Why Isn’t John Carney Supporting H.R.1852, the Email Privacy Act?

Since the Supremes pretty clearly told law enforcement that they needed to get a warrant to search your cell phone, there has been renewed attention on H.R.1852, the Email Privacy Act. Introduced by Representative Kevin Yoder [R-KS-3] in May 2013, this law would revise the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, requiring subpoenas to search emails, no matter how long they had been stored (they can now look at email stored for more then 180 days without a warrant) and allowing ISPs to communicate to the targets that their emails were requested by law enforcement. As of this writing (6.29.2014), John Carney has not joined the 220 Representatives (138 R, 82 D -- BIPARTISANSHIP!) who are looking to refine the due process around law enforcement looking at your emails.

Sunday Open Thread [6.29.14]

I had a great time last night and it was great to see everyone! Hope we'll do another DL get-together soon. Here are two long reads for this great Sunday Morning -- this piece (in Politico, but may be the best thing they've ever published) is from Nick Hanauer -- firmly ensconced in the 1% -- talking about the trainwreck to come if income inequality isn't dealt with. This is a brilliant -- and scathing -- piece. He reminds us that this kind of income inbalance is at the fulcrum of alot of painful upheaval, that supply-side economics isn't working, and that those business interests who continue to agitate for supply-side policy are arguing for long-term failure.
But the problem isn’t that we have inequality. Some inequality is intrinsic to any high-functioning capitalist economy. The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and getting worse every day. Our country is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society. Unless our policies change dramatically, the middle class will disappear, and we will be back to late 18th-century France. Before the revolution. [...]
Delaware’s Special Education Program “Needs Intervention”

Delaware’s Special Education Program “Needs Intervention”

Public schools are required to provide the educational resources to meet the needs of students with disabilities can make progress in school. Today, the Obama Administration announced that they were tightening oversight and the rules for assessing whether schools were doing what they are meant to do under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Part of today's announcement was an assessment of the status of various state's programs according to the new guidelines. [...] In that reassessment, Delaware falls into the "Needs Intervention" category.
QOD — Why Can’t Delaware’s Utilities Participate in Consumer Conservation Programs?

QOD — Why Can’t Delaware’s Utilities Participate in Consumer Conservation Programs?

I know I'm late to this -- it was in the NJ in late May -- but I keep thinking about this and wonder WHY exactly this is:
Delmarva is currently banned from providing help with home efficiency upgrades, with the SEU designated as the primary provider in this regard. Rather than reaching 1,500 homes, the SEU could reach 30,000 homes by involving Delmarva Power in the program's execution, O'Mara said. The bill would also allow utilities to credit some energy efficiency toward their renewable power purchase requirements after a utility achieved a full 15 percent reduction in overall energy usage through efficiency measures.
Sunday Open Thread [6.22.2014]

Sunday Open Thread [6.22.2014]

Here's another great read: Tea Party’s embarrassing irony: How its ideal nation rejects basic American beliefs. This has been pretty plain to most of us who have been watching these folks have their temper tantrum, but:
What I’d argue, rather, is that the Tea Party’s philosophy of government (again, as understood by Salam) has embedded within it an aversion to basic democratic principles that goes far beyond a typical contempt for Washington, politicians and pundits. When Salam writes that Teatopia is founded on a commitment to a “robust federalism” intended to let “different states … offer different visions of the good life” and allow citizens to “vote with their feet” by moving to whichever state best reflects their values, he’s not describing a common aversion to corruption or a distaste for political theater. He’s describing a childish and essentially anti-political belief that a return to an Articles of Confederation-style U.S. order — in which each state is more of a sovereign unto itself than a member of a larger American whole — will produce 50 mini-nations where everyone basically agrees.

Friday Open Thread [6.20.14]

Yes! It's Friday! And tonight and tomorrow night are your last chances to attend the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. Tonite's headliner is Ariel Larrieux and tomorrow's headliner is Brian Culbertson. Grab your chair and head down to Rodney Square -- this is one of the truly fantastic events in Wilmington and an awesome way to spend an evening. Or Saturday afternoon AND evening!
Gunfail of the Day — Georgia Man Stands His Ground Against His Own Penis

Gunfail of the Day — Georgia Man Stands His Ground Against His Own Penis

That title is the biggest reason I am posting this bit of ammosexual stupidity -- this guy was at the gas station, holstering his weapon (what was he holstering his weapon for? Was he robbing the place? Threatening kids whose music was too loud? What?) and shot himself in his penis. Seriously, if gun owners are using their guns to take themselves out of the gene pool, then I'm down with that. With any luck, they'll stop trying to hurt the rest of us while they are getting their ritual castration on.
People Write About Hillary

People Write About Hillary

Then there's the double standard, which I suppose we've got another few years to listen to. Media Matters asks why the press went crazy in characterizing Hillary Clinton as "testy" or listing gaffes that weren't when Chris Christie famously and routinely berates everyone in front of him with nary a "testy" peep from the press:
But apparently she was supposed to roll over. Because by standing up for herself (while never raising her voice), Clinton was breathlessly tagged as combative and unnerved in the wake of a mildly contentious back-and-forth:

Late Night Video — Out of Sight, Out of Mind

This isn't a video tonight, you'll have to click on the picture below to see the interactive graphic that shows monthly the casualties from US drone strikes. This is a sobering picture (even if a good chunk of their data (the Other category) isn't well defined. It is also a very well-done infographic:
New Jersey — Where Corporate Subsidies Aren’t Improving the Economy

New Jersey — Where Corporate Subsidies Aren’t Improving the Economy

Interesting. A NJ think tank -- New Jersey Policy Perspective -- has a report out the shows that while subsidies to NJ businesses have surged under Governor Christie's administration (subsidies that are billed as economy boosting), NJ's economy has remained pretty sluggish. According to this report, $4bn worth of subsidies had been awarded to businesses in the past four and a half years by state authorities under Christie – more than three times the $1.2bn in subsidies that were given out in the prior 10 years. Got that? That's $4 billion dollars worth of corporate subsides for this result: