Delaware
Honoring the 2013 MVP’s (Most Valuable to the Progressive Cause)
One of the people in the picture to the left is the MVP this year. There were several worthy contenders who just missed the list this year. Superior legislators like Melanie George Smith and Michael Barbieri deserve consideration every year. Ed Osienski is fast approaching that status. Helene Keeley and Kim Williams were on my list at one time or another during my deliberations.
2013 was a great year for social justice in Delaware. Economic justice, not so much. However, I am encouraged that at least three strong voices for progressive principles joined the General Assembly this year, and a couple of Leg Hall vets found their voices as well. The progressive grassroots became more effective this year, and helped ensure historic victories that would not have happened without their support. Marriage equality, transgender equality, and justice for manufactured home owners, being among them.
The most notable omission from my list, and I struggled with it, is Governor Jack Markell. His role in hastening civil rights for the LGBT community will most assuredly be his lasting positive legacy. But, his actions in slowing the passage of minimum wage; his continued pushing for corporate education solutions and favoring charter schools; his granting of a tax cut for Delaware’s wealthiest citizens; his almost-disastrous actions concerning the Port of Wilmington; and several others, led me to omit him from the list. At best, the good and the bad canceled each other out. And, no, you don’t have to take the bad with the good. Or at least you shouldn’t accept it. I don’t.
Now to the list….
![New Years Eve Daily Delawhere [12.31.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7334/11603644896_1519f1a4c9_z.jpg "New Years Eve Daily Delawhere [12.31.13]")
2013: Our Year in Numbers and Our Most Popular Posts of the Year
One thing is made clear from this list of our most popular posts: Chip Flowers is good for business. Posts about him and his travails this year were among our most popular, most likely because he has some fervent fans who waste no time coming here to defend him, and fervent detractors who likewise come here to pile on whenever we put a post up on him. The Flowers scandal and the Marriage Equality victory clearly were the political stories of the year here.
But before we get to the list, let’s over some numbers. We also had our busiest day in the history of Delaware Liberal this year. Now, usually, our busy years and busy days are relegated to election years and specifically, Election Days and Nights. For example, we had 1,001,363 unique visits to our site in 2010, the midterm election year, and 1,333,982 unique visits in 2012, a presidential election year. This year, it looks like we are going to be well short of that high mark, with 883,537 as of this writing. But that is still higher than the past similar off year, 2011, when we had 791,519. So the site continues to grow. But I digress. I started off talking about our busiest day, which was, before this year, September 10, 2010, the night Christine O’Donnell upset Mike Castle in the GOP primary. But the witch got dethroned this year by the passage of the Marriage Equality law. That is sweet and poetic justice. So May 7, 2013 is now our reigning champion for busiest day, a day when we got 18,942 unique visits.
![Monday Daily Delawhere [12.30.13]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5475/11603099153_a96292dce0_z.jpg "Monday Daily Delawhere [12.30.13]")
Corrupt Politics, But No Charges
That is the title of the NJ article that tries to summarize the investigation that resulted in the recent report from special prosecutor E. Norman Veasey. If you are interested, you can also read the entire 101 pages of the report here (pdf). I haven’t finished reading the whole of the document, but here are a few thoughts:
![Saturday Daily Delawhere [12.28.13]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3681/11514311683_daf508511a_z.jpg "Saturday Daily Delawhere [12.28.13]")
Friday Daily Delawhere [12.27.13]
![Friday Daily Delawhere [12.27.13]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5539/11514113185_d74f07719a_z.jpg "Friday Daily Delawhere [12.27.13]")
Here is the third Christmas Light House, located on Kelly Driver in Corner Ketch.
The Year End Chip Flowers Fingerpointing
This is a comment rescue, from a piece that John Manifold linked to for us from Delaware State News, where Chip Flowers is still trying to avoid taking responsibility for the basic management of his office. This time, he wants you to know that the OMB is responsible for terminating an exempt employee that he hired. And “politics” is at fault for the OMB leaving him with the Personnel bag, as it were, even though the employee has already resigned and is done with her medical leave:
Thursday Daily Delawhere [12.26.13]
![Thursday Daily Delawhere [12.26.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7367/11514113225_3d1b97ff0e_z.jpg "Thursday Daily Delawhere [12.26.13]")
This is another Christmas Light House near Summit Bridge Road in Blackbird. The homeowners also broadcast a small radio signal with Christmas songs. The game of one-up-manship is on!
Yes, we have sources everywhere Governor.
I debated about whether to post this, but here is a picture of Governor Markell enjoying a holiday vacation with his lovely wife Carla in St. John, USVI yesterday. Happy Holidays, Governor!*
Christmas Eve Daily Delawhere [12.24.13]
![Christmas Eve Daily Delawhere [12.24.13]](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2873/11514189526_5ab0b8a852_z.jpg "Christmas Eve Daily Delawhere [12.24.13]")
Delaware has at least four major Christmas Light Houses. Here is, I believe, the original, the “Marsh Road House” even though it is really off Silverside, near the entrance for the Top of the Hill Apartments.
Income Inequality
You know income inequality is getting to be a big topic when even Joe Scarborough of Morning Joe talks about it fervently this morning. Of course, he falls back on the tried and true conservative position that we can’t raise taxes ever on anything, and the expert guest agreed.
Um, why can’t we? New data from the IRS shows that the wealthiest Americans have seen their share of taxes decline rather significantly under Obama.
Festivus Open Thread [12.23.13]
![Festivus Open Thread [12.23.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Markell-240x180.png "Festivus Open Thread [12.23.13]")
Governor Jack Markell is Kavip’s Delawarean of the Year. He did some good things, like this:
He proposed and pushed through requiring background checks for all gun sales.
He proposed and was able to get mandated reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
He signed the Gay Marriage Bill.
He signed transgender equality into law.
But he also did some inexplicable things, for a Democrat:
He tried to give away the Port of Wilmington to an oil company.
He killed Minimum Wage in 2013.
He rammed through SB51 which permanently weakens teacher education programs.
He created an Illegal Star Chamber to draw up HB 165 charter school beneficial legislation, in secret without public input.
He rammed through HG 165 which gives private for profit charter schools access to public school capital financing.
He tried to lower taxes for the top 1%. And not for anyone else.
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