Monday Open Thread [12.30.13]

Monday Open Thread [12.30.13]

2013 was a brutal year for me personally, and for our nation. Tomorrow, I am going to kick this year in the ass as it heads out the door. But Andrew Sullivan, while taking note of the horror of 2013, looks on some of the bright side of the year that was. And Eugene Robinson discusses that how Obamacare, now that it is a reality that is here to stay, is dividing the Republican Party horribly.
Friday Open Thread [12.27.13]

Friday Open Thread [12.27.13]

How to Legalize Cannibis -- Please. Get this done soon -- Mark Kleinman is looking for some good discussion in how to do it well:
The initiative process may be the only way of accomplishing legalization in some states, but the ordinary process of legislation, where feasible, is likely to yield better outcomes. The bulk of the revenue of a legal cannabis industry, like the bulk of the revenue of the beer industry, will come from people with substance abuse disorder. Thus the commercial interest will be opposed to the public interest in minimizing the growth of the clinically impaired population. In the face of the lobbying power of the cannabis industry, it will be difficult to maintain high taxes or tight regulation. A state-monopoly system at retail might be preferable. The doctrine of “commercial free speech” makes the regulatory problem harder; one advantage of a state monopoly would be better consumer information. But the state lotteries demonstrate that a revenue-driven state monopoly can be just as ruthless as any private enterprise.
Thursday Open Thread [12.26.13]

Thursday Open Thread [12.26.13]

Steve Benen says that even though 2013 was a bad year for President Obama, it is not, as some pundits describe it, the worst year EVAH!!!!! in all history for any human being alive or dead. Indeed, the President did accomplish some important things this past year...
Christmas Eve Open Thread [12.24.13]

Christmas Eve Open Thread [12.24.13]

Since it is Christmas Eve, I thought I would address a move Pope Francis made last week. During the 2004 election, conservative Catholics were strutting around like they owned the religion, and owned the country. They were emboldened by the socially conservative bent of President Bush and the Republican Congress. Remember, this was a Congress that came out of recess to solely address, debate and vote on the Terri Schiavo case. In the run up to the 2004 election, Boston Cardinal Raymond Burke announced that Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry was not welcome to receive communion in any church in his diocese. Well, Pope Francis removed Cardinal Burke from the Congreation of Bishops, which has great influence on finding the future leaders of the church. And it would seem that Burke's public statements about denying communion are the reason why. Here is Pope Francis' thoughts on the openness of the Church in his Evangelii Gaudium....
Festivus Open Thread [12.23.13]

Festivus Open Thread [12.23.13]

Governor Jack Markell is Kavip's Delawarean of the Year. He did some good things, like this:
He proposed and pushed through requiring background checks for all gun sales. He proposed and was able to get mandated reporting of lost or stolen firearms. He signed the Gay Marriage Bill. He signed transgender equality into law.
But he also did some inexplicable things, for a Democrat:
He tried to give away the Port of Wilmington to an oil company. He killed Minimum Wage in 2013. He rammed through SB51 which permanently weakens teacher education programs. He created an Illegal Star Chamber to draw up HB 165 charter school beneficial legislation, in secret without public input. He rammed through HG 165 which gives private for profit charter schools access to public school capital financing. He tried to lower taxes for the top 1%. And not for anyone else.

Saturday Open Thread [12.21.13]

As pointed out in the open thread last night, the Deputy State Treasurer has been denied her request to return to a Merit job following her medical leave and resignation from the Department of the Treasury. So we have an employee of the Treasury who resigned her office, but took a medical leave to deal with an unnamed situation, who is back in the office now (doing what?) and is now told by OMB that she will not be allowed to return to the merit system. And of course, Chip Flowers is still pointing fingers (at the OMB) and is now threatening them:
“I am very concerned that the OMB continues to publicly talk about personnel matters, which clearly violates the state’s privacy and confidentiality policies,” Flowers said. “While I recognize that Director Visalli and the staff of OMB, if the state gets sued, would not have to write a personal check, I think it’s egregious they’re willing to put taxpayers on the hook for a large lawsuit just to cover their you-know-whats in public.”
Thursday Open Thread [12.19.13]

Thursday Open Thread [12.19.13]

Once again, it seems our oh so Constitutional Conservatives need a lesson on what the First Amendment does and does not protect. For the idiots out there who like to claim they love the Constitution but have no understanding of what is in it since they are dumb as rocks, here is a quick refresher course: The First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Quick quiz. Who is prohibited from taking action that abridges the freedom of speech? Is it is me, Delaware Dem? Is it a television network? Is it all private persons? Does the Amendment say that a citizen of the United States is allowed to say whatever he wants whenever he wants where ever he wants and then suffer absolutely no consequences for said speech? No. It only says that Congress, meaning thus the Federal Government (and State and local Governments through the application of the 14th Amendment), is prohibited from passing laws the punish free speech. Your private employer can punish you all he or it wants. Yes, you can be fired for expressing your opinions. And it is all perfectly constitutional.
Wednesday Open Thread [12.18.13]

Wednesday Open Thread [12.18.13]

A new poll from the ABC News and the Washington Post shows that approval of Obamacare has rebounded from the worse of the flawed rollout and broken website media hysteria in late October and November. Now that the website is working, the approval numbers are back to where they were before:
46 percent of Americans support it, with 49 percent opposed. Opposition is down from a record 57 percent last month amid the new system’s troubled rollout.
Greg Sargent dives deeper into these new numbers...

Sunday Open Thread [12.15.13]

Third Way stalwarts Tom Carper and Chris Coons sniff at the ongoing tug-of-war between Progressive groups and the Third Way. While Senator Warren pushes back on the Third Way bamboozlement, we have Carper and Coons responding thusly:
Carper and Coons dismissed the flap, with Coons calling it a “tempest in a teapot.” “This does not strike me as the kind of thing that deserves the sort of attention I understand it’s getting,” Coons said. Carper agreed. “There’s a lot going on that I am focused on,” he said. “This is not one of them.”

Saturday Open Thread [12.14.13]

One year ago today, 26 children and their teachers were gunned down in their school in Newton, CT. There are quiet memorials going on all over the country -- the most important one probably being remembering to hug your kids tight today. Especially since there have been 20 school shootings in the US since Newtown and it is apparent that we (not sure if that includes the shooting in Colorado yesterday -- two kids wounded and the shooter killed himself), as a nation, are just fine with the fact that our kids may not return after a school day because of more gun violence. I hope everyone is thinking about all of the families whose children did not get a chance to grow up today.
Friday Open Thread [12.13.13]

Friday Open Thread [12.13.13]

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), says the health insurance exchanges will work, and will work well. Well, if that is case, that means Coburn believes that the exchanges will both lower the costs of health insurance so that it is affordable, while at the same time insuring the uninsured. So why he is against it? How can you be against something that both lowers the cost of health insurance and covers the uninsured? Could it be that you oppose it because you think health insurance is a privilege for only those who can afford it?

Thursday Open Thread [12.12.13]

Jon Stewart on .. The Handshake. First Read: "But here's probably the best way to view it: Would you greet (or shake hands with) an estranged family member at a memorial service for a loved one? Or do you go out of your way to snub that person? In other words, is that day about you and your conflict? Or about that loved one who's being memorialized lying in a casket? We know the answer from the GOP, who are all narcissistic mental cases deserving of institutionalization.