Sunday Open Thread [10.20.13]

It's a glorious day outside! In case you are indoors today and looking for some interesting reading here are these possibilities: The Republican Civil War -- the Business Interests vs. the Teajhadis
“We are going to get engaged,” said Scott Reed, senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “The need is now more than ever to elect people who understand the free market and not silliness.” The chamber spent $35.7 million on federal elections in 2012, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based group that tracks campaign spending. Meanwhile, two Washington-based groups that finance Tea Party-backed candidates said yesterday they’re supporting efforts to defeat Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, who voted this week for the measure ending the 16-day shutdown and avoiding a government debt default. Cochran, a Republican seeking a seventh term next year, faces a challenge in his party’s primary from Chris McDaniel, a state senator.
That's right -- fight amongst yourselves.

What If You Held a “Fix the Debt” Twitter Chat and Only People Hip to Your Scam Showed Up?

This is nothing but awesome sauce. The astroturf group Fix the Debt had a live Twitter chat yesterday to try to keep spinning up the fearmongering on the debt and they got trolled Big.Time -- by smart citizens who know that Fix the Debt is nothing but a front to eliminate Social Security and to cripple us with their austerity program. If you are on Twitter, you can look at #fixthedebtqa to see the fun up close and personal. But here are a few sites who are posting up some of the favorite Tweets:
Policing Downtown Wilmington at the Expense of the Rest of Wilmington

Policing Downtown Wilmington at the Expense of the Rest of Wilmington

For many years (at least many of the years I've been in Wilmington), neighborhoods in Wilmington (certainly those neighborhoods under siege) have been clamoring for more WPD officers on the street. What was asked for was a Community Policing strategy -- a deployment that would put officers on the street in neighborhoods, regularly patrolling and patrolling 24/7. Jim Baker was openly dismissive of this plan -- even while he and his Police Chief used this plan to get City Council to authorize additional force strength and more equipment. Interestingly, the place that really did get Community Policing was Downtown. The part of Wilmington where people weren't being shot and not a location of the drug business. Now we find that Mayor Williams is continuing in the Baker mode -- actually expanding the number of uniformed officers who will be walking a beat -- walking a beat! -- in Downtown Wilmington:
Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 14

Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 14

Today is Columbus Day (if you are in South Dakota, this is Native American Day) so much of the government (Feds and state) is REALLY closed, as are many other companies. But this is Day 14 of the Republican Shutdown and here is the state of the government as I understand it:
  • Obamacare is alive and no longer a GOP hostage
  • The Government is still shutdown and the GOP wants to keep it as a hostage
  • The debt Ceiling has not been raised and is still a GOP hostage -- although there are plenty of noises this morning looking to raise the debt ceiling
  • Various Federal parks or monuments are opening using state funds, and good luck getting those back from this Congress.
Late Night Video — Eric Cantor Has Control of the House CR

Late Night Video — Eric Cantor Has Control of the House CR

Interesting, yes? The House GOP quietly passed a rule change on October 1 that changes the House rules from letting any member of the House bring forward a bill with amendments WITHOUT the amendments; to only Eric Cantor can bring ask for a vote on a bill with controversial amendments WITHOUT the amendments. Go that? Apparently they went to this length of changing the rules so that they could continue to control their caucus -- even when they would weaken as the government shutdown persisted. Contrast that with Harry Reid hanging on to the filibuster. The GOP loudly has been wringing its hands and warning that changing the filibuster rules would be a "nuclear event" in the Senate. But here we have the House GOP going so far as to making certain that their guys face all of the damage being done to them -- and they made this rule change while no one was looking. No reason to come to any accommodation with these fools any time soon, I'm thinking. If they want to burn down the house, make sure they are firmly locked in it. This is Chris Val Hollen on the House floor showing how the new rule works (a little over 5 minutes):
Why is the Delaware NAACP Bullying Councilwoman Lisa Diller?

Why is the Delaware NAACP Bullying Councilwoman Lisa Diller?

This past Tuesday, the NCCo County Council met for usual business, but ended with an extraordinary bit of public commentary directing actual threats at Councilwoman Lisa Diller. We talked about the original incident here. But the NAACP President, Richard Smith, read a letter into the record that you can hear via the County's audio of the meeting. The full meeting is about 30 minutes long, but if you go to about the 26 minute mark you can hear from Mr. Smith and Mr. Roosevelt Nichols (not sure I heard the name correctly) who read the letter sent to Ms. Diller. The letter recommends that Ms. Diller take Diversity Training and Anger Management Training. It also says that "...we will monitor your future County Council behavior from now on." (my transcription of the audio). Mr. Smith then takes the mike to also recommend Diversity Training and ask for a meeting with Ms. Diller. And if that doesn't happen, "We'll do what we have to do -- you can take that any way you want to." 'Refuse to take the black community for granted" and he'd have 14-18 NAACP states here to protest or something. Got that? The Delaware NAACP suits up in County Council to defend the indefensible behavior of Bernard Pepukayi -- that behavior being an inept dodge of a valid request from a Council Member for a briefing on a the status of an appeal of a recent court decision in the Pike Creek Golf Course case.