Archive for January, 2016
Colin Bonini: Tax Cheat
Let’s see. He takes taxpayers’ money for Sunset Committee meetings he doesn’t attend. He has never voted for a state budget. He lied about having a Master’s Degree he never came close to completing.
It turns out he didn’t pay his taxes either. Had three separate federal tax liens filed against him. Over $28K owed (Other documents available upon request). At what point does this reach a critical mass of fraudulence?
You know, with a record like that, there’s only one elective body where he’d feel right at home: Wilmington City Council.
Monday Open Thread [1.4.2016]
![Monday Open Thread [1.4.2016]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Open.Thread.Turqouise-240x180.png "Monday Open Thread [1.4.2016]")
People pay a lot of attention to the right track wrong direction number. They shouldn’t. It no longer has any meaning. If it did, President Obama would not have been reelected, for you see 58% of the respondents saying the country was going in the wrong direction at the same time 53% of the voters reelected the President.
No, what that number means now is 100% opposition from all members of the President’s opposition party, coupled with those liberals, left leaning independents, progressives, and Democrats who are upset with Republican obstruction and growing income inequality and the power of corporations and billionaires, and Donald Trump.
For example, I personally approve of the President’s job performance, and will vote for the Democrat in the fall, but I think things in the country are going in the wrong direction. So the value of this statistic as a predictor for the presidential election is nil. It is more instructive to look at how everyone says they are doing personally. An end-of-year Economist/YouGov poll found that 63% of Americans surveyed said it was a pretty good year for themselves and their families. Those numbers suggest that the Democrat is still well positioned to win.
Sunday Open Thread [1.3.2016]
![Sunday Open Thread [1.3.2016]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/New-Hampshire-epic-primary-e1451771315554-240x180.png "Sunday Open Thread [1.3.2016]")
The HuffPost Pollster averages show Donald Trump with a double-digit lead and five candidates — Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Jeb Bush — bunched within 7 points of each other for second place. For four of them (except Cruz who is currently leading in Iowa) the primary may make or break their chances. And it is not only about in what place they finish but the strength of their finish. If the establishment choices are all bunched together in the low teens or high single digits, that is a disaster for the establishment. If one or two of them finish at 20 and 15 behind Trump and Cruz, that is much better.
If Christie or Kasich don’t finish strong, they are gone.
Pay Per Pupil?
Imagine if we paid for other government services on a per use basis. Fire companies. They can’t douse your burning home until you pay them. Paramedics can’t begin to administer emergency medical care until your form of payment clears. Police can’t come take your car accident report until they verify your credit card transaction goes through. They can’t investigate your home invasion until you remit payment. The 911 phone system. “The fee for this service is $2.99 per minute for the first minute, and $1.99 per minute thereafter, please enter your 16-digit credit or debit card number followed by the pound sign”. Transportation. I take Route 40 to work sometimes. Sometimes I take 896. Imagine if they set up EZ Pass sensors at every point where a secondary road connected.
Saturday Open Thread [1.2.2016]
![Saturday Open Thread [1.2.2016]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Open.Thread.Blue_-240x180.png "Saturday Open Thread [1.2.2016]")
Some Republican operatives, [Jeff} Greenfield reports, are considering a particularly dramatic response. Trump himself has indicated, at several points, that he might run as a third-party candidate if the Republican Party denies him the nomination. Those threats have some resonance, because an independent Trump wouldn’t have to skim off many Republican voters to effectively doom the GOP nominee in the general. But the same would be true if Trump himself is the nominee. The only difference between the two scenarios is that Trump is self-obsessed, prone to snits and grudges, and has never shown the slightest concern for how his histrionics might affect other people. By contrast, someone like Jeb Bush or Mitt Romney would pause to consider the potential consequences of their actions. A third-party run would likely guarantee Clinton’s election, and a coordinated defection among party insiders might lead to the end of the Republican Party as we know it.
But if Trump somehow becomes the Republican nominee, I think Republicans need to take the risk. By doing so they might destroy their party, but Trump might destroy the country. Any party that would seriously nominate such a person for president is a party that should be put out to pasture, if not sent straight to the glue factory. Since June, Trump has caused more harm than most politicians manage in a lifetime. And if he had the power of the presidency? A few sweet nothings from Vladimir Putin and Trump would be tripping all over himself to give Alaska back to Russia.
Trump’s sheer awfulness has already made it virtually impossible for me to make fun of Obama. It surely casts the relative risks of a Clinton presidency in a different light. She likely wouldn’t repeal Obamacare, but she can hardly make it worse.
No Indictment In The Tamir Rice Killing
I’m a little late with this post, but this story needs to be heard. Of all the police shootings the case of Tamir Rice – a twelve year old boy playing with a toy gun only to be shot dead by police in less than two seconds of their arrival on the scene – stands out. This incident was so straightforward that not indicting the officers sets an extremely dangerous precedent. Obviously, there’s no line to cross if you’re a police officer. Fire away.
But what really bothers me is how the police always seem to lie about what happened. Then the video tape is released. Let’s look at what the police claimed happened before the Tamir Rice video was released…..
The Weekly Addresses
In this week’s address, the President reflected on the progress of the past year, and looked forward to working on unfinished business in the coming year, particularly when it comes to the epidemic of gun violence.
In his weekly message, Governor Markell highlights efforts to provide better opportunities for the workforce in Delaware.
New Year’s Day Open Thread [1.1.2016]
![New Year’s Day Open Thread [1.1.2016]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Open.Thread.Black_-240x180.png "New Year’s Day Open Thread [1.1.2016]")
Eugene Robinson at The Washington Post:
The economy continues to grow — slowly, perhaps, but steadily. Crime is at or near historical lows. About 90 percent of Americans have health insurance, which is closer to universal coverage than we’ve ever been. Budget-busting medical costs have slowed their ranks’ rise. These and other positive trends should continue, as meanwhile the nation lives through an election campaign that will not be able to dodge issues of fundamental importance.
In 2016, we’re likely to see an exercise in democracy that is passionate, messy, at times ugly — but vitally important. Happy New Year, and note that the seat-belt light will be on through November.
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