Friday Open Thread [3.29.13]

Does ... any of the idiot conservatives who repeat this nonsense ad infinitum [that families have to balance their budgets] have any clue how people manage their budgets? They use credit cards, which is debt. They get mortgages, which is debt. They get student loans, which is debt. They get car loans, which is debt. And let's not get started on businesses and their leveraged debts. So if Republicans want Washington to act like American families do, then we're already there!
And now lets put numbers to this story to show you how ridiculous this GOP talking point is:
U.S. household consumer debt profile: Average credit card debt: $15,266 Average mortgage debt: $149,667 Average student loan debt: $32,559 vs Income: $44,389 So, if we balanced the budget the same way households do, the federal debt to income ratio would be: 78/22 = 3.5/1 But it's currently approximately 1.7/1 So, if the Republicans actually meant what they said, we should be on a debt spending spree like never seen before in the history of the nation.

Adventures in Personal Responsibility — Or Being Mike Protack

I know that some of you are on Facebook and you've been a witness to weeks of insulting and trolling behavior from Mike Protack. Personally, I'm not friends with the guy, but some of my friends are, and the exchanges I've seen have been utterly unhinged. No matter the topic at hand, what emerges is the completely resentful Mike Protack -- blaming Democrats or unions for all of the worlds' ills; insulting the intelligence, the appearance, the ethnic background, the appearance of the *kids* of his interlocutors; making stuff up; and just generally lacking in the basic social graces that got him banned from this place. Whether he is talking about education or same sex marriage, all he's been capable of over on Facebook is anger, insults and ignorance. Yesterday, Esteban Parra documented the most recent incident -- one where Protack decided to get his inner racist on:

The Ridiculous Reasons Republicans Give….

The following is the reason Republican Senator Greg Lavelle gave for voting against the repeal of the death penalty:
"15 years from now, there will be a group, undoubtedly, that will come and say, 'Isn't it cruel and unusual, isn't it horrific, that as as society that we put somebody in jail that committed a murder when they're 21, 22-years-old, an adult, and they're in there for 30, 40, 50 years, isn't that cruel and unusual, and shouldn't we allow them out?'" asks Lavelle.
This is quite an assine statement, even from Lavelle. First, no one here in Delaware or anywhere as far as I can tell has ever said life sentences for adults who commit murder is cruel and unusual. So Lavelle is lying to create a straw man that he can fight against, which gives him a reason for his vote. So let's concede that point for the moment. Let's concede that Lavelle is really concerned that there is this movement out there that in 15 years will seek to repeal life sentences without the possibility of parole because somehow it is cruel and unusual. Ok. So Lavelle's answer to this concern is we must kill the convict? In order to prevent the the forces waving the cruel and unusual punishment banner from going down a slippery slope, we must keep a cruel and unusual punishment on the books? It seems to me that Lavelle, through his attempt at mockery, is conceding that the death penalty is cruel and unusual and we need to keep that cruel and unusual punishment on the books so that non-cruel and unusual punishments like life imprisonment are never challenged as cruel and unusual. Well, that makes sense!

Anil Dash “Ten Tips Guaranteed to Improve Your Startup Success” work as succcess in life tips

These helpful tips were written with entrepreneurs in mind, but they have a lot of utility as general life tips.
Ten Tips Guaranteed to Improve Your Startup Success 1) Be raised with access to clean drinking water and sanitation. (Every tech billionaire I've ever spoken to has a toilet!) 2) Try to be born in a region that is politically and militarily stable. 3) Grow up with a family that is as steady and secure as possible. 4) Have access to at least a basic free education in core subjects. 5) Avoid being abused by family members, loved ones, friends or acquaintances during the formative years of your life.
The next five are good as well.

Thursday Open Thread [3.28.13]

The Week: "Most members of the Republican Party hope that the Supreme Court will not use the two gay-marriage cases it heard this week to issue a broad ruling affirming the constitutional right of gays and lesbians to marry. However, top officials in the GOP are reportedly praying for precisely that outcome, calculating that it would be the most effective way to remove gay marriage as a political liability." Well, if these top officials are hoping for that outcome (which I don't think will happen), then they are foolish and not very smart politicos. For if that does happen, guess what the social conservative base of the Republican Party does? They flip out. More so than usual. They will demand from the GOP complete and total obedience to their outrage. They will want the Congressional Republicans to immediately introduce a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage and attach it as an amendment to everything that moves in the House and Senate. Opposition to gay marriage will become the most important issue on the GOP voter's mind. Now, the GOP will then be faced with two choices: 1) tell these bigoted voters to go f*ck themselves because the Supreme Court has ruled and that is the end of that; or 2) say yes Master yes Master like they have done so many times before. Which do you think the oh-so-courageous GOP does?

