Open Thread – NJ Editorial chides lawmakers on stupid antitax stance

The Delaware Democratic Party's "all tax increases are evil" stance is stupid on its face. John Carney is an idiot to begin his term by removing a discussion of common sense tax reform from the mix of possibilities, instead focusing 100% of his energies on cutting services. We need to put something together to help push Rep. John Kowalko's common sense tax recommendations, it is nice to see the NJ waking up to that fact:

The November 25th Thread

Looks like we didn't get one up, so here we go: The Russians tried to re-create their Cold War propaganda machine on the internet this election season. A thing that…
If I Could Have A Moment Of Your Time…

If I Could Have A Moment Of Your Time…

I canvassed with Eugene this past fall and was impressed with his grasp of the issues and his solutions. I'm impressed by the broad coalition of volunteers and staff he has been surrounded himself with -- people who are energizing their networks and creating one of the most professionally run campaigns I've ever seen in the city. It is gratifying to see (and work with!) younger people energized by stepping up to do the work of making sure that Wilmington is a great place for them to live in and work in. The diversity and outreach in this campaign is awe-inspiring. Eugene is campaigning across the entire city, in every community. That's refreshing and smart. Far too often candidates for mayor focus solely on certain communities. Even worse, a few pit communities against each other by employing fear and the familiar "tough on crime" stance, dividing the city into "us and them". It's also no secret that campaigns need contributions. It's also also no secret that our city needs a new direction and vision. I believe the person capable of setting us on a new path is Eugene Young. So I'm calling on (really, asking) the DL statewide community (because you guys are awesome!) to contribute to Eugene's campaign. In order to keep track of our awesomeness please add .16 to your contribution. (You know... 25.16)
Saturday Open Thread [6.27.15]

Saturday Open Thread [6.27.15]

Seriously? Multiple choice Mitt is reported by the WaPo to be gathering his team to get into the Presidential race for 2016.
In the conversations, Romney said he is intent on running to the right of Bush, who also is working vigorously to court donors and other party establishment figures for a 2016 bid. Romney has tried to assure conservatives that he shares their views on immigration and tax policy — and that should he enter the race, he will not forsake party orthodoxy.
To the RIGHT of Jeb Bush. As if that part of the Clown Car isn't already overflowing.
Friday Open Thread [6.26.15]

Friday Open Thread [6.26.15]

President Obama delivered an emotional and powerful eulogy at the funeral service for Reverend Clementa Pinckney this afternoon. If you haven't had the chance to see this magnificent and compassionate eulogy, sit down and see it now and see it until the end:
Thursday Open Thread [5.28.15]

Thursday Open Thread [5.28.15]

Finally, someone starts talking some sense about Delaware's tax rates. Seriously, it makes no sense to raise the taxes of the people who did not gain much during the recovery (the plan to eliminate deductions) -- taxes should be raised on the folks who did get the money:
Delaware's personal income tax is the largest source of state revenue, generating $1.2 billion this year - enough to fund almost 32 percent of total state government operations. Delaware's top income tax rate of 6.6 percent is charged on incomes $60,000 and above. Some lawmakers now say adding a tax bracket for wealthier Delawareans could help solve the state's budget problems, while more fairly spreading the state's income tax burden.
Thursday (mini) Open Thread [5.7.15]

Thursday (mini) Open Thread [5.7.15]

Pandering, not baseball, has always been Smyrna's pastime. It is good to see Lumpy is keeping the tradition alive.
Delaware lawmakers score political points by offering free fishing tags to firefighters and discounted annual park fees to seniors. But those giveaways cost Delaware's parks system more than $750,000 in uncollected revenue each year, according to state figures. Now lawmakers have introduced new legislation that would expand those freebies, offering surf fishing tags at no cost to active members of ladies auxiliary crews at Delaware volunteer fire companies.
Saturday Open Thread [5.2.15]

Saturday Open Thread [5.2.15]

Pope Francis is set to release his first Papal Encyclical and it will be on climate change. The Pope is recognizing that climate change is real, it is caused by humans and it needs to be addressed now. Conservatives are losing their minds -- this Pope has immense moral credibility -- and the Heartland Institute is so upset that they are trying to get a meeting with the Pope to make him an offer he can't refuse, presumably. Seriously, the hubris of these people to think that a man with the world's greatest minds at his fingertips could find the Heartland Institute's propaganda compelling. This Pope is not a clueless American conservative.
(Late) Friday Open Thread [5.1.15]

(Late) Friday Open Thread [5.1.15]

And what the heck is going on in Rehoboth Beach? Dogfish Head Brewing and Eats has plans to revitalize their space and the zoning board in Rehoboth turned down their variance. Because they would invite too many people to that part of downtown Rehoboth, even though the plans call for fewer restaurant seats than they have now. And one of the Zoning Board members invited Dogfish Head to move to another town. That's some economic development plan, right there.

Monday Open Thread [10.13.14]

This ought to be the talk of everyone today -- with the Texas Ebola problem, we are seeing how the US Public Health system has been deliberately broken: That chart is from a great piece in the Scientific American, showing how Public Health spending has been on the decline. The author, Judy Stone, provides some context for how Public Health considerations have been undermined over the past few years. Read the entire thing, then take a look at some of the material she provides in the links at the end of the article: