Friday Open Thread [3.22.13]

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It seems that the Israeli left and center is really really pleased, even excited, but President Obama's speech yesterday. From Haaretz:
Sometimes it takes someone from the outside, like U.S. President Barack Obama, to show up and tell it like it is to the Israelis: You've got a wonderful country, you're wise and just, you suffered and you deserve a state, and as long as the United States exists you'll never stand alone – but for God's sake, enough! Stop the settlements, stop the occupation, stop the deportations, stop the ongoing abuse of the Palestinians, and stop the settlers' violence. Enough.

The most hilarious untold story of the GOP primaries – The Gingrich/Santorum Unity Ticket

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As Mitt Romney struggled in the weeks leading up to the Michigan primary, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum nearly agreed to form a joint “Unity Ticket” to consolidate conservative support and topple Romney. “We were close,” former Representative Bob Walker, a Gingrich ally, says. But the negotiations collapsed in acrimony because Gingrich and Santorum could not agree on who would get to be president.

Thursday Open Thread [3.21.13]

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So Sen. Saxby Chambliss has to become gay apparently before he'll support marriage equality. Does he also have to become black to support equal rights for African Americans? Does he need to get a sex change before he can respect women?

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 21, 2013

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Wow, where to start? Action everywhere. Here is today's session activity report (it's all here). We'll start with gun control. HB 35 (Longhurst) cleared the House Judiciary Committee by a 7-4 margin. Democrat Trey Paradee(!) voted against it. Why? It's the slippery slope to gun registration and Big Brother argument. From today's News-Journal:
Many opponents of the background check proposal at Wednesday's hearing said the private-sale-record-keeping provision is a precursor to government gun registration, which could lead to firearms confiscations.
Damn! Where were these folks when what remained of our civil liberties were flushed down the drain in the name of 'homeland security'? Anyway, it looks like an amendment will address this issue, and I hope and expect that Paradee will vote 'yes' when the bill comes to a vote. There no doubt will be other amendments, and some will likely be 'killer' (pardon the expression) amendments. Stay vigilant, my friends.

The Polling Report [3.20.13]

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Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) approval rating has plummeted since the November election to 35% approval and 54% disapproval. This is a pretty shocking polling collapse from last August, when his approval rate was 50% to 32%. I guess the public read his budget. I guess the American people don't want his budget. So perhaps Paul Ryan can stop saying the American people want his budget. Yeah, asking a Republican to stop lying is like asking a bird to stop flying.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Wed., March 20, 2013

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Doesn't look like anything got done on Tuesday. Here is the session activity report. Until further notice, consider it a misnomer. Two huge committee hearings today. We've already talked about the continuation of the hearing on HB 35, which would mandate criminal background checks for almost all gun purchases in Delaware. Starts at 11:30 am in the House Chamber. The Senate is wasting no time in taking up the death penalty repeal legislation. The Senate Executive Committee will consider SB 19 in the Senate Chamber beginning at 1 pm. And here's something that's pretty cool: Sen. Bryan Townsend, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, will be live tweeting during the hearing. His twitter handle is @BryanTownsendDE, and he will be tweeting with the hashtag #DErepeal. I don't know what any of that means, but I'm sure virtually everyone else reading this does. (Update from DD: I added the links to Senator Townsend's twitter page and the DERepeal hashtag for those of us who use Twitter. El Som, your training begins this Saturday. ;) )

BREAKING: Superior Court Rules that Jeff Christopher Is Not a Police Officer

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Here is the key language from the decision:
To summarize, Delaware’s constitution recognizes the office of sheriff but does not enumerate any specific power or authority held by the office. The Court concludes that the common law authority and responsibilities of the Sheriff are subject to modification and restriction by the legislature. The 2012 legislation extinguishing the Sheriff’s law enforcement powers is valid. This Court declares and holds that a sheriff in Delaware shall not be involved in law enforcement and shall not act in any capacity as a police officer or peace officer. This decision moots the Sheriff’s complaints that the County has not properly funded his office and attempts to meddle in his business. IT IS SO ORDERED.

The Last Letter

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I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.

Ten Years Ago Today

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Ten years ago today, President George W. Bush commenced the U.S. invasion of Iraq, to "disarm" the country, "free its people," and transform it into a "united, stable and free country," all the while knowing that his sole basis for justifying the war (that Iraq had WMD) was a complete and total lie. It seems quite appropriate that the Iraqis celebrated this anniversary today with a dozen car bombs that killed 50 people. Yea, Freedom!

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 19, 2013

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Go ahead. Pick a hot-button issue. Any hot-button issue. This year's General Assembly is considering it. Can't remember this many controversial issues under consideration. Gun control? Check. Gay marriage? Check. Death penalty? Check. Minimum wage? Check. I'm not sure if there's enough time/political capital to go around. So. Please allow me to prioritize. To me, there are no excuses for the Delaware General Assembly not passing gun control and minimum wage legislation this year. The votes are there for minimum wage. Only the Governor's (a) unwillingness to get on board, and/or (b) the Governor's opposition to minimum wage stand in the way. Last year, it was (b), and friendly house leadership buried the bill in an unfriendly House committee. This year, the Governor has stated that he's excited about the debate (Truthometer says? BZZZT), but won't take a position. Only with Jack Markell could that be considered as progress. Let's be practical here. Markell's best chance to stop the bill, and it's not good, is in the Senate. But, the Senate voted for minimum wage last year and, other than Sen. Venables, I think it's unlikely that any other D's will vote no. The margin of support for minimum wage is even larger in the House, so Markell's only chance there is to get the bill buried in committee.

AZ Job cuts demonstrate the weakness of conventional “economic development”

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It sucks that AZ is leaving. And it is probably too tender right now for "lessons learned," but here it goes... You can look like a hero for a few years by throwing a bunch of money at a large corporation to get them to locate in Delaware, as Tom Carper did with AstraZeneca. Or you can be more like Portland and Seattle and do the harder work of trying to invest in building infrastructure for new ventures and make the public investments in of quality of life factors that entrepreneurs look for when building companies. Both methods cost money, but I think the Seattle model beats the shit out of the Tom Carper model.