BREAKING: Steubenville Rape Trial Verdict – Guilty

58 Comments
Via CBS:
The accuser in the rape trial of two Ohio high school football players testified Saturday as the trial neared an end that she recalled drinking at a party last summer but could not remember what had happened when she awoke the next day naked in a strange house. Testimony in the four-day nonjury trial against Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond ended after the judge heard from the 16-old West Virginia girl and others in the juvenile court case. Judge Thomas Lipps said he would announce a decision Sunday. If found delinquent — the juvenile court equivalent of guilty — the two defendants could be held in juvenile jail until they turn 21, when they would be released.
(If you click on the link above, be sure to read the comments. Steubenville isn't our only problem.) For those of you not familiar with this case, I wrote about it here.

The Polling Report [3.16.13]

5 Comments
NATIONAL--PRESIDENT--2016--Quinnipiac: Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton (D) 45, Governor Chris Christie (R) 37; Clinton (D) 50, Representative Paul Ryan (R) 38; Clinton (D) 50, Senator Marco Rubio (R) 34 With Chris Christie the only GOP candidate polled making it a race against Clinton, it really is a shame that he has as much chance of winning the Republican nomination as I do. NATIONAL--PRESIDENT--2016--Quinnipiac: Christie (R) 43, Vice President Joe Biden (D) 40; Biden (D) 45, Rubio (R) 38; Biden (D) 45, Ryan (R) 42 NATIONAL--MARRIAGE EQUALITY--Quinnipiac: Support for same-sex marriage is inching up and now stands at 47% to 43%, including 54% to 38% among Catholic voters.
Said pollster Peter Brown on the surprising and ironic finding about Catholics: "Catholic voters are leading American voters toward support for same-sex marriage. Among all voters, there is almost no gender gap, but a big age gap. Voters 18 to 34 years old support same sex marriage 62% to 30%; voters 35 to 54 years old are divided 48% to 45% and voters over 55 are opposed 50% to 39%."
And we have much more on the Pennsylvania and Michigan gubernatorial races and other Senate races inside...

The Weekly Addresses

4 Comments
The weekly addresses from President Obama and Governor Markell (who hands it off to Secretary O'Mara this week), as well as the West Wing Week video about this past week at the White House. And we also have a video of the Governor playing a charity ping pong game. I am not sure why he is shorts and a t-shirt for a ping pong game.

Empathy, or why liberals are better than conservatives.

16 Comments
There is a saying that a liberal is a conservative who has not been mugged yet, or has not paid taxes yet. You can really adapt it to whatever policy position you want. And now we liberals can modify it once more: A conservative is a liberal who has not been affected by what he opposes yet. Yes, I am talking about Senator Rob Portman and his announcement yesterday that 1) his son his gay, 2) and because his son is gay, he has changed his mind about gay marriage.

NRA Chooses Greg Lavelle and Ernie Lopez to Scuttle Criminal Background Checks.

15 Comments
Any doubts that the Delaware Republican Party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Rifle Association should now be laid to rest. Former NRA Executive Director (and State Rethug Chair) John Sigler has anointed his serial bloviator and vice-chair Sen. Greg Lavelle as the person best-suited to kill mandatory criminal background checks on firearms transactions.  With an assist from self-styled 'moderate' Sen. Ernie Lopez. Lavelle's tortured explanation as to what his newly-proposed legislation would do goes like this. According to the News-Journal quote, his bill:
"...doesn't mandate background checks. It doesn't create a registration. It allows people to make smart decisions for themselves."
Great. Because people always make smart decisions for themselves. Especially when it comes to deadly weapons that they're unloading for cash. And, if they don't, they could be in trouble once the bodies are scraped off the bloody sidewalk. Lavelle's attempt to scuttle criminal background checks would make 'it a crime to sell a firearm to someone prohibited from possessing guns'. Got that? It would be up to the seller to conduct a criminal background check on a prospective purchaser. (Or, perhaps, to look soulfully into their eyes.) Except, of course, any seller would not have access to any sort of data base. And Ernie Lopez, marching in lockstep, has proposed a bill to increase penalties for those who 'knowingly' sell firearms to someone prohibited. Even by NRA standards, this is pathetic. Without background checks, the gun sales addressed by HB 35 would be 'unaddressed' by the Lavelle and Lopez proposals. After all, under their proposals, ignorance is a deliberate defense. 'I didn't know that this guy was a three-time loser.' All righty then. Let's call this for what it is: An attempt to muddy the waters just enough to deep-six common-sense legislation. It's up to you to let your legislators know that you will not stand for this. And for you Brandywine Hundred/Greenville denizens who supported Greg Lavelle and, for that matter, Ernesto Lopez last time? They're both up for reelection in 2014.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 14, 2013

