Delaware Liberal

So we have news this morning that, allegedly, Vice President Biden and the Turtle leader, Senate Minority Leader Mitch "I'm going to lose to Ashley Judd" McConnell have made some alleged and mysterious progress overnight in their last second talks to reach some kind of deal to avert falling off the fiscal cliff.

Sources close to the talks said a deal is now more likely will come together but cautioned that obstacles remain, including how Speaker John Boehner and House Republican leaders react to any tentative agreement. “The Leader and the VP continued their discussion late into the evening and will continue to work toward a solution. More info as it becomes available,” a McConnell spokesman said.

I am cynical, and I am pretty convinced a deal is impossible, and thus this is nothing but further political kabuki theatre so that McConnell can later blame the breakdown on Biden and Obama, or Senate Dems. The reason why I say that is that because a raise in tax rates on the wealthy is the line in the sand and a dealbreaker for both sides. For the Dems, a deal must include it. And for the Rethugs, a deal cannot include it. There is no getting around that central fact. The Republicans have proved time and again that they will continue to fellate the rich and billionaires at the expense of the rest of us until the end of time. So what is going to happen tomorrow?

The News Journal has a poll listing the following as the most important events in 2012, and you are to choose between them. Hurricane Sandy is an obvious choice, though its affects on Delaware were most decidedly not as severe as on New Jersey and New York. But some of the choices reveal that 1) either it was a slow slow news year, or 2) the News Journal has actually cut so many reporting jobs that they do not know what is going on in their state anymore. Ashley Biden's wedding? Are they serious? I was unaware it happened until just now. A Dewey Beach murder? The rest are short lived controversies or stories that don't really give rise to STORY OF THE YEAR status. Out of them, I suppose the whole disgusting and evil Eric Bodenweiser saga has to be the winner, but I would say the story of the year is the Demise of Tony Deluca and the Rise of Bryan Townsend. But alas, it is not a choice. Make sure to vote in our poll.

The Death Penalty Information Center recently released its year-end report. It revealed that Delaware was one of only 9 states that carried out an execution in 2012. In fact, in the last 35 years, Delaware is garnering a reputation of being the Texas of the East Coast. We rank third nationwide over those 35 years in executions per capita. It's time Delaware had this discussion, and I highly endorse the efforts of the Delaware Repeal Project, an organization seeking to end the death penalty in Delaware. Below please find their press release regarding the Death Penalty Information Center's report, and if you think it is time for Delaware to end the death penalty, sign the their petition.