Delaware
How Wilmington’s Leadership Keeps The Tale of Two Wilmingtons Narrative Alive
This time, I ask you to compare the reactions to two important developments:
Only one way to stop Obamacare rate hikes in Delaware
Despite all its benefits, Obamacre was always just going to be a Band-Aid for our health care woes. Now Delaware is getting hit by double-digit rate hikes. Is there a solution? Yes, and it’s been right in front of us the entire time.
‘Quarterly capitalism’ and the destruction of DuPont
The “resignation” of DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman is an example of the importance Wall Street places on short-term performance, something Hillary Clinton has dubbed “quarterly capitalism.”
Today’s Word Is: Petulant
Petulant. pet·u·lant ˈpeCHələnt/ adjective (of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered. Imagine this. You’re attending or employed by a large land grant university that receives a measly 11.9% (down from 18.9%) of its funding from the State’s general fund, that was previously able to partake in the State’s group benefits purchasing power […]
Lie of the Year. Perhaps of the Decade.
In a dog-bites-man story, the despicable House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, aka ‘Pete’s Enforcer’, sought to essentially narc out someone who had the temerity to question the raises that D House leadership bestowed upon its staff. Longhurst did it by leaking an e-mail exchange and issuing a veiled threat to the constituent’s employer. This News-Journal story captures the essence of Longhurst as well as anything I’ve read.
Please read the story. You’ll see that Longhurst is first utterly disingenuous in somehow claiming that she HAD NO IDEA whether the e-mail in question reflected the official position of the University of Delaware. Her intent was clear: To get the employee in trouble, and to underline that the General Assembly, due to its infinite charity, provides funds to the University of Delaware and, gee, wouldn’t it be a shame if that relationship was threatened by this e-mail?
And, now, to the Lie of the Year. In Delaware, this is almost certainly the Lie of the Decade:
“I was just asking a question,” Longhurst said. “I’ve never bullied anybody. If that’s the perception, that’s the perception.”
“How is it intimidating?” she told The News Journal. “I just raised a question.”
Markell, Chamber & Rethugs Rigging the Game for 2016. D ( )eadership AWO(L).
Anybody paying attention can see what’s going on. The alleged D leaders in the General Assembly either aren’t paying attention, or they’re in the bag as well.
Stated simply: Gov. Markell, aided and abetted by his pro-business propagandists, is pursuing a strategy of forcing cuts on the most vulnerable with NO consideration being given to increasing revenues as a means of closing the budget gap.
You’re already familiar with the choreographed calls for cuts to health care, public education, and state employees emanating from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable.
Join the Wilmington Parent Advocacy Council for Education
If you live in Wilmington and are a parent, grandparent, foster parent, guardian, primary caregiver, student or just plain concerned community member — this is a newly formed group that is going to advocate for better equity, access and educational opportunity for Wilmington kids. From the brochure:
The PACE Network joins adults, youth and educators together to imagine, create and advocate for equity, access and more effective learning in schools and community places. The Vision is to ensure all Wilmington youth safely attend quality early learning programs, read on level by 3rd grade, excel in reading, math, science, social studies, technology, arts, sports, extracurricular activities and graduate high school prepared for college/career success. The PACE Network aims to shape a unified voice to advocate for Wilmington students. Families and city residents play a critical role in our children’s education. Network membership is open to parents, grandparents, community members, guardians, foster parents, educators in early care, pre-schools, districts and charter schools enrolling Wilmington students.
DL Faves Among Bryan Townsend’s Advisory Committee…
…including our very own Cassandra Marshall and (might as well be our very own) Mike Matthews. What I love about this list of leaders who will be part of Bryan Townsend’s campaign is that many, if not most, are people who are vital to our state, yet have generally not been among the party insiders […]
State GOP Gives Sussex Republican Committee A Spanking Over Disparaging Remarks About Women
Wonder if these “rules” will apply to Dem women?
Here’s the Delaware Republican Party statement:
Newark, DE: Delaware Republican Party Chairman Charlie Copeland has issued the following statement regarding the release of disturbing audio tapes in which Sussex County GOP officials make offensive comments about women leaders in the Delaware Republican Party and about women in general:
The recent release of audio recordings by DelawareRight.com in which Sussex County Republican leaders take aim at leaders of the Delaware Federation of Republican Women and the Sussex County Republican Women are offensive and counter to the fundamental beliefs of the Republican Party.
Townsend Is In!
Received this just awhile ago:
Dear Friends,
Today, I ask for your support as I announce my campaign to represent Delaware in Congress.
Delaware faces a significant challenge: rebuilding an economy that works for all Delawareans and that reverses the inequality spreading across America. That’s why our campaign will champion policies that grow and strengthen the middle class, provide every child with an opportunity to succeed, promote equal justice in the criminal justice system, and ensure retirement security for our seniors.
Four years ago, I was joined by students, community leaders, and neighbors in a grassroots campaign for the Delaware State Senate. Although some doubted our prospects, Delawareans like you showed they’d back a candidate who reaches out, listens, and will always do the right thing for Delaware, even when it’s the hard thing.
Guest Post: Crossroads Wants to Tell Its Own Story
Crossroads and its principals have been much in the news recently and subject of a recent post here. Since Crossroads was not contacted in the recent post here, I offered them the chance to tell their story, themselves. That is the guest post from Alberta Crowley that follows. I’m also going to be clear that I know that Crossroads is doing incredible work with a population that is never well served — urban poor kids with mental health and addiction issues. They’ve certainly had their problems — with recent unethical behavior and with a long-running tug-of-war with the state over resources to serve these kids. I’m interested in helping these kids and the people who do — which is why I’m posting Crossroads story here.
Guest Post: Opt-Out Ends The Madness Of High-Stakes Testing
Kevin from Exceptional Delaware asked if we could share his post. The State Board of Education is having their monthly meeting at 1:00pm today. The Parent Strike press conference will begin prior to the meeting at 12:30pm in front of Legislative Hall in Dover. If any of our readers attend, let us know in the comments.
As a proud advocate of parent opt out, I watched in horror as Governor Markell vetoed legislation created for parents and their fundamental rights. The News Journal refers to House Bill 50 as giving parents the right to opt out. This is wrong. It’s about honoring a parental right that already exists, an attempt to codify that right and stop schools and the Delaware Department of Education from punishing schools over parent opt-out.
Today, the State Board of Education will have their monthly meeting, and they will discuss Regulation 103. To give some quick back-story here, Regulation 103 covers school accountability. Born out of Race To The Top, Delaware won in the first round partly because we already had this regulation in place. Race To The Top was an abject failure. But the DOE and the State Board are attempting to further legitimize this program under the guise of the Delaware School Success Framework. This “school report card” is nothing more than Federal mandate PLUS the many layers of complexity the DOE added to it. This regulation will put any Title I school in jeopardy if the students don’t perform well on Smarter Balanced. This week, we will hear about the creation of 10 new so-called “Focus Schools” and 4 “Focus Plus Schools”. The DOE will attempt to sell this as yet another way of “fixing” these high-need schools. The truth is, these labels are punitive in nature and are just another step before they become “Priority Schools”. We all know how that went a year ago.
Comment Rescue: Dorian Gray, Education And The Uncomfortable Truth
I keep going back to Dorian’s comment on my Education post. Here is what he said:
