Delaware Political Weekly: February 4-10, 2012

Missed this one last week, but someone named Ben Mobley, who is running for Insurance Commissioner on the R side, failed to file his campaign finance report. Celia Cohen, who still covers Rethug politics, at least New Castle County-style, has what passes for the story here. BTW, Mobley is an 'investment advisor' at Morgan Stanley. Don't they have to know some legal thingies? Maybe it's other legal thingies... Doesn't matter. He will not be our next IC. But, if you can stomach it, here is Ben Mobley with an ever-smarmier Charlie 'Bouvier de Flandres' Copeland channeling his inner Mitt Romney. FWIW, I like Mobley a lot better in this clip than Copeland. Just look at the studied casualness of Copeland's attire.

The Delaware Liberal Tracking Poll

You may have noticed in the center column of the site, we have a poll question regarding the job performance of Governor Markell. Currently, the Governor has a 69% approval rating (27% approve, 42% strongly approve), and a 22% disapproval rating (17% disapprove, 5% strongly). And 9% of you either don't care, don't know or are "meh" when it comes to the Governor. Now, an internet poll is in no way accurate (although, real polls of the Governor's job performance have similar findings, with approval in the 60's). We are not dealing with a random sample here. And the sample size is way too small (64 people at last count). Still, I thought it would be fun to have a new tracking poll feature each day that polls the politically motivated and passionate in Delaware. Each day of the week we will poll on a different office holder or candidate.

Let’s Do This Again

Yesterday we showed the new Delaware Democratic Party logo, but there was just a small problem with it. The vendor misspelled “Democratic” by adding a third “c.” And to be fair to the staff at the Del Dems, I missed it when I first looked at it, because my attention was drawn to the Hen. Click inside to see the revised new logo, and the secondary logo that we have not seen yet, that I love even better, and see how much better these logos are than the logos of the past.

Music I Like: Part of a Continuing Series

Allow me to (self-)indulge you with my first new roundup of 2012. I missed this last year, would've easily been in my Top 10, especially appropriate after today's 'settlement': Ry Cooder: 'No Banker Left Behind.' Other videos: Michael Kiwanuka: 'I'm Getting Ready,' Chuck Prophet: 'White Night, Big City,' Carolina Chocolate Drops: 'Memphis Shakedown,' Eilen Jewell & the Sacred Shakers: '12 Gates to the City,' and Reverend Gary Davis: 'Death Don't Have No Mercy'

Tom Wagner: First the Coverup. Now the Whitewash.

State Auditor Tom Wagner's successful coverup of possible, OK, likely, criminal behavior, on the part of former House Majority Leader Dick Cathcart is almost complete. But only if you let him and Cathcart get away with it. Just in time for Super Bowl weekend, Wagner 'dumped' the long-awaited report that told us what we already knew. It actually told us less than we already knew, and the name missing from the report is 'Cathcart'. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.

NAACP Issues Charter School Resolution

Here's what caught my attention:
WHEREAS, in some cases, charter schools have become a school model that is used to segregate students; and
Ya think? Charter Schools have also allowed School Districts to shift their responsibilities to these students to Charters. Which is why I've always wondered why Charter proponents wanted to serve on Public School Boards. Always struck me as being an employee of Pepsi, but promoting Coke. And you gotta love the way a Public School District Board's plan for your public school is to give it away. It's almost as if they're saying, "Hey, we stink at this education thingy, so we'll give it to someone else."

Thought of the Day

Rick Santorum is a Catholic. Mitt Romney is a Mormon. The GOP is picking a fight with the President about the Catholic Church's desire not to provide health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for birth control. I wonder if Rick Santorum's recent success is connected....

The Delaware Dems Have a New Logo

As an aside, I post as Delaware Dem, which is a name I created in 2003 as the name I posted under when Daily Kos was launched. But just because my name is Delaware Dem here does not mean I have any connection to the Delaware Democratic Party. I don't. In no way do I speak for them, and given the shouting matches I have had with John Daniello, he would agree. But I digress... Click inside to see the full logo....

Yet Another Misunderstanding of what “Free Speech” Means…..

Professor Connell may have had grounds for wrongful termination or suspension. He may have had grounds for libel. But the one thing I know without a shadow of a doubt: his "Free Speech" rights were not trampled upon or violated in any way. People across the political spectrum and throughout society wrongfully believe the First Amendment right to Free Speech means that every American has the right to say anything they want at any time they want at any place they want without any consequence whatsoever. They are wrong.

An Interesting Paul Clark Move

New Castle County has halted sheriff's sales for homeowners delinquent on their property taxes. County Executive Paul Clark said he issued the executive order Wednesday because of recently released statistics from Dover that show Delaware has the third-highest mortgage foreclosure rate in the country.