An elective class? Yeah, I am not sure I have a problem with that.

An elective class? Yeah, I am not sure I have a problem with that.

59 Comments
So tonight the Cape Henlopen School Board will vote on a proposal to offer a secular and elective high school class examining the Bible’s role in society and history. And if the class is elective, and it is taught from a historical and secular perspective rather than religious or spiritual, I have no problem personally or constitutionally with that, and the Board should go ahead and vote for the class. Indeed, as suggested in the News Journal article on this issue today, they should also offer a comparitive religions class that looks at more religions than just Christianity. And I must say, I am impressed by the quotes and the considerations of the board members quoted in the News Journal article. Looks like a part of Sussex County has grown up when it comes to church and state and schools.
The Lottery and Gaming Study Commission = The Fix Is In to Bail Out Casinos

The Lottery and Gaming Study Commission = The Fix Is In to Bail Out Casinos

12 Comments
This study commission -- created when the GA and the Governor decided to help improve the balance sheets of our local casinos who are being hurt by rising costs (who isn't, really?) and by a failed competitive stance in a market where we are surrounded by a glut of gaming options. This Commission met for the first time on Tuesday -- and tell me if you can spot why I think the fix is in:
President Obama Speaks at Knox College

President Obama Speaks at Knox College

14 Comments
President Obama is making a series of speeches on the economy -- focusing on an economic vision for supporting and expanding the middle class. There will be other campaign-like speeches advertised to try to change the conversation. What I'm hoping is that these speeches serve as a launching point to start the 2014 effort to remind people that it isn't "Washington" that is the problem -- it is the GOP in Washington who have fought against middle class interests (while they aren't completely ignoring them) every step of the way. The President rallied with the OFA folks on Monday (and who heard about this? rally that includes Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the President and where is the news coverage?), and this is what gives me (small) hope:
The Open Thread for Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Open Thread for Wednesday, July 24, 2013

21 Comments
The Delaware ADA is holding two events on Friday, July 26, up and down the state. At 11:45 am down at Bethany Blues in Lewes, and at 5:30 pm at the Home Grown Cafe in Newark, the Delaware ADA is having Matt Gardner, the Executive Director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, speak about what taxes DuPont does and does not pay on the federal and state levels, as well as the how and why behind those numbers. In Lewes, there will be a luncheon, and in Newark, there will be a Happy Hour.

Tuesday Open Thread [7.23.13]

5 Comments
Michael Mann is one of the most famous and most referenced scientists on Climate Change. He is the creator of the famous Hockey Stick graph, a graph that the writers at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the National Review used to specifically denigrate by accusing Penn State (at the time wrapped up in the child-abuse coverup business) of covering up research fraud by Dr. Mann. Mann filed a defamation lawsuit against them both and.....

Late Night Video — The Anniversary of the Aurora Shooting

One year ago on 20 July 2012, 12 people were killed and 70 injured by shooter James Eagan Holmes at the Cinemark Cinema in Aurora, Colorado. The Mayors Against Illegal Guns group put together this ad that's been airing Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C. since Saturday. This is a pretty powerful way to ask why we haven't made background checks more comprehensive. This is approx. 1 minute long.
Carper and Coons Give a Big Thumbs Up to TBTF

Carper and Coons Give a Big Thumbs Up to TBTF

20 Comments
And a big thumbs up to letting banks put the money in deposit accounts in the same kind of risky bets that their investment accounts are in. I can't say that I'm too surprised at this -- banks do own the road here -- but I'm still appalled at this position. It is a position that is ONLY good for banks -- the rest of us with deposit accounts (and who pay taxes) are definitely the losers here. Because the point of a Glass-Steagall 2 is to separate the deposit accounts (the only part of the banking business explicitly guaranteed by the feds), from the investment business (which is not insured). The point of Glass-Steagall 2 is to dismantle one more part of the TBTF scheme -- specifically the part where banks get to privatize their profits and get to socialize their losses. Until taxpayers get a say in the risks (and get a cut of the benefits) of the TBTF business, taxpayers should not backstop what the banks do here.

Monday Open Thread [7.22.13]

1 Comment
You've probably heard that Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight are leaving the NYT and going to ESPN/ABC. This deal will give him a chance to expand his franchise, it seems, but I just care about the political modeling, really. I'll maintain a subscription to the NYT for his work, but won't be getting cable to keep up with it, so do hope that the website is still the centerpiece of his work. TPM quotes Political (of all people) on why Nate left: