Monthly Archives: March 2011

Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 22, 2011

The big news: $155 million.

That’s right,  DEFAC (Delaware Economic & Financial Advisory Council), the group that officially sets the estimated revenues for the state, came out and identified an additional $155 million in state revenue, about 50% in the current fiscal year, and 50% for the upcoming fiscal year. While this is not the final estimate from DEFAC before the budget has to be crafted, it gives the General Assembly the chance to craft alternatives to the ‘all austerity all the time’ budget proposed by the Governor. ‘All austerity all the time’ except for those who have never had to worry about austerity.

The Administration immediately issued a call for the General Assembly to act rationally:

“What we don’t want to have is people to look just at these numbers and decide we can grow the operating budget by this amount,” said Ann Visalli, director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Well, nobody’s saying that. What she’s really calling for is for the General Assembly not to provide any kind of relief to state employees, who have been sharing in the sacrifice for three years now. Make no mistake about it. Not only do I think she’s wrong, along with the Administration, but I think that the General Assembly will make some modest adjustments for state employees, plus funding of ag land preservation; social service programs; and road and street repair/construction; assuming that these numbers hold up.  If passed, the Governor would be faced with vetoing such legislation, even after he has insisted that the wealthy should not have to share at all in the sacrifice, or enacting it. A veto would effectively demonstrate that his call for ‘shared sacrifice’ was simply semantic-ese for demanding ‘give-backs’ from state workers. Markell would do well to abandon that stance right now, assuming the DEFAC figures hold up.

Does Jack Markell really want to stand side-by-side with CRI’s propagandist-masquerading-as-an-economist John Stapleford, who says:

“Don’t spend it on anything that will incur an obligation that will continue in the future.”

Lest ye may have forgotten our even-handed sober economist, let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwn0HTWGWXw[/youtube]

Yep, that guy continues to be a News-Journal go-to guy. Let me ask again: Why?

This news is far bigger than anything I can write today in my General Assembly, and it will be the talk of Dover today and for weeks to come.

But, my readers demand an update and a preview, and that is precisely what you shall have. Legislative Council has finally gotten its act together, and here’s the complete record of what took place on St. Patty’s Day (officially at least) .

The Senate passed SB 9 (Blevins), which would prohibit DELDOT from taking over maintenance of roads that connect to  communities built exclusively for those aged 55 or over. There were 2 ‘no’s’ and one ‘not voting’. Who were they? Tony DeLuca has determined that you don’t deserve to know. I find it unfathomable that even an obstinate slug like DeLuca won’t permit full Senate roll calls on line. What is he and the Senate hiding? This is not just on DeLuca, but the entire Senate D caucus. Don’t mouth empty pro-forma support for FOIA while allowing this to continue. Post the roll calls!

John Kowalko finally got his trans-fat bill. HB 3 passed with 7 ‘no’ votes, all from downstate R’s. Maybe Frank Perdue’s kid got to them? I hope that the Governor doesn’t consider this bill ‘hostile to business’.

HB 36 (Mitchell), which extends drivers’ license renewals from five to eight years passed with only one ‘no’  (Peterman). An amendment was placed with the bill, but it turns up in hieroglyph form, so I don’t know if it dealt with senior citizens and road tests. Or, Egyptian drivers.

Several other bills of (what I consider to be) relatively minor impact also passed the House. Check out the complete record above for more info.

What’s going on today?

Well, the Senate once again has nothing on its agenda. Betcha they’ll show up, though. don’t know why. Probably to check maps. Also, keep in mind that the Senate does not conform, and makes a point of not conforming, with virtually any open government policy. Shameful, but we all know the body rots from the head down. So the senators might do anything they want on Tuesday with impunity because they don’t give a bleep about you or anybody else outside that building.

The House has a full agenda, and there could well be some controversy.  If they get to Item 4, HB 47(B. Short), the House R’s will no doubt be in full political posturing mode. This bill gives DHSS ‘explicit authority to investigate and inspect unsanitary or unsafe conditions in certain facilities where invasive medical procedures are performed. It also gives DHSS the authority to adopt regulations to strengthen oversight of facilities, investigate and inspect unsanitary or unsafe conditions in certain facilities where invasive medical procedures are performed. It also gives DHSS the authority to adopt regulations to strengthen oversight of facilities.”

The R’s will say (and have said), ‘the bill is incomplete’, ‘it doesn’t go far enough’, ‘it should have been done years ago’, etc. As I pointed out last week, when the abominations at Eric Harrah’s ‘clinic’ were made public in the mid 1990’s, neither an R Attorney General, nor an R-controlled House were able to get legislation passed. Rethug David, or another of his ilk (Ilk Quotient is satisfied early this week), claimed that the R’s were all over it but that Patti Blevins somehow unilaterally killed this legislation. To which I say, ‘Prove it’. The R’s had power back then that they don’t have now. If this is passed, it will be no thanks to them.

Ruth Briggs-King’s ill-considered bill, HB 30, would label ‘synthetic cannaboids’ as Schedule I drugs. This bill of course ignores the discussion an enlightened General Assembly (I know, I know, that defines the term ‘oxymoron’) should have on decriminalizing marijuana. There would be no demand for synthetic cannaboidism if the real thing was available. You know, when marijuana is eventually decriminalized, people will look back, scratch their heads, and wonder why they wasted 40-plus years on a disastrous and worthless war on drugs. I say, “This country’s been going to hell ever since Nixon sprayed Mexico’s marijuana crop with paraquat.” By so doing, we turned Mexico into the logical middle-man for far more dangerous drugs from South America, etc. To get a sense of the corruption and the human toll caused by this drug war, I highly recommend this book. I guarantee you that Joe Biden hasn’t read it, but he should. For that matter, so should Beau. And all those Synthetic Cannaboidheads out there.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, think I’ll put on some Hendrix. “Third Zirconic Cube From the Sun” seems about right.


It’s Always Sunny/DWTS Predictions Mashup

FYI…Rob McElhenney as Mac, was rocking a Deer Park Tavern T-Shirt on tonight’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but that is ancelillary to the main point of this post. To wit…

DWTS Predictions: Ignore these at your peril. I’ve been spookily accurate to the point drawing heat from the FCC for probable Charles Van Doren style “game show fixing” charges.

  • Chelsea Kane (Actress?) 1 episode of “Wizards of Waverly Place” does not a “star” make. DQ’ed 10th
  • “Psycho” Mike Catherwood (Radio Personality) Mike who? Not as star, so DQ’ed 9th
  • Romeo (Rapper) Not a star, so….DQ’ed 8th
  • Wendy Williams (media personality) Not sure who this is. She gets the wild card spot. Xth
  • Chris Jericho (Wrestler)  He will pretend to dance as he pretended to wrestle. 7th
  • Hines Ward (Football Player) Will lose to Patriots in snowy quarterfinal. No better than 6th.
  • Kirstie Alley (Once Hot, Now Fat Actress) The judges like fat because they equate it with “feisty” 5th
  • Sugar Ray Leonard (Boxer) Poor Sugar Ray. Please fire whoever told you “It’ll be FUN!!” 4th (The detached retina can’t save you now Sugar Ray.)
  • Petra Nemcova (Model) Born June 24, 1979 in a Communist-ruled Czech Republic.  (Thank you St. Ronny for defeating communism.)   3rd
  • Kendra Wilkinson (Paid to Walk Around Nude in Front of Heffner) She has actual “dancing” experience. 2nd
  • Ralph Macchio (Oddly Well Preserved Child Actor) He can dance. This year’s sleeper favorite. 1st

The final between Kendra and Ralph will be a classic good versus evil match-up, which the producers will underscore by putting Kendra in a the red Cobra Kai karate gi once worn by Johnny Lawrence.

Video from the Save the Working Class Rally Last Week

For those of us who coulodn’t be at the rally, there is video of portions of it up on You Tube.  There was not a microphone, so according to Jim Westhoff, “we had to stand on the park bench and do it old school. It felt very Huey Long-ish.”

