Man Of The Year

Although the year is barely out, we do have our first nomination for the spot to be announced in December 2013.  With the Kinder Morgan Deal now on hold semi-permanently, even they are pointing to our hero of the year as the man most responsible for allowing the port to remain state owned….

I can say it was Julius Cephas who was behind almost every move to combat the loss of good jobs at our port.  He is being pointed out as the villain by the capitalists at Kinder Morgan.  In Delaware’s eyes, that elevates his hero’s stature even more…

In truth, he is no villain and knowing him, he will probably shun the acclimations being made by us common folk as being our hero.  In his eyes, he was just doing what needed to be done because no one else was there at that very moment to do it, and as that task swelled, it took a lot out of him….

Capitalists always need a villian.  But it was the “truth” which actually is what killed this deal.  Kinder Morgan WAS going to cut back on jobs, and their change of heart and blaming Julius instead of others, points exactly to the core of their problem with our port… …

People in Texas, do not understand unions.  They simply can’t fathom or understand how there can be an actual law that lets people strike and shut you down, whenever you try to pay them less..  In their eyes, you work for what they want to give you and if it is too little, ..humph.  go elsewhere….

The second culprit (after the “truth”),  was our office of economic development.  We gave Kinder Morgan too many “eager” signals that set us up as being seen as an easy pick.  They truly thought they could waltz in, pick up a top notch East Coast Port for a song, and we would eagerly give it up…  Again, that was because everything was done in secret.  Had a meeting been forthcoming in the very beginning,  Kinder Morgan might have moved on earlier when it became readily apparent, that southern Texas practices do not bode well in the Northeast…

Of course, being a corporation, they will blame the whistle blower.  (Ironic since the whistle blower of Enron works for them)..   Of course.  It is not like they find anything immoral in taking a state asset for a song, in firing those skilled dock workers, and replace them with some Spanish speaking Texans who never even heard of a union….

And Julius did blow that whistle. .  Like Rose on the Titanic, he took the whistle off of Jack (pun intended), and blew softly at first, then harder, and harder.   Gradually the sound registered on others ears….

Without Julius, Bob Marshall would not have pushed through Senate Bill 3.  Without Julius, most of the links showing up in everyone’s blog, would have not been found.  Without Julius, the case for protecting workers would not have even made the rounds of the Norman Oliver show….

There were many helpers. Bob Marshall, Nancy Willing, Norman Oliver, Norinda, Helene Keeley, Al Mascitti, Liz Allen, John Kowalko, and (an other blogger too shy to be mentioned here). When one looks back through all of them one sees from everywhere, there in the center of the universe,  stands a normal human being just like us, known to most … as Julius.

There will come a time when a better deal will arrive.  Could even be this year. There will come a time when a suitor who does care about Delaware, who does care about unions, about human beings, about those businesses on the outside, and who will want to upgrade the port for everyone’s interest, not just their own… And that suitor in this day and age, could even come from abroad.  Germany is very committed to union labor, to the environment, to being a good neighbor…. There are a great many possibilities out there that are immeasurable…. We definitely dodged a Texas bullet with this one….

When that suitor arrives… Julius’s stature will be set in cement….  For he did nothing really Herculean, except argue the truth…  He didn’t lie.  He didn’t connive,  He didn’t threaten….

That was done by our office of economic development.  Instead and unlike them, Julius told the truth.  He told the truth to anyone who would listen.  He told the truth enough, so many “did” listen….

And that is why, he  deserves this nomination as Delaware’s Man of the Year.  I know it is early into 2013, but great things just do not wait!!….

You will hear smears that Julius tubed the deal… I saw the letter and it is already out on WDEL and the Delawareonline’s News Journal… But as an impartial blogger, I can tell you exactly what killed this deal.

It was “the truth”.  The truth of what this deal would cost us Delawareans….. is what turned the tide and caused the outcry that rose up against it….

If Kinder Morgan really wanted this deal, they could have easily said… “we are expanding and putting 5 new berths out into the river.  We are buying the port for the bargain price of $5 billion.   We need those businesses outside the fence because the jobs we get, will soon be too big, we can’t do it ourselves.  We will keep the union just as it is;  Wilmington needs good jobs and we are going to do our part….  We are also going to contribute into an emergency fund to be used for any spill or environmental accident that takes place under our tenure….

