Delaware

Saturday Daily Delawhere [5.4.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on May 4, 2013 • 0 Comments

Friday Open Thread [5.3.13]

Filed in Delaware, National, Open Thread by Delaware Dem on May 3, 2013 • 10 Comments

The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in April, which is a good not great number, but the better news is the revisions for February (a great month that is now Clintonian Great) and March (a Bushian bad month of low job growth that has now become Obamian Good).

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised from +268,000 to +332,000, and the change for March was revised from +88,000 to +138,000. With these revisions, employment gains in February and March combined were 114,000 higher than previously reported.

This is why Cathy Cloutier keeps getting reelected…

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on May 3, 2013 • 22 Comments

… yeah, you can say it is the well timed moderate votes recently and over the last several years that have pretty well placed her in the “sane Republican” and “moderate” categories, but never ever underestimate the personal touches. For example, most politicians, if they are worth their stuff, send out happy birthday messages to their constitutuents, mostly in the form of mass produced postcards or cards, like the one my State Representative Debbie Hudson sent me….

Friday Daily Delawhere [5.3.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on May 3, 2013 • 0 Comments

Thursday Daily Delawhere [5.2.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on May 2, 2013 • 0 Comments

Wednesday Daily Delawhere [5.1.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on May 1, 2013 • 36 Comments

Tuesday Daily Delawhere [4.30.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 30, 2013 • 13 Comments

Marriage Equality Committee vote set for Wednesday

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 29, 2013 • 22 Comments

The Senate Executive Committee will vote on the marriage bill on Wednesday. Which means, once it passed out of committee (which it should), it could be set for a vote on Thursday. Ask your Senator to support HB75, but we would also like you to send a note of encouragement towards Senators Cathy Cloutier and Bethany Hall Long. Their contact information can be found here.

As a reminder, here is our most likely whip count.

Monday Daily Delawhere [4.29.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 29, 2013 • 1 Comment

Sunday Daily Delawhere [4.28.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 28, 2013 • 1 Comment

Comment Rescue: Dana Garrett on SB51

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 27, 2013 • 31 Comments

SB51 sounds good (you can read the synopsis inside and the full bill at the link provided), but the devil is in the details. Take it away Dana:

Recently a student approached very upset SB 51 pending in Dover. My student is an Education major and is, without a doubt, one of the best students I’ve had in 20 years of teaching. But now he is thinking about changing his major and giving up on his life’s ambition of teaching middle school students. Here’s why. He read that SB 51 would prohibit anyone from becoming a teacher in DE who received a GPA below a 2.7 in high school. Now mind you, it doesn’t matter how high your GPA is once you graduate from college, although there is also a standard for that. You can have a college GPA of 4.0 but still not become a teacher in DE if your high school GPA is below 2.7. Now, I have had dozens of students who performed poorly in high school when they were immature but waited a few years before they attended college. In college they were mature, intelligent, and dedicated students who performed well. There is simply no reason why these students should be excluded from consideration for teacher positions. If the state of DE wants to have a GPA standard for college and/or graduate school, then that is understandable. And if the state wants would-be teachers to pass a competency test as part of the application process for being a teacher, then that also is sensible. But why a GPA far away from the application process (high school) should matter is absurd. Moreover, it is bad for the children because it could deprive them of excellent teachers, teachers who excelled in college but who performed poorly in high school. I understand that the Markell administration supports this bill and, now get this, so does the DSEA. I don’t know yet what other measures are proposed in the bill. Some might be worthwhile. But the measure that exercises my student is draconian, punitive, snobbish, and absurd. Please contact your representative and ask them to reject this provision.

My Mea Culpa

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 27, 2013 • 4 Comments

In addition to being a contributor here at Delaware Liberal, I am also involved with the Progressive Democrats for Delaware (PDD). On Tuesday, I made a series of comments after the Marriage Equality vote, and specifically concerning the no votes from Representatives Charles Potter and Earl Jaques. When I made these comments, I left the impression that I was speaking for the PDD in its disapproval of their votes, and I mentioned that both either should or will lose their endorsements from the PDD in their next election. In case you don’t know, decisions regarding endorsements or non-endorsements are the exclusive domain of the Endorsement Committee of the PDD. So my speaking on their behalf or leaving the impression that I was speaking on their behalf regarding an action that has not yet been taken was wrong. A decision regarding any future endorsement of Earl Jaques and Charles Potter has not been made yet, and if a decision is made, it will not be made by me. So I was wrong to leave that impression.

I attempt to maintain a wall of separation between the two roles of being a liberal blogger and being involved with PDD, and this week I failed, so I apologize for that as well.