Yesterday, the FBI raided the offices of the wife of John Doolittle (R-CA). This raid is part of the ongoing and growing Abramoff lobbying scandal. It appears that her firm was involved in fund raising for an Abramoff “charity.”
Update: Doolittle resigns post on appropriations panel. Looks like the leadership forced him out. If I remember from the Atkins scandal, next step is a tearful resignation speech followed by campaigning.
If you are a user of a crackberry, you were non-plussed this morning. Last night Research in Motion (the blackberry people) had a serious meltdown of their systems. I wonder if Karl had them pull all of his emails off of their servers and caused a system failure… (h/t Fred)
The Economist has an article about how North Dakota is trying to woo corporations away from Delaware with their new shareholder-friendly incorporation laws. There are some interesting stats in the article, specifically the one that says that each household is subsidized $3000/year by the tax gain on incorporation services. If you think the NCC tax hike is unpopular, wait for the $3000 increase if companies move en masse to N.D.
The NYT has a great little article about the spending patterns of the top candidates (and McCain) and what it tells us about them. My favorite is about how Romney’s staffers end up sometimes tripled up in hotels as swanky as the Super 8 in Parsippany, NJ. This is why I write about politics, not go on the road for the candidates.
The good news is that Hillary has cut her flower budget and Obama only has one staffer that makes over 100K annually. McCain is burning through his money, but I bet a lot of that is one time costs associated with buying body armor for afternoon strolls.
The whiners across the river lost another round of “Whose River is it Anyway?” The Supreme Special Master issues a ruling today that reaffirmed the ownership of the Delaware River (to the NJ shoreline) belongs to Delaware. The Supreme Court still has to rule, but NJ and DE have been down this road enough times that it is obvious that New Jersey is SOL. I hope Governor Corzine got the message that Russell Peterson sent to him last night. 🙂 I kid the Governor…
Kudos to Drew Volturo at DSN for continuing to cover the inevitable progression of Delawares Gambling problem into sports betting. The revenue projections, job projections, and additional tax revenue are making this an offer that the legislature can’t refuse. Here is the textbook example of the slippery slope…
If you live in the 7th Representative District, get out and vote tomorrow, and vote for Bryon Short. Good luck Bryon!
We start things off right with Tommywonk (a nutritious part of this delicious breakfast). Tom has a nice piece on one of the many things that brought down Imus, guest rebellion.
I am fascinated by a posting at DelawareWatch revealing a three year old Supreme Court decision that says that the City of Wilmington is responsible for fixing the sidewalk in front of city homes. I have the feeling that a day of reckoning is in store for the city.
Donviti is doing much better than me at updating his own blog with useful information. This week he has a Joe Biden jag. Good cajones on Joey B.
I like the Karmasheetra featured by KarmicJay. It could make for an interesting weekend, but you could ache in some pretty interesting places on Monday morning.
Kavips has a series about what our priorities should be in the coming Presidential election. Ideas are offered in open source format. Nice job.
Ryan over at Liberal Delight is cheering that Newt is in the correct camp for global warming. Newt said that we should reduce our carbon emissions. Amen, adulterer.
Nancy has some coverage of the latest White House scandal, the RNC email Scandal. I plan to write a little about this soon. Nancy’s post an interesting point about how the RNC even saw through the Rove shenanigans. Love the pic, too.
Citizens for a Better Sussex has a little chronology about NRG’s coal gasification proposal. And it would have worked if it wasn’t for those pesky windmills.
Uber-blogger Celia Cohen has the secret blow-by-blow of Atkins v. Burris. Luckily, our friendly opposition won the day and Adkins is apparently repudiated. Well, at least that’s settled.
Mike Mahaffie is off-line while sunning himself in southern climes. We can talk about him and he’ll never know it…
Meanwhile MOT Newbie is still on hiatus. He acts like a baby is a big deal or something.
Over at Pencader Days, there are some pretty funny pics. I like the map a lot.
Mike Protack has some more ideas, one is about using technology in health care. Here’s another efficiency idea, take the profit out of paying the bills.
Hube has some good Imus stuff. But what I really like is the post about Atkins demanding that Burris choose between blogging and party chairmanship. Man I am really starting to hate that guy (Atkins, that is).
Dave Burris seems to have moderated in his posting frequency. He claims to have no time to post. Perhaps he is just having trouble coordinating all of the volunteers that are streaming in for the RD7 election.
I continue to be dumbfounded by Paul Smith. He and his girlfriend decided to make Wednesday night “reading night” so that he could finish Founding Brothers. Hmmm.
Over at JttR, Ryan has a guest blogger for the weekend. Maybe we can torment him for the next few days.
Kilroy is on an illegal immigrant streak. Xenophobes Gone Wild!
Well, I’m spending my weekend throwing birthday parties for a 6 year old. We’ll see how much posting I’ll get in. Thank god for Donviti, Jason, Dr. Nick and Tommywonk. Rock on.
Don Imus was cut loose from CBS today in the culmination of his week-long battle with his critics. Now I may be alone in this, but don’t think this was quite a fair state of affairs. I am no Imus fan, but a personality that I am a fan of, Bill Maher, was treated to the same sort of media frenzy a few years back. This is a new form of blacklisting. Create “grassroots” attacks on people that disagree with you and have their sponsors pull support. It is all very “free-market” but it makes me mad.
The Christian right really perfected this technique and they have used it like a cudgel. Now any special interest with an ax to grind can create this sort of maelstrom of anger and indignation to achieve their ends. I would love to set some breaks on this, like we have on the stock market. If there is a huge drop of some percentage in some time, we stop trading. At some point in these situations, we should stop for a few days and take a few deep breaths.
