Thursday Open Thread [2.7.13]

Senator Carper reacts to the U.S. Post Office ending Saturday service. The Senator's Postal Reform Bill would have ended the ridiculous pension saving requirement the Service is saddled with by statute, which is mostly responsible for the USPS's continued financial woes. Senator Coons gets the chairmanship of the Senate Bankruptcy Committee. Senator from Delaware, but of course. Kavips asks an important question: is the Wilmington port deal the next Fisker?

If a Democrat proposed this, there would be a civil war.

Idaho state Sen. John Goedde (R), chairman of the the state Senate Education Committee, introduced legislation to require every Idaho high school student to read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and pass a test on it to graduate from high school, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports. The reason for this is reading the book made Goedde's son a Republican, so he wants all of Idaho's school children to be Republicans. If a Democrat did this (although I cannot think of a comparable book or author that singularly informs the liberal mind if only because we liberals tend to be more intelligent and we read many books, not just one), can you imagine the outrage? Fox News would self immolate.

The Fat Blustery Guy Blusters

I get why New Jersians like the fat blustery guy routine. In an age of stiff, over-programmed, cyborgs like John Carney and Tom Carper moving stiffly and guardedly across the public stage, the fat blustery guy is a breath of fresh air. Like a bowl of chocolate chip mint ice-cream after nothing but white bread toast and saltines. Nevertheless, you can't bluster away facts. The fat man is more likely to have a stroke. The fat man is more likely to drop dead of a heart attack. The fat man is driving up your health insurance rates with his undisciplined, devil-may-care approach to the buffet table. Just as we know that "cutting taxes on business" has never helped the economy - the fat bluster guy should never be mistaken for a healthy person. Facts are facts.

Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Urge NCCo Council to Reject Shopping Center

The fight back against overdevelopment continues. Six bipartisan Newark area lawmakers have signed a letter urging the County Council not to rezone the Stoprya tract of land on the north side of Kirkwood Highway. And when I think of a stretch of New Castle County that cannot handle any more development, I think of Kirkwood Highway. Come inside for more details...

Wednesday Open Thread [2.6.13]

Markell is leading the ten-day trade mission which includes Transportation Secretary Shailen Bhatt, Deputy Director for International Trade Felicia Pullam, and University of Delaware President Patrick Harker. “Delaware’s got a great story to tell and I want to tell the story. I want Delaware to be top of mind when companies around the globe are thinking about where to expand in this country and so as these companies decide to expand, I want them to engage with us here in Delaware,” said Markell.
I am always suspicious of these goodwill and business-rousting trips aboard by any Governor of any state, especially in this day and age of the Internet where anyone can find out about any place through a Google search. I much more understand trips to conferences. But I am sure the Governor can tell me that his trips have brought business to the state and thus my wariness is unwarranted.

The PDD-DL Vote Tracker for February 6, 2013

Here is the second update to the PDD-DL Vote Tracker. The General Assembly is in recess right now as the Joint Finance Committee works on the Governor's Budget, so this vote tracker summarizes the last week of action of the GA, which includes the passage of the amended Port Bill (SB 3).

Wednesday Daily Delawhere [2.6.13]

Remnants of the subdivision of Glenville, on Route 4 near Stanton. Glenville was prone to frequent flooding, and after the area was pretty much destroyed after Hurricane Isabel in 2003, the county bought out the residents and condemned the area. Sidewalks, driveways, and front lawns can still be seen in some spots that were abandoned.

Fox News Dumps Dick Morris

In a victory for reality and a defeat for bullshit, Fox News won't be renewing its contract with Dick Morris, the world's worst political pundit. Morris, AKA the King of Wrong Mountain, was last seen predicting a Mitt Romney landslide in November, a prediction not even Rasmussen's polling hype supported. Fox could have saved themselves some money by listening to me in 2008; it shouldn't take over a decade for a network to fire someone who makes nothing but wrong predictions. My all time favorite Morris prediction was that Hillary Clinton would beat Obama in the Hawaii caucuses because of "the Asian vote". Yes, Obama won his home state by a landslide, of course. Combined with Chris Wallace sticking it to Wayne LaPierre, this news suggests that reality-based discourse is on the rise.

The Uselessness of John Sigler — Part 138

John Sigler's email continues to make a fool of him -- this time the email (which I haven't seen) criticizes the Governor for his overseas trips. Really? Sigler clearly missed the fact that one of the real growth areas in American jobs is importing them from overseas. Still, it is a good bet that Sigler's email provides no clues as to the places in Delaware where the Governor should be visiting to help bring in new jobs. The man is clearly not supposed to be making sense -- just fine-tuning his manufactured outrage. The Governor provided a choice response though: