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There is an old blogger who used to entertain us with collections of his photos. Just so he knows it wasn’t all in vain, ….. when i stumbled across this, I said wow I have to take a picture of it for Mike…. He probably already knows exactly where it is and can recite the GPS coordinates off the top of his head… lol.. 🙂
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……
Republicans pooh pooh the idea of wealth redistribution. They deride Obama’s policy as being just that.
Truth is, their policies that have caused far more wealth redistribution, than Lenin, Marx, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, or Tojo combined.. It has been redistributed all the wrong way; to the top.
I became curious as I was in line pushing my cart from Costco’s checkouts to my car, scratching my head how I could have spent $50 dollars on a few trinkets: water, bread, paper towels and razor blades. I had only three of the wrong bags (plastic) and had just electronically approved the emptying of my account by $50 dollars…. (The same purchases would have cost $33 back in November, before the Bush tax cuts were extended an additional two years)..
How does that play out in our society?
First a chart:
Yearly income ….(divided by 52 divided by 5)……. daily income
1 million…………………………………………………….$3846
$125,000……………………………………………………$480
$ 75,000…………………………………………………….$288
$ 45,000…………………………………………………….$173
$ 25,000…………………………………………………….$96
$14/hour @ 7.5 hours……………………………………..$105
$10/hour @ 7.5 hours……………………………………..$75
$7.25/hour, 7.5 hours……………………………………..$54
$2.38/hour, 7.5 hours……………………………………..$17
That means almost an entire day of work for someone on minimum wage, was worth those three bags I had in my hand.
Prior to November, they would have at least had $19 more dollars to spend.
Bread, water, paper towels, and a razor plus blades ($9 +$15). (ever wonder why most working protestors have beards?)
Here is a list of countries that I know had protests over wealth distribution, some causing the collapse of their governments… Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Albania, Britain, Wisconsin, Jordan, Bahrain, Syria, Yemen, Singapore… I’m sure there are more.
In each case, the people are protesting that they have to live on less and less, while their wealthy, due to unfair lenient tax laws, are making more and more….
1% of Americans, own 40% of our wealth. Wow, that sounds like Mexico, or Columbia! Do they really own that much?
The Gini coefficient is a mathematical term that measures inequality. If everybody has the same amount of wealth, the coefficient will be zero. If one person has all the wealth, then the coefficient would be 100.
Using this tool, we see how the world is stacked. Those countries called socialist by overly rich republicans, who apparently are complaining on having to live on $174,000 these days, and called number one places to live by everyone normal, have relatively low coefficients. Third world countries, where the president owns all the wealth, have relatively high ones
Here is a chart with map showing the rankings…..
Scroll down to see the company the United States keeps…. Georgia, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United States, Morocco…… The only economic power below us is China, which will no doubt pass us up this year.
Far above us (we are ranked 85 our of 149, with some embarrassing countries better off than we are….. Myanmar, Iran, Yemen, Russia, Libya,) lie the top echelon, Denmark, Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Norway…..
What do those countries do differently? They figure out what they need to spend to maintain the quality of life they wish to attain, then spread the tax burden over whomever lives, or works there… Yes taxes are higher than here, … but when they pay $4 dollars for a gallon of milk, it goes toward their next doctor’s visit, not into some foreign investor’s pocket, who is playing with the hedge fund of milk that day.
Therefore they live much better than we can. Unless of course, you over here happen to be a 1 percent-er.
Then. for you, buying bread, water, paper towels, and razors is taking less than 2% of your daily pay, and not the 92% it does for someone who worked all day on the minimist of minimum wage….. .
Courtesy of Department of Defense
“By the first light of the third day, look to the East!”
Everyone knows that living starts on the weekend… That makes Monday the third day… It is my sincere hope to return this feature back to its original time-slot so those starting their week, have something worthy to follow… Of course that leaves “Around the Horn” to synopsize on Friday, so between the two of us, we have full weekly coverage….
I apologize to Deldem of Delaware Liberal if this first return edition bashes up against his on vacation version of what went down this week…
So what happened this weekend?
Shirley opens with a story of what being an American is all about. The teary eye part made me proud that America still recognizes its heroes, and goes out of their way to make sure they know it… All of us can learn a lesson from this post…. When was the last time you went out of your way to make a member of our armed services feel welcomed?
She carries another idea that I will be stealing shortly.. It’s from down under. and it certainly is worthy of the read, if you haven’t caught it earlier…. it’s just another way of self expression…. 🙂
Aside from seven videos of varying topics, one an hour and twenty-six minutes long, and four quotes, the memorable posts on Delaware Liberals this weekend are the following… (We only covered the full first two pages, lol)… Their best was this one, The Morning After….. which describes the cuts to the state budget… “The Morning After” in this case does not refer to contraception, but is instead, related to the budgetary announcement made by Jack Markell on Thursday…. It begins with….
March 19, 2009 will forever be remembered as the date that Delaware’s Gilded Age officially ended. An age that was literally ‘built on a house of (credit) cards’ is no more.
The interesting point is that ultimately, it is the responsibility of the wealthy to carry the weight of the rest of us. Pandora follows the same theme with “What’s In The Water At CNBC”: apparently someone argued on that show that Wall Street couldn’t be run by anyone making under $250,000…… the unsaid premise is that the wealthy, who are overpaid for their results, need to make sacrifices so those making less, do not have to…
However the most uplifting piece of the entire weekend, was on this blog and had nothing to do with the economy… or the wealthy… It is about race, and in a spirited fashion on the weekend that Battlestar Galactica ended its 6 year run, Cassandra puts this vignette forward… I’m impressed she saw it, since she admits she doesn’t watch the best show on television this decade. Next to Obama’s Philadelphia campaign speech on the reality of “race”, this is as good as it gets….
This blog has taken on new life with the economic crises swirling around us… In an amazing piece, Steve Newton (in real time) breaks down the implication of Markell’s budget cuts and other attempts to balance the budget, and illustrates how those cuts will affect our employees… I can proudly say, it as good, or better than that other Delaware blogger who is prone to such analysis…… Again the same theme comes out…..
But the reality doesn’t work that way. If you eliminate one unnecessary management position making $120K, then you have saved enough money to keep thirty employees at the $40K and below level from having to take a hit.
Again the message is simple: Cut off the top to save those on the bottom, holding everything up… The shocking truth of what happens when citizens are preoccupied with other matters than their government, showed up in this comment…. “a vacant position in my agency, one that had been vacant for 1 1/2 years got filled by someone on Minner’s staff. Let me reiterate. WE DID WITHOUT THIS POSITION FOR 1 1/2 YEARS. AND NOW WE FILL IT? Luckily it is not a merit position, so it’s possible that the position gets vacated anyhow. But this is one of those 120k positions. “
Again the message: cut the top to save the bottom….
Delaware Politics begins with their take on Markell’s budget… One noticeable trend has been the life recently pumped back into conservative blogs. I have not yet commented upon it, but…. they were pretty shoddy all election season and up until the inauguration…. But with the Democrats now in the driver’s seats, the conversation among the back seat drivers, has again become interesting to listen to… At least one can feel they are getting pumped up, perhaps stealing the energy leaking away from those liberal blogs, who are now getting tired, and starting to wind down in their ardor and intensity…
Dave Burris does his take on Markell’s budget… Most notably he notices the lack of cuts in services…
“But when the rubber hit the road, not only did they fail to cut an agency, they didn’t cut ANYTHING. That is a massive failure to lead. We got such a large deficit (I don’t believe the numbers, but maybe you do) because we grew our government at a rate of 2.5 times inflation during the Queen Worthless administration. If we don’t address that, we will continue to have this problem as more and more of the economy is eaten up by the government.”
I noticed there was no mention that the failure of the Bush economy has drastically reduced ALL sources of revenue pouring into state coffers on which our government used to thrive during the last 8 years… But he does agree with Markell on across the board cuts: “I agree with the administration that cutting pay across-the-board is better than across-the-board layoffs in this environment, because layoffs would cost the state unemployment money,”
Interestingly, being conservative in a time of crises, leads to some silly conclusions… This one for example: “the gain from the Gross Receipts Tax increase is a pittance compared to what the state would get if they would just get out of the way and let these small business owners grow the economy”. Really? Currently we have 7.5 % unemployed, and our largest employer, the state, is taking an 8% across the board pay cut? And paying more for medical? And more in taxes? Where is all that money going to come from to allow these small businesses to grow the economy? You can give them a zero tax rate, but it no one spends in their business, they don’t pay taxes anyway… Nope, you need to make people spend, before any type of business aid makes sense…. Small businesses aren’t going to grow… They are just trying to hang on and stay solvent! Screw growth!!!!! lol.
In another attempt at silliness the lovely Marie Evans is proposing the Greenville Casino… The land is available… Three casinos, she points out in a state 96 miles long, with some creative placing, puts one every 16 miles…( as I said: creative placing… lol).. Unfortunately since Greenville is too close to the northern edge, were one to go in up there, her 16 mile theory would be impossible…
Likewise the Special Olympians apology to our and their president, does crack a faint smile….
And I’m outraged, outraged that there is no mention of the Democratic Party in each of these instances.
And the DSEA? They also are outraged, outraged that while arguing for higher taxes on all other people, under Markell’s budget…. THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY HIGHER TAXES TOO… OUTRAGEOUS!!! lol….
Welcome back to the fight guys!
Dana carries the AFSCME demostration over the cutbacks… They want the rainy day fund tapped out so they have their jobs… The only question, besides that is must be repayed every year., is that once spent, then what gets done next year…
Nancy covers the controversy over whether pensions should be capped at higher rates, than those just years away from retirement….
Mike Matthews has a job interview today… GOOD LUCK from all of Delaware’s Blogosphere…
The same theme brought to you by Markell’s budget cuts appears in Byron Short is Wrong (IMO)
In short, the most disappointing thing about Gov. Markell’s proposal is he’s shifting too much burden on the poor, lower-middle class and, in reality, isn’t asking much of those state employees (cabinet heads, directors, etc.) who could stand a tightening of the belt. Or a complete axing of their positions.
Knock something off the top, to save the foundations supporting the bottom…. Where have I heard that before?…
Already two proposals are in state legislature that work to mitigate the effects of the cuts… One doesn’t allow retirees to have the lower wages be used as a determinant of their pension size, and the other, gives two state employee’s married to each other, less cuts than two single state employees sharing an apartment, would get… These bring up questions of fairness.. One can sense in both these proposals that these employees are “entitled” to earning more money.. It’s a valid point.. They are lucky to have jobs… and if they get a “by” or a “pass”, who is it then who gets hit with the charge for allowing them not to carry the load everyone else is being dealt… If they really wanted to have done something constructive… they could have worked for Kerry…. But nooooo, they didn’t.. and now they are paying the price…. We all are.
Where have we heard that sentiment before? I don’t know… but it sounds vaguely familiar…
And some wise words to AFSCME union wannabe’s who wish to increase their power within their organization… “Suck it up and be thankful you still have a job because others will be glad to take it.”
Mike Mahaffie went to the last of the Markell meetings before this budget proposal came out… What is interesting is how the theoretical side of the equation seems dreamlike when compared to the reality all all the posts following the Thursday budgetary announcement… But although Markell was unable to attend due to the death of his father, Mahaffie does capture many of the sentiments “flickering” around the room…. One that stands out, was this gem:
As things wrapped up, Senator Simpson and Representative Carey, both Republicans, made a point of praising Governor Markell, a Democrat, for his bipartisan approach to the budget problem and openness to working together. They pointed out that Sec. Kee is one of several republicans in the Markell cabinet.
“On my count… all hands pull on the ropes…. Heave!”
One of those heaving is Brian from the Mourning Constitution. He tackles sports betting from the revenue side, and argues income beats job cuts….. Bringing money into the state, by making us the Vegas on the east coast, could keep some people some jobs…
For some facing job cutbacks, some good advice on how to survive a panic attack, can be seen here… This lesson might come in handy…. and then again, if you start foreseeing your own death.………
As for the current vacancies at the Delaware DOC – just a month ago at a meeting of the Corrections hearing before the Joint Finance Committee, there were 33 vacancies in order to assure MINIMUM staffing – while in actuality there are over 330 vacancies that need to be filled to assure smooth, safe, and efficient operation of Delaware’s prisons.
Redwaterlily shows us what is occurring across the state simultaneously. Everyone is questioning their department, and wondering how they can afford any more cutbacks… Every department has needs… Every department has hard working employees who are not making the money they deserve… But as El Somnambulo points out above, by law,any extra money is spent in one sector, must be cut from another one…. The total amount is to remain the same… So each time one says they must keep their department open…. They are dooming another department somewhere in the State of Delaware, to double the amount of cuts….
Although quite prolific lately, this was a quiet weekend for the Colassus of Rhody… amounting to this list of what was NOT said by Obama on Jay Leno’s show….
Tommwonk’s weekend contribution deals with: Jack Markell’s budget…. Tommy focuses on how this budget will be perceived by the staff budget meetings…
We are open to discuss other ideas to meet our financial challenges, and in fact encourage your ideas, because the $750M [deficit] we face now may be our best-case scenario, if the fundamentals of the national economy do not improve.
Our best case scenario.. In this sobering piece,
..
The actual budget proposal made by Markell is here…
Looking at our problems…. it is easy to get overwhelmed.. sometimes it helps to realize through out history greater problems have befallen greater numbers of human beings…. But somehow we muddled through… We will muddle throughout this time, ….
And to give us a greater perspective, as always, Duffy weighs in with two sentences… Sentence One….. and Sentence Two….
Remember how this opened? It was a celebration of an American hero… Like them, today we need our wealthy to contribute more to the nation that gave them opportunity. Today we need our wealthy stepping up and heeding the call of their country. Like our young boys who are on foreign soil, they too must suffer the sacrifice, and without grumbling, willingly pay more to the state to cover those expenses incurred assisting those less fortunate than themselves…
Courtesy of Department of Defense
Obviously the conventions would dominate those weeks in which they take place within our local blogosphere….
Since the Democrats began their convention, the number of posts relating to just national politics were as follows.
Delaware Liberal 77
Delaware Libertarian 6
Delaware Politics.Net 26
Delaware Watch 5
Delaware Way 5
Down With Absolutes 13
The Colossus of Rhodey 20
The number of posts relating to our state races were as follows:
Delaware Liberal 12
Delaware Libertarian 5
Delaware Politics.Net 5
Delaware Watch 2
Delaware Way 7
Down With Absolutes 13
The Colossus of Rhodey 6
Of course there were some judgment calls. Most particularly with our Senator running as Vice President, that always forced a judgment on whether the post should be considered local or national.
I say it should be no wonder that most local posts remained focused on the national fracus… For these are historic times… The first person with Afro-American blood is right now, running for the White House. The first conservative female (ever) is vying to survive the achievement of the Vice Presidency…. The first Delawarean in anyone’s lifetime, is right now on the national ticket…There was even a storm that looked like Katrina all over again…and the Republican convention downsized accordingly…. Out West, the police busted up a group of drinking conservatives who allegedly threatened to assassinate Obama… The other convention’s police, not to be outdone, were able to arrest Amy Goodman….
So I don’t want to fault those who ignored local politics in order to focus on the national agenda…
I just want to debate whether that is the most effective use of our time, irregardless of whatever party we are discussing…. The underlying question begs to be asked…. Does anything we say or picture upon our blogosphere …make even the slightest difference in the National Race?
Meanwhile we have local people desperately trying to find out about their candidates, as well as candidates trying to get their message past the WNJ’s blockade……and can’t; because we are not talking about it…And it certainly wasn’t a very quiet week in local politics.
The last week before the Primary begins today. On the Republican side, we have the hard liners fighting new blood… After 8 years of Bush, Republicans must consider whether they should stay the course, or molt into a new party still sporting the same name? Protack versus Copeland-Lee is about to determine that….Should Protack upset the regular party faithful, as his state’s highest ranked candidate, he will have considerable input on the direction his party must take, at least until a new figure emerges…. Conventional wisdom considering his win, says there is no way…. But across this nation, Republicans have lost three seats in special elections, all in reportedly safe districts…. If enough of Delaware’s Republicans want to force their party to run on issues, instead of running on slander, then Protack could just get enough bounce to go over the top…..
Stranger things have happened.
On the Democratic side, the governors race is heating up. But you would never know it if you only read the blogs for information (Unless you read Down With Absolutes)… Since a majority of bloggers consider themselves not only Democrats, but progressives, this is a tragic silence. Fortunately the News Journal stepped in, and took over the bloggers role this time, and published a great comparison of both candidates. Hats of to their editing department for their picturesque face off: that put bloggers to shame.
One would think there would be some buzz over the Democratic race to pick Mike Castle’s successor. Granted, the candidate we wanted to run is either going to win or lose the governor’s race next Tuesday, but irregardless, in a Democratic year, nothing substantial has been said about any of these candidates…
Fortunately WPVI Channel 6 stepped in and carried the bloggers role by televising their debate last Sunday morning…. But none would know by just reading the blogs…. It was actually a good chance to see who was honest and direct, who was prompted with canned answers, and who was trying to toe the center by not giving specifics and speaking in platitudes…..
And our insurance commissioners are infighting among the Democrats to see who takes on John Brady…. To be honest, the only one I know anything about is Gene Reed, and that is because of Mike Matthews. There have been three debates yet no one has mentioned them in blogworld…..
But the big, really big race. ie the one affecting us (up North) the most, is the Gordon-Coons battle. Tuesday decides it; there is no Republican challenger…. Fortunately this race has gotten some mention. Before the conventions started, cassandra m wrapped up a synopsis of their debate, that was not flattering to Gordon… But where we get our hard nuggets of info, are out of comments, as one side’s supporters bash those representing the other side…. But the real question of who will better reign in our developers ravaging our countryside, has yet to be answered…..
Equally strategic, is whether Bill Dunn can upset Paul Clark…. Clark is better funded, but previously committed official endorsements for Clark are now dropping like flies, since Bill Dunn has now entered the race….At stake is the question of whether developers should have unlimited access to our county government? Or should they have only the same rights as everyone else? Dunn is for reform… Clark is “the way we were”……
Up North, the big General Assembly race is in the fourth… the seat previously held by Copeland…. Three Republicans, and two Democrats, are battling among themselves for the right to go to Dover… All are well funded for a Primary and the fourth is covered with election signs… However very little has been said about this race within the blogosphere. What will be done when they are elected, will be anyone’s guess….
Democrats in the 6th Senate have a battle on their hands between John McKenzie and Mike Terranova. That race has not registered in our little blogosphere…. Nor has the Republican race for the 10th….between Andrea Daley and James Weldin…. Andrea is a frequent writer on Nancy’s Blog, Delaware Way…… But has any blog covered the pros and cons of either candidate? No.
County Council 8 and 12 are up for grabs on the Democrat’s side. In the 8th, John Cartier and Carl S. Colantuono go head to head for the grand prize… Carl Colantuono was previously highly recommended during a different race two years ago… In the 12th, the new guy Thomas Scherer is giving William Bell a run for his money…. Bell has all the trappings at his disposal that come with being an incumbent, but it appears that Tom is making up the discrepancy on the ground……
In town since Republicans do not exist in the city proper, the mayor, city council president, and the members of Districts 1,2,3,4,8 are all to be settled next Tuesday… But if one were reading the blogs for news, no one would ever know…. Before he left, Tommywonk featured Campbell Hay, who has the dubious distinction of being the only city candidate featured in blogland….
Kent County has a primary in the 3rd district of Levy court, just among the Democrats… and that winner goes against blogger David Anderson, I presume? Further south, Sussex County has a three way Republican race in the 2nd District, and a two way Republican race in the 3rd. In the last race, one of our states more insightful bloggers has put his hat into the ring… To find out his stance on everything, just Google Jud’s Rants Delaware... It should lead you right there……
So all that aside, during this week of conventions, what did we learn locally?
1) We learned we are more exited about the national circus than we normally let on…. It can suck up all our energy…..
2) We learned that we did not live up to our reader’s expectations; who will walk in to the booth on primary day, still in the dark, as if we didn’t exist at all.
3) We learned that candidates need to use us by sending their info to be published, and in order to distinguish ourselves from the News Journal, we need to print it…..
4) We learned we need to apply endorsements based on our values, and adequately explain to readers why our support is forthcoming…..
5) We all have favorites. But if you read the local blogs during this past week of convention coverage….. you would never know it…..
With one week to go in the primaries, we can make some inroads. However the lesson that we take for this week, is that as thoughtful bloggers, we CAN make real impacts on local races decided by the slimmest of margins. Talking mostly about national campaigns, only helps keep things running in our state, the same way as they always have been.
And none of us would agree that running in the same way…is good…..
Courtesy of Department of Defense
Today is August 1st. For fifteen days the best of Delaware’s first-half have been posted on this site for the academy and world to peruse and cast their votes. Today, we celebrate those chosen by you, to represent to the world, the best that Delaware has to offer.
The voting was on line. The results can be checked for accuracy. ( I’m actually proud of that).
Beginning with the first category:
Delaware Wind and Energy
And the nominees are:
Buying Power by Tommywonk:
Economics may be a dismal science, but evidence still matters, and the evidence has not confirmed the theory behind deregulation. Electric power generation is not a consumer driven business. The local market for electricity features one dominant buyer, several smaller buyers (large industrial users, one co-op and several municipalities) and the rest of us. Delmarva Power serves some hundreds of thousands of households, a small fraction of which have opted for alternate energy generation. The company’s buying power is five orders of magnitude greater than mine. Delmarva Power can influence the market for power generation by using its buying power; I can’t.
The Answer is Still Blowin’ In the Wind… by Dave Burris formerly at Delaware Politics.Net……..
A week ago, one prominent Delawarean told me that the project was dead, the deal had been cut, that all of the players, including Senate leadership and the Governor candidates, were involved. It was over. DP&L was one of the good old boys and BWW was not and that was it.
I say that’s bullshit. I have two kids that have to breathe in Eastern Sussex County for the next 80 years, God willing. It’s only dead if YOU let it die. If you refuse to allow the “Delaware Way” to bury our energy future, all you need to do is make two phone calls today:
* Sen. Thurman Adams – 302-744-4318
* Sen. Anthony DeLuca – 302-744-4165
Wind Power is the Ethical Choice by Jason Scott at Delaware Liberal.Net……
It seems that every generation is presented with a stark ethical choice to make. Creating off-shore wind power is our ethical test. And make no mistake; the eyes of the world are upon us. Once again little Delaware can do so much for so many with if we pass this test.
Just as Caesar Rodney made his way to Philadelphia on July 2nd of 1776 to break a deadlock on the question of independence, we must make our way to the halls of power to break with the unethical and corrupt practices of the past. It is Delaware’s destiny to push the country forward once again.
Time To Invest In Delaware First by Maria Evans at WGMD 97:
Let’s face it, I’m not that green. I’m a global warming skeptic. I drive a car that’s less than stellar on gas mileage. I would march a billion rats into a laboratory for testing to ensure I’d have one less wrinkle a decade or two down the road. But I’m in favor of the wind farm proposed to sit off the coast of Rehoboth Beach. Â Â Â Â
The wind farm construction, according to Bluewater Wind, will bring in around “400 – 500 construction jobs and 80 -100 operations and maintenance jobs for the life of the 25 year contract.” Along with that, a regional shipping hub would be established at the Port of Wilmington and there’s a commitment to a teaching and training program for wind farm technicians.
For Sussex County, I can imagine opportunities beyond what Bluewater Wind is offering the state.
The State Senate to Hold Hearings on Doing Something Else by Tommywonk.
As for Mr. Yingling’s concern for ratepayers, I have pointed out that it is the State of Delaware, not Delmarva Power, that represents my interests.
The Public Service Commission staff report summarizes the findings of the yearlong process and recommends approval of the agreement with Bluewater Wind. Any legislative hearing that doesn’t open by placing that report on the record as its first order of business should be viewed as a stalling tactic or worse.
The attitude of Harris McDowell and Delmarva Power seems to be: We’re for renewable energy, just not here and now.
Not here means not in Delaware. Not now means let’s scrap the agreement produced by the negotiations and start the whole process over without the requirement that Delmarva actually make a long term commitment to buy renewable energy.
(drumroll) And the winner is :
Tommywonk in Buying Power (Applause)
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The second category is titled:
Delaware’s General Assembly and/or Governor
And the nominee’s are:
Never Have So Few Done So Much To Thwart The Will Of So Many by Maria Evans at WGMD 97:
The lawyer’s name is Randall Speck, he’s a Harvard Law School graduate, and according to sources at Legislative Hall, he’s worked on “all sides” of the energy debate. My immediate thought was, “What side is he on today?”
That question was clearly answered by the smiles shooting around the chamber between energy company representatives as Speck questioned the Public Service Commission about their decision to choose a wind farm with a gas plant back up as the new, price stable, energy source for the State. I’m sure after the hearing there was a room somewhere in Dover filled with energy company employees desperately trying to muster up the coordination to successfully execute a few high-fives.
Report from the SEU Meeting by Liberal Geek at Delaware Liberal.Net:
Byrne got himself in hot water when he referred to the board as a public non-profit. When pressed for what the hell a public non-profit was, McDowell asked that the question be submitted in writing and would be reviewed by counsel. He then threw out a statement that the board gets many conflicting requests, and that they cannot all be acted upon.
Someone suggested that all submitted questions and their answers be posted on the website, to which McDowell responded that as a volunteer organization, their time was limited. One of the people in attendance asked why there were no provisions in the bylaws that would cover removal of sitting board members. She specifically said “the head of the board.” McDowell kept coming back to transparency. The money quote is “I have never been involved in an organization that had as much transparency in my 30 years in the Senate.” Having seen how the Senate operates, I believe it. He also said that he doesn’t want to burden “this new baby” with a lot of rules that bog it down. Gotta love that in an oversight board.
Harris McDowell is using public office for personal gain – The Smoking Gun by Jason Scott of Delaware Liberal.Net
Actually, one person did notice McDowell’s greedy machinations and that person did seem to mind. The story of that knowing and acting on the knowledge provides another layer to the sedimentary history of McDowell’s serial abuse of the public trust. In fact, it is a glittery and interesting layer of that dank history because Harris McDowell was rebuked for his greed and indiscretion in no uncertain terms.
It was a rebuke so stinging that a person with a conscience would have had to resign from public office in shame. (McDowell has no shame however, so the normal rules of decent behavior seem to be lost on him.)
So who was this person who saw through McDowell’s “green energy” champion act? You’ll never guess so I’ll tell you.
It was Ruth Ann Minner. Or at least the office of the Governor.
UPDATED: DNREC’s Blatant Disregard For People, Aquatic Life And The Environment Leaves ME Speechless by Maria Evans at WGMD 97:
Did I even mention yet that the permit the Indian River Power Plant has been operating under expired 16 years ago and has been extended “administratively” ever since? Or how DNREC judges the fish kills to be acceptable by comparing them to the number of fish in the entire Atlantic fishery? Or the huge amounts of heavy metals released in the discharge?
And let me just add this: Sussex Countians endure the Indian River Power Plant polluting our air, water, land and the fish and shellfish we eat, while NRG Energy sells the power generated by the Plant into the grid. On top of that, DNREC, the state agency that is supposed to be protecting the fine people of the State of Delaware, doles out permits to the plant that are so permissive that NRG Energy can basically do anything and still be in compliance. But don’t you ever catch and keep a fish that’s one inch too short or you can be fined and/or arrested.
How To Buy A State Contract by Mike Matthews of Down with Absolutes.
Why, that would be Regulatory Insurance Services, Inc. (RIS); a family-friendly corporation that has made millions from auditing Delaware insurance companies for the Department of Insurance. The Insurance Commissioner awards this contract, and what better way to ‘help’ your chances than by paying for an elected official. The well-funded Insurance Commissioner candidate is none other than Gene Reed, Jr. Mr. Reed’s much touted campaign fund is a direct result of the friends and families and related corporations of Regulatory Insurance Services, Inc. in pursuit of the multi-million dollar contract awarded by the Insurance Commissioner. What’s a couple hundred thousand in campaign donations compared to a contract worth millions?
Sounds to me like a recipe ripe for foam-at-the-mouth profit-mongers more interested in installing a candidate who will serve their interests as opposed to those of the citizens of Delaware. But let’s not rely merely on rhetoric and conspiracy theory-like claims. Could Gene Reed be a Donna Lee Williams-lite; the kind of Insurance Commissioner who doesn’t give a damn about the consumer and who lives to serve the corporate behemoths who so richly line his campaign war chest?
(drumroll) And this category’s winner is:….
Maria Evans in UPDATED: DNREC’s Blatant Disregard For People, Aquatic Life And The Environment Leaves ME Speechless (Applause)
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One of the areas not often covered in Delaware’s blogosphere, is the field of science. Obviously none of what we do could be done, had not technology advanced so far within our lifetimes…. This next category seeks to highlight those who have given us insight into this brave new world……
Delaware’s “Science Prophet”
And the nominees are:
The Environmental Impact of Meat again by Tommywonk.
No this isn’t another number crunching analysis of the food chain from Michael Pollan. It’s by food writer Mark Bittman, who writes the popular “Minimalist” column in the Times. His piece, called “Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler,” compares eating beef to driving an inefficient car:
To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius
UMC on Intelligent Design by Joe M of Merit Bound Alley
I have to say that I am surprised and delighted to read that the United Methodist Church has proposed and adopted this petition on ID. Here is the text:
Submitted Text
Evolution and Intelligent Design (80839-C1-R9999)
Add a new resolution as follows:
WHEREAS, the United Methodist Church has for many years supported the separation of church and State (paragraph 164, Book of Discipline, 2004, p. 119),
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the General Conference of the United Methodist Church go on record as opposing the introduction of any faith-based theories such as Creationism or Intelligent Design into the science curriculum of our public schools.
Rationale
Creationism and Intelligent Design are appropriate topics in public education classes such as comparative religion, literature, or philosophy since scientific method incorporates critical thinking processes. All truth is God’s truth. The promotion of religion or any particular religion in the public schools is contrary to the First Amendment.
Unfortunately, not quite in time for Giordano Bruno. . . .by Steve Newton at Delaware Libertarian….:
Bruno, among other little intellectual peccadillos (like disbelieving in virgin birth), was found guilty in 1600 of believing in the existence of other worlds:
His trial was overseen by the inquisitor Cardinal Bellarmine, who demanded a full recantation, which Bruno eventually refused. Instead he appealed in vain to Pope Clement VIII, hoping to save his life through a partial recantation. The Pope expressed himself in favor of a guilty verdict. Consequently, Bruno was declared a heretic, handed over to secular authorities on February 8 1600. At his trial he listened to the verdict on his knees, then stood up and said: “Perhaps you, my judges, pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I receive it.”
Pat Gearity Writes: by Nancy Willing at The Delaware Way:
ABOUT ARSENIC FROM NRG’S INDIAN RIVER POWER PLANT:
According to the EPA’s 2006 Toxic Release Inventory, the NRG Indian River coal plant released 31,000 pounds of arsenic into the plant’s landfill in 2006. The landfill leaches arsenic compounds and other chemicals into the underlying aquifer, which flows into Indian Creek and ultimately into the Indian River Inlet area. The coal plant also released 1000 pounds of arsenic into the air in 2006. According to the TRI report, the NRG coal plant is the only industrial facility in eastern Sussex County which emits arsenic and arsenic compounds.
The total toxic releases from the IRPP in 2006 were 3,722,456 pounds, according to the 2006 TRI. The NRG coal plant is the largest industrial polluter in Delaware, followed by Premcor Refining in Delaware City, and the Edgemoor/Hay Road power plant in Wilmington. WHAT DID THE LATEST DNREC FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORY SAY ABOUT ARSENIC?
Nothing.
DNREC issued a Fish Consumption Advisory on May 17, 2007, for the Delaware Atlantic Coastal Waters including the Delaware Inland Bays for PCBs and mercury contamination of bluefish only. DNREC did not mention arsenic contamination as a contaminant of concern. DNREC did not warn against ingesting local species in the Indian River area such as weakfish, flounder and striped bass.
The Night Sky again by Joe M of Merit Bound Alley:
Just past the first quarter, the moon casts silver light on the Earth. We were there. Humans threw people out of the atmosphere and we walked on an alien world. People stepped out of a metal ship, watched as dust flew from their footprints in a perfect parabola and settled onto the ground. We planted the Stars and Stripes, and gathering rocks for scientific inquiry, jetted those brave men back home. There are men alive today who walked on another world!
Brilliant orange, Mars creeps it’s way farther and farther from Pollux and Castor on the 2D map of the sky. If you look at that rusty dot, you are seeing robots that men and women hurled across thousands of miles to orbit or land, and send us amazing photos of that alien terrain. Soon, yet another robot will land on the ice caps and send us data about water on Mars!
Look far to the left and you will see Saturn, honey-gold and hanging in Leo, fighting the lion for brilliance and beauty! We sent another robot over one million kilometers away to orbit this ringed giant! This satellite, Cassini, landed a probe on one of the moons of Saturn, a completely different plantary system! We have video of the Huygens probe landing on the Saturnian moon of Titan, a world of thick yellow atmosphere and oceans of ammonia! If you look at that tiny golden dot in the sky, you can know that there is a human artifact out there, gathering data about other planets.
(Drumroll)….and the winner of the category of Delaware’s Science Prophet goes to:……..
Ouch! We have a tie between Tommywonk’s The Environmental Impact of Meat and Nancy’s Pat Gearity Writes. (Applause)
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As usual during any awards ceremony although all of the awards are well intentioned, the human mind just gets restless… so we have provided a compilation of jokes to enliven matters and hopefully after the breather, allow you to stay focused a little more strongly. This selection is entitled: Delaware’s Jokes: What’s Really Funny About Delaware”…..
“Thurman Adams, Charlie Copeland, Harris McDowell, and Ruth Ann Minner…..”
We now return you to our original programing……
Our next category voted upon by the Academy captures the good and bad of whats transpired these past six months. Highlighting something that only Delawareans would comprehend or appreciate are the next five nominees in the category which is titled….
Delaware’s Life and Hardships
And the nominees are:
4,000 Commas by Liberalgeek at Delaware Liberal.Net
I had a plan for a post that would have a comma for each of our soldiers that have perished as a result of George Bush’s adventurism and need to overcome his fathers’ inadequacies.
So please click below to see the 4,000 comma’s that symbolize the soldiers sacrificed for this BS war
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The Ever Duplicitous Senator Thurman Adams by Dana Garrett at Delaware Watch.
Surprise! Senator Thurman Adams recently announced that he would not keep his promise to Senator Peterson. The reason is juvenile. According to a source who allegedly heard it from his own lips, Senator Adams has decided not to let Senator Peterson’s FOIA bill come up for a vote because–now get this–it would then appear he had caved in to media pressure regarding it.
Imagine that. Instead of being embarrassed and conscience-stricken for being exposed as the person who keeps Delaware’s legislative branch closed to the taxpayers, Senator Adams views the prospect of the bill being voted upon as a personal attack on his fragile ego.
Thurman Adams is a 79-year-old baby. He is so thoroughly compromised and unprincipled, he cannot even be trusted to keep his own word.
Again: P-A-R-E-N-T-I-N-G by Hube at The Collossus of Rhodey….
Then, the kid walks up to me and starts tossing the plane directly towards my head.
Where is the parent, you may ask? Sitting right there — with a big smile on her face. Yep, there was mom, not saying a word to the kid like “Don’t throw that at anyone,” or “Get over here and sit down,” or even grabbing the airplane and telling the kid to occupy himself with something else.
The kid kept saying to me, “Look! Look!” and then would proceed to launch the plane right at my face. (Good thing I wear glasses or I might’ve lost my cool.) I glanced over at “mom,” with a scowl on my face which clearly indicated “Get your kid away from me NOW.” No dice. I walked over to look at some photos on the wall, my back turned to the kid and mom. The kid persists: “Hey! Hey! Hey!” I don’t turn around. The mom says, with a clear tone of condescension, “He might not want to play with yooouu …” Play? PLAY??!! Mercifully, my daughter came out then. We left quickly. There were two other waiting parents sitting down in the room, both of which had “oh my God” looks on their faces.
I sincerely hope I never have that kid in my classroom in however many years. I’ve a feeling I’ll be sending him out of class quite often. No thanks to his “mom.”
The History of the Delaware GOP’s Broken Promise on Senate Bill 4 by Dana Garrett of Delaware Watch:
Did I ever have the wool pulled over my eyes. And it was not as though I hadn’t been warned by many of my Democratic friends. “When it comes down to the moment of really doing what it takes to extend Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act to the Delaware Legislature,” they said, “the promises made by the Delaware Republicans in the State Legislature will vanish.”
But I didn’t listen to my friends. I praised the Republicans repeatedly for sponsoring open and good government bills, and I scolded Democrats for not following their lead. And now that Senator Karen Peterson (D) is once more forced to seek to petition her FOIA bill (SB 4) out of Senate Pro Tem Thurman “Slick and Slippery” Adams’ desk drawer, the promises made by the GOP Senators so far (except Sen. Colin Bonini) have vanished.
Sen. F. Gary Simpson (R) won’t sign the petition and the Senate Minority Leader Charles Copeland (R) appears to be against signing it as well:
Christine’s Lesson in Insignificance yet again by Dana Garrett at Delaware Watch:
What civil rights give her justification to sue a former employer, except for breach of contract, as a conservative? She isn’t a proprietor of ICI. Doesn’t she believe that proprietorship gives an employer the right to hire and fire for any reason whatsoever?
Or does the sensible intuition lurk in the recesses of O’Donnell’s pretty head that since, for most people, our society is structured to require employment for survival and to thrive that no employer should have the right to threaten one’s survival or capacity to thrive without a compelling reason to do so?
Hopefully, O’Donnell will develop her intuition further and realize that when working individuals can’t afford the expense of justice through lawsuits, they naturally join forces and form unions. It’s the only way in our society that most of the “little people” in the workplace can make themselves significant.
(drumroll) And this category’s winner is………
Hube with Again: P-A-R-E-N-T-I-N-G (Applause)
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Being wonkish we tend to measure our self-worth in wonkish categories. We flip out our wonks and measure them side by side to see who has one that is bigger and better…. We forget sometimes that we are frail humans too. This category is one which shows us just how strong we can be when faced with adversity that is not of wonkish persuasion. This category is titled…..
Delaware: The Human Equation
The nominees are:
So….the autism thing by Duffy at Pencader Days:
Things you need to know about autistic people and parents of autistic people.
1. No, my son is not Rain Man. He cannot count cards, play piano or whatever. I appreciate you trying to put some sort of positive spin on this but you sound like an ass.
2. My 7 year old son may have a meltdown in the grocery store for reasons unknown (even to me). Staring at me like I’m a hapless parent is bad but I’ll ignore you. Open your mouth and I’m giving you both barrels for your ignorance and lack of compassion.
3. Don’t patronize him. He’s not stupid and he understands what you’re saying. Talk to him, he may surprise you, he may not. Give him the benefit of the doubt.
4. Caveat to above. Set expectations accordingly and know his limits. Don’t set him up for failure. I do not bring him into areas with large crowds. He’d have a full blown meltdown that would probably have any nearby priests attempting an exorcism.
5. Don’t pity me. Having a disabled child is not ennobling or heroic. It just is. I didn’t choose this, it was chosen for me.
6. Caveat to above. It has made me a better person. I am far more patient and compassionate than I have ever been and perhaps why this was chosen for me.
Different Kind o Memory of Martin Luther King by Shirley Vandever at Delaware Curmudgeon….:
The traffic then wasn’t like it it now. We could do that.
