you crying?'

'Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I must confess; I'm married and I'm Jewish.'

The nun says, 'That's OK. My name is Kevin and I'm going to a Halloween party.'

Hat Tip; Kack

Press Conference Held Concerning Mailed Election Flyers

Worcester County Times
By Jennifer Shutt

BERLIN — Worcester Republicans say they’re upset with State’s Attorney Joel Todd for sending out campaign materials falsely implying he’d gotten endorsements from key figures in their party.
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Lee McClaflin, chairman of the Worcester County Republican Central Committee, held a press conference Wednesday to draw attention to recent election mailers, sent by Todd’s campaign, which showed him pictured with several people under the heading “Community Leaders Support Joel Todd.”

Many of the people on the mailers were not aware they were on it, McClaflin said, and do not endorse Todd as a candidate for re-election. Todd, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican candidate Beau Oglesby.

“We are not saying, because they didn’t want to be on campaign materials, that they do not support Todd; nor are we saying that means they endorse Beau Olgesby,” said McClaflin. “We are saying it was unethical to use names and pictures in a political mailer without their permission.”

Anita Todd, Joel Todd’s wife and his campaign manager, said she is responsible for the mailer. Joel Todd never saw or approved a final draft of the flyer, she said in an interview.

“I screwed up, and should not have had those four photos under the word ‘support,’” says Anita Todd. “There was no malicious intent, no intent to misrepresent.”

Four different versions of the mailers were sent out to different parts of the county. Several prominent people from each region are featured on the mailers, including Pines police chief David Massey, Worcester County Sheriff Charles Martin, Circuit Court Clerk Stephen Hales, County Commissioner Louise Gulyas, County Commissioner Bud Church and Pocomoke City police chief J.D. Ervin.

"I don’t endorse anybody but myself,” said Gulyas, in an interview. “It’s over and done with, and it really doesn’t bother me.”

www.worcestercountytimes.com

News You Might Be Able To Use For Election Day

OCEAN CITY -- Candidates for Worcester County's sheriff and state's attorney had a chance to spar before voters this week, one of the last chances to make their views and policy positions known before Election Day.

At the forum featuring 18 candidates and incumbents, State's Attorney Joel Todd defended himself from questions about photos that appeared on campaign mailers sent to voters county-wide.

"How do you ethically justify using pictures and names as if they support you in your political mailers without that person's knowledge or without their consent?" asked Lee McClafflin, chairman of the Worcester County Republican Central Committee.

"Somehow, in the haste to get that to the press, the wrong draft was sent to the printer. It was an honest mistake, nothing more," said Todd.

Todd, a Democrat, also said there were several people pictured on the mailer who did endorse him. The photo caption was supposed to say "Joel Todd with community leaders" but appeared as "community leaders support Joel Todd," he said.

Todd and Republican opponent Beau Oglesby, Deputy State's Attorney for Caroline County, traded barbs for an audience of about 50 at American Legion Post 166.

Todd, 55, touted his prosecution of three dozen murder trials and 25 years experience."Change for the sake of change is not good," he said. "The question is, how do you tell whether it's time for a change or not? I would indicate to look at the record."

Oglesby said his 14 years of experience as a prosecutor in Caroline, Dorchester and Wicomico counties has taught him the ways a state's attorney's job should, and should not, be done.

"Just because someone has done something for a very long time does not mean that it's being done the best way, and it does not means it's being done by the best person," Oglesby said. "I have a more well-rounded perspective of looking at the office."

Oglesby, 41, also touted endorsements from several Lower Shore fraternal orders of police.

"I promise you, my endorsements are genuine, and there are people who stand behind them," he said. "I suggest to you those endorsements speak volumes."

Candidates for Worcester County Sheriff also spoke. Sheriff Chuck Martin will not be seeking re-election.

Democratic candidate Bobby Brittingham, 52, a retired Worcester sheriff's deputy, said he wanted to be "proactive, not reactive" in the office.

He said he would make the issue of bullying in schools a priority for law enforcement, and would work with state and federal agencies to ensure drug dealers aren't living in publicly subsidized housing.

"Our schools and our children are suffering," he said. "They're suffering from bullying by their peers to deal drugs, to commit crimes."

Republican candidate Reggie Mason, 65, now the chief deputy for the Sheriff's Office, said his office recently formed a partnership with law enforcement in Virginia that has already yielded several significant drug busts.

"It's all about teamwork," he said. "It's not about one individual agency. We're going pull together our resources, and we're going to work hard to continue to make Worcester County safe for all."

www.delmarvanow.com

Trick Or Treat Time At MIDWAY

To all community businesses!! Help these trick or treaters have a safe and fun filled Halloween. Call Midway today and help sponsor a 'trick-or-treat trunk' !! I'm sure they'd love to have any Pocomoke organization fill a trunk also. Give them a call........

POCOMOKE CITY, Md. -- Midway of Pocomoke City, Md., will be hosting its second annual Trunk or Treat on Saturday, Oct. 30, providing a safe place for all children to trick or treat.

Vehicles will be arranged to allow children to trick or treat from trunk to trunk and receive candies and goodies. Refreshments will be served and games will be played. A costume contest will be held every hour. Trick or treat bags will be provided with additional goodies inside.

To make the event a success, Midway is requesting the help of community businesses.

Any business can sponsor a trunk by decorating the trunk, providing candy for up to 750 kids and having personnel to man the trunk during the event from 1-4 p.m.

For more information, contact Talia McCleish or Andy Linton at 410-957-2222.

Another Pity Party For A Suspected Murderer??

Florida teen Jennifer Mee, now charged with murder, is gullible and easily manipulated, and she underwent a radical change after her inability to stop hiccuping turned her into a mini-celebrity, friends and family members say.

Three years ago, the then 15-year-old Mee developed hiccups that came 50 times a minute, causing her to miss school. Dubbed "Hiccup Girl," she tried many remedies, including medication, hypnosis and acupuncture -- all without success -- until the hiccups went away, on their own, after five weeks.

"We knew her before and during the hiccups," Kelly Cook, Mee's friend and former legal guardian, told AOL News. "I think she was mentally exhausted because of some things that were going on, [and] I feel that is how her body reacted. We took out of town one weekend and everything was fine, then all of a sudden they started to come out again.

"I don't think she was necessarily faking. ... [And] I don't know if she kept it going on for the attention, but I know that was the way she was coping with the issues she had."

Now 19, Mee, of St. Petersburg, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the weekend killing of Shannon Griffin. Two others, Laron Raiford, 20, and Lamont Newton, 22, were also charged in the slaying.

Cook says she is torn between sympathy for the victim's family and her belief that Mee lacks the mental capacity of a young woman her age.

"I am a mom, so I look at this as there is a mom out there without a son. But, I also look at this knowing Jennifer and knowing that her mom said that her [mentality] is [that of] a 12- or 13-year-old, [which] is totally true," Cook said.

According to Cook, the problems Mee experienced in connection with her hiccups spilled over into other parts of her life and caused her to have a difficult time in school.

"[She] didn't get to go to class anymore," Cook said. "She would go and sit in a room by herself with one other teacher ... and she did the work on the computer. ... Instead of home-schooling at home, it was inside the school in a classroom by herself. What 16- or 17-year-old wants to be doing that?"

A former classmate and friend of Mee's says she noticed a big change after Mee began receiving national media attention for her ailment, which included appearances on NBC's "Today Show."

"I used to hang out with her before she became the 'Hiccup Girl,'" Kayla Ann Labonte told AOL News. "I was the one [who] was with her the day it started. We had hung out the night before and we were great friends, but than she just drifted away. I guess [she] started to hang with people I did not like."

Mee's mother, Rachel Robidoux, told the "MJ Morning Show" on WFLZ Radio-Tampa on Monday that the hiccups became a "curse" for her daughter. She made similar statements to Tampa Bay Online, saying she noticed a "big change" in her daughter.

When the hiccup ordeal finally ended, Cook says Mee came to live with her for a brief period of time and she attempted to get the girl back on track.

