Thursday Open Thread [1.8.15]

Thursday Open Thread [1.8.15]

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Last night, I helped rescue Nancy Willing from an elevator at the Democratic Party HQ. Well, "rescue" seems to be hyperbole on my part, since all I did was hear the alarm from the elevator after about 2 minutes, and then call 911. And then the Wilmington Manor Fire Department promptly sent two ladder engines, two Fire Chief SUVs, and 10+ firefighters to rescue Ms. Willing and another person from the two story elevator. Still, given the quickness and level of the response, I wonder who the Fire Department thought was in that elevator. VP Biden?
Christina’s Plan For “Priority Schools” And Last Night’s Meeting

Christina’s Plan For “Priority Schools” And Last Night’s Meeting

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Here's what happened at last night's Christina's School Board meeting:
With two days remaining before a threatened state takeover of its three inner-city schools, the Christina board delayed action on the state's priority schools plan – but it gave Superintendent Freeman Williams permission to work with education officials on a compromise. Department spokeswoman Alison May said officials there were willing to extend the deadline for negotiations – at least for the moment. Gov. Jack Markell has said he will close those schools down or hand them over to charters or other outside operators if the district and state can't agree. The board's move comes after the Department of Education rejected draft plans the district had crafted after months of meetings with parents, teachers and others in the schools' communities. "At the highest level, the plans propose continuing the work that is already underway at the schools, which we know has not been effective," May wrote. "The plans propose supplementing the current work in minor ways, which we do not believe will be transformative for students."
Before continuing, let's break this down. First, Gov. Markell will not close these schools down, so he should probably drop that bit of nonsense. Charter and privatization have always been the end game for these Priority Schools (It's actually more than the end game, it's the entire point of this), so let's stop pretending that closure is on the table.  It isn't... unless someone wants to tell me where the children attending the closed schools would go? And while the MOU doesn't have much to say about the children attending these schools, they do, in fact, actually exist.
The Archives of the Honorable Chip Flowers, Jr.

The Archives of the Honorable Chip Flowers, Jr.

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Who needs satire when Chip does the work for us?  If you're a loyal DL reader, you OWE IT TO YOURSELF to parse every syllable of this Ode to A Delusional Narcissist. For fun, count the number of times he uses the word 'historic' or variation thereof. Lest you doubt that this is Chip's work, you can access it here. However, if you are loathe (to steal one of Monsignor Lavelle's favorite words) to give Chip the web traffic (although the big-ass watch alone is worth a peek), here is Chip in his own words (I know, b/c they're in the Third Person)....
Carper’s keystone veto override vote should be a watershed moment for Delaware’s Democrats

Carper’s keystone veto override vote should be a watershed moment for Delaware’s Democrats

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When it comes to pass that Senator for Life, Tom Carper, sides with Republicans and votes to override the President's veto of the Keystone XL pipeline it could change things here in Delaware. At long last, all pretense will be set aside and even the most out of touch Democrat will know that Carper is not a member of the Democratic Party in any meaningful sense. It will be an undeniable break with public sentiment on the issue of the environment and the brazen opposition to the President will be impossible for him to hide from. It doesn't mean that he will lose the next election - he is the Senator for Life after all. But I think it does open up some room for actual Democrats to begin to assert what it means to be a Democrat, and perhaps begin rebuilding the Party's brand equity. It could take a generation for the party to recover from the damage that Tom Carper has inflicted on it, but I think a recovery is possible. Recovering our sense of what the Democratic Party stands for is therefor, something we should be preparing for. When this execrable vote happens, we need to be ready to use the public disgust with Carper to launch a larger movement to articulate Democratic values. Just this morning I was thinking that I might register as a Green Party, but just the prospect of this vote - this horrific inevitable vote has sparked something in me that I haven't felt for a while. It has reminded me of the fact that votes do matter. That Carper is in DC to represent me and my interests. That's his job. It has fired me up to demand that he do his job for a change.