Republicans Just Cost Me $1000 A Year!

They cost you too…

The drop in payroll tax from 6.2% to 4.2% results in a savings of about $1000 a year to every wage earner.

(If truth were widely known, that tax cut is actually a bad idea. It hemorrhages a dying social security fund, requiring the eventual death of the program or an expensive emergency last ditch surgery in the future.)

But it is hard not to give a $1000 present to every voter. Even if it only comes out as $19 dollars and change each week… But, still again, if your electric bill is $198 and you only have $189 in your account, that additional amount is, well, a lifesaver…..

But, Republicans in the House, even after Republicans in the Senate voted passage, overwhelmingly voted….. not to vote on the measure…

They didn’t vote against it… THEY VOTED NOT TO VOTE ON IT……
(speculation is that they lacked the votes to keep it from passing)..

So, how does that relate to you?

House Republicans (read Tea Party) just voted NOT TO VOTE on whether or not you will be losing an extra $20 a month out of your next paycheck.

Imagine what this is doing to payroll clerks around the country?
Imagine what this is doing to family budgets around the country?
Imagine what this is doing to businesses who rely on consumer spending around the country?
Imagine what this is doing to businesses heavily involved in the financial sector, around this country?

So what would normally happen?

Normally a group that can’t find agreement, acknowledges the sad fact, and long before the deadline, announces that they failed to reach agreement and that things would continue as they were on a temporary basis, to unfortunately allow for more time to solve differences.

But NOOOOOOOOOOOO, …. WE ARE STUCK WITH A TEA PARTY THAT FUCKS THINGS UP.

Instead, we have a vote not-to-vote, then get all sorts of very lame excuses from those who are delaying, none of which apply to the real problem that Social Security is doomed unless drastic action gets taken (higher rates, not lower), and we get nothing….

The tax cut will expire…

It is like sequestering a jury in a room, where everyone after much fact-covering argument has agreed to a judgment, except for one person who’s been bought off. And nothing, nothing, logic, emotional appeal, bullying, snuggling up to, befriending, produces any change. And you go years, every working day, to the same court house, the same jury room, they same chair at the same table, hear the same arguments, hoping against all odds, that today, he will see the light and switch. You go the next day.

That is today’s Congress. Held hostage by Tea Party Republicans who live in a dream world untouched by the reality of living under $185,000 a year. Like that bought-out juror, every day, they hold up progress with the unjustified belief that, if they wait long enough, the other 11 jurors will give up and sway over to the sole juror’s way….

Two things can happen… 1) return to the public and announce a hung jury, and do a complete retrial.. or 2) sneak up to that one juror, put a gun to his head, say nothing, pull the trigger, clean up the mess, dispose of the body, then go out to the public and announce what the 11 of you have decided…..

One is the nice way, sanctioned to due process of law. The other is the American Way.

It’s time to initiate the kavipsian policy of expression or what is otherwise known as “Show Us How You Really Feel”… Who knows? It could become the next great movement? The next time someone you know (or don’t), says anything about how millionaires should keep their tax cuts and the poor should pay, nod your head in agreement, smile a little bit, then hit them as hard as you can in their mouth, I mean as hard as you can! Put them flat on the ground holding their jaw… Then loudly say, “Don’t every talk that stupid way to me again!” Who knows, if 99% or all 303,930,000 would respond that way to our fellow congressional delegates, and the other 3.9 million of their like who advocate such madness, we might actually get the very progress we need, not because of intimidation, but because such policy is right….

For those who argue expression of violence is un-American, I’ll remind them that tonight, is John Wayne Night on AMC: view it!… I argue that such action is VERY American and perhaps it has been the lack of such spontaneous expressions of frustration from working American people, that has caused the logjam where nothing gets done because of one holdout, who thinks he can sway the world to his opinion and face no consequences… ….

Practice now, by punching brick walls.

Taxes and The Wealthy

Right click to open full image… Pictograph Courtesy of Viral..

So, can someone tell me again, why we shouldn’t tax the rich, and instead, balance the budget on the backs of everyone else?…….

I seem to be missing that little detail where that all makes sense……

Silence on the Edge of Night…….

A very good blog in Delaware that usually covers politics from the center (well perhaps to the right of center), is strangely silent on the debt crises now undergoing national, even international scrutiny.