Push ’em Back ! Shove ’em Back ! Waaaaaaaay Back !
Wellll, we all had a “sneak out” planned and I snuck through all the sleeping young’uns, down to the basement and up the cellar stairs, and don’t you know I heard my father’s voice, “C’mon outta there, Charlie”. He didn’t know it was me, assumed it was some intruder. I was busted.
Oh boy was I in deep shit. In my 14-year-old mind I wasn’t doing anything bad. Just sneakin’ out to have some fun with my girlfriends. Parents were called, punishments were meted out. I think I may still be technically grounded.
There was one small problem, of which I was oblivious. The month was April. The year was 1968. Martin Luther King had been assassinated, and there were riots in Wilmington. The National Guard was occupying the city (it lasted for 10 months). All this was going on around me, and I didn’t have a clue.
“C’mon outta there, Charlie !”
It was only years later that I heard and understood the fear in my father’s voice.
Congratulations, Lady Ravens by Mike Mahaffie at Mike’s Musings…
They were augmented by a group of girls, including Colleen (my eldest), who had been part of a lacrosse club last year and had some stick and ball-handling skills, but lacked game experience. They featured lots of sprinting towards the goal and plenty of shots, but little passing and strategy. Good teams beat them easily.
By the end of the season, though, the team had come together and found a nice balance. They still had a breakaway threat, but as often as not these girls made skillful passes, set-up plays, and manufactured goals with a touch of finesse. In their second-to-last game, they fought Caesar Rodney, one of the best teams in the league, down to the wire in a see-saw game that they lost only by one, last-minute goal.
So, congratulations, Lady Ravens. I’m looking forward to next year.
This is very strange … by Duffy at Pencader Days:
“Open it.”
“What? Me? Why don’t you open it when you get home?”
“What, you think this is a bomb or something? Who would want to blow me up?”
“Anyone who knows you really?”
“Very nice. Just open it.”
“There’s no note.”
“What’s in it?”
“Sam Adams Triple Bock.”
“Hmmm…Complete strangers sending me rare and expensive beer unsolicited. My reputation reaches far and wide. I’m hoping this is the beginning of a new trend. People will send me beer for free. That would be awesome.”
“Don’t you find this very strange?”
“Of course I do. But free beer in the mail is a good kind of strange. Body parts in the mail is the bad kind of strange.”
I can tell from her voice she’s unnerved by this.
Their Milkshake is Better Than Yours by Joe M at Merit Bound Alley
There are some things that are absolutely great about living in Delaware: the one-degree of separation we all experience, Deerhead Hot Dogs, Deer Park, the beach, but most importantly to me is the annual rite of spring when The Dairy Palace reopens.
On Thursday, March 27th, The Dairy Palace takes the plywood off its windows and starts making the best damn milkshake in Delaware for 51 years running. If you haven’t experience the soft ice cream milkshake plain or mixed with a candy of your choosing, you have not lived. Seriously, you haven’t.
This Thursday, after lunch, I will journey down to Basin Road in New Castle, mosey up to the counter and order my usual, a medium vanilla milkshake. I can’t wait. See you there.
Update
What the hell? Last night after dinner, I took the wife and boy down from North Wilmington to New Castle for a milkshake and the windows were still shuttered at The Dairy Palace.
And the winner of “Delaware: The Human Equation” category is……:
Another tie: Between Duffy for So….the autism thing and Shirley Vandever for A Different Kind o Memory of Martin Luther King (Applause)
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The next category is titled Delaware’s Best Original Blog Photo. Some of the genius behind blogging is to take an item discovered either over the internet or within our daily lives and give that object a story and a purpose… The object may not be originally created by author, but had it not been for the author pasting the image in their blog, none of us would have had the opportunity to view it….
Delaware’s Best Original Blog Photo
In this category, the nominees are: Another Tie: this time between Duffy for
Tombstone on the Florida Interstate posted by Nancy Willing of The Delaware Way…:
Live Red Clay Board Cam by Kilroy of Delaware
Uselessness by Delaware Liberal.Net
99,999 … and …100,000 by Mike Mahaffie at Mike’s Musings.
Germans Poking Fun at US Pols by Nancy Willing of The Delaware Way……
(it’s the expression on Hillary’s face)
(drumroll)…. and the Best Delaware Blog Photo is………..
Our Last Tie……… between Delaware Liberal’s Uselessness and Mike Mahaffie’s 99,999 … and …100,000 (Applause)
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One of Delaware’s most pressing opportunities lies within our state educational system. There are among our state several experts who have exercised considerable effort to better the lives of our children. The next category is titled:
Delaware’s Educational Opportunities
And the nominees are:
Red Clay Object Codes Now On Line by Kilroy of Delaware….
The Reason I quit the Red Clay Consoildated School District Community Finanical Review Committee was because, I was led to believe the report couldn’t be E-mailed as a pdf. file and couldn’t be posted on the district’s webpage as a stand alone file to maintain security of the finanical data base. It didn’t take a fucking PhD to figure it out and took a half-whit like me with a GED and pocket full of college credits to presents this to you. A certain school board member claims it would be a major investment and finanical hardship to provide such service to the community. Well, it didn’t cost a dam penny!
In my opinion, certian members of district and a certain board member seem to want to keep the community in the dark like mushrooms covered in shit.
Elementary-aged Girls (GASP) Like Math And Science Best by Nancy Willing at the Delaware Way…..
Feh, how often do cultural ‘norms’ create ‘abnormal’ effects? (link):
Girls like writing and reading; boys like math and science. At least that’s the stereotype. But a new survey shows that girls in elementary school actually like math and science better than language arts.
Researchers at the University of Miami in Ohio surveyed nearly 2,000 girls in grades 4 through 8 at public and parochial schools and had them rate their enjoyment of four subjects, science, math, language arts and social studies, on a scale of 1 (strongly dislike) to 5 (really like).
Fourth-grade girls clearly liked science the best; their average enjoyment levels were:
4.11 for science
3.85 for math
3.5 for language arts
3.49 for social studies
As girls get older though, they seem to like science and math less, with science’s average likeability score falling to 3.29 for girls in 8th grade.
But these subjects aren’t alone, as girls seemed to lose a little interest in every subject.
Fixing High Poverty Schools ?????? by John Allison of Kilroy’s Delaware:
Go in and check the profiles and you will notice Red Clay has many schools with very high poverty levels…. Red Clay sucks! I need to rethink this! Do you think maybe the poverty level is rising because Red Clay charter Schools, Charter School of Wilmington 3% poverty, Delaware Military Academy 11.2% and Odyssey (0% , can’t be right but it’s online) are pulling many students that are not high poverty out of the Red Clay Schools causing the % of poverty to go up
The First Debate: Education by Cassandra at Delaware Liberal.Net…..:
Attendees of the debate tonight between Democratic gubernatorial Jack Markell and John Carney on Education pretty much filled the lower space of the Grand and there were some folks who ventured up to the (cordoned off) area upstairs. Markell supporters were very visible – ranging from the kids outside with signs and cheers (having some fun with folks going into the building, I might add) to a fair number of attendees wearing their Markell pins. If I am judging reaction to applause lines correctly, though, there were plenty of Carney supporters in the house.
It was a very civilized event – the candidates certainly were friendly and gracious to each other. The format was very focused (I really liked this), the moderators kept it all moving (and the candidates themselves were good about sticking to the rules) and the audience was polite and engaged. This was the first time that I’ve seen either of these candidates in person and both did well in this format – although I kept getting the impression that Markell might have been happier moving around on the stage.
Paid To Study by Shirley Vandever at Delaware Curmudgeon….:
Paid to study? I find something inherently wrong with this. Maybe I’m just an old fogie, but I always thought that education was something to be worked at not only for the simple idea of self-improvement but for the hope of better long-term opportunities.
The program is privately-funded (thank goodness), oddly enough by the Learn and Earn initiative, conceived by former House speaker Newt Gingrich.
“The hope is that the bribes will boost students’ motivation to learn, attend class and get better grades.”
Would that this program had been in effect when I was attending Concord High School in the early 70’s ! It sure would have beat slinging burgers and Cherry Cokes at Grady’s Bowling Alley. Although I did have the added benefit of learning how to play a pretty mean game of pool, it would have been alot easier to get paid to do what I already was doing on my own time (more money, as well).
(drumroll): And the winner of the best blog post on education goes to…
Cassandra for The First Debate: Education (Applause)
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Next category in line is:
Delaware’s Funniest “Humor Posting”
And the nominees are:
Father/daughter blogging the Markell-Carney Education Debate by Steve Newton at Delaware Libertarian
My daughter liked Markell: sez the same thing as the other guy but at least he keeps me awake.
She’s not so hot on Carney: he’s kinda robotic and (kinda mean) but also a sissy.
Hey, I don’t write her material.
On schools that “feel like family” (a Markell quote): maybe in Canada, but at [school name deleted] we detest our teachers.
On where they’re going to find the money to pay for all this: they are going to steal it from New Jersey
On year round schools: take away my summer? You aren’t planning to vote for them, are you?
…..My daughter’s comment: when can we leave? all they do is promise everything to everybody and you know they won’t do it.
It is probably obvious now that the wrong member of my family is in charge of this blog.
C.R.A.M by Frank Knotts of First State Politics (before changeover)….:
Some will say that I am giving the election to the Democrats, I would say that the Republican Party leadership did that when they chose this path, and if we continue down it , they will destroy the party and in my view this great nation.
We must not give in to the temptation of the easy way, we must fight for what we believe , and we must fight to win, but not just to win elections but to win this ideological battle. We can not win that battle by conceding control of the party to the liberals.
So if the only weapon left to the conservatives of the Republican Party is to cast no vote then so be it, “LEAVE THE BOX EMPTY”!!!!!!!!! And tell the liberals in this party to
C.R.A.M. it!!!!
CASTLE RECEIVES HIGH HONOR FROM ROCKFORD PARK DOG by Jason Scott of Delaware Liberal.Net.
Wilmington, DE – Delaware Congressman Mike Castle received unrestrained and boisterous affection from one of his neighbor’s dogs in Rockford Park this afternoon. The canine wagged his tail furiously and nuzzled Congressman Castle’s outstretched hand, at times licking it.
Rep. Castle has worked to build positive relations with of all manner of non-threatening dogs and has been a leader in the House advocating for the scratching of dogs behind their ears and saying things which dog’s seem to like such as, “Hey boy. That’s a good boy” and “Howzit going today Champ?”
In his remarks upon receiving the honor, Castle highlighted the need for a robust friendship with dogs. “I have the highest regard for all animal companions, however, as far as treating you like you are the best thing since sliced bread, there is nothing better than a dog.”
If ABC Had Moderated the Lincoln-Douglas Debates by Tommywonk:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Excuse me, did an Elijah H. Johnson attend your church?
LINCOLN: When I was a boy in Illinois forty years ago, yes. I think he was a deacon.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you aware that he regularly called Kentucky “a land of swine and whores”?
LINCOLN: Sounds right — his ex-wife was from Kentucky.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Why did you remain in the church after hearing those statements?
LINCOLN: I was eight.
DOUGLAS: This is an important question George — it’s an issue that certainly will be raised in the fall.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you denounce him?
LINCOLN: I’d like to get back to the divided house if I may.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you denounce and reject him?
LINCOLN: If it will make you shut up, yes, I denounce and reject him.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you denounce and reject him with sugar on top?
In the midst of this nonsense, Senator Douglas did find time to insert an important point:
DOUGLAS: When I was 11, my grandpappy and I chopped wood and shot bears.
It’s true that in the mid 19th century, journalism was, in many ways, much rougher than today. But it’s hard to imagine it could have been much dumber.
Bloggers Continue to Get Choice Political Posts by Liberalgeek of Delaware Liberal.Net….:
April 1st, 2008 by liberalgeek · 17 Comments
Last week we were all elated by the appointment of Mat Marshall to the post of Communications Director. If these things come in threes, there is only one to go.
Mike Protack has named activist/poet/blogger Dana Garrett as his campaign manager.
“My first foe in this battle to become Governor will be the Republican party itself. Dana has shown an ability to battle some of my biggest detractors, such as Dave Burris” said Protack.
“Once I have wrapped up the Republican nomination, I will need someone that can battle my Democratic opponent, whether that person is Carney or Markell, I know that Dana will be willing and able to excoriate them at every turn. He has been doing it for years.”
This is really unbelievable. Congratulations, Dana. I am sure you will be a formidable opponent.
And the winner of Delaware’s Funniest Humor Posting Is……..”
Tommywonk for If ABC Had Moderated the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (applause)
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And after a long night, we come to the last category of the evening… This category recognizes that a lot of blogging uses other peoples work. Much of our lives would be cantankerous if it were not for the tools called “cut” and “paste”.. but creativity can take many forms. One of the forms used primarily in the past, is called “making things up.” Today we have a high sounding name for this thought process and tend to call it “most original content.” Even then, technology in the form of links, youtube, and images cannot be silenced…. This last category is…..
Delaware’s Most Original (Any Category)
And the nominees are:
10 Things I Love About Drinking Liberally again by Jason Scott of Delaware Liberal.Net……:
6) Meeting blog fans. Especially fans who have jobs which prevent me from naming names. (you know who you are.)
5) Getting the inside skinny. (Does anyone say that…”skinny” anymore?) Anyway, some things just can’t be emailed.
4) Meeting the awesome, charming attractive wives of bloggers. Let’s face it when people see you two together that think, “What is she doing with him?”
3) The fact that there is no “Drinking Conservatively.” So IN YOUR FACE CONSERVATIVES!!
2) The creativity & the strategizing. Some creative SOB is always throwing out some great idea.
1) Did I mention the drinking?
WPVI-TV’s 6 ABC Action News On Mat Marshall by Nancy Willing of The Delaware Way…..
This Delaware teenager is pretty savvy when it comes to technology – and politics. That’s why Mat Marshal is the new communications director for a congressional candidate. In the classroom Mat Marshall is used to listening to his teacher at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts. And among his peers, fellow students often take in his ideas. Video clips and sound bites are about to become a big part of this 16-year-old’s life now that he’s been named the new communications director for Karen Hartley-Nagle, a Democrat who plans to challenge Delaware Republican Congressman Mike Castle.
Delaware Blogging in 2007 by Tommywonk….:
If blogging were just about typing deep thoughts into a computer and posting them online, then this recognition wouldn’t mean all that much. But Delaware bloggers have made their voices heard in ways that might have seemed improbable when I started TommyWonk in February, 2005. It’s not unusual to hear bloggers like Dana Garrett of Delaware Watch and Mike Matthews of DWA doing stints as guest hosts on WDEL talk shows. Dana appears on roundtable segments on Channel 12’s Delaware Tonight, long a bastion of the usual suspects offering the usual opinions. Dave Burris of First State Politics has emerged as a force for change within the Delaware GOP. In short, bloggers are finding their voices as proponents of change in the wider public sphere.
Observations on Iowa by Duffy at Pencader Days…..:
Huckabee and Obama represent a different type of candidate. The Thoughtful Candidate. The gulf between the two groups is so glaring it’s hard to unsee it once you’ve seen it.
Leaving Huckabee aside for a moment, I have to comment on Obama. Initially I wrote him off as a lightweight with little experience and little to offer. If you’ll pardon a pun, the darkest of dark horses. But I noticed something. Whenever someone asked him a question, he got a peculiar look on his face that was absent on the faces of this competitors. He looked…pensive. Studying the other faces in the Democrat debates I could see they weren’t listening so much as waiting to talk.
Quarantine 2008 has ended again by Duffy at Pencader Days….
I get to the office and my cell phone rings. Not good. My wife informs me that now all the kids are sick. Sick as in, simultaneously throwing up. Oh boy. I realize that I have to do what I have to do and get the hell back home ASAFP. In an hour and a half I’m done with the necessary stuff and I’m heading south fast. I do not feel well. Really bad. I’m burning up and my stomach hurts so much I can’t stand up straight. Back in the car and down 95. Just before the Sandbox, I have to pull over. All of southbound 95 gets to watch me puke my guts out on a Monday morning. Morning everyone!
I get home and all seems to have calmed down. Baby is playing quietly with a noise making book. #1 is asleep on the floor (!). This is the kid with a sleeping disorder that requires medication to help him sleep and any kind of noise would ordinarily wake him. That he’s sleeping in the middle of the living room does not bode well. The other two are on the couch tucked under a blanket watching something or other. My wife seems me and says “You are as white as a sheet. You didn’t make it did you?” I shake my head and she ushers me off to bed (God I love this woman)
(drumroll) … And the winner is:
Duffy for Quarantine 2008 has ended (Applause)
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Finally, this was unannounced. But as the voting progressed it became apparent that we had multiple winners in each category but no one post or winner stood out entirely over the blogger’s field.
Remembering that it is just a honor to be nominated, I thought that would be sufficient. But as posts came in, I thought of an arbitrary solution, removed from all subjectivity, which might garnish a post that stands out above the rest…
And so….
The post receiving the most individual singular votes, will be that one….. and for the last time……
(drumroll).… and the winner is…..
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Ouch… What? (Whisper, whisper) Really? ..Oh my! This is a letdown, but…. there was a four way tie for the post having the most votes. After thinking of run off otpions, the academy has decided that there is no way anyone could realistically designate any one of these entries to be better than its brethern. Therefore since there does not have to be one….. there will be no clear cut winner of the “Golden Hummer Award”. We will have to wait until Delaware Liberal’s Oscars at year end to make that determination. In the meantime congratulations to all of the nominees. It is truly a pleasure to be considered among your number……
Courtesy of Department of Defense
If there is any correlating theme coming from this past week, would have to lie deep within the meaning of this word: fragments.
Whereas before, the blogging community seemed to be one amorphous blob, with all of its patrons joined together in a fight for survival against the study of the illogical (illogogy)…. it almost seems that with the passing of the Bluewater Wind controversy and the closing of Legislative Hall for another 6 months, that without a common enemy, the blogging world is running all over the place, like a week’s worth of wind-up McDonald’s toys set loose at the same time.
It was different last summer. The evil Stockbridge was the ogre of that time. (Copeland and McDowell surfaced as the insidious ones later in the fall)… During those lazy, hazy days, one could always on a slow day count on someone posting something about Mitt Romney. Others could be counted on to praise Obama, or damn Mike Castle, and many Ron Paul supporters were just beginning to get the wind beneath their wings. Giuliani even had a supporter or two, and one Sussex County person, was anticipating the great Fred Thompson’s march all the way into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…. Last summer bred some exciting times. It was a great time to be a blogger…..
This week, each blog is on its own agenda. Even one fascinated with blogs as myself sometimes skims and clicks out if nothing jumps out like a fanged dog at me….That never happened last year… Did we overwork ourselves with all of our successful endeavors?
One difference between the two summers, lies in the march of events. Events have increased their frequency this summer. Every day destiny provides us with a fait accompli before we even get a chance to comment upon it. We will have a presidential campaign soon upon us with two conventions. We will have the Olympics starting on the ominous day of 8/8/8. We are hanging by just a thread from collapsing into the abyss of bank closures, unemployment, with a broke federal government unable to guarantee any other bailout. We will have a good Phillies’ team for once.
But for whatever reason each of us are starbursting, which is management speak for just bouncing around, making a scene, yet accomplishing little in the long term because of a lack of any follow-through…
Everyone is on their own agenda….. If you were new to Delaware’s blog scene and just happened to visit us for the first time this week, you might think Delaware Liberal was misnamed. Although they smatter their posts with some liberal content, most of their time within posts and comments was tied up on the global significance of the Thursday election of Delaware’s hottest blogger. Fortunately Donvitti provides pictorial relief from his blatant lobbying attempt to keep the title coming to himself….. This is worth the visit just to see what some rather famous names look like…..There are also some nice photo’s of some trees…..and portable chairs….. On a serious note, mark your calendars for the Thursday July 31st fundraiser for Tommy….. Voting will be done on site…..
