RIP: Popsy Dixon

RIP: Popsy Dixon

The Holmes Brothers, and the world, have lost the great Popsy Dixon.  Passed away of cancer at the age of 72. His butterscotch tenor/falsetto and drumming style will resonate in my mind and heart until the day I die.  Also, he, Wendell and Sherman were the nicest artists I ever brought to the Arden Gild Hall.  A very sad day for me.  Please remember him along with me....
Wilmington Education Advisory Committee Weighs In On Priority Schools

Wilmington Education Advisory Committee Weighs In On Priority Schools

The letter inside was sent to Governor Markell yesterday. It is asking for the same thing most of us are asking - to slow down the process because more time is needed. One thing is clear. The more people learn about the Priority Schools Plan the more they ask for more time before implementation. The time frame is what frustrates so many - it simply cannot be taken seriously. The problems facing these schools are complicated, and ones we've ignored for years. Sadly, there is nothing in those MOUs that address, let alone acknowledge, the real issues facing these schools. And longer school days, getting rid of teachers and bringing in new "school leaders" (I hate that phrasing, btw) doesn't address the very real challenges these children, and the schools serving them, face every day. I stood on the steps at Warner when the Priority Schools plan was unveiled and, when the announcement was over, I walked away shaking my head. By the time I got home I realized that the main priority of the plan was the consequences of failure; that the only thing carved in stone in the MOU was the loss of our public schools. The time frame all but guaranteed that outcome. Hopefully, this letter will help slow things down.
Friday Open Thread [1.9.15]

Friday Open Thread [1.9.15]

Sen. Joe Manchin has a sad. You see, he is so West Virginia dumb that he doesn't understand basic balance of power stuff about the three branches of government. He said he was disappointed that the White House threatened to veto his legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing the president’s move was “not the way a democracy works.” Oh really?
“He never even gave it a chance, never even gave it a chance. Now, that’s just not the way you do legislation. It’s not the way a democracy works. And it’s not the way the… three branches of government should work.”
Well, first off, you are the one not giving something a chance. You are the one who wants to rush this to a conclusion, you dumbfuck Carper wannabe. The State Department and the Nebraska and U.S. Courts are reviewing the pipeline, so you are not giving them a chance to complete their work. Second, the President is free to tell Congress at any time he wants that "hey, Congress, you might not want to waste your and the taxpayer's precious time on this ill conceived bill, because I am just going to veto it anyway." There is nothing anti-democratic or unconstitutional about that. In fact, he is doing Congress a favor. Now, if Congress wants to waste their time and pass the bill anyway, that is of course their prerogative. But that does not require the President to sign it. You see, some Republicans, and obviously some West Virginia Democrats, believe that when Congress passes a bill it is automatically law. Go back to Social Studies class, Senator.
The 62 Project: Version 2.0

The 62 Project: Version 2.0

The 62 Project ranks the legislators based on the entirety of their careers. Version 2.0 reflects the departures of legislators, the arrival of new legislators, and adjustments to the rankings based on events that followed my initial ranking of individual legislators. For those not familiar with the original project, here's the link where you can find out a lot more info (and snark) regarding your favorite legislators. I will offer comments for those who moved significantly in either direction.  Since the new legislators have not yet...legislated, I have assigned them placeholder positions based on my sense of where they project as we kick off the 148th General Assembly....
Thursday Open Thread [1.8.15]

Thursday Open Thread [1.8.15]

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

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.

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

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.
Dog Bites Man: Carney Votes to Gut Dodd-Frank.

Dog Bites Man: Carney Votes to Gut Dodd-Frank.

If this guy wants to be our next Democratic governor, the least he could do is at least pretend to be a Democrat. The bill almost passed, thanks in part to Carney's supposed bipartisanship. Maybe he'll hold a REAL town meeting where someone can ask him how a Democrat votes to screw citizens while giving carte blanche to huge financial institutions that demonstrate time and time again that they will use the lack of regulation to make obscene piles of money by winning a rigged game. A game that the Carneys of this world help rig. Maybe a real newspaper would ask him the same question.  Too bad we no longer have one.