DL Open Thread: Sat., Oct. 19, 2019
Floodgates Start To Open. Not even the Rethugs can defend Trump hosting the G-7 at Doral. He may actually shoot someone in broad daylight on 5th Avenue just to see who sticks with him. Reminds me of a line from a Todd Rundgren song: “I only want to see if you’ll give up on me.”
‘Doomism’ Latest Enemy Of Climate Activism. We’re not doomed, says climate scientist. The tools are at hand. Must just transition away from fossil fuels.
How Trump Appointees Bypassed EPA Staff To Target California. Utter scum. The environment can’t afford four more years of Trump.
This Is A Quid Pro Quo. How a Ukrainian oligarch sought dirt on the Bidens to avoid extradition to the US for “bribing Indian officials in a scheme to corner the market on material for the Boeing 787 supply chain.” Great reporting from Talking Points Memo, featuring the scummy husband-and-wife team of (Delaware’s own!) Joe DiGenova and Victoria Toensing.
No ‘Deliberate Mishandling’ Of Clinton E-mails. Friday news dump from the State Department. Had the findings been any different, a Friday news dump would not have been in order, to put it mildly.
Contractor Wins DOD Bid, Donates Half A Mill To Trump Campaign Committee The Very Next Day. This America First PAC is neck-deep in sordid donations. And it’s helmed by Vince McMahon’s wife. Bizarro World is more normal than the life we’re living now.
Time To Stop Throwing State Money At Wesley College? I think so. Propping up a losing investment makes no sense. But Dover area legislators continue to send state funds to this private institution, which then uses the money in ways that are different than what the legislature provided the money for. Yes, this is a subscriber-only article, maybe you should subscribe.
What do you want to talk about?
Johnson’s Brexit Deal Derailed–For Now:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/boris-johnson-faces-historic-brexit-vote-in-parliament/2019/10/19/dba7cc70-f1a8-11e9-bb7e-d2026ee0c199_story.html
delawareonline.com: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/18/why-some-delaware-lawmakers-second-guessing-their-vote-de-turf-bill/2049336001/
Bipartisan (corruption edition)
conflict of interest = special interest = nepotism = taxpayer betrayal = government sponsored speculation = hidden agendas = legislative cowardice = no oversight = no accountability = no transparency = unethical governance = bad government = Delaware Way = TAXPAYERS SCREWED!
You said in the article you didn’t read the legislation. Makes me wonder how many bills you guys actually do read?
Unfortunately not many that come the last day of the session under a “suspension of rules” for a floor vote without a committee hearing. It should have been tabled/held until January for more scrutiny. Bills giving local jurisdictions (municipalities, counties etc.) the authority to tax are usually intended to raise money to go toward services for the constituencies and residents of those jurisdiction. I should have known better than to assume that this was the case and will not be repeating that blind faith maneuver again.
I’m not attempting to justify or excuse my vote on SS2 for SB 178. Until we, as a responsible body of lawmakers, publicly and vigorously acknowledge the flaws in a system that allows for last minute consideration and votes on legislation dictated by some artificially imposed time constraints we will inevitably fail in adequately representing the best interests of the public.
When we have three iterations of a bill in the last week of a session it is illogical to presume that we have looked into all aspects and agendas involved and we should not have taken a vote. We could have tabled the bill until January when we reconvene and had time to question the motives and beneficiaries of this law before casting a final vote. Often legislation is presented as bipartisan with no individual special interests benefiting and we/I rely on our colleagues, who propose the law, to be forthright and frank about any specifics or hidden agendas or personal interests. This was not the case with this bill and I can assure you that, in the future, I will be scrutinizing all of these, seemingly innocuous, proposals much more skeptically. I am also working with a number groups to reintroduce a bill creating an independent office of Inspector General to oversee government activities and I intend to work with John Flaherty on legislation to expand transparency and oversight of the General Assembly when ethical concerns are raised. But until we, as responsible lawmakers, decide to reject the pressures of a flawed system and dedicate our time, efforts and thoughts to analyzing and scrutinizing proposed bills more diligently we are doomed to repeat our errors.
Representative John Kowalko
Why do any of you care?
… He went out of his way on a Saturday evening to type…proving he … Doesn’t care?