Delaware
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up & Pre-Game Show: Wednesday, June 3, 2015
The big news: Legislation decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use passed the House Tuesday. Despite an amendment that weakened the bill, not a single ‘small government’ Rethug voted for the bill. BTW, the amendment sucks. I can only guess that it was required to secure a sufficient number of votes to pass the bill. Otherwise, it should not have seen the light of day.
Wednesday Daily Delawhere [6.3.15]
Beginning today and occasionally over the next few weeks, we will be featuring the wonderful photography of Nick McNevich. McNevich’s work was recently featured in the News Journal. McNevich is also part of the CreateInWilm Facebook community, which is a cooperative group of artists, photographers, and craftspeople dedicated to bringing change to the city of Wilmington through art and expression.
Biden Funeral Scheduled for Saturday in Delaware
A private Mass for the Biden family was to be celebrated for the family June 4 at St. Joseph Church on the Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware, where he was a parishioner.
A funeral Mass for Biden was to be said June 6 at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Burial will be at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery, where Beau’s mother and sister, who were killed in the car accident years ago, are buried.
I assume that the President and other “official mourners,” like Governor Markell, former Governor Minner, Senators Carper and Coons, will attend the Saturday mass at St. Anthony’s.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Let’s not mince words. Not since 2009 has the General Assembly entered June with so much uncertainty and so much unfinished business. I’d argue that it will even be a more difficult June than June of 2009.
Back then, everyone recognized that Delaware, like virtually every other state, was suffering from an economic downturn. The newly-minted governor was able to work with the General Assembly to craft a series of ‘revenue-enhancers’ to address the budget shortfall. R’s released just enough yes votes to enable bills to pass, in exchange for provisions sunsetting the revenue enhancers.
Fast-forward six years. This governor has lost a huge amount of political influence. So much so that his press flak has said that he’ll watch what the General Assembly does, and not actively broker any settlements. He has, in particular, lost a lot of leverage with Democrats. Some of this is inevitable. Lame ducks almost never have much political capital to spend by Year 7. Markell has also wasted political capital in ways that have earned him the enmity and distrust of D’s in particular. Whether it’s the disaster of Race To the Top, his attempt to bypass the General Assembly while looking to get rid of the Port of Wilmington, his sabotage of a meaningful minimum wage bill, his inability to rally support for his gas tax increase, his cheerleading for charter schools, his refusal to consider any tax increase on his wealthy pals, and so much more, he is as close to feckless as any governor facing a budget shortfall can be.
Except…he HAS, by Executive Order, created a panel to look at long-term changes to how Delaware funds government. Unfortunately, Markell has chosen to place a vast majority of DINO’s and Rethugs on the panel, ensuring that any recommendations it might make would not in any way address inequities in who pays what. The good news: the ideas that are being put forward by this group are likely to be DOA. I mean, eliminate the estate tax? Really? These are not serious proposals except in a world where ALEC is king.
The NEW New Wilmington Crime Plan
Today, at a press conference that the public heard about maybe an hour and a half before it occurred, the Mayor and Chief Cummings announced ONE MORE Crime plan for Wilmington. It seems that not many people know what is in this plan (even City Councilpeople Sherry Dorsey and Hanifa Shabazz who endorsed it all without seeing it), and although there was some rumor that the plan would be available to the public shortly after the press conference, this plan is not on the City’s website where the public can take a look or was it provided to the Governor or the WPSSC as a courtesy. So we have a press conference that was designed to exclude as many Wilmingtonians as possible, continuing the contempt this Mayor has for the citizens of Wilmington. But here is the gist of what is supposed to be on deck:
My Thoughts On Beau Biden… And What Really Matters
I wasn’t going to write about this, but, today, Al Mascitti made me cry. He was so choked up as he spoke about Beau and his family. So many memories came flooding back. Painful memories, but memories I wouldn’t give up for the world. I’m also publishing this today due to the comments on the other thread. We’ve obviously “gone there” so let me add my insight.
It’s no secret I was in the “medical privacy” camp, but I sorta stayed out of those debates because I could (sorta) see the other side. It was a different conversation because, imo, it removed the humanity of the obvious situation, and while I didn’t understand that side (and I’m not really here to debate that, altho that will probably happen given the comments on the “memorial” thread) my lack of understanding probably had a lot to do with how many times I’ve been up close and personal to this type of situation.
Dying trumps everything. There are no politics, no career moves, no family squabbles, no test scores – These. Things. Do. Not. Matter. At all. If they matter to you, then that is your luxury.
Here’s the truth: There are no rules, no shoulds, no have tos, in regards to a terminal illness. Just like there are no rules to grief. Death is a solitary experience. No one can tell you how to handle this. There isn’t a “correct” way of doing this. The dying person gets to set the rules.
I’ve written about my experience with my best friend in 2011. Allow me to pull a passage from this post.
When a person faces a terminal illness their perspective changes. Instead of focusing on being “cured” – which they accept isn’t an option – they focus on how much time they can buy. As a 47 year old, divorced mother of two teenage boys my friend was obsessed with buying time. I completely understood.
Time Mattered.
And yet, time was the one thing not discussed. Not by her, or me, or her doctor. It was the elephant in the room. All of us knew time was running out. None of us discussed it. Sometimes saying things out loud makes them more real… too real?
Announcing you are dying is not a simple or easy thing to do – and you get to decide who you share it with and when. If you think it is easy then you have probably not experienced death up close – especially the death of a young person, with children. Saying this truth out loud is nearly impossible. It changes everything. It is admitting defeat. Every day is precious. Every day is a fight and a gift. Every day might be your last.
And telling your children, or having them have to face this reality through the constant chatter of talking heads (Joe Biden went to Delaware. Is he visiting his dying son?) or newspaper articles, is the hardest thing you will ever experience. Dying people don’t care about “your” or “their” concerns or issues – nor should they, because in the big scheme of things any concerns other than their children, spouse and family are things they have moved beyond. Your, our and their concerns are petty. Politics is a silly issue they have moved beyond. (and I love politics, but it goes out the window in this situation.)
Tornoe cartoon: RIP Beau Biden
As a new father, I had a hard time drawing today’s cartoon about the death of Beau Biden.
Normally, I include an essay when I post my cartoons, which enables me to broaden the discussion and examine the nuance of a subject beyond the single-focus of a cartoon.
But this is different.
A new punishment for people who litter at the beach
Hate those dirty litterbugs who soil our pristine beaches? So do Kristen and I! Good thing we came up with a suitable punishment.
Monday Daily Delawhere [6.1.15]
The Remnants of the gunpowder mills at the Eleutherian Mills at Hagley Museum. Photo by xzmattzx.
The Weekly Addresses
In this week’s address, the President addressed critical pieces of national security business that remained unfinished when the Senate left town. This Sunday at midnight, key tools used to protect against terrorist threats are set to expire.
In his weekly message, Governor Markell highlights additional efforts to provide Delawareans with access to ongoing education and jobs training.
Rep. Ed Osienski spoke with Comcast Newsmakers about the infrastructure bill the House passed earlier this month, discussing the need to invest in Delaware infrastructure to create good-paying jobs, make our roads safer and increase economic opportunities.
Saturday Daily Delawhere [5.30.15]
The morning of the Class of 2015’s Commencement from the University of Delaware. Yes, this is a live photo bright and early from the parking lot from yours truly.
News Journal Finally Reports Walker Job…Leaves A Few Key Things Out.
Well, the story was broken here at DL, and it will remain an open question as to whether the so-called ‘paper of record’ would have even covered it if we hadn’t. At least, they finally have covered it. The story, which is a good one, raises as many questions as it answers. Oh, and it leaves out one of the key elements of the whole stinkin’ mess: Walker getting the job with an agency under the purview of the state police after carrying the cops’ water in burying the death penalty bill in her committee. Under the approving eye of former state cop and current Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf.
The questions revolve around how she got the job. First, read these excerpts from the News-Journal article…
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