El Somnambulo's Latest Posts
RIP: Jimmy Ruffin (1936-2014)
The older brother of the Temptations’ David Ruffin (one of the greatest soul singers of all time), Jimmy Ruffin recorded one of Motown’s most unforgettable hits. When I saw “Standing In the Shadows of Motown” at Theatre N, this was the song that closed the movie, and this was the song that we ALL sang as we left the theatre…
Who ‘Killed’ Sean Matthews?
No, this is not one of those comic book ‘dream’ issues. Somebody ‘killed’ Sean Matthews. And apparently 200 or more of his supporters.
The ‘deceased’ did not know of their demise until someone from the Democratic Party caught wind of the massive tragedy. And subsequently raised them from the dead.
Here’s the unbelievable story: Both Sean Matthews and Dennis E. Williams had access to the Democratic Party Voter File…until the 10th R. D. officially endorsed Dennis Williams. At that point, only the endorsed candidate had access to the file. Until after the primary, that is. You will recall that Matthews defeated the incumbent D Williams. Which meant that, as of September 10, Matthews was able to access the file.
Only, something had happened in the interim. Someone had gone into the Voter File and marked over 200 voters as ‘deceased’, including Sean Matthews. Only the Williams people had access to the file, and someone or some someones had to actively go in and change the status of these voters to deceased. It wasn’t the Party. They were the ones who spotted the mischief-making and alerted Matthews right away. BTW, virtually none of the alleged deceased were in fact deceased, if any.
Jobs For Delaware Graduates = Jobs For Political Hacks
Does anybody here remember the inception of Jobs For Delaware Graduates?
I do. Pete duPont created this repository for some of his less-qualified lackeys back in 1978. It was basically modeled after other Federal jobs programs, but with the bar set so low that it could claim success even when said success was dubious at best, and would never have been accepted under federal requirements:
It was designed in 1978 by five working groups in Delaware, drawn from business, educational, workforce, labor union, and community leadership. The purpose of the organization was to address simultaneously with Delaware’s unemployment rate and the dropout rate (?).
So, you’re saying to yourself, well, Steve, this is all well and good, but, so far your headline is false advertising.
Ladeez & Gentlemen, meet the new President of Jobs For Delaware Graduates…STATE SENATOR NICOLE POORE. major conflict: Didja know that this ostensibly ‘private non-profit’ gets about $1.4 million annually from the Grant-In-Aid bill? Taxpayer money appropriated by the same General Assembly to which Sen. Poore belongs? And now she’s drawing a salary from them. From the same $1.4 million?
‘Bulo’s Fave New Tunes: October 2014
Best stuff I heard for the first time last month, pretty damn good month, IMHO:
Marc Broussard: ‘Hurricane Heart’ (I’ve GOT to get this guy to the Arden Gild Hall…)
Nick D & the Believers: ‘Bang Bang’
Come inside for more…
‘Bulo On Al Mascitti Show Tuesday
We’ll talk the 2014 Delaware election results, look at how 2016 might shape up, and maybe even look at the issues facing the upcoming General Assembly session.
I’ll even talk about how Tom Carper is showing some signs of vulnerability.
All this and your calls, this Tuesday, 10 am to 12 noon, WDEL 1150-Newsradio.
To 2016…And Beyond!!??
I figure it’s time for a clean thread to discuss what might happen in Delaware and nationally during the upcoming election cycles. I’ll start. Looks like we’re gonna have a Carper proxy vs. a Biden proxy in the D gubernatorial primary: John Carney (Carper) vs. Tom Gordon (Biden). Word on the street is that Gordon […]
Gambling News Not ALL Bad For Delaware
We’re attracting lots of degenerates from NJ and PA who just have to get their fill of betting on NFL games:
The total wagered on NFL games in Delaware _ with barely one-tenth the population of New Jersey _ was $31.5 million last year, more than triple the mark set in 2009, according to Vernon Kirk, the director of the Delaware Lottery. Kirk added that the state’s share was $5.2 million, with casinos and the state’s horsemen also getting a portion of the net revenues after expenses.
El Somnambulo Predicts ‘Em All For You!
The tough races are really tough, the easy races are really easy. I know I’m not running the table, but I don’t know where I’ll falter. I just know that I will. If there’s a unifying theme, I think it’s that D’s will struggle in Delaware more than usual, which is exactly what I expect to happen nationwide. Hope I’m wrong. These predictions are also going up a week out, and there’s plenty of movement in some of the races.
