Late Night Video — Out of Sight, Out of Mind

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This isn't a video tonight, you'll have to click on the picture below to see the interactive graphic that shows monthly the casualties from US drone strikes. This is a sobering picture (even if a good chunk of their data (the Other category) isn't well defined. It is also a very well-done infographic:

The Current Situation in Iraq is George Bush’s fault. Period.

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To be Republican is to loud and wrong and loudly wrong whenever possible. The noise is so wrong and so loud and kept up for so long that weak minded people (the national media for example) sometimes mistake the persistence for legitimacy. Volume for validity. So if you hear one of your liberal minded friends fall prey to to thinking that Obama "has his share of blame" for Iraq - quickly correct them. Bush enabled the current Sunni power in Iraq by invading Iraq under false pretenses, and with no plan for the occupation. Bush elevated Osama bin Laden and Bin Laden's dreams to legitimacy. Bush removed Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden's key enemy in the region and shattered Iraq’s tenuous factional stability. And, Bush bequeathed military and political power to radicalized Sunni's that would have been unthinkable prior to our handing over arms by the crate load, and tens of millions of dollars for "rebuilding" that was delivered in duffel bags off the back of trucks.

Monday Open Thread [6.16.14]

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Andrew Sullivan believes we, the United States, are in a Cold Civil War, and have been for some time, after watching the alternative reality that is presented on Fox News as news. He points out that now, even inter-marriage between the ideologies of liberal and conservative is frowned upon more and more.
Three-out-of-ten (30%) consistent conservatives say they would be unhappy if an immediate family member married a Democrat and about a quarter (23%) of across-the-board liberals say the same about the prospect of a Republican in-law.
But two of his commenters aren't concerned. Why? Because of the age of the average Fox News Viewer.
Bomb Iraq? Why?

Bomb Iraq? Why?

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Can anyone give me one rational reason why we would even consider launching a bombing/missile/drone attack on so called Iraq militants? No, I mean a really rational reason?
New Jersey — Where Corporate Subsidies Aren’t Improving the Economy

New Jersey — Where Corporate Subsidies Aren’t Improving the Economy

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Interesting. A NJ think tank -- New Jersey Policy Perspective -- has a report out the shows that while subsidies to NJ businesses have surged under Governor Christie's administration (subsidies that are billed as economy boosting), NJ's economy has remained pretty sluggish. According to this report, $4bn worth of subsidies had been awarded to businesses in the past four and a half years by state authorities under Christie – more than three times the $1.2bn in subsidies that were given out in the prior 10 years. Got that? That's $4 billion dollars worth of corporate subsides for this result:
Sunday Open Thread [6.15.14]

Sunday Open Thread [6.15.14]

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This Sunday's NJ has a great series on the heroin problem in Delaware which is the perfect study in how the community most affected by an addiction changes the terms of the discussion of that drug. I read that series (and I don't have a critique of it) and wondered all the way through how this would be addressed if they were talking about crack cocaine. The thing that is important to know is that our drug problem -- all of them -- is primarily a public health problem and we should be working at this level of sympathy and concern for community for all drug problems, not just heroin.
Delaware Political Weekly: June 7-13, 2014

Delaware Political Weekly: June 7-13, 2014

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2. Chip Flowers Creates Yet Another Issue For Himself So, let’s see if I’ve got this straight. In order to ‘save the state money’, Delaware’s Most Ethical State Employee has cut deals with seven banks, all of whom manage state $$’s, to pay for his travel expenses and those of his staff. $5K per bank, times 7. $35,000 in travel expenses. Which is a lot of travel expenses. I would call this extortion were Flowers not so ethical. He, of course, is once again changing the subject. This issue isn’t/wasn’t that he traveled, it is/was that he was unable to account for how much he spent and who paid for it. If a treasurer can’t account for his own expenses, how can he account for the state’s finances? 3. I’m Not Loving Sean Barney’s Campaign I got an e-blast from him yesterday. He’s been endorsed by a buncha lawyers. I like some of those lawyers. I don’t give two bleeps that they’ve endorsed him. He used some of the same boilerplate that I can’t stand when it comes to our Corporate Bar: Our legal community in Delaware inspires trust and confidence the world over because of its reputation for upholding the highest standards of professional responsibility. Moreover, Delaware’s bar is exceptional in the manner in which it pairs the highest expectations of competence with the highest expectations of collegiality. Computer-generated boilerplate. I have people telling me on the QT that Sean Barney is really one of us. As in progressive. But he is running a risk-averse campaign where all we learn about him is about his military service, his high school schools initiative, and the fact that he’s been endorsed by a lot of the usual suspects. Haven’t even heard a dog-whistle from him to create any enthusiasm.