Archive for August, 2013
![Daily Delawhere [8.15.13]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5336/9483731247_644e15f581_z.jpg "Daily Delawhere [8.15.13]")
Violence and Wilmington
Last night, there was a quickly called meeting by Herman Holloway, Jr. to get “community leaders” to discuss Wilmington’s violence problem. Specifically, Holloway wanted to talk about strategies to get more people to tell what they know about violent crime and illegal guns to the police. He also wanted to float a couple of other […]
Open Thread for Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Rep. Tom Cole (R) of Oklahoma said some months ago that the “only way Republicans will lose the House is to shut down the government or default on the debt.”
Guess what Republicans have spent the entire summer talking about?
![Daily Delawhere [8.14.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7346/9483731139_be0c652b7e_z.jpg "Daily Delawhere [8.14.13]")
Towards a Smarter Policing Strategy?
Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced changes to the Federal policy in prosecuting drug crimes, basically getting Federal prosecutors to charge low-level offenders with less harsh crimes. This action would essentially bypass the mandatory minimum sentencing rules whose primary accomplishment is to increase the already unsustainable numbers of Americans in prison. This is a baby step in admitting that we’ve been losing the War on Drugs for a long time:
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced Monday that low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with no ties to gangs or large-scale drug organizations will no longer be charged with offenses that impose severe mandatory sentences.
The new Justice Department policy is part of a comprehensive prison reform package that Holder unveiled in a speech to the American Bar Association in San Francisco. He also introduced a policy to reduce sentences for elderly, nonviolent inmates and find alternatives to prison for nonviolent criminals.
Open Thread for Tuesday, August 13, 2013
The Newark Mayor, no not Corey Booker, but Vance Funk, is retiring earlier than originally indicated. He is now leaving office on September 30, rather than December 31.
[Deputy Mayor] Clifton – sitting in the mayor’s chair Funk has occupied since being elected in 2004 – said Funk changed the effective date of his resignation to accommodate the process for a special election in accordance with the city’s charter.
Council will hold a special meeting on Sept. 30 to schedule the special election, which is expected to be held Nov. 26, Clifton said.
Although Funk was not in attendance at Monday’s meeting, he made a statement in a city news release distributed immediately after Clifton’s announcement.
“Considering that it is not in my best interest health wise to attend the many meetings between now and the end of the year and to allow the election process to move forward in a timely fashion, I determined September 30 to be an appropriate date for my term to end,” Funk said in the news release.
![Daily Delawhere [8.13.13]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5447/9486529510_2da55ecf2e_z.jpg "Daily Delawhere [8.13.13]")
Late Night Video — The Pitch to Add Sponsors to the Rush Limbaugh Show
This is from the Current Network and one John Fugelsgang (who I don’t know), and is a pointed and funny pitch to help Rush get more advertisers:
Open Thread for Monday, August 12, 2013
So last week that little worm Reince Priebus, the Chairman of the RNC, told CNN and NBC that unless they stopped production on a Hillary Clinton news documentary and a Hillary Clinton miniseries, respectively, that both news organizations would not host or air any Republican debates in 2016. The truth is Reince doesn’t care at all about the documentary or the miniseries, and he just wants to cut the non-Republican-fellating networks out of conducting debates, because, as he said last week, he wants moderators who care about the glorious future of the dear Republican Party, and not some objective neutral journalist who sole interest is the facts and the news. So the Hillary Clinton documentary and miniseries, respectively, were the reasons to cut out CNN and NBC from hosting or airing the 2016 Republican Primary debates.
Over the weekend, something totally predictable happened: Fox Television Studies is now seeking to produce the Hillary Clinton miniseries. Fox Television Studios is the sister company of Fox News in the same way as NBC Entertainment is the sister company of NBC News. If Reince Priebus has any honor or integrity, he will now of course issue a press statement where he wholly condemns Fox News and informs them that Fox News will not host or air any 2016 Republican primary debates.
Hell, no debates is probably what he wants anyway.
An Opportunity for Campaign Finance Reform
Yesterday’s NJ detailed how developers (with multiple companies) could legally contribute multiple times to a candidate:
The practice of companies tied to one developer each contributing the maximum contribution gives the developer greater influence in the election process than other donors who don’t have separate companies to funnel contributions through.
“It’s an outrageous loophole for developers. It makes a mockery of the limits,” said James Browning, regional director of state operations with Common Cause advocacy organization. “It’s a double standard for developers. How can you trust in a system where so few people can buy so much access?”
![Daily Delawhere [8.12.13]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5475/9486529624_a4e67aa396_z.jpg "Daily Delawhere [8.12.13]")
Late Night Video — Disinformation by American Media
Approx 5 mins long (short for a TED Talk) and probably what you know already. This was done in 2008, so swap out Brittany coverage for Beyonce’s hair cut:
Sunday Open Thread [8.11.13]
Hannah Gastonguay, 26, said Saturday that she and her husband “decided to take a leap of faith and see where God led us” when they took their two small children and her father-in-law and set sail from San Diego for the tiny island nation of Kiribati in May.
But just weeks into their journey, the Gastonguays hit a series of storms that damaged their small boat, leaving them adrift for weeks, unable to make progress. They were eventually picked up by a Venezuelan fishing vessel, transferred to a Japanese cargo ship and taken to Chile where they are resting in a hotel in the port city of San Antonio.
Their flights home were arranged by U.S. Embassy officials, Gastonguay said. The U.S. State Department was not immediately available for comment.
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