Delaware Liberal

Really, what Discover is doing here is a small scale repeat of what the Republicans did during the debt ceiling crisis of their own making. Discover is took a hostage, and demanded money or else it would shoot that hostage. And the hostage was 900 Delaware jobs. I guess I should be angry at Levin and Markell for agreeing to the ransom, but at some point, when do we rise up with pitch forks and slay the evil corporations?

Our good friends down in Sussex County have been reciting the Lord's Prayer at council meetings, for some time apparently, as it is now referred as a long standing tradition. So last month, four Sussex residents, supported by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, filed suit in Federal District Court to end the practice. This week, the County filed a Motion to Dismiss the case, arguing that the recitation of a Christian prayer does not promote Christianity over other religions. Now that's some good bull....

Even I think that title's horrible. Yes, I groaned while typing it. But Governor Markell reports that he has signed an agreement in Chile that will bring Chilean fruit to the Port of Wilmington through 2014, a deal that will create jobs in Delaware.

Tom Noyes, the man behind Tommywonk, an expert in the filed of alternative and renewable energy, is leaving the blogging world for a job with the State of Delaware "in the area of renewable energy." I hear he will be Governor Markell's top energy advisor, but Mr. Noyes is more circumspect in his announcement this afternoon.

You should see Twitter right now. It is brutal, and hilarious, at the same time. This is one of those huge major gaffes that's simultaneously partly true, partly funny, and totally devastating. And the Romney campaign is so tone deaf that it just defended the line by saying "Do folks think corporations are buildings?" It reminds me of Kerry's "I voted for it before I voted against it." It reminds of Dean's scream. Gingrich's line of credit at Tiffany's. Bush, Sr.'s amazement at the use of the bar code scanner and then not knowing the price of milk. A gaffe so simple yet so memorable.

Mitt Romney just told an Iowa crowd: "Corporations are people, my friends." There is video. And it will be a killer campaign ad. Meanwhile, Obama leads all comers, including the mysterious generic Republican.

Talk about your local, sometimes non-political news stories here, or talk about the political stories we aren't talking about... yet.

A Message from Cindi Saadi, Case Manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sussex County, Delaware:

One of our commentators thinks we are behind the interesting cyber vandalism on the Amazon page for Christine O'Donnell's new book, but I swear, we had nothing to do this. Remember, Christine O'Donnell is a national joke, not just a local one.

We read Celia Cohen because she is the canary in a gold mine. Like a Seven of Nine liberated from the Borg, but still has a direct link to the hive mind. Actually, considering she is sponsored by Pete DuPont and all his Chateau Republican friends, she is really none of those things, rather she is a bought and paid for spokesman for the Castle blue bloods that formerly ran the Delaware Republican Party. So it is interesting that her new target is Terry Spence.

My biggest complaint about Delaware is the lack of online district maps. The General Assembly website tries but they post these almost unreadable PDF monstrosities that are all unconnected. Yeah, go over to the redistricting section of the General Assembly's website and you will find no complete full map that puts all the districts together for easy viewing. So I make my own.

Talk about your local, sometimes non-political news stories here, or talk about the political stories we aren't talking about... yet.

We receive anonymous tips, and sometimes anonymous questions: "In light of the most recent scandal involving the corrupt insurance commissioner, wouldn't it be more topical to ask whether the Delaware IC should be appointed rather than elected?"