Yes, Jeb Bush is running for GOP nomination. No, he is not for the Presidency

It is pretty clear to me J'bush, onetime "sane" Republican, is not running to be the President. On Monday he flipped and stated that he does not support a "pathway to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., a position other Republicans have taken, at this point, as a given. So what's the deal? J'bush knows that giving a path to legal permanent residency [AND THE VOTE] to 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country is a non-starter with the base, so he has cooked up this new thing.

Richard Forsten’s Response

I have decided to take down my previous post "Delaware is a small state" about a conversation overheard in a local restaurant about alleged plans to hack DL. Our tipster took a picture of the alleged plotter, and since I had no idea who it was, I posted it here in order to identify the man and dissuade the alleged hackers from attacking the site. The gentleman was identified at Richard Forsten by our readers and by other sources. Mr. Forsten then commented on the post, offering a response and, to my mind, a reasonable explanation to the overheard conversation. I am posting that response below and offering our apology.

Tuesday Open Thread–The Progressive Calendar [3.5.13]

We have a lot of local progressive events coming up, and I wanted to use this open thread to highlight them. From the PDD meeting tomorrow on gun control (weather permitting) to a forum on Drones on Thursday, to a Delaware Death Penalty Repeal rally next Tuesday in Dover, to a Town Hall on Delaware's Budget in Newark in two weeks and a panel debate on Governor Markell's gun control legislation on March 19, the calendar is packed with interesting events.

Blandly Watching Someone Die

I heard about this story yesterday, but didn't listen to the 911 call until this morning.
March is only four days old, but this month’s “man’s inhumanity to man” award goes to Glenwood Gardens and the folks who work there. The senior living facility in Bakersfield, Calif., has a policy of calling 911 in emergencies and waiting with the afflicted until medical assistance arrives. But the lack of urgency — the seeming indifference of the personnel to the 87-year-old woman who collapsed in the dining room Feb. 26 — is stunning.

Tuesday Daily Delawhere [3.5.13]

The Wilmington Institute Library, on 10th Street across from Rodney Square in Wilmington. The library was built in 1923 with funds from Pierre S. DuPont. The library was meant to be one of the cornerstones of Rodney Square, along with the DuPont Building, City Hall and Courthouse, and Post Office.

Making Shit Up, Dirty Tricks, Blatant Lies… All in a day’s work for today’s GOP

totally not shocking...
An escort who appeared on a video claiming Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) paid her for sex has told Dominican Republic police that she was instead paid to make up the claims in a tape recording and has never met or seen the senator before, according to court documents and two people briefed on her claim. The woman identified a lawyer who approached her and a friend to make the videotape, according to affidavits obtained by the Post. That man has in turn identified another lawyer who gave him a script for the tape and paid him to find women to fabricate the claims, the affidavits say.

Monday Open Thread [3.4.13]

Michael Kinsley chronicles how Republicans, and their affiliated media, are complaining "loudly about feeling bullied by their opponents."
"Big, bad President Obama, creepy Harry Reid, that B-word Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of the gang of toughs called the Democratic Party are picking on the poor defenseless GOP. As a campaigning theme, it seems insane. The GOP has long prospered by portraying Democrats as the wimps, dangerously weak and unfit for command. Does the name Michael Dukakis ring a bell? And in really heady moments, like 1984, when Reagan earned his second term, or 1994 and 2010, when sweeping victories in off-year elections seemed to foretell an imminent landslide, Republican fantasies of one-party rule involved the triumph of their party, not humiliation by the other side." "In fact, moaning about how weak you are compared with the opposition seems so obviously a political mistake that we can only reach one conclusion: This must be sincere."
Remember, it is the bullies themselves that always cry loudest about being hit back.

The Polling Report [3.4.13]

We have compiled polling results over the last couple of weeks to show you how much better President Obama and Congressional Democrats are polling compared to their Republican counterpart. Meanwhile, we have new polls out in dozens of Senate and Gubernatorial races in 2013 and 2014.

Help Wanted – School Board Elections

Given Jason's recent post it appears School Board races may heat up against this year. If this is true then we need to get moving! Every year I send out a list of questions to Red Clay school board candidates and post their answers. Here's my problem: Every school district has different concerns and I while I'm familiar with the challenges facing Red Clay, I have no idea what the Appo, Capital, Christina, Seaford, etc. District residents are looking for in a school board candidate. So... I need a few volunteers to contact candidates in their district and report back. I'm also trying to figure out the best way to do this. Actually, I'd really like to find a way where I'm not sending out tons of emails - because a quick look at the number of candidates running is quite daunting, and, contrary to popular belief, I don't get paid for this! ;-)

Serious Question.

I broke down and started reading the details of the Miss Delaware Teen USA "scandal" this morning. I had been purposefully avoiding it because I don't consider such things actual news. Who the hell cares that a stupid teenager was stupid enough to allegedly engage in sexual activity on camera? Who the hell cares about a Miss Delaware Teen USA? What the hell is a Miss Delaware Teen USA, and for that matter the winner of any of the other beauty pagents out there? Why do we even hold them up as some kind of paragons of virtue? I guess I can understand holding a contest to determine which of the contestants is the most beautiful and well rounded person in that year's competition. But why then do we act like the winner of that meaningless contest is somehow given royal duties and then acts like a Head of State for a year?

Deep Pocketed Lying Cowards Still Lying in Appo

I have to hand it to people like Joanne Christian who have integrity. She opposed the Appo referendum, but at least she did it with some dignity on honest grounds, and under her own name. Right now the anonymous trolls who upended the referendum with their blatant 35% property tax increase lie are now attacking someone running for the school board with lies about them getting illegal campaign contributions from teacher's unions. I'm not going to go into the details of the lies here because I think the chatter serves the liars nefarious purposes. [If there was any wrong doing, you would expect them to seek out the proper authorities.] Rather, I'd like to point out that there seems to be a pattern emerging.

Sunday Open Thread [3/3/2013]

The end of the weekend Open Thread -- I went to the Home Show yesterday and had the chance to meet the great Jim Westhoff, who we liked ALOT for the DE House a few years back. Just the kind of candidate we need more of IMO, and he is a great guy, to boot. Today I'm thinking about all of the cool stuff we saw at the Home Show yesterday, and wondering if I should go buy myself a house with a proper yard so I can put a hot tub out there.