One controversy stirring among Delaware’s elite, is over the use, or misuse of Democratic party funds to fund one candidate over its challenger.
In a detached way it almost seems like we are sifting too hard, forcing out controversies in otherwise everyday occurrences, then fanning the flames, just because we have too little to argue about… (and more like the main stream media than we would like to think)…… to draw attention to ourselves.. We are, after all, human beings too…. But when all is said and done, it still is the party’s money to spend as they see fit. But in judging it’s overall importance, after looking over each blog’s links, this giant controversy also covered by our main stream media, is mentioned in only two blogs, both of which lean towards Markell. Is it then really such a big deal if it is only being mentioned by just one side? Just asking…
Now, moving on……..
Delaware Watch jumps around between the national political scene and controversies occurring on the home front. Taking on the fickle Lee turnabout, it appears that the sentiments of the actual Republican Gubernatorial candidate, do not fall in line completely with his handlers. We in a glimpse see that their party’s flagship candidate, who until he was restrained by his programmers, actually had a moment of courage and credibility. With his reversal, we see we are now exposed to just another hologram, a human face put on some shady backroom dealings….He is truly just following his handler’s directions…… On the national front, Delaware Watch covers the real reason McCain reversed himself and went with offshore drilling…. It wasn’t for America’s interests……it was done in the interest of his campaign treasury… With his reversal…. his campaign treasury swelled with oil man’s money. No doubt this was noticed by Christine O’Donnell who thought she could get free money as well…… Continuing…..
Delaware Way has dived down deep into New Castle County Politics. While struggling to protect The Grange’s historical significance from the Scott- aided developers who are just itching to bulldoze that remarkable historical site under….. her commentary is long and full of information…. Truly this is corruption in its highest form. It is the local equivalent of Iraqi oil. We’ll take it because we can, thank you very much….. As one nation under God, we fought against this concept of entitled royalty during our Revolution War. No wonder Clark-Scott want to remove any local traces of that rebellion from Delaware’s future collective memory…. They are establishing themselves as the nouveau caste of elitists…. it’s Capano and the Highway Radisson all over again………
On a side, this controversy reminds me that for one week in late summer of 1777, thirty thousand troops were camped in New Castle County. (To get a visual of that amount, climb to the top of St. Francis Hospital’s parking garage and look out over all of Wilmington. Half of all you see, represents the number of troops, both British and American, being bivouacked here). Even more historic, is the fact that the war could have been settled here in the British’s favor, had the British capitalized on one of Washington’s errors….. They didn’t. Clark-Scott want it covered up…. $$$$$$$ Shall we let them?
Oddly since mentioning Scott and Clark in the same sentence makes one want to throw up, the local blogosphere, perhaps in a subtle tribute to Al Mascitti, has decided to go the route of food critic. DWA’s Dominique recommends juicy hamburgers, and Jason330 issues accolades for a tuna pineapple appetizer…. And for those who salivate at visual images…….
Next, getting to the spirit of political fundraising, we are shown two opposite approaches. Delaware Politics. Net has this article of one union shaking down its members to meet an arbitrary goal. Just when unions finally have an election season going for them, one of their members pulls a stunt like this…. Down With Absolutes has a tongue in cheek posting in similar vein. Apparently to facilitat their solicitation for donations, they need a mechanism that responds to sexual favors (see comments).
Meanwhile our favorite Curmudgeon is standing guard over our rights,… (naturally including our right give and receive sexual favors).(lol) Most particularly important to her, is the right to pursue our own form of happiness. That July 4th right is under attack by two local towns. A giant controversy, covered nowhere else, has its silence broken by Shirley. Apparently they do not have sex in Middletown. or at least certain elements of that city want to pretend that they don’t…. Banishing Waters and dropping Bernhardt seems like much ado over nothing. Surprisingly this has not gotten airplay from anywhere else… But such controversies will forever haunt the human condition. It is what happens when you let stupid people into government….. Personally I’m looking forward to the response to Newark’s singling out motorcycles for their noise abatement enforcement. I’ve never seen a million motorcycles before. I wonder if they could get that many to show? They have the mailing lists, and most bikers I know would drive at least 500 miles to an event like this….
On a side, I wonder how long it would take a million bikes to pass down Newark’s Main Street? Taking the average of 5 feet per bike and going with a tight 4 bike abreast formation with twenty feet separating each row…. To pass by one point, the answer is 79 hours; from noon on a Friday until 7 pm Monday evening. Now that would be an event worth seeing. I don’t think any other locality would dare venture so far as to single out motorcycles in the future, were bikers able to pull something like this off…….
The Colossus is starbursting from the other side… Now a movie critic they cover the The Great Debaters and The Dark Knight.. The latter was more of a Ms. Manners’ commentary on the behavior of those watching with him. (No wonder boot-legs sell well on the black market.) (lol) But to test your brainpower acumen, check out the trivia question included near the bottom of The Dark Knight... I wonder whether sight unseen if you can guess the winner? If you guessed “Mr. Trivia”, Allan Loudell, you are close….. almost.
Starbursting from the other side…. the staff of Colossus has decided to rule the Isle of Lost Causes and scours the media outlets for anything to throw at Obama. Most of them don’t stick….but the theme picture is worth commenting upon. Here is pitch one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, etc…. and a couple of small arms fire, one and two, aimed at Protack. Perhaps I’m nuts, but the only thing missing in this exhaustive anti-Obama coverage, is any substantial argument as to why someone in their right mind would ever want to vote for Obama’s opponent? Darn, after such extensive reading, I forgot his name…….
Third parties often are manned by well meaning dolts. One ducks and dodges them in any public event…..or fails to return their phone calls because of their tendency to focus on one narrow issue that appears to most, to be relatively unimportant. But,…. when a third party is manned by someone of superior intelligence, they offer a view of the other political parties unseen by those confined within…. Browsing through Delaware Libertarian recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find a rather good description of the Democratic Party…..
Using Delaware Liberal as a template, Steve Newton dissects the Democratic Party with a surgeon’s precision. As his discussion evolves it becomes self-evident that perhaps Progressives of all parties need to unite and elect intelligent candidates for a change, instead of the usual ones put up by parties whose sole appeal lies in the fact that they obey orders….. His proposal for an amalgamated Progressive Party made of many parts (smart Dem’s, smart Repub’s, and smart Indi’s), is a thinking man’s proposal for finding a way out of our cardboard maze we have chosen to place ourselves inside. It is proposal worth pursuing…..For both Steve, Shirley, and myself are pulling for one Republican: Tyler Nixon. Common Sense may need a little help in this race.
In my pick for the best post of the week, we have the breakdown of our Medicare System. By breakdown, I mean totally….broken…..down….. Our medicare system is busted and in this post we actually feel a father’s anguish of a daughter caught up in a bureaucracy-gone-wild under the current Republican unfunded mandates….. Read at your own discretion… It made me angry…. Just be prepared to laugh out loud when Copeland, Lee, Castle, and McCain say their administration has trimmed costs by reducing the rolls of those on Medicare. Be prepared to laugh them all the way down below 10%…. The post is truly non- partisan, but I guarantee your anger after reading it….will be partisan…..no matter what party you hail from…..
But be careful of what you say….. not.. Obviously Delaware Libertarian has been compromised by the Fed’s searching for information on face it, this and other local deviants, who they fear more than any blah-blah propagandist. For they have no defense against facts. Facts pertaining to what they have done wrong , facts showing they care not for their constituents, facts that will anger a population so much that their power base will shift to another…. They must find those who prevent their story line from being seriously taken at face value and take them out….
Commendation must be given to the Delaware Libertarian for following the letter of the law, but posting the warning for all to see is genius. I had not yet thought of that form of civil disobedience which is perfectly legal, ( I checked) since it is a blanket warning and is not one expressly tipping off the person that their records are being culled. I encourage all others receiving such notification to follow this defiant act. At this early stage, searching through the records of one blogger (obviously not a threat to this or any other nation, but equally obviously a threat to an already very dead political movement within this nation), may be legal, but is very hard to justify politically. Now is the time to push back, and not wait until after Israel bombs Iran and we go into Emergency Powers……
But running scared is the opposite of what we bloggers do. If you have ever trained as a United States Marine, you know that when you hear enemy fire, you race hell bent towards it… So that is what we are doing…. Causalities are a cost of doing battle with evil… To this poor soul, violating the laws of the Constitution of the United States, is about as close to treason and evil as anyone can get…..
Thanks Steve for finding that solution… Of course if it was done as a “punk”, it worked well enough so that we have acquired a defense against a Department of Homeland Security staffed only by sick Republicans….. if everyone posts a similar notice we can show the world that within our own country, our freedom is under attack…..
Joe M of Merit Bound Alley comes out of his two month sabbatical, no doubt, because of the hostility given to his view posted in Delaware Liberal‘s comment section regarding the pope. He applies scientific principals to the Catholic position, and proves that the church’s stand on this issue, is, if not completely unsound, still rather controversial.
Now on a lighter note… much needed I think after that…… Ok…we had our food critics….we had a movie critic…. and now, (drumroll please) from lower Delaware, we get our automotive critic. Mike Mahaffie has left the hybrid community. “What? No more mileage posts?” Gone is the Prius. Mike’s Musing‘s author has settled on a new Scion as his next best thing…..Being familiar with anime artistry, I laughed at his quote….”The styling is sharp; a colleague described the front view today as like a Japanese anime character. I can see that.” if needing a good game of golf to relax, you can find it here…. But making vehicle changes is not the only change his blog has undergone… the blog itself has received some major housekeeping….
Last but not least, as he prepares for Thursday’s Drinking Liberally accompanied by the sideshow of choosing Delaware’s Hottest Blogger, Tommywonk is getting his writing ready for the big time of national politics in Denver…. His three posts about Obama, naturally are sandwiched between three posts about energy…… Obviously Christine’s illogogy has gotten his dander up a little, as she did mine….. To paraphrase Dusty’s admonition to Bill, the tornado chaser in the 90’s thriller...Twister…. “(She)’s gonna rue the day (she) goes up against “The Extreme.” Better give it up Christine O’Donnel, challenger to Joe Biden’s Senate seat,…. By going against Tommywonk, you are simply competing out of your league………..
So you see…. we are all fragments… our blogosphere has lost its cohesiveness…. A vast pit of randomness is what we have become, disconnected, diverse, looking away from each other and chasing our own rainbows…
Which reminds me to take off my hat and give David Anderson a deep bow of respect for deciding to make a difference by running for office... Watching David’s writing change over the last two years, has been a pleasure. It’s been a while now, since he has started writing from his own heart, instead of his party’s standard talking points. I’m thankful for the insights which his view has provided, some of which have grounded my own views with a deeper truth… I know he ran before. But based solely on his writing, this time in my heart, I believe he is ready to do what is needed for his constituents, and not follow what is asked of by his party’s higher up’s. Thumbs up, David. You represent us all. Make us proud……
So fragments we collectively are.. and you know… as I processed all this information, I realize that being fragmented so is not all that bad, as you too can now see by this rather lengthy, exhaustive post…
Unless, of course, the economy has dealt you a blow. Unless, of course, you are desperately trying to make ends meet with no steady stream of finances. Unless, of course, by this time all you have left is fragments…. and it shows up in your writing style…. because that is how your life………………… is.
Courtesy of Department of Defense
The kavipsian award open-voting closes at midnight July 31st. The winner will be announced August 1st. I highly recommend that all peruse this selection since these are the best of the best of Delaware’s blogosphere. To miss it is like driving by the Louvre and not stopping in.
To navigate there easily, I have installed a page at the top of my blog. Click on the link contained within, and you will be there…
I’m surprised that some votes are in already, since the list is rather ponderous. But careful reading should be encouraged since this represents the best of what Delaware is…
Remember to post your votes in the comment section in this format: b,e,d,a,c,b,a,e,b, and to use the name anon. And yes, of course it is cool to vote for yourself….
So who is winning on the back stretch?
a,c,d,b,b,tie,d,tie,tie
Just five days left.
Courtesy of Department of Defense
At this time last year, Tommywonk, Curmudgeon, Delaware Liberal, FSP, Delaware Watch, Down with Absolutes, The Delaware Way, The Colossus of Rhodey, Pencader Days, Mike’s Musings, and others, were on fire…
Perhaps I’m nostalgic, but last year it seemed like the Delaware blogosphere was a bit more personal. There seemed to be more posts, and more personality coming through the blogs, than we see today in our selections.
There could be a myriad of reasons. One, the election season, extended version, could have taken a lot out of us. Two, several blogs switched servers, making my finding the archives a little difficult…..Three, viewing all the blogs from near this time last year, they all seemed written in a simpler in style; This year many are covered by a number of widgets…..and some with advertising……Last year most blogs were written by just one person; DelawareLiberal was the only “super” blog on line at the time. FSP was in the process of acquiring a bigger team. Since this time last year, three major Delaware blogs have become an “editorial board”, and not the “editor in chief”…..Delaware Watch, Delaware Libertarian, and Down With Absolutes have grown contributors since last Memorial Day……….
Perhaps we were more passionate last summer, because almost each of us had a different presidential candidate in mind for the Denver or St. Paul conventions…Each of us had something serious to argue about….Just mentioning the list of candidates today brings a lot of local names to mind…..Romney, Thompson, Giulliani, Biden, Gravell, Dodd, Richardson, and of course…..Ron Paul. Destiny has reduced us to three candidates, and conversations within the blogosphere, have become somewhat “canned.”
Some of the “greats” have left us…..Dave Burris……Mike Matthews…….Matt Marshall……but their shoes have been filled by David Anderson……Frank Knotts……..John Feroce…….Dominique………and the blogs go on…..
Perusing through some of the archives, much more original research was placed on line in the form of links. Now, it seems as if one browses another blog or newspaper site, pastes a byline, and moves on. Another difference, perhaps also due to the popularity of the personalities involved, is that there appears to be a lot more self advertising in the form of the announcement of other speaking engagements; local talk radio in particular……..Not that it’s a bad thing of course…..A wider audience is the sole effort all of us have to contribute to if we are to give politics another outlet of getting their words out to the public, other than the News Journal……….
It appears that local stories dominated last years news, at least as summer began. Of course in an election year, one should expect a presidential election to take precedence…..
And last but not least, we were a lot fresher last year….Blogging takes a little out of a person each time, does it not my friends?
Exceptions to what I just said. Hube seems to be on fire this year…..writing rather prolifically as well as providing eclectic, interesting tidbits about himself during the process….. His 100 top movies, and his videos in Spanish….prove that “personality” should not be pruned when writing, but rather cultivated instead….(It also proves life is bigger than just reading blogs). He still busts letter writers who errantly violate good sense in their News Journal letters to the Editor, he still posts the Watcher of Weasel’s results, some of which are first class writings…..Of course some of us think he could polish up his comments better, if he chose to become a first class writer, but……(lol)…….he wouldn’t be Hube, now, would he?
Whereas Hube has stepped up, Alan Coffey, who once was everywhere across the blogosphere, has tapered off a bit. Beset with tragedy earlier this year, that is understandable. However his prolific wisdom in the comment section, often through the back and forth between himself and other writers, often uncovers the details of a viable national policy that should be followed for years to come… And then he occasionally picks up something the rest of us have missed…..
Shirley at Curmudgeon, has written with less political passion since Ron Paul has stopped being news…One should pause to consider the milestones Ron accomplished in the area of raising money…..He may not have gotten the votes, but he is one candidate who does not need to beg for us to show him the money……..Obama and Ron Paul: Ticket for Change….. But if your are ever interested in some Weed.….
Mike Mahaffie is probably the best at showing all of us what being a Delawarean is all about….It’s about teams, its about eggs, its about one’s hometown….Forever the photographer, we see in his blog, the better part of Delaware we sometimes rush pass on our way to meetings that we tell ourselves are “more Important.” Mike, thank heavens, shows all of us,….. that is not so…….(Why do I get a spooky feeling I’m about to witness a 111,111…..?_)
Duffy at Pencader Days seems to be on his hiatus right now…I hope it is for good, not bad, reasons. Reading Duffy’s blog one senses the humanism required to face up to challenge, after challenge, after challenge. Sharing with the rest of us his triumphs and antagonistic sessions, we cannot help but appreciate that life is a series of challenges. The easy challenges do not really stretch us into adulthood. It’s the really big challenges that make us men and women, out of boys and girls…I find his personal accounts uplifting for the simple premise that if Duffy can face his challenges as he does, there is no excuse for the rest of us to face our own obstacles, with as much drive, determination, and grit…..
Merit Bound Alley has been on line, then off, then on, then off and is now on line again. I am trying to keep him as our science guru, scanning the science wires and posting the newest and greatest discoveries rocking the scientific world……..As politics heat up, it is nice to have a reminder that no matter how significant we tend to think ourselves to be……that we and an ant are in a statistical dead heat, when one compares each of our respective atoms to those of the universe as a whole……
Every community needs someone to keep the others in touch. Someone like the telephone operator in Andy Griffith’s Mayberry who kept all informed of everyone’s business. The community was closer that way…We have Nancy Willing and Delaware Liberal who serve that purpose well. Scanning the wires, copy and pasting, they provide the fodder for the rest of us to look at, dissect, and rebutt……The prodigious amount of what they cover, is the key.
Delaware Way, for example covers these local events, all of which are big in their respective neighborhoods, whether its Mr. Valahura,, The Middletown 301 Project, the SEU’s . Delaware Liberal keeps us posted on bloggers emotional events,….like kissing and making up…. as well as acknowledging the greater world out there….
But DelawareLiberal.Net. has taken on some serious investigative journalism. Jason did original research into the formation of the SEU and its continuance despite the fact hat its charter states that it should have closed down. LiberalGeek has the latests on their most recent meeting, here….It was obvious to me that something was different about this meeting which was missing from the last. Should I say more of a serious, or “get something done” attitude was present this time? Could we be seeing the fruits of Geeks reporting of his first foray into the lions den of General Assembly committee hearings?
DelawarePolitics.Net marches on without Dave….For an example of how unexciting it is without Dave’s boastful exaggerations, check out the mild tone of Smitty, reminding one of Ben Stein‘s character on the “Wonder Years.” David Anderson tries to get up into Sharon Stone and her karma…Just don’t forget what happened to Michael Douglas when he tried to do the same……..
Delaware Libertarian, has been preoccupied with the Libertarian National Convention, coming up with this visual aid to assist those wondering if Libertarians may make a mark this year………I was just speaking of this post the other day, telling someone that I thought it would have great relevance to our lives beginning after the stock market crash next fall…..
Meanwhile Tommywonk continues to doggedly pursue the Wind story, both on line and on the air….. As his post suggests, crunch time is here to persuade Senators to vote in favor of the best new opportunity Delaware will have for a long time…..The same arguments being used today, were used against the Banking Act, which just barely squeaked though the General Assembly.That bill did a lot of good for Delaware……
Dominique has breathed new life into Down With Absolutes….All the guys who use to give Mike Matthews a hard time, are enamored with her…..The best comments now come from Liz Allen and Nancy Willing…..Go figure….. But lately a series which invites a reader to tell whatever dirt they know about a candidate, is creating a rather good tutorial that our citizens can use in both the primary and general elections….Trolling for comments, and keeping it personal….Dominique carries Matthew’s good work forward…..
Delaware Watch took a break from blasting McCain to have some fun….Apparently out with his camera he caught this riding around our first state…..But if you ever wanted to blow a national presidential campaign completely out of the water, but just did not no how…..then this site is for you….
So I may concede that collectively we are not as good as we were last year…..But because of us, the News Journal is doing a better job. Because of us, talk radio is actually interesting again. Because of us, we are 3 Senators and one desk drawer shy of passing a Bluewater Wind deal over the objections of one Delmarva Power company….
Who would have ever thought something like that might come to pass?
kavips 