Bryon Short is the Democratic candidate for the 7th District to replace Wayne Smith. The special election it this Saturday. Bryon and I have been exchanging emails for the past few weeks and I deeply appreciate that he took the time to respond to me and my inane questions and provide the answers to them. Please call any friends that you have in the 7th and tell them about Bryon. I think he will win this seat for us on Saturday.
LG: What made you decide to pursue elective office at this time?
Bryon Short: When my wife opened the news paper and from our first floor to me on the second floor that Wayne was resigning his seat I came running right down stairs. I knew this was our best opportunity to gain the seat. I have always thought of running for elected office and was prepared for the right opportunity. Fortunately, my business and family life are conducive to holding elected office. I did not know the candidate was ultimately going to be me and was fully prepared to support whoever the party chose. I did know that I could dedicate all my energies to this effort from the candidate selection through election day. Not only have I put all my energy into this race, but my wife has been doing the same, the Democratic campaign staff have worked everyday since the selection and countless other friends and volunteers have done the same.
LG: What qualifications do you possess that you think will help you carry out your duties as a State Representative?
I was out at a restaurant a week ago and spotted a nice enough family out with their kids. It was final four season, so it isn’t all that unusual to see them wearing college sweatshirts. What got me was the school whose sweatshirts that they were wearing. It was Liberty University. This irked me.
I know that it shouldn’t. Perhaps their daughter went to school there. Maybe the couple met there. All I could think was that they were making a political statement about how they felt about Jerry Falwell and his ilk.
I am trying to imagine if there is some equivalent school sweatshirt that would bother conservatives. Berkeley? The Banana Slugs of U.C. Santa Cruz? I fear that I would have the same reaction to a Bob Jones University sweatshirt. I guess the first step to recovery is recognizing that I have a problem…
It has been a busy week for me personally, so sorry that I haven’t posted much. Damn corporate intrigue. Luckily, in my relative absence, donviti has stepped in and filled the void. Great posts dude. Myself, Tom Noyes, Jason and donviti (just missing Dr. Nick) all converged on Iron Hill last week for Drinking Liberally. I highly recommend it. Tom Noyes gives out autographs, too. This week also saw the early return of Jason under the new handle of Jason330. Welcome back friend.
The big news in the blogosphere this week is the arrival of MOT Newbie’s baby girl. Make sure you stop by and wish the family well. He is a friend and a gentleman and a good Dad, I bet. Hope the hiatus is short term.
Tommywonk has some comments culled from the PSC filings of friends of wind power. Great catches, those.
Donviti has a surprise [snark] winner in the recent corn production surge. It ain’t the little guy.
Over at Delaware Watch, Dana has some decorating tips for legislators. pulled from the “slippery like dumplings” Thurman Adams’ filings.
KarmicJay has some yummy recipes (mmmm FLAN!) and some Zen of being a hybrid owner. I can relate.
The big can of whoop-ass is opened on the bubble-boy and his cabal over at kavips. Also some comment rescue and drug-induced flashback.
Over at Liberal Delight, Ryan is already starting to get into the Philadelphia spirit by feeling a sensation of impending doom over the Phillies. Only 159 games to go.
At Delaware Way, Nancy celebrates a victory on preserving some historic land in Pencader hundred. Rock on Nancy.
Blog Queen, Celia Cohen, has some analysis of the two seats that Republicans are trying to defend, plus other positions they may have to fill.
Mike Mahaffie has found an interesting photo site with some historical pictures. He also has found a Delaware shaped puddle. He also included me in his April Fools round-up (Sorry, Dave).
Pencader Days thinks that we need benchmarks, not timetables in Iraq. I’m not convinced, but there is a lot to mull over in the post.
Mike Protack is suggesting that we need to make the tax system more simple. Guess who bought the 67,000 pages of loopholes…
Hube has a post about minority comics. Now we know how to set him off… Actually, how do you NOT set him off…
Dave Burris has returned from a self-imposed hiatus. Welcome back, Dave. He has a post comparing our budgetary process and New Jersey’s, holding it up as a reason for HB4 to be considered directly by the Senate.
OK, so Gazizza is worth it today just to see the Worst. First. Pitch. Ever. It’s Good Friday, so I’ll be nice to Paul.
Into Good and Evil has an egg hunt (Now with more spermy goodness) . Nothing like sperm to get you in the Easter spirit.
Over at JttR, Ryan has a riff on a John Lennon Tune “All we are saying is give surge a chance…” Right, what’s the worst that can happen…? Oh yeah a civil war with our guys standing in the middle.
Kilroy wants you to know about HB28. It is a school funding bill for leasing of facilities.
That’s all we’ve got. Next week keep an eye out for an interview with Bryon Short. Happy Easter all.
Cheney’s daughter will be giving birth to a baby boy next month. Presumably the baby will leave the hospital to the shouts of well-wishers saying things like “Sinner!” or “God hates Lesbians” or some other traditional Judeo-Christian offering of peace. You should see them at funerals…
I don’t care what religion a candidate is. Just don’t shove it down my throat (Hint, hint George). But that doesn’t mean that the same sort of whack jobs that supported Bush only because he was born again don’t exist in Mormonism. A friend shot me a link to a blog where the Mormon husband and wife that ran the company hosting her blog didn’t like a link that she had to Jesus’ General regarding the Mormon faith. So they started editing her posts. It only goes downhill from there… She is with a different hosting company now. I wonder how much of this we will see if Mitt becomes the front-runner? I guess he can always claim that he has changed his mind and he is now a Baptist.