Veteran’s Day Open Thread [11.11.11]

At 11:11 am today I was trying to find the number of Delawareans that were killed in WWI. I couldn't find a number, but I did find out that a staggering number of people were killed in that war. (22 million casualties e.g. killed or wounded) Great Brittan alone lost 2.5 million out of 5 million in arms. At least the deaths were not in vain and the horror of "The Great War" made it impossible for any other country to ever contemplate the idea of going to war.

El Somnambulo Seeks Your Help…

...in assembling the Third Annual MVP List. This list honors those Delawareans who were (M)ost (V)aluable to the (P)rogressive cause in Delaware in 2011. In the past, I have generally limited this list to public officials. However, I am open to suggestions from outside the realm of elective public service.

Penn State and UD Have Something in Common-And It’s Not Good

Penn State is not officially a state institution per se, but a "state-related institution. As such, it now belongs to the Commonwealth System of Higher Education, and is not part of the fully public Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education." Among other things, this means that, in addition to the university collecting millions upon millions of dollars from the State of Pennsylvania, the Board of Trustees is not obligated, nor do they, make any proceedings/minutes of Board meetings public. That includes to state officials. I wonder if the Board is going to battle FOIA demands from the Feds once that investigation is under way. It wouldn't surprise me if it does.

Convince Calistro

So today, a new Facebook page was put up by a grassroots movement to convince Wilmington's Paul F. Calistro, Jr., the current Executive Director of West End Neighborhood House, to run for the Mayor of Wilmington in 2012 as a progressive alternative to the prospective candidates currently assembled. I am told that Calistro has a lot of support among he same progressive activists that supported Governor Markell in his primary race against John Carney in 2008.

Personhood – The Wedge Issue that Could Swing 2012

A lot of people are cheering the defeat of the Mississippi Personhood amendment yesterday. Its defeat marked the 3rd time since 2008 that this type of amendment has gone down in flames (the other two were in Colorado). But as Nick Baumann writes in Mother Jones, this is a grand plan by the GOP to continue fighting the culture wars.

Common Cause Forum Tonight on Citizens United

Common Cause of Delaware is holding a for a special forum on the future of Delaware politics tonight at 6 pm in the post-Citizens United age of secret, unlimited political spending. Will Delaware's tradition of civility in its politics endure now that special interests can spend unlimited amounts on our elections? Is last year's U.S. Senate race in Delaware, which set a record for money coming from out of state and for total money spent, a harbinger of things to come?

Sen. Carper to “fight” for Clean Air. UPDATE

Senator Tom Carper supports the EPA’s Clean Air Good Neighbor Rule which would demand that the EPA better regulate air pollution. Senator Rand Paul hates clean air and wants to end the EPA. Senator Rand Paul has introduced Senate Joint Resolution, which disapproves of the rule and would prevent it from being enacted. Carper says he will fight for the rule...... in a debate on the Senate floor. Pardon my French, Senator Carper, but f*ck that.

A Good Night

Workers protected in Ohio. Voting protected in Maine. Birth Control and women's rights protected in Mississippi. Teabagger Rethugs recalled in Arizona and Michigan. Special Election won by Dems in Iowa. And great polling news from Ohio.