Posts by jason330

The Syria talks seems to assume that bombing or turning a blind eye to atrocities are our only two choices. That, obviously, isn't true.

The best interim solution could be a UN-monitored ceasefire as briefly occurred under the Kofi Annan plan in 2012. All sides are dependent on outside backers, and even those who most want to fight need weapons, ammunition and money. Heavy pressure could be put on them to agree to a peace conference and a temporary ceasefire. This would be a Lebanese-style truce – unsatisfactory but better than full-scale war. A peace conference on this basis could be the political and diplomatic counterpart to the limited US military strike President Obama is contemplating. In practice there has been a stalemate in most of Syria for the last year. If the Syrian army did use poison gas, it shows it does not have the strength to retake even the inner rebel-held suburbs of Damascus. It is better therefore for the battle lines to be frozen under some form of UN supervision. Long-term solutions will only begin to be feasible when Syrians are no longer at the mercy of what Northern Ireland politicians used to call "the politics of the last atrocity".

Absent anyone saying that they actually want to be Delaware's next Lt Governor, "Other" (14%) had a pretty good showing in spite of a fairly long list of choices. (Nicole Poore in the house!) Flowers (D) 31% appears to be Mr. Inevitable in the view of DL readers. Peterson (14%) and Biden (11%) round out the Dems top three. (Who thinks Biden is eyeing the Lt. Gov epaullets? Not me.) The R's historcally shallow bench (thanks again Christine O.!) forces Copeland (4%) to the top of the GOPeeps. Bonini (3%) Protack (2%) and Lawson (1%) all fail to come in last.

I'm going to call this ruling the "GO F-Yourself Alabama!" rule. IRS Announces "State of Celebration" Rule to Determine Validity of Same-Sex Marriages for Federal Tax Purposes As a follow-up to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent DOMA decision requiring that same-sex marriages be treated like opposite sex marriages for purposes of federal laws, the Internal Revenue Service will apply a "state of celebration" rule for purposes of determining whether a couple is married. Same-sex couples legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages will be treated as married for federal tax purposes[.]

While the teabagger dreams of a no holds barred apocalyptic debt ceiling fight that would leave Obamacare defunded and the having the budget balanced on the strength of Paul Ryan's tax-cut magic beans seem to be fading, I read this story of how the wingnuts WANTED it to go down, and it is "the crazy." Here is the deal. In the January following Obama's reelection, conservative lobby groups were worried that House Republicans would lose their resolve to fight Obamacare on the beaches, on the seas and oceans, and in the air, whatever the cost may be.. (This is before the rise of Ted Cruz and the GOP Senators move to into the wingnut limelight.) So Michael Needham, the CEO of Heritage Action for America, and Chris Chocola, a former congressman and now president of the Club for Growth were let into a super secret meetings of a group of hardcore nutbags led by Paul Ryan. The group - no shit - called themselves the "Jedi Council." The council used their mind control powers to persuade the wingnut lobby groups that they had a plan to crush the ACA. It was a plan that kicked off at the GOP retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Bad reasons to bomb Syria lay thick an putrid the ground like vomit piles on Bourbon street. The British Parliament and I haven't heard a single good reason. The worst reason, according to DL readers, is to prop up Haliburton share prices (28%). My favorite bad reason to bomb Syria is to maintain out "credibility"(19%) cuz... you know, our credibility is soooooo precious. The inviolate "red line" (15%) is a bad reason that speaks to trying to prop up the President's credibility, as if the President's credibility is a thing. The algebra reason holds that 1 chemical weapon death is equal to 500 conventional weapon deaths in moral repugnance (13%) ...and you thought you'd never use algebra in once you graduated. pfft... Finally, the angry old guy who didn't become President but still gets tons of airtime on TV wants to bomb Syria (11%) was another top bad reason. On to the Lt. Governor Poll. Comment away. Or don't. See if I care.

This is great news. A livable minimum wage for fast food workers will put a lot more money in the local economy by preventing multi-nationals like Yum Brands from moving profits to off shore tax havens. I hope other Delaware fast food workers see this and decide, in time, to participate in this worthy effort.

Wilmington Fast-Food Workers To Join Nationwide Strike Thursday Movement for $15 and a Union Without Retaliation or Unfair Labor Practices Reaches Wilmington Wilmington , DE– Fast-food workers in Wilmington are expected to walk off their jobs Thursday as part of the largest-ever strike to hit the $200 billion industry. Inspired by strikes earlier this summer in seven cities across the country, Wilmington workers will walk off their jobs for the first time, calling for $15 an hour and the right to form a union without retaliation or unfair labor practices.

When I put up an new poll, I'm going to try and remember to put up a discussion thread for the garrulous amongst us. The out going poll reveals a broad agreement among DL readers on the question of who is likely (and who is unlikely) to be our next governor. Matt Denn 42% Flowers 21% Other 17% Biden 16% Urkle 4%

UPDATED WITH MY REVIEW BELOW - Don't get me wrong. I like playing poker (for money) online. Or I should say, I did like playing online when it was less illegal than it is now. I'm not an anti-gambling prude, but the idea that the mewling welfare cases and tax cheats that run the Delaware casinos can run a decent online poker room makes me laugh. It also makes me a bit nauseous to see that"online" gaming in Delaware will include virtual slot machines. Wouldn't it be cheaper for the state to simply rob people at gunpoint?

I think we can all agree that being an American conservative means being a gullible idiot. The "movement" is a harmonious symbiosis between parasitic grifters and bloated, intellectually lazy hosts. That has been the state of things since Nixon decided to break the country in two in the hopes that the stupid, racist half would contain more electoral votes. But while the con men who run the conservative movement were once satisfied by collecting votes, and separating the doltish conservative masses from their political donations, they are increasingly fleecing the conservative dullards and racists of actual money. So what, right? Why should I care if Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity want to 1bankrupt a bunch of morons by selling them worthless gold certificates and freeze dried survival food? Certainly, it is hard to feel sorry for these idiots - as the old adage says, "You can't cheat an honest man." And yet, the monetary losses suffered by these gullible idiots are usually fungible across society. Take, for example, Trump University.

Thanks to Bush, there are fewer people around who think America should be the world's Sheriff. We went into Iraq drunk on WWII "greatest generation" nostalgia. (Saving Private Ryan, 1998. A Band of Brothers, 2001) It was America's job to "put a boot in (the world's) ass" according to the 1999 Toby Keith song lyrics. I like to think that we are a little less sure of the virtue of global American belligerence these days.

In spite of the GOP's ongoing assault on public schools, and public school teachers, a new Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll shows that most Americans like their public schools and the teachers who work there.

...parents, especially, are increasingly pleased with their neighborhood schools and more displeased with the rising use of standardized, multiple choice tests to evaluate, and potentially punish, teachers, a new Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll suggests.

The GOP's efforts to trash public schools and vilify public school teachers may have had some impact, but, like so much of conservatism, not the anticipated impact.

(Parents are) displeased with the rising use of standardized, multiple choice tests to evaluate, and potentially punish, teachers, a new Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll suggests.