Thursday Open Thread [1.22.15]

Thursday Open Thread [1.22.15]

The National Journal quotes a Republican Congressman, Rep. Charlie Dent, on how horribly the first weeks of the new Congressional session are going for the GOP:
"I prefer that we avoid these very contentious social issues," said moderate Rep. Charlie Dent, reprising comments he gave in the closed-door conference meeting. "Week one, we had a speaker election that did not go as well as a lot of us would have liked. Week two, we got into a big fight over deporting children, something that a lot of us didn't want to have a discussion about. Week three, we are now talking about rape and incest and reportable rapes and incest for minors. … I just can't wait for week four."
In week 4, you got owned by the President on national television.
The State of the State.

The State of the State.

Governor Markell previewed his State of the State speech that he will deliver this afternoon to WDEL's Amy Cherry. Governor Markell said his top priorities will remain centered around economic development, education and effective governance.
"Certainly, the job growth over the last year has been really good, fourth fastest in the country, 24 straight months, where it's been strong relative to the rest of the country," he said. Markell said he'll continue to build on that progress along with progress made on education and environmental issues. Without getting specific, the governor said he'll revisit themes you heard in last year's State of the State.
I'd like to know what progress he thinks was made on education. More inside...
Picking the 2015 Super Bowl winner using my never fail “which mascot would win in a fight method”

Picking the 2015 Super Bowl winner using my never fail “which mascot would win in a fight method”

After six years, the science of "which mascot would win in a fight" continues to confound the experts with a 100% success rate. That's right,  6 for 6 Bitches!  Suck it Terry Bradshaw! Anyhoo...let's take a look at Super Bowl XLIX (official pronunciation - "Super Bowl Ex-licks"). This could be a tough one.  A minute man style colonial militia "Patriot" vs. Bird.  Frankly I was rooting for Packers vs Colts because that would have been dead easy.  But as Dick Cheney once said, "You may pray for defenseless victims and the easy snuff out of a bewildered child or an enfeebled old lady, but in the end you get what you get." Here is what I said about the Seahawks last year....
Strine v. Lavelle

Strine v. Lavelle

I remember back with Governor Markell nominated Chief Justice Leo Strine, some wrote that Strine may be too brash to fill the normally stoic and silent role of a Delaware Chief Justice. I thought of that when I heard that a war of words has erupted today between Senate Minority Leader Greg Lavelle (R) and Chief Justice Strine.
[Lavelle] called out [Strine] on the floor of the Delaware Senate[!!!], saying Strine owes law enforcement an explanation, "if not an apology," for comments on Monday that Lavelle said inappropriately compared Delaware's rate of incarceration to North Korea. Strine delivered the remarks to a Chase Center crowd on Monday at a Delaware State Bar Association breakfast honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The chief justice said Delaware can't "incarcerate our way to public safety" and noted "shocking disparities" for blacks in Delaware. Strine added, "You don't want to be in a state where incarceration rates are associated with North Korea."
Lavelle wants Strine to apologize for that? Pardon my french, Mr. Lavelle, but go fuck yourself. The Chief Justice owes no apology to anyone. You, however, owe an apology to all Delaware citizens for trying to create a false controversy. Strine's office bitchslapped Lavelle as well with the following statement inside....
Wednesday Open Thread [1.21.15]

Wednesday Open Thread [1.21.15]

Andrew Sullivan, in remarks prior to the Speech, congratulated President Obama for showing the Democratic party where their cajones actually were located.
I have to say that, as rumors and reports came in last week that Obama was going to propose a straightforward redistribution from the mega-mega-rich to the struggling middle classes, I could scarcely believe it. I mean: how often does the Democratic party actually exercise solid pro-active political judgment? How often do they seize the policy initiative from Republicans? How often do they propose things thay passionately believe in and unabashedly direct the message to the vast majority of Americans treading water in rougher and rougher seas? How often does a winning Congressional party get effectively marginalized in the public debate just after a stunning mid-term win?
Delaware’s Tax Structure is not something to celebrate.

Delaware’s Tax Structure is not something to celebrate.