Their last statement was a guest post by Urquahart, on charging ahead with default.

The comments at the bottom of that article aren’t too kind to the Republican party…

Sometimes you can more find truth in what is NOT BEING SAID, than you can in what IS being said.

Apparently there is no one defending the Republican position on the debt ceiling crises. Especially among Republicans.

It is 4 days since the Republicans walked out of talks with Obama and the stock market dropped 2%.. Already $2.4 Trillion Dollars have disappeared globally, stemming from reports that the Republican Tea Party will disrupt the forging of a compromise, forcing the US to default.

While I’ve put up 13 posts regarding the deficit calamity, hmmm, I wonder what the other side has been saying. let’s see what the Republican leaning blog Delaware Politics has had to say……

A Heat Advisory For Friday…

Kevin Wade Fields Fair Tax Questions on the Angel Clark Show

Do You Approve of GOD’s Job Performance?

Atheists Attempt to Bully NY 9/11 Memorial Committee

Kevin Wade vs. Tom Carper?

Another Democrat Scandal

90 days

An Appeal To Our Guest

Ways and Means Server Overloaded

These are all good writings and I certainly do not wish to knock anyone at this site, but I find it remarkably strange that there is zero, nothing, nada, zappo, zed, of anything that has kept the rest of America up at night…..

Don’t you think it odd that not one word, not one post, not one mention of the debt ceiling crises ever since it has become apparent that maybe the Tea Party led by Eric Cantor is really off their rockers, and is definitely attempting to destroy the United States by forcing us into default?

It stinks a lot of like someone one asking their spouse, “…. have you been out seeing someone else?”

Silence………………………………………….

Battle of the Giants…

Having recently seen the Harry Potter movie, it is scary. Ever since watching…. I now see giants everywhere. Before when I looked, I never knew they were there…

Two giants will be doing battle here in Delaware… (The recession is finally paying off for our little state.)

Papers were filed with the ITC (International Trade Commission) by the South Korean giant Samsung LED against a division of another giant this time from Germany, Siemens….. over 8 patient infringements.

Samsung LED also said it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware to seek damages and a permanent injunction to bar Siemen’s subsidary, Osram’s alleged patent infringement from entering this country.

At stake is the financial future of these two companies. One will win, and the other for lack of a better word, will be vanquished.

Since Siemens actually has a plant in Delaware, next to the Glasgow Park off Route 40 and 896, I’m putting my bets on that giant…. if they get hurt, it will cost jobs.

Hotels, restaurants, transportation companies all stand to be a little busier as this gigantic fight, gets under way…. It would be helpful to practice on the Korean and German dialects now, before the event gets under way…

Sprechen sie deutsch?

니미럴 개자식 ….

It should be an interesting fight.

Religion Grows In Sussex County; It’s Just Not the Religion Our Backwood’s Preachers Envisioned

The story goes that Warren Buffet, rather worried about his investments early 2008, wanted to talk to God… God told him to use his phone and he’d send him the bill… He got and paid the $333 million dollar charge. His investments flourished, too… That would be the end of the story, except he was down in Sussex County recently, following up first hand on a corporate case being processed out of Georgetown… once again, he asked God for the right to call, and agreed to accept the charges… When he got his bill, he was fuming… He was only charged 25 cents… “God”, he said, “you ripped me off on that first call, big time!”… God said, “Warren, don’t you get it? In Sussex County, that’s a local call…”

Local call or not, Sussex County is weighing in on whether to say a prayer before County meetings or to not… Here are a few takes on that policy: one, two, three, four……

As someone who grew up where prayers were always said before football games and county meetings, it isn’t a big deal…… That is, as long as everyone agrees it isn’t a big deal. You don’t see prayers before meetings conducted in New York.

Not because New Yorkers are heathens, but because in New York, you have a multiplicity of religions, so praying a prayer from one of them, is a slap in the face for all others…

Why it’s even an issue in Sussex County is because the Positive Growth Alliance, has been building condo’s like ants, and lots of people who did not grow up in Sussex County, now live there. Many have different ideas of religion than those who’ve always been there all their lives…

If everyone believe in the same version of God as does David Anderson, then of course, duh, why are we even arguing about it… Of course we’re going to pray to God to guide us through this meeting.. That’s what He’s for!

Suddenly, thanks to Rich Collins and the Positive Growth Alliance, we have tons of people who do object to having David Anderson’s version of God, one who dislikes Homosexuals, and one who casts pox on Democrats, one who believes married people should have sex only when they have children, one who believes sex between animals is immoral, one who believes taxes are caused by the devil, one who believes that nature was made to bulldoze and pave with a combination of petroleum and gravel. … one who believes that oil companies have the divine right to pollute oceans, one who believes that animals were made for us to kill. … one who believes a national religious holiday should fall on the first day of deer season.. one who believes pick up trucks and baseball caps are proof that homosexuality is a sin,… on who believes killing someone with a gun is not a sin, but taking that gun away for the safety of others is…

(yes, I’m having fun and talking tongue in cheek)…

The point I’m making is that Sussex County is changing; and it is changing mostly thanks to Rich Collins and the Positive Growth Alliance.

Can you make new citizens join the current religion? If so, then by all means, just like the days of old, they will see no qualms in having a tiny prayer before the meeting.

But if they don’t want to join that religion, then, to force one group of religious people to impose their prayers on others, is not American…In fact, it’s kinda creepy…

If in an effort to show fairness, the Sussex County decided they would do prayers from all religions in alphabetical order, when they came to “B” and hit Buddahism, giving an Buddahist prayer before the session, most of those in the audience would be saying WTF! This is our nation, why do we have to listen to such crap…

Which is… exactly what those Buddahists think, who have opened a business in Millsboro, and have come before the county to ask for a variance on something or other that is in their antiqued code….

So… If it is unnatural for a Baptist to suffer a Buddahist prayer, it is equally unnatural for a Buddahist to sit through a Baptist prayer…

It’s not about one religion being right and the other wrong. It’s about who the citizens are that make up Sussex County. If you want to blame anyone over this controversy, the blame solely lies with those who built up Sussex County and brought in all these new people to begin with… Now that they are here, we have to make Sussex County as fair to them as New York, is fair to us, when we take our business up there……

Positive Growth, huh? Depends on your version of positive I guess………….

Reasons Why GE Should Build in Delaware

1. Proximity to one of the top research Universities in the country..

2. Well trained work force, ex Chrysler, GM, DuPont, Siemens,

3. Good relations between unions and management at all Delaware companies.

4. Proximity to Dupont Headquarters.

5. Delaware’s Corporate Legal System.

6. Delaware’s own underutilized and “cheap” access port for import and export ocean traffic .

7. Close proximity to the moneyed and power towns of Washington, New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, which is good for investor relations.

8. Nearby beach as incentive to draw top engineers from around the nation.

9. Soon to be built, cheap offshore wind power, which will help to moderate utility costs against the ever rising price of coal and natural gas.

10. By getting foot in Delaware’s door, GE could have an inside track at building and installing their top rated turbines off Delaware’s shores…

GE is looking for somewhere to build a new solar plant... Not one requiring tons of sun, but a place to manufacture the thin film necessary for the exchange of electrons necessary to make electricity. Driving down the cost of this film, will drive down the cost of solar electricity.. The lower the cost, the more it will be used, meaning less coal will be burned….

Lower Delaware is the best place in the nation for it.

.. and thanks Nancy for bringing this to our attention…. 🙂

Stupid Is As Stupid Does…

Those of you listening to yesterday’s (July 14th) WDEL Rick Jensen hour hosted by Delaware Libertarian Tyler Nixon, heard an incoming call from a caller who tried to poo poo global warming.

There are also some out there who think the world was created in six times twenty-four hours.