Video of Jim Westhoff kicking it all off:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9QG5t5dW4[/youtube]

Jane Hovington — Lower Sussex County NAACP President speaking:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Fotfhz6BQ[/youtube]

Jason Jurado –One of the Purdue Chicken Catchers who lost his job

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X04AAnokwXU[/youtube]

Pat Bailey — Staffer with AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqUsCg7o-Ek[/youtube]

Thanks to JimWesthoff for forwarding these on.  These great videos are the work of Terri Thornton who also uploaded them.   Thanks, Terri!

Monday Open Thread

Welcome to your Monday open thread. It’s officially spring now! Today is the first full day of spring. Are you excited? What else is on your mind? Share it below in your open thread.

These Wisconsin Republicans are really classy. Judge Prosser (who is up for election in April) had some choice words for a fellow judge.

Madison – As the deeply divided state Supreme Court wrestled over whether to force one member off criminal cases last year, Justice David Prosser exploded at Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson behind closed doors, calling her a “bitch” and threatening to “destroy” her.

…

Prosser acknowledged the incident recently and said he thought it was becoming public now in an attempt to hurt him politically. Prosser faces Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg in the April 5 election.

He said the outburst came after Abrahamson took steps to undermine him politically and to embarrass him and other court conservatives.

“In the context of this, I said, ‘You are a total bitch,’ ” Prosser said.

“I probably overreacted, but I think it was entirely warranted. . . . They (Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley) are masters at deliberately goading people into perhaps incautious statements. This is bullying and abuse of very, very long standing.”

Gotta love that “apology.” He’s the victim! The chief judge is just sooooooo mean.

Is there ever a backlash against these guys who predict the end of the world which never happens? Now it’s Franklin Graham (son of Billy) predicting the rapture.

Graham said that Jesus told his followers that earthquakes were one of the signs of the second coming.

“Maybe this is, I don’t know. But regardless, all of us need to be prepared to stand before almighty God,” Graham said.

As he explained, an increase in natural disasters was just like how “as a woman gives birth to a child, those labor pains as they begin they start intensifying with more frequency.”

I don’t think he’s in the May 21st group (he’s not actually predicting a date). Has anyone else noticed the huge billboard on Kirkwood Highway? I wonder if their lease on the billboard lasts beyond May 21st?

Libya Is Not Iraq

Saturday a coalition of troops began a military intervention in Libya to enforce a no-fly zone. This action came after weeks of diplomatic wrangling. The resolution was approved by the Arab League and the United Nations. The U.S. wasn’t the first country to attack, it was actually France. Marc Ambider argues that we’re actually seeing an outline of an Obama Doctrine.

It was important to the U.S. that Libyans and the world understand that this coalition of the willing was more than a U.S. rhetorical construct. An hour before bombing began Saturday, Clinton spoke to the press in Paris. Asked why military action was in America’s interest, she gave three reasons and implied a fourth. A destabilizing force would jeopardize progress in Tunisia and Egypt; a humanitarian disaster was imminent unless prevented; Qaddafi could not flout international law without consequences. The fourth: there’s a line now, and one that others countries had better not cross.

The development of a new doctrine in the Middle East is taking form, and it could become a paradigm for how the international community deals with unrest across the region from now on. The new elements include the direct participation of the Arab world, the visible participation of U.S. allies, as well as a very specific set of military targets designed to forestall needless human suffering. Though the Libyan situation is quite unique – its military is nowhere near as strong as Iran’s is, for one thing – Obama hopes that a short, surgical, non-US-led campaign with no ground troops will satisfy Americans skeptical about military intervention and will not arouse the suspicions of Arabs and Muslims that the U.S. is attempting to influence indigenously growing democracies.

A lot of smart people have argued that the action in Libya should not be judged in the context of Iraq but in context of Kosovo. The deliberations described above are definitely a step-change improvement from the Bush Doctrine. I’ll have to admit to huge reservations about this military action. While I do support stopping a slaughter in Libya, it feels like we don’t have clear goals. We’ve already said no ground forces and we are not toppling Gaddafi. So, are there going to be two Libyas? What will we do if Gaddafi moves ground forces against Benghazi rebels? How long do we plan to be there and what is the end point?

I do think that we need to stop being the world’s policeman but can we stand on the sidelines when people are begging for action? Why Libya and not Yemen, Bahrain and Ivory Coast?

Good Old Time in Sussex County

Last night was the annual Sussex County Democrats Spring Dinner, held once again at the CHEER Center in Georgetown. A sell-out crowd of 200 people (and this is an off year) gathered for some good food (catered by Georgia House) and live and silent auctions. The main speaker was Lt. Governor Matt Denn, who really inspired the crowd with his talk about how Democrats are the responsible party when it comes to running this state and instead of the Republican slash and burn methods of dealing with tight budgets, how he and Governor Jack Markell have made difficult, but sensible cuts.

Senator Tom Carper gave another of his rah-rah speeches and Congressman John Carney also gave a short talk on his two months in office and how that he prefers the way Democratic and Republican elected officials here talk to each other (most times) to solve problems instead of the DC-version of talking at each other to score political points.

State Treasurer Chip Flowers was there (he bought a table) and got a rousing round of applause when he was introduced. Sussex Democrats made the difference for Chip in the primary and he again told people how thankful he was to them for their support.

KWS was there (sans Elliott Jacobson) but wasn’t allowed to speak. Elliott wouldn’t have liked the dinner anyway because it wasn’t help yourself (he knows how to pile on a plate of food, especially when he’s not paying for it). I managed to avoid having to talk to her (cell phones are a great way to avoid having to be phony). I don’t like her and I’d rather eat nails than have to even shake her hand. Deputy Insurance Commissioner Gene Reed was there, but he sat with his sister, Cheryl Fruchtman, and not KWS.

It was interesting to see Rep. Bryon Short, chair of the Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee. Was he there to gauge support for a possible primary against KWS next year? And rumor has it that there are a couple of other Dems thinking about running against her in the primary.

The one rumor that had me in stitches was that Chrissie Pooh and the Fatman from WGMD are shopping around a talk show to be syndicated nationwide. They did a bit not long ago on WGMD and thought they were good enough to go national. Give me a break. Who in the hell would want to listen to a grifter-witch and a 325-pound racist blowhard for hours on end, 5 days a week? We all know that Curley hates being down here in Sussex (he was run out of Syracuse for his racist and homophobic rants on WFBL) and was angling to be Urkel’s press spokesman if he had beaten John Carney. While we’d love to be rid of this slime bag, bad behavior should not be rewarded.

Intelligent Design Is Not Science

Read this statement:

The measure from Republican state Rep. Bill Zedler would block higher education institutions from discriminating against or penalizing teachers or students based on their research into intelligent design or other theories that disagree with evolution.

Zedler said he filed the bill because of cases in which colleges had been hostile to those who believe that certain features of life-forms are so complex that they must have originated from a higher power. [emphasis mine]

Let’s start with the first phrase I emphasized.  What research?

The Templeton Foundation, a major supporter of projects seeking to reconcile science and religion, says that after providing a few grants for conferences and courses to debate intelligent design, they asked proponents to submit proposals for actual research.

“They never came in,” said Charles L. Harper Jr., senior vice president at the Templeton Foundation, who said that while he was skeptical from the beginning, other foundation officials were initially intrigued and later grew disillusioned.

“From the point of view of rigor and intellectual seriousness, the intelligent design people don’t come out very well in our world of scientific review,” he said.

Of course, the research never appeared.  Intelligent Design is about faith, not fact.  It is about, as Zedler claims, “those who believe.”  For anyone with a basic understanding of science it is a given that disproving something is as important as proving something.  Advocates for Intelligent Design have no interest in disproving their beliefs, and given their laziness when it comes to research it seems they have no interest in proving them either.

Here’s another scientific rule:  You have to be willing to accept research results that differ from your original hypothesis.  Are Intelligent Designers willing to consider the possibility that their “theory” is wrong?  Of course not.  They’re not even willing to do research.

Weekend Open Thread

Welcome to your weekend open thread. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend. I’m starting to give the house a long-overdue spring cleaning. What are your weekend plans?

Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher has died. He was 85 years old.

Warren M. Christopher, secretary of state in President Clinton’s first term and the chief negotiator for the 1981 release of American hostages in Iran, died Friday night in Los Angeles. He was 85 and had been ill with kidney and bladder cancer.

…

Methodical and self-effacing, Mr. Christopher alternated for nearly five decades between top echelons of both the federal government and legal and political life in California. Among other things, he served as administration point man with Congress in winning ratification of Panama Canal treaties, presided over normalization of diplomatic relations with China and conducted repeated negotiations involving the Middle East and the Balkans.

At home, Mr. Christopher developed a reputation as a riot expert, investigating racial unrest in Detroit and in the Watts district of Los Angeles and later heading a 1991 commission that proposed major reforms of the Los Angeles Police Department following riots prompted by the beating of a black motorist, Rodney King.

He really had a varied and fascinating career. I urge you to go read the whole article. Goodbye, Secretary Christopher. Thank you for your service to the United States.

Ann Coulter is back. She had been dumped for younger, hotter mean girls but I guess Bill O’Reilly was feeling nostalgic. Here’s Ann Coulter telling Bill O’Reilly that radiation is good for you.

On The O’Reilly Factor last night, Coulter spoke about her recent column that cites a number of articles in the New York Times and “a stunning number of physicists” showing radiation has a positive effect on cancer patients.

A skeptical O’Reilly retorted Coulter’s evidence with this, “by your account we should all be heading for the nuclear reactor leaking and kind of sunbathing out there in front of — come on.”

Coulter responded by citing a study, mentioned by the Times , held in Canada finding that tuberculosis patients subjected to multiple chest X-rays had much lower rates of breast cancer than the general population. “There may be some doses of radiation in the human body can ward off infection,” she said.

Joking aside, O’Reilly wanted Coulter to be “responsible” and admit that “some radiation will kill you.” Coulter refused.

I’d love to see the studies of those “stunning number of physicists.” I did here last night that most workers exposed to radiation have not had long term problems. The casualties of Chernobyl were mostly from the initial explosion. After 25 years, they no longer have an increased cancer risk except for thyroid cancer. The people living in the contaminated area do have more cancers and birth defects – just look at post-war Japan.

Weekend Reads

Here are a few features that you may have missed this week:

A Short Lego History of Great March Madness Moments:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtGzJQaYZZg[/youtube]

Did you read anything this week you’d like to share?

It is a glorious day outside, and I’m on my way into the office for a bunch of hours.   🙁

This “Agencia Loco” Clip Will Make You Happy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgTLFeOD-cY[/youtube]

A telenovela about a dysfunctional advertising agency, revolving around a plucky junior copywriter in a wheelchair and the raging executive who accuses her of stealing bananas. This is, of course, not a real show. But after lines like “You think you’re so cool with your fixie wheelchair,” you wish to God that it was. VIA BUZZFEED

Friday Open Thread

Welcome to your Friday open thread. How many of you are enjoying our very springlike day? Spring is almost officially here! The unofficial start of spring has started already, my crocuses have bloomed.

It’s Friday, Friday, working for the weekend…Welcome to the “world’s worst music video ever.”

Now you’re ready for the weekend! Did you know Sunday came after Saturday? Plus, Rebecca Black had to decide whether to sit in the front or back seat. Decisions!

I think perhaps Donald Trump is really running for president (major LULZ) because he’s trying to pander to the birthers.

Donald Trump got a little bit birther-curious in his interview with ABC News, saying of President Obama’s time growing up in Hawaii: “The reason I have a little doubt, just a little, is because he grew up and nobody knew him.”

Trump was speaking with Ashleigh Banfield in an interview that aired Thursday morning, and said “that anybody that even gives any hint” of not believing Obama was born in Hawaii, “they label them as an idiot.”

“Let me tell you, I’m a really smart guy,” Trump said. “I was a really good student at the best school in the country. The reason I have a little doubt, just a little, is because he grew up and nobody knew him.”

I wonder what Donald Trump’s hair thinks? I’m pretty sure it must be sentient. The GOP presidential primary is going to be like a crazy reality show.

I’m sorry this next story is about She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named but it’s really, really funny. Sarah Palin would beat Charlie Sheen for president, but she loses independents and Democrats. Charlie Sheen, BTW, is the most unpopular person ever polled by PPP.

We’ve found a lot of brutal poll numbers for Sarah Palin so far in 2011: down in South Dakota, down in South Carolina, down in Arizona, only up by 1 point in Texas, only up by 1 point in Nebraska to name a few. But this has to be the worst- independent voters say they would support Charlie Sheen over Palin for President by a 41/36 margin. Seriously.

Despite her deficit with independents Palin does lead Sheen 49-29 overall. We also tested Barack Obama against Sheen and the President leads 57-24.

Sheen is one of the most unpopular figures we’ve ever polled on. 10% of Americans rate him favorably to 67% with a negative opinion of him. The only people we’ve ever found worse numbers for are Rod Blagojevich in Illinois (an 8/83 favorability spread), Jesse Jackson Jr. in Illinois (a 10/73 favorability), and Levi Johnston in Alaska (a 6/72 favorability). Sheen’s -57 spread ties what we found for John Edwards in North Carolina the last time we polled him (15/72).

Bwahahahahaha. Run Sarah run! Please!

While Slashing the Budget of the IRS…

turning the IRS into the uterus police.

Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers complied with the law, IRS agents would have to investigate whether certain terminated pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. And one tax expert says that the measure could even lead to questions on tax forms: Have you had an abortion? Did you keep your receipt?

Let that sink in for a second….now read this…..

WASHINGTON – Every dollar the Internal Revenue Service spends for audits, liens and seizing property from tax cheats brings in more than $10, a rate of return so good the Obama administration wants to boost the agency’s budget.
House Republicans, seeing the heavy hand of a too-big government, beg to differ. They’ve already voted to cut the IRS budget by $600 million this year and want bigger cuts in 2012.

There is no disconnect in the mind of the modern Republican. This all makes perfect sense because [Frankenstien Voice]: Abortion bad… Cut Taxes, good… Government…Bad

There are no grown-ups. There is no “adult conversation.” There is only stupid stupidity, stupidily marching on.

Time To Make The Districts-Part Trois

In which we create a new Senate district downstate. But…will the ‘new’ district be truly new? I propagandize, you decide.

OK, kids, for those of you who came late to class, or just didn’t bother to show up, you will want to read these two seminal treatises on redistricting here and here. Well, perhaps not seminal treatises, but they’re a treat for statheads and redistricting fanatics like me. Plus, it’ll help you make sense of this installment, if indeed there is sense to be made.

Anyway, if you can only remember two numbers, let them be 21 and 40,621. There are 21 Senate districts in Delaware and the minimal permissible population for each is 40, 621. In other words, in order to create a new district downstate (we’ve already shown how to do away with two districts upstate) you need to cull that population from existing districts. The population’s there. Follow along with Chad Livengood’s article in the Journal, and you will see how to build a new district. For purposes of this exercise, I will first stipulate that every incumbent in the area under discussion today will have a district in which to run. The Senate D’s took the loss of Queen Bee (not to be confused with Aunt Bea) hard. They could try to craft the 15th to make it even more favorable to Cook, or to cut out Sen. David Lawson entirely (he lives in Marydel, on the DE/MD line), should they want to bring her back. The Senate must avoid this mistake. The 15th SD is already a solidly D district, people were just sick of Cook. Leave it more or less alone and let political nature take its course.

Let’s also stipulate that there is next to no such thing as a ‘sure thing’ for the D’s from the 15th SD on south. The good news is that there aren’t many ‘sure things’ for the R’s, either.

Keeping in mind the magic number of 40,621, how do we find that many residents to create a new district? Easy. Here are the populations of districts in the region:

15th (Lawson-R): 51,296 (Plus 10,675)

16th (Bonini-R):  50,103 (Plus 9,482)

17th (Bushweller-D): 47,176 (Plus 6,555)

18th (Simpson-R): 54,015 (Plus 13,394)

19th (Booth-R):  48,816 (Plus 8,195)

20th (Bunting-D): 49,455 (Plus 8,834)

21st (Venables-D): 44,799 (Plus 4178)

Of these districts, only Venables’ district, which is in the far southwestern corner of the state, is within the permitted +/- 5% population range. Other than perhaps a little tweaking of the lines to draw someone into the district or someone out of the district, I expect this district to remain pretty intact. Like SD 5 (Cloutier) in the northeastern corner of the state, due to location, these districts don’t lend themselves well to willy-nilly redrawing.

Excluding the 21st, let’s just add up the population available to create a new district, shall we? My trusty calculator spews out a figure of 57,085. More than enough to create a new district. And since districts can have a maximum allowable population of 44,897, there’s plenty of wiggle-room to make this work and to have districts above the minimum requirement and within the plus/minus 5%.

Ladies & Gentlemen, time to make the district. Based on the numbers, I propose that the ‘new’ district be a district for an incumbent senator. That senator? Gary Simpson of Milford. Check out the maps in the News-Journal article, and you can build the district along with me. Simpson resides in the far northern area of his district.  He has by far the largest population growth of any downstate district. He can take the northern portion of his district,  part of the  southwestern portion of Bonini’s district (Bonini lives just south of Dover, so he doesn’t live in this area),  and the northeastern portion of Booth’s district. I would actually take an even bigger chunk out of Bonini’s district, the southern portion west of the S. DuPont Highway, and an even bigger chunk out of Booth’s. Bonini could get his numbers back from the portion of the 15th around Viola and Woodside East, both immediately adjacent to his existing district. Bonini would also lose his Milford area ED’s to Simpson. Booth could pick up some extra numbers from the northwestern portion of Bunting’s district. There would need to be some adjusting and indirect shifting, but Simpson would retain his 18th SD, Bonini would have a tougher district in which to run, and Booth’s district would be more compact.

So, where, O where, is the new Senate District, El Somnambulo? My answer is, “Meet the new district, almost the same as the old district.”

The brand new district is the coastal portion of the district vacated by Gary Simpson. Call it SD 13. Or SD 4. The district would include both Lewes and Rehoboth, and would be a Democratic-leaning district. Which, come to think of it, resolves a particularly thorny political issue in a Solomonic manner. Here’s how. I will first quote from my favorite political philosopher, me:

Folks, the simplest way to resolve Senate redistricting is for Sen. David McBride, who actually lives in Lewes, 90 minutes away from the southernmost tip of his district, to retire. I make this proposal not (just) because he doesn’t live remotely close to his district any more (even though he maintains an official ‘residence’ there), and not (just) because he’s spent over 30 years in Dover. It’s because his district is ideally situated to address virtually every remaining redistricting issue in New Castle County. McBride was so obstinate during reapportionment that he insisted that every place he had once lived remain in his district, even as he had moved southward five times during his bloated tenure in the General Assembly. Also, since he had once paved the streets in Dunleith some three decades ago, he insisted that the predominantly African-American communities of Rosemont and Dunleith remain in his district.You know, to show that he was a civil rights pioneer, or something.

Perhaps I was a little too hasty in my call for Dave McBride to retire. Under my devious scenario, his New Castle-based 13th SD would become the Lewes-based 13th SD. And, because he lives in Lewes, he would be the incumbent senator for the 13th. How could he possibly complain?

Don’t you just love a happy ending? I know I do.

Coming up next: The House of Representatives!