Fiskered Out

Will Fisker ever build a single car in Delaware? If I were a betting man, I'd put my money into the Powerball before I plunked down speculative dollars on the Fisker Atlantic.

Friday Open Thread [3.22.13]

It seems that the Israeli left and center is really really pleased, even excited, but President Obama's speech yesterday. From Haaretz:
Sometimes it takes someone from the outside, like U.S. President Barack Obama, to show up and tell it like it is to the Israelis: You've got a wonderful country, you're wise and just, you suffered and you deserve a state, and as long as the United States exists you'll never stand alone – but for God's sake, enough! Stop the settlements, stop the occupation, stop the deportations, stop the ongoing abuse of the Palestinians, and stop the settlers' violence. Enough.

The most hilarious untold story of the GOP primaries – The Gingrich/Santorum Unity Ticket

As Mitt Romney struggled in the weeks leading up to the Michigan primary, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum nearly agreed to form a joint “Unity Ticket” to consolidate conservative support and topple Romney. “We were close,” former Representative Bob Walker, a Gingrich ally, says. But the negotiations collapsed in acrimony because Gingrich and Santorum could not agree on who would get to be president.

Thursday Open Thread [3.21.13]

So Sen. Saxby Chambliss has to become gay apparently before he'll support marriage equality. Does he also have to become black to support equal rights for African Americans? Does he need to get a sex change before he can respect women?

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 21, 2013

Wow, where to start? Action everywhere. Here is today's session activity report (it's all here). We'll start with gun control. HB 35 (Longhurst) cleared the House Judiciary Committee by a 7-4 margin. Democrat Trey Paradee(!) voted against it. Why? It's the slippery slope to gun registration and Big Brother argument. From today's News-Journal:
Many opponents of the background check proposal at Wednesday's hearing said the private-sale-record-keeping provision is a precursor to government gun registration, which could lead to firearms confiscations.
Damn! Where were these folks when what remained of our civil liberties were flushed down the drain in the name of 'homeland security'? Anyway, it looks like an amendment will address this issue, and I hope and expect that Paradee will vote 'yes' when the bill comes to a vote. There no doubt will be other amendments, and some will likely be 'killer' (pardon the expression) amendments. Stay vigilant, my friends.

The Polling Report [3.20.13]

Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) approval rating has plummeted since the November election to 35% approval and 54% disapproval. This is a pretty shocking polling collapse from last August, when his approval rate was 50% to 32%. I guess the public read his budget. I guess the American people don't want his budget. So perhaps Paul Ryan can stop saying the American people want his budget. Yeah, asking a Republican to stop lying is like asking a bird to stop flying.

Wednesday Open Thread [3.20.13]

I wrote about his several weeks ago, about but how our "right to vote" is illusionary as it is not enshrined in the Constitution as a right and that is why racist Republicans can get away with passing laws that burden the exercise of the privilege to vote. Well, now Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellows Jonathan Soros and Mark Schmitt agree with me and argue that we need a Right to Vote Amendment to the Constitution to focus the activist movement and help ensure that you can participate in our political system even if you don't have an "Inc." after your name.

There’s something missing here….

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Dianne Feinstein announced yesterday that Feinsten's Assault Weapon Ban will not be part of the Democratic Gun Control bill because it did not garner more than 40 Democratic votes. Instead, Feinstein's bill will be offered as an Amendment to the Gun Control Bill, and it will obviously fail. It is regrettable, but it is expected. Still, the following Democrats deserve a tip of the hat for their co-sponsorship of the Feinstein Assault Weapons ban, including Senator Carper. But as look at this list, I notice a name missing and I wonder why it is missing. Because if Carper can do it, surely he can too. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) Senator Mo Cowan (D-Mass.) Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) Senator John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)