QOTD — Have You Seen Your Congressional Delegation Weigh In on the Sequester?

Seriously -- the past week (especially this weekend) has send lots of legislators to the airwaves to weigh in on the sequester. Most of the Democrats are out making the case for their plan to replace the sequester. The GOP either: 1) aren't talking; 2) blaming Obama or 3) saying the sequester is no big deal. After a quick Google search and look at each of their websites, none of them has addressed the looming sequester at all.

Why Privatize the Port Now?

The Kinder Morgan proposal to privatize the Port of Wilmington ought to be much in the news this week -- their Bond Bill Hearing is set for 10AM this Wednesday (in Dover) and the Wilmington City Council will conduct a hearing into this action on Thursday 28 February at 5pm in City Council Chambers. I know that the Wilmington hearing will be live streamed online, and I don't know what access we'll have for the Dover hearing other than in person. One of the things I want to point out today, and I'm hoping that decision-makers keep in mind, is that while DEDO was publicly touting an investment partnership to build out the Port, their RFP (released approx 2 months prior to this article) included a privatization option that customers and businesses at the Port did not know until months later. And still, this privatization deal is quite different than from the talking points DEDO was using to promote this deal as an expansion opportunity.

Oscars Sunday Open Thread [2.24.13]

Let's talk about the Oscars! They'll be awarding film awards tonite -- who do you think should or will win tonite? Give us your predictions in the comments or talk about the movies you saw this past year.

Tantrum at Tiger Beat on the Potomac

If you don't know that reference, that is the name that Charlie Pierce has given to the execrable Politico. And it also means that you aren't reading Charlie Pierce on the regular, which you really must start doing. Anyway, they are having a snit about the access that the Obama Administration does not give to the White House Press Corps. This after the same Press Corps has been whinging about not being able to cover the President while he golfs with Tiger Woods. All of this without getting the irony that they are spending more energy in complaining about the President not hanging around to joke with them than they are in explaining any sequester replacement plans. Or maybe climate change policy.

Late Night Video — Coffee and Hugs

Today the NCCo Courthouse reopened for business after the horrific shootings this week, and those returning were greeted with Free Coffee and Free Hugs -- way to go Wilmington (approx. 2.5 minutes):

The Kinder Morgan Presentation

Kinder Morgan had their public presentation on Monday accompanied with the requisite PowerPoint deck to highlight main points. I've embedded a copy of that presentation below -- it is a black and white copy, so some of the graphics are hard to read. I hope you'll take a look at these slides (some of them you might need to print) and let us know what you think of this deal so far. But here are some of my thoughts on what is here:

They Deserve A Vote

President Obama ended his SOTU speech last night by calling on Congress to at least vote on the proposals made to try to rein in some of this country's gun violence. It was, in my opinion, perhaps the finest moment of this speech -- reminding us of the price of a violent society, honoring recent victims of gun violence and making the GOP actually participate in a standing ovation for gun control. One article I read today noted that the repetition of "They deserve a vote" wasn't in the prepared remarks -- prepared or no, President Obama delivered a little bit of church yesterday and walked away with a great rallying cry:

Tuesday SOTU Open Thread [2/12/2013]

President Obama is delivering his State of the Union Address tonight and the usual suspects are spinning up expectations and related goo. DD covered a report from Politico that noted that President Obama won't be extending any olive branches to Republicans this year, and I have been listening to NPR a decent portion of the morning and they are repeating the same thing. What I don't hear is WHY the President should be extending olive branches to a party who works hard at not cooperating in the business of government. I suspect it is the same old -- Democrats are supposed to cooperate and Republicans get a pass on obstructing (with the excuse of sticking to their principles). Anyone else noticing this narrative?