Obviously the only people foolish enough to call in on a talk show to publicly argue that global warming is a non occurrence, even citing Mar’s ice cap reversal as evidence, are paid lobbyists for the carbon fuel industry. In that regards, the probable caller was either:

Steven Baccino………………………………………….Delmarva Power a PHI Company
P.O. Box 9239………………………………………………………………..P.O. Box 9239
Newark , DE 19714…………………………………………………….Newark , DE 19714

Robert L. Byrd ………………………………………………..PSEG Services Corporation
The Byrd Group LLC …………………………………………………………80 Park Plaza
Wilmington Trust Center,……………………………………………………………..T-4C
1100 North Market St., .Suite 1000…………………………………Newark , NJ 07102
Wilmington , DE 19801-1254

Gerard Esposito…………………………………………………….TIDEWATER UTILITIES
1100 S. Little Creek Rd……………………………………………1100 S. Little Creek Rd.
Dover , DE 19901 ………………………………………………………. Dover , DE 19901

Edward J. Hazzouri ……………………………………………………………..Sunoco, Inc.
Cozen O’Connor Government Affairs, LLC……………………………………8 Hunt Circle
1900 Market Street …………………………………………………Middletown, DE 19709
Philadelphia , PA 19103

Michael Houghton, Esq………………………………………………………..NRG Energy Inc.
Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP……………………………….167 Stonepost Road
P.O. Box 1347………………………………………………………….Glastonbury , CT 06033
Wilmington , DE 198991347

Cristofer Scott Kidner …………………………………….. Delmarva Power & Light Co.
3 Shinnecock Road………………………………………….401 Eagle Run Road
Dover , DE 19904……………………………………………………………Newark , DE 19702

David L. Press ……………………………………………………………..Shell Oil Company
31 Belmont Dr…………………………………………………………1100 Louisiana St. Hockessin, DE, 19707…………………………………………………….Houston, TX 77002

Rhett Ruggerio ………………………………………………………NRG Energy Incorporated
Rhett Ruggerio Government Relations, LLC …………………………………P.O. Box 1001
2602 W. 19th St. …………………………………………………………….1866 River Road
Wilmington , DE 19806 ………………………………………………..Middletown, CT 06457
……………………………………………….. Valero Energy Corporation
……………………………………………………4550 Wrangle Hill Road
………………………………………………………………Delaware City

W. Laird Stabler, III……………………………………………………….Constellation Energy
Laird Stabler & Associates LLC …………………………………..810 Seventh Avenue
P.O. Box 523 ……………………………………………………………………………Suite 400
Montchanin , DE 19710 ………………………………………………….New York, NY 10019

………………….INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP. OF DELAWARE
…………………………………………………..505 S. Market Street
………………………………………………… Wilmington , DE 19801

………………………………………………..NRG Energy Incorporated
……………………………………………………………..P.O. Box 1001
…………………………………………………………..1866 River Road
………………………………………………….. Middletown , CT 06457

David S. Swayze …………………………………….CHESAPEAKE UTILITIES CORPORATION
Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze ………………………………………………P.O. Box 615
800 King Street – Suite 203………………………………………………… Dover , DE 19903
Wilmington , DE 19801

William T. Wood, Jr………………..MID-ATLANTIC PROPANE DEALERS c/o Schagrin Gas
Wood & Associates, Inc…………………………………………1000 N. Broad Street
1201 Orange Street …………………………………………….. Middletown , DE 19709 Wilmington , DE 19801

Only one of these paid professionals would be silly enough to prove that maxim true, as was once uttered by Forrest Gump….

“Stupid is, as stupid does……”

MINNER’S VERSION OF “LIVABLE DELAWARE

Executive Order No. 14 Regarding Gov. Minner’s “Livable Delaware” Agenda

WHEREAS, Delaware has a well deserved reputation as an ideal place to live, work, raise a family, and enjoy recreational activities;

WHEREAS, our natural resources, sound economy, opportunities for personal and business success, and overall quality of life will add almost 190,000 additional Delawareans by the year 2020, a growth rate faster than any northeastern state;

WHEREAS, Delawareans are concerned that the quality of place in our state is threatened by sprawl, traffic congestion, loss of farmland and open space, diminished air and water quality, and a shortage of affordable housing;

WHEREAS, residential, transportation and employment patterns can have direct impacts on the means by which we move about the State and attainment of Delaware’s air quality goals and the protection of public health;

WHEREAS, haphazard sprawl and unplanned growth create an inefficient demand for public infrastructure, services and facilities that all Delaware taxpayers must finance, no matter where they live;

WHEREAS, the Cabinet Committee on State Planning Issues has undertaken an extensive process of analyzing long term growth trends, soliciting public opinion, and considering the implications of expected growth throughout the State over the next 25 years, and has approved a comprehensive set of goals and strategies set forth in “Shaping Delaware’s Future: Managing Growth in 21st Century Delaware, Strategies for State Policies and Spending” to guide Delaware’s overall development and to ensure efficient, rational and cost-effective investments in necessary infrastructure;

