Monday Open Thread [2.10.14]

23 Comments
Dan Balz: "House Republicans' latest revolt against immigration reform spells potential trouble for the party's 2016 presidential candidates. The last thing the GOP needs in 2016 is another primary season marked by debate and dissension over the fraught issue. [..] The party's handling of immigration-reform legislation since President Obama won reelection with 71 percent of the Hispanic vote reprises a decades-long pattern that has weakened the GOP in the competition for Hispanic votes. On the one hand, there is the recognition that the party needs to do more to attract Hispanic votes. On the other, there are repeated actions, both individual and collective, that send the opposite signal." Republicans shooting themselves in the foot, the calf, the lower leg, and the thigh is becoming a theme. Here is an excerpt from a piece about how the right wing is going to elect President Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.
Vicmead Cancelled – DEGOP more lost at sea than that fisherman who washed up in the Marshall Islands

Vicmead Cancelled – DEGOP more lost at sea than that fisherman who washed up in the Marshall Islands

16 Comments
Charlie Copeland really couldn't stand the idea of raising a glass of champagne and toasting the candidacy of Rose Izzo. I don't blame him. Why give third tier R's your honestly inherited money so they can blow it on rent? The nerve of these people.... But seriously folks, Celia is in love with the complete clusterfuckitude of the DEGOP (after the way they treated the sainted Michael Castle, they deserve 30... no 300 years in the wilderness.)
What is the big deal?

What is the big deal?

12 Comments
For my generation (Gen X), and the generations younger than mine, this whole gay thing is the largest shrug of the shoulder you will ever see. The vast majority of us do not care if someone is gay. Further, the vast majority of us do not possess the stereotypes of 'what being gay means.' By and large, we do care if someone is discriminating against another on the basis of being gay, which is why I still have hope for the future once our younger generations take power and the older bigoted generations die. However, listening to both Angelo Cataldi and some of his older callers on 94WIP's Morning Show this morning was a wake up call for me and perhaps other of the younger generations, because the stereotypes are still there, and the bigotry is still there.

Sunday Open Thread [2.9.14]

5 Comments
VP Joe Biden tells CNN that he'll make a firm decision about running for President Summer 2015:
Vice President Joe Biden joked this week that being able to drive his Corvette – is one good reason not to run. But, when asked to give another good reason not to run, Biden responded simply. “I can’t.” “There may be reasons I don't run, but there's no obvious reason for me why I think I should not run,” he said in the interview with Kate Bolduan on CNN’s “New Day.” Biden went on to say he would make a decision “realistically, a year this summer.”
Is it me, or is this a little late? Realistically, there ought to be operations need to get stood up in Iowa and NH right around then right?
Delaware Democratic Party: Is Anybody Home?

Delaware Democratic Party: Is Anybody Home?

37 Comments
Coming up on my first year in Delaware, I've periodically visited the DelDems website and Facebook page. I've been looking for signs of life. I've called the Executive Director, who now appears to be gone, trying to get an appointment to learn what his going on, and come up with what we called in Texas, a dry hole. I've made fairly desperate attempts to contact Ward leadership to learn of meeting schedules and contacts. Nothing. Nada.

Saturday Open Thread [2.8.14]

In a bit of good news for freedom of speech, Beau Biden's office has withdrawn its subpoena to find out who Peaceful Rioters for Wilmington, Delaware is. The relevant bit:
“They decided it wasn’t essential to the investigation and that’s a good thing,’’ MacRae said. “They have to be very discriminatory when they seek private information like that.’’ Joseph S. Grubb, the chief New Castle County prosecutor, said Biden’s top supervisors decided this week to withdraw the subpoena because the information would not further the criminal case – not because of criticism or opposition. “The investigation kind of took a turn,’’ Grubb said. “It’s proven less likely there’s a relevant connection’’ between the creators of Peaceful Rioters and the Hockessin-area missives about top county officials.
Translation: We got caught in a fishing expedition and we're trying to put a good face on our backing out of this strategy.
The Olympics Suck

The Olympics Suck

25 Comments
I don't want this to sound like a "things were great when I was a kid, and now they suck" post, but the Olympics were great when I was a kid and now they suck. Seriously. The Olympics used to be awesome. It was Jim McKay's 'Wide World of Sports" on the steroids. Literally (Yes, I'm looking at you East Germany.) They showed all the sports including biathlon. Not because it looked like an American might medal in biathlon, but because when else were yo going to be able to see biathlon? Now its all skating and snowboarding. They'll cut away to bobsled in order to set up a Lola Jones puff piece, but that's about it. Back in the day, it was amateurs who did it for the love of the sport, (Do you believe in miracles?!?). Now it is millionaire snowboarders making pretend snowboarding is a sport while they drink Mountain Dew on the medal stand to fulfill the terms of their endorsement contracts. (Do you believe in cross-promotions?!?)
I wonder if Chris Coons thinks Jamie Dimon deserves a raise, or to be in jail?

I wonder if Chris Coons thinks Jamie Dimon deserves a raise, or to be in jail?

Sentor Coons, this is what a Senator sounds like:
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said today at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that JPMorgan chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon’s 74% pay raise to $20 million for the year “raises questions about whether our enforcement strategy is working or if it’s so bad that it makes banks more likely to break the law.” His bank paid over $20 billion in fines and compensation to homeowners this year to settle regulatory actions and lawsuits. The hearing on data security and financial stability brought four senior financial regulators and one senior Treasury official in front of the committee and provided a forum for yet another strong critique by the populist Massachusetts senator of what she sees as fundamentally weak regulation of the country’s largest banks. In particular, she once again called for more criminal cases that could result in jail time — as opposed to the enforcement actions and civil cases that can be brought by the regulators Warren was criticizing.

Friday Open Thread [2.7.14]

3 Comments
The American Nazi Party had more than 4,000 followers on Twitter, and at least two of were influential conservative and Republican organizations (I don't call them 'think tanks' because thinking is the last thing that occurs there): The Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Yesterday, after being discovered, they quickly unfollowed the Nazis and apologized. But, why where they following the Nazis in the first place? Trying to find new ideas?