Waiting for Governor Milquetoast
The headline on DelawareOnline read, "Carney to worried Dems: 'Keep doing the right thing' ". This in itself should have raised some red flags.
A Moment of Your Time
Since I went underground before Thanksgiving, I wasn’t even going to write this post, but three very close friends said I should. Last November my Dad became extremely ill. His…
Delaware’s Blockchain Initiative is a thing
Blockchain sounds substantial. Just by saying it, you know it is not some flimsy bullshit. It contains the words "chain" and "block" so it is some heavy duty shit.
Turns out, Delaware is way ahead of everyone in getting away from stupid old slow paper records for corporate legal and financial filings, and we are going to build on our lead in 2017.. apparently...You know...it's computers, what could possibly go worng?
Coons “Encouraged” That Tillerson Doesn’t Seem as Clueless as Trump
It doesn't take much to impress Coons. [BTW - That's not Coons shaking Tillerson's hand. That's Putin, the guy Coons says Tillerson understands to be a "threat to NATO" shaking Tillerson's hand.]
Delaware named top “state to watch” for pot legalization in 2017
"Weed News" figures Delaware is among the most likely to legalize marijuana in 2017. I don't see it, but my ear isn't exactly tuned to cannabis issues. I mean it seems obvious to me that the "war on drugs" and criminalization of pot use is racially and economically unjust in the extreme, but other that that (not partaking myself) I'm agnostic the question of legalization.
How John Carney Can Jump-Start His Term, Reinvigorate Democrats, and Win a Special Election–All With One Move.
So, we're facing a Special Election for State Senate. The candidates, D Stephanie Hansen and R John Marino, have been chosen by their respective parties. The election has been necessitated due to incumbent Bethany Hall Long's winning of the Lieutenant Governor spot. She takes office later in January. The date for the Special Election has not been set, and it's not clear whether outgoing Gov. Markell or incoming Gov. Carney will set the date.
Barring an unexpected flip, the winner of this seat will determine which Party controls the Senate. The Republicans are motivated as they can end umpteen years of Democratic control of the State Senate. They will have no problem motivating their voters.
The Democrats? If you are a Democratic voter and aren't necessarily plugged into the party structure, what will impel you to come out to vote? I know that some of the usual suspects on the blog are minimizing this concern, I think it's real and I think it's a major problem for the special. Why should D's come out to support the D candidate other than out of some sense of duty?
Unless...now hang with me for a minute.
Announcing the 2016 MVPs (Most Valuable to the Progressive Cause in Delaware)!
2016 marks the conclusion of the public life of State Senator Karen Peterson. Karen Peterson has been the single most effective progressive official in Delaware throughout her career. She has been invaluable in pushing progressive causes--everything from open government to gun safety to equal rights for all. Not just pushing for progress, but achieving it. Over and over again. She is smart, tough and politically savvy. Oh, and relentless. Come to think of it, forget about words like 'progressive' or ''liberal'. To me, she defines what it once meant and still should mean to be a Democrat. Standing up for what is right and just and standing up for people who don't have the power to purchase politicians with campaign contributions. As I look for ways to have an impact moving forward, I'll try to take the lessons that Karen taught us and put them into action. She is, after all, the Most Valuable Progressive I have known during my time in politics in Delaware. A role model for all of us. Starting now.
OK, kids, time for the annual countdown of this year's MVP's.....
How Tom Carper’s Positions and Votes Screw People and Help Rethugs Screw People. Volume 4
Let's first look at the terms of this unholiest of marriages. In exchange for being perhaps Big Pharma's most dependable stooge (Sen. Menendez of New Jersey is also in the running), Tom Carper has received compensation from the industry commensurate with his stoogery. Big Pharma has contributed $225,010 to Tom Carper from 2011 to the present (end of year contributions not yet reported). Of that amount, $194,410 came from PACs as opposed to $30,600 from individual donors. 86.4% of all dollars from the industry in PAC dollars. Open Secrets has it all right here. If you look at Carper's 20 Top Contributors, the following all have significant involvement in Pharma: Astra Zeneca, Ashland, Pfizer, and DuPont. In addition, the following big donors have holdings in, and/or are lobbyists for, the pharmaceutical industry (relevant links provided): Blackstone Group, Akin, Gump, et al, Skadden Arps, et al, and King and Spalding.
So, what exactly did/does Big Pharma get from Tom Carper? A lot. Carper's obstructionism on behalf of the industry paid off handsomely during Obamacare negotiations. And, yes, people who rely on government insurance programs bore the cost.
How Tom Carper’s Positions and Votes Screw People and Help Rethugs Screw People. Volume 3
Perhaps no issue defines who Carper represents in the Senate and who he doesn't represent in starker terms than his leadership in screwing families down on their luck in favor of the big banks and credit card operations. MBNA, to be more specific.
In Carper's world, any feigned empathy consistently takes a back seat to the banking and financial interests who fund his campaigns. While there is so much to dislike about his record, this issue, in my opinion, is the clarion call for his replacement in 2018.
You see, Charles Cawley and MBNA had a dream. A dream that came to them almost every day and night. They dreamt of a world where down-on-their-luck folks could no longer get out from under huge credit card balances by declaring bankruptcy. No exceptions.
The dream was funded by campaign contributions. Huge sums of money dating back to the early 1990's. One of the earliest beneficiaries of MBNA's largesse was then-Sen. Joe Biden.
In Which We Find That Legislators Can’t Read Contracts — The Sallies Contract vs. Charles Potter
So this deal is still dead and I think that the expectation is that if it gets revived it will be because the new Mayor will work at reviving it. No idea if it is even possible at this point, but that is where we are. In the meantime, we have Rep. Charles Potter putting out a piece of propaganda that specifically misrepresents the terms of this dead deal -- I guess so that he can make himself look like a hero or something for standing up to the big bad Sallies and their desire to make Bayard Stadium into a working home field for everybody. He counts, of course, on the fact that no one will spend any time on that document and just get fired up because he says to. I did look at that contract and here is the response to the propaganda with references to the page numbers where I found this info. The items in BOLD are the ones listed on the "Highlights of the major points of the contract with Sallies" that he has posted to Facebook. My responses and references follow.
How Tom Carper’s Votes and Positions Screw People and Help Rethugs to Screw People. Volume 2
I was gonna release these at a more leisurely pace, but this one sticks in my craw. Well, they all do, but I couldn't let this one slide any longer. When it comes to grandstanding, Tom Carper is right there with the best. With support for the military (and braggadocio about his own service) near the top of the list. When the rubber meets the road, though, that's a different story. This one is about how Tom Carper screws the grunts in the military...
How Tom Carper’s Votes and Positions Screw People and Help Rethugs to Screw People. Volume 1
I think a lot of people view Tom Carper as an essentially well-meaning, if occasionally eccentric, public servant. That includes a lot of Democrats and plenty of liberals who I know. They are wrong.
His votes and stated positions, all a matter of public record, and easily discovered via a simple Google search, reveal that he largely ignores the needs of those who routinely vote for him. He does, however, pay fealty to those who finance his campaigns, and he also gives away votes on behalf of his search for bipartisanship. That search, like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football held by Lucy, never comes to fruition.
Carper's desire to 'reach across the aisle' becomes even more dangerous in the era of Trump and Republican-controlled government. He could well end up as the key D who enables the gutting of Medicare and Social Security.
So, while it will take several pieces to flesh out his many sins of commission and omission, let's get started.
Tom Carper and the Keystone Pipeline.....
We don’t need no education
As a former public school teacher, I loved nothing more than having an administrator, with NO teaching experience, come into my classroom with a clipboard and a checklist to tell…