"[We] tried to help," Cook said. "My sister and I were put down as legal guardians so she could go to school, [but] she wasn't going, so we called the school and took [ourselves] off as her legal guardians. You can go to jail if your kid is not going to school, ... so we told her she couldn't live with us. I feel bad because I wish I could have done more, but I have my own kids and they came first."

Cook believes Mee is naive and easily swayed to do what people ask of her.

"She would probably do anything a boy told her to do and not even ask questions," Cook said. "Even if I told her to do something, she may not ask questions. She may not even understand what I was saying but she would probably still do it."

Mee's father, Chris Robidoux, also told Tampa Bay Online that his daughter is easily manipulated. "She is not very intelligent [and] she is easily duped," Robidoux said.

Speaking on NBC's "Today Show" today, Maj. Mike Kovacsev of the St. Petersburg police said Mee had lured Griffin to a home, where the two other suspects robbed him at gunpoint. Griffin, 22, was killed during a struggle. "She ultimately admitted that she met the victim at a social networking site and ultimately made several phone calls back and forth and had him come down and meet her," Kovacsev said. "When he arrived at that location, she brought him to the rear of the residence where the other two individuals were waiting at that time. There was supposed to be a robbery, [but] obviously it went awry and our victim in this case was shot."

Kovacsev did not identify the social networking website that Mee had used but did say that it was not Facebook or MySpace, where Mee reportedly has two online profiles.

In her now-defunct MySpace profile, Mee described herself as a Christian from "St. Pistol," Florida.

"My name is Jennifer, I'm almost 19 but don't let the age fool you, the struggles I've been through has made me grown up so much," Mee wrote in the "about me" section. "I'm always havin fun chillin or vibbin to some Gucci. I'm a down a-- chick and all the others will never compare so don't try me like I'm the next hoe. I've lived in Florida for a while now but my heart is still in Vermont? I'm trying to better myself and just move on in life."

Mee's Facebook profile has not been updated since late last month. In it, she discusses partying and, on one occasion, going to a strip club.

"You can tell by looking at her [online profiles] that she is naive, but she is also just a girl who -- from things that happened to her in her past, which I assume will come out in the trial -- has an extreme need for men [and] attention," Cook said. Cook did not elaborate on those past experiences.

Labonte also believes Mee is easily influenced and said she would do whatever she thought was "cool."

"I think she just did it so she could make whoever happy," Labonte said. "She kinda was anything someone wanted. She tried to do for them [and] she didn't think for herself much."

According to Kovacsev, Mee lived a transient lifestyle before her arrest, moving from one location to another. Cook says Mee was able to support herself with Social Security checks that she received.

"I don't know [what it was for] but she had Social Security," Cook said on "Today." "She did live for a while in one apartment [and] that is when I tried to let her watch my kids again. Then [the landlord] finally evicted them for not paying and then she lived in the motel."

The last time Cook saw Mee was in August, when she went to take the teen out for her birthday.

"We took her out for her birthday and she was living at a motel," Cook said. "I tried asking her, 'Are you sure you don't want to come stay back with us?' Where [she was] staying was not good; ... it was a really seedy part of town. It just wasn't somewhere for her to be."

Mee would occasionally baby-sit for Cook, but all that changed when she went off on her own, Cook said.

"[With] the lifestyle she was living in I couldn't have her watching my kids. I couldn't stand that kind of stuff when it comes to my kids. My kids came home one time and told me stuff about her boyfriend -- stuff that was being said or done in the house while they were there -- [and] that was it. I cut her off. I didn't even call her. I called her mom and told her."

Investigators do not believe Mee was involved in the actual shooting and investigators "have an idea who handled the gun," Kovacsev told "Today."

Although police do not believe Mee was involved in the actual shooting, she is accused of being an accessory to a robbery that resulted in a death, which under Florida law, means she faces a murder charge. If convicted, she faces a possible sentence of life in prison, police said.

Kovacsev acknowledged it is possible Mee's attorney will blame her alleged involvement in the case on attention she received as the "Hiccup Girl." Kovacsev also said it is possible her lifestyle could be used by the defense.

Mee's attorney, John Trevena, has since told The Associated Press he might use Tourette's syndrome as part of his defense.

"Hiccups are a symptom of Tourette's," Trevena told the AP, declining to elaborate about how the condition might have affected his client's behavior. Trevena also said Mee still suffers from periodic bouts of the hiccups. "They'll always continue," he said.

Mee is being held in a protective confinement wing at the Pinellas County Jail with no bail set.

"I don't want people to think that I think she is an evil person, but ... I also don't want people to think I am defending her actions," Cook said. "I do think her actions were wrong and I think she did cause him to die, but I [also] think she may have been victimized in this."

Cook added: "Crime like this, it happens all the time but nobody seems to care except for now that she is the 'Hiccup Girl.' "

www.aolnews.com

This Weekend At The MarVa Theater

"AMUSICAL EVENING" At The MarVa Theater On Thursday

A Musical Evening with Todd Crosby, Earl Beardsley, Julie Hickman, Dave Dalfonzo and Frank Nana Thursday, October 28th Time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $20

Greetings! Please join us for an evening of music that features broadway show tunes, pop, jazz and blues. A variety of hors d'oeuvres will be included. Beer and wine will be available for purchase at the event. We expect a big crowd, so call 410-957-4230 to purchase or reserve tickets!

TRICK OR TREAT IN POCOMOKE

Trick or Treat

Will be observed in Pocomoke City on

Saturday October 30th

From 5:00pm-7:00pm.

Children 12 and under in costume

RNC'S FIRE PELOSI BUS TOUR

Election Bullying?????

Politics in the Worcester County sheriff's race have been ugly.

My opponent, Reggie Mason, with his staff, has for some time been under investigation by the Maryland Attorney General's Office for violating the Hatch Act, passed in 1939 and redefined in 1993.

It states: No one shall engage in any political activity while on duty, in government office, wearing an official uniform or in the use of a government vehicle.

Photos and other evidence have appeared recently on blogs showing my opponent and uniformed deputies campaigning while on duty. Mason refuses to step forward and explain or defend himself.

Instead, he has sent his henchman to attack me personally. They do not attack my policies on crime, of which my opponent has none. Instead, they call me names. I have had more than $600 worth of campaign signs stolen from the northern part of the county in the last two weeks, which is where my opponents and his henchmen live.

Coincidence?

To anonymous writers who criticize me and not my stance on issues? You are afraid the "good old boy" way of running things are coming to an end.

To my opponent: You hide behind your henchmen and refuse to tell voters where you stand and what you plan to do for them. Why?

To Worcester County voters: Look at your candidates well; see what they will do -- fight for you or hide from you?

Visit www.bobbybritting hamforsheriff.com and vote on Nov. 2.

Bobby Brittingham

Pocomoke City

www.delmarvanow.com

'Tax Increase' Supporters Clarified

There seems to be some confusion and frustration by sincere voters, as expressed in The Daily Times recently, relative to who voted for and who voted against tax increases in Annapolis. Perhaps it would be helpful for me to comment.

In the 2007 special session, I voted against all tax increases. However, in the House of Delegates both Jim Mathias and Norm Conway took a different position and voted for HB 2. The bill contained a 25 percent increase in corporate taxes, an income tax increase, a new recording and transfer tax, and a new "combined reporting" tax on Maryland business.

Though I opposed all tax increases, the "combined reporting" tax was especially egregrious because it would damage our Maryland-based poultry companies. In my opinion, we must maintain a strong, viable poulty industry here on the lower Eastern Shore. It is a foundation of our local economy.

I encourage voters to go online to verify the voting record of all candidates. Though we can respectfully disagree as legislators, voters should know how we voted.

To view this information, go to http://mlis.state.md.us/ 2007s1/votes/house/0033.htm.

Sen. J. Lowell Stoltzfus

Westover

Stoltzfus will retire from the Maryland Senate, District 38, at the end of his current term in January. --Editor

www.delmarvanow.com

What Would You Wear To An Obama Rally????

LOS ANGELES ( KTLA) -- Don't try wearing a Bush hat or sweatshirt at an Obama rally.

Duane Hammond says it's what got him fired.

Hammond is a union stagehand who was part of the crew that built the platform for the Obama event on campus.

He came to work early this morning wearing clothing that says "George H. W. Bush".

Hammond's son is in the Navy, currently serving on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. George H. W. Bush.

Hammond says he was not trying to make a political statement.

He says he got the sweatshirt and hat during a visit to the aircraft carrier on Family Day.
,
The back of his sweatshirt has a large drawing of the ship.

He says he wore it to show how proud he is of his son.

That didn't go over well with his union supervisor.

Hammond says he was told to take off the sweatshirt, or he would have to go home.

He refused. They told him he was fired from the job.

James Wright, a business representative from IATSE Local 33, says the union is still investigating what happened.

"If he was sent home because of the sweatshirt, he will be paid for the day," he said.

www.wtkr.com

Flag That Flew After 911 To Be In Baltimore

BALTIMORE - A flag that flew over the World Trade Center site after 9/11 is coming to Baltimore in tribute to three police officers who've died in the past month.

The United States Honor Flag will be presented to the family of Officer Tommy Portz on Tuesday. Portz died last week when he crashed his police cruiser into a city fire engine that was stopped on a highway.

The flag is controlled by a nonprofit group that transports it around the country to honor police officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty.

In addition to Portz, the flag is intended to honor Detective Brian Stevenson, who was slain earlier this month, and Officer James Fowler, who died last month in a car accident.

www.wtop.com

Saddam Hussein's Aide- Tariq Aziz- Sentenced To Die

Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the best-known face of Saddam Hussein's dictatorial regime, was sentenced to death today for organizing a crackdown on Iraq's Shiite community two decades ago.

Two other top Hussein aides also were sentenced to hang by Baghdad's High Criminal Court.

Aziz, 74, who also served as foreign minister under Hussein, was condemned to the gallows after being found guilty of "liquidating religious parties," according to the National Iraqi News Agency. Also sentenced to hang were former Interior Minister Saadoun Shaker and Abid Hamoud, the executed dictator's secretary.

All three were sentenced for organizing a crackdown on members of Iraq's Shiite majority community following a failed 1991 uprising against Hussein, Agence France-Presse reported. The former ruling Ba'ath party members will be executed after a presidential council has confirmed the sentences.

This is the third time that Aziz -- a member of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Christian community -- has been found guilty of participating in atrocities carried out during the Hussein era. In 2009, he was ordered imprisoned for 15 years for the 1992 execution of 42 Baghdad wholesalers. He also was given a seven-year sentence for his role in expelling Kurds from Iraq's north.

He pleaded not guilty on all counts.
www.aolnews.com

Congressman Nye To Block Closing Of JFCOM Until More Info Is Gathered

Even in the midst of a tough re-election campaign, Congressman Glenn Nye is still working to keep the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk open. JFCOM accounts for 42% of the 2nd District's GDP.

"We've been working together as a Virginia coalition since day one when we found out the Secretary of Defense wanted to close JFCOM," said Nye in an interview. "I've met with Governor McDonnell, Randy Forbes and Bobby Scott and we've united as a team and made pretty good progress pushing back on the issue."

Nye says it is Congress' job to decide whether JFCOM stays open. He also says there have been no studies to show how much money will be saved by closing the command.

"Congress makes decisions about funding the Defense Department and anything they would like to change they have to get funding," explained Nye. "We're not going to allow them to close the command without doing an analysis that shows how it could actually save any money and how we could maintain those important military functions of JFCOM without hurting our military."

According to the most recent poll sponsored by Christopher Newport University, The Virginian-Pilot and 13 News of likely voters, opponent Scott Rigell leads Nye by one half of a percentage point. Other polls have shown Rigell's lead is much greater. Rigell has also said he will fight to keep JFCOM open.
www.shoredailynews.com

High-Alcohol Energy Drink Sickened Students

Oct. 25) -- Four Loko, an alcoholic beverage referred to as "blackout in a can," is the culprit behind several hospitalizations after students at a Central Washington University party overdid it on the potent elixir.

The Oct. 8 house party, which counted around 50 youth -- many of them underage -- ended with nine partygoers being taken to the hospital with symptoms of life-threatening overdose or intoxication.

Police had initially suspected that illegal substances, rather than alcohol, were to blame for the flurry of hospitalizations. All but one of those hospitalized were women, yielding concerns over date-rape drugs.
"Everything was going fine, the music was playing, people were having fun -- and then all of a sudden all the girls were puking everywhere," Katelynn Allen, a student at the party, told KOMO News. "Girls were outside on their backs."

Those girls can thank Four Loko for their infirmity. The drink, which comes in several flavors, is one serious beverage -- and one that invites competitive imbibing sessions.

Trying to consume four of the brews is a popular goal among young drinkers, and one that usually ends early.

With 12 percent alcohol and an added caffeine boost, swilling three Loko beverages is akin to drinking 18 beers, according to estimates from Dr. Mike Reihart, a Pennsylvania doctor.

Indeed, the alcohol content of Four Loko is reflected in the blood alcohol levels of Roslyn, Wash., partygoers. They ranged from 0.12 percent to 0.35 percent.

The Food and Drug Administration is already keeping careful tabs on caffeinated alcoholic beverages like Four Loko. Earlier this year, the agency sent warning letters to several companies and is investigating the risks associated with a caffeine-alcohol combo.

But doctors are already raising a red flag about the precarious combination of caffeine (a stimulant) and alcohol (a depressant).

"When people combine the two, they tend to not feel the alcohol as much since the caffeine is keeping them more alert," Dr. Alissa Rumsey told the New York Daily News. "Yet when the caffeine wears off, then the person feels the full effects of the alcohol."
www.aolnews.com

Maryland Woman Pleads For Husbands Release From Jail In Cuba

Jessica Gresko, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The wife of a Maryland man jailed in Cuba as an alleged spy has written to Cuban President Raul Castro to apologize and plead for his release.

Judy Gross' husband Alan Gross was arrested at the Havana airport in December 2009. At the time, he was working as a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the government office that provides economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide.

"I recognize today that the Cuban government may not like the type of work that Alan was doing in Cuba ... But I want you to know that Alan loves the people of Cuba, and he only wanted to help them. He never intended them, or your government, any harm," Judy Gross wrote in a letter dated Aug. 4 and first reported Sunday by Reuters. "To the extent his work may have offended you or your government, he and I are genuinely remorseful."

Gross, who was able to visit her husband for the first time this summer, wrote that when she returned home she learned that the couple's 26-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

"We need him, and I need him, more now than ever before," she wrote, adding that Gross' release would be viewed "as a wonderful humanitarian gesture on the part of the Cuban people."

She also told Castro that she worried about the health of her husband. He is 61, has lost more than 80 pounds since he was arrested and has developed a problem that may result in permanent paralysis in his right leg, she wrote.

Judy Gross has denied that her husband was a spy. She has said that her husband is a veteran development worker who was helping members of Cuba's Jewish community use the Internet to stay in contact with each other and with similar groups abroad. Communications equipment he brought with him was intended for humanitarian purposes, not for use by Cuba's dissident community, she said.

Gross has not been charged, but senior Cuban leaders have accused him of spying. U.S. diplomats, meanwhile, have insisted Gross was doing nothing wrong. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for Gross' release in June, saying that his continued detention was harming U.S.-Cuba relations.

www.yahoo.com

Political Choice - Cat Or Dog?

John Merline

Opinion Editor

AolNews

Elections are supposed to be about politics and public policy and big issues. And this election has its share of all that, given the stakes.

But elections are also about people -- the kind of people who want to run for federal office. And we at AOL News wanted to get a better sense of just who these people are.

So rather than asking a bunch of boring policy questions, we invited candidates for the House and Senate to answer 10 mostly fun questions. We got a response rate of about 5 percent. And while the results aren't exactly scientifically valid, they are still pretty interesting. Here's one of them:

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

According to the results, 61 percent of Democrats said they are dog people, while 37 percent of Republicans candidates said they prefer canines.

Meanwhile, 26 percent of GOPers identified themselves as cat people, compared with just 5 percent of Dems. (Keep in mind that these are not scientifically valid survey results.)

www.aolnews.com Which Political Party Is Going To The Dogs?

Virus Warning

With Christmas coming up, this could be a real problem. The newest virus circulating is the "UPS/Fed Ex Delivery Failure" virus.   Should you receive an e-mail from UPS/Fed Ex Service along with a packet number. It will say that they were unable to deliver a package sent to you on such-and-such a date. It then asks you to print out the invoice copy attached. DON'T TRY TO PRINT THIS. IT LAUNCHES THE VIRUS! Pass this warning on to all your PC friends at work and home. This virus has caused Millions of dollars in damage in the past few days. Snopes confirms that it is real. http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp

Having a Bad Day?

 The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in Alaska was $80,000.00. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the  wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full  view, a killer whale ate them both.
Still think you are having a Bad Day? A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing  frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank  of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman.
Are Ya OK Now? -  No? Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty      of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn , Germany .    Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence,  stampeding madly. The two helpless protesters were trampled to death.
What? STILL having a Bad Day? Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'Return to Sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb; he opened it and was blown to bits. God is good!

There now, Feeling Better?

Hat Tip; Doon

Don't forget. November 2nd is "Take out the trash day" !!!!!!

The following senators voted against making English the official language of America.
 (Republicans are in BOLD RED)

                              Akaka (D-HI)
                              Bayh (D-IN)
                              Biden (D-DE)
                              Bingaman (D-NM)
                              Boxer (D-CA)
                              Cantwell (D-WA)
                              Clinton (D-NY)
                              Dayton (D-MN)
                              Dodd (D-CT)
                              Domenici (R-NM)
                              Durbin (D-IL)
                              Feingold (D-WI)
                              Feinstein (D-CA)
                              Harkin (D-IA)
                              Inouye (D-HI)
                              Jeffords (I-VT)
                              Kennedy (D-MA)
                              Kerry (D-MA)
                              Kohl (D-WI)
                              Lautenberg (D-NJ)
                              Leahy (D-VT)
                              Levin (D-MI)
                              Lieberman (D-CT)
                              Menendez (D-NJ)
                              Mikulski (D-MD)
                              Murray (D-WA)
                              Obama (D-IL)
                              Reed (D-RI)
                              Reid (D-NV)
                              Salazar (D-CO)
                              Sarbanes (D-MD)
                              Schumer (D-NY)
                              Stabenow (D-MI)
                              Wyden (D-OR)

Now, the  following  are the senators who voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits.   They are grouped by home state.  If a state is not listed, there was no voting representative.      

Notice how our both our current president and vice-president voted for this!

 Alaska :              Stevens (R)
Arizona :               McCain (R)
Arkansas :            Lincoln (D)          Pryor (D)
California :           Boxer (D)             Feinstein (D)
Colorado :                     Salazar (D)
Connecticut :       Dodd (D)                       Lieberman (D)
Delaware :           Biden (D)             Carper (D)
Florida :               Martinez (R)
Hawaii :               Akaka (D)             Inouye (D)
Illinois :                Durbin (D)           Obama (D)
Indiana:               Bayh (D)              Lugar (R)
Iowa:                    Harkin (D)
Kansas:               Brownback (R)
Louisiana:            Landrieu (D)
Maryland:            Mikulski (D)         Sarbanes (D)
Massachusetts:   Kennedy (D)        Kerry (D)
Montana:             Baucus (D)
Nebraska:            Hagel (R)
Nevada:               Reid (D)
New Jersey:                  Lautenberg (D)      Menendez (D)
New Mexico:       Bingaman (D)
New York:            Clinton (D)            Schumer (D)
North Dakota :     Dorgan (D)
Ohio :                   DeWine (R)           Voinovich(R)
Oregon :              Wyden (D)
Pennsylvania :     Specter (D)
Rhode Island :     Chafee (R)           Reed (D)
South Carolina :            Graham (R)
South Dakota :              Johnson (D)
Vermont :             Jeffords (I)           Leahy (D)
Washington :       Cantwell (D)          Murray (D)
West Virginia :    Rockefeller (D) by Not VotingWisconsin :                   Feingold (D)          Kohl (D)

The entire population of the United States needs to know this information….unless they don’t mind sharing their social security with foreign workers who didn’t pay a dime into it!