WHEREAS, those development goals are restated herein:

Direct investment and future development to existing communities, urban concentrations, and growth areas. Protect important farmlands and critical natural resource areas. Improve housing quality, variety and affordability for all income groups. Ensure objective measurement of long-term community effects of land use policies and infrastructure investments. Streamline regulatory processes and provide flexible incentives and disincentives to encourage development in desired areas. Encourage redevelopment and improve the livability of existing communities and urban areas, and guide new employment into underutilized commercial and industrial sites. Provide high quality employment opportunities for citizens with various skill levels to retain and attract a diverse economic base. Protect the state’s water supplies, open spaces, farmlands and communities by encouraging revitalization of existing water and wastewater systems and the construction of new systems. Promote mobility for people and goods through a balanced system of transportation options. Improve access to educational opportunities, health care and human services for all Delawareans Coordinate public policy planning and decisions among state, counties and municipalities. WHEREAS, these planning goals provide an opportunity to promote sustainability of our economic and ecological growth and will maintain and enhance the qualities that make Delaware a unique place to live;

WHEREAS, the State must provide leadership and set an example by bringing its policies, programs, regulations and expenditures in line with the approved goals and strategies, and must play a major role in encouraging growth in areas that we’ve agreed are appropriate to accept it;

WHEREAS, my State of the State Address of January 25, 2001, calls for the development of “Livable Delaware” principles to keep sprawl in check, reduce traffic congestion, strengthen our towns and cities, improve our environment and protect our significant investment in roads, schools and other infrastructure;

NOW, THEREFORE I, RUTH ANN MINNER, by the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Delaware, hereby declare and order on this 22nd day of March, 2001:

1. As part of Livable Delaware, the Office of State Planning Coordination shall immediately make available to all State departments and agencies a copy of the “Shaping Delaware’s Future” report and the adopted state development goals, along with instructions for preparing the implementation response called for herein;

2. All State departments and agencies shall, no later than August 31, 2001, complete and submit an implementation plan for these development goals and strategies which:

(a) Identifies all Department programs, policies and actions which are impacted by or can be used to support the state development goals and strategies; (b) Identifies administrative, organizational, regulatory, or statutory actions to be taken, including those already taken or underway, to ensure compliance and consistency with the state development goals and strategies;

(c) Identifies existing laws, programs, policies and actions that impede implementation of the development goals and strategies;

(d) Identifies how capital and budget planning will be used to implement the State investment strategies;

(e) Identifies essential legislative actions needed to ensure that state agency authorities and programs are consistent with and support the development goals and strategies;

(f) Sets forth an action plan, schedule for undertaking such actions, and proposes measures to gauge progress toward achieving the State development goals and investment strategies.

3. No later than October 31, 2001, the Cabinet Committee on State Planning Issues shall review and provide comments to the agencies and Office of State Planning Coordination on the implementation responses required in this Executive Order.

D Day in the 41st: Delaware Expects Every Citizen To Do their Duty

Here is my breakdown of tomorrow’s vote. It is an educated guess, no voter or candidate should take it seriously, but I raced to post it before polls opened, so that I could see if I did better tomorrow than on my March Madness Brackets. To my understanding, it is the only pre- election poll conducted in the 41st.

 

 

	Hastings	Bullock	Burton	Write In	Total
01 of 41	399	549	147	16	1,111
02 OF 41	318	383	106	28	835
03 OF 41	426	315	158	38	935
04 OF 41	307	236	163	31	737
05 OF 41	648	529	226	56	1459
06 OF 41	305	285	109	27	726
07 OF 41	886	729	317	91	2023
08 OF 41	779	901	149	74	1903
09 OF 41	193	176	92	16	477
Total	4261	4103	1467	375	10206

 

 

Prognosis: Atkins’s end run will have been irrelevant.

Bullock lost a “sure thing” by supporting NRG.