QOTD — Why Is the NJ Still Paying Attention To This Woman?

This question is courtesy of commenter AQC. And the woman in question is Lenore Matusiewicz, the wife of the man who shot their grandchildren's mother at the NCCo Courthouse. It looks from here that the NJ is basically a venue for pretty much every antic this woman is working on. Today's antic are claims that the the State of Delaware is withholding her husband's body from her and withholding the autopsy report. Insert eye rolls here.

The Polling Report [3.28.13]

A small sampling of polls showing a close race in Virginia for governor, a blowout in New Jersey, a tightening Senate primary in Massachusetts, and yet another poll showing that pretty much every single American alive today supports background checks.

In search of Delaware’s best fish taco

I have a new thing. Whenever I see "Fish Taco" on a menu I order it. So far - after an infinitesimally small number of tests (3) - Dogfish on Rehoboth Ave is in the lead. The fish was great, and the cabbage salad had a nice tang to it. And yet, this fish taco is easily beatable by anyone who combines nice fresh fish, a decent tortilla and and some imaginative savory/sweet salad. Fins on Rehoboth Ave was pretty weak - but at least the fish was good. That same can't be said for Mango's in Bethany which was a train-wreck wrapped around a few Mrs. Paul's fish sticks. The fish taco appetizer at Iron Hill was equally weak but for more for lack of trying than crappy ingredients. Had I known that I was going to be doing this feature I'd have paid more attention to why I didn't like it. So hook me up. Bookmark this post and let me know if you find a good one. Thanks!

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 28, 2013

Seven, count 'em, seven amendments have already been prefiled for HB 35(Longhurst), the criminal background checks bill. And these are only the so-called friendly amendments. In the immortal words of Casey Stengel while managing the inept New York Mets in their inaugural season:
"Can't anybody here play this game?"
This bill should be the easy one. They've got the votes, no fuss, no muss. But, by paying undue deference to the NRA, they have become the Senate (United States version) Democrats, turning what should be defining statement victories into, at best, marginal progress and, at worst, defeat. The issue is larger than HB 35. The House dithering has emboldened the NRA b/c they've learned that they can run circles around the house managers of this legislation. That will make passage of other key elements of the gun control package far more difficult than it needed to be. Need I remind these Profiles In Courage that a massacre of school children in Connecticut was the catalyzing event for this package? After several other massacres all over this country? This kind of appeasement will only help to ensure that such a massacre occurs here. Maybe then they'll stop listening to these uncompromising zealots. Until then, we have HB 35, on today's House Agenda. Do us all a favor, and at least pass this one?

Breaking (Not Really): Wal-Mart Is Awful

Wal-Mart has a big problem: Margaret Hancock has long considered the local Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) superstore her one- stop shopping destination. No longer. During recent visits, the retired accountant…

Wednesday Open Thread [3.27.13]

Ross Douthat imagines the state of our politics today if the Iraq War never happened:
[T]ake away Iraq’s imprint on our politics, and America might well have still elected a Democrat to replace George W. Bush. But because of Iraq, the Democratic majority that did come to power in 2006 and 2008 has been more aggressive on public policy, less defensive in the culture war, and more proficient in the art of base mobilization than a hypothetical Clinton Restoration would have been – and their Republican opposition has been more ideologically bunkered-down, less nimble and less inclined to woo the center, than the G.O.P. might have been absent the trauma of Iraq.
Without Iraq, there is no Obama presidency. Obama would not have been able to distinquish himself from Clinton in the primaries and would have lost to her. Perhaps even more importantly, there would have been no Howard Dean. Thus, while Hillary would have gone on to beat John McCain due to the 2008 economic collapse, the Democratic Party would be a moderate mess, as the progressive take over of the party in 2005 would not have happened, and the 2006 retaking of Congress probably does not happen (although it would have in 2008).