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Of course one schedules a big announcement at an opportune time to divert attention from everything else. Suddenly not turning in tax returns is old. “Why you bringing up that shit for, you creepy old loser?” Suddenly, Bain Capital’s fortunes made at the expense of working class heroes, is like last years Mason Jar-d green beans…..
But, did you know, (and it will get lost today for sure), did you know that NOT SINCE EISENHOWER, HAS THE STOCK MARKET EVER PERFORMED AS WELL AS IT HAS THIS PAST TERM OF PRESIDENT OBAMA?
Not during the Republican years of Richard Nixon
Not during the Republican years of Gerald Ford
Not during the Republican years of Ronald Reagan….
Not during the Republican years of George HW. Bush….
Not during the Republican years of George W. Bush……
HAVE WE EVER HAD A STOCK MARKET PERFORM THIS WELL!!!!!!
(ok, ok, in order just to be considered fair here…)
Not during the Democratic years of John F. Kennedy…
Not during the Democratic years of Lyndon Baines Johnson….
Not during the glorious years of Jimmy Carter….
Not during the most amazing years in American History, of William Jefferson Clinton……
Not since Eisenhower…
Let that sink in….. Not since Eisenhower…..
If this were the Philadelphia Eagles and we’d had three back to back Superbowl wins…..we’d be jumping up and down for joy… These results are absolutely awesome. Obama/Biden is really the best team we have seen in our lifetimes…..
Of course, you would never know it if all you listened to, was the Dallas Cowboy’s …..
You see guys…. That’s America today…. And you are listening only to the Dallas Cowboy’s Network……
So if you want to see all the good news that got buried by today’s Ryan grabbing headlines…… and it is definately worth it, I have a link for you here……..
Look through the collection and tell me, does Romney’s choice really matter? REALLY?
Tonight, a small progressive enclave dissolved when their charismatic leader stepped down… Well… not exactly did it completely dissolve like a Fizzie in a glass of ice water… but there were several explosions that cracked and chipped a couple of ice cubes.
The details like all minutiae are trifling and will not matter years from now… just little “he said”, “she said” stuff…
Most reading this have already heard the details…
So I (as usual) will address the big issue….
They’ve run out of steam…. When started, the Progressive Democrats under it’s previous leader harbored some closet Republicans who considered themselves far-thinking. You can’t really call them Republicans since “far thinking” and Republicans can never be grouped in the same category. ( Those Republicans are now Democrats, btw.) But that was just the kind of organization it was… They were the modern equivalent of the Grangers.
The problem with progressives… they were too successful…
For heavens sakes. They guy we’ve all shaken hands with, IS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
And to top it off: THE PRESIDENT IS PART BLACK! I thought it’d be another hundred years, based on Jesse Jackson’s performance of yesteryear…. but no… it’s happening now. How progressive is that?
The US Senate is 59 to 41 for the good of America.. The House is 257 to 158 for the good of America. This is not a dream. The American people spoke and it is happening now.
The Delaware Senate is stacked 15 to 6 for the good of Delawareans no matter what their financial income.. The Delaware House is stacked 24 to 17 for the betterment of all Delawareans… This is not make believe; this is reality folks…
There is only one Republican holding statewide office… only one… and he barely held on against a name that no one can remember, despite the fact that no one seriously challenged him….
Progressives… You rocked… Rebecca.. With results like that: you’re a legend. Howard Dean would be proud….
So….]
What Progressives are suffering from is championship fever… We gave everything, took out every Republican we set our sites on, and got the prize… We’ve been in a daze ever since… Starting next Thursday, games begin for real.. No more preseason fluff… The only thing that matters is the final score…
Will Progressives return to the fight like last seasons Steelers? That is the fate of almost every champion…. Rare, are the ones who achieve a second year… The Giants, the Patriots are two that come to mind… Every person caring for the continued improvement of America, must get the lethargy out of their system if they want to me more than a one hit wonder…
We need fired up…
It would be nice if we showed America that WE REMEMBER! We remember what Republicans did to destroy this once great nation. We remember the greatness of the Clinton years, when every income strata benefited and grew richer financially. THAT is real progress… not taking from one strata and giving to another… but using the tool progressives have in better supply than anyone else… brainpower… and creating livable solutions that benefit the whole of society; not just the family of a refrigerated trucking firm.
