Happy Thanksgiving – Let’s Cook!

I have some time before the teenagers wake up, so I thought I'd try and put up a Thanksgiving foodie thread!  This year I'm trying some new recipes, along with my son's favorites - since he just returned home from college and deserves some special treatment! I'm sticking with Turkey as the main course, but having some fun with the side dishes.

Thanksgiving Open Thread [11.22.12]

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope that all of you are safety ensconced with your family and/or your friends -- watching the parades, watching football, cooking, eating and drinking. And giving thanks. We here at Delaware Liberal are thankful to be among so many committed political junkies and activists who share so very much of their commitment, passion and knowledge with the rest of us. We are, of course, grateful for our families and friends who sometimes don't quite get this passion for politics, but today we ask you what you are thankful for this season. Let us know in the comments if you drop by today.

Shocking: GOP doubles down on obstruction

Having failed to invalidate the Affordable Care Act at the Supreme Court, and having just lost big at the ballot box in their attempts to de-legitimize and hobble President Obama, Wingnut Republican Governors are now dedicating their efforts to botching the ACA's implementation at the state level. Meanwhile, in congress, John Boehner initially declared Obamacare the “law of the land” and expressed a willingness to compromise on "revenue" but quickly walked those positions back and re-affirmed his party's commitment obstruction and general mayhem. Listen to Mitch McConnell, one of the main architects of the GOP's comeback in 2010 through outright obstruction...

Early New Year’s Resolution – Fix it

I'm not a big fixer or repairer of things, so this "Fixer's Manifesto" is very aspirational for me. I have some jeans that I was getting ready to toss out, so maybe I'll start with those. 1. IF IT'S BROKEN, FIX IT! BECAUSE EVERYDAY PRACTICAL PROBLEM SOLVING IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FORM OF CREATIVITY THERE IS. 2. IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, IMPROVE IT. A SMALL, CLEVER TWEAK CAN IMPROVE HOW SOMETHING WORKS FOR YEARS TO COME. 3. GIVE YOUR PRODUCTS A LONGER LIFE. IF WE DOUBLE THE LIFE OF OUR STUFF, WE HALVE WHAT GOES TO LANDFILL. ...

Wednesday Open Thread [11.21.12]

This is from David Simon, but go read the whole thing:
"Change is a motherfucker when you run from it. And right now, the conservative movement in America is fleeing from dramatic change that is certain and immutable. A man of color is president for the second time, and this happened despite a struggling economic climate and a national spirit of general discontent. He has been returned to office over the specific objections of the mass of white men. He has instead been re-elected by women, by people of color, by homosexuals, by people of varying religions or no religion whatsoever. Behold the New Jerusalem. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a white man, of course. There’s nothing wrong with being anything. That’s the point. This election marks a moment in which the racial and social hierarchy of America is upended forever. No longer will it mean more politically to be a white male than to be anything else. Evolve, or don’t. Swallow your resentments, or don’t. But the votes are going to be counted, more of them with each election. Arizona will soon be in play. And in a few cycles, even Texas. And those wishing to hold national office in these United States will find it increasingly useless to argue for normal, to attempt to play one minority against the next, to turn pluralities against the feared “other” of gays, or blacks, or immigrants, or, incredibly in this election cycle, our very wives and lovers and daughters, fellow citizens who demand to control their own bodies."

Legislative Priorities

We know who the players are, but what are the plays? What legislation do we want to see moved this term? Can Andria L. Bennett keep a family tradition alive by adding an extra $50.00 fines to crimes perpetrated against old people and veterans?

Tuesday Open Thread [11.20.12]

Another late Open Thread! There is too much Thanksgiving preparation going on here. Buzzfeed reports that Obama campaign manager Jim Messina is expecting the Obama political organization will stay alive this round, rather than be put into mothballs as he did the first term. And that organization's first job might be to organize around the fiscal cliff discussions:
Messina said the campaign will not immediately turn over the operation to the Democratic National Committee, but he also suggested Obama will not repeat what is widely seen as a mistake of his first term: switching off his grassroots operation at the behest of Congressional Democrats, who bridled at its organizing in their districts. This time, Messina suggested that the campaign's vaunted "Dashboard" social media system would be helpful during the fiscal cliff, allowing Obama supporters to call members of Congress. "People just spent five years winning two presidential elections together, now they’re not just walking away," he said.
This is good news.

So. Who Will Be the Next Speaker of the House?

Today's bare-bones News-Journal story reports that both Pete Schwartzkopf and Helene Keeley are seeking the position. The News-Journal does not report that each candidate has a slate. If my sources are correct, and it's not certain that they are, each slate has at least one major head-scratcher on it. Here they are: Speaker: Pete Schwartzkopf Majority Leader: Valerie Longhurst (??!!) Majority Whip: Quin Johnson vs. Speaker: Helene Keeley Majority Leader: Bryon Short Majority Whip: John Viola (??!!) I don't know who will win, but I believe that this contest represents the first clear emergence of different factions within the Caucus.