With that depressing, but not hopeless, forecast out of the way, here we go:
United States Senate: Chris Coons over Kevin Wade, 58-40%, with Andrew Groff of the Green Party at 2%. I’ll be among the 2 percenters.
US Representative: This provides the true measure of how many people will vote Republican no matter what. Does Rose Izzo get over 30%? I’m going Carney 67%, Izzo 29%, with the Green and Libertarian candidates maybe getting 4%. For me, it’ll be August in November.
Attorney General: Matt Denn will win, does he break 60%?
Will Phils Hire Best Manager in Baseball?
Well, if not the best, at least 1 or 1A along with the Giants’ Bruce Bochy.
Joe Maddon opted out of his contract with Tampa Bay today. He has taken that chronically-underfunded team to great heights, four times in the playoffs and one World Series appearance.
This is not a pipe dream. He is from the area. In fact, his mom is still a waitress in his home town of Hazleton, PA. He’s a Lafayette grad, and he comes back here often. This is Pat Gillick’s call, not Ruben Amaro Jr’s.
Pat, for the sake of what’s left of my sanity, Make That Call!
KWS Goes to Bat For Mega Insurance Company
Our purported insurance regulator, Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart, is instead trying to run interference for Met Life. Check out this article from the state government website: fer cryin’ out loud:
DOVER, DE – In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and other federal regulators, Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart has urged them to reconsider their vote to propose that MetLife be labeled as a “systemically important financial institution” (SIFI) and therefore subject to tougher federal regulation. “Based on my experience as an insurance regulator (insert joke here), and a regulator of one of MetLife’s larger insurance subsidiaries, I do not believe that MetLife’s businesses and corporate structure create the kind of systemic risk that Dodd-Frank’s SIFI designation process was designed to address,” she said. Stewart argues explicitly against the designation of MetLife and said state regulators are capable and competent to continue the oversight of the company (insert joke here).
‘Bulo’s Fave New Tunes: Sept., 2014
Best stuff to hit my ears last month, lotsa diversity:
Melaena Cadiz: Neon Drag
Elliot Bronson: New Pain
American Wrestlers: I Can Do No Wrong
Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear: Live By Water
Circa Waves: So Long
Leonard Cohen: Almost Like The Blues
Amber Run: I Found
What’d you like? What great stuff have you heard lately?
Why Not Invest A Few Shekels in These Candidates?
1. Sean Matthews, 11th RD: Even if you backed Dennis E. Williams in the primary, you’d have to admit that Matthews is infinitely preferable to R candidate Judy Travis, whose support comes from far out of the political mainstream. As opposed to your traditional Brandywine Hundred R, Travis is one of only two House candidates to get the support of the Delaware chapter of the Faith & Freedom Coalition.
2. John Mackenzie, 22nd RD: A rarity. Campaign stuff that’s worth reading. Click on this and on this. Not only is it clear that he wrote his own copy, but he comes across as someone who will be a serious legislator and quite the progressive. He perhaps reminds me most of Michael Barbieri, who is one of the most outstanding legislators we have. We could use several more legislators like him, and Mackenzie is in that mold.
3. Marie Mayor, 20th RD: Well, let’s see. She’s right on the issues, she’s running a great campaign, she never really stopped running after the 2012 election, she almost won last time, and she, too, would immediately take her place as one of the best legislators in Dover. The political stars could also be aligned, as the anti-Obama folks won’t overrun the Sussex County results like in 2012. I also believe that, once she’s elected, her constituent work will enable her to get reelected several times over. Let’s help her win!
Can We Talk About Pedophilia?
No, not the act of abusing children and/or engaging in inappropriate behavior with them. Such activities are criminal and should be subject to the strongest enforcement the justice system can bring.
I’m talking about adult attraction to children which never rises to the level of physical contact, but which may include viewing images that we find abhorrent, and may cause acute mental anguish for those with this condition.
A thought-provoking piece in Sunday’s New York Times argues that pedophilia is a mental illness and makes an effective argument that we’re treating it improperly. Read the whole thing before reacting reflexively. Here are some salient excerpts from Prof. Margo Kaplan‘s op-ed:
Recent Comments