It would be nice if we showed them how much Delaware resents Republicans… that no matter how nice of a guy they put up… whether his name is Castle, Bonini, or Wagner, they can’t win BECAUSE THEY ARE A REPUBLICAN…. Yes, that is a legacy worth fighting for… That is a worthy going-away-thank-you gift for Rebecca…
So let’s do this.
….. and now Steve Newton of Delaware Libertarian is bowing out….
Forgive me for getting some out of order, but his name now goes up on the wall next to those of Dana Garrett, Mike Matthews, Jason Scott, Shirley Vandever, Dave Burris.
All gone, leaving only these few greats are still left: Nancy, Tommywonk, Kilroy, LiberalGeek, Pandora, David Anderson, & Hube.
The era over which these giants roamed was between the elections of 06 and 08. Some started earlier, but these few individuals were the only source of information during that time stamp.
Today, the News Journal has lost its paternalistic viewpoint touting the union of construction labor and developers formerly known as the Delaware Way, and is actually reporting news ahead of bloggers for a change. Likewise today, WDEL has both on its morning show with Al Mascitti and afternoon show with Rick Jensen, steered discussion away from the likes of (who?) Sean Hannity… and Al Loudell has kept us abreast of local politics in ways unheard of before bloggers began typing in their briefs…
So in a way, since these bloggers were successful back then, today they are not as vital as they once were… Many saw their blogs as the only way to get the truth past the News Journal censors, those higher ups who would not publish any truth that showed an elected official in bad light….
Those studying this phenomena will see that there was much agreement between bloggers on both sides of the aisle… It was very rare for this group to be divisive over the prime issues of this state’s business.. All of them were for Atkins removal. All of them were for beginning offshore wind in Delaware, … All of them were for the slowdown of work force housing… all of them were for the betterment of Delaware’s educational opportunities…
Of course we quibbled on who would become the next president, but that is to be expected… No family lives without arguing at least once…
There were rises and falls among each giant’s influence… But at the core of each individual was the feeling that each had a unique insight into the current problem staring us down, and wrote about it with an urgency that turned out usually to be correct… And usually, if agreement was not forthcoming by the first comment, by the end of the comment thread, some form of agreement among the blogger’s roundtable, was visible…
As politicians came to realize the News Journal wasn’t changing, they began contributing to these giant’s pages, giving substance in ways unheard of among those writing for the Community Board of the News Journal… Reading the blogs gave us a real time insight into the workings of our state government in Dover……
But it was the wind controversy that elevated the giants to their current stature… Only the blogs could get the message out that Delmarva was incredibly concerned about losing control of their monopoly, and that wind power for Delaware would by offering competition, lower our energy prices. And they did, so well, that the entire legislature at the end of their 2007 session, voted unanimously to approve of the landmark agreement between Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power….
Some of us think that they, shaking in their boots, didn’t dare vote otherwise… For bloggers have long memories as well as does the public….
But these giants among men, did more than just push wind. They publicized the eminent domain controversy. They scoured local politics. They broke the work force housing pact apart. They clamored against Atkins, forcing him to resign. They dogged the SEU. They picked apart candidates so much that those who had flaws, couldn’t win. Dana Garrett could be heard almost weekly on WVUD.. Tommy Noyes, for a while was a weekly guest on Al Loudell’s award winning newscast. They OOGAcised the fight for open government, forcing one flustered legislator to call out for a prayer dedicated to just for the bloggers, asking for their salvation of their souls… Apparently those prayers were answered; for by their souls we have open government today….
But amongst the best, the very concept of government was debated back and forth, no doubt as it once was during the beginning of this nation during its infancy… Torture, domestic spying, gun ownership, thieving Vice Presidents, all had their day in court upon these pages….
And today, there are new names who in the years ahead might be considered to be the giants of this contemporary time zone..
Deldem, RSmitty, El “S”, Donviti, Cassandra, all came into prominence after the defining moment of passing the wind act…. As well as Sussex Green, Red Water Lily, Mourning Constitution,… all of which became big as the 2008 election season came upon us….
And from the ranks of commentators came a Sussex County Councilwomen, a candidate for a House seat, as well as a last minute candidate who took on Mr. Pam Scott, and began nailing his shoes to the floor…. Miro had a contender for once; that commentator speaks up often…
Steve Newton will be missed.
With his passing is the last of the great thinkers… Today, we have bullets fed to us… But Steve took on all other blogs, all other commentators and wrote posts about them… Steve looked at everything with fresh eyes…. Giants can do that, since they see things from way up…….
I won’t go in to praising Steve… for I’m here to call attention to the passing of a era. Perhaps those times when benevolent giants roamed our state, will be considered by us dying men and women, to be the glory times we hark back to, the second we close our eyes for their last time…..
For when you look back as what we’ve done, the word “giants” is not really a bad moniker….
Rebecca Young has been endorsed, I am being told, by (surprise) the Progressive Democrats of Delaware…..
To those of you who do not know, Rebecca founded the PDD on the embers left by the Howard Dean campaign of 2004…
She is running in the 22nd district, against Miro who is most famous for his sponsorship of HCR 59..…. Although the numbers show an advantage towards the Republicans, numbers of eager volunteers are at her disposal… Miro has not been contested for 10 years we were told.
If you know Rebecca, you know those district Republicans will have one hell of a fight on his hands this time….
Speaking of full circles. I’m feeling nostalgic because she was spark that got this blog up and running for its first time. Wow… what a journey……
Courtesy of Department of Defense
Quite a week: one in which the local blogosphere was overtaken by events….
Biggest is wind, which today we discover what we waited all year for….more waiting.
Tommywonk has the issues in readable form with links to sources that are difficult to read….but necessary to fully understand what is at stake before us…..
In case you haven’t followed closely, the current fear is that wind will be postponed until the General Assembly meets and revises the Electric Utility Retail Customer Supply Act of 2006, and spreads the costs out beyond just the SOS customers……The postponement will actually cost us more than proceeding with the actual cost based on the SOS…There is considerable pressure to continue forward the momentum without revisiting the General Assembly where McDowell and Copeland can work to scuttle it……
The smart move? Pass it as is. If sometime in the future, an amendment is voted by significant members of the General Assembly to adjust that line covering the SOS customer base, so be it…Meanwhile permits can be applied for, and preliminary work can begin…..As Kempton/Dhanju’s map of Delaware shows, there is not a moment to lose………
Speaking of losing, Delaware Liberal has lost WordPress this week. With a new format, new widgets, and same old spunk, Delaware continues moving forward on the side of good against the forces of evil. Unfortunately their changes did little to help the Blue Hens. Nevertheless, since no one was expecting it, they should take all the credit for the Eagles win…..There is no other reason it could have happened….With McNabb quarterbacking? Unh, uh…..no way.
Other than that, presidential fever has taken hold of our local blogosphere. Huckabee-ry Hounding is taking place at First State….much to writer David Anderson’s chagrin, since he seems to support the Huck’ster….Ron Paul‘s fundraising prowness has inspired DWA,
The Curmudgeon,, Delaware Libertarian(nice format change), and Delaware Liberal.
What is important is discussion about whether the Paul candidacy is relevant to politics today…..A comment stream at DWA spawned this post at Delaware Libertarian, as well as the one at Delaware Liberal.
The pummeling of candidates continues…..Dana has Clinton (Bill) hittin’ on Obama, as well as Lieberman’s endorsement of McCain…
Political bashing is fun,…..for a while…but watching from the outside, one might forget it is a little early to get so worked up…Iowa is soon approaching….But we forget that Iowa is not a primary…..Anyone can crossover party lines and support the other parties candidate they think will be the easiest to beat….Obama is legally allowed to bus natives of nearby Illinois, who meet some general qualifications, into Iowa to attend caucuses. The entire operation, is a show of support by only the party faithful…Most are often given rides by the very organization they then vote for….It demonstrates who has the best campaign machine, not really the best way to determine the best candidate…..But nevertheless, a win in Iowa, is a win… One that provides media bounce once you get to New Hampshire. All of us are on pins and needles as we await Jan. 3, 2008…..
Almost all: Alan Coffey is on vacation….
A few things not pertaining to the presidential race?
One word: Protack….You can read about him here, here, here, and here. And his stealth opponent had a few bytes written about him as well (watch the eyes).
Meanwhile some real battles for our constitution are being fought. The filibuster (promised) did not pan out; the bill was pulled off the floor until after the holiday break….But the speech Dodd gave on Monday, will be read by Constitutionists for years to come….Inspiring and awesome it is…..
Nancy crossed her Rubicon this week…. Give her your condolences……and send her a cake……(Al, now take off those poinsettias!)
Speaking of reaching that milestone, health care should be on her mind…..It was on Dana’s and with the help of Dr, Floyd McDowell, a five part series covering the ins and outs of Delaware’s health care system can be found on his blog. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V. As Kucinich says: Single Payer is the way to go. For comparison, here is Protack’s:
Mikes Musings is the second blogger to cover Kevin Flemings amazing photography. I can no longer call Mike, Delaware’s Official Photographer…….Mike covers the new genre of Delaware Photo Blogs as well as the death knell of Delaware State News…….Goodbye. it was nice knowing you………
On the lighter side, Hube at the Colossus of Rhody has an accountability table that lets you know where you stand on this journey called life….Most will consider they have done fairly well. I think Duffy leads the pack…Someone let me know if that changes….If you feel the need to see more Huckabee-ry Hounding, Duffy carries the best one yet (it’s fake, and it’s funny).
Finally, if you need a break from the political bashing that has ratched up this week, due to the closeness of Iowa’s polls, you can see which URL’s to avoid, courtesy of Duffy….
So overall, with wind in the balance, our Constitution in danger, our state about to disappear, our Senator running well in Iowa, one of our icons calling it quits, then coming back under a different name, a candidacy struggling to find solid footage, health care moving out front and center, the blog world was busy….too busy for organizing a solid front….
That may change when the new wind blowing, blows away the last obstacle preventing open government from coming to Delaware…..
I know it is early in the campaign, and to my recollection only Dave at FSP has publicly committed and supported a candidate. The rest of us have talked about them, but have not signed up for anyone in particular….
So what I propose to do, is have some fun with predictions, not of the candidates, but of who some of you will support…..For those of us involved in sports, it is quite similar to the line on a game….no more…. Like the Prognosticators who pick the weekend games prematurely, I will be wrong on some occasions… It will be hilarious if I am wrong on all……Much ribbing should deservedly come my way…..However having read most of your posts, I do not think that will happen. Many of you who closely guard your thoughts, have given clues, which read by a good poker player, foretell your hand…..
Feedback is free…and it should be interesting at least to see how this plays out……for fun of course……
Will start out with the stinker……Dave at FSP quietly ditches Mitt and returns to 2000 in support of the new (or return to the old) McCain…….(see, I told you this would be fun….)
Liberalgeek holds out for Obama….
Hube bites his tongue and supports Biden……
Shirley stays true to Ron Paul……All she has to see is him on the back of a Harley, and she’s with him all the way……….
Tommywonk sticks with Obama….although he is tempted by Biden, I see him holding out for “a new future”.
