Delaware Lawmaker not convinced we really went to the moon

John Atkins shared a link. 2 hours ago Im not a big conspiracy guy, but after doing some research, reading, and critical thinking on my own, Im not sure we ever went. Whats your thoughts?
And from the resulting comment thread...
Rick, once its launched it simply could have orbitted around the earth out of view of the naked eye? Ever watch "astronauts gone wild"? A guy simply asks every man that walked on the moon to place his hand on the bible to confirm it. Not one would do it......why not? 2 hours ago
I've never heard of "astronauts gone wild" - but I'm 100% sure it is complete nonsense that only a person with diminished mental capacity could give any credence to.

The Whitesplaining Rand Paul

So Rand Paul went to Howard University yesterday to speak to the student body in what was billed as an outreach to minority and young voters. The GOP has gotten alot of press since November making it very plain that the structural problem with their party is its lack of appeal to minority and young voters. Rand Paul apparently sees himself as helping to fix this problem -- first by actually going to the audience the GOP needs to start engaging, and then relying on the media to brand this as a libertarian outreach. The latter is important because it makes Paul look like a leader in a rebranding effort -- making the GOP more libertarian -- while still pursuing the same GOP goals on behalf of corporations and rich people. And trying to call those goals "freedom" and "opportunity".

Thursday Open Thread [4.11.13]

John Dickerson is right: "The Obama strategy relies on theater. There is nothing substantively new about Obama's budget plan. He has offered versions of the same plan (i.e. Chained CPI) privately to Republican leaders, but now he's trying to go around those leaders. One requirement for building trust with Republican senators is putting these offers on paper. This is meant to show individual senators that he is making good on the promises he has made in private conversations, but it also offers them the cover they need with their constituents. If senators are going to flirt with tax increases, they have to show their voters that they purchased something in return. Now they can point to the president's public effort on entitlements. But wait, how do we know that Obama is really making a sacrifice? Just look at how upset his supporters are." So you progressives and liberals and Democrats who are mad as hell and are screaming at the top of your lungs: keep doing it. It is what Obama wants you to do. You are doing your part in this theater. Meanwhile, Greg Sargent explains why Obama wants a Grand Bargain in the first place and details his strategy to that underlies the current maneuverings over the budget....

Marriage Equality Bill Unveiled Today

A news conference unveiling the Marriage Equality bill is scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon at Wilmington’s Freedom Plaza. Rep. Melanie George Smith will sponsor the bill that will legalize marriages between same sex partners, just as she sponsored and worked the Civil Unions bill last session.

Where is the war on teachers taking us?

As the zero-tax absolutist, and anti-referendum zealots (who are willing to outright lie about property tax Armageddon) continue to control the levers of government, it is worth considering what outcome we hope to achieve by underfunding and running public education into the ground in America. What lurks around the corner for a country that has declared the classroom teacher a menace to society? Here is a glimpse of that future. This is from Huffington Post, but it could be from wherever a teacher is talking about their life choices.

Who did not see this coming?

Remember those warnings about how instead of welcoming President Obama’s adoption of Chained CPI, Republicans would continue to deny him a budget deal and attack him for proposing to cut Social Security? Well Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) — who also happens to be chairman of the House GOP’s re-election committee — just showed how it’s done, saying Obama’s budget “lays out a shocking attack on seniors.”

Wednesday Open Thread [4.10.13]

So this is a thing -- opting out of the high-stakes standardized tests that are destabilizing teaching and politics. I knew that there were parents working at ending it in some places, but did not know that opting out was it's own movement. This is from Philly:
Anglin is one of the first, small batch of Philadelphia parents to join a national "opt-out" movement - a grass-roots rebellion against the outsized role that standardized tests like the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) play in the day-to-day classroom experience, in the closure of urban schools rated as "failing," and in stressing out both students and their teachers, whose careers may soon ride on the results.

John Sigler: Lawbreaker? Probably…Creep? Certainly

What if we told you that Delaware's (and one of the nation's) most prominent advocates for 'law abiding citizens' may well be both a lawbreaker and an inhumane killer? And what if I told you that this upstanding citizen is the head of the Delaware Republican Party? Ladies and gentlemen, Delaware's Mr. NRA #1, John Sigler....

Gun nuts rejoice over news of stabbing spree because they think it proves their point, or something

Comment author - NoLiberty! This campus needs to put signs up "Knife Free Zone" to prevent this from happening again! or maybe... "Assault/Murder Free Zone"? If we are not crystal clear with our laws and signage, people will still accidentally kill others thinking its OK to do so.
So far "14 hurt" have been reported. No deaths, so far. Maybe some of these unfortunate victims will die, but right now a "Knife Free Zone" might be premature.

From the “If at first you don’t succeed” files

Colorado-based Frontier Airlines is resurrecting commercial airline service in Delaware. Frontier plans to begin Airbus 320 service from New Castle Airport on July 1, offering three flights a week to Chicago-Midway and Houston. Service to Orlando and Denver begins the following day with two weekly flights to Orlando and four flights a week to Denver, Frontier’s main hub.