Daily Archives: November 28, 2011

Monday Open Thread [11.28.11]

A new Majority Opinion Research poll finds Newt Gingrich leading Mitt Romney, 32% to 23%, followed by Herman Cain at 14%, Ron Paul at 6%, Rick Perry 5%, Michele Bachmann 4%, Jon Huntsman 3%, “someone else” at 4%, and no opinion at 11%.

If Gingrich wins Iowa, he will be the nominee. Hahahahahahaha. It is so beautiful a thought that tears are coming to my eyes. With just 36 days until the Iowa caucuses, First Read sums up the state of the race:

“1) Mitt Romney remains the overall favorite — with his money, campaign staff, and poll position — but he hasn’t been able to pull away from the field, and he’s a TV ad away from being all-in in Iowa; 2) Newt Gingrich, fresh off from his New Hampshire Union Leader endorsement, has emerged as the latest Romney alternative, but the question is whether he can survive the next 36 days; (none of the OTHER anti-Romneys has lasted longer); 3) Rick Perry’s campaign appears stuck in neutral, though he did receive an endorsement from controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio; 4) Ron Paul keeps on doing his thing, and is enlisting college students to help out his Iowa ground game; 5) Herman Cain is trying to bounce back from his foreign-policy stumbles and those sexual-harassment allegations; and 6) with all the twists and turns that we’ve seen so far, the next five weeks (and beyond) promise to be a wild ride.”

“Bottom line: We don’t know how Romney is denied the nomination, but we also don’t know how he gets there, yet.

A true shame: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) will not run for re-election for a 17th term. He’ll hold a press conference at 1 pm ET to discuss his decision. The Boston Globe reports that “the new district in which Frank would have had to run next year was a major factor in his decision. While it retained his Newton stronghold, it was revised to encompass more conservative towns while Frank also lost New Bedford, a blue-collar city where had invested a lot of time and become a leading figure in the region’s fisheries debate.” Barney Frank had a quick wit and was truly unafraid of taking the fight to the Republicans, unlike many Democratic cowards in Congress. He will be missed.

Tweeting Teen More Media Savvy Than Gov. Brownback

Via CNN:

“I don’t think I should write the letter, and I don’t think it would be the best move for me,” Emma Sullivan, 18, said late Sunday night. “At this time, I do not think an apology would be a sincere thing for me to do.”

Gotta love sincerity.

She’s not sure what will happen when she returns to school today…

“I hope there won’t be any consequences and that my principal and the governor’s office can move on,” she said. “The issue is relevant and, if anything, is a starting point of dialog with the governor about his policies and how our First Amendment rights can be taken away.”

[…]

“I hope that the governor realizes the power of the people and how people can make things happen,” she said. “I also hope he will spend his time doing more productive things.”

Nicely done, Emma.  Also… her twitter followers went from 65 to over 4,000.  Sam Brownback’s an idiot.  He turned a non-issue into a media sensation that makes him look like a bully and a crybaby.

The Tip Of The Iceberg?

It’s a shame, but we all need to be watchful over people with authority and influence over children.  I am not painting all coaches with the same brush, but it seems to me that if you want to have access to children coaching offers a fertile hunting ground.

Via Balloon Juice:

Syracuse University Assistant Coach Bernie Fine was fired yesterday over a tape recording of a call with Fine’s wife released by his accuser, who says that Fine molested him in the 80’s, when he was a teenager. The call has to be heard to be believed, but the gist of it is that Fine’s wife Laurie knew that Fine was molesting alleged victim Bobby Davis in her house, and had some suspicions about other kids, and did nothing. Davis also says that he had a sexual relationship with Mrs. Fine when he was 18.

Listen to the call.  And as Mistermix says:  “The whole thing is ugly, but unless that call is an amazing fake, Bernie Fine and his wife are two awful human beings.”  I agree.  Seems like molesting children was no biggie to Mr. and Mrs. Fine.

BTW, I’ve added a new tag line.  Looks like we may need it.

Paul Calistro Announces for Mayor of Wilmington

Paul Calistro told friends and supporters over this holiday weekend that he was definitely IN as a candidate for the Mayor of Wilmington for 2012. From his Facebook page:

Thank you to the hundreds of friends and neighbors who have encouraged me to consider a candidacy for Mayor. I am quite convinced that the residents, communities and business owners are ready for our city to move in a new positive direction. This past week we took the first step and formally filed the Calistro 2012 Committee. Your collective energy, enthusiasm, and insights have been extremely helpful in making this decision. We recognize that our city has so many great assets and wonderful hard working creative people that need to be part of the transformation. Collectively we can truly “raise the bar” and reshape Wilmington into a City that strives for nothing less than excellence. We have assembled a team of concerned citizens to begin developing a plan for the path forward. As we begin this journey together, we invite you to contribute your ideas, concerns, and support. Please take a moment and share your thoughts with us.

This is fantastic news for everyone who lives in the City and who wants it to really live up to its potential. You can expect to hear some other “on the fence” candidates officially get in as a response to this shortly.

One of the best bios that anyone can get is the one that the News Journal did on Paul when they inaugurated their “25 Who Matter” series (I think they’ve increased this to 50 now). He’s been doing and instigating the kind of neighborhood-focused investment and development that folks all over the City have been clamoring for – and doing that in creative ways that keep neighbors invested. And he’s been creative in figuring out ways to help portions of the community that have been traditionally underserved – like kids aged out of foster care. He’s also one of the biggest boosters of small businesses out there – you can’t go many places (at least on Wilmington’s West Side) who aren’t already fans of his approach to support local small businesses.

Paul is an accomplished community guy and you won’t find many folks who will say otherwise. He has led the West End Neighborhood House to its place as a hub of probably the best work going on in Wilmington for community service and community development. It is certainly the most vibrant of the old Settlement Houses and more recent community centers. The commitment and innovation coming from West End needs to be replicated city-wide, specifically to help other neighborhoods build from their own assets and contribute to the success of the city. His 20 years of working at West End also give him a strong understanding of the current strengths and weaknesses of city government in terms of service to residents as well as a partner for community and economic development. It has also given him the opportunity to develop some very strong working relationships with people in Dover, the local business community, as well as with many of Wilmington’s civic and neighborhood leaders.

There will likely be a more formal announcement/celebration sometime after the first of the year. But it is really great news that Paul has officially thrown his hat in the ring.

So what do you think, Wilmingtonians?