Darrell Issa yet to link Benghazi and mystery spike in sea lion deaths

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Not that he isn't working on it.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Starving sea lion pups are washing up on Southern California beaches at a rate more than five times higher than usual, and scientists are scrambling to figure out why. Since the beginning of the year, 1,293 emaciated sea lions found stranded on beaches from San Diego to Santa Barbara have been treated at seven facilities in the state, Sarah Wilkin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS THE LAW

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The Delaware Senate has just passed HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill, 12 to 9. The vote went as we expected, with Senator Hall Long deciding at the last minute to vote yes. Thank you to her. I know I and others have been tough on her, and I know her vote was not needed and so she could have skipped it or not voted, but she stood up and voted to be on the right side of history. And thank you to Senators Blevins, Bushweller, Cloutier, Henry, Townsend, Peterson, Marshall, McDowell, McBride, Poore and Sokola for your votes today. We will have your back. Senators Townsend, Marshall, Bushweller and Peterson gave amazing speeches, but I would like to clear up something for the national media, who are already running with this, but Karen Peterson has been out as gay for years. She did not break news today. But hey, who am I to ruin your story? I am told that Governor Markell is going to sign this bill right away, on the steps of the General Assembly. Here is a picture of him in the halls right now: We will have a pic of the signing in 10-12 minutes. Here is Rob Tornoe's great cartoon: And the Governor signs the bill, making the title of this post finally legally and technically accurate. How the votes broke down:

HB 75 (Marriage Equality) Senate Debate and Vote Thread

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The Senate will be gaveled into session at 2 pm, and the only thing on the agenda is HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill that passed the House on April 23 by a vote of 23 to 18. According to sources and scuttlebutt, Senator Cathy Cloutier and Senator Bob Marshall are voting yes. The only real mystery is the vote of Senator Bethany Hall Long. Those working this bill say they have 12 votes, and if the rest of the whip count stays as I display below, that would mean Hall Long is voting yes. Until it happens though, I won't believe it. Perhaps Senators Ennis or Venables will change their minds and be the 12th vote. Or perhaps Ernie Lopez of Greg Lavelle will surprise, though it is hard to see how Lopez survives politically in his party if he does vote yes. Lavelle may vote yes given his upstate district, but if he has hopes of higher office he will have to deal with his rabid bigoted Republican base, who will not take kindly to a yes vote. But all of that is academic, since, if all the Senators in the yes column stay true to their pronouncements, Marriage Equality will be the law of the land. Come inside to follow the debate.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., May 7, 2013

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Damn! I feel like Cathy Cloutier circa 2011. Gotta miss today's vote. Off the radar screen, although I'll be checking in from the road. This time, I think that Cathy Cloutier will be in the building, and that she will vote yes. In fact, I predict that both she and Bethany Hall-Long will do the right thing, which means that HB 75 will get 12 votes, and that marriage equality will become reality in Delaware. It should be a great day in Dover. Chamber and the gallery packed. Matt Denn presiding over the Senate in case he might have to cast the deciding vote. A lot of pent-up emotion. Hopefully to be followed by a joyful catharsis. Sen. Blevins has cleared the decks by scheduling HB 75, and only HB 75, on today's Senate agenda.  You all know that Delaware Liberal is the place to go for continuing coverage of this historic debate. Maybe I'll even chime in from someplace in Bumf-ck, Indiana, assuming that the internets have reached there. [Delaware Dem note: I will be setting up a Debate and Vote thread this afternoon].

QOTD — What to Do About Syria?

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This morning, I listened as NPR gave John McCain more air time to call for some type of intervention in the Syrian mess. Lindsay Graham has been screeching for more capability for someone over there to have better capacity to kill one another. Even Mitt Romney has gotten into the act to call President Obama weak over his handling of Syria. In the meantime, we have a press running all over the place certain that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, when that is far from certain:

The NRA’s Declaration Of War

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When I was growing up the NRA was all about guns.  Oh, they were political, but more along geographical lines (red state/blue state, urban/rural) than political parties.  And while we still see this today there's change in the air - and that change is being driven by the NRA. There was a time when being a gun owner was the only ideology one needed to be an NRA member.  Republican/Democrat/Independent/Liberal/Conservative didn't matter.  If you liked guns, the NRA was the group for you. But liking guns isn't enough anymore.  Today, the NRA has dropped any attempt at being a nonpartisan group of gun owners.  They have gone full Tea Party.  If you're a gun owning Dem or liberal the NRA has made it clear you're not welcome.  Of course, any sane person is no longer welcome because the NRA has finally revealed their crazy in stunning, splendid glory. Many of us have always known the crazy was there, but the NRA use to be somewhat politically savvy.  They spoke about the 2nd Amendment, protecting yourself, hunting and responsible gun ownership - they wore a mask of reasonableness.  That mask has been ripped off.

Friday Open Thread [5.3.13]

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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.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., May 2, 2013

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The question of the day: 'Why Tuesday, Why Not Today?' Why is HB 75 (Marriage Equality), which cleared the Senate Executive Committee yesterday, not being worked today? The questions, and my highly-speculative answer are herein reprinted in their entirety:
Dale: Does anyone have any insight as to why the Senate vote on HB 75 was scheduled for next Tuesday, a full week (not actually) after the committee vote?
El Somnambulo thought that it might be scheduled for the very next day. And I read on the site of the conservative DE Family Policy Council that they thought the same thing. Why put it off a week? Could this mean that the 2 “undecided” senators are not simply keeping their intentions under wraps, but instead might genuinely be undecided and need more time? Is Hall Long requesting the extra time so that she can “poll” her district, as the News Journal reported?
El Somnambulo: Good questions, Dale. Blevins knows what she’s doing here, and your speculation could well be accurate. If she thinks that they need a little room to come to grips with their decisions, then I think that’s the right thing to do. There might, repeat, MIGHT, even be an Alphonse/Gaston situation here. What if two senators are reluctant to be the ‘deciding’ vote on an issue, but would each conceivably be ‘yes’ votes if theirs was the 12th rather than the 11th vote? That way, they’d have cover that their vote in essence made no difference. Seems crazy, I know, but stranger things have happened. I know that this issue is a ‘no-brainer’ for a lot of us, but there’s lots more at play than meets the eye with some legislators. I DO know that HB 75 has a superb grassroots lobbying effort behind it, so I don’t think we’ll lose ground between now and next Tuesday. Might just gain some.
Anyone have anything to add? Keep in mind that the goal of supporters should be to help these senators get to 'yes'.

This Is Not An Accident

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BURKESVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities in southern Kentucky say a 2-year-old girl has been accidentally shot and killed by her 5-year-old brother, who was playing with a .22-caliber rifle he received as a gift. [...] White told the newspaper that the boy received the rifle made for youths last year and is used to shooting it. He said the gun was kept in a corner and the family didn’t realize a shell was left inside it. White said the shooting will be ruled accidental. (Emphasis mine)
Who, in their right mind, gives a 4 year old a gun? Who, after giving (or accepting) a gun to a flippin' 4 year old, keeps it in a flippin' corner? Who, with a functioning brain cell, would ever call this an accident?