Delaware
![Friday Daily Delawhere [7.5.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7359/9205392089_271bc2dfb8_z.jpg "Friday Daily Delawhere [7.5.13]")
![Fourth of the July Daily Delawhere [7.4.13]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5496/9205392077_96cb9a9f4a_z.jpg "Fourth of the July Daily Delawhere [7.4.13]")
![Wednesday Daily Delawhere [7.3.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/9192332250_f25cef11bf_z.jpg "Wednesday Daily Delawhere [7.3.13]")
All my marriage equality cartoons
Well, the sun rose today outside my tiny house in Bear, so I guess that means gay marriage wasn’t as big a deal as all the haters made it out to be. It’s been a long road to get to this moment, and a trail of my gay marriage cartoons tells the tale.
![Tuesday Daily Delawhere [7.2.13]](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/9136098808_214c11273b_z.jpg "Tuesday Daily Delawhere [7.2.13]")
Monday Open Thread [7.1.13]
![Monday Open Thread [7.1.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DL.Thumbnail.png "Monday Open Thread [7.1.13]")
Dana Milbank on the evil of Darrell Issa:
First, the head of the investigation overpromises. “This was a targeting of the president’s political enemies, effectively, and lies about it during the election year so that it wasn’t discovered until afterwards,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House oversight committee, said in May of the IRS targeting scandal. He later declared President Obama’s press secretary a “paid liar” for stating otherwise.
Next, facts emerge to undermine the investigator’s presuppositions. Documents released by Ways and Means committee Democrats this week show that the IRS, in addition to targeting tea party groups, also had “Be on the Lookout” (BOLO) lists for groups using descriptors such as “progressive,” “health care legislation,” “medical marijuana,” “paying national debt” and “green energy.”
Finally, evidence surfaces that the investigator stacked the deck. Tuesday night, the Hill newspaper quoted a spokesman for Treasury’s inspector general, Russell George, saying the group was asked by Issa “to narrowly focus on tea party organizations.” The inspectors knew there were other terms, but “that was outside the scope of our audit.”
Certainly, something went badly wrong at the IRS that caused groups to be targeted because of ideology. But it’s nothing like the conspiracy Issa cooked up in which the president and his men supposedly used the tax authority to attack their political foes.
…the collapse of the Issa-driven scandal has reinforced a growing impression in the capital that ultimately will help Obama: The chairman is full of it.
So, about last night…
HB 88, the bill that is aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, remains stalled. The mentally ill, representated by the protestor above, are pleased, as now they can kill as many people they want with any gun they can get their hands on. The protestors there in Dover yesterday in opposition to HB 88 suffer under paranoid delusions, highlighting the need for this bill in the first place.
Meanwhile, Senator Townsend’s Senate Bills on education transparency, 147 and 148, passed the House. These bills are intended to snatch a small victory from the massive thrashing jaws of defeat that was the passage of the Charter School bill. Both bills are now waiting for Governor Markell’s signature.
Finally, the bill to rein in the powers of state Treasurer Chip Flowers was not brought to the floor for a vote.
The Everything Must Go The Budget Must Pass June 30 Last Day of the Session Thread
June 30. The only day on the legislative calendar, or any calendar for that matter, that lasts much longer than 24 hours. So here is your thread for following the last minute last second backroom deals.
Post anything you hear here for discussion. And you can follow the twitter stream of the Delaware House Dems for more info. And if you post on Twitter or Facebook, use the hash tag #DEJune30.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: The Final Day, Night, & Day
We’re gonna have drama after all! Democrats vs. fellow Democrat Chip Flowers. I support the Democrats not named Chip Flowers, and so should you. Here’s why. Chip Flowers claims that he has the power to invest state money, money that goes to fund state pensions. He is the only treasurer in memory to make that claim. Other treasurers have recognized that the responsibility for making these determinations rests with the Cash Management Policy Board, of which the Treasurer is but one member. Flowers wants to play cowboy in search of higher investment returns. He’s even hired some guy to look at how to increase performance. He hasn’t hired anyone to warn him of imprudent risk. This is precisely the type of fiscal irresponsibility that left scores of public pension funds in shambles throughout the country following the financial scandal. Delaware, which had invested its money prudently and conservatively, remained in strong fiscal condition, and so did state pensions. If Chip Flowers wants to gamble, let him do so at a racino or online or in the market with his own money. As a pensioner of the state, the last thing I want is for him to do is play the market with our money.
The proposed bill essentially does to Flowers what earlier legislation did to the Sheriff of Nuttingham–make clear that he can’t overstep his bounds and/or create new imaginary powers for himself. For the sake of my fellow pensioners, I hope it passes.
![Sunday Daily Delawhere [6.30.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7314/9136098718_c6b6b45731_z.jpg "Sunday Daily Delawhere [6.30.13]")
![Saturday Daily Delawhere [6.29.13]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5324/9136098612_c2b38e233e_z.jpg "Saturday Daily Delawhere [6.29.13]")
Common-sense gun control laws? Not for Delaware
Only in America, where 32 individuals are killed every day by guns, can we have leaders unable to muster even the loosest new legislation to combat the growing trends of gun violence.
HB 88 Fails to Pass the Senate After Overwhelming House Vote
HB88 is a bill that sought to better define (so it could actually be enforced) procedures by which dangerous mentally ill persons could be restricted from firearm ownership, but also creates a path to let those restricted demonstrate that they are no longer dangerous and able to manage their gun rights. This is a great bill — one that was worked hard by the House, to ensure that concerns of all sides were reasonably dealt with and it passed the House 40-1. A bipartisan victory by any stretch of the imagination — and it means that the House reached a remarkable consensus on this issue. This bill was sent to the Senate, who voted it down tonite 6 – 13, with 2 not voting. One of the not voting was Bryan Townsend (D-11), which surprised a great many people. Cathy Cloutier voted NO on this, even though she is reported as telling folks she would vote YES. Michael Barbieri is the bill’s primary sponsor, and I am told that he needs to get just one Senator who voted NO to bring it back to the floor.
To say that this defeat is a surprise is an understatement. It’s overwhelming majority in the House should have been an indication to the Senate of just how well this bill had been worked. In addition, the NRA was NEUTRAL on this bill — as good as it gets on a gun measure. How did it get defeated? Ever hear of a group called First State Liberty?
It is run by Eric Boye, who is plenty new here. And I understand that after HB88 passed in the House, a campaign of robocalling began to get people to contact Senators on this issue. As is often the case, the robocall was more about scaring people than actually informing them. This group is toxic enough that even the Delaware State Sportsmans Association has warned its membership about this group — saying that is is a counterfeit organization that is run by persons with their own interests at heart, rather than those of gun owners
Recent Comments