State Representative Bryon Short was on Facebook over the weekend highlighting this study that argues that Delaware has the best tax system in America, in that it is the least regressive (i.e. taxes the poor and lower and middle classes of income earners more than the top earners). I thought to myself, how the hell could that be? Someone early $60,000 pays the same tax rate as someone making $6 million under the state income tax scheme. What I was forgetting is the "no sales tax." Sales and other consumption taxes are very regressive because they fall most disproportionately on the poor. And that is the sole reason we are the least regressive tax system in America. What the report ignores is how regressive our income tax structure is. And there is something Democrats in the General Assembly can do about that.
State of the Union Reaction

State of the Union Reaction

We have the Drop Mic Moment and more of my favorite moments from last night's State of the Union speech inside. We also have some reactions from the punditry... like this: Andrew Sullivan: "This is a speech that revealed to us the president we might have had without the extraordinary crises – foreign and domestic – he inherited. I’ve always believed in his long game and in his bent toward pragmatism over ideology. Events can still upend things, but this is a president very much shaping the agenda past his own legacy. He’s showing Hillary Clinton the way, and has the midterms to point to as the result of the defensive crouch. If his standing improves still further, he will box her in, and she’ll have to decide if she’s going to be a Wall Street tool and proto-neocon or a more populist and confident middle class agenda-setter. One of his best. And for the first time in his six years, he has the economic winds behind him."

The State of the Union

Press play, as the stream is now live with highlights of the past year and other pre-SOTU events. You can watch the speech here, and you also join us for a discussion of and real time reaction to the speech at our Live Blog. To join our Live Blog, click on the word "Live Blog" in the main navigation bar underneath the banner logo.
I feel like a Kremlinologist.

I feel like a Kremlinologist.

Vice President Joe Biden was in Delaware yesterday to give a speech at a Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast in Wilmington on repairing the breach between police and the African American community. And the News Journal, in their story on the Vice President's speech today, showed the following pictures of the former Attorney General and future alleged gubernatorial candidate Beau Biden, who was present for his father's speech but did not speak himself. Photos are courtesy of Jennifer Corbett of the News Journal. The side profiles of Mr. Biden are concerning. I hate that I have to study every picture of Beau Biden after his rare public appearances to judge how his health is. I hate that I have to wonder about his health at all. As someone who had to endure a health scare last year, I understand how important privacy is. But then again, I am not a supposed candidate for Governor. Nor was I in public office when I got sick. Just tell us. We are adults. We can handle it.
Tuesday Open Thread [1.20.15]

Tuesday Open Thread [1.20.15]

The President's State of the Union speech is tonight and we will not only be hosting our live chat, but also the speech itself, both here in the Open Thread (in the video box below) and in the chat thread. The White House has already let it be known that the President is going to call for a tax on the wealthy to fund middle class tax breaks. John Nichols at the Nation lays out the plan, which I think the GOP is going to have a hard time fighting. They will of course, but I don't envy them. This is not a radical plan. It redistributes a very small amount of wealth, and most of that wealth will be steered right back into the economy by working families, who truly drive the economy. Indeed, to get a sense of how far we have fallen in the previous three decades in the desire to fellate our billionaire masters, this Obama proposal will only return the capital gains tax rate to the level it was when Ronald Reagan was President. And, according to Booman , it proves how President Obama is different from the last two term Democratic President saddled with a hostile and Republican Congress in the last years of his Presidency.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Week of Jan. 20-23, 2015

Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Week of Jan. 20-23, 2015

While the General Assembly awaits Governor Markell's State of the State address this Thursday, we already know what won't be in the governor's speech: There will be no proposed income tax increase; there will be no proposed gas tax increase.  We know that Jack's millionaire buds have convinced him that they would suffer if they had to pay even a penny more to fund government. So, Jack has already announced that he won't be asking the wealthy to sacrifice.  And, in a gesture that is, um, ungubernatorial, Markell has whined that, since the General Assembly turned its collective noses up at his gas tax proposal last year, he won't propose anything to close the gap in the state's infrastructure budget.  He'll just wait for the General Assembly to come up with...something. If only he'd take that approach with public education.  His legacy grows more undistinguished by the day. Perhaps this is the week that Alex Pires gets his customized banking legislation passed. If not, then next week will be the week It's already passed the House unanimously. As Nancy Willing pointed out, this bill was introduced at the behest of Alex Pires, and it will only benefit Pires' bank. The article further points out that this may not be the first time that Pires has had undue influence on the General Assembly.  Let me point out the obvious: If you or I were disadvantaged by some 'arcane' statute, do you think we could get the Speaker to sponsor it, fast-track it, and get it through the General Assembly within a week or two?  And just because the Bank Commissioner, who largely does the bidding of the banks, says it's 'arcane', is it really arcane?  Or is it just an impediment to a connected businessman who doesn't want to wait in line and rarely does?  Whether the bill deserves passage on its merits is hardly the point.  The point is that representative government does not represent most of us.  But it DOES represent people with lots of clout, regardless of how they accumulated it. Which is why Alex Pires will get his banking bill.