Kinder Morgan could have done any of those things, … and didn’t…. The blame doesn’t lie with Julius after all…. Especially when you consider the following…

This Economic Council erred on Fisker Automotive.  Then it erred on Bloom Energy.  Then it tried to Kinder Morgan us out of our port…..   Someone rushed in  with a save to make sure that last one didn’t happen.

That person is now hereby nominated for Delaware’s Person of the Year…….

Please Make Them Go Away!!

Tomorrow, is the day… like a wedding, can’t wait for it to finally be over so life can go on again…. But there is one last thing to do.

Look at the Republican Party. The only reason Romney is doing well, is because he pivoted in the first debate, and became a liberal. His past track record had almost pushed him to the point of no return, until he reinvented himself upon that first debate stage. In other words, Romney is now the more liberal candidate, if one just looks at what he has said since October 4th.

However the old message is still prevalent in Delaware’s Republican exoskeleton. Kovach who once was considered a decent person, is now a compromised decent person. Kevin Wade, is nothing more than a word to rhyme with suede. Jeff Craig wants us to believe that if you can run a 16 X 40 foot retail outlet buried in the middle of a Fairfax strip mall, you can run the entire state’s government. Greg Lavelle believes that if you trash your opponent hard enough, you will get elected. Cathy Cloutier believes that no one gives enough of a hoot, making it so simple that she can be endorsed by the pro choice and pro life movements in the same election. Evan Quietsch believes the United Nations has set up a secret outpost somewhere in the woods of the 11th District, and that his challenger is the Manchurian Candidate who is actually from Manchuria. Rick Jensen has to ignore 99% of a story to make his case in support of any Republican who shows up on his show. Dori Conner, is running “Go, Go William Penn” down in Cavalier Country. NCCE Blake has to put stickers on his campaign signs, that say “I’m not Tom Gordan.” Then there is DelawarePolitics.Net, which although it has great people, they all get their orders from Homer Simpson. There is Brian Pettyjohn who, whenever his name gets mentioned, reminds one of the Lollypop Guild soliciting a hooker on the side of the Yellow Brick Road… And then, there was Two Timing Booth, kicked out for…. oh my. Don’t even get me started on Bodenweiser…. And above all this mess, flies the green faced witch on her magic broom, saying 2014, 2014…..

What happened? Siegler, is this what happens when you put the NRA actually in charge of something?

From top to bottom this party is (I’ll bend over backwards and be very nice here)…. dysfunctional… It is time for it to go away….

I heard a caller put it very well on Al Masciti this morning. Business needs representation. With this party they don’t have it. What they do have is Jack Markell, Chip Flowers, and Beau Biden, working with them as well as representing “we the people” who simultaneously do the necessary work for these businesses as well as us who depend on their health to live well ourselves…..

Delaware works better as a single party state than as a two party one…. Why? Simply put, everyone is an individual again. There is no reason NOT to work with someone who’s viewpoint is different from yours… It is called “compromise” and with today’s Republican Party from the top down, that compromise gene is simply not in their chromosomes……

Now here is my argument… Any vote for any Republican, weakens our state. I’m guessing we need an 85/15 democratic majority to permanently make this party go away…. I’m worried that many in Delaware may not vote this time because our national election is a foregone conclusion, and really, there is no reason to suspect or worry that any Republican will win….

Here is why you must… Your vote against the Republican Party, is needed to make it be gone forever….. We need single party government now more than ever… WE need cooperation between workers and businesses, and only one party, the Democratic one, can provide that.

Some say we need another voice to balance out one party rule… We will have them. 21 separate voices in the Senate, and 45 separate ones in the House, but only if they are all Democrat … Every person is an individual, and every person has to represent their district. There are some conservative districts, there are some progressive districts. but it still will take a majority to get anything passed.

At least if there is only one party, they will get things done the old fashioned way. The conservatives will express their needs, the progressives will express their needs, and some type of compromise all can live with, will get hammered out….

That can’t happen if there are Republicans anywhere in government to mess things up…..

So do your civic duty… Vote Democratic or Libertarian, or any another candidate…. Just make Republicans go away…. I used to like watching cartoons on Saturday… Now, that I have to watch them 365 days at 24/7, it is too much…. (Now, where’s that Advil?)

Make them go away.

Breaking: Tea Bagger Killed By Squirrels In Wisconsin!!!!

Photo Courtesy of Soggy Log

They thought he was nuts.

For Those Who Follow DelawarePolitics.Net

I’m trying to put all your ideas together into one package. So, let me get this right… All you are asking is for, is a country where:

1) There is no universal healthcare.
2) Few entitlement programs.
3) Low Flat Tax System.
4) Faith based Government.
5) A deep reverence for God.
6) Extremely strict rules against abortion.
7) Marriage has already been strictly defined as between man and woman.
8) Homosexuality is a sin, and illegal.
9) Dress Codes are strictly enforced.
10) Tattoos, piercings, baggy pants, are banned.
11) Has the Death Penalty which they aren’t shy about using.
12) Strong private school system with religious focus.
13) Widespread dependency on oil and natural gas drilling.
14) Growing nuclear program
15) Nonexistent environmental nuisances
16) Culture that promotes family and stereotyped roles for men and women.

I’ve endeavored to put all your values on one page. I share your frustration because today, ever since 2008, it seems like America is moving further and further away from these values.

But you don’t have to be frustrated anymore. I have looked far and wide and have discovered a place already in existence that has those values in place, and more. If you sorely long for those values above, it is sincerely a place where you and your family would be very happy.

It is Iran.

You don’t have to pay me. I don’t need any commission. Just glad to help a fellow Delawarean out…. No problem.

Who YOU Beating Up Now? Huh?

Here is the blog that has been quoted recently by the mainstream press, especially after the video went viral, and they had to scramble to cover up the fact they originally tried to whitewash the incident.

“DUMB COLLEGE KIDS”, the right wing pundits squeal…

Not so…

Try an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, who organized the peaceful demonstration.

Or try an Associate Professor of English, who was grabbed by her hair, thrown on the ground.

Or try Associate Professor Geoffrey O’Brien who was injured by baton blows.

or try Professor Robert Hass, former Poet Laureate of the United States, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner, who was also struck with a baton.

I wonder how this child’s mom feels right now: One of them, forty-five minutes after being pepper-sprayed down his throat, was still coughing up blood.

Or the dad who was there, bedside, to welcome this bundle of joy into the world.

Or the Grandparents of these children… When students covered their eyes with their clothing, police forced open their mouths and pepper-sprayed down their throats.

What’s the point? What were you trying to prove, Mr Rogue Policeman? Ohhhhh, that you were sooooooooo tough… I bet all the women flock to you now, don’t they?

What were you trying to prove, Chancellor Katehi? That you have an iron will? Or that you didn’t care? You had to appease the wealthy donors. The tents were such an eyesore and had to be removed, even with the potential for a loss of life?

What were you trying to prove, Republicans? Cutting taxes. Underfunding institutions of learning. Trimming school budgets so the wealthy wouldn’t have to pay their fair share of the cost of living in American society…

Go ahead. Save them a couple of pennies…. Beat the student’s senseless.. Fill their lungs with pepper spray… Ram their lower abdomens with your batons. Make them unable to ever bear children…. Do it for your wealthy master. All so millionaires can save one more penny on the dollar they’ve already taken from us…

Oh, no… Wait… Why didn’t we think of that before… If you kill us all off now, you won’t get back your student loans we borrowed from you at those exorbitant amounts of interest you so graciously parted your money for….

America Media: FAIL

The Republican Debate.

Who frames it?

The team giving the moderator questions.

First the rules:

The candidates will make no opening statements and will have just a minute to answer.

Translated: Control the Message!!!!!!!!

So, lets look at what questions were given?

To Perry: You have touted your state’s low taxes, the lack of regulation, tough tort reform as the recipe for job growth in the Lone Star State Is that the kind of answer all Americans are looking for?

Perry: Duh..yes…

To Governor Romney: Massachusetts ranked only 47th in job creation during your tenure as governor. Your private-sector experience consisted of being “a buyout specialist.” Your response to that?

Romney: Duh,.. I will say that is not true.

Is it a disqualification to be in government all your career?

Romney: Duh… no.

To Santorium and Cain: Weigh in on what you’re hearing (ph).

Santorium: Duh, I’m great. i’ve done………”things”.
Cain: Duh, I’m greater..

Cain: Forget doing 69… Instead, go 999….

To Huntsman: Pick apart Romney’s plan…..

Huntsman: I’m the number one Job Creator…. I did it in 6 days and rested on the 7th…

To Bachmann: Which federal regulations have been most detrimental to your business?

Bachmann: Duh… Obamacare….

Harris: TIME!!

To Paul: What is not in the Constitution?

Paul: Federal Regulations; Let the Free Market decide their own rules. Let Rapists define rape, Let Murderers define what is murder, Let pornographers define what is pornography. Let child molesters define what is molestation. The free market can police themselves…. Regulations are stupid.

To Gingrich: You wrote Perry’s forward to his book?.

Gingrich: Yeah and I’ll write the next one too….. (And the fact that Obama didn’t do his homework here in the Reagan Library is proof he is not serious about jobs..)

To all: What I’d first like to do is ask if anyone else on this stage agrees that the Massachusetts example was a great opportunity for the rest of the country..

All: Duh….. No… (Hint to uninformed viewers: Massachusetts is a Democratic state and this is a Republican Presidential Debate.)

To Romney: Defend your role….

Romney: On day one, I will do the opposite of what i did in Massachusetts and order the annulment of Obamacare and the joyous return to insurers taking all your money and dropping you off their roles, at the first sign of you being sick.

To Perry: will you praise or trash you biggest opponents record on health care?

Perry: Duh…. trash him of course. I’m running against him you know… Oh? You didn’t know that? Oh My, Surprise, Surprise!

To Perry: Why are so many Texans under insured?

Perry: Duh, under my policy of offering very low wages with no benefits, Texas people can’t afford insurance… Duh,, what a dumb question….

Bachmann tires to interject: “John? John?”

HER INTERJECTIONS APPEAR TOTALLY IGNORED BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT IN SCRIPT…..

(Moderators look at script, look at each other, shake their heads side to side, and move on with the next scripted question.)

To Governor Huntsman: Since you are so important, even though you lost to Bachmann in the Iowa Straw Poll where she got 28.5% of the vote and you got… 0.42% of the vote, us moderators will diss her and go to you instead… Obviously she doesn’t warner any respect and certainly, no one cares what she thinks, for her horrible performance in Iowa… Who fuckin’ cares about Iowa anyway? Ha, ha….

Huntsman: Duh…. no one?

To Congresswoman Bachmann, let’s turn to you. Is Governor Romney’s support of an individual mandate…

Harris: TIME!

HARRIS: To Governor Huntsman, everybody would like $2 gas, but is it realistic for a president to promise that?

Huntsman: Duh….. no…..

To Paul: Would getting rid of minimum wage like Texas did, create more jobs?

Paul: Absolutely, and what’s good, is that those working below minimum wage are too poor to quit, so essentially the corporations have their own slave labor… Legalized slavery, and it’s not just about black people anymore… See how far the South has come?

(The debate is interrupted for 5 minutes by the now obligatory discussion of the rules of debate…)

Five minutes later:

To Perry: I saw you nod your head; were you really nodding your head?

Perry: Why, yes I was….. Thank you so much for noticing…

To Perry: You are so welcome… It was a sort a cute little nod too… btw… (laughter)…. And that is a nice outfit .. looks really good on you too… You look quite handsome today…

Perry: Why thank you Brian. You look handsome today too…. (wink, wink…)

Paul: Oh, I need an answer to that….

To Paul: you have 30 seconds….

Paul: The eighties weren’t all that… We had AIDS, a famine in Ethiopia, and were forced to listen to this…. Ronald Reagan had good ideas, but the eighties still weren’t all that…

To Paul: Funny thing about mail: Mail is forever…

To all: we are going to take a break, mostly to screen the data in order to keep anything worthy of debate, from finding a way to come up here and enter the discussion… ….

Overheard off camera: Williams to hot female assistant: I have to pee, can you help me….

(End of transcript: This viewer never returned.)