DL Open Thread: Friday, February 12, 2021
Rethugs Prepare Voter Suppression Legislation. There are two major parties: The Democratic Party and the anti-democratic party:
That notion that lawmakers can simply disregard the will of the people is an affront to the very idea of representative democracy. And yet Republicans no longer seem to be exerting so much effort trying to disguise their motives. One lesson Trump taught them is that they need not be so subtle about this kind of thing; much of the GOP base was emboldened, rather than turned off, by his increasingly audacious attacks on the electoral system. For a party that has no real platform and represents fewer Americans, and which apparently has no immediate interest in evolving, limiting or disregarding its opponents’ voters may be the most reliable path to power. Thanks to Trump, some of them may no longer be so shy about saying so. “They don’t have to change all of them,” a county-level election official in Georgia said of voting laws at a Republican meeting in January. “But they’ve got to change the major parts of them so that we at least have a shot at winning.”
We talk about having a 250-year-old democracy. But, this democracy, where minorities who have only had reasonably unfettered access to voting, isn’t even 60 years old yet. During that entire time, Republicans have fought against that democracy. Why? Because if ‘those’ people can vote, they’re doomed.
‘Jurors’ Huddle With Trump Defense Team. Graham, Cruz, and Lee. So much for swearing oaths to impartiality. Trump was willing to ‘sacrifice’ Mike Pence to the cause:
Many of them were intent on doing harm to Pence, whom Trump had singled out at a rally earlier in the day, falsely claiming the vice president had the power to stop Congress from formalizing Joe Biden’s electoral college victory.
Trump’s tweet came at 2:24 p.m. that day — only 11 minutes after live television coverage showed Pence being hustled from the Senate floor because rioters were streaming into the building one floor below. The Senate then abruptly went into recess.
White House Archives Preserved, Thanks To Lawsuit. So much for one last Bonfire By The Venal. Betcha a lot of stuff was already destroyed.
Amazon And Koch Bros Anti-Union Scorched-Earthers: Perfect Together? Break. Up. Amazon. The worst of the worst of the monopolists.
Nikki Haley Tries To Have It Both Ways. She doesn’t stand for anything–just trying to decide which ‘lane’ affords her the best chance to run for President in 2024.
How Police Bank Millions Through Union Contracts. While this article examines practices in New Jersey, is there any question that similar abuses are taking place in Delaware? It is time to ‘sunset’ the Police Bill Of Rights, and start from scratch–just like they’re trying to do in Maryland.
Five Questions For Trump’s Lawyers. From impeachment manager Jamie Raskin, who, IMO, is a hero. Don’t think the Trump lawyers will try to answer any of them. They don’t have to.
Department Of Correction Appears Before Joint Finance Committee. Gotta say, I’m glad that Rep. David Bentz is on that committee.
Joint Sunset Committee Reviews Delaware Interscholastic Athletics agency. WDEL is doing an excellent job of covering legislative proceedings. Didn’t see a word in the News-Journal.
What do you want to talk about?
“By next year, Amazon says it will have around four percent of all retail sales in the US, and just one percent of the $25bn global market. So its share of the e-commerce market in the US is 37.7 percent, according to eMarketer. But online represents only 10 percent of the entire US retail market – with 90 percent still brick-and-mortar stores. ” That was 2019 and of course pre-covid.