 

Update:   The results are in:

	Hastings	Bullock	Burton	Write In	Total
01 OF 41	262	185	14	144	605
02 OF 41	223	163	20	83	489
03 OF 41	121	130	6	31	288
04 OF 41	182	189	11	89	471
05 OF 41	277	256	28	86	647
06 OF 41	123	116	28	41	308
07 OF 41	298	244	49	48	639
08 OF 41	237	251	57	27	572
09 OF 41	47	42	7	7	103
	1770	1576	220	556	4122
					11 others

Millsboro

Residents living in Millsboro have got it made! No matter who wins the election this Saturday, they will have an outstanding representative to finish out the term vacated by the resigned John Atkins.

It is ironic that this election falls on Cinquo de Mayo, or May 5th in English. Residents of the 41st will be celebrating their “freedom” in two languages that day.

Politics in this small town is far removed from either the state or national trauma. In Millsboro, it is about the person running, not the party he represents. No bloggers tearing each other apart down there. Everyone gets along quite well, and the candidate still wave at each other when they drive past.There is even a rumor that they just might, if the weather is good, have a BBQ somewhere in the middle of all three of their houses. This would not be hard, for all three of them live within a two block area of the same development.

The only real difference between these candidates is that the Democratic, Lynn Bullock, is supportive of NRG’s energy plan, and the Republican Greg Hastings and Independent John Burton, both support Blue Water Winds proposal, (along with 94 percent of Delawareans).

If the name of a local entrepreneurial activity is any indication of the winner, then it may be possible that the Blue Water Grill, on Main Street, may portend good things for the Republican.

This race is a classic toss up; there are too many variables in flux to get a read……….

Lynn Bullock, the Democrat has been given a hard time by some Blue Water Wind supporters. But if the truth were known that his father was head of the NRG plant since “the war”, and it was he who was responsible for hiring many of the unemployed returning soldiers when they returned home, then one can understand and appreciate some of the personal motives for his decision. I for one would be loathe to go against my father’s legacy, and all it stood for.

However there are many in Millsboro who do not like the proximity of the plant to their neighborhood. The high rate of cancer has put many holes in what once was a tight knit community. They remember when NRG was forced to buy up all the land surrounding the plant, because pot ash and other toxic chemicals kept falling out of the sky……….The Blue Water plan appeals to this crowd, as do the candidates Greg Hastings and John Burton.

According to WGMD in a recent debate, Lynn Bullock, the Democrat, seems more concerned about NRG than anything else. His classic line was, “Let me clarify my clarification.”

The Independent candidate, John Burton, spoke about enforcing the laws we already have on the books, instead of spending time creating new ones, while the Republican, Greg Hastings, believes we have to “stand firm” on getting the current plant cleaned up, and spoke about solar power and “other options” for energy,

Will there be a Republican backlash against the party for its initial support of the previous candidate who resigned last month? If so it will be split between the Democratic and Independent candidates. And considering the choice candidate they have in Greg Hastings, it is unlikely that he will be punished for his party.

Many thought that the independent candidate had the best showing when they appeared together last week. Some residents were surprisingly impressed. He should pull votes from both parties.

And then there is John Atkins. His threat is over rated. Although his signs are ubiquitous around the town, it was hard to find anyone willing to vote for him. They still like him, and many think he got a raw deal, but to vote for him………nah, he had his run. It is time for someone new.”

Despite the prevalence of signs, only one residence could be found to display them on its property. Whereas Hastings, Burton, and Bullock signs are posted in front of every other house………

Not to mention, no drive to educate voters on how to navigate the complicated voting machine write-in process, has yet, at this late date, taken place. Those voters who may wish to say good bye to John, by one last vote for Atkins, may become too frustrated once the curtain is drawn, and spontaneously cast their vote for their second choice candidate.

However there is one area of concern. Approximately 51 % of those assisting the election got their jobs through Atkins. Voter fraud is always possible. It would be wise for each party to load every polling place with challengers and poll watchers, to insure no hanky-panky takes place. Seacrets do not mix well with politics…….. Doing so would leave fake absentee ballots as his only recourse……….

Voters of the 41st have a golden opportunity to vote for their representative without the distractions of a national or state campaign. In the quiet of this small town, home of two stop lights and a revolutionary oak tree, each citizen will have the time to consider all the options in detail, something the rest of us should envy. Whoever wins on Saturday, (at this point too close to call), will give Millsboro a great representative. They are all good men.