4 Comments
Ladies and gentlemen, to the barricades! Or, at least, to your phones, your e-mail, you know the drill. The Forces of Ee-vil are afoot in Leg Hall. The gun nuts, the Chamber of Commerce shills. Their goal: Stop progressive legislation from passing. For the gun nuts, it's the backgrounds check on gun purchases. For the Chamber fat-cats, it's minimum wage. I believe that there is enough legislative support to pass both bills. But it won't happen unless you contact your legislators, and either let them know that you've got their back, or that you expect them to do the right thing. The background check bill is in House committee. An outpouring of gun nuts prevented the bill from moving out of committee yesterday. So, the committee meets again, next Wednesday, starting at 11:30 a.m. until...whenever all those who wish to speak have spoken. Here's what you can and should do. Contact your own State Rep and politely tell them that you support HB 35 and ask them to do the same. The odds are that you will speak to a staffer first. These are good people. Be polite and friendly. Make sure that they've gotten the message correctly. If you wish to participate in the discussion, either directly or via correspondence, here's how....

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up: Wed., March 13, 2013

46 Comments
Delaware now has a proposal to eliminate the death penalty for capital crimes. I support it. In the past, I have been an agnostic when it came to the issue of the death penalty. But when I saw Thomas Capano, who carried out one of the most vile and grisly homicides/cover-ups in Delaware history, escape the death penalty (though not death) through legal legerdemain, my decision was made for me. The Tom Capanos of this world don't get the death penalty. Therefore, those with less influence shouldn't, either. Any death penalty statute should be administered equally, not on the basis of the (lack of) legal resources that one has at their disposal, IMHO. It's not, it never has been, and it should go. I note that police of virtually all stripes have aligned in near-unanimity in opposition. Need I remind you or them that, thanks to DNA projects all over this country, death row inhabitants are being cleared of homicide convictions, often caused by 'thin blue line' corruption and/or ineptitude? Yeah, yeah, I know, not in Delaware. Really? How can you be certain? This is a courageous stand by the sponsors. In case you haven't noticed, police are a potent political force in this state. Legislators, in general, prefer to take the path of least political resistance. They haven't done that here, and I thank them. By name: Senators Peterson, Simpson, McDowell, Bushweller, Henry, Sokola, and Townsend; Reps. Scott, Miro, Barbieri, Baumbach, Keeley, Potter, M. Smith, Williams, Kowalko, B. Short. Thank you.

What Guest Worker Programs Look Like

4 Comments
Last week, there was a surprise strike at multiple McDonald's restaurants in Central PA -- of student guest workers from Asia and Latin America who are here on J-1 visas. First, though, I'm pretty stunned that these restaurants can't find workers closer to home. It isn't as though we don't have millions of people looking for work, but I'd love to know why it is so difficult to hire American fast food workers.

Just don’t mess with the muskrat

17 Comments
The Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible" show is headed to Smyrna next week as the eatery rehab program will be filming at the Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant on U.S. 13 March 21 and 22. In two days and with only $10,000, chef Robert Irvine and his team of designers will revamp the local restaurant. At the end of the second day, the Wagon Wheel will hold a grand re-opening where they will open the doors to the public and film the service as part of the show.

Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, March 12, 2013

14 Comments
Coming off its six-week break for Joint Finance Committee, the Delaware General Assembly begins in earnest its legislative sprint to...Easter break, three weeks hence. At least, this should prove to be an action-packed three weeks--especially when it comes to the introduction of key bills. Assuming that the Attorney General's and the Governor's legal counsel are productive, we could well have the major pieces of the gun control package finalized and introduced. Marriage equality could also surface.  We'll also get a much better sense as to what budgetary issues remain to be resolved. Plus, we don't need to wait for some intriguing story lines to develop. Take today, for example. Please.  HB 10 (Keeley), which would immediately restore voting rights to convicted felons who have paid their debt to society, is scheduled for floor debate. This is the second leg of a constitutional amendment, meaning that it has already passed both houses of the General Assembly during the preceding legislative session. Should it pass this time, it will become law. I think it will. In fact, the only obstacle that could stand in the way of its passage would be  near-unanimous  opposition from House R's. With Republican Rep. Don Blakey a certain yes, I don't see it happening. And, with Senators Lavelle and Cloutier co-sponsoring the bill, the Senate looks solid as well. Much much more inside....