Monthly Archives: November 2011

Kowalko Smacks Down 9/12 Nutbags Over Occupy Delaware

It started with 9/12 Nutbags spamming elected officials with this idiotic nonsense:

From: TGarcia123@aol.com [TGarcia123@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2011 2:40 PM
To: hulikw@gmail.com; DeLuca Anthony (LegHall); Hall-Long Bethany (LegHall); Bushweller Brian (LegHall); Ennis Bruce (LegHall); Short Bryon (LegHall); cloutiercathy@aol.com; chris_coons@coons.senate.gov; Lee Biff (LegHall); senator-colin@prodigy.net; Short Daniel (LegHall); Scott Darryl (LegHall); McBride David (LegHall); Lawson Dave (LegHall); Wilson David L (LegHall); Sokola David (LegHall); Hudson Deborah (LegHall); Heffernan Debra (LegHall); Williams Dennis E (LegHall); Williams Dennis (LegHall); Blakey Donald (LegHall); squeac@yahoo.com; Connor Dorinda (LegHall); Bennett Bradford (LegHall); Jaques, Jr Earl (LegHall); Osienski Edward (LegHall); gsimpson@udel.edu; Bunting George (LegHall); Brady Gerald (LegHall); Hocker Gerald (LegHall); Lavelle Greg (LegHall); Peterman Jack (LegHall); McDowell Harris (LegHall); Kenton Harvey (LegHall); Keeley Helene (LegHall); Johnson JJ (LegHall); Kowalko John (LegHall); Atkins John (LegHall); Mitchell John L (LegHall); Viola John (LegHall); Miro Joseph (LegHall); Booth Joseph (LegHall); Peterson Karen (LegHall); Sorenson Liane (LegHall); Willis Lincoln (LegHall); Henry Margaret Rose (LegHall); George Melanie (LegHall); Barbieri Michael (LegHall); Mulrooney Michael (LegHall); Ramone Michael (LegHall); Katz Michael (LegHall); Manolakos Nick T (LegHall); Blevins Patricia (LegHall); Schwartzkopf Peter (LegHall); Walker Rebecca (LegHall); Gilligan Robert (LegHall); Marshall Robert (LegHall); Venables Robert (LegHall); BriggsKing Ruth (LegHall); Johnson Quinton (LegHall); Bolden StephanieT (LegHall); Schooley Terry (LegHall); lori_james@carper.senate.gov; Longhurst Valerie (LegHall); Carson William (LegHall); Outten Bobby (LegHall)
Cc: alex@912delawarepatriots.com
Subject: Re: Occupying Delaware

Who Will You Support?

I’m a member of the 9-12 Delaware Patriots, a conservative grass roots organization that formed in March 2009. One of our issues is our concern with the state of the economy and the bailouts and special treatment of some major corporations. Sound familiar? We had rallies, but we obtained permits, obeyed the law, cleaned up after ourselves, did not have a special security detail to monitor us and did not cost the tax payers a dime. Not one red cent. I guess we were not loud enough, rude enough or made enough sensationalism for the reporters. These OWS protestors are getting free food, some are getting paid and most are probably collecting unemployment, welfare and food stamps. Which group should have received the respect? The law abiding citizens who work and obey the law or the freeloaders who are looking for handouts? I guess Governor Markell has made his choice by backing the OWS thugs with special treatment. We will be watching who else backs this “movement” and we will remember come 2012. You can bet on it.

Theresa Garcia, 9-12 Delaware Patriots
Magnolia, DE

Thugs? Paid? Welfare? Food stamps? There is simply too much stupid going on here so Kowalko wrote back.

On Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 12:02 AM, Kowalko John (LegHall) wrote:

Please remove me from your mailing list.
Representative John Kowalko

The stupid lays so heavily on them though. Simple courtesy is lost on them, so they go on to demand attention for their moronic spam.

From: William Hulik [hulikw@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2011 1:49 PM
To: Kowalko John (LegHall)
Cc: TGarcia123@aol.com; DeLuca Anthony (LegHall); [and everyone else at Leg. Hall. Edited for space]
Subject: Re: Occupying Delaware

Representative John Kowalko,

It is my understnding you are a elected representative of the people therefore you work for the people of Delaware and you need to know what the people of Delaware have to say about THEIR State. I will not remove your name from my mailing list because your request is totally not in line with the other legislators that I have contacted about Occuping Delaware Is Coming.

You are the only one that has said “Please remove me from your mailing list. Representative? John Kowalko. Why do the others listen and you do not?

Regards,

Bill Hulik

So Kowalko had to bring the hammer down.

From: Kowalko John (LegHall)
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2011 8:03 PM
To: William Hulik
Cc: TGarcia123@aol.com; DeLuca Anthony (LegHall); [and everyone else at Leg. Hall. Edited for space]
Subject: RE: Occupying Delaware

Mr. Hulik,
As long as your email blast misrepresents legitimate protests as populated by freeloaders, the unemployed, welfare recipients and those feeding their families with government subsidized food assistance while failing to acknowledge that those categories of citizens are equally entitled to society’s help as you are, I will not be paying much attention to your email blasts.

As long as you try to demonize ordinary citizens who care about their fellow citizens and the desperate plight they find them in and as long as you choose to use false and unsubstantiated rationale in declaring them as “thugs”, I will not be regarding your email blasts as anything other than spam. Quite frankly, these citizens obtained permits and are as hard-working and law-abiding as anyone in your organization and they have the “Constitutional” right to assemble peacefully to lodge their protests against corporate excesses. So I will once again respectfully request that you remove me from your email list if you choose to use that list as a vehicle to villify or desparage good hard-working citizens of Delaware.
Respectfully,
Representative John Kowalko

Spousal Rape Can’t Be Prosecuted Because… She Wears A Nightie To Bed

Women just can’t win in the Republican mindset.  They are simply property of men.  It can’t be spousal rape because she wore a nightie to bed?  What the hell is she supposed to wear to bed?  A burqa?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvRb4NtrRVQ[/youtube]

I’m beginning to think that Republicans simply don’t believe rape exists, because, hey, if a man wants sex…

A Note To John Carney — 14 Million Unemployed Are More Important Than the Deficit

Since Representative Carney is using his time in Congress to sign bi-partisan letters to the Deficit Supercommittee to Go Big in cutting the deficit, I thought I’d use my platform here to remind him of what the genuine crisis is right now.

14 Million unemployed Americans.

Today, I learned that more than half of our out of work fellow citizens are no longer getting unemployment benefits:

Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America’s 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.

Congress is supposed to take up extending unemployment benefits for at least some of the hardest hit states by the end of they year, but it doesn’t look like they will take up extending benefits beyond the 99 week limit. So what happens if they don’t extend the benefits?

[…]If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further.

The ranks of the poor would also rise. The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.
Yet for a growing share of the unemployed, a vote in Congress to extend the benefits to 99 weeks is irrelevant. They’ve had no job for more than 99 weeks. They’re no longer eligible for benefits.
Their options include food stamps or other social programs. Nearly 46 million people received food stamps in August, a record total. That figure could grow as more people lose unemployment benefits.

14 million Americans going back to work *is* deficit reduction. 14 million Americans back to work means that they are paying taxes and buying stuff like houses and cars. Reducing unemployment means that revenues increase to the government, which helps to reduce the deficit.

This isn’t especially hard, but I am gobsmacked by the persistent and showy hand-wringing and finger-wagging about deficit reduction, with no attendant showy effort on reducing unemployment. Because no matter what the Beltway wonks and special interests tell you, getting Americans back to work is the more vital and important effort.

So please, John Carney — let’s have alot more work on getting your constituents back to work. If you need to pursue the bipartisan fetish, that is OK — as long as the effort to get people back to work Goes Bigger than the effort for deficit reduction. Employment is Priority 1, 2 and 3.

Greg Lavelle: His (Ass) Holiness of the Year

Monsignor  (and Representative) Greg Lavelle, tireless defender of pedophile priests and the dioceses that protect them, has worked his law ‘n order Jones into a Santorum-like creamy froth over the greatest danger to America today. Yep, the Occupy Delaware protestors. Let’s just enjoy this Rethug Attack Dog waxing rabid over this issue:

The state’s decision not to evict the protesters brought scorn from House Minority Leader Gregory F. Lavelle, R-Sharpley, who drove by the park a few times as the sun set.

“Is Selander crazy?” Lavelle asked. “By their ‘vote,’ they have given Delaware and its law-abiding citizens the Bronx cheer.

“The law needs to be enforced. No more excuses. No more political coddling. Clear Fletcher and revoke the political decision to let them ‘camp’ in Brandywine Park.”

Apparently secure in his belief that pedophile priests were not busy at that hour cuddling up with unwilling altar boys, Monsignor Lavelle ‘drove by the park a few times’ to, what, exactly? Wait for a reporter so that the Serial Bloviator could give a quote to the papers? Mission accomplished.

OK, Greg, I’ll bite (no, no, don’t get excited, you racy pedophile priests, you…). Political coddling? You want political coddling? In addition to your pals, the pedophile priests, how about the banks that engineered the clusterfuck of our economy? How about the lobbyists whose businesses you fight for in Dover in diametric opposition to the Public Good? That is political coddling.

Those forces of greed and corruption (along with the forces of sexual depravity  you so wholeheartedly protect) are the reason for the protests. Non-violent protests using time-honored techniques of civil disobedience.

Greg Lavelle’s solution? Mass arrests.

The year is not yet over. But his unholy body of work has already earned Monsignor Greg Lavelle the “His (Ass) Holiness of the Year” Award.

Learn from the good works of your pedophile priest buddies, and stick it where the sun don’t shine.

Does Governor Markell finally have an opponent?

Rumors have it over on the Dark Side that Eric Buckson, son of the former 18 day Governor David Buckson and 4th District Representative for Kent County Levy Court, may run for Governor himself. Buckson has been on the Kent County Levy Court (for those who live in the state’s other two counties, a Levy Court is like a County Council) since 2006. He is also employed by the Polytech School District as their Athletic Director and Attendance Officer.

Initially, Buckson intended to run for Lt. Governor in 2008 but bowed out after Charlie Lamot duPont Copeland quixotically decided to make the race. I wonder if that is going to happen again.

What Kavips Said.

The News Journal sounds like Delaware Politics today.

The article is here and the headline reads: Occupy Delaware members vote to defy law, stay in Fletcher Brown Park

Well, yes.. and no. Yes they opted to stay in Fletcher Park Saturday evening after contact with the Markell administration promised no eviction would take place that night if they promised they would not be there for when the day care brought out the kids. In other words, if they left Sunday night…

Since the group had voted that they would leave Sunday night, upon finding that there was no reason they had to pack up and move, … they voted to stay camped in Fletcher for just that one night…

The headline, omits the fact that a vote was taken prior and that the group with the exception of three who voted, was emphatic that they did NOT want to be in the park and disrupt the children’s daily routine.

That is rather commendable. The reporter was present, and knew this.

Why did it not get reported?

Oh that’s easy, Kavips. Because the corporate Gannet has its spin and is sticking to it. Just like the venerable New York Times and other news organizations have published misleading or downright false articles on the Occupy Movement before this. I will be curious to know how edited Perra’s article was by his higher-ups. The movement is protesting corporations’ unbalanced control and influence over our government and the richest 1%. You didn’t think Occupy Delaware was going to get a fair shake from the News Journal, right?

If you want to protest the News Journal coverage:

So why did the News Journal bend over so far backwards to mislead? Only they can answer that. (Here is their subscription number;1-800-801-3322; wanting new revenue, they ALWAYS answer their phones) and they can transfer you to whomever they want: but someone will at least hear your message. If you want the reporter directly, Contact Esteban Parra at 1-302-324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

Shoddy Journalism. Tsk, tsk. Almost to the point of lying.

My Advice for Occupy Delaware Today

From the News Journal:

Members of Occupy Delaware reached Friday said they hadn’t decided whether to accept the state’s offer to occupy the portion of Brandywine Park near the rose garden. That’s a mile from the more centrally located H. Fletcher Brown Park, where the group requested to stay. The state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, which oversees Fletcher Brown and Brandywine, also agreed to waive the $75 per day park fee and the $500,000 insurance requirement.

“My understanding right now is that we will meet tomorrow in Fletcher Park and decide there about Brandywine Park,” Dan Halprin, a member of Occupy Delaware’s media committee, said on Friday. Because the movement has no official leader, it takes action when members gather and vote.

The fight over Fletcher Brown Park is a loser with the public. It is a PR disaster waiting to happen, one that will certainly lead to the crib death my colleague Liberalgeek spoke about a couple weeks ago here. The movement will not garner sympathy for its First Amendment rights nor its grievances by picking a fight with daycare children who use the park during the week. In fact, it is the perfect distraction for opponents of Occupy Delaware to use to make the movement fail.

Listen, the fight for visibility and centrality was lost when the Rodney Square permit was denied. There is no other centrally located park in the business district with the visibility of Rodney Square. Once the city denied that permit, it did not matter if the Occupation occurred at the Riverfront, Fletcher Brown or Brandywine. Because the later three all have one thing in common: they are not Rodney Square.

So please, good folks at Occupy DE, avoid a public relations disaster that will cripple the movement and camp at Brandywine.

Just my two cents.

Friday Open Thread [11.4.11]

I had to share this from BustedTees. Love it.

Your political quote of the day is:

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.” – Samuel Adams

“A year ago the unemployment rate was 9.7 percent. During this time, nonfarm jobs have grown at an average monthly rate of 152,000 while civilian employment has grown at a rate of 140,000 per month. In other words, we don’t need 150,000 jobs per month just to keep the unemployment rate steady. Because of the aging of the labor force, 150,000 jobs per month is more than enough to push down the jobless rate.

Very quietly, without fanfare, private-sector payrolls have grown by 1.8 million in the past year, while the work week has lengthened and hourly cash wages are up 1.8 percent.

Total hours worked are up 1.7 percent in the past year. A 9 percent unemployment rate means the labor market is still far from operating at its full potential, but it is moving in the right direction as are other data. October chain store sales were up 3.7 percent versus a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. This includes luxury department store sales (up 4.5 percent) and wholesale clubs, excluding fuel (up 7 percent). Meanwhile, compared to a year ago, core railcar loadings are up 5.8 percent, steel production is up 10.3 percent, and hotel occupancy rates are up 6.8 percent.

Again, there are no signs of recession. Instead, plenty of signs of continued growth,” – Bob Stein, National Review.