Alan Coffey, Libertarian that he is, goes with Ron Paul.
Judd Bennett (Jud’s Rant) sticks with McCain.
Frank Knotts will think of leaving Thompson, but in the end will give ole Fred his support…..
Jason330 will still pine for Obama, but go with Biden
Donviti will try them all and despite what he says right now, will settle on Hillary. It has something to do with his ex:)
Ryan at JttR is jello for Giuliani
Duffy will eventually support Biden.
Dr Nick. a hard one, who rarely comments or posts, (I going back to Feb 07 here) will go with Obama.
Randy from FSP, will go with the still-to-come, new and improved John McCain.
David Anderson of “Stop Taxing” will go with Huckabee.
Matt from the Soapbox will support Obama.
DWA’s Mike Mathews will go with Richardson, then switch to Obama as Richardson fades, the finally to Biden as Biden gains ground and excites America who unlike us, will be seeing him for the first time……
Dana will continue to be pro-Kucinich, but after some discussion, he will agree that the Cleveland Congressman’s campaign won’t take off, and go with Biden.
Paris Hilton will chose Biden. He’s hot…..
Joe of MBA, will think of his little one, and go with Obama.
Mike Castle, in his consistent pick of losers, will side with Giuliani. “Hello Hon, I’m in a meeting right now.”
Nancy, although she has affection for Edwards, will waver for a while, but will eventually fall in and support Biden.
Disbelief will stick to Obama, but will think about Biden very hard.
Perry Hood will go with Ron Paul.
Tyler Nixon will write in Teddy Roosevelt.
Rick Jensen will go Giuliani.
Gerry Fulcher will go with Tancredo.
Liz Allen will go with Hillary.
Anon will go with Gravell. Something about the rock….it reminds him of himself.
Mike Mahaffie will pursue Huckabee for a while longer, but in the end, that “evolution” comment will flip him over to Biden.
Rebecca Young will fall in with Biden.
Kilroy will think of going Huckabee, the strongest on education, but then at the last minute, surprise himself and switch to Biden, who will do more for Delaware than anyone else ever has…….
John Feroce will go Guiliani.
John Kowalko will support Biden.
Markell will fall in with Biden, as will Carney.
Protack…….will do the same……(As governor he will need a president from the same state).
Ron Williams from the News Journal, will be 5 months too late following the old party line, and go with Hillary.
Al Mascitti, will go with …..he will be all over the place until the actual day arrives……..the smart move: Biden.
I know I forgot someone….I read his/her blog all the time….I apologize for not remembering so feel free to drop your take in the comments section, which on WordPress, is at the end of the tags, on top of the post………
Tommywonk has an interesting take on Executive Privilege.
As an administrator, I know that secrecy is sometimes needed. That is in fact, the primary argument still holding up the FOIA bills in Delaware’s legislature. Pete Schwartzkopf, a Rehoboth Democrat, even says so outright .
Realistically, if a legislator has to listen to 630,000 people explain why they deserve being funded more than those persons, either before or after them in line, nothing would ever get done.
But there are times when executive privilege is used to hide wrongdoing by those officials involved. If given an out, “I cannot testify: executive privilege.” with no proper control, all integrity of our government, is gone.
So when is executive privilege appropriate, and when is it not?
The answer is simple…..The boss gets the privilege. That privilege keeps getting passed up the ladder until it finally rests at the feet of the CEO. In American politics, as advised by the Constitution, the CEO is: ‘WE, the People”.
Executive privilege applies. But if the top boss wants to know…..then the executive branch needs to tell him, or risk the penalties of contempt. Currently, the House of Representatives, which is elected every two years, has the closest read on the American public: they should have the oversight.
So Executive Privilege needs to stand. It just needs lie in the hands of the American people, not those underlings responsible to them……
Let’s say a two thirds majority, House only, to overrule executive privilege on both state and national levels?
kavips 
